cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decomposition and Peat Accumulation in Rich Fens of Boreal Alberta, Canada

Fens are important components of Canada’s western boreal forests, occupying about 63% of the total peatland area and storing about 65% of the peatland carbon. Rich fens, dominated by true moss-dominated ground layers, make up more than half of the fens in the region. We studied organic matter accumulation in three rich fens that represent the diversity in structural types. We used in situ decomposition socks, a new method that examines actual decomposition throughout the upper peat profile over an extended period of time. We coupled our carbon loss data with macrofossil analyses and dated peat profiles using 210Pb. Across the three rich fens and in the top 39 cm of the peat column, dry mass increases on average 3.1 times. From our dry mass loss measurements, we calculate that annual mass loss from the top 39 cm varies from 0.52 to 1.08 kg m2. Vertical accumulation during the past 50 years has varied from 16 to 32 cm and during these 50 years, organic matter accumulation has averaged 174 g m−2 y−1 compared to 527 g m2 y−1 dry mass loss, with additional mass losses of 306 g m2 y−1 from peat between 50 and 150 years of age. Organic matter accumulation from our rich fens compares well with literature values from boreal bogs, whereas peat bulk densities increase about three times within the uppermost 40 cm, much more than in bogs. Hence, rich fens accumulate peat not because the plant material is especially hard to decompose, is acidic, or has the catotelm especially close to the surface, but because dense, rapidly produced inputs outweigh the relatively rapid decomposition process of the upper peat column.
Is a strong quadriceps muscle bad for a patient with knee osteoarthritis

Sharma and colleagues' interesting results in this issue are hypothesis generating rather than conclusive evidence that standard quadriceps-strengthening exercise programs harm patients with osteoa...
Comparison of Feeding Behavior of the Potato Leafhopper Empoasca fabae (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) on Alfalfa and Broad Bean Leaves

A quantitative comparison was made of the feeding behavior of the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris), on the leaves of two host plants, alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) and broad bean ( Vicia Jaba L.), using an AC electronic feeding monitor. Results showed significant differences in feeding between the two hosts, primarily because of the variable occurrence of still-stylet ingestion, a behavior (correlated with the Ic, waveform) that may indicate ingestion of phloem sap. The similarities between the hosts were due to the dominance of the lacerate-and-flushfeeding style in mesophyll and perhaps some phloem tissues, represented by the Ia, waveform. Differences in feeding between hosts probably contribute to the wide host range of this species, as well as the differences in feeding injury on these two crop plants.
Motivational Interviewing for Weight Loss

MI is a patient-centered directive counseling style that aims to facilitate patients' likelihood of making behavior change through the exploration and strengthening of personal motivations. Hallmarks of MI include a collaborative relationship between patient and practitioner, a focus on the elicitation and enhancement of change talk, a nonconfrontational style, and a concerted effort to minimize resistance. MI has been applied to a variety of health-related behaviors, and a growing body of research suggests that this approach may be useful in the context of behavioral weight management. Although results are not uniform, the majority of research suggests that MI delivered as an independent component in addition to a behavioral weight loss program can augment weight loss and likely exerts its beneficial effects through enhancement of treatment engagement and adherence to behavioral recommendations. Furthermore, preliminary research suggests that MI may be helpful in promoting weight maintenance after an initial loss has been achieved. Given that behavioral weight management is a relatively new application of MI, a variety of issues merit further investigation. Of particular interest are issues related to the type and extent of provider training necessary to ensure adequate skill development, cost-effectiveness of MI, and translational research to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of incorporating MI strategies into real-world weight loss settings.
Limitations of some of the approximate structural analysis methods that are used in structural system reliability

Abstract Structural system reliability often involves structures with non-linear behavior. In the reliability analysis, simplified structural models and simplified analysis procedures are used to model and analyze these structures. These simplified analysis procedures, for both frames and trusses, have their limitations. These limitations are illustrated in this paper through deterministic examples. It is recommended that further research be done on understanding the limitations of these methods and their effect on structural reliability analysis.
Roberts: Public Entrepreneurship and Innovation

This article presents a conceptualframeworkofpublic entrepreneurship. Public entrepreneurship is defined as the generation ofa novel or innuuative idea and the design and implementation of the innovative idea into publicsector practice. The conceptualfiamework is used to distinguish between public entrepreneurs and other actors in the policy process, and to clarify the differences between policy, political, executive, and bureaucratic entrepreneurs. Taking a functionalist perspective, the article difmentintes between individual and coZkctiue entrepreneurship and ginezates pmpaitims to move us cher to a theory of public entrepreneurship.
ON THE SECOND-ORDER ACCURACY OF VOLUME-OF-FLUID INTERFACE RECONSTRUCTION ALGORITHMS: CONVERGENCE IN THE MAX NORM

Given a two times differentiable curve in the plane, I prove that — using only the volume fractions associated with the curve — one can construct a piecewise linear approximation that is second-order in the max norm. I derive two parameters that depend only on the grid size and the curvature of the curve, respectively. When the maximum curvature in the 3 by 3 block of cells centered on a cell through which the curve passes is less than the first parameter, the approximation in that cell will be second-order. Conversely, if the grid size in this block is greater than the second parameter, the approximation in the center cell can be less than second-order. Thus, this parameter provides an a priori test for when the interface is under-resolved, so that when the interface reconstruction method is coupled to an adaptive mesh refinement algorithm, this parameter may be used to determine when to locally increase the resolution of the grid.
Efficient simulation for hierarchical and partitioned circuits

This paper presents new, highly-efficient techniques for simulating extremely large circuits, assuming that hierarchical design techniques have been used. Both hierarchical and partitioned circuits consist of a master circuit and several sub-circuits. Hierarchical circuits permit sub-circuits to be reused, while partitioned circuits permit only a single use of each sub-circuit. Both types of circuits permit multiple levels of hierarchy. In partitioned circuits, triggering is used to perform simulations that are several times faster than Levelized Compiled Code (LCC) simulation. For hierarchical simulation, the concept of boundary activity is introduced. Optimization with respect to boundary activity can produce simulations that are much faster than ordinary flat simulations. It is further shown that hierarchical design can permit the efficient simulation of circuits that cannot be simulated on a single workstation using ordinary flat simulation. Aggressive use of hierarchy is used to demonstrate the simulation of circuits containing as many as four billion (4,000,000,000) gates.
Ultra-wideband dielectric resonator antennas

Two novel UWB dielectric resonator antennas (DRA) are designed for broadside radiation and Omni-directional radiation. The dielectric resonator (DR) is mounted on a vertical ground plane edge, which is printed on a thin dielectric substrate. The DR is inserted it in the dielectric substrate by cutting it to fit the dielectric resonator. For the broadside type, the deformation of the radiation patterns in the E-plane that usually occur with these types of antennas has been improved. For the Omni-directional type the cross-polarization level is reduced and the Omni-directionality of the radiation patterns is improved at the upper limit of the UWB. In addition, use of DR improve the radiation efficiency and reduce the antenna size.
Therapeutic Use of Cytokines to Modulate Phagocyte Function for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases: Current Status of Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor, Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor, and Interferon-γ

The innate immune system represents the initial arm of host defense against pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Neutrophils, monocytes, and tissue-based macrophages are major cellular components of this system. The potential ability to augment activity of the innate immune system has increased dramatically during the past 2 decades, with the discovery and development of cytokines. Four cytokines, namely granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), and interferon (IFN)-gamma, have received increasing attention as potential adjunctive agents for the treatment of infectious diseases. In various animal models of infection, therapeutic administration of each of the 4 cytokines has been shown to enhance pathogen eradication and to decrease morbidity and/or mortality. However, variable therapeutic efficacy has been reported in clinical trials conducted to date. This review summarizes the current status of the use of G-CSF, GM-CSF, M-CSF, and IFN-gamma in the treatment of infectious diseases.
Post-extraction solvent flush of the pressure restrictor in supercritical fluid extraction

Abstract When using supercritical fluid extraction to isolate and concentrate pesticide residues from plant tissue samples, extraneous components of the plant matrix are extracted in sufficient quantity to cause intermittent obstruction of the pressure restrictor. In some cases, termination of the extraction occurs due to irreversible plugging of the restrictor. It has been determined that a post-extraction solvent flush of the pressure restrictor is sufficient to prevent restrictor obstruction in almost all cases.
Container materials for molten SmCo5

Abstract The reactions of molten samarium-cobalt with crucible materials have been investigated. Pyrolytic boron nitride was found to be the most satisfactory container material, giving the least reaction with, and contamination of, the melt. The samarium in the molten alloy was found to reduce all the refractory oxides and to dissolve borides and transition metal nitrides.
An isotope identification injection study with GammaTracker

Abstract GammaTracker is a portable handheld radioisotope identifier using position sensitive CdZnTe detectors. High confidence isotope identification is possible on GammaTracker owing to the system’s relatively high energy resolution and count rate sensitivity. A study was undertaken to evaluate the isotope identification performance of a prototype unit. Background and source spectra for various nuclides were measured and then randomly sampled to simulate various integration times and source intensities. The resulting spectral data sets were then run through the isotope identification algorithm to determine the probability of detection and the false alarm rate for each nuclide. The process was repeated for various isotope identification input parameters until an optimized set was achieved. This paper presents results from the injection study.
Dynamic analysis of mixed ion beams/materials effects on the performance of ITER-like devices

Abstract Future reactors, e.g., ITER can require multiple plasma facing components (PFC) surfaces such as Be, C and W. Soon after the start of normal operation as well as after plasma transient events the surfaces can behave much differently than the original surfaces, and transport of eroded particles can influence plasma performance and component lifetime. A new dynamic version of ITMC-DYN, part of the HEIGHTS package, is therefore developed for detailed investigation of plasma material interaction in multiple/mixed materials environment. Models consider simultaneous ion penetration and mixing, scattering, reflection, physical and chemical sputtering, dynamic surface evolution/modification, thermal diffusion, hydrogen molecular recombination, and surface segregation. The package tracks time and temperature-dependent dynamic changes in surface erosion/growth rate, and material composition and structure. Initial results show significant influence of mixed beams/materials on PFC erosion, material evolution, hydrogen isotope behavior, and potential plasma performance. We analyzed recent experiments on hydrogen isotope retention in ITER relevant mixed materials, and predict the behavior of hydrogen (retention, diffusion, molecular recombination, and blisters formation). Excellent code/data agreement is obtained and conditions of blister formation are identified and explained.
Characterizing the Traits of Top-Performing Security Personnel

Organizational information security is a talent-centric proposition. Information assurance is a product of the combined expertise, attention-to-detail, and creativity of an information security team. A competitive edge can be obtained by hiring the top information security professionals. Therefore, identifying the right people is a mission-critical task. To assist in the candidate selection process, this research analyzes the enduring traits of top security performers. Specifically, it evaluates the Big Five Model of personality and the Six Workplace Values. In a laboratory study, 62 undergraduates majoring in information assurance completed a series of simulations which assessed their ability to solve various information security problems. The characteristics of top information security performers were contrasted against the rest of the cohort. In terms of personality, the top performers have high levels of conscientiousness and openness. With respect to workplace values, the top performers have a stronger preference for theoretical endeavors such as the pursuit of truth.
To drain or not to drain: an analysis of abscess drains in the treatment of appendicitis with abscess

Background/purpose Perforated appendicitis is associated with abscess formation before or after appendectomy. Many abscesses are not amenable to drainage due to size or location. In this study, we compare patients who had a drain placed for an abscess to those who were treated without a drain.
The mechanism of radiation-induced compaction in vitreous silica

We describe vitreous silica as a two-phase system. Low-temperature phase A and high-temperature phase B are connected by a solid-state phase transition and the phase transition temperature should be higher than the glass transition temperature. This model is based on the observed volume change induced by hydrostatic pressure, fast neutron, ion, electron and photon radiation, etc. Compaction induced by knock-on radiation in vitreous silica is different from compaction induced by ionizing radiation. For the latter, the observed stretched power dependence of compaction on deposited energy for ionization damage can be explained by applying a simple relaxation model.
Use of Interest Rate Derivatives by U.S. Based Domestic and Global Bond Mutual Funds

We investigate the use of interest rate derivatives by U.S. based domestic and global bond mutual funds. Using SEC filings and monthly return data, we document the use of derivatives across subcategories of bond funds and examine differences in returns between users and non-users of derivatives. Compared with previous studies on equity mutual funds, our bond mutual fund sample shows a wider use of derivatives. However, as with previous studies on equity funds, our results show no overall difference in fund returns for non-users and users of derivatives. One exception is the Global Bonds fund subcategory.
Refractory Periodontitis: Mixed Infection with Bacteroides gingivalis and Other Unusual Bacteroides Species : A Case Report

Host immune response and the predominant subgingival microflora were evaluated in a 47-year-old male exhibiting severe, recurrent periodontitis. The patient's neutrophils were chemotactically elevated but other functions were within normal limits. Significantly, Bacteroides gingivalis and Bacteroides zoogleoformans constituted 80% of the cultivable microflora and total cell count in subgingival plaque. The remainder of the cultivable microbiota was comprised of Fusobacterium nucleatum and Haemophillis aprophillis. The present study provides additional evidence for an association between B. gingivalis and severe, recurrent periodontal disease.
Hemodynamic observations one and two years after cardiac transplantation in man.

Cardiac catheterization studies were performed in eight patients 1 year after cardiac transplantation and in two of these again at 2 years. Intracardiac pressures at rest were normal in all patients, both 1 and 2 years postoperatively. Average cardiac index at rest at 1 year was 2.3 liters/min/m2 and average heart rate was 90 beats/min. Responses to amyl nitrite, atropine, and tyramine failed to demonstrate efferent autonomic reinnervation of the donor hearts. Findings associated with a 10-min period of submaximal supine bicycle exercise 1 year after transplantation included: (1) a gradual rise in heart rate throughout most of the exercise period; (2) prompt elevation of left ventricular end-diastolic pressure by an average increment of 10 mm Hg, followed by a decrease during late exercise in some patients; (3) a progressive increase in LV systolic pressure throughout the first half of the exercise period; (4) a continuously positive change in LV rate of pressure change (dp/dt) throughout exercise; (5) an average 44% increase in stroke volume; and (6) an average 92% increase in cardiac output. The slope of the regression of cardiac output on oxygen uptake during exercise was within the range of normal. Cardiac output, however, was lower than normal both at rest and during exercise, and the arteriovenous oxygen diflerence was accordingly widened. In one patient studied 1 and 2 years after transplantation, hemodynamic findings were comparable on both occasions. In the other, however, the cardiac output response to exercise was distinctly diminished at 2 years as compared to 1 year, due almost entirely to failure of the stroke volume to increase. Coronary arteriography in this recipient revealed evidence of occlusive coronary disease compatible with graft atherosclerosis. These studies demonstrate the sustained capacity of the transplanted human heart to support normal physical activity late in the postoperative period. Although utilizing atypical adaptive mechanisms characteristic of the denervated heart, the transplanted heart responds in a directionally appropriate manner to the metabolic demands of exercise.
Optimum Significance Levels for Multistage Comparison Procedures

The framework for multistage comparison procedures in the present paper is roughly that introduced by Duncan and treated more fully by Tukey. In the present paper we consider the problem of finding the optimum allocation of nominal significance levels for successive stages. The optimum procedure we obtain when the number s of treatments is odd, and the compromise procedure we propose for even s essentially agree with a procedure suggested by Tukey. The agreement is exact when s is even and close when s is odd. The results of the present paper apply among others to the problem of distinguishing normal distributions with known variances, multinomial distributions, Poisson distributions, and distributions in certain nonparametric settings. However, they do not apply exactly to the comparison of normal distributions with a common unknown variance. When the variances are completely unknown, the method applies in principle but faces the difficulty that no exact test is then available for testing the homogeneity of a set of means.
Effect of GABA and benzodiazepine antagonists on [3H]flunitrazepam binding to cerebral cortical membrane

Abstract The effects of GABA on the binding of [ 3 H]flunitrazepam to bovine cerebral cortical membranes was investigated in presence and in absence of benzodiazepine antagonists. The percentage stimulation of [ 3 H]flunitrazepam binding by GABA is higher when approximately 50% of the binding is displaced by benzodiazepine antagonists. The observed increase in percent stimulation of [ 3 H]flunitrazepam binding GABA might reflect the preferential displacement of the ligand by benzodiazepine antagonists from a GABA-insensitive conformational state or site of the receptor.
Construction and Implementation of General Linear Methods for Ordinary Differential Equations: A Review

It it the purpose of this paper to review the results on the construction and implementation of diagonally implicit multistage integration methods for ordinary differential equations. The systematic approach to the construction of these methods with Runge---Kutta stability is described. The estimation of local discretization error for both explicit and implicit methods is discussed. The other implementations issues such as the construction of continuous extensions, stepsize and order changing strategy, and solving the systems of nonlinear equations which arise in implicit schemes are also addressed. The performance of experimental codes based on these methods is briefly discussed and compared with codes from Matlab ordinary differential equation (ODE) suite. The recent work on general linear methods with inherent Runge---Kutta stability is also briefly discussed
The existence of optimal copyright fee of indefinitely renewable copyright

Copyright fee is the new main policy variable to be set by copyright authority under indefinitely renewable copyright (IRC) proposed by Landes and Posner (2003). This study models and simulates IRC based on a market of information products with a monopolistically competitive creative industry. It shows that optimal copyright fee leading to maximal social welfare under such a copyright system can exist and that the availability of original information products decreases with copyright fee monotonically.
Dopant Based Electron Beam Lithography in CuxTiSe2

Abstract A method for creating a patterned array of sub-micron crystals on the surface of a doped layered dichalcogenide using a scanning electron microscope has been developed. Exposing the surface of copper doped TiSe2 to iodine vapor induces sub-micron CuI crystals to form upon the surface. The copper ions diffuse to the surface from within the crystal to react with the iodine vapor, with larger crystals forming at higher temperatures. The amount and size of the crystals formed in a given area could be controlled by first exposing of portions of the surface to electron radiation within the microscope. Increasing the radiation exposure results in the formation of fewer and smaller CuI crystallites, and it is possible to completely prevent their formation using large exposures. It appears that the electron beam creates a thin barrier that limits the diffusion of copper ions to the surface. The system is sufficiently inert that exposing the surface to air for a few hours has no significant effect. The resultant surface features can be arranged with a lateral resolution limited mainly by the size of the features themselves.
Typical differential dimension of the intersection of linear differential algebraic groups

Let % be a universal differential field of characteristic zero. Let “y; and “yz be two irreducible closed (in the differential Zariski topology) subsets of %!n of differential dimension rr and rz , respectively. In general, it is not true that every irreducible component of the intersection Y1 n $$, has a differential dimension 3 rr + ~a - n. Indeed Ritt [3, p. 1331 has an example of an irreducible closed subset of &s of differential dimension 2 that intersects the hyperplane defined by the equation y3 = 0 at the single point (0, 0,O). In this paper (Theorem 4.1 and corollaries) we show that such abnormality does not arise in two special cases: namely, when Vr and Vs are differential algebraic subgroups of either G,” or GL(n). Here G,” denotes the differential algebraic group whose underlying set is 9P and GL(n) denotes the general linear group of n
Design and implementation of a database inference controller

Abstract The Inference Problem compromises database systems which are usually considered to be secure. here, users pose sets of queries and infer unauthorized information from the responses that they obtain. An Inference Controller is a device that prevents and/or detects security violations via inference. We are particularly interested in the inference problem which occurs in a multilevel operating environment. In such an environment, the users are cleared at different security levels and they access a multilevel database where the data is classified at different sensitivity levels. A multilevel secure database management system (MLS/DBMS) manages a multilevel database where its users cannot access data to which they are not authorized. However, providing a solution to the inference problem, where users issue multiple requests and consequently infer unauthorized knowledge is beyond the capability of currently available MLS/DBMSs. This paper describes the design and prototype development of an Inference Controller for a MLS/DBMS that functions during query processing. To our knowledge this is the first such inference controller prototype to be developed. We also describe some extensions to the inference controller so that an integrated solution can be provided to the problem.
PTPN11-Associated Mutations in the Heart: Has LEOPARD changed its RASpots?

In this review, we focus on elucidating the cardiac function of germline mutations in the PTPN11 gene, encoding the Src homology-2 (SH2) domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2. PTPN11 mutations cause LEOPARD syndrome (LS) and Noonan syndrome (NS), two disorders that are part of a newly classified family of autosomal dominant syndromes termed "RASopathies," which are caused by germline mutations in components of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK mitogen activating protein kinase pathway. LS and NS mutants have opposing biochemical properties, and yet, in patients, these mutations produce similar cardiac abnormalities. Precisely how LS and NS mutations lead to such similar disease etiology remains largely unknown. Recent complementary in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo analyses reveal new insights into the functions of SHP2 in normal and pathological cardiac development. These findings also reveal the need for individualized therapeutic approaches in the treatment of patients with LS and NS and, more broadly, patients with the other "RASopathy" gene mutations as well.
Binding to chaperones allows import of a purified mitochondrial precursor into mitochondria.

Refolding of the acid-unfolded precursor to mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase (pmAAT) is inhibited when cytosolic Hsc70 is included in the refolding reaction (Artigues, A., Iriarte, A., and Martinez-Carrion, M. (1997) J. Biol. Chem. 272, 16852–16861). At low molar excess of Hsc70 pmAAT is recovered in insoluble aggregates containing equal amounts of Hsc70. However, in the presence of a large excess of Hsc70, refolding of pmAAT is still arrested, but the enzyme remains in solution. Similar behavior was observed with two other cytosolic chaperones, bovine Hsp90 and yeast Ydj1. Coimmunoprecipitation of pmAAT using Hsc70 antibodies confirmed the formation of soluble Hsc70-pmAAT complexes at high concentrations of the chaperone. Data from analytical centrifugation, sedimentation in glycerol gradients, and partial purification of the soluble complexes indicate that multiple Hsc70 molecules bind per pmAAT polypeptide chain. The absence of catalytic activity together with the protease susceptibility of pmAAT bound to Hsc70, Hsp90, or Ydj1 suggest that these chaperones bind and maintain pmAAT in a partially unfolded state, analogous to the import-competent conformation of the protein synthesized in cell-free extracts. Remarkably, the purified pmAAT bound to Hsc70 or Ydj1, but not to Hsp90, is imported by isolated mitochondria in a reticulocyte lysate-dependent manner. Thus, both Hsc70 and Ydj1 can trap an import-competent folding intermediate of pmAAT, but productive binding and import into mitochondria require the collaboration of additional cytosolic factors from the lysate.
The effects of heparin releasing hydrogels on vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype

Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogel scaffolds were engineered to promote contractile smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotype via controlled release of heparin. The scaffold design was evaluated by quantifying the effects of free heparin on SMC phenotype, engineering hydrogels to provide controlled release of heparin, and synthesizing cell-adhesive, heparin releasing hydrogels to promote contractile SMC phenotype. Heparin inhibited SMC proliferation and up-regulated expression of contractile SMC phenotype markers, including smooth muscle alpha-actin, calponin, and SM-22alpha, in a dose-dependent fashion (6 microg/ml to 3.2mg/ml). Heparin release from PEGDA hydrogels was controlled by altering PEGDA molecular weight (MW 1000-6000) and concentration at polymerization (10-30% w/w), yielding release profiles ranging from hours to weeks in duration. Heparin released from PEGDA gels, formulated for optimized heparin loading and release kinetics (30% w/w PEGDA, MW 3000), stimulated SMCs to up-regulate contractile marker mRNA. A cell-instructive scaffold construct was prepared by polymerizing a thin hydrogel film, with pendant RGD peptides for cell attachment, over the optimized hydrogel depots. SMCs seeded on these constructs had elevated levels of contractile marker mRNA after 3 d of culture compared with SMCs on control constructs. These results indicate that RGD-modified, heparin releasing PEGDA gels can act as cell-instructive scaffolds that promote contractile SMC phenotype.
Neutralizing the Impact of Crime

Contrary to mass media accounts and popular beliefs, quantitative data indicate that the relationship between victimization and fear of crime is weak. Efforts to explain this weak relationship have, so far, been unsatisfactory. This article attempts to explain the weak relationship by arguing that the impact of victimization is mediated by the beliefs of the individual. In particular, victims often employ certain beliefs or “techniques of neutralization” to convince themselves that their particular victimization was not harmful. By defining their victimization in this way, they avoid the fear and other negative reactions that sometimes accompany victimization. This article lists the five major techniques of neutralization employed by victims, presents evidence for their existence, and discusses their relevance to victimology.
A Framework for Interconnecting Wireless Sensor and IP Networks

Wireless sensor network technology integrates the sensor, computing and wireless technologies. Interconnecting wireless sensor and IP (Internet Protocol) networks could help bridging physical world to our information infrastructure. It could also help external monitoring and control of wireless sensor networks. Interconnecting two networks offers several research challenges in several areas such as addressing, protocol inter-working and routing. This paper examines those challenges and presents a framework for interconnecting IP and wireless sensor networks using inter- working at the transport layer.
Non‐direct homing behaviours by adult Chinook salmon in a large, multi‐stock river system

Two non-direct homing behaviours, overshoot of natal tributaries and temporary non-natal tributary use, were evaluated for 5150 radio-tagged spring–summer Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha from 40 populations in the large Columbia River system. Over 7 years, 2–44% (mean ¼ 15%) of individuals within each group temporarily entered presumed non-natal tributaries. In addition, many Chinook salmon from lower river tributaries initially travelled 3 to >250 km upstream in the main-stem river beyond confluences with presumed natal tributaries before returning to the natal sites (‘overshoot’). Both overshoot and temporary tributary use behaviours declined exponentially with increasing distance from the natal tributary. Nondirect homing also increased later in the season as water temperatures rose and was associated with hatchery origin in some cases. The behaviours may reflect a mix of active searching for olfactory cues from natal sites, behavioural thermoregulation and orientation challenges in a large-river migration corridor transformed by dams and reservoirs. While anadromous salmonid homing is generally accurate and precise, these results indicate that route finding can be non-direct, potentially increasing energetic costs and harvest risks during migration. # 2008 The Authors Journal compilation # 2008 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles
Simulations of boundary layers and point defects in coupled VCSEL arrays

The inherent gain dependence on carrier depletion and on the lateral cavity interactions differentiates active photonic lattices from passively coupled models, employing a given complex gain profile. This paper addresses coupled vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser array effects due to finite boundaries and the possibility of individual bias failures, of interest for practical applications. The "cold-cavity" characteristic parameters are assumed identical, focusing on biasing defects and site vacancies. Analysis and numerical simulations based on the tight-binding approximation show that phase-locking persists in finite arrays. Self-regulation of the edge cavity density and power generate boundary layers of differentiated cavity operation values. The inter-cavity phase shift remains nearly uniform, with a small superimposed linear slope caused by cross-cavity reflection interference from distributed Bragg reflectors. Phase locking is robust against partial or complete failure to lase for individual cavity sites, or even entire rows, due to biasing errors.
Call of (civic) duty: Action games and civic behavior in a large sample of youth

The positive and negative influences of violent/action games, henceforth called ''action games'', remains controversial in the scholarly literature. Although debate continues whether action games influence aggressive behavior, little research has examined the influence of action games on civic engagement. The current study addresses this gap by examining the correlation between exposure to action games on civic engagement and on-line prosocial behavior in a sample of 873 teenagers. Results indicated that girls as well as teens who had parents who were more technologically savvy tended to engage in more civic behaviors. Exposure to action games predicted more prosocial behavior on-line, but did not predict civic engagement either positively or negatively. However, exposure to action games and parental involvement interacted to promote youth civic engagement. Action-game-playing-youth whose parents were involved in game play and supervision were most civically involved, compared to youth who did not play action games, or whose parents were less involved. These results indicated little support for the belief that exposure to violence in video games decreases prosocial behavior and/or civic engagement. Conversely some support was found for the possibility that playing action games is associated with small increased prosocial behavior and civic engagement in the real world, possibly due to the team-oriented multiplayer options in many of these games.
On the Singular Value Manifold and Numerical Stabilization of Algorithms with Orthogonality Constraints

Recently, interest has risen in adaptive algorithms that implicitly impose orthogonality constraints on an adjustable matrix. In practice, parameter deviations from orthogonality can occur due to a chosen algorithm's numerical implementation. This paper introduces the geometry of and adaptive algorithms for the singular value manifold to mitigate these numerical effects. Both gradient and Newton-based methods on the singular value manifold are derived. Applications to single-step and iterative orthogonalization reveal relationships between existing orthogonalization methods as well as novel, fast-converging approximate Newton procedures for this task. Simulations are used to explore their performances
Microtubules and mitotic cycle phase modulate spatiotemporal distributions of F-actin and myosin II in Drosophila syncytial blastoderm embryos.

We studied cyclic reorganizations of filamentous actin, myosin II and microtubules in syncytial Drosophila blastoderms using drug treatments, time-lapse movies and laser scanning confocal microscopy of fixed stained embryos (including multiprobe three-dimensional reconstructions). Our observations imply interactions between microtubules and the actomyosin cytoskeleton. They provide evidence that filamentous actin and cytoplasmic myosin II are transported along microtubules towards microtubule plus ends, with actin and myosin exhibiting different affinities for the cell9s cortex. Our studies further reveal that cell cycle phase modulates the amounts of both polymerized actin and myosin II associated with the cortex. We analogize pseudocleavage furrow formation in the Drosophila blastoderm with how the mitotic apparatus positions the cleavage furrow for standard cytokinesis, and relate our findings to polar relaxation/global contraction mechanisms for furrow formation.
A Novel Miniature Broadband/Multiband Antenna Based on an End-Loaded Planar Open-Sleeve Dipole

Open-sleeve dipoles are versatile antennas primarily because they have several design parameters that can be varied to achieve a wide range of VSWR performance and operating bandwidth. By properly adjusting their parameters, it is possible to create versions of these antennas that have either a broadband or a dual-band response. In this paper, a new variation of the conventional open-sleeve dipole antenna is introduced, which we call an end-loaded planar open-sleeve dipole (ELPOSD). This configuration provides a degree of miniaturization while retaining a comparable bandwidth in terms of the VSWR response to that of conventional open-sleeve dipoles. Several designs are presented for the conventional and end-loaded configurations that demonstrate the VSWR and miniaturization capabilities of this class of antennas. Measured results have been compared with simulations and found to be in good agreement for an end-loaded planar open-sleeve monopole
Ion conics and counterstreaming electrons generated by lower hybrid waves in the Earth's magnetosphere

The exotic phenomenon of energetic ion-conic and counterstreaming electron formulation by lower hybrid waves along the discrete auroral field lines in the Earth's magnetosphere is considered. Mean particle calculations, plasma simulations, and analytical treatments of the acceleration processes are described. It is shown that, in the primary auroral electron-beam region, lower hybrid waves could be an efficient mechanism for the transverse heating of ions of ionospheric origin (H/sup +/ and O/sup +/) as well as for the field-aligned heating of the ambient electrons leading to coincident counterstreaming electron distributions. For oxygen ions to be energized by such a wave-particle interaction process, however, some sort of preheating mechanism will be required. >
FlyBase: anatomical data, images and queries

FlyBase (http://flybase.org/) is a database of genetic and genomic data on the model organism Drosophila melanogaster and the entire insect family Drosophilidae. The FlyBase Consortium curates, annotates, integrates and maintains a wide variety of data within this domain. Access to the data is provided through graphical and textual user interfaces tailored to particular types of data. FlyBase data types include maps at the cytological, genetic and sequence levels, genes and alleles including their products, functions, expression patterns, mutant phenotypes and genetic interactions as well as aberrant chromosomes, annotated genomes, genetic stock collections, transposons, transgene constructs and insertions, anatomy and images, bibliographic data, and community contact information.
Towards caring machines

The perception of feeling cared for has beneficial consequences in education, psychotherapy, and medicine. Results from a longitudinal study of simulated caring by a computer are presented, in which 60 subjects interacted with a computer agent daily for a month, half with a "caring" agent and half with an agent that did not use behaviors to demonstrate caring. The perception of caring by subjects in the "caring" condition was significantly higher after four weeks, and was also reflected in qualitative interviews with them, and in a significantly higher reported willingness to continue working with the "caring" agent. This paper presents the techniques that contributed to the increased perception of caring, and presents some of the implications of this new technology.
Impact of model uncertainty descriptions for high-purity distillation control

The ways in which modeling uncertainties are described for a particular process critically affects the results obtained in robustness studies. In this paper, four multivariable robust stability methodologies are used to characterize and analyze the effects of model inaccuracy due to non-linearity in high-purity distillation processes. The unstructured and structured singular value, numerical range, and a mapping of det(l + GPGc) are compared in terms of their ability to predict the stability of the dual-composition control system over a wide composition range. The importance of using uncertainty descriptions that include a realistic representation of the phase-magnitude relationship as well as the corrections between uncertainties in each element of the model is demonstrated. The conservation associated with norm-bounded uncertainty descriptions reveals itself by the extent of detuning needed to insure stability and the subsequent degradation in control performance.
Local sparse bump hunting reveals molecular heterogeneity of colon tumors.

The question of molecular heterogeneity and of tumoral phenotype in cancer remains unresolved. To understand the underlying molecular basis of this phenomenon, we analyzed genome-wide expression data of colon cancer metastasis samples, as these tumors are the most advanced and hence would be anticipated to be the most likely heterogeneous group of tumors, potentially exhibiting the maximum amount of genetic heterogeneity. Casting a statistical net around such a complex problem proves difficult because of the high dimensionality and multi-collinearity of the gene expression space, combined with the fact that genes act in concert with one another and that not all genes surveyed might be involved. We devise a strategy to identify distinct subgroups of samples and determine the genetic/molecular signature that defines them. This involves use of the local sparse bump hunting algorithm, which provides a much more optimal and biologically faithful transformed space within which to search for bumps. In addition, thanks to the variable selection feature of the algorithm, we derived a novel sparse gene expression signature, which appears to divide all colon cancer patients into two populations: a population whose expression pattern can be molecularly encompassed within the bump and an outlier population that cannot be. Although all patients within any given stage of the disease, including the metastatic group, appear clinically homogeneous, our procedure revealed two subgroups in each stage with distinct genetic/molecular profiles. We also discuss implications of such a finding in terms of early detection, diagnosis and prognosis.
Comment on the Sequential and Indeterminate Behavior of an End-Around-Carry Adder

The sequential and indeterminate behavior of an end-around-carry (EAC) adder is examined. This behavior is commonly overlooked in the literature. Design modifications to impose determinism are provided. These modifications also eliminate the troublesome negative zero found in the one's complement number system.
Innovation or Imitation? Business Models and Entrepreneurial Strategy

I examine two competing hypotheses of an effective entrepreneurial strategy. In one, innovating in business models confers sustainable advantage for entrepreneurial firms. In the other, imitating other business models lowers risk for entrepreneurs and provides a viable pathway for growth. I develop a novel empirical approach to answer this question using a natural experiment in entrepreneurship: Between 2006 and 2008, unique institutional features in China resulted in the inception of multiple “clones” of YouTube, ventures based on the same core entrepreneurial opportunity but that did not compete with YouTube because of the Chinese Internet firewall. I present evidence drawn from this setting, introducing a new hand-collected dataset that records activity by all entrants into the Chinese Internet video industry from 2006-2011. In this regard, I find robust results that suggest imitation in business models confer superior performance benefits over innovation. The core results hold after incorporating inst...
Standards of Practice for Pension Practitioners

Pension practitioners may be subject to several different sets of ethical rules. First, there are the rules governing the practice of the particular profession to which the individual belongs. Second, if the individual practices before the Internal Revenue Service, he or she must meet the standards of practice promulgated by the Treasury Department and IRS. Third, the individual must comply with the ethical rules issued by professional organizations to which he or she belongs. There have been three important recent developments. First, as part of its battle against abusive tax shelters, the IRS has identified several “listed transactions” involving employee benefit plans. Second, the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 has greatly increased the penalties that may be imposed in connection with abusive tax shelters. Finally, IRS has issued detailed new regulations governing standards of practice. This article discusses each of these issues and focuses on the new regulations, their lack of clarity in several important areas, and the difficulties that pension practitioners will have in understanding their scope and complying with their requirements.