cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reactive near-field multiplexing and reliable diversity communication method

A previously unrecognized dimension for wireless communication channel multiplexing is presented and the associated new multiplexing technique is introduced. The electric and magnetic field components of an electromagnetic wave are utilized as separate channels in the near-field range of a transmitting array comprising a crossed pair of electric and magnetic dipoles. Unlike in traditional multiplexing approaches for MIMO communications, a multiplexing gain can be obtained in free space in the absence of scattering. The maximum channel capacity of a 2×2 system that utilizes the proposed multiplexing scheme is higher than twice the capacity of a single-channel system using the same total transmit power. When the electric-and magnetic-type antennas are used for a single data stream in a diversity method, the resulting communication system features a robust wireless link.
Increased chemotactic migration and growth in heparanase-overexpressing human U251n glioma cells

Heparanase is an endoglycosidase that degrades heparan sulfate, the main polysaccharide constituent of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and basement membrane. Expression of the heparanase gene is associated with the invasion and metastatic potential of a variety of tumor-derived cell types. However, the roles of heparanase in the regulation of gene expression and the subsequent cell function changes other than invasion are not clear. In the current study, we overexpressed the human heparanase gene in a human U251n glioma cell line. We found that heparanase-overexpression significantly increased cell invasion, proliferation, anchorage-independent colony formation and chemotactic migration towards fetal bovine serum (FBS)-supplied medium and stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1). These phenotypic appearances were accompanied by enhanced protein kinase B (AKT) phosphorylation. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1) signaling were not altered by heparanase-overexpression. These results indicate that heparanase has pleiotropic effects on tumor cells.
Miniature elliptical substrate lenses for millimeter-wave imaging

The use of an array of miniaturized elliptical substrate lenses or mini-lenses, combined with an array of printed antennas, is proposed for plasma imaging applications. Compared with its predecessor, the large hyper hemispherical lens, the new configuration demonstrates reduced sidelobe levels, minimal off-axis aberrations, increased RF bandwidth, and enhanced local oscillator coupling with substrate side LO illumination.
Evolutionary relationships among ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria.

Comparative 16S rRNA sequencing was used to evaluate phylogenetic relationships among selected strains of ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria. All characterized strains were shown to be affiliated with the proteobacteria. The study extended recent 16S rRNA-based studies of phylogenetic diversity among nitrifiers by the comparison of eight strains of the genus Nitrobacter and representatives of the genera Nitrospira and Nitrospina. The later genera were shown to be affiliated with the delta subdivision of the proteobacteria but did not share a specific relationship to each other or to other members of the delta subdivision. All characterized Nitrobacter strains constituted a closely related assemblage within the alpha subdivision of the proteobacteria. As previously observed, all ammonia-oxidizing genera except Nitrosococcus oceanus constitute a monophyletic assemblage within the beta subdivision of the proteobacteria. Errors in the 16S rRNA sequences for two strains previously deposited in the databases by other investigators (Nitrosolobus multiformis C-71 and Nitrospira briensis C-128) were corrected. Consideration of physiology and phylogenetic distribution suggested that nitrite-oxidizing bacteria of the alpha and gamma subdivisions are derived from immediate photosynthetic ancestry. Each nitrifier retains the general structural features of the specific ancestor9s photosynthetic membrane complex. Thus, the nitrifiers, as a group, apparently are not derived from an ancestral nitrifying phenotype.
The ubiquity of phenotypic plasticity in plants: a synthesis.

Adaptation to heterogeneous environments can occur via phenotypic plasticity, but how often this occurs is unknown. Reciprocal transplant studies provide a rich dataset to address this issue in plant populations because they allow for a determination of the prevalence of plastic versus canalized responses. From 31 reciprocal transplant studies, we quantified the frequency of five possible evolutionary patterns: (1) canalized response–no differentiation: no plasticity, the mean phenotypes of the populations are not different; (2) canalized response–population differentiation: no plasticity, the mean phenotypes of the populations are different; (3) perfect adaptive plasticity: plastic responses with similar reaction norms between populations; (4) adaptive plasticity: plastic responses with parallel, but not congruent reaction norms between populations; and (5) nonadaptive plasticity: plastic responses with differences in the slope of the reaction norms. The analysis included 362 records: 50.8% life-history traits, 43.6% morphological traits, and 5.5% physiological traits. Across all traits, 52% of the trait records were not plastic, and either showed no difference in means across sites (17%) or differed among sites (83%). Among the 48% of trait records that showed some sort of plasticity, 49.4% showed perfect adaptive plasticity, 19.5% adaptive plasticity, and 31% nonadaptive plasticity. These results suggest that canalized responses are more common than adaptive plasticity as an evolutionary response to environmental heterogeneity.
Fission yeast TORC1 regulates phosphorylation of ribosomal S6 proteins in response to nutrients and its activity is inhibited by rapamycin

Cellular activities are regulated by environmental stimuli through protein phosphorylation. Target of rapamycin (TOR), a serine/threonine kinase, plays pivotal roles in cell proliferation and cell growth in response to nutrient status. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, TORC1, which contains Tor2, plays crucial roles in nutrient response. Here we find a nitrogen-regulated phosphoprotein, p27, in S. pombe using the phospho-Akt substrate antibody. Response of p27 phosphorylation to nitrogen availability is mediated by TORC1 and the TSC-Rhb1 signaling, but not by TORC2 or other nutrient stress-related pathways. Database and biochemical analyses indicate that p27 is identical to ribosomal protein S6 (Rps6). Ser235 and Ser236 in Rps6 are necessary for Rps6 phosphorylation by TORC1. These Rps6 phosphorylations are dispensable for cell viability. Rps6 phosphorylation by TORC1 also responds to availability of glucose and is inhibited by osmotic and oxidative stresses. Rapamycin inhibits the ability of TORC1 to phosphorylate Rps6, owing to interaction of the rapamycin-FKBP12 complex with the FRB domain in Tor2. Rapamycin also leads to a decrease in cell size in a TORC1-dependent manner. Our findings demonstrate that the nutrient-responsive and rapamycin-sensitive TORC1-S6 signaling exists in S. pombe, and that this pathway plays a role in cell size control.
ANALYSIS OF HEAT TRANSFER DURING MELTING OF A PURE METAL FROM AN ISOTHERMAL VERTICAL WALL

A computational methodology is presented for the problem of melting of a pure metal from an isothermal vertical wall. The governing conservation equations of mass, momentum, and energy are solved with a control volume-based discretization scheme adapted for irregular geometries. The moving boundary is immobilized by employing the quasi-steady assumption with an algebraically generated nonorthogonal grid. All terms in the governing equations arising from the nonorthogonatity of the computational grid are retained in the solution algorithm. The model is validated by comparison with available experimental data for the effect of natural convection on melting heat transfer in a pure metal system. The influence of Rayleigh number on velocity and temperature fields is investigated, and sample results are presented for overall heat transfer and melting rate. The predictions indicate that buoyancy-induced fluid motion may have a less dominant role in energy transport in the transition to quasi-steady melting in th...
Discriminative Training for Hierarchical Clustering in Speaker Diarization

In this paper, we propose a discriminative extension to agglomerative hierarchical clustering, a typical technique for speaker diarization, that fits seamlessly with most state-of-the art diarization algorithms. We propose to use maximum mutual information using bootstrapping i.e., initial predictions are used as input for retraining of models in an unsupervised fashion. This article describes this new approach, analyzes its behavior, and presents results on the official NIST Rich Transcription datasets. We show an absolute improvement of 4% DER with respect to the generative approach baseline. We also observe a strong correlation between the original error and the amount of improvement, that is, the better our predicted labels are, the more gain we obtain from discriminative training, which we interpret as a strong indication for the high potential of the extension.
Reply to ''Comments on 'A Global Analysis of Sverdrup Balance Using Absolute Geostrophic Velocities from Argo'''

AbstractThis response addresses the three comments by A. Polonsky on “A Global Analysis of Sverdrup Balance Using Absolute Geostrophic Velocities from Argo.”
A review of the use of likelihood ratios in the chiropractic literature

Objective The objective of this review is to determine how frequently likelihood ratios (LRs) have been used or described in the chiropractic literature and to depict their appropriate use in the clinical setting.
Composing a Research Dialogue: University and School Research Communities Encountering a Cultural Shift.

The educational research culture is shifting, and school-based as well as university-based researchers are uncertain about their changing roles, relationships and discourses. More teachers are conducting action research, more university researchers are collaborating with teacher researchers, some university researchers are becoming teacher researchers. Professional organizations are receiving and accepting more action conference proposals. There are electronic networks of teacher researchers. Research journals encourage the submission of manuscripts written by teachers. The AA. invite everyone into a dialogue about that cultural shift
A Proposal for Federal Legislation to Address Health Insurance Coverage for Experimental and Investigational Treatments

Health insurance coverage for experimental treatments has generated significant debate and frequent litigation in recent years. In many cases, denials of coverage for investigational therapies constitute economically and ethically sound policy. This article argues, however, that health insurance providers should be required to cover experimental treatments in limited circumstances, namely, when they are administered in phase III clinical trials to patients with terminal illnesses who are likely to die within two years. This coverage mandate would help the sickest patients, who have no other treatment options, and would benefit medical researchers, who often face a dearth of patients willing to enroll in clinical trials. The author recommends that the coverage requirement be included in federal law, perhaps as an amendment to HIPAA. In addition, federal law should mandate health insurance reimbursement for off-label drug use so long as the particular use is recognized in a standard reference compendia or in a national, peer-reviewed professional journal. Finally, the article argues that the proposed federal legislation should require insurers to provide independent, expert reviews of any decisions to deny a terminally ill patient coverage for off-label drug use or experimental treatment administered in a Phase III clinical trial. Such reviews would eliminate much litigation and avoid emotionally draining and costly delays for patients desperately waiting for decisions regarding potentially life-saving therapy.
The Proxy Effect: Gender and Gambling Problem Trajectories of Iowa Gambling Treatment Program Participants

Recent research has found that men and women who end up in gambling treatment tend to follow different trajectories to that endpoint: women generally begin gambling later in life, but progress to problems and seek treatment more quickly. With women’s prevalence rates of gambling and disordered gambling increasing, it has become important to identify the causes and consequences of these trajectory differences. The current study used a sample of 2,256 gamblers enrolled in the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program to examine the relationship of gender and other demographic, economic and health-related (i.e., psychosocial) factors to empirically-identified gambling problem trajectories. The results indicated that gender made a statistically significant contribution to the prediction of trajectory, but increased predictive accuracy by only 1–2% beyond a model with psychosocial predictors. Gender’s contribution was limited to its relationship to age of initiation; men and women’s problem progression did not differ meaningfully once age of gambling initiation was taken into account. Gender is a unique contributor to the development of gambling problems among treatment seekers, but it is only one small part of the myriad psychosocial characteristics that influence gambling problem development.
Positron emission tomography/computed tomography: the current technology and applications

Positron emission tomography (PET) and combined PET/CT provide powerful metabolic and anatomical information together in a single exam. This article reviews the fundamentals of PET physics, the state of the art and future directions in PET technology, and the current clinical applications of PET. The latter is quite diverse and includes oncology, cardiology, neurology, and infection and inflammation imaging, all with FDG as the tracer. Additionally, novel radiopharmeuticals are under development, many of which are target cellular processes that are more specific than glucose metabolism.
How far can TMS coils be optimized? A partial resolution.

components are thereby minimized which reduces accumulation of electrostatic charge on the brain surface. Such charge accumulation has been shown [2,6e8] to significantly impede and reduce the coil depth penetration. c) Optimal and effective summation in depth requires that coil elements in the base are dispersed rather than forming a dense organization. They may be organized in several groups or may be sparsely organized over the base. The various elements should induce a summation of the electric field in the target deep brain region that will create there a sufficiently high electric field intensity which at the same time is a high percentage of the maximal field (generally located at the brain surface). d) Coil elements carrying “return” current paths (currents in a direction opposite to the “forward” currents) positioned away from the base, either adjacent to other head regions or remote from the head. It should be noted that practically all the coil types discussed in the review as having significant depth penetration share most or all of the above features. More than twenty different versions of H-coils that have been designed and manufactured based on these design principles [5] are being used in several dozens of clinical trials around the
Amino Silane, Vinyl Silane, TESPD, ZS(TESPD/Zinc Complex) Effects on Carbon Black/Clay Filled Chlorobutyl Rubber(CIIR) Compounds Part II: Effects on Soft Clay/Carbon Black Filled Compounds

Various silanes, amino silane, vinyl silane, TESPD, and ZS (TESPD/zinc soap complex), are added into chlorinated isobutylene-isoprene copolymer (CIIR)/soft clay/carbon black (CB). The vulcanization characteristics, the processability, and the mechanical properties are measured. In soft clay/CB filled CIIR system, there are no significant changes in Mooney viscosity among compounds. Vinyl silane added compound shows a low extrusion torque. All the silane added compounds shows an increased modulus. The mechanical properties are significantly increased when the S2 is added into CIIR/soft clay/CB compounds.
Bring Back the State

As the global financial crisis emanating from the United States shuts down world markets, can globalization survive? Will the resurgent intrusion of the state—and thus politics—into the market lead to protectionism and collapse, as was the case in the early 20th century? Or will the new interconnectivity of climate change and mutual economic dependence—especially between China and the US—deepen global links? The former mayor of Shanghai, legendary Nobel economist Paul Samuelson and Third Way guru Anthony Giddens ponder those questions in this section.
A Disaggregate Approach to Aggregate Supply

Analyses of aggregate supply response in low-income countries are practically nonexistent because of the index number problems and the difficulty of accounting for the effect of weather inherent in aggregate approaches. The disaggregate model presented here includes variables measuring weather, external capital inputs and technology, as well as crop and input prices, in individual crop supply functions. A technique for combining the direct and cross elasticities into a single aggregate elasticity is given, and the results obtained using the technique are outlined.
Time and space in general models of antipredator response: tests with wolves and elk

Considerable research has tested two axioms about antipredator behaviour: prey may respond to temporal variation in risk (the risky times hypothesis) or to spatial variation in risk (the risky places hypothesis). The risk allocation hypothesis extends the risky times hypothesis, noting that the context into which a period of risk or safety is imbedded should affect the level of response, and predicting that vigilance should be greatest during a brief pulse of risk and lowest during a brief pulse of safety. We tested these models using natural variation in true predation risk, by observing elk, Cervus elaphus, in the presence or absence of wolves, Canis lupus, on three sites in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, over 4 winters. Elk were exposed to wolves frequently in the Northern Range, intermittently in the Gallatin Canyon, and never in the Elkhorn Mountains. We used GLM to control the effects of herd size and composition while testing for responses of vigilance to daily wolf presence (temporal variation) and to site-specific, background levels of risk (spatial variation). The data gave strong support to the risk allocation hypothesis and equivocal support to the risky times hypothesis, and did not support the risky places hypothesis. Contrary to the risky places hypothesis but as predicted by risk allocation, Gallatin elk were more vigilant than Northern Range elk despite lower background risk in the Gallatin Canyon. The contradictory predictions of the risk allocation and risky places hypotheses have important ramifications for research on the ecological consequences of antipredator behaviour.
‘Death Solves All Problems’: The Authoritarian Model of Counterinsurgency

ABSTRACTAuthoritarian states are often surprisingly successful counterinsurgents. In particular, authoritarians often repress on a vast scale and inhibit insurgent organization, transfer populations, have excellent intelligence penetration, and can counter war weariness in ways not available to democracies. Authoritarians, however, come to counterinsurgency with many disadvantages. They cannot rely on many of their conscripts. Corruption creates numerous problems, and authoritarian system often inhibits learning. Similarly, the politicized command structure often produces poor officers and discourages initiative. The repression they use often makes future unrest more likely. Finally, authoritarian regimes may find it harder to cut peace deals and win over pro-insurgent populations.
Lagrangian and Tracer Evolution in the Vicinity of an Unstable Jet

The dynamics of Lagrangian particles and tracers in the vicinity of a baroclinically unstable zonal jet are investigated in a simple two-layer model with an initially quiescent lower layer. The presence of a growing wave induces a particle drift dominated by Stokes drift rather then the contribution of the wave to the mean Eulerian velocity. Stable and unstable waves have zonal Stokes drift with similar meridional structure while only unstable waves possess meridional drift, which is in the direction of increasing meridional wave displacement. Particle dispersion in the upper layer is maximum at critical lines, where the jet and phase speeds are equal. In the lower layer, dispersion is maximum where the wave amplitude is maximum. Zonal mean tracer evolution is formulated as an advection‐diffusion equation with an order Rossby number advection and an orderone eddy diffusion. The latter is proportional to two-particle dispersion. Finite amplitude simulations of the flow reveal that small amplitude theory has predictive value beyond the range for which it is strictly valid. Mixing (as opposed to stirring) is maximum near cat’s-eye-like recirculation regions at the critical lines. In the lower layer the pattern of convergence and divergence of the flow locally increases tracer gradients, resulting in stirring yet with a much slower mixing rate than in the upper layer. Meridional eddy diffusion (or particle dispersion) alone is not sufficient for prediction of mixing intensity. Rotation, which is quantified by the cross-correlation of meridional and zonal displacements, must also be present for mixing. These results are consistent with observations of tracer and floats in the vicinity of the Gulf Stream.
Using Enhanced Econometric Techniques to Verify the Service Life of Asset Interventions: A Case Study for Indiana

In the current era, the highway environment is characterized by funding limitations, aging facilities, and increasing user expectations. In light of these trends, asset managers at most highway agencies have a fiduciary responsibility to apply management strategies and practices that not only are most cost-effective in a life-cycle context but also are in the best interests of taxpayers and highway users. To identify and implement effective rehabilitation strategies and practices, highway agencies need to verify information that was typically based on expert opinion, with reliable asset performance prediction tools and treatment service life estimates. This study provides an enhanced methodology to analyze pavement rehabilitation data and to develop estimates and ranges of treatment service lives. Pavement rehabilitation data typically consist of repeated measurements that form an unbalanced three-level nested structure, making analysis quite challenging. In this study, mixed linear modeling techniques ar...
The Cultural Work of Anticommunism in the San Diego Vietnamese American Community

This paper examines community and identity formation among first-generation Vietnamese Americans in San Diego in relation to discourses and practices around anticommunism. I offer an ethnographic analysis of the community events, programs, and announcements of a first-generation Vietnamese American community organization in San Diego in order to understand how individuals within the organization construct a cong dong (community) around the discourse of anticommunism.
Initial Suppression of Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling and Loss of TGFBI Causes Early Alveolar Structural Defects Resulting in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

Septation of the gas-exchange saccules of the morphologically immature mouse lung requires regulated timing, spatial direction, and dosage of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling. We found that neonatal hyperoxia acutely initially diminished saccular TGF-β signaling coincident with alveolar simplification. However, sustained hyperoxia resulted in a biphasic response and subsequent up-regulation of TGF-β signaling, ultimately resulting in bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Significantly, we found that the TGF-β–induced matricellular protein (TGFBI) was similarly biphasically altered in response to hyperoxia. Moreover, genetic ablation revealed that TGFBI was required for normal alveolar structure and function. Although the phenotype was not neonatal lethal, Tgfbi -deficient lungs were morphologically abnormal. Mutant septal tips were stunted, lacked elastin-positive tips, exhibited reduced proliferation, and contained abnormally persistent alveolar α-smooth muscle actin myofibroblasts. In addition, Tgfbi -deficient lungs misexpressed TGF-β–responsive follistatin and serpine 1, and transiently suppressed myofibroblast platelet-derived growth factor α differentiation marker. Finally, despite normal lung volume, Tgfbi -null lungs displayed diminished elastic recoil and gas exchange efficiency. Combined, these data demonstrate that initial suppression of the TGF-β signaling apparatus, as well as loss of key TGF-β effectors (like TGFBI), underlies early alveolar structural defects, as well as long-lasting functional deficits routinely observed in chronic lung disease of infancy patients. These studies underline the complex (and often contradictory) role of TGF-β and indicate a need to design studies to associate alterations with initial appearance of phenotypical changes suggestive of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
Contact Toxicity of Insecticides Applied to Cottonwood Leaf Beetle

Twenty-one insecticides were tested on adults and 7 of the 21 were tested on 3rd and 4th instars of Chrysomela scripla F. In tests with adults, the decreasing order of toxicity at LD90 was: chlorpyrifos, resmethrin, phoxim, diazinon, mexacarbate, aminocarb, dimethoate, fenitrothion, Dowco 217 (dimethyl 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyl phosphate), trichlorfon, Landrin® (3,4,5-trimethyl-phenyl methylcarbamate 93%; 2,3,5-trimethyl-phenyl methylcarbamate 7%)-carbaryl, lauroyl-trichlorfon (N-dodecanoyltrichlorfon), propoxur, methomyl, pyrethrins, carbofuran, tetrachlorvinphos, naled, malathion, and DDT. Chlorpyrifos and resmethrin were both over 240 times more toxic than DDT. Phoxim and diazinon were over 130 times more toxic than DDT; the other candidate insecticides ranged from 2–61 times more toxic than DDT. In tests with larvae, the decreasing order of toxicity at LD90 was: mexacarbate, resmethrin, chlorpyrifos, phoxim, propoxur, diazinon, and DDT. Toxicity to adults and larvae was generally similar. However, mexacarbate was significantly more toxic to the larvae than to the adults at both LD50 and LD90.
TEMPERATURE, EGG MASS, AND INCUBATION TIME: A COMPARISON OF BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS AND RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS

Eggs of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) often hatch be- fore those of its hosts. I artificially incubated the eggs of the cowbird and the taxonomically related but nonparasitic Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) to determine if cowbird eggs have unique adaptations. To determine if cowbirds have a wider tolerance of acceptable incubation temperatures, the eggs from both species were incubated at 35, 38, and 40?C. Neither species' eggs hatched at 35 or 40?C, whereas 24 out of 42 cowbird eggs and 19 out of 36 redwing eggs hatched at 38?C. When corrected for differences in mass, cowbird and redwing eggs hatched 10 and 15%, sooner than expected, respectively, suggesting that cow- birds do not have an accelerated rate of embryonic development. Cowbirds may be adapted to lay smaller eggs that generally hatch sooner. Using values obtained from allometric equa- tions that relate body mass and egg mass, cowbird and redwing eggs were 25 and 4% small- er, respectively, than expected. For cowbirds, there was no correlation between egg mass and length of incubation period, whereas there was a positive (but not significant) correlation for redwings. Additional cowbird eggs were incubated at 36 and 39'C to determine the effect on the length of the incubation period. The incubation periods of individual cowbird eggs ranged from 10.49 to 14.04 days at 39 and 36?C, respectively, whereas eggs incubated at 38'C had a mean incubation period of 11.61 days (n = 24), suggesting that cowbirds can tolerate some variation in incubation temperature and indicating a strong temperature effect. I found evidence that internal egg temperature varies with clutch composition. This may partially explain the variation in cowbird incubation periods and why cowbird eggs often hatch before
Case Management Models in Permanent Supported Housing Programs for People With Complex Behavioral Issues Who Are Homeless

ABSTRACTObjective: The purpose of this article is to examine two evidence-based models of case management for people with co-occurring disorders and histories of chronic homelessness and to better understand their roles in permanent supported housing. Critical Time Intervention and Assertive Community Treatment are examined in terms of key elements, how they assist in ending homelessness, as well as the role they play in an individual's recovery from co-occurring disorders. Methods: Participants in two supported housing programs were interviewed at baseline and 6 months. One program used Critical Time Intervention (n = 144) and the other used Assertive Community Treatment (n = 90). Staff in both programs were interviewed about their experiences and fidelity assessments were conducted for each program. Results: Both programs operated at high levels of fidelity. Despite similar criteria for participation, there were significant differences between groups. Critical Time Intervention participants were older, ...
Studies on the theory of two-step-filling of indica rice cultivars (Oryza sativa)

This paper focused to study the filling theory on two-step-filling(TSF).The results showed that the TSF performed not only in hybrids but also in conventional varieties and this performance was operated by the processes of simultaneous step up filling(SSUF) and differential step up filling(DSUF) in vigor spikelets(VSs) and weak spikelets(WSs);the TSF would not be demonstrated clearly under the stronger SSUF without DSUF or with weaker DSUF,while the TSF would express very clearly under the opposite case.The strong SSUF associated with the earlier and faster grain filling and much more repartition so that it is helpful to improve grain plumpness and seed setting rate.This paper has given a proposed model on accumulation of photoproducts in spikelets.For the photosynthetic accumulations,the much stronger SSUF with the absence of the process of DSUF is the best character,the strong SSUF with effective DSUF is better one,but the weak SSUF with weaker DSUF or with worse DSUF should be avoided for the cultivation practices and the breeding programme.
Grand Strategy Transformed: 9/11 and the Birth of Crusading Realism

My interest in the Bush Doctrine had a single inspiration: the smoking twin towers. The event was a catalyst that created the single most important shift in American national security strategy in 50 years by returning us to our revolutionary war roots. The purpose of my research is to explain and illustrate this shift in what many have labeled the Bush Doctrine. There have been many books and articles on the Bush Doctrine, but none that make the argument herein. I argue that the Bush Doctrine, and thus Crusading Realism, returns the United States to the very cornerstone of American values, the ideas of the Declaration of Independence and natural law. In other words, the natural law arguments of the eighteenth century are reborn in twenty-first-century America caused by Islamic extremism, the threat of WMD, and the presence of rogue regimes—the toxic nexus.
Variances in perceptions of interdisciplinary collaboration by hospice staff.

/ Ce projet de recherche de nature descriptive voulait connaitre, a l'aide de l'Index modifie de collaboration interdisciplinaire, comment 95 employes de toutes disciplines travaillant dans cinq institutions de soins palliatifs differentes percevaient la notion de collaboration interdisciplinaire. Plus specifiquement, les questions qui leur ont ete soumises etaient les suivantes: 1) Y a-t-il des divergences entre les differentes institutions de soins palliatifs quant a la facon dont on percoit la collaboration? 2) Y a-t-il des divergences entre le personnel des differentes disciplines quant a la facon dont on percoit la collaboration a l'interieur de chaque institution et entre chacune d'elles? On a note des differences significatives chez les differentes equipes de soins quant a la facon dont on percoit la collaboration entre equipes. Par contre aucune difference n'a ete etablie entre les soignants de diverses disciplines. Cette etude en vient a la conclusion qu'il est important de connaitre comment on percoit la collaboration, vu l'importance qu'on lui accorde dans les soins palliatifs et d'autant plus que cette echelle de mesure est un excellent outil pour ce faire.
Optimization and stabilization of trajectories for constrained dynamical systems

Contact constraints, such as those between a foot and the ground or a hand and an object, are inherent in many robotic tasks. These constraints define a manifold of feasible states; while well understood mathematically, they pose numerical challenges to many algorithms for planning and controlling whole-body dynamic motions. In this paper, we present an approach to the synthesis and stabilization of complex trajectories for both fully-actuated and underactuated robots subject to contact constraints. We introduce a trajectory optimization algorithm (DIRCON) that extends the direct collocation method, naturally incorporating manifold constraints to produce a nominal trajectory with third-order integration accuracy—a critical feature for achieving reliable tracking control. We adapt the classical time-varying linear quadratic regulator to produce a local cost-to-go in the manifold tangent plane. Finally, we descend the cost-to-go using a quadratic program that incorporates unilateral friction and torque constraints. This approach is demonstrated on three complex walking and climbing locomotion examples in simulation.
Abstract 582: Cardiac Fibroblast Bridges Conduct Electrical Signals between Myocyte Islands.

In this study, the electrophysiological properties of fibroblasts cocultured with cardiomyocytes were characterized using a novel cell micropatterning system. In the infarct area of a heart, the cardiac fibroblasts are known to increase collagen deposition leading to fibrosis. The fibrous tissue acts as an insulator in the damaged area and thus modulates local electrical signal conduction. This is fibroblast’s “passive role” in myocardium signal conduction. However, studies have shown that when placed in physical contact with viable myocytes, fibroblasts can form functional gap junctions and conduct electrical signal. This coupling phenomenon has been suggested as playing a role in re-entrant arrhythmias that occur in the infarct to healthy tissue border zone but there is still little known about the actual involvement fibroblasts have in the heart’s electrical communication. Our interest is in designing an in vitro model using cell micropatterning to study and characterize the electrophysiological properties of fibroblasts cocultured with myocytes. In this study we evaluate the hypothesis that fibroblast will conduct electrical signal between myocytes but this conduction will be restricted by the number of fibroblast involved. A combination of photolithography and laser micropatterning is used to achieve cell micropatterning. Polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) stencils, created by photolithography, are used to form the myocyte islands and laser micropatterning is used to form the fibroblast cell bridge connecting the myocyte islands. Various PDMS stencils which varied the distance between the myocyte islands were made enabling us to form fibroblast bridges of various lengths (50 um to 500 um). Dual patch clamp experiments were performed to evaluate action potential propagations along the fibroblast bridge and characterize its electrical capabilities. With our laser micropatterning we were able to form fibroblast conducting bridges up to 390 um. In conclusion, fibroblast bridges can conduct electrical signals over short distances however with the increase of the fibroblast bridge length, signal propagation delay also increased. This conduction delay phenomenon observed in vitro could explain the cause of reentrant arrhythmias in vivo.
Approaching Parental Guilt, Shame, and Blame in a Helping Relationship: Multiple Methods for Teaching and Learning

ABSTRACTSocial workers often feel ill-prepared to effectively engage parents in conversations about guilt, shame, and blame related to their children’s mental health or substance use challenges. To address that problem, we suggest that specific content should be integrated into social work courses to teach students how to acknowledge and sensitively manage these issues in their practice with families across cultures and family forms. Content, activities, and assignments are offered, built around three learning strategies (enhanced lecture, case-based learning, and experiential learning) to help students build therapeutic relationships based on a deep appreciation of parents’ emotional experiences.
The public health approach to preventing sexual violence

Sexual violence remains a significant global public health problem. Experiences with sexual violence confer greater risk for physical, mental, and behavioral health problems, and this trauma can impact individuals, families, and communities in a variety of ways. Despite the recognition of sexual violence as a public health problem, the dominant response rests within a criminal justice framework, one that typically focuses on the incapacitation and management of known offenders. This, in our view, is a limited approach. Indeed, research has not demonstrated that criminal justice sex crime policies are effective in reducing sexual violence, and this literature also suggests that these policies may in fact contribute to harm to both victims and perpetrators. In contrast to this criminal justice focus, this chapter argues for advancing a public health perspective for the primary prevention of sexual violence. To that end, this chapter will discuss how a public health approach to violence prevention can inform our understanding of sexual violence and the ways to reduce sexual victimization. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the social ecological model that frames sexual violence as a phenomenon affected not only by individual factors, but also by relationship factors, community norms, and social values. This chapter closes with recommendations for future work in the prevention of sexual violence.
Societal Conditions and the Gender Difference in Well-Being: Testing a Three-Stage Model

Findings from a meta-analysis on gender differences in self-esteem (Zuckerman et al., 2016) suggest that the relation between the degree to which societal conditions are favorable to women and gender difference in self-esteem might be quadratic; when conditions improve, women's self-esteem (relative to that of men) trends downward but when conditions continue to improve, women's self-esteem begins to trend upward. Testing whether these relations generalize to subjective well-being, the present study found a quadratic relation between improving societal conditions and the gender difference in life satisfaction and positive affect (women are lower than men when societal conditions are moderately favorable compared to when they are at their worst and at their best); the relation was linear for negative emotion (women report more negative emotions than men when societal conditions are better). Directions for future research that will address potential explanations for these results are proposed.
Improving oral chemotherapy adverse event reporting: Listening to pediatric oncology patients and parents.

45Background: Medication-related adverse events and near misses are underreported, particularly in the ambulatory setting. Our aim was to assess pediatric oncology parent and patient-reported oral chemotherapy errors and near misses. Methods: A survey of parent and patient-reported oral chemotherapy errors and near misses over the past month was developed and validated in a subgroup and administered to parents/patients at an academic pediatric hematology-oncology clinic. Parents and patients were included if the patient received any commercially available oral chemotherapy agent within the past month, dispensed by an onsite retail pharmacy, and agreed to participate. Results: Forty-eight of 69 parents and 11 of 17 patients responded (ten from the same household). Fifteen of 59 respondents (25%) reported at least one event, miss, or error (twelve (25%) parents and three (27%) patients). Of five events described by parents and patients of the same household, one was co-reported. Of the errors that occurred ...
Critical Capillary PO2 and the Role of Lactate Production in Oxyhemoglobin Dissociation during Exercise

During exercise, O2 transport from capillary to myocyte is not diffusion-limited until end-capillary PO2 reaches its lowest value (critical capillary PO2). Critical capillary PO2 is reached at the mid-level of the subject's work capacity, not at Vo2 max. Femoral vein lactate does not increase until the critical capillary PO2 is reached. The increase in lactate is essential once the critical capillary PO2 is reached because the increase in H+ that accompanies the increase in lactate, through the "Bohr Effect", becomes the mechanism for oxyhemoglobin dissociation. Both normal subjects and patients with chronic stable heart failure have a critical capillary PO2 between 14 and 22 mm Hg. The pattern of femoral vein (end capillary) PO2 change as VO2 increases, describes the Vo2 at which O2 becomes diffusion limited and the extent to which new muscle capillary bed is recruited as Vo2 increases above the lactate threshold.
Pore Pressures, Consolidation, and Electrokinetics

The pore-water pressures that develop when an electric field is introduced into a soil mass are shown to depend upon the voltage distribution and the ratio of the electrokinetic and hydraulic permeabilities of the soil. Thus, the magnitude of the pressures at a point depends upon electrode geometry. The time necessary for the development of these pore-water pressures is shown to be predictable by use of the theory of consolidation. The rate of pore-pressure development is dependent upon the hydraulic permeability of the soil and not upon its electrokinetic permeability. Whether soil stabilization occurs as a result of the development of negative porewater pressures or destabilization occurs due to positive pore water pressures, depends upon the boundary conditions at the electrodes. Secondary effects, from the point of view of large-scale engineering works, are associated with alterations in soil pH and conductivity. Laboratory and field test data are presented to substantiate the arguments presented.
Influence of the β2-adrenergic receptor Arg16Gly polymorphism on longitudinal changes in obesity from childhood through young adulthood in a biracial cohort: the Bogalusa Heart Study

Background: The β2-adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) plays a major role in regulating energy expenditure by stimulating lipid metabolism in human adipose tissue. Polymorphisms in the ADRB2 gene have been associated with obesity and various weight-related traits in cross-sectional studies of adults, but little is known about the effects of the ADRB2 gene on childhood obesity or the propensity to gain weight over time. Objective: To assess the effects of a polymorphism in codon 16 (Arg16→Gly) of the ADRB2 gene, which has been associated with a decrease in β2-receptor density and efficiency, on longitudinal changes in obesity from childhood to young adulthood in a biracial cohort. Design: Seven cross-sectional screenings of children and five cross-sectional screenings of young adults who were previously examined as children produced longitudinal data from childhood to young adulthood. Methods: Height, weight and subscapular and triceps skinfolds were measured by trained examiners following identical protocols over the course of the study. Gender- and age-stratified analyses using random coefficients models were used to examine longitudinal genetic effects on obesity in 1151 African-American and Caucasian males and females who attended an average of six examinations over a 24 y period from childhood to young adulthood. Results: Age-stratified analyses showed no clear genetic relationships with changes in obesity measures over time in females, but an age-dependent association was observed in males, where the relationship between the Arg16Gly polymorphism and obesity became stronger with age. In males who were 4–9 y of age at the beginning of the study in 1973, body mass index (BMI) was 4% higher in Gly/Gly and Arg/Gly males compared to those with Arg/Arg by 26 y of age. Subscapular skinfold measurements in Gly/Gly males became significantly different from Arg/Arg males (20% higher) by age 20. In the oldest male cohort (10–14 y of age in 1973), BMI increased at a significantly greater rate (0.4%/y) in males carrying the Gly16 form of the receptor relative to Arg/Arg males. BMI was significantly different between homozygous genotypes by approximately 26 y of age, and reached 8% higher in Gly/Gly males by age 32. Subscapular skinfolds also increased at a significantly greater rate (2%/y) in Gly/Gly males compared to Arg/Arg males, becoming significantly different (27%) by approximately 22 y of age and reaching a maximum difference of 50% by age 32. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the β2-adrenergic receptor is associated with the propensity to gain weight from childhood to young adulthood in males. An increased understanding of genetic influences on the development of obesity may improve the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce excess body weight and help define the role of genetic factors in diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Accumulation Crisis and Global Police State

Global police state refers to three interrelated developments. First are the ever more omnipresent systems of mass social control, repression, and warfare promoted by the ruling groups to contain t...
A contemporary lower pole approach for complete staghorn calculi: outcomes and efficacy

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is the preferred surgical treatment for staghorn stones. Two approaches are commonly employed to gain access into the collecting system which consists of either an upper pole (UP) approach or lower pole (LP) approach. However, opinions vary on which approach offers the best access and outcome. In this study, we aim to challenge the traditional paradigm that staghorn stones are most effectively treated through a prone UP approach. We herein report our institutional experience using a prone LP access in PCNL for patients with complete staghorn stones. Data were prospectively collected over 3 years on 473 PCNL procedures, of which 76 patients had complete staghorn calculi (five or more calyces). Operative and peri-operative outcomes were analyzed to compare a modified LP approach with the more widely accepted UP approach. A total of 59/76 (77.6%) patients had LP access. There was no difference in the ability of completing the surgery utilizing a single tract as opposed to multiple tracts (74.6% of LP patients vs. 76.5% of UP patients). Stone-free rates for LP and UP access were similar (74.5 versus 70.5%, respectively; p = 0.760. Complication rates were lower for LP access vs. UP access (3.4 vs. 23.5%, p = 0.02) with two pulmonary complications in the UP group. Overall median operative time was not significantly different between LP and UP access (112.0 vs. 126.0 min, p = 0.486). Prone LP access demonstrated similar efficacy with decreased morbidity in patients with complete staghorn calculi compared to prone UP access.