cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A More Accurate Measure of Local Public Goods: Overlapping Government Combinations as Units of Analysis

This study posits and tests the viability of a new unit of analysis for local public goods in metropolitan areas: overlapping government combinations (OGCs). Counties, municipalities, school districts, and other special districts operate simultaneously within the same space, each providing their own set of local public goods. Residents of the same city can live within the boundaries of different counties, school districts and other special districts and thus receive (and pay for) very different quantities and qualities of public goods. Though there is a great deal of literature devoted to the variation of local public goods in a fragmented metropolitan region, there is none that cumulates the different local government types into units that represent the true bundles of local public goods that are provided to citizens and property owners. This study tackles this problem through the application of geographic information systems (GIS) to stack counties, municipalities, and school districts in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington CMSA into unique OGCs. The unique OGCs are compared to their underlying component governments with respect to property tax rates and school performance and are found to be statistically distinct.
The growth and characterization of Si and Ge nanowires grown from reactive metal catalysts

We discuss the benefits of using metals other than Au to catalyze the growth of Si and Ge nanowires, emphasizing the opportunities that these non-conventional materials provide for tailoring electronic and structural nanowire properties. However, since these metals are more reactive than Au, their use creates constraints on wire growth conditions as well as difficulties in post-growth characterization. These issues are illustrated for Si and Si/Ge nanowires grown from Al, Cu and AuAl starting materials. The vacuum requirements for the deposition of the reactive metals are discussed as well as the effect of atmospheric exposure on the structure of wires observed post-growth with electron microscopy.
The effect of different concentrations of Peganum harmala seeds with or without a yeast cell wall product on the live performance, intestinal histomorphology, and weights of visceral organs of broiler chickens

SUMMARY Antibiotics are added to broiler feed in subtherapeutic doses for growth promotion. This practice may lead to the problem of developing resistant pathogens. Therefore, there is a desire to find alternatives to dietary antibiotics. It has been suggested that extracts and alkaloids of Peganum harmala seeds (PHS) in different doses have antimicrobial activities in addition to antioxidant, toxic, and mutagenic characteristics. Lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, and their cell walls have showed antimutagenic and absorptive properties against various types of mutagens with different chemical structures; therefore, this study was conducted to demonstrate the effects of feeding different concentrations of PHS with or without a yeast cell wall product (YCWP) on the live performance, intestinal histomorphology, and visceral organ weights of broilers. Furthermore, this study was an attempt to investigate the effects of YCWP on the probable toxic effects of PHS. It was concluded that PHS could not be considered an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters because of its adverse effects on live performance. In addition, YCWP had protective properties against the undesirable effects of PHS on the liver and intestinal epithelium, which could be the result of YCWP or intestinal lactic acid bacteria absorbing the harmful alkaloids in the PHS.
Novel mTOR inhibitory activity of ciclopirox enhances parthenolide antileukemia activity

Ciclopirox, an antifungal agent commonly used for the dermatologic treatment of mycoses, has been shown recently to have antitumor properties. Although the exact mechanism of ciclopirox is unclear, its antitumor activity has been attributed to iron chelation and inhibition of the translation initiation factor eIF5A. In this study, we identify a novel function of ciclopirox in the inhibition of mTOR. As with other mTOR inhibitors, we show that ciclopirox significantly enhances the ability of the established preclinical antileukemia compound, parthenolide, to target acute myeloid leukemia. The combination of parthenolide and ciclopirox demonstrates greater toxicity against acute myeloid leukemia than treatment with either compound alone. We also demonstrate that the ability of ciclopirox to inhibit mTOR is specific to ciclopirox because neither iron chelators nor other eIF5A inhibitors affect mTOR activity, even at high doses. We have thus identified a novel function of ciclopirox that might be important for its antileukemic activity.
Bronchiectasis in Patients With α1-Antitrypsin Deficiency : A Rare Occurrence?

The chest radiographs and computed tomographic (CT) scans of seven patients with homozygous proteinase inhibitor phenotype Z (PiZZ) α 1 -antitrypsin deficiency were reviewed. All patients except one showed severe emphysema with or without bullous change. Bronchiectasis was detected in three patients by CT but only in two patients by chest radiography. A young patient developed bronchiectasis before symptomatic emphysema. We stress that patients with PiZZ are susceptible to bronchiectasis, and the widespread use of CT should reveal its true incidence which might not be as low as generally believed.
Inverter topologies and control techniques for sinusoidal output power supplies

The author reviews the state of the art in terms of power converter topologies and control techniques for realizing sinusoidal output systems. In terms of control strategy, the use of a variety of pulsewidth modulation (PWM) techniques have been proposed for realizing small filter size and good spectral performance. Some of the more popular techniques prevalent in industry are of potential importance and are reviewed. Alternatives for single and polyphase systems are examined. A variety of topologies are seen to be suitable, including conventional PWM inverters, soft switching resonant link inverters, and high-frequency AC link converters. Control strategies which yield output waveforms with good spectral purity, particularly in the presence of nonlinear loads, are examined. Both voltage and current regulator based controllers are seen to be viable alternatives. >
Integrating Scheduling and Replication in Data Grids with Performance Guarantee

Data Grid consists of geographically distributed computing and storage resources that are used in large scale scientific applications. Job scheduling and data replication are two well-known techniques to boost the performance of Data Grid. There has been extensive research on integrating both techniques to further improve performance in Data Grid. However, most of the current work are heuristic based without performance guarantees. In this paper, we propose to integrate data replication and job scheduling into one framework to minimize the total job execution time in Data Grid. We refer to the problem as {\em Integrated Scheduling and Replication Problem.} This problem is NP-hard. We first propose a job scheduling and data replication algorithm, which not only has theoretically provable performance but also dramatically reduces the time complexity compared to that of the optimal algorithm. We then design a series of polynomial heuristic algorithms. Using extensive simulations, we demonstrate that among the heuristic algorithms, the integrated replication and scheduling algorithm performs closest to the one with performance guarantee.
Anodic Dissolution-Based Mechanism for the Rapid Cracking, Preexposure Phenomenon Demonstrated by Aluminum-Lithium-Copper Alloys

Abstract Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) test specimens of Al-Li-Cu alloy that were subjected to fixed-displacement loading and exposed to aerated 3.5 wt% sodium chloride (NaCl) solution for 1 week failed < 24 h after removal into ambient atmospheres. Anodic dissolution-based mechanisms proposed previously for this phenomenon were amended based upon further characterization of the rapid cracking process. Amendments were based on studies of the relative electrochemical behavior of the microstructural elements in the subgrain boundary (SGB) region, time-to-failure SCC testing in a simulated crack solution, evolution of crack potential and pH with time, fractographic examination of failed samples, and x-ray diffraction (XRD) of films passivating crack walls. Results suggested an active path existed along SGB that was composed of the highly reactive T1 (Al2CuLi) precipitate phase and a solute-depleted zone that did not passivate readily when exposed to the crack environment. The matrix phase along crack walls...
Borate G-Banding Technique Applicable to In Situ Deoxyribonucleic Acid/Deoxyribonucleic Acid Hybridized Chicken Chromosomes

The borate G-banding technique produced excellent longitudinal bands similar to trypsin G-bands on chicken chromosomes prepared from embryo material. Aged chromosome preparations on slides were pretreated in borate buffer (pH 9.2) for 10 to 30 s at 37 C, then stained in Giemsa solution. This simple G-banding procedure gave high-resolution chromosome banding and permitted the visualization of silver grains that localized cloned gene sequences or cloned DNA fragments to specific regions by in situ hybridization.
Comparison of the use of a toothpick holder to dental floss in improvement of gingival health in humans

Background: Although advances have been made in modulation of host inflammatory response in periodontal therapy, it is important to control the bacterial challenge to the host immune system through conventional therapy and improvement of personal oral hygiene. Although toothbrushing is generally performed, interdental cleaning is not as common. This study compared the use of dental floss to a toothpick holder in the improvement of gingival health. Methods: Participants were examined and those with clinical gingivitis or slight chronic periodontitis were included in the study. O'Leary plaque, interproximal plaque index (IPI), and Eastman interdental bleeding index scores (EIBI) were recorded at baseline and following appointments. Forty-two females and 13 males ranging from 18 to 50 years in age were randomly divided into either a dental flossing group or toothpick holder using group. Each was given instructions in the use of the oral hygiene device and examined 2, 6, and 12 weeks following baseline. At 12...
Survey of Employment for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

The role of employment in the lives of young adults and adults with developmental disabilities has received a considerable amount of attention during the past few years. This study attempted to document the movement of this population into the areas of competitive employment. A survey of 1,629 facilities and organizations throughout the U.S. revealed that more developmentally disabled persons are being hired in competitive employment settings, and that job retention is good. Further, the data confirm that the movement of this population into competitive work settings is both realistic and financially sound.
Health Effects of Metals: A Role for Evolution?

Abstract Metals have been mined and used since ancient times. The industrial era has seen a sharp increase in both the amounts and variety of metals that find applications in industry. The inadvertent release of metals, such as from fossil fuel consumption, also adds to the global burden. A number of catastrophic outbreaks have alerted us to the occupational and environmental health risks. Life on this planet has evolved in the presence of metals. Cells learned to make use of the more abundant metals in the Archean oceans as an integral component in their structure and function. Today, we inherit these as the essential metals. At the same time, evolving life must have developed means of coping with the potentially toxic actions of metals. The appearance of oxygen in the atmosphere in the Precambrian period also resulted in cells both using and developing protective mechanisms against what must have been a highly toxic, reactive gas. Atmospheric oxygen must have increased the solubility of many metals as insoluble metal sulfides were oxidized to the more soluble sulfates. It may be no coincidence that the protective mechanisms for oxygen are also used to protect against a number of toxic metals. Selected examples are given on the role of evolution in metal toxicology, specifically, examples where the normal function of essential metals is deranged by competition with nonessential metals. Examples are also given of protective mechanisms that involve enzymes or cofactors involved in the oxygen defense system.
Surface Impedance and the Efficiency of Horizontal-Dipole Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Antenna Arrays

The effective conductivity of a potential antenna site is a measure of the field strength that an antenna built on the site would radiate. Only in special cases, however, is this same measure suitable for characterizing the power that the antenna would dissipate. It is shown that in the case of a current-sheet antenna built on a horizontally stratified half-space, a measure that characterizes both the radiation and dissipation properties of the site is the complex surface impedance. This same measure remains substantially valid for an antenna composed of separate cables and for inhomogeneous half-spaces of not too great lateral variation. The most reliable methods of measuring the surface impedance are the E/H and H/I methods, provided both include the measurement of the phase of the ratio.
Magnetoconductivity and magnetoluminescence studies in bipolar and almost hole-only sandwich devices made from films of a π-conjugated molecule

We present magnetoconductivity and magnetoluminescence measurements in sandwich devices made from films of a π-conjugated molecule and demonstrate effects of more than 30 and 50% magnitude, respectively, in fields of 100 mT at room-temperature. It has previously been recognized that the effect is caused by hyperfine coupling, and that it is phenomenologically similar to other magnetic field effects that act on electron–hole pairs, which are well-known in spin-chemistry. However, we show that the very large magnitude of the effect contradicts present knowledge of the electron–hole pair recombination processes in electroluminescent π-conjugated molecules, and that the effect persists even in almost hole-only devices. Therefore, this effect is likely caused by the interaction of radical pairs of equal charge.
Percutaneous therapy of acute on chronic lower extremity venous occlusive disease

Venous thromboembolic disease is an underdiagnosed disease spectrum with a high mortality and morbidity. Despite significant advances in cardiovascular interventions, venous occlusive disease has not received the attention it deserves from the interventional cardiology community. We describe an 82-year-old man with massive left lower extremity DVT who underwent successful percutaneous endovenous intervention (PEVI) with rapid resolution of symptoms. We like to use this case as a call to action and raise awareness of the importance of PEVI in the treatment of extensive venous occlusive disease. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Social policy responsiveness in developed democracies

Do mass policy preferences influence the policy output of welfare states in developed democracies? This is an important issue for welfare state theory and research, and this article presents an analysis that builds from analytical innovations developed in the emerging literature on linkages between mass opinion and public policy. The authors analyze a new dataset combining a measure of social policy preferences with data on welfare state spending, alongside controls for established causal factors behind social policy-making. The analysis provides evidence that policy preferences exert a significant influence over welfare state output. Guided also by statistical tests for endogeneity, the authors find that cross-national differences in the level of policy preferences help to account for a portion of the differences among social, Christian, and liberal welfare state regimes. The results have implications for developing fruitful connections between welfare state scholarship, comparative opinion research, and recent opinion/policy studies.
Fitness of Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson in the Cilantro Phyllosphere

The epiphytic fitness of Salmonella enterica was assessed on cilantro plants by using a strain of S. enterica serovar Thompson that was linked to an outbreak resulting from cilantro. Salmonella serovar Thompson had the ability to colonize the surface of cilantro leaves, where it was detected by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) at high densities on the veins and in natural lesions. The population sizes of two common colonizers of plant surfaces, Pantoea agglomerans and Pseudomonas chlororaphis, were 10-fold higher than that of the human pathogen on cilantro incubated at 22°C. However, Salmonella serovar Thompson achieved significantly higher population levels and accounted for a higher proportion of the total culturable bacterial flora on cilantro leaves when the plants were incubated at warm temperatures, such as 30°C, after inoculation, indicating that the higher growth rates exhibited by Salmonella serovar Thompson at warm temperatures may increase the competitiveness of this organism in the phyllosphere. The tolerance of Salmonella serovar Thompson to dry conditions on plants at 60% relative humidity was at least equal to that of P. agglomerans and P. chlororaphis. Moreover, after exposure to low humidity on cilantro, Salmonella serovar Thompson recovered under high humidity to achieve its maximum population size in the cilantro phyllosphere. Visualization by CLSM of green fluorescent protein-tagged Salmonella serovar Thompson and dsRed-tagged P. agglomerans inoculated onto cilantro revealed that the human pathogen and the bacterial epiphyte formed large heterogeneous aggregates on the leaf surface. Our studies support the hypothesis that preharvest contamination of crops by S. enterica plays a role in outbreaks linked to fresh fruits and vegetables.
Epiphyseal Union of the Cervical Vertebral Centra: Its Relationship to Skeletal Age and Maturation of Thoracic Vertebral Centra

Epiphyseal union stages for cervical vertebral centra (ring epiphyses) were documented for 55 individuals (females and males, ages 14-27 years) from the Terry Collection, using the Albert and Maples method 1, to examine both its relationship to age at death and to thoracic data collected from the same individuals using the same method. Results showed a moderate correlation between cervical ring union and age (r = 0.63, p = 0.000), and a fairly low correlation between cervical and thoracic ring union (r = 0.41, p = 0.002). Paired samples t-tests yielded a statistically significant difference between cervical and thoracic union mean values (p = 0.01). Union progressed earlier in cervical vertebrae and in females. Results indicated fairly substantial variation in both sexes. Findings may serve as a basic guideline for estimating a general age range at death for unknown skeletal remains and to corroborate findings from other skeletal age indicators.
Spinal degenerative disk disease (DDD) in female macaque monkeys: epidemiology and comparison with women

Spinal degenerative disk disease (DDD) in a radiographic, cross-sectional sample of 192 female macaque monkeys, approximately 5-30 years old, is described. The presence and extent of disk space narrowing (DSN) and anterior osteophytosis were assessed with reference to age, average lifetime body mass. and distribution within the thoracolumbar spine. Age was a strong correlate of disk narrowing and osteophytosis, with early signs appearing at equivalent ages in both species and increasing in prevalence thereafter. Macaques showed a far greater prevalence of DDD, especially in the oldest age group, than has been reported in the human data. Body mass was associated with disk narrowing in the macaque, but not with osteophytosis. The two species differed little in the pattern of distribution of DDD along the spine. Our results suggest that bipedality is not the singular, or even the most important, biomechanical factor in the development of human DDD. Rather, others shared postural regimes, e.g., sitting, may be responsible for the onset and progression of DDD in both species. The macaque model could substantially add to the understanding and, potentially, treatment of this oftentimes debilitating condition.
Quality-driven congestion control for target tracking in wireless sensor networks

This paper describes initial research in addressing the challenges of managing quality of information for wireless sensor network target tracking with multiple missions of various priorities tracking multiple targets. We address the use of a distributed market-based mechanism to equalize the information value loss (that itself is a function of quality of information (QoI)) of tracked targets across multiple tracking missions while managing network congestion arising as a result of tracking. This includes considering missionspsila priorities and starvation of missionspsila data updates. In support of this approach, we define QoI as a function of the precision of position prediction of a tracked target and the loss of information value as the product of QoI and the priority of the mission tracking the target.
Sol–gel derived Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films: Residual stress and electrical properties

Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 compositions are under investigation for applications that include integrated capacitors, piezoelectric sensors, and actuators. Sol–gel synthesis and spin coating are popular routes to the formation of high quality, dense, crack free, insulating films. However, the electrical properties of the films are often different than those measured for bulk specimens of the same composition. Pb(Zr 0.53Ti0.47)O3 films were deposited from a 2-methoxyethanol based sol–gel system onto Pt/Ti/SiO 2//Si substrates via spin-casting. Multiple layers were sequentially deposited and heat-treated to 650 ◦ C with the use of a PbO overcoat to ensure complete perovskite phase formation. Film thickness was varied from 0.19 to 0.5m to study the effect of thickness and residual stress on the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the polarizable and deformable material. Ex-situ wafer curvature measurements, combined with cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy, allowed for the determination of residual stresses in the thin films calculated by the Stoney equation. The macroscopic boundary conditions were then related to the measured properties of interest, namely dielectric constant, tan δ, and piezoelectric strain coefficient. Measured dielectric constants varied from ∼750 to ∼1000, while d33 values ranged from 30 to 44 pm/V, as determined by single-beam heterodyne laser interferometry measurements.
Integrating Reproductive Health and HIV Indicators into the Nigerian Health System – Building an Evidence Base for Action

The lack of integrated ME 14[1]:109-116). RĖSUMĖ Integration de la sante de la reproduction et les indices du vih dans le systeme de la sante publique: L’etablissement d’une base d’evidence pour l’action. Le manque de systeme de la S & E integre, le rend difficile a evaluer l’efficacite de l’integration du service du VIH et de la planification familiale (PF) Depuis 2007, le Nigeria a integre la PF et le les systemes de surveillance et d’evaluation (S & E). Une enquete faite avant et apres l’integration a compare la disponibilite et l’emploi des outils de l’integration de la S & E et de la PF – VIH six mois avant et 12 mois apres l’integration dans 71 etablissements de sante soutenus par Global HIV/AIDS Initiative Nigeria (GHAIN). En ce qui concerne pre-integration, quatre etablissements (6%) avaient des registres de la PF nationale, 32 (45%) avaient des donnees mensuelles totales de la PF et 33 (46%) ont signale les donnees jusqu’au niveau national. Pour ce qui est de la post-integration, tous les etablissements (100%) se sont servis du registre de la PF nationale avec les indices de l’integration PF – VIH et ont signale les donnees jusqu’au niveau national. Soixante-six etablissements (93%) avaient au moins une visite de surveillance par mois. Le nombre moyen des clients de la PF dans chaque etablissement qui ont ete orientes vers des etablissements pour le test pour le VIH a augmente de 5 le premier mois jusq’au 15 dans le 12ieme mois de la post integration. Les ressources destinees aux programmes du VIH ont ameliore de maniere importante les services de la moniteur et de la PF – VIH integration (Afr J Reprod Health 2010; 14[1]:109-116). KEYWORDS: Family planning, HIV, integration, monitoring and evaluation
Penalized Cox regression analysis in the high-dimensional and low-sample size settings, with applications to microarray gene expression data

Motivation: An important application of microarray technology is to relate gene expression profiles to various clinical phenotypes of patients. Success has been demonstrated in molecular classification of cancer in which the gene expression data serve as predictors and different types of cancer serve as a categorical outcome variable. However, there has been less research in linking gene expression profiles to the censored survival data such as patients' overall survival time or time to cancer relapse. It would be desirable to have models with good prediction accuracy and parsimony property. Results: We propose to use the L1 penalized estimation for the Cox model to select genes that are relevant to patients' survival and to build a predictive model for future prediction. The computational difficulty associated with the estimation in the high-dimensional and low-sample size settings can be efficiently solved by using the recently developed least-angle regression (LARS) method. Our simulation studies and application to real datasets on predicting survival after chemotherapy for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma demonstrate that the proposed procedure, which we call the LARS--Cox procedure, can be used for identifying important genes that are related to time to death due to cancer and for building a parsimonious model for predicting the survival of future patients. The LARS--Cox regression gives better predictive performance than the L2 penalized regression and a few other dimension-reduction based methods. Conclusions: We conclude that the proposed LARS--Cox procedure can be very useful in identifying genes relevant to survival phenotypes and in building a parsimonious predictive model that can be used for classifying future patients into clinically relevant high- and low-risk groups based on the gene expression profile and survival times of previous patients. Supplementary information: http://dna.ucdavis.edu/~hli/LARSCox-Appendix.pdf Contact: hli@ucdavis.edu
Kinetics of plasma choline in relation to turnover of brain choline and formation of acetylcholine.

Ab~tract-[~H,]Ch (2 pmol kg- 'min- I) was infused into both anaesthetized and conscious rats to study the kinetics of plasma and brain choline (Ch) and brain acetylcholine (ACh). A larger amount of endogenous Ch was found to leave the brain than enter, even in conscious animals. ['H,]Ch was taken up into the brain where a portion was converted to ['H4]ACh. Upon stopping the infusion, however, more ['H,]Ch was found to leave than enter, indicating a source capable of generating Ch in brain which is labelled by infusion for 32 min. There appears, however, to be more than one source of Ch in the brain since the post mortem increase is not labelled following prolonged infusion. Thus, the brain Ch pool appears to be continually diluted by the sources within the brain to the extent of 93 per cent. During the infusion of ['H,]Ch, the total levels of brain Ch and ACh did not increase. The brain Ch and ACh specific activities rose exponentially and appear to approach an asymptote at about 4 h. The source or sources of Ch within the brain produce Ch at a rate of 26.3 nmol g- 'min- I. The turnover of free Ch in the rat brain is 28.4 nmol g- 'min-l.
A new method for a posteriori polarimetric SAR calibration

Fully polarimetric SAR data analysis has found wide application for terrain classification, land-use, soil moisture and ground cover classification. Critical to all analyses and applications is accurate calibration of the relative amplitudes of and phases between the various polarimetric channels. Here we develop a "minimalist" approach to polarimetric calibration, wherein only the weakest of constraints, reciprocity, is initially imposed upon the data. Additional parameters are self-consistently estimated from the data. In this manner channel imbalances and cross-talk are estimated without unduly biasing the resulting polarimetric information.
Behavioral Phenotype of Smith-Magenis Syndrome (del 17p11.2)

Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a distinct and clinically recognizable multiple congenital anomaly (MCA) and mental retardation syndrome caused by an interstitial deletion of chromosome 17 p11.2. The phenotype of SMS has been well described and includes: a characteristic pattern of physical features; a hoarse, deep voice; speech delay with or without associated hearing loss; signs of peripheral neuropathy; variable levels of mental retardation; and neurobehavioral problems. Although self-injury and sleep disturbance are major problems in SMS, studies are limited on the behavioral phenotype of SMS. This report reviews the current state of knowledge about SMS and presents new data based on syndrome-specific observations by the authors' longitudinal experience working with SMS, specifically related to the behavioral aspects of SMS. This information should have relevance for parents, clinicians, geneticists, and educators involved in the care of individuals with SMS.
Shoot specific fungal endophytes alter soil phosphorus (P) fractions and potential acid phosphatase activity but do not increase P uptake in tall fescue.

An experiment was performed to test how different fungal endophyte strains influenced tall fescue’s ability to access P from four P sources varying in solubility. Novel endophyte infected (AR542E+ or AR584E+), common toxic endophyte infected (CTE+), or endophyte-free (E-) tall fescues were grown for 90 days in acidic soils amended with 30 mg kg−1 P of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4), iron phosphate (FePO4), aluminum phosphate (AlPO4), or tricalcium phosphate ((Ca3(PO4)2), respectively. Phosphorus form strongly influenced plant biomass, P acquisition, agronomic P use efficiency, microbial communities, P fractions. P uptake and vegetative biomass were similar for plants grown with AlPO4, Ca3(PO4)2, and KH2PO4 but greater than in control and FePO4 soils. Infection with AR542E+ resulted in significantly less shoot biomass than CTE+ and E- varieties; there was no influence of endophyte on root biomass. The biomarker for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM fungi, 16:1ω5c) was selected as an effective predictor of variations in P uptake and tall fescue biomass. Potential acid phosphatase activity was strongly influenced by endophyte x P form interaction. Endophyte infection in tall fescue significantly affected the NaOH-extractable inorganic P fraction, but had little detectable influence on soil microbial community structure, root biomass, or P uptake.
The Impact of Internet Commerce on Do-It-Yourself Investing in the IT Sector

ABSTRACT Recent advances in networking, telecommunications, and the Internet have greatly decreased the problem of information asymmetry for the small investor. Previously, brokerage firms maintained tight control over information thus “encouraging” the investor to partake of their services. The removal of this structural impediment has empowered small investors to take greater control of their personal financial affairs. For those interested in self-directed investing in the growing IT sector, Direct Stock Purchase programs (DSPs), Dividend Reinvestment programs (DRIPs), American Depository Receipts (ADRs), and IT Sector Mutual Funds offer many attractive benefits to shareholders and corporations alike. These investment programs of IT-related firms are examined here.
Two-Stage Design of Linear Feedback Controllers for a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

The paper considers the eighth-order proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel-cell mathematical model and shows that it has a multi-time scale property, indicating that the dynamics of three model state space variables operate in the slow time scale and the dynamics of five state variables operate in the fast time scale. This multi-scale nature allows independent controllers to be designed in slow and fast time scales using only corresponding reduced-order slow (of dimension three) and fast (of dimension five) sub-models. The presented design facilitates the design of hybrid controllers, for example, the linear-quadratic optimal controller for the slow subsystem and the eigenvalue assignment controller for the fast subsystem. The design efficiency and its high accuracy are demonstrated via simulation on the considered PEM fuel cell model.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Spousal Conflict Style, Support and Negativity: Impact on Children’s Social Competence

Previous research examining the relationship between spousal conflict behavior and children’s social competence delineated two conflict management styles – hot positive and cold negative. The former had a positive relationship with children’s social competence and the latter a negative relationship. The authors called for additional research to examine the relationship of conflict management style and other important factors with child outcomes. The research reported here examined the degree to which spouses’ conflict management style assessed on five dimensions, and such factors as social support and negativity within the marital relationship related to children’s social competence. This constellation of factors predicted children’s social competence. Family conflict practitioners can use these results to help spouses understand how their conflict behavior affects their children’s development.
Applied Tools and Practices for Sustainable Agriculture

Many of the tools and management practices needed to take advantage of nature’s services are already known. They include: Cover crops Conservation tillage Contour plowing Wind breaks Hedge rows Manuring and composting Crop rotations/rotational grazing Integrated pest management Resource use efficiency through diversity Drip irrigation
Melanoma Incidence Yesterday and Today - Where are we Going?

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States of America, including melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. Malignant melanoma, being ranked as the fifth most common cancer within the US shows a yearly incidence of 73,870 cases and remains the most aggressive form of all skin cancers with a mortality rate of 2.7 per 100,000 [1,2]. Fortunately, over the last decade melanoma treatment options have tremendously improved. Progress in areas such as immunotherapy and targeted therapies has lead to increased melanoma survival rates, rising from 82% (1975-1977) to 93% (2004-2010) [3]. In consequence, the cost of skin cancer treatments, specifically for melanoma treatments increased from an average annual total cost of $864 million in 2002 to $3349 million in 2011 [4].
Thermal conductivity in porous media: Percolation-based effective-medium approximation

Knowledge of porosity and saturation-dependent thermal conductivities is necessary to investigate heat and water transfer in natural porous media such as rocks and soils. Thermal conductivity in a porous medium is affected by the complicated relationship between the topology and geometry of the pore space and the solid matrix. However, as water content increases from completely dry to fully saturated, the effect of the liquid phase on thermal conductivity may increase substantially. Although various methods have been proposed to model the porosity and saturation dependence of thermal conductivity, most are empirical or quasiphysical. In this study, we present a theoretical upscaling framework from percolation theory and the effective-medium approximation, which is called percolation-based effective-medium approximation (P-EMA). The proposed model predicts the thermal conductivity in porous media from endmember properties (e.g., air, solid matrix, and saturating fluid thermal conductivities), a scaling exponent, and a percolation threshold. In order to evaluate our porosity and saturation-dependent models, we compare our theory with 193 porosity-dependent thermal conductivity measurements and 25 saturation-dependent thermal conductivity data sets and find excellent match. We also find values for the scaling exponent different than the universal value of 2, in insulator-conductor systems, and also different from 0.76, the exponent in conductor-superconductor mixtures, in three dimensions. These results indicate that the thermal conductivity under fully and partially saturated conditions conforms to nonuniversal behavior. This means the value of the scaling exponent changes from medium to medium and depends not only on structural and geometrical properties of the medium but also characteristics (e.g., wetting or nonwetting) of the saturating fluid.
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN OBESITY AND POSTOPERATIVE ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING CARDIAC SURGERY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

The strongest evidence linking obesity and atrial fibrillation (AF) in adults comes from the Framingham study. Up to 40% of patients undergoing cardiac surgery are obese (BMI> 30). We systematically evaluated whether obesity is associated with postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) in patients
Robust Tasking of Airborne Sensing Nodes for Network Availability

This paper considers tasking a finite number of cooperative agents to randomly emerging targets for their removal. Faults occur when some agents engaged in a mission are expired. Agents are subject to threat at a level determined by the number of targets present. On the other hand, the rate at which a target is removed depends on the number of cooperative agents assigned to it. Faults effectively change the network architecture and therefore degrade the network performance. Designs of control policies that determine the number of agents assigned are based on the network life when expired agents cannot be replenished, and on the network availability when expired agents are replenished at a certain rate. Tasking process is described by a discrete event system in the form of a queuing network, where agents are servers and targets are customers. Optimal policies are determined by solving a Markov decision problem. To facilitate the reader's understanding of the motivation, and of the problem, the agents are specialized to networked pairs of airborne sensors that are tasked to locate non-cooperating microwave transmitters as targets.
Dry Type Transformer Noise Analysis and Control

This paper briefly introduces the noise limitation standard.It analyzes the main causes of noise.Based on this analysis,this paper introduces the main measures to reduce the noise produced by transformer.
The Brief Analysis of Big Dada Application and Solution

Be aware of Big Data from the information around us. Analyzed the current status of big data application, and be aware of the typical scope of big data application. Analyzed the current status of big data solution, pointed out the problem in the face of big data solution. Through the analysis of successful case, expounded the relationship between big data and cloud comput ing, and the difference from the characteristics of distributed architecture in the solution. So the point is, big data solution is differ ent from cloud computing solution, and it should consider the feature of integration and centralization as well.
Managing the behavioral problems of dementia in the home.

The home is the major site of care for persons with dementia. Behavioral problems including memory disturbances, restlessness and agitation, catastrophic reactions, day/night disturbances, delusions, wandering, and physical violence can significantly interfere with home care. Many behavioral problems respond to nondrug therapies. These interventions, in addition to the judicious use of psychotropic medications when necessary, can improve the quality of life for the demented person and increase the satisfaction of caregiving at home.
Tilt-tuned etalon locking for tunable laser stabilization.

Locking to a fringe of a tilt-tuned etalon provides a simple, inexpensive method for stabilizing tunable lasers. Here, we describe the use of such a system to stabilize an external-cavity quantum cascade laser; the locked laser has an Allan deviation of approximately 1 MHz over a one-second integration period, and has a single-scan tuning range of approximately 0.4 cm−1. The system is robust, with minimal alignment requirements and automated lock acquisition, and can be easily adapted to different wavelength regions or more stringent stability requirements with minor alterations.
The future of long-term care and the role of the medical director

Anticipating the needs of aging baby boomers and responding to market demands for consumer choice and low-cost care, long-term care providers are changing the way they do business. As part of that change, they are offering new and, in some cases, more complex services at both the high and low end of the spectrum. At the high acuity end, long-term care providers are delivering hospital-like subacute care to increasing numbers of patients at roughly half the costs of providing the same care in hospitals. At the low acuity end, providers are offering new assisted living services, as well as a full range of community-based long-term care. At the same time, traditional nursing facilities continue to meet the needs of chronically ill elderly and people of all ages needing rehabilitative care. These changes point to a shifting role for physicians (and especially medical directors) in the long-term care setting.
Not Yet the Post-TV Era: Network and MVPD Adaptation to Emergent Distribution Technologies

Television as a medium is in transition. From DVRs, to Netflix, to HBO Now, consumers have never before had such control over how they consume televisual content. The rapid changes to the medium have led to rhetoric heralding the impending “post-TV era.” Looking at the ways that legacy television companies have adapted to new technologies and cultural practices suggests that rather than traditional television going the way of radio, television as a medium is actually not terribly different, at least not enough to conclude that we have entered a new era. Press releases, discursive practices by the news media, corporate structures and investments, and audience research all point to the rhetoric of post-TV as being overblown. By thinking about contemporary television as being in transition, greater emphasis and attention can be placed on the role that major media conglomerates play in developing, funding, and legitimizing new forms of television distribution, in addition to co-opting disruptive technologies and business models while hindering others.
The Importance of Multiple 14C Dates from Significant Archaeological Contexts

Radiocarbon (14C) dates are the most important means for determining the age of Holocene archaeological deposits. The theoretical physical basis of this method is by now unassailable, having been consistently tested and refined over two generations. However, the means by which this method has been applied and the interpretation of these results remain as key issues, particularly for complex archaeological discoveries that substantially affect our understanding of world prehistory and social evolution. Many factors can produce uncertainty or variation in the 14C concentrations of samples, even those that have been selected from the same archaeological context or event. A number of recent studies have also addressed the ways in which ambiguities and irregularities in the 14C calibration curve can affect the interpretation of archaeological dates and temporal patterns. Of greatest concern, however, is a growing practice of using only one or two samples to date a significant prehistoric context or event. The date of these events, usually relative to other human activities, often holds important theoretical implications for evolutionary anthropology and related disciplines. In this article, we demonstrate that such a practice is rarely adequate or acceptable. Rather, proper procedure requires a suite of dates that permit statistical verification that the deposit or event itself is being correctly dated. We present a detailed case study that highlights the importance of analyzing multiple samples of 14C from significant archaeological contexts.
Implications of the Google Books Project Settlement for the Global Library Community

Column Editor's NotesThe “Digital Trends and the Global Library Community” column examines technological advances internal and external to libraries. The focus is on how technology is changing the way services are provided to users, the methodologies used in the provision of those services, and the resulting scope of responsibilities of libraries and parent institutions. Interested authors are invited to submit proposals and articles to the column editor at marta.deyrup@shu.edu. Please include “IILR Submission” in the subject line of the e-mail.
Small-Molecule Screening Using Drosophila Models of Human Neurological Disorders

Within the last decade, Drosophila has emerged as a premiere model system for the study of human neurodegenerative diseases, due to the realization that flies and humans share many structurally and functionally related gene families. Development of such disease models in the fly allows genetic approaches to be applied to address specific hypotheses concerning disease progression and to test candidate modifier genes. More recently these fly models have also been used for drug discovery. Here, we describe how to utilize the existing fruit fly models of human neurological disorders to identify small-molecule leads that could potentially be further developed for therapeutic use.
Testing the Utility of a Bio-Neuropsychosocial Model for Predicting Medical Adherence and Responsibility During Early Adolescence in Youth With Spina Bifida.

Objectives The present longitudinal, multi-method, and multi-informant study examined biological, neuropsychological, and social predictors of medical adherence and responsibility among early adolescents with spina bifida (SB). Methods Youth with SB (M age = 11.40 at Time 1) and their parents and teachers completed surveys, and families and peers completed observational assessments, at two biennial data collection time points (n = 112 for both time points). Multinomial logistic regressions tested predictors of group membership (adherent vs. nonadherent and child responsible vs. not responsible with SB medical tasks). Results Consistent with the bio-neuropsychosocial model, several risk factors emerged for SB management. Impaired gross motor classification and low IQ were barriers to obtaining medical responsibility, and high family stress and executive dysfunction were barriers to adherence and responsibility. Conclusions This study offered intervention targets to promote self-management and adherence for youth with SB and their families, including parent stress-management and family problem-solving.