cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resolution and Reconstitution of the Photosystem I Reaction Center Complex in Green Plants and Cyanobacteria

The Photosystem I reaction center in green plants and cyanobacteria is a thylakoid-embedded, multi-protein complex containing antenna chlorophyll a (and b) molecules, a chlorophyll electron donor, P700, a chlorophyll electron acceptor, A0, a quinone intermediate electron acceptor, A1, and three iron-sulfur clusters, FX, FB, and FA [see ref. 1 for review]. The function of the acceptor molecules is to stabilize the transient charge separation between the primary reactants, P700 and A0, by permitting rapid forward electron transfer to outcompete the inherent backreaction between the initial primary reactants. The iron-sulfur clusters, FX, FB and FA, are clearly essential in stabilizing the early events of charge separation in Photosystem I.
Embarrassingly Parallel Variational Inference in Nonconjugate Models.

We develop a parallel variational inference (VI) procedure for use in data-distributed settings, where each machine only has access to a subset of data and runs VI independently, without communicating with other machines. This type of "embarrassingly parallel" procedure has recently been developed for MCMC inference algorithms; however, in many cases it is not possible to directly extend this procedure to VI methods without requiring certain restrictive exponential family conditions on the form of the model. Furthermore, most existing (nonparallel) VI methods are restricted to use on conditionally conjugate models, which limits their applicability. To combat these issues, we make use of the recently proposed nonparametric VI to facilitate an embarrassingly parallel VI procedure that can be applied to a wider scope of models, including to nonconjugate models. We derive our embarrassingly parallel VI algorithm, analyze our method theoretically, and demonstrate our method empirically on a few nonconjugate models.
Dopamine and diltiazem-induced natriuresis in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

An attenuated natriuretic response to dopamine and D1 agonists in genetic hypertension has been attributed to an uncoupling of the renal D1 dopamine receptor from its G protein-effector protein complex. We have reported that in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats the natriuresis induced by calcium channel blockers is caused in part by activation of renal D1 dopamine receptors. We tested the interaction between the renal D1 receptor and a calcium channel blocker, diltiazem, infused into a renal artery of anesthetized spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) acutely loaded with 5% saline. Diltiazem produced a 50% increase in renal blood flow and nearly tripled absolute and fractional sodium excretion; urine flow rate more than doubled, but glomerular filtration rate did not change. However, the D1 receptor antagonist SKF-83742, which had no effect by itself, did not diminish the response to diltiazem. In a separate group of concurrent experiments, we found that the diltiazem-induced natriuresis was associated with a decrease in Na(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase activity in the renal medulla of SHR. In contrast, in WKY rats, no changes were noted in the renal medulla but a decrease in Na(+)-K(+)-adenosinetriphosphatase activity was noted in the renal cortex. Diltiazem had no effect on urinary dopamine excretion in either rat strain. We conclude that diltiazem induces natriuresis differently in SHR and WKY rats; it is independent of D1 receptors in SHR and is in great part mediated by renal hemodynamic, rather than by cortical tubular, effects. These studies support previous findings of a defective renal cortical tubular D1 mechanism in SHR.
Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art

The Yoruba was one of the most important civilizations of sub-Saharan Africa. While the high quality and range of its artistic and material production have long been recognized, the art of the Yoruba has been judged primarily according to the standards and principles of Western aesthetics. In this book, which merges the methods of art history, archaeology, and anthropology, Rowland Abiodun offers new insights into Yoruba art and material culture by examining them within the context of the civilization's cultural norms and values and, above all, the Yoruba language. Abiodun draws on his fluency and prodigious knowledge of Yoruba culture and language to dramatically enrich our understanding of Yoruba civilization and its arts. The book includes a companion website with audio clips of the Yoruba language, helping the reader better grasp the integral connection between art and language in Yoruba culture.
Effect of antero-pituitary hormones upon blood sugar.

The reasons which prompted our investigation, and the discussion and possible conclusions, with further data, will be presented at another time. The observations were made on rabbits. The question of whether urinary Hebin (the Antero-Pituitary Sex Hormone obtained from the urine of pregnant women) is identical, derived from or similar to pituitary Hebin (the Antero-Pituitary Sex Hormone obtained from the anterior pituitary lobe), is aside from the purpose of this presentation, but because of the comparative ease with which the former is obtained (as compared to pituitary Hebin) it was used in our work—made from pregnancy urine according to a modification of the Aschheim-Zondek method. Our Growth Hormone was prepared from bovine pituitary by a modification of the Van Dyke method. It was shown to have little luteinizing effect. Both preparations were first tested in animals and showed the characteristic sex and growth responses.Our observations are then divided into 2 groups: (1) those following injections ...
Generalized Berstein-Be´zier curves and surfaces

Abstract This article presents a flexible curve and surface by using an arbitrary choice of polynomial as the basis for blending functions. The curve and surface is a generalization of most well known curves and surfaces. The conditions for various continuities of the curve segments and surface patches at the common boundaries are given to maintain a low order composite curve and surface.
Upper extremity injuries in skiing.

The thumb is the most frequently injured part of the upper extremity in skiing, and the shoulder the next most often injured. Grade III sprains of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb are extremely common and their diagnosis and treatment are controversial. This article suggests a new protocol for quickly establishing the diagnosis. Casting is recommended for Grade III ruptures without adductor interposition and surgical repair for those with interposition.
Physiological and hypoxic oxygen concentration differentially regulates human c-kit+ cardiac stem cell proliferation and migration

Physiological (5%) oxygen is optimal for proliferation and migration of c-kit+ cardiac stem cells (CSCs) compared with room air (21%) and hypoxia (0.5%). A novel regulatory role of oxygen concentra...
Effects of marijuana on human natural killer cell activity.

Marijuana and its major psychoactive component delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were first reported to depress various immune functions in humans as early as the mid 1970’s. (Reviewed in 1). However, these studies yielded conflicting data necessitating further investigations. Recent studies by Friedman and co-workers confirmed the immune suppressive effects of THC in mice using in vivo and in vitro experimental models (2–5). Klein et al. (6) reported depression of murine natural killer (NK) cell function in mice following in vitro exposure to THC while Patel et al. (7) demonstrated inhibition of rat NK cell cytotoxicity. A re-examination of responses of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) following exposure to THC in vitro indicates that lymphocyte blastogenesis (8), monocyte/macrophage spreading on plastic surfaces and phagocytosis (1) and NK cell activity (9,10) all are diminished in the presence of the drug.
Field-scale experiments reveal persistent yield gaps in low-input and organic cropping systems

Knowledge of production-system performance is largely based on observations at the experimental plot scale. Although yield gaps between plot-scale and field-scale research are widely acknowledged, their extent and persistence have not been experimentally examined in a systematic manner. At a site in southwest Michigan, we conducted a 6-y experiment to test the accuracy with which plot-scale crop-yield results can inform field-scale conclusions. We compared conventional versus alternative, that is, reduced-input and biologically based–organic, management practices for a corn–soybean–wheat rotation in a randomized complete block-design experiment, using 27 commercial-size agricultural fields. Nearby plot-scale experiments (0.02-ha to 1.0-ha plots) provided a comparison of plot versus field performance. We found that plot-scale yields well matched field-scale yields for conventional management but not for alternative systems. For all three crops, at the plot scale, reduced-input and conventional managements produced similar yields; at the field scale, reduced-input yields were lower than conventional. For soybeans at the plot scale, biological and conventional managements produced similar yields; at the field scale, biological yielded less than conventional. For corn, biological management produced lower yields than conventional in both plot- and field-scale experiments. Wheat yields appeared to be less affected by the experimental scale than corn and soybean. Conventional management was more resilient to field-scale challenges than alternative practices, which were more dependent on timely management interventions; in particular, mechanical weed control. Results underscore the need for much wider adoption of field-scale experimentation when assessing new technologies and production-system performance, especially as related to closing yield gaps in organic farming and in low-resourced systems typical of much of the developing world.
Exploring the Effects of Physical Attractiveness in Job Applicant Evaluations: Taking into Account Stimulus Variability

Previous research on physical attractiveness bias in job applicant evaluations has ignored three important issues. First, the sex-typing of the positions for which applicants are evaluated is usually weak despite the need to provide strongly male and female-typed positions in testing for beauty is beastly effects. Second, the samples of stimuli used in the manipulations of applicant sex, attractiveness, and sex-typing of the job are small. Third, the statistical analyses used in testing hypotheses fail to incorporate variability among both human participants and stimuli. The present research corrected for these three omissions in an experiment in which participants evaluated the suitability of applicants who were physically attractive or unattractive, male or female, and were applying for a male-typed or female-typed position. The experimental design was a within-person 2 (applicant sex) X 2 (applicant attractiveness) X 2 (sex-type of job) ANOVA. Each participant received a set of eight applicants with the photograph used in the manipulation of sex and attractiveness and the type of job randomly drawn from a pool of photographs and jobs. Consistent with the recommendations of Clark (1973), the hypotheses were tested using as subjects the human participants (F1 analyses), pictures (F2 analyses), positions (F2 analyses), and picture-position combinations (F2 analyses). Also, quasi-Fs were conducted to incorporate variability of both human participants and stimuli. All the analyses revealed an attractiveness bias in which the attractive candidates were evaluated more favorably than unattractive candidates. A job sex-type X applicant sex interaction revealed that males were evaluated more favorably for male-typed positions and females for female-typed positions. Also found were main effects for applicant sex and job-type, although these effects were subsumed by the job sex-type X applicant sex interaction. The analyses of the ratings of suitability were consistent with chi-square analyses of best- and worst-fit choices. The findings suggest that the bias against attractive applicants is robust across stimuli as well as human participants. No evidence was found for a beauty is beastly effect. Exploratory analyses suggested that a bias against attractive females is limited to a narrow domain of jobs.
Demographic trends of a harvested American black bear population in northwestern South Carolina

Abstract As American black bears (Ursus americanus) reoccupy portions of the eastern United States, it is important to implement sustainable management practices based in a strong understanding of the dynamics of these recovering populations as they expand into areas with increasing anthropogenic pressures. We used the Downing population reconstruction technique on harvest records to establish baseline abundance and population growth-rate trends over 15 years for a population of black bear in northwestern South Carolina, USA. The total population in 2013 was estimated to be a minimum of 412 black bears, increasing from approximately 97 bears in 1998. We established age structure and sex structure in harvest, which were consistent with sustainably harvested bear populations. We recommend using these data as a baseline to determine the maximum sustainable harvest rate for this population. We also recommend future investigation into the development of research priorities and harvest management decisions for ...
Racial disparities in the management of acne: evidence from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2005-2014

AbstractPurpose: Racial health disparities are widespread in the United States, but little is known about racial disparities in the management of dermatological conditions.Materials and methods: Nationally representative data on the management of acne vulgaris were gathered from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) for the years 2005–2014. Visits to any specialist were included. Rao-Scott chi-square tests and multivariate adjusted logistic regressions were used to identify differences in patient demographics, visit characteristics and acne medications across races.Results: Black patients are less likely than white patients to visit a dermatologist (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.48, p = 0.001), receive any acne medication (aOR 0.64, p = 0.01), receive a combination acne medication (aOR 0.52, p = 0.007) or receive isotretinoin (aOR 0.46, p = 0.03). Adjusting for management by a dermatologist eliminated the association between race and the prescription of any acne medication as well as between r...
Cultural Factors, Perceived Barriers, and Asian American Career Development: An Application of Social Cognitive Career Theory

Contextual factors can play an important and influential role in the career development of Asian American students. The purpose of this study was to examine how specific cultural factors, such as e...
Identification of eukaryotic UDP-galactopyranose mutase inhibitors using the ThermoFAD assay.

Abstract Aspergillus fumigatus is a human pathogen responsible for deadly infections in immune-compromised patients. A potential strategy for treating A. fumigatus infections is by targeting the biosynthesis of cell wall components, such as galactofuranase, which is absent in humans. Galactofuranose biosynthesis is initiated by the flavoenzyme UDP-galactopyranose mutase (UGM), which converts UDP-galactopyranose (UDP-Galp) to UDP-galactofuranose (UDP-Galf). UGM requires the reduced form of the flavin for activity, which is obtained by reacting with NADPH. We aimed to identify inhibitors of UGM by screening a kinase inhibitor library using ThermoFAD, a flavin fluorescence thermal shift assay. The screening assay identified flavopiridol as a compound that increased the melting temperature of A. fumigatus UGM. Further characterization showed that flavopiridol is a non-competitive inhibitor of UGM and docking studies suggest that it binds in the active site. This compound does not inhibit the prokaryotic UGM from Mycobacteria tuberculosis.
Performance analysis of multihop heterodyne free-space optical communication over general Malaga turbulence channels with pointing error

Abstract This work investigates the end-to-end performance of a free space optical amplify-and-forward (AF) channel-state-information (CSI)-assisted relaying system using heterodyne detection over Malaga turbulence channels at the presence of pointing error employing rectangular quadrature amplitude modulation (R-QAM). More specifically, we present exact closed-form expressions for average bit-error rate for adaptive/non-adaptive modulation, achievable spectral efficiency, and ergodic capacity by utilizing generalized power series of Meijer's G-function. Moreover, asymptotic closed form expressions are provided to validate our work at high power regime. In addition, all the presented analytical results are illustrated using a selected set of numerical results. Moreover, we applied the bisection method to find the optimum beam width for the proposed FSO system.
Occupational exposure monitoring data collection, storage, and use among state-based and private workers' compensation insurers

ABSTRACTDespite substantial financial and personnel resources being devoted to occupational exposure monitoring (OEM) by employers, workers' compensation insurers, and other organizations, the United States (U.S.) lacks comprehensive occupational exposure databases to use for research and surveillance activities. OEM data are necessary for determining the levels of workers' exposures; compliance with regulations; developing control measures; establishing worker exposure profiles; and improving preventive and responsive exposure surveillance and policy efforts. Workers' compensation insurers as a group may have particular potential for understanding exposures in various industries, especially among small employers. This is the first study to determine how selected state-based and private workers' compensation insurers collect, store, and use OEM data related specifically to air and noise sampling. Of 50 insurers contacted to participate in this study, 28 completed an online survey. All of the responding pr...
ALTERATIONS IN THE CHARGE AND SIZE SELECTIVITY BARRIER OF THE GLOMERULAR FILTER IN AMINONUCLEOSIDE NEPHROSIS IN RATS

The aminonucleoside of puromycin induces proteinuria and renal damage when given to rats. Aminonucleoside of puromycin was administered to male Wistar-Furth rats as a single intravenous injection in a dose of 15 mg. per 100 gm. of body weight. The animals were studied 9 days later when the mean urinary protein was 175 mg. per 24 hours. Evidence of glomerular epithelial cell injury included massive obliteration of foot processes, appearance of microvilli, protein reabsorption droplets, extreme attenuation of cytoplasm with formation of blebs, and focal detachment of epithelial cells from glomerular basement membrane. An increase in both the amount of mesangial matrix and the number of mesangial cells was also observed. The fractional clearance (C/GFR) of anionic horseradish peroxidase had increased 18.5 times as compared to control values and was nearly equal to the C/GFR of neutral horseradish peroxidase in the experimental rats. The C/GFR of cationic horseradish peroxidase was decreased by one-third so that it approximated the C/GFRs of both anionic and neutral horseradish peroxidase. These findings indicate a nearly complete loss of the charge-selective barrier to filtration. In addition, C/GFRs of tritiated uncharged dextrans with a range of molecular radii from 18 to 58 Angstrom (A) were determined. The C/GFRs of dextrans (alpha e less than 30 A) were decreased in the experimental rats as compared to C/GFRs of dextrans of corresponding molecular size in control rats. However, the C/GFRs of dextrans (alpha e greater than 38A) were increased in experimental as compared to control rats. Further, both anionic and cationic ferritin (alpha e = 61 A) were observed in the urinary space near denuded areas of glomerular basement membrane. These results indicate that the size-selective properties of the glomerular barrier to filtration have been modified with decreased C/GFR of small molecules and increased C/GFR of large molecules. Thus, the proteinuria of aminonucleoside nephrosis in rats occurs secondary to alterations in both the charge- and size-selective barriers to glomerular filtration.
Use of Finite Element Methods in Cytomechanics: Study of the Mechanical Stability of the Skeletal Basal Plate of Callimitra , a Biomineralizing Protozoan

The morphogenesis and efficient adaptation of organisms depend upon a variety of cytomechanical factors. Biophysical principles play important roles in developmental processes (Green 1980). For example, plant growth is a biophysical phenomenon where the compliance of the cell wall under turgor pressure determines the direction and extent of growth (Taiz 1984; Cosgrove 1986). Growth/remodeling of bones is modulated by the mechanical loads impressed on the bone-depositing cells (Frost 1982). Other examples of cytomechanical problems amenable to finite element method (FEM) analysis are presented in this publication including growth analyses of extracellular skeletons (see Chap. III.3.3).
A Validation Study of a Visual Analytics Tool with End Users

In this paper we describe an user evaluation that aimed to understand how a group of endusers interpret a visual analytics tool in the context of service delivery. It is common for service factories to have an organization devoted to handle incidents. Many incident management systems have strict controls on how fast incidents should be handled, often subjected to penalties when targets are not met.We call Time-Bounded Incident Management (TBIM) those systems, which require clearly defined incident resolution times. In our project, research scientists proposed a method and a visual representation named Workload Profile Chart (WPC) that had as primary goal to understand the area of incident management in a service delivery department. The objective of this visual representation is to help characterizing the performance of TBIM systems and diagnosing major issues such as resource and skill allocation problems, abnormal behavior, and incident characteristics. Researchers wanted to understand if end-users, the quality analysts (QAs), would comprehend the charts and would be able to use them to identify problems and propose effective improvement actions related to TBIM activities. The study was conducted with ten QAs of a service delivery department of a IT company based in Brazil. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistical and qualitative methods. As a result, participants were mainly guided by the axes titles and chart legends to interpret the visualizations, and not always understood what kind of data the chart was displaying. Those results served as insights of how QAs think when analyzing TBIM information in a service delivery department and what improvements in the visual representation tool may be proposed to facilitate their activity. At last we identified evidences of how to design better visual analytics tools based on participant’s perceptions and interpretations of color differences and verbal information in chart labels and legend.
Organizational design principles and techniques for decision-theoretic agents

Recent research has shown how an organization can influence a decision-theoretic agent by replacing one or more of its model components (transition/reward functions, action/state spaces, etc.), and how each of these influences impacts the agent's decision-making performance. This paper delves more precisely into exactly which parts of an agent's model should be organizationally influenced, and asserts a broader principle for delineating what aspects of an agent's behavior an organization should be sanctioned to influence. We present a formal framework for specifying factored organizational influences and incorporating them into agents' decision models, and empirically demonstrate that organizational specifications based on our proposed principle outperform the alternatives. We further describe an algorithm for automating the organizational-design process that is inspired by this principle, and demonstrate empirically that its organizational designs are both intuitively sensible and also find and exploit domain structure that our hand-generated designs miss.
Structural and spectral studies of di-2-pyridyl ketone N(4)-methyl- and N(4)-dimethylthiosemicarbazone and their metal complexes

Cobalt(II), nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of di-2-pyridyl ketone N(4)-methyl- and N(4)-dimethylthiosemicarbazone have been prepared and characterized by physical and spectral methods. Use of different ligand-to-metal chloride molar ratios in the preparation of the complexes has produced both mononuclear and polynuclear species for the three metal ions. Crystal structures of the uncomplexed di-2-pyridyl ketone N(4)-methylthiosemicarbazone and a nickel(II) complex, di-2-pyridyl ketone N(4)-dimethylthiosemicarbazone, have been determined and aid the assignments of the i.r., n.m.r., u.v.–vis.–n.i.r. and e.s.r. spectra.
Mixed graphical models via exponential families

Markov Random Fields, or undirected graphical models are widely used to model highdimensional multivariate data. Classical instances of these models, such as Gaussian Graphical and Ising Models, as well as recent extensions (Yang et al., 2012) to graphical models specified by univariate exponential families, assume all variables arise from the same distribution. Complex data from high-throughput genomics and social networking for example, often contain discrete, count, and continuous variables measured on the same set of samples. To model such heterogeneous data, we develop a novel class of mixed graphical models by specifying that each node-conditional distribution is a member of a possibly different univariate exponential family. We study several instances of our model, and propose scalable M -estimators for recovering the underlying network structure. Simulations as well as an application to learning mixed genomic networks from next generation sequencing and mutation data demonstrate the versatility of our methods.
Life Science Undergraduate Mentors in NE STEM 4U Significantly Outperform Their Peers in Critical Thinking Skills.

Undergraduate life science majors who participated in the NE STEM 4U pre–professional training program scored significantly higher than their peers not in the intervention as measured using the Cal...
The Future of Bioengineering: An Interview with Professor Drew Endy

Drew Endy is a member of the bioengineering faculty at Stanford and BioBricks Foundation president. His teams pioneered amplifying genetic logic, rewritable DNA data storage, reliably-reuseable standard biological parts, and genome refactoring. Drew helped launch the new undergraduate majors in bioengineering at both MIT and Stanford; he also co-founded the iGEM competition, a global genetic engineering “olympics” now engaging over 6,000 students annually. The White House recognized Drew for his work on open-source biotechnology and, most recently, he received an honorary doctorate from the Technische Universiteit Delft. Drew served on the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity and now serves on the World Health Organization’s Smallpox Advisory Committee. He lives in Menlo Park, California with Christina Smolke (Stanford bioengineering professor & Antheia, Inc., CEO), their two boys, and three cats. Drew was a co-founder of Gen9, Inc.; he recently returned to serve as a director while Gen9 was successfully acquired. He worked briefly with the Rapid Evaluation team at Google [X] and also served on the core project team for the new Shriram Center at Stanford. He is a founding co-director of the Joint Initiative for Metrology in Biology (JIMB). Drew was recognized by Esquire magazine as one of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century. Biography adapted from and photo from Drew Endy’s profile at https://profiles.stanford.edu/drew-endy.
Amorphization in crystalline tellurium by femtosecond pulses

Crystalline tellurium undergoes amorphization after irradiation with strong femtosecond pulses. Steady-state reflectivity and single-shot transient reflectivity studies suggest the amorphization is due to thermal melting rather than non-thermal switching.
“Your Paper Saved Seattle”: E. W. Scripps and the Star’s Role in the General Strike of 1919

This article examines the role of E. W. Scripps and one of his pillar newspapers, the Seattle Star, in the General Strike of 1919, the first citywide, multi-union labor action to receive a “general strike” designation in the United States. It profiles a prominent figure in American journalism, as well as his daily newspaper’s coverage of a pivotal event in American labor movement history, analyzing Scripps’s response to one of his editors breaking from his business model and turning against the working class during a time of civic turmoil. While Scripps eschewed the spotlight and built his business on selling affordable newspapers to the working class, in his business dealings, Scripps was an ardent capitalist. Illustrating these contradictions, this article explores the ways Scripps responded to the labor strike when its deployment hurt his business interests, citing his personal essays, disquisitions, letters, and newspaper coverage from the Seattle Star
Low frequency Raman Spectroscopy for micron-scale and in vivo characterization of elemental sulfur in microbial samples.

Elemental sulfur (S(0)) is an important intermediate of the sulfur cycle and is generated by chemical and biological sulfide oxidation. Raman spectromicroscopy can be applied to environmental samples for the detection of S(0), as a practical non-destructive micron-scale method for use on wet material and living cells. Technical advances in filter materials enable the acquisition of ultra-low frequency (ULF) Raman measurements in the 10–100 cm−1 range using a single-stage spectrometer. Here we demonstrate the potency of ULF Raman spectromicroscopy to harness the external vibrational modes of previously unrecognized S(0) structures present in environmental samples. We investigate the chemical and structural nature of intracellular S(0) granules stored within environmental mats of sulfur-oxidizing γ-Proteobacteria (Thiothrix). In vivo intracellular ULF scans indicate the presence of amorphous cyclooctasulfur (S8), clarifying enduring uncertainties regarding the content of microbial sulfur storage globules. Raman scattering of extracellular sulfur clusters in Thiothrix mats furthermore reveals an unexpected abundance of metastable β-S8 and γ-S8, in addition to the stable α-S8 allotrope. We propose ULF Raman spectroscopy as a powerful method for the micron-scale determination of S(0) structure in natural and laboratory systems, with a promising potential to shine new light on environmental microbial and chemical sulfur cycling mechanisms.
Resonant frequency ratios for the dynamical Casimir effect

The dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) is the production of photons by the amplification of vacuum fluctuations. In this paper, we demonstrate resonance conditions in DCE that potentially allow the production of optical photons when the mechanical frequency is smaller than the lowest frequency of the cavity field. We consider a cavity with one mirror fixed and the other allowed to oscillate. In order to identify the region where production of photons takes place, we do a stability analysis of the Heisenberg--Langevin equations of motion and investigate the dynamic stability of the system under small fluctuations. By using a numerical solution of the master equation, the time evolution of the mean number of photons produced in the unstable region is studied.
A computational risk assessment approach to the integration of seismic and flooding hazards with internal hazards

Abstract Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of nuclear power plants historically focuses on internal events at the plant, rather than external hazards. Although the importance of external hazards risk analysis is now well recognized, the methods for assessing the risk associated with low probability external hazards rely heavily on subjective judgment of specialists, often using conservative elements in the analysis, as is the case with the Conservative Deterministic Failure Margin approach commonly used for seismic PRA. The U.S. Department of Energy Light Water Reactor Sustainability program has been investigating the use of first principles analyses to provide a more realistic assessment of the risk of external hazards, in a process called computational risk assessment (CRA). Efforts undertaken are described in the development of CRA methods to integrate the risk associated with seismic and flooding events into traditional PRA. The results of four case studies are presented.
Risk of Pelvic Fracture With Radiation Therapy in Older Patients.

Purpose Older patients undergoing radiation therapy (RT) for pelvic malignancies are at increased risk for pelvic fracture, which is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. RT techniques such as brachytherapy or intensity modulated RT (IMRT) allow for more conformal dose distributions, but it is not known whether the risk for pelvic fracture varies by RT modality. Methods and Materials This observational cohort study involved 28,354 patients ≥65 years old, treated with RT for pelvic malignancies. We evaluated the relative risk of pelvic fracture by type of RT when accounting for baseline factors. To test for nonspecific effects, we also evaluated risk of nonpelvic fractures in the same population. Results The 5-year incidence of pelvic fractures was 12.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.6%-13.8%), 11.8% (10.8%-12.8%), and 3.7% (3.4%-4.0%) for patients with gastrointestinal, gynecologic, and prostate cancer, respectively. On multivariable analysis, being treated with IMRT (hazard ratio, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73-0.99) or brachytherapy therapy alone (hazard ratio, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.34-0.54) was associated with a reduced hazard for pelvic fractures compared with 3D conformal radiation therapy in female patients. In contrast, there was no association with RT modality and the hazard for nonpelvic fractures among females. There was no significant association between pelvic fractures and IMRT or brachytherapy for male patients. White race, advanced age, and higher comorbidity were associated with an increased hazard for pelvic fracture. Conclusions IMRT and brachytherapy were associated with a reduced risk of pelvic fractures in older women undergoing RT for pelvic malignancies. Pelvic insufficiency fracture risk should be considered when treating with pelvic RT.
Estimation of hypertension (HTN) occurrence, severity changes, and patterns of antihypertensive (AH) use in patients (pts) receiving VEGF inhibitors for the treatment of cancer.

e16541 Background: Reports have examined the occurrence and management of HTN in pts receiving VGEF inhibitors, but typically have small samples and represent single institutions. This study used a...
INCIDENTALOMA: SILENT EMBOLIZATION OF AN ATRIAL SEPTAL OCCLUDER DEVICE INTO DESCENDING AORTA

Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a common congenital heart disease. Percutaneous closure is a minimally invasive and relatively simple procedure. Septal occluder device (SOD) embolization (SODE) is a rare but potentially fatal complication of this procedure. 52 year old man with history of ascending
Relationship-Induced Self-concept Change: Theoretical Perspectives and Methodological Approaches

When individuals enter into close relationships, they can experience a variety of changes to the self-concept; these changes are directly linked to and affected by their relational partners. This chapter first explores the theoretical underpinnings of relationship-induced self-concept change by describing three key complementary perspectives: cognitive interdependence, self-expansion, and the two-dimensional model of relational self-change. These perspectives identify how close relationships can alter the size, structure, and diversity of individuals’ self-concepts (e.g., through self-other integration). Second, we review the consequences of relationship-induced self-concept change (e.g., relationship quality, maintenance behaviors). Finally, the chapter explores the empirical measurement of relationship-induced self-concept change by overviewing various operational definitions and methodologies, ranging from self-report to open-ended responses to response latencies to symbolic representations of the self-concept.
From bedside to battlefield: intersection of ketone body mechanisms in geroscience with military resilience.

Ketone bodies are endogenous metabolites that are linked to multiple mechanisms of aging and resilience. They are produced by the body when glucose availability is low, including during fasting and dietary carbohydrate restriction, but also can be consumed as exogenous ketone compounds. Along with supplying energy to peripheral tissues such as brain, heart, and skeletal muscle, they increasingly are understood to have drug-like protein binding activities that regulate inflammation, epigenetics, and other cellular processes. While these energy and signaling mechanisms of ketone bodies are currently being studied in a variety of aging-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus, they may also be relevant to military service members undergoing stressors that mimic or accelerate aging pathways, particularly traumatic brain injury and muscle rehabilitation and recovery. Here we summarize the biology of ketone bodies relevant to resilience and rehabilitation, strategies for translational use of ketone bodies, and current clinical investigations in this area.
Managing “Stable” Cancer News:

This study focuses on oncology interviews with returning patients who have been diagnosed with cancer, are undergoing various treatment regimens, and have been informed by doctors of their current ...
Estimating Pedestrian Crossing States Based on Single 2D Body Pose

The Crossing or Not-Crossing (C/NC) problem is important to autonomous vehicles (AVs) for safe vehicle/pedestrian interactions. However, this problem setup often ignores pedestrians walking along the direction of the vehicles' movement (LONG). To enhance the AVs' awareness of pedestrian behavior, we make the first step towards extending the C/NC to the C/NC/LONG problem and recognize them based on single body pose. In contrast, previous C/NC state classifiers depend on multiple poses or contextual information. Our proposed shallow neural network classifier aims to recognize these three states swiftly. We tested it on the JAAD dataset and reported an average 81.23% accuracy.
Causal mediation analysis for sparse and irregular longitudinal data

Causal mediation analysis seeks to investigate how the treatment effect of an exposure on outcomes is mediated through intermediate variables. Although many applications involve longitudinal data, the existing methods are not directly applicable to settings where the mediator and outcome are measured on sparse and irregular time grids. We extend the existing causal mediation framework from a functional data analysis perspective, viewing the sparse and irregular longitudinal data as realizations of underlying smooth stochastic processes. We define causal estimands of direct and indirect effects accordingly and provide corresponding identification assumptions. For estimation and inference, we employ a functional principal component analysis approach for dimension reduction and use the first few functional principal components instead of the whole trajectories in the structural equation models. We adopt the Bayesian paradigm to accurately quantify the uncertainties. The operating characteristics of the proposed methods are examined via simulations. We apply the proposed methods to a longitudinal data set from a wild baboon population in Kenya to investigate the causal relationships between early adversity, strength of social bonds between animals and adult glucocorticoid hormone concentrations. We find that early adversity has a significant direct effect (a 9–14% increase) on females’ glucocorticoid concentrations across adulthood but find little evidence that these effects were mediated by weak social bonds.
Metallic Superfluids

The ‘permanent liquids,’ the heliums, are insulators at one-atmosphere. The question to be addressed is whether the superfluid properties they possess might also be attained in states of matter which are metallic. Likely candidates for these new phases of matter are the hydrogens, both protium and deuterium, which differ crucially in the macroscopic manifestations of their respective quantum statistics.
Soils in archaeological research

1. Introduction 2. Terminology and Methodology 3. Conceptual Approaches to Pedogenesis 4. Soil Surveys and Archaeology 5. Soil Stratigraphy 6. Soil-Stratigraphy in Geoarchaeological Contexts 7. Soils and Time 8. Soils and Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions 9. Soils and Landscape Evolution 10. Soil Genesis and Site Formation Processes 11. Human Impacts on Soils Appendix 1. Variations on U.S.D.A Field Nomenclature Appendix 2. Soil Phosphorus: Chemistry, Analytical Methods, and Chronosequences Appendix 3. Variability of Soil Laboratory Procedures and Results
Minimax Control of Linear Stochastic Systems with Noise Uncertainty

The linear-quadratic-Gaussian regulator problem is considered for multivariable linear stochastic systems with uncertain second-order statistical properties. Uncertainty is modeled by allowing process and observation noise spectral density matrices to vary arbitrarily within given classes, and a minimax control formulation is applied to the quadratic objective functional. General theorems proving the existence and characterization of saddle-point solutions to this problem are presented, and the relationship of these results to earlier results on minimax state estimation is discussed. To illustrate the analytical results, the specific example of regulating a double-integrator plant is treated in detail.
Essential Differences in the Meaning and Processes of Mothering and Fathering: Family Systems, Feminist and Qualitative Perspectives

Although empirical studies have not consistently documented differences in mothering and fathering, differences in conceptualizations, opportunities for enactment, and meanings of mothering and fathering can be clearly demonstrated through family systems as well as feminist theories and qualitative research traditions. We argue that employing the same measures to assess fathering and mothering behaviors will document considerable differences in the involvement of mothers and fathers while masking differences in the roles, meanings, and processes associated with those behaviors. The employment of convergent behavioral measures can profitably occur in conjunction with efforts to identify theoretically rich areas where mothering and fathering are distinct in terms of processes and meanings; this will allow us to document essential differences noted in the lived experiences of family members.
Investigation of Elastic Nonlinearities in Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 and Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 Single Crystals

The complex elastic and electromechanical properties of Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 (PZNT) and Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 (PMNT) single crystals under high power operational conditions have been determined using a new resonance method. In this method, rectangular specimens are piezoelectrically-driven into mechanical resonance and displacement of the transverse resonance mode is measured as a function of frequency (f) using an optical vibrometer method in conjunction with a frequency response analyzer. Under resonant high-power drive, it has been found that electromechanical nonlinearities are due to elastic ones, as the elastic and electromechanical properties were both found to scale with the square of the strain amplitude. The temperature (T) and ac electric field (Eac) dependence of the mechanical quality factor Qm was also determined and Iso-Qm curves were constructed that can be used to predict performance criteria for high power applications.
Determination of collimator and acquisition parameters for astigmatic SPECT imaging

Collimator and acquisition parameters including focal lengths, radius-of-rotation, and mechanical shifts are important for image reconstruction but often partly unknown. Determination of the unknown parameters based on the projections of a point source at various projection angles has been studied for fan beam and cone beam collimators. The authors extend these previous approaches of parameter determination to astigmatic collimation. For the astigmatic parameter determination, the authors' study focuses on two fundamental issues: (1) Can parameters be uniquely determined by using radioactive point sources, and (2) what is the condition for accurate determination of the parameters? Algebraic analysis as well as Monte Carlo simulation are employed to address these issues. Results of the analysis and simulation show that if the locations of the point sources used for parameter determination are unknown, the coordinate of the point source position along the axis-of-rotation and the component of the mechanical shift in the same direction cannot be uniquely determined. More importantly, determining a relatively small mechanical shift along the axis-of-rotation is difficult. Accurate a priori knowledge about the axial component of the point source position is important for an accurate estimate of the axial mechanical shift. In addition, the authors' Monte Carlo study shows that the accuracy of parameter determination is improved as the distance between the point source and the origin of the underlying Cartesian coordinate system for image reconstruction is increased.
Closing the loop: industry site visits for program outcomes assessment

The Electrical & Electronic Engineering department at California State University, Sacramento, USA, formed an Industry Liaison Council in 1998 to assist in evaluating program educational objectives, and their outcomes assessment process. With the help of the Council, they have successfully used site visits to industry to validate program outcomes and improve their program. A team of department faculty visits a selected site where several of their alumni are employed. A set of open-ended questions is distributed to the participants prior to the visit, allowing them sufficient time to reflect on the issues and to take an active part in the group discussions. In this paper, the authors report on the structure and format of the site visits and how the data from the visits has been used to make program improvements. The broader educational partnerships that have resulted from these visits have been an unexpected, but welcome benefit.
Consumer discrimination and the firm's demand for black labor

Abstract This paper analyzes the firm's demand for labor in markets characterized by racial prejudice on the part of consumers. It is seen that the consumer discrimination concept leads to empirically testable implications regarding employment policies of firms. Moreover, unlike previous models of taste discrimination, it is found that racial discrimination need not be unprofitable; will not result in segregation of workers; and will not yield wage equality between black and white workers.
Growing a Constitution: Reconciling Liberty and Community in Israel and the United States

In an era in which countries as divergent as Russia and South Africa, Peru and Cambodia, are struggling over the adoption of new constitutions, it is instructive to be reminded by two new books that the state of Israel has been engaged in that process for 45 years and that even from 4 July 1776 until the ratification of the Bill of Rights, a full 15 years passed in U.S. history. Given that Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, formulated a governmental scheme for the Israelites fleeing Egypt, it could be said that Israel's constitutional history predates by over 3,000 years the U.S. document, otherwise considered the world's oldest written constitution.1