cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of post-weaning traits of Simmental and Hereford bulls and heifers

Post-weaning growth, dry-matter intake, carcass characteristics, chemical composition of the 9th to 11th rib section and food conversion efficiency were evaluated for Simmental bulls (15) and heifers (18) and Hereford bulls (17) and heifers (14) from approx. 240 days of age to 470 days of age. Within each breed × sex sub-class, animals were assigned to one of three energy intake levels: (1) ad libitum, (2) 795 kJ metabolizable energy (ME) per kg0·75 per day and (3) 544 kj ME per kg0·75 per day.Simmentals tended to exhibit higher post-weaning growth rate and consumed more dry matter than Herefords. At ad libitum intakes, efficiency estimates (gain/food) were greater initially but decreased more rapidly for Herefords than for Simmentals. No differences were observed in efficiency estimates between Herefords and Simmentals fed at 795 kJ ME per kg0·75 per day and both breeds fed at this level improved in efficiency as time on test increased.Bulls tended to have greater growth rate, and consume more dry matter than heifers. At ad libitum food intake, bulls were more efficient than heifers and the decrease in efficiency of the two sexes was parallel. Heifers fed at 795 kJ ME per kg0·75 per day had a constant efficiency throughout the test while bulls improved in efficiency.
Long-Term Stability of Nickel in Resonant Micro-Mechanical Devices

A nickel micromechanical device was resonated and the natural frequency of the structure was monitored over time. Any structural rearrangement or damage initiation in the material was expected to cause a corresponding change in the resonant frequency of the device. The resonant frequency of the device was initially about 31.8 kHz and the frequency was found to decline over time at a rate of 0.17 Hz/s.
Combined Different Tumor Markers in Detecting50Primary Hepatic Carcinoma Cases

Objective To increase the detection rate of primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC) by applying dif- ferent tumor markers.Methods Using the different tumor markers Protein Chip Diagnose System to de- termine and analyze the concentration values of5tumor markers in the sera of50PHC patients,13ma- lignant tumor patients,43inflammation patients and230normal persons.Results The positive detection rate of AFP, CA19-9, CA125, CEA and CA242of PHC was86%,42%,38%,24%,18% respective- ly. The total positive detection rate of PHC with combined five tumor markers reached to96.00%.Con- clusion The positive diagnostic accuracy of PHC can be improved by combined the five tumor markers.
Heteroepitaxial growth and characterization of BiFeO3 thin films on GaAs

The paper deals with the integration of well-known bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) multiferroic oxide with GaAs semiconductor. First 5 nm ultrathin SrTiO3 films were grown on GaAs (001) substrates as an intermediate buffer layer by molecular beam epitaxy. Then, room temperature multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition. X-ray diffraction measurement showed high quality epitaxial BFO films with pure (00l) orientation. The dielectric loss has been effectively suppressed and the saturated polarization–voltage (P–V) hysteresis loops were obtained. The ferroelectric domains switching was affirmed by piezo-response force microscopic studies. A large remnant polarization P r (~80 μC cm−2) combined with the enhanced magnetization (72 emu cm–3) at 300 K was achieved for the optimal growth conditions. The optical properties were measured using the ellipsometry technique for the BFO thin films. The thickness and optical constants of the BFO films were obtained by taking into consideration the dielectric parameters as described by the Tauc-Lorentz model. Finally, direct bandgap was estimated at 2.70 eV which is highly comparable to BFO films grown on different substrates.
The effect of asteroid topography on surface ablation deflection

Abstract Ablation techniques for deflecting hazardous asteroids deposit energy into the asteroid’s surface, causing an effective thrust on the asteroid as the ablating material leaves normal to the surface. Although it has long been recognized that surface topography plays an important role in determining the deflection capabilities, most studies to date have ignored this aspect of the model. This paper focuses on understanding the topography for real asteroid shapes, and how this topography can change the deflection performance of an ablation technique. The near Earth asteroids Golevka, Bennu, and Itokawa are used as the basis for this study, as all three have high-resolution shape models available. This paper shows that naive targeting of an ablation method without accounting for the surface topography can lower the deflection performance by up to 20% in the cases studied in terms of the amount of acceleration applied in the desired direction. If the ablation thrust level is assumed to be 100 N, as used elsewhere in the literature, this misapplication of thrust translates to tens of kilometers per year in decreased semimajor axis change. However, if the ablation method can freely target any visible point on the surface of the asteroid, almost all of this performance can be recovered.
Pharmacogenomics of angiotensin receptor/neprilysin inhibitor and its long‐term side effects

The development of the promising agent sacubitril/valsartan, known as an angiotensin receptor blocker-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), to improve heart failure (HF) management, may benefit morbidity, mortality, and readmission rates in patients with HF. The PARADIGM-HF trial demonstrated that the ARNI can reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), while ongoing PARAMOUNT and PARAGON-HF trials determined whether the ARNI has morbidity and mortality benefits in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, the risk of long-term side effects of the ARNI such as cognitive dysfunction or Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unknown. In fact, neprilysin (NEP), encoded by NEP or MME gene, is a principal peptidase involved in the degradation of β-amyloid (Aβ) protein. Several studies have demonstrated that polymorphisms of the NEP gene may be associated with AD and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). Pharmacogenomics, the study of variability in drug response due to genetic polymorphisms, can potentially explain the variability in the effect of the ARNI and their side effects. Therefore, we have attempted to highlight pharmacogenomic factors and potential long-term side effects of the ARNI. Physicians should carefully monitor elderly patients with genetic risk factors for AD and CAA. In the future, genetic testing and genomic testing for NEP polymorphisms may play an important role in monitoring long-term side effects in ARNI-treated HF patients.
Photochemical C−H Activation: An Early Story

An early investigation in the author‘s laboratory into photochemical C−H bond activation and functionalization is recounted. Specifically, d8 Ir(I) and Rh(I) carbonyl phosphine complexes were found to promote benzene C−H bond activtion and functionalization to give benzaldehyde upon near-UV irradiation. The carbonylation of benzene is thermodynamically unfavorable resulting in only low yields of benzaldehyde. The photochemical process was suggested as ligand dissociation to yield a 14 e− Ir(I) or Rh(I) intermediate capable of benzene C−H oxidative additions. The research set the stage for subsequent photochemical C−H activation and functionalization studies by others in the late 1980’s.
van der Waals epitaxy of Ge films on mica

To date, many materials have been successfully grown on substrates through van der Waals epitaxy without adhering to the constraint of lattice matching as is required for traditional chemical epitaxy. However, for elemental semiconductors such as Ge, this has been challenging and therefore it has not been achieved thus far. In this paper, we report the observation of Ge epitaxially grown on mica at a narrow substrate temperature range around 425 °C. Despite the large lattice mismatch (23%) and the lack of high in-plane symmetry in the mica surface, an epitaxial Ge film with [111] out-of-plane orientation is observed. Crystallinity and electrical properties degrade upon deviation from the ideal growth temperature, as shown by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Hall effect measurements. X-ray pole figure analysis reveals that there exist multiple rotational domains in the epitaxial Ge film with dominant in-plane orientations between Ge 1¯10 and mica[100] of (20n)°, where n = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. A supe...
Cross-layer refresh mitigation for efficient and reliable DRAM systems: A comparative study

DRAM is a crucial component in computing systems, and is expected to be even more important as data-intensive applications become more prominent. A key challenge in advancing DRAM technology is the growing cost of refresh operations, which can impose a large impact on the energy efficiency of DRAM modules. Existing refresh mitigation techniques all require hardware modifications, which may be undesirable. In this paper, we make two major contributions. First, we present a new cross-layer refresh mitigation approach that takes into account both DRAM retention time characteristics and application behaviors. The main ideas are: (1) uniformly lower refresh rate to improve DRAM energy efficiency, (2) utilize a combination of system-level memory tests and ECC/scrubbing to detect and correct errors resulting from the reduced refresh rate, and (3) perform software-based memory repair so that DRAM cells in which errors occur because of the reduced refresh rate are not mapped to application space. Our approach reduces refresh power by 98.6% and improves overall DRAM energy efficiency by up to 37.7% without sacrificing reliability, at the low price of a small reduction in main memory capacity. Second, we perform thorough experiments and analysis to compare our cross-layer approach with prior work. In general, our approach achieves better or similar power benefits, but it does not require any modifications to the hardware.
High Throughput Bandwidth Characterization of Silicon Photonic Modulators using Offset Frequency Combs

We develop a low complexity, high-throughput testing technique for concurrently characterizing the bandwidths of multiple in-series modulators with independent frequency combs. The approach is demonstrated on two serial modulators at 9.2 GHz and 15.5 GHz.
Use of Niacin for Primary or Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular or Cerebrovascular Events

Prescription niacin (nicotinic acid, vitamin B3) does not reduce myocardial infarctions, strokes, or overall mortality when used for primary or secondary prevention.
Occupational Therapists' Experience with Assistive Technology in Provision of Service to Clients with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

Aims: The objective of this study was to determine how occupational therapy practitioners use assistive technology (AT) when treating clients who have Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD...
A Novel Method for the Development of Environmental Public Health Indicators and Benchmark Dose Estimation Using a Health-Based End Point for Chlorpyrifos.

Background: Organophosphorus (OP) compounds are the most widely used group of insecticides in the world. Risk assessments for these chemicals have focused primarily on 10% inhibition of acetylcholi...
Traffic Condition Monitoring Using Social Media Analytics

Scientist and practitioner seek innovations that analyze traffic big data for reducing congestion. In this chapter, we propose a framework for traffic condition monitoring using social media data analytics. This involves sentiment analysis and cluster classification utilizing the big data volume readily available through Twitter microblogging service. Firstly, we examine some key aspects of big data technology for traffic, transportation and information engineering systems. Secondly, we consider Parts of Speech tagging utilizing the simplified Phrase-Search and Forward-Position-Intersect algorithms. Then, we use the k-nearest neighbor classifier to obtain the unigram and bigram; followed by application of Naїve Bayes Algorithm to perform the sentiment analysis. Finally, we use the Jaccard Similarity and the Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency for cluster classification of traffic tweets data. The preliminary results show that the proposed methodology, comparatively tested for accuracy and precision with another approach employing Latent Dirichlet Allocation is sufficient for predicting traffic flow in order to effectively improve the road traffic condition.
Higher order affordances for reaching: Perception and performance

Affordances are available behaviours emerging from relations between properties of animals and their environment. In any situation, multiple behaviours are available, that is, multiple affordances exist. We asked whether participants could detect means-ends relations among affordances (i.e., higher order affordances) in the context of reaching to a maximum height. We both assessed perceived affordances and evaluated actual reaching ability. In Experiment 1, we co-varied higher order goals (reaching to touch vs reaching to grasp) and the lower order effectors used to achieve the goals (fingertips vs a hand-held tool). In Experiment 2, we varied the lower order posture from which reaching would occur (standing vs kneeling). In both experiments, perceived maximum reaching height reflected relations between lower order means (effectors and postures) and higher order ends (reaching goals), and judgments closely reflected actual performance. We conclude that participants demonstrated prospective sensitivity to higher order affordances for reaching extended across multiple levels of the means-ends hierarchy.
The Lower Extremity: Congenital and Developmental Conditions

This chapter first discusses normal variants in the knee and lower leg, covering topics such as distal femoral epiphyseal ossification variants, benign cortical defects, cortical desmoids, tibial tuberosity development, and growth recovery lines. Variants of the fabella, patella, and patellofemoral articulation are discussed, as well as both congenital and developmental patellar instability. The chapter then presents congenital limb anomalies such as femoral bifurcation and duplication, longitudinal deficiency of the tibia, and longitudinal deficiency of the fibula. Bowing and alignment disorders follow, with sections on various forms of tibial and fibular bowing, and knee dislocation and hyperextension. Discussion of aberrant alignment includes physiological bowing, infantile tibia vara, rickets, genu valgum, and long bone rotational abnormalities. The chapter concludes with a discussion of leg-length discrepancy.
CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE OF HEAVY AND SUPER-HEAVY ELEMENTS

(Abstract) A crystalline solid model for nuclei: equivalent to the shell model, independent particle model, spheron model, and collective model: arises from Langmuir's Volume Exclusion Principle. Protons (or neutrons) are considered to be located in concentric spherical shells numbered n = 1, 2, 3, — of radii r = nr ° , thickness d = r ° and volume V = 4π(nr ° ) 2 d. With volume 2 π r ° 2 d for each particle, the number of protons (or neutrons) in filled shells equals numbers by Pauli Exclusion Principle. Shells are sub-divided into zones specified by orbital (l), spin (s), resultant (j), and component (m j ) angular momentum quantum numbers. The order of filling zones with protons (or neutrons) follows successive series of even numbers 2; 4, 2; 6, 4, 2; 8, 6, 4, 2; — corresponding to the maximum number of particles with j = 1/2; 3/2, 1/2; 5/2, 3/2, 1/2; 7/2, 5/2, 3/2; —. Shell number, orbital quantum number, and j; in order of filling are specified as 1s 1/2 ; 2p 3/2 , 2p 1/2 ; 3d 5/2 , 3d 3/2 , 2s 1/2 ; 4f 7/2 , 4f 5/2 , 3p 3/2 , 3p 1/2 , 5g 9/2 , —–. Magic numbers are the total protons, or neutrons, when the first j zone in a shell is filled. There is one magic number for each shell. The magic number M n for shell n is related to the next smaller magic number M (n−1) by . The smallest magic number, M 1 = 2. Others are M 2 = 6, M 3 = 14, M 4 = 28, M 5 = 50, M 6 = 82 M 7 = 126,—-. For the super-heavy nuclei, sample numbers are M 8 = 184, —M 12 = 596, M 17 = 1666 —-. Heavy and super-heavy nuclei are considered to be crystalline with a core of di-neutrons surrounded by shells containing deuterons; plus loose protons and neutrons which move over the surface in circular orbits, at constant latitudes, to provide the rotational inertia, spin angular momentum, and magnetic moment of the nucleus. A possible mass number (A) for a given proton number (Z) is given by For Z ≠ 1666, A = 4,509. The nuclear shape is an oblate ellipsoid with the outer shells containing all of the protons along with an equal number of neutrons.
Channel Dynamics and Its Application to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current

A one-layer, quasi-geostrophic, nonlinear numerical model is used to analyze wind-driven flow in a zonal channel with partial meridional boundaries. The model is chosen to correspond to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, especially that region in the vicinity of Drake Passage. Numerical techniques are chosen to take advantage of vectorized computer operations. The leap frog integration of the vorticity equation vectorizes directly. The streamfunction is obtained from the vorticity field through a Red-Black SOR iterative scheme. The geometry of solid walls in the zonal channel is specified through BIT control arrays. This feature of the program allows the geometry to be changed easily and allows vectorized calculations over entire two-dimensional arrays. Performance of this model improves by a factor of 50 or better relative to a similar calculation on a scalar computer. Model results show that meridional boundaries strongly reduce the total transport in a zonal channel. Further, there is a qualitative change in the flow depending on whether the meridional walls overlap or not. If the walls overlap (all latitude lines blocked), the flow is Sverdrup-like and has the appearance of modified closed basin flow. If walls do not overlap, there is a strong, laterally sheared current in the zonal band that is not blocked. Bottom topography also provides a lesser drag on the flow, further reducing the total transport.
Applications of Functional Nanocomposites

The length scales defining structure and organization determine the fundamental characteristics of a material. Traditional polymeric materials exhibit organization on two length scales: the molecular scale, e.g., the unit cell of the crystal through folding chain or the local arrangement of amorphous polymer phase, and the scale particles/phases within the composite typically much longer length and on the order of micrometers or greater. In immiscible polymer blend, materials (IMPB), however, that melt domains in the nanoscale range, have been observed with ratios that are capable of being generated by manipulating shear rate, temperature, and viscosity during melt processing and by selecting the polymer pair to conform to the requisite viscosity/volume fraction relationship. Properties of IMPB’s have recently shown remarkable enhancements. Nanotechnology of dispersion of nanoparticles in IMPB’s has also been found to be critical component in fabricating nanocomposites of extraordinary structural and functional performance. Among the various methods that are currently used, are functionalization techniques such as coating of nanoparticles with proper material in order to maximize homogeneity of dispersed nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. This approach provides an opportunity for the processing of polymer/ceramic composites at the nanoscale level. Specific examples of ceramic nanoparticle nanocomposite will be discussed with emphasis on mechanical and magnetic properties.
Gas Transport as a Tool for Structural Characterization of Interfacial Phases

In the past decade, several refinements have been made in the measurement and analysis of gas transport in solids. These increase the ability for this technique to be a tool for structural characterization of interfacial phases. Two cases will be discussed: i) the vitreous silica reaction layer between oxygen and semiconductor silicon and ii) grain-boundary structure in Al2O3.
Sexualization of Prepubescent Girls in Dance Competition: Innocent Fun or ‘Sexploitation’?

Sexualized dance routines for young girls are becoming more and more common in dance competitions. The appropriateness of these dance routines is being debated by parents, dance instructors, and pu...
ANGIOTENSIN CONVERTING ENZYME INHIBITOR PRESCRIPTION IN SINGLE VENTRICLE PATIENTS ENROLLED IN THE NATIONAL PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY QUALITY IMPROVEMENT COLLABORATIVE REGISTRY

The Infants Single Ventricle trial published in 2010 demonstrated no benefit of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) over placebo. The effects of this study on prescribing patterns are unclear. We sought to describe ACEi prescription in the interstage between stage 1 palliation (S1P)
Inter-rater reliability between experienced and inexperienced otolaryngologists using Koo’s drug-induced sleep endoscopy classification system

An ideal, drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) classification system should cover all the upper airways, be simple and practical, and quantify the severity of any obstruction. Excellent validity and reliability are essential. We explored the inter-rater reliability of Koo’s DISE classification system in the hands of experienced and inexperienced otolaryngologists. We retrospectively analyzed video images of 100 patients who underwent DISE examination in our hospital between 2015 and 2018. Three experienced and three inexperienced otolaryngologists reviewed and scored all images. We calculated the inter-rater reliabilities of the two groups of otolaryngologists. Independent of the extent of experience with DISE, detection of retropalatal obstructions (overall agreement: 0.87; kappa value: 0.60), and the degree of such obstructions (overall agreement: 0.67; kappa value: 0.52) were more consistent than were the detection of retrolingual obstructions (overall agreement: 0.61, kappa value: 0.37) and the degree of retrolingual obstructions (overall agreement: 0.20, kappa value: 0.35). Inexperienced observers were in good agreement for palatal obstructions and experienced observers were in good agreement for tongue-base obstructions. All of the otolaryngologists found it difficult to detect a lateral pharyngeal wall obstruction at the retrolingual level. Koo’s DISE classification system focuses on surgical treatment, especially by otolaryngologists, and the degree of agreement between the experienced and inexperienced observers was relatively high. The participants’ level of experience had a strong impact on scoring. The less-experienced otolaryngologists tended to overlook tongue-base obstructions, focusing instead on relatively simple retropalatal obstructions. In the future, development of a DISE classification system that can be accepted globally will be necessary.
Decentralized Adaptive Control

ABSTRACT A continuous time decentralized model reference adaptive controller is proposed for a large scale system composed of N interconnected linear subsystems with unknown parameters. Each local adaptive law utilizes a normalizing signal which is generated using the local input and the outputs of all the subsystems. Sufficient conditions for the closed loop stability of the adaptively controlled interconnected system are derived. These conditions provide bounds on the size of the allowable unmodelled interconnections and suggest ways to effect an improvement in the latter by appropriately choosing the free parameters of the adaptive controller.
Energy and emissions analysis of ice thermal energy storage in the western US

Abstract Energy storage systems provide a variety of benefits to the electricity sector, including taking better advantage of renewable electricity when available and smoothing demand by shifting peaks to times when electricity prices and demand are lower. When low electricity demand occurs during the nighttime, additional benefits of overnight energy storage can also occur. Lower nighttime ambient temperatures can lead to efficiency improvements throughout the grid, including power generators, transmission and distribution systems, and chillers. For ice thermal energy storage, these benefits have even been shown to enable net reductions in primary energy consumption compared to normal cooling operations. The energy and emissions impacts of ice storage depend strongly on the diurnal temperature variation and power fleet characteristics in a given region, but previous analysis only examined a single location with relatively high humidity. This study extends the previous analysis to arid regions with high diurnal temperature variation, using Phoenix, AZ and Flagstaff, AZ as case studies, and to a region with high solar penetration, using Los Angeles, CA as a case study. This study demonstrates that the larger temperature variations in Arizona lead to higher round-trip efficiencies, with average primary energy-based effective round-trip efficiencies of 127% in Flagstaff, 107% in Phoenix, and 90% in Los Angeles, with site round-trip efficiencies of 133%, 127%, and 99%, respectively. These high round-trip efficiencies result in net reductions in carbon emissions of 34% in Flagstaff and 24% in Phoenix, but an increase of 53% in Los Angeles due to the absence of solar production overnight. Additionally, the lower icemaking efficiency during warm daytime temperatures makes ice storage poorly-suited for storing excess solar generation compared to other storage approaches. However, the presence of a mature commercial market and the possibility of gaining over 100% effective round-trip efficiency create a strong case for ice thermal energy storage as an energy storage approach for reducing both primary energy consumption and carbon emissions, particularly if fleet efficiencies are higher and carbon intensities are lower overnight.
IGFBP-3 as a Regulator of the Growth-Hormone/Insulin-Like Growth Factor Pathway in Proliferative Retinopathies

Growth of retinal vessels is not only a crucial factor for retinal development but also one of the hallmarks of two of the most common causes of blindness in the industrialized world: retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Visual impairment in both diseases is causally linked to the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the retina. The current clinically established laser treatments for both conditions aim at destroying avascular areas of the affected retina to reduce the production of angiogenic mediators. However, laser treatment is only partially effective and associated with the destruction of healthy retina and subsequent local visual field loss.
Nocturnal reductions in body temperature in high-elevation Neotropical birds

Seasonal and daily fluctuations in environmental temperature can affect the fitness of endotherms by increasing metabolic costs and energetic requirements. Consequently, some species adopt strategies that function to minimize costs, including minor circadian fluctuations in body temperature (Tb) and facultative reductions in Tb, known as heterothermy. The geographic and taxonomic patterns of variation in Tb are poorly-known, especially in the Neotropics. We investigated the diurnal variation in Tb of small birds inhabiting high-elevation Neotropical montane forests which must cope with predictably cool nighttime temperatures. Two-thirds of the individuals we measured lowered their Tb at night, and changes were greater when differences between daytime and nighttime ambient temperatures were greater. Our study expands the taxonomic and geographic scope of documented thermoregulatory flexibility in birds by demonstrating that even in the Neotropics, some montane birds may routinely adopt energy-saving physiological strategies. Such data are important to understanding and interpreting biogeographic patterns and behavior of tropical birds.
Now You See It, Now You Don't: Explicit Contract Benefits In Extralegal Exchanges

To enhance performance, buying firms often use supplier governance mechanisms, such as explicit contracts, to coordinate efforts. Yet, it is unclear how these governance mechanisms would perform in extralegal exchanges, whereby suppliers may renege on the contract with little or no legal recourse. Furthermore, there is a paucity of studies examining these extralegal exchanges in the presence of an external market willing to pay higher prices, thus tempting suppliers to renege on existing agreements. Accordingly, we seek insight into the effectiveness of implicit and explicit contracts juxtaposed with the evolving payoff for a supplier's reneging. We do so with a dataset from a buying firm and its suppliers in the for‐hire trucking industry. Our results reveal that implicit contracts do, indeed, enhance performance (i.e., suppliers reject business offerings less often), eventhough the buying firm has no viable legal recourse for rejected business offerings. Likewise, we find that explicit contracts (i.e., providing more specificity to the supplier) further enhance performance; yet, as the external market conditions change in the supplier's favor, more explicit contracts’ effectiveness drastically weakens. Indeed, when external market prices reach their highest, our results suggest that explicit contracts’ benefits virtually disappear. Overall, our results provide a rare look into implicit and explicit contracts’ outcomes in an extralegal exchange when suppliers’ reneging becomes more/less threatening, thereby offering insight for researchers and managers.
Investigating associations between physical activity-related neighborhood built environment features and child weight status to inform local practice

Abstract Despite evidence of the importance of neighborhood built environment features in relation to physical activity and obesity, research has been limited in informing localized practice due to small sample sizes and limited geographic coverage. This demonstration study integrated data from a local pediatric health system with nationally available neighborhood built environment data to inform local decision making around neighborhood environments and childhood obesity. Height/weight from clinic visits and home neighborhood measures from the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency and WalkScore were obtained for 15,989 6–17 year olds. Multilevel models accounted for the nested data structure and were adjusted for neighborhood income and child sociodemographics. In 9–17 year olds, greater street connectivity and walkability were associated with a 0.01–0.04 lower BMIz (Ps = .009-.017) and greater residential density, street connectivity, and walkability were associated 5–7% lower odds of being overweight/obese (Ps = .004-.044) per standard deviation increase in environment variable. 45.9% of children in the lowest walkability tertile were overweight or obese, whereas 43.1% of children in the highest walkability tertile were overweight or obese. Maps revealed areas with low walkability and a high income-adjusted percent of children overweight/obese. In the Kansas City area, data showed that fewer children were overweight/obese in more walkable neighborhoods. Integrating electronic health records with neighborhood environment data is a replicable process that can inform local practice by highlighting the importance of neighborhood environment features locally and pointing to areas most in need of interventions.
Integrated Weed Management Systems to Control Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.) in Soybean

As resistance to herbicides limits growers’ weed management options, integrated weed management (IWM) systems that combine nonchemical tactics with herbicides are becoming critical. A 2-year integrated weed management (IWM) study was conducted at three locations in VA, USA. The factorial study evaluated: 1) soybean planting date (early or late planted) 2) with or without winter cover (cereal rye/wheat or no cover), and 3) with or without harvest weed seed control (HWSC). Prior to soybean planting in the first year, winter cover resulted in a 22% reduction in common ragweed density compared to no cover. At soybean harvest in the first year, the lowest common ragweed densities were in the late planted plots following winter wheat, and common ragweed aboveground biomass was reduced by 46 and 22% at two locations in late planted compared to early planted soybean. To evaluate the impact of the first year’s treatments and HWSC, full season soybeans were planted across the trial in the second year. Prior to soybean planting in the second year, late planting in the first year reduced common ragweed density was reduced by 83% at one location, but significant reductions were not observed elsewhere. When comparing winter cover to no cover, common ragweed densities were reduced by 31 and 49% at two locations and densities were similar at the third location. Harvest weed seed control reduced common ragweed density by 43% at one location compared to the conventional harvest plots but no significant reductions were observed at the other locations or at other rating timings. However, there was a significant location by planting date by winter cover interaction and the overall lowest common ragweed densities (4.1 to 10.3 plants m-2) were in the late planted plots with winter cover. This research indicated that winter cover, late planting, and HWSC can reduce common ragweed populations with late planting being the most influential. Therefore, double-cropping soybean after wheat is likely the most viable means to better control common ragweed using IWM as it combines both winter cover and late planting date.
Toward a multi-modal Raman and fluorescence spectroscopic platform at the point-of-care

Point-of-care (PoC) devices are gaining more attention due to their rapid readout times, low cost and reduced system complexity. The use of these devices to aid in health outcomes, particularly of populations that lack access to centralized healthcare, is essential to improving quality of life. Broad fluorescence background presents a major issue in Raman detection with suppression techniques being employed to prevent signal crosstalk. The presented spectroscopic platform splits the Raman and fluorescence signal onto separate detectors in order in minimize crosstalk and to extract useful information from each optical signal. Separate illumination sources were utilized to selectively excite either Raman or fluorescence emission. The developed spectroscopic platform was designed using off-the-shelf components with small form factor and ultimately the capacity for low cost being the primary selection criteria. The platform enables multimodal detection of Raman signal over a spectral range of 900 – 2000 cm-1 with a resolution of 2 nm, coupled with monitoring the average fluorescence emission intensity. The ratio of the two signals is compared in order to quantify the concentration of target molecules present. The optical system was assembled on a portable optical breadboard and calibrated using an Argon emission lamp. The multimodal functionality was validated using Raman reporter (4-MBA) tagged gold nanoparticles in solution with unbound fluorophores (fluorescein). Results showed an increase in both the Raman and fluorescence signals as the concentration of each was increased from 5-55 μM.
Application of Bayesian Optimization and Regression Analysis to Ferromagnetic Materials Development

Bayesian optimization is a well-developed machine learning field for black box function optimization. In Bayesian optimization a surrogate predictive model, here a Gaussian process, is used to approximate the black box function. The estimated mean and uncertainty of the surrogate model are paired with an acquisition function to decide where to sample next. In this study we applied this technique to known ferromagnetic thin film materials such as ferromagnetic (Fe100-y Gay)1-xBx (x=0 to 21 & y=9 to 17) and (Fe100-y Gay)1-xCx (x=1 to 26 and y=2 to 18) to demonstrate optimization of structure-property relationships, specifically the dopant concentration or stoichiometry effect on magnetostriction and ferromagnetic resonance linewidth. Our results demonstrated that Bayesian optimization can be deployed to optimize structure-property relationships in FeGaB and FeGaC thin films. We have shown through simulation that using Bayesian optimization methods to guide experiments reduced the number of samples required to statistically determine the maximum or minimum by 50 % compared to traditional methods. Our results suggest that Bayesian optimization can be used to save time and resources to optimize ferromagnetic films. This method is transferrable to other ferromagnetic material structure-property relationships, providing an accessible implementation of machine learning to magnetic materials development.
We Know Where You Are. And We’re More and More Sure What That Means

Knowing where something occurs is most meaningful if placed in relation to other events, people, and things. Recent innovations in pervasive information and computing technology (PICT) and related information technology infrastructures open up capabilities to record and analyze locations and relations among events in unparalleled fashion, leading to increases in data about where people are and what they do. Spatial analysis can identify many of these relations and help create penetrating insights. First, this chapter considers how the field of geography has developed analytical capabilities that support understanding online and virtual activities involving pervasive information technology. Because of a growing infrastructure with a capability to thoroughly record locations and events, coupled with computational approaches that mine data and cross-reference data from different sources, geographic analysis has become a commonplace means of analyzing data and establishing patterns of activities or information about individuals. With vast amounts of location data and the use of analysis techniques, it has become possible to not only know where people are, but what the aggregation of data from different sources means. Also this chapter reviews recent developments and their underlying geographic concepts, and points to important questions in considering the role of location and relations in information-age surveillance.
The Implementation of Secure Messaging

Like every other morning, Dave Foster poured himself a cup of coffee, walked to his study, turned on his computer, and started a new work day. Dave owns a home-based business which requires him to spend most of his work day in front of a computer.
Retinal Vascular Development Is Mediated by Endothelial Filopodia, a Preexisting Astrocytic Template and Specific R-Cadherin Adhesion

Purpose A neonatal mouse retina developmental model was used to study endothelial cell guidance and subsequent formation of vascular patterns. Since most diseases that cause catastrophic loss of vision do so as a result of abnormal ocular angiogenesis, a better understanding of events regulating normal retinal vascular growth may provide insight into pathologic angiogenesis. Methods Development of the retinal vasculature at various postnatal and embryonic time points was analyzed by collagen IV immunohistochemistry and staining with isolectin Griffonia simplicifolia. GFAP-GFP transgenic mice were used to evaluate the relationship between developing vessels and retinal glial cells. Immunolocalization of R-cadherin and intravitreous injection of R-cadherin-specific antibodies was performed to determine the role of R-cadherin during patterning of the superficial and deep retinal vascular plexuses. Results The characteristic honeycomb pattern of vessel formation observed in the superficial layer is a result of endothelial cell migration over a preexisting astrocytic template. Filopodial extensions associate with underlying astrocytes by protruding from the tips of endothelial cells at the migrating vascular front. Branching of vessels in the primary vascular plexus, as well as appropriate localization of the deep vascular network is mediated by R-cadherin, an adhesion molecule known to be involved in neuronal cell guidance. Injection of antibodies directed against R-cadherin prevents the normally extensive collateralization observed during formation of the superficial network. Injection of anti-R cadherin antibodies also dramatically affects vessels of the deep network. These vessels migrate beyond the normal turning point, penetrating into the deeper photoreceptor layer. Conclusions . These studies suggest that angiogenesis and formation of vascular patterns in the retina may use many of the same developmental cues used by neurons in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Furthermore, retinal vascular endothelial cell guidance mediated by filopodial extensions and neuronal guidance cues may represent a novel conceptual framework within which to study the establishment of vascular patterns in a variety of angiogenic systems.
The Influence of External and Internal Correlates on the Organizational Death of Domestic Far-Right Extremist Groups

The domestic far-right movement has existed in the United States for many years. During that time, groups have appeared, disappeared, and reappeared. Unfortunately, very little is known about what causes these groups to disband. An interdisciplinary approach identified external and internal correlates of organizational death to empirically test which of these correlates influences whether a group dies. Results from this study provided empirical support for some previously only anecdotal explanations for organizational death, while also undermining other claims.
2014 Presidential Address to the MSSA Membership: Academic Freedom, Free Speech and the MSSA Community of Scholars

This article includes the text from my Presidential Address given at the annual banquet of the Mid-South Sociological Association in November of 2014. In the speech, I highlight the challenges to academic freedom, the importance of a right to free speech, and the responsibility that comes with having both. I further argue that the MSSA, as an association of professionals, draws on the camaraderie it fosters in our organization to support and aid those who fight against the threats to academic freedom.
A fast, simpler algorithm for the matroid parity problem

Consider a matrix with m rows and n pairs of columns. The linear matroid parity problem (LMPP) is to determine a maximum number of pairs of columns that are linearly independent. We show how to solve the linear matroid parity problem as a sequence of matroid intersection problems. The algorithm runs in O(m3n). Our algorithm is comparable to the best running time for the LMPP, and is far simpler and faster than the algorithm of Orlin and Vande Vate [10], who also solved the LMPP as a sequence of matroid intersection problems. In addition, the algorithm may be viewed naturally as an extension of the blossom algorithm for nonbipartite matchings.
Toward Creating a Rutherford Atom

Rydberg atoms are atoms with a highly excited electron. In his Perspective, [Villeneuve][1] explains that by creating a coherent superposition of Rydberg states, the electron can be made to behave almost like a classical Rutherford atom. He highlights the report by [ Maeda et al .][2], who show that they can force the electron wave packet to remain localized for thousands of highly elliptical orbits around the nucleus, much like a miniature planetary system. Such experiments help to bridge the gap between the quantum mechanical world and our everyday classical world. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/307/5716/1730 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/307/5716/1757
PULMONARY HYALINE MEMBRANES IN VARIOUS STRAINS OF MICE.

Abstract 1. Pulmonary hyaline membranes were produced in the lungs of the mice by administration of excessive amounts of oxygen. 2. There was a significant relationship between the incidence of pulmonary hyaline membranes and strains of the mice. The frequency and size of the membranes were lowest in C 57 black mice (15.8 per cent), belonging to a cancer-resistant strain, and 6 times higher in Strain A (90.4 per cent) and dba (90.4 per cent). 3. These results can be interpreted as supporting the significance of the genetic factor in the production of the membranes.
An efficient method for the synthesis of 3-alkylthiophenes bearing functional groups on the side chain: imides and amides

A method utilizing Rieke® zinc reagents is described for the synthesis of 5-(3-thienyl)pentanenitrile from which 5-(3-thienyl)-N-acetylpentanamide and 5-(3-thienyl)-N-(4-trifluoromethyl)benzoylpentaneamine have been prepared. A study of the effect of different catalysts on the product composition and extent of conversion has been carried out. The method should be widely applicable to the synthesis of 3-alkylthiophenes bearing functional groups on the side chain which have been rather difficult to prepare previously. The characterization and oxidative polymerization/oligomerization of the new compounds is described.
Undifferentiated Handedness and Perceptual Development in Children with Reading Problems

Two groups of children (30 normal readers and 30 problem readers) were given a series of manual dexterity tasks to establish hand proficiency, and a perceptual task. There was no difference in incidence of handedness vs undifferentiated handedness between the two groups, and this factor was unrelated to the scores on the perceptual task. However, children with reading problems made significantly more perceptual errors than normal readers. The results were discussed in terms of research on laterality and ambilaterality in children with reading problems.