cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nascent RNA sequencing analysis provides insights into enhancer-mediated gene regulation

Enhancers are distal cis-regulatory elements that control gene expression. Despite an increasing appreciation of the importance of enhancers in cellular function and disease, our knowledge of enhancer-regulated transcription is very limited. Nascent RNA sequencing technologies, such as global nuclear run-on sequencing (GRO-seq) and precision run-on sequencing (PRO-seq), not only provide a direct and reliable measurement of enhancer activity, but also allow for quantifying transcription of enhancers and target genes simultaneously, making these technologies extremely useful for exploring enhancer-mediated regulation. Nascent RNA sequencing analysis (NRSA) provides a comprehensive view of enhancer-mediated gene regulation. NRSA not only outperforms existing methods for enhancer identification, but also enables annotation and quantification of active enhancers, and prediction of their target genes. Furthermore, NRSA identifies functionally important enhancers by integrating 1) nascent transcriptional changes in enhancers and their target genes and 2) binding profiles from regulator(s) of interest. Applied to wildtype and histone deacetylase 3 (Hdac3) knockout mouse livers, NRSA showed that HDAC3 regulates RNA polymerase recruitment through both proximal (promoter) and distal (enhancer) regulatory elements. Integrating ChIP-seq with PRO-seq data, NRSA prioritized enhancers based on their potential contribution to mediating HDAC3 regulation. NRSA will greatly facilitate the usage of nascent RNA sequencing techniques and accelerate the study of enhancer-mediated regulation.
Hotel overbooking taxonomy: Who and how?

Abstract The main objective of this research note is to explore the current landscape of hotel overbooking practices and describe the types of overbooking methods used. Among several interesting findings, key are that a large number of hotels do not overbook and for those that do, the theoretically superior risk-based method of setting overbooking limits is not widely used. These and other findings help provide a fuller picture of the state of hotel overbooking practices and should lead to a multitude of research projects given the many questions raised.
A Review of: “Steinhart, Edward I. Black Poachers, White Hunters: A Social History of Hunting in Colonial Kenya.”

The appropriation and management of natural resources by governments and international conservation organizations away from local control have been a topic of considerable interest for the last few...
Head CT Findings at a Public Hospital in Rural Haiti: Retrospective Analysis of 3614 CT Scans (P5.157)

Objective: To characterize the neuroepidemiology of rural Haiti using radiology reports of 3,614 head CT scans from the country’s first publically accessible CT scanner. Background: CT is often unavailable, inaccessible, or unaffordable in low-income countries, creating challenges for patient care and impeding the understanding of neuroepidemiology necessary for policy development. Design/Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of head CT reports for CTs performed between July 2013 and January 2016 at Hopital Universitaire de Mirebalais in rural Haiti, extracting patients’ age, study indication, and radiologic findings. Results: 3,614 head CTs were performed on 3,416 patients. Repeat scans in the same patient were excluded from subsequent analyses. The most common indications for head CTs were headache (27% of all scans), trauma (19.9%), abnormal neurological exam (12.2%), and stroke (11.3%). 44.4% of scans were normal, 4.2% were inconclusive. The most common categories of neurologic abnormalities were traumatic (31%), vascular (25.8%), and infectious (12%). Of 291 strokes, 64% were ischemic (median age at diagnosis 60.8 years, SD 17.4), and 36% were hemorrhagic (median age 52.0, SD 15.5). In patients with head trauma, 22.5% had intracranial hemorrhage and 35.5% had fractures. Evidence of neurocysticercosis was present on 11.8% of CTs (median age 42.6, SD 19.0). In patients scanned for seizures, 17.5% had evidence of neurocysticercosis. The indications with the highest proportion of normal head CTs were endocrine complaint (73.9% normal), neuropathy (71.4%), headache (69.2%), and cramps (66.7%). Conclusions: Age at stroke in our rural low-income population is lower than in high-income countries and proportion of stroke due to intracerebral hemorrhage is higher. Neurocysticercosis is present in a significant proportion of patients with seizures/epilepsy in our population. These findings can inform policies and programs for prevention and treatment of neurologic disease in rural low-income settings. Disclosure: Dr. Valtis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cochran has nothing to disclose. Dr. Martineau has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lamour has nothing to disclose. Dr. Mendel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Berkowitz receives textbook royalties from McGraw-Hill, MedMaster, Oxford Press .
Assessing the host range of the North American parasitoid Ontsira mellipes: Potential for biological control of Asian longhorned beetle

Abstract The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a high-risk, invasive pest of hardwood trees that has been targeted for eradication in the US since the 1990s. Ontsira mellipes Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a native North American parasitoid that has been found to be capable of attacking ALB larvae under laboratory conditions. To investigate the potential host range of O. mellipes we exposed six common North American cerambycid species (Elaphidion mucronatum (Say), Monochamus carolinensis Olivier, Monochamus notatus (Drury), Neoclytus scutellaris Olivier, Xylotrechus colonus (Fabricius), and Xylotrechus sagittatus Germar) and the citrus longhorned beetle (Anoplophora chinensis Forster) to adult O. mellipes for possible oviposition. Results showed that O. mellipes successfully attacked A. glabripennis, A. chinensis, E. mucronatum, M. carolinensis and M. notatus, but did not attack N. scutellaris, X. colonus and X. sagittatus in both choice and no-choice tests. Ontsira mellipes did not show a preference between A. glabripennis and other attacked host species, regardless of the host species on which the tested parasitoids were reared. The number of progeny emerging per parasitized host larva was influenced by the attacked host species and by the interaction between the attacked host species and the size of parasitized larvae. Neither host species nor the size of parasitized larvae influenced the sex ratio (≈ 80% females) of the parasitoid’s offspring. In terms of progeny fitness, the parasitoid preformed equally well on A. glabripennis as on native hosts such as M. carolinensis. The use of O. mellipes as a biological control agent for A. glabripennis is discussed.
Spectral self-tuning of the ultrashort pulse during propagation in Al:ZnO/ZnO metamaterial at the epsilon near zero spectral point

Numerical FDTD study shows that initial 100 fs Gaussian pulse with central frequency beyond epsilon-near-zero point experiences spectral self-tuning during propagation in Al:ZnO/ZnO. The resulting spectral shift depends strongly on optical loss.
The Historians of Ancient Rome: An Anthology of the Major Writings

The Historians of Ancient Rome is the most comprehensive collection of ancient sources for Roman history available in a single English volume. After a general introduction on Roman historical writing, extensive passages from more than a dozen Greek and Roman historians and biographers trace the history of Rome over more than a thousand years: from the city’s foundation by Romulus in 753 B.C.E. (Livy) to Constantine’s edict of toleration for Christianity (313 C.E.) Selections include many of the high points of Rome’s climb to world domination: the defeat of Hannibal; the conquest of Greece and the eastern Mediterranean; the defeat of the Catilinarian conspirators; Caesar’s conquest of Gaul; Antony and Cleopatra; the establishment of the Empire by Caesar Augustus; and the "Roman Peace" under Hadrian and long excepts from Tacitus record the horrors of the reigns of Tiberius and Nero. The book is intended both for undergraduate courses in Roman history and for the general reader interested in approaching the Romans through the original historical sources. Hence, excerpts of Polybius, Livy, and Tacitus are extensive enough to be read with pleasure as an exciting narrative. Now in its third edition, changes to this thoroughly revised volume include a new timeline, translations of several key inscriptions such as the Twelve Tables, and additional readings. This is a book which no student of Roman history should be without.
The Economic Base of Early Bronze Age Hesi

Tell el-Hesi is a large and important Early Bronze Age site located about 25 km east of Gaza. Much of this twenty-five-acre site was a single-period late EBIIIA fortified city. This makes the site ...
A Method for Maximizing the Hosting Capacity to Electric Vehicles using Feeder Reconfiguration

This paper proposes a method to maximize the hosting capacity of distribution systems (DSs) to electric vehicles (EVs) at public charging stations based on reliability-constrained optimal feeder reconfiguration. Developing strategies to maximize the hosting capacity of DSs to EVs while maintaining their reliability has become more important than ever before. The proposed method is developed based on genetic algorithms and a linearized network model in order to expedite the solution process. Also, a graph theory-based method is developed to retain the radial structure of distribution systems. The number of cars and statuses of sectionalizing and tie-switches are used as variables to determine the optimal or near-optimal configuration. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to estimate the expected demand not supplied (EDNS) reliability index and the energy index of reliability (EIR)—EIR is used as a measure for distribution system reliability. The proposed method is demonstrated on the 33-bus power distribution system, which has been widely utilized in the literature for the optimal feeder reconfiguration. The results show that feeder reconfiguration can significantly increase the hosting capacity of distribution systems to EVs.
Predictive model of operative time in transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach.

BACKGROUND Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy Vestibular Approach (TOETVA) has demonstrated excellent safety and is receiving wider use in North America. Understanding which factors lead to operative difficulty, as evaluated by operative time (OT), may help to improve safety and refine indications for this procedure. METHODS Cases of TOETVA performed at our institution were reviewed. Multivariate linear regression was performed using patient demographics, thyroid characteristics, and operative variables to predict OT. RESULTS A total of 207 cases were included for analysis. A multivariate linear regression model, controlling for age, sex, and BMI, was developed from 104 cases with an R2 of 0.47 (p < 0.001). Cross-validation on 103 remaining cases showed root-mean-square error of 46.37. Total thyroidectomy and lobe size were the only significant predictors (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS We successfully developed a model to predict OT for TOETVA based on preoperative and operative variables. Lobe size, but not BMI, is a significant predictor of OT.
Implementation of Static NCL Threshold Gates Using Emerging CNTFET Technology

The currently dominating CMOS based synchronous domain has reached a point where further advancement in terms of speed and size is becoming more and more challenging. CMOS devices in deep-submicron region encounter various technological limitations, while high speed clock management significantly adds to the design complexity. NULL Convention Logic (NCL) is a clockless approach, which eliminates clock-related issues faced in synchronous designs; and Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistor (CNTFET) technology is a promising alternative to counter the scaling limitations of CMOS technology. This paper presents various CNTFET based implementations of static NCL gates. The different designs are analyzed in terms of speed of operation, energy consumption, and leakage power dissipation, followed by a comparison with standard CMOS implementation.
Characterization and structural prediction of the putative ORF10 protein in SARS-CoV-2

Abstract Upstream of the 3’-untranslated region in the SARS-CoV-2 genome is ORF10 which has been proposed to encode for the ORF10 protein. Current research is still unclear on whether this protein is synthesized, but further investigations are still warranted. Herein, this study uses multiple bioinformatic tools to biochemically and functionally characterize the ORF10 protein, along with predicting its tertiary structure. Results indicate a highly ordered, hydrophobic, and thermally stable protein that contains at least one transmembrane region. This protein also possesses high residue protein-binding propensity, primarily in the N-terminal half. An assessment of forty-one missense mutations reveal slight changes in residue flexibility, mainly in the C-terminal half. However, these same mutations do not inflict significant changes on protein stability and other biochemical features. The predicted model suggests the ORF10 protein contains a β-α-β motif with a β-molecular recognition feature occurring in the first β-strand. Functionally, the ORF10 protein could be a membrane protein. A single pocket was identified in this protein but found to possess low druggability. The ORF10 itself consists of two distinct lineages: the SARS-CoV lineage and the SARS-CoV-2 lineage. Evidence of strong positive selection (dN/dS = 4.01) and purifying selection (dN/dS = 0.713) were found within the SARS-CoV-2 lineage and SARS-CoV lineage, respectively. Collectively, these results continue to assess the biological relevance of ORF10 and its putatively encoded protein, thereby aiding in diagnostic and possibly vaccine development.
The Opioid Crisis and the Drug War at a Crossroads

With some leaders calling for an end to the drug war and others proposing to double down on it, U.S. drug policy appears to be at a crossroads. There is perhaps no better example of this dynamic than our response to the opioid epidemic. On the one hand, policymakers have implemented a number of modest harm reduction-oriented policies, including some that would have been unthinkable at the height of the war on drugs. On the other hand, the federal government has resumed seeking mandatory minimum penalties against lower-level drug offenders as part of what the Trump administration has referred to as a “war” on opioids. Trump has even proposed the death penalty for “drug dealers” and disturbingly praised Rodrigo Duterte, President of the Philippines, for carrying out a drug war in which there have been thousands of extrajudicial killings of suspected drug sellers and users. This essay, written for the symposium Facing Opioids: Drug Enforcement & Health Policy in Today's Epidemic, considers the state of the war on drugs through the lens of the opioid crisis. I focus on two responses to the opioid epidemic — the pursuit of safe injection sites and the increase in drug-induced homicide prosecutions — that exemplify two divergent approaches: ending the drug war or doubling down on it. I argue that these two examples help to shed light on why turning enthusiasm for ending the drug war into concrete reform has been so challenging. In both cases, drug war supporters have been able to use long-dormant laws that were passed at the height of the drug war to frustrate reform efforts. Ending the drug war requires significant legislative change; reviving can be easily done with drug war-era laws that are already in place.
Examining institutional effects on B2B relationships through the lens of transitioning economies

Abstract Our study addresses the limited attention paid to the role of indigenous institutional environments in framing the legitimate forms of governance used to shape buyer-supplier exchanges. Drawing on institutional theory and marketing channel literature, the study suggests that the emphasis in buyer-supplier exchanges on communication modalities and norms has much to do with the effectiveness of legal systems in a buyer's country. Three contexts for legitimacy are conceptualized from an examination of exchanges in developed economies with strong formal institutions and transitioning economies with underdeveloped institutions. Using surveys of US buyers to represent strong formal institutional environments, we conclude that buyers heavily influenced by regulative enforcement place a relatively greater emphasis on formal information sharing in their partnership efforts to build trust and enhance supplier performance. From surveys of buyers in India and China, we conclude that buyers place a relatively greater emphasis on informal information sharing when their legitimacy derives from the endogenously enforced moral codes of their private networks. Finally, surveys administered in Brazil and Russia revealed that buyers in environments pressured by the familial loyalty practices of their private networks place a relatively greater emphasis on the norm of solidarity to build trust in their suppliers.
Combined Knockout of Lrrk2 and Rab29 Does Not Result in Behavioral Abnormalities in vivo

Background Coding mutations in the LRRK2 gene, encoding for a large protein kinase, have been shown to cause familial Parkinson's disease (PD). The immediate biological consequence of LRRK2 mutations is to increase kinase activity, suggesting that inhibition of this enzyme might be useful therapeutically to slow disease progression. Genome-wide association studies have identified the chromosomal loci around LRRK2 and one of its proposed substrates, RAB29, as contributors towards the lifetime risk of sporadic PD. Objective Considering the evidence for interactions between LRRK2 and RAB29 on the genetic and protein levels, we set out to determine whether there are any consequences on brain function with aging after deletion of both genes. Methods We generated a double knockout mouse model and performed a battery of motor and non-motor behavioral tests. We then investigated postmortem assays to determine the presence of PD-like pathology, including nigral dopamine cell count, astrogliosis, microgliosis, and striatal monoamine content. Results Behaviorally, we noted only that 18-24-month Rab29 -/- and double (Lrrk2 -/- /Rab29 -/- ) knockout mice had diminished locomotor behavior in open field compared to wildtype mice. However, no genotype differences were seen in the outcomes that represented PD-like pathology. Conclusion These results suggest that depletion of both LRRK2 and RAB29 is tolerated, at least in mice, and support that this pathway might be able to be safely targeted for therapeutics in humans.
A price adjustment policy for maximizing revenue and countering strategic consumer behavior

Abstract Most retailers offer a price adjustment protection policy. With this policy, if the retailer discounts the product, then time-eligible consumers who paid the regular price can apply and get a refund of the price difference. We show that for perishable products and a given order quantity and demand realization, offering price adjustment protection will not decrease the revenue of the retailer. Also, when consumers behave strategically, offering price adjustment protection increases the revenue of the retailer. We also examine the optimal duration of the price adjustment protection together with the optimal price markdown time. Our analysis shows that for a given order quantity, offering a price adjustment protection will leave revenue unchanged for low realizations of demand, will increase revenue for high realizations of demand, and will decrease revenue in the mid range of demand realization. Price adjustment protection has a larger positive effect on revenue when the proportion of strategic consumers is high and that effect is further increased when more of them exhibit optimistic behaviour.
Whose apocalypse? Biosphere 2 and the spectacle of settler science in the desert

Abstract Deserts have a special prominence in apocalyptic visions of the future. As a trope, the desert frequently indexes apocalyptic visions of the warming planet and future challenges of securing food, energy, and water in a changing environment. This article considers how diffuse visions of “environmental apocalypse” are spun through narratives constructions of the desert as sites of utopia and dystopia – places where humanity is simultaneously portrayed as meeting its most dire possibilities of collapse, but also places where hopeful futures might be tested out and extremes overcome in an era of climate catastrophe. This article offers a genealogy of techno-scientific schemes in the Arizona desert and the “visioneers” behind them, focusing on the most iconic example of Biosphere 2. Initiated in the mid-1980s, Biosphere 2’s history illustrates how such projects are underpinned by multiple forms of spectacle, which draw on the ideals of science, technology, and environmental salvation to build settler colonial structures of exclusion and Indigenous dispossession. By centering the question of whose apocalypse we are being sold in such techno-centric “solutions” to ecological dilemmas, this article expands recent discussions of environmental injustice and settler colonial violence to show how ostensibly “progressive” ideals and initiatives are also violent and routinely overwrite histories and presents of colonial dispossession.
Lung Inflammation, NETosis, and the Pulmonary Initiation of Anti–Citrullinated Protein Antibody Response: What Came First, the Chicken or the Egg?

Multiple recent lines of evidence suggest that, at least in some patients, RA-associated autoimmunity and inflammation may originate in the lung (1, 2). However, what exactly is/are the initiating event(s), and the sequence of subsequent events, is not fully defined. In this issue of A&R, Okumoto et al (insert new reference), make the intriguing finding that individuals at risk of developing RA have an increased spontaneous neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation in sputum, in particular NETs containing citH3, and that these levels associate with presence of IgA ACPA. Such evidence has previously been reported, but the new data presented begins to paint a somewhat revised and enhanced storyline by investigating the pathway of mediation underlying these associations.
A computational modeling approach for predicting multicell patterns based on signaling-induced differential adhesion

Differential adhesion within cell populations enables the emergence of unique patterns in heterogeneous multicellular systems. This process has been previously explored using synthetically engineered heterogenous multicell spheroid systems, in which cell subpopulations engage in bidirectional intercellular signaling to regulate the expression of different cadherins. While engineered cell systems provide excellent experimental tools to observe pattern formation in cell populations, computational models may be leveraged to more systematically explore the key parameters that drive the emergence of different patterns. We developed and validated two- and three-dimensional agent-based models (ABMs) of spheroid patterning for cells engineered with a bidirectional signaling circuit that regulates N- and P-cadherin expression. The model was used to predict how varying initial cell seedings, cadherin induction probabilities, or homotypic adhesion strengths between cells impact spheroid patterning, and unsupervised machine learning techniques were used to map system parameters to unique spheroid patterns. The model was then deployed to design new synthetic cell signaling circuits based on a desired final multicell pattern.
Assessing the Impact of Provider Training and Perceived Barriers on the Provision of Spiritual Care: a Mixed Methods Study.

The current study evaluated formal training around spiritual care for healthcare providers and the relationships between that training, perceived barriers to spiritual care, and frequency of inquiry around spiritual topics. A mixed methods explanatory sequential design was used. Quantitative methods included an online survey administered to providers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Main and interactive effects of formal training and barriers to spiritual care on frequency of inquiry around spiritual topics were assessed with two-way ANOVA. Qualitative follow-up explored provider strategies to engage spiritual topics. Among 340 quantitative participants, most were female (82.1%) or White (82.6%) with over one-half identifying as religious (57.5%). The majority were nurses (64.7%) and less than 10% of all providers (n = 26) indicated formal training around spiritual care. There were main effects on frequency of inquiry around spiritual topics for providers who indicated "personal discomfort" as a barrier (p < 0.001), but not formal training (p = 0.526). Providers who indicated "personal discomfort" as a barrier inquired about spirituality less frequently, regardless of receiving formal training (M = 8.0, SD = 1.41) or not (M = 8.76, SD = 2.96). There were no interactive effects between training and "may offend patients" or "personal discomfort" (p = 0.258 and 0.125, respectively). Qualitative analysis revealed four strategies with direct and indirect approaches: (1) permission-giving, (2) self-awareness/use-of-self, (3) formal assessment, and (4) informal assessment. Training for providers should emphasize self-awareness to address intrapersonal barriers to improve the frequency and quality of spiritual care for cancer patients.
Thermal and Feeding Reactions of Pigeons during Food Scarcity and Cold

Birds living in the cold face energetic challenges from low ambient temperatures (Ta) as well as from food scarcity which often accompanies cold in nature. Birds react to low Ta with complex thermoregulatory and metabolic adjustments, and they also alter their foraging and feeding behavior rather dramatically when the availability of food becomes limited. In reaching a full understanding of adaptation to cold, it will be necessary to take into account the ways birds adapt to food scarcity as well as their thermal/metabolic adaptations to low Ta. This is a particularly interesting problem because of the interplay between thermoregulation and feeding. For example, when feeding strategies fail to produce sufficent food to maintain energy reserves, some birds reduce energy costs by lowering their body temperature (Tb). Also, exposure to cold not only activates the bird’s thermoregulatory defenses, but alters feeding strategies in a way that results in increased food intake if sufficient food is available in the environment. Furthermore, food intake has short term thermogenic consequences which can be significant in certain circumstances.
Picard’s Theorem

In this chapter, we shall prove the so-called “big” theorem of Picard which asserts that a holomorphic function with an (isolated) essential singularity assumes every value with at most one exception in any neighborhood of that singularity.
Design considerations for a hybrid fiber coax high-speed data access network

Hybrid fiber coax (HFC) technology provides a transmission medium that allows the implementation of high speed data access networks that can be deployed on a large scale to serve residential and business sites. It has characteristics that make it uniquely attractive for such services. This paper identifies the major components of an HFC data access network and the functions performed by each, and identifies the major system design goals and how they have been addressed in the CableComm, CyberSURFR and CableRouter products provided by Motorola, Inc.
Psychoanalytic Theory and Diverse Populations

Abstract Transference and countertransference and the unconscious are critical concepts from psychoanalytic theory that are central to social work education and training about the therapeutic process. However, assessment and treatment of diverse populations requires the incorporation of new theories and concepts for understanding the intersection of clinicians' and clients' racial and ethnic identities. Intersubjectivity, ethnocultural transference and countertransference and racial enactments are three key concepts that deepen psychoanalytic and psychodynamic work with racial and ethnic populations. These concepts are described and illustrated by a case example. This article supports the incorporation of this knowledge in the supervision, teaching and training of psychoanalysts, professional social workers, and other mental health professionals. Professional social workers in the American Psychoanalytic Association are encouraged to take a leadership role in supporting the inclusion of this knowledge in ...
The Geographic Dispersion of Google Search and the Market Reaction to Earnings Announcements

We examine the impact of distance on investor search behavior, and the effect of geographic dispersion of investor search on the stock market response around earnings announcements. We find significant “local bias” in Internet search behavior. While more visible firms have more geographically dispersed search, there is significant additional variation in search dispersion. Motivated by theories of network effects and psychological distance, we predict and find that firms with a higher geographic dispersion of search experience higher abnormal trading volume, lower abnormal bid-ask spreads, and larger earnings response coefficients at the time of earnings announcements, as well as weaker post-earnings-announcement drift. These results hold both cross-sectionally and when examining changes in dispersion or propensity-score matched pairs. In addition, path analysis suggests that both network effects and investor psychology are significant drivers of the return results. Overall, our results suggest that geographic proximity affects search, and that firms with more geographically dispersed search experience better market responses to earnings announcements.
Associations of intergenerational education with metabolic health in US Latinos

Author(s): Zeki Al Hazzouri, Adina; Haan, Mary N; Robinson, Whitney R; Gordon-Larsen, Penny; Garcia, Lorena; Clayton, Erin; Aiello, Allison E | Abstract: ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the association of intergenerational education and country of birth with waist circumference, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes among older adult Latinos in the United States.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging, a cohort of older adult Mexican-American Latinos (mean age = 70 years). At baseline, we measured waist circumference and assessed metabolic syndrome and diabetes according to established guidelines (N = 1,789). Participants were classified as US-born or foreign-born based on self-reported birth country. Participants reported their parents' education level (≥6 vs. l6 years) and their own educational attainment (≥12 vs. l12 years).ResultsUS-born participants who achieved high adult education, regardless of their parents' education, had 37% lower odds of type 2 diabetes compared to US-born participants with both low parental and personal education levels [e.g., multivariable-adjusted OR (parental low/adult high) = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.40, 0.99]. Among the foreign-born, only those with both high parental and high personal education levels had 55% lower odds of large waist circumference (OR = 0.45; 95% CI = 0.23, 0.88) compared to foreign-born participants with both low parental and personal education levels.ConclusionsIntergenerational exposure to low education levels may increase central obesity and type 2 diabetes differentially among US-born and foreign-born Latinos.
Dependence of Macroscopic Wetting on Nanoscopic Surface Textures

The hydrophobicity of a surface can be enhanced by physical textures. However, no existing theories of surface wetting can provide guidance to pinpoint the texture size requirement to achieve super/ultrahydrophobicity. Here, we show that the three-phase contact line tension, τ, is an important link to understand the dependence of macroscopic wetting on physical texture size in an ideal Cassie regime. Specifically, we show that texture size is the dominant parameter in determining surface hydrophobicity when the size approaches a limiting physical length scale, as defined by τ and the surface tension of the liquid.
Mobility of Li cations in X zeolites studied by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

Abstract 6 Li and 7 Li MAS NMR spectra of the dehydrated zeolites LiX-1.0 [(SiAlO 4 ) 96 Li 96 ] and LiX-1.25 [(Si 106 Al 86 O 384 )Li 86 ] contain three peaks belonging to cations in the crystallographic sites SI′, SII, and SIII. 7 Li MAS NMR spectra recorded at variable temperature show that the SIII cations are mobile at temperatures above 233 K in case of LiX-1.0, and above 273 K in case of LiX-1.25. The mobility of the SIII cations causes a shorter T 1 for SIII in comparison to the non-mobile six-ring cations of LiX-1.0 at 293 K. An activation energy of 13 kJ mol −1 was determined for the SIII cations in the temperature range of T =233–313 K. We predict that the Li ion conductivity of zeolite LiX-1.0 will be higher than the Li ion conductivity of any zeolite reported up to date.
Use of Simulink to evaluate the air-quality and energy performance of HRV-equipped residences in Fairbanks, Alaska

Abstract Mechanical ventilation systems in residences usually serve a single purpose, providing only a relatively small benefit compared to the capital cost. Polluted areas use mechanical ventilation to filter incoming air, cold regions use it to be able to recover the heat from the stale air going out. However, both issues – energy and air-quality – can be beneficially addressed together using one ventilation system in cold climate regions with air pollution problems, such as Fairbanks, Alaska. This paper presents a dynamic model for evaluating indoor PM 2.5 levels and energy consumption associated with ventilation. The model was verified by comparing the model-predicted real-time indoor PM 2.5 level with the actual level measured in a Fairbanks home and a good agreement ( r = 0.95) was found. Then, the model was used to study three ventilation scenarios of a typical home in Fairbanks—natural ventilation, using an HRV, and using an HRV with an additional particulate filter. The external cost associated with breathing the indoor PM 2.5 was also evaluated. The scenario with an HRV and an additional filter was shown to have about $380 lower annual energy cost than the scenario with natural ventilation and the saving in the PM 2.5 associated external cost was about $690 annually. The savings were shown to exceed the operational costs of the ventilation system.
Certified discourse? The politics of developing soy certification standards

Abstract Certification systems are an increasingly prominent feature of privatized, market-based environmental governance. While the potential of such systems to effectively lead to sustainable outcomes continues to be of concern to researchers, a growing body of literature focuses instead on the ways in which certification systems embody politics and reflect existing power relations. This paper contributes to this literature by analyzing the processes involved in developing production standards for the certification of ‘responsible’ soy, within the emergent certification system initiated by the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS). The Discourse Coalition Framework (DCF), highlights several aspects of the RTRS that illustrate how the process of developing standards for responsible soy has been highly contested and has featured political struggles. First, broad discourse, rather than specific technical knowledge, is the basis for cohesion of different stakeholders within the RTRS. Secondly, opponents have effectively challenged the RTRS at the level of broad discourse (as opposed to specific technical criteria), but the challenge has curtailed possibilities for widespread participation in the RTRS. Thirdly, the broad discourse of responsible soy has enabled unlikely alliances that have consolidated power with profoundly political effects. These findings provide an alternative basis for critically analyzing certification systems, beyond outcome effectiveness.
Adsorption and desorption kinetics of H2O on a fully hydroxylated SiO2 surface

Abstract The adsorption and desorption kinetics of H2O were studied on a well-defined, fully hydroxylated SiO2 surface. The measurements were performed on a planar, thin SiO2 film grown on Si(100) using chemical vapor deposition techniques. The experiments were conducted under ultra-high vacuum conditions and utilized laser-induced thermal desorption (LITD) techniques. The initial adsorption was characterized by a temperature-independent H2O sticking coefficient. At later times, the sticking coefficient approached zero as constant H2O coverages were obtained that decreased versus surface temperature. The desorption rate increased at higher H2O coverages and this coverage dependence was attributed to repulsive dipole-dipole interactions between partial SiO−…H3O+ surface species. Novel experiments using H2O16 and H2O18 were employed to measure the isothermal desorption rates at constant H2O coverage. Arrhenius plots of these isosteric rates revealed that the desorption activation energy decreased with H2O coverage and could be modeled by E d (θ)=21.3−15.4θ 1 2 kcal mol −1 . The larger desorption rate at higher H2O coverage participates in defining a constant coverage where the desorption and adsorption fluxes are equal during the adsorption experiments. The temperature dependence of the H2O desorption rate explains the decrease of this constant H2O coverage versus surface temperature. At coverages higher than θ≈0.3 ML, the desorption activation energy decreased below the H2O condensation energy. Consequently, H2O multilayer formation occurred at low temperatures at θ ≥ 0.3 ML. The adsorption and desorption kinetics were used to determine the steady-state H2O coverage on hydroxylated SiO2 surfaces. H2O coverages of θ ≥ 0.3 ML were predicted under typical ambient and stratospheric conditions.
Biometrics: Proving Ground for Image and Pattern Recognition

The emerging requirements of reliable and highly accurate personal identification in a number of government and commercial applications (e.g., international border crossings, access to buildings, laptops and mobile phones) have served as an impetus for a tremendous growth in biometric recognition technology. Biometrics refers to the automatic recognition of an individual by using anatomical or behavioral traits associated with that person. By using biometrics, it is possible to recognize a person based on who you are, rather than by what you possess (e.g., an ID card) or what you remember (e.g., a password). Most of the authentication systems based on passwords (knowledge-based security) and ID cards (token-based security) can be easily breached when a password is divulged to an unauthorized user or a card is stolen by an impostor. Biometric systems have addressed the security problems that plague traditional verification systems because they make use of a person's fingerprint, hand shape, iris, face and voice that are supposed to be unique to that person. Besides bolstering security, biometric systems also enhance user convenience by alleviating the need to design and remember multiple complex passwords. No wonder large scale systems have been deployed in such diverse applications as US-VISIT and entry to Disney Park, Orlando. The revenues for the global biometric recognition market are projected to grow from about US $2.1 billion in 2006 to US $5.7 billion in 2010. In spite of the fact that automatic biometric recognition systems based on fingerprints (called AFIS) have been used by law enforcement agencies worldwide for over 40 years, biometric recognition continues to remain a very difficult pattern recognition problem. A biometric system has to contend with problems related to noisy images (failure to enroll), lack of distinctiveness (finite error rate), large intra-class variations (false reject), and spoof attacks (system security). This talk will present an overview of biometrics, its advantages and limitations, state-of-the-art error rates and current research in sensor design, representation, fusion and security issues.
Variations in chemistry of acid-sulfate-chloride springs at Nevado del Ruiz volcano, Colombia: November 1985 through December 1988

Abstract The Nevado del Ruiz eruption of November 13 provided an opportunity for investigating the dynamic response of a well-developed volcanic hydrothermal system to a major plinian eruption. This study summarizes changes that have been observed in the chemical and isotopic compositions of acid-sulfate-chloride thermal waters at Nevado del Ruiz in the 37 months following the November 13, 1985 eruption, and discusses possible relations of these changes to the behavior of the volcano.
Toward a new theory of dreaming

A new Process Scoring System for dreams was developed and applied in an intensive single-S case study that spanned 5 1/2 years and 754 dreams. In it two hypotheses derived from a new transformative theory of dreams were tested. Both the transformation hypothesis, which holds that it is possible to shift from a symbolic to a directly expressive mode of dreaming, as well as the parallelism hypothesis, which holds that the expression of affect in dreams parallels the expression of affect in waking, were supported by the results. In contrast to Freud's analytic theory, which deals with content and interprets dreams as coded symbolic messages, our transformative theory focuses on dynamic dream processes and views dreams as pictures of feelings.
Approach to Acute Ataxia in Childhood: Diagnosis and Evaluation

Ataxia refers to motor incoordination that is usually most prominent during movement or when a child is attempting to maintain a sitting posture. The first part of the review focuses on the anatomic localization of ataxia--both within the nervous system and without--using a combination of historical features and physical findings. The remainder of the review discusses etiological considerations that vary depending on the age group under consideration. In infancy, certain specific diseases, such as opsoclonus myoclonus ataxia syndrome, must receive special mention because the underlying disease process may be amenable to surgical intervention. In the toddler- and school-age groups, certain conditions (such as stroke and acute cerebellitis) require immediate recognition and imaging, whereas others (such as post-infectious ataxia and concussion) require close follow-up. Finally, mention must be made of diseases outside of the central nervous system that can present with ataxia, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Comparison of actual vs. synthesized ternary phase diagrams for solutes of cryobiological interest.

Phase diagrams are of great utility in cryobiology, especially, those consisting of a cryoprotective agent (CPA) dissolved in a physiological salt solution. These ternary phase diagrams consist of plots of the freezing points of increasing concentrations of solutions of cryoprotective agents (CPA) plus NaCl. Because they are time-consuming to generate, ternary diagrams are only available for a small number of CPAs. We wanted to determine whether accurate ternary phase diagrams could be synthesized by adding together the freezing point depressions of binary solutions of CPA/water and NaCl/water which match the corresponding solute molality concentrations in the ternary solution. We begin with a low concentration of a solution of CPA + salt of given R (CPA/salt) weight ratio. Ice formation in that solution is mimicked by withdrawing water from it which increases the concentrations of both the CPA and the NaCl. We compute the individual solute concentrations, determine their freezing points from published binary phase diagrams, and sum the freezing points. These yield the synthesized ternary phase diagram for a solution of given R. They were compared with published experimental ternary phase diagrams for glycerol, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), sucrose, and ethylene glycol (EG) plus NaCl in water. For the first three, the synthesized and experimental phase diagrams agreed closely, with some divergence occurring as wt% concentrations exceeded 30% for DMSO and 55% for glycerol, and sucrose. However, in the case of EG there were substantial differences over nearly the entire range of concentrations which we attribute to systematic errors in the experimental EG data. New experimental EG work will be required to resolve this issue.
The 2011 Koiter Lecture: The Simple Logic of Classical Nonlinear Thermodynamic Shell Theory

A classical nonlinear thermodynamic theory of elastic shells is derived by specializing the three-dimensional equations of motion and the second law of thermodynamics to a very general, shell-like body. No assumptions are made on how unknowns vary through the thickness. Extensional and bending strains are derived from the equations of motion via the principle of virtual power. The Coleman-Noll procedure plus the second law applied to an assumed form of the first law leads to constitutive relations plus reduced forms of the first and second laws. To avoid potential ill conditioning, a Legendre-Fenchel transformation is used to define a mixed-energy density, the logical place to impose the constitutive Kirchhoff hypothesis, if desired, because such an energy density rests, ultimately, on experiments. The Ladeveze-Pecastaings treatment of three-dimensional edge effects to obtain accurate two-dimensional solutions is discussed.
Comment on Josiah Heyman’s “Capitalism and US policy at the Mexican border”

Josiah Heyman, whose work on the Mexico–U.S. border in the 1990s and early 2000s has informed much of my own thinking on the concept of global apartheid, has written an essay that serves as an important starting point for engaging in a whole series of debates on the question of how nation-state boundaries operate within the contemporary capitalist world system. The great strength of the essay is the way in which it provides some much-needed texture and nuance to some of the conceptual arguments that scholars like Nandita Sharma and I, and, indeed, Heyman himself have made elsewhere. One of the great challenges that theoretically informed scholars committed to solid empirical work always face is balancing the need to keep their eye on the ‘‘big picture’’ of what is going on while simultaneously remaining faithful to representing on-the-ground realities in all their complexity. I applaud Heyman for his attempt to confront this challenge explicitly by asking us to reconsider conceptually how we characterize the capitalist principles according to which U.S. border policies presently are put into practice, given how this call for reconceptualization is based on his own and others’ empirical work on state border enforcement bureaucracies. Of particular importance to this endeavor, especially for practitioners of holistic social sciences such as anthropology and sociology, is Heyman’s explicit statement of the ever-obvious but too-often neglected truism that ‘‘[c]apitalism is not just a functional economic machine, but an entire reality of social inequality.’’ It is to a fine-grained analysis of this ‘‘entire reality’’ that Heyman calls our attention. One of the apparent contradictions in capitalist border policy and practice that Heyman contemplates in the essay is what he regards as the U.S. government’s substantial underinvestment in facilitating legal cross-border movements of persons and commodities through land ports of entry along the border with Mexico and
Hairy Black Hole Solutions¶to SU(3) Einstein–Yang–Mills Equations

We give a rigorous proof of existence of infinitely many black hole solutions to the Einstein–Yang–Mills equations with gauge group SU(3). In the case that the radius of event horizon is not too small, we show that there is a black hole solution for any possible numbers of zeros of the two field variables.