cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Illustration of Opaque Markets: High End Fine Art

Pricing is one of the more difficult aspects of marketing management and poses interesting problems for economists seeking to explain product valuations from the buyer perspective. Developed models and processes work best for standardized products but are problematic when the products are non-standard, unique goods and services and buyer knowledge is uncertain. In such cases, buyers are dependent upon and vulnerable to representations of quality and value made by marketing intermediaries. Markets characterized by such conditions may be termed “opaque markets” in that product valuations and quality are unclear and based on subjective factors. The objective of this paper is to identify market risks associated with opaque markets through consideration of the market for high end fine art. Findings include that the opacity of the fine arts market demonstrates that opacity market characteristics create conditions for overvaluation, fraud, and risks of low investment returns. The market characteristics include uncertainty in assessing true market demand for legitimate products, in assessing product authenticity, dependency on marketing intermediaries and facilitators who have monetary interests in over-valuation and vulnerability to arbitrary extrinsic market conditions. Such conditions may constrain market demand for newly established products whose social valuation has not been established, thus placing both producers and buyers in vulnerable positions, and so constraining both the development of maker demand and producer creativity.
Food, Fracking, and Freshwater: The Potential for Markets and Cross-Sectoral Investments to Enable Water Conservation

Hydraulic fracturing—the injection of pressurized fluid, often water, to increase recovery of oil or gas—has become increasingly popular in combination with horizontal drilling. Hydraulic fracturing improves production from a well, but requires a significant amount of water to do so and could put pressure on existing water resources, especially in water-stressed areas. To supply water needs, some water rights holders sell or lease their water resources to oil and gas producers in an informal water market. These transactions enable the opportunity for cross-sectoral investments, by which the energy sector either directly or indirectly provides the capital for water efficiency improvements in the agricultural sector as a mechanism to increase water availability for other purposes, including oil and gas production. In this analysis, we employ an original water and cost model to evaluate the water market in Texas and the potential for cross-sectoral collaboration on water efficiency improvements through a case study of the Lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas. We find that, if irrigation efficiency management practices were fully implemented, between 420 and 800 million m3 of water could be spared per year over a ten year period, potentially enabling freshwater use in oil and gas production for up to 26,000 wells, while maintaining agricultural productivity and possibly improving water flows to the ecosystem.
Measuring Physical Capacity: An Assessment of a Composite Measure Using Self-Report and Performance-Based Items

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and assess a composite measure of physical capacity using self-report and physical performance items. Method: Item response theory (IRT) is used to evaluate measurement properties of self-report and performance items and to develop a composite measure for 7,609 participants in the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Results: Self-reports distinguish differences at the lower end of physical capacity but not at mid-to-high levels. Performance-based measures discriminate across a fuller spectrum. An IRT-based composite score, drawing on both, provides increased measurement precision across the physical capacity spectrum and detects age group differences if either self-report or performance does so—suggesting it is better suited for studying age-related changes than either measure alone. Discussion: Self-report and performance measures have different strengths on the physical capacity spectrum. IRT provides a means of combining these different measurem...
Use of Cyanide in the Determination of Ascorbic Acid

ConclusionsThe use of potassium cyanide as recommended in plasma ascorbic acid analyses does not necessarily invalidate the results and may cause no error. Certain lots of potassium cyanide may decolorize 2-6-dichlorsphenolindophenol, the decolorizing power of a particular lot depending upon the concentration of the salt and the pH of the dye-salt solution. Reduced ascorbic acid is stable in whole blood or metaphosphoric acid plasma filtrates for as long as 24 hours. There is a significant loss of reduced ascorbic acid when plasma stands at room temperature for more than 4 hours. This loss is not prevented by the presence of potassium cyanide in concentrations recommended in plasma ascorbic acid analysis. These observations indicate that there is no reason for the addition of potassium cyanide in the determination of plasma ascorbic acid by the methods mentioned.
P.14.14 LC3, p62 and TDP-43 immunohistochemistry in differentiation of inclusion body myositis from other T-cell inflammatory myopathies

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is a slowly progressive inflammatory myopathy of the elderly that does not show significant clinical improvement in response to steroid therapy. Distinguishing IBM from polymyositis (PM) is clinically important since PM is steroid-responsive; however, the two conditions can show substantial histologic overlap. We performed quantitative immunohistochemistry for (1) autophagic markers LC3 and p62 and (2) protein aggregation marker TDP-43 on muscle biopsies from 53 subjects with PM, IBM, or two intermediate T cell-mediated inflammatory myopathies [polymyositis with COX-negative fibers (PM-COX) and possible IBM (pIBM)]. The percentage of stained fibers was significantly higher in IBM than PM for all three markers, but there were important differences in the overall pattern and degree of staining. The autophagy markers LC3 and p62 were both sensitive for IBM, but the tradeoff between sensitivity and specificity was smaller (and diagnostic utility thus greater) for LC3 than for p62. In PM-COX and pIBM groups, staining for LC3 and p62 was more heterogeneous, with both high- and low-staining biopsies present in each group; however, PM-COX cases were mostly LC3- and p62-negative, while pIBM cases were mostly LC3- and p62-positive. The protein aggregation marker TDP-43, in contrast, was highly specific for IBM but its sensitivity was low, with definitive staining present in only 67% (8 of 12) IBM biopsies, 8% (1 of 13) PM-COX biopsies, and 6% (1 of 16) pIBM biopsies. To differentiate IBM from PM, we thus recommend using a panel of LC3 and TDP-43 antibodies: the finding of 6% of TDP-43-positive fibers strongly supports the IBM diagnosis. These data suggest that accumulation of LC3 and p62 occurs early and accumulation of TDP-43 late in the IBM progression, providing support for the hypothesis that disruption of autophagy precedes florid protein aggregation in the IBM pathogenesis.
A Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Study of α-helical Bundle-Forming Peptide–Polymer Conjugates in Solution: Chain Conformations

As a new family of soft materials, peptide/protein–polymer conjugates can lead to a wide range of potential biological and nonbiological applications. The performance of these materials depends on the protein structure and phase behavior arising from a balance between the enthalpic interactions of the components and surrounding media as well as the entropic contribution associated with polymer chain deformation. There is a great need to perform structural studies in solution that systematically investigate the polymer chain conformation upon linkage to a peptide or protein so as to evaluate how polymers affect the protein structure of the biomolecule and, consequently, its functionality. Combinations of a range of factors including low contrast, weak scattering signals in dilute solutions as well as difficulties in separating the component scattering contributions, pose significant challenges to structural characterization. Here we present a synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) study of two mod...
Performance of Temperature Controlled Perimeter and Row-Based Cooling Systems in Open and Containment Environment

The continuous increase of data center usage is leading the industry to increase the load density per square foot of existing facilities. High density (HD) IT load per rack demands bringing the cooling source closer to the heat load in contrast to room level air cooling. For high density racks, the use of in-row cooling systems is becoming increasingly popular. In-row cooling can be the main source of cooling for a data center or work jointly with perimeter cooling in what is called a hybrid cooled room level system. Also, hot or cold aisle containment can be integrated with perimeter cooling and used throughout the data center to reduce the mixing of hot and cold air. Currently, there has not been much work comparing the performance of in-row cooling in open versus contained environments.The present work builds on a previous study where the interaction of perimeter and row-based cooling was evaluated for a cold-aisle containment (CAC) environment. Previously, the benefit of using row-based cooled in an aisle has not been compared with an aisle in open conditions. Here, we numerically investigate the performance of in-row coolers in both opened and cold-aisle contained environments. Groups of IT equipment that differ in air flow strength are used to provide the heat load. Empirically measured flow curves for common IT equipment are employed to provide simplified models of the IT equipment in the CFD software used. The steady state analysis includes information provided in the manufacturer’s specifications such as heat exchanger performance characteristics. The model was validated using a new data center laboratory with perimeter cooling. A single aisle of the data center is modeled to reduce the computational time, and the results are generalized. The cold aisle contains 16 racks of IT equipment distributed on both sides. In addition, the aisle contains 2 power distribution units. Full details are incorporated in the computational model. A single Liebert® CW114 CRAC unit provides the perimeter cooling in the data center. The model captures the particular air flow behavior in the cold aisle when row-based cooling is utilized. Correlations are derived to predict the ability of air cooling units to maintain set points at different air flow rates. The effect of leakage is also considered.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Logic-I/O Threshold Comparing $\gamma$ -Dosimeter in Radiation Insensitive Deep-Sub-Micron CMOS

This paper discusses challenges of implementing embedded dosimeters into larger CMOS systems-on-chip (SoCs) in deep-scaled CMOS technologies (with gate lengths smaller than 90 nm) where the high level of intrinsic radiation hardness and limited availability of floating gate structures prohibit realizing a highly sensitive radfet-type dosimeter. We therefore propose a novel Logic-I/O Threshold Comparison Dosimeter, which offers compatibility with advanced CMOS technology nodes and co-integration with other circuitry. The proposed dosimeter estimates dose level by directly comparing threshold voltages between I/O and logic devices. Furthermore, through carefully sizing the logic and I/O devices and designing the vital comparator circuitry, we can also achieve required temperature independence for deep-space applications. A prototype is then fabricated in 65-nm CMOS, and measured up to 75 Mrad(Si) of total ionized dose at a Cobalt 60 ( $\gamma $ ) facility.
Public versus private schools in Qatar: Is there a literacy gap?:

Recent studies have suggested that performance-related differences between private and public schools disappear once student background characteristics are accounted for. However, given the sometimes significant variation in economic, social and cultural norms across countries these findings may not have universal relevance. The main purpose of this study was to determine whether or not literacy in private and public schools in Qatar differs in key areas such as mathematics, reading and science, and if such differences exist then whether or not they persist after controlling for student demographic characteristics such as age, gender, parental occupation, parental education, family wealth, cultural possessions and availability of educational resources at home. Our results indicate that there is indeed a significant mean difference in literacy between private and public schools in Qatar, and that this difference does not disappear even after controlling for student background characteristics. Implications ...
Analysis on epidemiological characteristics of hand-foot-mouth disease in Zhenjiang City from 2009-2011

[Objective]To understand the epidemiological characteristics of hand-foot-mouth disease(HFMD) in Zhenjiang City,provide the epidemiological basis for developing the prevention and control measures.[Methods]Epidemiological analysis and pathogen monitoring were applied on HFMD cases reported in Zhenjiang City from 2009-2011.[Results]A total of 14378 HFMD cases were reported in Zhenjiang City from 2009-2011,and the average annual reported incidence rate was 158.4l/lakh.The peak seasons were April to July and November to December,which respectively accounted for 50.31% and 21.79% of total cases.78.52% of cases were children under 5 years old,which was the high-risk population.586 positive samples were detected among 1602 cases,and 47.10% of positive cases were EV71 type.[Conclusion]The epidemic status of HFMD in Zhenjiang City had obvious relationship with season,population and region.The prevention and control of HFMD should focus on the scattered children and kindergarten children.
Tobacco use is associated with increased rates of infection and revision surgery after primary superior labrum anterior and posterior repair.

Background Although the general health consequences of tobacco use have been well defined, the effects of perioperative tobacco use on arthroscopic shoulder procedures remain largely unknown. The purpose of this study is to use a national database to investigate the relationship between tobacco use and rates of superior labrum anterior and posterior (SLAP) repair failure and postoperative infection after primary SLAP repair compared with matched controls. Methods A national private-payer insurance database was queried for patients who underwent arthroscopic primary SLAP from 2005-2012. These patients were divided into tobacco use and non–tobacco use cohorts using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision coding. The non–tobacco use patients were then matched to the patients with coded tobacco use. Both cohorts were assessed for postoperative infection within 90 days and subsequent ipsilateral revision SLAP repair or biceps tenodesis within up to 7 years postoperatively. Results The incidences of revision SLAP repair or revision to a biceps tenodesis (P = .023) and postoperative infection (P = .034) were significantly higher in patients who used tobacco versus matched controls. Conclusions SLAP repair in patients who use tobacco is associated with significantly increased rates of postoperative infection and revision SLAP repair or conversion to a biceps tenodesis.
Political Administration and Social Conditions under the Umayyads

The administrative divisions of the empire in Umayyad and even ‘Abbāsid times corresponded in general to the provinces of the preceding Byzantine and Persian empires. They comprised: (1) Syria-Palestine; (2) al-Kūfah, including al-‘Irāq; (3) al-Baṣrah with Persia, Sijistān, Khurāsān, al-Bahrayn, ‘Umān and probably Najd and al-Yamāmah; (4) Armenia; (5) al-Ḥijāz; (6) Karmān and the frontier districts of India; (7) Egypt; (8) Ifrīqiyah; (9) al-Yaman and the rest of South Arabia.1 Gradually combinations were made and five viceroyalties resulted. Mu‘āwiyah combined al-Basrah and al-Kūfah into one viceroyalty,2 that of al-‘Irāq, which included most of Persia and eastern Arabia and had al-Kūfah for its capital. Later the viceroy of al-‘Irāq was to have a deputy governor for Khurāsān and Transoxiana, usually residing at Marw, and another for Sind and Panjāb. Likewise al-Ḥijāz, al-Yaman and Central Arabia were combined into another viceroyalty. A-Jazīrah (the northern part of the land between the Tigris and Euphrates) with Armenia, Ādharbayjān and parts of eastern Asia Minor formed the third. Lower and Upper Egypt constituted the fourth. Ifrīqiyah, which embraced northern Africa west of Egypt, Spain, Sicily and other adjacent islands formed the fifth viceroyalty with al-Qayrawān as its seat of government.
Some Recent Results on Distributed Control of Nonlinear Systems

The spatially distributed structure of complex systems motivates the idea of distributed control. In a distributed control system, the subsystems are controlled by local controllers through information exchange with neighboring agents for coordination purposes. One of the major difficulties of distributed control is due to the complex characteristics such as nonlinearity, dimensionality, uncertainty, and information constraints. This chapter introduces small-gain methods for distributed control of nonlinear systems. In particular, a cyclic-small-gain result in digraphs is presented as an extension of the standard nonlinear small-gain theorem. It is shown that the new result is extremely useful for distributed control of nonlinear systems. Specifically, this chapter first gives a cyclic-small-gain design for distributed output-feedback control of nonlinear systems. Then, an application to formation control problem of nonholonomic mobile robots with a fixed information exchange topology is presented.
Reliability and Quality Measures

This chapter is devoted to concepts, measures and processes related to product reliability and quality that we shall need throughout the book. In Section 2.1, we outline the basic properties, and consider some special cases of a timevarying point process. This process is used to model the time points at which a unit under warranty or subject to preventive maintenance fails. It provides the basis for an integrating modeling framework for the entire monograph. Section 2.2 is devoted to some concepts and measures of product quality, including conformance quality; a discussion of the partial ordering relations that we use in the book to characterize quality (reliability) improvement; a mixture model that we use for the study of the impact of conformance quality; and some numerical examples.
Investigating Aquatic Insect Emergence: A Demonstration of the 5E Learning Cycle

Traditionally, exploration of ecosystems in the context of undergraduate education has been restricted to connections within conventionally defined habitats (i.e., within a stream, within a forest). Further, instruction regarding the aquatic-terrestrial interface has emphasized directional inputs from land to water. However, a relatively new body of research has characterized reciprocal interactions and draws attention to fluxes from water to land, including the emergence of aquatic insects that serve as prey for terrestrial predators. We present a guide to an inquiry-based lesson for undergraduate biology that explores interactions and connections across aquatic and terrestrial habitat boundaries. The focus is on cross-habitat linkages within ecosystems, specifically addressing the question, What is the role of insect emergence in connecting the web of life linking aquatic and terrestrial habitats and organisms? Students (1) engage with a documentary film, (2) explore insect emergence and make observations of riparian insectivores, (3) explain the collected data, (4) elaborate on alternative study designs and a measure of ecosystem health, and (5) evaluate their new understanding. This lesson addresses core concepts and competencies for undergraduate biology education, as identified in the Vision and Change report.
Worsening migraine due to neurocysticercosis.

A 35-year-old woman with a history of migraine presented with a headache that had worsened over the past 2 weeks. The headache was occipital and was associated with blurred vision, photophobia, tingling of the hands, episodes of flashing lights and images, and difficulty concentrating. The headache
Economic Change and Class Conflict over Tax Attitudes: Evidence from Nine Advanced Capitalist Democracies

Do economic downturns induce class conflict over tax attitudes? Previous research casts doubt on this possibility and suggests that economic change exerts a minimal influence on welfare attitudes. Yet most of this research focuses on aggregate preferences, which potentially obscures important changes taking place at the level of social class. This study uses cross-national and temporal variation in unemployment rates as an empirical point of leverage to examine how unemployment rates influence class conflict over tax attitudes. The analysis combines individual-level data on tax attitudes (from different modules of the International Social Survey Programme) with country-level data on unemployment rates (from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) to create a dataset with information on both individuals' tax attitudes and larger unemployment rates. Findings from two-way fixed-effects logistic regression models indicate that rising unemployment induces class-based change in tax attitudes. High-level professionals and managers respond to rising unemployment by withdrawing support for raising tax progressivity. By contrast, manual workers (along with low-level professionals and managers) respond to rising unemployment by increasing their support for tax progressivity. The results are observed across two different data sources. The study suggests that economic changes can foster class polarization in political attitudes.
Different Departments, Same Goals: Improving User Experience through Collaboration

The staff of Reference and Research Services at Edith Garland Dupre Library, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, determined that instructors and students of the School of Music & Performing Arts had difficulty locating scores for particular pieces of music due to no contents note in the catalog records. Reference brought this to Cataloging’s attention and suggested editing the MARC record contents note in SirsiDynix Workflows themselves. Cataloging considered the feasibility of this course of action as well as other alternatives, such as purchasing enhanced records from a vendor. Ultimately, Cataloging discovered a workflow using MarcEdit and OCLC Connexion batch processing that automated the editing for some of the records. This method had a fast turnaround time at no cost. After this was done, Reference and Cataloging staff worked together to determine a workflow for manually enhancing the remaining records. Partnerships between public services and technical services improve user experience and fulfill the mission of the library.
Institutional Ethnography as Peace Research

Peace research must analyze the dynamics of structural and cultural violence—located in the policies and practices of organizations and institutions—in order to prevent, ameliorate, or transform direct violence. Institutional ethnography has the potential to address these three goals through research and subsequent action. This chapter argues for institutional ethnography as a promising approach to ethnographic peace research by: defining pre-conflict and post-conflict peacebuilding; identifying a pre-conflict case study in a community-building theater; explaining institutional ethnography through the theater’s May Day Parade process; and describing its value for peace studies by framing this research approach in a peace studies pedagogical model.
An Aggregation Number-Based Definition of the Ionization of a Micelle

The degree of ionization of a micelle, α, is defined by asserting that the aggregation number, N, is dependent only on the concentration of counterions in the aqueous pseudophase whether supplied by the surfactant or added salt. Employing different combinations of surfactant and salt that give the same value of N leads to a straightforward definition of α. The value of the aggregation number is not needed in the method; the experiment need only assure that the value of N is the same for two combinations. The definition is demonstrated with time-resolved fluorescence quenching, (TRFQ) small- angle neutron scattering (SANS), and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR).
Solving Practical Engineering Problems in Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics

Abstract Engineering Mechanics is one of the fundamental branches of science that is important in the education of professional engineers of any major. Most of the basic engineering courses, such a...
Web Analytics Approach

This chapter introduces the analysis approach used throughout this book: posing a question, gathering data, transforming data, analyzing, and answering the question. It also covers the need to balance time constraints against the desire for deeper analysis, and documenting one’s work so it can be recreated and verified by others. Web analytics tools are ill-suited to helping you understand how a website is laid out and how pages link to each other, so you should get to know what your website looks like outside of the web analytics tool. Analyze data in context—you can only interpret numbers in contrast to historical data on the same website, and trends and proportions are more important than absolute values. Always remember that even when the data contradict your theory or do not provide a conclusive answer, you have at least learned what approach not to take.
Corn Twin-row by Population Demonstration

Introduction The project was designed to study the effect of planting corn in twin rows compared with 30-in. rows using various populations and two hybrids. There is interest in twin-row technology because it allows corn plants to be spaced farther apart without having to modify most harvest equipment. Obtaining more equidistant plant densities has become more of an issue as the seeding rates planted by corn growers has continued to increase. The demonstration was designed to determine any yield effects caused by planting in twin rows.
Comparative calculational evaluation of array criticality models

The NB/sup 2//sub N/, albedo, interaction potential, weighted interaction Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant solid-angle, s/v surface density, fraction critical surface density, and equilateral hyperbola methods are compared by attempting to apply them to 14 different example arrays. The example arrays are distinguished by the type of fissile material in the array units and by the number of units in each array. Arrays with units of Pu(95) metal, U(93) metal, damp U(93)O/sub 2/, dry Pu(95)O/sub 2/, U(93)O/sub 2/(NO/sub 3/)/sub 2/ solution, Pu(95)(NO/sub 3/)/sub 4/ solution, or U(5)O/sub 2/F/sub 2/ solution are considered. It is concluded that if the user has access to a Monte Carlo code such as KENO, he is better off using it than any of the other models for criticality evaluations of specific problems. The remainder of the models are most useful in establishing possible designs for a fissile storage or processing facility. The albedo method is found to be the preferred solid-angle technique, while the s/v surface density method and the NB/sup 2//sub N/ method are the most comprehensive and useful of the semiempirical techniques. The s/v method is easier to apply and covers more possible contingencies (e.g., array flooding or persons in arrays), while the more » NB/sup 2//sub N/ method is more difficult to use but has added flexibility, broader applicability, and yields more analytical scaling relations between array parameters. « less
Development of a BiTE®-mediated CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocyte activity assay to assess immunomodulatory potential of drug candidates in Cynomolgus macaque

The immunotoxic potential of drug candidates is assessed through the examination of results from a variety of studies and endpoints. While the functional assessment of CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) is well-characterized in the clinic, the lack of a robust macaque CTL functional assay has been an important hurdle in evaluating and accurately quantifying cell-mediated CD8+ T-cell effector responses in the nonclinical setting. This paper describes the development of an assay to measure CTL activity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) isolated from Cynomolgus macaques. A human EGFR/CD3 Bispecific T-cell Engager (BiTE®) was used to mount a robust CD8+ T-cell response in the presence of target-expressing cells. Upon target engagement, degranulation of CD107a and production of interferon (IFN)-γ both reliably indicated a robust functional response in CD8+ T-cells. The BiTE®-mediated stimulation method proved to be favorable when compared to other methods of stimulation in the absence of target cells. These studies demonstrated acceptable longitudinal variability of the functional assay and sensitivity to dexamethasone-mediated immunosuppression. Taken together, the results indicated an assay leveraging CD3-bispecific antibodies and target-expressing cells can provide a robust approach to the in vitro or ex vivo assessment of CTL function in Cynomolgus macaques. Because the impairment of CTL activity by immunomodulators is recognized to be an important contributor to decreased antiviral defense and increased carcinogenicity risk, we believe that this novel assay to be a valuable addition to the immunotoxicology assessment of therapeutic drug candidates.
Teacher Evaluation Reform: A Convergence of Federal and Local Forces:

This article employs event history analysis to explore the factors that were associated with the rapid uptake of teacher evaluation reform. We investigate three hypotheses for this rapid adoption: ...
Support for a Motivation-Based Typology of Unsolicited Customer Feedback

Social trends and technological advances are driving an increase in the volume of unsolicited consumer feedback received by firms. This research contributes to the literature by characterizing and contrasting different forms of unsolicited customer feedback in terms of the motivations behind each, their communication valence, and customer expectations for a firm response. The results suggest that compliments, complaints, suggestions, requests, and problem fix communications can each be described by distinct characteristics that can be used to promote feedback and respond to each in an appropriate manner. The research thus provides an initial step toward defining a typology of unsolicited customer feedback.
Helping Surrogate Decision-Makers Through Difficult Conversations

Difficult conversations in the ICU are often seen as ones of getting a surrogate decision-maker to make an end-of-life decision. However, allowing the surrogate decision-maker to become a narrator can alleviate the daunting task lying ahead.
BDNF, endurance activity, and mechanisms underlying the evolution of hominin brains.

Objectives As a complex, polygenic trait, brain size has likely been influenced by a range of direct and indirect selection pressures for both cognitive and non-cognitive functions and capabilities. It has been hypothesized that hominin brain expansion was, in part, a correlated response to selection acting on aerobic capacity (Raichlen & Polk, 2013). According to this hypothesis, selection for aerobic capacity increased the activity of various signaling molecules, including those involved in brain growth. One key molecule is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that regulates neuronal development, survival, and plasticity in mammals. This review updates, partially tests, and expands Raichlen and Polk's (2013) hypothesis by evaluating evidence for BDNF as a mediator of brain size. Discussion We contend that selection for endurance capabilities in a hot climate favored changes to muscle composition, mitochondrial dynamics and increased energy budget through pathways involving regulation of PGC-1α and MEF2 genes, both of which promote BDNF activity. In addition, the evolution of hairlessness and the skin's thermoregulatory response provide other molecular pathways that promote both BDNF activity and neurotransmitter synthesis. We discuss how these pathways contributed to the evolution of brain size and function in human evolution and propose avenues for future research. Our results support Raichlen and Polk's contention that selection for non-cognitive functions has direct mechanistic linkages to the evolution of brain size in hominins.
The HAC1 Histone Acetyltransferase Promotes Leaf Senescence via Regulation of ERF022

Abstract Nutrient remobilization during leaf senescence nourishes the growing plant. Understanding the regulation of this process is essential for reducing our dependence on nitrogen fertilizers and increasing agricultural sustainability. Our lab is interested in chromatin changes that accompany the transition to leaf senescence. Previously, darker green leaves were reported for Arabidopsis thaliana hac1 mutants, defective in a gene encoding a histone acetyltransferase in the CREB-binding protein family. Here, we show that two Arabidopsis hac1 alleles display delayed age-related developmental senescence, but have normal dark-induced senescence. Using a combination of ChIP-seq for H3K9ac and RNA-seq for gene expression, we identified 44 potential HAC1 targets during age-related developmental senescence. Genetic analysis demonstrated that one of these potential targets, ERF022, is a positive regulator of leaf senescence. ERF022 is regulated additively by HAC1 and MED25, suggesting MED25 recruits HAC1 to the ERF022 promoter to increase its expression in older leaves.
Mortality Risk in Older Adults: What the Nose Knows.

In their article, Liu and colleagues investigated the factors that explain the relationship between diminished olfaction and risk for death in older adults. The editorialists discuss the findings, ...
Crystalline Adducts of Tetrakis(triphenylacetato)dichromium(II) with Benzene, Pyridine, and Diethyl Ether. Benzene as a Multiple π Donor.

By reaction of the cobaltocene (I) with the acid (II) in toluene/benzene the adduct (IV) is obtained.
Perceptual and mnemonic differences across cultures

Abstract In this chapter, we selectively review the literature investigating how culture affects memory and perception. The chapter tries to capture some of the ways that culture and life experience can shape perception, including adaptive changes that are shaped by the characteristics of one's environment. In its treatment of memory, the chapter focuses on the ways in which culture may influence the amount of specific information that is contained in memory for autobiographical episodes as well as objects, and evaluates potential mechanisms that could account for these effects. The chapter's treatment of perception and culture includes a novel proposal: that cultural biases in preferential processing of particular spatial frequencies, an idea that thus far has primarily been tested in face processing, could account for cultural differences in memory specificity. Finally, we discuss the type of evidence that would be needed to fully evaluate this proposal and theories of cultural influences more generally.
Measuring Academic Output During the Good Behavior Game: A Single Case Design Study:

The impact of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) on students’ classroom behavior has been studied for 50 years. What is less established is the impact of the GBG on students’ academic progress. With emer...
An Ergonomic Framework for Researching and Designing Speech Recognition Technologies in Health Care with an Emphasis on Safety

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems and speech interfaces are becoming increasingly prevalent. This includes increases in and expansion of use of these technologies for supporting work in he...
The Rise of Harriet Brandt: A Critique of the British Aristocracy in Florence Marryat’s The Blood of the Vampire

As a result of the cultural hegemony of pangenesis (the belief that blood determines heredity), eugenics, and “eugenic love,” Elinor Leyton’s xenophobia and Doctor Phillips’s racism and sexism succeed at separating Harriet Brandt from her friend Margaret, her love interest Ralph Pullen, and her husband Anthony Pennell. This interruption of intimacies as a consequence of these ideologies or “science” marginalizes Harriet, a New Woman of color, to the point at which she commits suicide. However, I argue that Harriet’s laudable qualities (her kindness, beauty, talent, charitable nature, and mature disposition) call a British establishment that brings harm to its “Others” into question. Florence Marryat, the author of The Blood of the Vampire, wishes to include Harriet in society not banish her to its limits. This, in turn, shows support for a New Woman of color in British society rather than her condemnation to death.
The Limits of Extended Naturalistic Exposure on the Perceptual Mastery of English /r/ and /l/ by Adult Japanese Learners of English.

To evaluate the effect of extended adult exposure to authentic spoken English on the perceptual mastery of English /r/ and /l/, we tested 12 native speakers of English (A), 12 experienced Japanese (EJ) who had spent 12 or more years in the United States, and 12 less experienced Japanese (LJ) who had spent less than one year in the United States. The tests included the forced-choice identification of naturally produced /r/s and /1/s and the labeling of word-initial synthetic tokens that varied F2 and F3 to form an /r/-/l/-/w/ continuum. The F.Js’ mean performance in both tasks was closer to that of the As than the LJs, but nonetheless fell short. Extended exposure may improve /r/-/l/ identification accuracy; it does not ensure perfect perceptual mastery.
Design and Optimization of a Temperature-Stable Dry Powder BCG Vaccine.

Loss of vaccine potency due to extreme temperature exposure during storage and transport remains a significant obstacle to the success of many vaccines, including the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, the only vaccine available against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. BCG is a live, attenuated vaccine requiring refrigerated storage for viability. In this study, we formulated a temperature-stable BCG dry powder using the spray drying technique. We employed a factorial design to optimize our formulation of stabilizing excipients that included L-leucine, bovine serum albumin, polyvinylpyrrolidone, mannitol, and trehalose. Powders were characterized for their particle size, yield, water retention and uptake, glass transition temperature, and aerosol performance. Three optimal powder carrier mixtures were selected from the factorial design for BCG incorporation based on their stability-promoting and powder flow characteristics. Vaccine powders were also assessed for BCG viability and in vivo immunogenicity after long-term storage. Live BCG was successfully spray-dried using the optimized carriers. Dry powder BCG showed no loss in viability (25°C, up to 60% relative humidity; RH) and ~2-log loss in viability (40°C, 75% RH) after one year of storage. The aerodynamic size of the powders was in the respirable range. Further, when healthy mice were immunized intradermally with reconstituted BCG powders (storage for 2 years), the vaccine retained its immunogenicity. We developed a spray-dried BCG vaccine that was viable and antigenic after long-term storage. To our knowledge, this is a first study to show room temperature stability of live BCG vaccine without any loss in viability for 12 months.
Resilience and coevolution of preferential interdependent networks

We propose a new model for the study of resilience of coevolving multiplex scale-free networks. Our network model, called preferential interdependent networks, is a novel continuum over scale-free networks parameterized by their correlation $$\rho , 0 \le \rho \le 1$$ . Our failure and recovery model ties the propensity of a node, both to fail and to assist in recovery, to its importance. We show, analytically, that our network model can achieve any $$\gamma , 2 \le \gamma \le 3$$ for the exponent of the power law of the degree distribution; this is superior to existing multiplex models and allows us better fidelity in representing real-world networks. Our failure and recovery model is also a departure from the much studied cascading error model based on the giant component; it allows for surviving important nodes to send assistance to the damaged nodes to enable their recovery. This better reflects the reality of recovery in man-made networks such as social networks and infrastructure networks. Our main finding, based on simulations, is that resilient preferential interdependent networks are those in which the layers are neither completely correlated ( $$\rho = 1$$ ) nor completely uncorrelated ( $$\rho =0$$ ) but instead semi-correlated ( $$\rho \approx 0.1 - 0.3$$ ). This finding is consistent with the real-world experience where complex man-made networks typically bounce back quickly from stress. In an attempt to explain our intriguing empirical discovery, we present an argument for why semi-correlated multiplex networks can be the most resilient. Our argument can be seen as an explanation of plausibility or as an incomplete mathematical proof subject to certain technical conjectures that we make explicit.
Review: The invasion of Acacia nilotica in Baluran National Park, Indonesia, and potential future control strategies

Abstract. Zahra S, Hofstetter RW, Waring KM, Gehring C. 2020. Review: The invasion of Acacia nilotica in Baluran National Park, Indonesia, and potential future control strategies. Biodiversitas 21: 104-116. Acacia nilotica, commonly called prickly acacia, is infamous for its ability to invade various ecosystems, especially savannah. The tree was introduced to Baluran National Park (BNP), Indonesia in 1969 and nowadays has invaded more than 50% of BNP savannah habitat. Its presence has had significant negative impacts on local flora and fauna of the park. Physical and chemical eradication efforts of this plant have been conducted in the park but these have failed. Little is known about the tree invasion in Indonesia and no control suggestions have previously been proposed. Here, we review the causes and history of the invasion of this tree, describe previous attempts to eradicate the tree, and provide possible containment and control strategies. We describe 12 strategies based on successes and failures to control this tree in Indonesia and other countries and divide the methods into four categories: (i) physical: girdling the trunk, uprooting with winch, manual seedling uprooting, defloration, and restoration with fire; (ii) chemical: using biochar or herbicides; (iii) biological: using native plant competitors (grasses, shade trees), predators (insect) and pathogens (fungi) or microorganisms; (iv) social: centralized tree utilization, education outreach, and stakeholder collaboration. We summarize the relative effectiveness and efficiency of each method and explain how to integrate the aforementioned methods to help authorities choose the most appropriate strategies for their resources, needs and goals.
Widespread organ tolerance to Xist loss and X reactivation except under chronic stress in the gut

Long thought to be dispensable after establishing X chromosome inactivation (XCI), Xist RNA is now known to also maintain the inactive X (Xi). To what extent somatic X reactivation causes physiological abnormalities is an active area of inquiry. Here, we use multiple mouse models to investigate in vivo consequences. First, when Xist is deleted systemically in post-XCI embryonic cells using the Meox2-Cre driver, female pups exhibit no morbidity or mortality despite partial X reactivation. Second, when Xist is conditionally deleted in epithelial cells using Keratin14-Cre or in B cells using CD19-Cre, female mice have a normal life span without obvious illness. Third, when Xist is deleted in gut using Villin-Cre, female mice remain healthy despite significant X-autosome dosage imbalance. Finally, when the gut is acutely stressed by azoxymethane/dextran sulfate (AOM/DSS) exposure, both Xist-deleted and wild-type mice develop gastrointestinal tumors. Intriguingly, however, under prolonged stress, mutant mice develop larger tumors and have a higher tumor burden. The effect is female specific. Altogether, these observations reveal a surprising systemic tolerance to Xist loss but importantly reveal that Xist and XCI are protective to females during chronic stress.
Electrospray ionization rapid screening sans liquid chromatography column: A sensitive method for detection and quantification of chemicals in animal tissues and urine.

Rationale Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in conjunction with liquid chromatography (LC) can provide accurate quantitative data, but it is not well-suited for the rapid screening (RS) of analytes incurred into complex matrices. This study was designed to determine the usefulness of ESI for rapid detection and quantitation of veterinary drugs from complex biological matrices under near real-time conditions. Methods Nine veterinary drugs or metabolites, clenbuterol, erythromycin, flunixin, 5-hydroxyflunixin, meloxicam, ractopamine, salbutamol, tylosin and zilpaterol, present in cow urine, sheep urine, sheep tissues (kidney, muscle, liver and lung) or pig kidney, were simultaneously analyzed. A simple sample clean-up procedure, which included dilution with 10% sodium carbonate followed by extraction with ethyl acetate, was used. For tissues, an additional pre-extraction with hexane was performed to remove fat prior to MS analysis. Samples were introduced into the mass spectrometer through the LC autosampler, but no chromatographic separation was employed. A Sciex 5600+ triple time-of-flight mass spectrometer with a dual-spray source interfaced with a Shimadzu Nexera LC system was used. Samples were analyzed in positive ion mode. Results Sample extraction times were typically 10-30 min or less and instrumental analysis time was 1 min/sample. Regression coefficients of matrix-matched standard curves across all compounds ranged from 0.9701-0.9999 in urine (cow and sheep) and tissues (sheep kidney, liver, lung, muscle and pig kidney). Limits of detection ranged from 0.11 to 2.03 ng/mL across analytes in urine and 0.11 to 8.86 ng/g across tissues. Correlations between RS-ESI-MS and LC/MS/MS results were 0.956 to 0.998 for incurred residues of flunixin in cow urine, ractopamine in pig kidney and zilpaterol in sheep urine. Conclusions RS-ESI-MS provided rapid, sensitive, and accurate analyses of nine veterinary drugs from complex matrices with very little sample preparation and produced quantitative data akin to LC/MS/MS.
Acquisition and retention of surgical skills taught during intern surgical boot camp.

Abstract Background Surgical residencies have implemented boot-camps for early acquisition of basic technical skills for interns. However, educators worry that retention is poor. We hypothesized that a structured boot-camp curriculum would improve skills. Methods Interns underwent eight boot-camp sessions at the beginning of residency. Interns completed pre-, post-boot-camp, and end-of-year skills assessments, as well as post-boot camp and end-of-year porcine procedure labs. Proficiency was measured on a 5-point scale and by completion time. Results After boot-camp, interns improved all domains of knot-tying. Median time decreased for skin-closure (8.3 vs 9.9 min, p Conclusions An eight-week boot-camp effectively improved technical skills among surgery interns. Interns retained all skills and improved upon techniques frequently practiced during intern year.