cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inverse heat conduction problem: Sensitivity coefficient insights, filter coefficients, and intrinsic verification

Abstract The inverse heat conduction problem is the estimation of the time and/or space dependence of the surface heat flux or temperature utilizing interior temperature measurements at discrete times and/or locations. This problem is ill-posed since it is very sensitive to omnipresent measurement errors. Many solution methods have been proposed including exact-matching, function specification, Tikhonov regularization, iterative regularization, conjugate gradient, steepest descent and singular value decomposition. In this paper, the tools provided by the scaled sensitivity coefficients, digital filter coefficients, and intrinsic verification are used to investigate and compare several of these methods. The utility of digital filters designed for on-line instrumentation for “continuous” measurements of the surface heat flux and temperature in manufacturing settings is also demonstrated.
On designing room shielding for total-body irradiation

When designing shielding for total-body irradiation as an additional modality of treatment in an ordinary radiation therapy room, the extended treatment distance used for these patients greatly increases the workload because of the inverse-square factor. In a seeming contradiction to logic, for a facility with an exterior wall in the path of one lateral primary beam, and a restricted area behind the other primary wall, the overall shielding requirements are lower if the TBI patients are treated with the machine oriented toward the occupied interior.
INFLUENCE OF CLINICAL TRIAL SITE ENROLLMENT ON PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS, PROTOCOL COMPLETION, AND ENDPOINTS: INSIGHTS FROM THE ASCEND-HF TRIAL

Most recent international acute heart failure (AHF) trials have failed to show benefit with respect to key endpoints. The influence of site enrollment and protocol execution on trial performance is unclear. We assessed the impact of site enrollment volume on patient (pt) characteristics, protocol
The α-subunit of the rice heterotrimeric G protein, RGA1, regulates drought tolerance during the vegetative phase in the dwarf rice mutant d1

Essential in the Green Revolution was the development of high-yielding dwarf varieties of rice (Oryza sativa L.), but their selection was not based on responses to water limitation. We studied physiological responses to progressive drought of the dwarf rice mutant, d1, in which the RGA1 gene, which encodes the GTP-binding α-subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein, is non-functional. Wild-type (WT) plants cease net carbon fixation 11 days after water is withheld, while d1 plants maintain net photosynthesis for an additional week. During drought, d1 plants exhibit greater stomatal conductance than the WT, but both genotypes exhibit the same transpirational water loss per unit leaf area. This is explained by a smaller driving force for water loss in d1 owing to its lower leaf temperatures, consistent with its more erect architecture. As drought becomes more severe, WT plants show an accelerated decline in photosynthesis, which may be exacerbated by the higher leaf temperatures in the WT. We thus show how a rice mutant with dwarf and erect leaves has a decreased susceptibility to water stress. Accordingly, it may be useful to incorporate RGA1 mutation in breeding or biotechnological strategies for development of drought-resistant rice.
Nuremberg: The Malleus that Never Struck

The old city of Nuremberg is built on the banks of the Pegnitz river, surrounded by thick, high walls. The cityscape, now as then, is dominated by the Kaiserburg, the imperial fortress at the apex of the hill that rises on the left bank. Nuremberg straddles the usually sleepy river, covering it with many bridges. At the beginning of the fifteenth century these bridges were wooden, and when the Pegnitz flooded during the spring thaw they were sometimes damaged or even destroyed by the rushing water. The late fifteenth century witnessed a transformation of the bridges of Nuremberg. By the end of the century many of the city’s main bridges were solid and stately structures, with stone arches resting on pillars in the river.1 The rebuilding of the bridges of Nuremberg was only a small part of the creative and constructive energy of the city on the threshold of the early modern era. This was the golden age of Nuremberg, which was one of the preeminent cities in the empire. The city was presented as a model by the men of letters who lived within its strong walls, and with success. Nuremberg was widely admired and praised for its laws and good governance, and the institutions of the city were copied by other urban polities.2 Aeneas Silvius, who had commented on justice in Basel, lavished praise on Nuremberg, writing: What a splendid appearance this city presents! What a beauty of location, what learning there, what culture, what a superb government! Nothing is missing to make a perfect civic community. How clean the streets, how elegant the houses!3
Use of Tissue Adhesive for Oculoplastic Incision Closure

Cyanoacrylate adhesives, such as Dermabond® are options for ocuplastic wound closure. The applicator provided by the manufacturer does not work for these sorts of wounds, and the tips below will allow the use of these products.
An Evaluation of a Smartphone–Assisted Behavioral Weight Control Intervention for Adolescents: Pilot Study

Background: The efficacy of adolescent weight control treatments is modest, and effective treatments are costly and are not widely available. Smartphones may be an effective method for delivering critical components of behavioral weight control treatment including behavioral self-monitoring. Objective: To examine the efficacy and acceptability of a smartphone assisted adolescent behavioral weight control intervention. Methods: A total of 16 overweight or obese adolescents (mean age=14.29 years, standard deviation=1.12) received 12 weeks of combined treatment that consisted of weekly in-person group behavioral weight control treatment sessions plus smartphone self-monitoring and daily text messaging. Subsequently they received 12 weeks of electronic-only intervention, totaling 24 weeks of intervention. Results: On average, participants attained modest but significant reductions in body mass index standard score (zBMI: 0.08 standard deviation units, t (13)=2.22, P=.04, d=0.63) over the in-person plus electronic-only intervention period but did not maintain treatment gains over the electronic-only intervention period. Participants self-monitored on approximately half of combined intervention days but less than 20% of electronic-only intervention days. Conclusions: Smartphones likely hold promise as a component of adolescent weight control interventions but they may be less effective in helping adolescents maintain treatment gains after intensive interventions. [JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2016;4(3):e102]
Low complexity, low latency resampling of asynchronously sampled signals

In Signal processing, activity driven data acquisition is of interest as it offers power savings and data compression when dealing with sparse real world signals. However, such schemes naturally result in asynchronous samples which cannot be handled by traditional signal processing. Hence, there is a need for efficient resampling schemes that convert the asynchronous samples to a synchronous stream. This work proposes two novel low latency non-iterative resampling schemes that allow for pipelined hardware and real-time software implementations. The first scheme caters to low complexity applications and is a modification to the Akima algorithm [1]. The second scheme addresses high performance applications and is based on windowed sinc interpolation. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the performance. Complexity comparison with existing methods is also provided.
How Dutch Americans Stayed Dutch: An Historical Perspective on Ethnic Identities

Review of: How Dutch Americans Stayed Dutch: An Historical Perspective on Ethnic Identities, by Michael J. Douma.
Abstract 440: Regional Differences in Fat Loss Following Weight Gain in Normal Adults

Background: Normal weight adults gain leg fat gain via adipocyte hyperplasia and upper body subcutaneous (UBSQ) fat gain via adipocyte hypertrophy. Objective: To understand whether regional fat los...
When Fair Procedures Don’t Work: a Self-Threat Model of Procedural Justice

Why do individuals sometimes claim a decision is unfair when the decision process is considered fair by socially accepted standards? Past research on the interaction pattern between procedural and distributive justice generally supports the fair process effect, the idea that fair procedures ameliorate negative reactions to unfavorable decision outcomes. However, some research suggests that self-relevant variables play a role in altering the interaction pattern. Using elements of attribution theory, specifically external self-serving bias and self-threat, with group identification, we develop a new self-threat model of procedural justice. Specifically, we hypothesize that when individuals experience self-threat (threat to the ego or self-concept) as a result of a decision outcome, the tendency to protect the self by engaging in externalized attributions may result in lower perceptions of fairness and organizational justice regardless of whether the decision process is fair. Results indicate that group identification is negatively related to external self-serving bias, but is not significantly related to perceptions of self-threat. However, external self-serving bias and perceptions of self-threat are negatively related to perceptions of procedural justice. The results may help explain why individuals who have low group identification or who feel undervalued by society, such as minorities or people with disabilities, may be more likely to react negatively to an unfavorable outcome determined by fair procedures.
Human Resource Development Challenges and Impact in Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya (A Survey of Non-governmental Organizations in Nairobi)

Purpose: The aim of this study was to document the challenges and subsequent impact of Human Resource Development (HRD) in Non-Government Organizations (NGO) in Kenya. Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive design method. The sample size was drawn using stratified random sampling technique from a frame of 38 registered NGOs in Nairobi and had a final result of 10 NGOs and 120 respondents. Sixty (60) respondents were selected from the 120 respondents. A response rate of 30 (50%) was obtained from the 60 questionnaires handed out. The research results were presented in tables and charts and were analyzed using MS Excel and SPSS. Descriptive statistics were used in interpreting data, measure of tendencies and measurement of the relationship of different variables. Results: The study findings revealed that training had an effect on human resource as it helped in optimizing the utilization of human resource, helped in providing an opportunity and broad structure for the development of human resources' technical and behavioral skills in an organization, led to increased job knowledge and skills of employees at each level as well as their productivity, improved the morale of the work force and helped in creating a better corporate image for the organization. Findings also indicated that staff motivation was high in the NGO sector hence staff motivation may not be a challenge to human resource development in the selected NGOs. Finally, it was concluded that human resource development impacts on organizational performance as it leads to improvement in profits, leads to competitive advantage and leads to improved employee morale. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: It was recommended that training in NGOs may be given priority as it helped in optimizing the utilization of human resource, as well as providing an opportunity and broad structure for the development of human resources’ technical and behavioral skills in an organization. It was also recommended that NGOs may continue addressing the motivation issues so as to maintain the high level of motivation that currently exists in NGOs.
Toland and Locke in the Leibniz-Burnett Correspondence

Thomas Burnett of Kemnay (1656-1729), who corresponded with Leibniz for several years, is perhaps best known to historians of philosophy as one of those via whom Leibniz tried to communicate with Locke. But he was more generally a source of intellectual news for Leibniz – principally about new work in English, but also about events wherever Burnett’s travels took him. Among other correspondence, between November 1695 and September 1701 Burnett wrote about four letters a year to Leibniz from England, almost all from London. He was in this way a major source of information for Leibniz about Locke and the English intellectual debates in which Locke was participating.
Benacerraf, Field, and the agreement of mathematicians

Hartry Field’s epistemological challenge to the mathematical platonist is often cast as an improvement on Paul Benacerraf’s original epistemological challenge. I disagree. While Field’s challenge is more difficult for the platonist to address than Benacerraf’s, I argue that this is because Field’s version is a special case of what I call the ‘sociological challenge’. The sociological challenge applies equally to platonists and fictionalists, and addressing it requires a serious examination of mathematical practice. I argue that the non-sociological part of Field’s challenge amounts to a minor reformulation of Benacerraf’s original challenge. So, I contend, Field’s challenge is not an improvement on Benacerraf’s. What is new to Field’s challenge is as much a problem for the fictionalist as it is for the platonist.
Ludic Constructivism: Or, Individual Life and the Fate of Humankind

In The Grasshopper, Bernard Suits argues that the best life is the one whose essence is game-play. In fact, only through the concept of game-play can we understand how anything at all is worth doin...
Towards ontological question answering

This paper presents an ontology-based semantic framework to question answering. Both question and source text are parsed into underspecified semantic expressions where names of semantic atoms and predicates are defined in an interlingual ontology. Answer retrieval is done using subsumption and unification, and queries are expanded incrementally using ontological rules. Ranking of answers is achieved by using graded unification.
Pulse UV light effect on microbial biomolecules and organic pollutants degradation in aqueous solutions

Abstract This study present assessed the effect of UV pulsed light (PL) on microbial and organic pollutants using two spiral lamps were used, i.e., PL1 and PL2 lamps, with wavelength cut-offs of 190 and 240 nm, respectively. Overall, our study demonstrated that pulsed UV light impacts several microbial biomolecules and degrades polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aqueous solution. In microbial inactivation by PL2, temporary changes of bacterial cellular components, specifically proteins, were observed, but the compositional changes of bacteria that were exposed to PL1 were permanent due to ozonolysis. PL1 irradiation caused greater deactivation of the bacteria than PL2 irradiation due to the generation of ozone. The higher efficacy of PL1 in terms of membrane disruption, reduction of respiration rate, and reduction of growth rate was due to the production of ozone during the irradiation period. The bacteria that were irradiated with both PL lamps regrew due to photoreactivation, such as an enzymatic DNA-repair mechanism. The PAH degradation kinetics indicate that higher molecular weights degraded faster than those with lower molecular weights. For both lamps, the degradation of naphthalene and fluorene was first order, whereas second order for pyrene and anthracene. Any effect of ozonolysis on the PAH degradation rates was not apparent, which indicated that photolysis was the primary degradation pathway. PAH solutions treated with both pulsed UV lamps did not result in a toxicity effect on the bacteria.
Chapter 13 – On-Farm Technologies and Practices to Improve Nitrogen Use Efficiency

This chapter describes the technologies and practices that may help producers use nitrogen (N) more efficiently. The phrase “Nitrogen use efficiency” (NUE) is widely used in agricultural and ecological studies. The application of N fertilizer to agricultural crops is generally very cost-effective, i.e., the cost of applying it is far outweighed by the extra value of crop obtained. The best management practices for optimum NUE that are globally applicable, includes choosing the highest-yielding variety of the crop to maximize the use of available N (bearing in mind quality, e.g., for milling); maintaining a green cover in fields; early drilling of autumn-sown crops early, calculating fertilizer requirements using a fertilizer recommendation system; and allowing for soil mineral N, mineralized N from soil organic matter, crop residues, legumes, and manures. Nitrogen management strategies should start with a good understanding of precipitation patterns and variability in order to minimize N loss but not be N deficient with the crop. Leaching losses may be reduced by splitting spring fertilizer applications, but yield benefits should not be expected. For sandy soils, timing of N applications with crop need is crucial since leaching potential is high. Irrigation systems that deliver water non-excessively (irrigation rate, infiltration rate) and evenly over the field can be used for spoon-feeding N in the irrigation water (fertigation). On a larger spatial and temporal scale, a change of rotation or type of farming system can reduce N losses. Organic farming can result in smaller leaching losses over a rotation, but careful management during the plowing out of the leguminous phase is required because this releases large amounts of N through mineralization. Crop yield and N use efficiency may also be improved under some field conditions with nitrification.
The Back Pain Outcome Assessment Team.

This assessment team chose to focus on back pain because of the high prevalence of the condition in the population and the high cost of related medical care and disability compensation. Furthermore, wide geographic variations in the use of hospitalization and surgery for back pain have been well documented. It is estimated that 60 percent to 80 percent of the adult population will have low back pain at some time, and low back pain is the second leading reason for all physician visits. We chose the broad rubric of "low back pain" as the scope of inquiry because diagnostic criteria for back problems are often ambiguous, multiple conditions may coexist, and definitive diagnosis is often impossible. The broad hypothesis underlying our research is that variations in the use of surgery, hospitalization, and diagnostic technologies are often related to physician practice styles, and can be substantially reduced with little or no adverse effect on patient outcomes. The specific objectives of this assessment team are to:
Metajournalistic discourse on the rise of gaming journalism

Gaming journalism, which finds its origins in public relations-oriented gaming magazines, discursively attached itself to traditional journalism in the wake of the 2014 GamerGate controversy. Yet i...
Computer Optimization of Stealth Biodegradable Polymeric Dual-loaded Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy Using Central Composite Face-centered Design.

Background Combination chemotherapy capable of overcoming cancer drug resistance can be facilitated by nanotechnology. Objective Synthesis, characterization, statistical experimental design, analysis and optimization of stealth pH-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles suitable as a platform for simultaneous delivery of paclitaxel and 17-AAG in breast cancer therapy were investigated. Methods An acetal crosslinker and a poly(ɛ)caprolactone macromonomer were synthesized and characterized. The statistical experimental design used was the response surface method (RSM). We used the central composite face-centered design (CCF) in three independent factors and seventeen runs. Nanoparticles were fabricated by dispersion polymerization techniques. Response variables evaluated were: particle size, drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, and in vitro availability. Results Scanning electron micrographs showed the formation of spherical nanoparticles. Computer software was used for the analysis of variance with a 95% confidence level and Q2 (goodness of prediction) to select an appropriate model for each of the response variables. Each term in each of the models was tested for the significance of the regression coefficients. The computer software optimizer was used for optimization to select factor combination to minimize particle size, time (h) for maximum release of paclitaxel and 17-AAG, to maximize paclitaxel and 17-AAG loading efficiency and to maximize paclitaxel and 17-AAG encapsulation efficiency. Conclusion The optimization was successful, as shown by the validation data which lie within the confidence intervals of predicted values of the response variables. The selected factor combination is suitable for the in vivo evaluation of the nanoparticles loaded with paclitaxel and 17-AAG.
Crystal structure of an atypical cobalamin riboswitch reveals RNA structural adaptability as basis for promiscuous ligand binding

Cobalamin riboswitches encompass a structurally diverse group of cis-acting, gene regulatory elements found mostly in bacterial messenger RNA and are classified into subtypes based on secondary and tertiary characteristics. An unusual variant of the cobalamin riboswitch with predicted structural features was identified in Bacillus subtilis over a decade ago, but its structure and mechanisms of cobalamin selectivity and translational control have remained unsolved. We present the crystal structure of the aptamer domain of this atypical cobalamin riboswitch and a model for the complete riboswitch, including its expression platform domain. We demonstrate that this riboswitch binds to multiple cobalamin derivatives and correlate its promiscuous behavior to its structure and unique arrangement of peripheral elements. Comparative structural analyses between conventional cobalamin riboswitches and the B. subtilis cobalamin riboswitch reveal that the likely basis for this promiscuous ligand binding is intrinsic structural adaptability encoded in the RNA structure. It suggests that cobalamin selectivity might ultimately be viewed as existing on a spectrum of affinity for each derivative rather than as belonging to distinct types based on ligand specificities. Our work provides an interesting and notable example of functional coupling of ligand-sensing and adaptive folding by a structured RNA molecule.
Are Fatty Acids Gluconeogenic Precursors

It is widely accepted that the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle is a critical partner for gluconeogenesis (GNG) in hepatocytes. Although researchers in the 1950s showed, using radiolabeled long-chain fatty acids, that acetate derived from fatty acid β-oxidation contributes carbon to glucose, fatty acids are not included on lists of gluconeogenic precursors in many textbooks of biochemistry and nutritional biochemistry. Here, by following the flow of carbon atoms through the mitochondrial TCA cycle and into cytosolic GNG, it is shown that carbons in acetyl-CoA derived from fatty acid β-oxidation will be found in glucose. Specifically, it is evident that, after the condensation of acetyl-CoA and oxaloacetate (OAA) to make citrate at the start of the TCA cycle, the 2 carbons lost from the cycle as carbon dioxide come from OAA, not acetyl-CoA. Carbons from acetyl-CoA are retained as the cycle progresses toward malate, and when malate exits the mitochondrion for GNG, carbons that originated in acetyl-CoA and OAA are found to contribute equally to glucose. With influx of other critical precursors into the TCA cycle and efflux of malate into the cytosol for GNG, the TCA cycle is in balance. During fasting-induced GNG, there is a net gain of glucose in glucogenic cells; however, the fact that there is no net gain in the TCA cycle is irrelevant as far as precursors are concerned. Given the physiological importance of fat as a source of reserve energy, and knowing that some cell types rely on glucose as their primary supplier of energy, a role for fatty acids in glucose production aligns both with intuition and with evidence provided by a careful look at the biochemistry and older isotope studies. Hopefully, subsequent editions of textbooks will list fatty acids among the gluconeogenic precursors.
Fine-scale spatiotemporal variation in subsidence across California’s San Joaquin Valley explained by groundwater demand

Achieving sustainable agricultural groundwater use remains a significant challenge worldwide in part because data on groundwater withdrawals are limited. A new generation of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data provide high spatial- and temporal- resolution measurements of subsidence and uplift of the earth's surface, which are known to reflect change in groundwater storage below. Here, we establish for the first time a quantitative link between local irrigation water demand and InSAR-derived vertical land surface displacements in California's San Joaquin Valley, with the goal of increasing the utility of remotely sensed displacements for understanding and managing groundwater at fine scales. We relate 100 m, sub-monthly displacements to estimates of irrigation water demand generated from land cover and weather data by performing a suite of physical process-motivated statistical analyses that leverage (i) temporal variations in surface water supplies created by climate, and (ii) spatial variations in water demand created by different land uses. Between 2015 and 2017, cultivated land experienced up to seven times the total subsidence, and up to nine times the dry year subsidence rate, of uncultivated land. In uncultivated areas, subsidence rates differed minimally across dry and wet years. In contrast, within cultivated areas, dry year subsidence rates were more than double wet year rates, indicating increased agricultural groundwater pumping under diminished precipitation and surface water supplies. Mean subsidence, and the marginal response of subsidence to water demand, were greatest for cultivated lands and for field and pasture crops in particular, and were also proportional to distance from surface water supply infrastructure. These findings demonstrate that land surface observations have the potential for use in the quantification of connected surface water and groundwater processes at policy-relevant scales.
Comprehensive analysis of liposome formulation parameters and their influence on encapsulation, stability and drug release in glibenclamide liposomes

Abstract An understanding of the factors that affect liposome size, drug loading, stability and drug release is critical for the rational design of liposomes with desired pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. This article presents a report on the formulation and characterization of BIIB093 (glibenclamide) liposomes as well as a detailed analysis of the influence of formulation methods and parameters on encapsulation efficiency, liposome size, charge (zeta potential, ZP), polydispersity index (PDI), and drug release. PEGylated liposomes containing BIIB093 were made using ethanol injection and calcium acetate remote loading. The critical formulation parameters investigated include: the effect of lipid chain length, lipid unsaturation, lipid phase transition temperature (Tc) and the amount of cholesterol. Liposomes generated in this study had low average particle size (130 ± 20 nm), PDI (0.15 ± 0.1) and ZP (-2 ± 1 mV). Liposomes made from lipids with long acyl chains showed enhanced drug loading, encapsulation efficiency and drug retention. Similarly, liposomes made from lipids with high degree of unsaturation and low Tc exhibited faster drug release rates. Additionally, increasing the amount of cholesterol in the liposome bilayer improved PDI, decreased drug incorporation and accelerated drug release but had negligible impact on liposome size and ZP. Furthermore, encapsulating the drug in the liposome core enabled sustained drug release.
What can the trove of CSB incident investigations teach us? A detailed analysis of information characteristics among chemical process incidents investigated by the CSB

Abstract Understanding the commonalities among previous chemical process incidents can help mitigate recurring incidents in the chemical process industry and will be useful background knowledge for designers intending to foster inherent safety. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) reports provide detailed and vital incident information that can be used to identify possible commonalities. This study aims to develop a systematic approach for extracting data from the CSB reports with the objective of establishing these commonalities. Data were extracted based on three categories: attributed incident causes, scenarios, and consequences. Seventeen causal factors were classified as chemical indicators or process indicators. Twelve chemical indicators are associated with the hazards of the chemicals involved in the incidents, whereas five process indicators account for the hazards presented by process conditions at the time of the incident. Seven scenario factors represent incident sequences, equipment types, operating modes, process units, domino effects, detonation likelihood for explosion incidents, and population densities. Finally, three consequence factors were selected based on types of chemical incidents, casualties, population densities, and economic losses. Data from 87 CSB reports covering 94 incidents were extracted and analyzed according to the proposed approach. Based on these findings, the study proposes guidelines for future collection of information to provide valuable resources for prediction and risk reduction of future incidents.
Abiotic and Biotic Interactions Control Ruppia maritima Life History Development Within a Heterogeneous Coastal Landscape

Habitat-forming submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in estuaries increasingly depend on sexual recruitment from propagules for population sustainability under varying conditions from climate and human-induced changes. Seed recruitment requires successful transitions through multiple life history stages, but few studies have examined abiotic and interspecies interactions on multiple life stages in SAV. A series of field experiments in Florida Bay quantified impacts of abiotic (salinity, temperature, light, sediment nutrients) and biotic (interspecific SAV interactions) factors on seedlings, adult individuals (genets), and shoots (ramets) of the SAV Ruppia maritima. Five study sites were established at the Everglades-Florida Bay ecotone, where seed recruitment sustains R. maritima. Seedling survival was low (≤ 16%), and further reduced under low light, P-limitation and competition with the macroalga Chara hornemannii. Significantly high genet survival and vegetative and sexually reproductive shoot production (4400 m−2 and 300 m−2, respectively) were found at a site where nutrients (P) were sufficient, when C. hornemannii was absent and light levels were three-times higher during the dry season (~ 14000 lumens m−2; December–March) than any other time of year. At P-limited sites, vegetative shoot production occurred with adequate light (> 20,000 lumens m−2) at stable salinities (CV 0.5) where 30–45-day averages remained < 15. However, variable or elevated salinity delayed vegetative shoot production ~ 60 days, suggesting salinity stress limits asexual reproduction. Understanding how light and P-limitation, salinity stress, and competition controls R. maritima recruitment in the Everglades is essential to its management for restoration and climate change.
Hervé Guibert et Philippe Mezescaze : Un cataclysme amoureux empreint de théâtralité et de cruauté

In his autobiographical work, Deux garcons, Philippe Mezescaze relates his love story with Herve Guibert—a love conceived during adolescence. During a theater class given in the Cultural Center of ...
Hidden Income and the Perceived Returns to Migration

In many developing economies, urban workers earn substantially more than rural workers with the same level of education. Why don't more rural workers migrate to cities? I use two field experiments in Kenya to show that low migration is partly due to underestimation of urban incomes, and that this inaccurate information can be sustained by migrants' strategic motives to hide income to minimize remittance obligations. Parents underestimate their migrant children's incomes by nearly half, and underestimation is greater when a migrant's incentive to hide income is higher. Providing information about urban earnings increases migration to the capital city by 39% over two years.
A 64-year-old woman with rapid neurologic decline diagnosed with Toxoplasma encephalitis after presumed metastatic cancer:

In an era of fragmented medical care, concurrent clinical features that ultimately lead to a unified diagnosis may not be prioritized appropriately. We present a case of a 64-year-old woman referre...
The Prohibition of Violence in the Laws of Arab Countries

Sadly, in the context of numerous uprises and social conflicts, many countries halted the implementation of child protective acts and procedures, in relation with armed conflicts and social instability. Cases of child sexual abuse, trafficking and exploitation have increasingly been reported in media and an expanding social network in the Arab region, linking more armed conflicts, social instability and child trafficking.
Analysis of Business Activities

Most of the processes with which a reengineered organization will be concerned already exist in some form in the organization. The processes are redefined as requirements documents. A more radical approach is to redesign an organization without any regard for what already exists.
Small Angle Scattering Study of Polyethylene Crystallization from Solutions

Crystallization of low molecular weight polyethylene from concentrated solutions has been studied using small angle neutron scattering (SANS). The de- tection sensitivity of the volume fraction degree of crystallinity is estimated to be 10 −5 , allowing for measuring the structure and kinetics during the very early stages of crystal growth. SANS spectra for both the early and late stages of crystallization can be satisfactorily interpreted with a lamellar crystal model; there is no evidence of diverging or spinodal-decomposition-like density fluctuations during the early stage of crystallization in polyethylene solutions. A possible explanation of the dominant wavevector in small angle x-ray scattering that led to the proposal of "spinodal decomposition" mechanism for early stage crystallization is suggested.
Liberty, Efficiency, and Law

Unlike the legislators, judges must offer official explanations for their decisions that are carefully scrutinized by the bar and academics. The process of adjudication thus emphasizes cogency and reasonableness. The reasons given by judges for their decisions are bewildering in their complexity: equity, fairness, efficiency, clarity, administrability, precedent, and morality, to name a few, jostle each other for prominence. Any attempt to arrange these values in order of priority risks distorting the law. It is, however, the task of theorists to reduce complex facts to simple explanations. Theorists are to be forgiven, even praised, for trying to reduce the bewildering particularity of the law to a modest number of coherent abstractions, even though their efforts never entirely succeed. This article concerns the relationship between fundamental legal values and the economic analysis of law. Much of applied welfare economics, including cost-benefit analysis, takes as its objective increasing the wealth of society. This approach has been applied to law with considerable success by economists, whose practice has been raised to the level of principle-the principle that the law ought to maximize wealth-by philosophically inclined theorists, notably Richard Posner.' Reducing the complex purposes of the common law to a single, abstract value is an heroic project. One understanding of this project is that wealth is the most fundamental legal value. This article, however, offers a different understanding of the economic analysis of law. Most concepts of economic efficiency assume an initial distribution of resources as a starting point. An initial distribution of resources is needed to supply the prices that are used to reduce different goods to a single metric for purposes of comparing their value. Once prices are given, it is possible to ask whether a particular policy increases or decreases value. When this framework is applied to law, the initial distribution of resources corresponds to the fundamental rights and duties that law assigns to people. These rights and duties may be characterized as normative resources. The efficiency analysis of law, as the present author understands it, takes as its objective
Massively parallel assumption-based truth maintenance

De Kleer's Assumption-based Truth Maintenance System (ATMS) is a propositional inference engine designed to simplify the construction of problem solvers that search complex search spaces efficiently. The ATMS has become a key component of many problem solvers, and often the primary consumer of computational resources. Although considerable effort has gone into designing and optimizing the LISP implementation, it now appears to be approaching the performance limitations of serial architectures. In this paper we show how the combination of a conventional serial machine and a massively parallel processor can dramatically speed up the ATMS algorithms, providing a very powerful general purpose architecture for problem solving.
The Biasing Effect of Gang Evidence on Juror Decisions

This study was designed to examine the potential biasing effects of gang association on mock juror verdicts. Three hundred and fifteen undergraduate psychology students watched one of three versions of a simulated trial that included opening and closing arguments by the defense and prosecution, together with direct and cross examination of the investigating officer and the victim/eyewitness. The three versions differed only in regard to mention of the defendant’s gang association. Gang association was manipulated by having the defendant described as either seen hanging out with gang members on the night of the incident (Gang affiliate), or being a documented gang member with a gang tattoo (Hardcore gang member). In the control condition, no mention of gangs was made. As predicted, when testimony on gang affiliation was introduced, guilty verdicts rose significantly. Overall, participants were more likely to find the defendant guilty in the Gang affiliate and Hardcore gang conditions when compared to the No gang control condition. These data demonstrate the prejudicial effect of linking a criminal defendant to a street gang by membership or mere association. Various explanations for this effect are examined, and the potential prejudicial impact of gang evidence is discussed.
Single chip test and burn-in

The last decade has seen the explosion of advanced packaging technologies. Excitement and interest in smaller and lighter consumer products has driven the need to reduce package size. As the smallest package is no package, bare die have been proposed as the-ultimate solution. Bare die have been available for many years driven by the need for small size in products for military and aerospace markets. These markets, while significant, have not had the cost drivers associated with the consumer product markets. Also, the tools and techniques for testing and burn-in of bare die were considered expensive perhaps acceptable for the mission critical military and aerospace applications but not in the cost sensitive products that are being demanded by consumers. The growth of the-laptop and hand-held computers in the mid-nineties resulted in several OEM's evaluating the decision to sell bare die. This stimulated the test socket and burn-in fixture industry to develop a number of techniques for the testing and burn-in of bare die. While the initial costs were high it was shown that the lifetime cost of the techniques could be comparable to die cost of the package. However, end users have maintained that the cost of a bare die should be less than the equivalent packaged device. This is extremely difficult to achieve for ICs that have low cost packages and low margins to begin with (e.g., DRAM), especially if the bare die user requires low volumes of product. The net result was that even though a number of test and burn-in solutions for bare die conditioning were becoming available, the general immaturity of the infrastructure made the decision to implement a bare die solution for applications a risky proposition. Many OEMs opted for a less risky solution, the emerging chip scale package. However, the increasing demand for smaller form factor and multi-chip packages in consumer markets, coupled with lower costs due to maturing of the technologies, is stimulating suppliers to re-evaluate the options for test and burn-in of bare die products.
Copper Nanofilm Formation by Electrochemical Atomic Layer Deposition Ultrahigh-Vacuum Electrochemical and In Situ STM Studies

Au(111) single-crystal substrates were used in studies of Cu nanofilm formation by electrochemical atomic layer deposion (ALD). Cu undepotential deposition (UPD) was used to deposit the first Cu atomic layer on a Au(111) substrate, modified with an atomic layer of I atoms. By definition, Cu UPD results in the formation of an atomic layer, thus, to deposit subsequent Cu, surface-limited redox replacement (SLRR) was used. The SLRR involved initial formation of Pb UPD on the Cu-coated surface just described. This Pb UPD-coated surface was then exposed to CuSO 4 at open-circuit potential (OCP), where the Pb atoms were exchanged for Cu. In the ultrahigh-vacuum electrochemical (UHV-EC) studies presented here, two Pb UPD potentials were investigated: -0.400 and -0.440 V. UHV-EC studies involved use of a surface analysis instrument with optics for low-energy electron diffraction and Auger, and to which was attached an ante-chamber containing a Pyrex glass electrochemical H-cell. In this way, surface analysis was performed without transfer of the deposit through air and the contamination which would result. In addition, studies of the first few cycles of redox replacement were investigated using electrochemical in situ scanning tunnel microscopy (STM), with a flow cell for solution exchange to prevent loss of potential control.
Hazardous drinking and HIV-risk-related behavior among male clients of female sex workers in Tijuana, Mexico.

Background and Objectives Male clients of female sex workers (FSWs) are at high risk for HIV. Whereas the HIV risks of alcohol use are well understood less is known about hazardous alcohol use among male clients of FSWs particularly in Mexico. We sought to identify risk factors for hazardous alcohol use and test associations between hazardous alcohol use and HIV risk behavior among male clients in Tijuana. Method Male clients of FSWs in Tijuana (n = 400) completed a quantitative interview in 2008. The AUDIT was used to characterize hazardous alcohol use. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine independent associations of demographic and HIV risk variables with hazardous alcohol use (vs. non-hazardous). Results Forty percent of our sample met criteria for hazardous alcohol use. Variables independently associated with hazardous drinking were reporting any sexually transmitted infection (STI) having sex with a FSW while under the influence of alcohol being younger than 36 years of age living in Tijuana and ever having been jailed. Hazardous drinkers were less likely ever to have been deported or to have shared injection drugs. Discussion and Conclusions Hazardous alcohol use is associated with HIV risk including engaging in sex with FSWs while intoxicated and having an STI among male clients of FSWs in Tijuana. Scientific Significance We systematically described patterns and correlates of hazardous alcohol use among male clients of FSWs in Tijuana Mexico. The results suggest that HIV/STI risk reduction interventions must target hazardous alcohol users and be tailored to address alcohol use.
Comparative phylogeography of Amphicarpaea legumes and their root‐nodule symbionts in Japan and North America

Aim Relationships of eastern Asian and eastern North American populations of legumes in the genus Amphicarpaea Elliot ex. Nuttall (Phaseoleae–Glycininae) and their root nodule bacteria (Bradyrhizobium Jordan) were analysed to test whether both organisms share an identical biogeographic history. Location Japan and eastern North America (New York and Illinois). Methods Sequences of three plant genes (chloroplast trnL region, nuclear ribosomal ITS, and histone H3-D) and a segment of the bacterial ribosomal region (partial 16S rRNA and 23S rRNA genes, and the 16S rRNA–23S rRNA ITS) were used to analyse phylogenetic relationships. Results For plants, Japanese populations formed a sister group to a well-supported clade of all North American genotypes. For nodule bacteria associated with Amphicarpaea, isolates from North America did not form a single clade relative to Asian genotypes. Japanese Bradyrhizobium isolates were closely related to particular sub-groups of North American bacteria (lineages ‘B’ and ‘C’), with other American bacteria branching earlier. Main conclusions Plants and bacteria showed clear deviations from a pattern of parallel cladogenesis. The most basal Amphicarpaea lineage was associated with a recently-diverged bacterial group, while one recently-diverged plant lineage had symbionts that branched in a basal position relative to the other Amphicarpaea bacteria. When analysed with data on symbiotic compatibility from inoculation experiments, the molecular phylogenies suggested that for plants, at least one transition has occurred toward more promiscuous nodulation behaviour. Among bacteria, strains with narrow host range on Amphicarpaea appear to be ancestral to symbiotic generalists.