cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Middle school band students’ self-determination to practice:

The purposes of this study were to examine factors that motivate middle school band students to practice their instrument and to validate a researcher-modified survey instrument for use with middle school music students, using self-determination theory as a theoretical lens. Fifth (10–11 years old, n = 444) and eighth grade (13–14 years old, n = 352) band students from the state of Ohio, United States’ public school districts completed a researcher-modified questionnaire that was used to collect data to determine (a) students’ levels of self-determination for practicing their instrument, (b) the relationship between students’ self-determination for practicing their instrument and the number of years they have played their instrument, (c) the relationship between students’ self-determination for practicing their instrument and the amount of time they reported practicing their instrument per week, and (d) the effect of grade level, gender, instrument choice, and private lesson study on the students’ self-de...
Radar clutter suppression with beam-Doppler image feature recognition (BDIFR) method

In this work, an innovative ground moving target detection method termed as beam-Doppler image feature recognition (BDIFR) is introduced for airborne radar ground moving target detection in clutter. The received radar echo data in space-time domain is transformed from the space-time domain to the beam-Doppler domain via either 2D-DFT or minimum variance (MV) based method depending on the number of space-time snapshots available. After that, the moving target is distinguished from clutter based on the different distribution features of target and clutter in beam-Doppler domain through the minimum-distance based region growing (MDB-RG) processing. The effectiveness of the BDIFR approach has been validated through various simulations.
Juxta-anastomotic Stenosis of Brachial-Cephalic Fistula

Although most interventional nephrologists tend to approach a dysfunctional AVF through a venous cannulation, not all cases can be treated in this manner. As demonstrated in this case, an arterial approach is sometimes necessary.
The Effects of Trade on Resource Procurement Behavior:: A Late Prehistoric Example from the Southern Plains

Although there are a number of recent studies documenting the trade of resources from one area to another, few of these have addressed the changes which occur in local behavior as a response to the...
Matolino’s misunderstanding of Menkiti’s African moral view of the person and community

I provide an exposition of Ifeanyi Menkiti’s view of communal ethics in terms of his conception of moral personhood vis-a-vis community, in order to defend him specifically against Bernard Matolino...
Here We Go Again: A Third Legislative Attempt to Protect Polluting Iowa CAFOs from Neighbors’ Nuisance Actions

Twice during the past twenty years the Iowa Supreme Court struck down attempts by the Iowa General Assembly to grant confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) immunity from liability for nuisance harms inflicted upon their neighbors. In both cases the challenged statutes were found by the Court to be regulatory takings – unconstitutional extinguishment of neighbors’ private property rights without just compensation. In April, 2017 the Iowa General Assembly tried for a third time to confer on Iowa CAFOs a privileged status in state nuisance law. New Iowa Code 657.11A, however, did not try a third time to grant CAFOs immunity from nuisance suits. Instead, it provided for caps on the compensatory damages a winning plaintiff could be awarded against a CAFO found to be causing a legal nuisance. The new compensatory damages caps are not seriously inconsistent with conventional Iowa nuisance law, but at several points Iowa Code 657.11A raises puzzling questions about exactly how the legislature intended the new law to operate. This essay reviews the background of Iowa Code 657.11A, closely examines the wording of the new law, and suggests how various interpretations of its terms might lead an Iowa court to rule differently on its constitutionality. Also discussed are a couple of novel provisions in the new law that are seemingly inconsistent with traditional Iowa nuisance law and with longstanding Iowa law governing joint ownerships.
Validity and Reliability of the Charney Climate Sensitivity Function

Monthly means of Mauna Loa atmospheric CO2 concentrations are used in conjunction with surface temperature data from two different sources for the sample period 1979-2017 to test the validity and reliability of the empirical Charney climate sensitivity function. Detrended correlation analysis of temperature in five global regions from two different sources did not show that surface temperature is responsive to changes in the logarithm of atmospheric CO2 at an annual time scale. Correlations observed in source data are thus shown to be spurious. We conclude that the empirical Charney Climate Sensitivity function is specious because it is based on a spurious correlation.
PHYSICAL MODALITIES FOR COMPLEX REGIONAL PAIN SYNDROME

Hand therapy is the backbone of a treatment program for complex regional pain syndrome. Various treatment techniques and physical modalities are described in the framework of a clear set of treatment goals. Hand therapy is often the only treatment necessary for simple cases. Adjunct treatments, such as injections or other pharmacologic agents, may be needed when pain control is problematic.
Hepatic Fibrosis and Cirrhosis

Liver injury, regardless of the underlying cause, leads to a wound healing response. This fibrogenic response ultimately leads to fibrosis and cirrhosis. Many different liver diseases result in cirrhosis; this indicates that there is likely a common pathogenesis. The last two decades have seen many advances in the understanding of the fibrogenic process, all the way from a better understanding of the cellular elements, to the basic biology and biochemistry. For example, it is now appreciated that the hepatic stellate cell is a central component in the fibrogenic process. Further, other ‘effector’ cells may be important, including resident fibroblasts, bone marrow derived cells, fibrocytes, and perhaps cells derived from epithelial cells (i.e., through epithelial to mesenchymal transition or EMT). It should be emphasized that the fibrogenic process is dynamic. This information indicates that fibrosis (or cirrhosis) is reversible, and is supported by a now ever growing body of literature in humans with advanced liver disease that indicates that fibrosis is reversible. Finally, with the enhanced understanding of the basic pathogenesis of fibrosis, it has become clear that there is great potential for development of novel therapies. The goal of this article is to highlight the key concepts in liver fibrosis and highlight the potential for future anti-fibrotic therapies.
Integrated Irrigation and Agriculture Planning in Punjab: Toward a Multiscale, Multisector Framework

Abstract Faced with rapid resource depletion, degradation, and shortages in the Indus River Basin in Punjab, Pakistan, the provincial government of Punjab identified “integrated water resources management” as the guiding paradigm for achieving efficient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable use of natural resources in the province. However, no clear roadmap for how multisectoral, “integrated” resource management and governance can be operationalized exists. The larger challenge involves growing municipal, industrial, and environmental demands for water, the rapidly growing need for food in the populous province, and the expanding requirements for energy. This chapter focuses on the most obvious but elusive challenge of integrating irrigation and agriculture in Punjab and explores the essential nexus of water and food. It uses a combination of historical, institutional, and statistical analyses to investigate how integrated food and water planning can be achieved in Punjab. The historical analysis traces how the idea of integration in irrigated agriculture evolved in Pakistan's colonial history and within the province of Punjab after independence. It reveals that both the Irrigation Department and the Agriculture Department have highlighted the need for vertical and horizontal integration within and between the departments throughout their existence. The institutional analysis explores how planning is currently done within and across the provincial departments of agriculture and irrigation. Finally, the chapter briefly demonstrates the statistical challenges of and opportunities for integrating irrigation and agricultural data, which are recorded in different spatial units but which can still have a measure of integration in integrated farm-level data analysis. Finally, this chapter uses the idea of boundary spanning to strengthen the meso-scale capacity for integrated irrigation agriculture planning in Punjab.
How Do Gene Networks Promote Morphological Evolution

The shape of animals is established during their embryonic development. As a consequence, understanding which mechanisms drive embryogenesis is crucial for understanding the evolution of morphologies. The last 30 years has shown that gene expression has a major role in regulating embryonic development. More recently, the way these genes and their regulators interact has been conceptualized as gene regulatory networks or GRNs that thus describe the underlying logic that drives development. However, until recently, the lack of tools available for non-model organisms has limited the understanding of their evolution. Thanks to the new discoveries and new techniques that have arisen in the last 10 years, studying and manipulating GRNs in depth is now possible in model and non-model organisms, expanding our resources to understand morphological evolution. In this chapter, we review current knowledge about how the evolution of GRNs can generate variation. We focus on the recent advances in techniques that allow the study of GRNs in different organisms. These discoveries are crucial not only to understand how species evolve and get their shape but also to understand how defects in the developmental program could lead to morphological defects in humans.
Machine Learning-Based Model Predictive Control of Distributed Chemical Processes

Abstract This work proposes a general framework for linking of a state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver, ANSYS Fluent, and other computing platforms using the lock synchronization mechanism in an effort to extend the utilities of CFD solvers from strictly modeling and design to also control and optimization applications. Specifically, phthalic anhydride (PA) synthesis is chosen for this investigation because of its industrial significance and its extreme high exothermicity. Initially, a high-fidelity two-dimensional axisymmetric heterogeneous CFD model for an industrial-scale FBR is developed in ANSYS Fluent. Next, the CFD model is used to explore a wide operating regime of the FBR to create a database, from which recurrent neural network and ensemble learning techniques are used to derive a homogeneous ensemble regression model using a state-of-the-art application program interface. Then, a model predictive control (MPC) formulation that is designed to drive the process performance to the desired set-point and to avoid catalyst deactivation is developed using the ensemble regression model. Subsequently, the CFD model, the ensemble regression model and the MPC are combined to create a closed-loop system by linking ANSYS Fluent to SciPy via a message-passing interface (MPI) with lock synchronization mechanism. Finally, the simulation data generated by the closed-loop system are used to demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Histoires de ventre: The Menopausal Body in Marie Darrieussecq's Truismes

Marie Darrieussecq's Truismes (1996) reinvented the metamorphosis narrative prompting rich interpretations during the past two decades; however, no critic has yet explored the significance of menop...
Models and methods for workforce planning under uncertainty: Optimizing U.S. Army cyber branch readiness and manning

Abstract This work examines the problem of optimally resourcing personnel for a new set of U.S. Army cyber-specialty career fields using a combination of personnel accessions and inter-career-field transfers that are limited to occur over a subset of periods early within a 30-year career cycle. This workforce planning problem is bounded by constraints respectively pertaining to organizational needs for personnel, as well as personnel promotion policies. Complicating the problem are stochastic retention rates for every combination of year and promotion level within each career field over the 30-year period. Upon formalizing this Cyber Workforce Planning Problem (CWPP) within the framework of multiple performance goals, this study formulates, tests, and compares three frameworks to seek optimal workforce planning decisions under uncertainty: two stochastic programming (SP) variants and a robust optimization (RO) representation. Upon sampling the stochastic parametric distributions to generate a set of collectively representative, deterministic scenarios, the SP variants respectively leverage a scenario-based Monte Carlo approach and sample average approximation, whereas the RO model examines robust solutions over a range of decision-maker risk attitudes. A sensitivity analysis applied to the first of the SP variants indicates the solutions are relatively insensitive to different prioritizations of goals, and identifies policy insights to help recruit and retain personnel. Comparative testing of the three methodologies yields workforce planning recommendations that are relatively consistent across solution methodologies and identify concerns to inform changes to personnel policies.
Dental sealants and restorative treatment for first molars among Medicaid enrollees.

OBJECTIVES To assess the association between dental sealant placement and subsequent restorative treatment of permanent first molars over time. METHODS We analysed Wisconsin Medicaid claims data from 2001 to 2009 for children aged 6-16 years. Children entered the study cohort at age 6 and were censored if Medicaid eligibility was lost for >31 days. A fixed effects analysis via a Cox proportional hazards model, stratified by individual, was used to estimate the time-averaged and time-dependent effects of sealant placement on dental treatment defined as any restorative, endodontic or surgical procedure. RESULTS A total of 185,262 children with permanent first molars who turned 6 years enrolled in Medicaid were examined. Sealant placement was higher for teeth #16 and 26 (5.42 and 5.46 per 100 person-years (100PY), versus 5.29 and 5.31/100PY for #36 and 46, respectively. The average rate for restorative treatments had the opposite pattern, with lower rate for teeth #16 and 26 (1.78 and 1.72/100PY) versus teeth #36 and 46 (2.14 and 2.12/100PY), respectively. In the fixed effects regression model, the hazard of dental treatment was substantially lower after sealant placement on a tooth, with time-averaged hazard ratio HR = 0.23 (95% CI 0.21-0.25, P < .001) versus before sealant. The largest effect was in the first year after sealant placement (HR = 0.13, 95% CI: 0.11-0.14), which decreased over time (HR = 0.50, 0.59 and 0.74 in years 2, 3 and 4, respectively), and was not statistically significant in later years. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that permanent first molar sealant placement delayed subsequent dental treatments in children enrolled in Medicaid.
“Accept the Risk”: Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild” and Institutional Power

Taking seriously Butler’s claim that “Bloodchild” is not a story about slavery, McCoy reads “Bloodchild” alongside the Student Code of Conduct at the public liberal arts college where she teaches to reveal the subtle ways in which students are forced to accept the code’s terms without having a say in setting them. McCoy demonstrates how reading these texts in relation to each other can enable students to advocate for themselves within, against, and alongside complex power structures and bureaucracies that claim to be protective and liberatory. At the same time, McCoy believes that “Bloodchild” can help the institutionally powerful, as well as those who make demands of the powerful, to imagine worlds and institutions beyond those structures and bureaucracies.
The influence of proline isomerization on potency and stability of anti-HIV antibody 10E8

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) 10E8 recognizes a highly conserved epitope on HIV and is capable of neutralizing > 95% of circulating viral isolates making it one of the most promising Abs against HIV. Solution instability and biochemical heterogeneity of 10E8 has hampered its development for clinical use. We identify the source of 10E8 heterogeneity being linked to cis/trans isomerization at two prolines within the YPP motif in the CRD3 loop that exists as two predominant conformers that interconvert on a slow timescale. The YtransP conformation conformer can bind the HIV gp41 epitope, while the YcisP is not binding competent and shows a higher aggregation propensity. The high barrier of isomerization and propensity to adopt non-binding competent proline conformers provides novel insight into the slow binding kinetics, low potency, and poor solubility of 10E8. This study highlights how proline isomerization should be considered a critical quality attribute for biotherapeutics with paratopes containing potential cis proline amide bonds.
Optimizing treatment duration with ramucirumab and paclitaxel by managing chemotherapy-associated toxicity: Review of four cases:

Gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinomas have poor prognoses. Ramucirumab is considered a second-line standard of care for patients with these cancers. Patients may develop chemotherap...
THE M •-σ* RELATION DERIVED FROM SPHERE OF INFLUENCE ARGUMENTS

The observed relation between supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass (M •) and bulge stellar velocity dispersion (σ*) is described by log M • = α + βlog(σ*/200 km s-1). As this relation has important implications for models of galaxy and SMBH formation and evolution, there continues to be great interest in adding to the M • catalog. The "sphere of influence" (ri ) argument uses spatial resolution to exclude some M • estimates and pre-select additional galaxies for further SMBH studies. This Letter quantifies the effects of applying the ri argument to a population of galaxies and SMBHs that do not follow the M •-σ* relation. All galaxies with known values of σ*, closer than 100 Mpc, are given a random M • and selected when ri is spatially resolved. These random SMBHs produce a M •-σ* relation of α = 8.3 ± 0.2, β = 4.0 ± 0.3, consistent with observed values. Consequently, future proposed M • estimates should not be justified solely on the basis of resolving ri . This Letter shows that the observed M •-σ* relation may simply be a result of available spatial resolution. However, it also implies that the observed M •-σ* relation defines an upper limit. This potentially provides valuable new insight into the processes of galaxy and SMBH formation and evolution.
Orientation tactics and associated factors in the digital library environment: Comparison between blind and sighted users

Abstract This is the first study that compares types of orientation tactics that blind and sighted users applied in their initial interactions with a digital library (DL) and the associated factors...
Opportunities to Improve Symptom Control with Somatostatin Congeners in GEP-NETs: A Review of Key Issues.

Octreotide acetate (octreotide) is the most prescribed and most studied somatostatin congener, or analogue, for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) and carcinoid syndrome, the latter of which may be characterized by debilitating diarrhea and flushing. Approved in the United States more than 30 years ago, octreotide is widely used to control the symptoms of carcinoid syndrome and has been shown to demonstrate anti-proliferative activity. The two formulations available in the United States include a subcutaneous immediate-release (IR) injection introduced in 1989 and a long-acting repeatable (LAR) intramuscular injection approved in 1999. Lanreotide depot (lanreotide), a more recent somatostatin congener, has been available in the United States since 2014. Despite widespread use of octreotide LAR, several key challenges exist with the current depot-based treatment paradigm. Studies indicate that LAR formulations are associated with continued unmet patient needs, owing in part to a loss of bioactivity over time that may necessitate progressive supplemental treatment with IR octreotide to adequately control symptoms. Clinicians should understand the key differences in the pharmacokinetic profiles of the LAR and IR formulations that may contribute to bioactivity loss and somatostatin receptor desensitization. In addition, there is a need to re-evaluate the role of IR octreotide in combination with depot therapy to provide consistent bioavailability and better control of carcinoid syndrome symptoms. The purpose of this review is to explore all these issues and to re-establish a rationale for the IR formulation, particularly with respect to novel use cases and its use during the COVID-19 pandemic. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: There is a need to re-evaluate the role of IR octreotide in combination with depot therapy to provide consistent bioavailability and better control of carcinoid syndrome symptoms.
Modulation of emissivity in coupled-resonator systems

We investigate photonic design strategies for thermal emission control based on multi-resonator systems. Metamaterial resonators incorporating phase-change materials provide a temperature-tunable response. We identify a layer design for which the radiated power can be designed to either increase or decrease across a phase transition, simply by varying resonator length. Systems supporting both bright and dark modes offer increased design flexibility. We illustrate the use of tunable dark-dark coupling to extinguish thermal emissivity peaks.
A Multi-level Active Power Filter for Common-Mode Voltage Attenuation in Multi-level Inverters

This paper proposes a multi-level active power filter (APF) for common-mode voltage (CMV) attenuation in multi-level inverter systems. The proposed system is composed of a multi-level inverter and an additional fourth leg as the APF. The same 5-level Active-neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) II type inverter architecture is used for both the inverter and APF as an example of multi-level inverters in this paper. For CMV attention in the system, the APF has to generate and inject the voltage equal to the CMV generated by the inverter. Therefore, the APF requires a CMV prediction algorithm and PWM technique for the APF voltage generation. The CMV generated by the inverter has multi-level and more complex forms than the output voltages of the inverter. Thus, a unique PWM technique is required for the APF instead of conventional carrier-based PWM methods to generate the same voltage as the CMV. Through the APF PWM generation using the proposed CMV prediction algorithm and APF PWM, the APF can generate and inject the APF voltage equal to the CMV. As a result, the proposed APF can significantly attenuate the CMV of the system. Simulation and experimental results have verified the validity of the proposed method.
The Study of Molecular Electron Distribution by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

A molecule contains two kinds of electrons: valence electrons and atomic core electrons. The valence electrons occupy molecular orbitals and are more or less delocalized on the various atoms of the molecule, whereas the core electrons are highly localized on individual atoms of the molecule. In gas-phase X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), one irradiates a sample chamber containing the molecules under study with an approximately monochromatic beam of X-rays and measures the kinetic energy distribution of the ejected electrons.1–3 The spectrum is a plot of electron counting rate as a function of kinetic energy, EK. Peaks are observed corresponding to electronic levels with binding energies (EB) less than the X-ray photon energy, hv. By use of the Einstein relation, hν = EB + EK, one can readily calculate the binding energy corresponding to each peak. The X-ray has enough energy to eject not only valence electrons, but also some core electrons. The main use of XPS is in the determination of core electron binding energies, and this paper will be concerned with the information that one can glean from the core binding energies of molecules.4
The Role of the Blood Bank in Human Gene Therapy Trials

Molecular biology has developed over the last two decades as the structure and function of many genes and their regulation have begun to be elucidated. This basic understanding of gene expression in cells led to studies to genetically transfer genes into cells. Initial studies in gene transfer for gene therapy purposes focused on diseases in which the gene of interest is mutated and thus led to treatment of a genetic disease resulting from the dysfunction of a single gene (e.g., Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome) [1,2]. The mutated gene leads to a dysfunctional protein or unexpressed gene. The early studies for gene therapy focused on these genetic diseases since it was hypothesized that replacing a single gene defect would be the easiest and most ethical approach to the first clinical gene therapy trial [3]. In order to genetically modify a renewable population of cells so that the gene would be expressed for the lifetime of an individual, gene transfer into haematopoietic stem cells to correct a lymphocyte defect, adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA), seemed the most likely approach. Currently, there are six main groups of target diseases for stem cell gene transfer. Disease affecting red blood cells, such as sickle cell anaemia and thalassaemia, could be cured by insertion of a normal globin gene into stem cells. Neutrophil deficiencies that are caused by an enzyme defect (e.g., chronic granulomatous disease) lead to chronic infections, and can be corrected by insertion of the normal gene that corrects the oxidative pathway [4]. Storage disease can be corrected through stem cell gene transfer, which would correct the genetic defect within the monocyte cell population.
Listeria and -Omics Approaches for Understanding its Biology

Abstract Listeria monocytogenes is a deadly foodborne pathogen that primarily affects pregnant women, infants, and the elderly. The vast array of environments that this organism can survive in contributes to its virulence and nuisance in the food industry. This chapter will focus upon -omics-based approaches that are being utilized to determine how this microbe is able to overcome such a wide variety of environments. Additionally, this chapter will also analyze strain-to-strain variations of this bacterial species and how one strain does not fit all scenarios.
Effects of calibration RFID tags on performance of inertial navigation in indoor environment

The hybrid localization system applications nowadays not only mitigate the inaccuracy of standalone RF localization approach, but also increase the reliability in the absence of supporting Radio Frequency (RF) infrastructure. One of the outstanding hybrid approaches is the Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) assisted inertial navigation system, which is notable for its low cost, simple implementation and extraordinary accuracy. Previous work on such hybrid system fails to find out the correlation between the deployment of the multiple calibration points and the indoor localization accuracy. In this paper, we use the Android smart phone to build a hybrid localization platform and conduct measurements with multiple RFID calibration tags. Based on the measurement results, we define a mathematical model which includes the calibration point number, RFID tag density and the RFID tag-to-corner distance to describe the deployment effect on the localization accuracy. Such model facilitates the future study on algorithm design, system evaluation and application development.
Toxicity of aerosol propellants on the respiratory and circulatory systems: I. Cardiac arrhythmia in the mouse

Abstract The propellants used in aerosols were investigated in anesthetized mice. The 15 propellants studies can be placed into the following three groups: 6 propellants that induce arrhythmia and sensitize the heart to epinephrine; 6 propellants that sensitize the heart to epinephrine-induced arrhythmia; and 3 propellants that neither induce arrhythmia nor sensitize the heart. The most toxic with respect to the induction of cardiac arrhythmia is trichlorofluoromethane (FC 11) which is, coincidentally, the most widely used low pressure propellant in aerosols.
Investigating the Use of Voice and Text Chat in a Social Television System

We tested a social television system with both voice and text communication in the field for one week, in four households. Participants expressed a preference for the freeform communication features over an earlier system with restricted communication options. Use of the communication features was nevertheless sporadic. Text was used more often than voice communication. However, both were usually used in combination. The in-home context had marked effects on the usage patterns, and we observed issues of privacy and identity verification.
Beyond Fun: Order and Membership in Polytypic Imperative Programming

We argue that the category of transformers of monotonic predicates on posets is superior to the category of transformers on powersets, as the basis for a calculus of higher order imperative programming. We show by an example polytypic program derivation that such transformers (and the underlying categories of order-compatible relations and monotonic functions) model a calculus quite similar to the more familiar calculus of functional programs and relations. The derived program uses as a data type an exponent of transformers; unlike function-space, this transformer-space is adequate for semantics of higher order imperative programs.
Chapter IV Immediate-early gene (IEG) expression mapping of vocal communication areas in the avian brain

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the way the analysis of immediate-early gene (IEG) expression has been used to map vocal communication areas in the brain of songbirds and other avian groups. IEGs are genes that are rapidly and transiently induced in neuronal cells when these undergo depolarization. While some IEGs code for proteins that exert direct effects on neuronal cell function, several others encode transcription factors thought to modulate neuronal function indirectly by triggering gene regulatory cascades. Although the function of the IEG response is not yet fully understood, the analysis of induced IEG expression can be used to identify patterns of brain activation associated with specific stimuli or behaviors. The chapter focuses on zenk , the IEG for which most data in birds are currently available. The comparative zenk expression analysis has revealed several striking similarities in the organization of brain systems for vocal communication in independent avian vocal learning orders.
Examining the impact of acetylene on N-fixation and the active sediment microbial community.

Here we examined the impact of a commonly employed method used to measure nitrogen fixation, the acetylene reduction assay (ARA), on a marine sediment community. Historically, the ARA technique has been broadly employed for its ease of use, in spite of numerous known artifacts. To gauge the severity of these effects in a natural environment, we employed high-throughput sequencing to detect differences in acetylene-treated sediments versus non-treated control sediments after a seven hour incubation. Within this short time period, significant differences were seen broadly across all types of microbes identified in the sediment, implying that the changes induced by acetylene occur quickly. The results have important implications for our understanding of marine nitrogen budgets. Moreover, because the ARA technique has been widely used in terrestrial and freshwater habitats, these results may be applicable to other ecosystems.
Editorial Climate Justice and Extreme Events

Climate change, particularly as expressed by extreme weather and climate events, has become an issue of critical concern for localities, nations and the global society. At the same time, the question of how to respond to climate change is rapidly emerging as an issue of equity and justice as strongly evidenced by Pope Francis’ recent June 2015 encyclical on the topic. Climate change is driving a number of complex justice debates including what climate rights and responsibilities people have, and to what extent should society deal with the massive inequities that are developing in the face of climate change. Key inequities include projected disproportionate impacts on vulnerable urban coastal settlements, heightened agricultural stress and the potential for reduced production in large areas of the global south, and exacerbation of existing water shortages and emergence of new water stress locations. We only need to look at recent headlines highlighting heatwaves in South Asia, and drought in California and Brazil, to see evidence of these challenges. In many ways, this issue of the Journal of Extreme Events is centered on different elements of these issues of inequity, justice, and the emerging risks of extreme events. The pressure for climate action raises a set of questions about how society responds to issues of emerging justice concerns and how justice-related social conventions of today developed and continue to evolve. One can examine climate justice in this larger, longer context of social change, issue development, and pathways for action. Over the past several years, high profile disasters such as Hurricane Sandy in the United States and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines have been increasingly connected to climate change. The scientific debate is raging as to J Extreme Events, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2015) 1501001 (6 pages) © World Scientific Publishing Company DOI: 10.1142/S2345737615010010
On harmonic retrieval

This paper reviews methods for obtaining short time spectral estimates for sine waves in noise. In the presence of noise, autoregressive methods have well-known difficulties[1,2], while iterations based upon Pisarenko's harmonic retrieval method perform quite well. This paper brings together the derivation of the Reddy-Thompson-Pisarenko harmonic retrieval method, and presents some experimental results relating to the behavior of its detection and estimation behavior. These indicate a detection threshold around -8 dB, and a small signal suppression effect.
Ischemic optic neuropathy

Ischemic optic neuropathy is the most frequent cause of vision loss in middle age. Clinical and laboratory research studies have begun to clarify the natural history, clinical presentation, diagnostic criteria and pathogenesis of various ischemic nerve injuries. As a result, physicians are acquiring new tools to aid in the diagnosis and potential treatment of ischemic nerve injury. The aim of this review is to examine recent data on anterior and posterior ischemic optic neuropathy and to provide a framework for physicians to manage and counsel affected individuals.
Nonhealing ulcer secondary to factor V Leiden mutation and cryofibrinogenemia

Factor V Leiden is the most common genetic thrombophilia in people of European descent, and is important to recognize as it can have significant implications in dermatology. We report a case of a 30-year-old man who presented for evaluation and treatment of a chronic ulceration on the site of his stump following a below the knee amputation which had been performed for non-healing ulcerations. Despite a variety of treatments, his ulcer persisted. He was referred to a dermatologist who performed a biopsy that was interpreted ass non-specific, and treatment was started for pyoderma gangrenosum. Further investigation revealed a homozygous factor V Leiden mutation and cryofibrinogenemia. He was tapered off of the methylprednisolone and was improving on stanozolol. He healed well after surgery and no new ulcerations have developed. This case highlights the importance of considering this mutation in a non-healing leg ulcer.
Phenomenologically viable models from superstrings

Abstract The phenomenology of a class of models based on superstring theories is discussed. If the supersymmetry breaking mechanism generates masses for scalars which are much larger than those for gauginos, then all models with only the weak and Planck scales are ruled out, provided a discrete symmetry eliminates tree-level flavor changing neutral currents. Some restrictions on models with an intermediate scale are also given.
Speech acts, electronic commerce, and KQML

Abstract Speech act theory (the study of how utterances function as statements, questions, commands, etc.) is increasingly applicable to software design. KQML, a knowledge interchange language developed with ARPA funding, is based on speech act theory. It differs in significant ways from human speech and conventional EDI, and it can be improved in a number of ways. Although speech act theory is highly relevant to electronic communication, the needs of computers are different from those of humans. Computers need to perform concisely speech acts that are clumsy in human speech, such as arranging communication paths. They also need to recognize speech act types as immediately as possible, whereas human language gets along with clumsy encodings of speech acts into grammar.
Proline-induced potentiation of glutamate transmission

Abstract The amino acid proline has long been suspected to serve as a modulator of synaptic transmission in the mammalian brain, but no such function has been identified. The selective expression of high affinity proline transport by a subset of glutamate pathways suggested that proline might play a role in synaptic transmission at these sites. This idea was tested with use of one such pathway, the Schaffer collateral-commissural projection to CA1 pyramidal cells of the rat hippocampus. Proline enhanced the initial slope of the field EPSP without affecting axonal excitability or the magnitude of paired-pulse facilitation. Proline-induced potentiation far outlasted the period of proline application and required the activation of NMDA receptors. Proline enhanced Schaffer collateral-commissural synaptic transmission even when the connections between areas CA1 and CA3 had been interrupted. Potentiation was observed with a proline concentration normally present in human CSF (3 μM). A concentration typical of CSF in persons with the genetic disorder hyperprolinemia type II (30 μM) produced a somewhat greater effect. Occlusion experiments suggested that proline-induced potentiation and tetanus-induced long-term potentiation utilize largely distinct transduction mechanisms. Proline-induced potentiation could be blocked by a prior high frequency stimulus, whether or not the stimulus evoked long-term potentiation. These results suggest that endogenous extracellular proline regulates the basal function of some glutamate synapses by maintaining them in a partially potentiated state. They may also facilitate understanding of the seizures and/or mental retardation associated with genetic disorders of proline metabolism.
Measurement of velocity in gas mixtures: Hot-wire and hot-film anemometry

This paper extends the use of hot-wire and hot-film anemometry to the measurement of velocities in gas mixtures. It is demonstrated that the velocity data in binary gas mixtures can be satisfactorily predicted by calibration tests in pure systems alone or at any two convenient composition conditions. Furthermore, the actual transport properties of a fluid mixture may be inferred from direct calibrations of hot-wire, or hot-film anemometers in the mixture with known compositions.
A note on complexity measures for inductive classes in constructive type theory

Abstract It is notoriously hard to express computational complexity properties of programs in programming logics based on a semantics which respects extensional function equality. That is a serious impediment to applications of programming logics requiring reasoning about complexity. This paper shows how to use existing mechanisms to define internal computational complexity measures in logics that support inductively defined types, dependent products, and functions. The method exploits a feature of inductive definitions in constructive type theory, namely that implicit proof codes are kept with the objects showing how they are presented in the inductive class. The idea is illustrated by giving a formal inductive definition ofPTimebased on ideas from Leivant's work and on Bellantoni and Cook's approach. Then a complexity measure is defined on elements of this class. This paper discusses the limitations of this idea and the need forfaithfulnessguarantees that link internal complexity classes to the implementation of the logic. The paper concludes with a definition ofresource bounded logicsand a discussion of interesting lines of investigation of these logics which have the potential to make practical uses of results from computational complexity theory in formal reasoning about the efficiency of programs.
Minimal nuclear pore complexes define FG repeat domains essential for transport

Translocation through nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) requires interactions between receptor-cargo complexes and phenylalanine-glycine (FG) repeats in multiple FG domain-containing NPC proteins (FG-Nups). We have systematically deleted the FG domains of 11 Saccharomyces cerevisiae FG-Nups in various combinations. All five asymmetrically localized FG domains deleted together were non-essential. However, specific combinations of symmetrically localized FG domains were essential. Over half the total mass of FG domains could be deleted without loss of viability or the NPC's normal permeability barrier. Significantly, symmetric deletions caused mild reductions in Kap95-Kap60-mediated import rates, but virtually abolished Kap104 import. These results suggest the existence of multiple translocation pathways.
Inhibitors of protein prenylation 1999

Interest in farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) as a potential cancer therapy continues, judging from the approximately eighty patent applications published in the fourteen month period from January 1998. This review summarises progress in the field since the previous update [1] and includes a description of the first clinical trials in man. Also discussed are current biological experiments designed to further understand the preclinical antiproliferative effects of FTIs. Recent structural studies of farnesyltransferase (FTase) are summarised. Novel FTIs appearing in the scientific and patent literature in the past year are reviewed, along with new data published on key compounds, such as those undergoing clinical evaluation.
Land-use effects on soil carbon and nitrogen on a U.S. Midwestern floodplain.

Wet prairie soils in the Midwest store significant amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN). Crop fields, prairie restorations of varying ages, and remnant prairies on a floodplain soil (Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Endoaquolls) in southern Wisconsin were intensively sampled to estimate changes in SOC and TN due to the conversion of native prairie to row crops and the restoration of prairie on cropped land. In the top 10 cm of soil, remnant prairies contained an additional 24 Mg SOC ha -1 and 1.7 Mg TN ha -1 , compared with currently cropped fields (P < 0.05). In the top 25 cm, remnant prairies contained an additional 2.4 Mg TN ha -1 compared with currently cropped fields (P< 0.05), but a difference was not detected in SOC between unplowed remnants and cropped fields. Soil inorganic carbon (SIC) was significantly greater at all depths in cropped fields than in unplowed remnants. No differences in SOC and TN mass between annually tilled (AT) and biennially tilled (BT) fields were detected, except for greater TN in the top 10 cm of BT fields. No differences between currently cropped fields and prairie restorations less than 7 yr old were detected, however a 7- and 45-yr-old restoration had greater SOC and TN mass than crop averages. These results suggest that the loss of SOC in the A horizon of the soils on this floodplain through agriculture has likely been small. Additionally, the redistribution of SIC through the soil profile has had a significant impact on the total C stored in the plow layer, but not on the net C sequestered or released to the atmosphere through land use.
Policy Variations, Political Recruitment, and Suburban Social Rank: A Comparative Analysis*

(1970). Policy Variations, Political Recruitment, and Suburban Social Rank: A Comparative Analysis. The Sociological Quarterly: Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 452-462.
Spatial Statistics Applied to Commercial Real Estate

Portfolio theory shows that diversification can enhance the risk-return trade-off. This study uses the absolute location of commercial real estate property along with spatial statistics to address the inherent problem of determining geographical diversification based upon a set of economic and property-specific attributes, some of which are unobservable or must be proxied with noise. We find that commercial real estate portfolios exhibit statistically significant spatial correlation at distances ranging from adjacent zip codes to neighboring metropolitan areas. Given the common structure of dependence found in the data series, we discuss feasible strategies for obtaining diversification within direct-investment real estate portfolios.
Titanium catalyzed solid-state transformations in LiAlH4 during high-energy ball-milling

Abstract Mechanical processing of polycrystalline LiAlH4 in the presence of titanium- and iron-based catalysts induces the transformation of LiAlH4 into Li3AlH6, Al and H2 at room temperature. Several catalysts were tested and it was established that their activity gradually decreases from TiCl4 to Fe in the series TiCl4>Al3Ti≫Al22Fe3Ti8>Al3Fe>Fe. The high catalytic activity of TiCl4 has been attributed to microcrystalline intermetallic Al3Ti, which rapidly forms in situ from TiCl4 and LiAlH4 during mechanical processing and then acts as a heterogeneous dehydrogenation catalyst.
The interaction of sympathomimetic pressor amines; inversion of the vonedrine pressor action by paredrine.

The presence of Paredrine [β(p-hydroxyphenyl)-isopropylmethylamine] in the anesthetized dog causes the pressor action of Vonedrine (β-phenyl-n-propylmethylamine) to become inverted to a depressor action. Correlation of the arterial pressure and the rate of blood flow in the hind leg or head shows that this depressor action is due ro peripheral vasodilation. Repeated doses of Vonedrine alone produce a diminishing pressor response but no depressor action. Other amines, including epinephrine, ephedrine, tyramine, Sympatol, and Propadrine, do not invert Vonedrine and are themselves not inverted by Paredrine. Benzylimidazoline, a sympathomimetic antipressor agent, does not invert Vonedrine. The findings in this study indicate that the inversion of the Vonedrine pressor response by Paredrine may be an example of true reversal of action and not an unmasking of a normally present response.
Criminal justice in Israel: A research note

Abstract In recent years there has been a steady rise in crime in Israel, especially in the type of violent crime. This note describes the criminal justice system in Israel and analyzes some of the problems of law enforcement, courts, probation, and corrections in Israel.
Sedentary kaolinitic soil on the carboniferous limestone series in anglesey

A soil overlying Carboniferous calcarenites in Anglesey has a clay fraction dominantly of kaolinite in contrast to the illite-chlorite assemblages generally characteristic of North Wales soils. From the mineralogy and field evidence this soil is interpreted as resulting from Late Glacial in situ weathering of the underlying rocks.