cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How Do Visual Representations Influence Survey Responses? Evidence from a Choice Experiment on Landscape Attributes of Green Infrastructure

Abstract This article provides new evidence on how images influence survey responses, using a split-sample choice experiment. Our results suggest that, when respondents are presented with both images and text, they exhibit stronger preferences for attributes with high visual salience than when presented with either images or text alone. Furthermore, respondents are less likely to ignore individual attributes when both images and text are provided. However, the provision of images makes responses more random, i.e., respondents' preferences for attributes are less consistent across choice questions.
The Advantage of Eye–Hand Cross-Dominance for Baseball Batters

This chapter starts with the basic process that we use for solving baseball puzzles, our modus operandi. Then, this process is used to explain why the number of home runs in major league baseball increased starting in 2014. Finally, this chapter discusses three baseball myths. Myth 1, left-handed batters are better. Myth 2, opposite handedness is an advantage for the batter. Myth 3, eye–hand cross-dominance is an advantage for the batter. This last myth takes a lot of explaining and takes up most of this chapter.
Convex hull representations of special monomials of binary variables

This paper gives the convex hull representation of any monomial in n binary variables $${\mathbf {x}}$$ wherein each variable is bounded above by an auxiliary binary variable y. The convex hull form is already known when the variable y is not present, but has not been considered for this more general case. Without y, the convex hull is obtained by replacing the monomial with a continuous variable, and then enforcing $$(n+2)$$ linear inequalities to ensure that the new variable equals the monomial value at all binary realizations. Specifically, these inequalities, together with the restrictions $${\mathbf {x}} \le {\mathbf {1}}$$ , give the convex hull of the corresponding set of $$2^n$$ points in $${\mathbb {R}}^{n+1}$$ that have the new variable equal to the monomial value. With y, we show that for the case in which $$n=2$$ , an implementation of a special-structure RLT gives the convex hull, while for $$n \ge 3$$ , a different level-1 RLT implementation accomplishes the same task. In fact, the argument for $$n \ge 3$$ allows us to obtain the convex hulls of various discrete and/or continuous sets, including those associated with certain supermodular functions, symmetric multilinear monomials in continuous variables over special box constraints, and the Boolean quadric polytope.
Theoretical conceptualizations of agreeableness and antagonism

Abstract Agreeableness, arguably the largest dimension of the Five Factor approach to personality, is related to a range of variables associated with motives to maintain social harmony. As a personality dimension, agreeableness is less frequently studied empirically and even less well developed theoretically relative to the other four factors. At one end of this continuous personality dimension is antagonism. This chapter explores the theoretical conceptualizations related to antagonism. We discuss three classes of conceptual issues that have implications for the interpretation of empirical studies on antagonism-related outcomes (e.g., aggression, antisocial behavior): methodological assumptions, psychological mechanisms, and atheoretical approaches. Following these preliminaries, we critically reviewed theoretical approaches to the scientific explanations of empirical findings for the antagonism-agreeableness continuum.
Abstract 053: Differential Effects of LRP1 in AngII-induced Ascending Aortic PathologiesBetween Male and Female Mice: Lack of Association With Elastin Fragmentation

Objective: Low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1), a transmembrane protein, is important in maintaining elastin fiber integrity of the aortic wall. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of ...
Association Between Weight Loss and Glycemic Outcomes: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Remote Patient Monitoring Program for Diabetes Management.

Background: Evidence-based guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D) consist of blood glucose monitoring, medication adherence, and lifestyle modifications that may particularly benefit from reminders, consultation, education, and behavioral reinforcements through remote patient monitoring (RPM). Objectives: To identify predictors of weight loss and to examine the association between weight loss and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) outcomes for T2D patients who were enrolled in an RPM program for diabetes management. Materials and Methods: The study applied logistic and ordinary least-squares regression models to examine the relationship between baseline characteristics and the likelihood of weight loss during the RPM, and how the magnitude of weight loss was related to changes in HbA1C outcomes for 1,103 T2D patients who went through 3 months of RPM from 2014 to 2017. Results: Older patients were 3% more likely to have weight loss (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.05), whereas patients with higher baseline HbA1C had 9% reduced odds (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.97) of experiencing weight loss. For every pound of weight lost, there was a 0.02-point (95% CI, 0.01-0.03) reduction on the HbA1C measured at the end of the RPM. Moreover, compared with those who had weight loss of ≤3%, participants who had lost 5-7%, or >7% of their baseline weight had a 0.37- and 0.58-point reduction in HbA1C, respectively. Conclusions: This study revealed a notable relationship between weight loss and positive HbA1C outcomes for T2D patients in an RPM-facilitated diabetes management program, which pointed to the potential of integrating evidence-based lifestyle modification programs into future telemedicine programs to improve diabetes management outcomes.
Within-group relatedness and patterns of reproductive sharing and cooperation in the tropical chestnut-crested yuhina

In cooperatively breeding animals, genetic relatedness among group members often determines the extent of reproductive sharing, cooperation and competition within a group. Studies of species for which cooperative behaviour is not entirely based on kinship are key for understanding the benefits favouring the evolution and maintenance of cooperative breeding among nonrelatives. In the cooperatively breeding chestnut-crested yuhina, Yuhina everetti, a songbird endemic to Borneo, we tested whether unrelated helpers are more likely to gain parentage than are related helpers consistent with the hypothesis that inbreeding risk constrains reproduction by related helpers. We also examined whether related or unrelated helpers provision broods more because of differences in their potential indirect or direct fitness benefits of helping. Kin structure of breeding groups (breeding pair and up to eight helpers of both sexes, median = 2 helpers, 96% of 57 pairs had helpers) based on genetic analysis was mixed; 48% of 76 breeder/helper dyads were first-order (26%) or second-order (22%) relatives of one or both members of the breeding pair, and 52% were nonrelatives. Only unrelated male and female helpers gained parentage, and helpers did not differ in their provisioning rate according to their relatedness to the broods. We documented quasi-parasitism or co-breeding by female helpers in 14% of 29 broods and extrapair paternity by male helpers in 21% of 47 broods. This rate of extrapair paternity is relatively high among the few tropical species examined but fit with predictions for mixed-kin groups where inbreeding is avoided. These findings support the emerging pattern for cooperative breeding in birds with mixed-kin groups, wherein unrelated helpers are more likely to gain parentage than are related helpers and helping effort is not necessarily predicted by kinship.
Postural Risks and User Experience of 3D Interface Designs for Virtual Reality-based Learning Environments:

Virtual Reality-based Learning Environments (VRLEs) are an emerging tool for classroom teaching. While VRLEs are increasingly in use, little attention has been paid to ergonomic challenges in use o...
Projects with people, participant-coercion and the autoethnographical invite

The aim of this article is twofold. It describes a long-term relationship with a not-for-profit organisation in the UK, focusing on a particular project that used drama as a tool for building self-confidence and employability. At the same time it reviews autoethnography as a research method, describing its distinctive features and questioning the relationship between empathy and exploitation, informed consent and coercive participant-manipulation. This aspect will be couched, at least in part, in terms of its own autoethnographical journey, one that interrogates the insider/outsider status of researchers whose work does not always sit comfortably within a context of identity, identification and the increasing pressure to develop work that takes place behind closed doors into public-facing outputs.
Past-year methamphetamine use among US young adults: 2015-2018

Background and Objective: Methamphetamine use has increased over the last decade; however, a dearth of literature exists on methamphetamine use among national samples. Providing research on current...
Association of State-Level Opioid-Reduction Policies With Pediatric Opioid Poisoning.

Importance Opioid-reduction policies have been enacted by US states to address the opioid epidemic. Evidence of an association between policy implementation and decreased rates of pediatric opioid poisoning provides further justification for expanded implementation of these policies. Objective To examine the association of 3 state-level opioid-reduction policies with the rate of opioid poisoning in children and adolescents. Design, Setting, and Participants This interrupted time series analysis used data from the National Poison Data System (NPDS), a database of poisoning information reported to poison control centers across the US. Individuals younger than 20 years who experienced poisoning associated with 1 or more prescription opioids from January 1, 2005, to November 30, 2017, were included. The analysis focused on 3 widespread policy interventions: the prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), pain clinic legislation, and opioid prescribing guidelines. Data analysis was performed from January 30, 2020, to March 30, 2020. Exposures Any opioid poisoning in individuals younger than 20 years that was reported to the NPDS. Main Outcomes and Measures Opioid poisoning rates per million person-months before and after implementation of each of the 3 policies, overall and stratified by age (≤4 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years, and 15-19 years). Results A total of 338 476 opioid poisoning incidences in children and young adults were reported to the NPDS within the study period. Of this study population, the mean (SD) age was 9.74 (7.15) years, and 179 011 (52.9%) were female. The implementation of a PDMP was associated with a reduction in the monthly rate of opioid poisoning in children and adolescents (–0.07 per million person-months; 95% CI, –0.09 to –0.04) in the postimplementation period. This reduction was observed for all age groups except for the 10- to 14-year age group (−0.03 per million person-months; 95% CI, −0.05 to 0.00). Pain clinic legislation was associated with an immediate reduction in opioid poisoning (–6.22 per million person-months; 95% CI, –8.98 to –3.47). This association was statistically significant across all ages except for the 4 years or younger group. Analysis of the association of implementation of opioid prescribing guidelines was limited because of insufficient follow-up data and did not show an immediate or monthly change in the rate of opioid poisoning. Conclusions and Relevance Results of this study suggest that certain state-level opioid-reduction policies were associated with decreases in pediatric opioid exposures across age groups. Further examination of the underlying mechanisms of these associations, including age group–specific outcomes, may expand and strengthen policies that reduce opioid poisoning, misuse, and overdoses in children and adolescents.
When Local Governments' Stay-at-Home Orders Meet the White House's "Opening Up America Again"

On April 16th, The White House launched "Opening up America Again" (OuAA) campaign while many U.S. counties had stay-at-home orders in place. We created a panel data set of 1,563 U.S. counties to study the impact of U.S. counties' stay-at-home orders on community mobility before and after The White House's campaign to reopen the country. Our results suggest that before the OuAA campaign stay-at-home orders brought down time spent in retail and recreation businesses by about 27% for typical conservative and liberal counties. However, after the launch of OuAA campaign, the time spent at retail and recreational businesses in a typical conservative county increased significantly more than in liberal counties (15% increase in a typical conservative county Vs. 9% increase in a typical liberal county). We also found that in conservative counties with stay-at-home orders in place, time spent at retail and recreational businesses increased less than that of conservative counties without stay-at-home orders. These findings illuminate to what extent residents' political ideology could determine to what extent they follow local orders and to what extent the White House's OuAA campaign polarized the obedience between liberal and conservative counties. The silver lining in our study is that even when the federal government was reopening the country, the local authorities that enforced stay-at-home restrictions were to some extent effective.
Quantification of drug-induced fractional killing using high-throughput microscopy.

Summary Anti-cancer drugs kill only a fraction of cells within a population at any given time. Here, we describe a protocol to quantify drug-induced fractional killing over time using high-throughput imaging. This protocol can be used to compare the effect of hundreds of conditions in parallel. We show how this protocol can be used to examine fractional killing in response to inhibitors of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Inde et al. (2020) .
miRNA-34c suppresses osteosarcoma progression in vivo by targeting Notch and E2F

The expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) is dysregulated in many types of cancers including osteosarcoma (OS) due to genetic and epigenetic alterations. Among these, miR-34c, an effector of tumor suppressor P53 and an upstream negative regulator of Notch signaling in osteoblast differentiation, is dysregulated in OS. Here, we demonstrated a tumor suppressive role of miR-34c in OS progression using in vitro assays and in vivo genetic mouse models. We found that miR-34c inhibits the proliferation and the invasion of metastatic OS cells, which resulted in reduction of the tumor burden and increased overall survival in an orthotopic xenograft model. Moreover, the osteoblast specific over expression of miR-34c increased survival in the osteoblast specific p53 mutant OS mouse model. We found that miR-34c regulates the transcription of several genes in Notch signaling (NOTCH1, JAG1 and HEY2) and in p53 mediated cell cycle and apoptosis (CCNE2, E2F5, E2F2 and HDAC1). More interestingly, we found that the metastatic free survival probability was increased among a patient cohort from TARGET OS which has lower expression of direct targets of miR-34c that was identified in our transcriptome analysis such as E2F5 and NOTCH1. In conclusion, we demonstrate that miR-34c is a tumor suppressive miRNA in OS progression in vivo. In addition, we highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting miR-34c in OS.
A General Valuation Framework for SABR and Stochastic Local Volatility Models

In this paper, we propose a general framework for the valuation of options in stochas-tic local volatility (SLV) models with a general correlation structure, which includes the Stochastic Alpha Beta Rho (SABR) model and the quadratic SLV model as special cases. Standard stochastic volatility models, such as Heston, Hull-White, Scott, Stein-Stein, α-Hypergeometric, 3/2, 4/2, mean-reverting, and Jacobi stochastic volatility models, also fall within this general framework. We propose a novel double-layer continuous-time Markov chain (CTMC) approximation respectively for the variance process and the underlying asset price process. The resulting regime-switching continuous-time Markov chain is further reduced to a single CTMC on an enlarged state space. Closed-form matrix expressions for European options are derived. We also propose a recursive risk-neutral valuation technique for pricing discretely monitored path-dependent options, and use it to price Bermudan and barrier options. In addition, we provide single Laplace transform formulae for arithmetic Asian options as well as occupation time derivatives. Numerical examples demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the method using several popular SLV models, and reference prices are provided for SABR, Heston-SABR, quadratic SLV, and the Jacobi model.
Evaluating hypothesized explanations for the Black-white depression paradox: A critical review of the extant evidence

The Black-white Depression paradox, the lower prevalence of major depression among non-Hispanic Black (relative to non-Hispanic white) individuals despite their greater exposure to major life stressors, is a phenomenon that remains unexplained. Despite a decade plus of research, there is little clarity as to whether the paradoxical observations are an invalid finding, spuriously produced by selection bias, information bias, or confounding, or are a valid finding, representative of a true racial patterning of depression in the population. Though both artefactual and etiologic mechanisms have been tested, a lack of synthesis of the extant evidence has contributed towards an unclear picture of the validity of the paradox and produced challenges for researchers in determining which proposed mechanisms show promise, which have been debunked, and which require further study. The objective of this critical review is to assess the state of the literature regarding explanations for the Black-white depression paradox by examining some of the more prominent hypothesized explanatory mechanisms that have been proposed and assessing the state of the evidence in support of them. Included mechanisms were selected for their perceived dominance in the literature and the existence of at least one, direct empirical test using DSM major depression as the outcome. This review highlights the very limited evidence in support of any of the extant putative mechanisms, suggesting that investigators should redirect efforts towards identifying novel mechanisms, and/or empirically testing those which show promise but to date have been relatively understudied. We conclude with a discussion of the broader implications of the evidence for well-accepted social theories and raise questions regarding the use of DSM major depression to assess mental health burden in Black communities.
GLYCOGEN ACCUMULATION IN TRICHOMONAS IS DRIVEN BY THE AVAILABILITY OF EXTRACELLULAR GLUCOSE

The parasitic protist Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomoniasis, a highly prevalent sexually transmitted infection. The organism is known to accumulate substantial deposits of the polysaccharide glycogen, which is believed to serve as a store of carbon and energy that can be tapped during periods of nutrient limitation. Such nutrient limitation is likely to occur when T. vaginalis is transmitted between hosts, implying that glycogen may play an important role in the lifecycle of the parasite. Both T. vaginalis glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase, key enzymes of glycogen synthesis and degradation, respectively, have been cloned and characterized, and neither enzyme is subject to the post-translational controls found in other, well-characterized eukaryotic systems. Thus, it is unclear how glycogen metabolism is regulated in this organism. Here we use a glucose limitation/re-feeding protocol to show that the activities of key enzymes of glycogen synthesis do not increase during re-feeding when glycogen synthesis is stimulated. Rather, a simple model appears to operate with glycogen storage being driven by the extracellular glucose concentration.
A Case of Papillomatous Digital Dermatitis in Feedyard Cattle

Papillomatous digital dermatitis may be an emerging disease within the feeder cattle industry. This case report will review the presentation, diagnostic plan and some of the available treatment options as well as describe an atypical presentation of this disease.
Constitutive modeling of nanotube–reinforced polymer composites

In this study, a technique is presented for developing constitutive models for polymer composite systems reinforced with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT). Because the polymer molecules are on the same size scale as the nanotubes, the interaction at the polymer/nanotube interface is highly dependent on the local molecular structure and bonding. At these small length scales, the lattice structures of the nanotube and polymer chains cannot be considered continuous, and the bulk mechanical properties can no longer be determined through traditional micromechanical approaches that are formulated by using continuum mechanics. It is proposed herein that the nanotube, the local polymer near the nanotube, and the nanotube/polymer interface can be modeled as an effective continuum fiber by using an equivalent-continuum modeling method. The effective fiber serves as a means for incorporating micromechanical analyses for the prediction of bulk mechanical properties of SWNT/polymer composites with various nanotube lengths, concentrations, and orientations. As an example, the proposed approach is used for the constitutive modeling of two SWNT/polyimide composite systems.
Infusing Educational Decision Making with Research

Publisher Summary This chapter organizes the literature on the relationship between research and educational practice into three broad categories: the influence of research on policy, the influence of research on teaching practice, and the influence of policy on research. Each of these topics is pertinent to educational administrators and policy makers—the first because these groups have a professional responsibility to formulate policies as carefully and productively as they can, the second because they have an ethical obligation to promote research use as a way to enhance teaching and learning, and the third because many of them also are in positions to influence research itself by establishing policies for the funding of an educational research. Policy makers who aim to sponsor research face difficult decisions when it comes to establishing funding priorities that will be most likely to benefit practitioners, for researchers themselves are of mixed minds about how to proceed. The chapter discusses the number of ways in which the policies may influence a research.
RIBONUCLEIC ACIDS OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS SPORES AND SPORULATING CELLS.

Doi, Roy H. (Syracuse University, Syracuse N.Y.), and Richard T. Igarashi. Ribonucleic acids of Bacillus subtilus spores and sporulating cells. J. Bacteriol. 87:323-328. 1964.-The ribonucleic acids (RNA) of Bacillus subtilis spores were analyzed for their size and base composition. Soluble and ribosomal RNA identical to those found in vegetative cells were present in spores. A base ratio difference was observed between the 16s and 23s ribosomal RNA. The 16s RNA had a higher cytidylate and lower adenylate base composition. The ratio of soluble of ribosomal RNA in spores was 30%, in contrast to 15% in vegetative cells, and may be related to their difference in biosynthetic activity. Although active synthesis of informational RNA occurred prior to endospore formation, no detectable level of informational RNA was found in spores. The informational RNA was shown to have the same base composition as that of B. subtilis deoxyribonucleic acid. The compositional difference between spore and vegetative cell RNA appeared to be strictly quantitative.
Image query expansion using semantic selectional restriction

This paper describes our participation at ImageCLEF 2009. We participated in the photographic retrieval task (ImageCLEFPhoto). Our method is based on cross-media pseudo-relevance feedback. We have enhanced the pseudo-relevance feedback mechanism by using semantic selectional restrictions. We use Terrier for text retrieval and our own simple block-based visual retrieval engine. The results obtained at ImageCLEF 2009 show that our method is robust and promising. However, there is room for improvement on the visual retrieval.
Speaker dependent and independent speech recognition experiments with an auditory model

The performance of an auditory model has been compared with that of a conventional filterbank mel-cepstrum representation in speaker-dependent and speaker-independent spoken digit recognition tests. The model produces two outputs: one sensitive to voicing and onsets, and the other sensitive to formant structure and showing two-tone suppression. Linear discriminant analysis has been used to combine the outputs into eight coefficients. Undegraded, noisy and spectrally tilted male speech was tested with a quasi-isolated-word system. A subset of the tests were repeated with a connected-word system, and with undegraded female speech. In all cases the model performed better than the conventional representation. With degraded speech the differences were large. >
Neurobehavioral correlates of the rapid formation of the symbolic control of visuospatial attention

Prior research suggests that nonpredictive symbolic central cues can produce nonvoluntary shifts of endogenous attention when associations between cues and spatial locations are overlearned during cognitive development. The present ERP study extends this research by first showing that overlearned cue-spatial location associations necessary to support nonvoluntary attentional orienting can be rapidly formed in adult humans. A second experiment indicates that the nonvoluntary orienting formed by such rapid learning is semireflexive (amenable to top‐down influence) rather than reflexive (resistant to top‐down influence). A third experiment suggests that the rapid formation of endogenous nonvoluntary orienting requires explicit rather than implicit learning of cue-location associations. These findings provide further support for a strong connection between neurocognitive representations of space, symbol meaning, and attentional control.
Alcohol, drugs, and psychiatric comorbidity among homeless women: an epidemiologic study

Background Very little is known about the mental health of homeless women. The present study is one of the first to focus on psychiatric diagnosis and comorbidity in a population of homeless women systematically interviewed with a structured instrument. Method Three hundred homeless women randomly selected from St. Louis shelters were interviewed using the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS). Results The population of homeless women in St. Louis is predominantly young adult, single, and black; most have young children and average nearly a high school education. Schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorder account for only a small portion of the mental illness in these women. Nearly one in three has a history of substance abuse, with drug abuse being more prevalent than alcoholism. One third of the sample met lifetime criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. One fourth of the women have received inpatient psychiatric care, and the majority with a nonsubstance Axis I diagnosis have received some mental health treatment. Conclusion Although major mental illness is overrepresented among these homeless women, the majority do not suffer from major mental illness. Despite the severity of the stressors these women face, the large numbers escaping psychiatric disorders speak to their resilience and to the likelihood that important factors other than mental illness contribute to their homelessness. Future studies to examine positive outcomes and investigate protective factors might provide a valuable source of information on coping with the stresses associated with homelessness and point to more effective interventions.
Constitutional Law and Religion

This essay on law and religion appears in the second edition of the Blackwell Companion to Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, edited by Dennis Patterson. It is a revision of a similar entry in the book’s first edition. The essay opens by broadly discussing the complex relationships between law and religion writ large as movements in human history – social, cultural, intellectual, and institutional phenomena with distinct but often overlapping logics and concerns. It then hones in on the efforts of secular law to make sense of religion and determine its place in the civil state. The essay argues that, while the questions raised by the American Bill of Rights’ religion clauses connect in some important respects to broader constitutional principles such as free expression and equality, the most interesting and theoretically excruciating conundrums involving religion need to be approached on their own unique terms. Two useful rubrics for such understanding are “separation” and “deference.” Any honest account must also admit, however, that there is an “intractable residue,” questions in the relation of religion and law to which there simply is no determinate or completely satisfactory answer. Finally, the essay emphasizes that the full texture of the legal imagination’s effort to grapple with religion only becomes apparent in the wider range of subconstitutional and nonconstitutional contexts beyond the standard litany of constitutional discourse.
Entanglement Holographic Mapping of Many-Body Localized System by Spectrum Bifurcation Renormalization Group

We introduce the spectrum bifurcation renormalization group (SBRG) as an improved application of the excited-state real-space renormalization group (RSRG-X) for a class of qubit models. Starting from a disordered many-body Hamiltonian in the full many-body localized (MBL) phase, SBRG flows to the MBL fixed-point Hamiltonian, and generates the local integrals of motion and the matrix product state representations for all eigenstates. The method is applicable to many interacting spin and fermion models in the full MBL phase. As a Hilbert-space preserving RG, SBRG also generates an entanglement holographic mapping, which duals the MBL state to a fragmented holographic space.
Time-dependent multipoint correlation functions of the nonlinear Schrödinger model

Abstract A one-dimensional system of bosons, interacting via a delta-function potential, is analyzed by means of a conformal field theory approach. A systematic method for deriving the operator content of the critical Hamiltonian of the model is proposed. In the case of impenetrable bosons it is shown that the Hamiltonian consists of only two commuting parts and possesses an unsuspected symmetry. A number of new results for time-dependent multipoint correlators are presented.
A comment on the use of flushing time, residence time, and age as transport time scales

Applications of transport time scales are pervasive in biological, hydrologic, and geochemical studies yet these times scales are not consistently defined and applied with rigor in the literature. We compare three transport time scales (flushing time, age, and residence time) commonly used to measure the retention of water or scalar quantities transported with water. We identify the underlying assumptions associated with each time scale, describe procedures for computing these time scales in idealized cases, and identify pitfalls when real-world systems deviate from these idealizations. We then apply the time scale definitions to a shallow 378 ha tidal lake to illustrate how deviations between real water bodies and the idealized examples can result from: (1) non-steady flow; (2) spatial variability in bathymetry, circulation, and transport time scales; and (3) tides that introduce complexities not accounted for in the idealized cases. These examples illustrate that no single transport time scale is valid for all time periods, locations, and constituents, and no one time scale describes all transport processes. We encourage aquatic scientists to rigorously define the transport time scale when it is applied, identify the underlying assumptions in the application of that concept, and ask if those assumptions are valid in the application of that approach for computing transport time scales in real systems.
Exploring the role of peer density in the self-reported oral health outcomes of older adults: A kernel density based approach

Previous research has documented that oral health is inextricably linked with overall health and is an important component of successful aging. Additionally, peer social interactions are known to improve older adults' general well-being by increasing social opportunities and knowledge of local resources. This study examines the relationship between peer density of participants aged 50 and older in the ElderSmile program and self-reported oral health in northern Manhattan. Results from logistic regression models found that higher peer kernel density estimation values are associated with better self-reported oral health. This reinforces the need for place-based health interventions, and provides new evidence of the importance of peer communities for older adults.
Pulsed spray drop sizing

A drop sizing technique based on the diffraction of light by spherical particles was modified to yield timeresolved drop size measurements in a pulsed spray. The diffraction pattern produced by passing a collimated HeNe laser beam through the fuel spray was measured with a photodiode located in the focal plane of a collection lens. The pulsed spray was operated at a frequency of 1670 cycles/min with a spray duration of 28 ms; measured drop sizes for these conditions varied from 106 pm at the start of injection to 75 /mi near the end of injection.
Numerical processing in the human parietal cortex during experimental and natural conditions

Human cognition is traditionally studied in experimental conditions wherein confounding complexities of the natural environment are intentionally eliminated. Thus, it remains unknown how a brain region involved in a particular experimental condition is engaged in natural conditions. Here we use electrocorticography to address this uncertainty in three participants implanted with intracranial electrodes and identify activations of neuronal populations within the intraparietal sulcus region during an experimental arithmetic condition. In a subsequent analysis, we report that the same intraparietal sulcus neural populations are activated when participants, engaged in social conversations, refer to objects with numerical content. Our prototype approach provides a means for both exploring human brain dynamics as they unfold in complex social settings and reconstructing natural experiences from recorded brain signals.
Thermal stability and lifetime estimates of a high temperature epoxy by Tg reduction

Thermal degradation of a high temperature epoxy network is studied in terms glass transition temperature (Tg) reduction over a temperature window encompassing the Tg of the network. The Tg is shown to decrease as the network is thermally aged at elevated temperatures in air and in argon. The duration of the aging experiments is extended to long time such that the absolute Tg reduction approaches a long time reduction plateau. Degradation is dominated by non-oxidative pyrolysis with a small contribution from diffusion limited thermal oxidative degradation at the surface. A time–temperature superposition is constructed from the extent of Tg reduction of samples aged in air and the thermal shift factors are shown to have Arrhenius scaling behavior. An activation energy is extracted that agrees with previous activation energy measurements derived from other property measurements of the same network aged under similar conditions. The agreement of the activation energy with past results shows that Tg reduction is controlled by the same degradation mechanism and may be used as an observable for lifetime estimates when thermal degradation is pyrolytic in nature. The extent of Tg reduction is modeled with an autocatalytic rate expression and compared to previous property measurements to show the difference in sensitivity of observable material properties on degradation.
Abridgment of automatic voltage regulators: Application to power transmission systems

Within a relatively short time conditions in transmission systems as regards continuity of service and maximum power have radically changed. A few years ago, the amount of power transmitted over important lines was relatively small compared with their ultimate transmitting capacity. In such cases, the systems were inherently stable, and there was a reasonable margin of power with respect to load swings and short circuits. Automatic voltage regulators were used at that time chiefly for maintaining more uniform voltage conditions than could be obtained by intermittent adjustment by hand control. Different types of regulators for this purpose have given satisfactory service for a number of years. However, conditions have gradually changed. Within the last few years the power to be transmitted has increased to such an extent that it has now become necessary to consider means seriously for increasing the maximum power and for insuring continuity of service during transient disturbances, such as load swings and short circuits. The object of this paper is to present the results of an extended investigation along these lines. A new regulator is described which will accomplish the above purposes, and the theoretical analysis is confirmed by test results.
Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy of spin-labelled cuticle of Centruroides sculpturatus (Scorpiones: Buthidae): Correlation with thermal effects on cuticular permeability

Abstract Cuticular phase transitions and molecular dynamics have been studied in the buthid scorpion Centruroides sculpturatus using the techniques of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). TGA studies of the cuticular permeability reveal discontinuous changes in thermal dependence of transcuticular water loss rates (transitions). The first transition occurs between 30–40 C and results in a small increase in water loss rate, whereas the second transition begins near 55 C and is accompanied by a large increase in water loss rate. EPR spectra of spin-labelled cuticle indicate that the epicuticular lipids are very mobile at ambient temperature, with the translational diffusion coefficient being about 5 × 10−6 cm2 sec at 22 C. and that the low-temperature transition is associated with an increase in mobility of the hydrocarbon chains of the epicuticular lipids. The high-temperature transition probably results from melting of the epicuticular lipids. The results of this study are discussed with reference to current models of the structure of the arthropod cuticle.
Early psychotherapy process and cluster B and C personality pathology: similarities and differences in interactions with symptomatic and interpersonal distress.

Abstract In a prior study (Kolden & Klein, 1996), the authors found that the relationships between global personality pathology and early psychotherapy change processes (as defined by the Generic Model of Psychotherapy) were moderated by the extent of the patient's acute symptomatic and interpersonal distress. In the current study, the authors reanalyzed the same data to examine similarities and differences between personality disorder Clusters B (dramatic, emotional, or erratic) and C (anxious or fearful) in therapy process. In general, we found that more distressed patients reported greater defensiveness. There were no significant interactions between symptomatic distress and personality pathology in the prediction of any of the process variables. However, interpersonal distress moderated relationships between Clusters B and C and some therapy processes. Patients high in Cluster B felt more open and involved in the session when they were less distressed by their interpersonal problems at the start of th...
X-Ray Structure of an Amyloid-Oligomer-Specific Monoclonal Antibody Fab

The reactivity of amyloid-oligomer specific antibody, A11, towards soluble oligomer aggregates formed by proteins with varying sequences suggests that it recognizes a generic, sequence independent epitope that is shared among these soluble oligomers. This epitope appears to be associated with soluble amyloid oligomers and not with amyloid fibrils or natively-folded proteins. Currently, the detailed structure of the soluble oligomers of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides and other amyloid-related proteins and the epitope or structural motif on soluble oligomers that these conformation-specific antibodies recognize are unknown. Co-crystallization of oligomers in complex with the antigen-binding fragments (Fab) of oligomer-specific antibodies may be a promising approach to study the structure of these oligomers due to the binding specificity of antibodies to their antigen and the crystallizability of the antigen-binding fragments (Fab) of antibodies. 48, 55, 204, and 205 (subtypes of A11) are rabbit monoclonal immunoglobulin Gs (IgGs) that show reactivity for generic oligomer epitopes. Here, the x-ray structure of 204Fab at 1.6 A resolution is reported. The structure of the apo complementarity-determining regions (CDR) of 204Fab may provide insights into how this conformation-specific antibody recognizes Aβ oligomers. This is also the first reported structure of a rabbit Fab, and it reveals a novel interdomain disulfide bond. Crystallization trials of the Fab and ScFV (Single-chain Variable Fragments) of other oligomer-specific monoclonal antibodies and the co-crystals with oligomers are under way. If co-crystallization of the complex made of the amyloid oligomer and oligomer-specific antibodies are successful, the structural information gained from these studies may contribute to the greater understanding of the molecular mechanism of the toxicity associated with the soluble oligomers. Supported by NIH AG00538, the Cure Alzheimer Fund and a grant from the Larry L. Hillblom Foundation.
Concerted Auto-regulation in Yeast Endosomal t-SNAREs

In yeast, the assembly of the target (t)-SNAREs [Tlg2p/Tlg1p,Vti1p] and [Pep12p/Tlg1p,Vti1p] with the vesicular (v)-SNARE Snc2p promotes endocytic fusion. Here, selected mutations and truncations of SNARE proteins were tested in an in vitro fusion assay to identify potential regulatory regions in these proteins, and two distinct regions were found. The first is represented by the combined effect of the three t-SNARE N-terminal regions and the second is located within the Tlg1p SNARE motif. These internal controls provide a potential mechanism to enable SNARE-dependent fusion to be regulated.
Evaluation of flusulfamide for the control of bacterial ring rot of potato

The potential of flusulfamide (2’, 4-dichloro- α, α, α, trifluoro-4’-nitro-m-toluenesulfonanilide) as a control agent for bacterial ring rot of potato was evaluated by testing the bactericidal activity of this compound against the causal agent,Clavibacter michiganensis subsp.sepedonicus inin vitro tests, followed by greenhouse and field trials involving treatment of inoculated seed tubers. In thein vitro tests, significant reduction in the size and number ofC. m. sepedonicus colonies was observed with complete inhibition of growth occurring at flusulfamide concentrations of 100 mg/1 or greater. In the greenhouse and field trials, tubers of potato cultivar Russet Burbank were inoculated with the causal organism of bacterial ring rot,C. m. sepedonicus, in one of three different ways (cutting, dipping, injection) and subsequently treated by dipping in an aqueous solution containing varying concentrations of flusulfamide. The “dip” and “cut” methods of inoculation were intended to simulate transmission that would occur during normal production practices, while the “inject” treatment was intended to assess the effect of flusulfamide on existing infections. In both the greenhouse and field experiments, foliar disease incidence and infection rates were reduced, but not eliminated, in plants that were inoculated by cutting or dipping and treated with flusulfamide, whereas plants that had been inoculated by injection showed little effect of treatment with flusulfamide. Based on the results of these experiments, flusulfamide appears to have protective rather than curative properties againstClavibacter michiganensis subsp.sepedonicus.
Afterslip (and only afterslip) following the 2004 Parkfield, California, earthquake

[1] An analysis of the first two years of postseismic surface deformations from GPS reveals that afterslip is the only mechanism significantly contributing to postseismic deformation following the 2004 M6 Parkfield, California earthquake. Finite element modeling shows this event to have been too small to significantly stress the lower crust and upper mantle, thus viscoelastic relaxation did not lead to detectable surface displacements. Similarly, coseismically induced pressure changes in the upper crust were not sufficient to induce a measurable poroelastic response. From 10 days to two years after the Parkfield earthquake, postseismic displacements at all GPS stations experience the same characteristic decay time (∼2 weeks). This suggests that only afterslip was activated and the distribution of slip remained unchanged in this time period. Afterslip was found to be broadly distributed in the upper 15 km of the crust and associated with a moment release of much greater magnitude than the coseismic rupture.
Has Welfare Reform Created “Chilling Effects” for Refugees in the United States?

The welfare reform legislation of 1996 significantly reduced noncitizens' access to public benefits. Research has indicated that welfare reform has had unintended “chilling effects,” whereby even those noncitizens who remain eligible for benefits do not utilize them because of fear and confusion. Although refugees were exempted from the benefit restrictions for a certain period following arrival, recent research has suggested that they too may have experienced chilling effects. This study was conducted to more accurately determine whether this has occurred, through the use of time-series data for a sample of refugees who remain eligible for public benefits. The findings did not provide strong evidence that welfare reform has created chilling effects for refugees, although the possibility cannot be ruled out.
Observation of a spin-protected high-energy isomer of Al4N− cluster

Photoelectron spectroscopy experiments combined with first-principles calculations based on generalized gradient approximation to the density functional theory show that an Al4N− anion cluster lying 0.97 eV above its ground-state structure can exist not because it is protected by an energy barrier but because it has a different spin multiplicity. Its existence is established by comparing the calculated vertical electron detachment energies with the experimental photo-detachment spectra. The electron affinity of Al3N, on the other hand, is anomalously low showing the characteristic of a closed-shell molecule and providing the signature of a monovalent Al.
A position-sensitive detector for electrons

Abstract A chevron electron multiplier array, followed by a resistive strip collector, has been combined with position-sensitive detector circuitry to provide a detector for particles or photons with position resolution of 0.3 mm in one dimension along a 2 cm strip; the instrument has been applied to a high resolution electron spectrometer. Position resolution appears to be limited only by the capillary spacing of the particular array being used.