cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Associations Between Northern Mockingbirds and the Parasite Philornis porteri in Relation to Urbanization

Abstract We investigated associations between Northern Mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) and the nest parasite Philornis porteri (Diptera: Muscidae), and how they vary with urbanization in northcentral Florida. Our goal was to ascertain if the ‘parasite-release’ hypothesis could contribute to high reproductive success of Northern Mockingbirds in urban areas. We collected 26 nests in 2007 and 73 in 2008 that had produced fledglings along an urbanization gradient, and measured the number of nests parasitized and the number of P. porteri in the nests. Habitats differed in prevalence of Philornis parasitism, but not directly in relation to urbanization. Parking lots and wildlife preserves had low levels of parasitism, whereas residential neighborhoods and pastures had significantly higher parasitism prevalence. Parasite prevalence was also significantly and positively affected by nest height and percentage of ground covered by buildings, trees, and open areas in the study site. Our findings do not offer strong...
Effect of thermal pole tip protrusion and disk roughness on slider disk contacts

Ultra-high areal density for hard disk drives requires a stable head disk interface at a flying height lower than 8 nm. At such a low flying height, small flying height variations may cause slider/disk contacts. Slider/disk contacts can also occur when a write-current is applied to the write coil since the flying height between slider and disk can be affected by the thermal expansion of the pole tip. In this paper, we investigate the vibration characteristics of sliders during thermally induced contacts using laser Doppler vibrometry. We perform a parametric study of contact events using disks with different surface roughness and lubricant thicknesses, and analyze the slider motion statistically. For a given write current, we observe that the slider vibrations increase with disk roughness and lubricant thickness.
Optimal Partnership Contracts: Foundation and Duality

We use the duality in linear programming to solve the problem of optimal contracts with moral hazards. We show the importance of allowing the partners to throw away outputs under some contingencies. A two-step procedure is used to find the optimal contracts. The first step minimizes the loss from undistributed outputs, and in the second step, a second best solution is found. A characterization of the optimal contracts in 2-by-2-by-2 partnership games is offered. Such contracts implement an optimal strategy profile which either has no incentive cost to implement or is near a pure strategy profile.
Incubation Push or Business Pull? Investigating the Geography of US Business Incubators

The primary purposes of this article are to present new data on the geographic distribution of U.S. business incubators and to explore the geographically bounded factors that influence the location of business incubators. The authors’ data show that U.S. business incubators are unevenly distributed across urban/rural divisions, states, and counties. Factor analysis identifies three common factors from 28 demographic, social, and economic variables drawn from publicly available data at the county level. These factors include agglomeration, welfare, and business/entrepreneurship. The results of binomial logistic regressions suggest that incubators are more likely to be found in counties with high levels of agglomeration but low levels of existing business development. Our findings suggest support for the incubation push hypothesis over the business pull hypothesis on the location of business incubators based on the regional configuration of incubator presence.
Docosahexaenoic Acid-Enriched Fish Oil Attenuates Kidney Disease and Prolongs Median and Maximal Life Span of Autoimmune Lupus-Prone Mice

The therapeutic efficacy of individual components of fish oils (FOs) in various human inflammatory diseases still remains unresolved, possibly due to low levels of n-3 fatty acids docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or lower ratio of DHA to EPA. Because FO enriched with DHA (FO-DHA) or EPA (FO-EPA) has become available recently, we investigated their efficacy on survival and inflammatory kidney disease in a well-established animal model of human systemic lupus erythematosus. Results show for the first time that FO-DHA dramatically extends both the median (658 d) and maximal (848 d) life span of (NZB × NZW)F1 (B × W) mice. In contrast, FO-EPA fed mice had a median and maximal life span of ∼384 and 500 d, respectively. Investigations into possible survival mechanisms revealed that FO-DHA (versus FO-EPA) lowers serum anti-dsDNA Abs, IgG deposition in kidneys, and proteinuria. Further, FO-DHA lowered LPS-mediated increases in serum IL-18 levels and caspase-1–dependent cleavage of pro–IL-18 to mature IL-18 in kidneys. Moreover, FO-DHA suppressed LPS-mediated PI3K, Akt, and NF-κB activations in kidney. These data indicate that DHA, but not EPA, is the most potent n-3 fatty acid that suppresses glomerulonephritis and extends life span of systemic lupus erythematosus-prone short-lived B × W mice, possibly via inhibition of IL-18 induction and IL-18–dependent signaling.
Bone Morphogenetic Protein-4 Acts as an Ovarian Follicle Survival Factor and Promotes Primordial Follicle Development

The growth and development of follicles within the ovary are highly dependent on autocrine and paracrine signaling involving growth factors from granulosa cells, theca cells, stromal interstitial cells, and the oocytes. The growth factor bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4) and its receptor (BMPR-IB) have been detected in ovaries, and a mutation in BMPR-IB has been associated with abnormal ovulation rate. The objective of the current study was to examine the role that BMP-4 plays in the early stages of primordial follicle development. Ovaries from 4-dayold rats were placed into a whole-ovary organ culture system for 2 wk to investigate the effect that treatment with exogenous BMP-4 has on early follicle development. BMP-4-treated ovaries had a significantly higher proportion of developing primary follicles and fewer arrested primordial follicles than did untreated controls. This indicates that BMP-4 promotes primordial follicle development and the primordial-to-primary follicle transition. Ovaries were also treated with neutralizing antibody against BMP-4 to determine effects of removing endogenously produced BMP-4. Interestingly, ovaries treated with BMP-4 antibody were markedly smaller than controls. This was associated with a progressive loss of oocytes and primordial follicles, a progressive increase in cellular apoptosis, and an accompanying loss of normal ovarian tissue morphology over time. Immunocytochemistry localized BMP-4 protein to isolated stromal cell populations, selected stromal cells (i.e., pretheca cells) associated with developing primordial follicles, and the basement membrane of follicles. Ovaries were treated with BMP-4 and RNA collected after organ culture to determine whether BMP-4 signaling affects expression of other growth factors. Kit ligand and basic fibroblast growth factor expression was unchanged, but TGFa expression was decreased in whole ovaries. Taken together, these data suggest that BMP-4 plays an important role in promoting the survival and development of primordial follicles in the neonatal ovary. follicle, oocyte development, ovary
Detection of an mRNA Polymorphism by Differential Display

Differential Display (DD) technology was utilized to compare programs of gene expression in primary cultures of human skin fibroblasts from normal volunteers and patients diagnosed with melancholic depression. Polymorphic transcripts of a single gene differing by one tandem repeat sequence of four nucleotides (TGAT) in the 3' noncoding region were detected.
Fourier Transform Infrared Characterization of Mineral Phases Formed during Induction of Mineralization by Collagenase-released Matrix Vesicles in Vitro*

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to characterize the organic and mineral phases present during the induction of mineral formation by collagenase-released matrix vesicles (CRMV) during incubation in a synthetic cartilage lymph in vitro. CRMV mineralization, which occurs in the absence of alkaline phosphatase organic phosphate substrates, is characterized by an initial short lag period of limited Ca2+ accumulation, followed by a period of rapid Ca2+ uptake, and finally, by a plateau period during which Ca2+ accumulation continued at a slower rate. FTIR spectra taken at timed intervals during the induction of mineralization revealed the presence of absorptions characteristic of protein, phospholipid, and mineral components in the CRMV. These became progressively more intense with time. To reveal underlying changes occurring during the successive stages of Ca2+ accumulation, FTIR spectra of nascent (or demineralized) CRMV were computer-subtracted from subsequent spectra, nulling on the C-H stretch modes characteristic of the lipid acyl chains. These difference spectra showed little change during early Ca2+ loading, revealing that mineral ions initially accumulated in a form similar to that present in nascent matrix vesicles (MV). During the period of rapid Ca2+ uptake prior to appearance of crystalline mineral, difference spectra revealed subtle changes in the carbonyl and amide nitrogen stretch modes indicative of protein conformational changes. The first definable mineral phase appeared late in the rapid Ca2+ uptake period and was a distinct, crystalline octacalcium phosphate (OCP)-like phase. With time, the OCP-like precursor became more apatitic in character. There was no evidence that any amorphous calcium phosphate phase formed during the MV mineralization sequence. The mature MV mineral phase closely resembled hydroxyapatite formed via an OCP precursor and was similar to other biological apatites that show a substantial incorporation of carbonate.
Scalable mobility management in large-scale wireless mesh networks

Wireless mesh networking (WMN) is an economic means to provide the last-mile Internet access service through ad hoc peer-to-peer communication links. However, WMNs suffer from scalability, performance degradation and service disruption issues due to inherent network mobility. In this paper, we present a mobility management protocol, called HDR (Hierarchical Directory Resolution), using a hierarchical Distributed Hash Table (DHT) approach. Different from prior DHT solutions that were based on consistent hashing algorithms, HDR uses a novel NCR (neighbor-aware contention resolution) algorithm to maintain the DHT lookup functions. Simulation results validate the correctness and advantages of our proposed protocol.
The localization problem for mobile robots

A fundamental task for an autonomous mobile robot is that of localization-determining its location in a known environment. This problem arises in settings that range from the computer analysis of aerial photographs to the design of autonomous Mars rovers. L. Guibas et al. ((1992) have given geometric algorithms for the problem of enumerating locations for a robot consistent with a given view of the environment. We provide an on-line algorithm for a robot to move within its environment so as to uniquely determine its location. The algorithm improves asymptotically on strategies based purely on the "spiral search" technique of R. Baeza-Yates et al. (1993); an interesting feature of our approach is the way in which the robot is able to identify "critical directions" in the environment which allow it to perform late stages of the search more efficiently. >
A Formula for Limiting State and Local Debts

I. The problem of debt limitation, 71.— II. The theory of limiting debts in terms of assessed value of property — theoretical and practical defects, 73.— III. The requisites of a good debt limit, 77.— IV. A proposal for limiting debts in terms of average revenue receipts — merits of the plan, 79.— V. Details for the practical application of the plan, 84.— VI. Comparison of computed debt limits with actual debts, 87.— VII. Conclusions, 89.
A Multilevel Framework: Expanding and Bridging Micro and Macro Levels of Positive Behavior With Leadership

This article reviews the literature on the micro (i.e., individual level) and macro levels (i.e., organizational level) of positive behavior to propose a framework that includes seven levels of positive behaviors—individual, dyadic, team/group, organizational, community, societal, and environmental levels. The micro level of positive organizational behavior is extended from the individual level to include the dyadic and team/group levels. The macro level of positive organizational scholarship is extended from the organizational level to include the community, societal, and environmental levels. The role of leadership as antecedents to positive behaviors is also developed. Three positive forms of leadership (i.e., transformational leadership, servant leadership, and authentic leadership) are used as antecedents, and the potential multilevel outcomes associated with positive behavior are explored. This article provides testable propositions and sets the stage for future empirical research.
Activity of dasatinib in human osteosarcoma

3255 Osteosarcoma, the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and young adults has overall mortality rates that have changed little in the past 20 years. The overall survival remains around 60-70%. Pulmonary metastasis remains the major cause of mortality in osteosarcoma with the 5-year survival rate in such patients at 25-30%. Novel agents are needed to decrease the risk of metastases and improve survival rates. Recent literature has implicated the Src family of kinases in key oncogenic mechanisms including proliferation, resistance to apoptosis, decreased adhesion, increased motility and invasion capabilities in a variety of human cancers, making it a rational target for novel drug development. Dasatinib is a novel dual src-abl kinase inhibitor. It inhibits c-src mediated downstream pathways in a variety of malignant cell lines such as prostate cancer cells, head and neck cancer cells and lung cancer cells thus affecting their proliferation, adhesion and migration capabilities. In this study c-src expression and activity of dasatinib was tested in osteosarcoma. c-Src expression was assessed in both patient samples and osteosarcoma cell lines (U2OS, HOS, SaOS). Using the Affymetrix U95Av2 oligonucleotide microarray c-src expression was evaluated in forty primary osteosarcoma patient samples. All forty samples expressed c-src tyrosine kinase. The average expression level was 2912, with a 1.42 fold difference (p=0.03) between 15 tumors with a good response to chemotherapy (Huvos Grade III/IV) and those with a poor response to chemotherapy (Huvos Grade I/II). Using Western blot analysis, three cell lines (U2OS, HOS, and SaOS) were shown to express c-src protein. Additional experiments are underway to evaluate the effects of dasatinib on downstream signaling pathways as well as cell motility and invasion. In-vitro dasatinib has cytotoxic activity against three osteosarcoma cell lines (U2OS, HOS, SaOS). The IC50 ranged from 0.1 nmol /l to 6.25 nmol /l. In summary, c-src is expressed in both osteosarcoma patient samples and cell lines. Dasatinib is a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation in osteosarcoma cell lines. Taken together these data suggest that c-src is a potential therapeutic target in osteosarcoma.
Exposure–Response of Posaconazole Used for Prophylaxis Against Invasive Fungal Infections: Evaluating the Need to Adjust Doses Based on Drug Concentrations in Plasma

The purpose of this article is to report the exposure-response (E-R) relationship of posaconazole oral suspension (POS) for prophylaxis against invasive fungal infections (IFIs), on the basis of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clinical pharmacology review of two randomized, active-controlled clinical studies. Posaconazole average steady state plasma concentrations (C(avg)) ranged from 22 to 3,650 ng/ml after administration of POS 200 mg three times daily (t.i.d.). In a double-blind, randomized clinical trial, the quartile ranges of C(avg) with midpoint values of 289, 736, 1,239, and 2,607 ng/ml had clinical failure rates of 44, 21, 18, and 18%, respectively, indicating an inverse association between C(avg) and clinical failure rate. There were no significant relationships between C(avg) and posaconazole-related major adverse events. Determining posaconazole concentrations in plasma will aid in assessing the need for either POS dose adjustment (e.g., increasing the POS dose) or switching to another systemic antifungal drug, thereby improving the effectiveness of prophylaxis against IFIs.
Extending Scratch: New pathways into programming

We present the Scratch extension system, a toolkit that enables anyone to extend the vocabulary of the visual Scratch programming language through custom programming blocks written in JavaScript. The extension system is designed to (i) enable innovating on the Scratch programming language itself, in addition to innovating with it through projects, and (ii) enable the creation of new interest-driven pathways into Scratch programming. In this paper, we describe some of the prior work done in this space, our design and implementation, open questions and challenges, and some preliminary outcomes.
NCLB and Its Wake: Bad News for Democracy

BackgroundLocal control has historically been a prominent principle in education policy-making and governance. Culminating with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), however, the politics of ...
Parafon Forte® (McNeil)

Parafon Forte contains a muscle relaxant and an analgesic and is used to reduce stiffness and limitation of motion associated with many musculoskeletal disorders. Relaxation of skeletal muscle spasm is due to chlorzoxazone, a centrally acting muscle relaxant similar in effect to mephensin. The analgesia is produced by acetaminophen, a nonsalicylate analgesic useful in skeletal muscle pain. Chlorzoxazone acts primarily at the levels of the spinal cord and subcortical areas of the brain, where it inhibits multisynaptic reflex arcs involved in producing and maintaining skeletal muscle spasm of varied etiology.
Egg Production and Bioelimination of 59 Fe in Drosophila melanogaster

Several pre-eclosion environmental factors were tested to determine their effect on the relationship between egg production and bioelimination of 59Fe in Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen). Results indicate that label level, larval density, temperature, and Photoperiod did not affect the relationship between egg production and bioelimination of 59Fe in adults. However, changes in humidity did affect this relationship, indicating that humidity must be controlled when rearing animals to be used 10 fecundity prediction studies. Data collected were used to formulate a predictive model for egg production based on bioelimination of 59Fe. The proposed model proved accurate based on data taken from an independent experiment.
Coleoptera of Zion National Park No. II.

Since the appearance of my first paper on the beetles of Zion National Park (1928), considerable more collecting has resulted in the following additions to our knowledge of the beetle fauna of this part of Utah. A total of 333 species from 45 families have now been recorded. Three species are described in this paper as new to science.
MOLECULAR GENETICS OF ADAPTATION IN AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF COOPERATION.

The evolution of cooperation was studied in an empirical system utilizing a parasitic bacteriophage (f1) and a bacterial host. Infected cells were propagated by serial passage so that a phage could increase its representation among infected hosts only by enhancing the rate of growth of its host. Loss of infectivity was therefore without selective penalty, and phage benevolence could potentially evolve through a variety of genetic changes. The infected hosts evolved to grow faster over the course of the study, but the genetic bases of this phenotypic change were more difficult to anticipate. Two fundamentally different types of genetic changes in the phage were revealed. One involved the loss of some phage genes, resulting in a noninfectious plasmid that continued to replicate via the parental phage replicon. The second change involved integration of the phage genome into host DNA by a process that, at low frequency, could be reversed to produce infectious phage particles. Integration is a previously unknown property of wild-type f1, and in the system studied, may have resulted from the use of a phage bearing an insert containing nonfunctional DNA. The evolution of this novel function apparently depended only on the presence of a small region in the phage genome that provided some homology to the host DNA, with the host providing all necessary functions. Although f1 is one of the simplest phages known, these observations suggest that host-parasite interactions of the filamentous phages are more complicated than previously thought. More generally, the f1 system offers a useful model for many problems concerning the genetic basis of adaptation.
Investigation of medical staff’s attitude on hospice care

Objective:To investigate medical staff's attitude on hospice care, improve life quality of terminal patients and family members, and provide basis for development of hospice care. Methods:A self-designed questionnaire was used to investigate medical staff's attitude on hospice care. Totally 700 doctors and nurses were randomly selected from different classes of hospital. Results:Most of physicians and nurses had positive attitudes on hospice care. They were willing to provide hospice care for patients and their family members. Generally physicians and nurses lacked systematic training of hospice care, and lacked knowledge and skills to communicate with patients and family members. Nurses' attitudes on hospice care were more positive than physicians. Conclusion:We suggest that we should strengthen training and research on hospice care to improve medical staff's hospice care attitudes. Then hospice care will get further development.
Urban heat island impacts on plant phenology: intra-urban variability and response to land cover

Despite documented intra-urban heterogeneity in the urban heat island (UHI) effect, little is known about spatial or temporal variability in plant response to the UHI. Using an automated temperature sensor network in conjunction with Landsat-derived remotely sensed estimates of start/end of the growing season, we investigate the impacts of the UHI on plant phenology in the city of Madison WI (USA) for the 2012–2014 growing seasons. Median urban growing season length (GSL) estimated from temperature sensors is ~5 d longer than surrounding rural areas, and UHI impacts on GSL are relatively consistent from year-to-year. Parks within urban areas experience a subdued expression of GSL lengthening resulting from interactions between the UHI and a park cool island effect. Across all growing seasons, impervious cover in the area surrounding each temperature sensor explains >50% of observed variability in phenology. Comparisons between long-term estimates of annual mean phenological timing, derived from remote sensing, and temperature-based estimates of individual growing seasons show no relationship at the individual sensor level. The magnitude of disagreement between temperature-based and remotely sensed phenology is a function of impervious and grass cover surrounding the sensor, suggesting that realized GSL is controlled by both local land cover and micrometeorological conditions.
The use of potassium iodide solution as photochemical actinometer for vacuum ultraviolet region

The paper has investigated the process of measuring power illumination for vacuum ultraviolet radiation by means of the solution of potassium iodide as a photochemical actinometer. We have investigated the formation of triiodide–ion when radiated the solution of light with wavelength 185 nm. It has been shown that obtaining hydroxyl radicals OH– at this wavelength is determined by the formation of I3–. The quantum yield of the process constitutes 0.165. Measuring the concentration of the obtained I3– we determined power illumination of a quartz lamp DRB-20 (wavelength 185 nm), which constitutes 49.2 × 10–9 E/s.
LDL-Apheresis Therapy for Refractory Familial Hypercholesterolemia

1. To understand the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia. 2. To recognize the role of LDL-apheresis in the treatment of refractory severe hypercholesterolemia.
Nitric Oxide, Sports Nutrition and Muscle Building

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous signaling molecule that regulates many cellular functions, including the function of skeletal muscle. NO can be formed in skeletal muscle either by the activity of nitric oxide synthase enzymes or by the reduction of nitrite. The molecular mechanisms regulated by NO in skeletal muscle include mechanisms that are involved in or regulate muscle growth, including skeletal muscle blood flow, transcription of skeletal muscle proteins, activation of skeletal muscle satellite cells, and mitochondrial biogenesis. As such, nutritional supplementation with substances to increase skeletal muscle NO signaling has been hypothesized to increase both athletic performance and muscle growth. While several studies have demonstrated that enhancement of skeletal muscle NO signaling can increase exercise performance, there is a lack of data directly indicating that nutritional supplementation of skeletal muscle NO can affect muscle growth.
Ketamine Usage at Subanesthetic Doses and Psychoactive Effects

Abstract Ketamine is a relatively safe dissociative anesthetic that works through antagonism at the N-methyl- d -aspartate receptor. At subanesthetic doses, it produces an array of transient alterations in consciousness. These psychoactive effects, also designated “emergent phenomena” when associated with emergence from anesthesia, have historically been considered bothersome and possibly dangerous. Furthermore, they largely account for the abuse liability of ketamine. Recent psychiatric research with and clinical applications of subanesthetic ketamine infusions have led to reconsideration of these psychoactive effects, with some research indicating that they may be implicated in the therapeutic mechanisms of ketamine. Other research suggests that these effects are extraneous epiphenomena that confer more risk than they do benefit. It remains to be determined whether agents that work through neurobiological pathways similar to those of ketamine, but that have been selected so as not to engender psychoactive effects, will be associated with the same benefits. As the field addresses these questions, it remains important to restrict the use of ketamine to highly specialized and research settings, where controlled administration with safeguards in place can effectively mitigate its risks.
The Rural Physician Associate Program: successful outcomes in primary care and rural practice

The Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) has trained 1063 medical students in rural communities for the past 34 years and produced 658 primary care physicians and 521 physicians who currently practice in rural communities. While the students' experience in this nine-month clerkship is primarily clinic-based, they see patients in the emergency room, assist in surgery, deliver babies, attend physician meetings and participate in community health education. They experience real continuity of care by following a patient from the clinic or emergency room to the operating room and throughout their recovery. They diagnose a pregnancy, deliver the baby and then do the well-child examination in the clinic. The students recognize the value of this experience, as expressed in their final essays. They value the mentoring of the physicians, the relationship with the patients and the experiences in health care in which they play integral part. While the trend toward primary care in medical education is decreasing, the outcome of the RPAP program is holding steady at approximately 80%. Selection is certainly a factor, because many of the students who apply for RPAP have already expressed an interest in primary care. Additionally, the mentoring relationship with their preceptor, professionally and personally, and the ability to observe the lives of other practising physicians provides a reality check that may guide decisions. The enthusiasm for teaching, and the significant engagement with and impact on the community of the physicians may be another factor in deciding on primary care. Practising alongside physicians who find intellectual challenge and rewarding relationships in primary care is essential in continuing to produce primary care physicians of future.
A Review of Grand Intentions

"Grand Intentions" by Trevor Barr is an exciting read that involves many themes and works at many levels. It concerns a fictitious telephone company, Telco One, which is undergoing major change as the Government privatises it. Telco One is in the throes of moving from a traditional culture based on public sector, even public service, values to a commercial entity subject to the overwhelming imperative of shareholder value. The twists and turns as Telco One transforms from its previous culture into a dynamic commercial entity are transfixing. This is a must-read book for those with an interest in what could become a dystopian drama if not for the emergence and re-emergence of grand intentions and praiseworthy aspirations of the characters themselves.
A Mathematical Model of Gene Transfer in a Biofilm

Based on our previous work, a model of plasmid transfer between micro-organisms in a heterogeneous environment consisting of a biofilm immersed in a fluid medium is constructed. A review of previous modeling of gene transfer is provided in order to place our work in context. The key question is whether the plasmid can persist in the bacterial population. We answer this question by constructing a basic reproductive number which takes into account the advantages conferred by the plasmid and its costs to the bacterial host.
Rolled Mixtures of Barley and Cereal Rye for Weed Suppression in Cover Crop—based Organic No-Till Planted Soybean

Maximizing cereal rye biomass has been recommended for weed suppression in cover crop—based organic no-till planted soybean; however, achieving high biomass can be challenging, and thick mulch can interfere with soybean seed placement. An experiment was conducted from 2012 to 2014 in New York to test whether mixing barley and cereal rye would (1) increase weed suppression via enhanced shading prior to termination and (2) provide acceptable weed suppression at lower cover crop biomass levels compared with cereal rye alone. This experiment was also designed to assess high-residue cultivation as a supplemental weed management tool. Barley and cereal rye were seeded in a replacement series, and a split-block design with four replications was used with management treatments as main plots and cover crop seeding ratio treatments (barley:cereal rye, 0:100, 50:50, and 100:0) as subplots. Management treatments included high-residue cultivation and standard no-till management without high-residue cultivation. Despit...
Transcriptomic Analysis of C. elegans RNA Sequencing Data Through the Tuxedo Suite on the Galaxy Project

Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have revolutionized the nature of biological investigation. Of these, RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) has emerged as a powerful tool for gene-expression analysis and transcriptome mapping. However, handling RNA-Seq datasets requires sophisticated computational expertise and poses inherent challenges for biology researchers. This bottleneck has been mitigated by the open access Galaxy project that allows users without bioinformatics skills to analyze RNA-Seq data, and the Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), a Gene Ontology (GO) term analysis suite that helps derive biological meaning from large data sets. However, for first-time users and bioinformatics' amateurs, self-learning and familiarization with these platforms can be time-consuming and daunting. We describe a straightforward workflow that will help C. elegans researchers to isolate worm RNA, conduct an RNA-Seq experiment and analyze the data using Galaxy and DAVID platforms. This protocol provides stepwise instructions for using the various Galaxy modules for accessing raw NGS data, quality-control checks, alignment, and differential gene expression analysis, guiding the user with parameters at every step to generate a gene list that can be screened for enrichment of gene classes or biological processes using DAVID. Overall, we anticipate that this article will provide information to C. elegans researchers undertaking RNA-Seq experiments for the first time as well as frequent users running a small number of samples.
Lymph node reactivity. II. Fetal lymph nodes.

A study was made of the progressive development of structure and metalophilia of the axillary nodes obtained from fetuses of various weights. Metalophil cells were rare in fetuses weighing less than 1000 Gm., while the adult pattern of metalophilia was not observed until the fetus approached 2000 Gm. The findings were discussed in terms of their relationships to perinatal death.
ACA11, a Small Nucleolar RNA Activated in Multiple Myeloma, Stimulates Proliferation by Inactivating NRF2 and Increasing Redox Signaling

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignancy of antibody secreting plasma B cells. The t(4;14) translocation is detected in 20% of MM and is associated with shortened patient survival. Previously, we iden...
Cardiac Lymphangioma Encasing Right Coronary Artery in an Infant.

Cardiac lymphangioma is a rare primary benign tumor of the heart. We report a 3-year-old with cystic lymphangioma encasing the right coronary artery. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a intra-pericardial heterogeneous mass measuring 2.6 × 2.4 × 3.9 cm and situated right anterolateral to the ascending aorta and extending into the right atrioventricular groove. Furthermore, the right coronary artery traversed through the center of the mass. Surgical resection, on cardiopulmonary bypass, consisted of excision by skeletonizing the right coronary artery along the length of the mass. The pathology report was consistent with a lymphatic malformation. The postoperative course was uneventful without recurrence at follow-up.
Multiple Data Layer Modeling and Analysis in Assessments

Geoscientific information is essential for assessing not only mineral resource favorability, but also geoenvironmental hazard potential. The health of any ecosystem is directly related to its underlying geology. Within every watershed, concentrations of metals and other elements in ground and surface waters, sediments, soils, plants, many animals, and humans are intimately connected to the geologic “landscape” of the area. Comprehensive, unbiased geoscientific information is therefore fundamentally and critically important in effectively assessing current, as well as past and future impacts on the environment caused by natural and/or anthropogenic changes.
Synthesis, characterization and reactivity of iridium pincer complexes

Abstract Using the pincer-ligated iridium fragment [( R POCOP)Ir] ( R POCOP = 2,6-bis(di- tert -butyl-phosphonito)benzene or 2,6-bis(di- iso -propyl-phosphonito)benzene), a range of complexes with widely varying steric and electronic properties, have been synthesized and studied. The complexes include the novel Ir species ( tBu POCOP)Ir(L) (L = MeCN ( 2 ), pyridine ( 3 ), 2,4,6-triphenylphosphinine ( 11 )), ( iPr POCOP)Ir(H)(Cl)(L) (L = PPh 3 ( 7 ), PCy 3 ( 8 ), 2,4,6-triphenylphosphinine ( 12 )) and ( iPr POCOP)Ir(L) (L = PPh 3 ( 9 ), PCy 3 ( 10 ), 2,4,6-triphenylphosphinine ( 13 )). Complex 4 , ( tBu POCOP)Ir(PPh 3 ), serves as a convenient source of the latent Ir(I), 14-electron species [( tBu POCOP)Ir], and is susceptible to ligand exchange chemistry; reactions with MeCN and pyridine afford complexes 2 and 3 , respectively. Complexes 11 – 13 represent rare examples of phosphinine-ligated iridium complexes and are the first examples of any pincer-supported metal complex exhibiting coordination to a phosphinine. The solid-state structure of 11 was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies.
Effects of Pectus Excavatum Repair on Right and Left Ventricular Strain.

Background The cardiopulmonary benefits of pectus excavatum repair have been debated. Echocardiographic speckle-tracking strain and strain rate have been used to evaluate and detect subclinical myocardial dysfunction in patients receiving cardiotoxic chemotherapy, and patients with valvular heart disease. This technology was applied to evaluate the effects of pectus excavatum surgery on left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function. Methods Speckle tracing strain evaluation was performed on intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic images acquired immediately before and after Nuss repair in adult patients (aged 18 years or more) from 2011 to 2014. Standard severity and compression indices were measured on chest imaging performed before pectus excavatum repair. Results In total, 165 patients with transesophageal echocardiographic images during repair were reviewed (71.5% male; mean age 33.0 years; range, 18 to 71; Haller index 5.7; range, 2.3 to 24.3). Significant improvement after repair was seen in global RV longitudinal strain (−13.5% ± 4.1% to −16.7% ± 4.4%, p −1 to −1.4 ± 0.4 s -1 , p = 0.0102); LV global circumferential strain (−18.7% ± 5.7% to −23.5% ± 5.8%, p -1 to −1.9 ± 0.8 s -1 , p = 0.0003); and LV radial strain (24.1% ± 13.5% to 31.1% ± 16.4%, p = 0.0050). There was a strong correlation between preoperative right atrial compression on transesophageal echocardiogram and improvement in RV global longitudinal strain rate immediately after pectus repair. Conclusions Mechanical compression and impaired RV and LV strain is improved by Nuss surgical repair of pectus deformity.
Mechanics of bidirectional cargo transport

Abstract Bidirectional cargo transport along microtubules is carried out by the competing activities of dynein and kinesin motors attached to the same cargo. Despite extensive study, the mechanisms that determine the net rate and directionality of transport for specific cargo under specific intracellular conditions remain under debate. A number of studies are consistent with the “tug-of-war” model, which posits that the emergent behavior results from competing activities of oppositely-directed motors. However, published findings from a number of model systems runs counter to predictions from the tug-of-war model. To frame current and future work, this chapter presents a conceptual model of microtubule-based bidirectional transport that highlights six quantitative parameters: motor number, velocity, stall force, run length, detachment force, and reattachment rate. The relative importance of each parameter to the emergent bidirectional transport behavior is discussed, and the state of knowledge for different kinesin and dynein isoforms is discussed. Finally, mechanisms that regulate bidirectional transport are explored, focusing on the underexplored role of membrane fluidity in multi-motor bidirectional transport.
An intersectional approach to the menthol cigarette problem: what’s race(ism) got to do with it?

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Tobacco industry reports document the systematic targeting of menthol cigarettes in Black communities, and 84.6% of ...
Volume collapse phase transitions in cerium-praseodymium alloys under high pressure

Cerium-12at%Praseodymium(Ce0.88Pr0.12) and Ce-50at%Praseodymium(Ce0.50Pr0.50) alloy samples that contain a random solid-solution of Ce (4f1 (J = 5/2)) and Pr (4f2 (J = 4)) localized f-states have b...
Multiplicity in Learning and Teaching: A Framework for Developing Innovative Online Education

AbstractWe describe here the power of multiplicity in learning and teaching. Multiplicity decreases efficiency in the short run, but it encourages the development of powerful new learning and teaching environments in the longer term. If multiplicity is embedded in a systematic evaluation framework, then we can learn from comparisons of what worked and what did not. We will show how six types of multiplicity have been useful for developing and implementing an online master of education program. The comparisons of multiple ways of learning and teaching encourage the examination of the instructional goals and resources available and suggest new ways to choose the technology, activities, format, contexts, and evaluation and assessment tools that are most appropriate for these goals and resources. They allow us to determine both formatively and summatively the effects these educational innovations have on learning and teaching.
Restriction Enzyme Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA from Closely Related Species of Paramecium

ABSTRACT Mitochondrial (mt) DNA from Paramecium is a linear molecule, 14 μm in length (1). Replication is initiated by closure at a unique end, followed by unidirectional synthesis via a lariat intermediate, terminating in a head-to-head linear dimer (1,2). The processing of the linear dimer to two semi-conservatively constituted (3) monomer length molecules can be blocked by growth in the presence of chloramphenicol (1,2). This allows us to identify readily the initiation segment of DNA by the use of appropriate restriction endonucleases. Several species of Paramecium exist and by microinjection of isolated mitochondria, Beale and Knowles (4) have shown that species 1, 5 or 7 mitochondria can function and replicate in the nuclear environment of each other, although to different extents, but that species 4 can neither support the growth of mitochondria from the other species nor serve as a successful donor for microinjection of its mitochondria into the other species.
Why Do IS Scholars Cite Other Scholars? An Empirical Analysis of the Direct and Moderating Effects of Cooperation and Competition among IS Scholars on Individual Citation Behavior

Employing a theoretical framework based on social capital theory, we conceptualize previous citations by author A of author B as weak cooperation that indicates cognitive capital between these authors, and previous coauthorships between them as strong cooperation that captures relational capital between them. We propose that these two types of cooperation impact the citation behavior of author A. We also propose that competition between two authors arising from their affiliation similarity moderates the impact of both the strong and weak cooperation on individual citation behavior. Using a sample of all the 1034 authors who published papers in 10 premier IS journals in 2011, and their previous citation and coauthorship network data from 2006-2011, we found that the frequencies of previous citations and coauthorships are related to current citations, as hypothesized. Further, as hypothesized, these positive associations are weakened when the citing and cited authors have the same institutional affiliation.
Guidance and Control in Supercircular Atmosphere Entry

This paper discusses planetary entry maneuvers which include atmospheric capture for Mars entry velocities up to 12 km/sec; atmospheric capture for Earth entry velocities up to 21 km/sec; skipout control to either a parking orbit or extended ranges; and terminal range control. Simulator results are compared for both automatic and piloted-guidance systems. The results are presented to illustrate the expected guidance performance as compared with the vehicle’s full capabilities. Several factors considered are the control response requirements, the effect of measurement errors and atmosphere uncertainties, and the effect of various display and control techniques.
Atomic Layer Deposited TiO2–IrOx Alloys Enable Corrosion Resistant Water Oxidation on Silicon at High Photovoltage

We synthesized by atomic layer deposition (ALD) TiO2–IrOx alloys that enable high photovoltages and catalyze water oxidation on silicon metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) photoanodes. The ratio of TiO2 to IrOx was precisely controlled by varying the number of ALD cycles for each precursor. Silicon with a 2 nm surface SiO2 layer was coated with TiO2–IrOx alloys ranging in composition from 18 to 35% iridium relative to the sum of titanium and iridium concentrations. IrOx catalyzed oxygen evolution and imparted a high work function to the TiO2–IrOx alloys, enabling photovoltages during water oxidation that exceeded 600 mV. TiO2 imparted stability and inhibited corrosion of the underlying silicon light absorber. After annealing in forming gas (5% H2/95% N2), TiO2–IrOx alloys were stable for 12 h of continuous water oxidation in 1 M H2SO4. Key properties of the MIS junction affecting electrochemical operation were also extracted by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. This work demonstrates that alloying b...
A Reconfigurable 28-/37-GHz MMSE-Adaptive Hybrid-Beamforming Receiver for Carrier Aggregation and Multi-Standard MIMO Communication

This paper presents a multi-standard fully connected hybrid beamforming (FC-HBF) receiver that can be reconfigured between two fully connected two-stream multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) modes at 28- or 37-GHz band, and an inter-band carrier-aggregation (CA) mode enabling concurrent single-stream operation at 28 and 37 GHz. A new image-reject (IR) heterodyne beamforming architecture is introduced that facilitates easy reconfiguration. Concurrent dual-band operation of the beamformer front end is achieved by using an inherently wideband Cartesian-combining-based RF-domain complex-weighting architecture, which is implemented using coupled-resonator-based dual-band gain stages, and current-mode dual-band active combiners. The downconversion stage comprises a cascade of complex-quadrature mixing stages that combines Cartesian complex-weighting operation with image rejection. A new quadrature error detection and calibration scheme is also introduced to improve the image rejection of the proposed architecture. A minimum mean-square error (MMSE) beam adaptation technique, introduced for the first time in an RF or hybrid beamformer, breaks the need for individual access to the beamformer inputs needed in a traditional least-mean-square (LMS) scheme and allows both main lobe and null adaptation. A 28-/37-GHz hybrid beamforming receiver with four antenna inputs and two baseband output streams is designed in 65-nm CMOS that demonstrates the above features. In each antenna path, the receiver achieves 33-dB (26.5 dB) peak conversion gain, 2.75-GHz (3.75 GHz) RF bandwidth, and 5.7-dB (8.5 dB) NF at 28 GHz (37 GHz). The entire receiver consumes 310 mW and occupies 2.2 mm2 core area. Extensive characterization results for single-element and several multi-element scenarios are presented including concurrent dual-band receiving (>35-dB image rejection), null-steering (>25-dB peak to null for two elements), and multi-element CA (~50-dB inter-carrier interference rejection).
Challenges and opportunities in system-level evaluation of photonics

The cost and complexity of future interconnects create a significant opportunity for emerging photonic tech- nologies such as fibers and switches. These technologies should be evaluated at the system level in order to determine the most efficient way they can be used, as well as provide feedback to photonic developers to better optimize for high-level impact. In this paper, we argue for the need for a systematic methodology to extract system-level models for any emerging photonic component. We then outline our past experience with extracting architectural-level metrics from device demonstrations and conducting architectural-level evaluations. Finally, we discuss qualities for a desirable solution to this problem that requires cross-community collaboration.