cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Social and Rational: The Presentation of Nature of Science and the Uptake of Change in Evolution Textbooks

The nature of science (NOS) as described by education scholars is a critical component of scientific literacy and includes both rational and social aspects taught best in an explicit and reflective manner. NOS is frequently tied to a critical contextual empiricism (CCE) framework for knowledge production. Central to CCE is that objectivity is attained only with an integration of the rational and social within a diverse community of scholars that is open to criticism. The field of sexual selection theory is ripe with opportunities to present NOS in an explicit and reflective context that promotes the understanding of knowledge production as simultaneously social and rational. We examined the presentation of sexual selection theory in college evolutionary biology textbooks to evaluate the extent to which textbooks demonstrate uptake of change in the field and use socially driven critique to present science as both social and rational. All of the textbooks incorporated new research in the field and some provided context about how and why the field has changed but not to the degree warranted by the rich literature available. We provide recommendations for the integration of NOS and social embeddedness of science, and posit that a portrayal of science as both social and rational has the potential to promote more inclusive science teaching and a more accurate representation of science.
Research note: Dependable user-level socket over dual networks

Message duplication over multiple links can enhance the communication reliability and availability among distributed processes running on clusters or networked workstations. In addition, message striping over multiple links can enhance communication throughput and transfer times. This paper introduces optimized techniques to provide a dependable user-level socket that enhances the reliability and performance of message deliveries over dual network interfaces. The proposed techniques are designed to work on top of reliable transport protocols. In addition, a technique for efficient duplication of messages on dual networks to enhance both communication reliability and performance on top of reliable transport protocol is proposed. A prototype socket based on this model is developed and evaluated. The experimental evaluations of the proposed model indicate good communication reliability and performance gains over conventional methods.
Ovuliparity and Modes of Embryo Retention

The evolution of the maternal embryonic relationship in internally-developing forms has involved a change in the timing of key reproductive events, including ovulation, fertilization, release from the maternal genital tract,1 and hatching.2 Presumed to be the result of heterochronic processes, changes in the timing and sequence of these key events makes possible the evolution of the various reproductive modalities evident among the vertebrates (Table 9.1). Differences in the overt forms of parity among vertebrates (i.e., the classical distinctions of oviparity and viviparity) are in many cases not so much due to a difference in the overall program of development and in the relationship between the maternal organism and embryo, but rather represent differences in the configuration of tertiary accessory envelopes at the time of parturition (see Appendix 9.1 at the end of this chapter).
Pen-Vee-K® (Wyeth)

Penicillin V, the phenoxymethyl analogue of penicillin G, is a semisynthetic penicillin for oral use; discussed here is the potassium salt of penicillin V (often called Penicillin VK). This drug is more stable in acid than is penicillin G and, thus, it is better absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. Its actions are the same as those of penicillin G for gram-positive microorganisms and it is, therefore, preferable to penicillin G in cases in which the oral route is desirable, but it is less effective than penicillin G against gram-negative microorganisms, especially Neisseria species. (Thus, it is not recommended for gonococcal infections.) Like penicillin G, this agent is not effective against penicillinase-producing bacteria.
Functionality in Wearable Tech: Device, as Jewelry, as Body Mediator

Jewelry has long been used to modify one's body and mediate experiences and interactions. Fulfilling a variety of roles, ranging from ritual objects to sentimental tokens to pure adornment, jewelry provides an externalization on the body of inner expression, non-verbally communicating information about the wearer to those she or he encounters. "Functionality in Wearable Tech," a set of three jewelry pieces, seeks to satirize and call attention to wearable technology's transition into the space that jewelry has occupied for thousands of years. Through the use of cheap robotic children's toys, converted into "functional" jewelry, the series of work considers desired and real emotional attachments to technological and jewelry objects, and those objects in between. The documented performance captures an exploration of jewelry with technological media and the ostentatious statement wearing Wearables today makes.
House Construction of the Desert Woodrat, Neotoma lepida lepida

Under confined and controlled conditions some desert woodrats, Neotoma lepida lepida , rapidly construct houses similar in size and form to those built in the wild. They utilize both natural materials (sticks, cactus, and pebbles) and artificial materials (plastic and metal jar tops). Preference for building materials differs among individuals. Once accustomed to building in captivity, woodrats build rapidly. A single individual may add as many as 359 pieces of material on a given night to its house and construct a complete house 40 centimeters high and 100 centimeters in diameter within 7 to 10 nights.
Abstract P4-01-05: Lapatinib Resistance Confers Cross-Resistance to Microtubule Inhibitors in ErbB2-Overexpressing Breast Cancer Cells

ErbB2 gene amplification occurs in approximately 20% of all breast cancers and is associated with an aggressive subtype with poor clinical prognosis. Acquired resistance to erbB2-targeted therapies is a common occurance even in patients who show an initial clinical response to trastuzumab or lapatinib-based regimens. Optimal treatment for relapsed disease following erbB2 targeted therapies has not been defined. Therefore, we sought to evaluate whether cytotoxic agents have cross-resistance to lapatinib in cell lines that have acquired resistance to lapatinib. Here we established a model of acquired lapatinib resistance derived from erbB2 overexpressing breast cancer cell lines, BT474 and SKBR3. Lapatinib resistant cell lines, BTLapR and SKLapR, were generated by growth in the continuous presence of 2.6 uM lapatinib (peak plasma concentration in human subjects) resulting in IC50 of 4.72 uM (BTLapR) and 0.083 uM (BT474) (P IC 50 of Significant Drugs on Lapatinib Resistant BT474 cells Previous studies have shown that resistance to lapatinib can switch cell survival signaling from the erbB2 to ER pathway, and that ER signaling can stimulate beta III tubulin expression. We therefore hypothesize the differential responses to microtubule inhibitors in BTLapR and SKLapR might be explained by the fact that BT474 has both estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), but SKBR3 express neither. Moreover, beta-III tubulin is known to be a key resistance mechanism of microtubule inhibition. Western blot analysis of baseline protein expression in both acquired lapatinib-resistant and parental cells indicates that ER signaling is involved in stimulating beta III tubulin and is linked to the development of resistance to microtubule inhibitors. These findings point to a potential mechanism to address cross resistance between lapatinib and microtubule-interacting agents, which could have potential clinical implications when considering salvage therapies following lapatinib treatment. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2010;70(24 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-01-05.
Pathogenicity and immunogenicity of recombinant methyltransferase-defective vesicular stomatitis virus

To prevent the vesicular stomatitis virus(VSV) disease, using a panel of recombinant VSV(E1764A,S1827A,Y1650A,and F1691A) that were defective in mRNA cap methylation as vaccine to inoculate five-week-old BALB/c female mice through oral route with 1×106 PFU,the pathogenicity and immunogenicity of these viruses were determined.The result showed that recombinant S1827A,Y1650A,F1691A were attenuated in mice and E1764A was still pathogenic to mice.The immunized mice were challenged with wild type VSV.Mice immunized with S1827A and Y1650A trigged a high level of neutralizing antibody and were protected from virulent challenge.Taken together,the results above demonstrated that methyltransferase(MTase)-defective VSV(S1827A and Y1650A) were not only attenuated in animals,but also exhibited excellent immunogenicity.Therefore,MTase-defective viruses will be good live vaccine candidates against VSV.
The effect of hypothermia and hypoxia on blood pressure and heart rate in rabbits with myocardial ischemia

Objective To research for the reaction of heart rate and blood pressure in rabbits with myocardial ischemia under the environment of hypothermia and hypoxia. Methods The rabbits with myocardial ischemia were placed in a fridge under -10±2℃ temperature and containing 8.5% oxygen of mixed gas for 30 minutes. Then the levels of the systolic blood pressure (SBP) and the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rates in rabbits with myocardial ischemia under hypothermia and hypoxia were measured. Results Under the acute circumstance of coldness stimulation and low oxygen, the levels of SBP in rabbits with myocardial ischemia group were lower than those in the normal temperature and oxygen group (P0.01), but were higher than those in the pure hypothermia and hypoxia group (P0.05); and the levels of DBP were lower than those both in the control group and the pure hypothermia and the hypoxia group (all P0.01); the heart rate was lower than that in the control group, but there was no statistically significant difference (P0.05), but was higher than those in the pure hypothermia and hypoxia group (P0.01). Conclusion Hypothermia and hypoxia can elevate the SBP and decrease DBP and accelerate the heart rate in rabbits with myocardial ischemia.
Research on Technologies of Data Leakage Prevention Against New Threats

In recent years,network security incidents had occurred frequently. The advanced persistent threat(APT) attacks and the Snowden incident have been hot topics. The nature of these incidents is data leakage. In order to deal with new threats in data leakage,this paper,through research of data leakage prevention technologies,presents a data defense-in-depth technique,which integrates the deep data content inspection,the unknown threats detection with the network behavior supervision to develop a data protection defense system applicable for big data,and effectively reduce the risk of data leakage.
Replacement of UPS by DC 220V Battery Bank

UPS commonly was used in the control systems of power plants and substations.It functions to avoid power lose for these systems,which would results in control systems' malfunction and the missing of importance events in chronological records.This paper presents an alternative solution to UPS,that is to use the DC 220V station service system to supply power directly to the control system,can achieve "Uninterruptible Power Supply" the same effect in this way.Moreover,the solution has advantages of lower investment,simplified system structure,less maintenance,and improve higher reliability.
Topics in Energy Storage and Electric System Integration

Most of these topics connect, via electric power systems. Electric power is expected to increase its already large share of total energy, from both end use and generation perspectives. Besides being clean at the point of use, its precise controllability and adaptability match it to the demands for our increasingly precise technological world. Steel made in electric arc furnaces has replaced steel made in open-hearth furnaces; metals surface-treated in gaseous plasmas replace those formerly treated in flames. Electric heat pumps replace oil- or gas-buming furnaces. Increasing urbanization of the world reinforces this trend; electric power is easier to distribute than many other energy forms in already built cities, offering opportunity for cleaner living.
Ser mujer y colombiana: reflexiones sobre género, violencia y discurso en Colombia

El proposito de este ensayo es reflexionar sobre la interseccion entre genero yviolencia en el contexto colombiano. No es sin vacilacion que emprendo esta tarea, porque es incomodamente intima y profundamente marcada de subjetividad.Soy mujer y soy colombiana. He presenciado, sufrido e infligido dolor. Conozco la violencia de primera mano. Tambien la he experimentado indirectamenteen las calles, en las historias cotidianas, y las noticias. La violencia vive en mi, como una parte toxica de mi misma. El escribir de esto personalmente, tieneun valor catartico, al ayudarme a enfrentar la oscuridad interna.
Stochastic Linear-Quadratic Nonzero-Sum Differential Games with Delayed Information Patterns

Abstract This paper is concerned with a stochastic two-person nonzero-sum differential game (NZSDG) in which one player has access to delayed closed- loop perfect state information, while the other player makes no observation. The state of the game evolves according to a linear Ito stochastic differential equation with the additive stochastic term being characterized by an independent-increment gaussian process whose incremental covariance function is positive definite. The cost function of each player is taken to be quadratic in both the state and control variables, and for this class of problems it is shown that the existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium solution is related to existence and uniqueness of the solution to some coupled integro-differential equations. It has been verified that every Nash strategy for player 1 is comprised of an affine integral transformation on his entire past state information plus a linear transformation on his most recent delayed information. The paper also contains explicit expressions for the equilibrium solution, which are structurally very different than their counterparts in the case of no information delay.
Regulations, Guidelines, and Policies

This chapter presents an overview of ethics-related regulations, guidelines, and policies for health professionals. Such rules have several purposes; to improve professional competence, to fix perceived problems, to protect research subjects, and to protect the promulgators. For those affected, “compliance” is also a goal. On the other side, such rules can be cumbersome, confusing, and sometimes interfere with scientific progress and the introduction of new medical advances. This chapter covers clinical trials, epidemiological studies, clinical practice, human studies, laboratory animal research, publication ethics, and general scientific investigations. Failure to follow the rules can result in censure, loss of funding, denial of promotions, fines, and in some cases incarceration.
Device for Safely Closing Trocar Sites in Minimally Invasive Abdominal Surgery

Laparoscopic and robotic surgeries of the abdomen require a trocar to facilitate entry and removal of instrumentation. Some of these trocars are 5mm or less, but some trocars for these surgeries are larger, with 8mm to 15mm trocars commonly used. One of the well-known problems seen in minimally invasive surgery to the abdomen is the resulting defect left in the abdominal wall following removal of the trocars. Occasionally, especially after removal of larger trocars, a defect is left that is large enough to allow omentum or segments of small intestine to become entrapped within the resulting space in the abdominal wall. These trocar site hernias can cause pain, but they also may lead to small bowel obstruction and bowel ischemia or even infarction, perforation and death. The likelihood of a trocar site hernia is increased when the minimally invasive procedure requires removal of an organ or a mass. This often requires dilatation of the trocar site opening.1,2,3Re-operation to reduce and repair trocar site hernias adds significant cost to the healthcare system. Two separate studies report that incidence of trocar site hernias are in the ranges of 0.65%–2.8%4 and 1.5%–1.8%5,6. Based on a 2016 report published by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), 196,0007 bariatric procedures were performed in 2015. Assuming an average incidence rate of 1.7%, and based on the cost analysis provided by a 2008 case study8, in bariatric surgery alone, it is estimated that the treatment and hospitalization of such hernias adds an additional $86.2M to healthcare costs.Several methods and devices exist to prevent the occurrence of trocar site hernias. However, closing superficial fascia externally is difficult, especially in obese patients, and often requires extending the skin incision significantly. Most instruments to close the potential hernia site involve introducing a hollow needle with a built-in, grasping device through tissue on one side of the defect and into the abdominal cavity. This puts internal structures at risk for potential injury. One end of suture is introduced with this needle and then using a separate instrument through a different trocar this suture is held while the needle is removed. The needle device is then re-introduced through tissue on the opposite side of the defect, and the suture is handed back to the needle device and pulled out completing a U-stitch to close the potential hernia site. If a surgeon inserts a finger into the abdomen along the trocar site to guide the needle, there is the potential for injury to the surgeon’s finger.Therefore, we set about to design a device to close trocar site defects that would work efficiently, while being safe from injury to the patient or the surgeon, and preferably without the need for a separate instrument through a different trocar to assist.Copyright © 2017 by ASME
Phase Mapper: Accelerating Materials Discovery with AI

From the stone age, to the bronze, iron age, and modern silicon age, the discovery and characterization of new materials has always been instrumental to humanity's progress and development. With the current pressing need to address sustainability challenges and find alternatives to fossil fuels, we look for solutions in the development of new materials that will allow for renewable energy. To discover materials with the required properties, materials scientists can perform high-throughput materials discovery, which includes rapid synthesis and characterization via X-ray diffraction (XRD) of thousands of materials. A central problem in materials discovery, the phase map identification problem, involves the determination of the crystal structure of materials from materials composition and structural characterization data. This analysis is traditionally performed mainly by hand, which can take days for a single material system. In this work we present Phase-Mapper, a solution platform that tightly integrates XRD experimentation, AI problem solving, and human intelligence for interpreting XRD patterns and inferring the crystal structures of the underlying materials. Phase-Mapper is compatible with any spectral demixing algorithm, including our novel solver, AgileFD, which is based on convolutive non-negative matrix factorization. AgileFD allows materials scientists to rapidly interpret XRD patterns, and incorporates constraints to capture prior knowledge about the physics of the materials as well as human feedback. With our system, materials scientists have been able to interpret previously unsolvable systems of XRD data at the Department of Energy’s Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, including the Nb-Mn-V oxide system, which led to the discovery of new solar light absorbers and is provided as an illustrative example of AI-enabled high throughput materials discovery.
Faggot: Gay Rights

The gay rights movement has met with remarkable success, but that success is largely confined to the first world. This article explains why.
When Are Agreements Enforceable? Giving Consideration to Professor Barnett's Consent Theory of Contract

This address considers five points: (1) the place of theory in American contract law; (2) the basic elements of Professor Barnett's theory are; (3) how these elements are similar to Continental law; (4) what it says about the American legal world that Barnett's theory has been discussed without reference to Continental systems; and, finally, (5) why I believe the American model is not a good one for a future European Civil Code but also hope that such a Code will become law.
Myofascial Release: Blending the Somatic and Orthopedic Models

Although used for many decades, little has been documented or written about myofascial release (MFR) concepts. MFR is a complex form of soft tissue work. It is based on the therapist's ability to monitor functional, anatomic, and neurologic influences. Developed by American osteopathic practitioners, MFR led, with important exceptions, to clinically pertinent, fascially-based discussions almost exclusively in the osteopathic literature, but only after 1950.[1,p.225]
Tail-Limited Phase-Type Burstiness Bounds for Network Traffic

The bursty nature of network traffic makes it difficult to characterize accurately, and may give rise to heavy-tailed queue distributions within the network. Building on prior work in stochastic network calculus, we propose traffic burstiness bounds based on the class of phase-type distributions and develop an approach to estimate the parameter of such bounds using the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. By limiting the tail of the burstiness bound, our approach achieves a better fit of the phase-type distribution to the empirical data from heavy-tailed traffic. The proposed tail-limited phase-type burstiness bounds fall within the framework for stochastic network calculus based on generalized stochastically bounded burstiness. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology with a numerical example involving a heavy-tailed M/G/1 queue.1
Why Journalism Is About More Than Digital Technology

This article addresses the relationship between digital technology and journalism, arguing that defining journalism in conjunction with its technology short-circuits a comprehensive picture of jour...
Dietary intake and micronutrient deficiency in children with cancer

Data regarding micronutrient deficiencies in children with cancer are lacking. We measured micronutrients in a subset of children with cancer (n = 23) participating in a randomized trial of the neutropenic diet. Ninety-six percent of children had ≥1 micronutrient deficiency and 39% had ≥3 micronutrient deficiencies. Eighty-six percent of children had vitamin C deficiency, 87% had 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency, 50% had zinc deficiency, and 13% had vitamin A deficiency. Dietary intake did not correlate with micronutrient deficiency status. More data are needed regarding the prevalence and etiology of micronutrient deficiencies in children with cancer to further understand their implications and treatment.
From Unethical to Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Guilt, Positive Affect, and System Processing

Unethical behavior is common in organizations. As such, we are interested in uncovering how acting unethically affects the actors’ consequential emotions and behaviors. The existing literature show...
Status Quo Bias Actually Helps Decision Makers to Take Nonlinearity into Account: An Explanation

One of the main motivations for designing computer models of complex systems is to come up with recommendations on how to best control these systems. Many complex real-life systems are so complicated that it is not computationally possible to use realistic nonlinear models to find the corresponding optimal control. Instead, researchers make recommendations based on simplified—e.g., linearized—models. The recommendations based on these simplified models are often not realistic but, interestingly, they can be made more realistic if we “tone them down”—i.e., consider predictions and recommendations which are close to the current status quo state. In this paper, we analyze this situation from the viewpoint of general system analysis. This analysis explain the above empirical phenomenon—namely, we show that this “status quo bias” indeed helps decision makers to take nonlinearity into account.
Total follicle stimulating hormone dose is negatively correlated with live births in a donor/recipient model with fresh transfer: an analysis of 8,627 cycles from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Registry

Objective Oocyte donation has optimized our understanding of ovarian stimulation. Increasing the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) dose has been shown to adversely affect live birth rates in autologous cycles. Our objective is to assess whether this relationship holds true within the donor/recipient population. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Not applicable. Patients Data from 2014−2016 included 8,627 fresh donor cycles. Interventions None. Main outcome measures Live birth, clinical pregnancy, and miscarriage rates. Results The mean donor age ± standard deviation (SD) was 25.8 ± 2.8 years. Donors underwent a median of 16 days (interquartile range [IQR] 12, 19) of stimulation with a median (IQR) total FSH dose and daily dose of 2,350.0 (1,800.0, 3,025.0) and 153.8 (113.2, 205.0) IU, respectively. The live birth rate was 56.7% per transfer. For every 500-unit increase in FSH dose, there was a 3% reduction in the odds of a live birth (odds ratio [OR] 0.97; 95% confidence interval 0.95, 0.99), and a 3% reduction in the odds of a clinical pregnancy (OR 0.97; 95% confidence interval 0.95, 0.99). Days of stimulation and average daily dose were not significantly associated with live birth or clinical pregnancy. No significant association was found between miscarriage rates and total FSH dose, days of stimulation, or average daily dose. Conclusion This is a novel report of a negative association of total FSH dosage on fresh IVF live births, performed in the donor population to control for oocyte source and endometrial receptivity.
rTASSEL: an R interface to TASSEL for association mapping of complex traits

Abstract The need for efficient tools and applications for analyzing genomic diversity is essential for any genetics research program. One such tool, TASSEL (Trait Analysis by aSSociation, Evolution and Linkage), provides many core methods for genomic analyses. Despite its efficiency, TASSEL has limited means for reproducible research and interacting with other analytical tools. Here we present an R package rTASSEL, a front-end to connect to a variety of highly used TASSEL methods and analytical tools. The goal of this package is to create a unified scripting workflow that exploits the analytical prowess of TASSEL in conjunction with R’s popular data handling and parsing capabilities without ever having the user to switch between these two environments.
Physics-Informed Neural State Space Models via Learning and Evolution.

Recent works exploring deep learning application to dynamical systems modeling have demonstrated that embedding physical priors into neural networks can yield more effective, physically-realistic, and data-efficient models. However, in the absence of complete prior knowledge of a dynamical system's physical characteristics, determining the optimal structure and optimization strategy for these models can be difficult. In this work, we explore methods for discovering neural state space dynamics models for system identification. Starting with a design space of block-oriented state space models and structured linear maps with strong physical priors, we encode these components into a model genome alongside network structure, penalty constraints, and optimization hyperparameters. Demonstrating the overall utility of the design space, we employ an asynchronous genetic search algorithm that alternates between model selection and optimization and obtains accurate physically consistent models of three physical systems: an aerodynamics body, a continuous stirred tank reactor, and a two tank interacting system.
Morality and Practical Reasons

As Socrates famously noted, there is no more important question than how we ought to live. The answer to this question depends on how the reasons that we have for living in various different ways combine and compete. To illustrate, suppose that I've just received a substantial raise. What should I do with the extra money? I have most moral reason to donate it to effective charities but most self-interested reason to spend it on luxuries for myself. So, whether I should live my life as I have most moral reason to live it or as I have most self-interested reason to live it depends on how these and other sorts of reasons combine and compete to determine what I have most reason to do, all things considered. This Element seeks to figure out how different sorts of reasons combine and compete to determine how we ought to live.
Adopting otitis media practice guidelines increases adherence within a large primary care network.

AIM Unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions to treat otitis media (OM) contribute to adverse drug reactions, increased cost and antibiotic resistance. Clinical care guidelines can help promote consistent treatment of conditions such as OM. This study evaluates adherence before and after implementation of an institutional guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of paediatric OM. METHODS A retrospective chart review was performed to collect encounter information for paediatric patients seen within a primary care clinic network and diagnosed with OM before and after full implementation of a clinical care guideline. Patient cohorts from 2013 and 2016 were compared to determine which factors, including age, symptoms and diagnosis, were associated with treatment guideline adherence. RESULTS Comparison of encounters from 2013 (n = 418) to 2016 (n = 635) revealed a significant difference in adherence to the 2013 Michigan Medicine Otitis Media Guideline. Overall adherence increased from 61.2% in 2013 to 70.6% in 2016 (χ2 = 9.85, P < 0.0017). Antibiotic use for acute OM decreased from 99.7% in 2013 to 96.7% in 2016 (χ2 = 10.04, P = 0.0015). Antibiotic prescriptions for OM with effusion decreased significantly from 42.9% in 2013 to 17.4% in 2016 (χ2 = 11.93, P < 0.0006). CONCLUSION Implementation of an institutional OM clinical practice guideline contributed to a significant increase in overall treatment adherence of OM for paediatric patients between the 2013 and 2016 cohorts. The number of antibiotic prescriptions for paediatric patients diagnosed with acute OM or OM with effusion significantly decreased from 2013 to 2016.
Genetic mechanisms associated with floral initiation and the repressive effect of fruit on flowering in apple (Malus x domestica Borkh)

Many apple cultivars are subject to biennial fluctuations in flowering and fruiting. It is believed that this phenomenon is caused by a repressive effect of developing fruit on the initiation of flowers in the apex of proximal bourse shoots. However, the genetic pathways of floral initiation are incompletely described in apple, and the biological nature of floral repression by fruit is currently unknown. In this study, we characterized the transcriptional landscape of bourse shoot apices in the biennial cultivar, ’Honeycrisp’, during the period of floral initiation, in trees bearing a high fruit load and in trees without fruit. Trees with high fruit load produced almost exclusively vegetative growth in the subsequent year, whereas the trees without fruit produced flowers on the majority of the potential flowering nodes. Using RNA-based sequence data, we documented gene expression at high resolution, identifying >11,000 transcripts that had not been previously annotated, and characterized expression profiles associated with vegetative growth and flowering. We also conducted a census of genes related to known flowering genes, organized the phylogenetic and syntenic relationships of these genes, and compared expression among homeologs. Several genes closely related to AP1, FT, FUL, LFY, and SPLs were more strongly expressed in apices from non-bearing, floral-determined trees, consistent with their presumed floral-promotive roles. In contrast, a homolog of TFL1 exhibited strong and persistent up-regulation only in apices from bearing, vegetative-determined trees, suggesting a role in floral repression. Additionally, we identified four GIBBERELLIC ACID (GA) 2 OXIDASE genes that were expressed to relatively high levels in apices from bearing trees. These results define the flowering-related transcriptional landscape in apple, and strongly support previous studies implicating both gibberellins and TFL1 as key components in repression of flowering by fruit.
A Field Comparison of PM10 Inlets at Four Locations

A comprehensive field study was conducted comparing the performance of PM10 inlets under a variety of field conditions. Inlets for low flow, medium flow, and high flow samplers were evaluated at four sampling locations providing a range of concentrations and particle sizes. Sampler precisions were determined at each location along with the regression parameter estimates comparing sampler types. The daily distributions of mass by aerodynamic diameter were measured using the Wide Range Aerosol Classifier and the composited data reported. The expected mass concentrations were calculated using the sampler effectiveness data and the size distributions and then compared to the measured values. This permitted examination of the utility of the proposed Federal Reference Method (FRM) approach for specifying PM10 samplers. The comparison results indicate that the precisions of the PM10 samplers are well within the FRM requirements. The performance of the inlets as characterized by wind tunnel testing provided compu...
Risk Factors for Disability Subtypes in Older Persons

OBJECTIVES: To identify risk factors for five different subtypes of disability. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Greater New Haven, Connecticut. PARTICIPANTS: Seven hundred fifty-four community-living residents aged 70 and older and initially nondisabled in four essential activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, walking, and transferring). MEASUREMENTS: Candidate risk factors were measured every 18 months for 90 months during comprehensive home-based assessments. Disability was assessed during monthly telephone interviews for up to 108 months. In participants who were nondisabled at the start of an 18-month interval, incident episodes of five different disability subtypes were determined during the subsequent 18 months: transient, short-term, long-term, recurrent, and unstable. RESULTS: The cumulative incidence rates per 100 person-intervals were 9.8 (95% confidence interval (CI)=8.9–10.6) for transient disability, 3.8 (95% CI=3.3–4.3) for short-term disability, 7.1 (95% CI=6.4–7.8) for long-term disability, 4.7 (95% CI=4.1–5.3) for recurrent disability, and 4.4 (95% CI=3.9–5.0) for unstable disability. In a multivariate analysis, the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) was associated with each of the five disability subtypes, with adjusted hazard ratios ranging from 1.10 for transient disability to 1.35 for long-term disability. The only other factors associated with short-term, long-term, and recurrent disability were stroke, visual impairment, and poor grip strength, respectively. Transient disability and unstable disability shared the same set of risk factors—depressive symptoms, stroke, and poor grip strength—in addition to the SPPB. CONCLUSION: These results provide mixed evidence to support the distinct nature of the five disability subtypes.
Clustering using Monte Carlo cross-validation

Finding the "right" number of clusters, k, for a data set is a difficult, and often ill-posed, problem. In a probabilistic clustering context, likelihood-ratios, penalized likelihoods, and Bayesian techniques are among the more popular techniques. In this paper a new cross-validated likelihood criterion is investigated for determining cluster structure. A practical clustering algorithm based on Monte Carlo cross-validation (MCCV) is introduced. The algorithm permits the data analyst to judge if there is strong evidence for a particular k, or perhaps weaker evidence over a sub-range of k values. Experimental results with Gaussian mixtures on real and simulated data suggest that MCCV provides genuine insight into cluster structure, v-fold cross-validation appears inferior to the penalized likelihood method (BIC), a Bayesian algorithm (AutoClass v2.0), and the new MCCV algorithm. Overall, MCCV and AutoClass appear the most reliable of the methods. MCCV provides the data-miner with a useful data-driven clustering tool which complements the fully Bayesian approach.
Does education affect how well students forecast the market

Abstract This study examines the results of a student stock market forecasting project used in our basic and advanced investments classes. Students fail to outperform a random walk model over the entire period, but do perform well in some subperiods. Students receiving an above average grade in the basic investments class provide more accurate forecasts than all other groups of students. Further, poorer performing students tend to be more pessimistic in their expectations of the market. The results suggest that education improves the forecasting ability of students.
RAPID'Salmonella™ Chromogenic Medium

RAPID'Salmonella™ is a chromogenic medium for isolation and detection of Salmonella spp. in food, based on two enzymatic activities. All presumptive Salmonella-positive colonies are magenta, including lactose-positive Salmonella. S. Typhi, and S. Paratyphi serotypes, due to detection of C8 esterase activity. In order to differentiate Salmonella from other Enterobacteriaceae, the medium includes a second chromogenic substrate. As part of an Emergency Response Validation due to a massive outbreak and subsequent recall, peanut butter was tested to compare the performance of RAPID'Salmonella to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Bacteriological Analytical Manual reference method for detection of Salmonella. Sensitivity and specificity for RAPID'Salmonella were 100%.
Hypocholesteremia Induced by Orotic Acid: Dietary Effects and Species Specificity

Effects of 1% dietary orotic acid on lipid metabolism were examined in rats, mice, hamsters and guinea pigs. The influences of diet composition, age and sex on alterations induced by orotic acid were also studied. Hypocholesteremia and hepatic steatosis developed in rats fed orotic acid. These responses were little affected by dietary changes in lipid (0, 2 or 5% corn oil) or carbohydrate (high sucrose, high starch or high fiber). When included in diets containing cholesterol and cholic acid, orotic acid prevented a rise in serum cholesterol but did not maintain a normal ratio of HDL to total cholesterol. The responses of mice to orotic acid were opposite to those of rats; liver lipid was decreased, and serum cholesterol was increased. Hamsters and guinea pigs were unaffected by the compound. Thus, orotic acid is hypocholesteremic in rats, hypercholesteremic in mice and normocholesteremic in hamsters and guinea pigs. Age did not alter responses of rats to 1% dietary orotic acid. In rats and mice, sex influenced changes in hepatic lipid, with females more responsive than males.
Productivity, nutrient imbalance and fragility in coupled producer-decomposer systems

Abstract Ecosystem development is mediated by coupled synthesis–decomposition cycles that capture, store and release energy necessary for maintenance and growth. I present a minimal ecosystem model with explicit energy and matter conservation. Energy is captured and stored via synthesis and release through decomposition. This energy is used for biomass production and maintenance. I examine materially closed systems where growth is limited by nutrient availability. I present two key findings. First, maximum biomass production does not occur under conditions of equal nutrient concentrations. Instead, production is maximized when the initial environmental concentration of the energy carrying substrate is increased. Second, the system is characterized by an abrupt collapse when the concentration of the energy carrying substrate is increased above a threshold. This model indicates that in the region of maximum biomass production, ecosystems are fragile rather than resilient.
Effect of Cell Density Changes and Conditioned Media on Carrot Cell Embryogenesis

Summary The of f ect of cell population density and of conditioned media on embryogenesis showed that one particular cell line of carrot showed a linear relationship between cell density and total number of embryos produced at all concentrations tested. However, another cell line produced a lower than expected number of embryos at low cell densities. At all cell densities the presence of conditioned media increased total number of embryos produced and the rate of development was also accelerated.
Computation of Cold-Start Miss Ratios

Cold-start miss ratios are miss ratios that are measured with an initially empty first-level store. The values obtained depend on C, the first-level storage capacity, and on T, the number of references. These miss ratios, measured for various values of T, are useful in evaluating the effect of task switching on cache miss ratios when the cache capacity is C. For a particular (C, T) a practical method is described for obtaining the average of the w - T + 1 cold-start miss ratios measured on the substrings of length T of a reference string of length w. The method, which applies to set-associative LRU, can be used to find average cold-start miss ratios for a matrix of (C, T) pairs in one pass. In the general case, the computation time increases approximately logarithmically in the number of (C, T) pairs as the number of pairs is increased.
Regional Impacts of Foreign Trade in China, 1984–1989

An issue of heated debate in China is whether the current economic reforms would lead to greater regional inequalities. In this paper one aspect of the reforms, the open-door policy, is put into focus. Specifically, the analysis investigates how the effect of foreign trade on economic development differs across regions, and whether these regional variations have changed from 1984 to 1989. Based upon the expansion method, models that resolve both the spatial and temporal variations of a relationship are constructed and estimated. The results indicate that foreign trade benefits core provinces and major industrial regions more than other parts of China, but that these differences have diminished in 1989. These findings may be interpreted as evidence of some diffusion of growth from more developed to less developed regions. On the other hand, regional linkages and the mechanisms of diffusion are not well understood and they deserve more attention and research.
Aryloxyacetamidines of medicinal interest

The synthesis of new aryloxyacetamidines of potential medicinal interest as antihypertensives was undertaken. The preparation of the unsubstituted, N-methyl and N,N-dimethyl amidines was carried out by the Pinner synthesis or a modification of this process. The N,N,N′-trimethylaryloxyacetamidines necessitated preparation by another procedure. Fifteen amidines and nine intermediates not previously reported in the literature have been prepared and characterized. 2-Thymoloxyacetamidine, 2-(2,6-xylyloxy)acetamidine, 2-(2,6-dichlorophenoxy)acetamidine, 2-(2,6-dimethoxyphenoxy)acetamidine, 2-benzyloxyacetamidine, and their N-methyl and N,N-dimethyl derivatives were evaluated for their potential cardiovascular effects. None of these compounds showed any potent pharmacological activities in a general screen or when tested as norepinephrine-depleting agents or as adrenergic neuron-blocking agents.
Considering Competition in Media Planning

A normative mathematical procedure for the media planning problem is proposed which explicitly considers the effect of competitors' media schedules. A predictive model is developed to evaluate expected market response due to an advertising media schedule considering the anticipated schedules of competitors as well as other major advertising phenomena. Heuristic search routines are used to select and schedule media with the objective of maximizing market response subject to budget limitations. The procedure has been applied on real problems. The market response model first divides people into market segments which are characterized by product class sales potential. Ads placed by the competing firms cause people in segments to be exposed to this advertising and thereby create a level of exposure value which decays over time in the absence of new exposures. The individual's response during a time period is a function of his retained exposure value for each competing firm and his market segment. Summing over individuals and over time to obtain total market response is approximated analytically using media coverage and overlap data that is relatively easy to gather and store.
The vacuole within: how cellular organization dictates notochord function.

The notochord is an evolutionarily conserved structure that has long been known to play an important role in patterning during embryogenesis. Structurally, the notochord is composed of two cell layers: an outer epithelial-like sheath, and an inner core of cells that contain large fluid-filled vacuoles. We have recently shown these notochord vacuoles are lysosome-related organelles that form through Rab32a and vacuolar-type proton-ATPase-dependent acidification. Disruption of notochord vacuoles results in a shortened embryo along the anterior-posterior axis. Interestingly, we discovered that notochord vacuoles are also essential for proper spine morphogenesis and that vacuole defects lead to scoliosis of the spine. Here we discuss the cellular organization of the notochord and how key features of its architecture allow the notochord to function in embryonic axis elongation and spine formation.
A spreadsheet will crunch your a computer gradebook

~ OW THAT YOU'VE READ about the various features of gradebook programs for microcomputers, let me tel! you why I conclude that a spreadsheet is just as goodmand sometimes better for keeping track of students' records. Last semester, when I decided to use gradebook software, I couldn't find one I really liked. As I thought about what a computerized gradebook really is, the similarities between it and a spreadsheet became apparent. Both are nothing more than a grid formed by rows and columns where you can enter your data into cells. As I carried the comparison further, I discovered the gradebook programs I had looked at really were not so convenient to use as my spreadsheet. First, with some gradebooks, it is impossible to keep a class list in alphabetical order when students add and drop classes. Second, some gradebooks are not capable of performing calculations, such as adding point totals, or computing means and percentages. Finally, for my classes, in which students can resubmit work for maximum points, some gradebooks can make correc-