cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Increasing the public benefits of agricultural conservation easements: an illustration with the Central Valley Farmland Trust in the San Joaquin Valley.

Agricultural conservation easements (ACEs) involve the significant expenditure of public funds through either tax benefits and/or direct public expenditures. The selection of agricultural parcels for conservation should, therefore, maximise net public benefits to the extent possible within financial constraints and the need for agricultural viability to maintain working landscapes. Some programmes select agricultural parcels for conservation easements based only on agricultural viability and/or land cost, however, without explicit consideration of the many other public benefits often associated with ACEs. This paper illustrates application of a method for increasing the public benefits of agricultural conservation easements through a case study in the northern San Joaquin Valley of California. The method is a strategic planning process that incorporates both a GIS-based quantitative assessment and a more qualitative assessment. Such an approach is a supplement to – rather than a substitute for – the more ...
The clinicopathologic characteristics and outcome of atypical anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis

Classic anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease presents with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (GN) with or without pulmonary hemorrhage. On biopsy typical disease displays bright polytypic linear GBM staining for IgG by immunofluorescence and diffuse crescentic/necrotizing GN on light microscopy. Here, we studied 20 patients with atypical anti-GBM nephritis typified by bright linear GBM staining for immunoglobulins but without a diffuse crescentic phenotype. Patients had hematuria, proteinuria, and mild renal insufficiency, without pulmonary hemorrhage. Light microscopy showed endocapillary proliferative GN in 9 patients, mesangial proliferative GN in 6, membranoproliferative GN in 3, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis with mesangial hypercellularity in 2. Eight of the 20 showed features of microangiopathy. Crescents/necrosis were absent in 12 and were focal in 8 patients. Bright linear GBM staining for IgG was seen in 17 patients, IgM in 2, and IgA in 1 patient, which was polytypic in 10 patients and monotypic in 10 patients. No circulating α3NC1 antibodies were detected by commercial ELISA. The 1-year patient and renal survival rates were 93% and 85%, respectively. Thus, atypical anti-GBM nephritis is a rare variant of anti-GBM disease characterized clinically by an indolent course, no pulmonary involvement, and undetectable circulating α3NC1 antibodies. Further studies are needed to characterize the molecular architecture of GBM autoantigens in these patients and establish optimal therapy.
Electronic and Optical Properties of a-Si:H Films Alloyed with Sulfur

Alloying a-Si:H with small amounts of sulfur (≤ 4 × 1020 cm−3) results in a significant enhancement in the photoconductivity and a suppression of the optically-induced degradation of the photoconductivity (Staebler-Wronski effect). The Magnitudes of the activation energies for conductivity imply that these films remain essentially intrinsic in nature. When the sulfur concentration is increased to about 2 to 3 at. %, the Fermi level rises by about 0.25 eV, a fact that suggests that sulfur may act as a very inefficient dopant in a-Si:H.
Production of generalized Shwartzman reaction with group A streptococcal factors.

SummaryA soluble factor from group A streptococcal skin lesions prepared American Dutch rabbits for the generalized Shwartzman reaction. The reaction can be provoked in rabbits prepared with this material not only with toxins from Gram-negative organisms but also by reduced filtrates of streptococcal cultures with a high streptolysin O content. The tissue changes associated with the reaction brought about with these materials include myocardial necrosis and cortical necrosis of the kidney. Although these reactions simulate those observed in the classical generalized Shwartzman reaction, points at difference are discussed. It was possible to immunize rabbits against the preparative activity of the soluble factor by repeated injections of the streptococcal skin lesion extract.
A Note on the Sonoran Pronghorn

Over thirty years ago, Nelson (Status of the pronghorned antelope, 1922–1924, USDA Bull. 1346, 1925) reported 75 and 32 antelope, Antilocapra americana , in Yuma and Pima counties, respectively, of extreme southwestern Arizona. The …
Na+(Li+)-H+ exchange in rat renal cortical vesicles with endosomal characteristics

Preparations of rat renal cortical endocytic vesicles, loaded with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled dextran (FITC-dextran) in vivo had an ATP-dependent N-ethylmaleimide (NEM)-sensitive H+ pump and, in addition, showed a limited activity of an electroneutral Na(+)-H+ and Li(+)-H+ exchanger. However, the majority of FITC-dextran-containing vesicles possessed only the H+ pump. The H+ pump and the electroneutral Na+(Li+)-H+ antiporter colocalized in only a small proportion of FITC-dextran-containing vesicles. These vesicles also exhibited marked electrically coupled Na+, Li+, and H+ movement due to conductances in the vesicle membrane for these cations. As measured by the acridine orange fluorescence quench method, the electroneutral Na(+)-H+ exchange in endosomal preparations obeyed hyperbolic kinetics with an apparent Michaelis constant (Km) for Na+ of 5.9 mM and resembled that of brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMV) isolated from the same tissue (Km for Na+, 3.7 mM). The endosomal Na+(Li+)-H+ exchange was not affected by the presence or absence of ATP or NEM. However, Li+, added before or simultaneously with Na+, inhibited the endosomal Na(+)-H+ antiporter. The Na+(Li+)-H+ antiporter was insensitive to extravesicular amiloride but was partially inhibited by intravesicular amiloride. Acidic buffers stimulated the activity of the electroneutral exchanger. We found that vesicles with similar characteristics contaminate preparations of right-side-out BBMV. We conclude that the vesicles with endosomal characteristics, which contain both a vacuolar-type H+ pump and the Na+(Li+)-H+ antiporter, are either a special pool of endocytic vesicles responsible for the trafficking of the exchanger between intracellular and luminal membranes or are inside-out BBMV that form during the homogenization of the tissue.
Multi-view People Tracking via Hierarchical Trajectory Composition

This paper presents a hierarchical composition approach for multi-view object tracking. The key idea is to adaptively exploit multiple cues in both 2D and 3D, e.g., ground occupancy consistency, appearance similarity, motion coherence etc., which are mutually complementary while tracking the humans of interests over time. While feature online selection has been extensively studied in the past literature, it remains unclear how to effectively schedule these cues for the tracking purpose especially when encountering various challenges, e.g. occlusions, conjunctions, and appearance variations. To do so, we propose a hierarchical composition model and re-formulate multi-view multi-object tracking as a problem of compositional structure optimization. We setup a set of composition criteria, each of which corresponds to one particular cue. The hierarchical composition process is pursued by exploiting different criteria, which impose constraints between a graph node and its offsprings in the hierarchy. We learn the composition criteria using MLE on annotated data and efficiently construct the hierarchical graph by an iterative greedy pursuit algorithm. In the experiments, we demonstrate superior performance of our approach on three public datasets, one of which is newly created by us to test various challenges in multi-view multi-object tracking.
The Palestinian Genocide by Israel

The Palestinians have been the victims of genocide as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, under which a government can be guilty of genocide even if it intends to destroy a mere “part” of the group.
Planning a course: trips and tips

Let our children grow tall, and some taller than others if they have it in them to do so. – Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister At a very fundamental level, dreaming about, then designing a framework for, then developing the content of, and then delivering the classes in, a course is one of the more entrepreneurial activities an instructor does. For a brand-new course, it may occur only a handful of times over the span of a career. It occurs repeatedly, albeit in a slightly different way, when you conscientiously revisit and revise a course that may be going into its twenty-seventh offering. In either instance, course planning is akin to mapping a road trip – identifying the destination, knowing the students' “you-are-here” position, choosing the best vehicle(s) for the journey, identifying the best routes, selecting the most conducive speed to travel, and highlighting the memorable scenes along the way that all contribute to a strong, lasting, effective learning experience for students. Indeed, it is about creating a journey that invites and entices students to experience and internalize as much of the trip as they possibly can so that they learn and, to use Thatcher's analogy, grow as tall as they can. Course planning is about… Anticipation Planning a course, at its most basic level, brings to bear an instructor's best thinking about how to craft an effective learning experience for students.
Foreward for special issue of philosophical magazine on: topological correlated insulators and SmB6

AbstractThis Foreward briefly surveys the recent burst of research on the mixed valent insulator SmB6 in the context of two questions, (1) is SmB6 in fact the first example of a strongly correlated topological insulator, and (2) if so are there unique features of special interest for both topology and strong correlations? Accordingly, the papers of this special issue are situated within this general rubric.
Simulation of outdoor pond cultures using indoor LED-lighted and temperature-controlled raceway ponds and Phenometrics photobioreactors

Two innovative culturing systems, the LED-lighted and temperature-controlled 800 liter indoor raceways at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Phenometrics environmental Photobioreactors™ (ePBRs) were evaluated in terms of their ability to accurately simulate the microalgae growth performance of outdoor cultures subjected to fluctuating sunlight and water temperature conditions. When repeating a 60-day outdoor pond culture experiment (batch and semi-continuous at two dilution rates) conducted in Arizona with the freshwater strain Chlorella sorokiniana DOE 1412 in these two indoor simulators, it was found that ash-free dry weight based biomass growth and productivity in the PNNL climate-simulation ponds was comparatively slightly higher (8–13%) but significantly lower (44%) in the ePBRs. The difference in biomass productivities between the indoor and outdoor ponds was not statistically significant. When the marine Picochlorum soloecismus was cultured in five replicate ePBRs at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and in duplicate indoor climate-simulation ponds at PNNL, using the same inoculum, medium, culture depth, and light and temperature scripts, the optical density based biomass productivity and the rate of increase in cell counts in the ePBRs was about 35% and 66%, respectively, lower compared than in the indoor ponds. Potential reasons for the divergence in growth performance in these pond simulators, relative to outdoor raceways, are discussed. In conclusion, the PNNL climate-simulation ponds provide reasonably reliable biomass productivity estimates for microalgae strains cultured in outdoor raceways under different climatic conditions.
Nerve Damage from Bone Allografts and Xenografts – A Case Series

The concept of socket preservation by placing a particulate bone allograft or xenograft into a tooth socket or on the alveolar ridge after tooth removal remains a somewhat controversial topic. The concept is that it will preserve the ridge from resorption and such that subsequent implant insertion will be easier, with fewer complications. However, one particular issue is that these materials, although not directly neurotoxic, appear to be an irritant to the nerves if they come in contact with them. We present a case series demonstrating this complication.
MOOC visual analytics: Empowering students, teachers, researchers, and platform developers of massively open online courses

Along with significant opportunities, Massively Open Online Courses MOOCs provide major challenges to students keeping track of course materials and effectively interacting with teachers and fellow students, teachers managing thousands of students and supporting their learning progress, researchers understanding how students interact with materials and each other, and MOOC platform developers supporting effective course design and delivery in a scalable way. This article demonstrates the use of data analysis and visualization as a means to empower students, teachers, researchers, and platform developers by making large volumes of data easy to understand. First, we introduce the insight needs of different stakeholder groups. Second, we compare the wide variety of data provided by major MOOC platforms. Third, we present a novel framework that distinguishes visualizations by the type of questions they answer. We then review the state of the art MOOC visual analytics using a tabulation of stakeholder needs versus visual analytics workflow types. Finally, we present new data analysis and visualization workflows for statistical, geospatial, and topical insights. The workflows have been optimized and validated in the Information Visualization MOOC IVMOOC annually taught at Indiana University since 2013. All workflows, sample data, and visualizations are provided at http://cns.iu.edu/2016-MOOCVis.html.
Simultaneous transmit and receive performance of an 8-channel digital phased array

The Aperture-Level Simultaneous Transmit and Receive (ALSTAR) architecture enables extremely high isolation between adjacent transmitting and receiving sub-arrays in a digital phased array without analog cancellers or other complex front-end hardware. An eight-channel ALSTAR array prototype was constructed and demonstrated to achieve 140.5 dB effective isotropic isolation between broadside transmit and receive beams over a 100 MHz instantaneous band centered at 2.45 GHz. This material is based upon work supported by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering under Air Force Contract No. FA8721-05-C-0002 and/or FA8702-15-D-0001. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
How to Build Up a Model

The essential points of this chapter are The Lotka–Volterra predator–prey model The notion of limit cycle How to build up models that exhibit cyclic population variations The notions of intraspecific competition, predator’s functional response, and predator’s numerical response The logistic and the time-delay logistic models Nature
Tunable dual-band bandpass filter using piezoelectric transducer (PET)

A piezoelectric transducer (PET)-controlled tunable dual-band bandpass filter (DBBPF) is introduced. A dielectric perturber is attached to the end of a PET cantilever beam and suspended above the designed DBBPF. By applying a DC bias voltage, the PET actuator vertically lifts up or pulls down the attached dielectric perturber. The height of the dielectric perturber from the DBBPF determines the effective dielectric constant, causing a variation of the filter's center frequency. The proposed DBBPF provides concurrent dual passband tuning operation for multiband wireless systems.
Hydrology of the Brooklyn Grange, an urban rooftop farm

Intensive agriculture is an emerging theme of green roof technology. Production of affordable, nutritious vegetables for local consumption and stormwater management are among the ecosystem services emphasized in studies of rooftop farming. However, intensive vegetable production requires irrigation, which can reduce stormwater retention, and there is little empirical data from full-scale operational rooftop farms. In this paper, we report the hydrologic performance of the Brooklyn Grange Navy Yard Farm, a 0.61-ha rooftop farm atop an 11-story building in New York City USA. We monitored soil water content, precipitation, irrigation, drainage, and crop yields to provide water balance and water use efficiency. We found cumulative discharge exceeded precipitation by 11% during the entire study period, hence the farm was a net source of water in the urban hydrologic cycle. Depending on crop types, water use efficiency at the Grange was lower than in-ground agriculture in dry regions with high irrigation demands. For the Brooklyn Grange to integrate stormwater management and water-efficient crop production, it will be important to increase soil water storage, to reduce irrigation demands and drainage loss of water while maintaining average soil moisture levels in the range of readily available water between 10 and 100 kPa of soil water tension.
Permission to teach: program evaluation of the A+ schools model

This study examines teacher response to year one implementation of the A+ Schools Program arts integration model. Twenty-two randomly selected teachers from three school sites were observed over a 12-month period to gather baseline and year one data. Performance results indicated no significant changes in teacher behaviors based on Friedman’s test assessing teacher growth. Focus group perceptual data indicated teachers endorsed the A+ Schools Program model as having benefit and giving them “permission to teach” even as they reported a need for more professional development and support with arts integration pedagogy.
Global Almost-Sure Reachability in Stochastic Constant-Rate Multi-Mode Systems

A constant-rate multi-mode system is a hybrid system that can switch freely among a finite set of modes, and whose dynamics is specified by a finite number of real-valued variables with mode-dependent constant rates. We introduce and study a stochastic extension of a constant-rate multi-mode system where the dynamics is specified by mode-dependent compactly supported probability distributions over a set of constant rate vectors. The almost-sure reachability problem for stochastic multi-mode systems is to decide whether for all e > 0 and for all pairs of start and target states in a path-connected and bounded safety set there exists a control strategy that almost-surely steers the system from the start state to the e-neighborhood of the target state without leaving the safety set. We prove a necessary and sufficient condition to decide almost-sure reachability and, using this condition, we show that almost-sure reachability can be decided in polynomial time. Our algorithm can be used as a path-following algorithm in combination with off-the-shelf path-planning algorithms to make a robot with noisy low-level controllers follow a path with arbitrary precision.
Brand challenges and understanding the brand core

Automakers are in the brand business like never before. The surge of mergers and acquisitions in the 1990s left many corporate brand portfolios muddled. Inside these newly merged firms, divisions are often left to fight for resources for multiple competing brands in crowded portfolios. In this rapid consolidation, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen and BMW have joined General Motors in the often treacherous and costly pursuit of selling multiple brands with disparate and distinct personalities, histories and values. What’s more, they’re selling them to multiple audiences in the same markets. Compounding the difficulty is the enormous pressure on manufacturing and marketing costs, which requires these companies to share as much engineering as possible across product and brand lines. Additionally, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Hyundai are each selling two brands (Hyundai controls Kia), with vehicles that often overlap on price and segment. Toyota is in process of adding a third brand, Scion, to chase the youth market, the so-called Generation Y.
Barriers to Reliable Credibility Assessments: Domestic Violence Victim-Witnesses

This Article examines the challenges for victims of domestic violence appearing in court when the victim presents differently than the paradigmatic domestic violence victim. In particular, this Article analyzes the strategic dilemma of presenting a victim who refuses to admit (or cannot access or does not experience) fear of the batterer, and the victim who feels anger towards her assailant. This Article addresses possible policy and tactical responses to this challenge. Suggesting legislative changes that eliminate requirements that victims prove subjective fear of a battering partner, the Article further analyzes the use of expert witnesses to assist jurors and judges in understanding atypical victim behavior and testimony.
Inverse Lax–Wendroff Procedure for Numerical Boundary Conditions of Hyperbolic Equations: Survey and New Developments

In this paper, we give a survey and discuss new developments and computational results for a high order accurate numerical boundary condition based on finite difference methods for solving hyperbolic equations on Cartesian grids, while the physical domain can be arbitrarily shaped. The challenges result from the wide stencil of the high order interior scheme and the fact that the physical boundary does not usually coincide with grid lines. There are two main ingredients of the method. The first one is an inverse Lax-Wendroff procedure for inflow boundary conditions and the other one is a robust and high order accurate extrapolation for outflow boundary conditions. The method is high order accurate, stable under standard CFL conditions determined by the interior schemes, and easy to implement. We show applications in simulating interactions between compressible inviscid flows and rigid (static or moving) boundaries.
Energy Loss of Charged Particles

When a fast charged particle penetrates into a material, it loses its energy, mainly in exciting and ionizing the target electrons and in transferring momentum to target nuclei during collisions. Energy loss and scattering have been an important source of information on the constitution of atoms. Theoretical and experimental work on this subject has been going on constantly since the beginning of this century. In the early stages, information on energy loss was needed mainly for applications to nuclear physics—in the study of nuclear reactions, the depth to which fission fragments penetrate, and radiation health physics. Recently the application of ion beams to materials, for example in ion implantation, ion backscattering analysis, and ion sputtering, has provided additional motivation to the study of energy loss of charged particles and related subjects. Since material characterization by use of ion beams is the concern of this NATO Advanced Study Institute, it is necessary to include the subject of energy loss to support the other lectures.
Team Congruence in Developmental Diagnosis and Intervention: Comparing Clinical Judgment and Child Performance Measures.

Accurate assessment of the developmental capabilities of young multihandicapped children presents a frustrating dilemma for school psychologists. Recent early intervention research suggests that in...
Database and distributed computing fundamentals for scalable, fault-tolerant, and consistent maintenance of blockchains

Bitcoin is a successful and interesting example of a global scale peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that integrates many techniques and protocols from cryptography, distributed systems, and databases. The main underlying data structure is blockchain, a scalable fully replicated structure that is shared among all participants and guarantees a consistent view of all user transactions by all participants in the cryptocurrency system. In this tutorial, we discuss the basic protocols used in blockchain, and elaborate on its main advantages and limitations. To overcome these limitations, we provide the necessary distributed systems background in managing large scale fully replicated ledgers, using Byzantine Agreement protocols to solve the consensus problem. Finally, we expound on some of the most recent proposals to design scalable and efficient blockchains. The focus of the tutorial is on the distributed systems and database technical aspects of the recent innovations in blockchains.
Visual-Inertial Navigation Algorithm Development Using Photorealistic Camera Simulation in the Loop

The development of fast, agile micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has been limited by (i) on-board computing hardware restrictions, (ii) the lack of sophisticated vision-based perception and vision-in-the-loop control algorithms, and (iii) the absence of development environments where such systems and algorithms can be rapidly and easily designed, implemented, and validated. Here, we first present a new micro UAV platform that integrates high-rate cameras, inertial sensors, and an NVIDIA Jetson Tegra X1 system-on-chip compute module that boasts 256 GPU cores. The UAV mechanics and electronics were designed and built in house, and are described in detail. Second, we present a novel “virtual reality” development environment, in which photorealistically-rendered synthetic on-board camera images are generated in real time while the UAV is in flight. This development environment allows us to rapidly prototype computing and sensing hardware as well as perception and control algorithms, using real physics, real interoceptive sensor data (e.g., from the on-board inertial measurement unit), and synthetic exteroceptive sensor data (e.g., from synthetic cameras). Third, we demonstrate repeated agile maneuvering with closed-loop vision-based perception and control algorithms, which we have developed using this environment.
Intergenerational Associations Between Parental Incarceration and Children's Sexual Risk Taking in Young Adulthood

Abstract Purpose Research on parental incarceration and the health of offspring is relatively scarce despite studies linking childhood adverse experiences to a range of physical and mental health conditions. This study aimed to estimate the associations between parental incarceration and sexual risk outcomes (early sexual onset, inconsistent condom use, and sexually transmitted infections [STIs]) in young adulthood. Methods We used logistic regression to estimate associations of sexual risk taking behaviors with parental incarceration during childhood in a sample of 3,972 participants in The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) between 2001 and 2009. Results Parental incarceration was associated with early sexual onset (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03–2.03) and STIs (AOR =2.0, 95% CI = 1.3–3.2). Maternal incarceration was associated with increased odds of early sexual onset (AOR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.9–6.7), inconsistent condom use (AOR = 3.4, 95% CI = 1.3–8.9), and STIs (AOR = 5.5, 95% CI = 1.7–17.6). Additionally, paternal incarceration and parental incarceration occurring before age 10 were associated with STIs (AOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.1–2.8; AOR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.1–3.7). Conclusions Parental incarceration, especially maternal imprisonment, is associated with risky sexual behavior and sexually transmitted infections in young adults in the United States. Intervening during or prior to the adolescent developmental period may ameliorate risky sexual behaviors and related health outcomes among children of incarceration parents.
What we can do

Plural first-person pronouns have often been ignored in the literature on indexicals and pronouns. The assumption seems to be that we is just the plural of I. So, we can focus on theorizing about singular indexicals and about non-indexical plurals then combine the results to yield a theory of plural indexicals. Here I argue that the “divide and conquer” strategy fails. By considering data involving plurals, generics, and complex demonstratives, I argue for a referential semantics on which we can refer to two sorts of group-like entities. Further, by considering the nature of semantic theorizing, I argue that semantics must draw some metaphysical distinctions, including between groups of two sorts.
ReRAM-based Circuit and System Design for Future Storage and Computing

Recently, novel nano-technology, namely, beyond CMOS technology emerged and gained great attention with providing a solution to continuously grow storage and computing capacity of the computer system. Among them, the resistive random-memory (ReRAM) technology with unique properties of high-speed, low energy, and inherently forming dot productions becomes a promising candidate for future storage and computation. Tremendous research in the perspective of device, circuit, and system has been done in the ReRAM based storage and computing system. In this work, we summarize our circuit and system level design in implementing the ReRAM-based memory and novel computing (i.e. neuromorphic computing) systems. Low design cost and ultra-high energy efficiency are achieved with high system robustness in accuracy and reliability.
America's Health Care System Is Broken: What Went Wrong and How We Can Fix It. Introduction to the Series

Over the last half-century, medical science has dramatically improved throughout the world. Although costs have risen in all western countries as new technologies have been widely adopted, costs in the United States have risen much more than they have in any other country. Despite using fewer resources (eg, numbers of physicians and nurses, hospital beds) than do peer countries, per-capita spending on health care in the United States is double that in similar countries. The major driving force behind this difference is that we in the United States pay much more for the same products and services. There is no evidence that this increased spending gives better outcomes. Neither the general public nor doctors are happy with our current health care system. Subsequent articles will discuss the components of our system and how they are failing and how they can be improved.
Firing rate distributions in a feedforward network of neural oscillators with intrinsic and network heterogeneity

The level of firing rate heterogeneity in a population of cortical neurons has consequences for how stimuli are processed. Recent studies have shown that the right amount of firing rate heterogeneity (not too much or too little) is a signature of efficient coding, thus quantifying the relative amount of firing rate heterogeneity is important. In a feedforward network of stochastic neural oscillators, we study the firing rate heterogeneity stemming from two sources: intrinsic (different individual cells) and network (different effects from presynaptic inputs). We find that the relationship between these two forms of heterogeneity can lead to significant changes in firing rate heterogeneity. We consider several networks, including noisy excitatory synaptic inputs, and noisy inputs with both excitatory and inhibitory inputs. To mathematically explain these results, we apply a phase reduction and derive asymptotic approximations of the firing rate statistics assuming weak noise and coupling. Our analytic calculations reveals how the interaction between intrinsic and network heterogeneity results in different firing rate distributions. Our work shows the importance of the phase-resetting curve (and various transformations of it revealed by our analytic calculations) in controlling firing rate statistics.
The "Motor of the Day": Parent and School-Age Children's Cognitions, Barriers, and Supports for Breakfast

Despite the many benefits of regular breakfast consumption few parents and children consume this meal every day and research examining the determinants of breakfast consumption is limited. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine breakfast-related cognitions (i.e., beliefs, attitudes, facilitators, barriers) of parents and school-age children (ages 6–11 years) using the constructs of Social Cognitive Theory as a guide. Parents (n = 37) and children (n = 41) participated in focus group discussions held in community settings in 3 states (FL, NJ, WV). Data were qualitatively content analyzed to detect trends. Parents felt breakfast was important for numerous reasons. Parents expressed concern about the healthfulness of some traditional breakfast options, preferring breakfasts containing mostly fruits, vegetables, and protein and fewer carbohydrates. Parents identified lack of time as the greatest barrier to breakfast consumption. To overcome this barrier, they utilized grab-and-go foods, prepared breakfast ahead of time, and got up earlier. Utilizing the school breakfast program was another strategy mentioned, however some were concerned about the nutritional quality of this option. Children recognized the importance of breakfast and cited several benefits. The greatest barrier to breakfast identified by children was feeling rushed in the morning. To overcome barriers, children suggested having a morning routine, selecting or preparing breakfast foods ahead, and relying on parents to encourage breakfast consumption. The effectiveness of interventions aiming to improve breakfast intake may be improved by addressing parent and child breakfast-related cognitions and tailoring interventions to address their needs.
Macromolecular crowding effects on transcription and translation are regulated by free magnesium ion

Cell-free metabolic engineering is an emerging and promising alternative platform for the production of fuels and chemicals. In recent years, macromolecular crowding effect, which is an important function in living cells but ignored in cell-free systems, has been transferred to cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS). However, inhibitory effects of crowding agents on CFPS were frequently observed, and the mechanism is unclear. In this study, free Mg2+ was found to be a key factor that can regulate the macromolecular crowding effect on in vitro transcription, in vitro translation, and coupled transcript/translation. Addition of crowding agents (20% of Ficoll-70 or Ficoll-400) enhanced in vitro transcription at an index of free Mg2+ concentration (IFMC) below 2 mM but inhibited the transcription when the IFMC was higher than 2 mM. Similarly, Ficoll-400 enhanced in vitro translation and coupled transcription/translation at a lower IFMC (0.1-2 mM) and inhibited the reactions at higher IFMC (>2 mM). Based on the results, CFPS systems could be further optimized by adjusting the content of crowding agents and the IFMC. Besides, the results also indicate that macromolecular crowding effect is important for maintaining the efficiency of in vivo transcription and translation which occur at a low intracellular IFMC (<1 mM).
Fairness in Resource Allocation: Foundation and Applications

This paper presents a comprehensive review of fairness in resource allocation and its foundation. Fairness is applied when the resources divided on multiple demands are limited. Implementing fairness in resource allocation is a challenging task since fairness and efficiency are contradicting objectives. A variety of approaches to find fair resource allocation from the literature are discussed such as max-min fairness, lexicographic ordering, proportional fairness in addition to some fairness measures. Both strength points and drawbacks for each approach are illustrated, and some connections among the approaches are elaborated. Examples of applications where fairness is applied are reviewed.
Abstract P638: Muscadine Grape Seed Extract Improves Glucose Handling in Female but not Male Hypertensive (mRen2)27 Rats

Muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia) are enriched in polyphenols and other flavan-3-ols that may potentially convey cardiovascular benefit through the antioxidant properties of these compounds. In...
Sources of language change: internal and external factors

In this final chapter, we take a look at the possible sources or causes of linguistic change. Of course, we have discussed the causes of change throughout the book, but in this chapter we address the issue of causes more directly and more generally. In broad outline, we consider factors internal to language as causes of change in contrast to external causes, in particular the influence of other languages. In this way, Section 11.1 on internal sources contrasts with Sections 11.2 and 11.3, which deal with situations of languages in contact. In Section 11.1 we will look briefly at some theoretical approaches that address issues of diachronic change, in particular Naturalness Theory in Section 11.1.1 and generative theories in Section 11.1.2. In Section 11.1.3 we consider briefly whether child language is a plausible source of linguistic change. After the sections on language contact, in Section 11.4 we consider the idea that language is a complex adaptive system, in which dynamic factors inherent in the speaker, listener, and context produce change. Internal sources: language use This section will first review the approach presented in the previous chapters, drawing together some common mechanisms and general patterns that have been identified across the different types of change. The approach taken here recognizes the role of language use in creating and propagating change and conforms to usage-based theory so we will call it the usage-based approach. Next, the discussion turns to other proposals, in particular that coming from Naturalness Theory, which proposes that language structures change to become more natural or less marked. Finally, we consider the generative approach, which hypothesizes that language change occurs in the language acquisition process.
On the Transport Method for Hybrid Inverse Problems

There are several hybrid inverse problems for equations of the form $$\nabla \cdot D(x) \nabla u - \sigma (x) u = 0$$ in which we want to obtain the coefficients D and \(\sigma \) on a domain \(\varOmega \) when the solutions u are known. One approach is to use two solutions \(u_1\) and \(u_2\) to obtain a transport equation for the coefficient D, and then solve this equation inward from the boundary along the integral curves of a vector field X defined by \(u_1\) and \(u_2\). Bal and Ren have shown that for any nontrivial choices of \(u_1\) and \(u_2\), this method suffices to recover the coefficients almost everywhere on a dense set in \(\varOmega \) Bal and Ren in (Inv Prob 075003 [3]). This article presents an alternate proof of the same result from a dynamical systems point of view.
Experimental and numerical investigations on forming limit curves in micro forming

The Forming limit diagram is an important tool in metal forming processes, as it indicates the failure limits for ductile damage and onsite necking. Forming of micro-thin metal sheets (thickness le...
Balancing Lives and Livelihoods Using Contagion Risk Based COVID-19 Management: An Ecological Study on Bangladesh (preprint)

Background: Bangladesh is among the top fifteen SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) affected countries in the world. However, the country has the lowest testing capacity per million in that group. Faced with growing pressure to continue livelihoods, Bangladesh government lifted the lockdown abruptly, costing an immediate surge in the virus caseload. Against this backdrop, there is a dire need to derive data-driven planning, for mitigation and management of COVID-19 cases in Bangladesh – prioritizing the efficient allocation of limited resources. Utilizing publicly available data, this paper introduces a contagion risk (CR) index, which can work as a credible proxy to detect potential virus hotspots – aiding policymakers with proper planning. Methods: Grounded on disease spreadability vectors, we derived the CR-Index at the district level, based on nine variables across five domains: socio-economy, demography, occupation, migration, and health infrastructure. The CR-Index is validated against the district wise COVID-19 cases across the study period. Findings: CR-Index is positively correlated with district-wise COVID-19 cases across the pandemic period (average correlation is 0.65, p-value 0.001). The proposed CR-Index can predict seven out of the top ten COVID-19 caseload districts of Bangladesh. Week-by-week regressions also show similar findings. Interpretation: The CR-Index proposed in this paper could work as the foundation to consider zone-specific mobility restriction measures in Bangladesh, which can be an effective solution to balance economic activities while limiting disease spread. This index gives developing country planners a viable alternative to economy-wide shutdown policy and can be replicated with available national statistics for other countries. Funding Statement: None. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Erythropoietin promotes functional recovery in a mouse model of postoperative ileus.

Background Dysmotility and postoperative ileus (POI) are major clinical problems after surgical trauma and it is associated with increased intestinal inflammation and oxidative stress. Despite the high occurrence of POI following intra-abdominal surgeries, no effective treatment is currently available. Erythropoietin (EPO) is a multifunctional tissue-protective cytokine with potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties, and it is an FDA approved medicine for clinical use. While both EPO and EPO receptors (EPOR) are widely expressed in the gut, the role of EPO in POI is largely unknown. This study was designed to explore the possible beneficial effect of EPO in a mouse model of POI. Methods Mice were subjected to intestinal manipulation to induce standard POI and intestinal transit time was determined at 24-h post-injury with or without EPO treatment (5000 units/kg, once, IP, immediately after intestinal trauma). Intestinal samples were harvested for histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Results Systemic EPO significantly improved intestinal transit time compared with control group and it was associated with significantly increased levels of tissue macrophages and reduced levels of oxidative stress. Conclusions and inferences This is the first pre-clinical study to document novel beneficial effects of EPO in gut dysmotility and our findings suggest that the beneficial effects of EPO in POI is predominantly mediated by its anti-oxidative and immunomodulatory properties.
Climbing Mountains and Avoiding Slippery Slopes: Challenges in Constructing Measures of Children's Environments.

ABSTRACT Constructing valid, useful measures of children's environments is critical for advancing knowledge about relations between environmental conditions and child well-being. The approach to constructing useful measures of children's environments varies somewhat from the approach needed to construct valid, useful measures of children's personal characteristics. The commentary includes a review of literature on the distinction between reflective indicators and causal/formative indicators because it applies to the construction of measures of human environments. It also offers suggestions on how to select indicators for inclusion in measures of the environment and how to select assessments of child outcomes for validating measures of children's environments.
Task-dependent functional connectivity of pain-related brain regions is related to magnitude of placebo analgesia

Previous studies have identified decreases in pain-related activations after placebo induction. However, differences in functional connectivity (FC) of pain-related regions resulting from expectancy-based placebo induction have yet to be examined, limiting our understanding of regions and potential networks associated with placebo analgesia.Thirty-seven healthy adults over the age of 18 (M=21.5, SD =6.3) were recruited (67.6% women). Participants completed a baseline session followed by a placebo session involving topical application of an inactive cream in the context of an expectancy-enhancing instruction set. Painful heat stimuli were applied to the thenar eminence of the right palm using an fMRI-safe thermode. Stimulus intensity was individually calibrated to produce pain ratings of approximately 40 on a 100-point visual analog scale (VAS). Functional brain images were collected during each session. Participants rated pain intensity after each scan. Results indicate 76% of the sample showed a reduction in pain intensity in the placebo condition, with an average reduction of 29.6%. Expected pain intensity was associated with reported pain intensity in the placebo session (F(1,34)=12.12, p
Clinically Serious Hypoglycemia Is Rare and Not Associated With Time-in-range in Youth With New-onset Type 1 Diabetes.

CONTEXT Early initiation of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is advocated for youth with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Data to guide CGM use on time-in-range (TIR), hypoglycemia, and the role of partial clinical remission (PCR) are limited. OBJECTIVE Our aims were to assess whether 1) an association between increased TIR and hypoglycemia exists, and 2) how time in hypoglycemia varies by PCR status. METHODS We analyzed 80 youth who were started on CGM shortly after T1D diagnosis and were followed for up to 1-year post diagnosis. TIR and hypoglycemia rates were determined by CGM data and retrospectively analyzed. PCR was defined as (visit glycated hemoglobin A1c) + (4*units/kg/day) less than 9. RESULTS Youth were started on CGM 8.0 (interquartile range, 6.0-13.0) days post diagnosis. Time spent at less than 70 mg/dL remained low despite changes in TIR (highest TIR 74.6 ± 16.7%, 2.4 ± 2.4% hypoglycemia at 1 month post diagnosis; lowest TIR 61.3 ± 20.3%, 2.1 ± 2.7% hypoglycemia at 12 months post diagnosis). No events of severe hypoglycemia occurred. Hypoglycemia was rare and there was minimal difference for PCR vs non-PCR youth (54-70 mg/dL: 1.8% vs 1.2%, P = .04; < 54mg/dL: 0.3% vs 0.3%, P = .55). Approximately 50% of the time spent in hypoglycemia was in the 65 to 70 mg/dL range. CONCLUSION As TIR gradually decreased over 12 months post diagnosis, hypoglycemia was limited with no episodes of severe hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia rates did not vary in a clinically meaningful manner by PCR status. With CGM being started earlier, consideration needs to be given to modifying CGM hypoglycemia education, including alarm settings. These data support a trial in the year post diagnosis to determine alarm thresholds for youth who wear CGM.
Exploring the relationship between political partisanship and COVID-19 vaccination rate.

BACKGROUND: Although increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates is critical to end the pandemic, vaccination goals are far from being achieved. Political partisanship may be a risk factor for getting the COVID-19 vaccine. This study examines the association between the political partisanship and vaccination rate at the county-level and quantifies the differences between the Democratic and Republican parties. METHODS: Data are from CDC, the NY Times, and the US Census and American Community Survey. Linear regressions are used to test the relationships between the political partisanship and COVID-19 vaccination rate at the county level. The dependent variable is the cumulative COVID-19 vaccination rate each month between January and August, 2021 and the explanatory variables are the county political partisanship and interaction terms between political partisanship and time dummies during the study period. RESULTS: Republican counties consistently had lower vaccination rates than Democratic counties, and the gap in vaccination rates between a typical Democratic and Republican county has steadily widened by month. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 vaccination rate is strongly associated with political partisanship. The political nature of this pandemic has created gaps in vaccination rates along party lines and will continue to be a barrier in mitigating this public health crisis.