cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The relationship of role-related variables to job satisfaction and commitment to the organization in a restructured hospital environment.

Background and Purpose. Many factors in today's hospitals can influence how physical therapists view their work experience. Changing roles, with the accompanying stress, and professionalism may contribute to a therapist's perception of his or her job and the organization in which he or she works. In this study, the relationship between changes in physical therapist role behaviors following hospital restructuring and 2 work-related outcomes—job satisfaction and commitment to the organization—was studied. The influence of stress and occupational commitment on these outcomes also was examined. Subjects and Methods. Through a survey of 273 hospital-based physical therapists, changes in physical therapist role behaviors, levels of stress, occupational commitment, job satisfaction, and commitment to the organization following restructuring were identified and examined. Results. Six role behavior dimensions reflecting professional and organizational responsibilities were identified from the data. After controlling for sample demographics, the professional role behaviors, specifically those reflecting interaction and integration with other practitioners, appeared to exert a small, but positive, influence on job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. In addition, occupational commitment had a positive influence, whereas stress had a negative influence on job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. Discussion and Conclusion. Multiple aspects of a clinician's role could influence job satisfaction and commitment to the organization following hospital restructuring. The most influential factor was stress, which often accompanies organizational change. However, the positive influence of occupational commitment and the role behaviors that involve increased interaction with other people were noted and reflect professional role characteristics described in the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice .
Use of Serologic Markers as a Screening Tool in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Compared With Elevated Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate and Anemia

OBJECTIVES.The purpose of this work was to evaluate the use of serologic testing as a screening test for inflammatory bowel disease compared with erythrocyte sedimentation rate and hemoglobin in a referred patient population with suspected inflammatory bowel disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS.A retrospective study was performed, reviewing medical charts of patients who had inflammatory bowel disease serology performed at Prometheus Laboratories from September 2002 to September 2004. Patients were divided into 4 categories: ulcerative colitis, Crohn disease, indeterminate colitis, and noninflammatory bowel disease groups. Patients were categorized based on clinical evaluation by board-certified pediatric gastroenterologists. RESULTS.A total of 227 patients seen at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Gastroenterology Clinic had inflammatory bowel disease serology performed at or before the time of diagnosis. Seventeen charts were excluded secondary to inadequate information. Forty children were found to have inflammatory bowel disease, a prevalence of 19%. Overall, serologic testing for inflammatory bowel disease had 60% sensitivity and 92% specificity. A positive laboratory test for anemia or an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate had 83% sensitivity, whereas the combination of anemia and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate had 96% specificity. The positive predictive value of serologic testing was 60% compared with 79% in patients with anemia and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate. The positive predictive value of serologic testing in the subgroup of subjects without rectal bleeding (139 subjects) was only 35% compared with 60% using routine tests. Almost one third of all positive serologic tests were in patients with no demonstrable inflammatory bowel disease. CONCLUSIONS.As a pediatric inflammatory bowel disease screening strategy for the general pediatrician or gastroenterologist, the measurement of the combination of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and hemoglobin has a higher positive predictive value and is more sensitive, more specific, and less costly than commercial serologic testing.
An energy-efficient MAC protocol for wireless sensor networks

This paper proposes S-MAC, a medium-access control (MAC) protocol designed for wireless sensor networks. Wireless sensor networks use battery-operated computing and sensing devices. A network of these devices will collaborate for a common application such as environmental monitoring. We expect sensor networks to be deployed in an ad hoc fashion, with individual nodes remaining largely inactive for long periods of time, but then becoming suddenly active when something is detected. These characteristics of sensor networks and applications motivate a MAC that is different from traditional wireless MACs such as IEEE 802.11 in almost every way: energy conservation and self-configuration are primary goals, while per-node fairness and latency are less important. S-MAC uses three novel techniques to reduce energy consumption and support self-configuration. To reduce energy consumption in listening to an idle channel, nodes periodically sleep. Neighboring nodes form virtual clusters to auto-synchronize on sleep schedules. Inspired by PAMAS, S-MAC also sets the radio to sleep during transmissions of other nodes. Unlike PAMAS, it only uses in-channel signaling. Finally, S-MAC applies message passing to reduce contention latency for sensor-network applications that require store-and-forward processing as data move through the network. We evaluate our implementation of S-MAC over a sample sensor node, the Mote, developed at University of California, Berkeley. The experiment results show that, on a source node, an 802.11-like MAC consumes 2-6 times more energy than S-MAC for traffic load with messages sent every 1-10 s.
Effects of parasitic infection and radio-transmitters on condition, hematological characteristics and corticosterone concentrations in Texas ratsnakes

Parasites are a health concern of many wildlife species, although their effect on reptiles is poorly studied. Here we examine effects of hemogregarine and external parasites on Texas ratsnake Elaphe obsoleta white blood cell (WBC) concentrations, WBC differentials, heterophil/lymphocyte ratios, packed cell volume (PCV), corticosterone concentrations and body condition. We found little evidence that either ectoparasites or hemogregarines affected the health of Texas ratsnakes. We found a seasonal increase in corticosterone, consistent with glucocorticoids priming the snakes to deal with higher predation risks later in the season. We also examined whether the potential stress of carrying a surgically implanted radio-transmitter compounds any parasitic health effects. We found no effect of transmitters on most aspects of health. We did find equivocal evidence that WBC concentrations were higher in snakes with transmitters and that PCV decreased following transmitter implantation. Although our results generally support the view that data collected using radio-telemetry are unlikely to be biased due to adverse health effects of transmitters, the growing importance of telemetry for studies of snakes and other taxa argues for further research on this topic. When possible, researchers should design telemetry studies in such a way that assessing potential heath effects of transmitters is one of the objectives.
Treatment of redundancies among internal coordinates in optimizing molecular mechanics force constants

The use of redundant coordinate bases in the construction of molecular mechanics force fields is discussed. It is shown that the intrinsic indeterminacy in a force field in redundant coordinates in general stems from the squares of the first-order redundancy relations. The necessity to use constraints in such a force field is pointed out, and a method to check whether or not a set of constraints makes the force field determinate is described. It is also explained how force fields corresponding to different sets of constraints can be transformed into one another. To facilitate the utilization of ab initio or other spectroscopic force fields, a procedure is given by which force constants pertaining to a nonredundant coordinate basis can be optimized in molecular mechanics calculations where redundant coordinates are used. © 1992 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Self-polarization and directional motility of cytoplasm

Abstract Background: Directional cell motility implies the presence of a steering mechanism and a functional asymmetry between the front and rear of the cell. How this functional asymmetry arises and is maintained during cell locomotion is, however, unclear. Lamellar fragments of fish epidermal keratocytes, which lack nuclei, microtubules and most organelles, present a simplified, perhaps minimal, system for analyzing this problem because they consist of little other than the motile machinery enclosed by a membrane and yet can move with remarkable speed and persistence. Results: We have produced two types of cellular fragments: discoid stationary fragments and polarized fragments undergoing locomotion. The organization and dynamics of the actin–myosin II system were isotropic in stationary fragments and anisotropic in the moving fragments. To investigate whether the creation of asymmetry could result in locomotion, a transient mechanical stimulus was applied to stationary fragments. The stimulus induced localized contraction and the formation of an actin–myosin II bundle at one edge of the fragment. Remarkably, stimulated fragments started to undergo locomotion and the locomotion and associated anisotropic organization of the actin–myosin II system were sustained after withdrawal of the stimulus. Conclusions: We propose a model in which lamellar cytoplasm is considered a dynamically bistable system capable of existing in a non-polarized or polarized state and interconvertible by mechanical stimulus. The model explains how the anisotropic organization of the lamellum is maintained in the process of locomotion. Polarized locomotion is sustained through a positive-feedback loop intrinsic to the actin–myosin II machinery: anisotropic organization of the machinery drives translocation, which then reinforces the asymmetry of the machinery, favoring further translocation.
The cycle of atmospheric cadmium over the North Pacific Ocean

Bulk aerosol, cascade impactor, precipitation, and seawater samples were collected for a study of atmospheric cadmium at two sites in the Central North Pacific Ocean. The results of the analyses of these samples strongly suggest that the primary source of atmospheric Cd is the long-range transport of anthropogenic pollutant aerosol from Asia and Japan. The atmospheric concentration of Cd ranged from 1 to 60 pg m -3 and was strongly correlated with the atmospheric Pb concentration. The deposition rate of atmospheric Cd was estimated to be between 6 and 70 ng m -2 d -1 during the spring, and this flux is an insignificant source of Cd found in the surface waters of the Central North Pacific. The dissolubility of atmospheric Cd in seawater was determined. Virtually all of the Cd was released into an operationally defined dissolved state within 6 h. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0889.1991.00002.x
Security Analysis of Role-based Separation of Duty with Workflows

Role-based access control (RBAC) is the most predominant access control model in today's security management due to its ability to simplify authorization, and flexibility to specify and enforce protection policies. In RBAC, Separation of Duty (SoD) constrains user role authorization to protect sensitive information from frauds due to conflicts of interests. SoD constraints are commonly defined by mutually exclusive roles (MER) (e.g., bank teller and auditor). This paper proposes practical computational techniques for analyzing SoD by integrating workflows of the enterprise processes into the RBAC framework. Specifically, we present 1) an algorithm for generating MER to enforce SoD, and 2) a verification algorithm to check if a given RBAC state (role authorization and user-role assignments) satisfies a given type of SoD constraint or not. The paper discusses the details of the approach and illustrates its use in a loan application domain.
Re: Berg S, Tullberg T. Letter to the editor regarding Mannion, Brox, Fairbank. Comparison of spinal fusion and nonoperative treatment in patients with chronic low back pain: long-term follow-up of three randomized controlled trials. Spine J 2014;14:1087.

Fairbank. Comparison of spinal fusion and nonoperative treatment in patients with chronic low back pain: long-term follow-up of three randomized controlled trials. Spine J 2014;14:1087. [4] Mannion AF, Brox JI, Fairbank JC. Comparison of spinal fusion and nonoperative treatment in patients with chronic low back pain: longterm follow-up of three randomized controlled trials. Spine J 2013;13:1438–48. [5] Weinstein JN, Tosteson TD, Lurie JD, Tosteson AN, Hanscom B, Skinner JS, et al. Surgical versus nonoperative treatment for lumbar disk herniation: the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT): a randomized trial. JAMA 2006;296:2441–50. [6] Weinstein JN, Lurie JD, Tosteson TD, Tosteson AN, Blood EA, Abdu WA, et al. Surgical versus non-operative treatment for lumbar disc herniation: four-year results for the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT). Spine 2008;33:2789–800. [7] Weinstein JN, Tosteson TD, Lurie JD, Tosteson AN, Blood EA, Herkowitz H, et al. Surgical versus non-operative treatment for lumbar spinal stenosis: four-year results of the Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial (SPORT). Spine 2010;35:1329–38. [8] Sagarin BJ, West SG, Ratnikov A, Homan WK, Ritchie TD, Hansen EJ. Treatment noncompliance in randomized experiments: statistical approaches and design issues. Psychol Methods 2014 Apr 28. [Epub ahead of print]. [9] Shrier I, Steele RJ, Verhagen E, Herbert R, Riddell CA, Kaufman JS. Beyond intention to treat: what is the right question? Clin Trials 2014;11:28–37. [10] Ye C, Beyene J, Browne G, Thabane L. Estimating treatment effects in randomised controlled trials with non-compliance: a simulation study. BMJ Open 2014;4:e005362. [11] Wartalowska K, Judge A, Hopewell S, Collins GS, Dean BJ, Rombach I. Use of placebo controls in the evaluation of surgery: systematic review. BMJ 2014;348:g3253.
Interconversion of Yeast Mating Types I. Direct Observations of the Action of the Homothallism (HO) Gene.

The HO gene promotes interconversion between a and alpha mating types. As a consequence, homothallic diploid cells are formed by mating between siblings descended from a single alpha HO or a HO spore. In order to determine the frequency and pattern of the mating-type switch, we have used a simple technique by which the mating phenotype can be assayed without losing the cell to the mating process itself. Specifically, we have performed pedigree analysis on descendants of single homothallic spores, testing these cells for sensitivity to alpha-factor.The switch from alpha to a and vice versa is detectable after a minimum of two cell divisions. 50% of the clones tested showed switching by the four-cell stage. Of the four cells descended from a single cell, only the oldest cell and its immediate daughter are observed to change mating type. This pattern suggests that one event in the switching process has occurred in the first cell division cycle. Restriction of the switched mating-type to two particular cells may reflect the action of the homothallism system followed by nonrandom segregation of DNA strands in mitosis.The mating behavior of cells which have sustained a change in mating type due to the HO gene is indistinguishable from that of heterothallic strains.
Thomas F. Torrance and the problem of universalism

While Karl Barth and Thomas F. Torrance both believed in the possibility of universal salvation, they also rejected the idea that we could make a final determination about this possibility prior to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Hence, both theologians rejected what may be called a doctrine of universal salvation in the interest of respecting God's freedom to determine the outcome of salvation history in accordance with the love which was revealed in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus himself. This article explores Torrance's reasons for holding that ‘the voice of the Catholic Church . . . throughout all ages has consistently judged universalism a heresy for faith and a menace to the Gospel’. Torrance expressly believed in the ‘universality of Christ's saving work’ but rejected ‘universalism’ and any idea of ‘limited atonement’. He considered both of these views to be rationalistic approaches which ignore the need for eschatological reserve when thinking about what happens at the end when Christ comes again and consequently tend to read back logical necessities into the gospel of free grace. Whenever this happens, Torrance held that the true meaning of election as the basis for Christian hope is lost and some version of limited atonement or determinism invariably follows. The ultimate problem with universalism then, from Torrance's perspective, can be traced to a form of Nestorian thinking with respect to christology and to a theoretical and practical separation of the person of Christ from his atoning work for us. What I hope to show in this article is that those who advance a ‘doctrine of universalism’ as opposed to its possibility also have an inadequate understanding of the Trinity. Interestingly, Torrance objected to the thinking of John A. T. Robinson and Rudolf Bultmann because both theologians, in their own way, separated knowledge of God for us from knowledge of who God is ‘in himself’. Any such thinking transfers our knowledge of God and of salvation from the objective knowledge of God given in revelation to a type of symbolic, mythological or existential knowledge projected from one's experience of faith and this once again opens the door to both limited atonement and to universalism. Against this Torrance insisted that we cannot speak objectively about what God is doing for us unless we can speak analogically about who God is in himself.
Optimum quantised low sidelobe phase tapers for arrays

A genetic algorithm is used to find optimum quantised low sidelobe phase tapers for linear arrays of point sources. This method has the advantage that the optimum taper is found in quantised phase space rather than in continuous phase space.
Adoption of computer-based training in Hong Kong hotels

ABSTRACTDespite the growing availability of technology, the majority of the training conducted in hotels still uses the traditional classroom-based and instructor-led method. How long it will take the hotel industry to completely embrace computer-based training is unknown. In the Hong Kong hotel industry, computer-based training has not been fully and appropriately adopted, and there are no plans for implementation in the near future. Though managers have positive attitudes toward computer-based training and appreciate the related benefits, the future of computer-based training is uncertain because only 10% of the managers participating in this study could guarantee an amount for their computer-based training budgets in the near future. Blended learning is recommended.
The Television, School, and Family Smoking Prevention and Cessation Project: VIII. Student Outcomes and Mediating Variables

Background. This paper presents the student outcomes of a large-scale, social-influences-based, school and mediabased tobacco use prevention and cessation project in Southern California. Methods. The study provided an experimental comparison of classroom delivery with television delivery and the combination of the two in a 2 x 2 plus 1 design. Schools were randomly assigned to conditions. Control groups included “treatment as usual” and an “attention control” with the same outcome expectancies as the treatment conditions. Students were surveyed twice in grade 7 and once in each of grades 8 and 9. The interventions occurred during grade ‘7. Results. We observed significant effects on mediating variables such as knowledge, prevalence estimates, and coping effort. The knowledge and prevalence estimates effects decayed partially but remained significant up to a 2-year follow-up. The coping effort effect did not persist at follow-ups. There were significant main effects of both classroom training and TV programming on knowledge and prevalence estimates and significant interactions of classroom and TV programming on knowledge (negative), disapproval of parental smoking, and coping effort. There were no consistent program effects on refusal/self-efficacy, smoking intentions, or behavior. Conclusions. Previous reports demonstrated successful development and pilot testing of program components and measures and high acceptance of the program by students and parents. The lack of behavioral effects may have been the result of imperfect program implementation or low base
Direct observation of microtubule-f-actin interaction in cell free lysates.

Coordinated interplay of the microtubule and actin cytoskeletons has long been known to be crucial for many cellular processes including cell migration and cytokinesis. However, interactions between these two systems have been difficult to document by conventional approaches, for a variety of technical reasons. Here the distribution of f-actin and microtubules were analyzed in the absence of fixation using Xenopus egg extracts as an in vitro source of microtubules and f-actin, demembranated Xenopus sperm to nucleate microtubule asters, fluorescent phalloidin as a probe for f-actin, and fluorescent tubulin as a probe for microtubules. F-actin consistently colocalized in a lengthwise manner with microtubules of asters subjected to extensive washing in flow chambers. F-actin-microtubule association was heterogenous within a given aster, such that f-actin is most abundant toward the distal (plus) ends of microtubules, and microtubules heavily labeled with f-actin are found in close proximity to microtubules devoid of f-actin. However, this distribution changed over time, in that 5 minute asters had more f-actin in their interiors than did 15 minute asters. Microtubule association with f-actin was correlated with microtubule bending and kinking, while elimination of f-actin resulted in straighter microtubules, indicating that the in vitro interaction between f-actin and microtubules is functionally significant. F-actin was also found to associate in a lengthwise fashion with microtubules in asters centrifuged through 30% sucrose, and microtubules alone (i.e. microtubules not seeded from demembranated sperm) centrifuged through sucrose, indicating that the association cannot be explained by flow-induced trapping and alignment of f-actin by aster microtubules. Further, cosedimentation analysis revealed that microtubule-f-actin association could be reconstituted from microtubules assembled from purified brain tubulin and f-actin assembled from purified muscle actin in the presence, but not the absence, of Xenopus oocyte microtubule binding proteins. The results provide direct evidence for an association between microtubules and f-actin in vitro, indicate that this interaction is mediated by one or more microtubule binding proteins, and suggest that this interaction may be responsible for the mutual regulation of the microtubule and actomyosin cytoskeletons observed in vivo.
Bandpass and Quadrature DeltaSigma Modulation

This chapter shows how delta???sigma converters can be used to digitize narrowband signals containing frequencies that are an appreciable fraction of the sampling rate. In the superheterodyne architecture, the incoming radio???frequency (RF) signal is repeatedly filtered, amplified, and downconverted before being digitized and sent to a digital signal processor (DSP). This architecture is able to achieve a high degree of selectivity without using high???Q filters since filtering is applied repeatedly at progressively lower frequencies. The primary barrier to using a bandpass analog to digital converters (ADC) as a receiver is the converter's center???frequency range. Both forms of interleaving are sensitive to mismatch, but the resulting impairments are qualitatively different. In a time???interleaved ADC mismatch causes spurs and noise, whereas in a frequency???interleaved ADC, mismatch is either benign if the bands are not stitched together, or merely results in a non???flat frequency response. Bandpass modulators possess the same architectural variety as lowpass modulators, and the trade???offs between the different structures are also essentially the same. The chapter suggests that bandpass modulators can be implemented in single???loop or cascade form, with a similar trade???off between improved stability and increased sensitivity to analog nonidealities such as coefficient errors and finite opamp gain.
Yeiko Mizobe So and the Japanese Women's Home for Abused Picture Brides (1895–1905)

Much of the literature on the history of the Issei, or first-generation Japanese migrants, has focused on the experiences of men and their struggle against political, economic, and social discrimination both in Hawai'i as well as in the United States. In an attempt to understand the history of this pioneering group and restore agency and individuality to these predominantly male migrants, Japanese women have been relegated to occupying secondary or supportive roles as wives, mothers, and lower paid workers with little voice. Women, notes scholar Alice Yun Chai, "were both victims of oppression and active agents of change."2 The absence of their "voice" and of their individual identity in the dominant historiography was not just a reflection of controlling male patriarchal institutions both in their communities and in academia, but was also a strategy of resistance. Women reinforced a certain image of a good wife and mother through a constructed silence of activities that defied "proper" female conventions...
Arthrodesis of the hip produced by internal fixation.

The procedure described should be limited to older patients who have degenerative or traumatic arthritis of the hip. Marked aseptic necrosis, and a wide disparity of configuration between the head of the femur and the acetabulum, are definite contraindications. A vitallium screw placed through the acetabulum and into the head of the femur adds greatly to the stability secured by the Smith-Petersen nail. If there is motion in the hip at the end of the operation, this will increase as the patient moves about. To ensure complete stability, the nail must penetrate the thick part of the acetabulum. This procedure provides immediate hip fixation and allows the patient to be up two weeks after operation.
Neutron diffraction study of hydrogen in birnessite structures

The positions of hydrogen (deuterium) cations within the interlayer of synthetic Na- and K-birnessite samples have been determined for the first time using Rietveld analysis and Fourier difference syntheses, from time-of-flight powder neutron diffraction data. This study revealed that two symmetry-related D(H) positions are located ~1 A above and below the midpoint between the split O interlayer sites in Na-birnessite. This result confirms our earlier interpretation that the split interlayer sites include O atoms from two symmetrically equivalent H2O molecules. These molecules are oriented 180° to each other, and they are pivoted about a single set of H(D) atoms positions. The interlayer H2O molecules in K-birnessite are oriented such that one of the H(D) atoms is pointed approximately toward the Mn octahedral layer O atoms and the other is directed approximately within the net of interlayer K/O sites. In K-birnessite, six K-Ooct distances are shorter than 3.35 A, compared with only two Na-Ooct bond lengths in Na-birnessite, suggesting that K cations are more tightly bonded to the octahedral O atoms than are Na cations.
AMINOACYL-TRNA SYNTHETASE COMPLEX IN SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

The size distribution of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase activity was investigated in cell extracts prepared from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Bio-Gel A-5M chromatography of 105,000 g supernatants separated isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase activity into three peaks, with apparent molecular masses (Da) of about 100,000, 350,000 and 10(6) or greater. Similar results were obtained with synthetases specific for glutamic acid, serine and tyrosine. Sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation of yeast supernatants also provided evidence for the existence of synthetase complexes. These data provide the first evidence for the existence of a high-molecular-mass aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase complex in yeast, perhaps similar to those reported in higher eukaryotes.
Analysis on epidemic situation of sexually transmitted diseases in Qingshanhu District of Nanchang City from 2009-2012

[Objective]To understand the epidemiological characteristics of sexually transmitted diseases( STD) in Qingshanhu District of Nanchang City,provide the basis for STD prevention and control.[Methods]The data was collected from the China information system for diseases control and prevention,and the STD epidemic situation in Qingshanhu District of Nanchang City from 2009-2012 was analyzed by EXCEL software.[Results]During 2009-2012,the epidemic situation of STD in Qingshanhu District of Nanchang City has remained relatively stable,and the average annual incidence rate was lower than that in coastal developed areas. The patients mainly concentrated in 20-49 year-old and over 60 year-old age groups,and most common careers were housework,unemployment,farmers and workers. [Conclusion]The relevant health departments should pay attention to the diagnosis and treatment of STD,as well as case reporting in the medical institutions,carry out the standardized management,and implement STD education and condom promotion among high-risk population.
The Application of Yang Jiabu Folk Art in Modern Packaging Design

From the perspective of packaging art design,With several side from technology,form,content,it discussed the characteristics of Yangjiabu folk art style,presented the connection between wood new year painting represented Yang Jiabu folk art and packaging design,focused on analyzing the important role and methods of application in Yangjiabu folk art and modern packaging design.It advocated to promote modern packaging design to cherish the culture,promote cultural and creative industries to create a classic of both traditional and modern works
The Study of High-frequent Echo Characteristics From Non-rigid Targets near an Interface

High-frequent echo characteristics from non-rigid targets near an interface are studied.Kirchhoff approximate expression is derived for calculating the form function or target strength.The form function and target strength of non-rigid and rigid spherical objects are calculated and compared to the rigid spherical object's in free space.The results show that the echo strength is enhanced,and fluctuation characteristics are distinct because of the added influences caused by interface.If sound absorption materials or materials transparent to sound are used by objects near an interface,the interference of additional echo will be reduced and be propitious to the stealth of bottom objects.
Maximal clique based distributed coalition formation for task allocation in large-scale multi-agent systems

We present a fully distributed algorithm for coalition formation among autonomous agents. The algorithm is based on two main ideas. One is a distributed computation of maximal cliques (of bounded sizes) in the underlying graph that captures the interconnection communication topology of the agents. Hence, given the current configuration of the agents, the coalitions that are formed are characterized by a high degree of connectivity, and therefore a high fault tolerance with respect to the subsequent node and/or link failures. The second idea is that each agent chooses its most preferable coalition based on how highly the agent values each such coalition in terms of the coalition members' combined resources or capabilities. Coalitions with sufficient resources for fulfilling highly desirable tasks are preferable to the coalitions with resources that suffice only for completing less valuable tasks. We envision variants of our distributed algorithm presented herein to prove themselves useful coordination subroutines in many massively multi-agent system applications where the agents may repeatedly need to form temporary groups or coalitions of modest sizes in an efficient, online and fully distributed manner.
Management of Federally Owned Grasslands in the Climate Change Era

The federal government owns and manages substantial tracts of grasslands, which provide ecosystem services worth trillions of dollars. These include seed dispersal, mitigation of droughts and floods, nutrient cycling, control of pests and disease-carrying organisms, maintenance of biodiversity and wildlife habitat, soil preservation, climate stabilization, watershed and water body protection, pollination, carbon sequestration, and recreational opportunities. Like most ecosystem types found on federal lands, grasslands ecosystems are vulnerable to ongoing and predicted changes in climate. The land management agencies that administer federal grasslands face novel management challenges that require development of climate change adaptation strategies, some of which they have begun to implement. In responding to and anticipating climate-related threats, a principal goals of grasslands managers should be to protect the integrity of well-functioning grasslands. The management strategies under consideration should include exclusion of or restrictions on uses likely to exacerbate the threats posed by climate change to healthy grasslands, abandonment of efforts to preserve historic conditions that climate change has irreparably altered, and active management of at least some areas in which non-intervention has to date been the norm.
β-Adrenergic induction of lipolysis in hepatocytes is inhibited by ethanol exposure

In liver steatosis (i.e. fatty liver), hepatocytes accumulate many large neutral lipid storage organelles known as lipid droplets (LDs). LDs are important in the maintenance of energy homeostasis, but the signaling mechanisms that stimulate LD metabolism in hepatocytes are poorly defined. In adipocytes, catecholamines target the β-adrenergic (β-AR)/cAMP pathway to activate cytosolic lipases and induce their recruitment to the LD surface. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine whether hepatocytes, like adipocytes, also undergo cAMP-mediated lipolysis in response to β-AR stimulation. Using primary rat hepatocytes and human hepatoma cells, we found that treatment with the β-AR agent isoproterenol caused substantial LD loss via activation of cytosolic lipases adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). β-Adrenergic stimulation rapidly activated PKA, which led to the phosphorylation of ATGL and HSL and their recruitment to the LD surface. To test whether this β-AR-dependent lipolysis pathway was altered in a model of alcoholic fatty liver, primary hepatocytes from rats fed a 6-week EtOH-containing Lieber-DeCarli diet were treated with cAMP agonists. Compared with controls, EtOH-exposed hepatocytes showed a drastic inhibition in β-AR/cAMP-induced LD breakdown and the phosphorylation of PKA substrates, including HSL. This observation was supported in VA-13 cells, an EtOH-metabolizing human hepatoma cell line, which displayed marked defects in both PKA activation and isoproterenol-induced ATGL translocation to the LD periphery. In summary, these findings suggest that β-AR stimulation mobilizes cytosolic lipases for LD breakdown in hepatocytes, and perturbation of this pathway could be a major consequence of chronic EtOH insult leading to fatty liver.
Aeroelastic Response of Multi-Segmented Hinged Wings

Dynamic aeroelastic response of multi-segment ed hinged wings is studied theoretically and experimentally in this paper. For the theoretical study, a method of modeling the aeroelastic characteristics of multi-hinged wings is proposed. The method employs the RungeKutta scheme to solve the governing equations of a flexible multibody dynamic system. The Henon method is used to switch between bilinear stiffness states of the wing in bending. Experimental wind tunnel test of a six-segmented hinged wing is conducted for better insight into the mechanics of the motion. Correlation between the experimental and theoretical results are presented, and show that the model capture the fundamental mechanical characteristics of such wing. The aeroelastic effects of adding unlatched hinges to a wing are discussed. The theoretical model presented here will be used for aeroelastic design of future hinged wings for remotely deployable vehicles.
Subspace Clustering via Variance Regularized Ridge Regression

Spectral clustering based subspace clustering methods have emerged recently. When the inputs are 2-dimensional (2D) data, most existing clustering methods convert such data to vectors as preprocessing, which severely damages spatial information of the data. In this paper, we propose a novel subspace clustering method for 2D data with enhanced capability of retaining spatial information for clustering. It seeks two projection matrices and simultaneously constructs a linear representation of the projected data, such that the sought projections help construct the most expressive representation with the most variational information. We regularize our method based on covariance matrices directly obtained from 2D data, which have much smaller size and are more computationally amiable. Moreover, to exploit nonlinear structures of the data, a nonlinear version is proposed, which constructs an adaptive manifold according to updated projections. The learning processes of projections, representation, and manifold thus mutually enhance each other, leading to a powerful data representation. Efficient optimization procedures are proposed, which generate non-increasing objective value sequence with theoretical convergence guarantee. Extensive experimental results confirm the effectiveness of proposed method.
Recombination at high carrier density in methylammonium lead iodide studied using time-resolved microwave conductivity

Time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) is a highly versatile method to rapidly evaluate the electronic properties of semiconducting compounds without the need to construct and optimize electronic devices. In this report, we study how bimolecular and Auger recombination mechanisms affect TRMC measurements. In particular, we investigate how recombination reduces the measured value of the TRMC figure-of-merit: ϕΣμ, at a high incident optical fluence. Using a numerical model, we calculate how these higher-order recombination processes reduce experimentally measured values of ϕΣμ relative to a regime of low carrier concentration with little recombination. By fitting this model to experimentally obtained data for the hybrid halide perovskite compound, methylammonium lead iodide, we are able to extract the bimolecular and Auger rate constants and provide a clear determination of the sum of the hole and electron mobilities for these films.
Surveying happiness in China: comparing measures of subjective well-being

The objectives of this study are to investigate (1) whether subjective well-being (SWB) measures in surveys on China are interchangeable and (2) whether these measures work together as a construct. To accomplish these tasks, we examine SWB measures 1990–2016 for basic statistics, correlations between pairs of happiness terms within the same surveys, and test the internal consistency of five variables in the Blessed Happiness survey. Findings indicate that while the terms are not interchangeable, they work together to create a reasonably reliable construct.
The role of sortilin in the “Glut4 Pathway”.

Sorting receptor, sortilin, is highly expressed in metabolically active tissues, such as brain, liver, skeletal muscle, and fat. Specifically in adipocytes, sortilin plays an important role in the “Glut4 pathway” by sorting the insulin-responsive glucose transporter, Glut4, in early endosomes and trans-Golgi network and re-routing the transporter from degradation to the recycling pathway.
Reflections of a Department Chair

In eary 1984 I received a telephone call from Paul Halmos — that was before he converted to e-mail — during which he said, among other things, that he would like to be someplace with more sunny days. The Bloomington winter seemed long. A telephone call from Paul was not unusual; I was coeditor of the Problem Section of the Monthly, for which Paul was at that time editor-in-chief. He asked whether I happened to know of any open positions in California. I responded that I didn’t, but I would think about it. When I had, I called him and asked him whether he might consider Santa Clara, a place I suspect he knew little about at that stage. But I pointed out one salient fact about Santa Clara — we do see the sun a lot. I raised the question of his joining us at Santa Clara with some hesitation because, though we may have good weather, Santa Clara is not the kind of institution at which Paul had spent his career: the Institute for Advanced Study, Syracuse, Chicago, Michigan, Hawaii, UC Santa Barbara, and Indiana. Our department is undergraduate, with approximately 20 faculty.
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection in a man with intense coughing spasms.

Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is a rare cause of acute myocardial infarction of emerging significance, which occurs predominantly in young women without coronary artery disease risk factors. Valsalva-like activities such as coughing have been identified as potential triggers for the development of SCAD. We report a case of SCAD in a man in whom the only identifiable predisposing factor was excessive coughing. He presented with atypical chest pain. Troponin I peaked at 29 ng/mL, and ECG showed no evidence of ischaemic changes. He underwent cardiac catheterisation via the radial approach, which revealed a linear second obtuse marginal dissection. He was managed conservatively with medical therapy with a good outcome.
Documentales sobre el 15-m: una modalidad plural para una revolución plural

The biased media coverage on 15-M in 2011 grants the documentaries produced on this topic the ability to intervene in the social imaginary; at the same time, it reveals the difficulty of representing this social movement. In this article I will study the documentaries #Indignados. Del 15M al 20N , 15M: “Excelente, Revulsivo, Importante” , #Acampadasol: historia de una ciudad , Falsos horizontes and Libre te quiero in order to show how the diversity of documentary modes —using Bill Nichol’s conceptual scheme— used by the authors reflects that 15-M cannot be easily confined within the conventions of a unique type of representation .
The Preferred Perceptual Learning Styles of Hispanic Higher Education Students.

This article addresses the question of whether higher education Hispanic students of different nationalities have different perceptual learning style preferences. Independent samples t test results...
Genotype × Environment interactions of Nagina22 rice mutants for yield traits under low phosphorus, water limited and normal irrigated conditions

Multi environment testing helps identify stable genotypes especially for adverse abiotic stress situations. In the era of climate change and multiple abiotic stresses, it becomes important to analyze stability of rice lines under both irrigated and stress conditions. Mutants are an important genetic resource which can help in revealing the basis of natural variation. We analyzed 300 EMS induced mutants of aus rice cultivar Nagina22 (N22) for their G × E interaction and stability under low phosphorus (P), water limited and irrigated conditions. Environmental effect and interaction were more significant than genotypic contribution on grain yield (GY), productive tillers (TN) and plant height (PH) under these three environmental conditions in dry season, 2010. GY and TN were more affected by low P stress than by water limited condition, but PH was not significantly different under these two stresses. Mutants G17, G209, G29, G91, G63 and G32 were stable for GY in decreasing order of stability across the three environments but G254 and G50 were stable only in low P, G17 and G45 only in water limited and G295 and G289 only in normal irrigated condition. We then selected and evaluated 3 high yielding mutants, 3 low yielding mutants and N22 for their stability and adaptability to these 3 environments in both wet and dry seasons for six years (2010-2015). The most stable lines based on the combined analysis of 12 seasons were G125 (NH210) under normal condition, G17 (NH686), G176 (NH363) and G284 (NH162) in low P condition and G176 (NH363) under water limited condition. G176 was the best considering all 3 conditions. When screened for 15 Pup1 gene-specific markers, G176 showed alleles similar to N22. While two other low-P tolerant lines G17 and G65 showed N22 similar alleles only at k-1 and k-5 but a different allele or null allele at 13 other loci. These stable mutants are a valuable resource for varietal development and to discover genes for tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses.
Refinement of path expressions for static analysis

Algebraic program analyses compute information about a program’s behavior by first (a) computing a valid path expression—i.e., a regular expression that recognizes all feasible execution paths (and usually more)—and then (b) interpreting the path expression in a semantic algebra that defines the analysis. There are an infinite number of different regular expressions that qualify as valid path expressions, which raises the question “Which one should we choose?” While any choice yields a sound result, for many analyses the choice can have a drastic effect on the precision of the results obtained. This paper investigates the following two questions: (1) What does it mean for one valid path expression to be “better” than another? (2) Can we compute a valid path expression that is “better,” and if so, how? We show that it is not satisfactory to compare two path expressions E1 and E2 solely by means of the languages that they generate. Counter to one’s intuition, it is possible for L(E2) ⊊ L(E1), yet for E2 to produce a less-precise analysis result than E1—and thus we would not want to perform the transformation E1 → E2. However, the exclusion of paths so as to analyze a smaller language of paths is exactly the refinement criterion used by some prior methods. In this paper, we develop an algorithm that takes as input a valid path expression E, and returns a valid path expression E′ that is guaranteed to yield analysis results that are at least as good as those obtained using E. While the algorithm sometimes returns E itself, it typically does not: (i) we prove a no-degradation result for the algorithm’s base case—for transforming a leaf loop (i.e., a most-deeply-nested loop); (ii) at a non-leaf loop L, the algorithm treats each loop L′ in the body of L as an indivisible atom, and applies the leaf-loop algorithm to L; the no-degradation result carries over to (ii), as well. Our experiments show that the technique has a substantial impact: the loop-refinement algorithm allows the implementation of Compositional Recurrence Analysis to prove over 25% more assertions for a collection of challenging loop micro-benchmarks.