cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of intracardiac recordings to determine the site of drug action in paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia

Abstract Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia most often results from atrioventricular (AV) reentry using an accessory AV pathway (Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome) or reentry within the region of the AV node. In AV reentry, using an accessory pathway, suppression of the tachycardia may be achieved by depressing either anterograde AV nodal conduction or retrograde accessory pathway conduction. Intracardiac recordings and programmed electrical stimulation have established that β-adrenergic antagonists and calcium channel blockers principally affect AV nodal conduction (anterograde limb of the reentrant circuit), whereas class IA and IC agents principally affect the accessory AV pathway (retrograde limb). Pharmacologic therapy has been more effective when directed at the limb in which conduction is most marginal at the tachycardia rate (weak limb). In individual patients, intracardiac recordings and programmed electrical stimulation can be used to identify the weak limb, indicating the class of agents most likely to be effective. Specialized techniques allowing direct recording of accessory pathway activation suggest that limitations in accessory pathway conduction may be explained by anatomic impediments. Conduction is most limited at the atrial interface of the accessory pathway in some patients, whereas in others the ventricular interface may be the limiting factor. Class IA and IC agents appear to have the greatest effect at sites where conduction is most tenuous, i.e., at the anatomic impediments. Similar considerations apply to AV nodal reentry. Anterograde slow AV nodal pathway conduction is most often depressed by digitalis preparations, β-adrenergic antagonists, and calcium channel blockers, whereas retrograde fast AV nodal pathway conduction is more often depressed by class IA and IC agents. Intracardiac recordings and programmed electrical stimulation can also be used in these patients to identify the weak limb and direct pharmacologic therapy. Direct catheter recordings of AV nodal conduction remain elusive, limiting knowledge of the different conduction properties of the anterograde and retrograde limbs and the site(s) of drug action. Studies in progress, comparing the retrograde AV nodal conduction time during tachycardia with that during ventricular pacing at the same rate, suggest that the His bundle may be incorporated in the reentrant circuit in some patients. It appears that verapamil more readily depresses retrograde fast pathway conduction in these patients than in those in whom the His bundle does not form part of the reentrant circuit, but the reasons for this are unknown.
VEGETATIVE EDGE EFFECTS AND POCKET GOPHER TUNNELS

Herbivory and soil movement by subterranean mammals influences structure and species composition of plant communities they inhabit. Tunnels constructed by pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius) in Kansas produced an edge effect wherein biomass of the dominant plant species, big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), increased adjacent to tunnels, then decreased, before increasing again. This wave-like phenomenon was attributed to reduction of biomass of big bluestem above tunnels releasing plants adjacent to tunnels from intraspecific competition. We tested for edge effects on vegetation over tunnels of Attwater's pocket gopher (Geomys attwateri) in a floristically diverse (>10 species of monocots, >30 species of dicots) prairie in coastal Texas. No community-level edge effect was detected; neither biomass, species richness, nor diversity of all plants, monocots alone, or dicots alone over tunnels differed significantly from that in quadrats 0 to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30, or 30 to 40 cm away from tunnels. Biomass of 4 individual species of plants prominent in the diet of G. attwateri did not show an edge effect. We conclude that tunnels of pocket gophers have a minor impact on plant biomass or community structure in the floristically diverse coastal prairie of Texas. This result contrasts to the negative effect of deposition of mounds above ground on plant biomass in prairies elsewhere in Texas and Kansas.
Spectral Modeling at the National Meteorological Center

Abstract A model with spectral representation in the horizontal and Arakawa quadratic conserving finite differencing in the vertical is formulated. The model includes a moisture cycle consisting of large-scale condensation processes, as well as a convective parameterization. Interactions with the underlying oceans include evaporation and sensible heating. Orography and surface friction are modeled and a semi-implicit time integration is employed. Experiments with global and hemispheric forecasts are described and evaluated.
The Pedagogy of the Imagination

The author takes an essay on the imagination by Italo Calvino as the cue for a reconsideration of the role of imagination in children’s thought and action and its educational implications. He emphasizes the value of interpretation, or critical scrutiny, as foremost among a teacher’s skills and central to curriculum design, teaching method and educational assessment, demonstrating the quality of children’s imaginative work, and how to value it, by means of a close reading of an eight year old’s brief med- itation on coming to school for the first time.
Redistribution of connexin 43 during cell division

Gap junction channels, once clustered into gap junction plaques, allow communication of essential metabolites between cells. Gap junction plaques have been reported to be lost from the cell surface during cell division. The mechanism involved in this loss of gap junction plaques during mitosis is unclear, but we hypothesize that an endoexocytotic mechanism that results in cytoplasmic double-membraned annular gap junction vesicles is involved. In this study, gap junction plaque changes in dividing cells were examined in SW-13 adrenocortical tumor cells. Endogenous gap junction protein, connexin 43 (Cx43), was detected with immunofluorescence, and live cell imaging was used to monitor green fluorescent protein-tagged Cx43 (Cx43-GFP). Mitotic stages were identified by Hoechst chromosomal staining. During interphase, large gap junction plaques were detected; however, the presence of these plaques decreased, whereas cytoplasmic puncta increased beginning with prophase. The cytoplasmic puncta were demonstrated with immunoelectron microscopy to be Cx43- positive annular gap junction vesicles. As gap junction plaques reformed at cleavage furrows between daughter cells, the number of annular gap junctions decreased during cytokinesis. The data are consistent with the mechanism of gap junction plaque loss during mitosis relying on an endoexocytotic process that results in annular gap junction vesicles formation. The rapid formation of gap junction plaques during cytokinesis points to the intriguing possibility of connexin recycling from annular gap junction vesicles to form gap junction plaques as mitosis is completed.
Schedule UTP Guidance – Initial Observations

In this article, the author discusses the IRS’s Schedule UTP guidance issued on September 24, 2010. He commends the IRS for the extensive guidance issued, and specifically expanding its policy of restraint. However, he believes several issues remain with the policy of restraint that may need to be considered by both corporations and the IRS. Specifically, the IRS may have been (i) too generous by not conditioning the expanded policy of restraint on adequate completion of Schedule UTP, and (ii) not generous enough by leaving opportunities for it to pursue tax reserves and tax opinions in certain cases.In addition, the author raises several questions surrounding the IRS’s new reserve ranking approach – a substitute for the maximum tax adjustment disclosure previously proposed in draft Schedule UTP. The most important question is likely to be whether the IRS obtains the information necessary to meet its stated goal of prioritizing audit selection and selecting issues for audit.
U.S. agricultural policy : the 1985 farm legislation

The expiration of agricultural commodity legislation in 1985 has resulted in debate on a new A¢Â€Âœfarm bill,A¢Â€Â providing the opportunity for evaluation of government activity in this industry.
New analytical advances for addressing healthful constituents in foods

The tools available to analyze the chemical composition of foods and other complex samples have developed rapidly, including commercial introduction of new instruments and many examples of utility. Areas of application include identification and quantification of newly uncovered bioactive chemicals and chemical classes, adulteration and authentication of foods, determining bioavailability of both parent and metabolites of specific interest, and addressing emerging environmental contaminant issues. FT-infrared and other spectroscopic techniques have seen increasing applications particularly in the area of in situ and/or screening analyses for the presence of specific classes of chemicals. Many of these tools are based upon mass spectrometry, with LC/MS and LC/MS/MS leading the way, but new applications of MALDI-TOF, isotope mass spectrometry, and highly sensitive specific ion detection systems are finding increasing applications. Advances have also been made in both NMR and MS-based metabolomics, in sample preparation techniques, and applications of analytical chemistry to biological analyzes such as microorganisms in foods, behavior in food processing, and during the digestion of foods in the body. This paper will include an overview of new/recent applications of methods and of areas where continuing method development research is needed to address current and emerging issues with food quality and safety.
Melanin-concentrating hormone activates signaling pathways in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Energy homeostasis is regulated by peripheral signals, such as leptin, and by several orexigenic and anorectic neuropeptides. Recently, we reported that the orexigenic neuropeptide melanin-concentr...
Controlling light speed in semiconductors

Rapid progress has been made in achieving control in group velocity of optical signals. We review advances of ultraslow and fast light in semiconductors and their applications. We introduce a new figure-of-merit: storage-bandwidth product. (2 pages)
Single versus successive pop-in modes in nanoindentation tests of single crystals

From recent nanoindentation experiments, two types of pop-in modes have been identified: a single pop-in with a large displacement excursion and a number of pop-ins with comparable and small displacement excursions. Theoretical analyses are developed here to study the roles played by indenter tip radius, pre-existing defect density, heterogeneous nucleation source type, and lattice resistance on the pop-in modes. The evolution of dislocation structures in earlier pop-ins provides input to modeling a stochastic, heterogeneous mechanism that may be responsible for the subsequent pop-ins. It is found that when the first pop-in occurs near theoretical shear stress, the pop-in mode is determined by the lattice resistance and tip radius. When the first pop-in occurs at low shear stress, whether the successive pop-in mode occurs depends on how the heterogeneous dislocation nucleation source density increases as compared to the increase of the total dislocation density. The above transitions are found to correlate well with the ratio of indenter tip radius to the mean spacing of dislocation nucleation sources.
What should be the proper size and number of optometric schools

The Health Professions Educational Assistance Act brought infusion of millions of dollars into optometric education at a time when the profession was ill prepared with inadequate space standards and cost studies. The profession presently faces the need to make major curricular changes at a time of severely constricted resources. Optometry, in a dynamic mode, needs to establish acceptable standards consistent with the profession's demands and goals for the 21st century.
Protecting Youth from Dangerous Media: Online Predators

Sexual exploitation of adolescents has been a long-standing moral and legal challenge. Recent technological developments such as Social Networking Sites have expanded the potential risk for exploitation, as the increased autonomy and privacy presented by the digital revolution aids adolescents’ attempt to fulfill their sexual curiosities, build relationships, and seek sensation. Online offenders also take advantage of the functions provided by the Social Networking Sites as they allow offenders to exploit adolescents by sampling potential victims and contacting them directly. As a result, online sexual exploitation through Social Networking Sites involves a dynamic interaction between victims and offenders. It is necessary to investigate both the factors associated with adolescents’ vulnerability as well as typologies of offenders. As one victim’s experience of sexual solicitation will differ from other victims, it is impossible and even detrimental to adopt a universal legal response to such cases. The chapter proposes legal reform that considers the offender–victim dynamics in addition to preventive measures.
The Core Gut Microbiome of the American Cockroach, Periplaneta americana, Is Stable and Resilient to Dietary Shifts.

ABSTRACT The omnivorous cockroach Periplaneta americana hosts a diverse hindgut microbiota encompassing hundreds of microbial species. In this study, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to examine the effect of diet on the composition of the P. americana hindgut microbial community. Results show that the hindgut microbiota of P. americana exhibit a highly stable core microbial community with low variance in compositions between individuals and minimal community change in response to dietary shifts. This core hindgut microbiome is shared between laboratory-hosted and wild-caught individuals, although wild-caught specimens exhibited a higher diversity of low-abundance microbes that were lost following extended cultivation under laboratory conditions. This taxonomic stability strongly contrasts with observations of the gut microbiota of mammals, which have been shown to be highly responsive to dietary change. A comparison of P. americana hindgut samples with human fecal samples indicated that the cockroach hindgut community exhibited higher alpha diversity but a substantially lower beta diversity than the human gut microbiome. This suggests that cockroaches have evolved unique mechanisms for establishing and maintaining a diverse and stable core microbiome. IMPORTANCE The gut microbiome plays an important role in the overall health of its host. A healthy gut microbiota typically assists with defense against pathogens and the digestion and absorption of nutrients from food, while dysbiosis of the gut microbiota has been associated with reduced health. In this study, we examined the composition and stability of the gut microbiota from the omnivorous cockroach Periplaneta americana. We found that P. americana hosts a diverse core gut microbiome that remains stable after drastic long-term changes in diet. While other insects, notably ant and bee species, have evolved mechanisms for maintaining a stable association with specific gut microbiota, these insects typically host low-diversity gut microbiomes and consume specialized diets. In contrast, P. americana hosts a gut microbiota that is highly species rich and consumes a diverse solid diet, suggesting that cockroaches have evolved unique mechanisms for developing and maintaining a stable gut microbiota.
SMP: Building a Community of Women in Mathematics

On the surface, the Carleton College Summer Mathematics Program for Women Undergraduates (SMP) looks like many other summer programs: students spend several weeks engaging with mathematics with peers from a variety of institutions. However, SMP offers both formal and informal mentoring activities that go far beyond one summer, providing support to participants through critical stages of their mathematical careers. The result is a strong community of successful women in mathematics.
Europe: Grenoble builds up nanotech research

Ambitious plans to turn Grenoble into a European capital for micro- and nanotechnology research were given the green light last month. The French atomic-energy commission (CEA) and Grenoble's local authorities plan to build a new FFr 850m (about £82m) research "pole" that will act as an incubator for high-tech start-up companies. The new facilities, which will allow businesses to carry out joint research projects on a single site, will be complete by 2005. They will include some 60000 m2 of new labs and office space for over 3500 researchers, industrialists and students.
Oxygen, Hydrogen, Sulfur, and Carbon Isotopes in the Pea Ridge Magnetite-Apatite Deposit, Southeast Missouri, and Sulfur Isotope Comparisons to Other Iron Deposits in the Region

Oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur, and carbon isotopes have been analyzed in the Pea Ridge magnetite-apatite deposit, the largest historic producer among the known iron deposits in the southeast Missouri portion of the 1.5 to 1.3 Ga eastern granite-rhyolite province. The data were collected to investigate the sources of ore fluids, conditions of ore formation, and provenance of sulfur, and to improve the general understanding of the copper, gold, and rare earth element potential of iron deposits regionally. The δ 18 O values of Pea Ridge magnetite are 1.9 to 4.0‰, consistent with a model in which some magnetite crystallized from a melt and other magnetite—perhaps the majority—precipitated from an aqueous fluid of magmatic origin. The δ 18 O values of quartz, apatite, actinolite, K-feldspar, sulfates, and calcite are significantly higher, enough so as to indicate growth or equilibration under cooler conditions than magnetite and/or in the presence of a fluid that was not entirely magmatic. A variety of observations, including stable isotope observations, implicate a second fluid that may ultimately have been meteoric in origin and may have been modified by isotopic exchange with rocks or by evaporation during storage in lakes. Sulfur isotope analyses of sulfides from Pea Ridge and seven other mineral deposits in the region reveal two distinct populations that average 3 and 13‰. Two sulfur sources are implied. One was probably igneous melts or rocks belonging to the mafic- to intermediate-composition volcanic suite that is present at or near most of the iron deposits; the other was either melts or volcanic rocks that had degassed very extensively, or else volcanic lakes that had trapped rising magmatic gases. The higher δ 34 S values correspond to deposits or prospects where copper is noteworthy—the Central Dome portion of the Boss deposit, the Bourbon deposit, and the Vilander prospective area. The correspondence suggests that (1) sulfur either limited the deposition of copper or was cotransported with copper, and (2) sulfur isotope analysis may be useful in evaluating southeast Missouri iron deposits for copper and possibly for gold.
Risk assessment of various insecticides used for management of Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri in Florida citrus, against honey bee, Apis mellifera

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is a major pest of citrus trees worldwide. A wide variety of insecticides are used to manage D. citri populations within citrus groves in Florida. However, in areas shared by citrus growers and beekeepers the use of insecticides may increase the risks of Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) loss and contaminated honey. The objective of this research was to determine the environmental toxicity of insecticides, spanning five different modes of action used to control D. citri, to A. mellifera. The insecticides investigated were imidacloprid, fenpropathrin, dimethoate, spinetoram and diflubenzuron. In laboratory experiments, LD50 values were determined and ranged from 0.10 to 0.53 ng/μl for imidacloprid, fenpropathrin, dimethoate and spinetoram. LD50 values for diflubenzuron were >1000 ng/μl. Also, a hazard quotient was determined and ranged from 1130.43 to 10893.27 for imidacloprid, fenpropathrin, dimethoate, and spinetoram. This quotient was <0.447 for diflubenzuron. In field experiments, residual activity of fenpropathrin and dimethoate applied to citrus caused significant mortality of A. mellifera 3 and 7 days after application. Spinetoram and imidacloprid were moderately toxic to A. mellifera at the recommended rates for D. citri. Diflubenzuron was not toxic to A. mellifera in the field as compared with untreated control plots. Phenoloxidase (PO) activity of A. mellifera was higher than in untreated controls when A. mellifera were exposed to 14 days old residues. The results indicate that diflubenzuron may be safe to apply in citrus when A. mellifera are foraging, while most insecticides used for management of D. citri in citrus are likely hazardous under various exposure scenarios.
Margaret Mead's Other Samoa: Rereading Social Organization of Manu'a

Derek Freeman focused his attention on Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa to such an extent that her ethnography of Samoa, Social Organization of Manu'a , has been neglected. This professional monograph demonstrates Mead's credibility as an ethnographer and as a modern student of social organization. While Freeman believed that Mead was young, naA¯ve, and gullible, a closer examination of Social Organization of Manu'a indicates that she was energetic, resourceful, perceptive, and theoretically sophisticated. Any evaluation of Mead's Samoan research should include this enduring contribution to our knowledge of the islands.
Larvae of the pycnogonids Ammothea striata (Möbius, 1902) and Ammothea carolinensis Leach, 1814 described from archived specimens

The lecithotrophic larva of two species in the family Ammotheidae Dohrn, 1881, Ammothea striata (Mobius, 1902) and Ammothea carolinensis Leach, 1814 are described from archived specimens. Larvae were recovered from the ovigers of adult male specimens. The three post-embryonic instars from second to fourth of A. carolinensis were present on the archived specimens. Two stages of A. striata larvae were present, presumably the second and third post-embryonic instars. Larvae were studied using a scanning electron microscope. The length of larvae and measurements of the cheliphores, larval appendages II and III are reported. The development of the first two walking legs is reported for the second through the fourth instars of A. carolinensis and second and third instars of A. striata. Larval appendages III show varying patterns of reduction during the post-embryonic development of the members of the genus Ammothea. The patterns present in A. striata and A. carolinensis are compared to those found in five other members of the genus Ammothea, A. gigantea Gordon, 1932, A. glacialis (Hodgson, 1907), A. longispina Gordon, 1932, A. bicorniculata Stiboy-Risch, 1992, and A. spinosa (Hodgson, 1907). Two other species from the family Ammotheidae, Tanystylum bealensis and T. orbiculare Wilson, 1878, are also compared. How to cite this article: Fornshell J.A. 2014. Larvae of the pycnogonids Ammothea striata (Mobius, 1902) and Ammothea carolinensis Leach, 1814 described from archived specimens // Invert. Zool. Vol.11. No.2. P.325–334.
Deep Text: Using Text Analytics To Conquer Information Overload, Get Real Value From Social Media, and Add Big(Ger) text to Big Data: Reamy, Tom. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2016, xvi + 424 pp., $59.50, ISBN 978-157387529-5.

In Deep Text, Tom Reamy, a professional text analytics consultant and erstwhile Information Architect for Charles Schwab’s corporate intranet, attempts a broad overview of current practices and imp...
Multiple mechanisms underlying neuroprotection by secretory phospholipase A2 preconditioning in a surgically induced brain injury rat model.

Abstract Background Intra-operative bleeding, post-operative brain edema and neuroinflammation are major complications in patients with surgical brain injury (SBI). Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) is the upstream enzyme which initiates the PLA2, 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) inflammatory pathway. We hypothesized PLA2preconditioning (PPC) prior to SBI can activate endogenous anti-inflammatory responses to protect against SBI. This study evaluated if PPC can ameliorate neurosurgical complications and elucidated PPC-mediated possible protective mechanisms in a rat SBI model. Methods Total 105 adult male Sprague Dawley rats were used for this study. SBI was induced by partial resection of the right frontal lobe. PLA2 or 0.9% NaCl was injected via rats' tail vein for 3 consecutive days prior to SBI. For mechanism study, a selective PLA2 inhibitor, Manoalide and 5-LOX inhibitor, Zileuton were injected intravenously with PPC to elucidate the role of PLA2 and 5-LOX in PPC-mediated anti-inflammatory effects. Brain water content (BWC) and lung water content, neurological tests, ELISA, western blot, immunohistochemistry, white blood cells (WBC) count, and spectrophotometric assay for intra-operative hemorrhage volume were evaluated. Results First, PPC reduced brain water content, intra-operative bleeding, and improved neurological function after SBI. Second, PPC decreased 5-LOX expression and brain leukocyte infiltration, while increasing glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in the peri-resection brain tissue after SBI. Third, PPC induced peripheral inflammation represented by mild pulmonary inflammation and increased peripheral blood WBC count and LTB4 level. Lastly, PPC increased blood glucose concentration and glucocorticoid levels after SBI. In addition, PPC mediated above-mentioned changes were partially reversed by administration of PLA2 inhibitor, Manoalide and 5-LOX inhibitor, Zileuton. Conclusions PPC conferred neuroprotection against SBI via multi-target involvement induced anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
Predicting Ion Association in Sodium Electrolytes: A Transferrable Model for Investigating Glymes

Given the prior success in developing lithium batteries for similar purposes, many of the same types of solvent molecules and salt pairings have been investigated as electrolytes in sodium-ion and sodium–oxygen systems. Of these candidates, ether-containing electrolytes have emerged as a promising material as a result of their electrochemical stability and utility in tuning the pertinent electrochemistry. The ability for ethers to chelate metal ions provides a unique feature to ion solvation structure; however its role in changing the association of ions in solution has not been fully explored. By using computational simulations validated by FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, detailed descriptions of the changes to solvation structure as a result of chelation and concentration were investigated for a series of ethers (monoglyme to tetraglyme). From these simulations it can clearly be seen that with increasing chelation, ion association is diminished in a nonlinear fashion. For a monoglyme solvent, sodiums are ent...
A prototype tool for generating and executing test cases from UML-based interface behavior descriptions

We present the Configurable Advanced Verification of Software (CAVS), a prototype tool that automatically generates an efficient set of test cases from descriptions of required interface behavior based on Unified Modeling Language (UML) artifacts. The input to CAVS consists of enhanced UML activity diagrams that define the required behavior of a software component as observed on its interfaces. CAVS automatically analyzes activity diagrams and uses the choice-relation framework to partition the input space. Partitions are selected to define a reduced set of abstract test cases by calculating a covering array. Concrete test cases are generated by using boundary value analysis to select specific values for each partition in the covering array. The test cases are then executed using cloud computing technologies. Lastly, expected outputs are automatically verified.
Nanomaterials in Healthcare

The strength of a nation invariably depends upon the strength of every individual. Healthy citizens make a healthy and strong society. As a society, we started looking at expensive macroscopic high-tech solutions to solve many of our problems. With growing interests in the field of nanotechnology, looking microscopically at the problem to come up with solutions has generated a paradigm shift. Nanomaterials are currently being used in every branch of science, and particularly their use in healthcare opened up a new horizon to provide quality care to patients. The tools and therapies for diagnosis and prognosis of diseases and symptoms revolve around three important aspects – diagnostics, devices and drugs. Nanomaterial applications are now found in all these three aspects and are being effectively used in health care. New discoveries and inventions in the field of nanohealth care point to a bright future for the wellbeing of mankind. An introduction to nanomaterials in healthcare has been presented in this review.
Fault Isolation of an Electro-mechanical Linear Actuator

We apply model-based fault-isolation to an electromechanical linear actuator, and demonstrate its use on an unmanned underwater vehicle mass-shifter. Models incorporating the physics of the motor and of the load, and the effect of the servo-controller, are derived for nominal operations, overload faults, and coupling loss faults. A simple parameter identification method based on close-form solutions during startup and at steady-state is used, and is shown to produce good agreement with measurements. Fault-isolation is done by representing the system as a time-dependent mixture of its models, and selecting the model with the smallest error residual. We tested this in three situations – an actual overload fault, an actual coupling fault, and a false-alarm – and found that the correct model was successfully isolated in each case.
Does a Relationship Exist Between Lower Body Power and Balance Scores Among Older Adults

CONTEXT Falls are the second-leading cause of unintentional injury and death worldwide. OBJECTIVE To determine if a relationship exists between lower body power scores and center of pressure (CoP) and limits of stability (LoS) scores. METHODS A one-shot case study design (n = 13) was selected for the investigation. All participants were assessed stability scores via computerized posturography to determine CoP and LoS balance scores. Participants stood on a perturbed surface with their eyes open and closed. An experimental stair ramp with a switch mat timing device was used to determine lower body power scores in watts. RESULTS There was a strong correlation (r = 0.725, p = 0.005) between the posterior (LoS) plane and relative peak power. An intraclass R revealed a strong correlation among the three trials (R = 0.831) performed on the stair ramp. CONCLUSION Muscle power output and LoS scores have moderate to strong correlations with balance scores in older adults.
Evaluation of Chemical Treatments against the black carpenter ant (Camponotus pennsylvanicus)

The Camponotus pennsylvanicus ant plays a beneficial role ecologically because these ants nest in dead wood and aid in its decay. However, Camponotus pennsylvanicus ants are a common pest. They can damage the structure of houses and other infrastructure. Therefore, ensuring pest control is an important issue. Current Camponotus pennsylvanicus control measures include baits, chemical treatments, and preventative sprays (Carney 1969). In this experiment, four commonly used and readily available killing agents were tested, each with a different chemical makeup (Theil and Kohler 2016). The four different killing agents used were dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (Hot Shot), imiprothrin (.060%) (Raid), prallethrin (.02%) (No Pest), and water ammonium lauryl sulfate (Ajax/ water). The ant killing agents were tested by collecting the Camponotus pennsylvanicus ant in petri dishes. Eighty specimens were collected and these specimens were separately exposed to the four different ant killing agents during three individual trials. The efficiency of each pesticide was evaluated by comparing total averaged percent of killed ants for each killing agent gathered from the trials conducted. Data collected indicated that dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride is the most effective pesticide among the chemical treatments used against Camponotus pennsylvanicus.
Aluminum Alloys in Autobodies: Sources and Sinks

Emissions from the transportation industry combined with increasing consumption of materials have inspired the automotive industry to use lightweight materials in auto-bodies. A wide diversity of materials is being used, for example, aluminum, magnesium, and plastic composites. This light weighting approach is a proven sustainability strategy improving fuel economy and thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, increasing the number of differing types of materials in cars is actually complicating recycling operations. Critical metals used as alloying additions are dissipatively lost in the recycling process and can also negatively impact recycling rates by accumulating as tramp elements. This work combines compositional characterization of automotive materials, material flow analysis, and techno-economic assessment to better understand this problem and inform solutions. Results show that both technical solutions like sensor-based sorting and operational solutions like compositionally based blending can decrease material losses, thereby reducing the negative impacts and inching closer to a circular economy.
Self-assembly of donor-acceptor conjugated polymers induced by miscible 'poor' solvents.

The solution-phase self-assembly of donor–acceptor conjugated polymer (DACP) poly[2,5-(2-octyldodecyl)-3,6-diketopyrrolopyrrole-alt-5,5-(2,5-di(thien-2-yl))thieno[3,2b]thiophene] (DPPDTT), is demonstrated and investigated from binary solvent mixtures. It is found that the polarity of a miscible ‘poor’ solvent (e.g. methanol, dimethyl sulfoxide), which is added to a stable polymer solution in chloroform (i.e. ‘good’ solvent), strongly affects the resulting nanostructure. Nanoribbons are formed by the addition of certain polar (e.g. methanol) ‘poor’ solvents to the mixture, while amorphous aggregates are formed upon addition of non-polar ‘poor’ solvent, such as n-hexane. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning transmission electron microscopy (sTEM) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) are used to characterize the shape and size of the nanostructures. Experiments show complex self-assembly in solution occurs for DACPs when compared to conjugated homopolymers. SANS results also provide quantitative analysis of DACP conformations in solution before self-assembly occurs. The addition of different polar ‘poor’ solvents could also alter the size of the assembled nanostructures, as well as the fraction of polymers that self-assemble. The surface orientation and the crystal structure of the nanostructures is also probed by grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS). Organic field effect transistors (OFETs) are used to characterize charge transport properties for nanoribbons where enhancement of the average hole mobility is observed.
Perceptions of Law Enforcement Towards Juvenile Offenders [Clark Atlanta University]

In the most recent statistics, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJPD, 2017) recorded that in 2016 law enforcement agencies in the U.S made an estimated 856,130 arrests of persons under age 18. The topic of juvenile offenders has been a controversial debate for several years. Many argue that juveniles are not as fully developed mentally as adults and their crimes are generated from a youth’s mentality. This qualitative study explores the perceptions of juveniles by police officers. The purpose is to identify whether age, or the crime committed, and the outcome of that crime influences their perceptions. Additionally, exploring the police officers’ beliefs regarding the disciplinary actions for juveniles is an important consideration because it may influence their first contact treatment of the juvenile offender. The research questions that lead this study are: What are the perceptions of police officers about the disciplinary punishments for juvenile offenders? Purposeful sampling was used for the study. Participants were eligible if they were (1) worked as law enforcement for a minimum of 5 years, and (2) worked with juvenile offenders directly. A sample of 5 law enforcement officers, considered key informants, who worked with juvenile offenders, participated in this study. Data analyses was conducted with the Atlas Ti. Validation strategies such as member checking, rich thick descriptions, and reflexivity were used. Results of the overall themes indicated that most favor having early intervention and prevention programs for juveniles as well as rehabilitation instead of incarceration. Results should aid juvenile justice officials and use the perspectives inform interventions to prevent recidivism.
Do latex and resin canals spur plant diversification? Re-examining a classic example of escape and radiate coevolution

The association between increased lineage diversification rates and the evolution of latex and resin canals is widely cited as a paradigmatic example of Ehrlich and Raven’s ‘escape‐and‐radiate’ hypothesis of co‐evolution. However, it has been over a quarter‐century since the original study, and updates to phylogenetic comparative methods, plant molecular systematics, and phenotypic data warrant a reassessment of this classic finding. We gathered data on latex and resin canals across 345 families and 986 genera of vascular plants and conducted a multi‐scale test of the association between these traits and lineage diversification rates. At a broad scale (across clades), we used sister‐clade comparisons to test whether 28 canal‐bearing clades had higher net diversification rates than their canal‐lacking sister clades. At a finer scale (within clades), we used ancestral state reconstructions and phylogenetic models of lineage diversification rates to examine the relationship between trait evolution and the timing of diversification rate shifts in two better‐characterized clades – Araceae and Papaveraceae. At both scales of our analyses we found poor support for the predicted relationship between diversification and the evolution of latex and resin canals. Follow‐up analyses clarified that the qualitative change between our results and those of the Farrell et al.’s classic study is not the result of different phylogenetic comparative methods. Instead, the differences are attributable to updates to plant systematic hypotheses and new data on laticifers and resin canal presence/absence. Synthesis. Our updated study reveals that there is no longer strong evidence for latex or resin canals as general, consistently replicable drivers of species diversity across plants. However, we cannot rule out a relationship in all groups. We therefore argue that theoretical and empirical work aimed at understanding ecological factors that condition ‘escape‐and‐radiate’ dynamics will allow for more nuanced tests of the hypothesis in the future.
Polyhedral Object Recognition

We consider in this chapter the problem of recognition and localization of polyhedral objects from range images. Of particular interest are scenes that contain multiple polyhedral objects with objects partially occluding each other. As we have pointed out in the previous chapter, global shape descriptors are ineffective in the face of occlusion and clutter. Recognition-via-localization using only local shape descriptors in conjunction with a proper constraint propagation technique proves to be effective for solving this particular problem. We consider both the interpretation tree (IT) search and the generalized Hough transform in this chapter. In particular, we show that the use of qualitative features can achieve a significant reduction in the combinatorial complexity of the search space of scene interpretations, resulting in fewer spurious scene interpretation hypotheses being generated and greater robustness and efficiency for the recognition and localization process.
Localized Shear Near The Tip of a Crack in Finite Elastostatics

This paper describes some recent results concerning crack problems in finite anti-plane shear for a class of incompressible elastic materials for which the associated equilibrium equations lose ellipticity at sufficiently severe deformations. The principal feature of the elastic fields arising in these problems is the presence near a crack-tip of curves bearing discontinuities in displacement gradient and stress.
A Descriptive Analysis of Spinal Cord Arteriovenous Malformations: Clinical Features, Outcomes, and Trends in Management

Background Spinal arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are an abnormal interconnection of vasculature in the spine than can lead to significant neurologic deficit if left untreated. Objective The objective of this study was to characterize how patients with spinal AVM initially presented, what treatment options were used, and their overall outcomes on a national scale. Methods The MarketScan database was queried to identify adult patients diagnosed with a spinal AVM from 2007 to 2015. Trends in management, postoperative complication rates, and costs were determined. Results In total, 976 patients were identified with having a diagnosis of a spinal AVM. Patients were more commonly treated with an open incision than an embolization (40.1% vs. 15.4%). The overall complication rate was 33.61%. Spinal AVM admissions have been stable over the past decade, and mean cost of hospitalization has risen from of $48,700 in 2007 to $71,292 in 2015. Patients who underwent open surgery had a greater complication rate than those treated with embolization (31.15% vs. 18.25%, P Conclusions Costs of spinal AVM management continue to rise, even when treatment modalities have reduced length of stay significantly. Open surgery may lead to more postoperative complications and a greater length of stay than endovascular approaches. Further studies should look to identify the efficacy of endovascular approaches for spinal cord AVMs, particularly in complex spinal AVM traditionally treated with open surgery and to isolate factors leading to the elevated hospitalization costs.
RADIOISOTOPE-DILUTION CURVES AS AN ADJUNCT TO CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION.

Abstract A method of recordin externally monitored radioisotope-dilution curves at cardiac catheterization has been described. It was found to be reliable and had marked practical value as a routine procedure in the detection and localization of the site of left to right shunts. The geometry of the detection system was defined and correlated with the anatomic structures viewed by the heart and lung probes. Standards for normal curves were established in a series of patients without shunts. Radioisotope curves were compared with arterial dye-dilution curves and blood oxygen data for the detection and localization of the site of left to right shunts. All three methods detected shunts which comprised greater than 25 per cent of total pulmonary blood flow. The isotope and dye methods were found to be equally sensitive in the detection of small shunts if the indicator was injected into the pulmonary artery. All shunts detected by arterial dye-dilution curves were also detected by radioisotope-dilution curves. The reliability of the method was established and its practical usefulness shown. The major advantages of the radioisotope technic without blood sampling were found in severely ill young infants in whom the technic provided a quick and reliable method for the detection and localization of the site of the shunt.
Keeping the Rule of Law Simple: Comments on Gowder, The Rule of Law in the Real World

Let me start by just stating my experience of reading The Rule o f Law in the Real World because it will help make sense of the structure of my remarks. The first third of the book: I am utterly convinced, even blown away, by the elegance and persuasiveness of the argument and the analysis; even when there is merely a summary, I am helped and bettered by it. The second third of the book: I am inclined, based on the enormous goodwill generated by the first third of the book to accept-almost uncritically-the historical discussion and the conclusions drawn from it. The third part of the book: This is not written for me, probably right, probably very useful, but less interesting to me. The conclusion of the book: Back to being utterly convinced, even blown away, by the elegance and persuasiveness of the argument. But it is with the conclusion of the book that I start getting doubts-and start seeing the outlines of my criticisms of the book. Does what Paul says in the conclusion follow from what he said earlier in the book, especially in the first part-the part I so completely agreed with? In a sentence, I worry that the conclusion runs further ahead than the normative framework Paul has laid out can take him. My Comment has four parts. In the first Part, I raise a general question about the nature of the rule of law. Is it an essential part of the rule of law that it be simple? And do we, therefore, have reason to resist-to even suspect-accounts of the rule of law that are too complex? I tentatively conclude that there really is something to the idea that the rule of law should be simple, which reveals something important about it as a concept. In the second Part, I try to flesh out my worries that Paul's arguments in the conclusion of his book may not be something he can get without sneaking in additional principles other than the rule of law. I want to be able to attack the things he attacks using the tools he uses, but I am not sure we can; I also wonder how much of a loss it is if we cannot. In the third and fourth Parts, I move outside of Paul's book, to maybe suggest two different things he could have concluded on (and I wish he had, and hope he will address): incarceration and immigration.
General interest, popular, and trade works: informing the citizenry

Abstract There are a number of sources from which popular, general interest, and consumer-oriented monographs about the environment, including those related to toxic chemicals and agents, environmental health and medicine, and hazardous materials can be located. The online or digital versions of bibliographic databases, such as OCLC First Search and Books in Print are among the most useful. Over the years a number of other publications serving as locators to the environmental literature (anthologies and bibliographic guides) have appeared. Select environmental anthologies serving as guides to the literature are provided here.