cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
L Protein Requirement for In Vitro RNA Synthesis by Vesicular Stomatitis Virus

The endogenous transcriptase present in purified vesicular stomatitis (VS) virions was solubilized with a Triton X-100 high-salt solution. The polymerase activity was purified on glycerol gradients and by phosphocellulose column chromatography; the viral proteins present in the active enzyme fractions were identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It was demonstrated that L protein, but not NS protein, was required for in vitro RNA synthesis on the VS viral nucleocapsid template. Solubilized L protein rebinds to the ribonucleoprotein template when the transcription complex is reconstituted, and the RNA synthesized in vitro by purified L protein hybridizes to virion RNA. Cyanogen bromide peptide fingerprints indicate that the large L protein is a unique polypeptide chain. It is concluded that the L protein functions as the transcriptase, and the nucleocapsid NS protein is not essential for in vitro RNA synthesis.
Influence of Sodium Zeolite A with and Without Pullet-Sized Limestone or Oyster Shell on Eggshell Quality

To determine whether particle size of CaCO3 influences the hen's response to sodium zeolite A (ZA), two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, hens were fed 0, .75, and 1.50% ZA for 6 wk with and without a Na correction. At the end of the 4th wk, pullet-sized limestone was substituted for 50% of the added fine granular limestone in the diet containing no ZA. In Experiment 2, hens were fed diets containing 0, .68, and 1.36 ZA for 8 wk with and without one-half of the added fine granular limestone substituted for oyster shell. No correction for Na was made. A dietary calcium concentration of 2.75% was used in Experiment 1 and 3.5% in Experiment 2. Egg specific gravity, egg production, feed consumption, and egg weight were measured. Sodium zeolite A increased egg specific gravity, and the beneficial effects of ZA were maintained during Weeks 5 and 6 when pullet-sized limestone was added to the control diet containing no ZA (Experiment 1). Oyster shell and ZA improved egg specific gravity in Experiment 2 and the effect was additive. Dietary treatments had no effect on egg production or egg weight in Experiments 1 or 2 and there was no effect on feed consumption (Experiment 1). Feed consumption was reduced by ZA, when hens were fed oyster shell, but not when they were fed ZA with fine granular limestone (Experiment 2). It was concluded that the beneficial effect of ZA on egg specific gravity was independent of particle size of CaCO3 in the diet.
Effect of Ibuprofen Dose on Platelet Aggregation and Coagulation in Blood Samples From Pigs

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Ibuprofen is commonly used by Soldiers in the deployed environment. This study investigated its dose–effects on in vitro coagulation. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 4 normal healthy pigs and were processed to make platelet-adjusted (100 × 103/μL) blood samples. Ibuprofen was added to the samples at doses of 0 μg/mL (control), recommended oral dose (163 μg/mL, 1×), 2×, 4×, 8×, 10×, 12×, 16×, and 20×. Arachidonic acid or collagen-stimulated platelet aggregation was assessed at 15 minutes after the addition of ibuprofen. Coagulation was assessed with measurements of prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), and thrombelastography by Rotem. Results: A robust inhibition of ibuprofen on arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation was observed at all doses tested. Collagen-stimulated platelet aggregation was inhibited to 71% ± 5% and 10% ± 5% of the control values at ibuprofen doses of 4× and 20×, respectively (both p < 0.05). No changes were obse...
A Bold and Gorgeous Front

In an 1880s tour of New York City neighborhoods, Jacob Riis (1971: 118) seemed perplexed that “even where the wolf howls at the door, [African America] makes a bold and gorgeous front.” Much like the subsequent century of scholars, Riis presumed African Americans’ genteel household material culture was an insubstantial facade contradicting their objective identity. Riis reduced commodities in African-American homes to a meaningless “front” which Black consumers fabricated to conceal their “authentic” racial identity. Consumer discourses explicitly and tacitly promised a host of material advantages, civil privileges, and social possibilities, yet Riis denied such rights to African Americans because he assumed consumer culture’s prospects were exclusive to Whites.
Approaching a critical turn? A content analysis of the politics of resilience in key bodies of resilience literature

AbstractResilience thinking is increasingly used as both a theoretical framework and as a tool for managing and governing social and social–ecological systems. However, resilience may lead to undesirable outcomes if it fails to critically engage with issues of power, justice and equity, or what we call the politics of resilience. This potential pitfall can be addressed by incorporating critical theory, which aims to critique and transform historically inequitable social realities: a goal being actively pursued by scholars who publish in, inter alia, Resilience: International Policies, Practices and Discourses. In this article, we review the key critical claims about the politics of resilience established in this journal and then use a content analysis to test whether the journal Ecology & Society has made similar advances in integrating resilience thinking with critical perspectives on the politics of resilience. Our results suggest that Ecology & Society’s incorporation of critical theory has been minima...
Psychosis and Parkinson’s Disease

The clinical spectrum of Parkinson’s disease (PD) psychosis ranges from mild illusions to formed hallucinations or even frank delusions. Hallucinations occur in about one-third of PD patients treated with chronic dopaminergic therapy and are most often visual. Delusions are less common but typically consist of well-systematized, thematic ideas such as paranoia or infidelity. PD psychosis may be due to extrinsic (i.e., pharmacological treatment) and/or intrinsic (i.e., disease-related) factors. Risk factors for the development of psychosis include older age; advanced disease; akinetic-rigid motor phenotype; concomitant cognitive impairment, depression, or sleep disturbances; and multiple medical problems. When psychosis in PD develops acutely, becomes troublesome or frightening, or poses a safety risk, medical attention is necessary. Medical management of acute psychosis typically includes the following: identifying and addressing specific causes (e.g., infection, medications), reducing or discontinuing medications for PD and other conditions that may aggravate psychosis, and introducing antipsychotic medications. Since antipsychotics with dopamine-blocking properties may worsen parkinsonism, medications with greater serotonergic properties such as clozapine and quetiapine are favored. Effective and well-studied treatments that improve PD ­psychosis without worsening motor function are still needed.
Baseline estradiol concentration in community-dwelling Japanese American men is not associated with intra-abdominal fat accumulation over 10 years.

Summary Problem The role of plasma estradiol in the accumulation of intra-abdominal fat (IAF) in men is uncertain. Cross-sectional studies using imaging of IAF have shown either a positive or no association. In contrast, a randomised controlled trial using an aromatase inhibitor to suppress estradiol production found an association between oestrogen deficiency and short-term IAF accumulation. No longitudinal study has been conducted to examine the relationship between plasma estradiol concentration and the change in IAF area measured using direct imaging. Methods This is a longitudinal observational study in community-dwelling Japanese-American men ( n =215, mean age 52 years, BMI 25.4kg/m 2 ). IAF and subcutaneous fat areas were assessed using computerized tomography (CT) at baseline, 5 and 10 years. Baseline plasma estradiol concentrations were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results Univariate analysis found no association between baseline estradiol concentration and baseline IAF, or 5- or 10-year changes in IAF area ( r =−0.05 for both time points, p =0.45 and p =0.43, respectively). Multivariate linear regression analysis of the change in IAF area by baseline estradiol concentration adjusted for age, baseline IAF area, and weight change found no association with either the 5- or 10-year IAF area change ( p =0.52 and p =0.55, respectively). Conclusions Plasma estradiol concentration was not associated with baseline IAF nor with change in IAF area over 5 or 10 years based on serial CT scans in community-dwelling Japanese-American men. These results do not support a role for oestrogen deficiency in IAF accumulation in men.
Sensitivity of Process Design to Phase Equilibrium—A New Perturbation Method Based Upon the Margules Equation

It is widely recognized by experts that the computer-based design of chemical processes depends strongly on the correlated thermodynamic and transport properties, and the effect of property uncertainties should be incorporated into the design. The most significant source of property uncertainties on process design is from the correlations of phase equilibrium. Many approaches have been proposed, but uncertainty analysis is not a routine component of today’s industrial practice, mainly because education and awareness is lacking, and the proposed methods are difficult to apply. The purpose of this paper is to report a new approach to uncertainty analysis that is intuitively appealing and easy to apply in process simulation. The proposed approach focuses on activity coefficients and is based upon the simplification that, for the purpose of perturbation, the liquid mixture can be treated as a set of pseudobinaries described by the Margules equation. The resulting perturbation in the activity coefficient of co...
Activation of the renal erythropoietic factor by a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.

SummaryA protein kinase, which is one of the key components of a renal cyclic AMP mechanism, has been isolated, characterized, and studied with respect to its ability to generate erythropoietin (ESF) in an in vitro system. This enzyme was found to activate the renal erythropoietic factor (erythrogenin) in the presence of cyclic AMP which led to an increase in the generation of ESF from plasma. These data suggest that this renal cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase which is present in the normal kidney plays an important role in kidney ESF production after erythropoietic stimulation.
An Optimality-Theoretic approach to dialect code-switching

Despite the numerous frameworks for analyzing patterns of code-switching (CS) in multilingual communities, previous analyses have lacked a thorough treatment of the universality of the functions of CS. A recent model (Bhatt and Bolonyai 2011) addresses this gap by presenting a framework that incorporates principles of Optimality Theory (OT) and offers a precise model in which the countless functions of CS are reduced to five meta-constraints, the interaction and satisfaction of which account for the different grammars of bilingual language use. This framework’s applicability to situations of dialectal CS must be tested in order to show the breadth and depth of the model. This paper presents a reanalysis of the data in Mishoe (1995), which utilized the Markedness Model (Myers-Scotton 1993), within Bhatt and Bolonyai’s (2011) OT framework, demonstrating that data previously analyzed using another model of CS receives a better account under Bhatt and Bolonyai’s OT approach.
Seismic observations from an Ocean Subbottom Seismometer in the northwest Pacific Basin

One of the primary objectives in placing seismic systems in deep ocean boreholes is the detection of teleseismic earthquakes and nuclear events. If the oceanic basement is substantially quieter than the ocean floor and island sites, then the added data could yield information of considerable value in nuclear test detection. This paper presents and evaluates data relevant to this problem. The smallest teleseismic (Δ > 30°) earthquake observed on the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics Ocean Subbottom Seismometer (OSS ) had a body-wave magnitude of 5.4. Only one nuclear explosion ( mb = 5.6) was clearly observed. With additional filtering and processing, nuclear explosions as small as mb = 5.1 can be marginally observed. OSS records many regional earthquakes of the northwest circum-Pacific area which are not listed in the NEIS catalog. Teleseismic P -wave arrivals for several events contain frequencies as high as 8 Hz above the background noise. No teleseismic short-period S waves were seen, although high-frequency S waves from regional events were abundant. This dichotomy in the observability of S waves at OSS suggests that the lithosphere of the northwest Pacific has a high Q , but that the underlying asthenosphere is more highly attenuative.
State-Sponsored Terrorism and Its Effects on Lebanese Policy and Politics

How does state-sponsored terrorism affect Lebanese policy and politics? How does it affect the stability of fragile state? Does terrorism cause such weak or fragile government to fail prematurely and/or does it enhance the probability that such government will stay in office longer than it otherwise would? According to this chapter using a duration model on a sample of 53 Lebanese governments between 1943 and 2015, state-sponsored terrorism exacerbates the likelihood of government failure for some governments but not others. The main principal finding is that right-oriented governments are able to keep their hold on power more than left-wing governments when confronted with state-sponsored terrorism. However, both types of governments will most likely collapse when faced with the pressure of state-sponsored terrorism and consequently, they fail to deliver adequate services to their citizens which leads to their erosion of public support and eventually collapse.
Managing mosquito spaces: Citizen self-governance of disease vectors in a desert landscape

Abstract Public health agencies’ strategies to control disease vectors have increasingly included “soft” mosquito management programs that depend on citizen education and changing homeowner behaviors. In an effort to understand public responses to such campaigns, this research assesses the case of Tucson, Arizona, where West Nile virus presents a serious health risk and where management efforts have focused on public responsibility for mosquito control. Using surveys, interviews, and focus groups, we conclude that citizens have internalized responsibilities for mosquito management but also expect public management of parks and waterways while tending to reject the state's interference with privately owned parcels. Resident preferences for individualized mosquito management hinge on the belief that mosquito-borne diseases are not a large threat, a pervasive distrust of state management, and a fear of the assumed use of aerial pesticides by state managers. Opinions on who is responsible for mosquitoes hinge on both perceptions of mosquito ecology and territorial boundaries, with implications for future disease outbreaks.
Combination Daclizumab and Infliximab for Steroid Refractory Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease.

Abstract 4643 Systemic steroids are the mainstay of therapy for GVHD, but treatment failure is common. Inflammatory cytokines, including IL-2 and TNF-a, are important mediators of GVHD, and may be critical targets for therapy. Given the ineffective treatment options for patients (pts) with steroid-refractory GVHD (SR-GVHD) and the almost universally poor outcomes with available therapies, between June 2001-May 2008, we treated 22 patients with SR-GVHD with a combination of anti-cytokine therapy that included daclizumab and infliximab. Seventeen of these patients were evaluable for a retrospective review of detailed outcomes. The median age was 48 years (range 35-63) and grafts were from HLA matched siblings (5), matched unrelated donors (9), 1 antigen mismatched unrelated donors (2), or cord blood (1). Indications for stem cell transplant (SCT) were acute leukemia (9), chronic myelogenous leukemia (1), lymphoma (5) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (1) and multiple myeloma (1). Most patients received methotrexate with either tacrolimus (14) or cyclosporine (CSA) (2) and 1 patient received CSA with steroids as initial GVHD prophylaxis. High dose steroids were started for acute GVHD a median of 39 days after transplant in 12 pts (range 25-119). Five additional patients developed SR-GVHD a median of 46 days (range 25-119) after donor lymphocyte infusion. All patients had persistent or progressive acute GVHD despite 1mg/kg/day (4 pts) or 2 mg/kg/day (13 pts) of corticosteroids for a median of 8 days (range 5-26) and were treated for acute GVHD severity index B (3), C (10) or D (4). GVHD involved the skin in 9 pts, liver in 9 pts, and gut in 15 pts. Daclizumab was given at 1.5 mg/kg day 1 and 1 mg/kg day 4, 8, 15, and 22. Infliximab was given at 10 mg/kg day 1,8,15, and 22. Overall, 47% of patients responded to therapy. Four patients (24%) had complete resolution of symptoms and 4 (24%) had partial responses. The remaining 9 patients failed to respond, progressed or had a mixed response. Additional therapies were started in 7 patients. Similar to other available reports on SR-GVHD, survival was limited and all pts died at a median of 6.7 months (range 1.6-26) from transplant and 37 days from initiation of daclizumab/ infliximab (8 from infection, 5 from GVHD, 2 from relapsed disease, and 2 from other causes). Data from additional patients will be presented. Although this is a retrospective analysis, these results suggest that combination anti-cytokine therapy with daclizumab/infliximab has significant activity in SR-GVHD, but outcomes remain poor. New methods to prevent and treat GVHD are urgently needed. Disclosures: Off Label Use: Daclizumab and Infliximab were used to treat acute Graft versus Host Disease. Porter: Genentec: Spouse employed by Genentech, owned by Roche, manufacturer of daclizumab.
Reconceptualizing Leadership in Migrant Communities: Latina/o Parent Leadership Retreats as Sites of Community Cultural Wealth.

This article examines how the Education Leadership Foundation (a leadership development community based organization) in partnership with the Migrant Education Program use parent retreats for building leadership, and skill development of migrant farm-working families. Utilizing cooperative and community responsive practices, these retreats build on the Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) in migrant communities as parents develop cohesive networks and community leaders to engage in school advocacy in the service of their children. This study draws from testimonios and participant observations to reveal the particular ways that social, familial, and resistant capital are activated. We examine the unique dimensions of leadership development within (im)migrant farmworker communities, and argue for the need to rethink the role of testimonios as a pedagogical tool in parent engagement and capacity building for leadership and agency in such communities.
Monitoring Joint Convergence of MCMC Samplers

ABSTRACTWe present a diagnostic for monitoring convergence of a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler to its target distribution. In contrast to popular existing methods, we monitor convergence to the joint target distribution directly rather than a select scalar projection. The method uses a simple nonparametric posterior approximation based on a state-space partition obtained by clustering the pooled draws from multiple chains, and convergence is determined when the estimated posterior probabilities of partition elements under each chain are sufficiently similar. This framework applies to a wide variety of problems, and generalizes directly to non-Euclidean state spaces. Our method also provides approximate high-posterior-density regions, and a characterization of differences between nonconverged chains, all with little additional computational burden. We demonstrate this approach on applications to sampling posterior distributions over Rp, graphs, and partitions. Supplementary materials for this arti...
‘Singled out because of skin color … ’: exploring ethnic minority female teachers’ embodiment in physical education

ABSTRACTThere is a significant lack of diversity within the teaching population nationwide that reflects historical, political, and institutional racialized inequality. In the context of physical education, ethnic minority teachers often report feeling ‘different,’ marginalized, and struggle to negotiate the dominant school culture they feel they do not belong to. Purpose: To explore how race and gender intersect in the lived experiences of ethnic minority female PE teachers in predominantly white schools in the United States. Methods: This study used narrative and visual research methods. Results: Participants often felt isolated and uncomfortable in their educational contexts, actively seeking out other ethnic minorities to make meaningful connections and validate their lived experiences. Discussion: The intersection of race and gender in participants’ embodied identities reflects sexist and racist systems in which white privilege is positioned as normal or universal. PE and PE teacher education program...
Trends of energy demand in the Middle East: A sectoral level analysis

Summary The Middle East region is a key player in the world energy market today. It holds approximately over 50% of the world's proven fossil fuel reserves. Yet, the region is significantly challenged by the large dependence on finite fossil fuel resources in its primary energy supply. The intricate relationship between climate change mitigation and the development of energy systems underlines great uncertainty over the future of energy development in the Middle East. Such uncertainty is greatly linked to growing energy demands and the region's capacity to transition to low-carbon energy systems. Over the past 20 years, the total primary energy demand in the Middle has almost tripled due to rapid population growth and economic development. Notably, most of the growing energy demand was concentrated in 5 countries, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and the UAE. These 5 countries represented around 82% of the total primary energy demand in 2015, with Saudi Arabia and Iran alone accounted for 60%. The core question of this paper is what are the possible implications of growing energy demands in these countries and which sectors will entail significant increases in the projected energy requirements? The significance of the work presented here stems from analyzing 4 major countries that constitute the largest share in Middle East's total energy consumption and associated emissions. Examining these 4 countries together is important to highlight how future increase in these countries could largely affect the overall energy demand from the Middle East region in the next 20 years. Thus, the scope of the paper is looking at energy demand implications in 4 countries, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Iraq is excluded from the analysis due to the large political uncertainty associated with Iraq's energy development. Here, a regression model is used to forecast energy demand from 5 economic sectors across the 4 countries using projected increase in population and gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. Results indicate that most of the projected energy demand will be from Iran and Saudi Arabia. In addition, industry and transportation sectors will witness the largest increase among the 5 sectors examined in the paper. For instance, industry and transportation sector will collectively account for 52% and 67% of the projected energy demand in Iran and Saudi Arabia, respectively. Such results are important to highlight when ascertaining sectoral level implications of future energy demands and to determine potential areas where energy savings can be made.
Beyond plastic waste

With more than 8 million tons of plastic entering the ocean each year, humanity must urgently rethink the way we make and use plastics, so that they do not become waste in the first place.
Finding a family: A categorization of enjoyable emotions

Responding to burgeoning scholarship examining discrete positive emotions, the overarching goals of the current review are to provide a summary of 28 enjoyable emotions and to offer an initial clas...
AI buzzwords explained: distributed constraint optimization problems

The power network is the largest operating machine on earth, generating more than US$400bn a year1 keeping the lights on for our homes, offices, and factories. A significant concern in power networks is for the energy providers to be able to generate enough power to supply the demands at any point in time. Short terms demand peaks are however hard to predict and, thus, in the modern smart electricity grid, the energy providers can exploit the demand-side flexibility of the consumers to reduce the peaks in load demand.
Quality Management and Regulation

Immunohistochemistry testing is highly complex with multiple steps. Assuring the optimum performance of your immunohistochemistry laboratory requires attention to numerous quality monitors. For testing performed on patient specimens, there are also additional regulatory requirements. This chapter answers questions about best practices in quality management in preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic phases of the total immunohistochemistry test providing examples of possible quality improvement opportunities. It also provides information related to CLIA and FDA regulatory oversight medical devices, in vitro diagnostics (IVD), and analyte-specific reagents (ASR). With regard to immunohistochemistry laboratory accreditation, the final portion of this chapter draws attention to current best practice guidelines of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) relating to immunohistochemistry to prepare for inspection.
On the K-Theory of ℤG, G A Group of Square-Free Order

In this paper I construct a generalized Mayer-Vietoris sequence of algebraic K-groups for the rings in the title, utilizing the description of ℤG as a multiple pullback of hereditary rings over semi-simple rings. Applications of this sequence include computations of NK*(ℤG) for * = 1, 2 and of an upper bound for K2(D15), D15 the dihedral group of order 30.
Pathophysiology and Clinical Significance of ICP Course in Comatose, Patients with Severe Head Injury

Intracranial pressure (ICP) levels in comatose, severe head injury patients can vary considerably during the initial 7–10 days after trauma (Miller et al. 1977). Intracranial hemorrhage and hydrocephalus are among the entities known to drive the ICP up but they can often be successfully treated (Galbraith and Teasdale 1981). However, posttraumatic brain edema, a frequent cause of intracranial hypertension, is sometimes difficult to control and may result in brain death (Bruce et al. 1981). In a consecutive series of patients with severe head injury vigorously treated by a standard protocol that included emergency evacuation of mass lesions and intensive care (Becker et al. 1977) we identified four ICP courses that were associated with different patient outcome categories. To gain insight into the pathophysiological substrate that contributes to these ICP courses and the significance of ICP levels to brain function following severe head trauma we analysed the interaction of cortical and brain stem evoked potentials (EP), CT scan, neurological examination, autopsy and operative findings, admission blood pressure, arterial blood gases, secondary systemic and CNS complications and patient outcome in each of the four ICP courses identified.
El Niño and La Niña induced volatility spillover effects in the U.S. soybean and water equity markets

This paper examined links between U.S. soybean prices and the Dow Jones U.S. Water Index (DJUSWU). We particularly studied the impact of El Nino and La Nina events on price risk spillovers. Results...
Implementation of LPWAN over white spaces for practical deployment

Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN) is an enabling Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology that supports long-range, low-power, and low-cost connectivity to numerous devices. To avoid the crowd in the limited ISM band (where most LPWANs operate) and the cost of licensed band, the recently proposed SNOW (Sensor Network over White Spaces) is a promising LPWAN platform that operates over the TV white spaces. Nevertheless, the current SNOW implementation uses USRP devices as LPWAN nodes which have high cost a $750 USD per device) and large form-factor, hindering the applicability of this technology in practical deployment. In this paper, we implement SNOW using low-cost, low form-factor, low-power, and widely available commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) devices to enable its practical and large-scale deployment. Our choice of the COTS device (TI CC1310) consequently brings down the cost and the form-factor of a SNOW node by 25x and 10x, respectively. Such implementation of SNOW on CC1310 devices faces a number of challenges to enable link reliability and communication range. Our implementation addresses these challenges by handling peak-to-average power ratio problem, channel estimation, carrier frequency offset, and near-far power problem. Our deployment in the city of Detroit, Michigan demonstrates that CC1310-based SNOW can achieve uplink and downlink throughputs of 11.2kbps and 4.8kbps per node, respectively, over a distance of 1km. Also, the overall throughput in the uplink increases linearly with the increase in the number of SNOW nodes.
Moving Beyond Passion: Why “Do What You Love” Advice for College Students Needs Reexamination

AbstractCollege students receive countless messages about “following passion” and “doing what you love” (DWYL). What happens when these repeated messages ultimately do a disservice to some students...
Spectral modification of array truncation effects in infrared frequency selective surfaces

Abstract Infrared frequency selective surfaces (FSS) are widely used in quasi-infinite, planar configurations; however, applications for finite arrays exist as well. Here, a square loop infrared FSS was designed with an infinite array resonance near 10 μm when illuminated at 60° off-normal. Along with the quasi-infinite array, a patterned area containing finite arrays of 7 × 7 square loops of this design was fabricated and characterized to have a resonance which was blue-shifted due to the effects of truncation. To counteract the effects of truncation, two geometrically modified arrays of 7 × 7 square-loop elements were designed and fabricated to shift the resonant wavelength approximately back to that of the infinite array.
QTL mapping of flowering time and biomass yield in tetraploid alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

The genetic and genomic basis of flowering time and biomass yield in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) remains poorly understood mainly due to the autopolyploid nature of the species and the lack of adequate genomic resources. We constructed linkage maps using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) based single dose allele (SDA) SNP and mapped alfalfa timing of flowering (TOF), spring yield (SY), and cumulative summer biomass (CSB) in a pseudo-testcross F1 population derived from a fall dormant (3010) and a non-dormant (CW 1010) cultivars. We analyzed the quantitative trait loci (QTL) to identify conserved genomic regions and detected molecular markers and potential candidate genes associated with the traits to improve alfalfa and provide genomic resources for the future studies. This study showed that both fall dormant and non-dormant alfalfa cultivars harbored QTL for early and late flowering, suggesting that flowering time in alfalfa is not an indicator of its fall dormancy (FD) levels. A weak phenotypic correlation between the flowering time and fall dormancy (FD) in F1 and checks also corroborated that alfalfa FD and TOF are not the predictors of one another. The relationship between flowering time and alfalfa biomass yield was not strong, but the non-dormant had relatively more SY than dormant. Therefore, selecting superior alfalfa cultivars that are non-dormant, winter-hardy, and early flowering would allow for an early spring harvest with enhanced biomass. In this study, we found 25 QTL for TOF, 17 for SY and six QTL for CSB. Three TOF related QTL were stable and four TOF QTL were detected in the corresponding genomic locations of the flowering QTL of M. truncatula, an indication of possible evolutionarily conserved regions. The potential candidate genes for the SNP sequences of QTL regions were identified for all three traits and these genes would be potential targets for further molecular studies. This research showed that variation in alfalfa flowering time after spring green up has no association with dormancy levels. Here we reported QTL, markers, and potential candidate genes associated with spring flowering time and biomass yield of alfalfa, which constitute valuable genomic resources for improving these traits via marker-assisted selection (MAS).
Elemental Image Generation Algorithm Using Reverse Iteration Along Optical Path

We propose a fast elemental image generation algorithm for integral imaging display based on depth information and a two-dimensional scene image. Existing elemental image generation algorithms establish many-to-one mappings from the scene to the elemental image, thereby including redundant calculations. The improved algorithm entails establishing a single mapping from elemental image to the scene. Each pixel in the elemental image matches a unique scene pixel by inverse iteration along the optical path. This establishes a high precision matching and eliminates hole caused by depth discontinuities. In this paper, we obtain a unique mapping solution by inverse iteration along the optical path using a one-pixel step. The time complexity of this algorithm is mainly driven by the pixel sum of the elemental image array. We generate the elemental image seven times faster than the original algorithm. The larger total quantity of the scene pixels further demonstrates the advantages of our algorithm. The experiments show that the update rate can reach more than 30 fps according to the VCD standard (352×240 resolution) using four parallel calculation threads with a four-core Intel® Core(TM) i7-7500U 2.70 GHz CPU despite various delay factors. The results verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis.
Blog data analytics using blogtrackers

Social media has grown to be the place for voicing one's opinions, sharing information, and shaping discourse. Individuals use social media as a platform to mobilize, coordinate, and conduct cyber campaigns ranging from awareness for diseases or disorders to deviant acts threatening democratic principles and institutions. Blogosphere has continued to rise and afford an effective medium for content framing. With no restriction on the number of characters, many use blogs to set narratives then use other social media channels like Twitter and Facebook to steer their audience to their blogs. Blog content is not structured and hard to collect than other social media channels. Blog monitoring and analysis could be of great use to sociologists, political scientists, communication researchers, journalists, and information scientists to examine events. Toward this direction, we present Blogtrackers tool, which is designed to explore the blogosphere and gain insights on various events. Blogtrackers can help in identifying leading information actors, influential bloggers, popular and emerging trends assess tones, sentiments and opinions, extract entities, and analyze their networks.
A biologically-inspired reinforcement learning based intelligent distributed flocking control for Multi-Agent Systems in presence of uncertain system and dynamic environment

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the real-time flocking control of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) in the presence of system uncertainties and dynamic environment. To handle the impacts from system uncertainties and dynamic environment, a novel reinforcement learning technique, which is appropriate for real-time implementation, has been integrated with multi-agent flocking control in this paper. The Brain Emotional Learning Based Intelligent Controller (BELBIC) is a biologically-inspired reinforcement learning-based controller relying on a computational model of emotional learning in the mammalian limbic system. The learning capabilities, multi-objective properties, and low computational complexity of BELBIC make it a very promising learning technique for implementation in real-time applications. Firstly, a novel brain emotional learning-based flocking control structure is proposed. Then, the real-time update laws are developed to tune the emotional signals based on real-time operational data. It is important to note that this data-driven reinforcement learning approach relaxes the requirement for system dynamics and effectively handle the uncertain impacts of the environment. Using the tuned emotional signals, the optimal flocking control can be obtained. The Lyapunov analysis has been used to prove the convergence of the proposed design. The effectiveness of the proposed design is also demonstrated through numerical and experimental results based on the coordination of multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
“It's fun!” using students' voices to understand the impact of school digital technology integration on their well-being

Abstract The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand children's perception of their school-based educational technology use and its role in their well-being. Children (N = 23) from the Midwestern U.S. completed an interview and mapping exercise focused on the contexts and factors that impact their well-being, including schools and teachers. Phenomenological analyses of interview transcripts focused on children's perceptions of 1) school educational technology use, and 2) the impact of school educational technology use on their well-being. Children described a variety of school educational technology experiences, which they perceived as having both positive and negative effects on their well-being. Findings are discussed in the context of the historical challenges to school educational technology integration and children's well-being.
Implementation of a Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT) and Linkage Program by Leveraging Community Partnerships and Medical Toxicology Expertise

Implementing a hospital medication for addiction treatment (MAT) and a linkage program can improve care for patients with substance use disorder (SUD); however, lack of hospital funding and brick and mortar SUD resources are potential barriers to feasibility. This study assesses the feasibility of implementation of a SUD linkage program. Components of the program include a county-funded hospital opioid support team (HOST), a hospital-employed addiction recovery specialist (ARS), and a medical toxicology MAT induction service and maintenance program. Data for linkage by HOST, ARS, and MAT program were tracked from July 2018 to December 2019. From July 2018 through December 2019, 1834 patients were linked to treatment: 1536 by HOST and 298 by the ARS. The most common disposition categories for patients linked by HOST were 16.73% to medically monitored detoxification, 9.38% to intensive outpatient, and 8.59% to short-term residential treatment. Among patients linked by the ARS, 65.66% were linked to outpatient treatment and 9.43% were linked directly to inpatient treatment. A total of 223 patients managed by the ARS were started on MAT by medical toxicology and linked to outpatient MAT clinic: 72.68% on buprenorphine/naloxone, 24.59% on naltrexone, 1.09% buprenorphine, and 0.55% acamprosate. Implementing a MAT and linkage program in the ED and hospital setting was feasible. Leveraging medical toxicology expertise as well as community and funding partnerships was crucial to successful implementation.
The Ultraluminous Lyα Luminosity Function at z = 6.6

We present the luminosity function (LF) for ultraluminous Lyα emitting galaxies (LAEs) at z = 6.6. We define ultraluminous LAEs (ULLAEs) as galaxies with erg s−1. We select our main sample using the g', r', i', z', and NB921 observations of a wide-area (30 deg2) Hyper Suprime-Cam survey of the north ecliptic pole (NEP) field. We select candidates with , NB921 ≤ 23.5, and . Using the DEIMOS spectrograph on Keck II, we confirm 9 of our 14 candidates as ULLAEs at z = 6.6 and the remaining 5 as an active galactic nucleus at z = 6.6, two [O iii]λ5007 emitting galaxies at z = 0.84 and z = 0.85, and two nondetections. This emphasizes the need for full spectroscopic follow-up to determine accurate LFs. In constructing the ULLAE LF at z = 6.6, we combine our nine NEP ULLAEs with two previously discovered and confirmed ULLAEs in the COSMOS field: CR7 and COLA1. We apply rigorous corrections for incompleteness based on simulations. We compare our ULLAE LF at z = 6.6 with LFs at z = 5.7 and z = 6.6 from the literature. Our data reject some previous LF normalizations and power-law indices, but they are broadly consistent with others. Indeed, a comparative analysis of the different literature LFs suggests that no LF is fully consistent with any of the others, making it critical to determine the evolution from z = 5.7 to z = 6.6 using LFs constructed in exactly the same way at both redshifts.
David Oliver: Improving DNACPR discussions, decisions, and documentation

On 18 March the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published a report on the quality of decision making, discussion with patients and families, and documentation on DNACPR (do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation) decisions in the covid-19 pandemic. Protect, Respect, Connect—Decisions about Living and Dying well during Covid-19 1 was commissioned by the government in response to news stories, complaints, and campaigns about perceived failings.2 The report acknowledged that the extreme demands of the pandemic response had increased pressure on clinical and care staff and services, which may have hampered decisions and communication. The CQC said that DNACPR decisions don’t exist in isolation but are part of a broader spectrum of care planning for long term conditions, advance …
La campagne électorale de 1875 au Mississippi : armes, citoyenneté et race

Dans un contexte electoral charge en animosite raciale, au cours de l’automne 1875, les conservateurs-democrates s’assurent, par la violence et l’intimidation, la victoire lors de l’election dans l’etat du Mississippi. Leur « redemption » peut-elle etre interpretee comme une lutte entre deux visions distinctes de la citoyennete et de la Republique americaine ? S’agit-il de la resurgence d’une interpretation Antebellum de la citoyennete plutot que la perpetuation d’un heritage raciste de la Confederation ? Plus precisement, cette reflexion a pour objectif de s’interroger sur la nature des redefinitions identitaires des groupes afro-americains et blancs, ainsi que leurs liens avec la citoyennete, le droit a l’autodefense et la race.
The Interface between Human Factors and Design

Software designers with limited knowledge of human factors often play a crucial role in the design of user interfaces. The thesis of this paper is that the field of human factors needs to be concerned with the design of interfaces between itself and the rest of the design community. We identify the mission objective for the human factors-design interface as improving the overall quality of design by enhancing communication and the transfer of knowledge. A selected set of requirements for the interface includes (1) communication, from human factors to designers, of proven and relevant design approaches, and (2) communication, from designers to human factors, of pertinent design constraints and methods of integrating human factors concerns and data into design. A discussion of concepts for the human factors-design interface describes and analyzes educational technologies (e.g., video classes and short courses), an electronic gatekeeper (a bulletin board-like system through which human factors experts and de...
Generalized Entropy Theory of Polymer Glass Formation

Summary The prelims comprise: Introduction Strengths and Weaknesses of the Original Entropy Theories of Glass Formation Theoretical Background Configurational Entropy and Characteristic Temperatures for Glass Formation in Polymeric Fluids Fragility of Glass-Forming Liquids Free Volume Versus Configurational Entropy Descriptions of Glass Formation Isothermal Compressibility, Specific Volume, Shear Modulus, And “Jamming” Influence of Side Group Size on Glass Formation Temperature Dependence of Structural Relaxation Times Influence of Pressure on Glass Formation Alternative Activation Energy Theories of Dynamics in Glass-Forming Liquids Cooperatively Rearranging Regions, Equilibrium Polymerization, and Dynamic Heterogeneity Conclusions Appendix A: Objective Measures of Fragility and An Order Parameter for Glass Formation
No-tillage increases soil profile carbon and nitrogen under long-term rainfed cropping systems

Abstract Emphasis and interest in carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) storage (sequestration) in soils has greatly increased in the last few years, especially C with its’ potential to help alleviate or offset some of the negative effects of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Several questions still exist with regard to what management practices optimize C storage in the soil profile. A long-term rainfed study conducted in eastern Nebraska provided the opportunity to determine both the effects of different tillage treatments and cropping systems on soil N and soil organic C (SOC) levels throughout the soil profile. The study included six primary tillage systems (chisel, disk, plow, no-till, ridge-till, and subtill) with three cropping systems [continuous corn (CC), continuous soybean (CSB), and soybean-corn (SB-C)]. Soil samples were collected to a depth of 150-cm in depth increments of 0–15-, 15–30-, 15–30-, 30–60-, 60–90-, 90–120-, and 120–150-cm increments and composited by depth in the fall of 1999 after harvest and analyzed for total N and SOC. Significant differences in total N and SOC levels were obtained between tillage treatments and cropping systems in both surface depths of 0–15-, 15–30-cm, but also in the 30–60-cm depth. Total N and SOC accumulations throughout the profile (both calculated by depth and for equivalent masses of soil) were significantly affected by both tillage treatment and cropping system, with those in no-till the greatest among tillage treatments and those in CC the greatest among cropping systems. Soil N and SOC levels were increased at deeper depths in the profile, especially in those tillage systems with the least amount of soil disturbance. Most significant was the fact that soil N and SOC was sequestered deeper in the profile, which would strongly suggest that N and C at these depths would be less likely to be lost if the soil was tilled.
Communications: Factors Influencing Early Mortality of Walleye Fry Reared Intensively

Abstract The effects of diet, rearing conditions, and source of fish were tested in four sets of 20-d feeding trials with larval walleyes (Stizostedium vitreum) at the Bozeman (Montana) Fish Technology Center. Conicalbottom 140-L tanks with upwelling flow were used to test 13 treatments, including six commercial diets under various water temperature and light conditions. The feeding of BioKyowa B-250 diet resulted in the highest survival (as high as 15.6% after 20 d). In one trial, a significantly higher percentage (54.1 %) of fry fed Aquafauna Bio-Marine 4200 diet had inflated swim bladders than fish in other treatments (P < 0.05). Histological examination showed that cell degeneration and bacterial infection can develop in inflated swim bladders. Bacterial infections, failure of swim bladders to inflate, and cannibalism apparently caused low survival. Survival of fry from each of four sources was significantly different (P < 0.05), so the origin of the fish may influence the performance of walleye fry u...