cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Geochemical constraints on the distribution and rates of debromination in the deep subseafloor biosphere

Abstract Organic matter in marine sediments is degraded through a range of diverse metabolic pathways which are dependent on substrate availability, environmental conditions, and microbial ecology. The rates and systematics of these metabolic pathways affect long-term global geochemical cycles and the degradation of organic matter in the subsurface marine environment. Organohalide respiration is one of these pathways that has been hypothesized to be widely active in the deep biosphere, with the carbon–halogen bonds being broken through microbially-mediated redox reactions. Besides directly providing energy to microbes in marine sediments and allowing bromine to cycle back into the overlying ocean, organobromine respiration may also be closely linked to nitrogen and carbon cycling in anoxic marine sediments. Here we investigate the distribution and rates of debromination by tracking the production of dissolved bromide (Br − ) with depth in pore water sampled at several continental margins. Pore water profiles of Br − and ammonium (NH 4 + ) concentrations from the Krishna–Godavari (K-G) basin on the southeastern margin of India indicate a common distribution of rates of debromination and NH 4 + production in continental margin sediments, and suggest that the pools of bioavailable nitrogen and organobromine compounds are likely geochemically associated at these sites. Dissolved Br − and total solid-phase bromine concentration profiles from the K-G basin and Costa Rica margin indicate the most rapid debromination occurs in the upper 10–20 m of the sediment column. The rates of debromination in the sediment column from the Costa Rica, Cascadia, and Nankai convergent margins are estimated using numerical reaction-transport modeling of pore water Br − concentration profiles to constrain the maximum amount of metabolic energy that could be provided to the microbial communities through organobromine respiration. The modeled rates of debromination provide an upper limit to organobromine respiration activity because other debromination processes may also be responsible for an unknown fraction of these geochemically-derived rates. Modeled rates of debromination on the order of 10 1 –10 3 μmol m −2 y −1 indicate that the maximum amount of energy that is potentially provided through organobromine respiration is low relative to other metabolic pathways such as sulfate reduction and methanogenesis, however organobromine respiration may still serve an important niche in the microbial community and debromination is an important part of the oceanic bromine cycle.
Fluid Dynamics of Flow Driven by Nodal CiliaPrecessing Non-circular Cones

Nodal cilia play an important role in the left-right symmetry breaking at the early stage of the mammal embryos and show an apparent rotational motion. This study is about the ow induced by cilia sweeping out circular/elliptical cones above a no-slip plane in the low Reynolds number regime. Using the regularized Stokeslet method, we examine the properties of ows generated by a single cilium and multiple cilia, especially two cilia, which are assumed to be anchored to the embryonic heart wall. For a short-term Lagrangian uid tracer trajectory, epicycles are presented as a nodal cilium precesses in either a circular cone or a non-circular cone shape. For the longterm behavior, the trajectory is periodic around both the circular and elliptical cones. Compared to the circular cone cases, the vertical variances are enhanced in elliptical cone cases. Besides tracer trajectories, uid velocity elds are presented to demonstrate the ow structure. When
A SAR record of early 21st century change in Greenland

Glaciers in Greenland are changing rapidly. To better understand these changes, we have produced a series of seven synthetic-aperture-radar (SAR) backscatter mosaics for seven winters during the period from 2000 to 2013. Six of the mosaics were created using RADARSAT Fine-Beam data and the seventh used ALOS PALSAR Fine-Beam Single-Polarization data. The RADARSAT mosaics are radiometrically calibrated and capture changes in the backscatter coefficient related to melt and other events, particularly the strong melting in the summer of 2012. Comparison of features in the ascending-orbit ALOS mosaic and the descending-orbit RADARSAT mosaics indicate that in areas of smooth to moderate topography their locations are consistent to within a few 10s of meters. The locations of features identifiable in the RADARAT mosaics, which were collected with the same imaging parameters, generally agree to within better than the 20-m posting of the data. With such geometric accuracy, these data establish a record of change in Greenland for the early part of the 21st Century, thus providing a baseline that can be compared with new radar and optical data sets.
Intelligence Analyses and the Insider Threat

In the intelligence community, the existence of a malicious insider poses a severe threat to information, to the actual analytic process, and, ultimately, to any decision-making process relying on such information and analyses. An analyst with malicious intent can create irreversible short-term, as well as long-term, damage that is hard to detect. In this paper, we propose a novel methodology that detects malicious analysts who attempt to manipulate decision makers' perceptions through their intelligence reports. This detection method relies on each analyst's working style, which we assume to be consistent from task to task. In order to measure an analyst's degree of consistency, we employ a user-modeling technique that automatically builds a computational model of each analyst based on observation of their activities. We hypothesize that inconsistency is mainly caused by malicious actions. Therefore, the detection method evaluates how consistent an analyst is across different tasks and raises an alert if any significantly large inconsistency is detected. A normalization procedure is employed which allows us to compare across a group of analysts and is shown to reduce noise and amplify inconsistency that is due to malicious actions. We show that this improves detection performance. Our experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in detecting malicious insiders. In the experiments, the percentage of malicious insiders grouped with legitimate ones is varied, and results are collected with and without normalization in order to provide a comprehensive analysis of our approach.
Effect of cocaine on vagal escape in the open-chest dog.

SummaryHeart rate responses evoked by submaximal and supramaximal electrical stimulation of the right vagus nerves at stimulus frequencies ranging from 5 to 80 cps were determined before and after i.v., infusion of 5 mg/kg of cocaine in vagotomized, open-chest dogs. Comparison of stimulus frequency-heart rate response curves showed that cocaine enhanced the rate of ventricular escape from vagal inhibition at high frequencies of stimulation and opposed the slowing of sinus rate at lower frequencies of stimulation. Cocaine also decreased the incidence and duration of asystole induced by vagal nerve stimulation. The results of this study are consistent with the hypothesis that adrenergic factors may play a prominent role in the phenomenon of vagal escape.
IS-028 Nicu Design

The physical environment of the NICU has an important impact on the growth and development of the newborn infants who live there, as well as their families and caregivers. Optimising the infant’s environment requires first an understanding of its sensory and caregiving needs, then designing an environment that will best support those needs. It is now clear that newborns benefit from extended intimate human contact, especially with their mothers, and that this can be facilitated by providing sufficient space, privacy, and empowerment for parents. Benefits and hazards of the trend towards use of single-family rooms to achieve this goal will be discussed, as well as a brief reflection on the impact of this design strategy on families and caregivers.
Optimization of Fractional Order Dynamic Chemical Processing Systems

In this work we address the dynamic simulation and optimization of chemical processing systems modeled in terms of fractional order differential equations. While fractional derivatives were first proposed by Liouville in 1832 [Samko et al. Fractional Integrals and Derivatives Theory and Applications; Gordon and Breach: New York, 1993; Oldham and Spanier. The fractional Calculus; Academic Press: New York, 1974], fractional differential equation (FDE) models have been only recently been explored. These have been proposed for a wide range of applications that include systems with nonlocal diffusion phenomena and geometries with fractal dimensions. FDE models have been shown to have advantages over traditional integer order models, as they often avoid scale dependent model parameters. For medium or large scale applications of FDEs normally no analytical solutions are available, and therefore, approximated numerical solutions ought to be sought. Moreover, little work has been done to solve fractional order dif...
Assessment and modeling of the physical components of human corporovenous function.

To understand and quantify specific causes of venoocclusive dysfunction, an analog model of penile hemodynamics, including a mechanism of flow limitation by subtunical veins, was developed and a detailed analytic study was conducted in patients with erectile dysfunction. Computer simulations for steady-state and transient intracavernosal conditions were carried out to study graded changes in cavernosal smooth muscle tone, subtunical venular resistance, and cavernosal and tunical compliances. The model predicted a steady-state cavernosal pressure (Pca)-infusion flow relationship with two phases: an initial phase characterized by a gradual slope up to a critical flow and a second phase characterized by a much steeper slope after limitation of subtunical venular flow. Model predictions were compared with clinical data obtained during incremental saline cavernosometry (SaC) and pharmacocavernosometry (PhC) in 13 patients with erectile dysfunction with use of a computer-controlled infusion system that automatically changed from constant-flow to constant-pressure feedback control when Pca reached the threshold of 80 mmHg. Steady-state pressure-flow and pressure-circumference relationships of the penis were analyzed and interpreted in terms of specific components of the electrical analog model. These clinical studies demonstrated that patients with a functional venoocclusive mechanism (i.e., those able to achieve 100 mmHg Pca with infusion flow rates < 60 ml/min during PhC) had a steeper initial slope of the pressure-flow relationship during SaC and a greater increase in penile circumference and Pca after intracavernosal injection of papaverine-phentolamine than those with an impaired venoocclusive mechanism. From the electrical analog model, initial steepness of the pressure-flow relationship (slope) during SaC mainly represented subtunical venular resistance, whereas maintenance of flow during PhC depended on overall function of the different components, i.e., subtunical venular resistance, cavernosal and subtunical compliances, and full relaxation of cavernosal smooth muscle. We conclude that the proposed analog model can be used to interpret and characterize clinical penile hemodynamic data and may provide guidelines for more successful management of patients with erectile dysfunction.
Hearing aid electromagnetic interference from digital cellular telephones

Several in-the-ear (ITE) and behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids were tested for audible interference at various distances from five types of digital cellular telephones. The interference, which takes the form of a buzzing and a static sound, was quantified using a calibrated system including a frequency analyzer and a pressure field microphone. The output of the each hearing aid was coupled to the microphone via Tygon tubing and a standard 2 cc coupler. The highest interference induced sound pressure level (SPL), 122.5 dB, was measured from a BTE hearing aid placed within 2 cm of a transmitting GSM phone. In this case, interference was detected up to a separation distance of almost 3 meters. While all phones tested produced a similar interference level within 2 cm of this hearing aid, interference SPL from the CDMA based system decreased more rapidly with distance than the TDMA based phones tested. Subjective testing was also conducted using a listening stethoscope in order to further characterize the interference.
A ketogenic diet rescues hippocampal memory defects in a mouse model of Kabuki syndrome

Kabuki syndrome is a Mendelian intellectual disability syndrome caused by mutations in either of two genes (KMT2D and KDM6A) involved in chromatin accessibility. We previously showed that an agent that promotes chromatin opening, the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) AR-42, ameliorates the deficiency of adult neurogenesis in the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus and rescues hippocampal memory defects in a mouse model of Kabuki syndrome (Kmt2d+/βGeo). Unlike a drug, a dietary intervention could be quickly transitioned to the clinic. Therefore, we have explored whether treatment with a ketogenic diet could lead to a similar rescue through increased amounts of beta-hydroxybutyrate, an endogenous HDACi. Here, we report that a ketogenic diet in Kmt2d+/βGeo mice modulates H3ac and H3K4me3 in the granule cell layer, with concomitant rescue of both the neurogenesis defect and hippocampal memory abnormalities seen in Kmt2d+/βGeo mice; similar effects on neurogenesis were observed on exogenous administration of beta-hydroxybutyrate. These data suggest that dietary modulation of epigenetic modifications through elevation of beta-hydroxybutyrate may provide a feasible strategy to treat the intellectual disability seen in Kabuki syndrome and related disorders.
Concurrent endocrine and other surgical procedures: an institutional experience

Abstract Inroduction The number of endocrine procedures, specifically parathyroidectomy, thyroidectomy, and adrenalectomy, being performed is increasing. There is a paucity of literature on the feasibility of combining these procedures with other surgical procedures. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of performing concurrent surgical procedures on postoperative outcomes. Methods This is a single institution retrospective review of multiple prospectively maintained databases of patients who underwent elective thyroidectomy, parathyroidectomy, and/or adrenalectomy in combination with another procedure. The other procedures included soft tissue, breast or hernia, abdominal major, abdominal minor, cervical, and “other”. Demographics, operative details, length-of-stay, and 30-d outcomes were reviewed. “Endocrine-specific” complications included recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, hypoparathyroidism, cervical wound infection, hematoma, and other. Results The cohort comprised 104 patients. Overall, 19 (18%) patients had 21 complications, including endocrine-specific complications in eleven (11%) patients. These eleven complications included recurrent laryngeal nerve injury ( n = 3; 3%), hematoma ( n = 2; 2%), wound infection ( n = 1; 1%), transient hypoparathyroidism ( n = 2; 2%), and other ( n = 3; 3%). The remaining complications included three (3%) general complications, six (6%) patients with complications related to the concurrent procedure, and one patient who underwent an open adrenalectomy and hysterectomy and developed a midline wound dehiscence, which could not be specifically attributed to either procedure. Conclusions Less than 5% of patients undergoing a surgical endocrine procedure underwent a concurrent procedure, ranging from soft tissue to major abdominal. Short-term endocrine-specific complications were managed safely, suggesting that concurrent procedures can be considered, with minimal effect on patient outcomes.
Chapter V – Russia

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces the criminal justice system of the Russian Federation. It presents the major components of the system—the police, judiciary, law, corrections, and juvenile justice—along with an overview of the political system. It also outlines a brief history of some of the components of the system and describes the organization and administration and the various roles of the practitioners. The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the establishment of the Russian Federation had a profound impact on the region. Every event in Russia has served as an illustration of the leadership's attempt to transform the old order into a new order. The old order is dominated by the Marxist-Leninist philosophy; encouraged governance based on ideological principles and established a highly centralized planned economic system. The country is in a state of transition. At times, transition can best be characterized as democratization. At other times, the country has appeared to be in a chaotic state. The both situations impact criminal justice; it is chaos that has troubling implications for the criminal justice system—the principal source for law enforcement and order maintenance in a civil society. The leadership and people of the Russian Federation are grappling with two central features of the democratization process. One is the establishment of a market economy, which is having a striking impact on all people throughout the country. The other key feature is the recognition of the importance of government by rule of law. It is the feature that is having a profound impact on the country's criminal justice system.
Teaching Public Ethics with TV: Parks and Recreation as a Source of Case Studies

Codes of ethics seek to inspire public servants to work ethically, yet ethical misbehavior by public officials appears often in the news. While there exists a lack of consensus about whether ethics education leads to behavioral changes, public administration programs typically include ethics instruction anyway, as either a separate course or sprinkled throughout the curriculum. Student engagement is critical for ethics education, and audiovisual media are known to increase engagement and active learning. Parks and Recreation, a popular NBC sitcom, is proposed here as a useful source of ethics case studies and scenarios that instructors can use to supplement their ethics instruction. A content analysis of the series indicates that more than 35% of the episodes contain ethical content, much of which may be beneficial for the classroom. Three episodes are explained in depth and the utility of the show for ethics education is explored.
Embryology of the skull base and vertebral column

Abstract The development of the human skeleton begins soon after conception; the skeleton continues to grow until a peak bone mass is achieved during young adulthood and then remodels throughout adult life. The formation of the skeleton depends on the basic biological processes of cell proliferation, migration, differentiation, and maturation. The genetic control of these fundamental processes, especially with regard to the development of the skeletal system, is not yet fully understood; however, homeobox genes, which regulate anatomic site-specific morphogenesis, have been shown to contain the codes for the architectural blueprint of the bones of the body. The specific genes, including those that encode a variety of transcription factors, growth factors, and receptors, involved in these processes are being defined; however, our current understanding of the embryology of the human skull base and vertebral column is still largely based on morphological studies of embryos. The human skull base and vertebral column are highly intricate structures, and this is reflected in the complexity of their embryological development. Although many of the basic processes of their formation are similar to those of the remainder of the skeleton, the presence of the brain and notochord and their inductive effects makes the development of these anatomic regions unique.
Through-the-wall indoor tracking and navigation using deep-sub-wavelength magnetoquasistatics

Recent progress in magnetoquasistatic field-based techniques have enabled decoupled and linear solutions for position and orientation sensing in non-line-of-sight environments at short to long ranges above ground. By utilizing the deep-sub-wavelength regime of the MQS source, we describe a method to enable position sensing in the indoor environment. The technique enables accurate positioning of a mobile device within a few skin-depths into a heavy multi-path building environment.
Effect of low-melting point phases on the microstructure and properties of spark plasma sintered and hot deformed Nd-Fe-B alloys

Abstract The effect of adding a low melting point Pr-Cu-Al alloy during spark plasma sintering of melt-spun Nd-Fe-B ribbons is investigated. Regions of coarse grains were reduced and overall grain refinement was observed after the addition of Pr68Cu25Al7, leading to an enhancement of coercivity from 12.7 kOe to 20.4 kOe. Hot deformation of the samples in the spark plasma sintering system resulted in the formation of platelet-like grains, producing crystallographic alignment and magnetic anisotropy. The hot deformation process improved the remanence and energy product but reduced the coercivity. The decrease of coercivity resulted from grain growth and aggregation of Pr and Nd elements at triple-junction phases.
Identification of Distinct Latent Classes Related to Sleep, PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety in Individuals Diagnosed With Severe Alcohol Use Disorder.

Objective/Background: Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are often accompanied by comorbid physiologic and psychosocial conditions, including sleep disturbances. Sleep disturbances in these individuals may be associated with increased risk of relapse to drinking following detoxification and rehabilitation. Participants: The sample of inpatient treatment-seeking individuals with AUDs (N = 164) was 70.1% male and 47.6% African American with a mean age of 45.6 years (±9.5 years). Methods: Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify unmeasured class membership based on seven indicators: maximum Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment (CIWA) scores; sleep efficiency (actigraphy); sleep disturbances (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index-PSQI); anxiety or depression (Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale [CPRS]); and current and lifetime posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results: The average number of drinking days in the 90 days preceding admission was 72.0 (±22.0 days), with an average of 13.16 drinks per day (±5.70 drinks). Nearly one quarter (24.4%) of respondents reported lifetime PTSD. Three latent classes were identified: Sleep Disturbance (SD); Sleep Disturbance, Anxiety and Depression (SD/AD); and Sleep Disturbance, Anxiety and Depression, and PTSD (SD/AD/PTSD). Members of the SD/AD/PTSD group were more likely to be female and had the highest withdrawal and sleep disturbance scores of all three groups. Conclusion: Findings support the use of LCA to identify subgroups of individuals with AUDs and accompanying sleep disturbances. Class identification may provide clinicians with insight into the integrative tailoring of interventions that meet the varied needs of individuals with AUDs, accompanying comorbidities, and sleep disturbances.
Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value

(2005). Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Creating Lasting Value. Quality Management Journal: Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 58-59.
Pediatrics: Special Considerations for Children

Publisher Summary Terrorist activities have increased and civilian targets for terrorism have become more common; therefore, there is a critical need to develop comprehensive systems of care for pediatric victims of weapons of mass destruction. This chapter outlines the key pediatric differences for children and proposes important considerations in hospital planning to account for the children's physical weaknesses relative to the adults. The chapter reviews the care priorities for children based on specific agents. For general hospitals, pediatric training and the availability of 48 hours of pediatric-specific medicine and equipment to care for the average daily number of pediatric patients plus a surge of 100 additional children are crucial. The pediatric care and treatment guidelines within all the hospital emergency operations and the preparedness policies are vital to a successful response to a terrorist attack. General hospitals should partner with their regional pediatric centers to ensure that the children in their community receive the highest level of pediatric care during a terrorist event.
The legacy of Hans Molisch (1856–1937), photosynthesis savant

Hans Molisch (1856–1937) was an exceptionally gifted and productive researcher who had broad interests in plant biology, physiology and biochemistry. In addition, he pioneered in isolating a number of species of purple photosynthetic bacteria in pure culture (including Rhodobacter capsulatus), which facilitated his discovery of basic aspects of bacterial photosynthesis. Molisch demonstrated conclusively that molecular oxygen is not produced by photosynthetic bacteria, and discovered the photoheterotrophic growth mode. The range of Molisch's research accomplishments was impressive, and he emerges as a major figure in the history of photosynthesis research. This essay reviews the numerous research contributions made by Molisch, particularly in regard to advancing knowledge of the several forms of photosynthetic metabolism. An English translation of his 1914 paper on the photosynthetic creation of visual images on leaves is included as an Appendix.
Long-Term Effect of Lactation on Maternal Cardiovascular Function and Adiposity in a Murine Model.

Objective Epidemiological studies suggest that lactation is associated with long-term maternal health benefits. To avoid confounders in human studies, we used a previously characterized murine model to investigate the long-term effect of lactation on both cardiovascular function and adiposity. Study Design After the delivery of the pups, CD-1 female mice were randomly divided into two groups: lactated and nonlactated (NL). Before pregnancy and at 9 months postdelivery, blood pressure was measured using a tail cuff, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) were assessed by computed tomography (CT), echocardiography was performed using microultrasound, and cholesterol panels and fasting blood glucose were measured. The data were analyzed using Student's t-test (significance at p Results There were no differences in baseline parameters between the two groups. At 9 months postdelivery, the NL group weighed significantly more (p = 0.03) and demonstrated a significantly lower cardiac output (p = 0.05) and ejection fraction (p = 0.03). The mice in the NL group also had higher VAT (p Conclusion Our results show the benefit of lactation is not just limited to the immediate postpartum period but it also extends into midlife in a murine model.
Data-rich DSGE model forecasts of the great recession and its recovery

Abstract I investigate the extent to which modern dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models can produce macroeconomic and labor market dynamics in response to a financial crisis that are consistent with the experience of the Great Recession. Using the methods of Boivin and Giannoni (2006) and Kryshko (2011) , I estimate two DSGE models in a data-rich environment. The two models estimated in this paper include close variations of the Smets and Wouters ( 2003 ; 2007 ) New Keynesian model and the FRBNY ( Del Negro et al., 2013 ) model that augments the Smets & Wouters model with a financial accelerator. I find the model with a financial accelerator that is estimated in a data-rich environment is able to significantly out-forecast modern DSGE models not estimated in a data-rich environment and the Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF) in regard to core macroeconomic growth variables and many labor and financial metrics including the unemployment rate, total number of employees by sector and business loans.
Comparison of treatment protocols for bovine respiratory disease in high-risk, newly received beef calves

ABSTRACT Objective This research evaluated the effects of different antibiotic treatment protocols on performance, morbidity, antibiotic usage, and cost in high-risk, newly received beef calves. Materials and Methods Crossbred male calves (n = 176; BW = 232 ± 1.6 kg) were stratified by BW and castration status and assigned randomly to 1 of 2 treatments in a randomized complete block design. Calves were administered either 2.5 mg/kg of BW of tulathromycin (TUL, Draxxin, Zoetis, Florham Park, NJ) with a 7-d post-metaphylactic treatment or 10 mg/kg of BW of tilmicosin (TIL, Micotil, Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN) with a 1-d post-metaphylactic treatment. Clinical attitude scores [0 (normal) to 4 (moribund)] were assigned daily to assess morbidity and when ≥ 1, and if rectal temperature exceeded 40°C, an antibiotic was administered per preplanned protocol. Calves that received TUL on d 0 received ceftiofur with a 7-d post-treatment interval, and those that received TIL received enrofloxacin with a 3-d post-treatment interval. A final antibiotic was administered to calves that were pulled a second time and met the treatment criteria. Results and Discussion Percentage morbidity was greater for the first treatment, the second treatment, and relapse in TIL compared with TUL (P Implications and Applications Metaphylactic treatment protocols did not affect growth performance, but differences were found in the percentage of calves treated for clinical bovine respiratory disease and in number of antibiotics used.
CONGENITAL HYPOPLASTIC ANEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH MULTIPLE DEVELOPMENTAL DEFECTS (FANCONI SYNDROME) REPORT OF A CASE

A sporadic example of Fanconi syndrome (congenital hypoplastic anemia in association with other congenital defects) is reported. The significance of the simultaneous occurrence of multiple congenital defects in the pathogenesis of congenital hypoplastic anemia is discussed.
Curbing Clientelism in Argentina: Politics, Poverty, and Social Policy

1. Accountability, democracy, and the study of clientelism 2. Making clientelism work: politician behavior and voter beliefs 3. Curbing clientelism: why some politicians opt out 4. Clientelism, social policy, and measurement 5. Clientelism across municipalities in Argentina's National Food Security Program 6. Survey and experimental evidence for the costs of clientelism 7. Moving towards accountability?: comparative perspectives and policy implications.
Plant food intake is associated with lower cadmium body burden in middle-aged adults

Dietary intake is a primary source of cadmium (Cd) exposure in the non-smoking population. Plant foods containing metal-binding plant compounds such as polyphenols, phytates, and phytochelatins may reduce Cd bioavailability and result in lower Cd body burden. In this study, we investigated the association between plant food intake and urinary creatinine-adjusted Cd (uCd), a well-established marker of Cd body burden. Participants were from a cross-sectional sample of 1901 adults in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. Dietary intake was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. We created a 12-point plant food score (PFS) based on reported intake across seven categories (fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts/seeds, whole grains, tea, and wine). Higher scores indicated higher consumption and diversity of plant food intake. Multivariable linear regression models were used to estimate the association between PFS and uCd. Due to the influence of age and smoking on Cd status, stratified analyses were conducted. Mean PFS was 5.4 (SD 2.2) and mean uCd was 0.53 µg/g creatinine (SD 0.39). In adjusted models, PFS was not associated with uCd (p > 0.05). In stratified analyses, PFS was inversely associated with uCd (p = 0.047) with a 1-point higher PFS associated with 0.018 µg/g lower uCd among middle-aged (45–59) adults. No significant association was observed between PFS and uCd in older (≥ 60) adults. The association of PFS and uCd did not differ by smoking status. Our findings suggest higher plant food intake is associated with lower Cd body burden in middle-aged but not older adults.
Doubly robust confidence sequences for sequential causal inference

This paper derives time-uniform confidence sequences (CS) for causal effects in experimental and observational settings. A confidence sequence for a target parameter $\psi$ is a sequence of confidence intervals $(C_t)_{t=1}^\infty$ such that every one of these intervals simultaneously captures $\psi$ with high probability. Such CSs provide valid statistical inference for $\psi$ at arbitrary stopping times, unlike classical fixed-time confidence intervals which require the sample size to be fixed in advance. Existing methods for constructing CSs focus on the nonasymptotic regime where certain assumptions (such as known bounds on the random variables) are imposed, while doubly robust estimators of causal effects rely on (asymptotic) semiparametric theory. We use sequential versions of central limit theorem arguments to construct large-sample CSs for causal estimands, with a particular focus on the average treatment effect (ATE) under nonparametric conditions. These CSs allow analysts to update inferences about the ATE in lieu of new data, and experiments can be continuously monitored, stopped, or continued for any data-dependent reason, all while controlling the type-I error. Finally, we describe how these CSs readily extend to other causal estimands and estimators, providing a new framework for sequential causal inference in a wide array of problems.
Stable and Unstable Solutions of the Mag Noh Problem

NRL Mag Noh problem is a semi-analytic self-similar implosion flow, which contains a fast MHD outward propagating shock of constant velocity. This is a generalization of the classic zero-parametric Noh gasdynamics problem to include magnetic field and rotation. The main application of this series of ideal MHD solutions is verification of numerical codes that simulate magnetically driven implosions, such as Z-pinches. Self-similarity means that the solution at any given time can be trivially rescaled to obtain a solution at some other time. In this work we generalized previous results by adding axial magnetic field and rotation, making our family of ideal exact Mag Noh solutions five-parametric, each solution having its own self-similarity index, gas gamma, magnetization, ratio of axial to azimuthal field and rotation. While classic Noh problem must have a supersonic implosion velocity to create a shock, our solution has an interesting three-parametric special case with zero initial velocity, which creates the shock instantaneously. We verified that our self-similar solutions are indeed realized when we solve initial condition MHD problem with finite volume MHD code Athena. We numerically investigated stability of our solutions and found both stable and unstable regions in parameter space. While testing accuracy of numerical codes on exact stable solutions has always been important, commonly we also test how numerical codes handle instabilities, such as Kelvin-Helmholtz or Raleigh-Taylor. The way codes reproduce linear growth, transition to turbulence and practically important effects of mixing have always been interesting to high energy density physicists. Now we add another physically unstable test, which, for the first time, features all three elements relevant to magnetically driven implosions: convergent flow, magnetic field and the shock. A subset of our solutions has singular azimuthal current at the origin. Engineering such singularity in real implosions may help to create a hot spot in magnetically driven fusion experiments.
Comparison of Heterogeneous Hydroformylation of Ethylene and Propylene over RhCo3/MCM-41 Catalysts

The reaction mechanisms of heterogeneous hydroformylation of ethylene and propylene were compared at 413–453 K using RhCo3/MCM-41 as catalysts. The reaction rates of propylene for both hydroformyla...
Techno-economic analysis of ethanol-selective membranes for corn ethanol-water separation

Abstract The economic and technical feasibility of a hybrid distillation-membrane system applied to the separation of ethanol from water in traditional dry-grind corn ethanol facilities was studied. The current distillation technology was modeled in Aspen Plus and the proposed membrane unit in gPROMS. A system with the membrane placed after the distillation column with the membrane retentate recycled to the column feed was determined to be the most suitable for the separation requirements of this industry. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the effect of key membrane performance parameters such as flux, selectivity and cost on the economic feasibility of this system. These allowed for appropriate technical and economic performance targets for the membrane to be determined.
A Side-by-Side Comparison Shopping Method: Teaching Students How to Draft More Principled Outlines

Outlining is both a valuable pre-writing tool and a study aid. Yet many law students have little experience outlining and struggle to determine what information to include (and exclude) from an outline. This article suggests one technique that law professors can use to teach students how to create more effective outlines.
Genetics and pharmacological treatment of dystonia

Dystonia consists of involuntary repetitive twisting (torsion) or directional movements, sometimes leading to sustained postures. The movements are stereotyped and characterized by co-contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles. There is a broad clinical spectrum of dystonia which derives in part from the differential distribution of involvement. Dystonia may be localized, affecting a single body region, or generalized, affecting multiple extremities along with the trunk. Intermediate dystonic involvement can be described as segmental, designating two affected contiguous body regions, or multifocal, designating two or more noncontiguous affected body regions. Hemidystonia refers to dystonia affecting only one side of the body. Dystonia can also be categorized by age of onset and etiology. Early onset dystonia, occurring in childhood or adolescence (in some studies younger than 26 years old), is associated with more progressive disease [Greene et al. (1995). Mov. Disord. 10, 143]. In this age group, dystonia usually first appears in a limb and then spreads to involve other limbs and axial muscles; some early-onset patients may have involvement of laryngeal and other cranial muscles. Adult or late-onset dystonia typically begins in the neck, arm, or cranial muscles. Compared to early-onset dystonia, the area of involvement is more likely to remain focal or segmental. Dystonia can be considered either primary or nonprimary. Primary torsion dystonia (PTD), historically called dystonia musculorum deformans and Oppenheim's dystonia, describes dystonia in isolation, excepting tremor, without brain degeneration and without an identified acquired cause. Nonprimary or secondary dystonia encompasses a heterogeneous group of syndromes and etiologies including inherited (with or without brain degeneration), acquired, and complex neurological disorders. Monogenic forms of dystonia are labeled DYT and enumerated in the order in which they were discovered. The current 20 DYT loci comprise a heterogeneous group of disorders. (Table I) They can be divided into PTDs, dystonia-plus syndromes without brain degeneration, dystonia-parkinsonism with brain degeneration (i.e. DYT3), and paroxysmal dyskinesias. There are many neurodegenerative genetic disorders that share dystonia as a common feature of disease (Table II). This chapter will review the genetics of PTD, dystonia-plus syndromes without brain degeneration, and X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism. Other genetic dystonia-parkinsonism syndromes and the paroxysmal dyskinesias will not be discussed.
Using Electron Phase Space Density Signatures to Identify the Electromagnetic Waves Responsible for Accelerating Relativistic Electrons in Earth's Magnetosphere

Decades of satellite monitoring have shown that Earth's electron radiation belts are highly variable. Many mechanisms have been proposed to explain how these electrons are accelerated to relativistic energies, but which of these is responsible for the temporal variation is still uncertain. They separate into two categories: internal- and external-source acceleration mechanisms. Internal-source mechanisms locally accelerate electrons already present in the inner magnetosphere, while external-source mechanisms transport and accelerate electrons earthward from the outer magnetosphere. External-source mechanisms rely on radial diffusion, which can be enhanced by ULF waves. The two categories can be differentiated because they will produce different radial gradients of electron phase space density (PSD) given as a function of the adiabatic invariants. Internal-source mechanisms may produce PSD peaks in the inner magnetosphere, while external-source mechanisms should maintain a PSD maximum at a large L* (radial distance to equatorial location of an electron if only the internal dipole field, and no external magnetic fields, were acting). Studies attempting to positively identify the mechanisms by evaluating PSD gradients have reached ambiguous and contradictory conclusions. The likely cause of the confusion is that particle instruments do not explicitly measure PSD with fixed invariants. Most fail to measure all the quantities necessary to transform measured flux to PSD, forcing assumptions that introduce unknown errors into gradient estimates. These errors confound comparisons between predictions and prevent definitive conclusions. This paper describes two prominent acceleration mechanisms currently debated and their predictions regarding PSD gradients. It details methods for obtaining PSD gradients and sources of errors. It reviews how gradients obtained by various studies compare to predictions and how errors affect those comparisons. Finally, the results are synthesized into a comprehensive understanding of acceleration processes, and future opportunities for resolving remaining discrepancies are discussed.
Infrared study of superconductivity in YBa2(Cu1-xMx)3O7- delta (M=Zn and Ni).

We report the infrared reflectances R(\ensuremath{\nu},T) of ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$(${\mathrm{Cu}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathit{M}}_{\mathit{x}}$${)}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}$ films (M=Zn and Ni) for frequencies 50 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$1000 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$ and temperatures T=10, 100, and 300 K. The ``best fit'' conductivities, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\sigma}}}_{1}$(\ensuremath{\nu},10 K), for both Zn- and Ni-doped films show no clear evidence of superconductivity, i.e., the superconducting density of states is very gapless. This degree of gaplessness is consistent with the large penetration depths measured in the same films. It agrees with estimates based on the measured carrier scattering rate 1/\ensuremath{\tau} (10 K) and theories of d-wave superconductors. The carrier scattering rate 1/\ensuremath{\tau}(T) increases with dopant concentration x and with T; it does not change rapidly just below ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ as in pure ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}$. The plasma frequency ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\omega}}}_{\mathit{p}}$=8500\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}500 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$, independent of dopant concentration and T, agrees with values obtained in pure ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}$.
Identification and Estimation of Average Partial Effects in “Irregular” Correlated Random Coefficient Panel Data Models

In this paper we study identification and estimation of a correlated random coefficients (CRC) panel data model. The outcome of interest varies linearly with a vector of endogenous regressors. The coefficients on these regressors are heterogenous across units and may covary with them. We consider the average partial effect (APE) of a small change in the regressor vector on the outcome (cf. Chamberlain (1984), Wooldridge (2005a)). Chamberlain (1992) calculated the semiparametric efficiency bound for the APE in our model and proposed a √N-consistent estimator. Nonsingularity of the APE's information bound, and hence the appropriateness of Chamberlain's (1992) estimator, requires (i) the time dimension of the panel (T) to strictly exceed the number of random coefficients (p) and (ii) strong conditions on the time series properties of the regressor vector. We demonstrate irregular identification of the APE when T = p and for more persistent regressor processes. Our approach exploits the different identifying content of the subpopulations of stayers—or units whose regressor values change little across periods—and movers—or units whose regressor values change substantially across periods. We propose a feasible estimator based on our identification result and characterize its large sample properties. While irregularity precludes our estimator from attaining parametric rates of convergence, its limiting distribution is normal and inference is straightforward to conduct. Standard software may be used to compute point estimates and standard errors. We use our methods to estimate the average elasticity of calorie consumption with respect to total outlay for a sample of poor Nicaraguan households.
The Trace Model for Object Detection and Tracking

We introduce a stochastic model to characterize the online computational process of an object recognition system based on a hierarchy of classifiers. The model is a graphical network for the conditional distribution, under both object and background hypotheses, of the classifiers which are executed during a coarse-to-fine search. A likelihood is then assigned to each history or “trace” of processing. In this way, likelihood ratios provide a measure of confidence for each candidate detection, which markedly improves the selectivity of hierarchical search, as illustrated by pruning many false positives in a face detection experiment. This also leads to a united framework for object detection and tracking. Experiments in tracking faces in image sequences demonstrate invariance to large face movements, partial occlusions, changes in illumination and varying numbers of faces.
Rapid and sensitive method for the detection of serum hepatitis B virus DNA using the polymerase chain reaction technique.

We have developed a rapid procedure for the detection of serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. HBV DNA is released from virions by incubating serum with 0.1 M NaOH for 60 min at 37 degrees C. The mixture is brought to neutral pH with HCl, and the HBV DNA sequences are detected by agarose gel electrophoresis and ethidium bromide staining after PCR amplification with two successive sets of primer pairs. The detection limit of this method (i.e., 10(-5) pg of HBV DNA) is equivalent to that previously determined by one round of PCR amplification and Southern blot hybridization analysis. The advantages are that the assay can be completed in 1 day, is very sensitive, and does not require the use of radiolabeled reagents. Images