cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In Vitro Calcification of Immature Bovine Articular Cartilage: Formation of a Functional Zone of Calcified Cartilage.

INTRODUCTION: The zone of calcified cartilage (ZCC) anchors articular cartilage (AC) to subchondral bone through a layer of intermediate stiffness. The regulation and functional consequences of cartilage calcification may vary with depth from the articular surface. The hypothesis of this study was that the in vitro calcification of immature AC occurs selectively in the deep region and is associated with a local increase in stiffness. METHODS: AC and growth plate cartilage (GPC) from calves were incubated in DMEM, 1% FBS, 100μg/mL ascorbate, and ±10mM s-glycerophosphate (sGP) for up to 3 weeks. To assess the time course and effects of cell viability and sGP, full-depth strips of AC and GPC were analyzed by histology, indentation, and (45)Ca(++) uptake. To assess the effect of tissue zone, disks harvested from surface and deep zone AC and from reserve and hypertrophic zone of GPC were incubated independently and analyzed by compression and for (45)Ca(++) uptake and biochemical components. RESULTS: The deep ~20% of immature AC calcified within 3 weeks, with calcification dependent on cell viability and sGP. Mineral was deposited continuously around cells in AC but only between cell columns in GPC. The deep zone of AC exhibited a compressive modulus of 0.53 MPa after sGP-induced calcification, ~4-fold stiffer than AC incubated without sGP. CONCLUSIONS: Cartilage explants exhibit inherent zone-specific calcification processes, resulting in an increase in stiffness associated with cartilage calcification. Such properties may be useful for engineering a biomimetic ZCC tissue to integrate cartilaginous tissue to bone, thereby forming a mechanically functional osteochondral unit.
The Impact of Ocean Surface Fluxes on a TOGA COARE Convective System

Abstract A two-dimensional cloud-resolving model is linked with a TOGA COARE flux algorithm to examine the impact of the ocean surface fluxes on the development of a tropical squall line and its associated precipitation processes. The model results show that the 12-h total surface rainfall amount in the run excluding the surface fluxes is about 80% of that for the run including surface fluxes (domain-averaged rainfall, 3.4 mm). The model results also indicate that latent heat flux or evaporation from the ocean is the most influential factor among the three fluxes (latent heat, sensible heat, and momentum) for the development of the squall system. The average latent and sensible heat fluxes in the convective (disturbed) region are 60 and 11 W m−2 larger, respectively, than those of the nonconvective (clear) region due to the gust wind speed, a cool pool near the surface, and drier air from downdrafts associated with the convective activity. These results are in good agreement with observations. In addition...
EFFICACY OF ORAL SULFADIMETHOXINE AGAINST TWO GREGARINE PARASITES, PROTOMAGALHAENSIA GRANULOSAE AND GREGARINA CUBENSIS (APICOMPLEXA: EUGREGARINIDA), INFECTING THE DEATH'S HEAD COCKROACH, BLABERUS DISCOIDALIS

Gregarines are common parasites of insects in culture, but no effective chemotherapeutic or prophylactic control protocol has been demonstrated. Sulfadimethoxine was administered in 5- and 7-day treatments to Death's Head cockroaches (Blaberus discoidalis) infected with Gregarina cubensis and Protomagalhaensia granulosae to test the efficacy of this sulfonamide against gregarine infection. Sulfadimethoxine significantly reduced the mean intensity of both G. cubensis and P. granulosae. Sulfadimethoxine treatment reduced gregarine intensity by 80% to 85% but had no significant effect on gametocyst production, suggesting that sulfonamide toxicity is directed primarily at sporozoites, trophozoites, and perhaps young gamonts. The possible use of sulfadimethoxine to produce gregarine-free insect cultures and the potential utility of gregarines as target organisms for screening pharmacologically active compounds for use against other intestinal apicomplexans are discussed.
Effective effector generation of CD8+ T cells and NK cells: A need for T-bet and ZEB-too

![Figure][1] Insight from Sara Hamilton (left) and Stephen Jameson (right) Both T cells and NK cells employ complex networks of transcriptional regulators to control their differentiation and functional prowess. In this issue, three studies report that the transcription factor ZEB2 is
Methods for Finding Saddle Points and Minimum Energy Paths

The problem of finding minimum energy paths and, in particular, saddle points on high dimensional potential energy surfaces is discussed. Several different methods are reviewed and their efficiency compared on a test problem involving conformational transitions in an island of adatoms on a crystal surface. The focus is entirely on methods that only require the potential energy and its first derivative with respect to the atom coordinates. Such methods can be applied, for example, in plane wave based Density Functional Theory calculations, and the computational effort typically scales well with system size. When the final state of the transition is known, both the initial and final coordinates of the atoms can be used as boundary conditions in the search. Methods of this type include the Nudged Elastic Band, Ridge, Conjugate Peak Refinement, Drag method and the method of Dewar, Healy and Stewart. When only the initial state is known, the problem is more challenging and the search for the saddle point represents also a search for the optimal transition mechanism. We discuss a recently proposed method that can be used in such cases, the Dimer method.
Five SGD Funding Rules of Commitment

This article focuses on policy documents of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) that provide guidance to SLPs facing the various issues and challenges of conducting AAC evaluati...
Targeting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR Pathway in AIDS-Associated Malignancies

The PI3K/Akt pathway is highly activated in a wide variety of human cancers. Dysregulated PI3K signaling plays roles in many aspects of tumorigenesis including apoptotic resistance, uncontrolled proliferation, metastasis, and angiogenesis. AIDS-associated malignancies such as Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) display activated PI3K, Akt, and mTOR kinases and thus may be susceptible to treatment modalities that inhibit this important signaling pathway. In this chapter, we discuss the use of mTOR inhibitors to treat both KS and NHL.
Stock Option Timing: Investigation and Implication

Companies grant compensatory option awards to provide retention and long term value creation incentives, aligning long term interests of shareholders and managers. The options issued by publicly traded companies in the US tend to be similar in design. Generally, the options are issued pursuant to a shareholder approved stock option plan, have an exercise price equal to the fair market value of the stock on the date of grant, become exercisable over a period of time, and expire at a fixed point in time after the date of grant. Academic work, bolstered by the financial press, has provided a body of evidence that suggests that many companies have issued options at prices below the market price at the date of grant. Such conduct, while not necessarily illegal, could give rise to a series of issues which have ranged from the grant of immediate compensation as opposed to retention and incentive compensation, to violating a corporation's stock option plan, to the improper corporate disclosure of compensation and therefore earnings, ultimately resulting in potential violations of tax and securities laws. These concerns have cast both ethical and legal clouds over many companies. This paper will review the recent academic literature on the topic of stock option backdating. It is clear that several academicians were instrumental in providing the early insight into this practice that has led to the public scandal. While the literature will show that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) has had a substantial effect in altering certain stock option practices it will also highlight that there are still a number of open issues needing the attention of corporate boards of directors. The academic work reviewed in this paper focuses on stock option grant manipulations of various types and their implications. Such manipulations include information timing, backdating of stock option grant dates and altering the exercise dates of stock options. The literature reviewed also discusses the economic impact of such events, including different means of calculating the manipulation of these grants, and the loss of overall market capitalization of the implicated firms. Other papers focus on director grants that are associated with opportunistic timing and the migration of backdating across firms due to board interlocks and weak corporate governance.
The revolution and unanswered questions: commentary on an article by Beat Hintermann, MD, et al.: "HINTEGRA revision arthroplasty for failed total ankle prostheses".

With the relatively recent publication of the long-term results of total ankle replacement1, as well as the efficacy of this procedure compared with ankle arthrodesis2, total ankle replacement is rapidly becoming a viable option in the treatment of degenerative disorders of the ankle. As more orthopaedic surgeons continue to push the boundaries and as more residencies and fellowships are training surgeons in this procedure, there will obviously be an increase in the number of total ankle replacements performed each year. Couple that with the aging population and perceived quality-of-life issues, and I believe that we are on the cusp of a revolution in the treatment of such diseases. Although there will always be a role for ankle arthrodesis, I believe that total ankle replacement, much like total knee and total hip replacement, will become the standard of care. However, along with such advancement …
The production of "new" and "similar" phones in a foreign language: evidence for the effect of equivalence classification

Acoustic measurements were made of the voice onset time (VOT) and vowel formants (F1–F3) in French and English words spoken by native French subjects who were highly experienced in English, and by three groups of native English subjects differing according to French-language experience. The speech of monolingual subjects was also examined to estimate the phonetic norms of French and English. It was hypothesized that equivalence classification limits the extent to which L2 learners approximate L2 phonetic norms for “similar” L2 phones judged to be realizations of a category in L1 (e.g. /u/ and /t/ of French and English), but not a “new” L2 phone which has no counterpart in L1 (French /y/ for the native English subjects). Native English subjects who were experienced in French did not differ from French monolinguals in producing French /y/. However, the subjects in all four groups produced /u/ in their L2 with F2 values which differed significantly from those of native speakers; and they all produced /t/ in their L2 with mean VOT values that either closely resembled the L1 phonetic norm, or were intermediate to the phonetic norm for VOT in L1 and L2. L2 learning was also shown to influence production of /t/ in L1. The native French subjects who spoke English produced French /t/ with longer (i.e., English-like) VOT values than French monolinguals; and the most experienced native English speakers of French produced English /t/ with shorter (French-like) VOT values than English monolinguals. Taken together, these results suggest that the phonetic space of adults is restructured during L2 learning, and support the hypothesis that equivalence classification prevents experienced L2 learners from producing similar L2 phones, but not new L2 phones, authentically.
Increased Field Trap Capture of the Mass-Reared Boll Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Fed Diet Supplemented with beta-Carotene

Boll weevils, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman, reared on diet supplemented with beta-carotene found field targets (APHIS boll weevil eradication traps) at approximately twice the rate of weevils that were fed on unsupplemented diet used for massrearing boll weevils. Larval diet containing beta-carotene at (12 mg/kg) was optimal. The two-fold increase in trap capture was observed with boll weevils fed on diet supplemented with beta-carotene as larvae but not as adults. Boll weevils sterilized with 10 krad gamma irradiation were also trapped at an increased rate (about 2-fold) when fed the mass-rearing diet supplemented with beta-carotene. Twelve mg beta-carotene per kg artificial diet is slightly more than the concentration reported to occur in cotton squares on which larval boll weevils feed in nature. Mass-reared boll weevils are now fed as larvae on wet diet containing beta-carotene (12 mg/kg).
Review of Andrew Jordan, Dave Huitema, Harro Van Asselt, Tim Rayner, and Frans Berkhout (Eds.) ‘Climate Change Policy in the European Union: Confronting the Dilemmas of Mitigation and Adaptation?’

Since the latter part of the twentieth century, the subject of climate change has been on the agenda of governing bodies from supranational bodies such as the United Nations and the European Union to grassroots groups at the domestic and local levels worldwide, and in the United States. The issue is polarizing, and has served to widen the ideological gap between the North and the South, the “Developed” and the “Developing,” the “Rich” and the “Poor.” In the book, Climate Change Policy in the European Union: Confronting the Dilemmas of Mitigation and Adaptation? the authors skillfully weave a tapestry of “dilemmas” to bring home the stark and painfully obvious truth that actions to combat climate change are rendered impotent by competing domestic and international political interests.
Gynecologic surveillance of women on tamoxifen.

Purpose To determine the gynecologic surveillance practices of Connecticut physicians regarding asymptomatic, postmenopausal women receiving tamoxifen for breast cancer management prior to and following a National Cancer Institute (NCI) directive recommending ongoing study and annual pelvic examinations. Materials and methods An anonymous survey of 110 Connecticut medical oncologists, and 306 gynecologists was completed. Results Sixty-three of 110 (57.3%) medical oncologists and 134 of 306 (43.8%) gynecologists responded to the survey. Prior to the NCI directive, 51 (81.0%) of the medical oncologists referred patients for annual gynecologic surveillance. A pelvic examination and Papanicolaou smear were anticipated. Following the NCI directive, 29 (46.0%) routinely expected an endometrial biopsy and 17 (27.0%) expected a pelvic ultrasound evaluation. Prior to the directive, 96 (71.6%) gynecologists recommended annual gynecologic surveillance and 35 (26.1%) recommended it semiannually. Following the directive, semiannual evaluation was recommended by 52 (38.8%). Prior to the directive, 11 gynecologists (8.2%) recommended annual endometrial biopsies and 21 (15.7%) pelvic ultrasound examinations. Following the directive these recommendations increased to 24.6% and 59.7% respectively. If the endometrium was 5-8 mm in maximum thickness by ultrasound evaluation, 54.4% of gynecologists recommended endometrial sampling. Conclusion Women receiving tamoxifen are now undergoing increased gynecologic surveillance. A rationale for annual evaluation of asymptomatic postmenopausal patients based on endometrial thickening by ultrasound examination is presented.
Ovum recovery and in vitro fertilization in the chimpanzee

The technique of in vitro fertilization (IVF) is being used to alleviate infertility in women. The potentials of the technique are not limited to this application and could be expanded to include embryo storage and cytogenetic evaluation prior to reimplantation. Nonhuman primate models should be used for development of such techniques. In general, techniques used for human IVF are applicable to the chimpanzee with modifications in culture medium and aspiration techniques as described here. This paper provides the first documentation of IVF in the chimpanzee, a species with significant potential to provide data of value in expansion of application of human IVF.
Integration of Financial Services in the European Community: Lessons from the Experience in the United States

The plans for European integration by 1992 are ambitious ones. They include the removal of remaining internal tariff and nontariff barriers to trade for commodities and services and the extension within the Community of the nondiscriminatory treatment of each nation’s enterprises (Cecchini, 1988; Colchester, 1989; Bhatt, 1989; Pinder, 1986; Nicoll, 1985; Capotorti et al., 1986; Brewin and McAllister, 1987; Langeheine and Weinstock, 1985). Within the general plans are more specific ones for the integration and harmonization of financial services according to objectives announced at the June 1989 meeting of the heads of the EC states in Madrid. These plans relate to various aspects of securities markets — the underwriting and marketing of new issues, the securities exchanges, markets for unlisted securities, securitization of the assets of financial intermediaries and venture capital markets (Colchester, 1989; Bhatt, 1989; The Economist, (1988a, 1988b); Lopez-Charos, 1987; Tully, 1988; Winder, 1986; Gordon, 1987). The plans call as well for the harmonization of insurance regulations, including those governing ties between insurance and other financial services. And, of course, the plans relate to commercial banking or, more generally, to deposit-type financial intermediaries (Key, 1989; Padoa-Schioppa, 1988). Here the topics range from the possible creation of a European central bank (de Cecco et a1., 1989) through the harmonizing of prudential and protective regulations, to deposit guarantees and other schemes for assuring the stability of credit.
Dynamics of Microscale Granular Crystals

Granular media support a rich array of acoustic phenomena that stem from their complex microstructure and highly nonlinear particulate interactions. While such complexity enables granular media’s unique properties, it simultaneously makes predicting their dynamic response challenging. An approach that has yielded insights into the dynamics of macroscale granular media is to study ordered and reduced-dimensional granular systems. Such simplified granular systems are commonly referred to as “granular crystals.” Granular media composed of micro- and nanoscale particles are predicted to be analogous in many ways to their macroscale counterparts, however, many phenomena that are negligible at macroscales, such as interparticle adhesion, become critical at sub-microscales. In this chapter, we review several recent studies of the contact-based dynamics of microscale granular crystals. This includes measurements of the interactions of guided and bulk acoustic waves with the contact resonances of self-assembled microsphere monolayers. These works have implications for the broader study of microscale granular materials, provide new ways to study microscale contact mechanics, and may result in a new class of materials for passive wave tailoring, which can be rapidly and inexpensively fabricated in large scales via self-assembly.
Recombination-driven generation of the largest pathogen repository of antigen variants in the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi

The protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, causative agent of Chagas disease, depends upon a cell surface-expressed trans-sialidase (ts) to avoid activation of complement-mediated lysis and to enhance intracellular invasion. However these functions alone fail to account for the size of this gene family in T. cruzi, especially considering that most of these genes encode proteins lacking ts enzyme activity. Previous whole genome sequencing of the CL Brener clone of T. cruzi identified ~1400 ts variants, but left many partially assembled sequences unannotated. In the current study we reevaluated the trans-sialidase-like sequences in this reference strain, identifying an additional 1779 full-length and partial ts genes with their important features annotated, and confirming the expression of previously annotated “pseudogenes” and newly annotated ts family members. Multiple EM for Motif Elicitation (MEME) analysis allowed us to generate a model T. cruzi ts (TcTS) based upon the most conserved motif patterns and demonstrated that a common motif order is highly conserved among ts family members. Using a newly developed pipeline for the analysis of recombination within large gene families, we further demonstrate that TcTS family members are undergoing frequent recombination, generating new variants from the thousands of functional and non-functional ts gene segments but retaining the overall structure of the core TcTS family members. The number and variety as well as high recombination frequency of TcTS family members supports strong evolutionary pressure, probably exerted by immune selection, for continued variation in ts sequences in T. cruzi, and thus for a unique immune evasion mechanism for the large ts gene family.
Life and Death and a Machine.

Americans have long valorized the use of technology (Cowan 1997). Around the turn of the 20th century, life in the United States came to be marked by the enthusiastic invention and widespread adopt...
Anatomy, Antinomies, and the Problem of Anthropoid Origins

At the moment, nearly all students of primate evolution agree that modern anthropoids comprise a holophyletic clade with respect to other living primates, i.e., that there was once a single species from which all anthropoids, and no other extant animals, are descended. The 1992 conference at Duke University upon which this volume is based demonstrated that there is not much current agreement on other points concerning anthropoid origins, no matter whether cladistic questions (which primates are the phyletic sister group of the Anthropoidea?) or gradistic questions (which characteristic traits of modern anthropoids did the ancestral anthropoid species possess?) are at issue.
Behavior of a Rocking Block Resting on a Rolling Isolation System

AbstractThe motion of a slender rigid block resting on an isolated base supported by rolling bearings is analyzed. This paper investigates what happens when the ground upon which the isolation syst...
Current and rotor position sensor fault detection and isolation for permanent magnet synchronous generators in wind applications

This paper proposes a fault detection and isolation (FDI) method for current and rotor position sensors in the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) of a wind energy conversion system (WECS). The proposed method detects current sensor faults based on the principle of power conservation, and then isolates the fault using a trigonometric function-based signal estimation algorithm. The rotor position sensor FDI is achieved by combining the current sensor FDI algorithm and a sliding-mode observer (SMO)-based rotor position estimation algorithm. The proposed method does not require additional hardware and is able to detect and isolate multiple sensor faults. The effectiveness of the proposed FDI method is confirmed by simulation results in MATLAB/Simulink and experimental results for a 2.4-kW PMSG-based WECS.
Mechanism of linear covariations between isotopic compositions of natural gaseous hydrocarbons

Abstract Linear covariations between stable isotopic compositions of methane, ethane and propane have long been observed in natural gas accumulations; e.g., a plot of δ13Cpropane versus δ13Cethane of natural gas fall along a straight line. This work investigates physicochemical mechanisms behind the correlations and derives the theoretical slope value for each correlation line. Most slopes are close to the values of statistical distribution, which are 2/3 (0.67) for δ13Cpropane vs. δ13Cethane, 2 for δ13Cmethane vs. δ13Cethane, and 3/4 (0.75) for δ2Hpropane vs. δ2Hethane. When detailed kinetic isotopic effects are considered, the theoretical slope values of δ13Cpropane vs. δ13Cethane and δ2Hpropane vs. δ2Hethane change slightly to 0.68 and 0.73, respectively; the slope of δ13Cmethane vs. δ13Cethane is about 2.4. These slopes are consistent to field data of natural gas generated from kerogen before dry gas window. An exception is the slope of the δ2Hmethane vs. δ2Hethane correlation line; the deviation of field data from theoretical slope suggests that the reaction path of methane generation differs from that of ethane and propane generation; proton shift is probably involved in methane generation. The physical meanings of intra-molecular isotopic fractionation in propane and clumped isotopic fractionation in methane are discussed based on statistical and kinetic analysis.
Numerical artifacts in the Generalized Porous Medium Equation: Why harmonic averaging itself is not to blame

Abstract The degenerate parabolic Generalized Porous Medium Equation (GPME) poses numerical challenges due to self-sharpening and its sharp corner solutions. For these problems, we show results for two subclasses of the GPME with differentiable k ( p ) with respect to p, namely the Porous Medium Equation (PME) and the superslow diffusion equation. Spurious temporal oscillations, and nonphysical locking and lagging have been reported in the literature. These issues have been attributed to harmonic averaging of the coefficient k ( p ) for small p, and arithmetic averaging has been suggested as an alternative. We show that harmonic averaging is not solely responsible and that an improved discretization can mitigate these issues. Here, we investigate the causes of these numerical artifacts using modified equation analysis. The modified equation framework can be used for any type of discretization. We show results for the second order finite volume method. The observed problems with harmonic averaging can be traced to two leading error terms in its modified equation. This is also illustrated numerically through a Modified Harmonic Method (MHM) that can locally modify the critical terms to remove the aforementioned numerical artifacts.
The Effects of Polyurea Coatings on the Underwater Explosive Response of Composite Plates

The effects of polyurea coatings on the response of composite plates subjected to underwater explosive (UNDEX) loading have been studied. The investigation has been conducted through the use of both detailed laboratory experiments and corresponding fully coupled fluid structure interaction computational simulations. The primary parameters of interest are the influence of the coatings on (1) the overall transient response of the plates and (2) the overall damage experienced during loading. The study is comprised of two main sections: (1) The response of flat E-Glass/Epoxy plates subjected to near field blast loading and, (2) The response of flat E-Glass/Epoxy plates subjected to far field blast loading. The study utilizes two unique underwater explosion loading facilities to impart the loading to the specimens. The far field blast study utilizes a conical shock tube which imparts pressure loading representative of the far field, underwater detonation of a spherical charge. The near field experiments are conducted in a small-scale blast tank which provides a controlled environment for the test conduct. In both the near and far field experiments, the transient response of the plates is captured in real time through the use of ultrahigh-speed photography coupled with Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The computational models in each part of the study utilize the commercial finite-element code LS-DYNA, specifically the fluid structure interaction capability of the code. In each aspect of the study, comparisons are made between the experimental results and computational simulations with the models being shown to accurately simulate the dynamic response of the plates as well as the fluid structure interaction. The overall findings of the investigation are that polyurea coatings can have both positive and adverse effects on the shock response of the composite plates depending on coating thickness and coating location.
Is GDNF beneficial in Parkinson disease

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has proved efficacious in treatment of neurodegeneration in toxin-induced models of Parkinson disease (PD), but clinical trials have been equivocal. Do the results of a recent study—suggesting that GDNF is ineffective in an α-synuclein-overexpression PD model—exclude GDNF as a therapy for PD?
Human Nature, Views of

Views of human nature are foundational elements of every culture at every point in history. They are the touchstone of individual and cultural identity, with roots in myths, scientific and quasi-scientific thought, and empirical and rationalist thought. Their influence has been seen in virtually every aspect (positive and negative) of human existence, including the development of the natural sciences; in politics, social theory, and economics; and in our view of the possibilities and limits of ethics and law. From Plato to Darwin to the cutting edge of genetic science, views of human nature have played a key role.
Bioethics in the Reformed Tradition

As 1992 drew to a close, a new liberal spirit was felt throughout the world, especially in the West where the ideal of freedom first took cultural form. Bioethical developments both contributed to this exhilarating ethos and were in turn influenced by it. This essay reviews bioethics developments over the last biennium in the Reformed tradition. I will first discuss that new cultural ethos and its peculiar relation to the Reformed tradition. I will then explore three illustrative bioethical issues: abortion, aid-in-dying, and gay and lesbian rights to ordination. Finally, I will return again to socio-cultural analysis, trying to assess the significance of these developments.
Neotropical Hunting among the Aché of Eastern Paraguay

Publisher Summary Hunting has been considered a behavior of importance in the physical and social evolution of humans. Ache hunters are efficient predators. This chapter presents the models derived from the optimal foraging theory to account for the total set of species hunted, using different technologies. The comparison of Ache hunting to other hunter-gatherers shows a wide range of variation. The difference in hunting behavior between the Ache and the !Kung is the difference in the game species. The !Kung hunt large game animals, which single men stalk and shoot with poison arrows. The present study tests the hypotheses concerning the applicability of optimal foraging models to hunter-gatherer subsistence behavior. The Ache demonstrates that in the appropriate ecological setting humans are efficient predators and get good returns hunting with simple technology. The tropical forests of this part of lowland South America are well endowed with game that is easily killed by human hunters.
Measured Insensitivity of Memory Devices to Various Nuclear Radiations

Concern about possible radiation damage from the increasing exposure of memory disks to mild radiation environments prompted an experimental investigation into this matter. A series of programmed memory disks were exposed at near room temperatures and in an air environment to several types and intensities of radiation, with stored data retrieved before and after exposure. Initial separate exposures to alpha, beta, gamma, and neutron radiation were in the range of 5 to 15 mrad, the ``upper limit`` of radiation exposure that might be expected in common usage situations. Finding no permanent damage, the disks were then subjected to high-level {sup 60}Co gamma radiation to total doses up to 20 Mrad, again with no detectable postirradiation effects. Finally, the disks were subjected to high-level neutrons (up to 2.86 {times} 10{sup 11} n/cm{sup 2} total thermal neutron fluence) as well as to gammas in a research reactor. Postulated radiation damage mechanisms apparently were not consequential. It is concluded that in the range investigated, radiation damage to memory disks is not significant to their ability to function.
Quantitative Comparison of Near-infrared Versus Short-wave Autofluorescence Imaging in Monitoring Progression of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Purpose To quantitatively compare near-infrared autofluorescence (NIR-AF) and short-wave autofluorescence (SW-AF) as imaging modalities used to monitor retinitis pigmentosa (RP) disease progression, measured as a function of hyperautofluorescent ring constriction over time. Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods NIR-AF and SW-AF images were acquired from 22 participants (44 eyes) at 2 clinic visits separated by an average of 2 years. On the images from each modality, the horizontal and vertical diameters and area of the hyperautofluorescent rings were measured twice, 2 weeks apart. A progression rate for each parameter was obtained. Descriptive and comparative statistics were calculated to analyze these parameters and their respective progression rates. Results At both visits, the hyperautofluorescent ring exhibited a larger horizontal diameter (both visits: P Conclusions In SW-AF and NIR-AF images, similar rates of RP disease progression are observed. As such, NIR-AF may confer more advantages as the primary tool for tracking disease progression over the commonly used SW-AF, given the increased patient comfort and cooperation during imaging.
Roost Characteristics and Clustering Behavior of Western Red Bats (Lasiurus blossevillii) in Southwestern New Mexico

The western red bat (Lasiurus blossevillii) is a foliage-roosting species of riparian habitats in arid regions of the southwestern United States. Only limited published anecdotal observations exist for roost sites used by this species. Western red bats were split taxonomically from the eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) in 1988, but summaries of roosting behaviors for western red bats still appear to stem from former associations with the commonly studied eastern red bat. Our study represents the first comprehensive research on the roosting ecology of western red bats. We radio-tracked 14 adult bats to 19 different day roosts along the Mimbres River of southwestern New Mexico. While we documented that western red bats had an affinity for densely foliated trees (79%), we did not detect any selection for tree species or size. At our study site, western red bats roosted in cottonwoods (47%, Populus spp.), velvet ash (21%, Fraxinus velutina), box elder (16%, Acer negundo), and red mulberry (16%, Morus rubra). We also described clustering behavior, where groups of 2–3 adults roosted in direct contact with one another. Although the species was deemed to roost solitarily, the frequency of clustering behavior in our study suggests otherwise. If bats were observed in clusters, they typically exhibited greater roosting fidelity than solitary individuals. Because arid riparian corridors in the southwestern United States generally are considered threatened systems, protection and preservation of mechanisms that create and maintain the diversity of these riparian corridors is necessary for the survival of this uncommon and poorly understood species.
Interruptions in community pharmacies: Frequency, sources, and mitigation strategies

Abstract Background Interruptions constitute a key part of the communication strategy for healthcare providers, including community pharmacy personnel. Previous research in other healthcare environments has shown that interruptions are very common and may present as patient safety hazards. One 1999 study, conducted in community pharmacy settings, found that interruptions were prevalent and associated with dispensing errors. In the last 20 years, pharmacies have expanded patient services and implemented new technology. Yet, it is unknown how these changes have affected interruption sources and frequency. Objective The objective was to characterize the frequency and sources of pharmacist task interruptions that occur in community pharmacies. Methods A cross-sectional qualitative study design was used to evaluate the frequency and sources of pharmacist task interruptions in Wisconsin community pharmacies. The participants included 9 pharmacists and 9 technicians working in 2 independently-owned, 2 mass merchandise, and 2 hospital/clinical-affiliated pharmacies. Results Interruption rates ranged from 3 to 7 per hour across the 6 pharmacies. Sources of interruptions included: patients, technicians, self-initiated interruptions, technology used in the pharmacy, and a second pharmacist. Conclusions Interruptions are common in community pharmacies and the causes are multifactorial. Prudent management of interruptions in these work environments may involve improved technician training and better designs of pharmacy technology.
Smoother Robot Control from Convolutional Neural Networks Using Fuzzy Logic

A recent development in robotic control systems is the use of classification neural networks to produce discrete control signals. While the output of the neural network can be mapped directly to control signals, the possible control decisions are generally limited to the number of output classes. Fortunately, the neural network is also capable of producing a set of probabilities that a given input belongs to each class. This additional information can be used to expand the range of possible control signals. In this experiment, a fuzzy control system was applied to a robot that previously implemented a navigation-by-classification approach. The results of the experiment showed that the network is indeed capable of providing extra information in its probability designations, and this information can be exploited to smooth the discrete outputs of the system using fuzzy logic. In the case of the robot studied, the fuzzy control system outperformed the original discrete control system in navigating new courses. The robot's movements also appeared smoother when compared to the original solution. Thus, the additional information gained from the probabilities enabled the system to be more generalized and robust.
Effectiveness of Providing Education About Alcohol Use Disorders and Compassion Fatigue for Emergency Department Nurses.

BACKGROUND Emergency departments (EDs) treat over 20,000 patients daily with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). However, nurses receive limited education about AUDs. Studies have shown that ED nurses have negative attitudes about patients with AUDs. Negativity can contribute to the symptoms of compassion fatigue (CF) and to dissatisfaction with work. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate education about AUDs and CF for ED nurses. DESIGN This study used a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest within-subjects design. SAMPLE A convenience sample of 44 nurses was recruited at a large urban ED. METHODS Nurses completed demographics, Professional Quality of Life: Compassion Satisfaction and Fatigue (ProQOL), and Short Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perceptions Questionnaire. Then, the nurses participated in 5 hours of an online educational program and a 1-hour live class about AUDs and CF. The surveys were readministered. RESULTS The difference in pretest and posttest Short Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perceptions Questionnaire subscales of role security (expected value = 8.5, p < .006) and therapeutic commitment (expected value = 7.50, p = .018) was statistically significant. For ProQOL constructs, no statistical significance was found. The ProQOL subscales were compared with norms and were statistically significantly different. CONCLUSION Nurses' attitudes about patients with AUDs improved after completing the curriculum. Studied nurses had higher levels of professional satisfaction at baseline.
Considerations of Coastally Forced Flow in a Branched Fjord

Two techniques are combined to consider the dynamics of a narrow, stratified fjord system with two channels.
Validation of a simple equation for glomerular filtration rate measurement based on plasma iohexol disappearance.

Background A simple equation for glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurement based on only plasma samples during the slow compartment after injection of iohexol was previously developed among children with chronic kidney disease and adult men with or at risk of HIV infection [Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD)-Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) equation], but has not been externally validated. We aimed to evaluate the performance of the CKiD-MACS equation among elderly participants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort who underwent directly measured iohexol GFR. Methods Using data from 287 participants of the MESA-Kidney study who underwent a five-sample measured iohexol GFR (two and three samples in the fast and slow compartments, respectively), we assessed the performance of the CKiD-MACS equation using only plasma samples in the slow compartment by sex, race and age. Agreement was assessed by bias, correlation, proportion within 5 and 10%, and the root mean square error (RMSE). Results The average age and GFR of the participants were 71 years and 70.8 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively, and 46% were black. The equation yielded excellent agreement within stratified groups with high correlation (>0.96), low bias (≤1.2 mL/min/1.73 m2) and low RMSE (<4.2 mL/min/1.73 m2). Conclusions The CKiD-MACS equation demonstrated valid GFR measurement using only samples in the slow compartment in this racially diverse, elderly population. While the equation yielded practically the same results as the original Brochner-Mortensen equation, the CKiD-MACS equation conforms to theoretical principles embedded in the two-compartment model of direct GFR measurement.
Identifying the Context of Hurricane Posts on Twitter using Wavelet Features

With the increase of natural disasters all over the world, we are in crucial need of innovative solutions with inexpensive implementations to assist the emergency response systems. Information collected through conventional sources (e.g., incident reports, 911 calls, physical volunteers, etc.) are proving to be insufficient [1]. Responsible organizations are now leaning towards research grounds that explore digital human connectivity and freely available sources of information. U.S. Geological Survey and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) introduced Critical Lifeline (CLL) s which identifies the most significant areas that require immediate attention in case of natural disasters. These organizations applied crowdsourcing by connecting digital volunteer networks to collect data on the critical lifelines from data sources including social media [3], [4], [5]. In the past couple of years, during some of the deadly hurricanes (e.g., Harvey, IRMA, Maria, Michael, Florence, etc.), people took on different social media platforms like never seen before, in search of help for rescue, shelter, and relief. Their posts reflect crisis updates and their real-time observations on the devastation that they witness. In this paper, we propose a methodology to build and analyze time-frequency features of words on social media to assist the volunteer networks in identifying the context before, during and after a natural disaster and distinguishing contexts connected to the critical lifelines. We employ Continuous Wavelet Transform to help create word features and propose two ways to reduce the dimensions which we use to create word clusters to identify themes of conversations associated with stages of a disaster and these lifelines. We compare two different methodologies of wavelet features and word clusters both qualitatively and quantitatively, to show that wavelet features can identify and separate context without using semantic information as inputs.
Postmortem Aging Does Not Improve Palatability of Texas-Style Barbecue Briskets

ObjectivesThe demand for beef brisket among barbecue enthusiasts throughout Texas has increased, and pitmasters have questioned if aging briskets optimizes tenderness. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of postmortem aging on the palatability of Texas-style smoked briskets. Materials and MethodsPaired briskets (n = 24) were collected from USDA Choice carcasses, stored under refrigeration (2°C to 4°C) for 7 d, 21 d, or 35 d, then frozen (–40°C) and stored (–10°C) until subsequent palatability evaluations were performed. Three postmortem aging period comparisons were made: 7 d vs. 21 d (Set 1), 21 d vs. 35 d (Set 2), and 7 d vs. 35 d (Set 3). Briskets were prepared Texas-style by seasoning with kosher salt and coarse ground pepper before smoking with post oak wood at a temperature of 98.8°C. Briskets were cooked over a long period (∼ 11 h) using a commercial barbecue pit. After cooking, flat (M. pectoralis profundus) and point (Mm. pectorales superficiales) portions were separated, sliced (1.27-cm) for serving to consumer panelists (n = 83; n = 6 samples per consumer) for assessment of tenderness, juiciness, flavor, and overall liking. An additional slice (2.54-cm) was cut from the flat and point portions for Warner-Bratzler shear (WBS) force determination. Data were analyzed using the PROC GLM function of SAS (v9.3; SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC) with ɑ 0.05) interactions between aging treatment and portion for consumer sensory or WBS force measurements for any of the 3 aging period comparisons. Consumer panelists did not (P > 0.05) detect differences in overall liking, flavor liking, tenderness liking, or juiciness liking between briskets of differing post-mortem aging treatments. However, consumer panelists were able to detect palatability differences between brisket point and flat portions regardless of the postmortem aging treatment. When comparing point and flat portions from Set 1, point portions were preferred over flat portions for juiciness liking (P = 0.0004), while flat portions were preferred over point portions for flavor liking (P = 0.0348). When comparing the point and flat portions from Set 2, panelists assigned higher ratings to point portions for juiciness liking (P 0.05) between aging treatments. However, WBS force measurements were lower (P < 0.0001) for point portions compared to flat portions no matter the aging treatment. ConclusionAlthough differences in palatability between point and flat portion were observed, postmortem aging did not improve consumer acceptance of beef brisket. Overall, we concluded that preparing USDA Choice Texas-style beef briskets resulted in products with high consumer palatability ratings and low WBS values, which helps demonstrate why barbecued briskets are so popular.
Treetop detection using convolutional neural networks trained through automatically generated pseudo labels

Using remote sensing techniques to detect trees at the individual level is crucial for forest management while finding the treetop is an initial and important first step. However, due to the large ...
Design and evaluation of a hand gesture recognition approach for real-time interactions

Hand gestures are a natural and intuitive form for human-environment interaction and can be used as an input alternative in human-computer interaction (HCI) to enhance usability and naturalness. Many existing approaches have employed vision -based systems to detect and recognize hand gestures. However, vision-based systems usually require users to move their hands within restricted space, where the optical device can capture the motion of hands. Also, vision-based systems may suffer from self-occlusion issues due to sophisticated finger movements. In this work, we use a sensor-based motion tracking system to capture 3D hand and finger motions. To detect and recognize hand gestures, we propose a novel angular-velocity method, which is directly applied to real-time 3D motion data streamed by the sensor-based system. Our approach is capable of recognizing both static and dynamic gestures in real-time. We assess the recognition accuracy and execution performance with two interactive applications that require gesture input to interact with the virtual environment. Our experimental results show high recognition accuracy, high execution performance, and high-levels of usability.