cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Monitoring and Controlling the Beet Leafhopper Circulifer tenellus in the Columbia Basin

The beet leafhopper (BLH, Circulifer tenellus Baker) is a frequent pest of potatoes in the Columbia Basin of Oregon and Washington. Beet leafhoppers vector the causal agent of potato Purple top disease, known as Beet Leafhopper Transmitted Virescence Agent (BLTVA). Over 70 % of BLH in the region can be infected with BLVTA. Current control methods include making regular insecticide applications beginning in May; however it is unclear if those applications are needed. Thus, are insecticide applications necessary to control BLH and reduce BLTVA through the entire season? To answer that question, a field study was conducted in 2008 and 2009 to assess season-long control of BLH. There were 14 treatments, including the control, that were based on gradually eliminating insecticide applications weekly. Plots were sampled weekly for BLH and surveyed for Purple Top disease. Beet leafhoppers were sampled using sweep nets and an inverted leaf blower. Natural BLH populations were low in 2008 and 2009, but differed significantly among treatments in 2009 for inverted leaf blower and sweep net samples. Yields were assessed at the end of each season and no significant differences were found. Trends in the yield, BLH populations and BLTVA incidence support early-season insecticide application when BLH populations are low. The practice of using a calendar spray regime was not supported as yields were similar regardless of insecticide applications. As BLH populations were low, the results emphasized the importance of monitoring before making insecticide applications.
Accelerated Oxidations of Polyisoprene. I. Metal-Catalyzed Oxidations in Solution

Abstract Most of our work was carried out at 50° C with about 2 per cent solutions of synthetic polyisoprene in chlorobenzene. In many experiments, oxygen absorption and decrease in viscosity were followed together. Viscosity changes are a very sensitive measure of chain cleavage of high molecular weight polymers but of little use with degraded polymers; for the latter some number average molecular weights are available. The effects of several metal compounds were examined on both undegraded and partly degraded rubber solutions; for metal catalysis some peroxides are also required. Unless oxidation is initiated by a free radical source such as 2,2′-azobis-(2-methylpropionitrile) or unless a peroxide (e.g., t-butyl hydroperoxide) is added initially, considerable time elapses before the catalytic effect of the metal becomes obvious. The lower valence form of the metal often has a net retarding effect on oxidation at this stage. In partially oxidized solutions, however, the metals catalyze oxidation at once....
Control of stable flies (Diptera: Muscidae) with a unique nitrogen fertilizer, calcium cyanamide.

Calcium cyanamide fertilizer at 0.75% resulted in 100% control of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), larvae in field tests in a medium similar to that of feedlot waste or dairy barn waste. This is the first report of the effect of calcium cyanamide fertilizer on stable fly breeding. The treatment was as effective in warm August weather as during cooler October weather. Control of stable flies was not due to an increase in nitrogen, because neither urea nor ammonium nitrate at the same or twice the concentration (nitrogen content) of calcium cyanamide fertilizer caused significant mortality. Laboratory tests indicated an LC50, of 0.368% for the calcium cyanamide fertilizer against stable fly larvae.
A Case for Randomized Parallel Algorithms

Randomization was formally introduced by Rabin[6] and independently by Solovay & Strassen[8] as a tool for improving the efficiency of certain algorithms. In a nutshell, a randomized algorithm uses coin-flips to make decisions at different steps of the algorithm. Therefore a randomized algorithm is actually a family of algorithms where each member of this family corresponds to a fixed sequence of outcomes of the coin-flip. Two of the most commonly used forms of randomization in literature are the Las Vegas algorithms and Monte Carlo algorithms. The former kind ensures that the output of the algorithm is always correct — however only a fraction (usually greater than 1/2) of the family of algorithms halt within a certain time bound (as well as with respect to some other resources like space). In contrast, the Monte Carlo procedures always halt in a pre-determined time period; however the final output is correct with a certain probability (typically > 1/2). This lends itself very naturally to decision algorithms (Rabin’s primality testing being a good example). For the purpose of this discussion we shall limit ourselves to the Las Vegas algorithms which have been more popular with the algorithm designers. For a general algorithm which produces more than just ‘yes-no’ output, the precise meaning of an incorrect output becomes subjective; for example we may need to know how close are we to the correct output in order to decide if the output is acceptable. Although, this is one of the reasons for bias towards Las Vegas algorithms, the use of either kind of algorithms depends on the particular application.
Reductive Disproportionation of Carbon Dioxide by an Alkyl-Functionalized Pyridine Monoimine Re(I) fac-Tricarbonyl Electrocatalyst

A Re(I) fac-tricarbonyl complex with a 2-(2-cyclohexyl-1-methyl)-methylimino-pyridine ligand is found to electrocatalyze the reductive disproportionation of two equivalents of CO2 to CO and CO32–. Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical experiments, supplemented by stoichiometric reactions with chemically reduced species, indicate that this reaction is catalyzed via a process that is first-order in [Re]. These findings show that the decreased aromaticity of pyridine monoimine ligands (relative to that of previously studied bipyridine systems) has mechanistic implications for the electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 with Re complexes. NMR experiments indicate that this is also manifested in a competing pathway where CO2 undergoes a reductive insertion reaction into the monoamine ligand.
A Model of Pressure, Oxygenation, and Perfusion Risk Factors for Pressure Ulcers in the Intensive Care Unit

BACKGROUND Although most intensive care patients are at risk for pressure ulcers, not all experience such ulcers. OBJECTIVE To examine a model of variables related to extrinsic and intrinsic pressure on skin and underlying tissues, oxygenation, perfusion, and baseline comorbid conditions to identify risk factors associated with pressure ulcers in critically ill adults. METHOD A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients identified by weekly rounds from January 2010 through October 2010 to determine the prevalence of pressure ulcers. Variables were analyzed via bivariate analysis and logistic regression for unit-acquired pressure ulcers. RESULTS Data on 345 patients with 436 intensive care admissions were reviewed. Variables were significant in each model category at P < .05. In the regression analysis of first admission only (n = 306), the model was significant (P < .001) and yielded correct classification of 86.3% of patients. For all intensive care admissions (n = 391), the model was significant (P < .001) and yielded correct classification of 83.9% of patients. In both models, 4 of the same variables were significant: any transport off the unit, number of days to bed change, systolic blood pressure less than 90 mm Hg, and use of more than 1 vasopressor. History of pulmonary disease and presence of a feeding tube were also significant in regression analyses. CONCLUSIONS Several variables within the model of pressure, oxygenation, and perfusion were significantly associated with development of pressure ulcers.
Growth in acidic media increases production of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C byStaphylococcus aureus

Production of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PIPLC), an exoenzyme of some strains ofStaphylococcus aureus, has been epidemiologically associated with virulence. To investigate the elaboration ofS. aureus PIPLC, we have evaluated in vitro conditions that maximize production of enzymatically active PIPLC. PIPLC activity was assessed by measuring the release of3H-inositol-phosphate from the substrate3H-phosphatidylinositol. Lowering the pH ofS. aureus cultures from 7.0 to 5.4 progressively increased the yield of PIPLC. The final yield of PIPLC was at least five-fold greater when the initial culture pH was 5.4 compared with 7.0. Low pH enhanced PIPLC activity recovered from twoS. aureus strains capable of high PIPLC production, but not from a strain producing little PIPLC. At both pH 5.0 and 7.4, PIPLC production peaked during mid- to late-logarithmic phase. We conclude that an acidic starting pH of culture media increases the yield of PIPLC activity elaborated during active growth ofS. aureus.
In Situ ATR and DRIFTS Studies of the Nature of Adsorbed CO2 on Tetraethylenepentamine Films

CO2 adsorption/desorption onto/from tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) films of 4, 10, and 20 μm thicknesses were studied by in situ attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) techniques under transient conditions. Molar absorption coefficients for adsorbed CO2 were used to determine the CO2 capture capacities and amine efficiencies (CO2/N) of the films in the DRIFTS system. Adsorption of CO2 onto surface and bulk NH2 groups of the 4 μm film produced weakly adsorbed CO2, which can be desorbed at 50 °C by reducing the CO2 partial pressure. These weakly adsorbed CO2 exhibit low ammonium ion intensities and could be in the form of ammonium-carbamate ion pairs and zwitterions. Increasing the film thickness enhanced the surface amine–amine interactions, resulting in strongly adsorbed ion pairs and zwitterions associated with NH and NH2 groups of neighboring amines. These adsorbed species may form an interconnected surface network, which slowed CO2 gas...
Effects of Female Sex Hormones in Young Opossums

SummaryEstradiol dipropionate and estrone have only a gynogenic action on the genital tracts of young opossums of either sex, contrasting in this respect with the male hormone testosterone propionate which exerts a dual effect. The most striking effects are exerted on the phallus and the epithelium of the urinogenital sinus. Mullerian ducts, although very immature, are definitely enlarged. Prostatic outgrowths are suppressed.
Estimates of heritability of response to Rous sarcomas of chickens.

Abstract The stocks used for this investigation consisted of 1039 F3 generation progeny from the cross of two highly inbred lines and 355 and 462 offspring from subpopulations UNH 105A and UNH 105B, respectively, of a noninbred line of New Hampshires. Matings were such that B complex alleles were segretated in the three experimental populations with minor exceptions. Each chicken was inoculated at 6 weeks of age with a subgroup of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV). Resulting tumors were subjectively scored on a scale from 0 (no tumor) to 6 (massive tumor) six times during a 10-week experimental period. Based upon the six tumor scores, each chicken was then assigned a tumor profile index (TPI), a criterion of antitumor response. The TPI were analyzed by least squares analysis of variance and corrected for hatch, sex, and virus prior to obtaining components of variance and estimates of heritability from a nested analysis of variance. Estimates of heritability from the sire component ranged from 0 to .41 ± .27 and from the dam component .18 ± .09 to .26 ± .14, which are rather low estimates in general.
Jejunal adenosine increases during food-induced jejunal hyperemia.

If adenosine mediates postprandial intestinal hyperemia, increases in local adenosine release must accompany the hyperemia. We tested this by determining jejunal venous and arterial plasma adenosine concentrations, jejunal blood flow, and oxygen consumption before and during placement of normal saline or predigested food plus bile into the jejunal lumen of anesthetized dogs. Adenosine concentrations were measured by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Luminal placement of food significantly increased blood flow (+46%), oxygen consumption (+40%), venous adenosine concentration (+56 nM), and adenosine release (+1.7 nmol.min-1.100 g tissue-1) during the initial 3 min of placement. Whereas blood flow and oxygen consumption remained elevated for the entire 15-min placement period, venous adenosine concentration and release returned to control levels at 7 and 11 min after placement, respectively. Placement of the same volume of normal saline did not significantly alter any variables measured, indicating that the food-induced changes were because of constituents of food. In conclusion, introduction of predigested food into the jejunal lumen significantly increases adenosine releases into the local venous blood during the initial several minutes of food placement. The increased adenosine production and release may play a role in postprandial jejunal hyperemia.
Linear Subspace Ranking Hashing for Cross-Modal Retrieval

Hashing has attracted a great deal of research in recent years due to its effectiveness for the retrieval and indexing of large-scale high-dimensional multimedia data. In this paper, we propose a novel ranking-based hashing framework that maps data from different modalities into a common Hamming space where the cross-modal similarity can be measured using Hamming distance. Unlike existing cross-modal hashing algorithms where the learned hash functions are binary space partitioning functions, such as the sign and threshold function, the proposed hashing scheme takes advantage of a new class of hash functions closely related to rank correlation measures which are known to be scale-invariant, numerically stable, and highly nonlinear. Specifically, we jointly learn two groups of linear subspaces, one for each modality, so that features’ ranking orders in different linear subspaces maximally preserve the cross-modal similarities. We show that the ranking-based hash function has a natural probabilistic approximation which transforms the original highly discontinuous optimization problem into one that can be efficiently solved using simple gradient descent algorithms. The proposed hashing framework is also flexible in the sense that the optimization procedures are not tied up to any specific form of loss function, which is typical for existing cross-modal hashing methods, but rather we can flexibly accommodate different loss functions with minimal changes to the learning steps. We demonstrate through extensive experiments on four widely-used real-world multimodal datasets that the proposed cross-modal hashing method can achieve competitive performance against several state-of-the-arts with only moderate training and testing time.
Service Provider and Receiver Perceptual Gap Analysis For Effective Dental Specialist Services Marketing

The dental services marketing environment is undergoing dynamic change. Past research efforts in this area have left three major gaps. They are:(l) consumer behavior research with limited perspectives; (2) all service providers have been treated as one homogeneous group; and (3) comparisons of service provider and receiver views have been limited to advertising aspect of dental services marketing. This paper attempts to fill these gaps by specifically analyzing similarities and differences In the perceptions of dental specialists and consumers with regard to attribute salience, differences among service providers, determinance and satisfaction. The perceptual gaps between the two groups are identified for each dimension under investigation and implications are discussed.
What Works Best

This paper draws on our new database on bank regulation and supervision in 107 countries to assess different governmental approaches to bank regulation and supervision and to evaluate the efficacy of specific regulatory and supervisory policies. First, we assess two broad and competing theories of government regulation: the helping-hand approach, according to which governments regulate to correct market failures, and the grabbing-hand approach, according to which governments regulate to support political constituencies. The grabbing-hand theory predicts that countries with powerful official supervisors, limits on bank activities, high levels of government ownership of banks, and restrictions on entry will tend to have higher levels of corruption without a corresponding improvement in bank performance or stability. This view therefore predicts that governments focusing more on empowering private-sector control of bank behavior are more likely to promote bank performance and stability than governments taking a more intrusive approach to regulation and supervision. Second, this paper uses the extensive cross-country database to assess the implications for banking-sector development and fragility of: regulations on bank activities and the mixing of banking and commerce; regulations on domestic and foreign bank entry; regulations on capital adequacy; deposit insurance system design features; supervisory power, independence, resources, loan classification stringency, provisioning standards, diversification guidelines, and prompt corrective action powers; regulations on information disclosure and fostering privatesector monitoring of banks; and government ownership of banks. The findings, generally more consistent with the grabbing-hand view, suggest that regulatory and supervisory practices that (1) force accurate information disclosure, (2) empower private-sector corporate control of banks, and (3) foster incentives for private agents to exert corporate control work best to promote bank performance and stability. The results raise a cautionary flag to strategies that place excessive reliance on direct, government oversight of and restrictions on banks.
Thermal Wave Characterization of Ceramics

Aspects of ceramics are considered and related to thermal wave imaging. Studies presented include measurements on fiber reinforced composites, composites with creep damage, and ceramics with controlled particle size and porosity.
The effects of math recovery on the low-performing mathematics student

This study examined the effectiveness of the course, Math Recovery, on a group of ninth-grade students enrolled in the course Algebra/Geometry I measured by course grades and subsequent tenth-grade MAP scores. In addition, gender and race differences were investigated in this study to determine the impact, if any, on academic achievement. The students in this study attended one of three large high schools belonging to a large suburban school district. The students in the ninth-grade course, Algebra/Geometry I, were split into two groups, those enrolled in Math Recovery, the treatment group, and those not enrolled in Math Recovery. The student enrolled in the Algebra/Geometry I courses contained students from both the treatment and non-treatment groups. The participants of this study were a total of 152 students divided between a treatment group, students enrolled in Math Recovery, totaling 32 students and a non-treatment group, students not enrolled in Math Recovery, totaling 120 students. Because the students enrolled in Math Recovery were students deemed to be mathematically deficient, the students' eighth-grade MAP scores were used as a covariate in order to remove the variance the academic scores have on the ninth-grade grades and tenth-grade MAP scores. The findings of this study showed there were no significant differences in the grades or tenth-grade MAP scores between students enrolled in Math Recovery and those students not enrolled in the course. In addition, the same results, no significant differences existed, when the groups were disaggregated by gender and race. Most importantly, students leaving the eight-grade, who were mathematically deficient, demonstrated through their grades that they had parity with students not in the Math Recovery course. The results of this study indicated that providing academically lacking mathematically students with the proper mathematically support kept these students even with those students who did not receive the support course.
Epitaxial growth of GaP/AlGaP mirrors on Si for low thermal noise optical coatings

GaP/AlGaP multilayers were grown directly on Si to form a single crystalline mirror with very low mechanical loss. The effects of growth initiation, nucleation layers, and growth variations on antiphase domains and overall film quality were investigated. Using the conditions which yielded smooth nucleation layers and fewer antiphase domains, GaP/AlGaP mirror pairs were grown. These epitaxially-integrated mirrors on Si have potential use in gravitational wave detection, relying on precision interferometric sensing, which requires extremely low mechanical loss in the optical cavities.
Identification of Enterobacteriaceae Isolated from Seafoods1

Fifty-three retail samples of seafood were examined for members of the family Enterobacteriaceae , using violet red bile agar with 1% glucose. Isolation and identification of 99 typical colonies showed them all to be members of the family Enterobacteriaceae . Enterobacter species were most frequently isolated with Erwinia , Klebsiella , Hafnia , Proteus , Serratia , Escherichia and Yersinia recovered with decreasing frequency.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: Physical Modalities, Orthoses, Assistive Devices, and Manipulation

Indications for heat are to provide analgesia, contracture reduction, decrease joint stiffness, increase collagen elasticity, and hyperemia in the setting of a chronic injury. The use of heat as a therapeutic modality is based on the physical properties of conduction, convection, conversion, and radiation. The therapeutic range of heat is 40–45 °C and is commonly maintained for about 5–30 min [1].
Characteristics of the Bainite Transformation in a Ni-Cr Steel

The bainite transformation in a 3.5 pct Ni-1.25 pct Cr steel was studied under various conditions of cooling and stress. Several characteristics may be specified: 1) transformation in the bainite region (925° to 575°F) is very little affected by the manner of cooling from the austenitizing temperature at 1600°F to the upper limit of bainite transformation at 925°F; 2) starting time for the bainite transformation is the same order of magnitude for either isothermal transformation or continuous cooling, but the rate of transformation is somewhat greater for isothermal transformation; 3) tensile stress accelerates both isothermal and continuous cooling transformation, and 32,000 psi stress changes the form of the isothermal transformation diagram to correspond in appearance to the continuous cooling diagram; 4) transformation for nonlinear, continuous cooling may not be determined directly from the linear, continuous cooling transformation diagram, but may be predicted by assuming first that the fractional amount of austenite transformed in a given small temperature interval depends on the approximate linear cooling rate during that temperature interval and then by summing stepwise over the whole temperature range.
Studies of mast cells: Adventures in serendipity

Like many of us who had the great fortune to work with Bill Paul, my science life was immeasurably altered by my Like many of us who had the great fortune to work with Bill Paul, my science life was immeasurably altered by my interactions with him. Although intimidating at first because of his stature in the immunology world, it was soon clear that he not only truly cared about the specific research we were doing together, but he wished to convey to his trainees an approach to science that was open, always questioning and infinitely fun. His enthusiasm was infectious and after my training with him, despite stresses due to funding and publishing hurdles, I never regretted the path I took. My research took a sharp turn from the studies of adaptive immunity I had planned on pursuing after my fellowship with Bill to a life long quest to understand the wonders of the mast cell, a relatively rare innate immune cell. This came about because Bill’s curiosity and expectation of the unexpected allowed him to view, in retrospect, a rather mundane observation we made together involving a non-physiological transformed mast cell line as something that might be really interesting. I have never forgotten that lesson: Look at the data with an eye on the big picture. Sometimes the unexpected is more interesting than predicted results. His example in this regard was incredibly important when as an independent investigator a mistake in mouse sex determination led to unexpected and very confusing data. Yet these data ultimately revealed a role for mast cells in male-specific protection in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Bill's influence in immunology is far-reaching and will continue to be felt as those of us who train our own students and post-doctoral fellows pass on his wisdom and approach to scientific research.
Evaluating the Operational Footprint of Alternative Diamond Interchanges

AbstractQueue spillback onto the freeway mainlines and the interactions with the adjacent intersections can have adverse impacts on traffic operation and safety, whereby the freeway becomes an expe...
A Robust Window-Based Multi-node Minimization Technique Using Boolean Relations

In this chapter, a scalable dual-node technology-independent logic optimization technique is presented. This technique scales well and can minimize both small designs and large designs typical of industrial circuits. It is experimentally demonstrated that this technique produces minimized technology-independent networks that are on average 12% smaller than networks produced by single-node minimization techniques.
Regulation of the Cell Cycle in Mammalian Cells: Inferences and Speculations Based on Observations of Interspecific Somatic Hybrids

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the regulation of the cell cycle in mammalian cells and their inferences and speculations based on observations of interspecific somatic hybrids. The regulatory problems posed by differentiated organisms are not only of an order of complexity immeasurably greater than in microorganisms but also of a different nature. Higher organisms may, therefore, be expected to possess certain types of cellular regulatory mechanisms that are not found in microorganisms. Further allosteric inhibitors, inducers, and repressors of bacterial systems are, in general, directly related to or identical with metabolites of the pathway that they control. This should be considered to reflect the relatively unsophisticated regulatory requirements of free-living unicellular organisms, whose only problems are to preserve their intracellular homeostatic state while adapting rapidly to the chemical challenge of changing environments and whose success in selection depends on a single parameter, namely, the rate of multiplication. Tissue cells of higher organisms are faced with entirely different problems. The formation of a single nucleus is the essential condition for, or the direct cause of, the establishment of a single new cell cycle in hybrid cells. In interspecific hybrids, the replication and configurational changes of all chromosomes and the transcription of the homologous genes governing the different syntheses resulting in cell doubling are timed with reference to a single fixed point of the new cell cycle. The formation of hybrid molecules could result in persistent asynchrony and/or inviability.
High-Energy Excitations in Molecules and Solids

In these lectures we consider high energy probes of electronic states in molecules and solids as, basically, those involving energies sufficient to reach inner core states of the constituent atoms. From a more fundamental point of view any interaction process involving an energy transfer to the target atoms of ħω >> kBT could be considered as “high energy”; from an operational point of view, the fact that the binding energies of inner core levels can be specifically attributed to a given element with atomic number Z provides a very important tool for local investigation in a chemically complex material.
DESIGNING FOR DIVERGENCE

Constructionist theories hold that learning will be deeper if students develop and share their own diverse understandings of a concept. College students are immersed in a community with its social norms, learning practices and an understanding of authority and the classroom contract. This situation makes it difficult for the students to have diverse understandings of a concept. This paper addresses how this affects the nature and diversity of representations students create for collaborative learning, and their perceptions of the quality of representations created by their peers. We redesigned and deployed a CSCL system with the goals of facilitating learning by leveraging students’ current collaborative learning practices and changing their perceptions of authority. We present summary results from two studies, which are part of an ongoing research program investigating these questions. In prior research we found that students have a strong sense of which style of representation is authoritative, and that this can lead to premature convergence and the suppression of alternative viewpoints. Results from the current studies indicate that creating, sharing and evaluating representations through a CSCL system improve learning. Furthermore, careful design of the CSCL system and learning activities can indeed lead to an increase in the diversity of created representations, avoiding some problems we saw previously with early convergence. However, authority still influences representational creation and evaluation. We revisit our design goals and recommendations in light of these results.
The Formulation of Evaporation from Land Surfaces

Most procedures currently in use to describe evaporation in hydrologic models involve several parameters, characterizing the turbulent transport in the lower atmosphere and/or the moisture availability in the soil and the vegetation; it is still very difficult to determine these parameters a priori. Research in a number of areas will lead to a better understanding of the relevant physical mechanisms.
Supercritical Branching Processes with Countably Many Types and the Size of Random Cantor Sets

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses supercritical branching processes with finitely many types and the size of random cantor sets. Practically, always some compactness condition is imposed on the space of types or it is assumed that the process can be approximated in some sense by a process with finitely many types, or with a compact set of types. The rather mild second moment assumption is reasonable if one wants to apply Chebyshev. However, some assumption of supercriticality is necessary for the theorem as is well known from the behavior of single-type branching processes.
Property Rights in Socialism, Exchange and Production

The rejection of private property rights was the central premise of socialism from its earliest days, and the abolition of private property rights was the driving ideological force behind all socialist experiments in the twentieth century. To understand the consequences of socialism in a world of uncertainty and incomplete knowledge, we here discuss the basic characteristics of institutional arrangements in the former USSR and the former Yugoslavia and analyze their actual incentives and transaction costs, rather than contemplating the frictionless blackboard model of what Marx meant, what he should have meant, what Lenin and Stalin should have done, or what the Yugoslavs should have done to make the labor-managed economy viable.
The Growth of the City: An Introduction to a Research Project

The aggregation of urban population has been described by Bucher and Weber. A sociological study of the growth of the city, however, is concerned with the definition and description of processes, as those of (a) expansion, (b) metabolism, and (c) mobility. The typical tendency of urban growth is the expansion radially from its central business district by a series of concentric circles, as (a) the central business district, (b) a zone of deterioration, (c) a zone of workingmen’s homes, (d) a residential area, and (e) a commuters’ zone. Urban growth may be even more fundamentally stated as the resultant of processes of organization and disorganization, like the anabolic and katabolic processes of metabolism in the human body. The distribution of population into the natural areas of the city, the division of labor, the differentiation into social and cultural groupings, represent the normal manifestations of urban metabolism, as statistics of disease, crime, disorder, vice, insanity, and suicide are rough indexes of its abnormal expression. The state of metabolism of the city may, it is suggested, be measured by mobility, defined as a change of movement in response to a new stimulus or situation. Areas in the city of the greatest mobility are found to be also regions of juvenile delinquency, boys’ gangs, crime, poverty, wife desertion, divorce, abandoned infants, etc. Suggested indexes of mobility are statistics of changes of movement and increase of contacts of city population, as in the increase per capita in the total annual rides on surface and elevated lines, number of automobiles, letters received, telephones, and land values. A cross-section of the city has been selected for the intensive study of urban growth in terms of expansion, metabolism, and mobility.
Transportation contributing factors to asthma morbidity: the case of Los Angeles County

This paper aims to examine a variety of transportation contributing factors to asthma morbidity by employing spatial regression analysis. By controlling the socio-demographic factors of asthma in Los Angeles County, the outputs from the analyses reveal that automobile traffic, major roads, automobile speed and bus transit negatively influence asthma. However, the analyses also found that bicycle facilities made a positive contribution towards it. The outputs imply that the collaboration of multi- level governments and transportation agencies need to develop policies that mitigate air quality.
Abstract WP404: The Supplementary Motor Scale Of The Nihss: A Valid And Efficient Tool For Multidisciplinary Recovery Trials

Background and Purpose: There is a growing interest in therapies that may augment motor recovery that could be initiated in the acute stroke unit and maintained through the rehabilitation period. Homogenization of the currently fragmented stroke clinicometrics is necessary before such multidisciplinary trials can be conducted. The supplementary motor scale of the NIH stroke scale (SMS-NIHSS) is a simple and reliable scale for assessing proximal and distal motor function in the upper and lower extremities. We hypothesized that the SMS-NIHSS is a valid tool for assessing motor recovery with prognosticative value. Methods: We performed an analysis of SMS-NIHSS scores recorded in 1281 patients enrolled in trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST). Results: The mean SMS-NIHSS scores were 8.18 at baseline, and 4.68 at 3 months. The SMS-NIHSS baseline score was an independent predictor of favorable outcome at 3 months (OR=0.86; 95% CI 0.84-0.87; p<0.0001) after adjusting for confounders. The degree of improvement in the SMS-NIHSS scores from baseline to three months (ΔSMS-NIHSS) was also independently associated with a favorable outcome (p<0.0001). At three months, SMS-NIHSS scores showed a strong correlation with Barthel Index (r=-0.70, p<0.0001) and Glasgow Outcome Score (r=+0.73, p<0.0001). Conclusion: The SMS-NIHSS is a valid scale for assessing recovery with prognosticative value, and may be sensitive to changes during recovery. Given that the SMS-NIHSS is an extension of the widely accepted NIHSS, it could be easily implemented in trials conducted in a variety of clinical research settings including acute stroke hospitals and rehabilitation units. ![Graphic][1] [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
MCNP based simulations for the optimization of radioxenon via DD and DT neutron generators from 132 Xe

Simulations were conducted in MCNP6.1 modeling the neutron fluence through a cryogenically cooled 132Xe target to optimize activation rates from a neutron generator source. These simulations evaluated a combination of moderator and reflectors materials with DT and DD neutrons to model the changes in the activation rates of 133Xe, 133mXe, and 131mXe as a function of thickness. 133Xe and 133mXe activation rates were simulated to increase by 31%, 16% respectively with a light water reflector 128 mm in thickness. Production of 131mXe had a simulated increase of 2.7% with a graphite reflector 85 mm in thickness.
Making Kin With Comprehensive Exams: Producing Scholar in Intra-Action:

This article is the response to a comprehensive exam question, and it exposes what is produced through the formal and informal practices of comprehensive exams and, further, asks how we might start...
Targeted De Novo Centromere Formation in Drosophila Reveals Plasticity and Maintenance Potential of CENP-A Chromatin.

Summary Centromeres are essential for accurate chromosome segregation and are marked by centromere protein A (CENP-A) nucleosomes. Mis-targeted CENP-A chromatin has been shown to seed centromeres at non-centromeric DNA. However, the requirements for such de novo centromere formation and transmission in vivo remain unknown. Here, we employ Drosophila melanogaster and the LacI/lacO system to investigate the ability of targeted de novo centromeres to assemble and be inherited through development. De novo centromeres form efficiently at six distinct genomic locations, which include actively transcribed chromatin and heterochromatin, and cause widespread chromosomal instability. During tethering, de novo centromeres sometimes prevail, causing the loss of the endogenous centromere via DNA breaks and HP1-dependent epigenetic inactivation. Transient induction of de novo centromeres and chromosome healing in early embryogenesis show that, once established, these centromeres can be maintained through development. Our results underpin the ability of CENP-A chromatin to establish and sustain mitotic centromere function in Drosophila.
IL6 inhibition in critically ill COVID-19 patients is associated with increased secondary infections

Anti-inflammatory therapies such as IL-6 inhibition have been proposed for COVID-19 in a vacuum of evidence-based treatment. However, abrogating the inflammatory response in infectious diseases may impair a desired host response and predispose to secondary infection. To determine whether IL-6 inhibition is associated with an increased occurrence of secondary infections in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). We retrospectively reviewed the medical record of patients during an 8-week span and compared the incidence of secondary infection in patients who did and did not receive tocilizumab. The study was approved by the IRB. Additionally, we included representative histopathologic post-mortem findings from several COVID-19 cases that underwent autopsy at our institution. The study was conducted in a cohorted COVID-19 ICU at a tertiary care university medical center. Patients 18 years of age or older admitted to the adult COVID-19 intensive care unit with COVID-19 were randomly selected. We reviewed the occurrence and nature of secondary infections and clinical outcomes in patients who did and did not receive tocilizumab. Measures were formulated prior to the study. For autopsy findings, we were interested in the lung pathology. 60 patients were selected of which 28 had received tocilizumab while 32 had not. Receiving tocilizumab was associated with a higher risk of secondary bacterial (64.3% vs. 31.3%, p=0.010) and fungal (7.1% vs. 0%, p=0.096) infections. 7 cases underwent autopsy. In 3 cases, tocilizumab had previously been given. All 3 patients demonstrated evidence of pneumonia on pathology. Of the 4 cases that had not been given tocilizumab, 2 showed evidence of aspiration pneumonia and 2 exhibited diffuse alveolar damage. Experimental therapies are currently being applied to COVID-19 outside of clinical trials. Anti-inflammatory therapies such as anti-IL-6 therapy have the potential to impair viral clearance, predispose to secondary infection, and cause harm. We seek to raise physician awareness of these issues and highlight the need to better understand the immune response in COVID-19.
Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis from Infection with Epstein-Barr Virus in a Previously Healthy Child: A Case Report.

Author(s): Langenohl, Robert; Young, Scott; Couperus, Kyle | Abstract: Background: Acute cholecystitis is the acute inflammation of the gallbladder. In adults it is most frequently caused by a gallstone(s) obstructing outflow from the cystic duct, leading to gallbladder distention and edema with eventual development of biliary stasis and bacterial overgrowth, often requiring operative management. However, in children acalculous cholecystitis is more common and is often the result of an infectious process.Case Report: Here we present a case of acute acalculous cholecystitis caused by infection with Epstein-Barr virus in an otherwise healthy three-year-old male.Conclusion: Acalculous cholecystitis is an uncommon but potentially significant complication of Epstein-Barr virus infection in the pediatric population. Emergency providers should consider this diagnosis in any child being evaluated for EBV with the complaint of abdominal pain.
Libspector : Context-Aware Large-Scale Network Traffic Analysis of Android Applications

Android applications (apps) are a combination of code written by the developers as well as third-party libraries that carry out most commonly used functionalities such as advertisement and payments. Running apps in a monitoring environment allows researchers to measure how much network traffic is exchanged between an app and remote endpoints. However, current systems currently do not have the ability to reliably distinguish traffic that is generated by different libraries. This is important, because while mobile users are paying for data traffic without distinctions, some of this traffic is useful (e.g., data for core app functionalities), whereas the rest of the traffic can be considered a nuisance (e.g., excessive advertisements). In this paper, we present Libspector, a system that precisely attributes network traffic coming from an Android app to the library that generated it. To this end, we instrument the Android Framework to inspect the network connections initiated by apps, provide fine-grained information on the libraries in use, and calculate method coverage information while performing dynamic analysis. We then perform a measurement on 25,000 popular Android apps and investigate the relation between different categories of apps with the use of specific libraries. We analyze the method coverage of our dynamic analysis method, and further characterize the endpoint connections established by the Android apps. Our results indicate that advertisement libraries account for over a quarter of the total data transmission. We further observe that there is no strict 1-to-1 correlation between the similar categories of network endpoints and libraries which initiated the data transfer.
Time to Throw in the Towel ? No Evidence for Automatic Conceptual Metaphor Access in Idiom Processing

The goal of the current research was to determine if conceptual metaphors are activated when people read idioms within a text. Participants read passages that included idioms that were consistent (blow your top) or inconsistent (bite his head off) with an underlying conceptual metaphor (ANGER IS HEATED FLUID IN A CONTAINER) followed by target words that were related (heat) or unrelated (lead) to the conceptual metaphor. Reading time (Experiment 1) or lexical decision time (Experiment 2) for the target words were measured. We found no evidence supporting conceptual metaphor activation. Target word reading times were unaffected by whether they were related or unrelated to underlying conceptual metaphors. Lexical decision times were facilitated for related target words in both the consistent and inconsistent idiom conditions. We suggest that the conceptual (target) domain, not a specific underlying conceptual metaphor, facilitates processing of related target words.
Effects of inactivation method on SARS-CoV-2 virion proteins and structure

The risk posed by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus -2 (SARS-CoV-2) dictates that live-virus research is conducted in a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) facility. Working with SARS-CoV-2 at lower biosafety levels can expedite research yet requires the virus to be fully inactivated. In this study, we validated and compared two protocols for inactivating SARS-CoV-2: heat treatment and ultraviolet irradiation. The two methods were optimized to render the virus completely incapable of infection while limiting destructive effects of inactivation. We observed that 15 minutes of incubation at 65{degrees}C completely inactivates high titer viral stocks. Complete inactivation was also achieved with minimal amounts of UV power (70,000 J/cm2), which is 100-fold less power than comparable studies. Once validated, the two methods were then compared for viral RNA quantification, virion purification, and antibody recognition. We observed that UV irradiation resulted in a 2-log reduction of detectable genomes compared to heat inactivation. Protein yield following virion enrichment was equivalent for all inactivation conditions, but the resulting viral proteins and virions were negatively impacted by inactivation method and time. We outline the strengths and weaknesses of each method so that investigators might choose the one which best meets their research goals.
Lichenoid dermatoses with pseudomelanocytic nests vs inflamed melanoma in situ: A comparative study

AIMS Pseudomelanocytic nests or "pseudonests" arising in lichenoid dermatoses can be a diagnostic pitfall for melanoma in situ (MIS), especially on sun-damaged skin. We sought to evaluate histopathological features that may be helpful in distinguishing this benign process from inflamed MIS. METHODS Ten biopsy specimens containing pseudomelanocytic nests within lichenoid dermatoses and twenty cases of inflamed MIS were retrospectively reviewed. Cases with pseudomelanocytic nests represented either a rash (n = 6) or a discrete non-melanocytic lesion, such as lichenoid keratosis (n = 4). RESULTS All cases with pseudomelanocytic nests showed nests of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor-positive cells at the dermoepidermal junction (DEJ) with interface changes and lichenoid inflammation. Pagetoid scatter, confluence of solitary melanocytes at the DEJ and significant cytologic atypia was not seen in any of these cases. In contrast, all cases of inflamed MIS demonstrated confluence of single melanocytes at the DEJ with cytologic atypia (P < 0.001) and 18/20 cases showed pagetoid scatter of melanocytes (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Our results show that, of the different histopathological features assessed, confluent growth and pagetoid scatter of atypical melanocytes were seen in most cases of inflamed MIS but were absent in all cases with pseudomelanocytic nests. Therefore, in addition to clinicopathological correlation, these features may be useful in differentiating pseudomelanocytic nests arising in lichenoid dermatoses from inflamed MIS.