cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spin relaxation in materials lacking coherent charge transport

We describe a broadly applicable theory of spin relaxation in materials with incoherent charge transport; examples include amorphous inorganic semiconductors, organic semiconductors, quantum dot arrays, and systems displaying trap-controlled transport or transport within an impurity band. The theory can incorporate many different relaxation mechanisms, so long as electron-electron correlations can be neglected. We focus primarily on spin relaxation caused by spin-orbit effects, which manifest through inhomogeneities in the $g$ factor and non-spin-conserving carrier hops, scattering, trapping, or detrapping. Analytic and numerical results from the theory are compared in various regimes with Monte Carlo simulations. Our results should assist in evaluating the suitability of various disordered materials for spintronic devices.
The Relationship Between Social Support and Adolescent Dating Violence: A Comparison Across Genders

Although much research has focused on the function of social support in adult intimate partner violence, little is known about the role of social support in adolescent dating violence. This study is an exploratory analysis of the independent impact of social support from friends and family on the risk of adolescent dating violence perpetration and victimization among a large sample of youth (n = 970). Approximately, 21% of the sample reported experiencing victimization in a dating relationship whereas 23% indicated perpetrating dating violence. Male youth reported significantly more involvement in dating violence as both perpetrators and victims. Negative binomial regression modeling indicated that increased levels of support from friends was associated with significantly less dating violence perpetration and victimization; however, when gendered models were explored, the protective role of social support was only maintained for female youth. Family support was not significantly related to dating violence...
Characteristics of the trauma recidivist: an exploratory descriptive study.

Abstract Introduction: The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics and perceptions of trauma recidivists. Information obtained from this study will help health care professionals better understand trauma patients and design more effective trauma prevention programs. Methods: An exploratory descriptive, correlational design was used. A convenience sample of 100 trauma patients entering a midwestern university medical center were studied. A demographic chart review and a personal interview consisting of 29 questions were conducted for each subject. The interview questions sought information regarding high-risk behavior, risk-taking personality traits, safety precautions used, and social, psychological, and environmental factors surrounding the patient's traumatic event. Results: Thirty-six percent of trauma patients studied were recidivists. The recidivist was more likely to be male, younger than 45 years, a member of a racial minority, single, uninsured, and have less than 12 years of education. Behavioral characteristics common to most recidivists included a history of past arrests, illegal drug use, and having witnessed past violent injuries. Discussion: Trauma remains one of the most devastating diseases facing americans. Characteristics of trauma recidivists have been identified, and further research is needed to test possible interventions to curb the unnecessary trauma injuries that occur every day. J Emerg Nurs 2001;27:340-6.
Molar microwear in extant small-bodied faunivorous mammals: an analysis of feature density and pit frequency.

This study quantitatively examined molar microwear in nine species of extant small-bodied faunivorous primates and microchiropterans. Comparative analyses were performed within the food category faunivory, both between hard- and soft-object feeding faunivores and between primarily insectivorous and carnivorous taxa. Additionally, microwear in faunivores was compared to that reported in the literature for frugivorous and folivorous primates. The results indicated that although insectivores and carnivores could not be distinguished by microwear analyses, hard-object faunivores (i. e., those that primarily consume beetles or actively comminute bone) can be readily distinguished from soft-object faunivores (i. e., moth, caterpillar, or vertebrate flesh specialists). The hard-object faunivores consistently exhibited greater pit frequencies (in excess of 40%). Furthermore, comparisons of these microwear data on faunivorous mammals to previous work on frugivorous and folivorous primates (Teaford, 1988, pers. comm.; Teaford and Runestad, 1992, pers. comm.; Teaford and Walker: American Journal of Physical Anthropology 64:191–200, 1984) permitted three observations to be made. 1) Faunivores tend to have higher mean feature densities than either frugivores or folivores, although these differences are not consistently statistically distinct. 2) Faunifores and frugivores that feed on hard-objects have comparable mean pit frequencies. 3) Although it is impossible to distinguish faunivores and folivores on the basis of metric analysis of gross molar morphology, this distinction can be made on microwear criteria. Both hard- and soft-object faunivores exhibit much higher mean pit frequencies than primarily folivorous species. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A Behavioral Analysis of the Reinforcing Properties of Alcohol and Other Drugs in Man

Alcohol, opiates, and cocaine are among the first drugs used by man, both as medicines and to induce changes in states of consciousness. Through the centuries, an intricate tapestry of legend and belief has been woven about each drug, its origins, and its effects. Yet, today our understanding of the behavioral consequences of drug intoxication is surprisingly limited. Clinical studies of individuals during intoxication have gradually begun to reveal an evanescent and complex panorama of drug effects which often encompasses both joy and pain, euphoria and despondency. No precise metric yet exists to predict which of the myriad effects on this continuum will occur following a particular drug dose at a particular time.
Path planning to optimize observability in a planar uniform flow field

This paper is concerned with path planning for under-sensed vehicles, where the vehicle has insufficient sensors to estimate its state without active control. One such system is an autonomous underwater vehicle, which typically does not have complete inertial position information. Using the condition number of the observability gramian as a cost functional, we develop an observability optimal control problem for a general nonlinear system and discuss solution methods. Two planar navigation problems for a nonholonomic vehicle in uniform currents are presented, and we derive trajectories that maximize the observability of the system and currents using limited inertial sensors. Simulation results show that the optimal trajectories yield faster estimator convergence and lower steady-state covariances than suboptimal trajectories.
Evaluating the influence of stocking history and barriers to movement on the spatial extent of hybridization between westslope cutthroat trout and rainbow trout

In this study we examine how the stocking of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), as well as the presence of fish movement barriers, influences the probability of introgression with westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi). We measured the level of introgression in cutthroat trout sampled from 32 locations that occurred either above or below fish movement barriers along with the frequency and number of rainbow trout stocked in the watershed over a 43-year period. The occurrence and level of hybridization in cutthroat trout were not related to whether the site was above a movement barrier or not. In contrast, the level of introgression was related to the distance to the nearest stocking location, the number of stocking events within the nearest watershed, and the total number of rainbow trout stocked in that watershed. Our data indicate that westslope cutthroat trout located further from stocking have a lower risk of introgression with rainbow trout, but those isolated above movement barrier...
Observations on the Life Cycle of Eimeria bilamellata Henry, 1932 in the Uinta Ground Squirrel Spermophilus armatus*

SYNOPSIS. Oocysts of Eimeria bilamellata were found in Spermophilus armatus, Utah and Wyoming; S. beecheyi, California; and S variegatus, Utah. Oocysts were not found in S. lateralis, S. richardsoni, S. columbianus, S. tridecemlineatus, or the white-tailed prairie dog, Cynomys leucurus. Experimental infections were established in S. armatus, S. variegatus, and S. lateralis, but not in S. richardsoni, least chipmunks Eutamius minimus, laboratory rats Rattus norvegicus, or Mongolian gerbils Meriones unguiculatus. After one experimental infection S. armatus and S. variegatus were immune to further infections. Spermophilus lateralis could be infected 3 or 4 times before the animals were immune. However, individuals of S. armatus in a natural population had more than one infection with E. bilamellata; probably infections must be of a certain level before immunity develops. When S. armatus were inoculated with about 100,000 oocysts, the animals usually died on the 7th day after incoculation. Oocysts were 33-37 by 25-31 μ (mean 34.5 by 28.2 μ). The oocyst wall was brown and composed of 2 layers. A distinct micropyle was present. Sporocysts were 18-23 by 9-12 μ (mean 19.9 by 10.3 μ). In experimental infections, the prepatent period was 10 days and the patent period 5–21 (mean 9) days. Schizonts were 1st seen 7 days after inoculation. They were located above the host cell nuclei of epithelial cells at the tips of the villi of the jejunum and ileum. One or more earlier generations of schizonts were thought to occur, but these were not observed. Gametogony took place in epithelial cells of the jejunum and ileum. Shortly after the merozoites entered the cells, the cells became enlarged and were displaced into the lamina propria. The microgametocytes were considerably larger than the macrogametes and contained a central residual body. Macrogametes had a peripheral eosinophilic layer as well as cytoplasmic granules; both apparently participated in formation of the oocyst wall.
NGOs in Microfinance: Learning from the Past, Accepting Limitations, and Moving Forward

Over the past three decades, microfinance has become an extremely popular and populist development intervention. The Grameen Bank and its founder, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, were awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize and the Global Microcredit Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia set itself the goal of lending to 175 million people around the world by 2015. Despite such global enthusiasm, the limitations of microfinance are gradually being acknowledged even by its most vociferous proponents. The vast majority of NGOs in microfinance not only face tremendous challenges in balancing outreach and financial sustainability, but there is also growing evidence of their failure to make an aggregate impact on poverty reduction. At the same time, there is evidence that NGOs can – even without offering credit or savings programs – play extremely important roles in areas such as poverty relief, marketing, enterprise development, innovation, and social intermediation. This article looks at strategies NGOs in microfinance can use to meet their social justice goals without becoming completely seduced by commercial values or being lured away from their major objective of serving the poor. As a development methodology, microfinance is firmly embedded within a neo-liberal framework that seeks to increase poor people’s access to financial resources without really challenging the entrenched status quo of unequal power relations between different groups of people. The continued popularity of microfinance should not foreclose the possibility of more creative and complex engagement with inequality as well as for more boldly original visions and innovative solutions to promote human dignity and social justice.
Near-field Scanning Optical Microscopy — Breaking the diffraction limit using nano light emitting probe tip

We describe optical and topographic imaging using a light emitting diode (LED) monolithically integrated on a silicon probe tip for Near-field Scanning Optical Microscopy (NSOM). The light emission resulted from a silicon dioxide layer buried between a phosphorus-doped N+ silicon layer and a gallium-doped P+ silicon region created locally at the tip by a focused ion beam (FIB). The tip was employed in a standard NSOM excitation setup. The probe successfully measured optical as well as topographic images of a chromium test pattern with imaging resolutions of 400 nm and 50 nm, respectively. The directional resolution dependence of the acquired images directly corresponds to the shape, size and polarity of the light source on the probe tip. To our knowledge, this report is the first successful near-field imaging result directly measured by such tip-embedded light sources.
Engagement of the Community, Traditional Leaders, and Public Health System in the Design and Implementation of a Large Community-Based, Cluster-Randomized Trial of Umbilical Cord Care in Zambia

Conducting research in areas with diverse cultures requires attention to community sensitization and involvement. The process of community engagement is described for a large community-based, cluster-randomized, controlled trial comparing daily 4% chlorhexidine umbilical cord wash to dry cord care for neonatal mortality prevention in Southern Province, Zambia. Study preparations required baseline formative ethnographic research, substantial community sensitization, and engagement with three levels of stakeholders, each necessitating different strategies. Cluster-specific birth notification systems developed with traditional leadership and community members using community-selected data collectors resulted in a post-natal home visit within 48 hours of birth in 96% of births. Of 39,679 pregnant women enrolled (93% of the target of 42,570), only 3.7% were lost to follow-up or withdrew antenatally; 0.2% live-born neonates were lost by day 28 of follow-up. Conducting this trial in close collaboration with traditional, administrative, political, and community stakeholders facilitated excellent study participation, despite structural and sociocultural challenges.
Photo-oxidation of polymer-like amorphous hydrogenated carbon under visible light illumination

Amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H), a polymer-like network typically synthesized by plasma chemical vapor deposition, has long been known to exhibit optical absorption of visible light (λ > 400 nm). Here, we report that this absorption is accompanied by rapid photo-oxidation (within minutes) that behaves in most respects like classic polymer photo-oxidation with the exception that it occurs under visible light illumination rather than ultraviolet illumination. Lower plasma power during deposition produces a-C:H that is less crosslinked, is less absorptive, has longer photoluminescence lifetimes, and has a slower photo-oxidative degradation than a-C:H deposited at higher plasma power. The optical gap of the material deposited here is ∼2.5 eV, and we correspondingly observe photo-oxidation at photon energies of 2.7 and 3.1 eV. A reduced photo-oxidative response is observed at sub-gap energies, suggesting that defect states or absorption tails enable absorption at lower energies. The photo-oxidation depends on both the total accumulated dose as well as the intensity of the illumination, suggesting either a transport limitation of O2 in the a-C:H or a complex reaction pathway. Under typical laboratory lighting conditions, plasma CVD a-C:H continues to photo-oxidize for more than 20 weeks, demonstrating that any characterization of the long-term behavior of a-C:H under use conditions requires control of not only atmospheric conditions but also ambient lighting environment.
Design and performance of a magnetic head for a high-density tape drive

The design of a magnetic head for use in the tape drive portion of the IBM 3480 Magnetic Tape Subsystem required that advances be made in track density and linear recording density while meeting requirements for signal quality, manufacturability, and reliability. The design that was developed to fulfill these needs combines ferrite pole-pieces, magnetoresistive read elements, and planar-deposited write turns. This paper describes the read and write elements of the head and the approach used in the selection of the design parameters.
Catadioptric self-calibration

We have assembled a standalone, movable system that can capture long sequences of omnidirectional images (up to 1,500 images at 6.7 Hz and a resolution of 1140/spl times/090). The goal of this system is to reconstruct complex large environments, such as an entire floor of a building, from the captured images only. In this paper, we address the important issue of how to calibrate such a system. Our method uses images of the environment to calibrate the camera, without the use of any special calibration pattern, knowledge of camera motion, or knowledge of scene geometry. It uses the consistency of pairwise tracked point features across a sequence based on the characteristics of catadioptric imaging. We also show how the projection equation for this catadioptric camera can be formulated to be equivalent to that of a typical rectilinear perspective camera with just a simple transformation.
Hemodynamic Alterations in Hypertensive Obese Rabbits

There is little information on changes in overall and regional hemodynamics in obesity-associated hypertension. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine alterations in overall and regional blood flows and resistances in adipose and nonadipose tissues in a new model of obesity-associated hypertension in rabbits. Sixteen female New Zealand White rabbits were fed either a maintenance or high-fat diet; after 8 to 12 weeks cardiac output and regional blood flows were measured with the use of radioactive microspheres. Obese rabbits (5.22 +/- 0.14 versus 3.66 +/- 0.04 kg) had higher blood pressure (113 +/- 3 versus 95 +/- 1 mm Hg), cardiac output (812 +/- 59 versus 593 +/- 47 mL/min), and heart rate (269 +/- 12 versus 219 +/- 9 beats per minute) and lower overall peripheral resistance (0.14 +/- 0.01 versus 0.17 +/- 0.01 mm Hg/[mL/min]) than lean rabbits. Compared with lean controls, obese rabbits had higher weights of the ventricles, kidneys, liver, ovaries, adrenals, diaphragm, and spleen. Absolute blood flows were greater in the ventricles, kidneys, lungs, and ovaries, but differences were minimized when flows were normalized for organ weight. Adipose tissue flow per gram weight was significantly lower and resistance higher in obese rabbits. However, calculated total adipose tissue flow was higher in obese rabbits (86 versus 45 mL/min). Absolute resistances were lower in the left ventricle, kidneys, and large intestine, but when resistances were indexed for organ weight, kidney resistance tended to be higher in obese rabbits. These results indicate that even short periods of obesity-associated hypertension result in marked overall and regional hemodynamic changes.
«Io che mi racconto»: il romanzo del divenire. In contumacia di Giacoma Limentani

EnglishThe present essay braids two of my research topics, women writers� transformation of the novel as a genre through stylistic choices and expressive strategies and Shoah literature. Focus of this study is Giacoma Limentani�s novel In contumacia (By proxy). Its analysis allows for the nexus between the Fascists�responsibility in the persecution of the Roman Jews and the abjection arising from an act of violence. Sexual violence, abjection and desire to narrate constitute, in fact, the themes all tied to each other between public violence and the personal one lived by a woman italianoIl presente saggio unisce due miei interessi di ricerca, l�investigazione sulle trasformazioni di genere apportate da autrici al romanzo contemporaneo mediante scelte stilistiche e strategie espressive e l�analisi della letteratura nata dalla Shoah. Ci si sofferma in particolare sul romanzo In contumacia di Giacoma Limentani, testo dalla cui analisi emerge l�inestricabile nesso fra la responsabilita dei fascisti nella persecuzione degli ebrei romani e l�abiezione che emerge da un atto di violenza. Violenza sessuale, abiezione, e desiderio di narrazione costituiscono, infatti, i temi�raccordo fra la violenza pubblica e quella vissuta nel privato da una donna
'We Didn't Have Time to Train the Monkeys!' The 2002 Presidential Board of Inquiry on the Work Stoppage in the West Coast Ports

This paper examines the formation of the 2002 Presidential Board of Inquiry on the Work Stoppage in the West Coast Ports. It describes the emergency dispute provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act, 29 U.S.C. §§176-180. Two main issues created the impasse at the West Coast Ports: the introduction of new technology in the ports and the implications of that introduction for job security and work preservation, and general disagreement about the appropriate arbitration process in the next collective bargaining agreement. Although other disputes exist between the parties, such as terms involving wage increases, pension increases, and port security issues, both parties anticipate that they could reach agreement on these matters once the core issues involving technology and arbitration are resolved. Due to the seeds of distrust that have been sown, this paper concludes that we have no confidence that the parties will resolve the West Coast ports dispute within a reasonable time.
Optimal Harvesting Strategies for Timber and Non-Timber Forest Products in Tropical Ecosystems

Harvesting wild plants for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) can be ecologically sustainable–without long-term consequences to the dynamics of targeted and associated species–but it may not be economically satisfying because it fails to provide enough revenues for local people over time. In several cases, the same species can be harvested for NTFP and also logged for timber. Three decades of studies on the sustainability of NTFP harvest for local people’s livelihood have failed to successfully integrate these socio-economic and ecological factors. We apply optimal control theory to investigate optimal strategies for the combinations of non-lethal (e.g., NTFP) and lethal (e.g., timber) harvest that minimize the cost of harvesting while maximizing the benefits (revenue) that accrue to harvesters and the conservation value of harvested ecosystems. Optimal harvesting strategies include starting with non-lethal NTFP harvest and postponing lethal timber harvesting to begin after a few years. We clearly demonstrate that slow growth species have lower optimal harvesting rates, objective functional values and profits than fast growth species. However, contrary to expectation, the effect of species lifespan on optimal harvesting rates was weak suggesting that life history is a better indicator of species resilience to harvest than lifespan. Overall, lethal or nonlethal harvest rates must be <40 % to ensure optimality. This optimal rate is lower than commonly reported sustainable harvest rates for non-timber forest products.
Fluid Mechanics, Part I

The treatment of the subject of Fluid Mechanics in the present Division is intended to furnish a relatively simple and “easy reading” introduction to those parts of the subject of special interest to the student of aerodynamics. For the proper understanding of the various monographs which make up this presentation of the general subject of Aerodynamic Theory, there will be needful some familiarity with the subject of Fluid Mechanics beyond, or at least somewhat different from that gained by the student in the courses found in most of our technical colleges and schools. To many others, to whom these matters have been familiar at one time, facility, through disuse, may have been lost.
Singular and Other Novel X-ray Diffractive Optics

Singular and other novel X-ray diffractive optics have been developed for X-ray microscopy. These optics enhance contrast and resolution by enabling phase contrast, extended depth of field, and other imaging capabilities.
Mechanism of Spontaneous Formation of Monolayers on Gold from Alkyl Thiosulfates

The kinetics of adsorption of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) from solutions of hexadecyl thiosulfate in tetrahydrofuran was studied under a variety of experimental conditions to elucidate the mechanism(s) important in this process. Monolayers did not form in the absence of water, which ruled out the direct addition of the alkyl thiosulfate to the gold surface and implicated hydrolysis as a route to surface-active adsorbates. The role of tetrafluoroborate ion, known to inhibit SAM formation in this system, was also examined. These studies, too, were consistent with hydrolysis as an intermediate step in the formation of monolayer films in this system.
Price-Earnings Ratios, Dividend Yields and Real Estate Stock Prices

Executive Summary. Both dividend yields and past returns have predictive power for P/E ratios; hence they can be used as tools in forming a market timing and asset allocation strategy in stock mark...
Purposivism and Institutional Competence in Statutory Interpretation

Writers on legal interpretation have almost all either addressed general principles or focused on differences in the interpretation of different sorts of texts; rarely have they distinguished among different sorts of interpreters. Thus, most writing on statutory interpretation approaches the problem generally, but the writer almost always has judges in mind. Only a handful of authors have considered whether the strengths and weaknesses of different interpretive methodologies might be of more or less concern when the interpreter is not a judge. This is one effort to do so. This paper considers the standard arguments against purposivist statutory interpretation and concludes that almost all are more powerful when applied to courts than when applied to agencies. I do not mean to endorse that critique as applied to courts, nor do I mean to say it is wholly inapplicable to agencies. In relative terms, however, agencies are in a better position to interpret statutes in light of their purpose than are courts. The paper concludes with a discussion of the coherence of a regime in which courts review agency interpretations using a different interpretive methodology than the agency's. Although at first blush it seems problematic, in fact it is not necessary that courts and agencies approach this task identically.
304 AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE MANIFEST BY CUTANEOUS LESIONS IN A PEDIATRIC PATIENT WITH CROHN'S DISEASE TREATED BY INFLIXIMAB.

Infliximab (anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNF-α) is effectively used in treating rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn9s diseases by neutralizing the biological activity of TNF-α and inhibiting bindings of TNF-α with its receptors but has been associated with increased risk for infections. Rationale A now 16-year-old male with Crohn9s disease treated by anti-TNF-α (infliximab) was found to have elevated autoantibodies and developed severe skin lesions on two separate occasions. Methods The patient was treated with infliximab infusions regularly for over a 4-year period. The medication is highly effective in reducing symptoms of Crohn9s disease and remission was also confirmed by colonoscopy. However, the patient developed eczematous lesion that became severely infected in his groin area, legs, and scalp. Concurrent elevation of antinuclear antibody (ANA), DSDNA, and histone antibodies were also noted. Results During the infliximab therapy the ANA titer increased from 1:1,280. Infliximab was discontinued due to the skin infections of the patient. The skin lesions resolved after stopping infliximab and ANA normalized but Crohn9s disease relapsed after several months. Infliximab was re-introduced and symptoms of Crohn9s disease improved. However, ANA titer rose to 1:640, histone AB increased, and skin infections returned. Infliximab was discontinued and the patient was started on adalimumab in the hope it would be tolerated. Conclusions This patient developed severe eczematous lesions as well as lupus-associated antibodies on two occasions when treated with infliximab. The skin lesions may have been a form of cutaneous lupus as they did respond to steroid therapy and correlated with the lupus serology.
What about dental economics for the 1990s

A slowdown in per capita dental expenditures is projected through the year 2000. However, reduction in the "production" of new dentists will offset these economic developments and result in a continued favorable economic environment.
Reduction of TFET OFF-Current and Subthreshold Swing by Lightly Doped Drain

This brief models the effect of lightly doped drain on the $I_{\mathrm { {ds}}}$ – $V_{\mathrm { {gs}}}$ and $I_{\mathrm { {ds}}}$ – $V_{\mathrm { {ds}}}$ characteristics of tunnel FETs. It is shown that an extended drain depletion region can greatly reduce both the off-current and the subthreshold swing with essentially no impact on the on-current. In particular, a lightly doped drain mitigates the undesirable ambipolar effect that cannot otherwise be relieved by lengthening the channel length. However, if the density of states is not sufficiently low, a low drain doping could result in a nondegenerate condition in which the tunneling window is blocked at $V_{\mathrm { {ds}}} = 0$ , degrading the linear region current.
The Rediscovery of Economics

The bosses of the socialist economic systems had arrived by the Sixties at a point at which they were ready to consider reform seriously. Concern about economic performance — whether in terms of growth, innovation, the multiplication of objectives, or a desire to humanize socialism — made them willing to question some basic features of the model and to consider changing them. The function of the remaining chapters is to ask several related questions about the reform of the model that had evolved under Stalin and that had for so long been identified with socialist planning. What does reform involve? What concrete efforts have been made so far to change economic policies and institutions? What is the future shape of socialism toward which these reforms are tending?
Reduced translocation is involved in resistance to glyphosate and paraquat in Conyza bonariensis and Conyza canadensis from California

Summary Resistance to glyphosate and paraquat has evolved in some populations of Conyza spp. from California, USA. This study evaluated whether herbicide absorption and translocation were involved in the mechanism of resistance to both herbicides. Three lines of each species were used: glyphosate-paraquat-susceptible (GPS), glyphosate-resistant (GR) and glyphosate-paraquat-resistant (GPR). Radiolabelled herbicide was applied to a fully expanded leaf, and absorption and movement out of the treated leaf were monitored for up to 24 h for paraquat and 72 h for glyphosate. Plants treated with paraquat were incubated in darkness for the first 16 h and then subjected to light conditions. More glyphosate was absorbed in C. bonariensis (52.9–58.3%) compared with C. canadensis (28.5–37.6%), but no differences in absorption were observed among lines within a species. However, in both species, the GR and GPR lines translocated less glyphosate out of the treated leaf when compared with their respective GPS lines. Paraquat absorption was similar among lines and across species (71.3–77.6%). Only a fraction of paraquat was translocated in the GPR lines (3% or less) when compared with their respective GPS or GR lines (20% or more) in both species. Taken together, these results indicate that reduced translocation is involved in the mechanism of resistance to glyphosate and paraquat in C. bonariensis and C. canadensis.
Building Interfaces to Developing Cells and Organisms: From Cyborg Beetles to Synthetic Biology

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Example Interfaces Conclusions References
Factors influencing prostate cancer treatment decisions for African American (AA) and Caucasian (CA) men.

6517Background: Prostate cancer causes a disproportionate burden to AA men, and AA men are less likely than CA men to receive aggressive treatment. This is the first study to examine factors influe...
Solar metadevice with enhanced absorption, scattering, and spectral control

Lightweight, portable solar blankets, constructed from thin film photovoltaics, are of great interest to hikers, the military, first responders, and third-world countries lacking infrastructure for transporting heavy, brittle solar cells. These solar blankets, as large as two square meters in area, come close to satisfying specifications for commercial and military use, but they still have limited absorption due to insufficient material efficiency, and therefore are large and too heavy in many cases. Metasurfaces, consisting of monolayers of periodic and semi-random plasmonic particles patterned in a scalable manner, are explored to enhance scattering into thin photovoltaic films (currently of significant commercial and military value), in order to enhance absorption and efficiency of solar blankets. Without nano-enhancement, absorption is limited by the thickness of the thin photovoltaic active layer in the long-wavelength region. In this study, lithographically patterned, periodic Al nanostructure arrays demonstrate experimentally a large absorption enhancement, resulting in a predicted increase in short-circuit current density of at least 35% and as much as 70% for optimized arrays atop 200-nm amorphous silicon thin films. Optimized arrays extend thin-film absorption to the near infrared region. This impressive absorption enhancement and predicted increase in short-circuit current density may significantly increase the efficiency and reduce the weight of solar blankets, enabling their use for commercial and military applications.
Yours, Mine, and the Truth: Using a Structured Minimum Wage Debate in the Economics Classroom:

This article describes a strategy for using the minimum wage as a classroom debate topic. Classroom debate is an active-learning strategy that encourages students to develop skills that are often l...
The Usual Suspects: Members of Your HealthTech Team

By now, we’ve established a couple of things that are of critical importance to your product: identifying a detailed product idea and constructing a solid team. Our next step is to talk about the sorts of people that make up a typical HealthTech team. Even the most experienced and skilled team can rapidly become toxic if there is not clear understanding, open communication and mutual respect of the different roles on the team. In this chapter, we’re going to go through some of the more typical roles within a HealthTech team.
Kernel-Assisted Communication Engine for MPI on Emerging Manycore Processors

Manycore processors such as Intel Knights Landing (KNL), the second generation Xeon Phi many-core processor from Intel comes equipped with up to 288 threads and 16 gigabytes of high-bandwidth on-chip multi-channel DRAM (MCDRAM) that bear the potential to significantly improve the performance of both compute-bound and memory-bound applications. For this potential to be realized, it is imperative to exploit KNL's highly threaded environment and careful use of the limited MCDRAM resource. In this work, we focus on achieving effective utilization of KNL's resources through the design of a kernel-based communication engine that makes use of multiple kernel threads and generic work request abstraction scheme to accelerate MPI data movement operations. Being a kernel-based approach, our designs are application-pattern agnostic and aim to have minimal contention with the application's compute and memory requirements. We have compared our proposed designs with other prevalent schemes employed by modern MPI libraries. The experimental evaluation shows that the proposed designs provide up to 2.5X improvement at the microbenchmark-level and improve the total execution time of the MPI+OpenMP version of HPCG by up to 15% when compared with other approaches. Furthermore, using the CNTK Deep Learning framework, we demonstrate a significant improvement over existing approaches in the total training time (execution time) with the Multi-level perceptron (MLP) model and MNIST image recognition dataset.
Fact, Feeling, Faith, and Form

[What is that, knowing which, we shall know everything?] It is not easy to know “the real, internal constitution” of God’s nature, and perhaps no one has ever known it fully. Perhaps no one has ever known it even partially, although this is doubtful. Beliefs, intimations, surmises, and the like, have often sufficed. No matter, the notion of God should be characterized, it would seem, in so grand a fashion as to contain, in some specific sense, all knowledge of all beings and happenings, here, there, and everywhere, past, present, and future. In particular God’s nature should contain, in a most intimate way, all scientific law, both causal and stochastic, as well as all boundary conditions. Hence implicitly it should contain all factually true statements. But God is not merely the repository of truth, but of value, of beauty, and goodness, as well. Science and value, whatever the shortcomings or defects of our knowledge about them, should be properly fused, it would seem, in any satisfactory characterization of the real internal constitution of God’s nature. Failure to attain this fusion is to rest content with only a partial and hence an inadequate characterization.
Modal Test of Six-Meter Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator

A modal test was performed on the six-meter Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) test article to gain a firm understanding of the dynamic characteristics of the unloaded structure within the low frequency range. The tests involved various configurations of the HIAD to understand the influence of the tri-torus, the varying pressure within the toroids and the influence of straps. The primary test was conducted utilizing an eletrodynamic shaker and the results were verified using a step relaxation technique. The analysis results show an increase in the structure’s stiffness with respect to increasing pressure. The results also show the rise of coupled modes with the tri-torus configurations. During the testing activity, the attached straps exhibited a behavior that is similar to that described as fuzzy structures in the literature. Therefore extensive tests were also performed by utilizing foam to mitigate these effects as well as understand the modal parameters of these fuzzy sub structures. Results are being utilized to update the finite element model of the six-meter HIAD and to gain a better understanding of the modeling of complex inflatable structures.
Use of Quantitative Methods to Support Research Decisions in Business and Government

Modern industrial nations expend about 2.3% of their gross national products for research and development. In the U.S., concern over the nation’s economic performance has been linked to the size and composition of expenditures for research. At issue is not whether the U.S. should make such expenditures, but how large they should be; how much should be devoted to basic research, applied research, development, and to other phases of knowledge generation and application; how research resources such as money and manpower should be allocated among scientific fields, industries, and areas of national concern (defense, energy, health); and, more broadly, what the relative roles of government and the private sector should be in supporting the national research effort.
KEYNOTE-042: is lowering the PD-L1 threshold for first-line pembrolizumab monotherapy a good idea?

Prior to the advent of inhibitory antibodies targeting programmed death 1 (PD-1) or programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1), the median overall survival (OS) for advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving first-line platinum doublet chemotherapy was approximately 8–12 months and 5-year survival rates were estimated at 2% (1-3).
Is Antibiotic Therapy Warranted in Clean-Contaminated Head and Neck Surgery Beyond 24 h?

Antibiotic prophylaxis in head and neck surgery aims to prevent post-operative surgical site infections. While various studies have looked at the effectiveness of perioperative antibiotics delivered in clean-contaminated head and procedures, there remains a lack of consensus on the most effective choice and duration of delivery of antibiotics in preventing post-operative infections. This chapter explores and evaluates the literature regarding antibiotic prophylaxis in clean-contaminated head and neck surgery cases including those in which microvascular free-flap reconstruction was used. Each study was reviewed for its quality of evidence in determining the necessity of antibiotic therapy beyond 24 h in clean-contaminated head and neck surgery. The majority of studies were randomized controlled trials with additional retrospective reviews. Overall, short duration of antibiotics ( 24 h) and avoid unnecessary antibiotic exposure in patients undergoing clean-contaminated head and neck surgery with or without free-flap reconstruction. Additionally, post-operative prophylaxis with clindamycin should be avoided because of its association with increased rates of surgical site infection and antibiotic-induced complications.
Pitch effects on vowel roughness and spectral noise

Abstract: The effects of vocal pitch on the perceived roughess and the acoustic spectral noise levels of two test vowels were investigated. Ten normal-speaking young adult subjects (5 male and 5 female) each produced at one intensity the high vowel /u/ and the low vowel /a/ at four test pitches. The pitches ranged, for each subject, from habitual pitch to a pitch one octave higher. Spectral noise level (SNL) measures and listener ratings of roughness were obtained for each vowel sample, and the fundamental frequency of each sample was measured. It was found that both the mean SNL and the perceived roughness of the test phonations diminished significantly (P
Facially expressive humanoid robotic face

Abstract Realistic humanoid robots have emerged in the last two decades but the emotional intelligence of these machines has been limited. To teach humanoids how to emotionally communicate with humans, researchers have been increasingly relying on machine learning algorithms. While the software used to implement machine learning algorithms is largely open source, facially expressive humanoid robots are expensive and inaccessible to most people, thus limiting the number of researchers in this field. This paper aims to aid potential artificial intelligence researchers by providing a relatively inexpensive, open-source robot that can serve as a platform for research into emotional communication between humans and machines. Eva, the robot described in this paper, is an adult-sized humanoid head that can emulate human facial expressions, head movements, and speech through the use of 25 muscles, including 12 facial muscles that can produce a maximum skin displacement of 15 mm.
Addressing Obstetric Health Disparities among Refugee Populations: Training the Next Generation of Culturally Humble OB/GYN Medical Providers.

Issue: The burden of increasing obstetric morbidity and mortality in the United States disproportionately affects marginalized and vulnerable populations, including refugees. Many factors have been...
The evolving landscape of agroecological research

It has been widely argued that agroecological science, which originally developed as the application of ecological principles to agricultural systems, should engage with the social and political is...
Benzobisthiadiazole-based high-spin donor–acceptor conjugated polymers with localized spin distribution

Stable organic semiconductors (OSCs) with a high-spin ground-state can profoundly impact emerging technologies such as organic magnetism, spintronics, and medical imaging. Over the last decade, there has been a significant effort to design π-conjugated materials with unpaired spin centers. Here, we report new donor–acceptor (D–A) conjugated polymers comprising cyclopentadithiophene and cyclopentadiselenophene donors with benzobisthiadiazole (BBT) and iso-BBT acceptors. Density functional theory calculations show that the BBT-based polymers display a decreasing singlet–triplet energy gap with increasing oligomer chain length, with degenerate singlet and triplet states for a N = 8 repeat unit. Furthermore, a considerable distance between the unpaired electrons with a pure diradical character disrupts the π-bond covalency and localizes the unpaired spins at the polymer ends. However, replacing the BBT acceptor with iso-BBT leads to a closed-shell configuration with a low-spin ground-state and a localized spin density on the polymer cores. This study shows the significance of the judicious choice of π-conjugated scaffolds in generating low- (S = 0) and high-spin (S = 1) ground-states in the neutral form, by modulation of spin topology in extended π-conjugated D–A polymers for emergent optoelectronic applications.
The Molecular Context of Vulnerability for CDK9 Suppression in Triple Wild-Type Melanoma

Approximately half of melanoma tumors lack a druggable target and are unresponsive to current targeted therapeutics. One proposed approach for treating these therapeutically orphaned tumors is by targeting transcriptional dependencies (oncogene starvation), whereby survival factors are depleted through inhibition of transcriptional regulators. A drug screen identified a CDK9 inhibitor (SNS-032) to have therapeutic selectivity against wild-type (wt) BRAFwt/NRASwt melanomas compared with BRAFmut/NRASmut mutated melanomas. We then used two strategies to inhibit CDK9 in vitro—a CDK9 degrader (TS-032) and a selective CDK9 kinase inhibitor (NVP-2). At 500 nM, both TS-032 and NVP-2 demonstrated greater suppression of BRAFwt/NRASwt/NF1wt cutaneous and uveal melanomas than mutant melanomas. RNA sequencing analysis of eight melanoma lines with NVP-2 treatment demonstrated that the context of this vulnerability appears to converge on a cell cycle network that includes many transcriptional regulators, such as the E2F family members. The Cancer Genome Atlas human melanoma tumor data further supported a potential oncogenic role for E2F1 and E2F2 in BRAFwt/NRASwt/NF1wt tumors and a direct link to CDK9. Our results suggest that transcriptional blockade through selective targeting of CDK9 is an effective method of suppressing therapeutically orphaned BRAF/NRAS/NF1 wt melanomas.
Roadside Americans: the rise and fall of hitchhiking in a changing nation: by Jack Reid, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2020, 264 pp., US$29.95 (cloth), ISBN 9781469655000

Roadside Americans tracks the rise and fall of hitchhiking from the Great Depression to the end of Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Author Jack Reid demonstrates with ample evidence that people of all a...
Effects of COVID-19 on Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship Training and Director Practices

ObjectivesThe objectives of this study include characterizing the practice patterns and testing strategies of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery (FPRS) fellowship directors (FDs) secondary t...