cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Crossover Control Study of the Effect of Personal Care Products Containing Triclosan on the Microbiome.

ABSTRACT Commonly prescribed antibiotics are known to alter human microbiota. We hypothesized that triclosan and triclocarban, components of many household and personal care products (HPCPs), may alter the oral and gut microbiota, with potential consequences for metabolic function and weight. In a double-blind, randomized, crossover study, participants were given triclosan- and triclocarban (TCS)-containing or non-triclosan/triclocarban (nTCS)-containing HPCPs for 4 months and then switched to the other products for an additional 4 months. Blood, stool, gingival plaque, and urine samples and weight data were obtained at baseline and at regular intervals throughout the study period. Blood samples were analyzed for metabolic and endocrine markers and urine samples for triclosan. The microbiome in stool and oral samples was then analyzed. Although there was a significant difference in the amount of triclosan in the urine between the TCS and nTCS phases, no differences were found in microbiome composition, metabolic or endocrine markers, or weight. Though this study was limited by the small sample size and imprecise administration of HPCPs, triclosan at physiologic levels from exposure to HPCPs does not appear to have a significant or important impact on human oral or gut microbiome structure or on a panel of metabolic markers. IMPORTANCE Triclosan and triclocarban are commonly used commercial microbicides found in toothpastes and soaps. It is unknown what effects these chemicals have on the human microbiome or on endocrine function. From this randomized crossover study, it appears that routine personal care use of triclosan and triclocarban neither exerts a major influence on microbial communities in the gut and mouth nor alters markers of endocrine function in humans.
Total dose performance of conventional static and dynamic circuits in a radhard 0.18-/spl mu/m FDSOI process

Static and dynamic circuits were fabricated in the MIT-LL 0.18-/spl mu/m FDSOI CMOS process, and exhibited a high tolerance to total dose radiation up to 1 Mrad (SiO/sub 2/). Circuits were designed using conventional design rules and layout techniques, i.e., they are not radhard-by-design. Hardening was done at the circuit fabrication level using process enhancements. These are the first circuit-level hardness results reported to date for these new enhancements.
Scalable I/O-Aware Job Scheduling for Burst Buffer Enabled HPC Clusters

The economics of flash vs. disk storage is driving HPC centers to incorporate faster solid-state burst buffers into the storage hierarchy in exchange for smaller parallel file system (PFS) bandwidth. In systems with an underprovisioned PFS, avoiding I/O contention at the PFS level will become crucial to achieving high computational efficiency. In this paper, we propose novel batch job scheduling techniques that reduce such contention by integrating I/O awareness into scheduling policies such as EASY backfilling. We model the available bandwidth of links between each level of the storage hierarchy (i.e., burst buffers, I/O network, and PFS), and our I/O-aware schedulers use this model to avoid contention at any level in the hierarchy. We integrate our approach into Flux, a next-generation resource and job management framework, and evaluate the effectiveness and computational costs of our I/O-aware scheduling. Our results show that by reducing I/O contention for underprovisioned PFSes, our solution reduces job performance variability by up to 33% and decreases I/O-related utilization losses by up to 21%, which ultimately increases the amount of science performed by scientific workloads.
Pope, Beckett, and the Aesthetics of Decay

Although Beckett studied no eighteenth-century prose writer more fully or deliberately than Johnson, there is (perhaps surprisingly) a poet whose style and world-view seem to have had a major impact on him: Alexander Pope. As we saw in Chapter 1, Beckett was quite familiar with Pope’s poetry. Having been held responsible for a bit of it at Trinity College, he read him during the 1930s, purchased a copy of the collected poems in 1936 (which he still owned at his death), quoted Pope in a 1981 letter, and in the same year alluded to him in Ill Seen Ill Said. Beckett must have been attracted to the bold, ironic edge to the poet’s language, his compressed, oxymoronic style, and his ability (like Swift’s) to squeeze competing meanings out of every word or phrase. And as with the writers discussed above, the life of Pope appears to have had an attraction for him, although in this case he seems to have been drawn less to the image of the poet in his last days than to the physical and mental suffering of the frail, diminutive, hunchbacked poet throughout his whole career — to what Pope so unforgettably called in The Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot “this long Disease, my Life” (line 132).2
Information systems offshoring: research status and issues

well. The new realities of outsourcing and offshoring present information systems executives with legal, cultural, and managerial challenges that are not yet fully understood and educators with questions concerning appropriate curricula for the new environment. Because, there is little empirical research published in scholarly IS journals about the offshore outsourcing of information system activities and its impact on education and practice, the intent of the editors for this special issue of MIS Quarterlyis to bring together a set of high quality papers that will (1) describe the state of IS offshore outsourcing practice, (2) provide a select sample of research findings, and (3) sug gest potential future research in this domain.
Less Is Not More: The Insufficiency of Current Data for Understanding the Relationship between Social Diversity and Party System Development

Scholars commonly argue that in democratic societies, the size or fragmentation of party systems — as well as other important features of party systems, such as their nationalization or aggregation — is a function of social heterogeneity, in interaction with political institutions such as the electoral system. Although societies exhibit different types of heterogeneity, from their religious diversity to how socioeconomically equal they are, and although heterogeneity often varies at different political levels, from the national level to the electoral district, political scientists typically characterize countries’ heterogeneity almost exclusively according to measures of national level ethnic diversity. We draw attention to the importance of both different types of heterogeneity and the level at which social heterogeneity is measured. Using original census data for a number of advanced industrial and developing democracies, we show that characterizing heterogeneity solely according to nationwide ethnic diversity often paints a misleading portrait, particularly where it matters the most: at the level of the electoral district. We conclude briefly with the implications for theories that seek to relate social heterogeneity to key aspects of democratic party systems.
Comparison of four-wave mixing and cross phase modulation penalties in dense WDM systems

The relative impact of four-wave mixing (FWM) and cross phase modulation (XPM) is investigated by treating them as noiselike impairments. We show that XPM affects wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) transmission more strongly than FWM for the range of fiber parameters investigated.
The decitabine-derived demethylating dinucleotide, S110 shows improved activity due to increased drug delivery and stability

B140 DNA demethylating agents have proven to be clinically effective in prolonging survival of patients with hematological disorders such as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Decitabine (5-aza-29-deoxy-cytidine) is a FDA approved, effective treatment for MDS, although it is subject to degradation by hydrolytic cleavage and to deamination by cytidine deaminase. To address this, we set out to improve the stability and thereby, increase the in vivo efficacy of decitabine by incorporating 5-aza-29-deoxy-cytidine into a guanine dinucleotide to generate a second generation decitabine agent called S110. In drug stability studies, the deamination of S110 was significantly decreased compared to decitabine; however, hydrolytic cleavage was not improved (Cancer Res 2007;67:6400-8). In cell-based systems, S110 showed equivalent activity to decitabine in real-time PCR re-expression studies looking at genes commonly methylated in cancer (p16, p15, and MLH1). Interestingly, MLH1 expression went from undetectable levels in untreated cells to substantially higher levels in S110-treated cells. In additional studies, the effect of S110 on fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels was tested in vivo in non-human primates as a biomarker for DNA methylation. HbF levels significantly increased in baboons treated with S110 compared to pretreatment levels. We conclude that due to the improvements in drug delivery, cellular uptake, and protection from deamination, S110 is a more potent and effective DNA demethylating agent with the potential to be used in a wider variety of hematological cancers and solid tumor types.
Local housing costs and basic household needs

The supplemental poverty measure (SPM)—which serves as an indicator of economic well-being in addition to the official poverty rate—was introduced in 2010 and explicitly adjusts for geographic differences in the cost of housing. By embedding housing costs, the SPM diverges from official measures in some instances, offering a conflicting view on family well-being. However, there is limited direct evidence of the impact of housing costs on household well-being, and virtually all of it focuses on food insecurity. This study examines the impact of local housing costs on household well-being using the “basic needs” data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Across a wide variety of specifications, no evidence is found that housing costs impact well-being. In contrast, local labor market conditions do impact the well-being measures in many specifications. The findings call into question one of the key motivations for the SPM—that geographic cost differences are a major factor for household well-being.
Design of a Stewart-Gough Platform for Engineering Material Characterization

Stewart-Gough platforms have been used as the basis for multiaxial test machines in multiple applications. Their stiffness coupled with the ability to simultaneously create a combined loading (tensile/bending/twisting) of any design enables them to excite material parameters in any conceivable coupling. For engineered materials, whose properties are often nonlinear and nonisotropic, such loadings are necessary to understand the as-built material parameters inherent within these designed systems. However, the design of a Stewart-Gough is nontrivial as the presence of singular configurations is poorly understood. In the proximity of these singular configurations, precision control of the loading applied by the system is difficult to control due to large gradients in the forces generated. This work uses a combination of simulation and surrogate modeling to establish a “map” of the singular configurations of the Stewart-Gough platform. As a result, a “home” location where the system provides a zero loading upon a specimen is found so as to maximize distance from a singular configuration, and a greater understanding of the nature of singularities in parallel robotics structures is obtained.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
An estimation of the economic cost of recent sanctions on Iran using the synthetic control method

International sanctions imposed on Iran, targeting primarily Iran’s key energy sector and its ability to access the international financial system, have harmed Iran’s economic growth, specifically since 2011 through 2014. Using the synthetic control method, this paper estimates that sanctions during this period reduced Iran’s real GDP by more than 17% with the largest drop occurring in 2012.
Engineering Cell Adhesion

Cells exist within a complex and ever-changing environment, which includes soluble molecules such as growth factors, an extracellular matrix that includes adhesive proteins and carbohydrates, and other neighboring cells. They actively sense and respond to changes in this environment, existing in a state of physiological equilibrium with it. Thus, it has been said, “. . . the unit of function in higher organisms is larger than the cell itself ” [10]. The information content in the adhesive environment is encoded both in its composition and its organization on the nanometer to micrometer length scales. When taken out of this physiological context and cultured in plastic tissue culture dishes, cells lose the cues that maintain their in vivo identity or phenotype, and dedifferentiate. For example, hepatocytes— the principal cell type in the liver—perform several critical liver-specific functions such as production of bile, metabolism of urea, and the synthesis of important serum proteins such as albumin, fibrinogen, and transferrin [27]. When cultured in vitro and isolated from the liver microenvironment, they rapidly downregulate liver-specific phenotype [54]. Similarly, chondrocytes, which are required for the secretion and maintenance of cartilage, lose their differentiated function when cultured in vitro downregulating the synthesis and secretion of cartilage-specific collagens and proteoglycans [88]. Thus, tissue-specific cell function appears to be closely related to the microstructural organization of the tissue itself [11].
¿QUÉ HEMOS HECHO PARA MERECERLO? Melodrama, Teoría, Queer y Camp

Explorando las fuentes de la filmografia de Pedro Almodovar, Peter Evanssostiene que esta se encuentra intimamente relacionada con el melodramahollywoodense y sus sucesivas apropiaciones por el cine espanol, con las estrellaspop, los culebrones televisivos y las fotonovelas. La filmografia de Almodovar,asegura Evans, es un estilo que mezcla la elegancia sublime con la vulgaridad y elkitsch; las estrategias del arte con las de lo popular y alinea lo comico y lo tragico,la alta cultura y la cultura popular.
Complications associated with surgical dehorning in goats: A retrospective study of 239 cases.

Objective This article describes complications following surgical dehorning of goats. Study design Retrospective. Medical records of goats that underwent surgical dehorning were reviewed. Animals Two hundred thirty-nine goats. Methods The medical records of 239 goats, not previously dehorned by other methods, that were cosmetically dehorned between January 2006 and April 2016, were reviewed. Data retrieved from the medical records included breed, weight, the surgeon performing the procedure, intraoperative complications, and the occurrence of return visits to the teaching hospital because of complications related to the dehorning procedure. The owner of record then completed a standard questionnaire during a telephone interview. Results One or more complications following the surgical dehorning procedure were reported in 93/239 (38.91%) of goats. Complications were divided into major and minor categories. Eighty-four of 239 goats (35.14%) had minor complications, 3/239 goats (1.26%) experienced major complications, and 6/239 (2.51%) had both major and minor complications. The mean weight of goats with complications was 29.73 kg compared to 24.91 kg for goats without complications. This difference was statistically significant (P = .015). Conclusion Surgical dehorning of goats results in a high rate of complications; however, the majority of these complications are minor and do not affect health and performance of the goats. Goats experiencing complications weighed significantly more than goats without complications. Clinical significance Surgical dehorning of goats requires minimal aftercare and results in a low rate of serious complications.
Forecasting the Future of the Soviet Union

In this chapter we report on a study carried out in May of 1990 which uses the AHP to determine the future of the Soviet Union. This question has been of utmost importance to every person alive because of the Soviet Union’s implicit and explicit influence on the future of the world. This work is an attempt to project the outcome of the various forces at work within and outside the Soviet Union that were thought to affect its destiny. Three different scenarios were formulated as possible outcomes. The purpose was not just to predict the future, but to develop a framework where variables involved in this complex problem could be identified, the effect of these variables on shaping the future could be evaluated, and the overall outcomes from these events could be derived. The hope is for identifying some actions to be taken to facilitate the way to peace, to avoid unnecessary violence, and to formulate intelligent and consistent policies.
Punitiveness: A Philosophical Perspective:

In what respects can philosophical consideration of punitiveness as a sentiment, an attitude, and a motive illuminate whether there is a proper role for it, especially in regard to the context of criminal justice? Clearly, there are ways in which punitiveness can be excessive and needlessly harming. Are there also ways in which it can be felt and expressed in proper measure, or respects in which it is merited? Some of the distinctive harms of punitiveness are explicated, but it is shown that it is not always, or necessarily, morally problematic or objectionable. In fact, it can have an important role in preserving the civility of society.
Queen Elizabeth and the Power and Language of the Gift

Gift exchanges in the early modern period often had much to do with power. This is especially true in the gift exchanges between Elizabeth I and other women both before she became queen and throughout her reign. This essay analyses such exchanges between Elizabeth and her sister Mary I, her cousin Mary Stuart, and the female relatives of the Earl of Essex at the end of her reign. While the material objects in this essay focus on clothing and jewelry, there is a further argument that the most important gifts offered, asked for, accepted or refused were not objects at all, but promises and advice.
Articular Surgery of the Ischemic Hand in Systemic Scleroderma: A Vascular Basis for Arthrodesis and Arthroplasty.

Hallmark deformities of systemic scleroderma are early onset and progressively disabling flexion contractures of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joints often in conjunction with extension or, less frequently, flexion contractures of the metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints. Although surgical correction is generally recommended, a prevailing reluctance for operative treatment exists owing to the inherent ischemia of the disease with its potentially compromised healing capacity. Nonetheless, with recognition and preservation of the tenuous but well-defined and constant periarticular vascular networks of the PIP and MCP joints, articular reconstruction with uncomplicated wound healing can prove consistently successful for patients with scleroderma. This article describes the authors' preferred methods of PIP arthrodesis vascularized by the dorsal cutaneous arterial network and MCP silicone implant arthroplasty perfused by the dorsal metacarpal arterial plexus.
The impact of processing and cooking on prebiotic carbohydrates in lentil

Abstract Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) is a significant food source of prebiotic carbohydrates, including sugar alcohols (SA), raffinose-family oligosaccharides (RFO), fructooligosaccharides (FOS), and resistant starch (RS). The levels of these carbohydrates and, hence, nutritional value, can change during processing and cooking. This study determined changes in prebiotic carbohydrate types and concentrations in lentil from three market classes (red, green, and Spanish Brown) subjected to different processing methods (whole, dehulled, and splitting) and cooking, cooling, and reheating. Dehulling and splitting of lentil decreased SA in red and green market classes but RFO and FOS only significantly decreased in dehulled split red lentil. Further, dehulling and splitting of red lentil significantly decreased RS concentrations compared to the whole seed. In some cases, SA, RFO, and FOS significantly increased with cooling but decreased after reheating. Cooling and reheating significantly increased lentil RS concentration for all market classes. Spanish Brown “Pardina” had the highest total prebiotic carbohydrates (9492 mg/100 g) of all market classes tested (range 6935–8338 mg/100 g). Overall, selection of lentil market class, processing, and cooking method should be considered to optimize nutritional value.
Molecular Preservation in Graptolites

Graptolites are important fossils in the Lower Palaeozoic. Preserved graptolite periderm consists dominantly of an aliphatic polymer, immune to base hydrolysis. It contains no protein even though its structure, and chemical analyses of the periderm of the living relative Rhabdopleura, indicate that it was originally collagen. This anomaly was previously interpreted as the result of replacement by macromolecular material from the surrounding sediment. New analyses suggest that the aliphatic composition of graptolite periderm reflects direct incorporation of lipids from the organism itself by in situ polymerization.
Anesthesia for Robotic-Assisted Prostatectomy

This chapter will help the perioperative team acknowledge and address the potential issues associated with robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. Topics to be discussed will include the physiological effects of pneumoperitoneum with carbon dioxide and its attendant change of increased abdominal pressure and hypercapnia along with the complex changes of steep head down tilt (SHDT) on the respiratory, cardiac, neurologic, and other organ systems. The physical effects of robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery, along with considerations for high-risk patients, logistics, and planning, will also be discussed. Recognition of these factors will help improve the safety for the patients and the quality of perioperative outcomes. Furthermore, interdisciplinary communication is essential in ensuring the delivery of high-quality care to these patients.
Studies on the clonality of the antibody response to a protein epitope.

During the past decade, great advances have been made in the synthesis and preparation of various formulations of compounds to be used as vaccines. Indeed, the field of “vaccinology” has experienced a dramatic surge. Yet, while many preparations, such as hepatis B immunogens, constitute effective vaccines, attempts to prepare effective vaccines against other diseases, such as malaria or AIDS, have encountered formidable difficulties.
SYSTEMS TITANIUM-MOLYBDENUM AND TITANIUM-COLUMBIUM

The highly reactive Ti-Mo and Ti-Cb alloys were prepared and heat treated under protective conditions. Phase diagrams were established based on micrographie and X-ray diffraction analysis and detection of incipient melting, β titanium forms a continuous series of solid solutions with both molybdenum and columbium, whereas these metals are only slightly soluble in the α titanium modification.
Sim2Cool: A Two-Phase Cooling System Simulator and Design Tool

The development of two-phase cooling for both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) integrated circuits using pumped dielectric coolant has gained recent attention due to the ability to manage high heat densities, compatibility with electronics and low cooling energy usage. Development of this approach requires high fidelity and computationally manageable conjugate thermal models both at the device level as well as the system level. Recent studies have shown micro-scale modeling of in-situ thermal and hydrodynamic phenomena (e.g. boiling and bubble dynamics) of two-phase flow boiling with good accuracy. This paper describes a simulation tool named Sim2Cool which addresses the need for macro-scale system level design simulation for two-phase cooling. The Sim2Cool simulation tool uses an enthalpy-based / energy balance model for the system components and a reduced order model for device-level model. The system simulator tool allows system component parameters to be quickly analyzed including; condenser, reservoir and tubing diameter as well as heat dissipation and flow rate to quantify the impact on the system coefficient of performance (COP). Such tools are critical to accelerating the integration of two phase cooling with microelectronics to realize performance gains by way of high density electronic packaging as Moore’s law on silicon technology advancement reaches physics limits.
Structural causal bandits: where to intervene?

We study the problem of identifying the best action in a sequential decision-making setting when the reward distributions of the arms exhibit a non-trivial dependence structure, which is governed by the underlying causal model of the domain where the agent is deployed. In this setting, playing an arm corresponds to intervening on a set of variables and setting them to specific values. In this paper, we show that whenever the underlying causal model is not taken into account during the decision-making process, the standard strategies of simultaneously intervening on all variables or on all the subsets of the variables may, in general, lead to suboptimal policies, regardless of the number of interventions performed by the agent in the environment. We formally acknowledge this phenomenon and investigate structural properties implied by the underlying causal model, which lead to a complete characterization of the relationships between the arms' distributions. We leverage this characterization to build a new algorithm that takes as input a causal structure and finds a minimal, sound, and complete set of qualified arms that an agent should play to maximize its expected reward. We empirically demonstrate that the new strategy learns an optimal policy and leads to orders of magnitude faster convergence rates when compared with its causal-insensitive counterparts.
Two Extraordinary Sellar Neuronal Tumors: Literature Review and Comparison of Clinicopathologic Features.

Objectives The list of tumors involving the pituitary gland has been expanded to include a variety of neuronal and paraneuronal tumors in the 2017 World Health Organization tumor classification of endocrine organs. All the entities included in this category are distinctly rare, with limited case reports in the literature. Methods We illustrate two extraordinary sellar tumors with neuronal differentiation: a sellar paraganglioma and a sellar neurocytoma, with thorough literature review and comparison of the clinicopathologic features of these entities. Results Both entities are exceptionally rare and tend to be misdiagnosed as pituitary adenoma preoperatively. Both entities demonstrate frequent clinical recurrence compared with pituitary adenoma, as well as the rare occurrence of metastatic disease. Conclusions In evaluating a sellar tumor with an uncommon morphology and neuroendocrine differentiation, an increased awareness of the unusual entities that may involve the sellar region and a judicious panel of immunohistochemical studies should improve the diagnosis.
HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE 2: UNIQUE BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES INCLUDE NEOPLASTIC POTENTIAL MEDIATED BY THE PK DOMAIN OF THE LARGE SUBUNIT OF RIBONUCLEOTIDE REDUCTASE

The prevalence of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infections in the US has increased approximately 30%. Like HSV-1, which causes facial lesions, HSV-2 causes symptomatic lesions (at genital sites) and establishes latent infections of the sensory ganglia. However, the two viruses are biologically distinct, suggesting that they possess unique functions which are mediated by different viral genes. Unlike HSV-1, HSV-2 is a tumor virus. It causes neoplastic transformation of cultured human cells and tumors in animals. The oncogene is at the 5'-terminal of a chimeric gene that also codes for the large subunit of viral ribonucleotide reductase (RR1). It was captured from the cell and it codes for a novel growth factor receptor serine-threonine protein kinase (PK) the minimal genetic information of which can adapt to a relatively wide functional diversity due to the flexibile use of additional and alternate catalytic sites and protein interaction motifs which are organized in an efficient, almost superimposed fashion. By contrast to other growth factor receptor serine-threonine kinases studied so far, the HSV-2 oncoprotein (RR1 PK) activates the RAS signaling pathway, thereby providing a biological bridge to the tyrosine growth factor receptor kinases. Expression of the oncogene is required for neoplastic transformation and tumor growth in vivo is inhibited by antisense inhibition of oncogene expression. The virus conserved the captured oncogene because it provides a biological advantage for its survival. In cultured cells, RR1 PK is required for viral IE gene transcription. In vivo, RR1 PK is likely to be involved in latency reactivation.
Molecular electrostatic potentials-II: Mechanistic aspects of electrophilic interactions of some five-membered heterocycles

Abstract The interactions of furan, pyrrole and N-methyl pyrrole with electrophiles have been investigated by means of the calculated molecular electrostatic potentials, obtained from INDO wave functions, which indicate the most attractive sites and pathways of attack for an approaching electrophile. The very distinct preference of these heterocycles for α-substitution can be interpreted quite satisfactorily in the case of furan if it is assumed that the α-hydrogen moves out of the plane of the molecule, forming a quasi-tetrahedral carbon, as an initial step in the reaction. For pyrrole and N-methyl pyrrole it is found to be necessary to invoke out-of-plane “bending” of the N-H, N-CH 3 and C α -H α bonds to explain both the preference for α-substitution, and also the relative selectivities of furan, pyrrole and N-methyl pyrrole. The energies, atomic charges and bond orders of various forms of these heterocycles are also discussed.
Reconstructing Clitic Doubling

This paper systematically investigates reconstruction properties of Greek clitic doubled objects, motivates an analysis, and shows how this new evidence distinguishes between the numerous existing analyses of Clitic Doubling (CD). It is shown that CD-ed objects are externally merged in argument positions, not adjunct (pace Philippaki-Warburton et al. 2004) and that they must undergo XP/Xmax movement, by contrast to non CD-ed objects, into the middle field between vP and TP, like A-scrambling (Sportiche 1996). Alternative analyses where the doubled object undergoes X0/Xmin movement (Alexiadou & Anagnostopoulou 1997; Preminger 2019 i.a.) or feature movement (Anagnostopoulou 2003; Marchis & Alexiadou 2013) are shown to be unable to capture this data. Furthermore, the paper argues that CD-ed XPs undergo movement into the middle field in order to license a syntactic feature that relates to their interpretive properties. It also considers the interpretive properties of clitics, and shows that they are expletive determiners lacking semantic import. Lastly, it suggests that clitics can only be present if certain locality conditions are satisfied.
The Mediterranean Diet as a Sustainable and Healthy Diet for Food Security

Background and objectiveThe global development agenda for 2016–2030 has identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), of which four are related to and can be addressed by sustainable food con...
Prey Size and Feeding Rate Do Not Influence Trophic Morphology of Juvenile Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon)

Gape-limited predators, such as snakes, might rely on phenotypic plasticity to cope with variation in prey size, but experimental studies have found mixed evidence for plasticity in snake head morphology. Our study sought to determine whether variation in prey size and feeding rate induce head size plasticity in Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon). We avoided limitations of previous studies by growing all neonates to a consistent final size (400 mm snout–vent length [SVL]), and uncoupling feeding rate and prey size as potential factors influencing head size through four feeding treatments: big–fast (one large prey item every week), big–slow (one large prey item every other week), small–fast (two small prey items every week), and small–slow (one small prey item every week). Snakes in fast treatments grew faster than snakes in slow treatments, but there were no strong effects of feeding rate or prey size treatments on multiple head size metrics. Females grew faster than males, however, and had longer jaw lengths at 400 mm SVL than did males. Unlike previous studies, our results do not support the presence of phenotypic plasticity in head size in N. sipedon, indicating that head size plasticity in snakes can be species and context specific.
Peers, Buccaneers and Downton Abbey: An economic analysis of 19th century British aristocratic marriages

Abstract The decline in late 19th century agricultural prices, by reducing the incomes of aristocratic landed estates and of non-aristocratic landed families, led to richly dowried American heiress brides being substituted for brides from landed families in British aristocratic marriages. This reflected a wider 19th century phenomenon of aristocratic substitution of foreign brides for landed brides and the substitution of daughters of British businessmen for daughters of landed families when agricultural prices declined. The results are consistent with positive assortative matching with lump-sum transfers (dowries), where landowning family dowries are cash constrained in periods of agricultural downturn.
Molecular Studies of the Mobility of Surface Metal Atoms and Adsorbates During Catalytic Reactions

Publisher Summary This chapter describes experimental evidences for the dynamic character of the catalytic surface on which the reaction occurs and for the mobility of both adsorbate and substrate atoms and molecules during the catalytic process. First surface science techniques (STM and SFG) that permit monitoring of the catalyst surface during the reaction are introduced. Then it discusses the restructuring of the metal substrate, the surface defects, and the adsorbate layer. The chapter also describes molecular level studies how platinum catalyzes the hydrogenation of light olefins and the oxidation of CO and suggest mechanisms for both types of reactions in light of the, newly acquired experimental data.
HYBRID OPTIONS FOR LIGHT-DUTY VEHICLES

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) offer great promise in improving fuel economy. In this paper, we analyze why, how, and by how much vehicle hybridization can reduce energy consumption and improve fuel economy. Our analysis focuses on efficiency gains associated solely with vehicle hybridization. We do not consider such other measures as vehicle weight reduction or air- and tire-resistance reduction, because such measures would also benefit conventional technology vehicles. The analysis starts with understanding the energy inefficiencies of light-duty vehicles associated with different operation modes in US and Japanese urban and highway driving cycles, with the corresponding energy-saving potentials. The potential for fuel economy gains due to vehicle hybridization can be estimated almost exclusively on the basis of three elements: the reducibility of engine idling operation, the recoverability of braking energy losses, and the capability of improving engine load profiles to gain efficiency associated with specific HEV configurations and control strategies. Specifically, we evaluate the energy efficiencies and fuel economies of a baseline MY97 Corolla-like conventional vehicle (CV), a hypothetical Corolla-based minimal hybrid vehicle (MHV), and a MY98 Prius-like full hybrid vehicle (FHV). We then estimate energy benefits of both MHVs and FHVs over CVs on a performance-equivalent basis. We conclude that the energy benefits of hybridization vary not only with test cycles, but also with performance requirements. The hybrid benefits are greater for ''Corolla (high) performance-equivalent'' vehicles than for ''Prius (low) performance-equivalent'' vehicles. An increasing acceleration requirement would result in larger fuel economy benefits from vehicle hybridization.
AI for automated combatants in a training application

We are trying to emulate the most realistic human-combat behaviors possible in a virtual environment. Our requirement for realism stems from our application: a combat training environment where the virtual arena needs to engage students in experiences that can carryover to "real life." For us, "realism" is focused on the behaviors of enemy combatants in the virtual world, and the definition of that reality needs to address questions like: Do the enemies hide from you? Where? How well? What weapons do they choose? How accurately do they aim? How fast can they shoot? Are they familiar with the tactics you and your team members use most often? Are they acting rationally given current conditions in terms of visibility, noise, and obstacles? In this paper we describe the system we are building: design choices, authoring concepts, and tools.
Safety and Security in Urban Academic Libraries: A Risk Assessment Approach to Emergency Preparedness

72 544x376 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE Academic libraries have developed a wide range of emergency preparedness policies, procedures, and training programs. Libraries have traditionally focused on the recovery of collections after an emergency. Risk assessment has focused on collections, largely as an outgrowth of valuation for insurance purposes and the core responsibility of libraries to safeguard collections. Risk assessment has rarely been systematically applied to personal safety and security. There is an anecdotal sense that urban academic libraries are subject to higher risk from property and violent crime than other academic libraries. This study examines the level of risk of property and violent crime using Clery Act data and Uniform Crime Report data, distinguishing between urban and less-urban academic environments and comparing crime rates in academic environments with the general crime rates. It provides a model for risk assessment and for the prioritization of prevention and preparedness initiatives.
Zero Knowledge Watermark Detection

In order for digital watermarking technology to be truly usable, one must be able to employ it without annihilating its effect. The act of revealing a watermark within an object, in order to prove ownership or detect theft of said object, may open the door to subsequent theft, by providing attackers with the information they need to remove the watermark. The idea of zero-knowledge watermarking, of proving the existence of a mark without revealing what that mark is, can help address this problem and others.
A post-Voyager view of Saturn's environment

Major results obtained by Voyager spacecraft encounters in the vicinity of Saturn are discussed, noting that the hydrogen torus dominates the Saturn magnetosphere without directly participating in its dynamics, being neutral. The average sunward location of the magnetopause has been found to generally lie beyond the orbit of Titan, and is determined by the pressure balance between the solar wind and the planetary magnetic field. Energetic electrons were observed during Voyager 1 traversal of the Saturn magnetic tail down to the magnetopause, indicating that field lines in the tail lobe of the Saturn magnetosphere are closed. The detailed analysis of Voyager 1 and 2 encounters with Saturn will continue for another two years, exploring the dynamics of the magnetosphere itself and of its interaction with the rings, satellites, and ionosphere of the planet.
A truncated analog of a pre-light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein II transit peptide inhibits protein import into chloroplasts.

Abstract It is unclear how transit peptides target nuclear-encoded precursor proteins to the chloroplast. This study establishes the feasibility of using synthetic peptides as competitive inhibitors of chloroplast protein import and as probes for the function of domains within transit peptides. We show that peptide pL(1-20), MAASTMALSSPAFAGKAVNY, an analog of the NH2 terminus of a pre-light harvesting chlorophyll a/b protein II from Arabidopsis, inhibits the import of several Arabidopsis and pea precursor proteins into pea chloroplasts. Inhibition occurs at a step between the initial binding of precursors to the chloroplast and the first proteolytic cleavage event and is not due to interference with ATP availability or chloroplast integrity. Presumably this reflects specific binding of the peptide to the import machinery in the chloroplast envelope. Our data are consistent with the suggestion (Karlin-Neumann, G. A., and Tobin, E. M. (1986) EMBO J. 5, 9-13) that two conserved blocks of amino acids near the NH2-terminus of transit peptides (spanned by peptide pL(1-20] participate in protein targeting. Computer analysis also shows peptide pL(1-20) lacks the amphiphilic properties characteristic of pre-sequences of many nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins. This shows a difference in the mechanisms for targeting proteins to chloroplasts and mitochondria.
Concurrence of aqueous and gas phase contamination of groundwater in the Wattenberg oil and gas field of northern Colorado

The potential impact of rapid development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling on regional groundwater quality has received significant attention. Major concerns are methane or oil/gas related hydrocarbon (such as TPHs, BTEX including benzene, toluene, ethybenzene and xylene) leaks into the aquifer due to the failure of casing and/or stray gas migration. Previously, we investigated the relationship between oil and gas activity and dissolved methane concentration in a drinking water aquifer with the major finding being the presence of thermogenic methane contamination, but did not find detectable concentrations of TPHs or BTEX. To understand if aqueous and gas phases from the producing formation were transported concurrently to drinking water aquifers without the presence of oil/gas related hydrocarbons, the ionic composition of three water groups was studied: (1) uncontaminated deep confined aquifer, (2) suspected contaminated groundwater - deep confined aquifer containing thermogenic methane, and (3) produced water from nearby oil and gas wells that would represent aqueous phase contaminants. On the basis of quantitative and spatial analysis, we identified that the "thermogenic methane contaminated" groundwater did not have similarities to produced water in terms of ionic character (e.g. Cl/TDS ratio), but rather to the "uncontaminated" groundwater. The analysis indicates that aquifer wells with demonstrated gas phase contamination have not been contacted by an aqueous phase from oil and gas operations according to the methodology we use in this study and the current groundwater quality data from COGCC. However, the research does not prove conclusively that this the case. The results may provide insight on contamination mechanisms since improperly sealed well casing may result in stray gas but not aqueous phase transport.
Banfield, Gouldner, and Social Problems

Gouldner's and Banfield's recent controversial books focus attention on issues of who rewards whom for what, on the consequences of different institutional answers to that question, and on the proper stance of social scientists toward the problems generated by contemporary American answers. It is argued that Gouldner's critique of “Functionalism” misses the utility of an exchange theory approach to functionalism which Banfield's analysis emphasizes, and which Gouldner himself uses deftly in much of his analysis. It is also argued that in important respects the “aloof” analyses of a Parsons or a Banfield are more relevant to problem-solving than the passionate reactions of their critics to such aloofness.
Price and income elasticities: evidence from commodity trade between the U.S. and Egypt

Elasticity approach to balance of payments postulates that a country can enjoy an improvement in its trade balance in the long run if sum of import and export demand price elasticities exceed unity, a condition known as the Marshall-Lerner condition. Previous research tested this condition either using aggregate trade data between one country and rest of the world or between two countries and provided mixed results. They are all said to suffer from aggregation bias. To remove the bias, in this paper we concentrate on trade flows of two countries, i.e., the U.S. and Egypt and disaggregate their trade flows by commodity. The estimates reveal that the ML condition is met in 28 out of 36 industries that trade between the two countries.
Theories of and in the Policy Process

Like public administration before it, public policy has an uneasy place in the discipline of political science. The stress is most obvious in the distinction between theories that attempt to explain the policy process and theories that are useful to those who seek to operate within the policy process. Accommodating this stress within the disciplinary boundaries of political science poses a difficult challenge.
OUTFLOW INTERACTION IN THE LATE STAGES OF STAR FORMATION

We have mapped the CO, HCO+, N2H+, and CS emission around a nearby T Tauri star, IRAS 16316-1540. A molecular outflow is seen in CO, HCO+, N2H+, and CS emission originating from the IRAS source, while an envelope is seen in N2H+ and HCO+ emission surrounding the IRAS source. The molecular outflow is bipolar with a southeastern (SE) lobe and a northwestern (NW) lobe. The structure and the kinematics of the SE lobe are well defined and can be explained with a simple kinematic model. In this model, the SE lobe is a U-shaped shell consisting of a wide-opening base mimicking the reflection nebula RNO 91 and a cylindrical shell with a constant radius mimicking the CO outflow shell. The wide-opening base is expanding toward the circumstellar envelope, while the cylindrical shell is expanding mainly laterally into the ambient medium. If the base of the SE lobe continues to expand at its current velocity, it will meet with the base of the NW lobe and disperse the circumstellar envelope in a few times 104 yr. The circumstellar envelope is elongated perpendicular to the outflow axis, extending to the northeast and southwest of the IRAS source. The envelope has differential rotation with the velocity increasing toward the source. It may result from material infalling toward the source carrying its angular momentum. The HCO+ emission near the source may arise from an unresolved inner ring of the envelope, showing two peaks with one on each side of the IRAS source and a position-velocity structure consistent with the rotation law derived from the N2H+ emission. The HCO+ emission in the outer part of the envelope likely traces the swept up envelope material, showing both the outflow motion and probably rotation.
The Importance of Health Care Economics for Hospital Librarians

Economics has been described as “The Dismal Science.” But knowledge of economics as applied to the health care industry is increasingly important for hospital librarians. This article summarizes the results of a survey of hospital librarians pertaining to their knowledge, perceptions, and interest regarding health care economics. In response to economics topics selected as important by librarian survey respondents, health care economics issues and concepts are defined and discussed. The article concludes by identifying relevant implications for hospital librarians and resources for continuing education.