cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thinning ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stands reduces mortality while maintaining stand productivity

We analyzed 45 years of data collected from three ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) levels-of-growing-stock installations in Oregon (OR) and northern California (CA), USA, to determine the effect of stand density regimes on stand productivity and mortality. We found that periodic annual increment (PAI) of diameter, basal area (BA), volume, and aboveground dry mass were significantly related to stand density index (SDI) and stand age at start of the period; the quadratic trends varied among sites. Precipitation departure from the normal for each period explained a significant amount of residual variation in all PAI variables except diameter. BA production did not change significantly as SDI exceeded 270 trees·ha−1 at the OR sites and 320 trees·ha−1 at the CA site. Stand productivity was the highest at Elliot Ranch (CA) and the least at Blue Mountains (OR). A similar trend held in growth efficiency under lower stand densities (SDI < 600). Most of the mortality was caused by Dendroctonus bark beetles in stands that exceeded SDI of 500 trees·ha−1. Limiting SDI was about 900 trees·ha−1, although plots at Elliot Ranch reached much higher than that. The results demonstrate that silvicultural control of stand density can be a powerful tool for reducing bark beetle caused mortality without sacrificing stand productivity. Resume : Nous avons analyse les donnees de 45 ans provenant de trois dispositifs de densite de peuplements de pin ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) etablis en Oregon (OR) et au nord de la Californie (CA), aux Etats-Unis, dans le but de determiner l'effet du regime de densite des peuplements sur leur production et leur mortalite. Nous avons trouve que les accroissements annuels periodiques (AAP) en diametre, en surface terriere (ST), en volume et en biomasse aerienne anhydre etaient significativement relies al'indice de densite des peuplements (IDP) et al'âge du peuplement au debut de la periode; les tendances quadratiques variaient selon la station. Les ecarts de precipitation par rapport ala normale de chaque periode expliquaient une partie importante de la variation des residus de tous les AAP, al'exception de celui du diametre. La production en ST ne changeait pas de facon significative lorsque l'IDP excedait 270 arbres·ha−1 sur les stations de l'OR et 320 arbres·ha−1 sur
Intrusion Detection System Modeling

Database Management System (DBMS) controls and manages the data to eliminate data redundancy and to ensure data integrity, consistency and availability, among other features. Even though DBMS vendors continue to offer greater automation and simplicity in managing databases, the need for intrusion database modeling and management practices have not been considered. Our research focuses on not only anomaly detection but also intrusion database management through planning and best practice adoption to improve operational efficiency, lower costs, privacy and security.
Noninvasive assessment of magnetic nanoparticle–cancer cell interactions

The success of magnetic nanoparticle (mNP)-based diagnostic and therapeutic techniques is dependent upon how the mNP are distributed in vivo. The potential efficacy and timing of a given magnetic nanoparticle treatment or diagnostic test is largely determined by the number of nanoparticles in each tissue and microscopic compartment: e.g., in the intravascular and extravascular spaces, in the interstitial space, cell surface and in cell cytoplasm. Techniques for monitoring these cell-level interactions generally require the harvesting and destruction of tissues or cells at each time point of interest. We present a method (magnetic spectroscopy of Brownian motion, MSB) for longitudinally monitoring nanoparticle binding to cell surface proteins and uptake by cancer cells in vitro using the harmonics of the magnetization produced by the nanoparticles. These harmonics can be measured rapidly and noninvasively without the need for nanoparticle modifications and without damaging the cells. We demonstrate sensitivity of this harmonic signal to the nanoparticles' microenvironment and use this technique to monitor the nanoparticle binding activities of different cell lines.
Multi Sector Planning Tools for Trajectory-Based Operations

This paper discusses a suite of multi sector planning tools for trajectory-based operations that were developed and evaluated in the Airspace Operations Laboratory (AOL) at the NASA Ames Research Center. The toolset included tools for traffic load and complexity assessment as well as trajectory planning and coordination. The situation assessment tools included an integrated suite of interactive traffic displays, load tables, load graphs, and dynamic aircraft filters. The planning toolset allowed for single and multi aircraft trajectory planning and data communication-based coordination of trajectories between operators. Also newly introduced was a real-time computation of sector complexity into the toolset that operators could use in lieu of aircraft count to better estimate and manage sector workload, especially in situations with convective weather. The tools were used during a joint NASA/FAA multi sector planner simulation in the AOL in 2009 that had multiple objectives with the assessment of the effectiveness of the tools being one of them. Current air traffic control operators who were experienced as area supervisors and traffic management coordinators used the tools throughout the simulation and provided their usefulness and usability ratings in post simulation questionnaires. This paper presents these subjective assessments as well as the actual usage data that was collected during the simulation. The toolset was rated very useful and usable overall. Many elements received high scores by the operators and were used frequently and successfully. Other functions were not used at all, but various requests for new functions and capabilities were received that could be added to the toolset.
Mother Nature likes some halogenated compounds.

I note that the title of this Conference indicates GENETIC ENGINEERING OF MICROORGANISMS in large print and in small print, “for chemicals”. In this paper, you will have to be satisfied with the “for Chemicals” part of that title because we have not yet arrived at the genetic engineering phase. We soon hope to enter into genetic engineering especially with respect to the production of one of our halogenating enzymes and I will refer briefly to that at the end of this manuscript. I am sure you have seen the television commercials where Mother Nature, accompanied by flashes of lightning and loud noises says “Mother Nature likes this” or “Mother Nature doesn’t like that”. It was with that thought in mind that I arrived at a title for this paper. Most laymen and many scientists think only of industrial pollution and harmful chemicals when discussing roles for halogenated organic molecules in nature. However, I hope to persuade you that Mother Nature does like some halogenated compounds and indeed, has reserved halogenated compounds for some very special functions and purposes.
Approximate finite element models for structural control

Approximate finite element models are developed for the purpose of preserving the tridiagonality of the mass and stiffness matrices in the state space model matrices. These approximate models are utilized in the design of active structural control laws for large flexible structures.
Teeth of Cretaceous Batoid Genus, Ptychotrygon: ABSTRACT

Knowledge of extinct cartilaginous fishes depends primarily on their tooth remains. Familiarity with galeoid (shark) teeth is widespread, but it is restricted for batoid (ray) teeth, as illustrated by the Cretaceous batoid, Ptychotrygon. Until now this taxon has appeared to be a monotypic genus restricted to the Upper Cretaceous of northwestern Czechoslovakia and adjacent Germany. The writers have found it to be widespread in the Upper Cretaceous of Texas and diversified into three species, including the original of Czechoslovakia. These findings permit emendation of the genus, which is distinguished most readily from others, such as Squatirhina, by its uniserial interlocking arrangement of teeth; this arrangement is indicated by the presence of an anterior proboscis and a posterior receiving concavity on each crown. From the writers' data it appears that ptychotrygonids may prove to be widespread in the Gulf coastal plain and of some chronostratigraphic value. Because of their size, typically 2 mm maximum dimension, they normally will be found in micropaleontological samples. End_of_Article - Last_Page 541------------
Spherical aberration correction using a silicon nitride deformable membrane mirror

A gold-coated silicon nitride membrane mirror 1.25 mm in diameter corrects up to 3 waves of spherical aberration at 633 nm. A 2times improvement in edge response is observed in an N.A. 0.55 optical system
Insights into the Phosphoryl Transfer Catalyzed by cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase: An X-ray Crystallographic Study of Complexes with Various Metals and Peptide Substrate SP20.

X-ray structures of several ternary substrate and product complexes of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKAc) have been determined with different bound metal ions. In the PKAc complexes, Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+ metal ions could bind to the active site and facilitate the phosphoryl transfer reaction. ATP and a substrate peptide (SP20) were modified, and the reaction products ADP and the phosphorylated peptide were found trapped in the enzyme active site. Finally, we determined the structure of a pseudo-Michaelis complex containing Mg2+, nonhydrolyzable AMP-PCP (β,γ-methyleneadenosine 5′-triphosphate) and SP20. The product structures together with the pseudo-Michaelis complex provide snapshots of different stages of the phosphorylation reaction. Comparison of these structures reveals conformational, coordination, and hydrogen bonding changes that might occur during the reaction and shed new light on its mechanism, roles of metals, and active site residues.
A Cryostat for Tensile Tests in the Temperature Range 300° to 4°K

Many tensile cryostats have been built, but only a few have been adequately described in the literature [1–8]. All of these have limited applications. Therefore, a new cryostat was designed and has been used for over 200 tests at cryogenic temperatures. This cryostat has the following important characteristics and advantages.
Copper and zinc speciation in a biosolids-amended, semiarid grassland soil.

Predicting trace metal solid phase speciation changes associated with long-term biosolids land application is important for understanding and improving environmental quality. Biosolids were surface-applied (no incorporation; 0, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 15 tons per acre) to a semi-arid grassland in 1991 (single) or again in 2002 (repeated). In July 2003, soils were obtained from the 0-3, 3-6, and 6-12-inch depths in all plots. Using soil pH, soluble anion and cation concentrations from 0.01 moles per liter calcium chloride extractions, and dissolved organic carbon content, copper and zinc associated with minerals, hydrous ferric oxide, or dissolved organic phases was modeled using Visual Minteq. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis was also utilized to identify solid phase metal associations present in single and repeated biosolids-amended soils. Based on soil solution chemistry and verified using Visual Minteq, greater than 89 and 96 percent of copper and zinc, and greater than 99 percent of zinc were adsorbed to hydrous ferric oxides in all single or repeated biosolids-applied soils, respectively. However, when detected in the repeated biosolids treatments, only 59-79 percent of copper was adsorbed to hydrous ferric oxides while 21-41 percent was associated with dissolved organic carbon; downward copper movement was associated with dissolved organic carbon. The scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis of clay-sized separates from all soil depths led to direct observation of iron-zinc, aluminum-zinc, and aluminum-copper associations. Results implied that even after surface-applying biosolids either once or twice of up to 15 tons per acre, soil solution concentrations, Visual Minteq predictions, and scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis suggested minimal shifts occur in phases controlling long-term copper and zinc solubility.
Sulfur Isotope Geochemistry of Sulfide Minerals

Sulfur, the 10th most abundant element in the universe and the 14th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, is the defining element of sulfide minerals and provides insights into the origins of these minerals through its stable isotopes. The insights come from variations in the isotopic composition of sulfide minerals and related compounds such as sulfate minerals or aqueous sulfur species, caused by preferential partitioning of isotopes among sulfur-bearing phases, known as fractionation. These variations arise from differences in temperature, or more importantly, oxidation and reduction reactions acting upon the sulfur. The oxidation and reduction reactions can occur at high temperature, such as in igneous systems, at intermediate temperatures, such as in hydrothermal systems, and at low temperature during sedimentary diagenesis. At high temperatures, the reactions tend to occur under equilibrium conditions, whereas at low temperatures, disequilibrium is prevalent. In addition, upper atmospheric processes also lead to isotopic fractionations that locally appear in the geologic record. Sulfur isotope geochemistry as a subdiscipline of the geological sciences began in the late 1940s and early 1950s with early publications by Thode et al. (1949) and Szabo et al. (1950) on natural variations of sulfur isotopes, and Macnamara and Thode (1950) on the isotopic composition of terrestrial and meteoritic sulfur. Sakai (1957) presented an early scientific summary of sulfur isotope geochemistry, with a particular emphasis on high-temperature processes. Thode et al. (1961) also presented an early summary, but with an emphasis on low-temperature processes. Both of these summaries outlined salient aspects of the global sulfur cycle. Sulfur isotope geochemistry understandably has had a long history of application to the study of sulfide-bearing mineral deposits. Early noteworthy papers include those by Kulp et al. (1956) and Jensen (1957, 1959). Similarly, there is also a legacy of contributions to understanding …
Invited Review: Sex-based differences in gene expression

Certain diseases are more prevalent among women than men. The reasons for this increased prevalence are unknown, but there could be a genetic basis. Increased expression of X-linked genes in females, protective effects of Y-linked genes in males, or sex-limited gene expression that is developmentally or hormonally regulated could all account for these differences. Analysis of individuals with and without genetic sex reversal provides a means for distinguishing between genetic and hormonal causes. This can be complemented by genetic linkage and gene expression profiling to aid in the identification of candidate genes.
Reducing Data Cache Susceptibility to Soft Errors

Data caches are a fundamental component of most modern microprocessors. They provide for efficient read/write access to data memory. Errors occurring in the data cache can corrupt data values or state, and can easily propagate throughout the memory hierarchy. One of the main threats to data cache reliability is soft (transient, nonreproducible) errors. These errors can occur more often than hard (permanent) errors, and most often arise from single event upsets (SEUs) caused by strikes from energetic particles such as neutrons and alpha particles. Many protection techniques exist for data caches; the most common are ECC (error correcting codes) and parity. These protection techniques detect all single bit errors and, in the case of ECC, correct them. To make proper design decisions about which protection technique to use, accurate design-time modeling of cache reliability is crucial. In addition, as caches increase in storage capacity, another important goal is to reduce the failure rate of a cache, to limit disruption to normal system operation. In this paper, we present our modeling approach for assessing the impact of soft errors using architectural simulators. We also describe a new technique for reducing the vulnerability of data caches: refetching. By selectively refetching cache lines from the ECC-protected L2 cache, we can significantly reduce the vulnerability of the L1 data cache. We discuss and present results for two different algorithms that perform selective refetch. Experimental results show that we can obtain an 85 percent decrease in vulnerability when running the SPEC2K benchmark suite while only experiencing a slight decrease in performance. Our results demonstrate that selective refetch can cost-effectivety decrease the error rate of an L1 data cache
Implications for value research: A macro vs. micro perspective

The relation between macro approaches to research on consumer values, such as VALS, and micro approaches, such as the Means-End Model, is discussed. The relevances of the Means-End Model, represented by the attribute—consequence—value hierarchy, to judgment tasks of psychological distance and preference evaluation are reviewed. Specifics of the research methods and analysis procedures required to investigate the relative contribution of means-end theory to explaining the underlying processes of these two judgment tasks are detailed.
Progress on determining the vapor signature of a buried land mine

The goal of the DARPA 'Dog's Nose' program is to develop a sensor capable of detecting explosives contained in all buried landmines. In support of the DARPA program, the purpose of the Explosives Fate and Transport experiments is to define in detail the accessible trace chemical signature produced by the explosives contained in buried landmines. We intend to determine the partitioning, composition, and quantity of explosive related chemicals which emanate from different kinds of landmines buried in multiple soil types and exposed to various climatic events. We are also developing a computer model that will enable us to predict the composition and quantity of ERC under a much wider range of environmental conditions than we are able to test experimentally.
Algorithms For Fault Location And Line Parameter Estimation Utilizing Voltage and Current Data During the Fault

This paper puts forward a new fault location and line parameter estimation algorithm by utilizing only the voltage and current measurements during the fault. The algorithm is applicable to unbalanced faults. Positive-sequence line parameters can be calculated for line to ground, line to line to ground and line to line faults. Zero-sequence line parameters can also be obtained for line to ground faults. Distributed parameter line model is employed to achieve high accuracy.
Moving Information Literacy Beyond an “Add-On” to “Hands-On”

Information literacy initiatives are often perceived as “add-ons” to music history courses. Yet, by developing a true partnership between the librarian and the instructor, information literacy can be woven directly into the fabric of the course, improving outcomes for all parties and offering students the chance to engage in a non-traditional, hands-on project.
THE TWO BODIES OF WOMEN WITH BULIMIA: BINGING AND PURGING AS SECULAR EUCHARIST

Foucault argues that the discourse of sexuality emerged in the confessional where desires were enunciated rather than enacted. But now the kitchen rather than the bedroom has become the theater of temptation and the scene of sin…. Ina secular version of the Eucharist, fat is to be transubstantiated…—Ellmann (1993, pp. 22-23).
A beta-catenin/engrailed chimera selectively suppresses Wnt signaling

beta-catenin plays an integral role in cell-cell adhesion by linking the cadherin complex of the adherens junction to the underlying actin cytoskeleton. In addition, beta-catenin transduces intracellular signals within the Wnt developmental pathway that are crucial to the proper establishment of embryonic axes and pattern formation of early mesoderm and ectoderm. For example, in the context of a defined dorsal 'organizer' region of early Xenopus embryos, beta-catenin enters the nucleus and associates with transcription factors of the HMG (High Mobility Group) Lef/Tcf protein family. Consequently, genes such as siamois, a homeobox gene contributing to the specification of the dorsoanterior axis, are activated. To further examine the role that beta-catenin plays in Wnt signaling, we generated a chimeric protein, beta-Engrailed (beta-Eng), in which the C-terminal trans-activation domain of beta-catenin is replaced with the transcriptional repression domain of Drosophila Engrailed. Dorsal overexpression of this mRNA in early Xenopus embryos leads to suppression of organizer-specific molecular markers such as siamois, Xnr-3 and goosecoid, corresponding with the dramatic morphological ventralization of embryos. Ventralized embryos further exhibit reduced activity of the Wnt pathway, as indicated by the loss of the notochord/organizer marker, chordin. Importantly, beta-Eng associates and functions normally with the known components of the cadherin complex, providing the experimental opportunity to repress beta-catenin's signaling function apart from its role in cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion.
A Model for Assessing Information Technology Investments: Insights from Event Studies

Investments in information technology (IT) do not always result in the expected payoffs. The factors which determine the success of IT investments are not well understood. Event studies are one approach to appraising IT investments. In this paper we review major event studies on IT investments, and based on the results of these studies, we propose a conceptual model describing the factors that impact successful IT investments.
Daily Overfeeding from Protein and/or Carbohydrate Supplementation for Eight Weeks in Conjunction with Resistance Training Does not Improve Body Composition and Muscle Strength or Increase Markers Indicative of Muscle Protein Synthesis and Myogenesis in Resistance-Trained Males

This study determined the effects of heavy resistance training and daily overfeeding with carbohydrate and/or protein on blood and skeletal muscle markers of protein synthesis (MPS), myogenesis, body composition, and muscle performance. Twenty one resistance-trained males were randomly assigned to either a protein + carbohydrate [HPC (n = 11)] or a carbohydrate [HC (n = 10)] supplement group in a double-blind fashion. Body composition and muscle performance were assessed, and venous blood samples and muscle biopsies were obtained before and after eight weeks of resistance training and supplementation. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA (p ≤ 0.05). Total body mass, body water, and fat mass were significantly increased in both groups in response to resistance training, but not supplementation (p 0.05). Muscle total DNA, total protein, and c-Met were not significantly affected (p > 0.05). In conjunction with resistance training, the peri-exercise and daily overfeeding of protein and/or carbohydrate did not preferentially improve body composition, muscle performance, and markers indicative of MPS and myogenic activation. Key pointsIn response to 56 days of heavy resistance training and HC or HPC supplementation, similar increases in muscle mass and strength in both groups occurred; however, the increases were not different between supplement groups.The supplementation of HPC had no preferential effect on augmenting serum IGF-1 GH, or HGF.The supplementation of HPC had no preferential effect on augmenting increases in total muscle protein content or the myogenic markers, total DNA and muscle cMet content.In response to 56 days of a daily supplemental dose of 94 g of protein and 196 g of carbohydrate, the HPC group was no more effective than 312 g of carbohydrate in the HC group in increasing muscle strength and mass due to its ability to elevate serum anabolic hormones and growth factors and markers of myogenic activation of satellite cells.
A model-based approach to sample size estimation in recent onset type 1 diabetes.

Background The area under the curve C-peptide following a 2-h mixed meal tolerance test from 498 individuals enrolled on five prior TrialNet studies of recent onset type 1 diabetes from baseline to 12 months after enrolment were modelled to produce estimates of its rate of loss and variance. Results Age at diagnosis and baseline C-peptide were found to be significant predictors, and adjusting for these in an ANCOVA resulted in estimates with lower variance. Conclusions Using these results as planning parameters for new studies results in a nearly 50% reduction in the target sample size. The modelling also produces an expected C-peptide that can be used in observed versus expected calculations to estimate the presumption of benefit in ongoing trials. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Characterization of HafSOx inorganic photoresists using electron stimulated desorption

Inorganic resists are of interest for nanomanufacturing due to the potential for high resolution, low line width roughness, and high sensitivity. The combination of high absorption coefficient elements and radiation sensitive ligands can improve inorganic resist sensitivity while still allowing high contrast for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. A prototypical resist is Hf(OH)4-2x-2y(O2)x(SO4)y·qH2O (HafSOx), which has both high absorption coefficient elements (Hf) and radiation sensitive ligands (peroxides). Herein, we evaluate the use of electron stimulated desorption (ESD) to characterize HafSOx. These results indicate that the peroxo species are extremely radiation sensitive, even for low kinetic energy electrons that approximate the range of electron energies expected during EUV exposures. The primary desorption products from HafSOx are O2 and H2O, where the time evolution suggest much faster desorption kinetics for O2. These data provide insight into the radiation-induced changes responsible for the solubility transition upon exposure and dissolution during development, and the role of low kinetic energy electrons in these processes. The following describes our experimental methodology for the ESD studies, and the specific kinetic model used to extract total desorption cross sections from the ESD data.
Specific expression of insulin-like growth factor-II in rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells.

Insulin-like growth factor II (ICF-II) acts as autocrine growth and motility factor in human rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines, and Northern blot analysis of tumor biopsy specimens from both alveolar and embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma demonstrates high levels of IGF-II mRNA expression. To determine the frequency and site of expression of IGF-II in these tumors, the authors performed in situ hybridization. All tumor specimens examined expressed the gene for IGF-II, and this expression was localized to the tumor cells themselves and not to the surrounding stroma. These data suggest that the IGF-II autocrine loop may be operating not only in vitro but also in vivo.
Nonstandard Neutrino Interactions in Supernovae

Nonstandard interactions (NSI) of neutrinos with matter can significantly alter neutrino flavor evolution in supernovae with the potential to impact explosion dynamics, nucleosynthesis, and the neutrinos signal. In this paper, we explore, both numerically and analytically, the landscape of neutrino flavor transformation effects in supernovae due to NSI and find a new, heretofore unseen transformation processes can occur. These new transformations can take place with NSI strengths well below current experimental limits. Within a broad swath of NSI parameter space, we observe symmetric and standard matter-neutrino resonances for supernovae neutrinos, a transformation effect previously only seen in compact object merger scenarios; in another region of the parameter space we find the NSI can induce neutrino collective effects in scenarios where none would appear with only the standard case of neutrino oscillation physics; and in a third region the NSI can lead to the disappearance of the high density Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein resonance. Using a variety of analytical tools, we are able to describe quantitatively the numerical results allowing us to partition the NSI parameter according to the transformation processes observed. Our results indicate nonstandard interactions of supernova neutrinos provide a sensitive probe of beyond the Standard Model physics complementary to present and future terrestrial experiments.
[Analysis on genotypes of hepatitis C virus among intravenous drug users in Kunming, Yunnan].

Objective To investigate the distribution of hepatitis C virus (HCV) subtypes among intravenous drug users (IDUs) in Kunming, Yunnan province, in 2014. Methods A total of 276 plasma samples were collected from IDUs in Kunming during April 2014 -July 2014, in which 199 plasma samples were tested to be HCV antibody positive. For the HCV antibody positive samples, HCV E1E2 genes and NS5B genes were amplified by using nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) . After sequencing, the HCV subtypes were determined through phylogenetic analysis. Results Based on the phylogenetic trees of E1E2 gene and NS5B gene fragments, a total of 125 samples were genotyped. 3b was the predominant subtype (48.8%,61/125) , followed by 3a (30.4%, 38/125) , 6n (14.4%, 18/125) , 6a (3.2%, 4/125) and 1b (3.2%, 4/125) . The distributions of HCV subtypes by sex, marital status, ethnic group and HIV-1 infection status showed no statistical differences. However, the distribution of HCV subtypes by age showed statistical difference, the diversity of HCV subtypes was found in age group <45 years. The genetic distances of 3a, 3b and 6a on E1E2 and NS5B were larger than those of 1b and 6n. For genotype 3 ,the genetic distances of 3b on E1E2 and NS5B were larger than those of 3a. Conclusion Five HCV subtypes were found among IDUs in Kunming, HCV subtypes 3b and 3a were predominant, which have circulated in this population for long time. Key words: Hepatitis C virus; Genotype; Intravenous drug user; Kunming
Convection in Spherical Systems

Aspects of convection theory, expounded elsewhere in this book for plane layers, are here generalized to spherical geometry. Particular attention is focussed on the important example of convection in the Earth’s mantle, to the theory of which an introduction is given. Finally attention is transferred to the Earth’s core. Aspects of magnetoconvection in a rotating sphere are described, these being extensions to spherical geometry of the plane layer models discussed by the author in his chapter on dynamo theory elsewhere in this book.
Culture Three Ways: Culture and Subcultures Within Countries.

Culture can be thought of as a set of everyday practices and a core theme—individualism, collectivism, or honor—as well as the capacity to understand each of these themes. In one's own culture, it is easy to fail to see that a cultural lens exists and instead to think that there is no lens at all, only reality. Hence, studying culture requires stepping out of it. There are two main methods to do so: The first involves using between-group comparisons to highlight differences and the second involves using experimental methods to test the consequences of disruption to implicit cultural frames. These methods highlight three ways that culture organizes experience: (a) It shields reflexive processing by making everyday life feel predictable, (b) it scaffolds which cognitive procedure (connect, separate, or order) will be the default in ambiguous situations, and (c) it facilitates situation-specific accessibility of alternate cognitive procedures. Modern societal social-demographic trends reduce predictability a...
Microstructural Analysis of Growth Patterns in the Early Life History of Antartic Fishes

Fundamental to responsible programs of biological resource management is a thorough understanding of the life-history parameters that characterize the population. Age-structured models of fish stocks are widely utilized in the analyses of fisheries management options. These models can include age-specific natural mortality rates, fecundity, growth, and vulnerability to fishing and stock-recruitment relationships. Such age-structured models have been used in management schemes to provide strategies for optimal harvesting. Management of fisheries often need to explore the relationship between the rate of harvesting and age-specific vulnerability. Age and growth are directly related; once ages are determined, average growth rates can be calculated. From growth rates, it is then possible to utilize age structure models to estimate cohort survival rates, i.e., mortality. Since fish stocks and recruitment are related in their overall population parameters, any advances in knowledge in these problem areas will enhance the accuracy of predicted yields and improve management of fish stocks.
Do adolescent risk behaviors mediate health and school bullying? Testing the stress process and general strain frameworks.

Abstract Adolescent bullying is a significant public health issue in the United States. The health consequences of bullying may vary, however, according to the social position and characteristics of victims and bullies within the bullying subculture. For example, research suggests that bully involved youth are more likely to engage in risky health behaviors, including social withdrawal, tobacco, and alcohol use. Yet, the extent to which health outcomes are shaped by involvements in bullying or the risk behaviors associated with bullying remains unclear. In this study we assess the extent to which risk behaviors mediate the links between health outcomes of bully-involved youth using data from the Health Behavior of School Aged Children 2005–2006 Study (N = 8066). School-level fixed-effects regression models assessed whether risk behaviors mediate relationships between bullying statuses and somatic and depressive symptoms. Results show that mediational risk behavior pathways vary across outcomes for youth situated differently in the bullying subculture, with substantially more mediation for bullies than victims. This study advances the current bullying and health research by accounting for risk behavior pathways linking bullying and health.
Is there anything nontrivial about caring in nursing that is rigorously measureable

Is there anything about the well-developed body of theory around caring in nursing that leads towards improved measurement and management? Nursing is primarily practical in character; remarkably, the theory of caring in nursing remains to this day disconnected from practice in fundamental ways. Habermas' developmental theory of moral consciousness, rooted in the work of Kohlberg, supports a theory of caring in nursing as a form of communicative action. The genesis of this connection between caring in nursing and communicative action is deeply rooted in human vulnerability and the need for 'considerateness.' Vulnerability is always present in any human interaction and none more so than in nursing. The theory components were the personal selves of both nurse and patient, the professional self of the nurse, the illness self of the patient and interaction. It is within the latter that moral maturity emerges across preconventional, conventional and post conventional developmental levels. Metrologically, concept analysis of the theory had to be focused by the demands of scale construction on writing testable items. Pilot studies were conducted in three countries; seven subscales were theorized and identified in the data. Cronbach's Alpha was over .85 for all scales, with acceptable model fit. The subscales measure the theoretical constructs in ways utilizable in nursing practice.
Predictive Validity of National Basketball Association Draft Combine on Future Performance

Teramoto, M, Cross, CL, Rieger, RH, Maak, TG, and Willick, SE. Predictive validity of national basketball association draft combine on future performance. J Strength Cond Res 32(2): 396-408, 2018-The National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft Combine is an annual event where prospective players are evaluated in terms of their athletic abilities and basketball skills. Data collected at the Combine should help NBA teams select right the players for the upcoming NBA draft; however, its value for predicting future performance of players has not been examined. This study investigated predictive validity of the NBA Draft Combine on future performance of basketball players. We performed a principal component analysis (PCA) on the 2010-2015 Combine data to reduce correlated variables (N = 234), a correlation analysis on the Combine data and future on-court performance to examine relationships (maximum pairwise N = 217), and a robust principal component regression (PCR) analysis to predict first-year and 3-year on-court performance from the Combine measures (N = 148 and 127, respectively). Three components were identified within the Combine data through PCA (= Combine subscales): length-size, power-quickness, and upper-body strength. As per the correlation analysis, the individual Combine items for anthropometrics, including height without shoes, standing reach, weight, wingspan, and hand length, as well as the Combine subscale of length-size, had positive, medium-to-large-sized correlations (r = 0.313-0.545) with defensive performance quantified by Defensive Box Plus/Minus. The robust PCR analysis showed that the Combine subscale of length-size was a predictor most significantly associated with future on-court performance (p ≤ 0.05), including Win Shares, Box Plus/Minus, and Value Over Replacement Player, followed by upper-body strength. In conclusion, the NBA Draft Combine has value for predicting future performance of players.
Analyses of the peripheral immunome following multiple administrations of avelumab, a human IgG1 anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody

Multiple anti-PD-L1/PD-1 checkpoint monoclonal antibodies (MAb) have shown clear evidence of clinical benefit. All except one have been designed or engineered to omit the possibility to mediate antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) as a second potential mode of anti-tumor activity; the reason for this is the concern of lysis of PD-L1 positive immune cells. Avelumab is a fully human IgG1 MAb which has been shown in prior in vitro studies to mediate ADCC versus a range of human tumor cells, and clinical studies have demonstrated anti-tumor activity versus a range of human cancers. This study was designed to investigate the effect on immune cell subsets in the peripheral blood of cancer patients prior to and following multiple administrations of avelumab. One hundred twenty-three distinct immune cell subsets in the peripheral blood of cancer patients (n = 28) in a phase I trial were analyzed by flow cytometry prior to and following one, three, and nine cycles of avelumab. Changes in soluble (s) CD27 and sCD40L in plasma were also evaluated. In vitro studies were also performed to determine if avelumab would mediate ADCC of PBMC. No statistically significant changes in any of the 123 immune cell subsets analyzed were observed at any dose level, or number of doses, of avelumab. Increases in the ratio of sCD27:sCD40L were observed, suggesting potential immune activation. Controlled in vitro studies also showed lysis of tumor cells by avelumab versus no lysis of PBMC from five donors. These studies demonstrate the lack of any significant effect on multiple immune cell subsets, even those expressing PD-L1, following multiple cycles of avelumab. These results complement prior studies showing anti-tumor effects of avelumab and comparable levels of adverse events with avelumab versus other anti-PD-1/PD-L1 MAbs. These studies provide the rationale to further exploit the potential ADCC mechanism of action of avelumab as well as other human IgG1 checkpoint inhibitors. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01772004 (first received: 1/14/13; start date: January 2013) and NCT00001846 (first received date: 11/3/99; start date: August 1999).
Flexible Analog Search with Kernel PCA Embedded Molecule Vectors

Studying analog series to find structural transformations that enhance the activity and ADME properties of lead compounds is an important part of drug development. Matched molecular pair (MMP) search is a powerful tool for analog analysis that imitates researchers' ability to select pairs of compounds that differ only by small well-defined transformations. Abstraction is a challenge for existing MMP search algorithms, which can result in the omission of relevant, inexact MMPs, and inclusion of irrelevant, contextually dissimilar MMPs. In this work, we present a new method for MMP search that returns approximate results and enables flexible control over abstraction of contextual information. We illustrate the concepts and mechanics of our method with a series of exemplar MMP queries, and then benchmark search accuracy using MMPs found by fragment indexing. We show that we can search for MMPs in a context dependent manner, and accurately approximate context independent fragment index based MMP search over a range of fingerprint and dataset conditions. Our method can be used to search for pairwise correspondences among analog sets and bolster MMP datasets where data is missing or incomplete.
Interacting with Mathematica: Mathematica est omnis divisa in partes tres

This chapter provides an overview of the different aspects of Mathematica. There are three distinct aspects to working with Mathematica, namely, the kernel, the notebook frontend, and packages. The kernel is a very large C program that deals with inputs and returns outputs. The kernel is functionally the same on all platforms. The ease in creating extensions for kernels is an important way to distinguish between various symbolic computation programs. The notebook frontend provides many facilities to users, such as the ability to edit inputs in place and reevaluate them without losing control of the sequence in which things have been evaluated. It also provides a very convenient outlining facility and enables one to hide those parts of a notebook that are not being worked on. The graphics and text can also be intermixed and printed exactly as they appear on the screen. The current version of Mathematica has 13 directories of packages.
Supporting Distributed Critique through Interpretation and Sense-Making in an Online Creative Community

Critique is an important component of creative work in design education and practice, through which individuals can solicit advice and obtain feedback on their work. Face-to-face critique in offline settings such as design studios has been well-documented and theorized. However, little is known about unstructured distributed critique in online creative communities where people share and critique each other's work, and how these practices might resemble or differ from studio critique. In this paper, we use mixed-methods to examine distributed critique practices in a UX-focused online creative community on Reddit. We found that distributed critique resembles studio critique categorically, but differs qualitatively. While studio critique often focuses on depth, distributed critique often revolved around collective sensemaking, through which creative workers engaged in iteratively interpreting, defining, and refining the artifact and their process. We discuss the relationship between distributed critique and socio-technical systems and identify implications for future research.
Mouse models in squamous cell lung cancer: impact for drug discovery.

Introduction: Squamous cell lung cancer (SQCLC) is the second most common subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and has limited therapeutic options. Its development is likely a result of a ...
Bacterial Influence on the Variability in the Ocean’s Biogeochemical State: A Mechanistic View

Traditionally, the only component of the microbial communities studied seriously by biological oceanographers was phytoplankton. Bacteria, protozoa, viruses and fungi were relegated to “specialists” and it was implicitly assumed that, by and large, the ocean’s productivity mechanisms and biogeochemical dynamics could be understood and modelled without taking into account the activities of these other components of the pelagic microbiota. This view was challenged by the seminal paper of Pomeroy (1974) and by quantitative studies inspired by it, leading up to the discovery that the pathway DOM -- > bacteria -- > protozoa -- > metazoa (microbial loop; Azam et al., 1983) is a major route for the flows of material and energy in pelagic marine ecosystems. Further, very recently it has been suggested that viruses may also play important ecological roles (Bergh et al., 1989; Proctor and Fuhrman, 1990; Suttle et al., 1990), including a role in the mortality of bacteria and phytoplankton.
Pharmacotherapy of Behavioral Symptoms and Psychiatric Comorbidities in Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This chapter will focus on the pharmacologic treatment of adolescents (12–18 years) and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Research on the pharmacotherapy of associated symptoms of autism, such as interfering repetitive behaviors, irritability (tantrums, aggression, self-injury), and hyperactivity will be reviewed. In addition, the available literature on drug treatment of psychiatric comorbidities in ASDs will be covered, including mood and anxiety disorders, among others. This chapter will cover the available literature in adolescents and adults with ASDs. Because research to date in ASDs has largely focused on the treatment of children, key double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in this population will be summarized where applicable. Further, many studies of pharmacotherapy include children as well as adolescents and/or adults, making it difficult to generalize the results to any population.
Endothelial Cell Dysfunction, Injury and Death

Vascular endothelial cells (ECs) perform a number of functions required to maintain homeostasis. Inflammation can cause EC injury and death which disrupt these processes and result in endothelial dysfunction. Three common mediators of EC injury in inflammation are macrophage-derived cytokines, such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF); neutrophil-generated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL). Here we describe the distinct but overlapping biochemical pathways of injury elicited by these different agents.
Pressure Dissociation of The Smaller Oligomers: Dimers and Tetramers

The dissociating effects of pressure upon the oligomeric proteins have been qualitatively observed in large and complex aggregates and also in homogeneous dimers and tetramers, but only the latter permit, on account of their simple stoichiometry, a determination of the thermodynamic parameters. Dieters behave under pressure as simple homogeneous systems with a well defined association volume and unique free energy of association while tetramers appear to be heterogeneous populations as regards these two properties. Interconversion of the members of the tetramer population is temperature-dependent with an energy of activation of 20 kcal mol-1. Tetramers and most dimers show a loss in the free energy of association, and time-dependent recovery when the subunits are separated. This is attributed to a conformational drift, that occurs when intersubunit contacts are replaced by water-subunit contacts. The conformational drift on dissociation results in a change in equilibrium constant with the degree of dissociation in certain dimers, and is responsible for the long-observed cold inactivation of enzymes.