cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assimilation violation and spoken-language processing: a supplementary report.

Previous studies have shown that spoken-language processing is inhibited by violation of obligatory regressive assimilation. Weber (2001) replicated this inhibitory effect in a phoneme-monitoring study examining regressive place assimilation of nasals, but found facilitation for violation of progressive assimilation. G erman listeners detected the velar fricative [x] more quickly when fricative assimilation was violated (e.g., *[bIxt] or *[blInx@n]) than when no violation occurred (e.g., [baxt] or [blu:x@n]). It was argued that a combination of two factors caused facilitation:(1) progressive assimilation creates different restrictions for the monitoring target than regressive assimilation does, and (2) the sequences violating assimilation (e.g., *[Ix]) are novel for German listeners and therefore facilitate fricative detection (novel popout). The present study tested progressive assimilation violation in non-novel sequences using the palatal fricative [C]. Stimuli either violated fricative assimilation (e.g., *[ba:C@l ]) or did not (e.g., [bi: C@l ]). This manipulation does not create novel sequences: sequences like *[a:C] can occur across word boundaries, while *[Ix] cannot. No facilitation was found. H owever, violation also did not significantly inhibit processing. The results confirm that facilitation depends on the combination of progressive assimilation with novelty of the sequence.
Nonapeptides and the Evolution of Social Group Sizes in Birds

Species-typical patterns of grouping have profound impacts on many aspects of physiology and behavior. However, prior to our recent studies in estrildid finches, neural mechanisms that titrate species-typical group-size preferences, independent of other aspects of social organization (e.g., mating system and parental care), have been wholly unexplored, likely because species-typical group size is typically confounded with other aspects of behavior and biology. An additional complication is that components of social organization are evolutionarily labile and prone to repeated divergence and convergence. Hence, we cannot assume that convergence in social structure has been produced by convergent modifications to the same neural characters, and thus any comparative approach to grouping must include not only species that differ in their species-typical group sizes, but also species that exhibit convergent evolution in this aspect of social organization. Using five estrildid finch species that differ selectively in grouping (all biparental and monogamous) we have demonstrated that neural motivational systems evolve in predictable ways in relation to species-typical group sizes, including convergence in two highly gregarious species and convergence in two relatively asocial, territorial species. These systems include nonapeptide (vasotocin and mesotocin) circuits that encode the valence of social stimuli (positive–negative), titrate group-size preferences, and modulate anxiety-like behaviors. Nonapeptide systems exhibit functional and anatomical properties that are biased toward gregarious species, and experimental reductions of nonapeptide signaling by receptor antagonism and antisense oligonucleotides significantly decrease preferred group sizes in the gregarious zebra finch. Combined, these findings suggest that selection on species-typical group size may reliably target the same neural motivation systems when a given social structure evolves independently.
Fluorescence Polarization Based Nucleic Acid Testing for Rapid and Cost-Effective Diagnosis of Infectious Disease.

A new nucleic acid detection method was developed for a rapid and cost-effective diagnosis of infectious disease. This approach relies on the three unique elements: 1) detection probes that regulate DNA polymerase activity in response to the complementary target DNA; 2) universal reporters conjugated with a single fluorophore; and 3) fluorescence polarization (FP) detection. As a proof-of-concept, the assay was used to detect and sub-type Salmonella bacteria with sensitivities down to a single bacterium in less than three hours.
Comparing design and code metrics for software quality prediction

The prediction of fault-prone modules continues to attract interest due to the significant impact it has on software quality assurance. One of the most important goals of such techniques is to accurately predict the modules where faults are likely to hide as early as possible in the development lifecycle. Design, code, and most recently, requirements metrics have been successfully used for predicting fault-prone modules. The goal of this paper is to compare the performance of predictive models which use design-level metrics with those that use code-level metrics and those that use both. We analyze thirteen datasets from NASA Metrics Data Program which offer design as well as code metrics. Using a range of modeling techniques and statistical significance tests, we confirmed that models built from code metrics typically outperform design metrics based models. However, both types of models prove to be useful as they can be constructed in different project phases. Code-based models can be used to increase the performance of design-level models and, thus, increase the efficiency of assigning verification and validation activities late in the development lifecycle. We also conclude that models that utilize a combination of design and code level metrics outperform models which use either one or the other metric set.
The Voices Project: Reducing White Students’ Racism in Introduction to Psychology

This study examined the impact of an assignment involving intergroup contact (The Voices Project [TVP]) on student racism toward Muslims, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics in Introduction to Psychology. TVP students interviewed members from racial groups and wrote autobiographical memoirs of their lives. A faculty-writing team integrated the stories into a staged reading program and presented to the class and campus. Students completed attitude surveys during the first and last weeks of a 15-week semester as well as 1 year later. TVP class showed significant reductions in prejudice toward racial groups across the semester and improvements remained 1 year later. Compared to a control class, TVP class demonstrated significantly greater attitude changes toward Muslims, Hispanics, and acknowledgment of White privilege.
Identification of Effective Predictive Variables for Document Qualities.

We analyzed textual properties of documents to identify predictive variables for various document qualities by means of statistical and linguistic methods. We have created a collection of 1000 documents, each document has been judged in terms of nine document qualities (accuracy, reliability, objectivity, depth, author/producer credibility, readability, verbosity and conciseness, grammatical correctness, one-sided or multiview.) Employing statistical analyses, we considered a kind of linear combination, asking (1) if it was possible to combine textual features linearly to predict document qualities; (2) what textual features had good predictive power; (3) what textual features were minimally required for prediction with a detection rate much better than the false alarm rate. We present several promising results, indicating that with a few number of textual features, we can predict various document qualities much better than chance.
Evaluation of faults and their effect on ground-water flow southwest of Frenchman Flat, Nye and Clark Counties, Nevada: A Digital Database

Ground-water flow through the region south and west of Frenchman Flat, in the Ash Meadows subbasin of the Death Valley ground-water flow system, is controlled mostly by faults which arrange the distribution of permeable and impermeable rocks. In addition, most permeability is along fractures caused by faulting in carbonate rocks. Large faults are more likely to reach the potentiometric surface as deep as 325 meters below the ground surface and are more likely to effect the flow path than small faults. This study concentrated on identifying large faults, especially where they cut carbonate rocks. Small faults, however, may develop as much permeability as large faults if they are penetrative and are part of an anastomosing fault zone. The overall pattern of faults and joints at the ground surface in the Spotted and Specter Ranges is an indication of the fracture system at the depth of the water table. Most of the faults in these ranges are west-southwest-striking, high-angle faults, 100 to 3,500 meters long, with 10 to 300 meters of displacement. Many of them, such as those in the Spotted Range and Rock Valley are left-lateral strike-slip faults that are conjugate to the NW-striking right-lateral faults of the Las Vegas Valley shear zone. These faults control the ground-water flow path, which runs west-southwest beneath the Spotted Range, Mercury Valley and the Specter Range. The Specter Range thrust is a significant geologic structure with respect to ground- water flow. This regional thrust fault emplaces siliceous clastic strata into the north central and western parts of the Specter Range. These rocks act as a barrier that confines ground- water flow to the southern part of the range, directing it southwestward toward springs at Ash Meadows. These siliceous clastic aquitard rocks and overlying Cenozoic deposits probably also block westward flow of ground-water in Rock Valley, diverting it southward to the flow path beneath the southern part of the Specter Range.
MDMA ('ecstasy') use, and its association with high risk behaviors, mental health, and other factors among gay/bisexual men in New York City.

This study assesses patterns of use of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or 'ecstasy'), and the characteristics of users, in a sample of 733 men who have sex with men (MSM) in New York City. Among respondents, 13.7% reported using MDMA in the past 6 months, with mean frequency of use of 6.24 times in that period. MDMA users were found to be younger, less educated, to have had more male partners, more one night stands with men, more visits to bars or clubs and sex clubs or bathhouses, to have unprotected anal sex with a male, to be likely to have been the victim of physical domestic violence, to have more gay/bisexual friends, to have disclosed their sexual orientation to more friends, family members, and coworkers, and to have higher levels of gay community participation and affiliation. Among MDMA users, higher frequency of MDMA use was associated with being younger, having more visits to bars or clubs, more gay/bisexual friends, and having an HIV negative test result or never having been tested. MDMA users thus constitute a group at risk for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, and other problems. The data suggest that MDMA use is associated with being more 'out', which may be advantageous in helping gay men deal with harmful psychological effects of stigma, but may place individuals in settings that expose them to MDMA. These men have also presumably already been well exposed to safer sex messages within the gay community, thus raising challenges for interventions aimed at prevention, as well as opportunities (e.g. MSM and community specific interventions) that need to be further explored.
The Effect of Five Proofreading Conditions on the Spelling Performance of College Students with Learning Disabilities

This study investigated the effect of five proofreading conditions on the spelling performance of 12 college students with learning disabilities on a composition activity. The proofreading conditions investigated were handwriting with no additional assistance, handwriting with a conventional print dictionary, handwriting with a handheld spelling checker, word processing with no additional assistance, and word processing with an integrated spelling checker. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the results, with proofreading condition used as a within-participants factor. Except for handwriting alone, all of the techniques resulted in significant reductions in the number of spelling errors in the students' written work; however, none of the techniques enabled the students to produce compositions with a mean level of spelling accuracy comparable to that of their nondisabled peers.
BAYESIAN ESTIMATION OF A DEMOGRAPHIC MATRIX MODEL FROM STAGE-FREQUENCY DATA

Demographic matrix models are standard tools for analyzing the dynamics of age- or stage-structured populations. Here, we present a method for estimating the average vital rates that parameterize a demographic matrix using a series of measurements of population size and structure (an “inverse problem” of demographic analysis). We join a deterministic, density-independent demographic matrix model with a stochastic observation model to write a likelihood function for the matrix parameters given the data. Adopting a Bayesian perspective, we combine this likelihood function with prior distributions for the model parameters to produce a joint posterior distribution for the parameters. We use a numerical technique (Markov chain Monte Carlo) to estimate and analyze the posterior distribution, and from this we calculate posterior distributions for functions of the demographic matrix, such as the population multiplication rate, stable stage distribution, and matrix sensitivities. Although measurements of populatio...
Speeding up spatio-temporal sliding-window search for efficient event detection in crowded videos

Despite previous successes of sliding window-based object detection in images, searching desired events in the volumetric video space is still a challenging problem, partially because the pattern search in spatio-temporal video space is much more complicated than that in spatial image space. Without knowing the location, temporal duration, and the spatial scale of the event, the search space for video events is prohibitively large for exhaustive search.To reduce the search complexity, we propose a heuristic branch-and-bound solution for event detection in videos. Unlike existing branch-and-bound method which searches for an optimal subvolume before comparing its detection score against the threshold, we aim at directly finding subvolumes whose scores are higher than the threshold. In doing so, many unnecessary branches are terminated much earlier, thus the search speed can be much faster. To validate this approach, we select three human action classes from the KTH dataset for training while testing with our own action dataset which has clutter and moving backgrounds as well as large variations in lighting, scale, and performing speed of actions. The experiment results show that our technique dramatically reduces computational cost without significantly degrading the quality of the detection results.
Multi-epoch spectropolarimetry of SN 2009ip: direct evidence for aspherical circumstellar material

We present spectropolarimetry of SN 2009ip throughout the evolution of its 2012 explosion. During the 2012a phase, when the spectrum exhibits broad P-Cygni lines, we measure a V-band polarization of P a parts per thousand 0.9 per cent at a position angle of theta a parts per thousand 166A degrees, indicating substantial asphericity for the 2012a outflow. Near the subsequent peak of the 2012b phase, when the spectrum shows signs of intense interaction with circumstellar material (CSM), we measure P a parts per thousand 1.7 per cent and theta a parts per thousand 72A degrees, indicating a separate component of polarization during 2012b, which exhibits a higher degree of asphericity than 2012a and an orthogonal axis of symmetry on the sky. Around 30 d past peak, coincident with a substantial bump in the declining light curve, we measure P a parts per thousand 0.7 per cent and another significant shift in theta. At this point, broad photospheric lines have again become prominent and exhibit significant variations in P relative to the continuum, particularly He i/Na iD. By 60 d past peak, the continuum polarization has dropped below 0.2 per cent, probably declining towards a low value of interstellar polarization. The results are consistent with a scenario in which a prolate (possibly bipolar) explosion launched during the 2012a phase impacts an oblate (toroidal) distribution of CSM in 2012b. Previous calculations that assumed spherical symmetry for the CSM have substantially underestimated the required explosion energy, since only a small fraction of the SN ejecta appears to have participated in strong CSM interaction. A kinetic energy of similar to 10(51) erg is difficult to avoid, supporting the interpretation that the 2012 outburst of SN 2009ip was the result of a core-collapse explosion.
HIGH SPEED PHOTOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATION OF LIQUID-VAPOR INTERFACE AND CONTACT LINE MOVEMENT DURING CHF AND TRANSITION BOILING

As the Critical Heat Flux (CHF) condition is approached, a thin layer of vapor begins to form between the heated surface and the liquid. The mechanisms leading to the formation of this interface are not clearly understood. The present investigation focuses on obtaining high-speed video images of the liquidvapor interface and the solid-liquid-vapor contact line. The movement of the interface and the contact line is expected to provide information regarding conditions existing just prior to reaching the CHF. The experimental setup consists of a droplet impinging on a heated surface in a controlled environment. Two high-speed cameras capable of capturing up to 8000 frames per second are employed to obtain two views of the droplet. The accompanying software is used to determine the velocity and other relevant information regarding the interface. The results are used to discuss the applicability of the CHF and transition boiling models available in literature. NOMENCLATURE
Challenges in Aerospace Decision and Control: Air Transportation Systems

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) presents many important challenges that require the development and use of Cyber-Physical System (CPS) methodologies. These methods have the potential to increase NextGen system efficiency (reduce delays), robustness (reduce impact of weather disruptions) and energy efficiency (reduce fuel burn), and decrease environmental impact, while ensuring safety. It is also important to recognize that many of the problems identified are prevalent in many other infrastructure Cyber-Physical Systems, such as energy systems, power systems, and ground transportation systems. Similarly, lessons on certification processes many be shared with medical device developers. Ultimately, research into fundamental CPS challenges has the potential to transform the manner in which NextGen systems will evolve and operate.
Richard Steele and the Rise of Sentiment’s Empire

Literary historians and critics of sentiment have recently begun exploring the way in which sentimental modes in fiction and poetry were imbricated in the development of colonial and imperial subjectivities in eighteenth-century Britain. Such accounts either identify the discursive origins of sentimental literature in Cambridge platonism and moral sense philosophy, or simply bracket out the question of beginnings. By contrast, this chapter will stress the emergence of sentiment in the theatre, in late Stuart pathetic drama, reworked as sentimental comedy and domestic tragedy by Whig ideologues such as Richard Steele. This revision enables us to see the ways in which national and imperial sympathies were modelled and mobilised in dramatic contexts prior to their later invocation in narrative and poetic texts. Notably, the chapter argues that it was by watching theatrical performances of the emergent modes of pathetic and sentimental drama that audiences learned to become unified by common, national feeling.
Avila Beach: From Funky to Fabulous

Among California’s coastal communities, Avila beach may be the one most defined by its history. Amanda Ross discusses the unique planning and redevelopment process there, starting with the cleanup of a decadeslong crude oil spill that had contaminated the soil and led to the reconstruction of its beach and the entire historic downtown. This article reflects part of the activities for Professor Paul Wack’s Plan Implementation graduate class in 2015. Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/focus Part of the Urban, Community and Regional Planning Commons This Faculty and Student Work is brought to you for free and open access by the City and Regional Planning at DigitalCommons@CalPoly. It has been accepted for inclusion in Focus by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@CalPoly. For more information, please contact mwyngard@calpoly.edu. Recommended Citation Ross, Amanda (2016) "Avila Beach: From Funky to Fabulous," Focus: Vol. 12: Iss. 1, Article 19. Available at: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/focus/vol12/iss1/19 mong California s coastal communities, ila each ma be the one most defined b its histor manda Ross discusses the unique planning and redevelopment process there, starting with the cleanup of a decades long crude oil spill that had contaminated the soil and led to the reconstruction of its beach and the entire historic downtown. his article re ects part of the acti ies for Professor Paul Wack’s Plan Implementation graduate class in 2015. Avila Beach: From Funky to Fabulous Amanda Ross Master of City and Regional Planning student, Cal Poly FOCUS 12 Faculty and Student Work Avila Beach grew as a funky small shing town from its founding in in the late 19th Century as the main shipping port for San Luis Obispo. Buildings sprung up as the population grew, de ning a downtown along the beachfront (Figure 1). In 1906, Union Oil Co. built a 95-acre oil tank farm on higher ground next to the city and by World War II, 2 million gallons of crude oil a day were being pumped into tankers (Figure 2). Despite these operations, Avila Beach remained a quaint small town with a popular beach. The appeal, built environment, and character of the town were forever changed in the early 1990s with the discovery that 22,000 gallons of crude oil from Unocal operations had been contaminating the soil under and surrounding the downtown for decades. The oil tanks leaked and so did the pipes that went under Front Street to connect to the tankers. Unocal agreed to pay $200 million in cleanup costs and damages in what was considered to be the largest environmental settlement in California’s history at the time. About 300,000 cubic yards of soil —sometimes 15 feet deep– had to be removed and replaced. The entire downtown including several residences were razed to remove the contaminated soil.
Bottom Electrode Effects in Controlling Orientation of Lead Zirconate Titanate Films Deposited by Chemical Solution Deposition

The microstructure and electrical properties of lead zirconate titanate Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) films prepared by chemical solution deposition (CSD) with and without lead titanate (PT) seed layers were examined as a function of Ir/lr oxide electrode type. The novel PZT CSD solution was prepared from a mixture of zirconium and titanium butoxyethoxides and lead ethylhexanoate dissolved in butoxyethanol. The use of excess-lead (PbxsTi) and stoichiometric PT seed layers was found to promote PZT(111) orientation on Ir but not on Ir oxide. Ir substrate thickness was observed to influence orientation of PZT deposited on stoichiometric PT with greater PZT(111) texturing on thinner Ir(111) substrates. PZT with greater PZT(111) texturing tended to have greater remanent polarization (2Pr, μC/cm2). PZT deposited on stoichiometric PT seed layers on Ir(111) was of higher film quality than PZT deposited on PbxsTi seed layers on Ir(111). The PZT films deposited on stoichiometric PT on Ir(111) had enhanced PZT(111) orientation, a reduced pyrochlore content, and tended to saturate at lower coercive fields, have higher remanent polarization, squarer hysteresis loops with less tilt and greater fatigue endurance. The use of iridium oxide top electrode was demonstrated to significantly improve fatigue endurance compared to use of an iridium top electrode.
Microstructural Characterization of Copper Thin Films on Metallic Underlayers

Grain size distribution and texture of thin films of sputtered copper were characterized as a function of underlayer choice, deposition temperature and annealing temperature. For Cu deposited on Ta at room temperature and annealed at 100, 150, 200 and 250 °C, abnormal growth of the (100) orientation was observed for annealing temperatures above 150 °C, resulting in a bimodal grain size distribution. This orientation was also seen to grow abnormally for films deposited and annealed under identical conditions, but with a W underlayer. (100) growth for this case was observed at annealing temperatures as low as 100 TC. Abnormal grain growth was suppressed for Cu deposited on Ta at 150 ’C and annealed to 250 ’C. A bimodal grain size distribution was observed in a similar sample deposited on W under identical conditions, however, the abnormally growing orientation for this case was observed to be the (111) orientation, not the (100) orientation.
Core–Shell Interactions in Coaxial Electrospinning and Impact on Electrospun Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Core, Poly(methyl methacrylate) Shell Fibers

The intricacies of the core–shell interaction in coaxial electrospinning are explored by way of the Hansen solubility parameters in an attempt to make micrometer-sized polymer-free multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) core, poly(methyl methacrylate) shell fibers. Four solution regimes are explored in which the core solvent is either miscible or immiscible of the shell solvent and in which it is either a solvent or nonsolvent of the shell polymer. It is qualitatively found that the most well-defined MWNT bundle core is achieved using a core solvent that is semi-immiscible with the shell solution, yet still a solvent of the shell polymer. Hollow fibers are found to be produced best by using a core solvent that is immiscible with the shell solvent and also a nonsolvent of the shell polymer. The resulting MWNT-bundled cores are electrically characterized and found to have conductivities up to 2 orders of magnitude greater than homogeneously electrospun MWNT/polymer composite fibers.
µ-Hall Effect Thruster Characterization

Results of two methods to characterize a novel micro-Hall effect thruster are presented. The voltage-current characteristics of the thruster during steady state operation are reported. The exhaust plume is characterized using Faraday probe measurements and the beam efficiency is reported. Additionally, discussion is provided on the operational power limits for this thruster design, based on observed degradation to the boron nitride insulating material inside the discharge channel at power levels above the design point.
Analysis of the Lodging Resistance of WD153,A Two-line Hybrid Indica Rice

[Objective] The aim was to reveal the reason for WD153's stronger lodging resistance. [Method]Comparing with WD153's parents and the same types of main cultivars,the stem and root traits of the two-line hybrid indica WD153 had been measured and analyzed. [Result]The results showed that WD153 had the modest height and stronger flexural strength comparing with the other varieties,while for the traits of roots,it had more root numbers and obvious advantages in root length. [Conclusion]WD153 shows smaller lodging index and stronger lodging resistance.
The Milestones Really Do Add Value

The milestones process required programs to create a clinical competency committee and to develop new, more focused, and innovative evaluation methods.
Variation in the duration of survival of patients with acute leukemia.

Survey of records of 34 Brooklyn hospitals and of selected hospitals elsewhere in New York City revealed records of 623 white residents of Brooklyn diagnosed as having acute leukemia during the period 1943-52. Diagnosis was on the basis of marrow biopsy or autopsy in 79 per cent. Date of death was known for 96 per cent. Almost half of these patients died within one month of diagnosis, and three quarters before the end of the third month. Ten per cent survived for 6 months and 3 per cent for one year. The mean interval between diagnosis and death was 2.4 months. The duration of survival after diagnosis was longer for the group of patients in whom the cell type was diagnosed as lymphocytic, than in those diagnosed as granulocytic. Percentage of patients surviving three months was also significantly higher in the lymphocytic than in the granulocytic group. Average duration of survival was almost twice as long for patients in the first decade as for those in any subsequent age group. Survival was shorter for patients in whom the total white blood cell count taken at diagnosis was high. Duration of survival after diagnosis increased with increasing duration of symptoms prior to diagnosis. This suggests another limitation to the use for prognostic purposes of the interval between onset of symptoms and death. No association of survival with sex, religion or ABO blood group was detected.
Examining the factor structure of MUIS-C scale among baby boomers with hepatitis C

Abstract Background Baby boomers account for two out of every three cases of hepatitis C infection in the U.S. Purpose To conduct an exploratory factor analysis directed at supporting the use of the MUIS-C as a reliable instrument in measuring illness uncertainty among baby boomers with hepatitis C. Methods The steps of conducting a typical principal component analysis (PCA) with an oblique rotation were used on a sample of 146 participants, the sampling adequacy of items was examined via the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) measure, and the Bartlett's sphericity test was used for appropriateness of conducting a factor analysis. Results A two-factor structure was obtained by using Horn's parallel analysis method. The two factors explained a cumulative total of 45.8% of the variance. Conclusions The results of the analyses indicated that the MUIS-C was a valid and reliable instrument and potentially suitable for use in baby boomer population diagnosed with hepatitis C.
2DFQ: Two-Dimensional Fair Queuing for Multi-Tenant Cloud Services

In many important cloud services, different tenants execute their requests in the thread pool of the same process, requiring fair sharing of resources. However, using fair queue schedulers to provide fairness in this context is difficult because of high execution concurrency, and because request costs are unknown and have high variance. Using fair schedulers like WFQ and WF²Q in such settings leads to bursty schedules, where large requests block small ones for long periods of time. In this paper, we propose Two-Dimensional Fair Queueing (2DFQ), which spreads requests of different costs across di erent threads and minimizes the impact of tenants with unpredictable requests. In evaluation on production workloads from Azure Storage, a large-scale cloud system at Microsoft, we show that 2DFQ reduces the burstiness of service by 1-2 orders of magnitude. On workloads where many large requests compete with small ones, 2DFQ improves 99th percentile latencies by up to 2 orders of magnitude.
Franz Werfeis Anfänge. Eine Studie zum literarischen Leben am Beginn des “expressionistischen Jahrzehnts”

Die Sensation des literarischen Lebens des Jahres 1911 war Der Weltfreund mit dem Werfel einen der entscheidenden Anstose zur Konstituierung des Expressionismus gab. Die gangige Auffassung, das das Zustandekommen dieser Veroffentlichung dem Spursinn und der Tatkraft des selbsternannten Impresarios Max Brod zu verdanken sei, erweist sich als Legende im Licht von unveroffentlichten Briefen Brods und Werfeis an den Verleger Axel Juncker. Die tatsachliche Vorgeschichte des Weltfreunds und seine unmittelbare Wirkung profilieren Werfeis selbstandige Rolle im “Literaturbetrieb” der Zeit vor seinem Ubergang zum Kurt-Wolff-Verlag.
Testing methods for integrated circuit of phase locked loops

The conventional integrated circuit phase locked loop (PLL) has few output signals and offers limited testability. In an event where PLL function does not conform to the specifications, it is often hard and time consuming to debug the problems due to limited accessibility of the internal signals. In this paper we propose a testing structure which uses the existing PLL blocks with minimal additional circuitry thus minimizing the area penalty. The VCO (voltage controlled oscillator) frequency range, VCO gain curve, divider operating range and noise contribution can be determined using the proposed method.
Development of a High-Efficiency Transformation Method and Implementation of Rational Metabolic Engineering for the Industrial Butanol Hyperproducer Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum Strain N1-4

While a majority of academic studies concerning acetone, butanol, ethanol (ABE)-production by Clostridium have focused on C. acetobutylicum , other members of this genus have proven to be effective industrial workhorses despite the inability to perform genetic manipulations on many of these strains. To further improve the industrial performance of these strains in areas such as substrate usage, solvent production, and end-product versatility, transformation methods and genetic tools are needed to overcome the genetic intractability displayed by these species. In this study, we present the development of a high-efficiency transformation method for the industrial butanol hyper-producer C. saccharoperbutylacetonicum strain N1-4 (HMT) ATCC 27021 ( C. s. N1-4). Following initial failures, we found the key to creating a successful transformation method was the identification of three distinct colony morphologies (types S, R, and I) which displayed significant differences in transformability. Working with the readily transformable type I cells (transformation efficiency 1.1 × 10 6 cfu/μg DNA), we performed targeted gene deletions in C. s. N1-4 using a homologous recombination-mediated allelic exchange method. Using plasmid-based gene overexpression and targeted knock-outs of key genes in the native ABE metabolic pathway, we successfully implemented rational metabolic engineering strategies, yielding in the best case, an engineered strain (pWIS13) displaying an 18% increase in butanol titers and 30% increase in total ABE titer (0.35 g ABE/g sucrose) in batch fermentations. Additionally, two engineered strains overexpressing aldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenases ( adh11 and adh5 ) displayed 8.5- and 11.8-fold respective increases in batch ethanol production. IMPORTANCE This paper represents the first steps towards advanced genetic engineering of the industrial butanol-producer Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum strain N1-4 (HMT). In addition to providing an efficient method for introducing foreign DNA into this species, we demonstrate successful rational engineering for increasing solvent production. Examples of future applications of this work include metabolic engineering for improving desirable industrial traits of this species, and heterologous gene expression for expanding the end-product profile to include high-value fuels and chemicals.
The implications of the different tumor-inducing capacities of adenovirus 2 and SV40 transformed hamster cells.

Many reports have documented the lack of association between cell transformation in vitro and tumor induction in vivo by tumor viruses. It has also been established that cells transformed in tissue culture by many viruses are not oncogenic when inoculated into syngeneic hosts. The reasons for this lack of association are poorly understood. By comparing the tumor-inducing properties of adenovirus type 2 (Ad2) and SV40 transformed cells, we have developed data that offer a possible explanation for the discrepancy between in vivo and in vitro oncogenicity of tumor viruses and the cells they transform in tissue culture.
Quantitative trait loci (QTL) for reducing aflatoxin accumulation in corn

Aflatoxin produced by Aspergillus flavus in corn poses significant health risks to both humans and livestock. Exploitation of host-plant resistance in breeding programs is a sustainable way to minimize aflatoxin contamination. Identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with resistance to aflatoxin accumulation in kernels can accelerate development of aflatoxin-resistant corn using marker-assisted selection. An F2:3 mapping population, developed from a cross involving a resistant inbred Mp715 and a susceptible inbred B73, was evaluated in replicated field trials with developing ears artificially inoculated with A. flavus for 2 years to identify QTL for reduced aflatoxin accumulation. Using composite interval mapping, 6 to 7 QTL for aflatoxin content were identified in both years with contribution of individual QTL ranging from <1 to 10% of phenotypic variation. More QTL were detected for husk coverage with phenotypic variance range of <1 to 16% explained by individual QTL. Both B73 and Mp715 alleles at these QTL loci contributed toward resistance. Husk coverage and aflatoxin levels were significantly correlated in both years. Our findings were further supported by overlapping of QTL for husk coverage ratings in four genomic regions on chromosomes 4, 8, and 10, where aflatoxin resistance QTL were reported in previous studies. Since most of the QTL were of low to moderate effects, pyramiding of these QTL may lead to enhanced resistance to aflatoxin accumulation in corn.
Macroscopic Kelvin Probe for contactless corrosion assessment of structures buried in soil

A pioneering application of a Kelvin Probe (KP) sensor for surface potential mapping of soil and cementitious soil fill to assess corrosion of embedded steel reinforcement is presented. The KP potential measurements were rapid, stable and adequately reproducible, for constructing surface maps to serve for corrosion assessments without any disturbance of the surface. Results are promising for mobile deployment. The KP successfully operated under dynamic conditions representative of a cathodic protection installation, showing capability for electrochemical diagnostic operations. Operation of a dual sensor array was demonstrated as well.
Recognition of Car Warnings: An Analysis of Various Alert Types

Warnings are integral to ensuring the safe operation of a vehicle. The use of auditory alerts and warnings has the potential to alleviate drivers' workload, increase drivers' situation awareness, and facilitate efficient and safe driving. The present study assessed the ability of individuals to react to auditory warnings. The warnings took the form of text-to-speech (TTS), spearcons at two levels of linear compression, and auditory icons. To assess usability, the NASA Task Load Index and an annoyance question were used. Participants pressed a space bar when they recognized a warning, and then identified auditory warnings by selecting a picture corresponding to the meaning of the warning. The results showed that participants responded to the fastest spearcon warnings more quickly compared to TTS and auditory icons. Responses to auditory icons were slowest compared to all other auditory types. Importantly, responses to spearcon warnings were no less accurate in comparison to TTS warnings.
Emergent Task Differentiation on Network Filters

This paper aims to analyze the emergence of task differentiation in a model complex system, characterized by an absence of hierarchical control, yet able to exhibit coordinated behavior and collective function. The analysis focuses on linear network filters, i.e., networks of coupled linear oscillators with a differentiated steady-state response to exogenous harmonic excitation. It demonstrates how an optimal allocation of excitation sensitivities across the network nodes in a condition of resonance may be constructed either using global information about the network topology and spectral properties or through the iterated dynamics of a nonlinear, nonsmooth learning paradigm that only relies on local information within the network. Explicit conditions on the topology and desired resonant mode shape are derived to guarantee local asymptotic stability of fixed points of the learning dynamics. The analysis demonstrates the possibly semistable nature of the fixed point with all zero excitation sensitivities, ...
Early stage human lung tumors give rise to a subpopulation of tumor-associated neutrophils with the composite characteristics of neutrophils and antigen-presenting cells (TUM10P.1042)

Tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) represent a significant portion of inflammatory cells in the lung tumor; however, the role of TANs in cancer progression remains largely unexplored in humans. Given the key role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes in mediating anti-tumor immunity, the goal of this study was to identify subsets of TANs that might have specific roles in regulation of T cell responses in patients with lung cancer. Our analysis of 37 early-stage human lung tumors revealed two major sub-populations of TANs. One subset of “canonical” TANs expressed classic neutrophil markers. A second subset of “hybrid” TANs displayed a combination of neutrophil (Arg1+MPO+CD66b+CD15+) and antigen-presenting cell (CD14+HLA-DR+CCR7+CD86+) markers. These hybrid TANs comprised 0.5-25% of all TANs. Using human bone marrow (BM) cells, we identified conditions in which the immature granulocytes could be differentiated into cells that highly resemble hybrid TANs. Functionally, the BM-derived hybrid subset and hybrid TAN were able to: 1) stimulate antigen non-specific T cell proliferation, 2) induce the proliferation of allogeneic T cells, 3) trigger antigen-specific memory T cell responses, and 4) cross-present the NY-ESO peptide to TCR-transfected CD8 cells. Together, our results reveal a specialized subpopulation of TAN capable of triggering and supporting T cell responses. This property of hybrid neutrophils may provide new opportunities to boost the efficacy of current immunotherapy.
Limited evidence for interventions to treat oral leukoplakia

Data sourcesCochrane Oral Health's Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline Ovid, Embase, Ovid, CancerLit via PubMed. MetaRegister of Controlled Trials, ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform were searched for ongoing trials.The reference lists of included studies and existing reviews were manually searched.Study selectionRandomised control trials (RCTs) including patients diagnosed with oral leukoplakia comparing any treatment to placebo or no treatment were included with no restrictions on language or date of publication.Data extraction and synthesisTwo reviewers independently checked for inclusion, performed data extraction using a specially designed form, and assessed the risk of bias for each study and by domain over all studies. The primary outcome considered was onset of oral cancer reported as dichotomous data. Secondary outcomes were clinical resolution, histological changes and adverse events that were mostly reported as ordinal data.ResultsFourteen studies with 909 participants were included in the review. Of the included studies, four compared topical interventions to placebo, nine compared systemic interventions to placebo, and one compared a combination of topical and systemic treatments versus placebo. The risk of bias was considered to be low in one study, unclear in seven, and high for the remaining six. Only three studies provided usable data on the primary outcome: cancer incidence. Clinical improvement was achieved in three studies using: systemic vitamin A or retinoids (two studies) and systemic beta-carotene or carotenoids (one study). Only two studies using beta-carotene or carotenoids were meta-analysed, showing no benefit on the outcome cancer development.ConclusionsThere is no evidence that any of the active treatments included work better than placebo in reducing the risk of developing oral cancer.
Surrounding land cover types as predictors of palustrine wetland vegetation quality in conterminous USA.

Abstract The loss of wetland habitats and their often-unique biological communities is a major environmental concern. We examined vegetation data obtained from 380 wetlands sampled in a statistical survey of wetlands in the USA. Our goal was to identify which surrounding land cover types best predict two indices of vegetation quality in wetlands at the regional scale. We considered palustrine wetlands in four regions (Coastal Plains, North Central East, Interior Plains, and West) in which the dominant vegetation was emergent, forested, or scrub-shrub. For each wetland, we calculated weighted proportions of eight land cover types surrounding the area in which vegetation was assessed, in four zones radiating from the edge of the assessment area to 2 km. Using Akaike's Information Criterion, we determined the best 1-, 2- and 3-predictor models of the two indices, using the weighted proportions of the land cover types as potential predictors. Mean values of the two indices were generally higher in the North Central East and Coastal Plains than the other regions for forested and emergent wetlands. In nearly all cases, the best predictors of the indices were not the dominant surrounding land cover types. Overall, proportions of forest (positive effect) and agriculture (negative effect) surrounding the assessment area were the best predictors of the two indices. One or both of these variables were included as predictors in 65 of the 72 models supported by the data. Wetlands surrounding the assessment area had a positive effect on the indices, and ranked third (33%) among the predictors included in supported models. Development had a negative effect on the indices and was included in only 28% of supported models. These results can be used to develop regional management plans for wetlands, such as creating forest buffers around wetlands, or to conserve zones between wetlands to increase habitat connectivity.
A photoemission moments model using density functional and transfer matrix methods applied to coating layers on surfaces: Theory

Recent experimental measurements of a bulk material covered with a small number of graphene layers reported by Yamaguchi et al. [NPJ 2D Mater. Appl. 1, 12 (2017)] (on bialkali) and Liu et al. [Appl. Phys. Lett. 110, 041607 (2017)] (on copper) and the needs of emission models in beam optics codes have lead to substantial changes in a Moments model of photoemission. The changes account for (i) a barrier profile and density of states factor based on density functional theory (DFT) evaluations, (ii) a Drude-Lorentz model of the optical constants and laser penetration depth, and (iii) a transmission probability evaluated by an Airy Transfer Matrix Approach. Importantly, the DFT results lead to a surface barrier profile of a shape similar to both resonant barriers and reflectionless wells: the associated quantum mechanical transmission probabilities are shown to be comparable to those recently required to enable the Moments (and Three Step) model to match experimental data but for reasons very different than th...
Influence of the geometry of the left main coronary artery bifurcation on the distribution of sudanophilia in the daughter vessels.

Uptake of circulating albumin by the aortic wall is greater downstream than upstream of branches in immature rabbits, but the opposite pattern occurs in mature animals. We investigated the role of ...
Experimental therapeutic approaches for recurrent head and neck cancer.

Patients with recurrent head and neck cancer present a challenge to physicians because of the often devastating complications of local-regional disease. Necrotic, ulcerated tumor masses can lead to disabling pain, infection, cranial nerve dysfunction, airway compromise, impairment of speech, and swallowing dysfunction with attendant dehydration and malnutrition. In addition, these patients are often rejected by family and society at large because of their cosmetic deformities and disabilities.