cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exploring Tiny Homes as an Affordable Housing Strategy to Ameliorate Homelessness: A Case Study of the Dwellings in Tallahassee, FL

An emerging strategy to combat homelessness is the development of “tiny homes”. However, the advent of tiny homes as a new form of housing intervention raises a number of questions about their intentions, efficacy, and policy feasibility. This paper seeks to understand the strategies used by stakeholders to plan, design, and implement a tiny home community to meet the needs of those experiencing homelessness, and to understand where these plans were effective and where challenges arose in meeting the intended project goals. Utilizing the recent development of Tallahassee’s “The Dwellings” project as a case study, we examine how the community was planned, resident experiences, and constraints to implementing a tiny home development. We use qualitative methods that include interviews with stakeholders who were integral to the planning and development process. Our findings highlight how funding constraints and NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard-ism) stymied stakeholder efforts to achieve equity and affordability at The Dwellings, resulting in the inability to achieve project aims of developing housing that serves the homeless population. We conclude by offering some observations and lessons learned for future research on tiny homes as a solution to ameliorate homelessness.
A cross case synthesis of the social and economic development of three Guatemalan coffee cooperatives

Cooperatives in the international coffee sector can help build farmer capacity, increase coffee productivity, and improve farmer welfare. The purpose of this research was to examine Guatemalan coffee cooperatives to determine unique attributes, social capital perspectives, and social impacts on small holder farmers. Four perspectives on social capital and economic development were examined across cases: (a) the communitarian view, (b) the networks view, (c) the institutional view, and (d) the synergy view. The research design was mini-ethnographic case study with cross-case synthesis. The emerging themes were (a) economic impacts, (b) multiple generation farmers, (c) capacity building trainings to improve crop management, (d) use of shade trees and organic matter for soil amendments, (e) service learning/agritourism, and (f) use of microloans to enhance economic development. Based upon the exploratory cases, each community had similar and unique internal and external interactions that could be triangulated with social capital perspectives. Networks were formed between members of the co-ops (intracommunity) giving a sense of community and purpose (i.e. agritourism, service learning) and external sources (i.e. workshops/trainings and a USAID research plot). The concept of social capital perspective gives insight into an explanation of economic development.
Stakeholder Dependency and Female CEO Succession

What makes certain firms more likely than others to appoint a female CEO? Departing from the shareholder-centric approaches often seen in succession research, we draw on instrumental stakeholder th...
Swarmer cell development of the bacterium Proteus mirabilis requires the conserved ECA biosynthesis gene, rffG

Individual cells of the bacterium Proteus mirabilis can elongate up to 40-fold on surfaces before engaging in a cooperative surface-based motility termed swarming. How cells regulate this dramatic morphological remodeling remains an open question. In this paper, we move forward the understanding of this regulation by demonstrating that P. mirabilis requires the gene rffG for swarmer cell elongation and subsequent swarm motility. The rffG gene encodes a protein homologous to the dTDP-glucose 4,6 dehydratase protein of Escherichia coli, which contributes to Enterobacterial Common Antigen biosynthesis. Here we characterize the rffG gene in P. mirabilis , demonstrating that it is required for the production of large lipopolysaccharide-linked moieties necessary for wild-type cell envelope integrity. We show that absence of the rffG gene induces several stress-responsive pathways including those controlled by the transcriptional regulators RpoS, CaiF, and RcsB. We further show that in rffG -deficient cells, suppression of the Rcs phosphorelay, via loss of RcsB, is sufficient to induce cell elongation and swarm motility. However, loss of RcsB does not rescue cell envelope integrity defects and instead results in abnormally shaped cells, including cells producing more than two poles. We conclude that a RcsB-mediated response acts to suppress emergence of shape defects in cell envelope-compromised cells, suggesting a role for RcsB in maintaining cell morphology under stress conditions. We further propose that the composition of the cell envelope acts as a checkpoint before cells attempt to initiate swarmer cell elongation and motility.
Circles are like Ellipses, or Ellipses are like Circles? Measuring the Degree of Asymmetry of Static and Contextual Embeddings and the Implications to Representation Learning

Human judgments of word similarity have been a popular method of evaluating the quality of word embedding. But it fails to measure the geometry properties such as asymmetry. For example, it is more natural to say "Ellipses are like Circles" than "Circles are like Ellipses". Such asymmetry has been observed from a psychoanalysis test called word evocation experiment, where one word is used to recall another. Although useful, such experimental data have been significantly understudied for measuring embedding quality. In this paper, we use three well-known evocation datasets to gain insights into asymmetry encoding of embedding. We study both static embedding as well as contextual embedding, such as BERT. Evaluating asymmetry for BERT is generally hard due to the dynamic nature of embedding. Thus, we probe BERT's conditional probabilities (as a language model) using a large number of Wikipedia contexts to derive a theoretically justifiable Bayesian asymmetry score. The result shows that contextual embedding shows randomness than static embedding on similarity judgments while performing well on asymmetry judgment, which aligns with its strong performance on "extrinsic evaluations" such as text classification. The asymmetry judgment and the Bayesian approach provides a new perspective to evaluate contextual embedding on intrinsic evaluation, and its comparison to similarity evaluation concludes our work with a discussion on the current state and the future of representation learning.
Minimum-Bit-Error Rate Tuning for 2D-Pdnp Multitrack Detection

A dominant impediment in magnetic recording is pattern-dependent media noise, and its impact will only grow more severe as areal densities increase. The pattern-dependent noise prediction (PDNP) algorithm [1] [2], widely used as an effective strategy for mitigating pattern-dependent media noise in single-track detection, has recently been extended to the multitrack scenario [3]; it uses 2D patterns (spanning multiple tracks) to mitigate both downtrack and crosstrack pattern-dependent noise, based on the architecture shown in Fig. 1. The sampled readback waveforms are filtered by a $2 \times 2$ MIMO equalizer with coefficients $\mathbf{C}$, whose output $\mathbf{y}_{k}=\left[y_{k}^{(1)}, y_{k}^{(2)}\right]^{T}$ is passed to a 2D -PDNP multitrack detector. Associated with each 2D bit pattern is a signal level vector $\mathbf{s}$, a standard deviation diagonal matrix $\Lambda$, and a set of matrix-valued predictor coefficients $\mathbf{P}_{0}, \mathbf{P}_{1}, \ldots, \mathbf{P}_{N_{p}-1} $. The branch metric of edge e for the 2D -PDNP Viterbi detector is [3]:
The Virtual Transformational Leadership Development Experience: Creating a Classroom of the Future

In response to a new set of challenges facing universities today—developing the next generation of leaders while integrating existing and emerging technologies to transform learning spaces—a team at Penn State University conducted research that culminated in the Virtual Transformational Leadership Development (VTLD) Experience, a course that addresses these challenges in a virtual format. The research examined the contribution of the arts, in conjunction with immersive technologies, towards promoting student engagement. Student interviews indicated that the creation of high impact practices revolving around the arts ultimately generates a memorable and involved experience that more frequently includes topics of social relevancy such as racial equity. Furthermore, the pairing of these methods with relevant and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), effectively creates an educational experience that more personally suits a student’s needs in this type of transformational course. Leveraging Research: The VTLD Experience leverages the findings of its associated study, such as the importance of incorporating High Impact Practices (HIPs), to create transformational and interactive learning experiences for undergraduate students. HIPs refer to experiences that more heavily involve students and require them to reflect on their engagement with specific materials, such as being exposed to and attending an arts performance and interacting with artists afterwards. Through the integration of existing and emerging technologies, this learning experience will provide lesson modules that include viewing and reflecting on works of art, such as visual art, performances, and other forms of creative expression. The research demonstrates how the arts engage students in a variety of subjects, such as mindfulness practices to develop mindful leadership skills and lessons about global diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Through exposure to different perspectives to promote cognitive diversity, this learning experience seeks to nurture the whole student – thoughts, feelings, body – by developing skill sets and mindsets to increase their senses of curiosity, empathy, emotional and cultural intelligence, and to develop resilience. Cumulative vision: “Combining teaching and learning with existing and emerging technologies, The VTLD Experience, in conjunction with the human experience, generates a vision for the classroom of the future. These technologies enable learning spaces where students and faculty can take advantage of virtual arts programming to “attend” events around the world that would otherwise be inaccessible, such as museums, works of art, and live performances. This is an example of what the classroom of the future might look like, and we are actively pursuing this vision. We will be offering a pilot of The VTLD Experience fall 2021 and spring 2022 semesters at Penn State. Future enhancements of the experience will incorporate additional technologies and applications.
Holographic Representations of Supertranslation Eigenstates

We construct by direct computation holographic presentations of supertranslation vacua given a set of supermomenta. To do this, we make use of two-dimensional dual models recently discovered by the author, which encode soft dynamics of gravity at leading order. In particular, the two-dimensional models are used to define soft currents, of which the supertranslation vacua are eigenstates. Operationally, the eigenstates are determined by the bare vacuum state dressed by exponential operators that generalize the dressing due to Faddeev and Kulish.
A Review of Mass Movement Processes and Risk in the Critical Zone of Earth

Abstract The Critical Zone of the near-surface terrestrial environment consists of a thin veneer of the surface of Earth that extends from the top of the vegetation cover to the base of the groundwater aquifer. The zone is characterized by rock, soil, water, ice, air, and living organisms; and the interactions to evolve the environment and to control the availability of life-sustaining resources. Mass movement is a major concern because it damages the Critical Zone environment and can result in loss of human lives and property. Understanding the causes, mechanics, spatial and temporal scales, and identification of the hazardous areas associated with various processes of mass movement is an important geomorphologic component of disaster management and an important basis for promoting safe human occupation, infrastructure development, and environmental protection in regions with slopes prone to mass movement. This chapter presents in-depth summary of important research findings pertaining to mass movement in the Critical Zone.
The Uptake of Aromatic Amino Acids by the Brain of Mature and Newborn Rats

Publisher Summary Several studies have indicated that the penetration of ions and metabolites from the blood stream into the brain is faster in newborn animals than in adults. It has been suggested that the “blood-brain barrier” is either reduced or missing in young animals. However, no direct demonstration of reduced blood-brain barrier function, even in foetal animals, has been possible using the classical indicator, trypan blue. Although the difficulties involved in making meaningful comparisons of immature and adult brain have been stressed, it is of importance to attempt to discover the nature of the changes giving rise to these anomalous results. The first question resolves into the phenomenon of increased uptake of metabolically active materials by developing brain depend upon a decreased barrier function or on some increased active transport mechanism. Evidence that is presented in this chapter indicates that, at least for amino acids, a change in the latter mechanism is the most likely cause.
Fifty Years: Changes and Constants in Logic

In this year of celebrations of ‘First-Order Logic 75’ and ‘Trends in Logic — 50 Years of Studia Logica’, two phenomena stand out. One is the rapid expansion of themes in modern logic, the other the remarkable constancy of the basic methods encapsulated in first-order logic. The resulting light piece may be read as a companion to Ryszard Wojcicki’s survey of logic in Poland. Our main purpose is to show some patterns by means of aerial photography.
Exercise Prescription Patterns in Patients Treated with Vestibular Rehabilitation After Concussion

Background and purpose Individuals with concussion often complain of persistent dizziness and imbalance, and these problems have been treated with vestibular rehabilitation exercises. The purpose of this study is to describe the vestibular rehabilitation exercise prescriptions provided to individuals after concussion. Methods A retrospective chart review of vestibular rehabilitation home exercise programmes prescribed by physical therapists for 104 participants who were diagnosed with concussion was conducted. Each of the exercises was classified by exercise type, duration and frequency. Frequency counts of the most common exercise types were recorded. Exercise progression patterns were examined by determining how exercise types were modified from visit to visit. Results Eye-head coordination exercises were the most commonly prescribed exercise type (in 95% of participants), followed by standing static balance exercises (in 88% of participants), and ambulation exercises (in 76% of participants). Conclusions Understanding the prescription patterns of expert clinicians may elucidate the vestibular-related impairments of individuals after concussion and may provide a resource for therapists who may be starting vestibular rehabilitation programmes for management of individuals with concussion. To improve quality of care, future research should be directed to relate outcomes to the exercise prescription patterns.
Correlation of maternal serum and amniotic fluid bilirubin in gravid patients with sickle cell anemia who were actively hemolyzing.

Abstract Seven patients with homozygous sickle cell anemia in pregnancy were observed. Simultaneous amniotic fluid biliscan and maternal serum bilirubin values were determined at various intervals from 20 weeks until delivery. The elevation of the biliscan into Zone III (Liley's nomogram) followed the rise in maternal serum bilirubin closely and was related to the time of maternal crisis regardless of time of gestation or labor and delivery. The infants were not affected by the elevated bilirubin, did not contribuse to its elevation, and were found to have normal cord bilirubin levels at birth. Therefore, the findings of a Zone III Liley curve in late pregnancy alone should not prejudice one into performing an unneaessary premature delivery in patients with sickle cell anemia.
A novel antivirulence element in the temperate bacteriophage HK022.

Lysogens of the temperate lambdoid phage HK022 are immune to superinfection by HK022. Superinfection immunity is conferred in part by the action of the HK022 CI repressor at the O.R operators. In this work, we have identified an additional regulatory element involved in immunity. This site, termed OFR (operator far right), is located just downstream of the cro gene, more than 250 nucleotides distant from OR. The behavior of phage containing a mutation in OFR suggests that the wild-type site functions as an antivirulence element. HK022 OFR- mutants were able to form turbid plaques indistinguishable from those of the wild type. However, they gave rise to virulent derivatives at a far higher frequency than the wild type (approximately 10(-5) for OFR- versus about 10(-9) for the wild type). This frequency was so high that cultures of HK022 OFR- lysogens were rapidly overgrown by virulent derivatives. Whereas virulent mutants arising from a wild-type OFR+ background contained mutations in both OR1 and OR2, virulent derivatives of the OFR- mutant phage contained a single mutation in either OR1 or OR2. We conclude that the wild-type OFR site functions to prevent single mutations in OR from conferring virulence. The mechanism by which OFR acts is not yet clear. Both CI and Cro bound to OFR and repressed a very weak rightward promoter (PFR). It is unlikely that repression of PFR by CI or Cro binding to OFR can account in full for the antivirulence phenotype conferred by this element, since PFR is such a weak promoter. Other models for the possible action of OFR are discussed.
New Generalized Matrix Data Structures Lead to a Variety of High-Performance Algorithms

We describe new data structures for full and packed storage of dense symmetric/triangular arrays that generalize both. Using the new data structures one is led to several new algorithms that save “half” the storage for symmetric matrices and outperform the current blocked based level 3 algorithms in LAPACK. We concentrate on the simplest forms of the new algorithms and show they are a direct generalization of LIN-PACK. This means that level 3 BLAS’s are not required to obtain level 3 performance. The replacement for Level 3 BLAS are so-called kernel routines, see [1], and on IBM platforms they are producible from simple textbook type codes, by the XLF Fortran compiler. In the sequel I will label these “vanilla” codes. On Power3 with a peak performance of 800 MFlops, the results for Cholesky factorization at order n ≥ 200 is over 720 MFlops and then reaches 735 MFlops at n = 400. Using conventional full format LAPACK DPOTRF with ESSL BLAS’s one first gets to 600 MFlops at n ≥ 600 and only reaches a peak of 620 MFlops. The simple algorithms of LU factorization with partial pivoting for this new data format is a direct generalization of LINPACK algorithm DGEFA. Again, no conventional level 3 BLAS’s are required; the replacements are again so-called kernel routines. Programming for squared blocked full matrix format can be accomplished in standard Fortran through the use of three and four dimensional arrays. Thus, no new compiler support is necessary. Also we mention that other more complicated algorithms are possible; e.g., recursive ones. The recursive algorithms are also easily programmed via the use of tables that address where the blocks are stored in the two dimensional recursive block array. Finally, we describe block hybrid formats. Doing so allows one to use no additional storage over conventional (full and packed) matrix storage. This means the new algorithms are completely portable.
Use of cobalt as a mitochondrial vital stain to study cytoplasmic exchange in matings of the basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune.

Differential labeling ofmates,based on theselective uptakeofcobalt by mitochondria ofone ofthepartners, hasbeenusedtodetermine visually by means ofphase-contrast microscopy whether transfer ofmitochondria occurs after hyphalfusion. Compatible andincompatible matings ofthetetrapolar basidiomycete, Schizophyllum commune, were studied. Transfer was detectable incommon-A, common-AB, andfully compatible matings. Itwas notdetectable incommon-Bmatings Sexual compatibility inthetetrapolar basidiomyceteSchizophyllum communeisdeterminedbytwofactors, A andB.BoththeA and theBfactors differ infully compatible matings, e.g., AlB1x A2B2,andalltheevents associatedwiththenormal sexual cycle ensue. These events included (i)hyphalanastomosis, (ii) nuclear transfer andmigration, (iii) establishmentofadikaryon, (iv) formation ofatemporarydiploid nucleus inthebasidium, and(v) meiosis, whichresults intheproduction of haploid basidiospores offourdifferent mating types. Thus,froma matingofhomokaryotic mycelia having matingtypes AlBlandA2B2, respectively, wewouldexpect basidiospores of fourdifferent matingtypes: thetwoparental classes, AlB1andA2B2,andthetworecombinantclasses, A1B2andA2B1. Common-A,common-B, andcommon-AB matings, inwhich, respectively, thematesshare incommontheA factor, theBfactor, andboth factors, arealsopossible. InS.commune, the fourclasses canbedistinguished morphologically (8). Theevidence fornuclear migration canbe morphological orgenetic. Intheformercase, development ofclampconnections canmirror theprogress ofmigration (1), inthelatter, transfer ofplugsofan initially auxotrophic resident mycelium results ingrowthwhen tested on a minimalmedium(2,11).The phenomenon ofnuclear migration isgenerally
Monomeric 14-3-3 protein is sufficient to modulate the activity of the Drosophila slowpoke calcium-dependent potassium channel.

Drosophila 14-3-3ζ (D14-3-3ζ) modulates the activity of the Slowpoke calcium-dependent potassium channel (dSlo) by interacting with the dSlo binding protein, Slob. We show here that D14-3-3ζ forms dimers in vitro. Site-directed mutations in its putative dimerization interface result in a dimerization-deficient form of D14-3-3ζ. Both the wild-type and dimerization-deficient forms of D14-3-3ζ bind to Slob with similar affinity and form complexes with dSlo. When dSlo and Slob are expressed in mammalian cells, the dSlo channel activity is similarly modulated by co-expression of either the wild-type or the dimerization-deficient form of D14-3-3ζ. In addition, dSlo is still modulated by wild-type D14-3-3ζ in the presence of a 14-3-3 mutant, which does not itself bind to Slob but forms heterodimers with the wild-type 14-3-3. These data, taken together, suggest that monomeric D14-3-3ζ is capable of modulating dSlo channel activity in this regulatory complex.
Structure of a tetrameric MscL in an expanded intermediate state.

The ability of cells to sense and respond to mechanical force underlies diverse processes such as touch and hearing in animals, gravitropism in plants, and bacterial osmoregulation. In bacteria, mechanosensation is mediated by the mechanosensitive channels of large (MscL), small (MscS), potassium-dependent (MscK) and mini (MscM) conductances. These channels act as 'emergency relief valves' protecting bacteria from lysis upon acute osmotic down-shock. Among them, MscL has been intensively studied since the original identification and characterization 15 years ago. MscL is reversibly and directly gated by changes in membrane tension. In the open state, MscL forms a non-selective 3 nS conductance channel which gates at tensions close to the lytic limit of the bacterial membrane. An earlier crystal structure at 3.5 A resolution of a pentameric MscL from Mycobacterium tuberculosis represents a closed-state or non-conducting conformation. MscL has a complex gating behaviour; it exhibits several intermediates between the closed and open states, including one putative non-conductive expanded state and at least three sub-conducting states. Although our understanding of the closed and open states of MscL has been increasing, little is known about the structures of the intermediate states despite their importance in elucidating the complete gating process of MscL. Here we present the crystal structure of a carboxy-terminal truncation mutant (Delta95–120) of MscL from Staphylococcus aureus (SaMscL(CDelta26)) at 3.8 A resolution. Notably, SaMscL(CDelta26) forms a tetrameric channel with both transmembrane helices tilted away from the membrane normal at angles close to that inferred for the open state, probably corresponding to a non-conductive but partially expanded intermediate state.
Length of Stay for Common Pediatric Conditions: Teaching Versus Nonteaching Hospitals

Objective. Pediatric teaching hospitals provide particular expertise in caring for children with complex or severe illnesses, yet most patients within teaching hospitals have common pediatric conditions. No study has determined whether children with common conditions remain hospitalized at teaching institutions longer than at nonteaching institutions. The objective of this study was to compare length of stay (LOS) for common pediatric conditions between teaching and nonteaching hospitals. Methods. This study uses Massachusetts’s hospital data for all discharged children ages 0 to 17 years for 1995 and 1996. Discharges were included when the principal diagnosis indicated asthma, bacterial pneumonia, convulsions, dehydration, failure to thrive, gastroenteritis, or urinary tract infections. Hospitals were classified as either teaching or nonteaching using the 1995–1996 American Hospital Association Guide. Children were identified as having a chronic condition when any discharge diagnosis was 1 of those on a previously published catalog of chronic childhood illnesses. The analysis tested the association of hospital type with LOS, controlling for chronic conditions, insurance type, age, race, diagnosis, mortality, and disposition using multivariate linear regression. Results. Of 17 890 discharges for a common pediatric condition during the study period, 52.3% were from teaching hospitals. Twelve percent of common condition discharges also had a chronic disease diagnosis; 75.1% of these were discharged from a teaching hospital. LOS from nonteaching hospitals was shorter than from teaching hospitals (2.42 days vs 3.20 days). Although LOS for stays with a chronic diagnosis were longer than those without (4.75 days vs 2.56 days), controlling for chronic illness and other covariates did not eliminate the difference between LOS for nonteaching hospitals versus teaching hospitals (1.65 days vs 2.23 days). Conclusion. Pediatric patients with common conditions have a shorter LOS in nonteaching hospitals than those admitted to teaching hospitals by a little more than half a day. These results are unchanged when accounting for chronic conditions despite the expected results of preferential admissions to teaching hospitals for this group of patients. Additional studies should better characterize differences in patient populations, describe differences in processes, and identify differences in patient experience and outcomes to understand better the potential benefits of treating children with specific conditions at particular types of hospitals.
Contrast echocardiography: over-achievement in research, under-achievement in practice?

This issue of iJACC focuses on the topic of contrast echocardiography. Starting more than 25 years ago, work with intracoronary injections demonstrated collateral flow, no-reflow, and the importance of the pre-capillary arterioles to coronary physiology ([1][1]). The development of transpulmonary
Potential for precision measurement of solar neutrino luminosity by HERON

Abstract Results are presented for a simulation carried out to test the precision with which a detector design (HERON) based on a superfluid helium target material should be able to measure the solar pp and 7 Be fluxes. It is found that precisions of ±1.68% and ±2.97% for pp and 7 Be fluxes, respectively, should be achievable in a 5-year data sample. The physics motivation to aim for these precisions is outlined as are the detector design, the methods used in the simulation and sensitivity to solar orbit eccentricity.
A Study of the Interaction of Hispanic Junior High School Students and Their Teachers

Forty Hispanic junior high school girls divided into target and comparison subsamples were matched with target and comparison teacher subsamples to form student-teacher dyads. Dyad members simultaneously recorded their own and each other's behavior on a 41-item behavioral checklist. The data were analyzed to determine differences in behavior reported for the four subsamples, the effects of the various dyadic combinations upon behavior, and the extent of agreement between student and teacher raters. The behavior of the target girls was found to differ significantly in target and comparison teacher classrooms. While students indicated a difference in the behavior of teachers towards comparison versus target girls, teachers indicated no difference in their behavior towards the two groups.
Identification of Mammalian Mitochondrial Translational Initiation Factor 3 and Examination of Its Role in Initiation Complex Formation with Natural mRNAs

Human mitochondrial translational initiation factor 3 (IF3mt) has been identified from the human expressed sequence tag data base. Using consensus sequences derived from conserved regions of the bacterial IF3, several partially sequenced cDNA clones were identified, and the complete sequence was assembled in silico from overlapping clones. IF3mt is 278 amino acid residues in length. MitoProt II predicts a 97% probability that this protein will be localized in mitochondria and further predicts that the mature protein will be 247 residues in length. The cDNA for the predicted mature form of IF3mt was cloned, and the protein was expressed inEscherichia coli in a His-tagged form. The mature form of IF3mt has short extensions on the N and C termini surrounding a region homologous to bacterial IF3. The region of IF3mt homologous to prokaryotic factors ranges between 21–26% identical to the bacterial proteins. Purified IF3mt promotes initiation complex formation on mitochondrial 55 S ribosomes in the presence of mitochondrial initiation factor 2 (IF2mt), [35S]fMet-tRNA, and either poly(A,U,G) or an in vitro transcript of the cytochrome oxidase subunit II gene as mRNA. IF3mtshifts the equilibrium between the 55 S mitochondrial ribosome and its subunits toward subunit dissociation. In addition, the ability ofE. coli initiation factor 1 to stimulate initiation complex formation on E. coli 70 S and mitochondrial 55 S ribosomes was investigated in the presence of IF2mt and IF3mt.
Using the calendar to improve sales forecasts

Monthly sales data for products whose sales fluctuate regularly according to the day of the week may be subject to a source of variation which makes model fitting and forecasting more difficult. This problem is described and illustrated within the context of the ARIMA class of univariate models. Procedures to recognize and account for the problem are presented, and improvements in the ability to forecast future sales are noted in the sample series examined.
Introduction to commentaries on the Illinois pilot study of lineup reforms.

Between 2000 and 2002, the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment, appointed by then-Governor George Ryan, reviewed the justice procedures that lead to capital punishment with the objective of identifying reforms that enhance the system's fairness and accuracy. The Com mission issued its report in 2002. In recognition of the potential role of mistaken identification in erroneous con viction, this report included six recommendations concerning eyewitness identification procedures, several of which have since become law (see Mecklenburg 2006 for details). Following this report, the Illinois legislature mandated a study of the effects of double-blind and sequential lineup procedures (two of the six recommendations of the Com mission) and provided guidance for the study protocol. In 2004, the Illinois State Police appointed Sheri Mecklen burg (who would later become Chief Counsel to the Chicago Police Department and is now Assistant United States Attorney) as Director of the field study. The study was carried out in three Illinois districts. Data were col lected in 2004 and 2005 and were analyzed by Drs. Roy Malpass and Ebbe Ebbesen (independently). Details of the study and findings appeared in the Report to the Illinois Legislature ("Illinois Pilot Report;" Mecklenburg 2006). Since its publication, the Illinois field study has received a great deal of attention among eyewitness researchers, law enforcement, and attorneys. The Illinois Pilot Report has
Hierarchy in Pentose Sugar Metabolism in Clostridium acetobutylicum

Bacterial metabolism of polysaccharides from plant detritus into acids and solvents is an essential component of the terrestrial carbon cycle. Understanding the underlying metabolic pathways can also contribute to improved production of biofuels. Using a metabolomics approach involving liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we investigated the metabolism of mixtures of the cellulosic hexose sugar (glucose) and hemicellulosic pentose sugars (xylose and arabinose) in the anaerobic soil bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum. Simultaneous feeding of stable isotope-labeled glucose and unlabeled xylose or arabinose revealed that,as expected, glucose was preferentially used as the carbon source. Assimilated pentose sugars accumulated in pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) intermediates with minimal flux into glycolysis. Simultaneous feeding of xylose and arabinose revealed an unexpected hierarchy among the pentose sugars, with arabinose utilized preferentially over xylose. The phosphoketolase pathway (PKP) provides an alternative route of pentose catabolism in C. acetobutylicum that directly converts xylulose-5-phosphate into acetyl-phosphate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, bypassing most of the PPP. When feeding the mixture of pentose sugars, the labeling patterns of lower glycolytic intermediates indicated more flux through the PKP than through the PPP and upper glycolysis, and this was confirmed by quantitative flux modeling. Consistent with direct acetyl-phosphate production from the PKP, growth on the pentose mixture resulted in enhanced acetate excretion. Taken collectively, these findings reveal two hierarchies in clostridial pentose metabolism: xylose is subordinate to arabinose, and the PPP is used less than the PKP.
Improving ReduceTask data locality for sequential MapReduce jobs

Improving data locality for MapReduce jobs is critical for the performance of large-scale Hadoop clusters, embodying the principle of moving computation close to data for big data platforms. Scheduling tasks in the vicinity of stored data can significantly diminish network traffic, which is crucial for system stability and efficiency. Though the issue on data locality has been investigated extensively for MapTasks, most of the existing schedulers ignore data locality for ReduceTasks when fetching the intermediate data, causing performance degradation. This problem of reducing the fetching cost for ReduceTasks has been identified recently. However, the proposed solutions are exclusively based on a greedy approach, relying on the intuition to place ReduceTasks to the slots that are closest to the majority of the already generated intermediate data. The consequence is that, in presence of job arrivals and departures, assigning the ReduceTasks of the current job to the nodes with the lowest fetching cost can prevent a subsequent job with even better match of data locality from being launched on the already taken slots. To this end, we formulate a stochastic optimization framework to improve the data locality for ReduceTasks, with the optimal placement policy exhibiting a threshold-based structure. In order to ease the implementation, we further propose a receding horizon control policy based on the optimal solution under restricted conditions. The improved performance is further validated through simulation experiments and real performance tests on our testbed.
Physiologic role of nitric oxide in the maintenance of uterine quiescence in nonpregnant and pregnant sheep

Abstract Objective: This study evaluated the role of nitric oxide in the maintenance of uterine quiescence in nonpregnant and pregnant ewes. Study Design: Sixteen ovariectomized nonpregnant and 10 pregnant (115 days' gestation) chronically instrumented ewes were studied. Uterine contractility was assessed by electromyography and intrauterine pressure recordings. Nitric oxyde synthase inhibition was induced with nitro-L -arginine methyl ester or aminoguanidine (4.5 mg/kg per hour) given during estrogen replacement with 17β-estradiol (100 μg/d) or in late gestation. In the pregnant group we evaluated the ability of nitric oxide synthase inhibition to alter the responsiveness to oxytocin-induced uterine contractility. Blood pressure and common internal iliac artery blood flow were assessed to confirm nitric oxide synthase inhibition. In addition, the effects of the nitric oxide donor nitroglycerin and the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin were studied in nonpregnant sheep. The effect of nitric oxide in vitro on myometrial spontaneous and induced contractions was also studied. Results: In nonpregnant estrogen-replaced sheep, nitric oxide synthase inhibition and nitroglycerin administration did not alter uterine contractility, despite significant changes in blood pressure. In contrast, indomethacin decreased electromyographic results to 70% of baseline after 1 hour and 47% after 2 hours. In pregnant ewes nitric oxide synthase inhibition failed to alter uterine contractility in response to oxytocin. These findings are in contrast to results of the in vitro study in which nitric oxide was shown to relax sheep myometrium. Conclusion: The absence of significant effects of nitric oxide synthase inhibition and nitric oxide donors on uterine contractility in vivo suggests that nitric oxide does not play a physiologic role in the regulation of uterine contractility in nonpregnant or pregnant ewes. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2000;183:191-8.)
Microhabitat characterization of Trichoderma harzianum in natural soil: Evaluation of factors affecting distribution

Abstract In a study evaluating the effect of environment on the distribution of Trichoderma harzianum in a natural field soil, microsites composed of 50 mg soil samples were taken over 12 months and assayed for 55 different factors. Each sample was assayed for nine abiotic factors, total populations of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes, and the presence of 42 individual fungi. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the significance of associations between these factors and the presence or absence of T. harzianum in the microsites. The presence of T. harzianum was found to vary significantly from month to month, but no regular pattern of seasonal variation was observed. T. harzianum was positively associated with the total bacterial population, and the occurrences of Aspergitlus ustus, A. tamarii, Penicillium citrinum, P. chrysogenum , and P. griseoroseum . However, it was negatively associated with the depth of the microsite and the occurrences of A. flavipes and P. miczynskii .
Evidence for a revertant at the La locus in regenerating hypocotyl segments in tomato.

Leafy and leafless phenotypes were regenerated in vitro from hypocotyl segments of leafless forms (reduced and modified) of the homozygous lanceolate (La) mutant in tomato. Segregation of progeny of leafy regenerates into homozygous. mutant (La La), heterozygote (La La+) and normal (La+La+) indicates that cells forming the shoot apical meristems undergo a genetic reversion, and that the nutrient medium might be selecting for the heterozygote. Among the progeny of the regenerates is a true breeding, unlobed variant. Leaves of the variant are pinnately compound and the margins are entire. Opposite cotyledons followed in development by two simple leaves before the appearance of a pinnately compound leaf with an occasional lanceolate-shaped leaflet suggests that the unlobed variant is morphologically intermediate between La La+ and La+La+.
Probability modelling and statistical analysis of damage in the lower wing skins of two retired B‐707 aircraft

A plausible mechanistically based probability model for localized pitting corrosion and subsequent fatigue crack nucleation and growth is used to analyse tear-down inspection data from two retired B-707 aircraft that had been in commercial service for about 24 and 30 years. Sections of the left-hand lower wing skins from these aircraft had been previously disassembled and inspected optically at 20 x magnification. The inspections were augmented by metallographic examinations for the lower time aircraft. The evolution of damage in the fastener holes is estimated by using reasonable values for the localized corrosion and fatigue crack growth rates, statistically estimated from laboratory data. The primary loading, assumed to be the mean design load, is considered to be from ground-air-ground wing bending cycles, augmented by average' gust loading, only. The encouraging agreement between the estimated probability of occurrence and the observed distribution of multiple hole-wall cracks attests to the efficacy of the approach and its relevancy to airworthiness assessment and fleet life management.
Isoelectric forms of α-l-fucosidase in mouse teratocarcinoma-derived cell lines

Abstract The α- l -fucosidase isoenzyme pattern of mouse teratocarcinoma-derived cell lines was analyzed by isoelectric focusing and compared with the pattern of a mammary carcinoma as an example of a malignant somatic cell line. In addition, these isoenzyme patterns were compared with those of normal fetal and adult mouse tissues from an earlier study. In the normal early fetal and placental tissues as well as in embryonal carcinoma and yolk sac carcinoma cells the α- l -fucosidase activity is predominantly associated with basic forms of the enzyme. This embryonic pattern of α- l -fucosidase is characterized by one to three isoelectric forms of the enzyme with p I values ranging from 7 to 9.5 accounting for more than two-thirds of the total activity. In contrast, the mammary carcinoma pattern resembles adult somatic tissues and primarily expresses acidic enzymatic forms (which comprise approximately 80% of total activity). The somatic cell malignancies arising in retransplantable teratocarcinomas show varying isoenzyme patterns. Thus, a malignant fibrous histiocytoma expresses predominantly basic forms of the enzyme, whereas a leiomyosarcoma expresses approximately equal amounts of acidic and basic forms of the enzyme resembling in this respect late fetal or immature neonatal tissues. These findings show that the embryonal carcinoma and yolk sac carcinoma cells of the mouse express the embryonic isoenzyme pattern of α- l -fucosidase in contrast to malignant cells originating in somatic tissue, like mammary carcinoma, which express the adult pattern. Malignancies arising in somatic tissues of teratocarcinomas may retain the embryonic α- l -fucosidase phenotype or show a phenotype corresponding to late fetal or neonatal tissues in normal ontogeny.
Rooting characteristics and associated drought resistance of zoysiagrasses

Declining availability of water for landscape irrigation has increased the need for drought-resistant turfgrasses. Though drought-resistance mechanisms are known to include deep rooting in some plants, little is known concerning zoysiagrass rooting characteristics. This study was conducted to determine if differences in rooting parameters exist among zoysiagrasses, and if they are associated with drought resistance. Twenty-five zoysiagrasses cultivars and species [Zoysia japonica Steud., Z. matrella (L.) Merr., and Z. japonica Steud. x Z. tenuifolia Willd. ex Trin.] were studied in polyethylene tubes in a glasshouse. Differences were observed for average maximum root depth (AMRD), total root weight, and root numbers and weights at increasing 100-mm depth increments. Average maximum root depth was positively correlated with total root weight and root number and weight at increasing 100-mm depth increments. Grasses with superior AMRD, total root weight, and root numbers at deeper profile depths (300-500 mm) included QT2047, El Toro, DALZ8512, TC5018, Meyer, DALZ8514, and DALZ8516 In a previously reported field experiment, 11 of the 25 zoysiagrasses were rated for percent of plot area covered by green turfgrass (an indicator of drought resistance) under three levels of irrigation (0, 35, and 100% of turfgrass evapotranspiration [ET]). Average maximum root depth, total root weight, and root numbers at 200-, 300-, and 400-mm depths in polyethylene root tubes were positively correlated with percent green plot cover in the field under deficit irrigation (0 and 35% ET), indicating that rooting depth, weight, and branching at lower depths are important drought-resistance mechanisms in zoysiagrasses.
Active Vibration Suppression of a Smart Flexible Beam Using a Sliding Mode Based Controller

This article investigates robust active vibration suppression of a flexible beam with a low dominant frequency using piezoceramic sensor and actuators. The piezoceramic sensor and actuators are in patch form and are surface-bonded to the cantilevered end of the flexible beam. The robust sliding mode control, which has the advantages of being robust to plant parameter variation, insensitive to the unmodeled dynamics, and easy to implement, is adopted in this article for active vibration control of the flexible beam. Unlike other commonly used vibration suppression methods, such as positive position feedback control, strain rate feedback control, and lead compensation, the sliding mode controller requires almost no knowledge of the flexible beam. To avoid the chattering problem commonly associated with sliding mode control, a smooth switching function employing a hyperbolic tangent function is used. A low pass filter is applied to the output of the sliding mode controller to avoid excitation of the higher m...
Pricing Workplace Charging: Financial Viability and Fueling Costs

Overnight home charging is expected to be the most common and cost-effective way of refueling plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Workplace charging is also expected to play a prominent role and provide various benefits, such as extending the number of electric miles driven and enabling PEV adoption by drivers in difficult residential charging environments. This paper assesses workplace charging from two perspectives: (a) employers investing in workplace charging facilities and pricing their use and (b) employee drivers. The finding is that pricing levels likely to provide drivers with financial motivation to fuel at work relative to gasoline refueling may provide limited opportunity to recover station costs. For example, a $0.20/kW-h markup on top of average commercial electricity costs—a level some drivers may even find uncompetitive—might only cover $1,500 in all-in facility investment costs per PEV served. Similarly, drivers may balk at workplace charging prices at or exceeding $1.25/h or $35/month, whi...
Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis Complicating Early Pregnancy

Background. The goal of this case is to review the zoonotic infection, human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, presenting with pyrexia. Case. A 22-year-old multigravid female presented to the emergency department with a painful skin rash, high fever, and severe myalgias. The patient underwent a diagnostic evaluation for zoonotic infections due to her geographical and seasonal risk factors. Treatment of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis was successful though the patient spontaneously aborted presumably due to the severity of the acute illness. Conclusion. Treatment of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis in pregnancy presents unique challenges. Management of pyrexia during pregnancy is limited to external cooling in the setting of thrombocytopenia and elevated aminotransferases. Extensive counseling regarding teratogenic potential of medications allows the patient to weigh the pros and cons of treatment.