cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuropsychological dysfunction among affected heterozygous fragile X females

Fragile X (or Martin-Bell) syndrome is an X-linked disorder that often produces mental retardation in males, but usually affects heterozygous females to a lesser degree. Here we report the results of a brief neuropsychological examination of 20 heterozygous fra(x) girls and women and two control groups of 20 individuals each. One control group was composed of fra(x)-negative mothers (obligate carriers) and sisters of male probands with fra(x) syndrome, whereas the other was composed of 14 head-injured and six learning disabled women and girls. In addition to general intellectual impairment, several specific cognitive deficits were consistently found in individuals with the Martin-Bell syndrome, suggesting focal neuropsychological dysfunction. Significant differences were noted between fra(x) individuals and controls on most cognitive and neuropsychological measures studied. Over one-third of the fra(x) individuals demonstrated neuropsychological symptoms characteristic of the full developmental Gerstmann syndrome, whereas another third had three or four of the five signs of possible parietal lobe dysfunction. In our sample, there was an association between improved performance and increasing age. Differences among heterozygous individuals in number of focal symptoms may reflect some variability in the penetrance of the fra(x) gene, as well as in the functional organization of the brain.
Thermo-Electricity at Low Temperatures. II. The Alkali Metal Group

In continuation of earlier work we have now measured in detail the thermo-electric behaviour of all the alkali metals, together with some alloys, in the low-temperature region below $\sim $ 80 degrees K. At best, only sodium conforms approximately with the predictions of conventional electron-transport theory; lithium and caesium in particular show positive thermo-electric powers over the whole range measured, and rubidium is also positive at the lowest temperatures. A sharp inflexion is found in the thermo-e.m.f. of lithium at $\sim $ 30 degrees K. An empirical rule, useful in the discussion of dilute alloys, is proposed.
In Vitro and In Vivo Functional Activity of Chlamydia MurA, a UDP-N-Acetylglucosamine Enolpyruvyl Transferase Involved in Peptidoglycan Synthesis and Fosfomycin Resistance

Organisms of Chlamydia spp. are obligate intracellular, gram-negative bacteria with a dimorphic developmental cycle that takes place entirely within a membrane-bound vacuole termed an inclusion. The chlamydial anomaly refers to the fact that cell wall-active antibiotics inhibit Chlamydia growth and peptidoglycan (PG) synthesis genes are present in the genome, yet there is no biochemical evidence for synthesis of PG. In this work, we undertook a genetics-based approach to reevaluate the chlamydial anomaly by characterizing MurA, a UDP-N-acetylglucosamine enolpyruvyl transferase that catalyzes the first committed step of PG synthesis. The murA gene from Chlamydia trachomatis serovar L2 was cloned and placed under the control of the arabinose-inducible, glucose-repressible ara promoter and transformed into Escherichia coli. After transduction of a lethal DeltamurA mutation into the strain, viability of the E. coli strain became dependent upon expression of the C. trachomatis murA. DNA sequence analysis of murA from C. trachomatis predicted a cysteine-to-aspartate change in a key residue within the active site of MurA. In E. coli, the same mutation has previously been shown to cause resistance to fosfomycin, a potent antibiotic that specifically targets MurA. In vitro activity of the chlamydial MurA was resistant to high levels of fosfomycin. Growth of C. trachomatis was also resistant to fosfomycin. Moreover, fosfomycin resistance was imparted to the E. coli strain expressing the chlamydial murA. Conversion of C. trachomatis elementary bodies to reticulate bodies and cell division are correlated with expression of murA mRNA. mRNA from murB, the second enzymatic reaction in the PG pathway, was also detected during C. trachomatis infection. Our findings, as well as work from other groups, suggest that a functional PG pathway exists in Chlamydia spp. We propose that chlamydial PG is essential for progression through the developmental cycle as well as for cell division. Elucidating the existence of PG in Chlamydia spp. is of significance for the development of novel antibiotics targeting the chlamydial cell wall.
Freezing of Conifer Xylem and the Cohesion‐Tension Theory

The research explored the apparent contradiction between the cohesion-tension theory and the lack of blockage following freezing in conifers. Five to ten cm lengths of the main stem of actively transpiring Thuja occidentalis, Picea glauca and Pinus sylvestris were frozen. On thaw, there was no evidence of blockage in the formerly frozen xylem. Microscopic examination of frozen wood and hydrodynamic considerations showed that air was present in the xylem water and that bubbles were probably present upon freezing. On freezing about 9 per cent of the water irreversibly migrated into the unfrozen plant parts. Lack of blockage in the presence of air bubbles was reconciled to the cohesion-tension theory by a model in which only the largest bubble in a number of interconnected cells expands. As this bubble expands tension is released allowing all bubbles in adjoining tracheids to redissolve. Potential rate of resolution of unexpanded bubbles following release of tension was calculated to be less than 0. 1 second.
Examining Social Capital Development Among Volunteers of a Multinational Sport-for-Development Event

Much sport-for-development (SFD) research has focused on the impact initiatives have on participants, and not on other stakeholders such as volunteers. Some research suggests volunteerism enables social capital gains, while other scholars have been skeptical, with even less known about how volunteers are impacted by working for SFD events rather than for ongoing programs. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how, if at all, a large, multinational SFD event contributed to social capital development of volunteers. Findings revealed volunteers experienced social capital development through building relationships, learning, and enhanced motivation to work for social change and reciprocity. As very little research has examined the efficacy of SFD events in contributing to social capital development, the findings extend the literature on SFD events. It would be prudent for SFD events to target programming to impact the experience of volunteers to retain them and contribute to social capital d...
Blind MIMO system estimation based on PARAFAC decomposition of HOS tensors

We present a novel frequency domain approach for the identification of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system driven by white, mutually independent unobservable inputs. Samples of the system frequency response are obtained based on parallel factorization (PARAFAC) of three-way tensors constructed based on third-order cross-spectra of the system outputs. The main difficulties in frequency domain methods are frequency dependent permutation and filtering ambiguities. We show that the information available in the higher-order spectra allows for the ambiguities to be resolved up to a constant scaling and permutation, and a linear phase ambiguity. The advantages of the proposed approach is that, it does not require exact channel length information, need no phase unwrapping, and unlike the majority of existing methods, need no pre-whitening of the system outputs
The Prognosis of Asthma in Children

Summary The prognosis in 1000 asthmatic children who were followed up 5 to 15 years after the first attack was studied. Sex made no difference in the prognosis. Severity of asthma and treatment seemed to play some role in the prognosis of asthma. Mild cases and the specific hyposensitization group had a better prognosis. In the mild group none died. On the other hand in the moderately severe group 0.3% were dead and in the severe group 3.4% were dead. The group having no other allergic diseases revealed a better prognosis, but statistically not significant. Familial predisposition to allergic disease made no difference in the prognosis.
Assessing compliance of cardiologists with the national cholesterol education program (NCEP) III guidelines in an ambulatory care setting.

Introduction The NCEP III -ATP guidelines provide clear clinical directives for lipid management especially statins therapy in appropriate patient groups. Compliance of primary care physicians with these guidelines especially in ambulatory care settings has been shown to be poor. The compliance of cardiologist to these guidelines is less documented.
Eye Position Changes during Reading Fixations are Spatially Selective

Intra-fixation location changes were measured when one-line sentences written in lower or aLtErNaTiNg case were read. Intra-fixation location changes were common and their size was normally distributed except for a relatively high proportion of fixations without a discernible location change. Location changes that did occur were systematically biased toward the right when alternating case was read. Irrespective of case type, changes of the right eye were biased toward the right at the onset of sentence reading, and this spatial bias decreased as sentence reading progressed from left to right. The left eye showed a relatively stable right-directed bias. These results show that processing demands can pull the two fixated eyes in the same direction and that the response to this pull can differ for the right and left eye.
Registration of ‘Brawl CL Plus’ Wheat

‘Brawl CL Plus’ (Reg. No. CV-1074, PI 664255) hard red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was developed by the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station and released in August 2011 through a marketing agreement with the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation. In addition to researchers at Colorado State University (CSU), USDA-ARS researchers at Manhattan, KS, St. Paul, MN, and Pullman, WA participated in its development. Brawl CL Plus was selected from the cross Teal 11A/‘Above’//CO99314 made in 2003 at Fort Collins, CO. Teal 11A is a proprietary hard red spring wheat germplasm line from BASF Corporation that carries a mutant allele at the Als2 locus (B genome) conferring tolerance to imazamox [2-(4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1h-imidazol-2-yl)-5-(methoxymethyl)-3-pyridinecarboxylic acid] herbicide. Above (PI 631449) is a hard red winter wheat cultivar released by CSU in 2001 that carries a mutant allele at the Als1 locus (D genome) conferring tolerance to imidazolinone herbicides. CO99314 is an experimental line from CSU with the pedigree TX91V4931/‘Halt’ (PI 584505). Brawl CL Plus was selected as an F 3:4 line in July 2006 and assigned experimental line number CO06052. Brawl CL Plus was released because it carries two mutations for enhanced tolerance to imazamox herbicide, is adapted under nonirrigated and irrigated production conditions in eastern Colorado, confers moderate resistance to stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici Eriks.), and has good milling and bread-baking quality attributes.
Variations in the Use of Grant Discretion: The Case of ISTEA

The Intermodal Surf ace Transportation Efficiency Act gave state governments increased flexibility in spending federal transportation grant funds. However, most of the flexibility was not used; there are many other potential sources of inflexibility in transportation policymaking. States were more likely to use flexibility if they were politically liberal, had larger populations and, other things being equal, had less metropolitan populations. States that were previously more involved in nontraditional transportation programs were also somewhat more likely to use flexibility. Copyright 2002, Oxford University Press.
Microorigami: Fabrication of Small, Three-Dimensional, Metallic Structures

Microcontact printing (μCP) and wet chemical etching generated two-dimensional (2D) patterns in thin silver films. Electroplating silver onto these patterns increased the structural integrity of the metal layer. Separating the metal film from the substrate resulted in free-standing, 2D structures. Folding of these structures along predesigned “hinges” produced three-dimensional (3D) objects. Additional electrodeposition of nickel welded hinges into position, strengthened the structure, and joined separate pieces. By printing onto cylindrical surfaces, it was possible to generate complex shapes efficiently and to minimize joining steps.
Kinematic Signatures of Telic and Atelic Events in ASL Predicates

This article presents an experimental investigation of kinematics of verb sign production in American Sign Language (ASL) using motion capture data. The results confirm that event structure differences in the meaning of the verbs are reflected in the kinematic formation: for example, in the telic verbs (THROW, HIT), the end-point of the event is marked in the verb sign movement by significantly greater deceleration, as compared to atelic verbs (SWIM, TRAVEL). This end-point marker is highly robust regardless of position of the verb in the sentence (medial vs. final), although other prominent kinematic measures, including sign duration and peak speed of dominant hand motion within the sign, are affected by prosodic processes such as Phrase Final Lengthening. The study provides the first kinematic confirmation that event structure is expressed in movement profiles of ASL verbs, up to now only supported by apparent perceptual distinctions. The findings raise further questions about the psychology of event representation both in human languages and in the human mind.
Uncertainty and Worst Case Analysis for a Low-Pass Filter Using Polynomial Chaos Theory

In this paper, the authors propose an analytical method to estimate the worst case in terms of uncertainty propagation in a measurement operation. The theory is exemplified with a specific application: power measurement with a signal conditioning stage including a low-pass filter. In AC power measurement the low pass filtering affects magnitude and phase of each harmonic component. The low pass filter is usually made of discrete components, which inherently contain parameter uncertainty. The effect of this uncertainty must be quantified to determine its effect on the quality of the power measurement. In this paper, the authors describe the use of Polynomial Chaos Theory (PCT) to quantify the effect of parameter uncertainty of a second order low pass filter such as the Sallen-Key filter. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate the use of PCT to obtain the probability density function (PDF) of the Sallen-Key filter given a certain parametric uncertainty. In particular it is shown how to use PCT to obtain the worst-case, expected and best-case output of the Sallen-Key filter without actually reconstructing the whole PDF. This result demonstrates the potential to determine significant boundary on the final measurement uncertainty.
Bank management and strategic planning for the 1980s

Abstract This paper examines a number of important issues facing banking in the 1980s. The authors maintain that banking has been managing primarily by crisis, and this 'simply cannot be the operating norm'. The paper analyses a number of selected issues facing bank management in 1978 and the perceptions of bank managers about those issues vs their probable importance in 1985; furthermore, the paper examines likely operating strategies which will be required as effective responses to emerging environmental realities. Through examining the competitive realities for 1985 this paper, as have many others recently, broadens the context within which planning in banking will perhaps take place in the future.
Effect of wafer thickness on sheet resistance during spike annealing

Temperature control requirements for Rapid Thermal Anneal (RTA) process steps, notably the source/drain activation anneal, have reached the limits of process capability at the 65 nm node. Device requirements dictate the tools be matched to better than 2°C and peak-temperature controlled to better than 1°C at ramp-up rates between 75°C/s and 230°C/s. It is important to understand all sources of variation in the time-temperature profile and the effects of this variation on measured parameters such as sheet resistance (Rs) on both monitor and product wafers. This work examines the effect of wafer thickness on the time-temperature behavior during the RTA process and its subsequent effect on Rs. It is shown that thicker wafers lead to a lower Rs. Nominal wafer thickness is 750 μm, but a variation in thickness of 10 μm results in an Rs shift of 0.5 ohms/square, the equivalent to a peak-temperature change of 0.63°C. This behavior is shown to have a significant effect on both monitor and product wafers. A study of 100 Hz data from the RTA chamber shows that this effect is likely due to two factors: (1) Thicker wafers reach a higher peak temperature, and (2) after reaching peak temperature, thicker wafers cool more slowly. Peak temperature reached is seen to change by 0.34°C per 10 μm of thickness change. The cooling rate changes by approximately 1°C/s per 10 μm of thickness change. Together, higher peak temperature and lower cooling rate result in a higher thermal budget, greater activation, and lower Rs for thicker wafers.
The prognostic significance of pre- and posttreatment SCC levels in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix treated by radiotherapy

Purpose: To investigate the prognostic significance of the pre- and posttreatment serum squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) levels in patients with Stage I-IVA squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix primarily treated by radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: 401 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of cervix primarily treated with radiotherapy (RT) were included in this study. All had preRT, and 249 patients had postRT serum SCC values. The association of pretreatment SCC level with the clinical parameters, including stage, hemoglobin (Hb) level, age, cell differentiation, and lymph node status, was assessed by univariate and multivariate analysis. The prognostic significance of pretreatment SCC level and these clinical parameters were evaluated. The impact of postRT residual induration and SCC levels on survival was analyzed. Results: 1. PreRT SCC level strongly correlated with stage. After controlling for stage, only SCC levels higher than 10 ng/ml were associated with enlarged lymph nodes shown in CT scan. No association of preRT SCC level with other clinical parameters was found. 2. SCC level higher than 10 ng/ml, but not between 2–10 ng/ml, had significant impact on survival in a multivariate analysis. Stage, Hb levels (<10 g/dl) and positive lymph node shown by CT scan were also independent prognostic factors for survival. No significant difference in failure pattern in terms of local and/or distant sites was found in patients with different SCC levels. 3. Patients with residual induration and/or persistently elevated SCC level at 2–3 months after RT had a significantly higher incidence of treatment failure. Persistently elevated SCC level is a stronger predictor for treatment failure than residual induration by pelvic examination, and is associated with a higher incidence of distant metastasis. One third of patients with initial SCC level higher than 10 ng/ml had persistently elevated SCC. Conclusion: Pretreatment SCC levels higher than 10 ng/ml are an independent predictor for poor prognosis in patients included in this study, and can be used as one of the prognostic factors for selection of patients for intensive treatment. Persistently elevated SCC levels after RT is a strong predictor for treatment failure. A combination of clinical pelvic examination and SCC levels provides useful information for the need of further work-up and management.
Pathophysiology of Perinatal Hypoxic-ischemic Brain Damage

Impaired learning, cerebral palsy, and other forms of limited or abnormal neurological development blight the lives of an estimated 10% of children in Western society. Although the mechanisms for a substantial percentage of these abnormalities in development are at least partly explained by alreadyknown anatomical or chemical disorders, the causes for many of the cases remain elusive (Fig. 1). Among the known causes of mental and physical retardation, perinatal anoxic-ischemic injury ranks high, and we review here the present understanding and some of the known problems of this important cause of human disability.
Clustering intrusion detection alarms to support root cause analysis

It is a well-known problem that intrusion detection systems overload their human operators by triggering thousands of alarms per day. This paper presents a new approach for handling intrusion detection alarms more efficiently. Central to this approach is the notion that each alarm occurs for a reason, which is referred to as the alarm's root causes. This paper observes that a few dozens of rather persistent root causes generally account for over 90p of the alarms that an intrusion detection system triggers. Therefore, we argue that alarms should be handled by identifying and removing the most predominant and persistent root causes. To make this paradigm practicable, we propose a novel alarm-clustering method that supports the human analyst in identifying root causes. We present experiments with real-world intrusion detection alarms to show how alarm clustering helped us identify root causes. Moreover, we show that the alarm load decreases quite substantially if the identified root causes are eliminated so that they can no longer trigger alarms in the future.
OPTIMUM TEMPERATURES AND TEMPERATURE RANGES FOR GROWTH OF SNOW ALGAE

Blooms of algae are known to occur in snow when air temperatures remain above freezing for extended periods of time. However, hard freezes may occur after snow algae make their appearance, and some species may survive this environmental stress more easily than others. Three species of snow algae, Raphidonema
An Alzheimer’s Disease-Derived Biomarker Signature Identifies Parkinson’s Disease Patients with Dementia

Biomarkers from multiple modalities have been shown to correlate with cognition in Parkinson's disease (PD) and in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the relationships of these markers with each other, and the use of multiple markers in concert to predict an outcome of interest, are areas that are much less explored. Our objectives in this study were (1) to evaluate relationships among 17 biomarkers previously reported to associate with cognition in PD or AD and (2) to test performance of a five-biomarker classifier trained to recognize AD in identifying PD with dementia (PDD). To do this, we evaluated a cross-sectional cohort of PD patients (n = 75) across a spectrum of cognitive abilities. All PD participants had 17 baseline biomarkers from clinical, genetic, biochemical, and imaging modalities measured, and correlations among biomarkers were assessed by Spearman's rho and by hierarchical clustering. We found that internal correlation among all 17 candidate biomarkers was modest, showing a maximum pairwise correlation coefficient of 0.51. However, a five-marker subset panel derived from AD (CSF total tau, CSF phosphorylated tau, CSF amyloid beta 42, APOE genotype, and SPARE-AD imaging score) discriminated cognitively normal PD patients vs. PDD patients with 80% accuracy, when employed in a classifier originally trained to recognize AD. Thus, an AD-derived biomarker signature may identify PDD patients with moderately high accuracy, suggesting mechanisms shared with AD in some PDD patients. Based on five measures readily obtained during life, this AD-derived signature may prove useful in identifying PDD patients most likely to respond to AD-based crossover therapies.
The Pre-storm Environment of Midlatitude Prefrontal Squall Lines

Abstract Composite environmental profiles Of wind and temperature are presented for squall line cases that are spatially removed from frontal disturbances. The motions of the squall lines are inferred from radar data, and the mean environmental wind profile is presented in a coordinate system relative to the squall line. The dataset consists of 60 cases from all seasons and from various geographical regions of the continental United States. The results are compared to a similar study by Bluestein and Jain.
Computational work

It is too early to say which of the approaches currently being investigated will lead to the best solution to the problem of measuring data processes. All have promising aspects, but a great deal more experience is needed to see how useful they are in practice.
Association Between Medicare Summary Star Ratings for Patient Experience and Clinical Outcomes in US Hospitals

Objective:In 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new summary star ratings for US hospitals based on patient experience. We aimed to test the association between CMS ...
Enhancing Oxygen Transfer in Subsurface-Flow Constructed Wetlands

Conventional subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (SFCW) for wastewater treatment are typically designed as horizontal plug-flow vegetated beds. Limited oxygen, provided mostly by slow transfer through air–water interface, turns these systems anaerobic, thus requiring a long hydraulic retention time (HRT) to achieve desired effluent quality. A SFCW treatment system with biofield effluent disposal has been designed and constructed for the highway I-70 rest area station near Greenfield, Indiana. A number of features were incorporated into the design of this system in an effort to enhance oxygen transfer. They include 1) a pair of parallel wetlands that can be operated in a cyclic “draw-and-fill” scheme – allowing filling of one wetland while draining the other, and 2) a vertical filter with coarse gravel at the front section of each wetland cell. It is expected these modifications can significantly improve biological oxygen demand (BOD) and nitrogen removal, therefore reducing the HRT of the system. This paper presents details of the modified design, flow and treatment data from the first year of operation, and early experience gained during this period.
Immunological Responses to Training in Conditioned Runners

1. We measured the concentrations of leucocyte subpopulations, immunoglobulins and complement in six well-conditioned runners before and after a typical 8-mile (12.8 km) training run at 70–75% of Vo 2 max. 2. Before running all components were within the normal range. Exercise failed to produce a significant rise in neutrophils. There was also no change in immunoglobulins or complement concentrations immediately or 24 h after exercise. Lymphocyte subpopulations were also unchanged except for a progressive rise in antibody-dependent cytotoxic effector cells (K-lymphocytes). 3. These results suggest chronic exercise training has no apparent adverse effect on circulating cellular or humoral immune components in healthy subjects. An increase in K-lymphocytes may provide added host defence capacity during periods of stress, although the mechanism of increase is unexplained.
Vegetation dynamics during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the central Great Plains, USA

The Holocene–Pleistocene transition in the upland loess-mantled regions of the central Great Plains is punctuated by the Brady Soil, which separates the late-Pleistocene Peoria Loess and the Holoce...
Free-surface flow modeling and simulation of horizontal-axis tidal-stream turbines

Abstract A computational free-surface flow framework that enables 3D, time-dependent simulation of horizontal-axis tidal-stream turbines (HATTs) is presented and deployed using a complex-geometry HATT. Free-surface flow simulations using the proposed framework, without any empiricism, are able to accurately capture the effect of the free surface on the hydrodynamic performance of the turbine, as demonstrated through excellent agreement with the experimental data. To carry out the free-surface computations, we have developed a novel level-set redistancing procedure compatible with the sliding-interface technique used for handling the rotor-stator interaction in the HATT full-machine simulations. To illustrate the versatility of the proposed approach, additional computations are carried out where the HATT is subjected to wave action.
What's New in Obstetric Anesthesia: The 2016 Gerard W. Ostheimer Lecture

This special article presents potentially important trends and issues affecting the field of obstetric anesthesia drawn from publications in 2015. Both maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States have increased in recent years because, in part, of the changing demographics of the childbearing population. Pregnant women are older and have more pre-existing conditions and complex medical histories. Cardiovascular and noncardiovascular medical diseases now account for half of maternal deaths in the United States. Several national and international organizations have developed initiatives promoting optimal obstetric and anesthetic care, including guidelines on the obstetric airway, obstetric cardiac arrest protocols, and obstetric hemorrhage bundles. To deal with the increasing burden of high-risk parturients, the national obstetric organizations have proposed a risk-based classification of delivery centers, termed as Levels of Maternal Care. The goal of this initiative is to funnel more complex obstetric patients toward high-acuity centers where they can receive more effective care. Despite the increasing obstetric complexity, anesthesia-related adverse events and morbidity are decreasing, possibly reflecting an ongoing focus on safe systems of anesthetic care. It is critical that the practice of obstetric anesthesia expand beyond the mere provision of safe analgesia and anesthesia to lead in developing and promoting comprehensive safety systems for obstetrics and team-based coordinated care.
“Score-for-Credit”: An Analysis of AP Chemistry Policies at Medium-Sized, Full-time, 2-Year Undergraduate (MFT2) Institutions

This study aimed to identify a consensus Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry exam score among MFT2 institutions, and determine how this value compared against target schools within the State of Alaba...
A new Early Jurassic (ca. 183 Ma) fossil Lagerstätte from Ya Ha Tinda, Alberta, Canada

Lagerstatten —deposits of exceptionally preserved fossils—offer vital insights into evolutionary history. To date, only three Konservat-Lagerstatten are known from Early Jurassic marine rocks (Osteno, Posidonia Shale, and Strawberry Bank), all located in Europe. We report a new assemblage of exceptionally preserved fossils from Alberta, Canada, the first marine Konservat-Lagerstatte described from the Jurassic of North America. The Ya Ha Tinda assemblage includes articulated vertebrates (fish, ichthyosaurs), crinoids, crustaceans, brachiopods, abundant mollusks (coleoids with soft tissues, ammonites, gastropods, bivalves), wood, and microfossils. Paired bioand chemostratigraphies show that Lagerstatte deposition occurred during the late Pliensbachian through early Toarcian, capturing the carbon isotope excursion associated with the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. Therefore, the Panthalassan Ya Ha Tinda biota is coeval with Toarcian Lagerstatten from the Tethys Ocean (Posidonia Shale and Strawberry Bank). Comparisons among these deposits permit new insights into the diversity, ecology, and biogeography of Jurassic marine communities during a time of pronounced biological and environmental change (e.g., expanded subsurface anoxia, warming, and extinctions). They also highlight the possibility that Mesozoic Oceanic Anoxic Events are temporal foci of exceptional preservation.
Calorimetric Analysis to Infer Primary Circuit Flow in Integral and Pool-Type Reactors

Primary system flow rate is a key parameter for monitoring and controlling thermal power in a nuclear power plant. The existing fleet of large light water reactors uses direct measurements of primary flow rate with the application of venturi meters, orifice plates, and magnetic flowmeters in primary loop piping. Integral light water reactors and pool-type advanced reactor designs, however, have largely eliminated primary loop piping to improve the inherent safety characteristics of these reactors. Furthermore, longer operating cycles between maintenance opportunities (typically 4 to 40 years) limit the applicability of these direct measurement methods over the operating period. Methods to infer the primary flow rate based on other, easily measured parameters are needed to ensure the operability of integral and pool-type reactors. Calorimetric analysis across the intermediate heat exchanger was investigated for real-time inference of primary flow rate. Heat balance equations were applied to an experimental forced flow loop to evaluate the efficacy of this approach. When appropriate time delays and heat losses are accounted for, the primary flow rate was inferred with accuracy and 95% prediction variance of 1.57 and 4.80 % mean value, respectively.
Empire in three keys: Forging the imperial imaginary at the 1896 Berlin trade exhibition

Germany was famously a latecomer to colonialism, but it was a hybrid empire, centrally involved in all forms of imperial activity. Germans dominated the early Holy Roman Empire; Germany after 1870 ...
Endoglin Mediates Vascular Maturation by Promoting Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Migration and Spreading.

Objective—Endoglin, a transforming growth factor-β superfamily coreceptor, is predominantly expressed in endothelial cells and has essential roles in vascular development. However, whether endoglin...
Advances in EBI Development for Diverse Populations: Towards a Science of Intervention Adaptation

This introduction examines major issues and challenges as presented in this special issue of Prevention Science, "Challenges to the Dissemination and Implementation of Evidence Based Prevention Interventions for Diverse Populations." We describe the Fidelity-Adaptation Dilemma that became the origin of dynamic tensions in prevention science. It generated controversies and debates and new perspectives on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions (EBIs) within diverse populations. The five articles in this special issue address many of these challenges. These dynamic tensions have culminated in a reframing of this dilemma that now argues that fidelity and adaptation are both equally important imperatives. These five articles also examine the abiding challenges of engagement and sustainability. Also, two commentaries from expert research investigators reflect on these five articles and their contributions to prevention science. The current introduction describes this "second generation" of EBIs as they may contribute towards a reduction of the health disparities and inequities that disproportionately affect sectors of the major ethnocultural populations in the USA. We also present a systems analysis of approaches and challenges in the dissemination and implementation of EBIs within the contemporary integrative care environment. Finally, we mention an initiative for, "building a science of intervention adaptation," that proposes systematic research and the creation of an archive of scientific data on the benefits and problems of intervention adaptation. Collectively, these new directions can integrate scientific rigor and sensitivity to cultural factors, for enhancing the effectiveness and reach of this second generation of evidence-based interventions with diverse ethnocultural populations.
Bifurcation kinetics of drug uptake by Gram-negative bacteria

Cell envelopes of many bacteria consist of two membranes studded with efflux transporters. Such organization protects bacteria from the environment and gives rise to multidrug resistance. We report a kinetic model that accurately describes the permeation properties of this system. The model predicts complex non-linear patterns of drug uptake complete with a bifurcation, which recapitulate the known experimental anomalies. We introduce two kinetic parameters, the efflux and barrier constants, which replace those of Michaelis and Menten for trans-envelope transport. Both compound permeation and efflux display transitions, which delineate regimes of efficient and inefficient efflux. The first transition is related to saturation of the transporter by the compound and the second one behaves as a bifurcation and involves saturation of the outer membrane barrier. The bifurcation was experimentally observed in live bacteria. We further found that active efflux of a drug can be orders of magnitude faster than its diffusion into a cell and that the efficacy of a drug depends both on its transport properties and therapeutic potency. This analysis reveals novel physical principles in the behavior of the cellular envelope, creates a framework for quantification of small molecule permeation into bacteria, and should invigorate structure-activity studies of novel antibiotics.
Utilizing Inverse Emulsion Polymerization To Generate Responsive Nanogels for Cytosolic Protein Delivery

Therapeutic biologics have various advantages over synthetic drugs in terms of selectivity, their catalytic nature, and, thus, therapeutic efficacy. These properties offer the potential for more effective treatments that may also overcome the undesirable side effects observed due to off-target toxicities of small molecule drugs. Unfortunately, systemic administration of biologics is challenging due to cellular penetration, renal clearance, and enzymatic degradation difficulties. A delivery vehicle that can overcome these challenges and deliver biologics to specific cellular populations has the potential for significant therapeutic impact. In this work, we describe a redox-responsive nanoparticle platform, which can encapsulate hydrophilic proteins and release them only in the presence of a reducing stimulus. We have formulated these nanoparticles using an inverse emulsion polymerization (IEP) methodology, yielding inverse nanoemulsions, or nanogels. We have demonstrated our ability to overcome the liabili...
Magnetic resonance elastography inversions: Technical challenges and recent developments

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a phase contrast based MRI imaging technique that can quantitatively and non-invasively measure full 3D vector displacement data from propagating acoustic waves in vivo. The data acquired allow the calculation of local values of complex shear modulus and the generation of images that depict the viscoelastic properties of tissue. Acquisitions at different frequencies can capture the dispersive behavior of these quantities, and advanced approaches attempt to map anisotropic and poroelastic properties of materials. We will discuss current approaches for the inversion of MRE data, focusing on the issues and assumptions involved, and highlight some of the challenges faced in such inversions, particularly in thin or small structures in which wave propagation is dominated by waveguide effects. We will also present results based on neural network inversions, which may have lower repeatability error and be more resistant to noise than some current approaches.
Selection of a performance test to assess the cracking resistance of asphalt concrete materials

Abstract Cracking is a common failure mechanism in asphalt concrete pavement structures. It is one of the main reasons for large road maintenance and rehabilitation expenditures, as well as reduced user comfort and increased fuel consumption due to high road roughness. The resistance of the pavement to this distress mechanism is dependent upon the ductility of the asphalt pavement mixture. The use of recycled asphalt materials in asphalt mixtures are also becoming increasingly common. A drawback of this practice is a reduction in ductility of the asphalt mixture, which causes a significant reduction in the fatigue life of the pavement in many cases. In Oregon, asphalt pavements are commonly failing prematurely due to cracking-related distresses, necessitating costly rehabilitation and maintenance at intervals of less than half of the intended design lives in some cases. For this reason, it is necessary to accurately quantify the impact of increasing the recycled asphalt content in asphalt pavement on the structural cracking resistance of the pavement through the use of low-cost and efficient testing procedures that can be implemented easily. This study focuses on characterizing the cracking performance of asphalt pavements in Oregon by considering four tests commonly used to evaluate fatigue cracking resistance and proposing the implementation of the most cost-effective and efficient test procedure for agencies and contractors.
Telecommunications Demand Analysis in Transition: An Overview of Part I

While the upheavals that have occurred in world telecommunications markets have generated many benefits, few of these have been bestowed on telecommunications demand analysts. Twenty years ago, the boundaries of the telecommunications industry were stable and well-defined, as were the services provided and telephone companies were either state-owned or regulated monopolies, which made for a readily available body of data on a consistent and comprehensive basis. Today, industry boundaries are rapidly changing, markets are increasingly competitive, and company-based data have become increasingly fragmented and proprietary. The upshot is that estimation of telecommunications price and income elasticities was easier 20 years ago than it is today.
The choice is yours: the effects of autonomy-supportive instruction on students’ learning and communication

ABSTRACTGuided by self-determination theory, we conducted a live lecture experiment in two 50-min college courses to manipulate autonomy-supportive instruction (i.e., the amount of choices and rati...
A Novel 1D-Convolution Accelerator for Low-Power Real-time CNN processing on the Edge

With the rise of deep learning, the demand for real-time edge intelligence is greater than ever. Current algorithm and hardware realizations often focus on the cloud paradigm and maintain the assumption that the entire frames data is available in large batches. As a result, obtaining real-time AI inference at the edge has been a tough goal due to tight-latency awareness as well as streaming nature of the data. There is an inherent need for novel architectures that can realize latency-aware agile deep learning algorithms at the edge. This paper introduces a novel joint algorithm architecture approach to enable real-time low-power Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) processing on edge devices. The core of the proposed approach is utilizing 1D dimensional convolution with an architecture that can truly benefit from the algorithm optimization. On the algorithm side, we present a novel training and inference based on 1D convolution. On the architecture side, we present a novel data flow architecture with the capability of performing on-the-fly 1D convolution over the pixel stream. Our results on Xilinx Zynq-7000 FPGA for SqueezeNet demonstrates only 2% lost in accuracy while maintaining real-time processing of 60 frames per second with only 1.73W power consumption. The Dynamic power consumption is 7.3X lower than regular 2D convolution CNN for performing the same frame rate, and 4.3X less than Nvidia Jetson TX2 total power, performing only 30 frame per second.
Quadriceps augmentation of undersized hamstrings during ACL reconstruction.

Abstract Background Double hamstring autograft for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is a well-established graft option; however, a major concern with this method arises when the prepared graft is too small. Resorting to allograft can be a solution to this problem, but some surgeons prefer to use autograft in particular situations and some patients may refuse allograft. We investigate the merits of using autogenous quadriceps tendons to augment the insufficient hamstrings and compare the autograft composite graft to a standard hamstrings graft of equal size. Methods Semitendinosus, gracilis, and quadriceps tendons were harvested from 10 matched pairs of human cadaver lower extremities. Within each pair, a routine hamstring ACL graft (control) consisting of the semitendinosus and gracilis tendons, and an quadriceps augmented hamstrings graft of equal size comprised of the semitendinosus and quadriceps tendons, were prepared. A freeze-clamp mount was used to biomechanically test each graft construct. Tensile failure load, displacement, energy absorbed, and stiffness were determined and statistically compared within each pair and mode of graft failure was established. Results No statistically significant differences were found between the quadriceps augmented hamstrings graft versus standard control grafts. Average values for peak failure load and graft displacement at the point of first failure were nearly identical. All ACL graft constructs failed at the mid-substance. Conclusions This study demonstrates no statistical difference in the biomechanical properties of an isolated hamstring ACL autograft versus a quadriceps augmented ACL autograft of equal size at time zero. Clinical relevance This is a potentially new and reliable method for quadriceps tendon autograft augmentation of hamstring autograft for ACL reconstruction.
Strategic Planning at the FTC

This article discusses the use of strategic planning by the Bureau of Consumer Protection's planning office. The historical use of planning by the agency, this office's activities, problems in impl...
Hawking radiation, quantum fields, and tunneling

I consider the problem of reconciling ``tunneling'' approaches to black-hole radiation with the treatment by quantum field theory in curved spacetime. It is not possible to do this completely, but using what appears to be the most direct and natural correspondence, the simplest case of such an approach does not describe a tunneling process but rather a WKB approximation to a two-point function. What it computes is a sort of rescaled Unruh temperature associated with worldlines tracing Killing trajectories near the horizon. This temperature is numerically equal to the Hawking temperature, but at this point no argument is known which identifies it with the Hawking effect; indeed, the same temperature can exist when no curvature is present.
International Conflict, Military Rule, and Violent Authoritarian Breakdown

Why do some transitions of power from military rule occur violently while others do not? What effect, if any, does the international security environment have on how violent breakdowns of authorita...
Conformity to masculine norms predicts US men's decision-making regarding a new male contraceptive.

Health decision-making is often explained by affective and cognitive processes, but this processing is rarely explored in relation to gender norms. We investigated how conformity to specific masculine norms is linked to the affective and cognitive processes that lead to US men's decisions regarding a new male contraceptive. US male college students (N = 151) completed an online survey. They read a description of a long-acting reversible contraceptive, then completed questionnaires measuring their affective and cognitive responses, their information-seeking and willingness-to-try the contraceptive, and their conformity to masculine norms. Participants reported less willingness-to-try the contraceptive when they endorsed masculine norms regarding men's Power Over Women and concern with Heterosexual Self-Presentation, and these effects were consistently mediated by beliefs about its negative impact on sex. Positive emotions predicted willingness-to-try and information-seeking but were unrelated to masculine norms. This broadens our understanding of how conformity to specific gender norms impacts health decision-making processes.