cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Translocation of a gut pathobiont drives autoimmunity in mice and humans

Despite multiple associations between the microbiota and immune diseases, their role in autoimmunity is poorly understood. We found that translocation of a gut pathobiont, Enterococcus gallinarum , to the liver and other systemic tissues triggers autoimmune responses in a genetic background predisposing to autoimmunity. Antibiotic treatment prevented mortality in this model, suppressed growth of E. gallinarum in tissues, and eliminated pathogenic autoantibodies and T cells. Hepatocyte– E. gallinarum cocultures induced autoimmune-promoting factors. Pathobiont translocation in monocolonized and autoimmune-prone mice induced autoantibodies and caused mortality, which could be prevented by an intramuscular vaccine targeting the pathobiont. E. gallinarum –specific DNA was recovered from liver biopsies of autoimmune patients, and cocultures with human hepatocytes replicated the murine findings; hence, similar processes apparently occur in susceptible humans. These discoveries show that a gut pathobiont can translocate and promote autoimmunity in genetically predisposed hosts.
Integrating oncolytic viruses in combination cancer immunotherapy

Oncolytic viruses can be usefully integrated into tumour immunotherapies, as they target multiple steps within the cancer–immunity cycle. Oncolytic viruses directly lyse tumour cells, leading to the release of soluble antigens, danger signals and type I interferons, which drive antitumour immunity. In addition, some oncolytic viruses can be engineered to express therapeutic genes or can functionally alter tumour-associated endothelial cells, further enhancing T cell recruitment into immune-excluded or immune-deserted tumour microenvironments. Oncolytic viruses can also utilize established tumours as an in situ source of neoantigen vaccination through cross-presentation, resulting in regression of distant, uninfected tumours. These features make oncolytic viruses attractive agents for combination strategies to optimize cancer immunotherapy. Oncolytic viruses can target multiple steps in the cancer–immunity cycle and can be engineered to express therapeutic genes and, as a result, can be usefully integrated in combination tumour immunotherapies. Here, the authors discuss features of oncolytic viruses that make them appealing agents for combination approaches in cancer immunotherapy.
The Simple Symmetric Random Walk

A simple random walk is a discrete time stochastic process \((S_{n})_{n\geq 0}\) on the integers Z.
Douglas Centenary Commemoration 1918–2018: Engineering the Science—James Douglas, Early Hydrometallurgy and Chile

James Douglas became known in the nineteenth century for two reasons fundamental to his mining career: (1) his experimental work with copper hydrometallurgy, and (2) his grasp of the idea that the quantity of copper ore matters more than the quality. On the first reason, there is a moment for any technology that’s critically important—when it moves from an area of scientific interest to one that companies are founded on. This paper examines the original 1869 Hunt and Douglas Copper Process in the context of science and engineering as they were in the 1860 and 1870s. It was a “humid” process, developed at Quebec’s Harvey Hill Mine. Chemically, the Hunt and Douglas vat leaching process succeeded, but not the original companies using it. On Douglas’ understanding of ore quality versus quantity, luck had it that the first company to field test the Hunt and Douglas Copper Process was in Chile. The Hunt and Douglas patent made that transition from experimental model to operational plant in 1870 when the Compania de Minas de la Invernada was organized in Valparaiso. As a joint-stock company, Invernada spread the risk of investing in the revolutionary, but untested, Hunt and Douglas Process. The company brought Douglas to Chile as a consultant in 1871. His experience with hydrometallurgy, combined with what he learned about the copper business while in Chile, set him off on a career in metal mining that both surprised Douglas and made him wealthy.
The Panic of 1857, Nationalism, and Secession (A)

This case considers the association between a financial crisis and regime change. The setting for this case is 1861, when Virginians debate the question of secession from the United States, and when northwestern Virginians contemplated secession from Virginia. The proximate financial crisis was the Panic of 1857. Excerpt UVA-F-1802 Rev. Nov. 6, 2019 The Panic of 1857, Nationalism, and Secession (A) On April 17, 1861, a convention chartered by the Virginia state legislature voted to approve an Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 88 to 55. The ordinance would be submitted to a referendum of voters for ratification on May 23. It was adopted following stormy debates. In the five months before, seven Southern states had seceded from the Union. For a chronology of events, see Exhibit1. Exhibit2 gives a map of seceding states. On April 22, 1861, two delegates to the convention, John S. Carlile and Waitman T.Willey (see Exhibits3 and4), distributed a call for a convention of citizens in northwestern Virginia (see Exhibit5). Carlile had argued that the decision to secede was illegal. Willey asserted that the Virginia Convention had not represented the full diversity of views in the Commonwealth, particularly of yeoman farmers in northwestern Virginia. How would Carlile and Willey carry their appeals to the citizens of their region? The events leading up to the wave of secession decisions were complicated and spread over decades. Yet the impulse toward secession accelerated in 1857, when a Supreme Court decision and civil unrest polarized the nation both related to slavery. And the year also marked the panic of 1857 and economic turmoil that some observers also said influenced the path to secession. . . .
Influenza A in Bovine Species: A Narrative Literature Review

It is quite intriguing that bovines were largely unaffected by influenza A, even though most of the domesticated and wild animals/birds at the human–animal interface succumbed to infection over the past few decades. Influenza A occurs on a very infrequent basis in bovine species and hence bovines were not considered to be susceptible hosts for influenza until the emergence of influenza D. This review describes a multifaceted chronological review of literature on influenza in cattle which comprises mainly of the natural infections/outbreaks, experimental studies, and pathological and seroepidemiological aspects of influenza A that have occurred in the past. The review also sheds light on the bovine models used in vitro and in vivo for influenza-related studies over recent years. Despite a few natural cases in the mid-twentieth century and seroprevalence of human, swine, and avian influenza viruses in bovines, the evolution and host adaptation of influenza A virus (IAV) in this species suffered a serious hindrance until the novel influenza D virus (IDV) emerged recently in cattle across the world. Supposedly, certain bovine host factors, particularly some serum components and secretory proteins, were reported to have anti-influenza properties, which could be an attributing factor for the resilient nature of bovines to IAV. Further studies are needed to identify the host-specific factors contributing to the differential pathogenetic mechanisms and disease progression of IAV in bovines compared to other susceptible mammalian hosts.
Effects of familiarity and age on driver safety errors during wayfinding

Wayfinding is a critical skill that enables drivers to navigate from one location to another. Wayfinding abilities decline as individuals age, which may increase older driver reliance on directional cues (e.g. signs) and divert cognitive resources at the expense of vehicle control and safety. Familiarity with an environment can facilitate wayfinding due to previous knowledge of the route. This study examines the role of familiarity in driving safety errors committed during a wayfinding task. Results suggest that age-related driving difficulties can be lessened by familiarity with the environment. The results underscore the need to consider geographical license restrictions in administrative policies aimed at improving older driver safety.
Multiple Concussions Increase Odds and Rate of Lower Extremity Injury in National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes After Return to Play

Background:Concussion in collegiate athletics is one of the most prevalent sport-related injuries in the United States, with recent studies suggesting persistent deficits in neuromuscular control a...
Management of Pediatric Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Experience from Eastern India

ABSTRACT Imatinib inhibits constitutively active BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). It is a novel molecule, which inhibits the protein product of this fusion gene and hence has been used in the treatment of CML. In a long term -term study it was found superior to interferon alfa plus cytarabine for newly diagnosed CML in the chronic phase. However, till date there is no major study to evaluate Eastern Indian patients with CML treated with imatinib mesylate. The present study evaluates 138 patients with CML treated with imatinib mesylate. Of these, 33 patients had to be excluded due to various reasons of noncompliance, death and not being fit to receive the drug. Among rest 105 patients, 95 was in chronic phase, 7 in accelerated phase and 3 patients had blast crisis at the time of presentation. Among 105 patients, 45 patients received either interferon alpha or hydroxyurea and other 60 patients were previously untreated. Complete hematological remission rate and major cytogenetic response (CGR) rates were 90% and 50%, respectively after 1 year of treatment. Complete molecular remission rate was 35% after 1 year of treatment. The number of imatinib resistant patients is 8, about 7.6 % of total included patients. The disease free and overall survival at 51 months are 75.5 and 81.5% respectively. Oedema, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, dermatitis, mucositis, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were some of the major toxicities. After 51 months of follow-up, continuous treatment of chronic-phase CML with imatinib as initial therapy was found to be safe and able to induce durable responses in a high proportion of patients. Thus it can be concluded that imatinib therapy in pediatric patients can replace bone marrow transplantation. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Legal Intimacies: Slavery and Marriage in Victorian Law and Literature:

In Oliver Twist (1837), Dickens explains that Oliver’s father had been “solemnly contracted” to marry Oliver’s mother, but was already married to another woman. A “clanking bond,” this marriage bec...
Taxonomy of Peruvian water beetles in the genus Hydrochus Leach, 1817 (Coleoptera: Hydrochidae)

The taxonomy of Peruvian water beetles in the genus Hydrochus Leach, 1817 is presented. The known fauna now consists of 22 species, 14 of which are described as new species. The new species are diagnosed, and high-resolution images of the habitus and male genitalia of each species are given. The following new species are described: H. alternatus n. sp., H. astrictus n. sp., H. bisinuatus n. sp., H. bucapitus n. sp., H. cracentis n. sp., H. dualis n. sp., H. lescheni n. sp., H. obliquus n. sp., H. parvicollis n. sp., H. spinosus n. sp., H. subovatus n. sp., H. tambopaticus n. sp., H. tripartitus n. sp., and H. uniformis n. sp. New locality data are provided for H. argutus Knisch 1921, H. bituberculatus Perkins 2019, H. coeneni Makhan 1992, H. leei Perkins 2019, H. lobatus Perkins 2019, H. obscurus Sharp 1882, H. richteri Bruch 1915, and H. sagittarius Perkins 2019. Images of the habitus and male genitalia of H. coeneni Makhan 1992 are also given.
Modified Harvard Step Testing within a Clinic Setting Enables Exercise Prescription for Cancer Survivors

Purpose To evaluate the utility of modified Harvard Step tests within the context of a comprehensive physical examination for fitness evaluation and exercise prescription for cancer survivors. Methods A retrospective chart review of initial cancer survivor clinic visits over a ten-year period (n=169) was conducted to evaluate correlations between demographic factors, clinical characteristics, step and strength test performance, and exercise prescriptions. Results Clinic population was 94% female, aged 27-79 years, predominantly breast cancer (87%), presenting within two years of cancer diagnosis with current exercise history significantly less vigorous than past exercise (p=0.00; 34% sedentary). Fifty-two percent completed a 3-minute-9-inch step test at pace (96 steps per minute). Fourteen percent required slower self-pacing, 12% both a slower pace and shortened time, and 5% a flat test. Younger age (p=0.04) and more vigorous exercise histories (p<0.04) correlated with ability to complete the at pace test but all formats led to exercise prescriptions more vigorous than current activity (p<0.0002). Stratified fitness ratings using YMCA normative data yielded associations between higher fitness levels and lower BMI (F(1,86)=4.149, p<0.05), office pulse (F(1,87)=7.677, p<0.05), and systolic blood pressure (F(1,18)=6.58, p<0.05). Conclusions Office-based fitness evaluation with a panel of modified step test options accommodating different baseline fitness levels enabled personalized exercise prescriptions more vigorous than current activity. Implications for Cancer Survivors Cancer patients frequently engage in less vigorous activity as they enter into survivorship. Modified step tests are a means for office-based evaluation of cardiovascular fitness within the context of a comprehensive physical examination.
Prediction of Drag Force on Vehicles in a Platoon Configuration Using Machine Learning

Machine learning is used for extraction of valuable information from data thus helping in exploration of hidden patterns, leading to learning models that can be used for prediction. In the domain of autonomous vehicles machine learning techniques have been applied in several areas, vehicle platooning being one of them. Vehicle platooning is a vital feature of automated highways which provides the key benefits of fuel economy, road safety and environmental protection coupled with safe road transportation. However, high computational cost associated with the numerical simulation of vehicle aerodynamics makes the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study of vehicle platoon prohibitively expensive and complex. Machine learning, with its high predictive power, has emerged as a promising compliment to CFD studies of external aerodynamics. This paper presents estimation error based performance comparison of five different supervised learning algorithms: Support Vector Regression, Polynomial Regression, Linear Regression and two different models of Neural Networks for prediction of aerodynamic drag coefficient corresponding to each vehicle in a two, three and four vehicle platoon configurations based on the drag coefficients provided by experimental study at different inter-vehicle distances. Predicted drag coefficients are then juxtaposed with CFD data from numerical simulations to evaluate closeness to experimental drag coefficients. Results reveal that polynomial regression model best fits the aerodynamics with 0.0223 estimation error. To the best of our knowledge no machine learning based methods have been applied before for modeling aerodynamic drag on vehicle platoon.
Temperature determines Zika, dengue and chikungunya transmission potential in the Americas

Recent epidemics of Zika, dengue, and chikungunya have heightened the need to understand virus transmission ecology for Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. An estimated 3.9 billion people in 120 countries are at risk for these diseases. Temperature defines the fundamental potential for vector-borne disease transmission, yet the potential for transmission in sub-tropical and temperate regions remains uncertain. Using mechanistic transmission models fit to mosquito and virus physiology data and validated with human case data, we show that mean temperature accurately bounds transmission risk for Zika, chikungunya, and dengue in the Americas. Transmission occurs between 18-34 degrees C and peaks at 29 degrees C for Ae. aegypti (between 11-28 degrees C with a peak at 26 degrees C for Ae. albopictus). As predicted, high relative incidence of Zika, dengue, and chikungunya in humans occurs between 23-32 degrees C, peaks at 27-29 degrees C, and is very low outside the predicted range. As a proxy for infrastructure and vector control effort, economic reliance on tourism explains some departures from areas otherwise suitable for high rates of transmission. Nonetheless, the temperature-based models alone provide fundamental eco-physiological measures of transmission potential. Tropical and subtropical regions are suitable for extended seasonal or year-round transmission by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. By contrast, potential transmission in temperate areas is constrained to at most three months per year even if vectors are present (which is currently not the case for large parts of the US). Such brief transmission windows limit the likelihood and potential extent of epidemics following disease introduction in temperate zones.
Testing the effect of summer camp on excess summer weight gain in youth from low-income households: a randomized controlled trial.

Children from racial and ethnic minority groups, low-income households, and those with overweight or obesity gain more weight during the summer than the school year. Summer day camps, which offer routine opportunities for physical activity and regular meal and snack times, have potential to mitigate excess weight gain. This randomized controlled trial was done to determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of summer camp in preventing excess summer weight gain among youth from low-income households. Children, ages 6 to 12 years, were randomized to attend 8-weeks of summer day camp (CAMP) or to experience an unstructured summer as usual (SAU) in 2017–2018. Primary feasibility outcomes included retention, engagement and completion of midsummer measures. Secondary outcomes included changes in BMIz, engagement in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary behavior, and diet quality and energy intake from the school year to summer. Multivariable linear mixed models were used to assess group differences. Ninety-four participants were randomized to CAMP (n = 46) or SAU (n = 48), of whom 93.0 and 91.6% completed end of school and end of summer assessments, respectively. While CAMP participants attended only 50% of camp days offered, on average, they lost − 0.03 BMIz units while those in SAU gained 0.07 BMIz units over the summer (b = 0.10; p = .02). Group differences in change in energy intake from the school year to summer were borderline significant, as energy intake remained relatively unchanged in CAMP participants but increased among participants in SAU (p = 0.07). Randomizing children to attend summer day camp or experience an unstructured summer as usual was effective in this low-income sample. Our findings support the potential for summer camps in mitigating excess summer weight gain. A larger randomized trial is needed explore efficacy, cost-effectiveness and longer-term effects of attending summer camp on weight and weight-related behaviors. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration: NCT04085965 (09/2019, retrospective registration).
Lapses in Professional Behavior Identified by Students of Physical Therapy.

Purpose Professional behaviors are interpersonal skills central and necessary to perform the work of a given profession. Although covered in professional training programs, lapses in professional behaviors remain. We assessed how students of physical therapy ranked the importance of professional behaviors and shared examples of lapses in professional behaviors seen in student peers. Subjects Out of 250 accredited physical therapist programs in the U.S., 135 students (age 26.2 ± 4.65 yrs) participated in our survey. Methods We analyzed the student ranking of professional behaviors as compared to the accepted standard of behaviors. Themes were identified from descriptions of lapses in professional behavior. Results The ranking of professional behaviors was not consistent with the accepted standard ranking. Analysis of student observations resulted in the identification of six themes: external professionalism, respectfulness, communication, relationship to learning, affective professionalism, and clinical decision-making. Discussion Students' rankings of professional behaviors did not correspond to the rankings in the reference standard of clinicians. We have identified a perception gap between professional behaviors previously ranked by clinicians as compared to how students ranked those same behaviors. Educators may benefit from consideration of student perceptions of professional behaviors to most effectively facilitate development of professionalism.
Urban Teachers Engaging in Critical Talk: Navigating Deficit Discourse and Neoliberal Logics

This article examines urban teachers’ critiques—their critical talk—as moments of agency, and as potential, but tenuous, avenues for transformation. The article draws on data from a qualitative interpretive study examining the complexities of urban teachers’ work. This research begins from a perspective that is attentive to and critical of both (a) the racialized deficit discourse, a predominant framework in urban schools—often taken up by urban teachers—that constructs poor urban youth and youth of color as deficient, as objects in need of control and correction; and (b) neoliberal approaches to education, particularly the market-based, audit culture logics and practices that devalue, discipline, and target teachers as workers. This research examines how urban teachers navigated both deficit and neoliberal logics, and it offers a theoretical framework to understand teachers’ critiques to these logics as a kind of agency. Findings suggest that despite urban teachers’ being critical of the neoliberal pressures that constrained their work, the deficit discourse constructed urban students themselves as primary constraints for teachers. Deficit discourse was not all-encompassing, and some teachers resisted it, but deficit thinking seemed to intensify in conjunction with neoliberalism, and it cut short the potential of urban teachers’ critique.
SIGNIFICANCE OF VARIABLY CONFINED TRIAXIAL TESTING

Two types of tests were performed in an earlier study - the constant confining pressure (CCP) test, in which the chamber pressure is held constant during application of the repeated axial stress and the variable confining pressure (VCP) test, in which the chamber pressure is applied dynamically and varied simultaneously with the axial stress. A sensitivity analysis, consisting of finite element analyses of typical flexible pavement sections, is examined. The granular material resilient parameters are varied over a wide range of laboratory-derived values. The importance of accounting for the stress-dependent properties of paving materials in pavement structural analysis is demonstrated by the drastic changes in stress and deflection distribution effected by the inclusion of stabilized layers beneath unbound granular base courses. The significance of differences in material parameters derived from the two types of triaxial tests are assessed, and it is shown that the less complicated CCP test yields sufficiently accurate results to warrant its continued use as a means of characterizing granular pavement materials.
Interactive Analysis of Transplant Data

The Interactive Statistical Analysis Package (ISAP) is an experimental software tool being developed in the Transplant Information System project (TRAINS), a joint research project of the IBM Scientific Center Heidelberg and the University of Heidelberg. It intends to provide fast and easy access to the Collaborative Transplant Study (CTS) data on kidney transplantation.
Probability Exists (But Just Barely)

Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the fact that probability exists—but just barely. It is incredible that all applications of the calculus of probability in the natural and social sciences are representations and evaluations of subjective attitudes. Quantum mechanics is not a description of opinion, nor are statistical mechanics and genetics. Both the probability and the possibility assessments are expressions of states of judgment, which are neither true nor false. Probabilistic concepts are used in scientific applications to represent conditions under which objects and systems respond in various ways to experimentation. Stochastic attributions, like attributions of dispositions of dispositions, abilities and compulsions, are predications of properties to objects. Statistical probability is construed according to the Venn–von Mises approach to interpreting statistical probability and the Kolmogorov–Cramer–Braithwaite approach. Approaches along the lines of Kolmogorov–Cramer–Braithwaite are to be preferred because they seek to understand statistical probability by—namely, (1) articulating the formal requirements for a stochastic model and (2) offering an account of the epistemic or evidential connections between hypothesis about statistical probability and hypothesis about test behavior.
Tight worst-case loss bounds for predicting with expert advice

We consider on-line algorithms for predicting binary or continuous-valued outcomes, when the algorithm has available the predictions made by N experts. For a sequence of trials, we compute total losses for both the algorithm and the experts under a loss function. At the end of the trial sequence, we compare the total loss of the algorithm to the total loss of the best expert, i.e., the expert with the least loss on the particular trial sequence. We show that for a large class of loss functions, with binary outcomes the total loss of the algorithm proposed by Vovk exceeds the total loss of the best expert at most by the amount c ln N, where c is a constant determined by the loss function. This upper bound does not depend on any assumptions on how the experts'' predictions or the outcomes are generated, and the trial sequence can be arbitrarily long. We give a straightforward method for finding the correct value c and show by a lower bound that for this value of c, the upper bound is asymptotically tight. The lower bound is based on a probabilistic adversary argument. The class of loss functions for which the c ln N upper bound holds includes the square loss, the logarithmic loss, and the Hellinger loss. We also consider another class of loss functions, including the absolute loss, for which we have an Omega((l log N)^(1/2)) lower bound, where l is the number of trials. We show that for the square and logarithmic loss functions, Vovk''s algorithm achieves the same worst-case upper bounds with continuous-valued outcomes as with binary outcomes. For the absolute loss, we show how bounds earlier achieved for binary outcomes can be achieved with continuous-valued outcomes using a slightly more complicated algorithm.
Fluorescent cell counting as an assay method for respiratory syncytial virus.

Abstract The fluorescent cell-counting technique was applied to the enumeration of cell-infecting units of respiratory syncytial (RS) virus in human fetal diploid (HFD) cover-slip cell cultures; it was a sensitive, precise, and rapid assay method. Approximately 2 hr was required for maximal adsorption of RS virus to HFD cell monolayers. However, about 15% of the infectious virus in the inoculum remained unadsorbed; this percentage was not significantly reduced even when the adsorption period was extended to 5 hr. A linear relationship between virus concentration and the number of fluorescent cells existed over a range of 1.2 log10 units. Variation of the mean of replicate determinations in a single experiment was approximately 7.5%. The distribution of single infected HFD cells on cover-slip cell cultures corresponded with the calculated frequencies of the Poisson distribution. The Chi square test for the extent of fit was calculated for several experiments, and the value of P was never less than 0.5. The addition of immune serum after virus adsorption effectively inhibited the development of detectable levels of viral antigen in secondarily infected cells.
Reconstitution of Mammalian 48S Ribosomal Translation Initiation Complex

Abstract Initiation of translation is defined as the process by which a 40S ribosomal subunit, containing bound initiator methionyl-tRNA (Met-tRNAi), is positioned at the initiation AUG codon of an mRNA to form the 48S initiation complex. Subsequently, a 60S ribosomal subunit joins the 48S initiation complex to form an elongation-competent 80S initiation complex. By use of highly purified eukaryotic translation initiation factors (eIFs), ribosomes, Met-tRNAi, mRNA, GTP as an effector molecule, and ATP as a source of energy, the initiation step of translation can be efficiently reconstituted. In this chapter, we describe the detailed procedure for efficient binding of Met-tRNAi to the 40S ribosomal subunit, the subsequent binding of the resulting 43S preinitiation complex to an mRNA, and scanning and positioning of the 43S complex at the AUG start codon of the mRNA to form the 48S initiation complex.
Building Healthy Cities

Through community organizing this approach has proven to build both localized and bridging social capital that has manifested itself through physical improvements of urban environments. Over its eight years of existence The City Repair Project has created over 30 public gathering places and events in Portland, OR that engage people to connect with the community and place around them. Intersection Repair projects outside the Portland area have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented in Olympia, WA, Ottawa, Ontario, Ashland, NC, Minneapolis, MN, and Ithaca, NY. They all have a core group of people committed to making their neighborhoods better places to live and have strategically organized their community. The goal is to help people physically change their neighborhoods to be more community-oriented, ecologically sustainable, and simply more beautiful. This work is inspired by the idea that localization of decisionmaking, culture, and economy is a necessary foundation for healthy cities.
Corporate Social Responsibility and the Allocation of Procurement Contracts: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

This study examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) influences the allocation of government procurement contracts. To obtain exogenous variation in firms' social engagement, I exploit a quasi-natural experiment provided by the enactment of state-level constituency statutes, which allow directors to consider stakeholders' interests when making business decisions. Using constituency statutes as instrumental variable (IV) for CSR, I find that companies with higher CSR receive more procurement contracts. The effect is stronger for more complex contracts and in the early years of the government-company relationship, suggesting that CSR helps mitigate information asymmetries by signaling non-opportunistic behavior and trustworthiness. In addition, I find that the effect is stronger in competitive industries, indicating that CSR can serve as a differentiation strategy to compete against other bidders.
Reliability Engineering: Probabilistic Models and Maintenance Methods

Preface Introduction System Structures Status Functions System Structures and Status Functions Modules of Systems Multistate Components and Systems Exercises Reliability of System Structures Probability Elements Reliability of System Structures Modules Reliability Importance Reliability Allocation Conclusion Exercises Reliability Over Time Reliability Measures Life Distributions System Level Models Exercises Failure Processes Mechanical Failure Models Electronic Failure Models Other Failure Models Exercises Age Acceleration Age Acceleration for Electronic Devices Age Acceleration for Mechanical Devices Step Stress Strategies Exercises Nonparametric Statistical Methods Data Set Notation and Censoring Estimates Based on Order Statistics Estimates and Confidence Intervals Tolerance Bounds TTT Transforms Exercises Parametric Statistical Methods Graphical Models Method of Moments Method of Maximum Likelihood Special Topics Exercises Repairable Systems I-Renewal and Instantaneous Repair Renewal Processes Classification of Distributions and Bounds on Renewal Measures Residual Life Distribution Conclusion Exercises Repairable Systems II-Non-Renewal and Instantaneous Repair Minimal Repair Models Imperfect Repair Models Equivalent Age Models Conclusion Exercises Availability Analysis Availability Measures Example Computations System-Level Availability The Nonrenewal Cases Markov Models Exercises Preventive Maintenance Replacement Policies Nonrenewal Models Conclusion Acknowledgement Exercises Predictive Maintenance System Deterioration Inspection Scheduling More Complete Policy Analysis Conclusion Exercises Special Topics Warranties Reliability Growth Dependent Components Bivariate Reliability Acknowledgement Exercises Appendix A: Numerical Approximations Normal Distribution Function Gamma Function Psi Function Appendix B: Numerical Evaluation of Weibull Renewal Functions Appendix C: Laplace Transform for the Key Renewal Theorem Bibliography Index
Geographic Perspective on the Current Biomass Resource Availability in the United States

The objective of this report is to estimate the biomass resources available in the United States and map the results using geographic information systems (GIS).
Dr. Rapkin Replies

I agree with most of the points made by Dr. Phelan in his letter, especially those related to the need for skill in performing nasotracheal intubation. It is unreasonable to assume that this degree of skill will be available in most hospitals, and, therefore, tracheostomy will continue to be an important procedure for securing the airway of a child with epiglottitis. Since the submission of my article, which indicated possible dangers of nasotracheal intubation in viral croup, there have been two articles published that support Dr. Phelan9s contention that such intubation is safe and effective in the treatment of this disease.1,2
SEASONAL HABITAT SHIFT IN AN INTERTIDAL WOLF SPIDER: PROXIMAL CUES ASSOCIATED WITH MIGRATION AND SUBSTRATE PREFERENCE

During most of the year, the wolf spider Pardosa lapidicina Emerton 1885 occupies tidal cobble beaches surrounding Narragansett Bay, RI, USA, but in late autumn part of the population moves into adjacent forest litter to overwinter. We monitored these movements with drift fences and pitfall traps from 1996-1999 and evaluated the possible roles of ambient temperature, rainfall, humidity and storm events. We tested substrate choice over the season as a proxy for migratory tendency, both in the laboratory and the field, focusing on the roles of temperature and photoperiod. The timing of peak migration differed among years (S.D. 5 15.5 d). Minimum weekly temperature, weekly rainfall, percent relative humidity and storm events did not explain the variation in migratory times. However, significantly more spiders migrated during weeks with below-freezing temperatures than in weeks without them. Leaf litter, which has less variable temperatures than beach cobble, may provide a refuge from extreme temperatures during winter. Spiders maintained at cold temperatures in laboratory experiments chose leaves over beach cobble significantly more often than did those in warm temperatures. The time of year that spiders were collected also influenced their probability of choosing leaf substrate in the laboratory. Photoperiod, on the other hand, did not significantly influence substrate preference. This study helps to uncover how environmental cues influence seasonal movements across a habitat boundary.
The role of nutrient levels on flowering in water hyacinth

Studies were conducted to determine whether changing nutrient concentrations and N:P ratios were effective in inducing flowering in the water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. In both early and late summer, inflorescences formed only in plants grown on unsupplemented growth medium containing potassium (< 3 ppm), magnesium (9 ppm), sulfate sulphur (10 ppm), sodium and chlorine (c. 45 ppm each) and calcium (79 ppm), but no measurable quantities of either nitrogen or phosphorus. The largest number of ramets formed on plants grown in the most concentrated growth medium (10 ×), but the greatest biomass was achieved 1 × medium. In tanks in which plants flowered, the cumulative number of ramets plus inflorescences that formed, approximately equalled the cumulative number of ramets formed in tanks that did not flower. These data confirm that in rapidly-expanding populations, ramet production is limited by meristem availability during flowering episodes. The effect is not nutrient dependent.
Pyrrole copolymers with enhanced ion diffusion rates for lithium batteries

Copolymers of pyrrole with a polyether-substituted pyrrole were tested as cathodes for lithium batteries. The charge and discharge characteristics showed that anion transport was much faster in the copolymer than in polypyrrole. As a result these electrodes store and release much more charge at higher current densities but are similar to polypyrrole at low currents. Pulse and relaxation measurements of the ion diffusion showed that this difference was due to a ten-fold increase in the anion diffusion coefficient.
Hospital Turnaround Strategies

Despite reports of higher profitability in recent years, hospitals are failing at a faster rate than ever before. Although many hospitals leave decisions regarding revenues and costs to chief financial officers and their staff, this is a recipe for disaster. From research conducted over the last 4 years on hospital bankruptcies and turnarounds, the author found that a common series of actions will help organizations evade collapse. The author explored these turnaround strategies through research and analysis of a variety of hospitals and health systems that had a high probability of immediate financial crisis or collapse. His continued observation and analysis of these hospitals in subsequent years showed that most hospitals never emerge from their bleak financial conditions. However, a few hospital administrations have successfully turned around their organizations.
TOTAL LEAST-SQUARES RECONSTRUCTION WITH WAVELETS FOR OPTICAL TOMOGRAPHY

In a previous paper [ Zhu , J. Opt. Soc. Am. A14, 799 (1997)] an iterative algorithm for obtaining the total least-squares (TLS) solution of a linear system based on the Rayleigh quotient formulation was presented. Here we derive what to our knowledge are the first statistical properties of this solution. It is shown that the Rayleigh-quotient-form TLS (RQF-TLS) estimator is equivalent to the maximum-likelihood estimator when noise terms in both data and operator elements are independent and identically distributed Gaussian. A perturbation analysis of the RQF-TLS solution is derived, and from it the mean square error of the RQF-TLS solution is obtained in closed form, which is valid at small noise levels. We then present a wavelet-based multiresolution scheme for obtaining the TLS solution. This method was employed with a multigrid algorithm to solve the linear perturbation equation encountered in optical tomography. Results from numerical simulations show that this method requires substantially less computation than the previously reported one-grid TLS algorithm. The method also allows one to identify regions of interest quickly from a coarse-level reconstruction and restrict the reconstruction in the following fine resolutions to those regions. Finally, the method is less sensitive to noise than the one-grid TLS and multigrid least-squares algorithms.
College and Community Choir Member Experiences in a Collaborative Intergenerational Performance Project

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the experiences of college and community choir members in a collaborative intergenerational performance project. Data included an initial focus group interview with college choir participants (n = 8), an initial focus group interview with community chorus participants (n = 8); collaborative intergenerational performance project journals from college choir and community chorus participants (n = 16); postproject individual interviews with each participant (n = 16); and the teacher—researcher's personal log of collaborative intergenerational performance project interactions. According to the analysis, perceived positive outcomes of the project included participants' heightened performance experience, a better understanding of others, and no signs of an age barrier. Challenges identified were related to the importance of preparation for collaboration and issues regarding placement of singers in the ensemble.
Host-parasite relationships among bolete infecting Hypomyces species.

Host specificity of the mycoparasite Hypomyces microspermus to the Xerocomus chrysenteron group has been observed, but primarily from European collections. Our objectives were to test host specificity among Hypomyces spp. associated with boletes in California oak-woodlands, investigate population biology of these parasites, and to initiate studies on host-parasite coevolution. Bolete samples were collected from four locations separated by up to 600 km. Hypomyces isolates were cultured and host tissue samples taken for molecular identification. Based on AFLP analysis, four distinct Hypomyces clades were found with little genotypic diversity within each group. ITS-rDNA regions of selected isolates from each group were sequenced and analyzed along with sequences from a previously published phylogeny. Isolates from two AFLP groups clustered with H. microspermus whereas isolates from the other two AFLP groups clustered with H. chrysospermus. ITS-RFLP followed by sequence analysis identified three bolete hosts: (1) X. dryophilus; (2) a Xerocomus species closely related to X. dryophilus with affinities to X. chrysenteron; and (3) a Xerocomus species related to the X. subtomentosus group, which is not closely related to X. dryophilus and X. chrysenteron. H. microspermus infected X. dryophilus and the species with affinities to X. chrysenteron, whereas H. chrysospermus infected the species with affinities to X. chrysenteron and the species related to the X. subtomentosus group. These results support previous observations that H. microspermus is host-specific to the X. chrysenteron group, and that H. chrysospermus is more of a generalist pathogen. We also conclude that host-parasite coevolution studies within this system will not be possible until a phylogeny of North American boletes is in place.
Opera as business?: From impresari to the publishing industry

Abstract The impresario was a key figure of nineteenth-century Italian operatic life. Along with other economic, financial and organizational aspects of ottocento opera, the article examines the role of these shrewd businessmen, drawing particular attention to the role of the Habsburgs in the administration of theaters in Lombardy. Along with a general job description of the Italian opera impresario of the first half of the nineteenth century, the article explains how gambling provided a way of financing the lavish seasons of Italian opera houses. After 1861, the role of the impresario changed considerably and was subsequently taken over by the publishers. Generally speaking, the impresario's role changed from being an active creator to that of a mere participant in the opera industry. Soon after 1900 he disappeared completely from the stages of the Italian opera world.
Transformation of gender roles in hollywood movies: 1946–1990

Abstract Over the past 25 years Hollywood filmmakers have gradually broken with tradition and now portray men and women in new ways. Female characters, no longer so exclusively focused on romance, have emerged as more complex, alienated, and violent. Through a systematic content analysis of the movies from the 1940s through 1989, the authors explore the shift in gender roles, showing how the images reflect the attitudes of a new Hollywood elite of filmmakers who have succeeded in replacing old myths with new.
Interaction between RGS7 and polycystin

Regulators of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins accelerate the intrinsic GTPase activity of certain Gα subunits and thereby modulate a number of G protein-dependent signaling cascades. Currently, little is known about the regulation of RGS proteins themselves. We identified a short-lived RGS protein, RGS7, that is rapidly degraded through the proteasome pathway. The degradation of RGS7 is inhibited by interaction with a C-terminal domain of polycystin, the protein encoded by PKD1, a gene involved in autosomal-dominant polycystic kidney disease. Furthermore, membranous expression of C-terminal polycystin relocalized RGS7. Our results indicate that rapid degradation and interaction with integral membrane proteins are potential means of regulating RGS proteins.
Tuning the Scattering Response of the Optical Nano Antennas Using Graphene

In this paper, we propose the tuning of the optical nano antenna in the visible spectrum using graphene. A dipole structure for the nano antenna is considered with the resonating wavelength at the VIS-NIR spectrum range. Resonance is determined using the scattering characteristics of the dipole antenna. Placing monolayer and bilayers of graphene sheets on top of the optical nano antenna will result in a change in the resonating wavelength. The input impedance of the resultant structures is calculated. The FDTD simulation results for resonance characteristics were verified with the experiment results. Such architecture of graphene on top of the dipole nano antennas can be used for different biological and chemical gas sensors.
Kinetics paths to radical-induced ignition of methane/air mixtures

Non-equilibrium plasmas may be used to dissociate reactants into radicals. In turn, these radicals react releasing energy and broadening the radical pool and thereby ignite or aid the ignition of a fuel=air mixture. Using methane as an archetypical fuel, this work studies the kinetic pathways that control homogeneous ignition in the presence of radicals, which were previously formed by external, non-chemical means. This type of ignition generally follows a well-defined fourstage chain sequence starting with reactions of the original radicals, followed by the reactions of their products, up to the point of ignition. The early chemical kinetic processes were found to be relatively insensitive to pressure, initial temperature, and=or stoichiometry of the mixture. Radical-induced ignition has two major advantages over thermal ignition. First, a major part of the ignition energy comes from exothermic reactions between the radicals and the oxidizer. As a result, radical-induced ignition can potentially require less energy than, for example, sparkplugs to which all the thermal energy must be supplied in the form of electricity. Second, radical ignition can reduce the ignition delay time by many orders of magnitude to values, under extreme conditions, of the order of few hundred nanoseconds, which are nearly 5 orders of magnitude lower than the tens of milliseconds ignition delays that are typical of thermal ignition.
Black Students and their Families What Leads to Success in College

There is a wealth of research on Black college students and a second body of literature on Black families, but studies on the relationship between Black college students and their families are very limited. This project investigated the role of families in the lives of successful Black college students. The results suggest a model of eight connections between students and families that can be conceptualized in three stages.