cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mapping the Ionosphere Using L-Band SAR Data

The influence of the ionosphere on spaceborne SAR signals can be significant, especially approaching wavelengths at L-band or larger. By measuring these effects and inverting the underlying physical model, these effects can be used to measure and map aspects of the ionosphere. ALOS PALSAR data is employed to demonstrate this capability. Single-pol data is used to determine second-order gradients of the iononsperic Total Electron Content (TEC) (the second derivative of intensity). Dual-pol can yield lateral TEC variations in homogeneous areas. Finally, Faraday rotation measurements from full-pol data can be used to create 2-D maps of the absolute TEC.
Extinctions in scattering from periodic or aperiodic crystals

Fourier-space crystallography gives a simple unified account of extinctions in elastic scattering from periodic or aperiodic crystals, based entirely on three-dimensional point group symmetry. That account, which does not rely on viewing an aperiodic crystal as a three-dimensional slice of a higher-dimensional periodic crystal, is summarized and explained.
ETHNIC-RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS RELATED TO GAY LIFESTYLE AMONG HIV-POSITIVE MEN

To examine whether there were any ethnic-racial differences among 144 HIV-infected gay men (47 Caucasian, 48 African-American, and 49 Puerto Rican) on psychological stressors related to the gay lifestyle, responses to the Gay Lifestyle Hassles scale were analyzed. The African-American and Puerto Rican men reported significantly higher scores on frequency of Gay lifestyle Hassles and cumulated severity of Gay Lifestyle Hassles over-all than Caucasian men. The results suggest that HIV-infected ethnic-minority gay men were more prone to psychological stress related to the gay lifestyle than HIV-infected Caucasian gay men, which may have negative consequences for their mental and physical health.
Potassium diffusion in melilite: Experimental studies and constraints on the thermal history and size of planetesimals hosting CAIs

Among the calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs), excess 41 K ( 41 K * ), which was produced by the decay of the short-lived radionuclide 41 Ca (t1/2 = 0.1 Myr), has so far been detected in fassaite and in two grains of melilites. These observations could be used to provide important constraints on the thermal history and size of the planetesimals into which the CAIs were incorporated, provided the diffusion kinetic properties of K in these minerals are known. Thus, we have experimentally determined K diffusion kinetics in the melilite end-members, akermanite and gehlenite, as a function of temperature (900-1200 °C) and crystallographic orientation at 1 bar pressure. The closure temperature of K diffusion in melilite, Tc(K:mel), for the observed grain size of melilite in the CAIs and cooling rate of 10-100 °C/Myr, as calculated from our diffusion data, is much higher than that of Mg in anorthite. The latter was calculated from the available Mg diffusion data in anorthite. Assuming that the planetesimals were heated by the decay of 26 Al and 60 Fe, we have calculated the size of a planetesimal as a function of the accretion time tf such that the peak temperature at a specified radial distance rc equals Tc(K:mel). The ratio (rc/R) 3 defines the planetesimal volume fraction within which 41 K * in melilite grains would be at least partly disturbed, if these were randomly distributed within a planetesimal. A similar calculation was also carried out to define R versus tf relation such that 26 Mg * was lost from ~50% of randomly distributed anorthite grains, as seems to be suggested by the observational data. These calculations suggest that ~60% of melilite grains should retain 41 K * if ~50% of anorthite grains had retained 26 Mg * . Assuming that tf was not smaller than the time of chondrule formation, our calculations yield minimum planetesimal radius of ~20-30 km, depending on the choice of planetesimal surface temperature and initial abundance of the heat producing isotope 60 Fe.
Development of the Affect for Communication Channels Scale

As computers have increasingly provided new channels of communication, scholars have taken an interest in computer-mediated communication (CMC) in general and the impact of personality traits and other antecedents of preference for face-to-face or computer channels. Research is hampered, however, by the lack of standardized measures of CMC-related concepts. Three studies (N = 914) were undertaken to develop and validate a measure of affect for using communication channels. Findings of the studies provide strong evidence of the internal consistency and both construct and predictive validity of the scale.
Structural adjustment and international trade in Eastern Europe: the case of Poland

Poland Andrew Berg and Jeffrey Sachs The Polish economic programme is important not only in its own right, hut as a key example of the benefits and possible costs of a rapid movement to convertibility. This paper proposes an analytical framework and new estimates of the costs and benefits. The framework shows that convertibility revolves around the relationship of two nominal variables, the money supply and the nominal exchange rate. Return to convertibility is achieved not mainly through a real depreciation, but through a nominal depreciation which helps to bring the overall price level back into line with nominal aggregate demand and particularly with the money supply. The new estimates show that the costs, a drop in living standards and output, are less than commonly believed. Given the extreme inflationary conditions in 1989 and the shock following the disintegration of CMEA trade, the loss of output was not caused in any important way by the rapid move to free trade.
BonJour’s The Structure of Empirical Knowledge

The Structure of Empirical Knowledge (BonJour, 1985) is a detailed and subtle defense of a coherentist account of epistemic justification. It can plausibly be claimed that it is unsurpassed, in thoroughness and sophistication, by any other sympathetic treatment of coherentism. Nonetheless, there are in my view serious problems with some of the book’s central theses. This discussion will concentrate on several of the problem areas that I take to be crucial to BonJour’s position.
Liberty of the Press Under Socialism

Writing in 1912, before the Bolshevik Revolution, American socialist John Spargo said that it was “inconceivable” that a democratic socialist society would ever abolish the “sacred right” of freedom of publication which had been won at so great a sacrifice. According to Spargo, “every Socialist writer of note” agreed with Karl Kautsky that the freedom of the press, and of literary production in general, is an “essential condition” of democratic socialism.
Sudden approximation theory of vibrational excitation

The time-independent quantal sudden theory of vibrational excitation is presented for a collinear system. A new semiclassical sudden theory is also obtained directly from the quantal theory by simply replacing quantal oscillator wavefunctions by their JWKB approximations. For the atom-harmonic oscillator system with the Jackson-Mott interaction potential, closed-form expressions are obtained for the quantal and semiclassical scattering matrices. The unitarity of the quantal and semiclassical S matrices and the conditions for the validity of the sudden approximation are discussed.
Discovery of an inhibitor of a transcription factor using small molecule microarrays and diversity-oriented synthesis.

Small molecule microarrays were screened to identify a small molecule ligand for Hap3p, a subunit of the yeast Hap2/3/4/5p transcription factor complex. The compound, named haptamide A, was determined to have a KD of 5.03 μM for binding to Hap3p using surface plasmon resonance analysis. Haptamide A also inhibited activation of a GDH1-lacZ reporter gene in a dose-dependent fashion. To explore structure−activity relationships, 11 derivatives of haptamide A were prepared using the same synthetic route that was developed for the original library synthesis. Analysis of dissociation constants and IC50 values for the reporter gene assay revealed a more potent inhibitor, haptamide B, with a KD of 330 nM. Whole-genome transcriptional profiling was used to compare effects of haptamide B with a hap3Δ yeast strain. Treatment with haptamide B, like the deletion mutant, reduced lactate-induced transcription of several genes from wild-type levels. Profiling the genetic “knockout” and the chemical genetic “knockdown” led...
Phase-Lagged Boundary Condition Methods for Aeroelastic Analysis of Turbomachines: A Comparative Study

In the present work a comparative study of phase-lagged boundary condition methods is carried out. The relative merits and advantages of time-shifted and the Fourier decomposition methods are compared. Both methods are implemented in a time marching Euler/Navier-Stokes solver and are applied to a flat plate helical fan with harmonically oscillating blades to perform the study. Results were obtained for subsonic as well as supersonic inflows. Results for subsonic inflow showed good comparisons with published results and between the two methods along with comparable computational costs. For the supersonic inflow, despite the presence of shocks at the periodic boundary results from both the methods compared well, however, Fourier decomposition method was computationally more expensive. For linear flowfield Fourier decomposition method is best suited, especially for work-station environment. The time-shifted method is better suited for CRAY category of computers where fast input-output devices are available.Copyright © 1999 by ASME
The Chemical Work of Alexander and Jane Marcet

Alexander Marcet was an authority on urinary calculi and their analysis when few medical practitioners appreciated the usefulness of chemistry in the explanation and treatment of disease. In An Essay on The Chemical History and Medical Treatment of Calculous Disorders , he described the discovery of an xanthine stone. He drew line illustrations of simple chemical apparatus useful for bedside analysis. His microtechnique used drops of solution and pinhead pieces of calculi; reagents were acids and alkalies and the blowpipe in conjunction with a small alcohol lamp. He reported the earliest description of a disorder later named “alcaptonuria”. Marcet’s work and that of a few others, on the chemical composition of urine and calculi, laid the foundations of our present knowledge. Between 1807 and 1820, his lectures to the medical students at Guy’s Hospital were illustrated by experiments. Jane Haldimand Marcet wrote the very popular Conversations on Chemistry (16 editions in Great Britain). Her book dominated elementary chemical instruction during the first half of the 19th century. She followed Lavoisier’s scheme of classification and explained chemical reactions in terms of affinity, aggregation, gravitation, and repulsion. Her advocacy that experimentation accompany lecture was new. The availability of serious scientific education in the new women’s academies set the stage for increasing women’s involvement in science. She also published a series of Conversations . The topics were Political Economy, Natural Philosophy, and Vegetable Physiology .
Trampoline-related injuries

Two hundred and seventeen patients who had sustained an injury during the recreational use of a trampoline were managed in the emergency room of Logan Regional Hospital in Logan, Utah, from January 1991 through December 1992. We retrospectively reviewed the charts and radiographs of these patients to categorize the injuries. Additional details regarding the injuries of seventy-two patients (33 per cent) were obtained by means of a telephone interview with use of a questionnaire. The injuries occurred from February through November, with the peak incidence in July. The patients were eighteen months to forty-five years old (average, ten years old) ; ninety-four patients (43 per cent) were five to nine years old. Eighty-four patients (39 per cent) sustained a fracture ; fifty-four (25 per cent), a sprain or strain ; forty-five (21 per cent), a laceration ; and thirty-four (16 per cent), a contusion. Fifty-seven injuries (26 per cent) involved the elbow or forearm ; forty-six (21 per cent), the head or neck ; forty (18 per cent), the ankle or foot ; thirty-three (15 per cent), the knee or leg ; nineteen (9 per cent), the trunk or back ; thirteen (6 per cent), the shoulder or arm ; and nine (4 per cent), the wrist or hand. Thirteen patients (6 per cent) had a back injury, but none of them had a permanent neurological deficit. One patient who had an ocular injury was transferred to a tertiary care center. One hundred and fifty-six patients (72 per cent) were evaluated radiographically, fifteen (7 per cent) were admitted to the hospital, and thirteen (6 per cent) had an operation. Although severe and life-threatening injuries were rare, the estimated average cost of the emergency-room visits, radiographs, stays in the hospital, and operations was $673 per patient. On the basis of the patterns of the injuries and the results of the telephone survey, our recommendations for reducing the number of trampoline-related injuries are to place padding on the bars and springs, to limit the number of participants on the trampoline to one at a time, to place the trampoline in a hole so that the jumping surface is at ground level, to avoid somersaults and other high-risk maneuvers, to comply with the manufacturer's instructions, and to allow children to use the trampoline only with parental supervision.
Accessible aerial robotics

This work demonstrates some of the computational capabilities of the inexpensive AR.Drone2 quadcopter. Fundamentally a platform that navigates in 3D, the drone offers a clean interface to 2D sensor data through its video stream. By using image-matching to bridge that "interdimensional" gap, this work demonstrates that the drone offers an accessible, compelling platform for research and independent projects at any institution. In the process, we demonstrate that accessible physical platforms, i.e., the drone, the Kinect, and their scaffolding software, ROS, now offer capabilities with much wider curricular and computational applications.
Human babesiosis in the United States: a review with emphasis on its tick vector

Abstract Human babesiosis is a malaria-like illness caused by protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Babesia. In the United States, the most commonly identified pathogen for human infections is Babesia microti which is transmitted principally by the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis. This article reviews epidemiological aspects of the disease with focus on its tick vector and transmission risk. Clinical presentations, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease are also briefly discussed.
Laminar Reactive Boundary Layer Simulation of an Ablating Heated Carbon Surface

Two-dimensional simulations were performed with applications to reactive boundary layers present over ablating surfaces. This work was performed in close coordination with experimentalists at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), where the simulations will be applied to the reactive boundary layer present on missile surfaces caused by laser induced ablation. Previously developed semi-global surface reaction models for both nonporous and porous carbon were used in a finite volume computational fluid dynamics (CFD) reacting flow solver. Detailed chemical kinetics, molecular transport and thermodynamic properties were implemented into the CFD code and the surface reaction was included as an external subroutine. A range of surface temperatures and free stream velocities were simulated using a 5 mm long reacting carbon plate. Results show that reaction layers and species present along the surface differ according to carbon surface porosity, surface temperature, and chemical residence time. These predicted structures expose what types of intricacies are to be expected in reacting boundary layers that will be investigated experimentally by AFIT.
Steps Toward Gene Therapy: 2. Cancer and AIDS

Strategies under investigation—in some cases in clinical trials—include the delivery of “suicide genes” to induce the self-destruction of infected or tumorous cells and the delivery of genes to facilitate T-cell recognition of such cells. The HIV life cycle offers many additional attack points for therapeutic genes designed to prevent the expression of viral genes or to impede the function of essential HIV proteins.
On the Application of Designing Thoughts about Chinese Classic Garden in Interior Design

Recently,interior design,as a hot topic, has attracted more and more attention of people. This paper begins with the design of Chinese classic garden and points out the foundamental designing thoughts about it and explains how to apply it in interior design.
Innovation in Disaster Mitigation Technologies

In recent years geologically related hazards or disasters are happening more frequently and are more severe than before. We are thus in urgent need to enhance our disaster mitigation and rehabilitation capabilities by developing more innovative solutions. In this paper, the areas in which innovation may play a role are identified. A few examples are given to illustrate how innovative ideas can be adopted to develop new methods or improve the existing technologies to deal with natural disasters. These include (1) the use of geotextile mats to construct dikes; (2) the use of biogas technology to reduce liquefaction potential of sand; (3) the use of bioclogging technology to reduce riverbank or coastal erosion or make temporary water ponds on a beach or in the desert; (4) the use of quick setting materials, and (5) the use of quick construction technologies.
The 1920s – The Cultural Aspect

Peace as an ideology Peace as a dominant idea was a distinctive feature of the postwar decade. This is not to say that there had been no forceful movements for peace or effective presentations of ideas of peace before then. Before the Great War, there had developed various strands of pacifism, ranging from traditional Christian conceptions to the more recent socialist formulations. In the United States, scores of peace societies had been established to organize the international community better to promote a stable, interdependent world order. And then, during the war, Woodrow Wilson and V. I. Lenin had emerged as spokesmen for two contrasting ideas about international affairs and propounded their respective visions of a world without war. It was after 1919, however, that the idea of peace, of whatever shade of meaning, came to hold center stage in discussions about international affairs. We have already seen how potent were the drives for disarmament, outlawry of war, economic stabilization, and American capital movements, which together created an environment more conducive to peaceful interconnections among nations than to war and military preparedness. But the phenomenon had deep cultural roots as well and was sustained by intellectual developments in the 1920s. One might think of the ideology of peace at that time as a “hegemonic ideology” – the term Antonio Gramsci, the Italian Marxist, began to use as he penned his thoughts in prison. According to him, a society was held together through a set of ideas produced, refined, and manipulated by its elites in order to maintain some sort of order and cohesiveness.
Fiscal Consolidation and Revival of the Old Tax Regime

The shifts in fiscal policy during the mid-1980s suggested that the United States might have the political capacity to embrace a new tax regime. The tax increases of 1982 and 1984, the Social Security reforms of 1983, and the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (which accepted the principle that tax reductions should be offset by tax increases) all reflected the kind of political leadership and discipline that were required for fundamental fiscal reform. Significant reform, however, stalled after the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. In particular, reform along the base-broadening lines chartered by the bipartisan architects of the 1986 legislation failed to advance. The essential reason was the growing popular hostility to government. The antigovernment movement that gathered force during the late 1970s and the 1980s grew even stronger in the 1990s, enabling the Republican Party to capture both houses of Congress in 1994, the first time the party had done so since 1952. This movement, with its popular base in an increasingly alienated middle class, caused politicians to fear recommending the elimination of tax expenditures, such as the home mortgage deduction, that favored large segments of society. Instead they proposed tax cuts that favored, or seemed to favor, the middle class. And the growing fervor of the antigovernment movement gave political cover to the representatives of wealthy and corporate interests who desired further cuts in taxes on capital income. The most vigorous antigovernment activists increasingly invoked retro-liberal ideology and harkened back to Reagan's tax cut of 1981 as their model for sound fiscal policy. The antigovernment movement, however, did not produce any tax cuts on the scale of the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA) during the administrations of both George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. These administrations at times recommended significant tax cuts, but they were much smaller than those under ERTA, some emphasized benefits to middle-class taxpayers, and most failed to win adoption. Moreover, both the Bush and Clinton administrations succeeded in enacting increases in taxes, especially in those paid by the rich, as the central elements in their projects of deficit and debt control (often referred to today as fiscal consolidation).
Neurogenin 3 is regulated by neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 2 (TRKB) signaling in the adult human exocrine pancreas

Reports of exocrine-to-endocrine reprogramming through expression or stabilization of the transcription factor neurogenin 3 (NGN3) have generated renewed interest in harnessing pancreatic plasticity for therapeutic applications. NGN3 is expressed by a population of endocrine progenitor cells that give rise exclusively to hormone-secreting cells within pancreatic islets and is necessary and sufficient for endocrine differentiation during development. In the adult human pancreas, NGN3 is expressed by dedifferentiating exocrine cells with a phenotype resembling endocrine progenitor cells and the capacity for endocrine differentiation in vitro. Neurotrophic tyrosine kinase receptor type 2 (TRKB), which regulates neuronal cell survival, differentiation and plasticity, was identified as highly overexpressed in the NGN3 positive cell transcriptome compared to NGN3 negative exocrine cells. This study was designed to determine if NGN3 is regulated by TRKB signaling in the adult human exocrine pancreas. Transcriptome analysis, quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) and immunochemistry were used to identify TRKB isoform expression in primary cultures of human islet-depleted exocrine tissue and human cadaveric pancreas biopsies. The effects of pharmacological modulation of TRKB signaling on the expression of NGN3 were assessed by Student’s t-test and ANOVA. Approximately 30 % of cultured exocrine cells and 95 % of NGN3+ cells express TRKB on their cell surface. Transcriptome-based exon splicing analyses, isoform-specific quantitative RTPCR and immunochemical staining demonstrate that TRKB-T1, which lacks a tyrosine kinase domain, is the predominant isoform expressed in cultured exocrine tissue and is expressed in histologically normal cadaveric pancreas biopsies. Pharmacological inhibition of TRKB significantly decreased the percentage of NGN3+ cells, while a TRKB agonist significantly increased this percentage. Inhibition of protein kinase B (AKT) blocked the effect of the TRKB agonist, while inhibition of tyrosine kinase had no effect. Modulation of TRKB and AKT signaling did not significantly affect the level of NGN3 mRNA. In the adult human exocrine pancreas, TRKB-T1 positively regulates NGN3 independent of effects on NGN3 transcription. Targeting mechanisms controlling the NGN3+ cell population size and endocrine cell fate commitment represent a potential new approach to understand pancreas pathobiology and means whereby cell populations could be expanded for therapeutic purposes.
High-Performance Inverse Modeling with Reverse Monte Carlo Simulations

In the field of nanoparticle material science, X-ray scattering techniques are widely used for characterization of macromolecules and particle systems (ordered, partially-ordered or custom) based on their structural properties at the micro- and nano-scales. Numerous applications utilize these, including design and fabrication of energy-relevant nanodevices such as photovoltaic and energy storage devices. Due to its size, analysis of raw data obtained through present ultra-fast light beamlines and X-ray scattering detectors has been a primary bottleneck in such characterization processes. To address this hurdle, we are developing high-performance parallel algorithms and codes for analysis of X-ray scattering data for several of the scattering methods, such as the Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), which we talk about in this paper. As an inverse modeling problem, structural fitting of the raw data obtained through SAXS experiments is a method used for extracting meaningful information on the structural properties of materials. Such fitting processes involve a large number of variable parameters and, hence, require a large amount of computational power. In this paper, we focus on this problem and present a high-performance and scalable parallel solution based on the Reverse Monte Carlo simulation algorithm, on highly-parallel systems such as clusters of multicore CPUs and graphics processors. We have implemented and optimized our algorithm on generic multi-core CPUs as well as the Nvidia GPU architectures with C++ and CUDA. We also present detailed performance results and computational analysis of our code.
Status of the Nemertea as prey in marine ecosystems

Nemerteans are predators of a wide variety of animals, but little is known of their role as prey for other animals. The presence of toxins in the tissues and secretions of these worms has led to the assumption usually suggested that they are ingested only rarely. However, analysis of a Food Habits Data Base from the United States National Marine Fisheries Service, compiled for fishes collected in the Atlantic Ocean from the Canadian border to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina (1973–1990), showed that nemerteans were recovered from the stomachs of 27 species of fishes in 14 families. They were found in 223 of 26 642 (0.84%) fish stomachs examined in the laboratory, but only in 0.09% of 58 812 fish examined in the field. Among species in the former category, for which ≥1000 were examined, the winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus(Walbaum), and the yellowtail flounder, Limanda ferruginea (Storer), had the greatest frequency of nemerteans, 71 of 1545 (4.6%) and 33 of 1045 (3.2%), respectively. These nemerteans were identified as Nemertea, Cerebratulus sp. or Micrura sp., but it is likely that they were all of a Cerebratulus-like type. Nemerteans have also been recorded from the guts of eight additional species (including four additional families) of fishes collected from the western Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, eastern Pacific Ocean (Washington, Alaska), North Sea and Indian Ocean off South Africa. The black-bellied plover, Pluvialis squatarola(L.), semipalmated plover, Charadrius semipalmatus Bonapart and the herring gull, Larus argentatus Pontoppidan are the only three species known to feed on nemerteans (Cerebratulus lacteus (Leidy) and Paranemertes peregrina Coe by the black-bellied plover and C. lacteus by the other species). Several species of nemerteans are known to ingest other nemerteans, and several arthropods, a squid, and a few other invertebrates also feed on these worms. On the other hand, careful laboratory studies have shown that some members of the Palaeonemertea, Heteronemertea and Hoplonemertea, when fed to various species of fishes, crustaceans (Astacidea, Anomura, Brachyura and Amphipoda) and a polychaete, were rejected, usually violently. There is a history of using large nemerteans, e.g. Cerebratulus lacteus and Polybrachiorhynchus dayi, as bait by sport fishermen in the United States and South Africa. The incongruity of successfuly using these toxic animals to catch fish is discussed in relation to conclusions on the importance of nemerteans as prey in the marine environment.
Social capital and access to credit in post-conflict Lira, northern Uganda

AbstractThis study builds on research about the importance of informal saving associations and social relations to understand the strategies employed by households in post-conflict situations to access financial capital. The study examines the impact of social capital on accessing loans among formerly displaced households in Lira district. The contributions of sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors for access to loans were investigated. Data were collected from March–July 2011 through interviews with 221 household heads and through field research observations. Consistent with our hypotheses, social capital was strongly associated with loan access. Multiple regression analyses revealed the influence of age, gender, and educational level of household heads, as well as the impact of land and livestock ownership, on accessing loans. Results of this study can inform the design of development programs that effectively address challenges associated with access to financial capital and promote sustainable liv...
What You Ask Is What You Get: Citizens’ Support for Military Action, But Not Diplomacy, Depends on Question Framing

Drawing on past research on judgment and decision making, as well as preference reversal, we investigated the impact of question framing on support for military versus diplomatic conflict resolution strategies. In three studies with two heterogeneous samples from the United States and one representative sample from Israel, preferences for military action were substantially stronger when asked in isolation (i.e., “yes/no” [support/reject]) rather than in conjunction with the alternative of diplomacy (i.e., “either-or” [military or diplomacy]), sometimes even causing a complete reversal from majority support for military action to majority support for diplomacy. These findings point to problems in public opinion polls and scientific research on military support (usually presenting no alternatives), and address issues important for psychology, political science, sociology, and survey methodology. In a real world context, our findings have important implications for governmental decisions on conflict resolution strategies and the implementation of policies based on public opinion.
Noninvasive visualization of the choriocapillaris and its dynamic filling

Purpose The choroidal microvasculature and its circulation are inadequately assessed by presently available techniques. Laser-targeted delivery was applied to generate local, repetitive angiograms of the choriocapillaris in primates. Methods Carboxyfluorescein was encapsulated in heat-sensitive liposomes and injected intravenously in monkeys. The liposome contents were then released locally in the choroid by application of a short heat pulse provided by an infrared laser. The bolus of dye spread rapidly downstream from the underlying arterioles into clusters of lobules. Video angiograms were generated with excitation illumination provided by an argon laser. Results Laser-targeted delivery choroidal angiography performed on three monkeys indicated that the fluorescence was emitted mainly from the choriocapillaris. Clusters of irregular shape with well-defined margins were observed. Adjacent arteries typically supplied separate clusters that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. The dynamic filling and emptying patterns, recorded at video rate, revealed that macular lobules were filled by a central arteriole and drained by a venous annulus. The average dye transit time through a lobule (n = 10) was 118 +/- 26 msec (mean +/- SD), and the dye transit velocity was 2.53 +/- 0.55 mm/sec. Conclusions This study clearly documents the segmental nature of the primate choroidal microvasculature. It also illustrates that choroidal angiography by laser-targeted dye delivery provides information useful for studying the response of the choriocapillaris to physiological and pathologic changes.
Effects of Aspergillus niger Contamination on Biological Fitness of Lygus hesperus (Heteroptera: Miridae)

The effect of Aspergillus niger (USDA, ARS Robert T. Gast Rearing Laboratory, Mississippi State, MS isolate) contaminated artificial diet on Lygus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae) is describe...
Wind–Flux Feedbacks and Convective Organization during the November 2011 MJO Event in a High-Resolution Model

AbstractThe November 2011 Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) event during the Dynamics of the MJO (DYNAMO) field campaign is simulated with the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) cloud-resolving model to examine the relationship between precipitation and surface latent heat flux (LHFLX) for deep convective clusters within the MJO and to discern the importance of surface LHFLX for organizing MJO convection. First, a simulation similar in size to the DYNAMO northern sounding array was run with interactive surface fluxes. Composites for precipitation, surface LHFLX, wind speed, wind vectors, and near-surface specific humidity are described for various-sized convective clusters during different MJO regimes. The precipitation–LHFLX relationship generally evolves as follows for an individual cluster. About 2 h before cluster identification, the maximum LHFLX occurs upwind of maximum precipitation. As cluster identification time is approached, LHFLX and precipitation maxima become coincident. At and after ...
Defective replication initiation results in locus specific chromosome breakage and a ribosomal RNA deficiency in yeast

A form of dwarfism known as Meier-Gorlin syndrome (MGS) is caused by recessive mutations in one of six different genes (ORC1, ORC4, ORC6, CDC6, CDT1, and MCM5). These genes encode components of the pre-replication complex, which assembles at origins of replication prior to S phase. Also, variants in two additional replication initiation genes have joined the list of causative mutations for MGS (Geminin and CDC45). The identity of the causative MGS genetic variants strongly suggests that some aspect of replication is amiss in MGS patients; however, little evidence has been obtained regarding what aspect of chromosome replication is faulty. Since the site of one of the missense mutations in the human ORC4 alleles is conserved between humans and yeast, we sought to determine in what way this single amino acid change affects the process of chromosome replication, by introducing the comparable mutation into yeast (orc4Y232C). We find that yeast cells with the orc4Y232C allele have a prolonged S-phase, due to compromised replication initiation at the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus located on chromosome XII. The inability to initiate replication at the rDNA locus results in chromosome breakage and a severely reduced rDNA copy number in the survivors, presumably helping to ensure complete replication of chromosome XII. Although reducing rDNA copy number may help ensure complete chromosome replication, orc4Y232C cells struggle to meet the high demand for ribosomal RNA synthesis. This finding provides additional evidence linking two essential cellular pathways-DNA replication and ribosome biogenesis.
Fibroblast growth factor 21 increases hepatic oxidative capacity but not physical activity or energy expenditure in hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α-deficient mice.

NEW FINDINGS What is the central question of this study? Does a reduction in hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), which has been observed in an insulin-resistant obese state, impair the ability of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) to modulate metabolism? What is the main finding and its importance? A deficit in hepatic PGC-1α does not compromise the ability of FGF21 to increase hepatic fatty acid oxidation; however, the effects of FGF21 to regulate whole-body metabolism (i.e. total and resting energy expenditure), as well as ambulatory activity, were altered when hepatic PGC-1α was reduced. ABSTRACT Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) treatment drives metabolic improvements, including increased metabolic flux and reduced hepatic steatosis, but the mechanisms responsible for these effects remain to be elucidated fully. We tested whether a targeted reduction in hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), which has been shown to occur with obesity, had a negative impact on the metabolic effects of FGF21. We infused FGF21 (1 mg kg-1 day-1 ) or saline in chow-fed wild-type (WT) and liver-specific PGC-1α heterozygous (LPGC-1α) mice for 4 weeks. Administration of FGF21 lowered serum insulin and cholesterol (P ≤ 0.05) and tended to lower free fatty acids (P = 0.057). The LPGC-1α mice exhibited reduced complete hepatic fatty acid oxidation (FAO; LPGC-1α, 1788 ± 165 nmol g-1 h-1 compared with WT, 2572 ± 437 nmol g-1 h-1 ; P < 0.001), which was normalized by FGF21 treatment (2788 ± 519 nmol g-1 h-1 ; P < 0.001). FGF21 also increased hepatic incomplete FAO by 12% in both groups and extramitochondrial FAO by 89 and 56% in WT and LPGC-1α mice, respectfully (P = 0.001), and lowered hepatic triacylglycerol by 30-40% (P < 0.001). Chronic treatment with FGF21 lowered body weight and fat mass (P < 0.05), while increasing food consumption (P < 0.05), total energy expenditure [7.3 ± 0.60 versus 6.6 ± 0.39 kcal (12 h)-1 in WT mice; P = 0.009] and resting energy expenditure [5.4 ± 0.89 versus 4.6 ± 0.21 kcal (12 h)-1 in WT mice; P = 0.005]. Interestingly, FGF21 only increased ambulatory activity in the WT mice (P = 0.03), without a concomitant increase in non-resting energy expenditure. In conclusion, although reduced hepatic PGC-1α expression was not necessary for FGF21 to increase FAO, it does appear to mediate FGF21-induced changes in total and resting energy expenditure and ambulatory activity in lean mice.
Personal Thoughts on Early Childhood Special Education Research: An Historical Perspective, Threats to Relevance, and Call to Action:

This article is based on my 2016 keynote address at the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Conference, Louisville, Kentucky. Historical tendencies as well as current day research funding mechanisms...
Super Atomic Clusters: Design Rules and Potential for Building Blocks of Materials

Atomic clusters, consisting of a few to a few thousand atoms, have emerged over the past 40 years as the ultimate nanoparticles, whose structure and properties can be controlled one atom at a time. One of the early motivations in studying clusters was to understand how the properties of matter evolve as a function of size, shape, and composition. Over the past few decades, more than 200 000 papers have been published in this field. These studies have not only led to a considerable understanding of this evolution from clusters to crystals, but also have revealed many unusual size-specific properties that make cluster science an interdisciplinary field on its own, bridging physics, chemistry, materials science, biology, and medicine. More importantly, the possibility of creating a new class of materials, composed of clusters instead of atoms as building blocks, has fueled the hope that one can synthesize materials from the bottom-up with unique and tailored properties. This Review focuses on the properties ...
Pezzotti, G: Advanced Materials for Joint Implants.

This article is a review of the book “Advanced Materials for Joint Implants” edited and written by Giuseppe Pezzotti. This book (hardcover) was published by Pan Stanford Publishing Pte Ltd. in 2013. The book discusses important trends and analytical tools used in the advancement of bioceramics and polyethylene used in joint implants.
Ototylomys phyllotis (Big-eared climbing rat)

The sex chromosomes are easy to identify. A few autosomal pairs can also be identified by morphology alone.
Mass Customization and Paperless Assembly in the Learning Factory for Cyber-Physical-Production Systems: Learning Module ‘From Paperbased to Paperless Assembly’

Producing companies are facing rising numbers of variants and increasing international competition. Therefore, many companies seek to enable their production systems for mass customization. Especially in manual assembly, rising complexity can lead to lower productivity and higher error rates. In order to master growing complexity, assistance systems are introduced in manual assembly to support assembly workers by providing, transmitting and receiving relevant information. Since digitization influences entire work environments, knowledge and experience about digital technologies is needed in producing companies for the introduction process. In order to develop digital competences of production managers, this paper presents an interactive learning module in the Learning Factory for Cyber-physical Production Systems (CPPS). Based on an assembly scenario of remote-controlled cars, participants can experience the difference between paper-based and paperless assembly. This learning module shows new challenges for shopfloor managers, intra logistics as well as assembly workers. In an industrial assembly scenario with rising level of digitization, the participants discuss in a moderated workshop the impact of digitization on their own factory with experts from the learning factory.
Organization of the MAL loci of Saccharomyces. Physical identification and functional characterization of three genes at the MAL6 locus.

We have physically and functionally identified three genes at the MAL6 locus of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. Using multicopy yeast plasmid vectors, we have subcloned various segments of the entire MAL6 locus. The functional characterization of the MAL6 subcloned regions was determined by (1) analyzing biochemically the levels of MAL-encoded proteins (maltase [α-D-glucosidase, E.C. 3.2.1.20] and maltose transport protein) in cells transformed with various MAL6 subclones, and (2) testing the ability of the subclones to complement the maltose fermentation defects of well characterized Mal− mutants in the highly homologous MAL1 locus. The physical homology between MAL6 and MAL1 is in part demonstrated by the gene disruption of MAL1 using subcloned MAL6 DNA sequences. The results demonstrate that the MAL6 locus is a complex of at least three genes: MAL6R, MAL6T and MAL6S. These genes specify, respectively, a regulatory function, a maltose transport activity (presumably the maltose permease) and the structural gene for maltase. The functional organization of the MAL6 locus is thus identical to that which we had previously determined by mutational analysis for the MAL1 locus.
Using Individual Clinical Evaluations to Assess Residents' Clinical Judgment; Feasibility and Residents' Perception.

OBJECTIVE In surgical training, most assessment tools focus on advanced clinical decision-making or operative skill. Available tools often require significant investment of resources and time. A high stakes oral examination is also required to become board-certified in surgery. We developed Individual Clinical Evaluation (ICE) to evaluate intern-level clinical decision-making in a time- and cost-efficient manner, and to introduce the face-to-face evaluation setting. DESIGN Intern-level ICE consists of 3 clinical scenarios commonly encountered by surgical trainees. Each scenario was developed to be presented in a step-by-step manner to an intern by an attending physician or chief resident. The interns had 17 minutes to complete the face-to-face evaluation and 3 minutes to receive feedback on their performance. The feedback was transcribed and sent to the interns along with incorrect answers. Eighty percent correct was set as a minimum to pass each scenario and continue with the next one. Interns who failed were retested until they passed. Frequency of incorrect response was tracked by question/content area. After passing the 3 scenarios, interns completed a survey about their experience with ICE. SETTING Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, an academic tertiary care facility located in Boston, Massachusetts. PARTICIPANTS All first-year surgery residents in our institution (n = 17) were invited to complete a survey. RESULTS All 2016-2017 surgical interns (17) completed the ICEs. A total of $171 (US) was spent conducting the ICEs, and an average of 17 minutes was used to complete each evaluation. In total, 5 different residents failed 1 scenario, with the most common mistake being: failing to stabilize respiration before starting management. After completing the 3 clinical scenarios, more than 90% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the evaluations were appropriately challenging for training level, and that the evaluations helped to identify personal strengths and weaknesses in skill and knowledge. The majority believed their knowledge improved as a result of the ICE and felt better prepared to manage these scenarios (88% and 76%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The ICE is an inexpensive and time efficient way to introduce interns to board type examinations and assess their preparedness for perioperative patient care issues. Common errors were identified which were able to inform educational efforts. ICEs were well accepted by residents. Next steps include extension of the ICE to PGY2 and PGY3 residents.
Freedom: The Holberg Lecture, 2018

If people have freedom of choice, do their lives go better? Under what conditions? By what criteria? Consider three distinct problems. (1) In countless situations, human beings face a serious problem of “navigability”; they do not know how to get to their preferred destination, whether the issue involves health, education, employment, or well-being in general. This problem is especially challenging for people who live under conditions of severe deprivation, but it can be significant for all of us. (2) Many of us face problems of self-control, and our decisions today endanger our own future. What we want, right now, hurts us, next year. (3) In some cases, we would actually be happy or well-off with two or more different outcomes, whether the issue involves our jobs, our diets, our city, or even our friends and partners, and the real question, on which good answers are increasingly available, is what most promotes our welfare. The evaluative problem, in such cases, is especially challenging if a decision would alter people’s identity, values, or character. Private and public institutions -- including small companies, large companies, governments – can help people to have better lives, given (1), (2), and (3). This Essay, the text of the Holberg Lecture 2018, is the basis for a different, thicker, and more elaborate treatment in a book.
High-spin enforcement in first-row metal complexes of a constrained polyaromatic ligand: synthesis, structure, and properties

The coordination chemistry of a rigid tetradentate polypyridyl ligand has been developed with first-row transition metals Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II). The polyaromatic ligand, 2,2′-di([2,2′-bipyridin]-6-yl)-1,1′-biphenyl (5, bpbb), is comprised of 2,2′-bipyridine donors positioned at the 2 and 2′ carbons of a biphenyl backbone. Notably, coordination of the typical strong field bipyridine fragments is constrained, weakening the octahedral ligand fields around manganese, iron, and cobalt to give high-spin electronic states. Solution magnetic susceptibility measurements were conducted across the series using the Evans method and variable-temperature solid-state SQUID magnetometry was performed on two Fe(II) compounds, including a bis(thiocyanato) species. Spin crossover behavior was not observed as the compounds remained high-spin over the entire temperature range. The impact of the biphenyl bridge on M–N bond distances and redox potentials has also been assessed by comparison to relevant first-row metal bis- and tris-bipyridine compounds from the literature.