cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Validating distance decay through agent based modeling

The objectives of this research are to display the utility of using agent based model and simulated experiments in understanding criminal behavior. In particular, this research focuses upon the distance decay function that has wide applicability in understanding ways in which offenders move about their awareness space and select their targets for committing crime. The basis for distance decay is an assumption that the offender apprehends recognition by his neighbors and so tends to commit his crime a little away but not too far from his home location. But this is an untested assumption and based upon another assumption that recognition comes from frequent interactions. There is no simple way to test these assumptions in real life. This paper argues that simulated experiments using agent based modeling are appropriate methods for difficult to test criminological concepts. In this research, two types of agents are created- one representing the offender and the other- the victim. They are assigned specific characteristics that control their action such as moving in a neighborhood, making rational choice to maximize their gain while minimizing the risk of apprehension from interaction with other residents of the neighborhood. The simulation result displays that beginning with these small principles the final model emerges as a pattern of target selection similar to the distance decay function. The importance of this technique lies in the fact that such experiments provide the means to apply agent based modeling to validate a variety of criminological concepts. While the technique has limitations of validation it can help in understanding the behavior of offenders as they commit their crimes individually as well as in groups.
Systematic approach to peak-to-average power ratio in OFDM

OFDM multicarrier systems support high data rate wireless transmission using orthogonal frequency channels, and require no extensive equalization, yet offer excellent immunity against fading and inter-symbol interference. The major drawback of these systems is the large Peak-to-Average power Ratio (PAR) of the transmit signal, which renders a straightforward implementation very costly and inefficient. Existing approaches that attack this PAR issue are abundant, but no systematic framework or comparison between them exist to date. They sometimes even differ in the problem definition itself and consequently in the basic approach to follow. In this work, we provide a systematic approach that resolves this ambiguity and spans the existing PAR solutions. The basis of our framework is the observation that efficient system implementations require a reduced signal dynamic range. This range reduction can be modeled as a hard limiting, also referred to as clipping, where the extra distortion has to be considered as part of the total noise tradeoff. We illustrate that the different PAR solutions manipulate this tradeoff in alternative ways in order to improve the performance. Furthermore, we discuss and compare a broad range of such techniques and organize them into three classes: block coding, clip effect transformation and probabilistic.
Modeling of synchronous machines with damper windings for condition monitoring

In this paper, a method of modeling synchronous machines with damper windings based on the winding function approach (WFA) has been proposed. This method of machine analysis with the actual winding distribution does not require neglecting the harmonics of the winding distributions. The proposed model can be used to simulate the machine under faulty conditions such as broken damper bars and end ring, eccentricities and inter-turn faults. Given the geometry of the machine and its winding configuration, all the inductances are calculated as a function of the rotor position. The skewed rotor is included in the model and its smoothing effects on the waveforms are presented. Damper bar currents are studied under healthy and broken bar cases. The experimental results are presented and compared to the simulation results to verify the modeling. A special inside-out, round rotor synchronous machine is used for test and verification of the model. The field winding and the damper bars of this machine are mounted on the stator which makes it possible to monitor the bars and end ring currents directly and accurately without using flux probe.
Law's Rule: Reflexivity, Mutual Accountability, and the Rule of Law

The rule of law promises protection and recourse against the arbitrary exercise of power. Not only must those who govern rule with law, they must themselves be ruled by law. The rule of law requires reflexivity — law’s rule of those who rule with law and in its name. This essay explores the conditions for the realization of law’s rule. Philosophical explorations of the rule of law ideal largely focus on principles of legality — the formal, procedural, and institutional aspects of the ideal — but these discussions are seriously incomplete because they ignore fidelity, the ethos of law. Fidelity underwrites and makes possible law’s rule. The rule of law is robust in a polity only when it is characterized by widespread fidelity, that is, only when its members, and not merely the legal or ruling elite, take responsibility for holding each other and especially law’s officials to account under the law. Law’s rule rests on the commitments, practices, and institutional infrastructure of a polity-wide network of mutual accountability. It opposes all forms of sovereignty, insofar as they ground accountability ultimately in an unaccountable accountability-holder.
Pollen Drift from Bacillus thuringiensis Corn: Efficacy Against European Corn Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in Adjacent Rows of Non-Bt Corn

Commercial non-Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn was planted adjacent to Bt corn to determine the effects of Bt corn pollen falling on non-Bt plants for control of European corn borer larvae, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner). Field plots in Iowa and Kansas consisted of two center rows of Bt corn with eight rows of adjacent non-Bt corn on each side. In mid-September 1996 and 1997, we counted European corn borer larvae and larval tunnels in the stalk and ear shank. There were no significant differences in European corn borer numbers across non-Bt rows and the slope of the regression line was not significantly different from zero. In a single plot in Iowa, however, fewer tunnels were observed in rows of corn that were closer to Bt corn. This site was isolated from natural infestations and probably does not reflect a typical field situation. Our results suggest that Bt pollen has minimal or no control of European corn borer larvae in adjacent rows of non-Bt corn under natural conditions. Bt pollen drifting onto adjacent non-Bt plants should not increase the risks related to resistance management.
Arthroscopic Removal of Shotgun Pellet From Within the Medial Meniscus

Arthroscopic techniques are effective for the removal of intra-articular bullet and metal fragments after gunshot wounds to the shoulder, hip, knee, and sacroiliac joints. Surgical removal of bullets retained within the synovial joints is indicated; lead is dissolved by synovial fluid over time, leading to proliferative synovitis, lead arthropathy, elevated serum lead levels, and lead toxicity. We present an arthroscopic technique for removal of a shotgun pellet retained within the medial meniscus. In this technique, diagnostic knee arthroscopy is initially performed, which allows for localization of the pellet within the medial meniscus. An up-biter is used to resect the inner rim of meniscus surrounding the pellet, and the pellet is removed with a grasper. This arthroscopic approach is advantageous because it allows for efficient visualization of the pellet within the meniscus, thorough visualization of all compartments of the knee, a reduction in blood loss, and a decrease in surgical morbidity to the surrounding cartilaginous, neurovascular, and soft-tissue structures. This technique may therefore be one option to address bullet fragments or shotgun pellets that are retained within the medial meniscus.
Search Committees: When Members Disagree on the Relative Importance of Candidate Qualifications

ABSTRACTA factor not often mentioned in advice to job hunters is that members of search committees may be looking for different types of candidates even with an agreed upon job description and may also have dissimilar views on the importance of the search. This article describes a role playing exercise that I devised to demonstrate this point in my management class. The five members of the search committee, each representing a librarian stereotype, must decide between two candidates with diametrically opposed skills. Candidates will learn that this factor means that no one set of qualifications may satisfy everyone on the search committee.
Alternative monetary regimes Colin D. Campbell and william Dougan, Eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986

This book has presented several prescriptions for a monetary policy contract and, therefore, provides a good survey of alternative regimes that are often at the center of academic and public debate. The one overall failing is that there is no discussion of what to do when the policy contract is illegally broken or the related problem of determining whether the breach was legal or illegal (asymmetric information). Loss of reputation is the only penalty that is even discussed but this hardly seems to be the best solution. Reporting to Congress will supposedly deter the Fed from wandering from the desired rule but it is not clear what Congress could or would do to the Fed if an intentional violation of the policy rule occurred.
Kanawha County Revisited: Reply to Billings and Goldman

Our analysis of the Kanawha County textbook dispute (Page and Clelland) is based on a radical reformulation of the traditional "status politics" framework. We reject the "status anxiety" formulation, emphasizing in its stead the "politics of life style concern." We do not regard our interpretation as anti-Marxian. Rather, we believe that our approach is compatible with revisionist neo-Marxian theories which emphasize the "relative autonomy of culture" (Maduro). We are pleased to be able to clarify our position in response to Billings and Goldman's critique from the left. It is with some trepidation that we restate the main foci of that critique, which we found sufficiently diffuse to defy sure interpretation. We believe that it is fair to summarize Billings and Goldman's criticisms as follows: (1) the textbook dispute is an example of class politics, more specifically, "the mobilization of class-consciousness within one fraction of the working class" (1397); (2) the dispute is, in part, a "defense of Appalachian working-class culture which includes Protestant fundamentalism" (1397); but (3) "the initial symbolism of the textbooks in the protest was neither a consequence of shallow backward looking fundamentalism, nor an abstract defense of life style, but rather part of a quest for class respect, community autonomy, and control over a crucial allocating mechanism of social class" (1396; italics in original). We will reply to these points seriatim. 1. We believe that the textbook dispute is a consequence of a conflict over the reproduction of "ways of life." Contrary to most readings of Weber, we hold that a "way of life" (Lebensfiihrung) is the defining characteristic of a Stand (misleadingly translated as "status group"). A class is a body of people having similar relationships to the means of production. A class aggregate may or may not develop a high degree of class consciousness, just as it may or may not become politically mobilized. Thus a class may develop a distinctive, rather homogeneous way of life. Combining Marx and Weber, we may then say that a Klasse fur sich incorporates the
COSTS AND BENEFITS OF MOSQUITO REFRACTORINESS TO MALARIA PARASITES: IMPLICATIONS FOR GENETIC VARIABILITY OF MOSQUITOES AND GENETIC CONTROL OF MALARIA.

The problem of fitness costs associated with host resistance to parasitism is related to the evolution of parasite virulence, population genetic diversity and the dynamics of host-parasite relationships, and proposed strategies for disease control through the genetic manipulation of mosquito vectors. Two Aedes aegypti populations, refractory and susceptible to Plasmodium gallinaceum, were previously selected from the Moyo-In-Dry strain (MOYO) through inbreeding (F = 0.5). Reproductive success and survivorship of the two populations were compared, and the influence of the parasite on mosquito fitness also was evaluated. Fitness components studied include fecundity, adult survivorship and egg-to-adult developmental time, blood-meal size, and adult body size. The refractory population has a significantly shorter egg-to-adult developmental time and a smaller body size, takes a smaller blood meal, and subsequently lays fewer eggs than the susceptible population. The mean longevity of the refractory population is significantly shorter than the susceptible population. Exposure to the parasite exhibited little effect on the survivorship and fecundity of either population. Several factors may contribute to the lower fitness of the refractory population, including founder effect, inbreeding depression, the effect of other uncharacterized genes linked to genes conferring refractoriness, and pleiotropic effects associated with these genes. The results are discussed in relation to the genetic diversity of natural mosquito populations and their implications for the genetic control of malaria.
Arsenic Speciation and Food Safety in Seafoods

To accurately understand the inorganic arsenic origin in seafoods and scientifically appraise the quality of seafood products,some problems on arsenic chemical and speciation form,background value,inorganic arsenic and determination of arsenic in marine organisms were discussed. References were provided for determination of inorganic arsenic in seafoods.
Diffusion Tensor Imaging and its Application to Schizophrenia and Related Disorders

Publisher Summary White matter in the brain is comprised of densely packed, mostly myelinated axons that interconnect gray matter regions, forming functional circuits, or networks. Its integrity is thus important in providing uninterrupted communication between axonal bodies throughout the brain, and proper function of aforementioned networks. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has become one of the major tools in clinical and experimental neuroscience, and the most important imaging technique to investigate brain white matter in vivo. Schizophrenia, a widely studied but still poorly understood neuropsychiatric disorder, has been characterized as multifocal brain disease, involving abnormal brain connectivity. The idea of quantifying abnormalities within white matter fiber tracts, which subserve anatomical connections between distant as well as proximal brain regions, has thus fueled an interest in DTI studies in schizophrenia, resulting, to date, in more than 70 original peer-reviewed publications. A deeper understanding of white matter anatomy is, nonetheless, essential for understanding further the relationship between the anatomy and function of distributed neuronal systems. Such knowledge is also extremely important for clinical purposes. DTI is based on probing the movement of water molecules within the tissue environment. In brain tissues, the presence of different tissue components restricts Brownian motion. In gray matter, and in some peripheral white matter regions, when averaged over the macroscopic scale of image voxels, the degree of the restriction of water diffusion is similar in every direction, and diffusion is said to be isotropic. Two of the biggest problems in interpreting DTI findings are the lack consistency across studies and the lack of microstructural specificity for the diffusion measures that are employed.
The sensitivity of the regional coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations over the Intra-Americas seas to the prescribed bathymetry

Abstract This study examines the sensitivity of the coupled ocean-atmosphere climate of the Intra-Americas Seas (IAS; which includes the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea) and parts of the western tropical and sub-tropical Atlantic Ocean to the prescribed bathymetry in three independent multi-decadal, high-resolution (15 km grid interval), regional coupled ocean-atmosphere model (RCM) integrations centered over the IAS. All of these RCM integrations with different prescribed bathymetries are forced by identical global atmospheric and oceanic reanalysis at the lateral boundaries. It is observed that the model integration with a smoother and coarser bathymetry in the region (RCM-C) results in more widespread sea surface temperature (SST) bias across the IAS. We also note that the bias displayed by the RCM-C simulation is analogous to the bias in the IAS ocean circulation of some Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 5 (CMIP5) models. The models with an intermediate bathymetry (RCM-I) and finest bathymetry (RCM-F) rectify the bias in ocean transport through the Yucatan Channel relative to RCM-C but display mixed results with respect to SST bias. The RCM-C integration uses a bathymetry with a shallower Yucatan Channel, which tends to produce unrealistically weak flow through the Yucatan Channel and a weak Loop Current. However, the stronger heat transport through the Yucatan Channel in RCM-F results in significant warming of the northwestern tropical Atlantic Ocean and associated weakening of the surface easterly atmospheric winds relative to the other RCM integrations. Due to the weaker surface wind-induced shelf currents, the area comprised of western Gulf of Mexico and southern Caribbean Sea have a severe cold SST bias over the IAS in RCM-F relative to either RCM-I or RCM-C. RCM-I on the other hand significantly warms the western Gulf of Mexico. RCM-I displays the least SST bias over the IAS and the ocean transport through the Yucatan Channel is most comparable to the ocean reanalysis. We contend that RCM-I produces the most accurate simulation as a result of the coupled response to changes in bathymetry that optimizes the response of the modulation of the surface easterlies, which triggers sufficient ocean eddy activity in the western Gulf of Mexico and energizes the shelf currents. However, the uniform cold SST bias in the regional domain of all three simulations is also associated with a corresponding underestimation of the net heat flux into the ocean. The findings of this study clearly suggest that ameliorations of the SST bias in the IAS have their origins both in the atmospheric and oceanic components of the climate system.
Tracking the Development of Aphasia in Primary Progressive Apraxia of Speech: A Tensor-Based Morphometry Study (P4.032)

Objective: To investigate the neuroanatomical correlate of the development of agrammatic aphasia in primary progressive apraxia of speech (PPAOS). Background: Primary progressive apraxia of speech is a neurodegenerative motor speech disorder characterized by isolated apraxia of speech. Over time some PPAOS patients develop agrammatic aphasia, while in others apraxia of speech remains the sole feature. This longitudinal cohort design provides a unique opportunity to study the development of agrammatic aphasia. Methods: Twenty PPAOS patients were recruited into a longitudinal study and underwent detailed speech and language assessments and volumetric MRI at two visits, approximately two years apart. Patients were divided into those that developed aphasia at follow-up versus those that did not. The presence of aphasia was defined as agrammatism in either written or spoken language. Regional patterns of grey matter change over time were assessed using tensor-based morphometry using the Symmetric Normalization algorithm from the ANTS software package, and SPM5. Annualized regional Jacobians were calculated using the automated anatomical labelling atlas. Results: Nine patients (45[percnt]) had developed aphasia at the follow-up visit. The 11 stable PPAOS patients that did not develop aphasia showed greatest rates of atrophy in bilateral supplementary motor area, precentral gyrus and paracentral gyrus. In contrast, the patients that developed aphasia showed greatest rates in precentral gyrus, inferior triangularis, Rolandic operculum, supplementary motor area and subcortical grey matter nuclei, including thalamus and basal ganglia, with greatest changes observed in the left hemisphere. When the two groups were compared directly, the patients that developed aphasia showed significantly greater rates of atrophy in left inferior triangularis, bilateral pallidum and left thalamus, compared to the stable patients. Conclusions: Damage to a network of regions including Broca’s area, thalamus and basal ganglia appears to be responsible for the development of agrammatic aphasia in PPAOS. Study supported by: NIH Disclosure: Dr. Whitwell has nothing to disclose. Dr. Duffy has nothing to disclose. Dr. Strand has nothing to disclose. Dr. Machulda has nothing to disclose. Dr. Clark has nothing to disclose. Dr. Senjem has nothing to disclose. Dr. Spychalla has nothing to disclose. Dr. Jack has received personal compensation for activities with Janssen Research & Development, LLC by providing consulting services. Dr. Jack has received research support from the National Institutes of Health (R01-AG011378, RO1-AG041851, RO1-AG037551. Dr. Josephs has nothing to disclose.
PETS: Performance, energy and thermal aware scheduler for job mapping with resource allocation in heterogeneous systems

Many computing systems today are heterogeneous in that they consist of a mix of different types of processing units (e.g., CPUs, GPUs). Each of these processing units has different performance capabilities and energy consumption characteristics. Job mapping and scheduling play a crucial role in such systems as they strongly affect the overall system performance, energy consumption, peak power and peak temperature. Allocating resources (e.g., core scaling, threads allocation) is another challenge since different sets of resources exhibit different behavior in terms of performance and energy consumption. Many studies have been conducted on job scheduling with an eye on performance improvement. However, few of them consider both performance and energy. We thus propose our approach we call Performance, Energy and Thermal aware Scheduler (PETS) to combine job mapping, core scaling, and threads allocation into one scheduler. We apply an evolutionary algorithm (a Genetic Algorithm — GA) to find an efficient job schedule in terms of both execution time and energy consumption, under peak power and peak temperature constraints. Compared to a performance-based GA and other schedulers, on average, our PETS scheduler can achieve up to a 4.7x of speedup and an energy saving of up to 195%.
The Role of Lipid Rafts in the Assembly and Down-Regulation of the Factor X Activating Complex on the Activated Platelet Membrane.

In a recent study of the role of detergent-insoluble platelet membrane microdomains (lipid rafts) in the assembly of the factor X (FX) activating complex, we have shown, contrary to expectations, that the formation of lipid rafts after incubation of platelets with the thrombin receptor activation peptide (SFLLRN, 25 μM, for 30 min) results in the down-regulation, rather than assembly, of the enzyme-cofactor-substrate complex by sequestering FVIIIa and FX in rafts and separating them from FIXa, which is excluded from raft fractions isolated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation of triton X-100 (0.25%) solubilized platelets. Since the FX-activating complex is assembled rapidly on platelets after incubation with low concentrations of either thrombin (>1 nM) or SFLLRN (25 μM), we have now examined the kinetics of FX-activation complex assembly at early time points after exposure of platelets to agonists. Washed and gel-filtered human platelets, activated with SFLLRN (25 μM) in the presence of FVIIIa (5 U/ml, 1.5 nM) and FX (125 nM) rapidly (within 2 min) developed the capacity to support maximal rates of FIXa (1 nM) catalyzed FX activation that was transient and decayed to baseline within 5 min after exposure to agonist. At these early time points (0.5, 1 and 2 min), platelets activated with SFLLRN (25 μM) in the presence of 125 I-labled FVIIIa (nM), FIXa (nM) or FX (nM) and analyzed by sucrose density gradient centrifugation after solubilization in triton X-100 (0.25%) were shown to sequester within the raft fractions ~15% of FIXa, ~15% of FVIIIa and ~15% of FX, whereas at later time points (5–30 min) only FVIIIa (~25%) and FX (~45%) were localized in rafts, from which FIXa was completely excluded. These results strongly suggest that platelet membrane microdomains (lipid rafts) form rapidly after exposure of platelets to PAR-1 agonists to colocalize the enzyme-cofactor-substrate complex, which is transient since at later time points FIXa dissociates from rafts that sequester the FVIIIa-FX complex to down-regulate FX activation.
Body mass index and mortality in patients with pancreatic cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

e15293 Background: Obesity is associated with increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer (PaC), but it is unclear whether it influences mortality in patients with PaC. We performed a systematic...
Students' versus residency programs' perceptions of a high-quality PGY1 residency applicant.

Abstract Introduction Securing a pharmacy residency position is highly competitive, and pharmacy students must work throughout pharmacy school to ensure their applications are as competitive as possible. Several surveys asking residency programs to describe the most crucial qualities of a high-quality residency candidate have been conducted. However, no study has investigated whether congruency exists between pharmacy students’ and residency programs’ perceptions of these sought-after qualities. Methods We surveyed pharmacy students to compare their perceptions of important qualities of residency candidates for securing an interview and ultimately being ranked by residency programs. The results were compared to results of an identical previously-published survey of residency program directors. Results Student and program perceptions of important qualities of residency candidates were mostly in agreement. Students’ perceptions of qualities considered for final ranking of candidates are similar among pharmacy students in professional years 1–3 (P1-P3). However, P3 students’ perceptions of qualities important for interview invitations are better aligned with residency programs than P1 and P2 students. Discussion Students’ and programs’ perceptions of important qualities for residency candidates were well aligned on most items. However, only students perceived a letter of recommendation from the dean and North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX) scores as an important factor for residency. As the pharmacy curriculum progresses, students’ and residency programs’ perceptions of the most important qualities used to ultimately rank candidates appear to converge; however, perceptions of important characteristics for an interview invitation were consistent over time. Conclusions Overall, perceptions of components of a high-quality residency applicant are congruent between residency programs and students.
The Transtheoretical Model: An Exploratory Look at Its Applicability to Injury Rehabilitation

Context: The transtheoretical model has been widely used in the investigation of how people adapt to new behaviors; however, the literature appears to be lacking documentation of any assessment/s administered to injured athletes to determine their readiness for rehabilitation, which depending on the severity of the injury, could possibly represent a behavior change for that individual. Objective: To validate the application of the transtheoretical model to injury rehabilitation and assess the impact of stages of change on athletes’ adherence and compliance rates. Design: Descriptive correlational. Setting: Large Mid Atlantic Division I institution. Participants: Seventy injured athletes. Main Outcome Measures: Readiness was assessed using the Transtheoretical Model. Adherence was assessed using the percentage of rehabilitation attendance and compliance was assessed using the Sport Injury Rehabilitation Scale. Results: Participants who were advanced in their stages of change generally reported an increase ...
Evaluation of Residual Stone Fragments Following Lithotripsy: Sonography v Radiography

The sensitivity of sonography for the detection of residual renal calculi following lithotripsy was compared with the ability to identify stone fragments using radiography (KUB). Following extracorporeal piezoelectric lithotripsy, patients were evaluated with a 3.5 MHz real-time Diasonics ultrasound unit and the ultrasound monitoring system of the Wolf Piezolith 2300 lithotripter. Ultrasonography was performed independently by a radiologist, and by the urologist who had performed the lithotripsy treatment.
Suitability of CLIGEN precipitation estimates based on an updated database and their impacts on urban runoff: a case study of the Great Lakes Region, USA

Weather generators rely on historical meteorological records to simulate time series of synthetic weather sequences, the quality of which has direct influence on model applications. The climate gen...
Paradoxes and the limits of theorizing about propositional attitudes

Propositions are central to at least most theorizing about the connection between our mental lives and the world: we use them in our theories of an array of attitudes including belief, desire, hope, fear, knowledge, and understanding. Unfortunately, when we press on these theories, we encounter a relatively neglected family of paradoxes first studied by Arthur Prior. I argue that these paradoxes present a fatal problem for most familiar resolutions of paradoxes. In particular, I argue that truth-value gap, contextualist, situation theoretic, revision theoretic, ramified, and dialetheist approaches to the paradoxes must deny us the conceptual resources that they themselves make use of, on pain of contradiction (though contradiction need not be painful for dialetheism). I then detail the costs of the extant strategies that avoid this issue: Hartry Field’s paracomplete approach; Andrew Bacon’s classical treatment of indeterminacy; a generalization of ideas from Prior, Nicholas J.J. Smith, and Hartley Slater; and free logics as recently explored by Bacon, John Hawthorne, and Gabriel Uzquiano. I argue that none of these is perfect, and that each restricts the theories we can endorse in a variety of areas of philosophy. I spell these restrictions out, showing, I hope, that the further investigation of these paradoxes must be a part of future research on propositional attitudes.
Effects of Variable-Retention Treatments on Numbers of Singing Small Passerine Birds in Pacific Northwest Forests

Forest birds are sensitive to habitat change and may be suitable for measuring responses to retention forestry. I present the short-term effects of 6 treatments in a 6 block randomized design experiment on 15 breeding small bird species in mature Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in western Washington and Oregon, 1994–2001. The 13-ha treatment stands contained aggregated (A) green-tree retentions of 100, 75, 40 and 15%, and a dispersed tree distribution pattern (D) of 40 and 15% retention. I compared numbers of entire singing bird territories (abundances) mapped inside sampling plots in post-(2-y x) and pre-treatments (1 y). Species richness significantly declined in both 15% treatments. In the 15%D treatment, significantly lower richness and lower species similarity were less than A treatments with ≥40% retention, and significantly lower species diversity was less than the other treatments. The size of decline of abundances of canopy-associated species (summed members) increased with successively lower tree retention; the cavity-nesting species declined with lower snag retention in treatments ≤40% retention; and there was no response for species associated with understory vegetation, but medians of the percentage change in abundance of understory species were negative in cut treatments. There was no detectable difference in treatment effects between tree distribution cut patterns. Greater amounts of tree retention helped maintain composition and abundance better than less retention, and overall the variety of treatments maintained all species. For maintaining richness, similarity, and diversity, the 15%A and 40%D treatments were transitional between the A treatments ≥40% retention, where these community parameters were maintained, and 15%D, which did not maintain natural diversity or species persistence.
Supramolecular organization of membrane proteins with anisotropic hydrophobic thickness.

Experiments have revealed that membrane proteins often self-assemble into locally ordered clusters. Such membrane protein lattices can play key roles in the functional organization of cell membranes. Membrane protein organization can be driven, at least in part, by bilayer–mediated elastic interactions between membrane proteins. For membrane proteins with anisotropic hydrophobic thickness, bilayer–mediated protein interactions are inherently directional. Here we establish general relations between anisotropy in membrane protein hydrophobic thickness and supramolecular membrane protein organization. We show that protein symmetry is distinctively reflected in the energy landscape of bilayer–mediated protein interactions, favoring characteristic lattice architectures of membrane protein clusters. We find that, in the presence of thermal fluctuations, anisotropy in protein hydrophobic thickness can induce membrane proteins to form mesh-like structures dividing the membrane into compartments. Our results help to elucidate the physical principles and mechanisms underlying the functional organization of cell membranes.
Low antimüllerian hormone (AMH) is associated with decreased live birth after in vitro fertilization when follicle-stimulating hormone and AMH are discordant.

Objective To evaluate which factor, AMH or FSH, was superior in predicting live birth after assisted reproductive technologies (ART) when the tests are discordant, using data from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Clinical Outcomes Reporting System database. Design Retrospective cohort. Setting Clinic-based data. Patient(s) The study population included 44,696 fresh embryo transfer cycles using autologous oocytes. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Live birth (≥22 wk gestation and ≥300 g birth weight). Result(s) Live birth rate per started cycle was lower in patients with low AMH and normal FSH than in patients with normal AMH and elevated FSH (26% vs. 39%). A multivariate analysis was performed on patients with normal FSH and low AMH, and the following factors were independently associated with live birth: AMH, age >40 years, body mass index >30 kg/m2, race African-American or Asian, IVF clinic region West, uterine factor infertility diagnosis, agonist suppression, and FSH dosage. IVF cycle cancellation rate was higher in patients with low AMH and normal FSH (30%). Conclusion(s) AMH is a superior predictor of live birth in patients undergoing IVF when FSH and AMH values are discordant. Lower AMH is independently associated with lower live birth and higher IVF cycle cancellation rates than elevated FSH in patients with discordant values.
Ceramic Packages for Acoustically Coupled Neural Implants

Recently, ultrasound has emerged as an energy modality for powering and communicating with very small implantable devices. In the academic literature, demonstrated ultrasonically-powered devices have been packaged in polymer encapsulants of various types. Traditional polymeric insulation materials such as parylene and silicone are known to crack, delaminate, or allow water vapor diffusion after implantation. Materials such as ceramics and metals, are much more robust to the biological environment and have significantly lower water vapor permeabilities than polymers. Although ceramics and metals are routinely used in medical implants, it remains to be shown whether packages suitable for efficient acoustic energy transfer and backscatter communication are possible. In this work, we present a hybrid ceramic-metal packaging method for the encapsulation of ultrasonic implants intended for neural applications. Alumina packages are joined to platinum electrodes with an active-braze alloy and laser microwelding is used to seal the package cavity. We show acoustic windows can be engineered into the implant, enabling ultrasonic backscatter communication and opening the possibility of chronically implanted, wireless, leadless, and battery-less, neural interfaces.
Design of Photovoltaic Charging Pile for Electric Bicycle Based on New Inverter

In view of the shortcomings of electric bicycle charging infrastructure and the single use of photovoltaic new energy generation, this paper proposes a design scheme of electric bicycle photovoltaic charging pile based on new inverter, and designs a new model that can be applied to photovoltaic charging piles. Using a simplified virtual space vector pulse width modulation inverter control scheme suitable for photovoltaic charging piles not only effectively solves the problem of midpoint voltage imbalance, but also successfully simplifies the implementation of virtual space vector modulation (NTV2) to save the main control resources.
Inverse Agonism of Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 Confers Anti-inflammatory and Neuroprotective Effects Following Status Epileptics

Prolonged status epilepticus (SE) in humans causes high mortality and brain inflammation–associated neuronal injury and morbidity in survivors. Currently, the only effective treatment is to terminate the seizures swiftly to prevent brain damage. However, reliance on acute therapies alone would be imprudent due to the required short response time. Follow-on therapies that can be delivered well after the SE onset are in an urgent need. Cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2), a G protein-coupled receptor that can be expressed by activated brain microglia, has emerged as an appealing anti-inflammatory target for brain conditions. In the current study, we reported that the CB2 inverse agonism by our current lead compound SMM-189 largely prevented the rat primary microglia–mediated inflammation and showed moderate neuroprotection against N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor–mediated excitotoxicity in rat primary hippocampal cultures containing both neurons and glia. Using a classical mouse model of epilepsy, in which SE was induced by systemic administration of kainate (30 mg/kg, i.p.) and proceeded for 1 h, we demonstrated that SE downregulated the CB1 but slightly upregulated CB2 receptor in the hippocampus. Transient treatment with SMM-189 (6 mg/kg, i.p., b.i.d.) after the SE was interrupted by diazepam (10 mg/kg, i.p.) prevented the seizure-induced cytokine surge in the brain, neuronal death, and behavioral impairments 24 h after SE. Our results suggest that CB2 inverse agonism might provide an adjunctive anti-inflammatory therapy that can be delivered hours after SE onset, together with NMDA receptor blockers and first-line anti-convulsants, to reduce brain injury and functional deficits following prolonged seizures.
A novel path towards synthesis of nitrogen-rich porous carbon nanofibers for high performance supercapacitors

Abstract A facile and efficient nitrogen doping strategy is proposed to improve the nitrogen content, increase surface area, and tune the configuration of nitrogen-related defects in the carbon nanostructures for application as supercapacitors. To this end, carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were fabricated via pyrolysis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers with sacrificial polymers (PMMA). By lowering the interfacial tension between PAN and PMMA in DMF with the aid of surfactants, the size of the sacrificial PMMA islands in the continuous PAN phase was significantly reduced, promoting the formation of pores and increase the specific surface area (SSA) of the host CNF during pyrolysis. The synthesis of N-doped CNF with a controlled N-bonding structure was achieved by pyrolysis of precursor on Ni surface in the presence of melamine as a nitrogen source. We showed that the concentration and configuration of N-related defects in CNFs can be respectively enhanced and controlled by absorption of the oxygen-containing sites onto a metallic substrate. Furthermore, the surface area was also increased by absorbing oxygen on the Ni surface. The synthesized porous nitrogen-rich CNFs as a binder-free and free-standing electrode for supercapacitors demonstrated remarkable electrochemical capacitance, superb rate capability, and possessed excellent long-term stability over 10,000 cycles (capacitance retention of 94%).
Grand-Canonical Ensemble, Statistical Fluctuations, and Sample Problems

The material presented in this lecture is adapted from Chapter 3 in McQuarrie. First, we will discuss the grand canonical ensemble, where the variables V, T, and μ are fixed. After defining the grand canonical partition function, we will derive expressions for the grand canonical ensemble-averaged energy, pressure, and number of molecules. Second, we will show that the grand potential, -PV, is the generator of the grand canonical partition function. Third, we will discuss statistical fluctuations (or, in short, fluctuations) using concepts from probability theory. Specifically, we will calculate the standard deviations of the energy and number of molecules around their average or mean values. Fourth, we will solve Sample Problem 44.1 to calculate the relative spread in the energy of a one-component ideal gas. Fifth, we will solve Sample Problem 44.2 to show that the distribution of the energies of the system is Gaussian and centered around the average energy, including calculating the spread of the distribution. We will see that in the thermodynamic limit (N >> 1), the fluctuations in the energy tend to zero, and the Gaussian distribution reduces to a delta function. Sixth, we will solve Sample Problem 44.3 to calculate the relative spread of the Gaussian distribution of the number of molecules for a one-component ideal gas. Finally, we will show that in the thermodynamic limit (N >> 1), the micro-canonical, canonical, and grand canonical ensembles are all equivalent, including predicting the same thermodynamic properties, which correspond to those that are observed experimentally.
Abortion vs. Sexual Assault: People's Perceptions of Kavanaugh's Nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States.

Public reaction to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States initially centered around abortion. However, approximately two months after the nomination, sexual assault ...
Implementing and optimizing real-time Java

The Real-time Java Experts Group has defined the real-time specification for Java (RTSJ), which provides the following capabilities: (1) new memory management models that can be used in lieu of garbage collection, (2) access to raw physical memory. (3) a higher resolution time granularity suitable for real-time systems, and (4) stronger guarantees on thread semantics when compared to regular Java, i.e., the most eligible runnable thread is always run.
The Spending-Service Connection

This research tests the relationship between state and local spending for health and hospitals, a set of health service measures, and three final policy outcomes—low birthweight infants, infant mortality, and child deaths. The analysis includes several proxies for service demand—state resources, percentage of single-teen births, and percentage of the population without health insurance. The multiple regression equations also incorporate a measure of federal spending on health and an indicator of state spending for Medicaid. This first stage of the analysis can account for only a limited amount of variation in per capita state and local health and hospital spending. Health expenditures, however, are prominently related to health workers per 10,000 population, while hospital spending buys hospital beds. The final step in the analysis uses path models. The results show that neither spending nor the intermediate-level health outputs (including a measure of prenatal care) are significantly related to the final three outcome variables. Single-teen births is the dominant influence in the final equations.
Stability of model VPO catalysts for maleic anhydride synthesis

Abstract The stability of β-VOPO4 and (VO)2P2O7 under conditions of n-butane and 1-butene oxidation was investigated using the complementary techniques of in situ laser Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Both β-VOPO4 and (VO)2P2O7 demonstrated bulk structural integrity during n-butane oxidation. The relatively greater reducing capacity of 1-butene, however, induced a transformation of β-VOPO4 to (VO)2P2O7. The presence of V(V) and V(IV) in used β-VOPO4 and (VO)2P2O7 was detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for both hydrocarbon oxidation conditions.
Collaborative Examination Item Review Process in a Team-Taught, Self-Care Sequence.

Objective. To improve examination item quality by educating and involving course instructors in evidence-based item review and encouraging use of this process in future courses.Methods. A peer-review process was implemented in a 2-course sequence (intervention) that involved training and review sessions before each examination and was compared to the previous year’s courses (control). Instructors completed a presurvey and postsurvey on training, experience, self-confidence, and self-rated success in multiple-choice item writing. Statistics were calculated for all items in the control and intervention sequences and compared using independent t tests. Items also were classified into levels based on difficulty and discrimination, and distribution into these levels was compared between sequences with independent t tests.Results. No significant difference was found between control and intervention sequence items with regard to mean difficulty (86.3% and 84.4%) or discrimination (0.23- and 0.25), respectively, ...
Cyclic nucleotide gated channels.

Abstract Recent studies have revealed that cyclic nucleotide gated channels have a variety of forms and functions. These channels are now thought to be heteromultimers of at least two kinds of subunits and to undergo functional modulation. Ion permeation involves at least two ion-binding sites, and recent work on the α subunit suggests that many structural regions are involved in the control of channel gating. The continued use of both molecular and physiological approaches promises to further our understanding of how these channels work and how they are involved in cellular function.