cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SSI, academia and industry colaboration [colaboration read collaboration]

While software construction was a science, the design and construction of software was viewed as the central activity. Standards, middleware, and mature software development methodologies has moved this to one of several co-equal application development activities. To effectively bring this approach to the IT classroom, a partnership and academia is required. The Shared Software Initiative community fills this role.
Evidence for the Validity of the Modified Dynamic Gait Index Across Diagnostic Groups

Background The modified Dynamic Gait Index (mDGI) measures the capacity to adapt gait to complex tasks utilizing 8 tasks and 3 facets of performance. The measurement stability of the mDGI in specific diagnostic groups is unknown. Objective This study examined the psychometric properties of the mDGI in 5 diagnostic groups. Design This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study. Methods A total of 794 participants were included in the study: 140 controls, 239 with stroke, 140 with vestibular dysfunction, 100 with traumatic brain injury, 91 with gait abnormality, and 84 with Parkinson disease. Differential item functioning analysis was used to examine the comparability of scores across diagnoses. Internal consistency was computed using Cronbach alpha. Factor analysis was used to examine the factor loadings for the 3 performance facet scores. Minimal detectable change at the 95% confidence level (MDC95%) was calculated for each of the groups. Results Less than 5% of comparisons demonstrated moderate to large differential item functioning, suggesting that item scores had the same order of difficulty for individuals in all 5 diagnostic groups. For all 5 patient groups, 3 factors had eigenvalues >1.0 and explained 80% of the variability in scores, supporting the importance of characterizing mobility performance with respect to time, level of assistance, and gait pattern. Limitations There were uneven sample sizes in the 6 groups. Conclusions The strength of the psychometric properties of the mDGI across the 5 diagnostic groups further supports the validity and usefulness of scores for clinical and research purposes. In addition, the meaning of a score from the mDGI, regardless of whether at the task, performance facet, or total score level, was comparable across the 5 diagnostic groups, suggesting that the mDGI measured mobility function independent of medical diagnosis.
Magnetic Hysteresis in Novel Nanostructured Films

A review is given of a magnetization reversal in a variety of nanostructured magnetic films. Emphasis is placed on coercivity mechanisms and magnetic switching volumes in multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, metastable-phase nanostructures with in-plane anisotropy, high coercivity nanostructured films, and exchange-coupled, hard-soft heterostructures. Some of these films have high potential in information storage or nanoelectronic applications.
Size, Scaling, and the Evolution of Complex Life Cycles

J.T. Bonner (1965) noted that the ultimate description of an organism is that of the life cycle. An organism is not the static representation of the adult we associate with taxonomic characterizations and most ecological theory, but the dynamic unfolding of the genome over ontogeny, and the consequent succession of life history stages or forms. The life cycle, of course, is also the fundamental unit of demographic analyses, and therefore a focus for considerations of ecological processes and their manifestation in evolutionary change. As Istock (1984) put it, every inference we make about the evolutionary process has some equivalent rendering within this demographic framework. Because the life cycle assumes a central position in the structure of biology, it is useful to order patterns in life cycle organization, and to ask what processes have shaped these patterns.
Black Economic Liberation Under Capitalism

(1970). Black Economic Liberation Under Capitalism. The Black Scholar: Vol. 2, Black Labor, pp. 11-14.
Negotiable Instruments and Assignments of Payment Rights: Narrated Multi-Media Electronic Lessons

These lessons discuss two important and commonly used methods for paying for contracts. One of those topics is the use of Article 3 negotiable instruments (e.g. promissory notes and drafts/checks). This topic is ALWAYS tested on the bar exam. The other topic will be the use of assignments of payment rights under Article 9, a topic that is frequently tested on the bar exam. The discussion will emphasize the importance of FTC consumer protection rules in both of these payment contexts. There are about thirty individual electronic essays in this overall set of electronic essays, and about thirty accompanying graphics-only versions of these e-essays. The electronic essays themselves are .swf files and can be watched/listened to on Windows PC’s or Macs. These files, which are 10-15 megs in size, are filled with media, including music and narration. The graphics only versions of the essays are ppt files. They too can can be viewed on Windows PC’s or Macs. These ppt files are 2-3 megs in size. This set of electronic essays on Instruments and Assignments coordinates with other sets of lessons in an overall group of electronic essays on selected topics in USA Business law. A copy of this electronic lesson can be found online.
Joint Occurrences in Coastal Flooding

Extreme levels of coastal flooding arising from the joint occurrence of a rare event such as a hurricane or a tsunami with the astronomical tide have a stochastic nature resulting from the random occurrence of the primary event relative to the phase of the astronomical tide. Numerical means of computing the frequencies of peak flood levels by constructing equally likely combinations of tides with the record of a rare event are costly and impractical to apply. This paper presents an approximate analytic approach to construct the probability structure of extremal crest heights arising from such joint occurrences based on simple astronomical tide models. Examples are given to illustrate applications to tsunamis and storm surges.
Myofeedback: a new method of teaching breathing exercises in emphysematous patients.

Abstract The diaphragm of the emphysematous patient is low and limited in its excursions, producing an increased functional residual capacity and decreased pulmonary ventilation. This report describes our experiences with a new technique for 1) the training of abdominal-diaphragmatic (A-D) breathing and 2) the relaxation of accessory respiratory muscles in emphysematous patients. Abdominal muscle contraction during expiration has been shown to increase diaphragmatic excursions and, hence, pulmonary ventilation. Use of this technique has been limited, however, because of the difficulty in learning this breathing pattern. Through continuous audio and visual feedback of myoelectric potentials (myofeedback) from abdominal muscles, 12 patients learned A-D breathing. The lower rectus abdominis muscle was found to be the most suitable muscle for obtaining the myoelectric potentials. Similarly, by providing the patients with myofeedback from their accessory muscles, they decreased the use of these muscles, thus increasing their respiratory efficiency. With myofeedback, patients appear to learn new breathing patterns effectively and in fewer sessions than with conventional procedures.
Application of Biologically Based Lumping To Investigate the Toxicokinetic Interactions of a Complex Gasoline Mixture.

People are often exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals such as gasoline, tobacco smoke, water contaminants, or food additives. We developed an approach that applies chemical lumping methods to complex mixtures, in this case gasoline, based on biologically relevant parameters used in physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling. Inhalation exposures were performed with rats to evaluate the performance of our PBPK model and chemical lumping method. There were 109 chemicals identified and quantified in the vapor in the chamber. The time-course toxicokinetic profiles of 10 target chemicals were also determined from blood samples collected during and following the in vivo experiments. A general PBPK model was used to compare the experimental data to the simulated values of blood concentration for 10 target chemicals with various numbers of lumps, iteratively increasing from 0 to 99. Large reductions in simulation error were gained by incorporating enzymatic chemical interactions, in c...
Hispanic Philology in Latin America

Among the branches of Romance philology Hispanic philology is at the present time the most flourishing one. This is due in great measure to the fact that the seeds sown by the great master Ramon Menendez Pidal are bringing forth remarkable fruit in Spain, Portugal and the United States. The newest feature in the picture is that Argentina, with the Instituto de Filologia de Buenos Aires under the leadership of Amado Alonso, has become a center of Hispanic studies for the entire world. This seems to be one of the changes in scholarship which hint that in the future, the New World will take over, whereas Europe has to struggle desperately to hold her own. The change will appear the more considerable in the light of the endeavor since the early nineteenth century on the part of Latin America to do something in this field, although for the most part amateurish.
A New Method to Correct Pushbroom Hyperspectral Data Using Linear Features and Ground Control Points

Data acquired using aerial pushbroom scanners often contain aircraft motion errors—especially aircraft roll error. This article describes a new algorithm to correct roll errors using both ground control points and linear features digitized on a reference map and the uncorrected image. The algorithm is different from previous methods used to correct aerial pushbroom data because it does not solely rely on a single or multiple straight lines. Rather, it is able to integrate both points and lines together to correct the error. With an associated loss of precision, it can also use points or lines separately. The method is tested on a hyperspectral dataset acquired in the Range Creek, Utah area during June 2009. It was found that the approach is an effective way to remove aircraft roll errors and prepare the image for additional georegistration. A program with a graphical user interface has been written using the algorithm and is available on the project's website.
Complexities in the First Aerosol Indirect Effect over the Southern Great Plains

Abstract. The aerosol first indirect effect (FIE) is typically characterized by a reduction in cloud droplet size and an increase in cloud optical thickness in the presence of high concentrations of condensation nuclei. Past studies have derived observational evidence of the FIE in specific locations and conditions, yet critical uncertainties in the validity of this conceptual model as it applies to a range of cloud types and meteorological settings remain unaddressed. We utilize five years of surface aerosol measurements and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) observations of cloud properties to discern the FIE in springtime cloud statistics over the Southern Great Plains region of the United States. We extend this analysis to explore the role of three confounding factors: cloud phase, observational uncertainty and the role of regional meridional flow. While high aerosol days are dominated by smaller average droplet size in liquid clouds, the response of cloud optical thickness is variable and is dominantly a function of cloud water path. Ice clouds experience more variability in their response to high aerosol loading and satellite retrieval uncertainty thresholds. Finally, the direction of meridional flow does not play a large role in stratifying the cloud response to different aerosol loading. Overall, these observations show that much of the classical theory for liquid clouds is supported. Higher aerosol loadings are correlated with a reduction in effective radius and generally higher cloud optical thickness, and this relationship dominates over any driving influence from the low-level jet. However, for ice clouds we see a variable response that may be driven by aerosol composition and cold cloud microphysics. These observations provide further insight into the importance of considering deviations from the classic FIE in understanding regional variability in aerosol-cloud interactions in a continental setting.
Environmental Sustainability in a Sraffian Framework

This article expands the Sraffian framework to address environmental sustainability by showing how to define and measure what ecological economists call “throughput” and increases in throughput efficiency. In the process it clarifies issues that are often muddled in the steady-state and de-growth literatures.JEL classification: B51, Q55, Q56
Dynamic Mechanical Characterization of Bonding Performance Deterioration at HTPB Propellant/Liner Interface

The aging characteristics of HTPB propellant coupling bonding specimen during the course of high temperature accelerating aging were investigated.The method for characterizing the bonding performance deterioration at HTPB propellant/liner interface(P/L interface) by using dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA) was explored.The results show that the high temperature aging makes the bonding strength of the bonding specimen P/L interface and the diffusion of the migrating ingredients in propellant to liner increase,makes the liner degrade,furthermore the difference of the material mechanical properties at two sides of the P/L interface increases,the defect increases,and the bonding properties of P/L interface deteriorate.The DMA experiments show that there is relativity between the initial modulus of liner,the energy storage energy modulus of the interfacial propellant and bulk propellant,and the bonding strength of the bonding specimen.Therefore they can be used as the parameters for characterizing the bonding performance deterioration of the P/L interface.The regress relationship of the bonding strength of the bonding specimen characterized by using DMA parameters was given out.
Three researchers, five conjectures: An empirical analysis of tom-Skype censorship and surveillance

We present an empirical analysis of TOM-Skype censorship and surveillance. TOM-Skype is an Internet telephony and chat program that is a joint venture between TOM Online (a mobile Internet company in China) and Skype Limited. TOM-Skype contains both voice-overIP functionality and a chat client. The censorship and surveillance that we studied for this paper is specific to the chat client and is based on keywords that a user might type into a chat session. We were able to decrypt keyword lists used for censorship and surveillance. We also tracked the lists for a period of time and witnessed changes. Censored keywords range from obscene references, such as s o (two girls one cup, the motivation for our title), to specific passages from 2011 China Jasmine Revolution protest instructions, such as ý %i¦S3eM (McDonald’s in front of Chunxi Road in Chengdu). Surveillance keywords are mostly related to demolitions in Beijing, such asua AEA (Ling Jing Alley demolition). Based on this data, we present five conjectures that we believe to be formal enough to be hypotheses that the Internet censorship research community could potentially answer with more data and appropriate computational and analytic techniques.
Food Microbial Safety and Animal Antibiotics

Many scientists, journalists, activists, regulators, and politicians have urged that the routine use of antibiotics in food animals should be eliminated, citing urgent concerns that such use selects for antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria that harm human health and bring nearer a “postantibiotic era” of multidrug-resistant “super-bugs.” Yet, quantitative risk assessment (QRA) estimates of the decrease in human harm (mortality and morbidity) actually caused by reducing animal antibiotic use are typically very small, for example, on the order of as few as zero and not more than a few excess cases per decade or per century for the entire United States population. This paper reviews methods of quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) and summarizes the results of applying them to several important classes of animal antibiotics that have traditionally been used to reduce diseases, and potentially improve microbial safety, in food animals.
A conservative theory of gradable modality

In the tradition of modal semantics stemming from the work of Kratzer (1981, 1991), several attempts have been made to analyze adjectives like important , which are both modal and gradable. I show that existing theories of such gradable modal adjectives (GMAs) in this framework do not allow for comparisons across distinct sets or prioritizations of premises, as the basis for comparison in these theories is too closely wedded to the particular choice and ranking of priorities. To fix this, I include modal degrees in the ontology, with sets of premises being relativized to those degrees. What results is a theory that allows comparison across sets of priorities, while still retaining the premise-based world ordering and quantification that lies at the heart of Kratzer's approach. This theory is then extended to account for existentially-quantifying GMAs like permissible , as well as entailment relations between modal auxiliaries and GMAs.
Effect of Metformin and Statin Use on Survival in Pancreatic Cancer Patients: a Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis

Background and Objective: Current epidemiological studies report conflicting results for the effect of statin or metformin on pancreatic cancer overall survival. This literature review and meta-analysis summarizes the studies reporting an association between statin or metformin use and overall survival of pancreatic cancer patients. Methods: We systematically searched for studies about the association between statin or metformin use and pancreatic cancer overall survival in electronic databases (PubMed, ISI Web of Science, MEDLINE, Cochrane, Scopus, Google Scholar). A meta-analysis based on hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) was performed using random effect models. Heterogeneity between the studies was examined using I2 statistics, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the findings. Results: Of 116 statin-related articles identified, 6 retrospective cohort studies representing 12,057 patients were included. There was significant heterogeneity between studies. Statin use was associated with improved survival among pancreatic cancer patients (meta-HR = 0.75; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.90; P < 0.001). Of 311 metformin-related articles, 8 retrospective cohort studies and 2 randomized clinical trials, representing 3,042 patients were identified. Metformin use was associated with better overall survival among pancreatic cancer patients (meta-HR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.92, P < 0.001), and significant heterogeneity was observed between studies. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the improved survival time of pancreatic cancer patients are associated with statin or metformin use. Due to the multiple sources of heterogeneity of the original studies, these findings should be considered cautiously, and confirmed with larger prospective individual-level studies.
Staying with the trouble: making kin in the Chthulucene

‘It matters what thoughts think thoughts. It matters what knowledges know knowledges. It matters what relations relate relations. It matters what worlds world worlds.’ These and other mantras thrum...
Endoscopic Carpal Tunnel Release

While open carpal tunnel release provides excellent relief of median nerve compression, many patients complain of tenderness at the proximal palm incision for months after surgery. For over 25 years, endoscopic techniques have been available that move the incision off of the proximal palm to avoid or decrease this pillar pain. Proximal, distal, and two-portal techniques are reported, with varying learning curves associated with them. Multicenter trials have demonstrated safety of the procedure and improved patient experience with decreased postoperative pain and more rapid return to work. Endoscopic carpal tunnel release may be particularly appropriate for surgeons with a high volume of carpal tunnel syndrome in their practice and patients seeking to minimize their downtime after surgery.
Racial disparities in health between white and African American family practice patients: clinical implications.

Objective: To identify differences in self-reported health status and prevalence of chronic disease between African American and white patients. Study Design: A representative sample of African American and white adult patients from a stratified sample of family practices in North Carolina completed a questionnaire that included self-reported racial status, certain sociodemographic data, health risk factors, chronic conditions, and health status measures. Data Source: The North Carolina Health Project, a practice-based cohort of adult patients from a representative sample of family practice offices in North Carolina. Principal Findings: African Americans report poorer general health status than whites. Obesity, insufficient exercise, high blood pressure, and diabetes are more prevalent among African American than white family practice patients, even after adjusting for age, gender, and educational attainment. Conclusions: This study complements previous evidence of disparities in chronic disease and health risk factors between African Americans and whites, and it highlights specific factors that may be important in the primary care setting. Relevance: By focusing clinical attention on the prevention or treatment of specific factors that are known to be more prevalent among certain racial groups, primary care providers may help to reduce racial differences in healthcare.
Ba3Y2B6O15:Ce3+—A High Symmetry, Narrow-Emitting Blue Phosphor for Wide-Gamut White Lighting

The production of white light based on a near-UV LED chip requires incorporating three inorganic phosphors that emit in the blue, green, and red portions of the visible spectrum. Using a near-UV LED has the advantage of generating a light with excellent color quality, but due to the large Stokes’ shift between the LED excitation and the multiple phosphor emissions, these devices can suffer from a low overall efficiency. To minimize this inherent energy loss, the three phosphors employed to convert the LED emission must be very efficient, as measured by the internal photoluminescent quantum yield (Φ). In this work, we report the synthesis of a cubic borate, Ba3Y2B6O15, which when substituted with Ce3+ becomes an efficient blue phosphor. This compound can be prepared using a multistep high temperature solid state synthesis with the ensuing photoluminescent measurements revealing a broad excitation band (300–415 nm) making this phosphor compatible with a 365 or 400 nm LED chip. Ba3Y2B6O15:Ce3+ luminesces bri...
Early-life antibiotics attenuate regulatory T cell generation and increase the severity of murine house dust mite-induced asthma

Early-life exposure to antibiotics (ABX) has been linked to increases in asthma severity and prevalence in both children and laboratory animals. We explored the immunologic mechanisms behind this association using a mouse model of house dust mite (HDM)-induced asthma and early-life ABX exposure. Mice were exposed to three short courses of ABX following weaning and experimental asthma was thereafter induced. Airway cell counts and differentials; serum immunoglobulin E (IgE); pulmonary function; lung histopathology; pulmonary regulatory T cells (Tregs); and the fecal microbiome were characterized following ABX exposure and induction of experimental asthma. Asthma severity was increased in mice exposed to ABX, including: airway eosinophilia, airway hyper-reactivity, serum HDM-specific IgE, and lung histopathology. ABX treatment led to sharp reduction in fecal microbiome diversity, including the loss of pro-regulatory organisms such as Lachnospira. Pulmonary Tregs were reduced with ABX treatment, and this reduction was directly proportional to diminished microbiome diversity. Intermittent exposure to ABX early in life worsened the severity of experimental asthma and reduced pulmonary Tregs; the latter change correlated with decreased microbiome diversity. These data may suggest targets for immunologic or probiotic therapy to counteract the harmful effects of childhood ABX.
On the divisors of xn−1

Abstract We examine two natural questions concerning the polynomial divisors of x n − 1 : “For a given integer n, how large can the coefficients of divisors of x n − 1 be?” and “How often does x n − 1 have a divisor of every degree between 1 and n?” We consider the latter question when x n − 1 is factored in both Z [ x ] and F p [ x ] . The primary tools used in our investigation arise the study of the anatomy of integers. We also make use of several results on the size of the multiplicative order function (which stem from Hooleyʼs conditional proof of Artinʼs Primitive Root Conjecture) in our work over F p [ x ] .
CLASSIFICATION OF IMAGES USING FEATURES DERIVED FROM RANDOM FIELD MODELS

Abstract The problem to be considered is that of classifying a given image characterized by a set of intensity levels, {y(s)}, into one of r classes Ci. i = 1, ... r. It is assumed that the given image is a realization of an underlying random field model, known as the simultaneous autoregressive model, characterized by a set of parameters ϕ ~ whose probability density fi( ϕ ~ ) depends on the class to which {y(s)} belongs- We first show, that the maximum likelihood estimate ϕ ~ * of ϕ ~ is an appropriate feature vector for classification purposes. We also design optimum Bayes rules, minimizing the average probability of error in classification.
Iron, Copper, and Zinc

Iron, copper, and zinc are essential micronutrients responsible for various physiological functions. In this chapter, we are going to discuss epidemiology of iron deficiency, physiology of iron absorption, role of hepcidin, iron content in food, bioavailability of iron, symptoms and signs of iron deficiency, and its treatment with oral and parenteral formulations. Later, we are discussing copper and zinc functions, daily requirements, absorption, factors affecting bioavailability, iron–copper–zinc interactions, and symptoms and signs of their deficiencies.
IP and Design Reuse

This main purpose of this book is to guide you in creating reusable design blocks targeting FPGA devices; from Specification through RTL design and Verification. This chapter on IP reuse is complementary to these other two chapters. It focuses on the benefits of IP reuse, how to determine whether to design your own IP versus buying IP and how to package your IP for ease of reuse.
Multiple dimensions of generalization in model-based troubleshooting

Two observations motivate our work: (a) modelbased diagnosis programs are powerful but do not learn from experience, and (b) one of the long-term trends in learning research has been the increasing use of knowledge to guide and inform the process of induction. We have developed a knowledge-guided learning method, based in EBL, that allows a model-based diagnosis program to selectively accumulate and generalize its experience. Our work is novel in part because it produces several different kinds of generalizations from a single example. Where previous work in learning has for the most part intensively explored one or another specific kind of generalization, our work has focused on accumulating and using multiple different grounds for generalization, i.e., multiple domain theories. As a result our system not only learns from a single example (as in all EBL), it can learn multiple things from a single example. Simply saying there ought to be multiple grounds for generalization only opens up the possibility of exploring more than one domain theory. We provide some guidance in determining which grounds to explore by demonstrating that in the domain of physical devices, causal models are a ric? source of useful domain theories. We also caution that adding more knowledge can sometimes degrade performance. Hence we need to select the grounds for generalization carefully and analyze the resulting rules to ensure that they improve performance. We illustrate one such quantitative analysis in the context of a model-based troubleshooting program, measuring and analyzing the gain resulting from the generalizations produced.
A NOVEL TEST TO ASSESS CHANGE OF DIRECTION: DEVELOPMENT, RELIABILITY, AND REHABILITATION CONSIDERATIONS.

Background Several researchers have investigated functional testing with regard to return to sport decision making. Change of direction activities play a role in the advancement of rehabilitation as an athlete progresses towards return to sport. Few studies have assessed tests that measure change of direction tasks. Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to establish test-retest and intra- and inter-rater reliability of performing the Change of Lateral Direction (COLD) test. The second purpose was to provide normative data for healthy college aged subjects performing the COLD test. The final purpose of this study was to assess the role of fatigue while performing lateral change of direction tasks. Study Design Cross-sectional, descriptive reliability study. Methods Thirty-three female and 18 male healthy college students (mean age = 25.5) were tested on two occasions, one week apart. Subjects started out standing on a standard 4" step and rapidly altered stepping to tape markers on either side of the step as many times as possible for 30 seconds. The total number of steps achieved in 30 seconds was video recorded and watched later to count steps in order to determine reliability. The effect of fatigue was assessed by subdividing the 30 second trial into three increments: 0-10 seconds (T0-10), 11-20 seconds (T11-20), and 21-30 seconds (T21-30). Results Normative data for session 1 and session 2 were 76.0 (±10.9) and 80.1 (±11.2) steps respectively. Inter-rater (ICC: 0.994-0.996) and intra-rater (ICC: 0.930-0.984) reliability was excellent. Test-retest reliability demonstrated a strong correlation (r = 0.88) between session 1 and session 2. A significant decline (p<0.001) in total number of steps was demonstrated between T0-10 and T21-30, as well as T11-20 and T21-30 during both session 1 and session 2. Conclusions The COLD test demonstrated excellent inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. A possible fatigue effect occurred at T21-30. Because of the ease of administration, minimal equipment required, and excellent intra and inter-rater reliability, the COLD test provides an excellent functional change of direction test. This test could be used for serial reassessment during pre-season screening, rehabilitation, or return to sport. Level of Evidence 2c.
Leniency Can Increase Deterrence

Abstract Police discretion raises deterrence if the odds of lenient treatment fall with the severity of the crime. Leniency also provides an incentive for citizens to cooperate with law enforcement. When the police discover a crime, a guilty citizen decides whether to share any information. If such cooperation ever reveals a secondary crime, a citizen only shares information if the police sometimes reduce penalties for the initial crime. Thus, when citizens are multiply active in crime, discretion is a further tool for deterrence. Generous discounts induce universal cooperation, and the possibility of being caught for a secondary crime reduces the incentive to invest in every crime.
Locating the green space paradox: A study of gentrification and public green space accessibility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Abstract This study examined gentrification patterns associated with eighteen new public green spaces created across Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 2010. Our study had three primary goals: 1) Characterize the local relationships between green space creation and gentrification across the city; 2) Investigate how different models of ownership and management approaches impact the public accessibility of newly created green spaces, 3) Examine connections between the public accessibility of new parks and the gentrification of the neighborhood. We drew on data from the 2000 US Census and the 2011–2016 American Community Survey Estimate data at the Block Group level, a field survey on public accessibility for parks that explores ownership, management, use/users, and quality, and semi-structured interviews conducted with six key informants from July-October 2018. We used Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) to examine local patterns of gentrification and qualitative analysis to examine the public accessibility of the public green spaces and experiences of residents and community leaders during the park development process. We found that public green spaces may anchor gentrification processes. Additionally, new spaces in wealthy neighborhoods were more publicly accessible than parks in gentrifying neighborhoods. Many spaces located in gentrifying neighborhoods relied on private management and had surveillance strategies, including cameras to security personnel. Our research points towards several key paradoxes associated with park development that can inform policy decisions regarding equitable park provision.
PLASMA B-TYPE NATRIURETIC PEPTIDE LEVELS IS A PREDICTOR OF ADVERSE EVENTS IN PATIENTS WITH LEFT VENTRICULAR NON-COMPACTION

Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a poorly defined entity which encompasses both physiological adaption and pathological disease. We sought to determine the prognostic impact of plasma B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) in identifying patients at high risk of long-term complications. Patients
Biofábricas para produção de micopesticidas no Brasil: oportunidades de negócio e inovações / Bio-factories for the production of mycopesticides in Brazil: business opportunities and innovations

Aumentar a quantidade de agentes de controle biologico e um dos desafios a serem vencidos para a eficiencia na agropecuaria brasileira, por isso sao necessarios aumentar e melhorar as biofabricas que tornam a producao desses agentes possivel. Portanto, as instituicoes de pesquisa precisam apoiar empresas atraves de pesquisas com sistemas de producao, selecao de cepas e transferencia de tecnologia para que o Brasil consiga aumentar as areas de aplicacao com agentes de controle biologico, com qualidade e eficiencia. A Unidade Laboratorial de Referencia de Controle Biologico, CAPSA, Instituto Biologico/APTA/SAA-SP, Campinas-SP, realiza transferencia de conhecimento e tecnologia para producao de fungos entomopatogenicos desde o ano 2000. Esta unidade abriga a Colecao de Fungos Entomopatogenicos “Oldemar Cardim Abreu”, cadastrada como fiel depositaria no CGEN/MMA. Com a demanda por inseticidas microbiologicos crescendo, alguns isolados, selecionados da colecao, para o controle de Mahanarva fimbriolata na cana-de-acucar, Deois flavopicta em pastagens, como o IBCB 425 de Metarhizium anisopliae e IBCB 66 de Beauveria bassiana para o controle de Cosmopolites sordidus em banana, Dalbulus maidis em milho, Tetranychus urticae em hortalicas, e flores e Bemisia tabaci em diversas culturas, sao referencias para inseticidas microbiologicos aplicados na agricultura orgânica pelo Min. Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento - MAPA, de acordo com a normativa no. 3/2006 SDA/SDC, aumentando a demanda desses fungos no mercado, sendo necessario sua producao em massa. O curso COMINT – Curso de Controle Microbiano de Insetos – Fungos entomopatogenicos, o Instituto Biologico vem desenvolvendo o programa de biofabricas para a producao desses microrganismos, sendo mais de 800 pessoas treinadas no curso, com 83 empresas assessoradas ate 2020, somente para producao por meio de cultura solido, em arroz. Atraves de uma assessoria anual, o programa visa a implantacao da biofabrica, com projeto de construcao ou adaptacao da estrutura, treinamento de funcionarios, fornecimento das cepas autorizada para bioprospeccao e analises quali-quantitativas e de estabilidade dos inseticidas microbiologicos produzidos. As oportunidades de negocios para novos empreendimentos e inovacoes com novos processos de producao e formulacoes sao enormes, dando condicoes para “startups” com interesse nesse negocio, com financiamentos de orgaos do governo ou mesmo privados. A limitacao especifica ainda e a legislacao para registro de produtos biologicos e a Lei da Biodiversidade.
Criminal Immigrant Incarceration Rates in 2017: Their Numbers, Demographics, and Countries of Origin

Since taking office in 2017, President Trump has expanded interior immigration enforcement, made it easier for states and local governments to apprehend and detain illegal immigrants, and argued that building a wall is essential to reducing crime. These actions are largely based on the perception that illegal immigrants are a significant and disproportionate source of crime in the United States. This brief uses American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census to analyze incarcerated immigrants according to their citizenship and legal status in 2017. The data show that all immigrants — legal and illegal — are less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans relative to their shares of the population. By themselves, illegal immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than native-born Americans.
TET-mediated 5-methylcytosine oxidation in tRNA promotes translation.

Oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in DNA by the ten-eleven translocation (TET) family of enzymes is indispensable for gene regulation in mammals. More recently, evidence has emerged to support a biological function for TET-mediated m5C oxidation in messenger RNA. Here, we describe a previously uncharacterized role of TET-mediated m5C oxidation in transfer RNA (tRNA). We found that the TET-mediated oxidation product 5-hydroxylmethylcytosine (hm5C) is specifically enriched in tRNA inside cells and that the oxidation activity of TET2 on m5C in tRNAs can be readily observed in vitro. We further observed that hm5C levels in tRNA were significantly decreased in Tet2 KO mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) in comparison with wild-type mESCs. Reciprocally, induced expression of the catalytic domain of TET2 led to an obvious increase in hm5C and a decrease in m5C in tRNAs relative to uninduced cells. Strikingly, we also show that TET2-mediated m5C oxidation in tRNA promotes translation in vitro. These results suggest TET2 may influence translation through impacting tRNA methylation and reveal an unexpected role for TET enzymes in regulating multiple nodes of the central dogma.
The Archaeology of the North American Great Plains

In this volume, Douglas B. Bamforth offers an archaeological overview of the Great Plains, the vast, open grassland bordered by forests and mountain ranges situated in the heart of North America. Synthesizing a century of scholarship and new archaeological evidence, he focuses on changes in resource use, continental trade connections, social formations, and warfare over a period of 15,000 years. Bamforth investigates how foragers harvested the grasslands more intensively over time, ultimately turning to maize farming, and examines the persistence of industrial mobile bison hunters in much of the region as farmers lived in communities ranging from hamlets to towns with thousands of occupants. He also explores how social groups formed and changed, migrations of peoples in and out of the Plains, and the conflicts that occurred over time and space. Significantly, Bamforth's volume demonstrates how archaeology can be used as the basis for telling long-term, problem-oriented human history.
Evaluating the Contribution of Patient-Provider Communication and Cancer Diagnosis to Racial Disparities in End-of-Life Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries

The quality of end-of-life (EOL) care in the USA remains suboptimal, with significant variations in care by race and across disease subgroups. Patient-provider communication may contribute to racial and disease-specific variations in EOL care outcomes. We examined racial disparities in EOL care, by disease group (cancer vs. non-cancer), and assessed whether racial differences in patient-provider communication accounted for observed disparities. Retrospective cohort study using the 2001–2015 Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results - Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems data linked with Medicare claims (SEER-CAHPS). We employed stratified propensity score matching and modified Poisson regression analyses, adjusting for clinical and demographic characteristics Black and White Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older with cancer (N=2000) or without cancer (N=11,524). End-of-life care measures included hospice use, inpatient hospitalizations, intensive care unit (ICU) stays, and emergency department (ED) visits, during the 90 days prior to death. When considering all conditions together (cancer + non-cancer), Black beneficiaries were 26% less likely than their Whites counterparts to enroll in hospice (adjusted risk ratio [ARR]: 0.74, 95%CI: 0.66–0.83). Among beneficiaries without cancer, Black beneficiaries had a 32% lower likelihood of enrolling in hospice (ARR: 0.68, 95%CI: 0.59–0.79). There was no racial difference in hospice enrollment among cancer patients. Black beneficiaries were also at increased risk for ED use (ARR: 1.12, 95%CI: 1.01–1.26). Patient-provider communication did not explain racial disparities in hospice or ED use. There were no racial differences in hospitalizations or ICU admissions. We observed racial disparities in hospice use and ED visits in the 90 days prior to death among Medicare beneficiaries; however, hospice disparities were largely driven by patients without cancer. Condition-specific differences in palliative care integration at the end-of-life may partly account for variations in EOL care disparities across disease groups.
Real-world simultaneous alcohol and cannabis use: An ecological study of situational motives and social and physical contexts.

OBJECTIVE Given the adverse outcomes associated with simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use, understanding factors that give rise to occasions of simultaneous use is critical. This study examines the relationships between situational motives and contexts and three situational outcomes: simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use (SAM) use versus cannabis-only use, number of cannabis uses, and subjective effects. METHOD Past-month SAM users (n = 341; 52% female; 75% White; 10% Latinx/Hispanic; age 18-24) from three U.S. college campuses completed 8 weeks of surveys up to five times a day. Three-level generalized linear mixed-effects models tested the effects of situational motives and social and physical contexts on occasion type (SAM vs. cannabis-only), cannabis use, and subjective effects. RESULTS Situational social and enhancement motives were related to greater odds of SAM relative to cannabis-only use; expansion motives were reported more often on cannabis-only occasions. Using with others and at friends' places, being with others consuming cannabis, and being with others who are intoxicated were more likely when combining alcohol with cannabis. Increased number of cannabis uses and subjective effects in a social context were evident only on cannabis-only occasions. Using alone and using at home were greater on cannabis-only occasions and were associated with lower cannabis use and subjective effects. CONCLUSIONS The combination of alcohol and cannabis use occurs during social situations and when motivated by positive reinforcement but number of cannabis uses is not increased when consuming cannabis with alcohol in social situations. Characterizing the complex interplay of situational factors that contribute to risky use will inform interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
A Parallel Algorithm for Compression of Big Next-Generation Sequencing Datasets

The amount of big data from high-throughput Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques represents various challenges such as storage, analysis and transmission of massive datasets. One solution to storage and transmission of data is compression using specialized compression algorithms. The existing specialized algorithms suffer from poor scalability with increasing size of the datasets and best available solutions can take hours to compress gigabytes of data. Compression and decompression using these techniques for peta-scale data sets is prohibitively expensive in terms of time and energy. In this paper we introduce paraDSRC, a parallel implementation of the DNA Sequence Reads Compression (DSRC) application using a message passing model that presents reduction of the compression time complexity by a factor of O(1/p) (where p is the number of processing units). Our experimental results show that paraDSRC achieves compression times that are 43% to 99% faster than DSRC and compression throughputs of up to 8.4GB/s on a moderate size cluster. For many of the datasets used in our experiments super-linear speedups have been registered making the implementation strongly scalable. We also show that paraDSRC is more than 25.6x faster than comparable parallel compression algorithms. The code is available for free-academic use at https://github.com/PCDS/paraDSRC.
Measurements of Elastic Constants of Thin Al2O3 and SiC/Al Composite using Coupled Ultrasonic Plate Modes

An ultrasonic technique utilizing coupled ultrasonic plate modes for the measurement of elastic constants has been suggested in our previous studies [1–3]. The technique is based on measurements of obliquely incident ultrasonic beam zero-transmission angles and reconstruction from these angles of the composite elastic constants. Such a technique is particularly useful for measuring elastic constants of anisotropic plates and it has a unique capacity to measure in-plane elastic constants of thin anisotropic plates.
Formation of soil organic matter via biochemical and physical pathways of litter mass loss

Soil organic matter is a large global carbon pool. Isotopic labelling of litter in the lab and the field reveals that soil organic matter forms from labile organic compounds and litter fragments early and late in decomposition, respectively. Soil organic matter is the largest terrestrial carbon pool1. The pool size depends on the balance between formation of soil organic matter from decomposition of plant litter and its mineralization to inorganic carbon. Knowledge of soil organic matter formation remains limited2 and current C numerical models assume that stable soil organic matter is formed primarily from recalcitrant plant litter3. However, labile components of plant litter could also form mineral-stabilized soil organic matter4. Here we followed the decomposition of isotopically labelled above-ground litter and its incorporation into soil organic matter over three years in a grassland in Kansas, USA, and used laboratory incubations to determine the decay rates and pool structure of litter-derived organic matter. Early in decomposition, soil organic matter formed when non-structural compounds were lost from litter. Soil organic matter also formed at the end of decomposition, when both non-structural and structural compounds were lost at similar rates. We conclude that two pathways yield soil organic matter efficiently. A dissolved organic matter–microbial path occurs early in decomposition when litter loses mostly non-structural compounds, which are incorporated into microbial biomass at high rates, resulting in efficient soil organic matter formation. An equally efficient physical-transfer path occurs when litter fragments move into soil.