cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abundance and distribution of tintinnid ciliates in an ice edge zone during the austral autumn

Tintinnid ciliates were present throughout the upper (100m) water column of the ice-edge zone when sampled in autumn 1986 in the Weddell Sea. Biomass ranged from 0.02 μgC1 −1 under the sea-ice to 1.3 μgC1 −1 in the ice-free water column. Cymatocylis, Codonellopsis, Laackmaniella and a small Salpingella were the most abundant and/or largest biomass contributors. The under ice assemblage was characterized by low biomass and dominated by small species ( Salpingella and Codonellopsis ); the ice edge stations were dominated by these same taxa but in higher abundances while the open water assemblage was characterized by high biomass and dominated by Cymatocylis , the largest taxa. All taxa exhibited maximum concentrations in the upper 50m of the water column. Both krill and salps grazed upon the Cymatocylis and Codonellopsis without preference in both the ice covered and open water regimes.
Scatter and attenuation measurements at distances greater than 10 cm from an 192Ir source.

Most algorithms developed by various investigators for use in brachytherapytreatment planning have typically been designed to calculate the dose within a 10 cm range of a radiationsource. These algorithms predict the dose well at distances 10 cm. On the contrary, treatment planning systems and manual calculations will produce erroneous results when dose points >10 cm are calculated using these algorithms. The spread in the data generated by the above algorithms is 16% at 15 cm and 42% at 20 cm. Physical measurements were performed at distances between 5 and 50 cm from a high activity 192 Ir source in water. The measured data correlated well with the predicted data from 5 to 10 cm, which had a 5% spread. Beyond 10 cm the measured data fell central to the range of the predicted data, with the spread of the predicted data increasing from 5% to 80% with increasing distance from the source. The measured data was fitted with a model incorporating a buildup factor and an attenuation factor. The best fit values are in reasonable agreement with those obtained by two of the investigators, Thomason and Tripathi.
A compact model for predicting the isolation of ports in a closed rectangular microchip package

This paper presents the derivation of a compact model for predicting the isolation between ports on opposite sides of a microchip package such as would be used for MMIC chips. The model consists of four current sources, two electric, and two magnetic, representing the port currents and voltages which excite the modes of a cavity formed by the interior of the package. The contribution of each mode to the total electric field is summed, and the average of the total tangential field along the two probes that project into the cavity at the ports is set equal to zero. The model, which runs on a PC, is used to compute data for an actual package, and the data is compared with that produced by a commercial electromagnetic analysis package running on a workstation.
Wisconsin's Own: Twenty Remarkable Homes

Review of: "Wisconsin’s Own: Twenty Remarkable Homes," by M. Caren Connolly and Louis Wasserman, photography by Zane Williams.
Cycloidal cracks on Europa: Improved modeling and non-synchronous rotation implications

Abstract Cycloidal crack patterns on Europa are influenced by tides induced by orbital eccentricity, which in turn is driven by the Laplace orbital resonance. Their shapes potentially record the location of their formation (relative to the direction of Jupiter), as well as the parameters of crack formation. Hoppa et al. [Hoppa, G., Tufts, B.R., Greenberg, R., Geissler, P., 1999a. Icarus 141, 287–298] modeled several cycloid chains using a fixed set of material parameters, but some details did not fit. We now allow material parameters to vary for each arc of an observed cycloid. In general, with minimal variation of model parameters between the arcs, fits are greatly improved. Furthermore, accounting for tidal stress accumulated during non-synchronous rotation, in addition to diurnal stress, allows even better fits. Even with the added freedom in the model our fits allow us to better constrain the location where each cycloid may have formed. Our results support Hoppa et al.'s finding that only a few cracks form ridges per cycle of non-synchronous rotation in the region examined, probably because cracking relieves built up stress until further substantial rotation occurs.
Annual research review: A developmental psychopathology approach to understanding callous-unemotional traits in children and adolescents with serious conduct problems.

Recent research has suggested that the presence of significant levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits designates a clinically important and etiologically distinct subgroup of children and adolescents with serious conduct problems. Based on this research, CU traits have been included in the most recent revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) – as a specifier for the diagnosis of conduct disorder. In this review, we attempt to understand CU traits within a developmental psychopathological framework. Specifically, we summarize research on the normal development of the prosocial emotions of empathy and guilt (i.e., conscience) and we illustrate how the development of CU traits can be viewed as the normal development of conscience gone awry. Furthermore, we review research on the stability of CU traits across different developmental periods and highlight factors that can influence this stability. Finally, we highlight the implications of this developmental psychopathological framework for future etiological research, for assessment and diagnostic classification, and for treatment of children with serious conduct problems.
Mental Health Diagnoses and Utilization of VA Non-Mental Health Medical Services Among Returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans

BACKGROUND Over 35% of returned Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in VA care have received mental health diagnoses; the most prevalent is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Little is known about these patients’ use of non-mental health medical services and the impact of mental disorders on utilization.
Selective light Vth hopping (SLITH): bridging the gap between runtime dynamic and leakage power reduction

Ever since the invention of various leakage power reduction techniques, leakage and dynamic power reduction techniques are categorized into two separate sets. Most of them cannot be applied together during runtime. The gap between them is due to the large energy breakeven time (EBT) and wake-up time (WUT) of conventional leakage reduction techniques. This paper proposes a new leakage reduction technique (SLITH) based on Vth hopping. SLITH has very low EBT and WUT, yet keeps the effectiveness of leakage reduction. Thus, it is able to reduce the gap, and enables joint dynamic and leakage power reduction. SLITH can be applied together with clock gating, precomputation and operand isolation etc., and significantly reduces both dynamic and active leakage power consumption.
Pegylated arginine deiminase: a novel anticancer enzyme agent.

Pegylated arginine deiminase (ADI-PEG20) is a novel anticancer enzyme that produces depletion of arginine, which is a nonessential amino acid in humans. Certain tumours, such as malignant melanoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, are auxotrophic for arginine. These tumours that are sensitive to arginine depletion do not express argininosuccinate synthetase, a key enzyme in the synthesis of arginine from citrulline. ADI-PEG20 inhibits human melanomas and hepatocellular carcinomas in vitro and in vivo. Phase I – II trials in patients with melanoma and hepatocellular carcinomas have shown the drug to have antitumour activity and tolerable side effects. Large Phase II trials and randomised, controlled Phase III trials are needed to determine its overall efficacy in the treatment of these malignancies and others.
Teachers Unions and Student Performance: Help or Hindrance?.

Summary Randall Eberts explores the role of teachers unions in public education. He focuses particularly on how collective bargaining agreements shape the delivery of educational services, how unions affect both student achievement and the cost of providing quality education, and how they support educational reform efforts. Eberts’s synthesis of the empirical research concludes that union bargaining raises teachers’ compensation, improves their working conditions, and enhances their employment security— while also raising the cost of providing public education by upwards of 15 percent. The effect of unions on student performance is mixed. Students of average ability who attend school in union districts perform better on standardized tests, whereas low-achieving and high-achieving students perform worse. However, the overall gain in achievement does not make up for the higher cost. Of late, unions have begun to be more supportive of school reform, moving from an adversarial bargaining model to a more collaborative one in which teachers and administrators share common goals and hold joint responsibility. Yet unions’ desire to participate in reform does not match their fervor to organize in the 1960s and 1970s. While national union leadership has talked about reform, local affiliates have initiated most of the reform efforts, pioneering reforms such as accountability and incentive pay. In Eberts’s view, one reason that unions have been slow to embrace reform efforts is the lack of consensus on their effectiveness. He argues that many reforms have been too narrowly focused; rather, effective schools result from welldesigned systems and processes. In principle, adopting standards that help teachers focus on lessons they want students to learn, aligning their teaching to the lessons, and devising measurements that demonstrate that students are responding to these lessons can improve teaching as long as the public, policymakers, and school administrators acknowledge the complexity of the learning process and the broad outcomes that society desires.
Measurement of Students’ Perceptions of Nursing as a Career

Purpose: Middle school has been identified as the prime age group to begin nursing recruitment efforts because students have malleable perceptions about nursing as a future career choice. The purpose of this integrative review is to present a brief overview of research processes related to middle school students’ perceptions of nursing as a future career choice and to critically evaluate the current instruments used to measure middle and high school students’ perceptions of nursing as a career choice. Design: An integrative review of the years 1989 to 2009 was conducted searching Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), National Library of Medicine PubMed service (PubMed), and Ovid MEDLINE databases using the key words career, choice, future, ideal, nursing, and perception. Reference lists of retrieved studies were hand searched, yielding a total of 22 studies. Methods: Inclusion criteria were (a) sample of middle school students, (b) sample of high school students, (c) mixed sample including middle or high school students, and (4) samples other than middle or high school students if the instrument was tested with middle or high school students in a separate study. Ten studies met these criteria. Findings: Of the 10 studies, samples were 30% middle school students; 40% high school students; 10% mixed, including school-aged students; and 20% college students with an instrument tested in middle school students. Eighty percent of participants were White females. Overall, participants’ socioeconomic status was not identified. A single study included a theoretical framework. Five instruments were identified and each could be completed in 15 to 30 min. The most commonly used instrument is available free of charge. Seventy percent of the studies used Cronbach's α to report instrument reliability (0.63 to 0.93), whereas 30% failed to report reliability. Fifty percent of the studies established validity via a “panel of experts,” with three of those studies further describing the panel of experts. Conclusions: Samples of white females may hinder generalization. Socioeconomic status was not consistently reported and may be an important factor with regard to perceptions of nursing as a career choice. An overall absence of theoretical framework hinders empirical data from being applied to nursing theories that in turn may support nursing concepts. The reporting of reliability and validity may be improved by further defining panel of experts and expanding the number of experts (more than seven). More in-depth evaluation of the psychometric properties of the instruments with more diverse populations is needed. Clinical Relevance: Rigorously tested instruments may be useful in determining middle school students’ perceptions about nursing. Therefore, future researchers should consider testing existing instruments in the middle school population, adhering to theoretical frameworks, diversifying the sample population, and clearly reporting reliability and validity to gain knowledge about middle school students’ perceptions about a nursing career.
Lung cancer screening with low-dose CT: more questions than answers – Author's reply

e4 www.thelancet.com/oncology Vol 16 January 2015 Author’s reply We appreciate Monica Ruano-Ravina and Alberto Perez-Rios’ remarks on our recent Comment. The title of our Comment mirrored the fi ndings of the NELSON study, which showed that restriction of diagnostic work-up to large pulmonary nodules increases the effi ciency of the screening diagnostic work-up by reducing the number of non-productive work-ups. These results support the earlier fi ndings of Yip and co-workers. This kind of process improvement research does not need a randomised trial to be valid. Although only a few of the nodules less than 100 mm3 in volume or 5 mm in diameter are cancers, the typical volume doubling times of aggressive cancers range from 30 to 360 days, consistent with a range of two to 24 for volume doublings in 2 years, suggesting that followup of CT detected nodules in 2 years rather than in 1 year might be unwise. Investigators of the NELSON study reported protocol non-compliance and human errors of detection and interpretation that led to their reported interim cancers. The National Lung Screening Trial 5 does not provide the timing data from the last screenings of their interval cancers for further assessment. Further research is needed before the recommended annual screening is replaced with screening every 2 years. Ruano-Ravina and Perez-Rios’ concluding comment about screening implementation is addressed by the comprehensive data synthesis by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). This report gives an authoritative review of the scientifi c basis of screening from an analysis of more than 8000 publications. This information formed the basis for the fi nal B recommendation from USPSTF and more recently for the provisional position from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid recommending reimburse ment for low-dose CT screening in high-risk smokers in the USA. Expectations in diff erent national settings might vary, but it seems that national implementation of annual screening for the world’s most lethal cancer will soon begin.
CASE: An Integrated Design Environment for Algorithm-Driven Architectures

One use of integrated System-level Design Automation (SLDA) tools is during the development of algorithm-driven architectures. In this paper, we discuss an approach to structuring SLDA tools that provides application-area designers a flexible range of support for migrating algorithms into special-purpose computer networks. Using digital signal processing applications as an example problem domain, we discuss the motivation and current implementation of a set of design migration tools used to develop real-time distributed architectures as part of the Brown Computer-Aided System Engineering (CASE) project.
beta-Adrenoceptor modulation of renin response to short-term reductions in pressure in young SHR

The increase in renin secretion in response to short-term (5 min) reductions in arterial pressure has recently been shown to be similar in young spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) animals. This was puzzling, since tonic renal nerve activity is thought to be elevated in the young SHR, and this has the potential to enhance the renin response. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine whether beta-adrenoceptor modulation of pressure-dependent renin release is diminished in the SHR. In conscious, age-matched SHR, WKY, and Sprague-Dawley rats, the effect on arterial plasma renin activity of 5-min reductions in renal perfusion pressure to 90 and 50 mmHg was determined before and during beta-adrenoceptor activation with isoproterenol or beta-adrenoceptor blockade with propranolol. Isoproterenol augmented the renin response at 50 mmHg in all three strains, with the greatest effect occurring in the Sprague-Dawley rats. The response at 90 mmHg was also enhanced in the SHR and Sprague-Dawley rats, but not the WKY rats. Propranolol had no effect in the SHR and WKY animals, but significantly reduced the renin response at 50 mmHg in the Sprague-Dawley rats. Thus, under the conditions of the present investigation (i.e., short-term reductions in pressure), tonic renal nerve activity does not affect pressure-dependent renin release through a beta-adrenergic receptor mechanism in either the SHR or WKY rats. However, under conditions of acute beta-adrenoceptor activation, the renin response is enhanced at a higher renal perfusion pressure in the SHR than in the WKY rat.
Unstable and Stable Gene Amplification in Methotrexate-Resistant Leishmania Major and Natural Isolates of Leishmania Tarentolae

One mechanism that cells and organisms can employ to increase the level of gene expression is that of specific gene amplification. This process has been most intensively studied in tumor cells exhibiting amplification of cellular oncogenes and cultured mammalian cells selected for resistance to drugs (1,2), though it also occurs in a developmentally-regulated manner in Xenopus (3) and Drosophila (4). In the laboratory gene amplification has been shown to occur in human parasites, including drug-resistant lines of three species of Leishmania (5–3) and in Plasmodium falciparum (9).
Federalism and Perverse Incentives: What Is Needed for a Workable Theory or Reorganization for Cities?

decision entailed. To a degree, except for the Southern states' subscription to recognition of the binding character of the Union and national supremacy, we liked to pretend that nothing much had really changed. Except for a few anomalies this was not hard to do in the night watchman state of liberal 19th century laissez-faire. It was even possible to see the country in the conventionally accepted orthodoxy as a layer cake federalism of separate constitutional competencies with an appropriate and largely distinct set of functions. As Joseph McLean and the late Morton Grodzins and his students have made abundantly clear the layer cake image was always inaccurate. The reality is far better conveyed by the marble cake figure. But the method by which the mixture of federal and state action has been brought about and its piecemeal and unifunctional character have been highly consequential and pose significant problems.
A Real-Time Network Approach for Including Obstacles and Flight Dynamics in UAV Route Planning

The procedure presented within considers the problem of calculating flight time for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) while incorporating a subset of important flight dynamics characteristics in an o...
Getting Funded: Proof-of-Concept, Due Diligence, Risk and Reward

Effective risk management is a core competency of successful entrepreneurs and investors. The entrepreneur should determine what the most important uncertainties are and how to test and mitigate those uncertainties at the lowest cost. Getting Funded develops frameworks and tools for entrepreneurs and investors to chart a path to market, a path to profitability, and a path to investor liquidity. Customer value design is key and a sound customer value design helps the entrepreneur to chart a path to market, a business model design a path to profitability, and an investor exit plan a path to investor liquidity. A framework is presented to determine the risk profile of a venture, to estimate the risk of investment loss, the maximum potential investment loss, the maximum amount of financing available to a startup, the minimum percentage equity for investors, the odds of investor exit, and so forth. Several methods are provided to value a startup. Getting Funded explains entrepreneurs and investors how to reformulate the customer value concept, reconfigure the business model design, and realign the entrepreneurial incentives, thus minimizing the investor’s risk of loss and maximizing the entrepreneur’s odds of success.
Linking public sector social media and e-government website use to trust in government

Abstract This study examines how citizens' use of e-government websites and public sector social media accounts relates to their satisfaction and perceptions of public sector trustworthiness. Drawing upon data from a 2012 sample of 1100 Seoul citizens, findings reveal that greater use of e-government websites is negatively related to citizens' satisfaction and perceptions of public sector trustworthiness. Conversely, use of public sector social media accounts is positively related to satisfaction and perceptions of public sector trustworthiness. Drawing upon the concept of psychological distance, these findings are interpreted to suggest that forms of e-government conducive to the transmission of less detailed information (social media) may be more effective at improving relationships between citizens and their government than forms of e-government that are more commonly used to transmit detailed information (e-government websites).
Chromatographic Detection Method of Pulse Discharge Helium Ionization Based on Fault Diagnosis for SF_6 Electric Equipment

In order to effectively diagnose interior operation of SF6 electrical equipment,the paper introduces a new detection method for fault gas of SF6electric equipment.The method uses PDHI chromatography and the primary sample injection can detect such components as SF6,O2,N2,H2S,SO2,SOF2,SO2F2,S2OF10,CF4,C3F8,CO2 and CO,overcoming the inaccuracy,nonlinear response and insufficiency of components;it is a more promising fault gas detection method of SF6 electric equipment.
Sensing Uncertainty Evaluation for Product Quality

Abstract As sensing techniques continue to enhance the manufacturing industry in terms of condition monitoring, process control and decision making, understanding uncertainty involved in sensing has remained a challenging problem. Sensor readings may be affected by deterioration of the hardware and environmental perturbations. Prior studies reported in the literature assumed multiple co-located homogeneous sensors to provide redundant information for uncertainty evaluation. Such an approach is often times not applicable given space restraint and cost-effectiveness concerns. Furthermore, it is difficult to distinguish the sources that have caused the variation of sensor readings, e.g., limitation in the sensor precision or variation in the measured quantity. To address these challenges, a method for computing uncertainty of non-homogeneous sensors is developed, using on-line injection molding quality monitoring as experimental verification. The method includes two computational steps. First, measurements provided by four spatially distributed sensors (two temperature and two pressure sensors) in an injection mould cavity are fused to estimate the part quality (thickness). Second, the ground truth is approximated from the estimated part quality, through inverse process. Subsequently, the approximated ground truth is utilized to calculate the uncertainty of each sensor used in the measurement process. To quantify sensor uncertainty, a metric including accuracy, precision and trust is defined. The detection of abnormal sensors in turn provides input to improved part quality estimation. The developed technique is evaluated experimentally by measurements on a production-grade injection molding machine working under a variety of machining settings. The results demonstrate the approach's effectiveness for evaluating sensing uncertainty and improving monitoring performance.
Endocrine causes of bone disease

Hyperthyroidism, glucocorticoid excess, hyperparathyroidism, hypogonadism, and acromegaly decrease bone mineral density and aggravate the osteoporotic tendencies of elderly individuals. After effective treatment of endocrinopathy, the bone attempts to return to the normal mineral density. In most circumstances, however, this attempt is incomplete. Early diagnosis and treatment of these endocrine problems in older patients helps to maintain their skeletal integrity and prevent osteoporotic fractures.
Model-in-the-loop simulation of electronically controlled pitman arm steering mechanism for armored vehicle

This paper presents position tracking control of an electronically actuated Pitman Arm steering system. A validation method, Model-in-the-Loop Simulation (MILS) is used to investigate the capability of Pitman Arm steering system and model. The MILS is divided into two types of method known as Software-in-the-loop Simulation (SILS) using mathematical derivation based on Lagrange theory and Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation (HILS) using actual Pitman Arm steering system. A steering test rig is developed for HILS testing using real Pitman Arm steering mechanism. The test rig is experimented using National Instrument data acquisition system, xPC Target and Host PC, electronic control unit to study the behavior of the Pitman Arm steering system. The behavior of Pitman arm steering mechanism is evaluated based lateral input of armored vehicle. The developed Pitman Arm steering model using Lagrange theory is validated with actual steering system. Both mathematical model and real system are tested using MILS method to investigate the performance of the system. The results show that Pitman Arm steering is able to follow the desired inputs and proven that this steering system is capable to be implemented as an active steering system.
Biomechanical Fish Model and Locomotion

This chapter discusses the motor system of the artificial fish (see Fig. 4.1). In particular, we describe the physics-based fish model and how it achieves locomotion. The biomechanical model we develop is simple, but it is nonetheless effective for realistically animating fish locomotion. We start by presenting the structure of the dynamic fish model, then introduce the dynamics of this model and the simulated aquatic environment. The numerical method employed for solving the differential equations of motion of the fish model is discussed next. Subsequently we describe the biomechanics-based modeling and control of the fish’s locomotion, paying special attention to the construction of the motor controllers. This includes the abstraction of the muscle movements for useful locomotion and the functional modeling of the pectoral fins.
In situ estimates of iron-oxidation and accretion rates for iron-oxidizing bacterial mats at Loihi Seamount.

It is increasingly recognized that diffuse, hydrothermal venting is an important source of iron to the deep sea that can influence oceanic iron dynamics and abundance. Lithotrophic Fe oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) are dominant at diffuse hydrothermal vent sites, producing microbial iron mats that are often centimeters or more thick. At present, little is known about in situ Fe-oxidation rates, or accretion rates for iron mats. An in situ productivity chamber was developed that took advantage of the unique mineral morphotypes produced by FeOB to estimate rates of Fe oxidation and accretion. Chambers were placed at two diffuse vents (1179 and 1300 mbsl) at Loihi Seamount where they were colonized by FeOB for different amounts of time. From this analysis, it was estimated that Fe-oxidation rates could range from 8.2 to 51.9 x 10-6 mol . hr-1, and that iron mats could accrete at around 2.2 cm . yr-1. Molecular analysis indicated that the relative abundance of Zetaproteobacteria, a group of known FeOB, accounted for 80 to 90% of the bacteria colonizing the chambers. There was a distinct difference between populations at the 1179m site (Pohaku), and the 1300m site (North Hiolo Ridge). Microscope slides placed within the productivity chambers were colonized by different morphotypes of FeOB. The cells responsible for one common morphotype that produces a Y shaped filament were identified as Zetaproteobacteria by use of a small subunit rRNA probe. This work confirms the importance of FeOB in the formation of chemosynthetic iron mats, and provides the first estimates for in situ Fe oxidation rates and mat accretion rates.
Low cost bioluminescence imaging as an alternative to in vivo bioassays for quantifying biologically active staphylococcal enterotoxin type E

Abstract Staphylococcus aureus is a major causative agent implicated in outbreaks of food poisoning. It acts through the production of a range of toxins including staphylococcal enterotoxin type E which has been associated with foodborne outbreaks in the USA, UK and France. While tests such as ELISA exist to detect the toxin’s molecules, existing methods to distinguish active toxin from inactivated are costly and require the use of live animal testing. In this study we constructed and evaluated a low cost CCD camera device in conjunction with a cell based assay for active SEE employing a genetically engineered T-cell line with a luciferase reporter regulated by nuclear factor of activated T-cells combined with a B-cell line for toxin presentation. The emitted light intensity from the T-cells is proportional to SEE concentration over an 8-log range and can discern the active form of toxin that sickens consumers, from toxin inactivated by heat treatment. The assay was verified in sample food matrices by spiking white grape and peach mango juices as well as apple cider. The low cost imaging device compared favorably against the expensive commercial luminometer plate reader using the same cell based assay. The low cost camera device should improve the availability of active toxin testing, especially in resource poor regions.
Splaying Log-Structured Merge-Trees

Modern persistent key-value stores typically use a log-structured merge-tree (LSM-tree) design, which allows for high write throughput. Our observation is that the LSM-tree, however, has suboptimal performance during read-intensive workload windows with non-uniform key access distributions. To address this shortcoming, we propose and analyze a simple decision scheme that can be added to any LSM-based key-value store and dramatically reduce the number of disk I/Os for these classes of workloads. The key insight is that copying a frequently accessed key to the top of an LSM-tree ("splaying'') allows cheaper reads on that key in the near future.
Green, but not just? Rethinking environmental justice indicators in shrinking cities

Abstract Many cities, especially in the U.S. Rust Belt, have experienced long-term declines in population which has the potential to alter social-ecological patterns and, as a result, environmental justice indicators. Housing vacancy, in particular, is intricately tied to changes in both economic and environmental systems. Vacancy may drive increases in volunteer vegetation, creating a potential disamenity and artificially producing outcomes that suggest more equitable relationships between greenness and social variables. Toledo is a shrinking city in northwest Ohio whose population peaked in 1970 at 383,818 before declining by more than 100,000 people. We examined satellite imagery from 1980, 2000, and 2014 to assess changes in greenness (NDVI: normalized difference vegetation index) and its association with housing vacancy statistics to determine whether the relationship between greenness and housing vacancy changed. We observed a weakening relationship between vacancy and NDVI. Specifically, there was a significant negative relationship in 1980; whereas, in 2014 there was no statistical relationship. As vacancy is highly correlated with vulnerable populations, this changing trajectory has implications for environmental justice indicators. Our results highlight a key limitation of using vegetation quantity as an indicator of environmental amenities and suggest more nuanced approaches to evaluating environmental justice indicators are needed.
Citizenship Behavior Utility and Group Performance: Task Interdependence as a Contingency Factor

Building on social interdependence theory, in a lagged field study we examined task interdependence as a contingency factor in the utility of group members' Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) for group performance. Members of 52 work groups in 6 organizations rated their groups' task interdependence and group leaders rated groups' OCB. After 6 months, customers rated groups' performance. Results indicated that task interdependence moderated the relationship of multiple OCB dimensions with subsequent group performance. OCB showed significant, positive utility in groups with interdependent tasks, but no utility in groups with independent tasks. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Regulation of the 5-Lipoxygenase Pathway of Arachidonic Acid Metabolism by N-3 Fatty Acids

N-3 fatty acids, when provided in fish oil triglycerides as a significant dietary additive, can inhibit the generation of 5-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid and leukotriene B4 from human polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocytes and monocytes and additionally decrease both chemotaxis and endothelial adherence of the granulocytes in response to leukotriene B4. Based upon fatty acid analysis of leukocytes before and during the dietary alteration, the most likely effector of these modified biochemical and functional responses is eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5). Analysis of the modulation of the separate enzymatic steps in the 5-lipoxygenase cascade, beginning with fatty acid ester hydrolysis and using both incorporated and non-esterified fatty acids, suggests that 20:5 could have multiple levels of action.
Cooperative Vision Based Estimation and Tracking Using Multiple UAVs

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are excellent platforms for detecting and tracking objects of interest on or near the ground due to their vantage point and freedom of movement. This paper presents a cooperative vision-based estimation and tracking system that can be used in such situations. The method is shown to give better results than could be achieved with a single UAV, while being robust to failures. In addition, this method can be used to detect, estimate and track the location and velocity of objects in three dimensions. This real-time, vision-based estimation and tracking algorithm is computationally efficient and can be naturally distributed among multiple UAVs. This chapter includes the derivation of this algorithm and presents flight results from several real-time estimation and tracking experiments conducted on MIT’s Real-time indoor Autonomous Vehicle test ENvironment (RAVEN).
Crizotinib in patients (pts) with MET-amplified non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): Updated safety and efficacy findings from a phase 1 trial.

9062Background: MET amplification (amp) has been reported in a subset of NSCLC with the frequency varying depending on the definition used. Crizotinib, an ALK/ROS1/MET inhibitor approved in ALK- or ROS1-positive NSCLC, also has proven clinical activity in cases of MET exon 14 alterations and MET amp. Here we present an updated analysis of crizotinib in pts with low, medium (med), and high (hi) levels of MET amp in advanced NSCLC. Methods: In this ongoing, open-label, multicenter, phase 1 trial (NCT00585195), MET amp was locally tested; pts with MET/CEP7 ratios ≥1.8 were eligible. Pts received crizotinib 250 mg BID and were assigned to categories based on low (≥1.8–≤2.2), med ( > 2.2– 2.2– < 4 and ≥4; data were then reanalyzed to better delineate predictive biomarkers of response. Selected endpoints included best overall response (BOR) per RECIST v1.0, time to tumor response (TTR), progression-free survival (PFS), duration of respo...
Exercise Therapy and Fatigue Management

Cancer-related fatigue is a common and troubling symptom for cancer patients. Its physiologic mechanisms are complex and interplay with other symptoms, hormonal changes, deconditioning, and a pro-inflammatory state. While further studies are needed, current evidence suggests exercise results in reduced cancer-related fatigue compared to other existing treatments. A combination of resistive and aerobic exercises reduces fatigue. Unfortunately, the wide variation in exercise programs studied means that the most effective types of exercise and optimal doses of exercise are unclear. Despite a growing amount of evidence to support the beneficial effects of exercise on fatigue and other cancer symptoms; it is under-addressed by cancer healthcare professionals.
Blazed x-ray reflection gratings using electron-beam lithography and ion milling (Conference Presentation)

Astronomical X-ray diffraction gratings are a key technology under development for current and future NASA missions. X-ray reflection gratings, developed at Penn State University, have recently demonstrated both leading diffraction efficiency and high spectral resolving power. However, recent results are the result of different fabrication techniques and a single technique has not yet been developed to yield a grating that satisfies both the diffraction efficiency and resolving power required by future missions. Here we seek to leverage exiting electron-beam lithographic techniques to produce a grating with groove groove pattern capable of high resolving power. We then introduce new ion-milling techniques to create custom groove profiles capable of high diffraction efficiency. The goal is to produce a radial groove pattern with precisely blazed facets that are customizable based on ion mill input parameters. The process should be insensitive to groove density (ranging from ~150 nm to 400+ nm), facet size, and desired facet angle. Initial efforts in this study have concentrated on constraining various parameters in ion milling to fully characterize the effect of each parameter on the grating groove profile. We present here initial results and discuss experimental verification and future work.
Oral exposure to aluminum leads to reduced nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene expression, severe neurodegeneration and impaired hippocampus dependent learning in mice.

Aluminum (Al) is known for its neurotoxicity for over a century and is reported to have specifically high toxicity for cholinergic system. The effect of Al on muscarinic acetylcholine receptors is ...
Already high tobacco taxes are still a burden on low-income households.

High tobacco taxes have become widely adopted, partly in order to discourage smoking and thus improve public health. Critics of high tobacco taxes are concerned that, because tobacco smoking is often more prevalent (especially in higher income countries) among lower income people, tobacco taxes are regressive and harm low-income households. Policymakers considering further increases in tobacco taxes worry about further increasing the financial burden on low-income households. In this issue of Tobacco Control , Verguet et al 1 provide valuable information to such policymakers. They estimate the circumstances (including smoking prevalence, income gradient in prevalence of smoking and income gradient in the price elasticity of smoking) under which an increase in tobacco taxes will not further increase the average financial burden on lower income households, relative to higher income households. The authors conclude from these results that there are many specific circumstances under which increases in tobacco taxation are not regressive. While their conclusion is entirely accurate with the regressivity definitions used, I am uncomfortable with how they frame it as ‘question[ing] the doctrine that tobacco taxes …
Valuing Intrinsic and Instrumental Preferences for Privacy

I empirically separate two components in a consumer’s privacy preference. The intrinsic component is a “taste” for privacy, a utility primitive. The instrumental component comes from the consumer’s anticipated economic loss from revealing his private information to the firm, and arises endogenously from a firm’s usage of consumer data. Combining an experiment and a structural model, I measure the revealed preferences separately for each component. Intrinsic preferences have seemingly small mean values, ranging from $0.14 to $2.37 per demographic variable. Meanwhile, they are highly heterogeneous across consumers and categories of data: The valuations of consumers at the right tail often exceed the firm’s valuation of individual consumer data. Consumers’ self-selection into data sharing depends on the respective magnitudes and correlation between the two preference components, and often deviate from a simplistic “low types are more willing to hide” argument. Through counterfactual analysis, I show how this more nuanced selection pattern changes what firms can infer from consumers’ privacy decisions and its implication on effective data buying strategies.
Congestion-aware Multi-modal Delivery Systems Utilizing Drones

Multi-modal delivery systems are a promising solution to the challenges posed by the increasing demand of e-commerce. Due to the potential benefit drones can have on logistics networks such as delivery systems, some countries have taken steps towards integrating drones into their airspace. In this paper we aim to quantify this potential by developing a mathematical model for a multi-modal delivery system composed of trucks and drones. We propose an optimization formulation that can be efficiently solved in order to design socially-optimal routing and allocation policies. We incorporate both societal cost in terms of road congestion and parcel delivery latency in our formulation. Our model is able to quantify the effect drones have on mitigating road congestion, and can solve for the path routing needed to minimize the chosen objective. To accurately capture the effect of stopping trucks on road latency, we use SUMO simulations and derive a mathematical latency function for roads shared by trucks and cars. Based on this, we show that the proposed framework is computationally feasible to scale due to its reliance on convex quadratic optimization techniques.
Interactions of plasmid-encoded replication initiation proteins with the origin of DNA replication in the broad host range plasmid RK2.

The TrfA proteins, encoded by the broad host range plasmid RK2, are required for replication of this plasmid in a variety of Gram-negative bacteria. Two TrfA proteins, 33 and 44 kDa in molecular mass (designated TrfA-33 and TrfA-44, respectively), are expressed from the trfA gene of RK2 through the use of two alternative in-frame start codons within the same open reading frame. The two proteins have been purified from Escherichia coli to near homogeneity as a mixture of wild-type TrfA-44/33, as TrfA-33 alone and as a functional variant form of TrfA-44, designated TrfA-44(98L), which contains a leucine in place of the TrfA-33 methionine start codon. Cross-linking experiments demonstrated that TrfA-33 can multimerize in solution. By using gel mobility shift and DNase I footprinting techniques the binding properties of TrfA-33, TrfA-44(98L), and TrfA-44/33 to the origin of replication of plasmid RK2 were analyzed. All three protein preparations were able to bind very specifically to the cluster of five direct repeats (iterons) contained in the minimal origin of replication. Each protein preparation produced a ladder of TrfA/minimal oriV complexes of decreasing electrophoretic mobility. The DNase I protection pattern on the five iterons was identical for all three protein preparations and extended from the beginning of the first iteron to 5 base pairs upstream of the fifth iteron. Studies on the affinity of the proteins for DNA fragments containing one, two, or all five iterons of the origin revealed a strong preference of TrfA protein for DNA containing at least two iterons. To study the stability of TrfA.DNA complexes, association and dissociation rates of TrfA-33 and DNA fragments with one, two, or five iterons were measured. This analysis showed that unlike complexes involving two or five iterons the TrfA/one iteron complexes were highly unstable, suggesting some form of cooperativity between proteins or iterons in the formation of stable complexes and/or the requirement of specific sequences bordering the iterons at the RK2 origin of replication for the stabilization of TrfA/DNA complexes.
Abnormal dendrite and spine morphology in primary visual cortex in the CGG knock-in mouse model of the fragile X premutation

The fragile X mental retardation 1 gene (Fmr1) is polymorphic for CGG trinucleotide repeat number in the 5'-untranslated region, with repeat lengths 200 resulting in hypermethylation and transcriptional silencing of the gene and mental retardation in the fragile X Syndrome (FXS). Individuals with CGG repeat expansions between 55 and 200 are carriers of the fragile X premutation (PM). PM carriers show a phenotype that can include anxiety, depression, social phobia, and memory deficits. They are also at risk for developing fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), a late onset neurodegenerative disorder characterized by tremor, ataxia, cognitive impairment, and neuropathologic features including intranuclear inclusions in neurons and astrocytes, loss of Purkinje cells, and white matter disease. However, very little is known about dendritic morphology in PM or in FXTAS. Therefore, we carried out a Golgi study of dendritic complexity and dendritic spine morphology in layer II/III pyramidal neurons in primary visual cortex in a knock-in (KI) mouse model of the PM. These CGG KI mice carry an expanded CGG trinucleotide repeat on Fmr1, and model many features of the PM and FXTAS. Compared to wild-type (WT) mice, CGG KI mice showed fewer dendritic branches proximal to the soma, reduced total dendritic length, and a higher frequency of longer dendritic spines. The distribution of morphologic spine types (e.g., stubby, mushroom, filopodial) did not differ between WT and KI mice. These findings demonstrate that synaptic circuitry is abnormal in visual cortex of mice used to model the PM, and suggest that such changes may underlie neurologic features found in individuals carrying the PM as well as in individuals with FXTAS.
Proposed Federal Standard 1070

The proposed Federal Standard 1070 (pFS 1070) concerns fiber-size standardization for use in the backbone portion of the building wiring standard for commercial enterprises. A draft pFS 1070 entitled 62.5/125- mu m Graded-Index, Multimode Optical Fiber Waveguides for On-Premises Applications was drawn up, but a multimode-fiber detail specification, was found to have been drawn up previously. This detail specification has nearly completed review and approval by the EIA (Electronic Industries Association). When it does, it is expected to be adopted as Federal Standard 1070. >
Measuring cost efficiency in banking: Econometric and linear programming evidence

Abstract This paper compares two techniques for estimating production economies and efficiencies. One approach involves the econometric estimation of a cost frontier; the second is a series of linear programs which calculate a production frontier. The two techniques are very different in principle, both possesing certain advantages and disadvantages. Our emperical implementation of these techniques shows that they yield very similar results regarding cost economies, and dissimilar results regarding cost efficiencies. These are important findings to the extent that policy decisions and evaluation often rely on only one of the two types of approaches available.