cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Day-of-week patterns in toxic air contaminants in southern California.

Abstract Day-of-week mean ambient concentrations were computed for six high-cancer-risk toxic air contaminants (TACs): 1,3-butadiene, benzene, acetaldehyde, formalde-hyde, carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), and perchloroethylene. Data from six urban sites in southern California, from 1989 through 2001, were analyzed. Graphical displays were used to search for repeated patterns. Benzene and 1,3-butadiene, emitted mainly by mobile sources, exhibit distinctly lower concentrations on Sundays and slightly lower concentrations on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Acetaldehyde and formaldehyde show some trace of a weekly pattern similar to that of benzene and 1,3-butadiene, but the pattern is not strongly marked. Perchloroethylene, used primarily as a dry-cleaning solvent, is also distinctly lower on Sundays. CCl4 does not show a dayof-week pattern.
Scope of HIV risk and co-occurring psychosocial health problems among young adults: violence, victimization, and substance use

Abstract Purpose This study examines the co-occurrence of sexual risk with violence, victimization, risky substance use, and drug-related problems among young adults. Methods Data were collected from 3392 young adults drawn from California and Oregon as youth, as part of the RAND adolescent panel study. Logistic regression analyses were used to test differences in psychosocial health problems for participants at high, moderate, and low sexual risk, overall, and by gender. Results Nearly 80% of young adults exhibited some degree of sexual risk. Both moderate (56%) and high (22%) HIV risks were associated with multiple forms of drug use, drug-related problems, violence and victimization. Males and females had similar relative risk profiles, but females reported higher rates of victimization in the form of partner abuse and sexual coercion. Over 80% of those at high sexual risk exhibited psychosocial health problems in at least 2 other areas. Conclusions Sexual risk-taking is widespread among young adults and typically co-occurs with other psychosocial health problems. Interventions designed for young adults at high sexual risk should take into account their additional psychosocial problems; broad media campaigns may be useful for those at moderate risk.
Application aware scheduling for power management on IEEE 802.11

Asynchronous medium access protocols, like the MAC of IEEE 802.11, are inherently energy inefficient. Hosts have to continuously listen to the air waiting for packet arrivals. The power management mode of operation of IEEE 802.12 represents a significant improvement, however still has energy inefficiencies due to the one-fits-all policy and the medium access contention. To maximize energy efficiency and user satisfaction, the power management mechanism has to take into account application requirements. Traditional QoS specifications ignore energy consumption, and we argue that all service classes, including best effort, should be subdivided in energy consumption sublevels. We developed an application aware power management mechanism on top of the IEEE 802.12 power management which works on the trade-off between delay and power consumption, and allows per-flow customization.
Understanding active and passive users: The effects of an active user using normal, hard and unreliable technologies on user assessment of trust in technology and co-user

The aim of this study was to understand how passive users perceive the trustworthiness of active users and technologies under varying technological conditions. An experimental study was designed to vary the functioning of technologies that active users interacted with, while passive users observed these interactions. Active and passive user ratings of technology and partner were collected. Exploratory data analysis suggests that passive users developed perceptions of technologies based on the functioning of the technology and how the active user interacted with the technology. Findings from this research have implications for the design of technologies in environments where active and passive users interact with technologies in different ways. Future work in this area should explore interventions that lead to enhanced affective engagement and trust calibration.
On a sufficient condition for static output-feedback multimodel control

This paper investigates a sufficient condition given by El Ghaoui (1993 ) for the simultaneous stabilization of a collection of linear time-invariant plants via static output-feedback control. Our main result shows that for square plants, with no purely imaginary transmission zeros, the sufficient condition will not hold if there is a plant with nonminimum phase transfer matrix G(s) or with singular high-frequency gain matrix lim/sub s/spl rarr//spl infin//sG(s).
R-trees with Update Memos

The problem of frequently updating multi-dimensional indexes arises in many location-dependent applications. While the R-tree and its variants are one of the dominant choices for indexing multi-dimensional objects, the R-tree exhibits inferior performance in the presence of frequent updates. In this paper, we present an R-tree variant, termed the RUM-tree (stands for R-tree with Update Memo) that minimizes the cost of object updates. The RUM-tree processes updates in a memo-based approach that avoids disk accesses for purging old entries during an update process. Therefore, the cost of an update operation in the RUM-tree reduces to the cost of only an insert operation. The removal of old object entries is carried out by a garbage cleaner inside the RUM-tree. In this paper, we present the details of the RUM-tree and study its properties. Theoretical analysis and experimental evaluation demonstrate that the RUMtree outperforms other R-tree variants by up to a factor of eight in scenarios with frequent updates.
Hypotaurine and sulfhydryl-containing antioxidants reduce H2S toxicity in erythrocytes from a marine invertebrate.

SUMMARY Hypotaurine (HT) has been proposed to reduce sulfide toxicity in some deep-sea invertebrates by scavenging free radicals produced from sulfide oxidation or by scavenging sulfide via the reaction of HT with sulfide, forming thiotaurine (ThT). We tested whether HT or several antioxidants could reduce the total dissolved sulfide concentration in buffered seawater exposed to H 2 S, and whether HT, ThT or antioxidants could increase the viability of Glycera dibranchiata erythrocytes exposed to H 2 S in vitro . We found that 5 and 50 mmol l –1 HT reduced the dissolved sulfide in cell-free buffer exposed to H 2 S by up to 80% whereas the antioxidants glutathione ethyl ester (GEE), N-acetylcysteine (NAC), l-ascorbic acid (ASC), Tempol and Trolox had no consistent effect. Exposure of erythrocytes to 0.10%–3.2% H 2 S (producing 0.18–4.8 mmol l –1 sulfide) decreased the fraction of viable cells, as evidenced by loss of plasma membrane integrity, with virtually no cells remaining viable at 1.0% or more H 2 S. Addition of HT (0.5–50 mmol l –1 ) significantly increased the fraction of viable cells (e.g. from 0.01 to 0.84 at 0.32% H 2 S) whereas ThT (0.5 and 5 mmol l –1 ) decreased cell viability. GEE (0.03–3 mmol l –1 ) and NAC (0.001–1 mmol l –1 ), which contain sulfhydryl groups, increased cell viability during H 2 S exposure but to a lesser extent than HT whereas ASC, Tempol and Trolox, which do not contain sulfhydryl groups, decreased viability or had no effect. These data show that HT can protect cells from sulfide in vitro and suggest that sulfide scavenging, rather than free radical scavenging, is the most important mechanism of protection.
Hierarchical networks with Byzantine Robustness

In traditional networks, a single malicious (“Byzantine”) packet switch can cause global disruption; for instance, by giving incorrect routing information, flooding the network with traffic, or forwarding data incorrectly. Previous work (which we'll call NPBR for “Network Protocols with Byzantine Robustness”) presented a network design resilient to Byzantine failures, that guaranteed that nodes A and B can communicate, with some fair share of bandwidth, provided that at least one honest path connects them. NPBR, for reasons described in this paper, only works in a fairly small, flat network. This paper presents a network design that not only provides the same guarantees as NPBR, in a large hierarchical network, but provides additional guarantees, which we will describe in the paper. Furthermore, our design does not require any router to keep state larger than necessary for its portion of the network hierarchy. In this paper we summarize NPBR, explain why it does not extend to a hierarchy, and then present a design suitable for a hierarchy.
Assessment of infant-caregiver interaction using cardiac, respiratory, and behavioral monitoring: conceptual and technical issues in a new methodology.

This paper presents a discussion of conceptual and technical issues considered critical to the understanding, design, and implementation of developmental research using behavioral and physiologic measures. Background information is presented demonstrating the effectiveness of naturalistic monitoring of infant 24-hour, sleep-awake cycles in determining state regulation, and the importance of this function as it relates to other physiologic subsystems and to infant risk. Also included is a comprehensive report, with illustrations, of a biotelemetry system for concurrent, continuous monitoring of infant behavior, heart beat, and respiration in the naturalistic setting for the purpose of assessing physiologic regulation in relation to caregiving activity.
Constructing Disease Network and Temporal Progression Model via Context-Sensitive Hawkes Process

Modeling disease relationships and temporal progression are two key problems in health analytics, which have not been studied together due to data and technical challenges. Thanks to the increasing adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR), rich patient information is being collected over time. Using EHR data as input, we propose a multivariate context-sensitive Hawkes process or cHawkes, which simultaneously infers the disease relationship network and models temporal progression of patients. Besides learning disease network and temporal progression model, cHawkes is able to predict when a specific patient might have other related diseases in future given the patient history, which in turn can have many potential applications in predictive health analytics, public health policy development and customized patient care. Extensive experiments on real EHR data demonstrate that cHawkes not only can uncover meaningful disease relations and model accurate temporal progression of patients, but also has significantly better predictive performance compared to several baseline models.
Parallelizing the Smith-Waterman Algorithm Using OpenSHMEM and MPI-3 One-Sided Interfaces

The Smith-Waterman algorithm is used for determining the similarity between two very long data streams. A popular application of the Smith-Waterman algorithm is for sequence alignment in DNA sequences. Like many computational algorithms, the Smith-Waterman algorithm is constrained by the memory resources and the computational capacity of the system. As such, it can be accelerated and run at larger scales by parallelizing the implementation, allowing the work to be distributed to exploit HPC systems. A central part of the algorithm is computing the similarity matrix which is the mechanism that evaluates the quality of the matching sequences. This access pattern to the matrix to compute the similarity is non-uniform; as such, it better suits the Partioned Global Address Space PGAS programming model. In this paper, we explore parallelizing the Smith-Waterman algorithm using the OpenSHMEM model and interfaces in OpenSHMEM 1.2 as well as the one-sided communication interfaces in MPI-3. Further, we also explore the advantages of using non-blocking communication interfaces, which are proposed as extensions for a future OpenSHMEM specification. We evaluate the parallel implementation on Titan, a Cray XK7 system at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility OLCF. Our results demonstrate good weak and strong scaling characteristics for both of the OpenSHMEM and MPI-3 implementations.
Abstract MP81: Community Characteristics Are Associated With Blood Pressure Levels in a Racially Integrated Community

Some community characteristics, such as perceived problems, have been associated with higher blood pressure levels, while access to community resources and community social cohesion have been associated with lower blood pressure levels. However, potential confounding by residential racial segregation has previously been ignored, despite positive correlations between segregation and hypertension. This study tests the hypothesis that results differ in a racially integrated community. Blood pressure was measured as the average of three readings from 1326 black and white adults residing in two racially integrated, contiguous, low income, urban US Census Tracts. Hypertension was defined as systolic BP≥140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP≥90 mmHg or use of antihypertensive medication(s). Neighborhood problems were measured with 15 questions about lack of resources, safety and crime. Participants were asked if people work together to solve problems to measure social cohesion and if the neighborhood has a leader. The presence of any desirable community resources on the participant’s block was also observed. Regression models were racially stratified because the effect of residential integration likely differs by race. Perceptions of community problems and social cohesion and rates of community resources did not differ by race. Models adjusted for all community characteristics, age, sex, income, marital status, residency length, and in blood pressure models, antihypertensive medication use. In whites, each standard deviation increase in community problems was associated with lower systolic (β =-2.312, p=0.011) and diastolic (β =-1.484, p=0.014) blood pressure levels. Also, whites living on blocks with community resources had lower systolic (β=-4.079, p=0.011) and diastolic (β=-2.251, p=0.034) blood pressure levels and a lower likelihood of hypertension (PR=0.83, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.93), compared with whites lacking such resources. In African Americans, community social cohesion was associated with higher systolic (β =4.923, p=0.008) and diastolic (β=3.397, p=0.008) blood pressure levels. No associations were found for reporting a community leader. Results were unchanged after additional adjustment for behavioral variables. Despite a shared community environment, perceptions of the community varied and some were associated with blood pressure levels, but not prevalent hypertension. Directions of associations oppose those of prior studies. This may be due to adverse features of this low income setting, which may contribute to hypertensive disparities. Closer proximity to community resources was associated with lower blood pressure levels and prevalent hypertension in whites. In conclusion, in this racially integrated and low income urban community, some community characteristics were associated with blood pressure levels, though some results differ from prior studies.
Static Electric Dipole Polarizabilities of Tri- and Tetravalent U, Np, and Pu Ions

High-quality static electric dipole polarizabilities have been determined for the ground states of the hard-sphere cations of U, Np, and Pu in the III and IV oxidation states. The polarizabilities have been calculated using the numerical finite field technique in a four-component relativistic framework. Methods including Fock-space coupled cluster (FSCC) and Kramers-restricted configuration interaction (KRCI) have been performed in order to account for electron correlation effects. Comparisons between polarizabilities calculated using Dirac−Hartree−Fock (DHF), FSCC, and KRCI methods have been made using both triple- and quadruple-ζ basis sets for U 4+ . In addition to the ground state, this study also reports the polarizability data for the first two excited states of U 3+/4+ ,N p 3+/4+ , and Pu 3+/4+ ions at different levels of theory. The values reported in this work are the most accurate to date calculations for the dipole polarizabilities of the hard-sphere tri- and tetravalent actinide ions and may serve as reference values, aiding in the calculation of various electronic and response properties (for example, intermolecular forces, optical properties, etc.) relevant to the nuclear fuel cycle and material science applications.
Investigating the Neurophysiological Effects of Direct Current Stimulation (P01.194)

Objective: To create a mouse model of direct current stimulation. Background Although transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and deep brain stimulation(DBS) are currently being used as investigative tools in neuroscience and as potential therapies for a variety of neurological conditions, their neurophysiologic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Importantly, no animal studies to date have directly measured physiological changes associated with direct, low-current brain stimulation. Design/Methods: Twenty-four mice were assigned to anodal, cathodal, and sham groups and were implanted with electrodes in left auditory cortex. Mice underwent direct current stimulation for 20min at 20microAmps. Auditory evoked potentials were recorded pre-stimulation, 1hr, 1wk, and 2wk post-stimulation. EEG was analyzed for amplitude/latency of P1, N1, and P2 signals. We assessed EEG power and intertrial coherence using event-related spectral perturbations. Results: In the anodal condition there was significant reduction in delta, theta, and alpha power that persisted through the two-week timepoint. In the cathodal condition there was significant reduction in delta that persisted through the one-week timepoint and reduction in theta and alpha power observed only at the one-hour timepoint (all p values Conclusions: Observed reductions in low frequency power bands after direct current stimulation were consistent with recent clinical studies using tDCS and extracranial EEG recordings (Keeser et al., 2010). In humans, attenuation of low frequency power may be associated with improved cognitive function and increased BOLD signal changes (Hlinka et al., 2010). Our approach may thus provide a means examine the use of direct current stimulation relevant to tDCS and DBS to improve brain function in animal models. Supported by: Summer Research Scholarship, American Academy of Neurology, 2011 and T32 Brain Injury Training Grant, NINDS, 2011. Disclosure: Dr. Rojas has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hamilton has nothing to disclose. Dr. Luminais has nothing to disclose. Dr. Siegel has nothing to disclose.
Hessian Fly : Resistance of Wheat as Affected by Temperature and Duration of Exposure

At a constant soil temperature of 18°C, ‘Abe’ wheat was resistant to Biotype B of the Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor (Say). However, when Abe was exposed to 1-day-old Biotype B larvae at 27°C for one day and then transferred to 18°C, more than ½ of the plants were susceptible. Also, each additional day of exposure to 27°C caused susceptibility to increase until it reached 100% after 7 days. In the reciprocal test, with one day of exposure to 18°C, only 4% of the plants were resistant, but plants exposed for 4 days to 18°C were 100% resistant and not affected by ensuing exposure to 27°C.
Onychomycosis: Evaluation, Treatment Options, Managing Recurrence, and Patient Outcomes

Onychomycosis is the most common nail disease seen in podiatric practice. Effective long-term management remains problematic. We need to treat onychomycosis effectively to prevent its progression into a severe, debilitating, and painful condition, and to manage recurrence. With new agents now available and greater discussion on management strategies, this article reviews the appropriate evaluation of the disease, treatment options, and optimal patient outcomes.
Changes in serum sex hormone-binding globulin, free estradiol, and testosterone during gonadotropin treatment

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), estradiol (E 2 ), percent free E 2 , percent of E 2 bound to SHBG, and testosterone (T) were evluated in 28 ovulatory women during human menopausal gonadotropin-stimulated cycles for in vitro fertilization. Patients were divided into two categories: low responders, in whom serum E 2 concentration reached levels 2 levels > 1000 pg/ml (mean, 2219 ± 330). A significant increase in SHBG can occur within a short time in high responders (from 62.8 to 103.9 nmol/l) but not in low responders. This increase is accompanied by a significant decrease in the percent free (bioavailable) E 2 , but the distribution of E 2 between the fraction bound to SHBG or albumin did not vary. Despite the increase in the levels of SHBG, the concentration of bioavailable (free) E 2 in hyperstimulated women is higher than in normal cycles. The significant increase in T in high responders, by virtue of its higher affinity for SHBG, probably contributes to the increased levels of bioavailable E 2 .
Load Balancing in WLAN/UMTS Integrated Systems Using Analytic Hierarchy Process

Load balancing plays an important role in the next generation communications system where cellular network and wireless local area network (WLAN) are integrated. This paper presents a novel load balancing algorithm based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP), which helps the heterogeneous wireless network system to provide better service to high-priority users without decreasing system revenue.
PReFerSim: fast simulation of demography and selection under the Poisson Random Field model.

Summary: The Poisson Random Field (PRF) model has become an important tool in population genetics to study weakly deleterious genetic variation under complicated demographic scenarios. Currently, there are no freely available software applications that allow simulation of genetic variation data under this model. Here we present PReFerSim, an ANSI C program that performs forward simulations under the PRF model. PReFerSim models changes in population size, arbitrary amounts of inbreeding, dominance and distributions of selective effects. Users can track summaries of genetic variation over time and output trajectories of selected alleles. Availability and Implementation: PReFerSim is freely available at: https://github.com/LohmuellerLab/PReFerSim Contact: klohmueller@ucla.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Hydrological and Thermal Response of Lakes to Climate: Description and Modeling

Lake systems continually respond to climatic conditions that vary over broad scales of space and time. The spatial distribution of lakes on the Earth’s surface is indicative of long-term patterns of atmospheric circulation, and the annual cycle of climate over lake basins is reflected in seasonal change in the size and temperature of lakes. Lake size is determined by the balance of water inputs and outputs, and lake temperature is governed by the balance of heat inputs and outputs. The lake hydrological and energy balances are coupled to the atmosphere. In response to the inputs of mass, energy, and momentum (precipitation, radiation, and wind stress), lakes return heat and moisture to the atmosphere through conduction and evaporation. Global, regional, or local change in the hydrological or thermal states of lakes thus represent interactive responses to climatic variation in the supply of water and energy.
Abstract WMP45: Manipulation of the Microbiome Improves Functional Recovery After Ischemic Stroke

Background: Circulating inflammatory markers increase with age. This pro-inflammatory milieu makes the organism less capable of coping with stressors such as stroke. Age related inflammation occurs...
Liver Adiposity and Metabolic Profile in Individuals with Chronic Spinal Cord Injury

Purpose. To quantify liver adiposity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to determine its association with metabolic profile in men with spinal cord injury (SCI). Materials and Methods. MRI analysis of liver adiposity by fat signal fraction (FSF) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) was completed on twenty participants. Intravenous glucose tolerance test was conducted to measure glucose effectiveness and insulin sensitivity (). Lipid panel, fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and inflammatory cytokines were also analyzed. Results. Average hepatic FSF was . FSF was positively related to TG, non-HDL-C, fasting glucose, HbA1c, VAT, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). FSF was negatively related to and testosterone. FSF was positively related to VAT (, ) and TNF-α (, ) independent of age, level of injury (LOI), and time since injury (TSI). The associations between FSF and metabolic profile were independent of VAT. Conclusions. MRI noninvasively estimated hepatic adiposity in men with chronic SCI. FSF was associated with dysfunction in metabolic profile, central adiposity, and inflammation. Importantly, liver adiposity influenced metabolic profile independently of VAT. These findings highlight the significance of quantifying liver adiposity after SCI to attenuate the development of metabolic disorders.
Re-thinking translation quality: Revision in the digital age

Editing and revision are regularly incorporated into professional translation projects as a means of quality assurance. Underlying the decision to include these tasks in translation workflows lay implicit assumptions about what constitutes quality. This article examines how quality is operationalized with respect to editing and revision and considers these assumptions. The case is made for incorporating revision into translation quality assessment models and employs the concepts of adequacy, distributed cognition, and salience – and their treatment in the research on cognitive translation processes, post-editing, and translation technology – in order to re-think translation quality.
A previously undetected pathology of Zika virus infection.

In a nonhuman primate model of Zika virus infection, structural and cellular pathology deficits that could have a long-lasting impact on neural development and neurocognitive function are detected in offspring of infected mothers.
Microstructural Design for Improving Ductility of An Initially Brittle Refractory High Entropy Alloy

Typically, refractory high-entropy alloys (RHEAs), comprising a two-phase ordered B2 + BCC microstructure, exhibit extraordinarily high yield strengths, but poor ductility at room temperature, limiting their engineering application. The poor ductility is attributed to the continuous matrix being the ordered B2 phase in these alloys. This paper presents a novel approach to microstructural engineering of RHEAs to form an “inverted” BCC + B2 microstructure with discrete B2 precipitates dispersed within a continuous BCC matrix, resulting in improved room temperature compressive ductility, while maintaining high yield strength at both room and elevated temperature.
Soviet Secondary School Mathematics and Science Programs

The decision to industrialize the Soviet Union in the late 1920s marked the beginning of a relentless drive to improve mathematics and science programs in secondary schools. This 40-year effort was highlighted by several major achievements: (1) New curricula were developed and implemented on a massive scale; (2) The Soviets created an outstanding and extensive literature on methods of teaching; (3) They based this literature on their own remarkable research in the psychology of learning and teaching; (4) The Soviets developed a vast and steady supply of specialized teachers with superior training; (5) Beginning in the mid-1930s Soviet research mathematicians and scientists at universities and the USSR Academy of Sciences collaborated to build an extraordinary enrichment literature and large-scale extracurricular programs designed primarily to discover and train young talent.
Expected Phenotypic Response in Weaning Weight of Beef Calves from Selection for Direct and Maternal Genetic Effects

SUMMARY An equation is derived to predict expected phenotypic response to selection when the trait under selection is influenced by both direct and maternal genetic effects. The expected phenotypic response after the i+l tla generation of selection is Pi+l = (i+I)AD + iAM + AM c where AD and AM are the averages of the genetic selection differentials of the parents for the direct and maternal effects and AM c is the maternal genetic selection differential for selected females. An example, corresponding to published reports of genetic variances and covariance for direct and maternal effects on weaning weight, illustrates the importance of the covariance term in long term response. With a large negative covariance, selection of males for direct and females for maternal genetic value would give greater expected response in progeny after the first generation than selection
Union Raiders in the New River Valley

The issue was settled in fighting that lasted just under one hour: an invading United States force would advance deeper into southwestern Virginia to attack the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. The Union victory making this possible came about on Monday, May 9, 1864, at the largest battle ever fought in the southwestern quarter of the state—Cloyds Mountain in Pulaski County (Fig. 14.1). One Northern veteran of the struggle noted that “Most of the regiments engaged in it had served in greater and more important battles, but all united in the opinion that, for fierce and deadly intensity, Cloyd[sic] Mountain exceeded them all” [269]. On this beautiful sun-splashed day in the Appalachian Mountains, roughly 9,000 soldiers clashed and 1,226 became casualties. Union killed, wounded, and missing amounted to about ten per cent of their strength and Confederate losses approached an appalling 23 per cent.
Growth and establishment of container-grown London planetrees in response to mulch, root-ball treatment and fertilization

Abstract We conducted two experiments to evaluate the impact of cultural treatments on growth and establishment of container-grown London planetrees (Platanus × acerifolia’ Bloodgood’). In both experiments, 48 trees grown in 100 l (#25) black plastic containers were assigned at random to one of three root-ball treatments prior to planting; no treatment (Control), outer 3 cm of roots removed around entire root-ball (Shave), or outer circling roots disentangled from the root-ball (Tease). In Experiment 1, half of the trees were fertilized with 400 g of controlled release fertilizer (15-9-12; N-P2O5-K2O) at planting and the remainder of the trees were not fertilized. In Experiment 2, half of the trees were mulched with an 8 cm deep × 2 m diameter ring of coarse ground pine bark at planting and the remainder of the trees were not mulched. In Experiment 1, fertilization at planting increased SPAD chlorophyll content on two of four measurement dates but did not affect cumulative height or caliper growth after two years. After two growing seasons, root-ball treatments (shaving or teasing) increased root growth outside the original root-ball compared to control trees. Both root-ball treatments also reduced circling roots. In Experiment 2, mulching at planting increased soil moisture and cumulative tree height and diameter growth. Shaving increased new root growth and both root-ball treatments improved root architecture and reduced circling roots. Overall, the study demonstrates that root-ball manipulations can stimulate new root growth and reduce circling roots. Mulch is a valuable aid to conserve soil moisture and increase tree growth. Fertilization at planting provided little benefit in this experiment, which may have been related to a high level of soil fertility at the site or nutrient loading of the trees from nursery culture prior to transplanting.
The Samoan Archipelago

Abstract The Samoan archipelago is a volcanic hotspot chain, divided into two political entities, the Independent State of Samoa to the west and the US Territory of American Samoa to the east. In addition to the volcanic islands, American Samoa includes two small atolls. Marine life in American Samoa has been studied more than that of Independent Samoa, and is relatively healthy for reefs at this time, with moderately good coral cover, increasing coral cover on Tutuila since 2005, and a variety of other positive indicators. The greatest human impacts on American Samoa’s reefs have been from fishing pressure, an outbreak of a coral-eating starfish in 1978 on some islands, and construction on top of reefs or dredging material from them. Coral bleaching caused by the rising water temperatures of global warming is occurring and is the greatest threat to the future of the reefs. American Samoa is among the locations with the most protection for its coral reefs, but enforcement is uneven. Their relatively healthy present condition may be due to both protection and accidents of nature and society such as its isolated location, uncut forest, and easing fishing pressure.
Molecular basis for activation of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase by a compound that increases HDL cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance found throughout the body that is essential to our health. However, if too much cholesterol builds up in our blood vessels, it can cause blockages that lead to heart and kidney problems. The body removes excess cholesterol by sending out high-density lipoproteins (HDL) that capture the fatty molecules and carry them to the liver where they are eliminated. The first step in this process requires an enzyme called LCAT, which converts cholesterol into a form that HDL particles can efficiently pack and transport. The enzyme acts by interacting with HDL particles, and chemically joining cholesterol with another compound. Finding ways to make LCAT perform better and produce more HDL could improve treatments for heart disease. This could be particularly helpful to people with genetic changes that make LCAT defective. Several small molecules that ‘dial up’ the activity of LCAT have been identified, but how they act on the enzyme is not always well understood. Manthei et al. therefore set out to determine precisely how one such small activator promotes LCAT function. The experiments involved using a method known as crystallography to look at the structure of LCAT when it is attached to the small molecule. They also evaluated the activity of the enzyme and other aspects of the protein in the presence of the small molecule and HDL particles. Taken together, the results led Manthei et al. to suggest that the small molecule works by more efficiently bringing into LCAT the materials that this enzyme needs to create the transport-ready form of cholesterol. The small molecule also partially restored the activity of mutant LCAT found in human disease. This knowledge may help to design more drug-like chemicals to ‘boost’ the activity of LCAT and prevent heart and kidney disease, especially in people who carry a defective version of the enzyme.
Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin causes activation of lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1.

Repeats-in-toxin leukotoxin (LtxA) produced by the oral bacterium Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans kills human leukocytes in a lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1, integrin αL /β2 )-dependent manner, although the mechanism for this interaction has not been identified. The LtxA internalisation by LFA-1-expressing cells was explored with florescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy using a cell line that expresses LFA-1 with a cyan fluorescent protein-tagged cytosolic αL domain and a yellow fluorescent protein-tagged β2 domain. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate activation of LFA-1 caused transient cytosolic domain separation. However, addition of LtxA resulted in an increase in FRET, indicating that LtxA brings the cytosolic domains closer together, compared with the inactive state. Unlike activation, this effect was not transient, lasting more than 30 min. Equilibrium constants of LtxA binding to the cytoplasmic domains of both αL and β2 were determined using surface plasmon resonance. LtxA has a strong affinity for the cytosolic domains of both the αL and β2 subunits (Kd = 15 and 4.2 nM, respectively) and a significantly lower affinity for the cytoplasmic domains of other integrin αM , αX , and β3 subunits (Kd = 400, 180, and 230 nM, respectively), used as controls. Peptide fragments of αL and β2 show that LtxA binds membrane-proximal domain of αL and intermediate domain of β2 .
Journals, Subjects, and Authors of Research Literature on Public Libraries: An Analysis

ABSTRACTScholarly or research-based journal articles related to public librarianship and public libraries are posited in previous literature as not being useful to the public library practitioner, and potentially less valuable to the researcher than other forms of research. Building off previous research, this article explores journal-based public library research literature to determine the trends in authorship, coverage, and venues. Publication venues are relatively static, with Public Library Quarterly and Library Quarterly publishing most public library research literature. LIS educators and public librarians dominate authorship of public library research, and the topical coverage of that research is gradually evolving in response to new technologies and a renewed focus on user services.
Real-World Direct Health Care Costs Associated with Psychotropic Polypharmacy Among Adults with Common Cancer Types in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Psychotropic polypharmacy is not uncommon among cancer patients and may contribute to the increased direct health care cost burden in this population. OBJECTIVE: To estimate average dir...
Latest Cosmic Ray Results from IceTop and IceCube

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the geographic South Pole, with its surface array IceTop, detects three different components of extensive air showers: the total signal at the surface, low energy muons on the periphery of the showers, and high energy muons in the deep In Ice array of IceCube. These measurements enable determination of the energy spectrum and composition of cosmic rays from PeV to EeV energies, the anisotropy in the distribution of cosmic ray arrival directions, the muon density of cosmic ray air showers, and the PeV gamma-ray flux. Furthermore, IceTop can be used as a veto for the neutrino measurements. The latest results from these IceTop analyses will be presented along with future plans.
The Social Integration of American Cities: Network Measures of Connectedness Based on Everyday Mobility Across Neighborhoods:

The social integration of a city depends on the extent to which people from different neighborhoods have the opportunity to interact with one another, but most prior work has not developed formal w...
The Impacts of Horizontal Resolution on the Seasonally Dependent Biases of the Northeastern Pacific ITCZ in Coupled Climate Models

ABSTRACTThe double-ITCZ bias has puzzled the climate modeling community for more than two decades. Here we show that, over the northeastern Pacific Ocean, precipitation and sea surface temperature ...
Symptom Assessment and Management Across the Cancer Trajectory

Children undergoing cancer treatment experience substantial symptom burden related to the disease, treatment, and alterations in family life. Not surprisingly, children receiving cancer-directed therapy as well as survivors of childhood cancers have reported poorer psychological, social, and physical health-related quality of life as compared to siblings, same-age peers, and children with other chronic conditions. Too often, symptoms are seen by patients, families, and providers as part of the treatment process leading to a complex interaction of underreporting of symptoms by children and parents and under-recognition of the extent of symptom burden by providers. The obligation to relieve pain and suffering related to disease is inherent in both medical and nursing codes of ethics related to principles of beneficence, patient autonomy, and veracity. It is incumbent on health-care providers to attend to the known symptom burden of children and their family members by engaging in open and honest conversations aimed at establishing the expectation that symptoms will be managed to the best of their ability to maximize quality of life and minimize unnecessary suffering.
Insights From Twitter Conversations on Lupus and Reproductive Health: Protocol for a Content Analysis

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the most common form of lupus. It is a chronic autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women of reproductive age, impacting contraception, fertility, and pregnancy. Although clinic-based studies have contributed to an increased understanding of reproductive health care needs of patients with SLE, misinformation abounds and perspectives on reproductive health issues among patients with lupus remain poorly understood. Social networks such as Twitter may serve as a data source for exploring how lupus patients communicate about their health issues, thus adding a dimension to enrich our understanding of communication regarding reproductive health in this unique patient population. Objective: The objective of this study is to conduct a content analysis of Twitter data published by users in English in the United States from September 1, 2017, to October 31, 2018, in order to examine people’s perspectives on reproductive health among patients with lupus. Methods: This study will analyze user-generated posts that include keywords related to lupus and reproductive health from Twitter. To access public Twitter user data, we will use Symplur Signals, a health care social media analytics platform. Text classifiers will be used to identify topics in posts. Posts will be classified manually into the a priori and emergent categories. Based on the information available in a user’s Twitter profile (ie, username, description, and profile image), we will further attempt to characterize the user who generated the post. We will use descriptive statistics to analyze the data and identify the most prevalent topics in the Twitter content among patients with lupus. Results: This study has been funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) through their Clinical and Translational Science Awards program. The Institutional Review Board at the University of Southern California approved the study (HS-18-00912). Data extraction and cleaning are complete. We obtained 47,715 Twitter posts containing terms related to “lupus” from users in the United States, published in English between September 1, 2017, and October 31, 2018. We will include 40,885 posts in the analysis, which will be completed in fall 2020. This study was supported by funds from the has been funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) through their Clinical and Translational Science Awards program. Conclusions: The findings from this study will provide pilot data on the use of Twitter among patients with lupus. Our findings will shed light on whether Twitter is a promising data source for learning about reproductive health issues expressed among patients with lupus. The data will also help to determine whether Twitter can serve as a potential outreach platform for raising awareness of lupus and reproductive health and for implementing relevant health interventions.
The role of reward sensitivity and childhood maltreatment in predicting nonsuicidal self-injury.

Objective Findings from prior research on reward sensitivity in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) have been mixed. Childhood maltreatment is an independent risk factor for NSSI and for hyposensitivity to rewards. This study aimed to disentangle the role of reward sensitivity as a predictor of NSSI for those with an elevated severity of childhood maltreatment. Method In a diverse undergraduate sample (N = 586), trait reward sensitivity (i.e., behavioral approach system subscales) and the severity of maltreatment were assessed as predictors of a lifetime history of NSSI. In a subset of this sample (n = 51), predictors of NSSI urge intensity were measured using ecological momentary assessment. Results Individuals with elevated maltreatment who reported less positive responsiveness to rewards were more likely to have a lifetime history of NSSI. Those with elevated maltreatment who reported a lower likelihood to approach rewards experienced more intense NSSI urges across the ten-day observation period. However, those with elevated maltreatment who reported a greater likelihood to approach rewards experienced less intense NSSI urges. Conclusions The role of reward sensitivity as a cognitive risk factor for NSSI varies depending on childhood maltreatment history. Findings indicate that, for those with elevated maltreatment, hypersensitivity to approaching rewards may decrease risk for NSSI urges.
Corrigendum to “Quantification of the weight of fingerprint evidence using a ROC-based Approximate Bayesian Computation algorithm for model selection”

In this correction, we provide an acknowledgment for the source of several images in the paper: J. Hendricks, C. Neumann, C.P. Saunders (2021) “Quantification of the weight of fingerprint evidence using a ROC-based Approximate Bayesian Computation algorithm for model selection”, Electronic Journal of Statistics (15)1, pp. 1228–1262.
Trial-level factors affecting accrual and completion of oncology clinical trials: A systematic review.

Background Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States. Clinical trials translate basic science discoveries into treatments needed by cancer patients. Inadequate accrual of trial participants is one of the most significant barriers to the completion of oncology clinical trials. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate trial-level factors that affect accrual and/or completion of oncology clinical trials, identify gaps in the literature, and indicate opportunities for future research. Design A systematic review of the literature on trial-level factors that affect accrual and/or completion of oncology clinical trials was performed. Searches in PubMed and Scopus identified 6582 studies. Based on eligibility criteria, 16 studies were selected for the review. Results were analyzed according to the following: a) background factors, b) disease-related, c) treatment-related, and d) trial design. Results Background factors that were investigated in relation to oncology clinical trial accrual and/or completion included sponsor, number and location of participating institutions, competing trials, time of trial opening, and fast-track status. Disease-related factors included the annual incidence and type(s) of targeted cancer. Several types of treatment such as drugs, radiation and surgery were examined in the studies. Trial design factors included trial development time, eligibility criteria, randomization, sample size, trial phase, placebo use, and required protocol procedures and their timing. Conclusion With low patient participation rates in oncology clinical trials that hold promise for future treatments, it is imperative that trial-level factors affecting accrual be identified and addressed to facilitate the completion of trials.
The Law and Economics of Dividend Policy

Professor Brudney's view of the dividend decision process is one in which helpless shareholders are at the mercy of self-interested management. Despite the shareholders' preference for current income in the form of dividends, management, Brudney argues, will, because of its conflict of interest, systematically retain earnings to the detriment of shareholders. Moreover, shareholders are further prejudiced, the argument runs, by their inability to understand the inherently ambiguous message of the dividend decision.6 Brudney concludes that mandatory disclosure by management of the basis for its dividend decision will, in certain circumstances, make stock prices more "correct" by dispelling any ambiguity in the underly-