cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A review comparing cathodic arcs and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS)

High power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) has been in the center of attention over the last years as it is an emerging physical vapor deposition (PVD) technology that combines advantages of magnetron sputtering with various forms of energetic deposition of films such as ion plating and cathodic arc plasma deposition. It should not come at a surprise that many extension and variations of HiPIMS make use, intentionally or unintentionally, of previously discovered approaches to film processing such as substrate surface preparation by metal ion sputtering and phased biasing for film texture and stress control. Therefore, in this review, an overview is given on some historical developments and features of cathodic arc and HiPIMS plasmas, showing commonalities and differences. To limit the scope, emphasis is put on plasma properties, as opposed to surveying the vast literature on specific film materials and their properties.
Infrared and Raman spectra of 1,5-cyclooctadiene complexes of rhodium, palladium and platinum

Abstract Recent work on the i.r. and Raman spectra of Ziese's salt and other olefin complexes of platinum has shown that two bands having fractional ν(CC) character are sensitive to coordination by metallic ions. We have investigated an isoelectronic series of d8 ions complexed to 1,5-cyclooctadiene to determine to what extent the frequencies depend on the metallic ion. We find that the lowering of the frequencies is in the same order as the expected metal-olefin bond strengths, viz: Rh(I) > Pt(II) > Pd(II).
The role of values in the choice shift

Abstract In Study I, the self-ideal discrepancy in risk taking was found to be unrelated to the strength of values relevant to the risks under consideration, and the other-self discrepancy was found to be related to these values only by virtue of one of its components, inital preference. Hence the use of these discrepancies as measures of value strength must be questioned. This casts doubt on some of the evidence formerly thought to support the assumption that values provide the force that drives the choice shift. In Study II, two hypotheses derived from this assumption were not supported. In light of this result, and closely related negative findings from two other studies, it would appear that this assumption must either be discarded or revised. Some possible lines of revision are suggested. Some of the results were also prejudicial to two theories about the mechanism through which values or other forces allegedly produce the shift: norm-comparison theory and pluralistic-ignorance theory.
The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century

The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century. Virginia Danielson.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. xiii. 271 pp., figures, glossary, notes, references, index.
Two-dimensional nitrosylated protein fingerprinting by using poly (methyl methacrylate) microchips

S-nitrosylation (also referred to as nitrosation), a reversible post translational modification (PTM) of cysteine, plays an important role in cellular functions and cell signalling pathways. Nitrosylated proteins are considered as biomarkers of aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Microfluidics has been widely used for development of novel tools for separation of protein mixtures. Here we demonstrate two-dimensional micro-electrophoresis (2D μ-CE) separations of nitrosylated proteins from the human colon epithelial adenocarcinoma cells (HT-29) and AD transgenic mice brain tissues. Sodium dodecyl sulphate micro-capillary gel electrophoresis (SDS μ-CGE) and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) were used for the first and second dimensional separations, respectively. The effective separation lengths for both dimensions were 10 mm, and electrokinetic injection was used with field strength at 200 V cm−1. After 80 s separation in the first CGE dimension, fractions were successfully transferred to a second MEEKC dimension for a short 10 s separation. We first demonstrate this 2D μ-CE separation by resolving five standard proteins with molecular weight (MW) ranging from 20 to 64 kDa. We also present a high peak capacity 3D landscape image of nitrosylated proteins from HT-29 cells before and following menadione (MQ) treatment to induce oxidative stress. Additionally, to illustrate the potential of the 2D μ-CE separation method for rapid profiling of oxidative stress-induced biomarkers implicated in AD disease, the nitrosylated protein fingerprints from 11-month-old AD transgenic mice brain and their age matched controls were also generated. To our knowledge, this is the first report on 2D profiling of nitrosylated proteins in biological samples on a microchip. The characteristics of this biomarker profiling will potentially serve as the screening for early detection of AD.
Adiposity and cognitive decline in the cardiovascular health study.

Background: Studies relating adiposity to cognition in the elderly show conflicting results, which may be explained by the choice of adiposity measures. Thus, we
Bob Zajonc and the Unconscious Emotion

This article focuses on Bob Zajonc’s views on unconscious emotion, especially in the context of the debates about the independence of affect and cognition. Historically, Bob was always interested in the "mere"—basic, fundamental processes. His empirical demonstrations of precognitive and preconscious emotional processes, combined with his elegant expositions of them, sharply contrasted with cold and complex cognitive models. Interestingly, Bob tended to believe that whereas the causes of emotion can be unconscious, the emotional state itself tends to be conscious. However, he reconsidered this assumption and in his later work showed that subjects in affective priming experiments do not experience conscious affect, but instead act on basic preferences. Today, Bob’s insights continue to inspire research on "unconscious emotion."
Energy Preserving QMF for Image Processing

Implementation of new biorthogonal filter banks (BFB) for image compression and denoising is performed, using test images with diversified characteristics. These new BFB’s are linear-phase, have odd lengths, and with a critical feature, namely, the filters preserve signal energy very well. Experimental results show that the proposed filter banks demonstrate promising performance improvement over the filter banks of those widely used in the image processing area, such as the CDF 9/7.
From Methodological Stumbles to Substantive Insights: Gaining Ethnographic Access in Queer Communities

This article demonstrates precisely how issues of access—in this case differential access to informants and the scenes that they populate in three sites—can reveal substantive findings. In the case it features, a comparative study of small cities with growing populations of lesbian couples, actors’ disparate and place-specific sexual identities produced disparate and place-specific responses to research. Integrationist sexual identities impeded access, whereas identity-politics orientations facilitated it. The paper identifies three mechanisms via which sexual identities influenced access: directly, by shaping informants’ orientations to the research topic, and, indirectly, by influencing local networks and institutions that emerge from and reinforce local identities. By explicating one ethnographer’s path from methodological trouble to substantive insight, the article traces the utility of an expansive and flexible reflexivity that begins with but extends beyond the researcher’s identity and role. This reflexivity, the article proposes, encourages identification of substantive findings and the development of social theory, and can advance a comparative sociology of ethnographic access.
Anaesthetic management of a child with dermatomyositis.

A two years, ten months old male with dermatomyositis was anaesthetized with enflurane, nitrous oxide and oxygen by mask followed by intravenous succinylcholine to facilitate endotracheal intubation. The evoked thumb twitch in response to succinylcholine demonstrated an abnormal, short-lived contracture. The depresion, duration and return to control of muscle twitch tension and a transient rise in serum potassium concentration followed a normal pattern.
Improving Diagnostic Accuracy Using Multiparameter Patient Monitoring Based on Data Fusion in the Cloud

Accurate clinical decision making in medical monitoring relies on the strategical fusion of multiparameter physiological signals and usually demands a wide variety of complex machine learning approaches and a large set of knowledge data-base. However, those requirements impose great challenges on computing and storage capabilities, which make it impossible to execute on a single portable computing platform. Leveraging emerging cloud computing technologies, we propose to strategically manage the workloads on the mobile medical monitoring device and migrate the highly intricate multipara-meter data fusion and training procedure to the cloud. The mobile device transmits all sensing data acquired from wearable body sensors to the cloud, which now provides a large pool of easily accessible dataset for the training procedures. The well-trained configurations will be sent back to the mobile device and update its existing machine learning based implementations.
Affective Processing and Emotion Regulation in Dysphoria and Depression: Cognitive Biases and Deficits in Cognitive Control

In this article, we take a closer look at the cognitive processing of emotional material in dysphoria and depression and link cognitive biases and deficits to individual differences in emotion regulation, an important risk factor for depression. Specifically, we propose that cognitive biases are associated with individual differences in the initial appraisal and reappraisal of emotion-eliciting events. In addition, deficits in cognitive control result in prolonged processing of negative, goal-irrelevant aspects of information as well as in decreased accessibility of mood-incongruent material. These deficits further affect people’s ability to regulate negative affect by setting the stage for ruminative responses and by interfering with the use of reappraisal after the onset of an emotional response. This article provides a brief summary of findings that support these propositions and outlines implications for future research on the relation among affective processing, cognitive control, and emotion regulation in dysphoria and depression.
Positional Accuracy of Spatial Data: Non-Normal Distributions and a Critique of the National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy

Spatial data quality is a paramount concern in all GIS applications. Existing spatial data accuracy standards, including the National Standard for Spatial Data Accuracy (NSSDA) used in the United States, commonly assume the positional error of spatial data is normally distributed. This research has characterized the distribution of the positional error in four types of spatial data: GPS locations, street geocoding, TIGER roads, and LIDAR elevation data. The positional error in GPS locations can be approximated with a Rayleigh distribution, the positional error in street geocoding and TIGER roads can be approximated with a log-normal distribution, and the positional error in LIDAR elevation data can be approximated with a normal distribution of the original vertical error values after removal of a small number of outliers. For all four data types considered, however, these solutions are only approximations, and some evidence of non-stationary behavior resulting in lack of normality was observed in all four datasets. Monte-Carlo simulation of the robustness of accuracy statistics revealed that the conventional 100% Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) statistic is not reliable for non-normal distributions. Some degree of data trimming is recommended through the use of 90% and 95% RMSE statistics. Percentiles, however, are not very robust as single positional accuracy statistics. The non-normal distribution of positional errors in spatial data has implications for spatial data accuracy standards and error propagation modeling. Specific recommendations are formulated for revisions of the NSSDA.
Speed-accuracy optimization for skill learning

Robot motor capability is crucial for skill learning because it determines how accurately and rapidly a robot can perform a skill to accomplish a task constrained by the spatial and temporal conditions. Due to the capability of robot motor, a robot may not be able to perform skills to satisfy both task spatial and temporal constraints. To determine the robot motor capability, this paper formulates the skill for accomplishing a task as an optimization problem subject to the spatial and temporal conditions of the task, and proposes to develop a speed-accuracy constraint suitable for the optimization problem. The proposed speed-accuracy constraint is derived from the kinematics, dynamics, and control of a robot motor system. By solving the optimization problem, a robot can perform the skill to achieve a task by its fastest speed without violating the spatial and temporal conditions of the task. Computer simulations were performed on a PUMA 560 robot to demonstrate a skill on a typical task to validate the proposed speed-accuracy optimization.
Hedging executive compensation risk through investment banks

ABSTRACT: Allowing CEOs to hedge the risk in the compensation contracts their firms give them has been controversial because such hedging allows the executives to undo some of the incentive effects of those contracts; it also results in a divergence between the compensation firms pay their senior executives and the compensation those executives effectively receive. We analyze these personal hedging activities of CEOs and identify when firms may gain or lose by allowing or prohibiting such hedging. We also describe variations in CEOs' demands for various compensation hedges, and how firms will restructure their CEOs' compensation contracts in anticipation that the CEOs will engage in such hedging.
Analysis of micropitting of prototype surface fatigue test gears

The early stages of micropitting were examined on experimental gears designed for surface fatigue studies by the Helical Gear Rating Committee of the American Gear Manufacturers Association. Optical profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, and metallographic examinations were conducted on the first prototype gearset tested. The gearset was tested in an FZG test rig. To evaluate tooth bending fatigue strength, the gears were loaded to load stage 12. A tooth broke from bending fatigue in 0.88 h (the expected time). This short runtime allowed for the examination of micropitting at an early stage of development. The distribution and morphology of micropitting over the tooth face and associated relationships with surface micro- and macrogeometry features and traction have been examined. Micropitting was primarily associated with finish geometry. A few pits were associated with sulphide inclusions and one pit was possibly initiated by a small non-metallic inclusion. Metallographic examinations revealed asperity-related lines of dark etching alterations caused by high asperity contact and traction stresses.
SUDDEN DEATH OF AN INFANT WITH RHINOVIRUS INFECTION COMPLICATING BRONCHIAL ASTHMA: Case Report

An 11-month-old infant with symptoms of mild asthma for 3 months died unexpectedly during sleep. Pulmonary findings typical of acute asthma as well as focal interstitial pneumonitis were present at autopsy. Serum IgE level, known to rise in viral infections, was markedly elevated. Rhinovirus type 47 was cultured from blood and lung post mortem. The relationship between viral infection and onset of an acute asthmatic attack is discussed, and this potentially life-threatening complication of asthma is underscored.
An improved equation of state for gases

Based on properties which are characteristic of all gases, modifications are developed for an equation of state previously proposed in this journal (1). A specific application of the modified equation is made for the PVT data on carbon dioxide, and considerable improvement over the original equation is shown for densities in the neighborhood of 1.4 times the critical density. The new equation differs from the old equation only by the presence of the A5 and C5 terms, these having originally been taken to be zero.
Tests of a dual-system model of speech category learning ∗

n the visual domain, more than two decades of work has argued for the existence of dual category learning systems. The reflective system uses working memory in an explicit fashion to develop and test rules for classifying. The reflexive system operates by implicitly associating perception with actions that lead to reinforcement. Dual-system models posit that in learning natural categories, learners initially use the reflective system and with practice, transfer control to the reflexive system. The role of reflective and reflexive systems in second language (L2) speech learning has not been systematically examined. In the study reported in this paper, monolingual native speakers of American English were trained to categorize Mandarin tones produced by multiple speakers. Our computational modeling approach demonstrates that learners use reflective and reflexive strategies during tone category learning. Successful learners use speaker-dependent, reflective analysis early in training and reflexive strategies by the end of training. Our results demonstrate that dual-learning systems are operative in L2 speech learning. Critically, learner strategies directly relate to individual differences in successful category learning.
Visualizing and quantifying the suppressive effects of glucocorticoids on the tadpole immune system in vivo

A challenging topic in undergraduate physiology courses is the complex interaction between the vertebrate endocrine system and the immune system. There are relatively few established and accessible laboratory exercises available to instructors to help their students gain a working understanding of these interactions. The present laboratory module was developed to show students how glucocorticoid receptor activity can be pharmacologically modulated in Xenopus laevis tadpoles and the resulting effects on thymus gland size visualized and quantified in vivo. After treating young tadpoles with a cortisol receptor agonist (dexamethasone) for 1 wk, students can easily visualize the suppressive effects of glucocorticoids on the intact thymus gland, which shrinks dramatically in size in response to this steroid hormone analog. However, the suppressive effect of dexamethasone is nullified in the presence of the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU-486, which powerfully illustrates the specific effects of glucocorticoid receptor inhibition on the immune system. Image analysis and statistics software are used to quantify the effects of glucocorticoid modulation on thymus size.
Urinary tract infection caused by group-B streptococcus in infancy and childhood

Abstract Group-B streptococcus (GBS) was isolated from 21 cases (1.4 per cent) of urinary tract infection (UTI) in a pediatric hospital in one year. Seventeen patients were females, and 4 were males. Six patients were less than one month old. This report describes the clinical, urologic, and microbiological aspects.
ÆTIOLOGY OF ACUTE EPIDIDYMITIS

24 patients with acute epididymitis were examined and underwent urethral and urine cultures for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Ureaplasma urealyticum, herpes-simplex virus, Chlamydia trachomatis, cytomegalovirus, and gram-negative aerobic bacteria. The results suggest that in young men the sexually transmitted organisms which cause urethritis (N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, and possibly U. urealyticum) may also lead to acute epididymitis, whereas in older men coliforms and Pseudomonas are the predominant causes of epididymitis.
Thoughts on Thinking: Engaging Novice Music Students in Metacognition

Summary: Achieving expertise in any area requires extensive practice and engagement with the subject one desires to master. As not all practice yields good progress, methods must be found that lead learners to practice effectively. Many experts employ highly tailored practice involving metacognitive processes, but novices rarely engage in frequent and explicit metacognitive strategies during practice. As a result, novice progress may be impeded through repetition of systematic errors and ineffective techniques. Our study provides evidence of the effectiveness of teaching metacognition to novice music students through weekly lessons. Thirty-five adolescent students of six instructors were randomly assigned to metacognitive focus or existing practice teaching conditions. Students receiving metacognitive teaching achieved higher performance ratings when compared with students receiving control instruction, even though practice time did not vary between groups. These results suggest that having students explicitly verbalize and reflect on their learning process produces more efficient practice and greater end performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A High-Throughput Cell-Based Gaussia Luciferase Reporter Assay for Identifying Modulators of Fibulin-3 Secretion

An R345W mutation in fibulin-3 causes its inefficient secretion, increased intracellular steady-state levels, and the macular dystrophy, Malattia Leventinese (ML), a disease similar to age-related macular degeneration. It is unknown whether R345W causes ML through increased intracellular levels, by the secretion of a potentially aggregation-prone protein, or both. To identify small molecules that alter the secretion of fibulin-3, we developed ARPE19 retinal cell lines that inducibly express wild-type (WT) or R345W fibulin-3 fused to an enhanced Gaussia luciferase (eGLuc2). Screening of the Library of Pharmacologically Active Compounds demonstrated that these cell lines and the GLuc assay are suitable for highthroughput chemical screening. Two estrogen-related compounds enhanced fibulin-3 secretion, whereas a diverse series of small molecules reduced fibulin-3 secretion. A counterscreen identified compounds that did not substantially alter the secretion of unfused eGLuc2, demonstrating at least partial selectivity for fibulin-3. A secondary assay using untagged fibulin-3 confirmed that the top three inhibitory compounds reduced R345W fibulin-3 secretion. Interestingly, in untagged fibulin-3 studies, one compound, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, reduced R345W fibulin-3 secretion while minimally enhancing WT fibulin-3 secretion, the desired activity and selectivity we sought for ML. The identified compounds could serve as tools for probing the etiology of fibulin-3–related diseases.
Value orientations toward coral reefs in recreation and tourism settings: a conceptual and measurement approach

This paper examines recreationist and tourist value orientations toward coral reefs (e.g. protection–use, biocentric-anthropocentric), tests a scale for measuring these orientations in recreation and tourism settings, groups individuals based on their orientations and examines demographic and activity differences among groups. Data were obtained from surveys of 2821 users at three coastal and marine sites in Hawai'i. Belief statements about reefs (e.g. “coral reefs have value whether humans are present or not”) were used to measure value orientations. Users agreed with protectionist and disagreed with use-oriented beliefs. Except for one statement (“humans should manage coral reefs so that humans benefit”), the scale provided a reliable and valid measure of value orientations toward reefs. Respondents were grouped into three subgroups (strong protection, moderate protection, mixed protection–use). The largest number of users had strong protectionist orientations toward reefs, and there was no group posses...
El Chichón's "surprise" eruption in 1982: Lessons for reducing volcano risk

During one week (28 March-4 April 1982), three powerful explosive eruptions (VEI 5) of El Chichon Volcano caused the worst volcanic disaster in Mexico’s recorded history. Pyroclastic flows and surges obliterated nine villages, killing about 2,000 people, and ashfalls downwind posed socio-economic hardships for many thousands of inhabitants of the States of Chiapas and Tabasco. The unexpected and vigorous eruption of 28 caused a hasty, confused evacuation of most villagers in the area. Activity was greatly diminished the next five days, and then the most powerful and lethal eruptions occurred 3-4 April—tragically, after many evacuees were allowed by authorities to return home. Unfortunately, the eruptions came as an almost total surprise for scientists and government authorities, effectively precluding opportunities to implement timely mitigative countermeasures. During the months before eruption onset, fumarolic activity increased and inhabitants living close to the volcano felt occasional earthquakes, prompting the Chiapas government to request help from the Federal government. Both the Chiapas and Federal governmental actions were slow, and the requested assistance came after the volcano erupted. Perhaps the most important lesson learned from the disastrous outcome at El Chichon is that its decreased activity (29 March-2 April) should not have been assumed by the senior scientist on site—and the military authorities acting on his advice—to signal the end of eruption. While the 1982 eruptions caused a national tragedy, they also fostered multidisciplinary studies of eruptive phenomena, not only at El Chichon but also other explosive volcanoes in the world.
An Elected Upper House and Other Fallacies

All fashionable political talk is of an elected House of Lords. Doing this smart, new unthought-out thing, says Edward Pearce, means dissolving the reliably rebellious upper house regularly rejecting bad bills from Tory and Labour governments, for a House as submissive as the Commons. Second-line politicians will replace the difficult individual people, soldiers, doctors, academics, scientists, assorted and distinguished experts who, by lucky muddle, go there today. Far better, he says, to abolish actual titles which create a false idea of privilege, but continue drawing upon independent professional specialists. Also, Ministers should be barred from the pernicious Mandelson Effect, of making an instant Minister by life-ennoblement, huge powers conferred without a voter in sight. An upper house called ‘The Upper House’, chosen as now for competence, will be a House of Commoners, of Independence, of Contradiction. Elected Party-liners under guidance would be a House of Sheep.
Generalized Monotonicity — Concepts and Uses

The role of monotonicity of the operator in Complementarity Problems and Variational Inequality Problems corresponds to the role of convexity of the objective function in Mathematical Programming Problems. Various concepts of generalized monotonicity are presented which are related to generalized convexity concepts. Special characterizations in case of differentiable operators can be obtained. Using some of these concepts, two sets of existence results are given for generalized monotone Variational Inequality Problems in Banach spaces. In the paper with Hadjisavvas recent existence results by Cottle and Yao for pseudomonotone Complementarity Problems in Hilbert spaces are extended to the general case of quasimonotone Variational Inequality Problems in Banach spaces. In the work with Yao the equivalence of strictly monotone Complementarity Problems, least element problems and other related problems in Banach lattices, studied by Riddel, is extended to the strictly pseudomonotone case.
Plant paleoecology of the Late Devonian Red Hill locality, north-central Pennsylvania, an Archaeopteris-dominated wetland plant community and early tetrapod site.

The Late Devonian Red Hill locality in north-central Pennsylvania contains an Archaeopteris-dominated plant fossil assemblage, a diverse fossil fauna, and an extensive sedimentary sequence ideal for investigating the landscapes and biotic associations of the earliest forest ecosystems. Sedimentological analysis of the main plantfossil bearing layer at Red Hill indicates that it was a fl ood-plain pond. A seasonal wet-and-dry climate is indicated by well-developed paleovertisols. The presence of charcoal interspersed with plant fossils indicates that fi res occurred in this landscape. Fires appear to have primarily affected the fern Rhacophyton. The specifi city of the fi res, the distribution profi le of the plant remains deposited in the pond, and additional taphonomic evidence all support a model of niche partitioning of the Late Devonian landscape by plants at a high taxonomic level. At Red Hill, Archaeopteris was growing on the well-drained areas; Rhacophyton was growing in widespread monotypic stands; cormose lycopsids grew along the pond edge; and gymnosperms and Gillespiea were possibly opportunists following disturbances. Tetrapod fossils have been described from Red Hill—therefore, this paleoecological analysis is the fi rst systematic interpretation of a specifi c site that refl ects the type of wetland environment within which the earliest tetrapods evolved.
The NPS and Ossification: Does It Still Exist?

ABSTRACTThe US notice and comment rulemaking process has often been considered ossified or broken, but recent scholarship has questioned this claim. To address this disagreement, we use McGarity’s (1992) ossification argument as a descriptive framework to structure an examination of interview data from three National Park Service rules: (1) Yellowstone National Park Rule, (2) Areas of the National Park System, Grand Canyon National Park Rule, and (3) the Gateway National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook Unit, Personal Watercraft Use Rule. We offer qualitative insights into what drives the longevity of NPS rulemaking, including analytical, scientific review, and substantive review requirements.
Glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchoring directs the assembly of Sup35NM protein into non-fibrillar, membrane-bound aggregates

In prion-infected hosts, PrPSc usually accumulates as non-fibrillar, membrane-bound aggregates. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor-directed membrane association appears to be an important factor controlling the biophysical properties of PrPSc aggregates. To determine whether GPI anchoring can similarly modulate the assembly of other amyloid-forming proteins, neuronal cell lines were generated that expressed a GPI-anchored form of a model amyloidogenic protein, the NM domain of the yeast prion protein Sup35 (Sup35GPI). We recently reported that GPI anchoring facilitated the induction of Sup35GPI prions in this system. Here, we report the ultrastructural characterization of self-propagating Sup35GPI aggregates of either spontaneous or induced origin. Like membrane-bound PrPSc, Sup35GPI aggregates resisted release from cells treated with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. Sup35GPI aggregates of spontaneous origin were detergent-insoluble, protease-resistant, and self-propagating, in a manner similar to that reported for recombinant Sup35NM amyloid fibrils and induced Sup35GPI aggregates. However, GPI-anchored Sup35 aggregates were not stained with amyloid-binding dyes, such as Thioflavin T. This was consistent with ultrastructural analyses, which showed that the aggregates corresponded to dense cell surface accumulations of membrane vesicle-like structures and were not fibrillar. Together, these results showed that GPI anchoring directs the assembly of Sup35NM into non-fibrillar, membrane-bound aggregates that resemble PrPSc, raising the possibility that GPI anchor-dependent modulation of protein aggregation might occur with other amyloidogenic proteins. This may contribute to differences in pathogenesis and pathology between prion diseases, which uniquely involve aggregation of a GPI-anchored protein, versus other protein misfolding diseases.
A note on the night-to-night stability of stages 3 + 4 sleep in healthy older adults : a comparison of visual and spectral evaluations of stages 3 + 4 sleep

Night-to-night variability in the minutes of slow-wave sleep (SWS: combined minutes of stages 3 and 4 sleep) was examined for 50 healthy adults: 23 women (56-82 years old) and 27 men (54-74 years old). Visually rated SWS was more variable night to night than computer-evaluated SWS using power spectral techniques. The night-to-night correlation of the visually rated SWS was 0.61. The night-to-night correlation of the spectrally evaluated SWS was 0.91.
Prevention of intrauterine and perinatal infections.

Since congenital infections frequently cause irreversible damage, and few of the sequelae can be successfully treated, prevention is the key to the elimination of this type of affliction. Immunization against rubella is the most successful preventive measure thus far developed and thus is described in detail. The status of efforts to prevent other infections of the fetus and newborn is also discussed.
College Students, Sexualities Identities, and Participation in Political Marches

Student protest is often an engine of social change for sexual minorities and other oppressed groups. Through an analysis of college students in the Add Health survey (n = 2,534), we found that sexual minorities attend more political marches than heterosexuals. To understand why this sexuality difference occurs, we performed a logistic regression analysis to decipher the importance of four explanations: essentialism, selection, embeddedness, and conversion. We discovered that participation in political groups is the best explanation of the sexuality gap in activism, but racial attitudes were also important. Type of college major was generally connected to student activism, but educational attainment and disciplinary curriculums did not explain the increased activism of sexual minorities.
An Appraisal of the Advancement of Emerging Technologies in Hearing Aids

Background/Objectives: To shed light on the history of development of hearing aid, along with the various pros and cons of each developed technological solution. Methods/Statistical Analysis: A historical survey has been conducted, which highlights some of the more renowned and widely deployed hearing aids within the market. The different types of hearing losses and the varying degree of assistance provided by the different technological solutions have been discussed. Over the years, the overall accuracy as well as practicality of the hearing aids have improved, ranging from cumbersome and heavy hearing aids in the early 1960-1970s to the portable and wearable ones available in the market at present. Findings: Technological innovation is spearheading massive improvement within the hearing aids. Some of the key features causing these changes include wireless technology, frequency lowering, directional microphones and digital noise reduction algorithms. Although DSP has provided significant changes in the hearing technology, limitations still exist, which require re-search contributions from different fields like clinical audiology, psychoacoustics and signal processing. Application/Improvements: Most of the portable and reliable hearing aid devices are very expensive. Therefore, there is a need to develop affordable pieces of equipment that is able to cater to basic hearing functionalities.
Exile, Utopia, and the Will to Empire: Conrad’s Heart of Darkness

Conrad’s short, but very complex, novel stages a particular instance of the will to power manifesting itself as will to empire in the late 19th Century Belgian Congo. Of course, empire building is one of the most common manifestations of the will to power in most historical periods, so that the novel dramatizes its more general features while addressing its specific modernist traits as well. In Modernism, the will to empire, which constantly deals with otherness in its ceaseless quest to overcome and appropriate (or annihilate) new geocultural spaces, arrives at an impasse: the exilic-utopian imagination that drives it seems to have reached an acute state of crisis so that when it is confronted with otherness, it often perceives it as terrifying void, darkness, death, and nothingness. The will needs thus to devise new strategies of using that selfsame terror in order to accomplish its objectives. Since Conrad wrote his novel during a time that Modernism was in full swing (late 1890s), he diagnoses the crisis, presenting a compelling picture of the psychopathology of the modernist exilic-utopian imagination. He also hints at a cure, without resorting, however, to such modernist strategies as TMT (Terror Management Theory), mentioned in the previous chapter, which could eventually only aggravate the illness.
Noise-Reduced Correlations, the Signal to Noise Ratio, and SSA

This is the second paper presenting noise-reduced, stable correlations for long-term risk measurement. We smooth time series using Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) and then form the correlations from these smoothed time series. These correlations have superior time stability and are cleaned of noise. Here we show that the Signal-to-Noise Ratio is larger for the SSA-based correlations than usual, and we perform other signal/noise tests. We use new results refining random matrix correlations.
Growth potential of Listeria monocytogenes in artificially contaminated celery and chicken salad

Abstract In a recent outbreak of listeriosis, celery, an ingredient of chicken salad, was identified as the vehicle for contamination. Epidemiological studies showed that the contaminated celery and chicken salad were contained with very low levels of L. monocytogenes. As infectious dose of L. monocytogens is considered to be high, questions were raised about the possibility of the of L. monocytogenes growth in these products before they were consumed. In this study the growth potential of three strains of L. monocytogenes representing three major serotypes were studied as a function of three different storage temperatures (5, 10 and 25 °C) and different incubation period (30 days at 5 °C, 12 days at 10 °C and 7 days at 25 °C) in cut celery and chicken salad prepared as per the recipe of the outbreak chicken salad. The growth of all three strains in celery and in laboratory made chicken salads was comparable. At 5 °C and 10 °C all three strains grew in celery by 1–2 log within 30 and 12 days, respectively. The growth of these strains under similar conditions in laboratory made chicken salad was 5–6 logs. The growth at 25 °C increased to 4–6 logs both in celery and laboratory made chicken salad within 3–4 days. These data show that celery and chicken salad can support L. monocytogenes growth and can reach high numbers even at refrigerated temperature if stored for a long time.
Beyond Profiling: The Institutional Sources of Racial Disparities in Policing

American policing faces a crisis of legitimacy. A key source of this crisis is a widespread police practice commonly endorsed by police leaders to fight crime. This is the investigatory stop, used to check out people who seem suspicious and to seize illegal drugs and guns and make arrests. Using data from an original scientific survey of drivers in the Kansas City metropolitan area, the authors show that racial disparities in police stops are concentrated in investigatory vehicle stops. In these stops, but not others, officers disproportionately stop African Americans and question and search them. The overwhelming majority of people stopped in this way are innocent, and the experience causes psychological harm and erodes trust in and cooperation with the police. Many of the most controversial police shootings during the past two years occurred in these stops. Reforming this practice is an essential step toward restoring trust in the police.
Persistent nature of child marriage among women even when it is illegal: The case of Nepal

Abstract Purpose Over 14 million female children worldwide are married before attaining age 18, with nearly half of these marriages occurring in South Asia. Evidence suggests that marriage of girls as children adversely affects their growth, health, and perpetuates gender inequity in social and economic wellbeing. Most countries around the world have passed laws specifying the legal age of marriage to 18 years or over; yet child marriage persists. In this paper, the following questions will be answered using data from one country, Nepal: How prevalent is girl child marriage? What social and demographic factors predict the risk for child marriage? Method I analyzed data from 9783 married women using the 2011 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey , a nationally representative comprehensive survey of women between 15 and 49 years of age. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were employed to assess the predictors of childhood marriage of women. Results About one-third of the women were married before they attained 16 years of age and 78% were married before they attained 20 years of age, which is the legal age for marriage in Nepal. The odds of marrying before attaining age 16 was significantly higher for Madeshi and Low Caste Hindu women compared to the High Caste Hindu women. With increase in both girls' and boys' education, the risk of marrying before age 16 declined significantly controlling for other factors. Implications Social workers in Nepal should target and reach out to Madeshi and Low Caste Hindu families and share the benefits of delaying their daughters' marriage until they attain the legal age. They should also inform the families, communities and local priests about the law pertaining the legal age for marriage. Additionally, they should focus on evidence based strategies to enroll and retain girls and boys in school.
Towards adjoint-based inversion of time-dependent mantle convection with nonlinear viscosity

We develop and study an adjoint-based inversion method for the simultaneous recovery of initial temperature conditions and viscosity parameters in time-dependent mantle convection from the current mantle temperature and historic plate motion. Based on a realistic rheological model with temperature-dependent and strain-rate-dependent viscosity, we formulate the inversion as a PDE-constrained optimization problem. The objective functional includes the misfit of surface velocity (plate motion) history, the misfit of the current mantle temperature, and a regularization for the uncertain initial condition. The gradient of this functional with respect to the initial temperature and the uncertain viscosity parameters is computed by solving the adjoint of the mantle convection equations. This gradient is used in a pre-conditioned quasi-Newton minimization algorithm. We study the prospects and limitations of the inversion, as well as the computational performance of the method using two synthetic problems, a sinking cylinder and a realistic subduction model. The subduction model is characterized by the migration of a ridge toward a trench whereby both plate motions and subduction evolve. The results demonstrate: (1) for known viscosity parameters, the initial temperature can be well recovered, as in previous initial condition-only inversions where the effective viscosity was given; (2) for known initial temperature, viscosity parameters can be recovered accurately, despite the existence of trade-offs due to ill-conditioning; (3) for the joint inversion of initial condition and viscosity parameters, initial condition and effective viscosity can be reasonably recovered, but the high dimension of the parameter space and the resulting ill-posedness may limit recovery of viscosity parameters.
Gait Synthesis for Modular Soft Robots

Soft robots present a new opportunity for designing robots that can be produced quickly (on the order of hours), are capable of a variety of motions and behaviors, and are able to address a wide range of environments and tasks. The large design space of soft actuators can be leveraged to rapidly generate libraries of robotic components that can be used to compose modular soft robotic systems. To take full advantage of the large design space, we must have techniques for automatically synthesizing soft robot motions and behaviors. In this work, we develop a method for synthesizing gaits for walking soft robots, and show experimental results demonstrating synthesized gaits.
Electrospun biomaterials for dermal regeneration

Abstract The treatment of dermal wounds has evolved significantly throughout the history of mankind, from simplistic dressings and sutures to full regeneration of the skin with the aid of cellularized dressings and dermal regeneration templates. The skin is the largest organ in the body and primarily functions as a barrier to external agents. While the skin has impressive inherent self-renewal/repair abilities, assisted skin regeneration is vital for closure in a number of aberrant wound healing conditions (i.e., burns, pressure ulcers, diabetic ulcers, etc.) and in the reduction of scar formation. Currently, there are several types of nonelectrospun skin grafts on the market, but each possesses inherent disadvantages. Electrospinning is an ideal fabrication method for the construction of the skin due to its nonwoven fibrillar structures, potential for cellular infiltration, attachment, and overall structural support. Electrospun scaffolds also allow for fine control over pore sizes and fiber diameters. With regard to skin applications, both synthetic and natural polymers have been utilized in electrospinning. Synthetic materials have controllable degradation rates and mechanical properties, whereas natural materials are biodegradable, biocompatible, and possess cell attachment sites. The electrospinning process also allows for a number of biomolecules to be readily included within the fibrous network to increase scaffold bioactivity. Additives such as Manuka honey or an assorted cytokine and chemokine milieu can be incorporated into these electrospun scaffolds to promote bacterial inhibition and modify the local inflammatory response, respectively. This review provides an overview of various electrospun scaffold fabrication techniques, scaffold compositions, and dopants to enhance wound healing and regeneration.
Timezone and time-of-day variance in GitHub teams: an empirical method and study

Open source projects based in ecosystems like GitHub seamlessly allow distributed software development. Contributors to some GitHub projects may originate from many different timezones; in others they may all reside in just one timezone. How might this timezone dispersion (or concentration) affect the diurnal distribution of work activity in these projects? In commercial projects, there has been a desire to use top-down management and work allocation to exploit timezone dispersion of project teams, to engender a more round-the-clock work cycle. We focus on GitHub, and explore the relationship between timezone dispersion and work activity dispersion. We find that while time-of-day work activity dispersion is indeed associated strongly with timezone dispersion, it is equally (if not more strongly) affected by project team size.