cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Substituent effects of N4 Schiff base ligands on the formation of fluoride-bridged dicobalt(ii) complexes via B-F abstraction: structures and magnetism.

We report the synthesis of two fluoride bridged cobalt(II) dimers – [CoII2(μ-F)(pnN4-PhCl)2(OH2)(MeCN)](BF4)3 (1) and [CoII2(μ-F)2(pnN4-PhCl)2](BF4)2 (2) – and related complexes derived from propyl-bridged N4 Schiff base plus pyridine ligands. Notably, the bridging fluoride ion(s) emanate from B–F abstraction processes on the BF4 anions in the starting salt, [Co(H2O)6](BF4)2. Two types of bridging motifs are generated – mono-bridged (μ-F) or di-bridged (μ-F)2 – synthetically differentiated by the absence or presence of pyridine, respectively, during metalation. The synergistic roles of pyridine and the ClPhN4 ligand in promoting B–F abstraction were clarified by the isolation and crystallization of the simple tetrakis-pyridine monomeric complex [Co(py)4(MeCN)2](BF4)2 (4) [no B–F abstraction]; subsequent addition of the ClPhN4 ligand to 4 resulted in formation of the dimeric, di-bridged complex 2. Omission of pyridine during metalation resulted in formation of the mono-bridged dimer 1. The bulky chlorophenyl substituents were obligate for B–F abstraction, as metalation of the unsubstituted N4 ligand resulted in the non-fluoride-bridged dimer, [CoII2(pnN4)3](BF4)4 (3). In magnetic studies, complexes 1 (μeff = 6.24μB, 298 K) and 2 (μeff = 7.70μB, 298 K) both exhibit antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling, but to different extents. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements (SQUID, 2 → 300 K) reveal that the linearity of the mono-fluoride bridge in 1 [∠Co–F–Co = 159.47(11)°] results in very strong AFM coupling (J = −14.9 cm−1). In contrast, the more acute Co2F2 diamond core [∠Co–F–Co = 98.8(2)°, 99.1(2)°] results in a smaller extent of AFM coupling (J = −2.97 cm−1). Overall, the results indicate the ‘non-innocence’ of the BF4 counterion in cobalt(II) chemistry, and dimers 1 and 2 affirm the effect of the geometry of the bridging fluoride ion(s) in determining the extent of AFM coupling.
Paracentric Inversion of Chromosome 21 Leading to Disruption of the HLCS Gene in a Family with Holocarboxylase Synthetase Deficiency.

Holocarboxylase synthetase (HLCS) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that presents with multiple life-threatening metabolic derangements including metabolic acidosis, ketosis, and hyperammonemia. A majority of HLCS deficiency patients respond to biotin therapy; however, some patients show only a partial or no response to biotin therapy. Here, we report a neonatal presentation of HLCS deficiency with partial response to biotin therapy. Sequencing of HLCS showed a novel heterozygous mutation in exon 5, c.996G>C (p.Gln332His), which likely abolishes the normal intron 6 splice donor site. Cytogenetic analysis revealed that the defect of the other allele is a paracentric inversion on chromosome 21 that disrupts HLCS. This case illustrates that in addition to facilitating necessary family testing, a molecular diagnosis can optimize management by providing a better explanation of the enzyme’s underlying defect. It also emphasizes the potential benefit of a karyotype in cases in which molecular genetic testing fails to provide an explanation.
Apolipoprotein B100 is required for hepatitis C infectivity and Mipomersen inhibits hepatitis C

Apolipoprotein B100 is required for hepatitis C infectivity and Mipomersen inhibits hepatitis C
Marcher: A Heterogeneous System Supporting Energy-Aware High Performance Computing and Big Data Analytics ☆

Abstract Excessive energy consumption is a major constraint in designing and deploying the next generation of supercomputers. Minimizing energy consumption of high performance computing and big data applications requires novel energy-conscious technologies (both hardware and software) at multiple layers from architecture, system support, and applications. In the past decade, we have witnessed the significant progress toward developing more energy-efficient hardware and facility infrastructure. However, the energy efficiency of software has not been improved much. One obstacle that hinders the exploration of green software technologies is the lack of tools and systems that can provide accurate, fine-grained, and real-time power and energy measurement for technology evaluation and verification. Marcher, a heterogeneous high performance computing infrastructure, is built to fill the gap by providing support to research in energy-aware high performance computing and big data analytics. The Marcher system is equipped with Intel Xeon CPUs, Intel Many Integrated Cores (Xeon Phi), Nvidia GPUs, power-aware memory systems and hybrid storage with Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) and Solid State Disks (SSDs). It provides easy-to-use tools and interfaces for researchers to obtain decomposed and fine-grained power consumption data of these primary computing components. This paper presents the design of the Marcher system and demonstrates the usage of Marcher power measurement tools to obtain detailed power consumption data in various research projects.
Pure versus Quasi-Behavioral Research

Among the many struggles that, throughout its history, constitute psychology’s attempts to study human activity, the conception of exactly what it is about human beings that should be the object of our investigations has been, and continues to be, a mighty one. This struggle is certainly appropriate; there can be no more central and pervasive an issue in psychological research than the definition of the phenomenon to be addressed by experimental methods. One of the reasons why an unambiguous definition of the subject matter is critical is so that the details of research method can be properly suited to the task of preserving the subject matter in the process ranging from definition, through measurement, design, and analysis to experimental inference in undiluted and uncontaminated form. Failures to maintain such purity depreciate to some degree (perhaps beyond any scientific value) the legitimacy of experimental conclusions, such bastardy taking the form of inferior reliability and generality. Eventually, these limitations on experimental data come to characterize entire literatures, thereby retarding the development of a human science and stunting its technological progeny.
Immigration, Collective Efficacy, Social Ties, and Violence

An extensive body of research indicates that community levels of crime are either unaffected by levels of immigration or that immigration is associated with lower, not higher, rates of crime. According to the “immigrant revitalization” perspective, the protective effects of immigration are largely indirect, working through neighborhood-level processes, such as social networks, social capital, and collective efficacy. However, these mediating effects have received little empirical attention in the immigration–crime literature. Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, the current study seeks to extend research on immigration and crime by assessing the mediating effects of neighborhood friendship and kinship ties and collective efficacy in immigration–violence relationships. Similar to previous studies, we find that the total effect of immigrant concentration on homicide and perceptions of violence is null. However, examining the indirect pathways reveals that immigration wo...
On a paper of Erdös and Szekeres

Propositions 1.1–1.3 stated below contribute to results and certain problems considered in [E-S], on the behavior of products $$\Pi^n_1(1-z^{a_j}),1\leq{a_1}...\leq{a_n}$$ integers. In the discussion below, {a1,..., an} will be either a proportional subset of {1,..., n} or a set of large arithmetic diameter.
Humor, irony, and the body

Irony has traditionally been studied as a purely pragmatic phenomenon, one in which a speaker says one thing and means another, often by commenting on the contrast between expectation and reality. However, as cognitive linguists have discerned for many other aspects of language, much of the ways that people speak and understand one another is motivated by people’s pervasive bodily experiences. Ironic humor provides another compelling phenomenon in which to understand the embodied foundation of both linguistic meaning and multimodal expression, particularly in terms of rough-and-tumble play. Many forms of humor arise from different benign violations of the body in play fighting. We describe cognitive linguistic and psychological evidence on the importance of bodily experience, and benign violations of the body, in linguistic expressions referring to teasing and humor. Variations of rough-and-tumble play help explain some of the instabilities in the ways ironic humor unfolds in interpersonal interactions.
Undermining methodological nationalism: Cosmopolitan analysis and visualization of the North American hazardous waste trade:

Drawing on a novel dataset of hazardous waste shipments among Canada, Mexico, and the United States, we seek to enhance dominant modes of understanding transnational trading and regulation at the s...
The "Right to Associate" in Catholic Social Thought

Among the rights of workers articulated in Catholic social thought is the right to associate or the right to form associations of working persons. This right has been discussed in Church documents since the time of the publication of Rerum Novarum in 1891. It is this right that is addressed in this paper.
Chloride Channels in Skeletal Muscle

The resting membrane conductance of amphibian and mammalian skeletal muscle is largely due to Cl− ions (Hodgkin and Horowicz, 1959; Hutter and Noble, 1960; Palade and Barchi, 1977). This large anion conductance appears to stabilize muscle transmembrane voltage, as muscles with reduced Cl− conductance exhibit myotoniclike trains of action potentials which lead to aberrant muscle function (Adrian and Bryant, 1974). A comprehensive review of Cl— conductances in skeletal muscle and many other tissues has been provided by Bretag (1987). This chapter will focus only on mammalian and amphibian Cl− channels at the single-channel level as observed with the patch voltage-clamp technique (Hamill et al., 1981).
A Method for Evaluating the Ethics of Fear Appeals

The key issue of ethical applications of fear appeals, which has been generally avoided in marketing literature, is reviewed. The authors develop an evaluation framework, the ethical effects-reason...
Expanding the stoichiometric window for metal cross-linked gel assembly using competition

Polymer networks with dynamic cross-links have generated widespread interest as tunable and responsive viscoelastic materials. However, narrow stoichiometric limits in cross-link compositions are typically imposed in the assembly of these materials to prevent excess free cross-linker from dissolving the resulting polymer networks. Here we demonstrate how the presence of molecular competition allows for vast expansion of the previously limited range of cross-linker concentrations that result in robust network assembly. Specifically, we use metal-coordinate cross-linked gels to verify that stoichiometric excessive metal ion cross-linker concentrations can still result in robust gelation when in the presence of free ion competing ligands, and we offer a theoretical framework to describe the coupled dynamic equilibria that result in this effect. We believe the insights presented here can be generally applied to advance engineering of the broadening class of polymer materials with dynamic cross-links.
Cocaine dependence: “Side effects” and syndrome formation within 1–12 months after first cocaine use

Abstract Background This project offers new epidemiological estimates for DSM-IV cocaine dependence among sub-groups of newly incident cocaine users in the United States (US), including estimated attack rates for 21 dependence-related cocaine side effect problems and experiences occurring Method In 2002–2016, US National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) sampled, recruited, and assessed cocaine experiences of non-institutionalized civilians. Unweighted estimates for year-pairs (2002-3,…,2015-16) are from 3488 cocaine powder-only initiates and 275 powder-then-crack initiates (all evaluated Results Evaluated Conclusions Three interpretations of observed crack-associated excess risk are especially cogent and deserving of continued inquiry: (1) Powder-then-crack initiates start with heightened dependence risk susceptibilities (i.e., pre-dating onset); (2) Powder-using initiates become cocaine dependent and then start using crack; (3) The cocaine delivery variant of ‘crack-smoking’ is more toxic than powder insufflation. For powder-then-crack initiates, the cocaine dependence risk (22%) is modestly lower but statistically undifferentiable from a recently estimated risk of heroin dependence
Translating 'big data': better understanding of host-pathogen interactions to control bacterial foodborne pathogens in poultry.

Recent technological advances has led to the generation, storage, and sharing of colossal sets of information (‘big data’), and the expansion of ‘omics’ in science. To date, genomics/metagenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics are arguably the most ground breaking approaches in food and public safety. Here we review some of the recent studies of foodborne pathogens (Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli) in poultry using big data. Genomic/metagenomic approaches have reveal the importance of the gut microbiota in health and disease. They have also been used to identify, monitor, and understand the epidemiology of antibiotic-resistance mechanisms and provide concrete evidence about the role of poultry in human infections. Transcriptomics studies have increased our understanding of the pathophysiology and immunopathology of foodborne pathogens in poultry and have led to the identification of host-resistance mechanisms. Proteomic/metabolomic approaches have aided in identifying biomarkers and the rapid detection of low levels of foodborne pathogens. Overall, ‘omics' approaches complement each other and may provide, at least in part, a solution to our current food-safety issues by facilitating the development of new rapid diagnostics, therapeutic drugs, and vaccines to control foodborne pathogens in poultry. However, at this time most ‘omics' approaches still remain underutilized due to their high cost and the high level of technical skills required.
Exploring Country-of-Origin Perceptions and Ethnocentrism: The Case of U.S. Dairy Marketing in China

We examined variables relevant to food products marketing in foreign markets: perceptions of a product’s country-of-origin (which may provide a “halo effect” if positive), and consumers’ tendencies...
Behind the Scenes of the Underworld: Hierarchical Clustering of Two Leaked Carding Forum Databases:

Cybercriminals operate in obscurity to avoid detection of their illegal deeds. This fact makes studying them more difficult. Many cybercriminals meet in illicit online market places such as carding...
Two-Port Thoracoscopic Myectomy for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy With Three-Dimensional Printing

Septal myectomy is recommended for patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy refractory to maximal medical therapy for relieving the left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. However, poor visualization techniques and limited procedural volume restrict the progress of inexperienced surgeons performing this procedure, while inflicting minimal trauma is always clinically desirable. Therefore, this report presents a 2-port thoracoscopic septal myectomy with intuitive simulation consisting of 3-dimensional reconstruction and printing.
Designing, Modeling, and Laboratory Testing of a Non-clogging Impingement Type Filter for Mining Dust Scrubbers

Flooded-bed dust scrubbers installed on continuous miners use fibrous type multi-layered filters to capture dust from the airstream. Prolonged operations of the scrubber could lead to filter clogging due to dust accumulation. This results in reduced flow through the scrubber and elevated dust levels in the mine environment. This paper compares the performance of a conventional fibrous screen filter and a novel impingement type dust filter. The impingement filter is a self-cleaning system and was designed to have a resistance similar to the fibrous filter. The cleaning efficiencies for these filters were computed using iso-kinetic sampling and optical counting of coal dust particles in a clean unclogged state. The cleaning efficiency of the impingement filter also increased with an increase in particle size and was comparable with the conventional fibrous filter. The cleaning efficiency of the fibrous filter improved significantly with an increase in water flow. The non-clogging nature of the impingement filter and minimal maintenance requirement makes it an attractive alternative to the conventional fibrous type filter in mining applications. The research also proposes a term called ‘filter performance factor’ to compare the performance of different filters under similar operating conditions.
Short-term impacts of a record-shattering flood and dam removal on a river turtle assemblage and population placed within the context of a 50 year study

Abstract Long-term studies are essential for understanding how and to what extent various stressors impact long-lived species, such as turtles. Turtle populations are declining globally. Empirical data from long-term studies of turtles are largely lacking, which hinders the development of effective conservation programs. We evaluated a river turtle assemblage over a 50 year study period (1969–2019), during which the assemblage was impacted by harvesting, habitat degradation, a record-shattering flood, and the removal of a small dam. Our objective was to determine how the turtle assemblage, Graptemys geographica population (i.e., predominant species), and habitat changed in light of a recent record-shattering flood and the removal of a small dam, and place those changes within the context of other stressors documented within the 50 year study period. The record-shattering flood changed the stream and riparian habitat and, along with the dam removal, the turtle assemblage. In the short term, G. geographica and other turtle species within the assemblage, with the exception of Sternotherus odoratus, either exhibited positive or neutral impacts from the flood. We conclude that turtle species adapted to lotic habitats can cope with extreme flooding if their populations are secure prior to flooding and if the riparian and stream habitats are intact. However, as more threats simultaneously impact turtle populations, we expect fewer populations to be able to withstand such additional stressors. Within the context provided by the fifty year study period, we found that harvesting had more immediate negative impacts on the G. geographica population than did flooding.
Excessive Mentoring? An Apprenticeship Model on a Robotics Team

Participation on a robotics team affords students the opportunity to learn science and engineering skills in a competition-based environment. Mentors on these robotics teams play important roles in helping students acquire these skills. This study used an apprenticeship learning theory to examine how mentors on one high school robotics team contributed to students attaining the knowledge associated with designing and building a robot for competition. How active of a role did mentors play on their competition-based robotics team? How did mentors and students together handle the challenges they faced? The mentor-student interactions detailed in the research revealed an apprenticeship model where mentors played leadership roles reluctant to move beyond modeling tasks to students. The mentors’ roles bring into question if they were granting their students the full opportunities to develop skills associated with working on a robot. Despite these developmental concerns, the students on the team gradually took up simple tasks working side-by-side mentors, saw expert engineers model professional habits, and expressed being inspired while contributing to a winning team.
Exploring Servant Teaching in Kinesiology: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Rapid growth in the health industry has made kinesiology-based curriculum a priority across campuses nationwide. With students continuing to enroll in kinesiology at an all-time high rate, quality ...
Blood Coagulation Factor Fibrinogen in Tumor Pathogenesis of Central Nervous System B-Cell Lymphoma.

Central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma is an extranodal non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma characterized by malignant lymph tissue arising in the brain or spinal cord, associated with inflammation and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Although BBB disruption is known to occur in patients with CNS lymphoma, a direct link between these two has not been shown. Herein, abundant deposition of the blood coagulation protein fibrinogen around B-cell lymphoma was detected in CNS lymphoma patients and in the CNS parenchyma in an orthotopic mouse model. Functional enrichment analysis of unbiased cerebrospinal fluid proteomics of CNS B-cell lymphoma patients showed that coagulation protein networks were highly connected with tumor-associated biological signaling pathways. In vivo two-photon imaging demonstrated that lymphoma growth was associated with BBB disruption, and in vitro experiments identified a role for fibrinogen in promoting lymphoma cell adhesion. Overall, these results identify perivascular lymphoma clustering at sites of fibrinogen deposition, and suggest that fibrinogen may be a target for pharmacologic intervention in metastatic B-cell lymphoma associated with BBB disruption.
Preparing for Service in Whatever Comes Your Way

Leadership develops over time and you must be prepared before an opportunity presents itself. Knowing and being comfortable with youself is the first step. Identifying and mastering areas of weakness comes next. Optimal health and mental well-being allow more effective performance in whatever you do. Communication is the most critical skill to lead and influence people and can be developed over time. Having a mentor or confidante is beneficial for support, feedback, and critical advice. Effectively collaborating is essential and not always easy. When opportunity appears, be decisive and take action. Don’t wait until everything seems perfect because it never will be perfect. Being a leader is to serve and be useful.
Synthesis of a bis[2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)benzoxazole]pyridinium derivative: the fluoride-induced large spectral shift for ratiometric response

(E)-4-(3,5-Bis(benzo[d]oxazol-2-yl)-2,6-dihydroxystyryl)-1-ethylpyridin-1-ium iodide (3) with extended conjugation was synthesized by coupling a styryl substituent into the bis(HBO) 1 structure. Probe 3 exhibited bright red emission (λem ≈ 600 nm) with a large Stokes shift (Δλ ≈ 210 nm), attributing to strong ICT enhanced by ESIPT. The role of the styryl substituent was further evaluated with the aid of low temperature fluorescence. Probe 3 exhibited excellent selectivity towards fluoride anions in solution by generating a near infrared emission peak at λem ≈ 720 nm. Probe 3 was found to be a useful tool for quantifying fluoride content in solution by both absorbance and emission measurements. The fluoride binding of 3 was assumed to occur via strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding with the F− anion (K = 3413). The association stoichiometry for the 3-F complex was found to be (1 : 1) according to the Benesi-Hildebrand method.
The Effect of Listing Price Changes on the Selling Price of Single-Family Residential Homes

Sellers of unsold residential real estate usually have difficulty deciding whether to change the listing price and, if so, by how much. The purpose of this study is to determine what factors lead to listing price changes and the effect of listing price changes on the net selling price received by sellers. This study has sample of 13,461 single-family home sales in which 4,308 had a selling price reduction during the listing period. The average original listing price for properties with one or more listing price changes is 18% larger compared to properties where the listing price is unchanged; this difference narrows to 9.7% when comparing final listing prices. The results indicate that the probability of a listing price reduction and the percent reduction are positively associated with house size, vacant property status, and a weak economy. A sample selection bias appears to exist for list price reduction properties, and while overpricing of properties often leads to a listing price reduction, the effect of a listing price change on the net selling price is estimated to be two to three times the given reduction in the listing price.
Creative Sovereignties: Should Copyright Apply on Tribal Lands?

The federal Copyright Act grants authors the exclusive right to use their original creative expressions in certain ways. At the same time, the Act pre-empts most equivalent rights to creative expressions established by States. However, the Copyright Act is silent as to its applicability on the lands of Native American Tribes and its preemptive effect on rights sovereign Tribal governments accord to creativity. With Tribes and Tribal members increasingly engaged in the global creative economy and in litigation to defend their intellectual properties, the status of the Copyright Act on Tribal lands has become a critical issue that Congress or the courts must now address. The stakes of applying the Copyright Act on Tribal lands may be quite high for Tribes. Drawing on doctrinal research coupled with community-partnered ethnographic research conducted with the Hopi Tribe, I explain how federal copyright law impacts contemporary tribal sovereignty. Copyright clearly supports certain forms of Tribal creativity intended for off-reservation markets. But for locally circulating creativity — including forms of cultural or ceremonial creativity that help maintain Tribal identity, social relations, and traditional sources of authority — applying Copyright may very well disrupt the exercise of Tribal sovereignty and cause substantial harm to Tribal creative economies. Based on this research, I argue that the Copyright Act should apply on Tribal lands, but only to the extent permitted by each Tribe. Where Tribal intellectual property laws, protocols, or customary laws occupy the same field as the Copyright Act, Tribal entitlements and remedies, not federal ones, should govern creativity occurring on Tribal lands, with federal copyright law providing enforcement of Tribal intellectual property rights beyond a Tribe’s borders. Otherwise, the unilateral imposition of the Copyright Act on tribal creativity, to the exclusion of Tribal laws, impermissibly invades Tribal sovereignty as articulated in both current federal policy and the international norms enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The Anser System

In Reply.— How likely is it that users of the Anser System will spend what is a considerable amount of time collecting information from teachers, parents, and children, but stop short at drawing any conclusions from the findings? It is the central and everyday task of physicians to marshall data and then form judgments about the nature of the problem and interventions. The Anser System may help Pediatricians gather descriptions about children. But, it leaves the inescapable process of determining just what their difficulties are entirely to chance, whim, or idiosyncrasy.
Cured Meat Flavor

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses about the origin of meat curing undoubtedly dates back to primitive times and represents one of man's first successful attempts at food preservation. The curing process is achieved by adding a number of curing agents to the meat, each ingredient having unique characteristics and playing an important role in the process as summarized by the American Meat Institute. Kramlich, in discussing meat curing, stated that there are three main methods of curing, such as dry curing; brine curing; and combinations of the former two methods. Smoking has been discussed in considerable detail by Wilson, Kramlich and Daun. The contribution of nitrite to cured meat flavor is well established. Brooks demonstrated that the characteristic flavor of Wiltshire bacon was due to the action of nitrite on the meat. Lipids found in meat can be classified as depot, or intermuscular, and as intramuscular, or tissue, lipids. Lipid oxidation is a major cause of deterioration in the quality of meat and meat products. The ability of sodium nitrite to inhibit the growth and toxin production of C. botulinum is undoubtedly its most important function.
Design planning to meet goals in human service organizations

The performance of health service organizations is affected by the existence of multiple, often conflicting performance goals, and by various social-psychological processes that characterize the particular structure of the organization. This paper proposes a systematic, management-based methodology for identifying those “best” values for a set of social-psychological processes that enhance achievement of a set of organizational performance goals. The approach is illustrated with data from selected county health departments in North Carolina.
Posterior Mini-Incision With Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Nine to Ten Year Follow Up Study

The question has been raised as to whether small incision surgery will compromise long term results of total hip arthroplasty. We report nine to ten years' outcome with posterior mini-incision. Radiographs were measured for component position, polyethylene wear, fixation, and osteolysis. Sixty-two of the original 86 patients (76 of 100 hips) were alive and available for study with 17 patients deceased (with known results) and seven (8%) lost to follow-up. The result was rated as excellent in 70 of 75 remaining hips (93%). Eighty-nine of 93 hips (96%) with known results had the original implants. Radiographically, wear was a mean 0.015 ± 0.009 mm/year, and no hip had impending failure. There were four revisions, 2 for dislocation, 1 for fracture, and 1 for loose cup.
Grip Strength as a Marker of Hypertension and Diabetes in Healthy Weight Adults.

Introduction Muscle strength may play a role in cardiometabolic disease. We examined the relationship between hand grip strength and diabetes and hypertension in a sample of healthy weight adults. Methods In 2015, we analyzed the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2012 for adults aged ≥20 years with healthy BMIs (between 18.5 and n =1,467; weighted n =61,587,139). Hand grip strength was assessed with a dynamometer. Diabetes was based on hemoglobin A1c level and reported diabetes diagnosis. Hypertension was based on measured blood pressure and reported hypertension diagnosis. Results Individuals with undiagnosed diabetes compared with individuals without diabetes had lower grip strength (51.9 vs 69.8, p =0.0001), as did individuals with diagnosed diabetes compared with individuals without diabetes (61.7 vs 69.8, p =0.008). Mean grip strength was lower among individuals with undiagnosed hypertension compared with individuals without hypertension (63.5 vs 71.5, p =0.008) as well as among individuals with diagnosed hypertension compared with those without hypertension (60.8 vs 71.5, p p p =0.03) compared with individuals without diabetes. In adjusted analyses, grip strength was lower among individuals with undiagnosed hypertension (β=–6.6, p =0.004) and diagnosed hypertension (β=–4.27, p =0.04) compared with individuals without hypertension. Conclusions Among healthy weight adults, combined grip strength is lower in individuals with diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes and hypertension.
Courting Democracy in Mexico: Ties That Bind and Even Constrict: Why Authoritarians Tolerate Electoral Reforms

… but you must bind me hard and fast, so that I cannot stir from the spot where you will stand me … and if I beg you to release me, you must tighten and add to my bonds. Ulysses on how to restrain his reaction to the sirens' song in The Odyssey The underdog National Action Party (PAN) unseated Mexico's long-reigning authoritarian incumbents in the 2000 presidential election, but only after preparing decades for the race. The electoral demise of the Party of the Institutional Revolution (PRI) after seventy-one years, ending the longest period of one-party rule in the world, was actually the culmination of a protracted transition to democracy spanning at least twenty-three years. Especially over the last decade, the PAN pushed the authoritarian incumbents to make Mexican elections credible, begging the question of why authoritarians would permit electoral reforms that reduced their capacity for rigging elections, introduced genuine uncertainty into electoral contests, and ultimately, led to the PAN's presidential victory in July 2000. Clearly, authoritarian incumbents have little interest in political liberalization and undertake such policies only when they perceive that they have little other choice to channel social movement opposition into political parties (such as the Brazilian military dictatorship's consciously taken “decompression” starting in the mid-1970s), gather information about regime and opposition support under rapidly changing circumstances (such as the Polish elections of 1990), mollify international critics (such as the People's Republic of China in the 1990s), or use the electoral arena as a means to manipulate the opposition (as in Mexico and Taiwan in the early 1990s and South Korea in the early 1980s).
Training Dual Sex Teams for Rapid Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction: A Pilot Program

In this chapter, the authors describe the training program for sex therapists developed by the Reproductive Biology Research Foundation in 1971. A number of the difficulties that were encountered as the program progressed are described. The relationship between the cotherapist trainees and the relationship between the trainees and their staff supervisors were both crucial elements in the training process.
Algorithms and dynamics data structures for basic graph optimization problems

Graph optimization plays an important role in a wide range of areas such as computer graphics, computational biology, networking applications and machine learning. Among numerous graph optimization problems, some basic problems, such as shortest paths, minimum spanning tree, and maximum matching, are the most fundamental ones. They have practical applications in various fields, and are also building blocks of many other algorithms. Improvements in algorithms for these problems can thus have a great impact both in practice and in theory. In this thesis, we study a number of graph optimization problems. The results are mostly about approximation algorithms solving graph problems, or efficient dynamic data structures which can answer graph queries when a number of changes occur. Much of my work focuses on the dynamic subgraph model in which there is a fixed underlying graph and every vertex can be flipped "on" or "off". The queries are based on the subgraph induced by the "on" vertices. Our results make significant improvements to the previous algorithms of these problems. The major results are listed below. • Approximate Matching. We give the first linear time algorithm for computing approximate maximum weighted matching for arbitrarily small approximation ratio. • d-failure Connectivity Oracle. For an undirected graph, we give the first space-efficient data structure that can answer connectivity queries between any pair of vertices avoiding d other failed vertices in time polynomial in d log n. • (Max, Min)-Matrix Multiplication. We give a faster algorithm for the (max, min)-matrix multiplication problem, which has a direct application to the all-pairs bottleneck paths (APBP) problem. • Dual-failure Distance Oracle. For a given directed graph, we construct a data structure of size O(n²) which can efficiently answer distance and shortest path queries in the presence of two node or link failures. • Dynamic Subgraph Connectivity. We give the first subgraph connectivity structure with worst-case sublinear time bounds for both updates and queries. • Bounded-leg Shortest Path. We give an algorithm for preprocessing a directed graph in O(n³) time in order to answer approximate bounded leg distance and bounded leg shortest path queries in merely sub-logarithmic time.
Deep Space Network, Evolution of Technology

The Deep Space Network (DSN), managed by the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion laboratory (JPL), has provided vital communications and navigation services for NASA deep space exploration missions for more than 40 years. The remarkable technical achievements of the planetary exploration program executed by NASA would not have been possible without the extensive and sophisticated communications and data handling systems that comprise the Deep Space Network. The principal facilities of the DSN are three major ground station complexes, one in the United States (Goldstone, California), one near Madrid, Spain, and one near Canberra, Australia. Each of the complexes has several tracking antennae; the largest has a diameter of 70 meters, and smaller ones have diameters of 11–34 meters. In addition to antennae, the DSN also has a complex of computers and signal processing capabilities that permit very thorough and sophisticated analysis of signals sent back from distant spacecraft. In addition to receiving data from very distant spacecraft, the facilities of the network are also used to control the spacecraft. The network and the associated spacecraft are designed so that if a failure of a spacecraft should occur, there are often means available to effect a recovery. The continuing improvements in the technology of the network have greatly increased the useful lives and capabilities of the spacecraft that use the network. No history of the DSN would be complete without full appreciation of the contribution made by advanced technology to the successful development of the Network. The wellspring of new and innovative ideas for increasing the existing capability of the Network, improving reliability, operability, and cost-effectiveness, and for enabling recovery from potential mission-threatening situations has resided, from the very beginning of the Network's history, in a strong program of advanced technology, research, and development. Keywords: Deep Space Network; antennae; forward command; data link; return telemetry; antennae array; radio-metric techniques; Goldstone Solar System Radar; telecommunications performance
Brokerage Houses and their Stock Recommendations: Does Superior Performance Persist?

This paper tests for the existence of performance persistence in brokerage house stock recommendations. For the period 1987-1996 we show that purchasing the current-year buy recommendations of the brokerage houses with the best prior performance earned an annualized geometric mean raw return of 18.6 percent, while purchasing the recommended stocks of the houses with the worst prior performance earned only 14.3 percent. After controlling for market risk, size, book-to-market, and price momentum effects, though, we find no significant difference, in general, between the abnormal returns of the best and worst brokerage houses. A series of supplementary tests confirm this result. The findings for brokerage house sell recommendations are even weaker. Overall, our tests provide no reliable evidence of performance persistence for brokerage house stock recommendations.
Cluster duality and mirror symmetry for Grassmannians

In this article we use the cluster structure on the Grassmannian and the combinatorics of plabic graphs to exhibit a new aspect of mirror symmetry for Grassmannians in terms of polytopes. For our $A$-model, we consider the Grassmannian $\mathbb X=Gr_{n-k}(\mathbb{C}^n)$. The $B$-model is a Landau-Ginzburg model $(\check{\mathbb X}^\circ, W_q:\check{\mathbb X}^\circ \to \mathbb{C})$, where $\check{\mathbb X}^\circ$ is the complement of a particular anti-canonical divisor in a Langlands dual Grassmannian $\check{\mathbb X} = Gr_k((\mathbb{C}^n)^*)$, and the superpotential $W_q$ has a simple expression in terms of Plucker coordinates, see [MarshRietsch]. From a given plabic graph $G$ we obtain two coordinate systems: using work of Postnikov and Talaska we have a positive chart $\Phi_G:(\mathbb{C}^*)^{k(n-k)}\to \mathbb X$ in our $A$-model, and using work of Scott we have a cluster chart $\Phi_G^{\vee}:(\mathbb{C}^*)^{k(n-k)}\to \check{\mathbb X}$ in our $B$-model. To each positive chart $\Phi_G$ and choice of positive integer $r$, we associate a polytope $NO_G^r$, which we construct as the convex hull of a set of integer lattice points. This polytope is an example of a Newton-Okounkov polytope associated to the line bundle $\mathcal O(r)$ on $\mathbb X$. On the other hand, using the cluster chart $\Phi_G^{\vee}$ and the same positive integer $r$, we obtain a polytope $Q_G^r$ -- described in terms of inequalities -- by "tropicalizing" the composition $W_{t^r}\circ \Phi_G^{\vee}$. Our main result is that the polytopes $NO_G^r$ and $Q_G^r$ coincide.
Risk Management in Global Sourcing: Comparing the Business World and the Academic World

The purpose of this article is to compare academic research with industry practice in the area of global sourcing risk management and suggest directions for future research to help bridge the gap between the theory and the practice of global sourcing risk management. An extensive review of literature is employed to understand the current state of theory. Reports from supply chain audits of ten leading US companies are analyzed to document the current state of practice. Prominent themes from the two streams are compared to identify specific gaps. Several avenues for further research are identified based upon the areas of disconnect between theory and practice. Major findings and relationships identified contribute to building an integrated theory of global sourcing risk management.
Satellite estimates of precipitation susceptibility in low‐level marine stratiform clouds

Quantifying the sensitivity of warm rain to aerosols is important for constraining climate model estimates of aerosol indirect effects. In this study, the precipitation sensitivity to cloud droplet number concentration (Nd) in satellite retrievals is quantified by applying the precipitation susceptibility metric to a combined CloudSat/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer data set of stratus and stratocumulus clouds that cover the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. We note that consistent with previous observational studies of marine stratocumulus, precipitation susceptibility decreases with increasing liquid water path (LWP), and the susceptibility of the mean precipitation rate R is nearly equal to the sum of the susceptibilities of precipitation intensity and of probability of precipitation. Consistent with previous modeling studies, the satellite retrievals reveal that precipitation susceptibility varies not only with LWP but also with Nd. Puzzlingly, negative values of precipitation susceptibility are found at low LWP and high Nd. There is marked regional variation in precipitation susceptibility values that cannot simply be explained by regional variations in LWP and Nd. This suggests other controls on precipitation apart from LWP and Nd and that precipitation susceptibility will need to be quantified and understood at the regional scale when relating to itsmore » role in controlling possible aerosol-induced cloud lifetime effects.« less
Random vibration testing for commercial computers

Work was conducted at IBM to develop a random vibration test that would provide an efficient and reasonably worst-case simulation of the actual vibration environment for IBM equipment operating at customer installations. The random vibration test techniques developed for military products were investigated and then tailored for use with commercial computer products. >
Randomized trial comparing office flexible to rigid cystoscopy in women

Introduction and hypothesis The objective of the study was to compare office rigid cystoscopy (RC) versus flexible cystoscopy (FC) in women.
Use of Elementary Particle Interactions for Radiological Imaging

The potential for the use of inelastic high energy particle reactions to produce radiological images is discussed. This technique promises image quality comparable to that of computerized axial tomography at a fraction of the radiation exposure. In addition, the comparison of coherently produced events to the total inelastic cross section should allow a probe of the chemical composition (i.e., average Z) of the material being studied. The performance of this technique is reviewed and some preliminary results using a 5 GeV/c ?- beam at SLAC are presented.
Solion ion source for high-efficiency, high-throughput solar cell manufacturing

In this paper, we introduce the Solion ion source for high-throughput solar cell doping. As the source power is increased to enable higher throughput, negative effects degrade the lifetime of the plasma chamber and the extraction electrodes. In order to improve efficiency, we have explored a wide range of electron energies and determined the conditions which best suit production. To extend the lifetime of the source we have developed an in situ cleaning method using only existing hardware. With these combinations, source life-times of >200 h for phosphorous and >100 h for boron ion beams have been achieved while maintaining 1100 cell-per-hour production.
Design and engineering of an O 2 transport protein

The principles of natural protein engineering are obscured by overlapping functions and complexity accumulated through natural selection and evolution. Completely artificial proteins offer a clean slate on which to define and test these protein engineering principles, while recreating and extending natural functions. Here we introduce this method with the design of an oxygen transport protein, akin to human neuroglobin. Beginning with a simple and unnatural helix-forming sequence with just three different amino acids, we assembled a four-helix bundle, positioned histidines to bis-histidine ligate haems, and exploited helical rotation and glutamate burial on haem binding to introduce distal histidine strain and facilitate O(2) binding. For stable oxygen binding without haem oxidation, water is excluded by simple packing of the protein interior and loops that reduce helical-interface mobility. O(2) affinities and exchange timescales match natural globins with distal histidines, with the remarkable exception that O(2) binds tighter than CO.
Fuzzy Geographic Information Systems for Phytoremediation Plant Selection

Geographic information systems (GIS) technology was combined with fuzzy logic to construct a phytoremediation plant selection tool. Phytoremediation involves the use of vegetation for treatment of contaminated soils, sediments, and water. In this paper, the focus is on one particular phytoremediation mechanism plant-assisted bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) soil contamination. Many plants show potential for PAH remediation, but factors such as growth requirements, climate, and soil conditions need to be considered. Given the spatial nature of the data involved, GIS was chosen as the basis for the plant selection tool. Eight candidate plants were selected because of their PAH phytoremediation potential, and their growth requirements were represented using fuzzy membership functions to account for parameters’ uncertainty. Vermont and South Carolina were selected as case studies, and calculations were performed to determine the suitability ratings for each of the candidate plants in th...
A unified framework for detecting rare variant quantitative trait associations in pedigree and unrelated individuals via sequence data.

Objectives: There is great interest to sequence unrelated or pedigree samples for detecting rare variant quantitative trait associations. In order to reduce the c