cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Spawning Events and Habitat Characteristics of Sacramento River Green Sturgeon

AbstractSpawning of the Southern Distinct Population Segment of Green Sturgeon Acipenser medirostris occurs annually within the Sacramento River in California. Artificial substrate samplers were used to collect Green Sturgeon eggs between 2008 and 2012 and in a reach of the river 94 river kilometers (rkm) long (rkm 426–332). A total of 268 eggs and 5 posthatch larvae were sampled from seven identified spawning sites between April 2 and July 7, primarily from medium gravel substrates. At these sites the mean water column velocities were 0.8 m/s at depths ranging from 0.6 to 11.3 m (6.4 ± 2.3 m, mean ± SD). We noted an average discharge of 314 m3/s and a median turbidity value of 3.9 NTU during estimated spawning events. Spawning at all sites occurred when average water temperatures were 13.5 ± 1.0°C and during water year types ranging from critically dry to wet. Green Sturgeon eggs averaged 4.11 ± 0.20 mm in diameter (n = 207), were very adhesive, and were between developmental stages 2 (just fertilized) a...
Statistical Mechanics of He 3 -He 4 Liquid Mixtures

The partition function method proposed by Feynman for pure liquid ${\mathrm{He}}^{4}$ and previously extended to treat pure liquid ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ by Kikuchi is here applied to liquid mixtures of ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$-${\mathrm{He}}^{4}$. The variation of the $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ point with mole fraction ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$, the isotopic phase separation curve, and the excess functions of mixing are discussed. The theoretical $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ line is interpreted as a cooperative boson transition and follows the experimental results closely up to ${X}_{3}=0.5$ irrespective of the effective mass of the ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ atoms while above ${X}_{3}=0.5$ the $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ temperatures are too high. An asymmetric isotopic phase separation is found in the mixtures at temperatures below a critical temperature that depends slightly on further assumptions in the model but which is of the correct order of magnitude (1\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K). The phase separation is due to the quantum dynamical effects as opposed to the purely statistical effects arising out of the different inherent symmetries of the wave functions for ${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$ and ${\mathrm{He}}^{4}$. The calculated excess Gibbs free energies of mixing become positive in "time" to effect the phase separation but are less positive than the experimental values and are in fact of the wrong sign above 1\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. The calculated excess entropies of mixing are much too positive. The model used assumes zero excess volumes of mixing.
Rescue and salvage procedures for mechanical and infectious complications of peritoneal dialysis

Mechanical and infectious complications are the two most common reasons for removal of peritoneal dialysis catheters and permanent transfer of patients to in-center hemodialysis. Early and appropriate intervention can save many catheters, often without interrupting peritoneal dialysis. If peritoneal dialysis must be interrupted, other strategies may be employed to minimize the time on temporary hemodialysis and preserve peritoneal dialysis as renal replacement therapy. Procedures for managing dialysate leaks, abdominal wall hernias, infusion pain, and catheter flow dysfunction are described. Salvage techniques for catheter-related infections and peritonitis are presented. Clinical conditions are discussed where urgent removal of the dialysis catheter is indicated to protect the future integrity of the peritoneal membrane.
Air Pollution Emissions During Startups, Shutdowns, and Malfunctions

Air pollution emission limitations on stationary sources are usually based on what is achievable during normal operation, but these requirements cannot always be met during the startup or shutdown of either specific processes or the entire facility. Moreover, malfunctions occur even at facilities that are well designed and operated. How startup, shutdown, and malfunction (SSM) events should be handled under the Clean Air Act (CAA) is the subject of this article.
Rapid assessment of quality parameters in processing tomatoes using hand-held and benchtop infrared spectrometers and multivariate analysis.

Two portable infrared sensors were evaluated for the rapid determination of quality parameters in processing tomatoes. A total of 370 hot-break juices were prepared from ∼40 processing tomato varieties grown in 5 California counties. The levels of sugars, acids, soluble solids, titratable acidity, and pH in these juices were determined using standard reference methods. Juices were processed, filtered, and directly applied to the FT-IR crystal (15–40 μL) to obtain spectra. Partial least-squares regression (PLSR) was used to generate correlation models, both calibration and validation. The PLS validation models showed good ability (Rval > 0.80; <10% SEP) in estimating the sugars, acids, and especially soluble solids in tomato for both the transmission DialPath portable system and benchtop unit using triple-bounce attenuated total reflectance (ATR). The IR portable unit may provide the tomato processing industry with an efficient method for in-plant, high throughput quantification of quality parameters in to...
Removal of seeds from Neotropical frugivore droppings : Ant responses to seed number.

In a Costa Rican rain forest, the majority of tree and shrub species have their seeds dispersed by vertebrates. Over a third of the species' seeds are of a size accessible to, and primarily carried away by, ants. Frugivorous bird droppings come in sizes from a few seeds to over a thousand, with number of seeds isometric with bird body mass. Dropping size decreases as seeds are scattered by rain. Larger droppings produced from fruits ofMiconia affinis (Melastomataceae) are discovered and recruited to more by ants, with a diverse guild of 22 ant species carrying away the seeds. Droppings with 64 and 16 seeds were used by a subset of the ant community exploiting 4-seed droppings, likely due to resource defense by aggressive species. Seeds in the smallest droppings stood the smallest chance of being removed. Although soil-nesting ants of the tribe Attini were the primary removers of seeds in this forest, a third of removal was by ants living in ephemeral litter nests. Seeds ofM. affinis were found in litter ant nests in 8 of 28 1-m2 plots, suggesting that seed rain was not highly localized. Since litter nests are common, contain few seeds/nest and are often abandoned by their ants, litter ants may be the best candidates for ant-plant dispersal mutualisms.
Topographic Changes in the Surf Zone Profile

The conventional method of dealing with relationships between wave action and topographic response on a beach is to reduce the problem to a two-dimensional scheme that regards basic processes as taking place in a vertical plane normal to the shoreline. This scheme is valid only if the waves arrive at right angles to the shore and the nearshore contours are reasonably straight and parallel the beach. As these conditions are not realized in many cases another analytical method is necessary - one that recognizes effects of other than normal wave arrival and systematic patterns of diversification in nearshore topography. This study, based on a long period of field investigation on the Outer Banks, North Carolina, examines a three-dimensional approach. Observations from a long pier were used to explain nearshore topographic diversification and resulted in conclusions that were confirmed by subsequent field observation.
Changes in Dark Chocolate Volatiles during Storage

Chocolate storage is critical to the quality of the final product. Inadequate storage, especially with temperature fluctuations, may lead to a change in crystal structure, which may eventually cause fat bloom. Bloom is the main cause of quality loss in the chocolate industry. The impact of various storage conditions on the flavor quality of dark chocolate was determined. Dark chocolate was stored in different conditions leading to either fat or sugar bloom and analyzed at 0, 4, and 8 weeks of storage. Changes in chocolate flavor were determined by volatile analysis and descriptive sensory evaluation. Results were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), cluster analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and linear partial least-squares regression analysis (PLS). Volatile concentration and loss were significantly affected by storage conditions. Chocolates stored at high temperature were the most visually and texturally compromised, but volatile concentrations were affected the least, whereas samples stored at ambient, frozen, and high relative humidity conditions had significant volatile loss during storage. It was determined that high-temperature storage caused a change in crystal state due to the polymorphic shift to form VI, leading to an increase in sample hardness. Decreased solid fat content (SFC) during high-temperature storage increased instrumentally determined volatile retention, although no difference was detected in chocolate flavor during sensory analysis, possibly due to instrumental and sensory sampling techniques. When all instrumental and sensory data had been taken into account, the storage condition that had the least impact on texture, surface roughness, grain size, lipid polymorphism, fat bloom formation, volatile concentrations, and sensory attributes was storage at constant temperature and 75% relative humidity.
Timing of the estrogen-induced release of LH in ovariectomized rats under an altered lighting schedule.

SummaryPrevious results from this laboratory (4) have shown that rats submitted to a 0500-1900 hr “lights-on” schedule responded to a single estradiol administration 48 hr after ovariectomy with plasma LH rises only during the afternoon (1630-1700 hr) of the following days. Under otherwise similar experimental conditions, it is now reported that if the “lights-on” period is shifted to 2100-1100 hr, the estrogen-induced LH surges occur at 1100-1230 hr. Cycling rats submitted to the altered illumination schedule show similarly altered times of the proestrous surge. The results reveal that the estrogen-induced LH rise in ovarieetomized animals is synchronized by light, and suggest that similar mechanisms control this estrogen-induced LH surge in ovariectomized rats and the spontaneous proestrous LH surge in cycling rats.We thank Ms. Francis Smith and Kathy Bangs and Mr. David Whitmoyer for valuable technical assistance and Mr. Bob McAlister for drawing the figures.
Circular birefringence of banded spherulites.

Crystal optical properties of banded spherulites of 21 different compounds—molecular crystals, polymers, and minerals—with helically twisted fibers were analyzed with Mueller matrix polarimetry. The well-established radial oscillations in linear birefringence of many polycrystalline ensembles is accompanied by oscillations in circular birefringence that cannot be explained by the natural optical activity of corresponding compounds, some of which are centrosymmetric in the crystalline state. The circular birefringence is shown to be a consequence of misoriented, overlapping anisotropic lamellae, a kind of optical activity associated with the mesoscale stereochemistry of the refracting components. Lamellae splay as a consequence of space constraints related to simultaneous twisting of anisometric lamellae. This mechanism is supported by quantitative simulations of circular birefringence arising from crystallite twisting and splaying under confinement.
Perioperative Care in Lumbar Spine Surgery

Attention to the details of preoperative preparation of the patient, intraoperative technique, and good postoperative care can prevent complications and increase the likelihood of successful elective lumbar spine surgery. Such relevant topics as patient education, smoking and nonsmoking patients, transfusions, and medications are included.
Randomized Controlled Theory-Based, E-Mail-Mediated Walking Intervention: Differences Between Dog Owners and Non-Dog Owners.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of two concurrent randomized controlled interventions based on social cognitive theory to increase walking. A second purpose was to compare the efficacy of the intervention between two distinct groups: dog owners and non-dog owners. Adult dog owners ( n = 40) and non-dog owners ( n = 65) were randomized into control or intervention groups. Intervention groups received bi-weekly emails for first 4 weeks and then weekly email for the next 8 weeks targeting self-efficacy, social support, goal setting, and benefits/barriers to walking. Dog owner messages focused on dog walking while non-dog owners received general walking messages. Control groups received a 1-time email reviewing current physical activity guidelines. At 6 months, both intervention groups reported greater increases in walking and maintained these increases at 12 months. The greatest increases were seen in the dog owner intervention group. In conclusion, dog owners accumulated more walking, which may be attributed to the dog-owner relationship.
DNA replication and beyond.

It turns out that Meselson and Stahl were not the first to show that DNA replicates semi-conservatively. The preceding experiment was almost forgotten, partly because it showed something incredible.
Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid phospholipase A2 activities are increased in human adult respiratory distress syndrome

The role of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in lung injury in humans is unclear. Previous studies have failed to identify an increase in PLA2 activity in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) of patients wi...
Tiffeneau-Demjanov Rearrangement

Carbocation rearrangement of β-aminoalcohols via diazotization to afford carbonyl compounds.
Solving the Blood-Brain Barrier Challenge for the Effective Treatment of HIV Replication in the Central Nervous System

Recent decades mark a great progress in the treatment of HIV infection. What was once a deadly disease is now a chronic infection. However, HIV-infected patients are prone to develop comorbidities, which severely affect their daily functions. For example, a large population of patients develop a variety of neurological and cognitive complications, called HIV associated neurological disorders (HAND). Despite efficient repression of viral replication in the periphery, evidence shows that the virus can remain active in the central nervous system (CNS). This low level of replication is believed to result in a progression of neurocognitive dysfunction in infected individuals. Insufficient viral inhibition in the brain results from the inability of several treatment drugs in crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and reaching therapeutic concentrations in the CNS. The current manuscript discusses several strategies that are being developed to enable therapeutics to cross the BBB, including bypassing BBB, inhibition of efflux transporters, the use of active transporters present at the BBB, and nanotechnology. The increased concentration of therapeutics in the CNS is desirable to prevent viral replication; however, potential side effects of anti-retroviral drugs need also to be taken into consideration.
Rapid and sensitive quantitation of heme in hemoglobinized cells

Rapid and accurate heme quantitation in the research lab has become more desirable as the crucial role that intracellular hemoproteins play in metabolism continues to emerge. Here, the time-honored approaches of pyridine hemochromogen and fluorescence heme assays are compared with direct absorbance-based technologies using the CLARiTY spectrophotometer. All samples tested with these methods were rich in hemoglobin-associated heme, including buffered hemoglobin standards, whole blood from mice, and murine erythroleukemia (MEL) and K562 cells. While the pyridine hemochromogen assay demonstrated the greatest linear range of heme detection, all 3 methods demonstrated similar analytical sensitivities and normalized limits of quantitation of ∼1 µM. Surprisingly, the fluorescence assay was only shown to be distinct in its ability to quantitate extremely small samples. Using the CLARiTY system in combination with pyridine hemochromogen and cell count data, a common hemoglobin extinction coefficient for blood and differentiating MEL and K562 cells of 0.46 µM-1 cm-1 was derived. This value was applied to supplemental experiments designed to measure MEL cell hemoglobinization in response to the addition or removal of factors previously shown to affect heme biosynthesis (e.g., L-glutamine, iron).
Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes: End-Plate AChR Lack

Two families with 5 affected members suffering from congenital myasthenic syndrome are reported from University Hospital, Bonn, Germany.
Musculoskeletal Impairments Are Often Unrecognized and Underappreciated Complications From Diabetes

Medical professionals and laypeople alike understand the fact that people with diabetes are at increased risk for serious medical complications such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy, and lower extremity amputations.1 However, I have observed that many people, including people with diabetes and the rehabilitation health providers treating them, are not aware of a large body of evidence linking diabetes with increased risk for numerous musculoskeletal impairments and complications.2 These impairments are apparent in type 1 diabetes (due to beta cell destruction, usually leading to absolute insulin deficiency) and type 2 diabetes (due to progressive loss of insulin secretion on the background of insulin resistance). The purpose of this point of view is to highlight the musculoskeletal impairments that are exacerbated, or potentially even caused, by metabolic disorders associated with diabetes. This article will focus on those musculoskeletal impairments most often encountered by physical therapists and other rehabilitation practitioners, describe the systemic condition of limited joint mobility, and briefly outline a likely mechanism for musculoskeletal impairments. Finally, the article will briefly provide clinical and research implications for those in rehabilitation working with this population. Metabolic dysfunctions clearly leave people with diabetes at high risk for developing musculoskeletal pain and impairments. In a large Danish study that compared patients with type 2 diabetes (n=951) directly with age-, sex-, and region-matched control participants (n=22,923), the patients with diabetes were 1.7 to 2.1 times more likely to report musculoskeletal pain compared with those without diabetes.3 Consistent with this high risk for musculoskeletal disorders, the group with diabetes reported high incidences of shoulder or neck pain (52%); low back pain (60%); and arm, hand, knee, or hip pain (71%).3 Furthermore, people pursuing physical therapy for musculoskeletal pain and impairments often have a secondary diagnosis of diabetes or have risk …
17.2 A 28GHz magnetic-free non-reciprocal passive CMOS circulator based on spatio-temporal conductance modulation

A significant challenge for silicon-based mm-wave systems is a low-loss shared-antenna (ANT) interface with high linearity, isolation (ISO) and bandwidth (BW). Shared ANT interfaces with simultaneous transmit and receive capability are critical for mm-wave 5G base stations that need to simultaneously communicate with multiple users, FMCW-based radars, and emerging full-duplex systems [1].
Food Insecurity, Substance Use, and Sexual Transmission Risk Behavior Among People Living with HIV: A Daily Level Analysis

People living with HIV in poverty have limited tangible and mental resources coupled with competing demands for these resources. Competing demands require individuals to make choices that may be beneficial to them in the short term but not in the long term. Past research has shown that food insecurity is related to sexual risk behaviors among people living with HIV. Individuals who are food insecure may sell sex in order to obtain food or lack of food may lead to a depletion of mental resources to negotiate safe sex. Substance use may also create additional constraints on these already limited resources. The current study tested the relation between food insecurity and day-level sexual risk behavior and the possible mediating role that alcohol/substance use may play. Men and women living with HIV were enrolled in a 28-day prospective study between October 2012 and April 2014 in which they completed daily text message surveys regarding their sex behaviors and substance/alcohol use in the context of sex. A total of 796 participants reported sex on 3894 days. On days in which sex occurred, baseline food insecurity was negatively associated with daily condom use. There was also a significant effect of substance use in the context of sex on the rates of change in condom use over time, and this interaction between substance use and time was a partial mediator of the relation between food insecurity and condom use. Gender did not moderate this mediation. Situation-specific alcohol and drug use should be integrated into interventions that target food insecurity and HIV prevention.
Online nutrition and T2DM continuing medical education course launched on state-level medical association

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this research study was to determine whether a 1-hour online continuing medical education (CME) course focused on nutrition for type 2 diabetes would result in a gain in nutrition knowledge by practicing physicians. METHODS A practicing physician and dietitian collaborated to develop an online CME course (both webinar and self-study versions) on type 2 diabetes. This 1-hour accredited course was launched through the state-level medical association's education library, available to all physicians. RESULTS Physicians (n=43) registered for the course, and of those, 31 completed the course in its entirety. A gain in knowledge was found when comparing pre- versus post-test scores related to the online nutrition CME (P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Online CME courses launched via state-level medical associations offer convenient continuing education to assist practicing physicians in addressing patient nutrition and lifestyle concerns related to chronic disease. The present diabetes CME one-credit course allowed physicians to develop basic nutrition care concepts on this topic to assist patients in a better way.
Civic Technology and Community Building: Interaction Effects Between Integrated Connectedness to a Storytelling Network (ICSN) and Internet and Mobile Uses on Civic Participation

This study draws on communication infrastructure theory (CIT) to examine the extent to which expressive uses of Internet and mobile devices moderate the relationship between integrated connectedness to a storytelling network (ICSN) and offline and online civic participation. Data collected through a Web survey of a U.S. national online panel (N = 1201) reveal that the relationships of ICSN with offline and online civic participation are conditioned by locality-oriented expressive uses of Internet and mobile media. With these findings, this study discusses theoretical insights, policy implications, and practical applications.
Teaching writing in economics

In this article, the author provides motivation and a template for integrating and teaching writing in a variety of economics courses: core theory or introductory courses, topic courses, and economic writing/research courses. For each assignment, pedagogical reasoning and syllabus integration are discussed. Additionally, the author shows that using grading practices and peer review as suggested in the literature can make the grading and time burden of teaching writing accessible to even large lecture courses.
Adrenergic Signaling at the Interface of Allergic Asthma and Viral Infections

Upper respiratory viral infections are a major etiologic instigator of allergic asthma, and they drive severe exacerbations of allergic inflammation in the lower airways of asthma sufferers. Rhinovirus (RV), in particular, is the main viral instigator of these pathologies. Asthma exacerbations due to RV infections are the most frequent reasons for hospitalization and account for the majority of morbidity and mortality in asthma patients. In both critical care and disease control, long- and short-acting β2-agonists are the first line of therapeutic intervention, which are used to restore airway function by promoting smooth muscle cell relaxation in bronchioles. While prophylactic use of β2-agonists reduces the frequency and pathology of exacerbations, their role in modulating the inflammatory response is only now being appreciated. Adrenergic signaling is a component of the sympathetic nervous system, and the natural ligands, epinephrine and norepinephrine (NE), regulate a multitude of autonomic functions including regulation of both the innate and adaptive immune response. NE is the primary neurotransmitter released by post-ganglionic sympathetic neurons that innervate most all peripheral tissues including lung and secondary lymphoid organs. Thus, the adrenergic signaling pathways are in direct contact with both the central and peripheral immune compartments. We present a perspective on how the adrenergic signaling pathway controls immune function and how β2-agonists may influence inflammation in the context of virus-induced asthma exacerbations.
Native Grasses for Biomass Production at High Elevations

Herbaceous perennial grasses as lignocellulosic resources are a preferred feedstock source for biofuels because they have a neutral carbon budget, require few agronomic inputs, can be readily managed to be environmentally friendly, and have the potential to be grown on a variety of lands, soils, and crop production situations. The Mountain West at elevations of 1,200 m, and higher, typically have unique and variable conditions typified by dry climates, cold-season precipitation, cold winter temperatures, hot summers with cool nights, large areas of public land, long distances to markets, large variations in soil types, variable soil quality such as salinity, changing field topography, and other factors. Large regions of the Mountain West are dominated by cool-season grasses that could be a desirable source for biofuel production. Tall-statured, cool-season perennial grasses including basin wildrye, creeping x basin wildrye hybrids, intermediate wheatgrass, and tall wheatgrass are viable candidates for lignocellulosic biomass production in this region. Developing a locally grown biomass and biofuel products could provide economic diversification to rural communities in the Mountain West. Establishing a regional supply chain for biofuel production could diversify fuel sources and provide a degree of energy security. Cool-season biomass grasses are not currently cost-competitive with other biomass feedstocks or other Mountain West energy sources. Policies that encourage market development, energy diversification and security could jump-start the market for cool-season biomass grasses, although long-term market viability hinges on their production at competitive costs. Furthermore, commercial production of cool-season perennial grass species will require considerable genetic improvement to develop these plant species for suitable biomass production.
Complications of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin immunotherapy

Knowing when to give and when to withhold BCG will prevent most complications, but even when all precautions are taken, some complications will occur. The initial step in the treatment of infectious complications is the use of isoniazid. Routine prophylactic isoniazid should not be given, as animal studies have confirmed that immune stimulation, and presumably antitumor activity, can be inhibited by isoniazid prophylaxis. However, when cystitis persists more than 2 days or is so severe that it does not respond to symptomatic treatment, isoniazid 300 mg daily is used to control the symptoms, prevent progressive infection, and avoid the overgrowth of BCG, which can result in excessive organisms and suppression of the immune response. If symptoms progress despite isoniazid treatment or do not begin to abate within 1 to 2 weeks, rifampicin 600 mg daily is added. Rifampicin is given from the beginning in patients with potentially severe extravesical BCG infection such as pneumonitis, hepatitis, or nephritis. In patients with symptoms such as fever, malaise, or bladder irritation that respond within a few days, it generally is necessary to continue antitubercular antibiotics for only 2 weeks. Those with extravesical infection and those who do not respond promptly to treatment are treated for 3 months, and those with severe or deep-seated infection are treated for 6 months. The current recommendation for the treatment of sepsis after BCG administration, based on limited clinical experience and controlled animal experimentation, is to use isoniazid and rifampicin plus prednisolone 40 mg daily.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Programmed cell death in MHV-induced demyelination.

Coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) strain A59 causes severe acute hepatitis, focal meningoencephalitis, and chronic demyelinating disease of the spinal cord. It serves as an experimental model for multiple sclerosis. MHV-2 causes acute hepatitis and meningitis. The pathogenesis of MHV-induced demyelination in mice is not clear and a potential mechanism of apoptosis was suggested. Previous studies showed apoptotic T cells, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes in demyelinating areas following MHV-JHM infection (Barac-Latas et al 1997). However, the distribution of demyelination has been suggested to correlate better with macrophage infiltration than with the apoptotic cells (Wu and Perlman 1999). In the chronic demyelinating disease induced by Theiler’s virus, apoptotic astrocytes were found in demyelinating lesions (Palma et al 1999). In experimental allergic encephalitis, the disease was much milder in mice lacking Fas-Fas ligand molecules, suggesting that apoptosis plays a role in the disease (Waldner et al 1997).
How to distribute modeling effort for complex systems

This paper describes a technique for determining which systems should be modeled in higher detail when modeling Very Large and Complex Systems (VLCS) using Agent-based Modeling techniques. The goal of this research was to develop a method that (1) could be applied in the conceptual modeling phases (i.e., before the bulk of the modeling effort began), and that (2) would produce quantitative recommendations as to which agents composing the VLCS should be modeled in more detail. The technique described relies on studying the functional interactions between the systems composing the VLCS, i.e., how the entities in the VLCS interact with one another. Depending on the properties of the networks formed by these interactions, different recommendations arise as to how the modeling effort should be distributed amongst the entities. Fourteen different network node metrics were studied and tested. The results indicate that when the behavior of the network is not chaotic, the Perron-Frobenious Eigenvector and the Fiedler Eigenvector provide the best measures for identifying the criticality of each node in the network. When the network topology displays certain characteristics which can be associated with it producing chaotic behaviors, it is best to equally distribute the modeling effort amongst all the nodes. This result seems intuitive since in chaotic systems small variations can produce radically different behavior trajectories. The technique was tested using Random Boolean Networks and Agent-based Simulations.
Palladium(0)-catalyzed rearrangement of allyl enol ethers to form chiral quaternary carbon centers via asymmetric allylic alkylation

Abstract Herein we report the first palladium(0)-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA) of allyl enol ether via π-allylpalladium intermediate using Trost chiral diphosphine. This unprecedented reaction produced very rare α-aryl quaternary aldehydes with multi-functional groups. The main novelty in the chemistry demonstrates that enol ethers can be used as precursors for π-allylpalladium intermediates, an observation that is certainly rare and to the best of our knowledge, perhaps without prior precedent. Chiral ligand (R,R)-L3 was found to be optimal in this Pd-AAA reaction and provided good to excellent yield (80–95%) and enantioselectivity (70–90%) with a range of analogs.
Review: Best Practices for Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Courses

Hollister, Christopher V., ed. Best Practices for Credit-Bearing Information Literacy Courses . Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2010. 278p. ISBN 9780838985588. Softcover $48.00.
Quantifying maximum temperature in 17 mass concrete cube specimens made with mixtures including metakaolin and/or slag

Abstract An experimental study is designed to quantify temperature rise in mass concrete mixtures. Cement is partially replaced on a weight basis by three different metakaolin, two slag, and a Class F fly ash products. Polymer modified and phase changing materials are also studied. The mixtures contain 422 kg/m3 (711 lb/yd3) of cementitious materials and have a water-to-cementitious material ratio of 0.43. Paste and mortar samples are prepared for heat of hydration (HoH) measurements using an isothermal calorimeter. Seventeen cube (0.61 m × 0.61 m × 0.61 m or 2 ft. × 2 ft. × 2 ft.) specimens are prepared for temperature measurements. Finally, experimentally quantified and predicted maximum temperature measurements are compared. It is concluded that the addition of 10% polyvinyl acetate or 3.5% barium oxide admixture has insignificant effect on HoH. Ternary replacement (45% by weight) mixtures with slag and metakaolin significantly reduce HoH. These mixtures yielded the maximum temperature that is equivalent to that of a mixture with 30% fly ash (Class F) replacement. The maximum temperature measured in binary mixtures agree well with the temperature predicted by existing equations. Existing models do not account for the co-presence of slag and metakaolin in ternary mixtures and thus overpredict the maximum temperature.
Rediscovering Jacobson in the Era of COVID-19

As courts continue to hear constitutional challenges to COVID-related orders, citations to the Supreme Court’s 1905 decision, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, have been proliferating. This essay re-examines Justice Harlan’s nuanced and ambiguous opinion in Jacobson, situating in in its epidemiological and jurisprudential context. The essay also looks at Jacobson’s complex legacy, and how judges, including Chief Justice Roberts in South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, have been applying Jacobson as they review COVID-19 social distancing orders.
Performance Benchmarking of Parallel Hyperparameter Tuning for Deep Learning Based Tornado Predictions

Abstract Predicting violent storms and dangerous weather conditions with current models can take a long time due to the immense complexity associated with weather simulation. Machine learning has the potential to classify tornadic weather patterns much more rapidly, thus allowing for more timely alerts to the public. To deal with class imbalance challenges in machine learning, different data augmentation approaches have been proposed. In this work, we examine the wall time difference between live data augmentation methods versus the use of preaugmented data when they are used in a convolutional neural network based training for tornado prediction. We also compare CPU and GPU based training over varying sizes of augmented data sets. Additionally we examine what impact varying the number of GPUs used for training will produce given a convolutional neural network on wall time and accuracy. We conclude that using multiple GPUs to train a single network has no significant advantage over using a single GPU. The number of GPUs used during training should be kept as small as possible for maximum search throughput as the native Keras multi-GPU model provides little speedup with optimal learning parameters.
Retromania as the Symptom of Trauma: The Past and Present in Sergei Loznitsa’s Schast’e Moe

The article discusses Sergei Loznitsa’s film Schast’e moe (My Joy, 2010) as the most radical critique of the retromaniac glorification of the profound connections between the present-day Russia and its heroic history, especially the Great Patriotic War. Loznitsa presents this connection as a circular narrative that is driven by recurring patterns of violence, which in turn manifest unresolved societal traumas. The patterns of recurrent violence and the circularity of its cycle can be described through Freudian definition of trauma. Loznitsa treats retromania as an objective condition of contemporary Russian society – the one that mythologizes reproduction of these violence-based power relations, not only vertically but also horizontally. This logic is deeply embedded in the film’s structure and the system of recurring motifs, which eventually constitute a surreal picture in which the borders between the past and present are blurred by the permanence of violence in the fabric of society. Keywords: Sergei Loznitsa, violence, historical memory, trauma
Methods for GVB and Extended Wavefunctions and for DFT

Initially, my goal as a GS was to extract from QM unique new concepts into how chemical bonding determines the remarkable varieties of structures, properties, and reactivity. However the new GVB wave functions required more sophisticated methods to optimize the wave functions. We describe here some of these advances.
Recommendations for Safety Education and Training for Graduate Students Directing Field Projects

Graduate schools provide students opportunities for fieldwork and training in archaeological methods and theory, but they often overlook instruction in field safety and well-being. We suggest that more explicit guidance on how to conduct safe fieldwork will improve the overall success of student-led projects and prepare students to direct safe and successful fieldwork programs as professionals. In this article, we draw on the experiences of current and recent graduate students as well as professors who have overseen graduate fieldwork to outline key considerations in improving field safety and well-being and to offer recommendations for specific training and safety protocols. In devising these considerations and recommendations, we have referenced both domestic and international field projects, as well as those involving community collaboration.
Correcting for Body Size Variation in Morphometric Analysis

Using an allometric growth model to correct for body size variation has been known for many decades to be superior to several other widely used methods such as ratios, analysis of covariance, principal components analysis, and residual analysis. However, this technique remains relatively obscure and rarely applied. We optimize the implementation of this method through a newly developed and easy-to-use R package GroupStruct and use empirical datasets to test its relative efficacy compared to several commonly used methods. Our results demonstrate the superiority of the allometric method and highlights the negative impacts of applying improper body size correction methods.
User's Guide to History

Historical knowledge is necessary to make informed policy choices, but history’s methods are unsuited for determining what, exactly, those policies should be. This chapter examines how historians have been contributing to the New Legal Realist project, identifies obstacles in translating historical conclusions into policy arguments, and explores specific ways that the past can inform the present. Although the discipline of history may not produce concrete policy proposals, it can help us to think more critically about present-day issues by envisioning alternative solutions inspired by the past, identifying problems that become more apparent in historical context, reframing questions that need asking, and exploring causation. By explaining how our laws and legal practices came to be, historians can identify problems and their origins, which is a crucial first step to figuring out what to do next.
Metal Ion Dependence of the Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 Mechanism

Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) plays crucial roles in disease-related physiologies and pathological processes in the human body. We report here solution studies of MMP-1, including characterization of a series of mutants designed to bind metal in either the catalytic site or the structural site (but not both). Circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy of the mutants demonstrate the importance of the structural Zn(II) in maintaining both secondary and tertiary structure, while UV-visible, nuclear magnetic resonance, electron paramagnetic resonance, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure show its presence influences the catalytic metal ion's coordination number. The mutants allow us to demonstrate convincingly the preparation of a mixed-metal analogue, Co(C)Zn(S)-MMP-1, with Zn(II) in the structural site and Co(II) in the catalytic site. Stopped-flow fluorescence of the native form, Zn(C)Zn(S)-MMP-1, and the mixed-metal Co(C)Zn(S)-MMP-1 analogue shows that the internal fluorescence of a nearby Trp residue is modulated with catalysis and can be used to monitor reactivity under a number of conditions, opening the door to substrate profiling.
Biochemistry of Vitamin E

Publisher Summary The fact that vitamin E deficiency influences a wide variety of animal tissues has tended to implicate its function in some basic mechanism common to most cells. To date, the two most prominent possibilities for the mechanism of action of vitamin E in the living organism are: (1) that it functions in a protective role as an intracellular antioxidant by preventing the oxidation of unsaturated fats and other oxygen-sensitive substances such as vitamin A and ascorbic acid during storage and/or (2) serves as a component, either directly as an electron carrier or indirectly possibly as a binding agent, in the cytochrome c reductase portion of the terminal respiratory chain. There is also evidence that it may be functioning in a primary role in nucleic acid metabolism and possibly in phosphorylation reactions. The objective of the present chapter is to review and summarize critically the various aspects of vitamin E metabolism with a view to evaluating its possible mechanism of action in the living cell.
Unified Discourse Analysis: Language, Reality, Virtual Worlds and Video Games

The book is divided into fourteen chapters. In chapters 1 and 2 (“Introduction” and “Conversations”), Gee outlines his purpose: to theorize about how discourse analysis could be used to study games as communicational forms. Three basic terms are introduced: conversations, worlds, and avatars. Gee establishes that conversations are co-constructed, collaborative turntaking exchanges which convey meaning; he posits that humans have conversations with worlds whenever they act, as actions evoke responses. The video game world and the real world are thus both responsive systems. Avatars are playable characters in games, which have also been referred to as “identities” or “roles” in life. An important distinction is made between the player’s story—the outcome of decisions made throughout the game—and the narratives that are often included in a game, written not by the player but by the authors of the game. It is the player’s story that mimics the conversations that humans have in life, in which individuals enact decisions and expect reactions.
Abstract P070: Comparison of Heritability Estimation Using the Principal Components Calculated by Maximizing Variance and Heritability for OSA Traits

RATIONALE: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common disorder characterized by repetitive pauses in breathing during sleep associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity. Accumulating study results suggest that there are strong genetic contributions for this disease as defined by the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), the number of breathing pauses per hour of sleep. Using this metric, it has been shown that OSA significantly aggregates within families (1-2); heritability for the AHI is estimated to vary from about 20 to 40% (2-3). However, the AHI is only one index from several that describe OSA severity, and may not be the most relevant phenotype for genetic studies. It has not, however, been clear how to systematically assess heritability of multiple correlated and uncorrelated OSA traits. METHODS: To identify OSA related phenotypes that are most heritable to inform discovery of genetic risk variants for the disease, heritability analysis of multiple OSA related phenotypes were conducted using family da...
Laser spectroscopy and gas‐phase chemistry in CVD

Experimental studies of CVD utilizing laser-diagnostic techniques are closely coordinated with theoretical modelling. Laser Raman spectroscopy, laser velocimetry and laser-excited fluorescence techniques are used to probe the gas phase. The model carefully treats the coupled fluid dynamics and gas-phase chemistry of silane CVD. Deposition rates predicted by the model agree with data from the literature. The presence of Si2 was predicted by the model and observed with laser-excited fluorescence. The results indicate that gas-phase chemical kinetics and reactive intermediate species are important in silane CVD.
Dividend policy and earnings: a study of short- and long-term causality

This research examines whether earnings per share (EPS) and dividends per share (DPS) exhibit a short and long causality. The data employed in this study consist of quarterly EPS and DPS for 28 of the DJIA companies obtained from Bloomberg over a recent 10-year period. The companies under investigation all have EPS and DPS data available over the period studied. Dividends are generally paid out of earnings. The amount and timing of the dividend paid is a function of the respective company’s dividend policy. Therefore, the EPSt can be expressed in terms of the DPSt as follows: EPSt = αDPSt where α is a nonnegative constant. The equation suggests that there is a linear relationship between the EPSt and the DPSt. The results of this study indicate that bi-directional causality exists for some of the companies.
Subband coding of 3D MRI images using octtrees

Discusses a method of compression of 3-D MRI images. A subband coding scheme with an octave splitting is proposed. The higher frequency subbands are encoded using an octtree structure. Octtrees provide a convenient data structure to store the sparse information present in the higher frequency subbands. Each unit block of the octtree is coded using a hybrid vector and scalar quantization scheme. The baseband is encoded using a DPCM based method using a nonlinear neural network predictor. This scheme provides an elegant way of compression of MRI images with minimum error.
Biopolymer deposition for freeform fabrication of tissue engineered scaffolds

Polymeric scaffolds have been utilized in tissue engineering as a technique to confide the desired proliferation of seeded cells in vitro and in vivo into its architecturally porous three-dimensional structures. Novel freeform fabrication methods for tissue engineering polymeric scaffolds have been an interest because of its repeatability and capability of high accuracy in fabrication resolution at the macro and micro scales. A multi-nozzle biopolymer deposition system which is capable of extruding biopolymer solutions and living cells for freeform construction of 3D tissue scaffolds is presented. The deposition process is biocompatible and occurs at room temperature and low pressures to reduce damage to cells. This paper presents three types of nozzle systems that can be used to deposit sodium alginate using three-dimensional deposition (3D-D) to fabricate three-dimensional scaffold structures, in addition to cell/alginate deposition.