cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seasonal trends in body size of adult male mosquitofish,Gambusia affinis, with evidence for their social control

Collections from a natural population of mosquitofish,Gambusia affinis, in southern Indiana showed that males born early in the breeding season mature rapidly at a small body size, while males born later in the breeding season delay maturation and achieve larger body sizes. A field experiment, involving removal of males from pond populations, was conducted to test the hypothesis that delayed maturation by late summer males is, at least in part, under social control. Mean total length (TL) of adult and maturing males in late summer in ponds from which large numbers of males had previously been removed was significantly lower than mean TL of males in control ponds. These data support the hypothesis of social control and support Sohn's competition-predation hypothesis for control of adult male body size inGambusia.
Small-mass graphite preparation by sealed tube zinc reduction method for AMS 14C measurements

Previous work has demonstrated that the sealed tube Zn reduction method for converting CO2 to graphite for AMS 14C measurements produces targets that can be measured with high precision and low background for samples of about 1 mg C down to approximately 0.1 mg C at the Keck Carbon Cycle AMS facility at the University of California, Irvine (KCCAMS). Now a modified method has been developed to prepare small-mass samples ranging from 0.015 to 0.1 mg C. In this modified method, the volume of the sealed reactor tube is reduced to ∼1.9 cm3, and the amounts of Zn and TiH2 reagents are reduced proportionally. The amount of Fe catalyst used remains the same to ensure a long lasting current in the AMS. Small-mass samples prepared by this method generally yield 12C+1 currents of about 0.5 μA per 1 μg C. An in situ simultaneous AMS δ13C measurement allows for correction of both graphitization and machine-induced isotopic fractionation, and is a prerequisite for high precision and accurate measurements using the Zn reducing method. Corrections for modern-carbon and dead-carbon background components are applied to samples based on small-mass samples of a 14C free material and of a modern standard covering the sample size range. It was discovered during additional investigation into lowering the modern-carbon background component that baking assembled reactor tubes at 300 °C for 1 h prior to use resulted in significantly lower modern-carbon background values. The accuracy and precision of small-mass samples prepared by this method are size dependent, but is usually ±10-15‰ for the smallest samples (0.015-0.02 mg C), based on duplicate measurements of primary and secondary standards. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Headache and Obesity in the Pediatric Population

Childhood obesity and headache are both significant health concerns that often have a marked impact both personally and socially, that if not addressed can carry over into adulthood. For many individuals, these effects may be magnified when obesity and headache are seen in conjunction. It is this overlap between obesity and headache in children, as well as similarities in the known mechanism of action for feeding and headache, which led to a suspected association between the two. Unfortunately, although recent studies have supported this association, only a limited number have been conducted to directly address this. Furthermore, despite rising rates of childhood obesity and headache, the associated medical comorbidities, and the significant financial cost for these conditions, there is a relative void in studies investigating treatment options that address both underlying conditions of obesity and headache in children.
Global Hydroclimatological Teleconnections Resulting from Tropical Deforestation

Abstract Past studies have indicated that deforestation of the Amazon basin would result in an important rainfall decrease in that region but that this process had no significant impact on the global temperature or precipitation and had only local implications. Here it is shown that deforestation of tropical regions significantly affects precipitation at mid- and high latitudes through hydrometeorological teleconnections. In particular, it is found that the deforestation of Amazonia and Central Africa severely reduces rainfall in the lower U.S. Midwest during the spring and summer seasons and in the upper U.S. Midwest during the winter and spring, respectively, when water is crucial for agricultural productivity in these regions. Deforestation of Southeast Asia affects China and the Balkan Peninsula most significantly. On the other hand, the elimination of any of these tropical forests considerably enhances summer rainfall in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The combined effect of deforestation ...
Intensity-Correlation Linewidth Measurement

The optical intensity correlation technique developed by Hanbury Brown and Twiss has been used to measure the linewidth of 4358-\AA{} light from a mercury discharge lamp which was filtered with a Fabry-Perot interferometer. A time-to-height converter was used to convert the delay spectrum of photoelectric counts to a pulse-height spectrum which was recorded by a multichannel pulse-height analyzer. Correlation times of 1.0 to 3.4 nsec were observed, corresponding to linewidths of 208 to 66 MHz.
Substitution of a hydrophobic residue alters the conformational stability of Shaker K+ channels during gating and assembly

A leucine residue at position 370 (L370) in 29–4 Shaker K+ channels resides within two overlapping sequence motifs conserved among most voltage-gated channels: the S4 segment and a leucine heptad repeat. Here we investigate the effects observed upon substitution of L370 with many other uncharged amino acid residues. We find that smaller or more hydrophilic residues produce greater alterations in both activation and inactivation gating than does substitution with other large hydrophobic residues. In addition, subunits containing less conservative substitutions at position 370 are restricted in their assembly with wild-type subunits and are unlikely to form homomultimeric channel complexes. Consistent with the idea that L370 influences the tertiary structure of these channels, the results indicate that L370 undergoes specific hydrophobic interactions during the conformational transitions of gating; similar interactions may take place during the folding, insertion, or assembly of Shaker K+ channel subunits.
Heart Rate Studies with Scaleless Chickens

Abstract INTRODUCTION A NUMBER of single gene mutations in the chicken result in abnormal plumage; reviewed by Abbott (1967). Birds with deficient insulation, are particularly susceptible to subnormal environmental temperatures. By far the most severe feather tract deficiency occurs in the autosomal recessive, scaleless (Abbott and Asmundson, 1957). Selection first for resistance to cold stress and then for increased and decreased numbers of feathers resulted in two lines well separated in degree of feathering (Abbott and Asmundson, 1962; Abbott, 1965). Many scaleless birds in the high feather line (ScHi) are now completely covered with plumage; albeit this remains primarily juvenile in form. Birds from the low feather line (ScLo) are virtually naked. These provide an excellent tool for studies of the many effects of prolonged hypothermic stress. In this study, heart rate and heart size of the two selected scaleless lines were compared with three different sources of normal chickens; Single Comb…
Black–White and Hispanic–White Segregation in U.S. Counties

Residential segregation in metropolitan areas has been the subject of much research, but this article analyzes patterns of white–black and white–Hispanic segregation in counties across the United States. Our purpose was to understand county variations in this one dimension of inequality. Conceiving of segregation as relative inequality of access to neighborhood resources, we measured segregation in 2000 by the index of dissimilarity (D) calculated by blocks, mapped the index values, and correlated them with census variables. Three filters enabled us to eliminate counties with characteristics that could have corrupted the analyses, leaving us with more than 1,000 counties in each analysis. Both minority groups were less segregated from whites in the West and South and in metropolitan counties. Lower segregation was strongly associated with higher minority socioeconomic status and higher percentages of minorities living in housing built in the 1990s, and Hispanic–white segregation was lower where more Hispa...
Structural and biochemical properties of an extreme ‘salt-loving’ proteasome activating nucleotidase from the archaeon Haloferax volcanii

In eukaryotes, the 26S proteasome degrades ubiquitinylated proteins in an ATP-dependent manner. Archaea mediate a form of post-translational modification of proteins termed sampylation that resembles ubiquitinylation. Sampylation was identified in Haloferax volcanii, a moderate halophilic archaeon that synthesizes homologs of 26S proteasome subunits including 20S core particles and regulatory particle triple-A ATPases (Rpt)-like proteasome-associated nucleotidases (PAN-A/1 and PAN-B/2). To determine whether sampylated proteins associate with the Rpt subunit homologs, PAN-A/1 was purified to homogeneity from Hfx. volcanii and analyzed for its subunit stoichiometry, nucleotide-hydrolyzing activity and binding to sampylated protein targets. PAN-A/1 was found to be associated as a dodecamer (630 kDa) with a configuration in TEM suggesting a complex of two stacked hexameric rings. PAN-A/1 had high affinity for ATP (K m of ~0.44 mM) and hydrolyzed this nucleotide with a specific activity of 0.33 ± 0.1 μmol Pi/h per mg protein and maximum at 42 °C. PAN-A1 was stabilized by 2 M salt with a decrease in activity at lower concentrations of salt that correlated with dissociation of the dodecamer into trimers to monomers. Binding of PAN-A/1 to a sampylated protein was demonstrated by modification of a far Western blotting technique (derived from the standard Western blot method to detect protein–protein interaction in vitro) for halophilic proteins. Overall, our results support a model in which sampylated proteins associate with the PAN-A/1 AAA+ ATPase in proteasome-mediated proteolysis and/or protein remodeling and provide a method for assay of halophilic protein–protein interactions.
Magnetic bubble domain devices

A review is given of recent advances which have been made in the area of magnetic bubble domain devices with emphasis being placed on new device components and the problem of device optimization. The subject of bubble domain propagation is introduced by considering the results obtained on the basis of a simplified model which is applied to individual bars and bar pairs to illustrate the basic principles involved in field access drive circuits. Experimental data is presented which qualitatively confirms various aspects of the model. New device component designs are then introduced, such as the multiple-bar keyhole generator and the chevron stretcher detector, in which bubble stretching occurs orthogonal to bubble motion. Preliminary data on these as well as on various other circuit components are presented and discussed in the light of future device applications.
Advancing Age, Advantaged Youth: Parental Age and the Transmission of Resources to Children

Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, we identify parental age as influential in the parental provision of economic resources, social capital and cultural capital to adolescents, as well as in parental educational expectations for their children. At the bivariate level, the relationship is curvilinear, suggesting that having comparatively young or old parents is disadvantageous to teenagers, at least with regard to resource allocation. With controls for socioeconomic background and family structure, however, the pattern typically becomes positive and linear: as the age of the parent rises, so too does the transmission of resources to adolescent offspring. These patterns hold for most economic, social and cultural resources, although the pattern is strongest for economic ones and weakest - albeit still significant - for more interactional ones. Although maternal age is the primary focus of this article, supplementary analyses also confirm a generally positive relationship between paternal age and parental resources. These results suggest that parental age may warrant attention similar to that given to family structure, race and gender.
Protectionism, Trade, and Measures of Damage from Exotic Species Introductions

Unintentional introductions of nonindigenous plants, animals, and microbes cause significant ecological and agricultural crop damage worldwide. Trade in both manufactured and agricultural goods is a primary vector for such introductions. Fusing simple models of trade and biological introductions, we explore the links between trade, protectionism, and damage arising from exotic species introductions. We show that it is possible for freer trade to reduce damage arising from exotic species invasions. We also show how current measures of damage—heavily weighted toward agricultural damage—serve as misleading indicators of how restrictions to trade affect total losses arising from exotic species
Understanding an input in inference-based multistrategy learning

The inference based learning system uses a multistrategy approach that integrates different learning strategies for concept learning and knowledge refinement. During the understanding process, the system takes an input example and builds an explanation tree to connect the input to the system's knowledge. The understanding process may face a situation where several rules are available for an explanation of a given concept or an incomplete knowledge base which may lead to a failure of building an explanation tree. Thus, the resulting explanation tree can be several or none without a proper control strategy. The paper contains a description of the control strategy which copes with the above problems and allows one to build the most useful explanation tree in terms of generality and plausibility. >
A hybrid Cartesian/immersed boundary method for simulating flows with 3D, geometrically complex, moving bodies

A numerical method is developed for solving the 3D, unsteady, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in Cartesian domains containing immersed boundaries of arbitrary geometrical complexity moving with prescribed kinematics. The governing equations are discretized on a hybrid staggered/non-staggered grid layout using second-order accurate finite-difference formulas. The discrete equations are integrated in time via a second-order accurate dual-time-stepping, artificial compressibility iteration scheme. Unstructured, triangular meshes are employed to discretize complex immersed boundaries. The nodes of the surface mesh constitute a set of Lagrangian control points used to track the motion of the flexible body. At every instant in time, the influence of the body on the flow is accounted for by applying boundary conditions at Cartesian grid nodes located in the exterior but in the immediate vicinity of the body by reconstructing the solution along the local normal to the body surface. Grid convergence tests are carried out for the flow induced by an oscillating sphere in a cubic cavity, which show that the method is second-order accurate. The method is validated by applying it to calculate flow in a Cartesian domain containing a rigid sphere rotating at constant angular velocity as well as flow induced by a flapping wing. The ability of the method to simulate flows in domains with arbitrarily complex moving bodies is demonstrated by applying to simulate flow past an undulating fish-like body and flow past an anatomically realistic planktonic copepod performing an escape-like maneuver. euver.
Cigarette Smoking and the Risk of Bladder Cancer in Men and Women.

Although cigarette smoking is a principal risk factor for bladder cancer in both men and women, few studies have statistically evaluated whether gender modifies the effect of smoking on bladder cancer risk. We initiated the present case-control study at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, U.S., to provide further data on this important issue. We observed similar risk estimates for men and women with comparable smoking exposures, but did not observe a statistically significant interaction between gender and lifetime smoking exposure. We conclude that cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for bladder cancer in both sexes, but that gender does not modify the effect of smoking on bladder cancer risk.
Circulating Fibrocytes: Cellular Basis for NSF

Since the discovery of the circulating fibrocyte as a collagen-producing cell of the peripheral blood, the physiologic and pathologic role of this unique cell population has grown steadily. The present review summarizes the known biology of fibrocytes and discusses evidence for their role in the pathogenesis of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis. Possible mechanisms by which gadolinium may influence the activation or trafficking properties of fibrocytes leading to tissue fibrosis are discussed.
Trends in Children's Video Game Play: Practical but Not Creative Thinking.

Prior research has found common trends among children's video game play as related to gender, age, interests, creativity, and other descriptors. This study re-examined the previously reported trends by utilizing principal components analysis with variables such as creativity, general characteristics, and problem-solving methods to determine factors that predict greater time spent playing video games among children. Fourth- and fifth-grade students (N = 118) reported their video game play habits and took a creativity assessment. Principal components analysis revealed factors that predict a child will play video games for greater amounts of time. While previous results showed that video game play does not lower children's creativity, results of this analysis build on these results to show that the most creative children do not tend to play video games as often; other characteristics associated with greater video game play include familiarity with gaming, greater practical but less creative problem-solving s...
Human moricizine metabolism. II. Quantification and pharmacokinetics of plasma and urinary metabolites.

1. The metabolism of moricizine.HCl was studied in 12 male volunteers dosed with 250 mg (300 microCi) 14C-radiolabelled drug. 2. Moricizine was biotransformed to many metabolites in humans (at least 35 plasma and 51 urine metabolites). 3. Urine and faecal combined mean (range) recovery accounted for 90.2% (73.4-101.6%) of the administered radioactivity, with most of the recovered radioactivity present in faeces (mean 58.4%; range 45.6-64.7%). Mean (range) urinary recovery was 31.8% (26.2-36.9%), with 2.5% of the dose. 4. Total radioactivity (TR) plasma t1/2 was 85.2 h, while that for moricizine was 2.4 h. Mean half-lives for plasma metabolites ranged from 2.9 to 23.6 h. The largest portion (11%) of TR AUC (area under the plasma concentration-time curve) was attributed to 2amino-10-glucuronophenothiazine. Each of the other metabolites accounted for less of the TR AUC than parent drug except for two unidentified peaks which had comparable areas (approximately 5% of the total radioactivity area). 5. Two identified moricizine metabolites, 2-amino-10-(3-morpholinopropionyl) phenothiazine and ethyl [10-(3-aminopropionyl) phenothiazin-2-yl] carbamate, possess the structural characteristics proposed for class 1 anti-arrhythmic activity (pendant amine functionality) and have plasma half-lives 4-7-fold longer than moricizine.
Attenuated T cell responses to a high-potency ligand in vivo.

αβ T cell receptor (TCR) recognition of foreign peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) molecules on the surface of antigen presenting cells is a key event in the initiation of adaptive cellular immunity. In vitro, high-affinity binding and/or long-lived interactions between TCRs and pMHC correlate with high-potency T cell activation. However, less is known about the influence of TCR/pMHC interaction parameters on T cell responses in vivo. We studied the influence of TCR/pMHC binding characteristics on in vivo T cell immunity by tracking CD4+ T cell activation, effector, and memory responses to immunization with peptides exhibiting a range of TCR/pMHC half-lives and in vitro T cell activation potencies. Contrary to predictions from in vitro studies, we found that optimal in vivo T cell responses occur to ligands with intermediate TCR/pMHC half-lives. The diminished in vivo responses we observed to the ligand exhibiting the longest TCR/pMHC half-life were associated with attenuation of intracellular signaling, expansion, and function over a broad range of time points. Our results reveal a level of control over T cell activation in vivo not recapitulated in in vitro assays and highlight the importance of considering in vivo efficacy of TCR ligands as part of vaccine design.
The Honeywell on-board diagnostic and maintenance system for the Boeing 777

Avionics have exhibited a phenomenal increase in complexity over the past twenty years. This increase in complexity has brought with it the unfortunate side effect of a significant increase in difficulty of diagnosing the real reasons for a multitude of raw symptoms originating from these complex subsystems. The integrated Avionics Architecture for the Boeing 777 is being designed with an unprecedented attention to fault detection and isolation capability to address this problem. A key element in this effort is an On-Board Diagnostic and Maintenance System (OMS) that integrates two diagnostic subsystems into the Airplane Information Management System (AIMS) cabinets: a Central Maintenance Function (CMF) and an Airplane Condition Monitoring Function (ACMF). The CMF diagnoses faults responsible for flight deck effects that are logged by the crew and facilitates rapid turn-around of the airplane at the gate. The ACMF captures parameters based on predefined trigger conditions for long-term analysis of trends in aircraft systems and the flight crew. It is noted that the OMS constitutes a major evolution of diagnostic systems directed at reducing the operating costs for the airlines. >
A conserved Hox axis in the mouse and human female reproductive system: late establishment and persistent adult expression of the Hoxa cluster genes.

The mammalian female reproductive system arises from the uniform paramesonephric duct. The molecular mechanisms that establish differential development along this axis are unknown. We determined the pattern and timing of genes of the Hoxa axis in the development of the Mullerian tract. Hoxa-9, Hoxa-10, Hoxa-11, and Hoxa-13 are all expressed along the length of the paramesonephric duct in the embryonic mouse. After birth, a spatial Hox axis is established, corresponding to the postnatal differentiation of this organ system in the mouse. Hoxa-9 is expressed in the fallopian tubes, Hoxa-10 in the uterus, Hoxa-11 in the uterus and uterine cervix, and Hoxa-13 in the upper vagina. This expression pattern follows the paradigm of spatial colinearity but is a novel exception to temporal colinearity that has been considered typical of Hox genes. These genes remain expressed in the adult mouse and are expressed in the same pattern in the human. The female reproductive system undergoes dramatic structural and functional changes during the estrous cycle and in pregnancy, retaining a high degree of developmental plasticity. The late establishment of a Hox axis and persistent expression of Hox genes in the adult may play an important role in preserving this plasticity.
Development of children’s knowledge about the mental world

This article is a survey of research on the childhood acquisition of knowledge about the mind, especially work done during the past two decades under the heading of theory-of-mind development. It begins with a history of research in this area. This is followed by a brief summary of principal theories and findings. The article concludes with some guesses about future research in this exciting area of cognitive development.
Tyrphostin AG 126 inhibits development of postoperative ileus induced by surgical manipulation of murine colon

Manipulation of the bowel during abdominal surgery leads to a period of ileus, which is most severely manifested after procedures that directly involve the colon. Ileus is associated with the incre...
A study of Pc-5 ULF oscillations

Abstract. A study of Pc-5 magnetic pulsations using data from the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) was carried out. Three-component dynamic magnetic field spectrograms have been used to survey ULF pulsation activity for the approximate fourteen month lifetime of CRRES. Two-hour panels of dynamic spectra were examined to find events which fall into two basic categories: 1) toroidal modes (fundamental and harmonic resonances) and 2) poloidal modes, which include compressional oscillations. The occurence rates were determined as a function of L value and local time. The main result is a comparable probability of occurence of toroidal mode oscillations on the dawn and dusk sides of the magnetosphere inside geosynchronous orbit, while poloidal mode oscillations occur predominantly along the dusk side, consistent with high azimuthal mode number excitation by ring current ions. Pc-5 pulsations following Storm Sudden Commencements (SSCs) were examined separately. The spatial distribution of modes for the SSC events was consistent with the statistical study for the lifetime of CRRES. The toroidal fundamental (and harmonic) resonances are the dominant mode seen on the dawn-side of the magnetosphere following SSCs. Power is mixed in all three components. In the 21 dusk side SSC events there were only a few examples of purely compressional (two) or radial (one) power in the CRRES study, a few more examples of purely toroidal modes (six), with all three components predominant in about half (ten) of the events. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (MHD waves and instabilities; magnetospheric configuration and dynamics) – Space plasma physics (waves and instabilities)
A scalable communication architecture for the sensor broadcast problem

In our previous work, a time efficient data retrieval method was proposed for distributed data sources using the generalized group testing approach. In this work, we provide the physical-layer transmission and reception strategy that supports the implementation of the group testing method. The integration of the two protocols leads to a modified strategy that incorporates the errors occurring within the feedback channel. We propose a signal modulation scheme combined with the source and channel coding that was proposed using the concept of group testing. The numerical simulations show an improved performance with the proposed cooperative broadcasting scheme. Our methodology does not separate channel and source coding and can be implemented with a two layer architecture with low complexity.
Probabilistic congestion model considering shielding for crosstalk reduction

We extend an existing probabilistic congestion model to consider shielding for crosstalk reduction. We then develop a multilevel router to study the impact of various congestion models on routing congestion by using large industrial design examples. We show that (1) when shielding is applied as a post-routing optimization for crosstalk reduction, the existing probabilistic model, when compared to a deterministic routing-order dependent congestion model, reduces routing congestion by 17.1% on average under the given routing area constraints, or reduces routing area by 9.4% on average under the given routing congestion constraints; (2) our extended probabilistic congestion model considering shielding enables shielding reservation and minimization for routing and achieves routing congestion (or area) reduction by 47.7% (or 31.0%) on average under the given routing area (or congestion) constraints, when compared to the above deterministic congestion model not able to estimate shielding and therefore not able to minimize shielding during routing.
Privacy, Control, and Talk of Rights

An alleged moral right to informational privacy assumes that we should have control over information about ourselves. What is the philosophical justification for this control? I think that one prevalent answer to this question—an answer that has to do with the justification of negative rights generally—will not do.
Development of a geographical student internship programme: a mini manual

Abstract This paper provides step‐by‐step guidance on how to develop an internship programme for geography students. Alternative approaches are presented and their advantages and disadvantages are discussed.
Uncertainty Relations Associated with Correlations in Mixed Quantum States

The conventional uncertainty relation (UR) is a cornerstone of the modern quantum theory of measurement. [1], and consequently is treated in most quantum-mechanics textbooks. However, contrary to the widespread view, the usual “textbook” UR pertains to separate rather than joint measurements [2] of observables Â or B on a system in a state |;ψ〉. In essence, the uncertainty relation indicates that due to intrinsic indeterminacy of the quantum state, the product of the variances of two noncommuting observables Â and B cannot be less than a certain value, which is expressed mathematically as: $$ \langle {(\Delta \hat{A})^2}\rangle \langle {(\Delta \hat{B})^2}\rangle \geqslant \frac{1}{4}|\langle \psi |[\hat{A}\hat{B}] - |\psi \rangle {|^2} $$ (1) $$ P\{ \phi (t) = \psi (t)\} = 1 $$ (1.2) Inline 1\( \geqslant \frac{{p - 1}}{m} \)
Equality, inequality, and the problem of “Elites” in late Iron Age Eastern Languedoc (Mediterranean France), ca. 400–125 BC

Abstract This article investigates the ways discernible in the material record by which individuals obtained influence and power in late Iron Age (ca. 425–125 BC) Eastern Languedoc in Mediterranean France. Specifically, the article examines the extent to which the control over agricultural production, the control over the circulation of prestige goods, and a monopoly on the use of violence may have been used by individuals to influence and direct group activity. Although archaeologists have often portrayed Iron Age Mediterranean France, as well as Iron Age Europe more generally, as being dominated by a class of warrior aristocrats, an examination of the material evidence in regard to these three aspects of political power suggests that in fact, late Iron Age society in Eastern Languedoc was fairly egalitarian, with political power diffused and open to a large number of competing adults. A real socio-economic hierarchy based upon classes only emerged under the influence of the Roman colonial state in the first century BC. Far from offering any analytical precision, the overly broad term “elite” in this way actually obscures important changes in political strategies occurring under Roman colonialism.
Effect of thickness on the thermal properties of hydrogen-bonded LbL assemblies.

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assemblies have attracted much attention for their functional versatility and ease of fabrication. However, characterizing their thermal properties in relation to the film thickness has remained a challenging topic. We have investigated the role of film thickness on the glass transition temperature (Tg) and coeffecient of thermal expansion for poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(acrylic acid) (PEO/PAA) and PEO/poly(methacrylic acid) (PEO/PMAA) hydrogen-bonded LbL assemblies in both bulk and ultrathin films using modulated differential scanning calorimetry (modulated DSC) and temperature-controlled ellipsometry. In PEO/PAA LbL films, a single, well-defined Tg was observed regardless of film thickness. The Tg increased by 9 °C relative to the bulk Tg as film thickness decreased to 30 nm because of interactions between the film and its substrate. In contrast, PEO/PMAA LbL films show a single glass transition only after a thermal cross-linking step, which results in anhydride bonds between PMAA gro...
The Scope of Our Work: Reply to Dwayne Huebner

(1976). The Scope of Our Work: Reply to Dwayne Huebner. Curriculum Inquiry: Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 170-173.
Comparative profiles of BRAF inhibitors: the paradox index as a predictor of clinical toxicity

BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) therapy is associated with the induction of neoplasia, most commonly cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cuSCC). This toxicity is explained in part by "paradoxical ERK activation," or the hyperactivation of ERK signaling by BRAFi in BRAF wild-type cells. However, the rate of cuSCC induction varies widely among BRAFi. To explore this mechanistically, we profiled paradoxical ERK activation by vemurafenib, dabrafenib, encorafenib (LGX818), and PLX8394, demonstrating that vemurafenib induces ERK activation the greatest, while dabrafenib and encorafenib have higher "paradox indices", defined as the pERK activation EC80 divided by the IC80 against A375, corresponding to wider therapeutic windows for achieving tumor inhibition without paradoxical ERK activation. Our results identify differences in the paradox indices of these compounds as a potential mechanism for the differences in cuSCC induction rates and highlight the utility of using ERK activity as a biomarker for maximizing the clinical utility of BRAFi.
Cultural and chemical control of dectes texanus texanus on soybeans

Larvae of a soybean stem borer, Dectes texanus texanus LeConte, cause economic loss in soybeans by girdling the stem prior to harvest. Chemical control is complicated because larvae spend ca. 10 months inside the stem or in stubble. Insecticide granules and sprays were ineffective against larvae. Multiple insecticide applications would be required for adult control. Cultural control by winter burial of stems with deep plowing or row bedding methods proved effective in reducing larval survival and adult emergence. Burial of stems at a depth of 2 in. was sufficient to decrease larval survival and adult emergence.
Hierarchical Fuzzy Spectral Clustering in Social Networks using Spectral Characterization.

An important aspect of community analysis is not only determining the communities within the network, but also sub-communities and hierarchies. We present an approach for finding hierarchies in social networks that uses work from random matrix theory to estimate the number of clusters. The method analyzes the spectral fingerprint of the network to determine the level of hierarchy in the network. Using this information to inform the choice of clusters, the network is broken into successively smaller communities that are attached to their parents via Jaccard similarity. The efficacy of the approach is examined on two well known real world social networks as well as a political social network derived from campaign finance data. Introduction Many real world networks are characterized by dense subnetworks that are commonly referred to as communities and are generally composed of groups of nodes that have elements in common with each other. Examples of networks that have community structure can be drawn from social (Fortunato 2009), biological (Power et al. 2011), gene expression (Zhang and Horvath 2005), and many other types of networks. Since the communities can represent fundamental properties of the network, their discovery is important for understanding the nature of the networks (Newman and Girvan 2004),(Flake et al. 2002). The primary focus of this paper is on social networks. To best represent the communities, a classification of the nodes into clusters should satisfy two important realities of many social networks: overlap and hierarchy. For the first, nodes within the network may belong to multiple communities. Much like in human social groups, an individual may belong to more than one community or have multiple affiliations (Zhang, Wang, and Zhang 2007). Hierarchy is another important aspect of some social networks wherein smaller communities together make up larger ones. Military, business, and political hierarchies are all examples where individual smaller groups combine into a larger group. ∗also affiliated with the National Institute on Money in State Politics Copyright c © 2015, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (www.aaai.org). All rights reserved. There is already a wealth of research on finding communities within networks. Some initial work focused on crisp splits of the network into non-overlapping, non-hierarchical communities (Newman and Girvan 2004), (Newman 2006). As part of this, a method for evaluating the quality of a partitioning of the data into clusters was developed called modularity. The idea behind modularity is to determine how well a community split describes the likelihood of the community as it relates to a null model, where each node keeps the same degree but is connected at random to other nodes. This is defined by Q = ∑
Dr. Newby: Change, Getting Started, and Your Baby Is Ugly

This case presents one of the most common situations that chairs find themselves in—the need to move into a new area or upgrade an old one. It covers the common pitfalls and presents a strategy for successfully avoiding them, particularly avoiding the “ugly baby” response. The key concept is balance here and the leader’s ability to preserve key elements of the past while promoting new capabilities and innovation. The case also looks at the role of personality and the need to upgrade a department.
The Development of an Inversion Technique to Extract Vertical Current Profiles from X-Band Radar Observations

AbstractThe influence of wave–current interactions on time series of marine X-band radar backscatter maps at the mouth of the Columbia River (MCR) near Astoria, Oregon, is examined. The energetic wave environment at the MCR, coupled with the strong tidally forced currents, provides a unique test environment to explore the limitations in accurately determining the magnitude and vertical structure of upper-ocean currents from wavefield measurements. Direct observation in time and space of the wave-induced radar backscatter and supporting acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) current measurements provide a rich dataset for investigating how currents shift the observed wave dispersion relationship. First, current extraction techniques that assume a specific current–depth profile are tested against ADCP measurements. These constrained solutions prove to have inaccuracies because the models do not properly account for vertical shear. A forward solution using measured current profiles to predict the wavenumbe...
On the entropy of Zd subshifts of finite type

Abstract In this paper we study the combinatorial, the topological and the periodic entropies of Z d subshifts of finite type. We show that the combinatorical and the topological entropies are equal. We give sufficient conditions for the periodic entropy to be equal to the topological entropy.
US Migrant Employment and Remittances to Central America: A Cointegration Approach

Remittances accounted for 10 percent of GDP on average in Central America in 2010 and far outpaced other capital inflows. Because of their magnitude, these inflows are one of the most direct and immediate channels through which countries are vulnerable to business cycles in the developed world, and in particular to US business cycles, since the United States is by far the most important origin of remittances for Central America.1 After a decade of strong growth, remittances underwent a widespread decline during the 2008–09 international financial crisis. However, there were important differences across countries, with more pronounced declines observed in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador (10.8 percent, 9.3 percent, and 8.3 percent, respectively) when compared to the declines observed in Nicaragua (6.1 percent) and the Dominican Republic (4.5 percent).
Karl Marx’s Concept of Alienation

In his later years, and especially in Capital, Marx stopped using the term “alienation/” a term he used frequently in the 1840s and the 1850s. In his attempts to redefine and reconfigure the concept of alienation as the central experience of capitalist subjects, Marx amplified it with the concepts of commodity fetishism and machine labor. In this amplification, the concept of alienation comes to define a world determined solely by economics. The illusions produced by capitalist making come to determine the possible range of human thinking. However, commodity fetishism and machine labor are not so much new concepts as developments of the discourse of alienation in a new terrain, in a different world from the one described by bourgeois political theory. On this new terrain, Marx reintroduces a classic philosophical theme as a counterpoint to the unalloyed worship of labor characteristic of bourgeois political theory: the idea of social and personal illness consequent upon imbalances in economic life.
On-Chip THz Spectroscope Exploiting Electromagnetic Scattering With Multi-Port Antenna

This paper presents a new methodology to extract spectral information of radiated THz signals to enable a fully integrated broadband THz spectroscope in silicon. A classical down-conversion spectrum analysis architecture requires on-chip generation of LO signals covering GHz-THz frequencies to analyze an incident spectrum covering that range. This paper presents a method to exploit the interaction between the front-end antenna and the incident signal to extract spectral information eliminating the need for extremely wideband LO generation and the entire receiver architecture following the antenna. The central premise is that the incident THz signal excites a spectrum-dependent current distribution on the antenna surface and this work presents a method to measure and then estimate the incident spectrum from the impressed current distribution on an on-chip antenna. The chip is implemented in $0.13~\mu \text {m}$ SiGe BiCMOS technology and measures 2.6 mm $\times 1.9$ mm. Measurement results are presented for various incident spectra between 40–330 GHz. In addition, the paper presents a method for extracting time-domain information by exploiting the variable nonlinearities of the integrated detectors. By modifying a classical single-port antenna into a 2D multi-port scatterer, the paper presents a synthesizer-free THz spectroscope which consists of an integrated scatterer and multitude of low-power sensors capable of sub-wavelength measurement of near-field interactions which are exploited for spectral estimation.
Hybrid Principles for the Distribution of Criminal Sanctions

Most criminal codes, and most criminal law courses, begin with the 'familiar litany' of the purposes of criminal law sanctions - just punishment, deterrence, incapacitation of the dangerous, and rehabilitation. We train and direct our lawyers, judges, and legislators to use these purposes as guiding principles for the distribution of criminal sanctions. The purposes are thus to guide both the drafting and interpretation of criminal statutes and the imposition of criminal sentences in individual cases. The purposes frequently conflict, however, as part I will demonstrate. Conflicts arise because each purpose requires consideration of different criteria; in some cases, a particular fact suggests different sentences or statutory formulations under different purposes. Ultimately a choice must be made to follow one purpose at the expense of another. Yet when faced with conflicting purposes, judges, legislators, and sentencing-guideline drafters have no principle to guide that decision. In the absence of a guiding principle, the choices made are, at best, inconsistent. For example, most state criminal codes maintain an insanity defense because it exculpates the blameless (and thus furthers just punishment), even though abolishing the defense might more effectively incapacitate the dangerous. Yet the same codes sacrifice just punishment, in favor of increasing deterrence, by recognizing strict liability. At the same time, rather than increasing the threatened sanction when the temptation or inclination is greater, as a deterrence principle suggests, these codes frequently decrease the deterrent threat - as, for example, in cases of provocation - because of the offender's reduced blameworthiness. Code drafters are choosing to further different purposes in different contexts. At worst, the absence of a guiding principle fosters arbitrariness or prejudice. This happens when the inconsistent approach of the code drafters is followed on the level of individual sentencing decisions. For instance, while rehabilitation might be the best means of avoiding future crime by a young addict who is caught selling drugs to support his habit, a judge rationally might decide to impose a long prison term in order to further general deterrence interests. When faced with a young bank teller who embezzled money from her cash drawer, the same judge might decide to sacrifice the general deterrent value of a long prison term and put the offender on probation, under an incapacitative theory - she is no longer dangerous because she will never again be placed in a position of trust. Both of these sentences are justified by one of the purposes of sentencing, but they nonetheless may be the product of arbitrary or biased decision making. Without a principle governing when one sentencing purpose is to be followed at the expense of another, judges and guideline drafters are free to choose whatever purpose justifies the desired sentence.
Model-based design and analysis of a subsea high integrity pressure protection system (HIPPS)

Developed in this paper is a model-based procedure for the design and analysis of a subsea High Integrity Pressure Protection System (HIPPS). Offering an alternative to the conventional design requiring the use of pipelines rated to the well shut-in pressure, the installation of HIPPS with low pressure-rated pipelines downstream of its location enables considerable savings in the project CAPEX making the development of high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) wells with a long tieback cost-effective without compromising the safety. The proposed design procedure is based on a low-dimensional two-phase flow transient model to evaluate the effect of the HIPPS on the subsea architecture. A case study demonstrates that the installation of HIPPS can result in savings up to 42% of the total pipelines procurement cost if compared to the conventional approach.
Antibiotic Trends Amid Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Infections in Intensive Care Units

Isolates from ICUs most commonly find multidrug-resistant (MDR) gram-negative bacteria. The purpose of this article is to discuss the significant impact MDR gram-negative infections are having on ICUs, the threat on health and mortality, and effective and new approaches aimed to combat MDR gram-negative infections in critically ill populations. Inappropriate antibiotic therapies for suspected or documented infections are the leading cause of the emergence of bacterial resistance. A variety of strategies are aimed at combatting this international burden via antibiotic stewardship programs. Studies are demonstrating promise against the virulence MDR gram-negative infections have posed.