cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Representation and index theory for C∗-algebras generated by commuting isometries

Abstract We discuss here representation and Fredholm theory for C ∗ -algebras generated by commuting isometries. More particularly, for n commuting isometries { V j : 1 ⩽ j ⩽ n } on separable Hilbert space we give a representation resembling the well-known representation for a single isometry. Our representation permits an analysis of the C ∗ -algebras Ol = Ol ( V j :1⩽ j⩽n ) generated by the { V j }. The commutator ideal in Ol is identified precisely and, under certain additional hypotheses, the Fredholm operators in Ol are also precisely determined. Finally, we obtain formulas in terms of topological data for the index of Fredholm operators in some interesting algebras of the type Ol ( V j :1⩽ j⩽n ).
Lesions of the nucleus paragigantocellularis alter ex copula penile reflexes

The effects of electrolytic lesions of the rostral nucleus paragigantocellularis (nPGi) were examined on ex copula sexual reflexes in male rats. Bilateral lesions of the nPGi significantly reduced (by 50%) the onset of the first ex copula reflex, which usually was a glans erection. In addition, the number of dorsiflexions (flips) was significantly increased. In the anesthetized spinally intact rat the urethrogenital reflex cannot be evoked. However, after chronic bilateral lesions of the rostral nPGi, half of the rats tested displayed the urethrogenital reflex prior to section of the spinal cord. These data support a role for the rostral nPGi in the descending inhibition of male sexual reflexes.
First-row transition metal dichalcogenide catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction

A group of first-row transition metal dichalcogenides (ME2, M = Fe, Co, Ni; E = S, Se) are introduced as non-precious HER catalysts in an acidic electrolyte. They exhibit excellent catalytic activity especially in their nanoparticle form. These compounds expand and enrich the family of high performance HER catalysts.
Acuity-Adaptable Nursing Care: Exploring Its Place in Designing the Future Patient Room

Aim:To substantiate the anticipated benefits of the original acuity-adaptable care delivery model as defined by innovator Ann Hendrich.Background:In today's conveyor belt approach to healthcare, upon admission and through discharge, patients are commonly transferred based on changing acuity needs. Wasted time and money and inefficiencies in hospital operations often result—in addition to jeopardizing patient safety. In the last decade, a handful of hospitals pioneered the implementation of the acuity-adaptable care delivery model. Built on the concept of eliminating patient transfers, the projected outcomes of acuity-adaptable units—decreased average lengths of stay, increased patient safety and satisfaction, and increased nurses' satisfaction from reduced walking distances—make a good case for a model patient room.Conclusion:Although some hospitals experienced the projected benefits of the acuity-adaptable care delivery model, sustaining the outcomes proved to be difficult; hence, the original definition...
Effects of alternative management regimes on forest stand structure, species composition, and income: a model for the Italian Dolomites

Abstract The aim of this study was to predict the long-term effects of alternative management regimes for uneven-aged mixed-species forests in the Italian Dolomites, among the most beautiful in the Alps range. For this purpose, a non-linear matrix model of stand growth was estimated from re-measured stands, and the predictions compared with actual data. Then, long-term simulations were used to determine the effects of (i) extracting some mortality only; (ii) applying Susmel's (1980) management guides; (iii) cutting only trees above a diameter limit, (iv) saving the beech, and (v) continuing the current harvest rate. The ecological criteria to evaluate the different management regimes were basal area and stand composition by tree species and size. The economic criterion was the net present value of the harvests. The results suggest that, for a 10-year cutting cycle, applying Susmel's guide or a diameter-limit cut of 70 cm for conifers and 50 for beech would keep diversity of species and size equal to that of an unmanaged stand, though lowering basal area. Of the two, Susmel's guide would give 25% higher income. However, income could be doubled by lowering the diameter-limit cut to 60 cm for conifers and 45 for beech. This would give the same basal area and species diversity, but decrease size diversity by about 6%. The policy that did not allow to cut beech resulted in stands that had less beech than those obtained by Susmel's guide or diameter-limit cuts. Perpetuating the current cutting rate gave the highest tree size diversity, but lower species diversity and the lowest income. Of cutting cycles of 5, 10, and 15 years, the longest gave, other things being equal, the highest basal area and size diversity, slightly lower species diversity, but substantially lower income.
FEATURE SELECTION FOR DATASETS WITH IMBALANCED CLASS DISTRIBUTIONS

Feature selection for supervised learning concerns the problem of selecting a number of important features (w.r.t. the class labels) for the purposes of training accurate prediction models. Traditional feature selection methods, however, fail to take the sample distributions into consideration which may lead to poor prediction for minority class examples. Due to the sophistication and the cost involved in the data collection process, many applications, such as biomedical research, commonly face biased data collections with one class of examples (e.g., diseased samples) significantly less than other classes (e.g., normal samples). For these applications, the minority class examples, such as disease samples, credit card frauds, and network intrusions, are only a small portion of the data but deserve full attention for accurate prediction. In this paper, we propose three filtering techniques, Higher Weight (HW), Differential Minority Repeat (DMR) and Balanced Minority Repeat (BMR), to identify important features from datasets with biased sample distribution. Experimental comparisons with the ReliefF method on five datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods in selecting informative features for accurate prediction of minority class examples.
Subsidiary-absorption spin-wave-instability processes in yttrium iron garnet thin films: Coupled lateral standing modes, critical modes, and the kink effect.

Subsidiary-absorption butterfly curves of the spin-wave-instability threshold microwave-field-amplitude versus static field H, for an in-plane magnetized 1.1 mm \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2.0 mm, 7-\ensuremath{\mu}m-thick yttrium iron garnet film rectangle at 9.4 GHz, and with the linearly polarized microwave field perpendicular to the static field H and also in-plane, are found to show significant changes when H is changed from along the long edge to along the short edge of the rectangle. This effect is explained by a theory for the first-order spin-wave-instability threshold in magnetic films, which takes into acocunt the coupled standing spin-wave modes across the lateral dimensions of the film. This theory is a modification of a previous theory, which considered the standing modes across the film cross section only. The theory is able to reproduce the orientation effect found experimentally and give good fits to the butterfly-curve data. In contrast with previous results, it is not necessary to introduce ad hoc spin-wave angle ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\theta}}}_{\mathit{K}}$ terms into the spin-wave linewidth to obtain these fits. The theory also yields critical-mode wave numbers in the kink region which are in the 5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{4}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ range, which agree with previous fine-structure and Brillouin light-scattering measurements. A key parameter in the analysis is a mode spacing parameter \ensuremath{\Delta}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\omega}}}_{\mathit{K}}$, which contains a factor of the form sin(2${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\theta}}}_{\mathit{K}}$)/K, where K is the mode wave number and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\theta}}}_{\mathit{K}}$ is the mode in-plane angle relative to H. These dependences are the key to the match with experiment. They are also general, and not limited to the thin-film geometry.
On the convergence of query-bounded computations and logical closure properties of c:e: sets

Call a set A n-correctable if every set Turing reducible to A via a Turing machine that on any input makes at most n queries is Turing reducible to A via a Turing machine that on any input makes at most n -queries and on any input halts no matter what answers are given to its queries. We show that if a c.e. set A is n -correctable for some n ≥ 2, then it is n -correctable for all n. We show that this is the optimal such result by constructing a c.e. set that is 1-correctable but not 2-correctable. The former result is obtained by examining the logical closure properties of c.e. sets that are 2-correctable.
Aminostratigraphic Correlation and Geochronology of Two Quaternary Loess Localities, Central Mississippi Valley

Amino acid epimeric (aIle/Ile) values from terrestrial molluscs are used to define and correlate three aminozones in loess sequences exposed across the central Mississippi Valley, in Arkansas and Tennessee. Three superposed aminozones are defined at Wittsburg quarry, Arkansas, primarily using aIle/Ile values from total hydrolysates of the gastropod genus Hendersonia: Peoria Loess (aIle/Ile = 0.07 ± 0.01), Roxana Silt (0.14 ± 0.02), and a third loess (0.28 ± 0.06). Loess units at Wittsburg quarry can be correlated on lithologic characteristics eastward across the Mississippi Valley to the Old River section, near Memphis, Tennessee; however, only one loess unit is fossil-bearing (Peoria Loess, aIle/Ile = 0.05) at that section. Radiocarbon analyses of charcoal from the upper Roxana Silt (ca. 26,000 to 29,000 yr old) and mollusc shell carbonate from the basal Roxana Silt (ca. 39,000 yr old) are used to calibrate amino acid epimeric data for the central Mississippi Valley. These data, applied to the apparent parabolic kinetic model of R. M. Mitterer and N. Kriausakul (1989, Quaternary Science Reviews 8, 353-357), suggest an Illinoian (>120,000 yr) age for the third loess in the central Mississippi Valley that is correlative with part of the Loveland Loess in Illinois and Iowa.
Isoketals: highly reactive γ-ketoaldehydes formed from the H2-isoprostane pathway

Oxidation of arachidonic acid leads to the formation of highly reactive γ-ketoaldehydes now termed isoketals. Isoketals react with proteins at a rate that far exceeds other well studied products of lipid peroxidation such as 4-hydroxynonenal and demonstrate a remarkable proclivity to crosslink these proteins. For these reasons, isoketals have the potential to significantly alter protein function and contribute to disease processes. This article reviews the chemistry of isoketal formation, of their adduction to proteins, and of their proclivity to crosslink proteins, as well as their effects on protein function, and their potential role in diseases associated with oxidative injury.
Site-directed mutagenesis of basic arginine residues 305 and 342 in the CP 43 protein of photosystem II affects oxygen-evolving activity in Synechocystis 6803.

The intrinsic chlorophyll protein CP 43, a component of photosystem II (PS II) in higher plants, green algae, and cyanobacteria, is encoded by the psbC gene. Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was employed to introduce mutations into a segment of psbC that encodes the large extrinsic loop E of CP 43 in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. Two mutations, R305S and R342S, each produced a strain with impaired photosystem II activity. The R305S mutant strain grew photoautotrophically at rates comparable to the control strain. Immunological analyses of a number of PSII components indicated that this mutant accumulated normal quantities of PSII proteins. However, this mutant evolved oxygen to only 70% of control rates at saturating light intensities. Measurements of total variable fluorescence yield indicated that this mutant assembled approximately 70% of the PSII centers found in the control strain. The R342S mutant failed to grow photoautotrophically and exhibited no capacity for oxygen evolution. Howeve...
Physician Satisfaction and Burnout at Different Career Stages

Abstract Objective To explore the work lives, professional satisfaction, and burnout of US physicians by career stage and differences across sexes, specialties, and practice setting. Participants and Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study that involved a large sample of US physicians from all specialty disciplines in June 2011. The survey included the Maslach Burnout Inventory and items that explored professional life and career satisfaction. Physicians who had been in practice 10 years or less, 11 to 20 years, and 21 years or more were considered to be in early, middle, and late career, respectively. Results Early career physicians had the lowest satisfaction with overall career choice (being a physician), the highest frequency of work-home conflicts, and the highest rates of depersonalization (all P P Conclusion Burnout, satisfaction, and other professional challenges for physicians vary by career stage. Middle career appears to be a particularly challenging time for physicians. Efforts to promote career satisfaction, reduce burnout, and facilitate retention need to be expanded beyond early career interventions and may need to be tailored by career stage.
Fundamental Frequency Testing of Reinforced Concrete Beams

Tests were conducted to measure the fundamental frequencies of reinforced concrete beams. Beams were tested prior to load application and after they had been loaded to various fractions of their ultimate moment capacity. Dynamic testing was performed in an unloaded state in both the direction of loading and in the direction perpendicular to loading. Resulting fundamental frequencies were used to determine the dynamic flexural stiffness ( Ed I) relative to the undamaged flexural stiffness. Results show that fundamental frequency tests can effectively measure decreases in dynamic flexural stiffness caused by flexural cracking. However, the effective moment of inertia in the relaxed state is not accurately predicted by American Concrete Institute recommendations for computing static beam deflections. Equations were developed to describe the effective flexural stiffness of unloaded, cracked beams. A relative dynamic flexural stiffness value of 70 provides a conservative prediction that a beam has failed by be...
A scale-adjusted measure of Urban sprawl using nighttime satellite imagery

Abstract “Urban Sprawl” is a growing concern of citizens, environmental organizations, and governments. Negative impacts often attributed to urban sprawl are traffic congestion, loss of open space, and increased pollutant runoff into natural waterways. Definitions of “Urban Sprawl” range from local patterns of land use and development to aggregate measures of per capita land consumption for given contiguous urban areas (UA). This research creates a measure of per capita land use consumption as an aggregate index for the spatially contiguous urban areas of the conterminous United States with population of 50,000 or greater. Nighttime satellite imagery obtained by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System (DMSP OLS) is used as a proxy measure of urban extent. The corresponding population of these urban areas is derived from a grid of the block group level data from the 1990 U.S. Census. These numbers are used to develop a regression equation between Ln(Urban Area) and Ln(Urban Population). The ‘scale-adjustment’ mentioned in the title characterizes the “Urban Sprawl” of each of the urban areas by how far above or below they are on the “Sprawl Line” determined by this regression. This “Sprawl Line” allows for a more fair comparison of “Urban Sprawl” between larger and smaller metropolitan areas because a simple measure of per capita land consumption or population density does not account for the natural increase in aggregate population density that occurs as cities grow in population. Cities that have more “Urban Sprawl” by this measure tended to be inland and Midwestern cities such as Minneapolis–St. Paul, Atlanta, Dallas–Ft. Worth, St. Louis, and Kansas City. Surprisingly, west coast cities including Los Angeles had some of the lowest levels of “Urban Sprawl” by this measure. There were many low light levels seen in the nighttime imagery around these major urban areas that were not included in either of the two definitions of urban extent used in this study. These areas may represent a growing commuter-shed of urban workers who do not live in the urban core but nonetheless contribute to many of the impacts typically attributed to “Urban Sprawl”. “Urban Sprawl” is difficult to define precisely partly because public perception of sprawl is likely derived from local land use planning decisions, spatio-demographic change in growing urban areas, and changing values and social mores resulting from differential rates of international migration to the urban areas of the United States. Nonetheless, the aggregate measures derived here are somewhat different than similar previously used measures in that they are ‘scale-adjusted’; also, the spatial patterns of “Urban Sprawl” shown here shed some insight and raise interesting questions about how the dynamics of “Urban Sprawl” are changing.
Eastern Central Asia Paleolithic

relative time period: Follows the East Asian Middle Paleolithic tradition, precedes the Eastern Central Asia Neolithic and Bronze Age tradition.
Responses of sap flux and stomatal conductance of Pinus taeda L. trees to stepwise reductions in leaf area

and other hydraulic parameters. Increased gas exchange rates have been commonly observed in response to defoliHerbivory or artificial foliage removal has been shown ation in a range of species (McNaughton, 1983; Gold to affect gas exchange and canopy water relations. In and Caldwell, 1989; Welter, 1989; Reich et al., 1993). this study, canopy architecture and water relations in While defoliation experiments have often focused on response to progressive defoliation were examined in assimilation and growth (Alderfer and Eagles, 1976; a stand of 8-year-old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) Wallace et al., 1984; Belsky, 1986), eVects on g
End-to-end congestion control for infiniband

Infiniband system area networks (SANs) which use link-level flow control experience congestion spreading, where one bottleneck link causes traffic to block throughout the network. In this paper, we propose an end-to-end congestion control scheme that avoids congestion spreading, delivers high throughput, and prevents flow starvation. It couples a simple switch-based ECN packet marking mechanism appropriate for typical SAN switches with small input buffers, together with a source response mechanism that uses rate control combined with a window limit. The classic fairness convergence requirement for source response functions assumes network feedback is synchronous. We relax the classic requirement by exploiting the asynchronous behavior of packet marking. Our experimental results demonstrate that compared to conventional approaches, our proposed marking mechanism improves fairness. Moreover, rate increase functions possible under the relaxed requirement reclaim available bandwidth aggressively and improve throughput in both static and dynamic traffic scenarios.
Sensitive troponin assays in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome: Results from the multicenter rule out myocardial infarction using computer assisted tomography II trial

Background Sensitive troponin (Tn) assays have been developed for the evaluation of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We sought to compare the performance of a commercially available sensitive Tn I (sTnI) and precommercial highly sTnI (hsTnI) method to conventional Tn (cTn) assays. Methods Among patients with acute chest pain but normal cTn in the emergency department of 6 centers, sTnI and hsTnI were measured at baseline, 2 and 4 hours after presentation. Diagnostic accuracy of sTnI and hsTnI relative to cTn for diagnosis during index hospitalization as well as their associations with coronary artery disease in patients randomized to coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) was assessed. Results Overall, 322 patients were enrolled, of whom 161 had a CTA; 28 had ACS (8.7%), including 21 with unstable angina pectoris (UAP). Both sTnI and hsTnI values at baseline and second draw had significantly higher sensitivity for ACS and UAP than cTn and had significantly greater area under the receiver operator characteristic curve than cTn at first and second draws. Compared with cTn, 29% of ACS cases previously categorized as UAP were reclassified to acute myocardial infarction with sTnI or hsTnI. An hsTnI below limit of detection had 100% negative predictive value for ACS or significant coronary artery stenosis in those randomized to CTA. Conclusions In patients with acute chest discomfort, use of sTnI and hsTnI methods led to significant improvement in the early diagnostic accuracy for ACS, reclassifying one-third of UAP to myocardial infarction. Very low values for hsTnI excluded underlying coronary artery disease.
A 104dB SNDR Transimpedance-based CMOS ASIC for Tuning Fork Microgyroscopes

A CMOS ASIC has been designed and interfaced with a high Q MEMS gyroscope to yield an angular rate sensor with a 1.2deg/hr noise floor and 2mV/deg/s rate sensitivity. A T-network transimpedance amplifier (TIA) has been implemented with a measured capacitive resolution of 0.04aF/radicHz, an SNDR of 104dB and which consumes ~ 400muW of power. The TIA also provides large on-chip transimpedance and can sustain oscillations in MEMS gyroscopes with motional impedances greater than 100MOmega
Gene selection, alternative splicing, and post-translational processing regulate neuroligin selectivity for β-neurexins

Neuroligins 1-4 are postsynaptic transmembrane proteins capable of initiating presynaptic maturation via interactions with beta-neurexin. Both neuroligins and beta-neurexins have alternatively spliced inserts in their extracellular domains. Using analytical ultracentrifugation, we determined that the extracellular domains of the neuroligins sediment as dimers, whereas the extracellular domains of the beta-neurexins appear monomeric. Sedimentation velocity experiments of titrated stoichiometry ratios of beta-neurexin and neuroligin suggested a 2:2 complex formation. The recognition properties of individual neuroligins toward beta-neurexin-1 (NX1beta), along with the influence of their splice inserts, were explored by surface plasmon resonance and affinity chromatography. Different neuroligins display a range of NX1beta affinities spanning more than 2 orders of magnitude. Whereas splice insert 4 in beta-neurexin appears to act only as a modulator of the neuroligin/beta-neurexin association, splice insert B in neuroligin-1 (NL1) is the key element regulating the NL1/NX1beta binding. Our data indicate that gene selection, mRNA splicing, and post-translational modifications combine to give rise to a controlled neuroligin recognition code with a rank ordering of affinities for particular neurexins that is conserved for the neuroligins across mammalian species.
Boundary Integral Equations for Thermoelastic Plates with Cracks

The solutions of initial-boundary value problems for bending of a thermoelastic plate with a crack in the case of Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions prescribed on the crack edges are represented as a sum of thermoelastic single-layer and double-layer potentials with unknown densities, and the unique solvability of the corresponding boundary integral equations is discussed in a distributional setting.
The Management of Tics

A tic is a stereotyped repetitive involuntary movement or sound, frequently preceded by premonitory sensations or urges. Most tic disorders are genetic or idiopathic in nature, possibly due to a developmental failure of inhibitory function within frontal-subcortical circuits modulating volitional movements. Currently available oral medications can reduce the severity of tics, but rarely eliminate them. Botulinum toxin injections can be effective if there are a few particularly disabling motor tics. Deep brain stimulation has been reported to be an effective treatment for the most severe cases, but remains unproven. A comprehensive evaluation accounting for secondary causes, psychosocial factors, and comorbid neuropsychiatric conditions is essential to successful treatment of tic disorders.
The treatment of long vowels in word games

\/ ~~~~~~~~~~~I I a a a In the great majority of cases long segments are represented in terms of the many-to-one relation. The one-to-one representation seems to be required in certain cases, however: for some long vowels in Cuna (Sherzer 1970), Gokana (Hyman I982), and Latin (Steriade & Schein I984), and
Evolution of the two-phase microstructure L12 + DO22 in near-eutectoid Ni3(Al,V) alloy

Transmission electron microscopy and powder x-ray diffraction methods have been used to investigate the evolution of two-phase (L12 + DO22) microstructures from the quenched fcc phase of the Ni-5Al-20V (at. %) alloy. The microstructure after annealing in a temperature range from 650 to 900 °C differs from the eutectoid structure which might be expected for the alloy according to the eutectoid-type phase diagram of the Ni3Al-Ni3V section. This structure results from fast kinetics of ordering in the fcc → L12 and fcc → DO22 phase transitions. Four main stages in the microstructural evolution were observed. Stage I is the formation of spheroidal coherent L12 clusters in a disordered fcc matrix. During stage II the L12 clusters transform into cuboidal precipitates, and the fcc matrix orders into three DO22 variants (which may have interfaces that are wetted by thin fcc layers). In stage III accommodation of misfit (elastic energy) between different phases and variants occurs by formation of (110) twins or a single variant of the DO22 phase and tetragonally strained lamellae of the L12 phase. Stage IV is a discontinuous coarsening process in which a coarse incoherent two-phase structure replaces the fine coherent one. Grains of the coarse structure are nucleated on high-angle boundaries of primary fcc or other surfaces. Many of the grains are found twinned.
Maximum metabolism and the aerobic factorial scope of endotherms

Minimum and maximum metabolism in response to cold were measured in 30 species of Australian monotremes, marsupials, eutherians and birds. In marsupials and the echidna, maximum metabolism was also determined during treadmill locomotion. These data were used to determine, for the first time, the relationships between maximum metabolism and body mass in the four endothermic groups and to compare aerobic factorial scopes (the ratio of maximum to minimum metabolism) elicited by cold and locomotion. The effect of body mass on maximum metabolism is the same in marsupials and eutherians (the therians) but is significantly less in birds. At the same body mass, there is no difference between the two therian groups for either minimum or maximum metabolism induced by either cold or locomotion. Aerobic scope during cold is significantly higher in marsupials (8.3) than in eutherians (5.1), birds (5.4) and monotremes (5.4). Aerobic scope during locomotion in all groups is almost twice that observed in cold conditions.
BRAIN, SYMBOL, & EXPERIENCE: A PSYCHIATRIC AND THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE

. Brain, Symbol & Experience attempts to solidify the authors' work in the fields of neurophenomenology and consciousness. The interdisciplinary nature of the work dictates less than extensive discussions of individual academic topics, but it does facilitate the identification of mutual points of interest for future pluralistic dialogues. This paper explores the implications of Laughlin, McManus, and d'Aquili for the neurosciences, psycho-pathology, psychotherapy, contemporary literature, theology, and faith development theory. Suggestions for specific interdisciplinary conversations are offered.
“I'm Really Torn, I Guess”: Reconciling Conflicting Roles Among Physicians Seeking Research Consent

A focus-group participant in Kelley and colleagues' article, “Patient Perspectives on the Learning Health System: The Importance of Trust and Shared Decision Making” (2015), is quoted as he or she ...
Ocean–Atmosphere Influences on Low-Frequency Warm-Season Drought Variability in the Gulf Coast and Southeastern United States

AbstractFrom the 344 state climate divisions in the conterminous United States, nine distinct regions of warm-season drought variability are identified using principal component analysis. The drought metric used is the Palmer hydrological drought index for the period 1895–2008. The focus of this paper is multidecadal drought variability in the Southeast (SEUS) and eastern Gulf South (EGS) regions of the United States, areas in which the low-frequency forcing mechanisms of warm-season drought are still poorly understood. Low-frequency drought variability in the SEUS and EGS is associated with smoothed indexed time series of major ocean–atmosphere circulation features, including two indices of spatiotemporal variability in the North Atlantic subtropical anticyclone (Bermuda high). Long-term warm-season drought conditions are significantly out of phase between the two regions. Multidecadal regimes of above- and below-average moisture in the SEUS and EGS are closely associated with slow variability in sea sur...
On the effects of frontogenetic strain on symmetric instability and inertia–gravity waves

The dynamics of symmetric instability and two-dimensional inertia–gravity waves in a baroclinic geostrophic flow undergoing frontogenesis is analysed. A frontogenetic strain associated with a balanced deformation field drives an ageostrophic circulation and temporal variations in the basic state that significantly affect the properties of perturbations to the background flow. For stable stratification, perturbations to the basic state result in symmetric instability or inertia–gravity waves, depending on the sign of the Ertel potential vorticity and the magnitude of the Richardson number of the geostrophic flow. The kinetic energy (KE) of both types of motion is suppressed by frontogenetic strain due to the vertical shear in the ageostrophic circulation. This is because the perturbation streamlines tilt with the ageostrophic shear causing the disturbances to lose KE via shear production. The effect can completely dampen symmetric instability for sufficiently strong strain even though the source of KE for the instability (the vertical shear in the geostrophic flow) increases with time. Inertia–gravity waves in a baroclinic flow undergoing frontogenesis simultaneously lose KE and extract KE from the deformation field as they decay. This is because the horizontal velocity of the waves becomes rectilinear, resulting in a Reynolds stress that draws energy from the balanced flow. The process is most effective for waves of low frequency and for a geostrophic flow with low Richardson number. However, even in a background flow that is initially strongly stratified, frontogenesis leads to an exponentially fast reduction in the Richardson number, facilitating a rapid energy extraction by the waves. The KE transferred from the deformation field is ultimately lost to the unbalanced ageostrophic circulation through shear production, hence the inertia–gravity waves play a catalytic role in loss of balance. Given the large amount of KE in low-frequency inertia–gravity waves and the ubiquitous combination of strain and baroclinic geostrophic currents in the ocean, it is estimated that this mechanism could play a significant role in the removal of KE from both the internal wave and mesoscale eddy fields.
Oxytocin administration attenuates stress reactivity in borderline personality disorder: A pilot study.

Oxytocin has known stress-reducing and attachment-enhancing effects. We thus hypothesized that oxytocin would attenuate emotional and hormonal responses to stress in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Fourteen BPD and 13 healthy control (HC) adults received 40 IU intranasal oxytocin or placebo in double-blind randomized order followed by the Trier Social Stress Test. Subjective dysphoria (Profile of Mood Changes) and plasma cortisol levels were measured. Childhood trauma history, attachment style, and self-esteem were also rated. A significant "Group × Drug × Time" interaction effect for dysphoria (p=.04) reflected a proportionately greater attenuation of stress-induced dysphoria in the BPD group after oxytocin administration. Additionally, a marginally significant "Group × Drug" interaction effect for cortisol (p=.10) reflected a tendency toward greater attenuation of the stress-induced cortisol surge in the BPD group after oxytocin administration. In the combined sample, the oxytocin-placebo difference in the emotional stress reactivity was significantly predicted by childhood trauma alone (p=.037) and combined with self-esteem (p=.030), whereas the oxytocin-placebo difference in cortisol stress reactivity was predicted only by insecure attachment (p=.013). Results suggest that oxytocin may have a beneficial impact on emotional regulation in BPD, which merits further investigation and could have important treatment implications.
Biogeochemistry, An Analysis of Global Change

Compared to the well-established disciplines, the field of Earth system science/global change has relatively few books from which to choose. Of the small subset of books dealing specifically with biogeochemical aspects of global change, the first edition of Schlesinger's Biogeochemistry in 1991 was an early entry. It has since gained sufficient popularity and demand to merit a second, extensively revised edition. The first part of the book provides a general introduction to biogeochemistry and cycles, and to the origin of elements, our planet, and life on Earth. It then describes the functioning and biogeochemistry of the atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere, including marine and freshwater systems. Although system function and features are stressed, the author begins to introduce global change topics, such as soil organic matter and global change in Chapter 5, and landscape and mass balance in Chapter 6.
Effects of Culling on Bison Demographics in Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

Abstract We used a stochastic Leslie matrix model parameterized with demographic data from Wind Cave National Park to evaluate effects of four culling strategies on population growth rates and age and sex structure of bison (Bison bison Linnaeus). The four culling scenarios we modeled included removal of: (1) yearlings only; (2) calf/cow combination; (3) a herd-wide proportional cull (i.e., individuals taken in proportion to their availability); and (4) calves only. We also allowed either one, two, or three years to elapse between culls to mimic current management activities, and chose culling values for each scenario that would maintain a stable population (i.e., λ ≈ 1.00). In the absence of culling, our model projected a growth rate of 16% per year (λ= 1.16) (SD = 0.02) for the Wind Cave bison population. The modeled population was characterized by a unimodal age structure for bulls and cows and a 1:1 bull: cow ratio. Removal of 75% of the yearlings or 75% of the calves every year was needed to maintain...
Cystic fibrosis mutation detection by hybridization to light‐generated DNA probe arrays

We have combined photochemistry and photolithography with solid-phase DNA synthesis chemistry to form a new technology that makes high density oligonucleotide probe array synthesis possible. Hybridization to these two-dimensional arrays containing hundreds or thousands of oligonucleotide probes provides a powerful DNA sequence analysis tool. Two types of light-generated DNA probe arrays have been used to test for a variety of mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. One array, made up of 428 probes, was designed to scan through the length of CFTR exon 11 and identify differences from the wild type reference sequence. The second type of array contained 1480 probes chosen to detect known deletions, insertions, or base substitution mutations. The validity of the probe arrays was established by hybridizing them with fluorescently labeled control oligonucleotide targets. Characterized mutant CFTR genomic DNA samples were then used to further test probe array hybridization specificity. Finally, ten unknown patient samples were genotyped using the CFTR probe array assay. The genotype assignments were identical to those obtained by PCR product restriction fragment analysis. Our results show that light-generated DNA probe arrays are highly effective in analyzing complex mutation and polymorphism patterns in a relatively large gene such as CFTR.
Multichannel dynamic range compression for music signals

Dynamic range compression reduces the level differences between the high and low intensity portions of an audio signal. Applications include hearing aids and professional audio. Many applications strive for transparent compression, where the output signal is to be as perceptually similar to the original signal as possible. Most compression algorithms are very similar, with variations existing primarily in the implementation details of a common set of parameters. This research effort introduces several fundamentally new approaches to dynamic range compression including a critical band multichannel structure, attack and release rates, a level estimate mode control, and a normalization of the level estimates across the frequency bands. This research effort also applies multidimensional scaling techniques to the analysis of subject testing performed using musical stimuli. This analysis allows us to evaluate the interactions of multiple compression parameters and to formulate a much needed metric pertaining to the degree of compression achieved.
On capital overaccumulation in the aggregative, neoclassical model of economic growth: A complete characterization

Consider the following idealized description of an economy’s behavior over time: In each period the labor force works with several different types of capital stocks to produce several different types of output. These last are then used either to satisfy the needs and wants of the first (consumption) or to replace and augment the second (investment). Both production and the allocation of output between consumption and investment are carried out efficiently; that is, in any given period no output could be increased without another being decreased, and at the end of any span of periods no capital stock could be increased without another or some intermediate consumption being decreased. Such an evolution starts from a given profile of capital stocks and continues indefinitely. Now ask the question: Is this seemingly exemplary economy actually providing as much consumption as it’s capable of? A moment’s reflection should convince one that the correct answer is that it all depends on whether, in some sense, too much investment takes place. In particular, just consider the polar situation where in every period all output is invested (and consequently, the economy provides no consumption whatsover!).
Using Computer-assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS) to Re-examine Traditionally Analyzed Data: Expanding our Understanding of the Data and of Ourselves as Scholars

As diverse members of a college of education evaluation committee one of our charges is to support faculty as we document and improve our teaching. Our committee asked faculty to respond to three qualitative questions, documenting ways in which interdepartmental and crossdepartment conversations are used to promote reflective thinking about our practice. Three of us investigated the use of CAQDAS to provide an additional level of analysis and how we learned more about ourselves as scholars through this collaboration. Our findings include recommendations regarding the use of CAQDAS to support collaborative efforts by diverse scholars. Key Words: Multi-disciplinary Research, Multiple Perspectives, CAQDAS, Qualitative Research.
Women, Private Health Insurance, and the Affordable Care Act.

In the run up to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), many of the law’s proponents were actively engaged in advocacy that promoted the law’s benefits for women. In particular, there was much attention to the numerous provisions that addressed the long-standing inequities and discriminatory practices adopted by many private insurance plans that disproportionately disadvantaged women. These included charging women higher rates than men, while also excluding benefits important to women, such as maternity care and contraception. As we approach the end of the ACA’s third open enrollment period, it is a good time to step back and reflect what we are learning about how the private insurance reforms and expansions have affected access to coverage for women and to identify where gaps remain. uninsured through a combination of Medicaid expansions, private insurance reforms, and tax credits. Although the ACA’s Medicaid expansions have broadened coverage for many, but not all, of the nation’s poorest women (Ranji & Salganicoff, 2015), the law also has done much to improve access to affordable private insurance coverage for millions with modest and middle incomes by offering subsidized premium assistance. In addition, coverage rates for young adults have also greatly improved owing to the law’s requirement that employer plans offer workers the option of keeping adult children up to age 26 enrolled as dependents. But, as will be discussed, this option has also presented some unanticipated challenges for young women. The ACA also instituted a series of private insurance reforms to alleviate some of the long-standing barriers to coverage, many disproportionately affecting women. Historically, insurance carriers selling plans on the individual insurance market adopted policies that specifically placed women at a disadvantage, either by charging them higher premiums than men for the same level of coverage (a practice called gender rating), limiting their scope of benefits, such as excluding maternity care or contraception, or in some cases, excluding coverage for certain preexisting conditions, including pregnancy. The ACA bans plans from instituting these policies. In the first 2 years of insurance expansions, women represented 54% of enrollees in Marketplaces using the healthcare.gov platform (Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 2015), despite the fact that they were less likely to be uninsured. This may not be surprising given that women are more likely than men to manage family health, have contact with the health system, and have higher rates of chronic health problems as well as experience cost-related barriers to care. For these reasons, the elimination of many of the structural barriers to insurance along with offer of subsidies could have made enrollment in insurance coverage a higher priority for women than men.
Measuring Behavioral Responses

In the last chapter, we reviewed methods and techniques that we have found useful for controlling the delivery of stimuli during behavioral neuroscience experiments. As we pointed out in Chapter 2, typically the major reason for presenting stimuli to subjects in an experiment is to elicit behavioral responses that are under observation. Indeed, normally the primary goal of behavioral neuroscience experiments is to study changes in behavior that occur due to a manipulation of the external (or for that matter, the internal) environment of the experimental subject. Just as it is vital that stimuli be presented in a well-controlled and precise manner, it is vital that behavior be measured with accuracy and reliability or the results of the experiment are meaningless.
Home buying while brown or black : teaching mathematics for racial justice

"So one question leads to another question, and then you have to answer four more, and those four questions lead to eight more questions. So I think that [racial disparity in mortgage lending] is not racism, but that leads me to the conclusion that if it was not racism, then why do they pay more money to whites? Is that racism?" - Vanessa (all students' names have been changed), grade seven.
Argon Thermal Conductivity by Anharmonic Lattice Dynamics Calculations

Lattice dynamics calculations are used to investigate thermal transport in the face-centered cubic Lennard-Jones (LJ) argon crystal between temperatures of 20 and 80 K. First, quasi-harmonic lattice dynamics calculations are used to find the frequencies and mode shapes of non-interacting phonons [1]. This information is then used as input for anharmonic lattice dynamics calculations. Anharmonic lattice dynamics is a means of computing the frequency shift and lifetime of each phonon mode due to interactions with other phonons [2]. The phonon frequencies, group velocities, and lifetimes, determined with the lattice dynamics methods, are then used to compute the thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivities predicted by the lattice dynamics methods are compared to predictions from molecular dynamics simulations. The two methods are found to agree well at low temperature but diverge at higher temperatures (i.e., near the melting point). The properties of individual phonon modes are used to identify the modes that dominate thermal transport.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
The Effect of Training in Minimalist Running Shoes on Running Economy

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of minimalist running shoes on oxygen uptake during running before and after a 10-week transition from traditional to minimalist running shoes. Twenty-five recreational runners (no previous experience in minimalist running shoes) participated in submaximal VO2 testing at a self-selected pace while wearing traditional and minimalist running shoes. Ten of the 25 runners gradually transitioned to minimalist running shoes over 10 weeks (experimental group), while the other 15 maintained their typical training regimen (control group). All participants repeated submaximal VO2 testing at the end of 10 weeks. Testing included a 3 minute warm-up, 3 minutes of running in the first pair of shoes, and 3 minutes of running in the second pair of shoes. Shoe order was randomized. Average oxygen uptake was calculated during the last minute of running in each condition. The average change from pre- to post-training for the control group during testing in traditional and minimalist shoes was an improvement of 3.1 ± 15.2% and 2.8 ± 16.2%, respectively. The average change from pre- to post-training for the experimental group during testing in traditional and minimalist shoes was an improvement of 8.4 ± 7.2% and 10.4 ± 6.9%, respectively. Data were analyzed using a 2-way repeated measures ANOVA. There were no significant interaction effects, but the overall improvement in running economy across time (6.15%) was significant (p = 0.015). Running in minimalist running shoes improves running economy in experienced, traditionally shod runners, but not significantly more than when running in traditional running shoes. Improvement in running economy in both groups, regardless of shoe type, may have been due to compliance with training over the 10-week study period and/or familiarity with testing procedures. Key pointsRunning in minimalist footwear did not result in a change in running economy compared to running in traditional footwear prior to 10 weeks of training.Both groups (control and experimental) showed an improvement in running economy in both types of shoes after 10 weeks of training.After transitioning to minimalist running shoes, running economy was not significantly different while running in traditional or minimalist footwear.