cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Climate and dispersal influence the structure of leaf fungal endophyte communities of Quercus gambelii in the eastern Great Basin, USA

Abstract Endophytic fungi form communities within living plant tissues. Their functions vary tremendously so the structures of their communities influence plant and ecosystem functions. We determined the separate effects of neutral and deterministic processes structuring communities of Quercus gambelii leaf endophytes by sampling north- and south-facing flanks of four canyons so local climate varied independently from spatial separation. We found that both deterministic (response to climate) and neutral (dispersal limitation) processes significantly influenced community structure. These findings, if applicable to other systems, may have consequences in both agricultural and natural ecosystems. Endophyte dispersal could limit agricultural production, ecosystem restoration or natural plant establishment. Thus deliberate inoculation may prove useful in some situations. Moreover, the influence of climate on fungal endophyte communities indicates that climate change may not only impact plant distributions directly, but may also do so indirectly via the effect of endophytes on plant tolerance to temperature and moisture extremes.
Simulation training in laparoscopy using a computerized physical reality simulator.

OBJECTIVE To describe a new simulator, SurgicalSIM LTS, and summarize our preliminary experience with system. METHODS LTS was evaluated in 3 studies: (1) 124 participants from 3 Canadian universities: 13 students; 30 residents, fellows, attendings from surgery; 59 gynecologists; 22 urologists were classified based on laparoscopic experience as novice, intermediate, competent, or expert. All were tested on the LTS. Seventy-four were tested on the LTS and MISTELS (McGill Inanimate System for Training and Evaluation of Laparoscopic Skills). Participants completed a satisfaction questionnaire. (2) Twenty-five international gynecologists in-training at Kiel Gynaecologic Endoscopy Center, and 15 students from the center pretested on LTS underwent voluntary additional trials and posttesting. (3) Seventeen experienced laparoscopic surgeons from 3 specialties were recruited to perform on randomly assigned simulators involving 5 commercial, computer-based systems. The surgeons practiced repetitively for 1.5 days. Efficient, error-free performance was measured and proficiency score formulas were developed. RESULTS Study A: LTS showed a good correlation with level of experience (P=0.000) and MISTELS (0.79). Satisfaction: LTS vs MISTELS 79.9 vs 70.4 (P=0.012). Study B: Posttest scores were significantly better in all tasks for both groups, P<0.0001. Group mean scores with < or =5 trials were significantly better than with 2 or 3 trials (P<0.012, P<0.018). Study C: LTS had the highest effectiveness rating of the 5 simulators. CONCLUSIONS A new computerized physical reality simulator can be used to assess/train laparoscopic technical skills.
Multi-state Markov modeling of pitting corrosion in stainless steel exposed to chloride-containing environment

Abstract Although stainless steels (SSs) have excellent general corrosion resistance, they are nevertheless susceptible to pitting corrosion. The variation of pit depth and density is significant for the prediction of likelihood of corrosion damage occurring in service. Among the available pitting corrosion models, it is difficult to identify a specific model capable of characterizing all the pit formation processes observed and one that can be used for estimating the evolution of pit density distribution with time. A physics-based multi-state Markov model giving a full description of pitting corrosion states is presented. The transition rates used in the model are determined by fitting the model to experimental data. The variation of pit depth and density is simulated. The simulation is verified by experimental scenarios of SS exposed to chloride-containing environments.
Trends and challenges for ministry among North America's largest generation.

The baby boomers, the generation born between 1946 and 1964, are aging differently than previous generations. The events that shaped this generation and the sheer size of the cohort suggest that th...
Design for manufacturing using B-spline developable surfaces

A developable surface can be formed by bending or rolling a planar surface without stretching or tearing; in other words, it can be developed or unrolled isometrically onto a plane. Developable surfaces are widely used in the manufacture of items that use materials that are not amenable to stretching such as the formation of ducts, shoes, clothing and automobile parts including upholstery and body panels (Frey & Bindschadler 1993). Designing a ship hull entirely of developable surfaces would allow production of the hull using only rolling or bending. Heat treatment would only be required for removal of distortion, thus greatly reducing the labor required to form the hull. Although developable surfaces play an important role in various manufacturing applications, little attention has been paid to implementing developable surfaces from the onset of a design. This paper investigates novel, user friendly methods to design complex objects using B-spline developable surfaces based on optimization techniques. Illustrative examples show the substantial improvements this method achieves over previously developed methods.
SHOCK WAVE TECHNIQUES FOR THE EXAMINATION OF PHASE TRANSITIONS

Shock wave techniques for the examination of certain types of transformations are briefly reviewed, both from the standpoint of theory and experiment. Examples of various sorts of transitions are given, including structural changes in materials of geophysical interest, melting and electronic transformations in the rare earths and other elements, and pressure-induced cross-linking in a number of polymers. Other types of transformations observable using shock waves but which do not depend on velocity discontinuities for their detection are reviewed.
Explicit Finite Difference Methods: Some Selected Applications to Inviscid and Viscous Flows

In this chapter we round-out our introductory treatment of computational fluid dynamics by discussing some applications of explicit finite difference methods to selected examples for inviscid and viscous flows. These examples have one thing in common—they are results obtained by either the present author and/or some of his graduate students over the past few years. This is not meant to be chauvinistic; rather this choice is intentionally made to illustrate what can be done by uninitiated students who are new to the ideas of CFD. These examples demonstrate the power and beauty of CFD in the hands of students much like yourselves who may have little or no experience in the field. Moreover, in all cases the applications are carried out with computer programs designed and written completely by each student. This is following the author’s educational philosophy that each student should have the experience of starting with paper and pencil, writing down the governing equations, developing the appropriate numerical solution of these equations, writing the FORTRAN program, punching the program into the computer, and then going through all the trials and tribulations of making the program work properly. This is an important aspect of CFD education. No established computer programs (‘canned’ programs) are used; everything is ‘home-grown’, with the exception of standard graphics packages which are used to plot the results. Therefore, by examining these examples, you should obtain a reasonable feeling for what you can expect to accomplish when you first jump into the world of CFD applications.
Racial differences and mortality risk in patients with heart failure and hyponatremia.

Background Hyponatremia is a well-established poor prognostic marker in patients with heart failure. Whether the mortality risk is comparable among different races of patients with heart failure and hyponatremia is unknown. Materials and methods Consecutive patients admitted with acute decompensated heart failure and an admission sodium level<135 mEq/L from 1/1/2001 through 12/31/10 were identified. Patients were divided into four groups based on self-reported race: white, African American, Hispanic and other. African Americans were used as the reference group for statistical analysis. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Results We included 4,343 patients, from which 1,356 (31%) identified as white, 1,248 (29%) as African American, 780 (18%) as Hispanic and 959 (22%) as other. During a median follow-up of 23 months, a total of 2,384 patients died: 678 were African American, 820 were white, 298 were Hispanic and 588 were other. After adjusting for baseline demographics, comorbidities and medication use, Hispanic patients had a 45% less risk of death as compared to African Americans (HR .55, CI .48-.64, p<0.05). There was no difference in mortality between white and African American patients (HR 1.04, CI .92–1.2, p = 0.79). Conclusion Hispanic patients admitted for heart failure and who were hyponatremic on admission had an independent lower risk of mortality compared to other groups. These findings may be due to the disparate activity of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system among various racial groups. This observational study is hypothesis generating and suggests that treatment of patients with heart failure and hyponatremia should perhaps be focused more on renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system reduction in certain racial groups, yet less in others.
Human Schwann cells are susceptible to infection with Zika and yellow fever viruses, but not dengue virus.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a re-emerged flavivirus transmitted by Aedes spp mosquitoes that has caused outbreaks of fever and rash on islands in the Pacific and in the Americas. These outbreaks have been associated with neurologic complications that include congenital abnormalities and Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). The pathogenesis of ZIKV-associated GBS, a potentially life-threatening peripheral nerve disease, remains unclear. Because Schwann cells (SCs) play a central role in peripheral nerve function and can be the target for damage in GBS, we characterized the interactions of ZIKV isolates from Africa, Asia and Brazil with human SCs in comparison with the related mosquito-transmitted flaviviruses yellow fever virus 17D (YFV) and dengue virus type 2 (DENV2). SCs supported sustained replication of ZIKV and YFV, but not DENV. ZIKV infection induced increased SC expression of IL-6, interferon (IFN)β1, IFN-λ, IFIT-1, TNFα and IL-23A mRNAs as well as IFN-λ receptors and negative regulators of IFN signaling. SCs expressed baseline mRNAs for multiple potential flavivirus receptors and levels did not change after ZIKV infection. SCs did not express detectable levels of cell surface Fcγ receptors. This study demonstrates the susceptibility and biological responses of SCs to ZIKV infection of potential importance for the pathogenesis of ZIKV-associated GBS.
Uncertainty characterization of building emergy analysis (BEmA)

Abstract In this article, the authors quantify uncertainty of the building emergy analysis (BEmA). The emergy accounting considers environmental sources from the most fundamental context: the sun and the geobiosphere. However, due to the variety of large-scale parameters, BEmA suffers from lack of assurance in estimation. Accordingly, a source and quantity of uncertainty need to be clarified for its wide practical use. For this purpose, uncertainty of the major BEmA parameters, i.e., unit emergy values (UEVs) of the primary construction materials, life time of assemblies, and weight of the used materials, have been analyzed through a case study―a typical single-family house in Pennsylvania, United States. Data collected from all available literature was sampled to implement two uncertainty analysis methods: Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) and Fuzzy logic. The experiments were conducted with the following two ways: (1) we assumed that that empirical distributions of all the parameters fit into the normal distribution. The propagation of uncertainty was tested by MCS with hyper-cube sampling. (2) Fuzzy logic was employed to estimate distributions of actural values, because, in the reality, replacement intervals of building components and operational energy use tend to be subject to the building occupants’ contingent decisions or subjective judgments. In this case, data cannot be described by a steady-state normal distribution. The experimental findings showed that Monte Carlo simulation gave the mean of 9.57 × 1013 sej/m2yr with the standard deviation of 3.73 × 1013 sej/m2yr. Meanwhile, Monte Carlo simulation coupled with the Fuzzy logic reduced variability, thereby resulting in the mean of 8.42 × 1013 sej/m2yr and the standard deviation of 0.94 × 1013 sej/m2yr. Above two results were compared to each other through the KS (Kolmogorov–Smirnov) fitness test and the baseline of a point-estimate (7.66 × 1013 sej/m2yr). Sensitivity analysis as a post processing examined the ranked contribution level of each parameter. As a result, it became clear that specific emergy values of the large amount inputs such as electricity and concrete block are the most influential variables to BEmA.
"Tele-EEG": Can the iPad Improve Accessibility for a New Frontier of EEG Interpretation? (P07.187)

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine whether the use of the iPad can provide an acceptable alternative to the traditional laptop for remote EEG interpretation. BACKGROUND: Although the fundamental principles of recording an EEG have been unchanged for decades, the advances in digital technology has greatly advanced the field. The latest frontier of technology has been the invention of wireless technology and mobile devices (i.e. the iPad). DESIGN/METHODS: Mayo Clinic Arizona epilepsy division offers EEG reading services at four different institutions across the state of Arizona, termed “tele-EEG,” where they have remote access for intrepretation to all locations. There are two different EEG acquisition systems (Natus and Nihon-Koden) and two different methods to provide remote access (VMWare and Citrix). The iPad was compared to a standard laptop (HP EliteBook 2540p) and on-campus desktop access. RESULTS: The cost of the iPad was significantly less than the laptop with a lighter weight and comporable screen resloution. The greatest disadvantage to the iPad over the laptop is screen size. "Boot-up" time was significantly longer for the laptop and desktop (2:19 and 3:38 versus 0:40). When remoting into all four insitiutions, the iPad was the same or faster as compared to the laptop or desktop, with the exception of being physically on-campus to open an EEG study. When comparing the laptop versus the iPad over a wifi network, there was no significant difference in performance when reading EEG. Of note, the 4G LTE nework had comporable performance as compared to wifi. CONCLUSIONS: With high volumes of EEGs, and multiple systems and facilities to read from, the efficiency of technology is essential to many physician practices. Despite the marginally smaller screen size; the ease of use, accessibility, and reliability make the use of the iPad a viable option for its integration into the tele-EEG practice. Disclosure: Dr. Hoerth has nothing to disclose. Dr. Drazkowski has received research support from NeuroPace, Inc., and NeuroVista. Dr. Noe has received research support from NeuroPace. Dr. Sirven has received personal compensation for activities with UCB Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Sirven has received research support from Neuropace Inc, and NIH.
Commentary: National Institutes of Health (NIH) Science of Behavior Change (SOBC)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Common Fund Program was established in 2010 by capitalising on emerging basic behavioural science research and existing evi...
A Notch in Time: Spatiotemporal Analysis of Notch Signaling during Pancreas Development.

Notch signaling is a major regulator of pancreas development, yet how it precisely controls pancreatic cell fates has remained obscure. Seymour et al. (2020) use sophisticated Notch- based genetic tools to uncover highly context- and temporally-specific roles for DLL1, JAG1, and HES1 in regulating pancreatic progenitor cell growth and specification.
Iterative convolutional neural network (ICNN): an iterative CNN solution for low power and real-time systems

With convolutional neural networks (CNN) becoming more of a commodity in the computer vision field, many have attempted to improve CNN in a bid to achieve better accuracy to a point that CNN accuracies have surpassed that of human's capabilities. However, with deeper networks, the number of computations and consequently the energy needed per classification has grown considerably. In this chapter, an iterative approach is introduced, which transforms the CNN from a single feed-forward network that processes a large image into a sequence of smaller networks, each processing a subsample of each image. Each smaller network combines the features extracted from all the earlier networks, to produce classification results. Such a multistage approach allows the CNN function to be dynamically approximated by creating the possibility of early termination and performing the classification with far fewer operations compared to a conventional CNN.
QTAccel: A Generic FPGA based Design for Q-Table based Reinforcement Learning Accelerators.

Q-Table based Reinforcement Learning (QRL) is a class of widely used algorithms in AI that work by successively improving the estimates of Q-values - quality of state-action pairs, stored in a table. They significantly outperform Neural Network based techniques when the state space is tractable. Fast learning for AI applications in several domains (such as robotics), with tractable `mid-sized' Q-tables, still necessitates performing a large number of rapid updates. State-of-the-art FPGA implementations of QRL do not scale well with the increasing Q-Table state space. Thus, they are not efficient for such applications. In this work, we develop a novel FPGA based design of QRL and SARSA (State Action Reward State Action), scalable to large state spaces and thereby facilitating a large class of AI applications. Our architecture provides higher throughput while using significantly fewer on-chip resources. It is capable of supporting a variety of action selection policies that covers Q-Learning and variations of bandit algorithms and can be easily extended for multi-agent Q learning. Our pipelined implementation fully handles the dependencies between consecutive updates allowing it to process one sample every clock cycle. We evaluate our architecture for Q-Learning and SARSA algorithms and show that our designs achieve a high throughput of up to 180 million samples per second.
Diversity in inhibitory effects of IFN-gamma and IFN-alpha A on the induced DNA synthesis of a hairy cell leukemia B lymphocyte clone reflects the nature of the activating ligand

A hairy cell leukemia population was used as a clonal model for studying the direct immunomodulatory effects of recombinant interferon- alpha A (rIFN-alpha A) and rIFN-gamma on human B-cell proliferation. The leukemic cell population KON was notably quiescent when incubated in medium alone but was induced to significant in vitro DNA synthesis when cultured with any of four activators of human B cells: anti-IgM antibody, Staphylococcus aureus cells (SAC), phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), or B-cell growth factor (BCGF). While both rIFN-gamma and rIFN- alpha A exhibited suppressive effects on these responses, their inhibitory patterns were distinct and reciprocal. Thus, rIFN-gamma exclusively suppressed anti-IgM-and SAC-induced leukemic DNA synthesis, and rIFN-alpha A significantly suppressed only PMA- and BCGF-induced DNA synthesis. The effects of the rIFN preparations were ablated in the presence of IFN type-specific monoclonal antibodies. Kinetic analyses and pulsing studies revealed that inhibition was most notable when cells were exposed concomitantly to IFN and the activating ligand. That the diverse effects of IFN-gamma and IFN-alpha A are manifested on a single B-cell clone was confirmed by Southern blot analysis of restriction enzyme-digested KON cell DNA with a JH-specific probe. These studies suggest that the therapeutic potential of the two types of IFN may be influenced by the nature of the extracellular ligands in the leukemic mileau that promote leukemic clonal expansion.
The Importance of Debt for Household Risky Asset Allocation and Portfolio Structure

When households decide on risky asset holdings, they do not make the decision in isolation from their debt structure and obligations, vice versa. We examine the joint behavior of debt and financial asset portfolio decisions, while existing empirical research on debt and asset portfolio choices has proceeded separately. In this paper, we first test the relationship between debt structure and asset allocation, then estimate the determinants of debt structure and asset allocation simultaneously. Using the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) data, we find robust evidence that debt structure affects households’ risky asset allocation decisions and identify, in this simultaneous decision-making process, the demographic and financial factors that can contribute to the household overall financial portfolio structure.
Detecting Progression in Patients With Different Clinical Presentations of Primary Open-angle Glaucoma.

PRCIS Glaucoma progression was more frequently identified by assessing retinal fiber layer thickness than by monitoring visual field (VF) loss for different baseline classifications in primary open-angle glaucoma. PURPOSE The aim was to compare the detection of glaucoma progression by retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and VF assessments for different baseline classifications of primary open-angle glaucoma. METHODS This study included 194 eyes from 194 patients with a minimum of 9 follow-up visits selected from the Diagnostic Innovation in Glaucoma Study (DIGS) and the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study (ADAGES). Each eye was classified according to baseline clinical signs: ocular hypertension (n=39), glaucomatous optic neuropathy only (n=60), glaucomatous visual field loss only (GVF, n=39) and definite glaucoma (concurrent optic disc and VF defect, n=56). We assessed progression by performing simple linear regression on global and sectorial mean deviations values generated for RNFLT (RNFLT-MD) and VF data (VF-MD). The proportion of eyes identified as progressing (positive rate) by RNFLT-MD and by VF-MD were compared within each classification. RESULTS Whereas both parameters performed similarly among glaucomatous optic neuropathy only and definite glaucoma eyes, the positive rate obtained with global RNFLT-MD was significantly greater compared with global VF-MD by 33.3% and 30.8% among ocular hypertension eyes and GVF eyes, respectively. This finding was consistent in the inferotemporal sector; however, similar positive rates were obtained for both parameters in the superotemporal sector. CONCLUSIONS While both RNFLT and VF parameters showed comparable abilities to identify progression across the different classifications, RNFLT assessment may be better suited to monitor progression, particularly among patients with elevated intraocular pressure and those who present with only GVF defect at baseline.
Professional Versus Self-Applied Makeup: Do Makeup Artists Add Value?

While a number of studies have investigated the effects of makeup on how people are perceived, the vast majority have used professionally applied makeup. Here, we tested the hypothesis that profess...
The fortunes of one's birth: Relative cohort size and the youth labor market in the United States

Using two different measures of relative cohort size – one indicating the size and placement of an individual's own birth cohort, and the other, the ratio of young to prime age adults in the United States in that year – it has been possible to isolate strong effects of the population age structure on wages in the United States over the past thirty-three years. These effects have been strong enough that virtually all of the observed change in the experience premium, and a substantial proportion of the changes in the college wage premium, can be explained by the relative cohort size variables alone. Even changes in the amount of within-group variance in wages appear to be largely a function of changing age structure, and absolute wage levels have been strongly affected by these demographic changes, suggesting that population growth can have positive effects on the economy.
Modeling Heterogeneity and Extraneous Variation Using Weighted Distributions

In one-parameter exponential families, the variance is a function of the mean. One powerful method of modeling heterogeneity and overdispersion in an exponential family is to use a parametrized weighted distribution. In this paper we interpret such a weighted distribution model as an overdispersed generalized linear model by introducing covariates and forming a very general class of models. Here, such models are fit from a Bayesian perspective, using non-informative priors in order to let the data (likelihood) drive the inference. Bayesian calculations are carried out using a Metropolis-within-Gibbs sampling algorithm. An illustrative example using a previously analyzed data set is presented with emphasis on model comparison.
Creating a Health Informatics Program: Is It Good For What Ails Us?

The state of information technology in healthcare, which for years has greatly lagged behind other industries, is currently evolving at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, very few educational programs are producing graduates with the technical and clinical skills to meet these needs. To remedy this problem, researchers and faculty at a large southern university developed and implemented a new Health Informatics (HI) bachelor’s degree program. This paper evaluates the program's performance at one year after implementation to determine if the hypotheses that led to its creation are supported. Critical success factors for creating a successful HI program at other institutions are identified and discussed.
Abstract 07: Longitudinal Patterns of Change in Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study

Background: Increasing SBP throughout the life course is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, patterns of SBP increase may differ among individuals. We sought to examine the association of longitudinal change in SBP with CVD outcomes among middle-aged adults. Methods: We used latent class growth models (STATA, traj) to identify patterns of longitudinal change in SBP among 11,565 ARIC cohort participants with non-missing SBP measurements at 4 clinical examinations (1987-1998) Model adequacy was assessed using BIC criteria, average posterior probabilities of group assignment, and odds of correct classification. The association of SBP pattern with incidence of CVD and mortality was examined in follow-up from the fourth clinical examination (1998) through Dec 31, 2011, using Poisson regression models adjusted for age and use of hypertension medication. Results: We identified six distinct patterns of SBP change, of which three showed a sustained increase within the normal range ( Conclusions: Increase in SBP during midlife is associated with long-term risk of CVD, regardless of baseline SBP. Having an elevated SBP in mid-life increases the risk of CVD events and mortality. Our observations highlight the value of hypertension prevention efforts.
Effect of polynucleotides on aminoacyl transfer ribonucleic acid synthetases: III. Inhibition of glutamyl transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase by natural polynucleotides☆

Abstract The inhibitory effects of several natural polynucleotides on the formation of glutamyl-tRNA by purified rat liver glutamyl-tRNA synthetase were investigated. Yeast and Escherichia coli tRNA's, which were inactive as acceptors with the liver enzyme, inhibited to a small extent. Low levels of inhibition were also observed with intact or degraded ribosomal RNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid from several species was a potent inhibitor of glutamyl-tRNA formation, although it exhibited a mixed type of inhibition with respect to tRNA. An unknown RNA component was isolated from pH 5 fractions of beef liver and was found to be a potent, competitive inhibitor of glutamyl-tRNA formation. This RNA had a low molecular weight, but no amino acid acceptor activity. It was a much more effective inhibitor than either degraded ribosomal RNA or tRNA whose terminal adenosine moiety had been removed, suggesting that this RNA is distinct from either of these two species. Studies with periodate-oxidized tRNA and tRNA whose terminal adenosine had been removed indicated the involvement of this terminal nucleoside moiety in the interaction of glutamate-specific tRNA and its synthetase. The observation that several naturally occurring nucleic acids can inhibit aminoacyl-tRNA formation warns against the use of impure tRNA preparations in the study of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. The possible regulatory significance of the inhibition of aminoacyl-tRNA formation is discussed.
Optical rotatory dispersion studies—131: Demonstration of a conformational isotope effect in deuterium substituted cyclopentanones

Abstract The synthesis and chiroptical properties of three chiral, deuterium-substituted cyclopentanones are reported which shed light on subtle conformational changes. Thus, the CD spectra of (3 R )-3-deuteriocyclopentanone ( 1 ), (3 S , 4 S )-3,4-dideuteriocyclopentanone ( 2 ) and (3 S , 4 S )-2,2,3,4,5,5-hexadeuteriocyclopentanone ( 3 ) are found to undergo an increase (in the absolute sense) of the rotational strength on lowering the temperature. This change is associated with a shift in the conformational equilibrium towards the twist conformation with the deuterium in the quasi-axial position. Using literature estimates for the rotational strength of the involved twist conformation, enthalpy differences of approximately − 1, − 4 and − 6 cal/mol were calculated for the respective conformational equilibria of 1,2 and 3 . Empirical force field calculations were found to be in qualitative agreement with the experimental results when weaker non-bonded interactions for deuterium were used. The gas-phase spectra of 1 and 2 are reported which reveal a surprisingly well resolved vibrational fine structure. Two superimposed main progressions with a spacing of 1250 cm −1 extending up to the sixth overtone are identified. It is suggested that they represent progressions in the excited state carbonyl stretch mode built upon two pseudo origins.
Intraband Magneto-Optical Studies of Semiconductors in the Far Infrared. II†

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the intraband magneto-optical studies of semiconductors in the far infrared. The electronic energy levels of isolated impurities in semiconductors can frequently be described quite accurately in the effective mass approximation. A convenient parameter that characterizes the relative strength of the magnetic field is the ratio of free electron zero-point energy in the magnetic field to the effective Coulomb binding energy. The correspondence problem, the extension of the effective mass theory to include nonparabolicity and degenerate bands, the problem of central cell corrections, and the breakdown of the effective mass theory for deep impurities are examined. It is found that although donor impurities in InSb and GaAs have yielded the most precise information concerning hydrogenic energy levels in a magnetic field, a number of other materials have revealed similar, less detailed features. The interaction of free and bound carriers with collective excitations is elaborated. It is found that in this case, the energy separation between two excited electronic states is made equal to the phonon energy, while the initial state of the optical transition lies on a third level and terminates on the upper level of the pair of excited states.
Evolution of an Urban Governance Network: The Case of Center City

The structural properties of the urban governance network in Center City, Philadelphia, and the centralities of its actors are investigated in a longitudinal case study. The results of the network text analyses and social network analyses of the network are interpreted from the perspective of urban governance network conceptualization. The results show that the network had consistently low densities and high total degree centralizations in the period studied. The CUSUM and EWMA control charts indicate that centralization of the network changed in two periods of time. Multiple analyses (including immediate impact analyses and sphere of influence analyses) show that the executive director of the business improvement district is the most central actor and the mayors and the city council relatively less central.
Model structures for vinyl polymers. I. Polyacrylonitrile

A model dimer of acrylonitrile (2,4 dimethylglutaronitrile) was synthesized and separated into an isotactic (meso) isomer, m.p. −8.8°C., and a syndiotactic (racemic) isomer, m.p. =50°C. Infrared and NMR spectra of the dimers were measured. The methylene protons of the isotactic dimer resonate at a lower magnetic field strength and show a more complex spin-spin splitting than the syndiotactic methylene protons. Ein Modell eines dimeren Acrylnitrils (2,4-Dimethylglutaronitril) wurde synthetisiert und in eine isotaktische (meso) Form, Schmp. = 8,8°C, und eine syndiotaktische (racem.) Form, Schmp. = 50°C, aufgetrennt. Ultrarot- und Kernresonanzspektren der Dimeren wurden gemessen. Die Methylenprotonen des isotaktischen Dimeren zeigten Resonanz bei geringerer magnetischer Feldstarke sowie eine kompliziertere Spin-Spin-Aufspaltung als die Methylenprotonen der syndiotaktischen Form.
The Flâneur and the Aesthetic: Appropriation of Urban Culture in Mid-19th-Century Paris

The article reinterprets the sources of Parisian flânerie with the view of exploring 19th-century understandings of cultural and aesthetic modernity. It distinguishes between two separate though interconnected formulaic narratives about the flâneur. The first is the popular flâneur, associated with a new type of urban commercial culture characteristic of the 1840s; while the second is the avant-garde flâneur, embodied in Baudelaire's critical texts of the 1850s and 1860s. Juxtaposing these two different narratives of flânerie allows us to draw two conclusions. The first is that the 19th century's evaluations of cultural modernity were considerably more optimistic than later interpretations would lead one to believe. The second is that the realms of popular and avant-garde cultures were far more porous and inter-dependent than canonical literary criticism has contended.
Fatty acids, fibrinogen and blood flow: a general mechanism for hyperfibrinogenemia and its pathologic consequences.

Abstract Plasma fibrinogen is elevated in various stressful states and conditions in which active mobilization of free fatty acids (FFA) occurs. Reduction of plasma FFA by an assortment of hypolipidemic drugs is consistently followed by a decrease in the accompanying hyperfibrinogenemia. A direct link between FFA and fibrinogen has been demonstrated in animals, and in experiments employing incubated liver slices. Based on these clinical and experimental observations, we postulate that hepatic fibrinogen synthesis is stimulated by FFA. Since fibrinogen is a major determinant of whole blood viscosity, erythrocyte aggregation, and sludging of red cells in terminal and pre-terminal blood vessels, we propose that microcirculatory blood flow may be impaired in the presence of chronically elevated plasma FFA levels. Consequently, hypolipidemic drugs may be effective in prevention of circulatory complications associated with FFA-induced hyperfibrinogenemia.
Development of a candidate reference measurement procedure for the determination of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 in human serum using isotope-dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Vitamin D exists in two major forms, vitamin D3 and vitamin D2. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and promote optimal bone health. Both forms of vitamin D are metabolized to 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the body, and the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] and 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 [25(OH)D2] in serum are considered the best indicators of vitamin D status. A candidate reference measurement procedure for serum 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2 has been developed and critically evaluated. The deuterated compounds 25(OH)D3-d3 and 25(OH)D2-d3 are used as internal standards for 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2, respectively. The 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2 and their respective labeled internal standards are simultaneously extracted from serum using liquid−liquid extraction prior to reversed-phase liquid chromatography−tandem mass spectrometry (LC−MS/MS). Chromatographic separation was performed using a cyano (CN) column for both 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2. Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) in the positive ion mode and multip...
Effects of noradrenergic alpha-2 receptor antagonism or noradrenergic lesions in the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and medial preoptic area on maternal care in female rats

Rationale Maternal behavior in laboratory rats requires a network of brain structures including the ventral bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTv) and medial preoptic area (mPOA). Neurotransmitter systems in the BSTv and mPOA influencing maternal behaviors are not well understood, although norepinephrine is an excellent candidate because the BSTv contains the densest noradrenergic fiber plexus in the forebrain and norepinephrine in the mPOA is known to influence other female reproductive functions.
Cyberprotest in contemporary Russia: The cases of Ingushetiya.ru and Bakhmina.ru

We explore the possibilities of the Internet as a tool for supplying information necessary for the organization and mobilization of successful opposition movements, especially under non-democratic regimes. Examples of the roles the Internet plays in the political processes in Russia are discussed in detail. In particular, the recent cyberprotest cases of the Ingushetiya.ru website and the movement to release political prisoner Svetlana Bakhmina are investigated. Besides showing the Internet's significant role in organizing modern protests, these cases also demonstrate that in environments where practically all traditional mass-media are under the authorities' control, the Internet becomes the major source of alternative information. Our paper offers a look at how deploying technologies can bring about social change, even in some of the most difficult political environments.
Effect of two-body collisions on heavy ion dynamics

Abstract Two-body collisions are included in TDHF by the time-relaxation method. Calculations are made in a one-dimensional slab-geometry at E c.m A = 20 MeV . The relaxation time is assumed to be temperature dependent. Results arc shown for two functions of the temperature as well as for ordinary TDHF (infinite relaxation time). Temperature and the two components of the pressuretensor (perpendicular and parallel to the beam direction) are shown. The approach towards the hydrostatic limit (isototropic pressure) as the relaxation time decreases is shown. Relaxation time is expected to decrease with temperature, i.e. beam energy. The energy at which the pressure becomes isotropic is important for understanding the dynamics of heavy ion collisions.
Polymorphism of selected marine Chaetophoraceae (Chlorophyta)

The effect of variations in light-intensity and temperature on morphology, and the formation of setae as a function of nitrate and phosphate concentrations were determined for ten species of epiphytic, endozoic and epizoic marine Chaetophoraceae. Pronounced morphological plasticity, e.g. production of laxly branched or discoid thalli, occurred in the genera Ochlochaete and Ectochaete and branched, discoid or sarcinoid-like thalli in Pseudendoclonium. Bolbocoleon was not variable under a wide range of environmental conditions. Setae were always formed by two taxa, Bolbocoleon piliferum and Ectochaete ramulosa, but were never formed by Pseudendoclonium submarinum, Pseudulvella heterotricha, Pseudulvella prostrata or Entocladia testarum under variable nitrate and phosphate concentrations. In media deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus, algae that normally did not produce setae had long delicate bulbous setae, e.g. Entocladia viridis and Entocladia flustrae. The phenotypic plasticity of the marine Chaetophorac...
Suitable Contacting Pattern for Optimal Product Distribution in a Recombinant Cell System

In a bioreactor system employing recombinant cells with 2p plasmid as a vector to produce a desired product, the concept of having a single autocatalytic reaction, which could have been the case in a wild system, may be ruled out since each unit of substrate consumed does not produce the same amount of new cells and product. This indicates that the stoichiometric coefficients are not constants throughout the reactions. Thus, in designing a bioreactor employing recombinant cells, one encounters a system involving multiple reactions. Such multiple reactions are so varied in type and seem to have so little in common that finding general guiding principles for design may be a difficult task. The initial attempt by Imanaka and Aiba' to put forward characteristic equations for such fermentation SYStems made highly simplified assumptions. These equations were modified by Ollis and Chang.' Srienc, Campbell, and Bailey3 later forwarded a model for the formulation of complementing product. Very recently, Sardonini and DiBiasio4 have developed a new scheme explaining the product formation phenomenon.
Some thoughts on graduate education in sociology

Examining the question of graduate education in sociology raises issues about the way we perceive our discipline and its future. Multiple theoretical perspectives and applied vs. basic interests need not fractionate the discipline if we orient ourselves to those skills which comprise the essence of sociological work; and the idea of a disciplinary core will be more easily operationalized if we construct graduate curricula with these skills in mind. How we practice our discipline will be a far more significant determinant of both its future and the content of graduate training than our normative pronouncements about what ought to be.
Accounting for Dependence Induced by Weighted KNN Imputation in Paired Samples, Motivated by a Colorectal Cancer Study

Missing data can arise in bioinformatics applications for a variety of reasons, and imputation methods are frequently applied to such data. We are motivated by a colorectal cancer study where miRNA expression was measured in paired tumor-normal samples of hundreds of patients, but data for many normal samples were missing due to lack of tissue availability. We compare the precision and power performance of several imputation methods, and draw attention to the statistical dependence induced by K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) imputation. This imputation-induced dependence has not previously been addressed in the literature. We demonstrate how to account for this dependence, and show through simulation how the choice to ignore or account for this dependence affects both power and type I error rate control.
Mathematical model of 5-[125I]iodo-2′-deoxyuridine treatment: continuous infusion regimens for hepatic metastases

Abstract Purpose: Due to the cytotoxicity of DNA-bound iodine-125, 5-[ 125 I]Iodo-2′-deoxyuridine ([ 125 I]IUdR), an analog of thymidine, has long been recognized as possessing therapeutic potential. In this work, the feasibility and potential effectiveness of hepatic artery infusion of [ 125 I]IUdR is examined. Methods: A mathematical model has been developed that simulates tumor growth and response to [ 125 I]IUdR treatment. The model is used to examine the efficacy and potential toxicity of prolonged infusion therapy. Treatment of kinetically homogeneous tumors with potential doubling times of either 4, 5, or 6 days is simulated. Assuming uniformly distributed activity, absorbed dose estimates to the red marrow, liver and whole-body are calculated to assess the potential toxicity of treatment. Results: Nine to 10 logs of tumor-cell kill over a 7- to 20-day period are predicted by the various simulations examined. The most slowly proliferating tumor was also the most difficult to eradicate. During the infusion time, tumor-cell loss consisted of two components: A plateau phase, beginning at the start of infusion and ending once the infusion time exceeded the potential doubling time of the tumor; and a rapid cell-reduction phase that was close to log-linear. Beyond the plateau phase, treatment efficacy was highly sensitive to tumor activity concentration. Conclusions: Model predictions suggest that [ 125 I]IUdR will be highly dependent upon the potential doubling time of the tumor. Significant tumor cell kill will require infusion durations that exceed the longest potential doubling time in the tumor-cell population.
Pigs as recyclers for nutrients contained in Bermuda grass harvested from spray fields

The ability of pigs to use nitrogen and energy in Bermuda grass was evaluated in order to assess whether Bermuda grass harvested from spray fields could be fed to pigs as a means to recycle nitrogen. Digestibility of Bermuda grass incorporated into corn-soybean meal diets was evaluated in heavy finishing pigs and gestating sows. Results suggest that Bermuda grass digestibility is negative in animals not adapted to a high-fiber diet. Enzymes improve this digestibility, but even with enzymes, nitrogen digestibility was poor. Pigs fed a diet containing 10% Bermuda grass required a one week adaptation period for maximal digestion; following adaptation, pigs can digest approximately 40% of the energy in Bermuda grass but none of the nitrogen. Feeding Bermuda grass to pigs as a means of recycling nitrogen is thus not recommended.
Care Transitions and Home Health Care

Transitions of care are becoming recognized as an important area for improvement in health care quality and patient safety. Yet there remains consistent evidence from multiple studies in varied settings of failures to complete safe, effective hand-offs from one location of care to the next. Major lapses include absent or limited clinical information and care plan content, plus errors related to medications. There are identifiable problems with half or more of the transitions that occur between care settings, and adverse consequences occur in 15 to 25 percent of patients. Undoubtedly these lapses contribute to the rates of re-hospitalization in post-acute care which affect 20 to 30 percent of patients within 60 days after hospital discharge. This article reviews models of transitional care intervention that have been tested and shown to be effective including less intensive coaching or guided care approaches, and more intensive case management strategies. Effective transitional care processes, linked with strong home care programs can reduce re-hospitalization by a third in some less intensive models and by half or more in some more intensive models.