cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Strange mechanics of the neutrino flavor pendulum

We identify in the flavor transformation of astrophysical neutrinos a new class of phenomena, a common outcome of which is the suppression of flavor conversion. Appealing to the equivalence between a bipolar neutrino system and a gyroscopic pendulum, we find that these phenomena have rather striking interpretations in the mechanical picture: in one instance, the gyroscopic pendulum initially precesses in one direction, then comes to a halt and begins to precess in the opposite direction---a counterintuitive behavior that we analogize to the motion of a toy known as a rattleback. We analyze these behaviors in the early Universe, wherein a chance connection to sterile neutrino dark matter emerges, and we briefly suggest how they might manifest in compact-object environments.
Theological Conflict Between Lutherans and Anabaptists

The discussion up to this point has centered around the attitudes and arguments of the three Lutheran Reformers against the Anabaptists, together with an analysis of the Anabaptist movement in Central Germany derived from sources generally independent of the writings of the three. We now turn our attention to a closer examination of the conflict in religious ideas that was the occasion both for the Anabaptist separation from the Lutherans in Central Germany and for the Lutheran polemics. First there are several preliminary matters that require discussion.
Team-focused Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Prehospital Principles Adapted for Emergency Department Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation.

BACKGROUND Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has high rates of morbidity and mortality, and a growing body of evidence is redefining our approach to the resuscitation of these high-risk patients. OBJECTIVES Team-focused cardiopulmonary resuscitation (TFCPR), most commonly deployed and described by prehospital care providers, is a focused approach to cardiac arrest care that emphasizes early defibrillation and high-quality, minimally interrupted chest compressions while de-emphasizing endotracheal intubation and intravenous drug administration. TFCPR is associated with statistically significant increases in survival to hospital admission, survival to hospital discharge, and survival with good neurologic outcome; however, the adoption of similar streamlined resuscitation approaches by emergency physicians has not been widely reported. In the absence of a deliberately streamlined approach, such as TFCPR, other advanced therapies and procedures that have not shown similar survival benefit may be prioritized at the expense of simpler evidence-based interventions. DISCUSSION This review examines the current literature on cardiac arrest resuscitation. The recent prehospital success of TFCPR is highlighted, including the associated improvements in multiple patient-centered outcomes. The adaptability of TFCPR to the emergency department (ED) setting is also discussed in detail. Finally, we discuss advanced interventions frequently performed during ED cardiac arrest resuscitation that may interfere with early defibrillation and effective high-quality chest compressions. CONCLUSION TFCPR has been associated with improved patient outcomes in the prehospital setting. The data are less compelling for other commonly used advanced resuscitation tools and procedures. Emergency physicians should consider incorporating the TFCPR approach into ED cardiac arrest resuscitation to optimize delivery of those interventions most associated with improved outcomes.
A new slider turtle (Testudines: Emydidae: Deirochelyinae: Trachemys) from the late Hemphillian (late Miocene/early Pliocene) of eastern Tennessee and the evolution of the deirochelyines

Trachemys (Testudines: Emydidae) represents one of the most well-known turtle genera today. The evolution of Trachemys, while being heavily documented with fossil representatives, is not well understood. Numerous fossils from the late Hemphillian Gray Fossil Site (GFS) in northeastern Tennessee help to elucidate its evolution. The fossil Trachemys at the GFS represent a new species. The new taxon, Trachemys haugrudi, is described, and currently represents the most thoroughly described fossil emydid species known. A phylogenetic analysis, including 31 species, focusing on the subfamily Deirochelyinae is performed that includes the new fossil species, along with numerous other modern and fossil deirochelyine species, representing the first phylogenetic analysis published that includes several fossil deirochelyines. The phylogenetic analysis, utilizing morphological evidence, provides monophyletic clades of all modern deirochelyines, including Chrysemys, Deirochelys, Pseudemys, Malaclemys, Graptemys, and Trachemys. A strict consensus tree finds the recently described fossil species Graptemys kerneri to be part of a clade of Graptemys + Malaclemys. Three fossil taxa, including one previously referred to Pseudemys (Pseudemys caelata) and two to Deirochelys (Deirochelys carri and Deirochelys floridana) are found to form a clade with modern Deirochelys reticularia reticularia, with D. floridana sister to the other members of the clade. Chrysemys is found to be part of a basal polytomy with Deirochelys in relation to other deirochelyine taxa. Two fossil taxa previously referred to Chrysemys (Chrysemys timida and Chrysemys williamsi) form a paraphyly with the modern Chrysemys picta picta and Deirochelys, and may be referable to distinct genera. Additionally, fossil taxa previously attributed to Trachemys (Trachemys hillii, Trachemys idahoensis, Trachemys inflata, and Trachemys platymarginata) and T. haugrudi are found to form a clade separate from clades of northern and southern Trachemys species, potentially suggesting a distinct lineage of Trachemys with no modern survivors. Hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships mostly agree between the present study and previous ones, although the inclusion of fossil taxa provides further clues to the evolution of parts of the Deirochelyinae. The inclusion of more fossil taxa and characters may help resolve the placement of some taxa, and further elucidate the evolution of these New World turtles.
The Electrodynamics of Ampere and Neumann

A brief outline of the history of the Ampere-Neumann electrodynamics of metals is provided. It was developed in France and in Germany during the 19th century. The old theory is based on instantaneous action-at-a-distance. The paper points out to what extent it agrees with presently taught relativistic electromagnetic field theory and then delineates an area where the old and new theories disagree. Four groups of experiments with metallic conductors are cited which, in the area of disagreement, favor the Ampere-Neumann electrodynamics. A fifth group of experiments is mentioned which reveals a new electrodynamic force in dense arc plasma which is orders of magnitude stronger than the Lorentz force. Precisely such a force has emerged from the modern extension of the old theory. This seems to broaden the empirical basis of the Ampere-Neumann electrodynamics to include dense plasma conductors.
POHMM/SVM: A Hybrid Approach for Keystroke Biometric User Authentication

There are mainly two kinds of statistical models are found in keystroke biometrics namely discriminative model and generative model. The support vector machine (SVM) is a popular discriminative models used in keystroke biometric systems for the last decade due to a higher accuracy rate for large datasets. On the other hand., the hidden Markov model (HMM)., a generative model., has proven to be a useful and efficient tool., especially in speech recognition. However., its performance is poor in keystroke biometrics compared to other models.. An extension of HMM - partially observable hidden Markov model (POHMM) has shown better performance in handling missing or infrequent data. In an attempt to reach efficiency., this study proposes a hybrid POHMM/SVM approach for user authentication taking advantage of both generative and discriminative models. POHMM has been used as the features extractor., and the one-class support vector machine as the anomaly detector. The proposed POHMM/SVM model has achieved 0.086 of average equal-error rate (EER) on CMU keystroke benchmark dataset across all subjects and the standard deviation is 0.063. Using the same evaluation procedure described in the supplemental paper for CMU benchmark keystroke dataset., the proposed model has shown substantial decrease in the EER over other published methods.
U–Pb geochronology of tin deposits associated with the Cornubian Batholith of southwest England: Direct dating of cassiterite by in situ LA-ICPMS

The Cornwall and Devon vein- and greisen-type copper and tin deposits of southwest England are spatially and genetically related to shallow-seated granitic intrusions. These late Variscan intrusions, collectively known as the Cornubian Batholith, extend over 200 km and form a continuous granitic spine from the Isles of Scilly Granite in the west to the Dartmoor Granite in the east. The granitic plutons of the Cornubian Batholith were intruded from ~ 295 to 270 Ma without a major hiatus. Twelve samples of cassiterite (SnO2) were obtained from tin deposits associated with seven different plutons within the Cornubian Batholith for in situ LA-ICPMS U–Pb dating. This study of cassiterite was undertaken to obtain the first results of direct dating of ore mineral to refine the geochronology of tin mineralization in this region. Of the cassiterite samples analyzed, the oldest ages were determined within the Kit Hill and Hingston–Gunnislake Granites in the central part of the Cornubian Batholith. The Hingston–Gunnislake cassiterite, from Drakewalls Mine, was the oldest sample dated at 291.8 ± 3.4 Ma. The next oldest dates, 290.5 ± 2.8 and 288.5 ± 2.9 Ma, were from two cassiterite samples extracted from the adjacent Kit Hill Consolidated Mines within the Kit Hill Granite. At the eastern end of the study area, two cassiterite samples within the Dartmoor Granite produced ages of 286.0 ± 1.8 and 284.1 ± 1.3 Ma. The youngest sample from this study, 275.4 ± 1.6 Ma, is from the Balleswidden Mine within the westernmost Land’s End Granite. The cassiterite dates do not reveal any readily observable relationship between ore ages and geographic relationship from west to east throughout the Cornubian Batholith. Incorporating the associated errors, the geochronology does indicate continuous mineralization within the granites for ~ 21 million years, from ca. 295 to 274 Ma. This span falls within the established period of granitic magmatism of ca. 295 to 270 Ma for the Cornubian Batholith and further confirms the reliability of in situ LA-ICPMS U–Pb dating of cassiterite.
Current Status and Best Practices of Shared Governance in US Pharmacy Programs.

Objective: To characterize shared governance models in US schools and colleges of pharmacy and to recommend best-practices to promote faculty engagement and satisfaction. Methods: Three strategies were utilized to identify existing shared governance practices and issues within pharmacy education. First, a thorough literature review of faculty governance within higher education was undertaken. Next, a survey of faculty was created and conducted to explore existing structures, concerns, and satisfaction with governance at their institutions. The third approach was hosting a forum at the Feb 2018 INspire (interim) meeting of AACP to gather additional thoughts, perspective and feedback regarding committee charges and to prioritize issues to be addressed. Results: The literature review revealed a number of recommendations in higher education but only one study specifically related to governance in pharmacy, which focused on student governance and some additional data in the annual AACP Faculty Survey. The survey yielded 926 responses, and almost 65% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their faculty governance and level of input into faculty governance. Faculty with administrative ranks and those at public institutions were found to be more satisfied with governance. The interim meeting forum included participation from approximately 50 faculty and resulted in the development of five themes that were prioritized in order of significance. Conclusions: To optimize faculty governance and increase faculty satisfaction and participation in governance, the Council of Faculties Faculty Affairs Committee from 2017-18 makes eight recommendations to the academic pharmacy stakeholders.
Role of Solvation on Diffusion of Ions in Diblock Copolymers: Understanding the Molecular Weight Effect through Modeling.

Salt-doped diblock copolymers with microphase-separated domains of both an ion conductive and a mechanically strong polymer have been extensively studied due to their potential in transport applica...
Efficacy of bacteriophage and organic acids in decreasing STEC O157:H7 populations in beef kept under vacuum and aerobic conditions: A simulated High Event Period scenario.

After High Event Periods, beef subprimals are usually removed from vacuum and treated with antimicrobials. After re-packaging, subprimals are tested to verify the presence of STEC. In this study, bacteriophage and organic acids were applied on beef contaminated with STEC O157:H7 to evaluate the efficiency of industry practices. Beef samples inoculated with STEC were treated with bacteriophage, lactic acid, and peroxyacetic acid and kept under vacuum or aerobic conditions. STEC loads were evaluated 30 min and 6 h after antimicrobial applications. Under aerobic conditions for 30 min and 6 h, phage reduced STEC in beef by approximately 1.4 log whereas organic acids led to a 0.5 log reduction. Under vacuum for 30 min, bacteriophage significantly reduced STEC by 1 log. No effects were observed when samples were treated with organic acids. Under vacuum after 6 h, bacteriophage reduced STEC loads by 1.4 log, lactic acid reduced by 0.6 log, and no effects were observed when peroxyacetic acid was applied.
Quantifying the Central Dogma in the p53 pathway in live single cells

Transcription factors (TFs) integrate signals to regulate target gene expression, but we generally lack a quantitative understanding of how changes in TF levels regulate mRNA and protein production. Here, we established a system to simultaneously monitor the levels of p53, a TF that shows oscillations following DNA damage, and the transcription and protein levels of its target p21 in individual cells. p21 transcription tracked p53 dynamics, while p21 protein steadily accumulated. p21 transcriptional activation showed bursts of mRNA production, with p53 levels regulating the probability but not magnitude of activation. Variations in p53 levels between cells contributed to heterogeneous p21 transcription while independent p21 alleles exhibited highly correlated behaviors. Pharmacologically elevating p53 increased the probability of p21 transcription with minor effects on its magnitude, leading to a strong increase in p21 protein levels. Our results reveal quantitative mechanisms by which TF dynamics can regulate protein levels of its targets. A record of this paper's transparent peer review process is included in the Supplemental Information.
Majorana Loop Stabilizer Codes for Error Mitigation in Fermionic Quantum Simulations

Methods, systems and apparatus for error correction of fermionic quantum simulation. In one aspect, a method includes representing a fermionic system as a graph of vertices and edges, where each vertex represents a fermionic system fermionic mode and each edge represents an interaction between two respective fermionic modes; allocating a qubit to each edge in the graph to form a qubit system; determining qubit operators that satisfy a set of fermionic commutation and dependence relations, where the qubit operators are non-uniform with respect to the graph vertices; determining stabilizer operators corresponding to products of quadratic Majorana operators on respective loops in the graph, where a common eigenspace of the defined stabilizer operators defines a code subspace that encodes states of the fermionic system to be simulated; and simulating the fermionic system by evolving the qubit system under a qubit Hamiltonian that includes the determined qubit operators and stabilizer operators.
Symbolic Speech: A Message from Mind to Mind

In this article, McGoldrick undertakes the difficult task of distinguishing between expressive conduct that should be treated as speech, whether called pure speech or speech plus, and expressive conduct that is simply conduct. In Part I, he traces the Supreme Court's historical treatment of symbolic speech. In West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the Court called symbolic gestures “a short cut from mind to mind.” The more modern test comes from Spence v. Washington, which defined symbolic speech as being “imbued with elements of communication” and having “a particularized message” as to which “the likelihood was great that the message would be understood.” McGoldrick defines all symbolic speech cases as falling within three categories: (1) gestures and symbols whose meanings are almost instantly known; (2) things closely associated with speech, like marching and picketing, which are better classified as aids in communicating than communication itself; and (3) play acting or theater pieces, like the burning of the flag, which grab our attention like few other things can. In Part III, he refutes the common claim that the government has “a freer hand” in regulating symbolic speech than pure speech. In Part IV, McGoldrick focuses on the Spence case and later Supreme Court cases involving symbolic speech. He then traces the lower courts' application of Spence. McGoldrick concludes the article with summary of the current status of the Spence test.
Assessment of Polsar and Insar Time-Series from the 2019 NASA AM-PM Campaign for Above-Ground Biomass Estimation

The forthcoming launch of the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission will open the path to a new type of L-band measurements constituted by dense time-series of polarimetric backscatter and interferometric coherence with unprecedented spatial and temporal sampling. Here, we start the development of a theoretical framework that links L-band backscatter time-series with interferometric coherence measurements. The water-cloud-model (WCM) and an extended version of the random-motion-over-ground (RMoG) model are adopted to express radar measurements in terms of forest above-ground biomass and tree height. Time-series data collected during the 2019 UAVSAR AM-PM campaign in Southeastern United States are used to evaluate the correlation of various PolSAR- and InSAR-derived parameters with field-measured above-ground biomass.
Comparison of iliac crest versus supraacetabular external fixator in hemodynamically unstable patients with a pelvic ring injury.

External fixation has been widely implemented as a resuscitation strategy in combination with pelvic packing for high energy, hemodynamically unstable, pelvic ring injuries. The primary aim of this study is to compare urgent iliac crest (IC) versus supraacetabular (SA) external fixation in the setting of haemodynamic instability. This is a retrospective review of a prospectively gathered registry at an urban level one trauma centre comparing placement of pelvic external fixator by SA or IC technique. Outcomes assessed were accuracy of pin placement, duration of procedure, and the effect on true pelvic circumference depending on type of fracture by Young and Burgess Classification system. Ninety-three haemodynamically unstable patients with a pelvic fracture included. Pin malpositioning was more common with IC than SA groups (proportional difference, − 40%; 95% CI, − 57 to − 20%; p < 0.0001). For APC injuries, there was a larger median reduction in pelvic circumference in the SA group than the IC group (median difference [MD], − 12.85 cm; 95% CI, − 27 to 0.1; p = 0.0485). In LC injuries, the SA group had an overall increase in pelvic circumference compared to an overall decrease in IC group (MD, 6.5 cm; 95% CI, 1.5 to 16.8; p = 0.0221). There was no difference in the operating room (OR) time (mean difference, − 5.4 min; 95% CI, − 32 to 22; p = 0.68). In this clinical setting, we recommend placement of SA external fixator (versus IC) with similar operative times, fewer pin malpositions, and improved stabilization of pelvic circumference in APC and LC injuries.
Are Pre-trained Convolutions Better than Pre-trained Transformers?

In the era of pre-trained language models, Transformers are the de facto choice of model architectures. While recent research has shown promise in entirely convolutional, or CNN, architectures, they have not been explored using the pre-train-fine-tune paradigm. In the context of language models, are convolutional models competitive to Transformers when pre-trained? This paper investigates this research question and presents several interesting findings. Across an extensive set of experiments on 8 datasets/tasks, we find that CNN-based pre-trained models are competitive and outperform their Transformer counterpart in certain scenarios, albeit with caveats. Overall, the findings outlined in this paper suggest that conflating pre-training and architectural advances is misguided and that both advances should be considered independently. We believe our research paves the way for a healthy amount of optimism in alternative architectures.
Diagnosis of Pediatric Non-Esophageal Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders by Eosinophil Peroxidase Immunohistochemistry.

BACKGROUND Diagnosis of non-esophageal eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders requires quantification of tissue eosinophils. Our objective was to evaluate eosinophil peroxidase (EPX) immunohistochemistry (IHC) as a method for histologic diagnosis of eosinophilic gastritis (EG) and eosinophilic duodenitis (EoD). METHODS We performed a retrospective analysis of biopsies from pediatric EG/EoD cases and controls. Subjects with EG or EoD had ≥30 eosinophils per high power field (eos/hpf) in ≥5 hpf in the stomach and/or ≥3 hpf in the duodenum, respectively. Controls had no histopathologic diagnosis recorded. Tissue eosinophil counts were assessed by hematoxylin & eosin stains. EPX stains were assessed using a unique histopathologic scoring system. Slides were digitized and EPX+ staining area/mm2 was quantified by image analysis. RESULTS Twenty-six EG/EoD cases and 40 controls were analyzed. EPX scores and EPX/mm2 levels were markedly elevated in EG/EoD (p ≤ 0.0001). Eosinophil density (eos/mm2) correlated strongly with EPX scores and EPX/mm2 levels in the stomach (r ≥ 0.77) and moderately with EPX scores and EPX/mm2 levels in the duodenum (r ≥ 0.52); (p < 0.0001). EPX quantification identified EG/EoD subjects with high diagnostic accuracy (EPX score: AUC = 1 for EG and EoD; EPX/mm2: AUC = 0.98 (95%CI 0.96-1) for EG, AUC = 0.91 (95%CI 0.81-1) for EoD). CONCLUSION EPX-based assessment of eosinophilic inflammation may facilitate automated histologic diagnosis.
Thomas Mofolo's “Chaka”: Literary interpretations and modifications of a hero

In Mofolo's view Chaka was in the first instance not the founder of a nation but a human being eager to attain power. He was furthermore the cause for the difaqane, the period of chaotic wars and migrations of peoples and tribes in Southern Africa motivating Moshoeshoe to found the Basotho nation. Kunene lets the period of troubles start before Chaka rules the country whereby he acquits the Zulu king from the catastrophic consequences of his rule. Mofolo did not imply—as the West African authors were to do—a stimulation to anti-White politics when he let the dying Chaka utter the words “Umlungu will come and it is he who will rule, and ye will be his bondmen”; nor was the very last passage of the novel meant to prophesy Chaka's reincarnation in a united modern Africa.
Executing task graphs using work-stealing

NABBIT is a work-stealing library for execution of task graphs with arbitrary dependencies which is implemented as a library for the multithreaded programming language Cilk++. We prove that Nabbit executes static task graphs in parallel in time which is asymptotically optimal for graphs whose nodes have constant in-degree and out-degree. To evaluate the performance of Nabbit, we implemented a dynamic program representing the Smith-Waterman algorithm, an irregular dynamic program on a two-dimensional grid. Our experiments indicate that when task-graph nodes are mapped to reasonably sized blocks, Nabbit exhibits low overhead and scales as well as or better than other scheduling strategies. The Nabbit implementation that solves the dynamic program using a task graph even manages in some cases to outperform a divide-and-conquer implementation for directly solving the same dynamic program. Finally, we extend both the Nabbit implementation and the completion-time bounds to handle dynamic task graphs, that is, graphs whose nodes and edges are created on the fly at runtime.
Geoacoustic Inversion and the Evaluation of Model and Parameter Uncertainties

Abstract : The development of new geoacoustic inversion methods, their use in the analysis of shallow water experimental data, and evaluation of geoacoustic model and parameter uncertainties including the mapping of these uncertainties through to system performance uncertainties.
Cardiovascular disease and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug prescribing in the midst of evolving guidelines.

Rationale, aims and objectives Responding to safety concerns, the American Heart Association (AHA) published guidelines for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use in patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease (CVD) during 2005 and revised them in 2007. In the revision, a stepped approach to pain management recommended non-selective NSAIDs over highly selective NSAIDs. This research evaluated NSAID prescribing during and after guideline dissemination. Method A cross-sectional sample of 8666 adult, community-based practice visits with one NSAID prescription representing approximately 305 million visits from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) from 2005 to 2010 was studied. Multivariable logistic regression controlling for patient, provider and visit characteristics assessed the associations between diagnosis of CVD and NSAID type prescribed during each calendar year. Visits were stratified by arthritis diagnosis to model short-term/intermittent and long-term NSAID use. Results Approximately one-third (36.8%) of visits involving a NSAID prescription included at least one of four diagnoses for CVD (i.e. hypertension, congestive heart failure, ischaemic heart disease or cerebrovascular disease). Visits involving a CVD diagnosis had increased odds of a prescription for celecoxib, a highly selective NSAIDs, overall [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06–1.57] and in the subgroup of visits without an arthritis diagnosis (AOR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.11–1.89). Results were not statistically significant for visits with an arthritis diagnosis (AOR = 1.10, 95% CI: 0.47–2.57). When analysed by year, the relationship was statistically significant in 2005 and 2006, but not statistically significant in each subsequent year. Conclusion National prescribing trends suggest partial implementation of AHA guidelines for NSAID prescribing in CVD from 2005 to 2010.
Stochastic Business Cycle Volatilities, Capital Accumulation and Economic Growth: Lessons from the Global Credit Market Crisis

The recent global economic downturn in a number of economies was preceded by rising credit market risk brought on by a massive financial market failure. This paper develops a small open economy model that analyzes the interaction of business cycle volatilities with capital accumulation and the subsequent impacts on economic growth. We use a stochastic dynamic programming model to test the central hypothesis that rising volatility shocks is an inhibitor to capital accumulation and subsequently economic growth. The model illustrates that traditional capital-based growth models which assume a constant capital stock are not consistent with the business cycle variation in capital accumulation. Furthermore, it appears that an increase in precautionary savings arising from a stochastic shock does not completely translate into productive capital investment need for growth, since risk-averse households will seek out risk-free government or foreign assets. We find this conclusion consistent with the empirical findings of Ramey et al (1995) and Badinger (2009) who both argued that, business cycle volatility is important to the growth discussion because of its robust net negative effect on output growth.
Aircraft Measurements for Understanding Air-Sea Coupling and Improving Coupled Model Predictions Over the Indian Ocean

Abstract : The goals of this PI are to understand the physical processes that control the air-sea interaction and its impact on a wide rang of weather and climate systems and improve coupled atmosphere-ocean prediction through development of innovative coupled models and observations. The specific objectives of this study are to obtain coincident measurements of the lower atmosphere, air-sea interface, and the upper ocean adequate for coupled model evaluation; better understand the physics of air-sea coupling and its impact on convective organization including convectively induced cold pool structure; examine corresponding air-sea fluxes and boundary layer recovery that affects time scales of convection; diagnose high-resolution coupled model such as COAMPS forecasts of convective cloud systems and convective cold pool structure to determine the effects of air-sea coupling on the convective organization in the coupled model on diurnal, 2-day, and synoptic variability and their up-scaling influence in both convectively active and suppressed phases of MJO; and improve physical representation of the air-sea coupling processes in coupled models through airborne and satellite observations over the Indian Ocean.
Marketing Mix Theory: Integrating Price and Non-Price Marketing Strategies

Intermediate microeconomic analysis traditionally treads lightly in matters of non-price competition. Most of the analysis in Microeconomic Theory, IO, and Managerial Economics texts that is devoted to the topic at both the graduate and undergraduate level is found in chapters on game theory as an application of the prisoner's dilemma, in a paragraph or two summarizing Dorfman and Steiner's profit maximizing rule for advertising, and some general comments on normative aspects of advertising and product development. This sparse treatment is not for lack of suitable conceptual tools for the job. This paper develops a positive analysis of non-price competition in the context of setting price, advertising and product development budgets by firms. In the process, first the relationship between advertising and product development is explored. Then the relationship between these and price is addressed. The analysis is done in the context of a profit-maximizing firm with price, advertising, and product development budgets as decision variables affecting its own and rival's demands. The analysis is built upon the use of "sales isoquants", and marketing effort budgets used in deriving the firm's "sales expansion path". Finally, a profit maximizing rule for optimal marketing effort expenditures is derived which is shown to be a generalization of the Dorfman-Steiner rule.
Predicting long-term sapling dynamics and canopy recruitment in northern hardwood forests

Prediction of forest composition and structure over multiple generations of trees is often hampered by limited data on understory tree dynamics and the highly variable process of canopy recruitment...
In Memoriam Dr Richard H. Gassan, 1958–2015

Richard H. Gassan, Associate Professor of History (Department of International Studies) at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, died on 2 March 2015. While cycling near the uni...
Feasibility of the internal mammary lymph node flap as a vascularized lymph node transfer: A cadaveric dissection study

BACKGROUND We performed cadaveric dissections to examine the feasibility of an internal mammary-based lymph node flap as a donor site for vascularized lymph node transfer. METHODS Internal mammary vessels and adjacent nodes were dissected in ten fresh cadaver specimens. Surgeon inspection and palpation identified the number of nodes in the specimen. Specimens were examined macro- and microscopically by a pathologist for correlation of lymph node counts. Kappa statistic correlated surgeon- and pathologist-reported node counts. RESULTS Surgeon- and pathologist-reported node counts were moderately correlated (kappa 0.57). Inspection and palpation correctly predicted node presence or absence in 80% of specimens. Sixty percent of flaps contained between 1 and 3 nodes, with a mean of 2.0 nodes when nodes were present. CONCLUSIONS Inspection and palpation predicts the presence or absence of nodes in 80% of flaps. Nodes were present in 60% of internal mammary-based flaps, and one to three nodes can be transferred. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 36:485-490, 2016.
Differences between Dynamic Face-to-Face and E-Mail Networks: Implications for New Forms of Collaboration

Observing social changes in organizations and their effects on how employees feel about their jobs at a micro scale has been extremely difficult due to the lack of measurement tools. Using wearable sensors, e-mail data and daily surveys, we were able to study in detail how job satisfaction is affected by changes in communication patterns. The results from a month-long study in the marketing division of a German bank support our hypothesis that denser face-to-face communication is strongly linked to increased job satisfaction, while e-mail communication patterns do not relate to changes in job satisfaction. This has profound implications for the use of e-mail as a primary collaboration tool, since it implies that management interventions will have a greatly diminished effect if they can only effect electronic interactions.
Decrease PET/CT cancellation rate through patient and staff education

2210 Objectives Since September 2007, our PET facility has been averaging 62 cancellations per month. Nearly 40% of the cancelled procedures were within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment. The aim of this study was to decrease the number of unnecessary cancellations of PET/CT procedures by improving patient and staff education resulting in more efficient patient scheduling. Methods PET/CT procedure cancellations within 24 hours of the scheduled appointment were reviewed for the past 15 months. Data was analyzed and separated into inpatient and outpatient categories. To increase patient awareness of the preparation needed for the procedure and as a reminder of the scheduled appointment, a confirmation call was placed to outpatients two days prior to the study to allow for ample time to cancel. To increase staff awareness of the procedure, an informative email was sent to all nurse managers to increase staff and inpatient awareness of the preparation needed for the PET/CT procedure. Cancellation rates were reviewed for the period following the changes in protocol. Results Prior to implementation of the confirmation calls and staff education, the PET/CT center had an inpatient cancellation rate of 54% and an outpatient cancellation rate of 10%. After staff education, inpatient cancellation rates were decreased to 10%. Initiation of phone call to outpatients two days prior to appointment did not have a significant difference in cancellation rate. Conclusions Additional staff education proved to be affective in decreasing inpatient PET/CT cancellations. To initiate a more effective program to decrease outpatient cancellations, an informative brochure was created and mailed to outpatients.
Joint inventory and technology selection decisions

In some manufacturing systems, the type of production technology selected dictates the lot size, or sets an upper limit on it. In this paper, we formulate a model in which the lot sizing decision has to be made at the technology selection stage. Furthermore, the cost of the technology depends on the lot size it can produce. The problem is addressed under two different assumptions about demand. First demand is assumed to be constant. A closed-form expression for the optimal lot size is derived for this case. Second, demand is assumed to be linearly decreasing. Using an accurate approximation to the total cost function, a closed-form expression for the optimal lot size is derived. We illustrate the models with numerical examples.
p53 gene mutation in cerebral primitive neuroectodermal tumor in Taiwan

p53 mutation has been rarely reported in cerebral primitive neuroectodermal tumors (PNET). To determine the significance of p53 mutations in the development of cerebral PNET, we studied cerebral PNET samples from 14 patients, 8 females and 6 males with a mean age of 38 years (range 10 months to 77 years) who had total or subtotal surgical resection. Histological typing of PNET with neuronal (N) and non-neuronal (NN) differentiation groups revealed 8 and 6 cases, respectively. Six (43%) of the 14 patients had p53 mutation. The p53(+) and p53(-) groups had an age range of 19-77 with a mean of 49 years and 10 months to 57 years with a mean of 30 years, respectively. p53 expression between the PNET-N and PNET-NN groups was 5 of 8 (62.5%) and 1 of 6 (16.7%), respectively. The mutations contained 3 transitions, 2 transversions and 1 frameshift; none of them occurred at the site of 'hot-spot' residues (codons 175, 248, 273). The results suggest that: (1) p53 mutation in cerebral PNET tends to show a higher incidence of neuronal differentiation and occurs in the older age group in Taiwan, (2) there was no difference in survival time between the PNET-N and PNET-NN groups (7 months and 6 months) (P = 0.54), and between p53(+) and p53(-) groups (6 months and 7 months) (P = 0.57), and (3) PNET may be an entity of a heterogenous group of tumors with different genetic mechanisms controlling their trends of differential lineage. Further studies are needed to determine the significance of p53 mutations in PNET development, especially the role of carcinogens in the genesis of PNET in Taiwan.
Mechanisms for evaluating scientific information and the role of peer review

The role of peer review and the mechanisms for evaluating scientific manuscripts are presented from the perspective of 23 years as editor of Science. Reproducibility is important in science and its feasibility varies greatly among the natural, medical, and behavioral sciences. The «publish or perish» syndrome has led to deleterious effects on scientific communication and it is recommended that a more realistic approach be taken to evaluate research productivity. Recent examples of fraud (Darsee and Slutsky) illustrate some weaknesses of the present system and have led to proposals for reform. It is maintained, however, that fraud, as distinguished from unintended error, is not common in science
A method for concurrent engineering design of chaotic surface topographies

Abstract The technical basis for a new approach to concurrent engineering design of chaotic surface topographies for advanced manufacturing applications is described. The approach uses the concept of scales-of-interaction to understand topographically-related phenomena. This understanding provides a basis for linking the design of surfaces with the design of the manufacturing process and selection of the process variables to produce them. Manufacturing processes, which produce surfaces, create topographic features with certain characters and sizes, or scales. Topographically-related performance of the manufactured product, can be understood as collections of discrete interactions with the manufactured topographic features, at their own set of scales. In order to employ this scale-based approach to it is necessary to use scale-based methods to characterize the surface roughness, or topography. A scale-area characterization by the patchwork method, suggested by fractal geometry, is described in the context of manufacturing design for concurrent engineering.
Assessing sales loss from automobile recalls: a Toyota case study

Automobile companies recall vehicles whenever they are perceived to have defects that affect safety. Since market responses to a product recall may be different depending on the size of cars in the recall, the analysis separated the recalls into major events with more than 500,000 cars per recall, and minor recalls with less than 500,000 cars per recall. In this paper, the impact on sales was measured in order to understand the customer’s reaction under these circumstances. The well-publicised recalls in November 2009 and January 2010 are the focus of this study. The paper also investigates the impact of the recalls on the Japanese auto industry, as well as stock market performance of Toyota. The conclusion from the model indicates that major recalls have a negative impact on the market share with a three-month lag, while minor recalls showed a positive impact on the market share after four months. However, its impact on the stock market performance is immediate and shows no evidence of lagging effect for stock prices. Analysis on Japanese auto industry identifies that the market share trajectories of Honda and Toyota shows similar patterns which suggests that consumer perceptions of these companies are similar.
Narcotic use for inflammatory bowel disease and risk factors during hospitalization

Background and Aims Growing evidence demonstrates adverse effects of narcotics in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We sought to study the relationship between narcotic use, objective measures of disease activity and other associated factors in hospitalized patients with IBD.
Trench pattern lithography for 0.13- and 0.10-μm logic devices at 248-nm and 193-nm wavelengths

In this paper, logic device patterning of 0.16-micrometer trenches for the 0.13-micrometer node using 248-nm light and 0.13-micrometer trenches for the 0.10-micrometer node using 193-nm light is investigated. Severe proximity effect through all pitches and small depth of focus for isolated trenches bring great challenges. To produce manufacture-worthy process windows, lithographic techniques such as optical proximity correction, annular illumination, sub-resolution assist features, and attenuated phase-shift mask are considered. No prominent performance gain is achieved in the aforementioned combination if full-pitch-range performance is required. However, manufacture-worthy 0.5-micrometer depth of focus can be obtained through all pitches by replacing annular illumination with quadrupole illumination while retaining sub- resolution assist features and optical proximity correction, even without having to resort to attenuated phase-shifting mask. We also observe that attenuated phase-shift mask or dipole illumination improves depth of focus and photoresist profile of dense patterns only in the cases studied.
Schinzel-Giedion syndrome and congenital megacalyces

The Schinzel-Giedion syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive condition with typical facies, skeletal manifestations and congenital hydronephrosis. We report an infant with characteristic findings who had bilateral congenital megacalyces. Congenital megacalyces is believed to be a developmental abnormality, occurs in other malformation syndromes and has not previously been described in the Schinzel-Giedion syndrome.
Electron microscopical study of relaxation and constriction in frog arterioles.

Mesenteric arterioles of frogs were selected under a dissecting microscope and compact vasoconstriction was induced by local application of a microdrop of epinephrine. Selected arterioles were fixed in situ at maximum constriction by flooding with buffered osmium tetroxide or glutaraldehyde. Fixation was faster than any vasoconstriction initiated by the onset of fixation. The arterioles were embedded in epoxy resin and regions of dilation and constriction were identified optically in the resin block. Ultrathin sections were cut at known levels for examination in the electron microscope. The localized constriction permitted the use of the relaxed, dilated region of the arteriole as a structural control for comparison against the fine structure of the constricted segment of the same arteriole. In constriction there was a dramatic change from the relaxed condition. The endothelial cells assumed a teardrop configuration and their nuclei protruded toward the lumen. The muscle cells and their nuclei became short and thick and demonstrated strongly indented borders, and the elastic membrane assumed a deeply pleated appearance. Both endothelium and smooth muscle cells appeared to adhere tightly to the elastic membrane for they faithfully replicated its convolutions. Bundles of thick (120 A) and thin (70 A) filaments were seen in the endothelial cytoplasm. The thick filaments were not contractile although the thin variety may shorten during vasoconstriction.
Bioremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon‐Contaminated Ground Water: The Perspectives of History and Hydrology

Bioremediation, the use of microbial degradation processes to detoxify environmental contamination, was first applied to petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated ground water systems in the early 1970s. Since that time, these technologies have evolved in some ways that were clearly anticipated by early investigators, and in other ways that were not foreseen. The expectation that adding oxidants and nutrients to contaminated aquifers would enhance biodegradation, for example, has been born out by subsequent experience. Many of the technologies now in common use such as air sparging, hydrogen peroxide addition, nitrate addition, and bioslurping, are conceptually similar to the first bioremediation systems put into operation. More unexpected, however, were the considerable technical problems associated with delivering oxidants and nutrients to heterogeneous ground water systems. Experience has shown that the success of engineered bioremediation systems depends largely on how effectively directions and rates of ground water flow can be controlled, and thus how efficiently oxidants and nutrients can be delivered to contaminated aquifer sediments. The early expectation that injecting laboratory-selected or genetically engineered cultures of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria into aquifers would be a useful bioremediation technology has not been born out by subsequent experience. Rather, it appears that petroleum hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria are ubiquitous in ground water systems and that bacterial addition is usually unnecessary. Perhaps the technology that was least anticipated by early investigators was the development of intrinsic bioremediation. Experience has shown that natural attenuation mechanisms - biodegradation, dilution, and sorption - limit the migration of contaminants to some degree in all ground water systems. Intrinsic bioremediation is the deliberate use of natural attenuation processes to treat contaminated ground water to specified concentration levels at predetermined points in the aquifer. In current practice, intrinsic bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons requires a systematic assessment to show that ambient natural attenuation mechanisms are efficient enough to meet regulatory requirements and a monitoring program to verify that performance requirements are met in the future.
The effect of ring-fluorination on the rate of O-methylation of dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) by catechol-O-methyltransferase: Significance in the development of 18F-pett scanning agents

The three ring-fluorinated analogs of dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) were synthesized and the kinetics of their O-methylation catalyzed by catechol-O-methyltransferase compared to those of DOPA. The affinities (Km) of 2-FDOPA, 5-FDOPA, DOPA, and 6-FDOPA were 20, 23, 55, and 552 microM, respectively, whilst the Vmax values were 4.0, 4.4, 5.0 and 5.4 nmol per min per mg protein. The importance of the low affinity and decreased rate constant of 6-FDOPA for COMT are discussed with regard to the use of 6-FDOPA as an 18-fluorine labeled probe for positron emission transaxial tomography (PETT).