cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fully coupled simulation of plasma-liquid systems: Dependence on interfacial properties

Coupled plasma-liquid systems are at the heart of several burgeoning applications in low-temperature plasma science, including biomedicine, biological and chemical disinfection, agriculture, and others. In order to realize the full potential of these applications, the basic underlying physical and chemical phenomena must be understood. Recent modeling [1] and experimental [2] work have done much to elucidate system behavior but more questions remain, particularly in the interfacial region. The surface loss probability of gas phase electrons striking the interface, a critical parameter for many plasma simulations, is unknown; to date authors have generally assumed a value of unity, however there is no experimental evidence to either support or discourage this choice. The modeling work presented here explores the effects of varying key interfacial parameters. Two alternative interfacial models for electrons are considered: a kinetic one employing a surface loss probability, and a thermodynamic one in which the gas phase electron density is assumed to be in equilibrium with the liquid phase electron density with a ratio specified by a Henry's Law like coefficient (H). It is shown that if H is decreased from 106 (∼H for hydrogen peroxide) to 102 (∼H for hydroxyl radical), the gas phase electron density at the interface increases by three orders of magnitude. Moreover, if reflected electrons are still assumed to deposit their energy at the interface through collisions like vibrational excitation of surface molecules, then increasing reflection not only increases the density of gas phase electrons, but it also decreases the average energy of the electrons in the interfacial region. This could have significant impacts on both gas and liquid chemistry, e.g. the presence of a large number of colder electrons could lead to a large amount of electron attachment and production of negative ions in the near-interface region. The variability of key plasma variables like electron density and electron energy with respect to assumptions about the interface should motivate molecular scale simulations and/or new experimental diagnostics capable of probing the plasma in the near interface region.
Exploiting CRISPR-Cas to manipulate Enterococcus faecalis populations

CRISPR-Cas provides a barrier to horizontal gene transfer in prokaryotes. It was previously observed that functional CRISPR-Cas systems are absent from multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterococcus faecalis, which only possess an orphan CRISPR locus, termed CRISPR2, lacking cas genes. Here, we investigate how the interplay between CRISPR-Cas genome defense and antibiotic selection for mobile genetic elements shapes in vitro E. faecalis populations. We demonstrate that CRISPR2 can be reactivated for genome defense in MDR strains. Interestingly, we observe that E. faecalis transiently maintains CRISPR targets despite active CRISPR-Cas systems. Subsequently, if selection for the CRISPR target is present, toxic CRISPR spacers are lost over time, while in the absence of selection, CRISPR targets are lost over time. We find that forced maintenance of CRISPR targets induces a fitness cost that can be exploited to alter heterogeneous E. faecalis populations.
The Evolution of Visual Cortex and Visual Systems

This article reviews a wide body of neuroanatomical and physiological data on the organization of visual cortex and underlying structures in several mammalian species. Comparisons of the organizational schemes will highlight several issues. How many visual areas were present in the earliest mammals? Have rodents diverged from the common mammalian plan? What are the organizational similarities and differences in species with moderately expanded visual systems? How similar are the complex visual systems of cats and primates? Which visual areas are homologous? This article focuses on a cladistic approach to species comparisons, but the similarities between distantly related species are also emphasized. The consolidation of a wide body of comparative evidence on visual cortex organization should serve as a useful template for investigators probing cortical evolution.
Strong SH -to-Love Wave Scattering off the Southern California Continental Borderland

Seismic scattering is commonly observed and results from wave propagation in heterogeneous medium. Yet, deterministic characterization of scatterers associated with lateral heterogeneities remains challenging. In this study, we analyze broadband waveforms recorded by the Southern California Seismic Network and observe strongly scattered Love waves following the arrival of teleseismic SH wave. These scattered Love waves travel approximately in the same (azimuthal) direction as the incident SH wave at a dominant period of ~10 s but at an apparent velocity of ~3.6 km/s as compared to the ~11 km/s for the SH wave. Back-projection suggests that this strong scattering is associated with pronounced bathymetric relief in the Southern California Continental Borderland, in particular the Patton Escarpment. Finite-difference simulations using a simplified 2-D bathymetric and crustal model are able to predict the arrival times and amplitudes of major scatterers. The modeling suggests a relatively low shear wave velocity in the Continental Borderland.
Engineering MeCP2 to spy on its targets.

A new mouse model of Rett syndrome, in which MECP2 can be selectively biotinylated, allows for the investigation of cell-specific effects of Rett-causing mutations on gene expression, particularly in female mice.
Well Differentiated Endometrioid Adenocarcinoma of the Endometrium with “Adenoma Malignum-Like” Pattern of Invasion: Report of Two Cases and Review of Literature

Unusual variants of endometrial endometrioid adenocarcinoma can be diagnostically challenging and pose difficulties to differentiate from their benign and malignant mimickers. Here we describe an entity that has been well documented in the literature, yet little is known about true outcome due to lack of studies with a large number of cases. Diffusely infiltrative or "adenoma-malignum-like" is an uncommon pattern of invasion in endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma which could be confused with adenomyosis. To the best of our knowledge only 58 cases (excluding these 2 cases) have been reported up to date in the English literature.
Management of the Difficult Airway in the Pediatric Patient

Loss of airway control in children, if not resolved quickly, will lead to devastating consequences. Successful management of the pediatric difficult airway, both anticipated and unanticipated, is facilitated by preprocedure assessment and preparation. Accessibility of and continued hands-on training with modern airway instruments, familiarization with difficult airway guidelines, and collaboration with multidisciplinary airway teams can aid in the management of the difficult pediatric airway. This review outlines the importance of airway assessment and advanced airway equipment for children. It also discusses difficult airway management techniques and algorithms for the management and rescue of the pediatric difficult airway.
Bidirectional Degradation of DNA Cleavage Products Catalyzed by CRISPR/Cas9

Since the initial characterization of Streptococcus pyogenes CRISPR/Cas9 as a powerful gene-editing tool, it has been widely accepted that Cas9 generates blunt-ended DNA products by concerted cleavage of the target (tDNA) and non-target (ntDNA) strands three nucleotides away from the protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) by HNH and RuvC nuclease active sites, respectively. Following initial DNA cleavage, RuvC catalyzes 3′→5′ degradation of the ntDNA resulting in DNA products of various lengths. Here, we found that Cas9 selects multiple sites for initial ntDNA cleavage and preferentially generates staggered-ended DNA products containing single-nucleotide 5′-overhangs. We also quantitatively evaluated 3′→5′ post-cleavage trimming (PCT) activity of RuvC to find that ntDNA degradation continues up to the −10 position on the PAM distal DNA product and is kinetically significant when compared to extremely slow DNA product release. We also discovered a previously unidentified 5′→3′ PCT activity of RuvC which can shor...
Subgraph Pattern Neural Networks for High-Order Graph Evolution Prediction

In this work we generalize traditional node/link prediction tasks in dynamic heterogeneous networks, to consider joint prediction over larger k-node induced subgraphs. Our key insight is to incorporate the unavoidable dependencies in the training observations of induced subgraphs into both the input features and the model architecture itself via high-order dependencies. The strength of the representation is its invariance to isomorphisms and varying local neighborhood sizes, while still being able to take node/edge labels into account, and facilitating inductive reasoning (i.e., generalization to unseen portions of the network). Empirical results show that our proposed method significantly outperforms other state-of-the-art methods designed for static and/or single node/link prediction tasks. In addition, we show that our method is scalable and learns interpretable parameters.
Frequency-Reconfigurable Dipole Antenna Using Liquid-Metal Pixels

A frequency-tunable half-wavelength dipole antenna is realized using an array of electrically actuated liquid-metal pixels. The liquid-metal pixelated dipole antenna demonstrates frequency reconfigurability by switching between resonances at 2.51 GHz, 2.12 GHz, 1.85 GHz, and 1.68 GHz.
Effect of Increased Inpatient Attending Physician Supervision on Medical Errors, Patient Safety, and Resident Education: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance While the relationship between resident work hours and patient safety has been extensively studied, little research has evaluated the role of attending physician supervision on patient safety. Objective To determine the effect of increased attending physician supervision on an inpatient resident general medical service on patient safety and educational outcomes. Design, Setting, and Participants This 9-month randomized clinical trial performed on an inpatient general medical service of a large academic medical center used a crossover design. Participants were clinical teaching attending physicians and residents in an internal medicine residency program. Interventions Twenty-two faculty provided either (1) increased direct supervision in which attending physicians joined work rounds on previously admitted patients or (2) standard supervision in which attending physicians were available but did not join work rounds. Each faculty member participated in both arms in random order. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary safety outcome was rate of medical errors. Resident education was evaluated via a time-motion study to assess resident participation on rounds and via surveys to measure resident and attending physician educational ratings. Results Of the 22 attending physicians, 8 (36%) were women, with 15 (68%) having more than 5 years of experience. A total of 1259 patients (5772 patient-days) were included in the analysis. The medical error rate was not significantly different between standard vs increased supervision (107.6; 95% CI, 85.8-133.7 vs 91.1; 95% CI, 76.9-104.0 per 1000 patient-days;P = .21). Time-motion analysis of 161 work rounds found no difference in mean length of time spent discussing established patients in the 2 models (202; 95% CI, 192-212 vs 202; 95% CI, 189-215 minutes;P = .99). Interns spoke less when an attending physician joined rounds (64; 95% CI, 60-68 vs 55; 95% CI, 49-60 minutes;P = .008). In surveys, interns reported feeling less efficient (41 [55%] vs 68 [73%];P = .02) and less autonomous (53 [72%] vs 86 [91%];P = .001) with an attending physician present and residents felt less autonomous (11 [58%] vs 30 [97%];P Conclusions and Relevance Increased direct attending physician supervision did not significantly reduce the medical error rate. In designing morning work rounds, residency programs should reconsider their balance of patient safety, learning needs, and resident autonomy. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT03318198
Legal Theory and the Variety of Legal Cultures

This essay begins with a consideration of two anxieties about courts that are common to the civil and common law traditions: a worry about illegitimate judicial law making, and a worry about judicial bias. It will then move to the contribution legal theories might make in dealing with these shared anxieties, with a focus on a position that draws on the two largest contestants: natural law and legal positivism. It will end with an indication of the further distance that theory needs to take us before these worries about the judiciary can be effectively tackled.
Electron Localization in One-Dimensional Incommensurate Potentials

A one-dimensional potential V(x) consisting of two periodic components whose periods are incommensurate can give rise to localized electron states. Conventional numerical methods to calculate the localized eigenstates, either of the Schrodinger equation or the tight-binding models (TBM), are plagued by a numerical instability originating in a second solution which diverges for |x|→∞. We present a practical numerical algorithm for an arbitrary TBM which is free of this difficulty and which provides the localized eigenstates and their energies to ultra-high precision. The underlying method incorporates a generalization of a classic theorem of Pincherele for the existence of minimal solutions to three-term recurrence relations. We present numerical results for the Aubry model for ∆>1, where ∆=VI/(2VH) is a dimensionless coupling constant, VI is the strength of the incommensurate component of the one-electron potential and VH is the nearest-neighbor hopping matrix element. We propose that the well-known transition from localized to extended eigenstates which occurs as ∆ is reduced towards unity is accompanied by an incipient infinite degeneracy of the localized states. Our numerical results for the energy difference of any pair of nearly-degenerate localized states is well described by a power law, (∆-1)Y, but with a non-universal exponent Y.
Pulmonary Artery Catheter Placement

Pulmonary artery catheters can be valuable in directing therapy in select patients. These specialized catheters are placed through introducer sheaths in the internal jugular or subclavian veins, and obtain direct measurements of central venous pressure, right-sided intracardiac pressures, pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, cardiac output, and mixed venous oxyhemoglobin saturation. The most common indications for their placement are the evaluation and/or management of patients with complicated myocardial infarction, unexplained or unknown volume status in shock, severe cardiogenic shock, and suspected or known pulmonary arterial hypertension.
Against Fragmentation: Critical Education Scholarship in a Time of Crisis

One of the defining characteristics of critical education scholarship is its focus on critical reflection as a means to inform educational scholarship and pedagogical practice. This article present...
Calcium-phosphate product and its impact on mortality in hospitalized patients

AIM This study aimed to assess the relationship between admission Calcium-phosphate (CaP) and in-hospital mortality in hospitalized patients. METHODS All adult hospitalized patients who had both admission serum calcium and phosphate levels available between years 2009 and 2013 were enrolled. Admission CaP was categorized based on its distribution into six groups (<21, 21-<27, 27-<33, 33 39, 39-<45 and ≥45 mg2 /dL2 ). Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between admission CaP and in-hospital mortality, using the CaP of 27-<33 mg2 /dL2 as the reference group. RESULTS Abut 14 772 patients were included in the analysis. The association between CaP and in-hospital mortality was U-shaped with the lowest in-hospital mortality in CaP of 27-<33 mg2 /dL2 . After adjusting for potential confounders, both CaP <21 and ≥39 mg2 /dL2 were associated with higher in-hospital mortality. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that the highest in-hospital mortality risk in both chronic kidney disease (CKD) and non-CKD patients occurred when CaP ≥ 45 mg2 /dL2 . CONCLUSION CaP levels on admission were associated with in-hospital mortality. Highest mortality risk was observed in hospitalized patients with admission CaP of ≥45 mg2 /dL2 in both CKD and non-CKD patients.
SAMUEL J. BROADS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION

In the decade following the passage of the Federal Securities Laws of 1933 and 1934, the reform of accounting and auditing practices directed authority for selection of accounting principles and auditing procedures away from the discretion of the individual accountant and auditor. Instead, a self-regulatory peer driven process to establish general acceptance for a more limited set of principles and procedures was being initiated. Two events which occurred in 1938 indelibly affected this process, the SEC's decision to issue Accounting Series Release No. 4, which empowered non-governmental entities as potential sources of authoritative support, and the McKesson & Robbins fraud which called into question the value of the independent audit and the role of external auditing at the very time a momentum had been established for self-regulation by the nascent and recently reunified accounting profession. The contributions of Samuel J. Broad in both the initiatives for self-regulation of accounting principles and ...
Interactive teaching methods of optoelectronics for enhancing engagement of under-represented groups

An engaging teaching method provides an equal learning opportunity for students on the often-arduous concepts in optoelectronics, which enhances involvement of minorities during a lecture session. Experiment-oriented instruction of topics combined with a dynamic and dialogue-based delivery of the lectures has showed increased participation from the class. Such experiments must be designed based on commonly used optoelectronic devices i.e. LEDs, to provoke interest among the learners. Furthermore, the students have to investigate non-trivial characteristics of such devices, e.g. measuring emission spectrum with a hand-held spectrometer, in groups of two-three. These would ensure a balanced learning opportunity among all the students.
Teaching emergency management students about money: “Without money you ain't doin bupkis”

The objective of this article is to address the glaring deficiency in educating emergency managers with regard to the financial aspects of Emergency Management (EM) and suggest curriculum changes. This article reviews 313 Higher Education Programs in EM located in 189 institutions of higher education in the United States to determine which include courses in the financial aspects of EM. The programs reviewed range from undergraduate certificates to PhD Degrees in EM. Of the 313 EM programs, only 78 [24.8 percent] have any courses discussing accounting, budgeting, economics, or finance either as a required or restricted elective course. Only nine [2.9 percent] courses focus on the financial issues of EM. Based upon the data reported, the author suggests changes in EM education as a starting point in the necessary discussion of what an EM educational program should cover.
Fungal Disease Following Contaminated Steroid Injections: Exserohilum Is Ready for Its Close-Up

This Commentary highlights the article by Ritter et al. that reported the pathology associated with the recent fungal outbreak associated with contaminated methylprednisolone acetate injections.
Using X-Vectors to Automatically Detect Parkinson’s Disease from Speech

The promise of new neuroprotective treatments to stop or slow the advance of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) urges for new biomarkers or detection schemes that can deliver a faster diagnosis. Given that speech is affected by PD, the combination of deep neural networks and speech processing can provide automatic detection schemes. Accordingly, in this study we analyze for the first time a new state-of-the-art speaker recognition technique, x-Vectors, in a different scenario: the automatic detection of PD from speech. The proposed approach is compared with another speaker recognition technique, i-Vectors, employed in previous works and used as baseline in this study. A corpus with 43 PD patients and 46 control speakers was used to evaluate the performance of these two techniques at two sampling frequencies: 8 and 16 kHz.The x-Vector approach provided the best results in terms of accuracy and AUC reaching values of 90% and 0.94, respectively. Consequently, results suggest that speaker embeddings obtained using deep neural networks are successful extracting acoustic information relative to patterns in articulation, prosody and/or phonation common in persons with PD.
Challenges and Strategies in Ascribing Functions to Long Noncoding RNAs

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in many physiological and pathological processes, such as development, aging, immunity, and cancer. Mechanistically, lncRNAs exert their functions through interaction with proteins, genomic DNA, and other RNA, leading to transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, either in cis or in trans; it is often difficult to distinguish between these two regulatory mechanisms. A variety of approaches, including RNA interference, antisense oligonucleotides, CRISPR-based methods, and genetically engineered mouse models, have yielded abundant information about lncRNA functions and underlying mechanisms, albeit with many discrepancies. In this review, we elaborate on the challenges in ascribing functions to lncRNAs based on the features of lncRNAs, including the genomic location, copy number, domain structure, subcellular localization, stability, evolution, and expression pattern. We also describe a framework for the investigation of lncRNA functions and mechanisms of action. Rigorous characterization of cancer-implicated lncRNAs is critical for the identification of bona fide anticancer targets.
HBM Connect: High-Performance HLS Interconnect for FPGA HBM

With the recent release of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) based FPGA boards, developers can now exploit unprecedented external memory bandwidth. This allows more memory-bounded applications to benefit from FPGA acceleration. However, fully utilizing the available bandwidth may not be an easy task. If an application requires multiple processing elements to access multiple HBM channels, we observed a significant drop in the effective bandwidth. The existing high-level synthesis (HLS) programming environment had limitation in producing an efficient communication architecture. In order to solve this problem, we propose HBM Connect, a high-performance customized interconnect for FPGA HBM board. Novel HLS-based optimization techniques are introduced to increase the throughput of AXI bus masters and switching elements. We also present a high-performance customized crossbar that may replace the built-in crossbar. The effectiveness of HBM Connect is demonstrated using Xilinx's Alveo U280 HBM board. Based on bucket sort and merge sort case studies, we explore several design spaces and find the design point with the best resource-performance trade-off. The result shows that HBM Connect improves the resource-performance metrics by 6.5X-211X.
Developing explanatory models for life course shifts in the burden of substance use to inform future policy and practice.

Abstract Past approaches to policy and practice for substance use have focused heavily on young people, but recent trends indicate this approach may not be where the future lies. The crises with escalating overdose mortality in several countries, particularly overdoses related to opioids, have drawn attention to life course shifts in the burdens of substance use. Overdose mortality rates for individuals in midlife have considerably outpaced those of adolescents and individuals in early adulthood. These diverging life course trends are occurring not only in the United States, but in other countries with growing overdose problems as well. The future of effective policy and practice depend upon evidence and analyses that adapt to emerging data on shifting life course trends in drug related mortality. Within this manuscript, we consider a range of theoretical possibilities on the divergence of midlife drug mortality trends from those of young people for the purpose of outlining an agenda for future research and practice. Specifically, we consider the following theoretical approaches to move research forward in this area: Changes in Medical Context hypothesis; Emergent Comorbidities hypothesis; Cohort hypothesis; Generational Forgetting hypothesis; Legal Regulation hypothesis; Strength of Life Course Bonds hypothesis; Deepening Inequality hypothesis; Measurement Reliability hypothesis. These theoretical frameworks attend specifically to the overdose crisis but extend to other aspects of substance use. Beyond setting an agenda for research by providing empirically verifiable hypotheses, this manuscript also identifies future directions in policy and practice that are attentive to life course trends.
Genomic Characterization of Strains From a Cluster of Infant Botulism Type A in a Small Town in Colorado, United States

Three cases of infant botulism were reported in a small Colorado town between 1981 and 1984. The first two cases occurred in 1981, 6 months apart, and the third case occurred in 1984. Clostridium botulinum type A was isolated from stool of all three case patients and from environmental samples of the patient’s homes. An epidemiological investigation and follow-up study were conducted from 1981 to 1986 and concluded the cases were likely related. In this study, we sought to determine whether the C. botulinum type A clinical isolates were related to each other and to isolates obtained from environmental samples. We performed whole genome sequencing (WGS) for 17 isolates associated with this potential cluster of infant botulism. Fifteen isolates were confirmed to be C. botulinum type A(B) and contained botulinum toxin gene subtypes A1 and B5 by WGS; these strains formed a monophyletic cluster in a phylogeny and were considered closely related to each other (0–18 high-quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms), but distinct from other C. botulinum type A(B) in Colorado and elsewhere in the United States. Results of our study suggest that the three infant botulism cases could have represented a cluster due to a C. botulinum type A(B) strain present in the environment.
Composition of Parent–Child Cyberattack Models

In today’s world, every system developer and administrator should be familiar with cyberattacks and possible threats to their organization systems. Petri nets have been used to model and simulate cyberattacks allowing for additional knowledge on the planning stages of defending a system. Petri nets have been used since the 1960s and there exist several extensions and variations of how they are designed; in particular, Petri nets with Players, Strategies, and Cost have been recently proposed to model individual cyberattacks on target systems. A formalism on composing these models has also been introduced as long as the attacks are performed either in a sequential order or parallel order. However, cyberattacks are also documented as having a parent–child relationship. The model composition described in this study provides a formalism that addresses cyberattacks that have this type of relationship and the process in which they should be composed through the use of inheritance concepts from object-oriented programming. An example is provided by composing a Sniffing attack (parent) with a Sniffing Application Code attack (child).
Gendered Anxieties Pave the Way for a Separate and Unequal Co-educational High School

Current scholarship on the expansion of the American high schools at the turn of the twentieth century often downplays the role that gender played in the decision that local communities made about when and where to build new high schools. This chapter asserts that anxieties about the dangers of city life for upper- and middle-class white girls motivated the push to establish new high schools, and ultimately, shaped the foundation of the school when it opened. Like most high schools across the United States, Philadelphia’s Germantown High School opened as a co-education institution, but it offered different, and oftentimes, unequal educational experiences to female and male youth.
An Immunocytochemical Comparative Analysis of Tau in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Microtubules are essential for maintaining neuronal function. As a structural component, they serve to strengthen the cytoplasmic matrix by interacting with other cytoskeletal elements through microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) (1–4). The formation and maintainance of neuritic processes in vitro is dependent upon the presence of polymerized microtubules (5). By providing an avenue for the vesicular translocator, kinesin, (6) microtubules are also required for fast axonal transport. The diversity of functions performed by microtubules is a reflection of their heterogeneity. They are composed of alpha and beta tubulin subunits (7), which exhibit increasing heterogeneity during development (8), leading to at least 11 tubulin isoforms (9). Posttranslational modifications of tubulin such as acetylation (10), phosphorylation (11,12), tyrosinolation (13) and detyrosinolation (14) also serve to diversify microtubules. The association of various MAPs with neuronal microtubules adds to the complexity of this population of cytoskeletal elements. Although microtubules are heterogeneous, they are distributed throughout the neuron. The interaction with MAPs, which are apparently not equally parceled among neuronal compartments, provides a mechanism for stabilizing and maintaining subpopulations of microtubules required for specific functions. The segregation of MAPs, or different forms of individual MAPs, within specific neuronal compartments implies the neuron possesses mechanisms for keeping them apart. Alteration of the sorting and segregation process necessary to maintain neuronal compartmentalization, could result in loss of neuronal form as well as function. Alzheimer’s disease-affected neurons are one model for the study of improper neuronal organization of cytoskeletal elements.
A Ground-Based Research Vehicle for Base Drag Studies at Subsonic Speeds*

Existing models suggest base drag is dependent upon forebody drag, however, these models do not provide accurate predictions when applied to large-scale vehicles. This paper describes preliminary investigations into a new base drag model and the feasibility of minimizing total drag by optimizing the forebodydrag to base-drag relationship.
Pumping of main line masers in type I Miras

The conditions for main line maser emission in the circumstellar envelopes of Miras are studied. The radiative transfer is treated using the escape probability formalism and a modified Sobolev approximation. The effects of line overlap are included. Strong inversion of the 1612 MHz satellite line due to overlaps at 120μm dominates the models if all overlapping lines are included. Main line emission would be favored by low outflow velocities, thin maser regions and very asymmetrical or clumpy outflows.
Dynamics and optimal control of a legged robot in flight phase

A discussion is presented of the control of legged-robot body orientation in flight using the internal motion of the leg. The angular momentum constraint (nonholonomic) is used to recast the problem into a nonholonomic motion planning problem. Chow's theorem is then applied to verify that the system is controllable, and the concept of holonomy is introduced for constructing an optimal path. Finally, linearization control is used in the internal motion space to realize the planned path. An additional degree of control to dynamically balance a legged robot that runs is provided with this strategy. >
Biotic context and soil properties modulate native plant responses to enhanced rainfall.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The environmental and biotic context within which plants grow have a great potential to modify responses to climatic changes, yet few studies have addressed both the direct effects of climate and the modulating roles played by variation in the biotic (e.g. competitors) and abiotic (e.g. soils) environment. METHODS In a grassland with highly heterogeneous soils and community composition, small seedlings of two native plants, Lasthenia californica and Calycadenia pauciflora, were transplanted into factorially watered and fertilized plots. Measurements were made to test how the effect of climatic variability (mimicked by the watering treatment) on the survival, growth and seed production of these species was modulated by above-ground competition and by edaphic variables. KEY RESULTS Increased competition outweighed the direct positive impacts of enhanced rainfall on most fitness measures for both species, resulting in no net effect of enhanced rainfall. Both species benefitted from enhanced rainfall when the absence of competitors was accompanied by high soil water retention capacity. Fertilization did not amplify the watering effects; rather, plants benefitted from enhanced rainfall or competitor removal only in ambient nutrient conditions with high soil water retention capacity. CONCLUSIONS The findings show that the direct effects of climatic variability on plant fitness may be reversed or neutralized by competition and, in addition, may be strongly modulated by soil variation. Specifically, coarse soil texture was identified as a factor that may limit plant responsiveness to altered water availability. These results highlight the importance of considering the abiotic as well as biotic context when making future climate change forecasts.
Using Sparkleberry as a Genetic Source for Machine Harvest Traits for Southern Highbush Blueberry

Because of financial and labor concerns, growers are interested in using machine harvesting for fruit destined to be fresh marketed. Machine harvest of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) has typically been used to obtain large volumes of fruit destined for processing. Bush architecture, easy detachment of mature berries compared with immature berries, loose fruit clusters, small stem scar, firm fruit, and a concentrated ripening period are breeding goals to develop cultivars amenable to machine harvest. In the University of Florida (UF) southern highbush blueberry [SHB (Vaccinium corymbosum hybrids)] breeding program, sparkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum) has been used in wide crosses in an attempt to introgress traits that may be valuable for machine harvesting, namely upright growth habit with a narrow crown and long flower and fruit pedicels creating loose fruit clusters. Two eras of sparkleberry hybridization experiments have occurred since the early 1980s. The first era used darrow’s evergreen blueberry (Vaccinium darrowii) as a bridge between sparkleberry and tetraploid SHB, with the recently released cultivar FL 01-173 (sold under the trademarked name Meadowlark) as an example of the end product. The second era has used chromosome doubling to develop polyploid sparkleberry selections that were directly crossed with tetraploid SHB. After 1 year of evaluation, a SHB · (SHB · sparkleberry) population developed for linkage and quantitative trait locus mapping showed abundant variation for length:width ratio of the plant, but similarity to the highbush phenotype for peduncle and pedicel length of the fruit. These first evaluations indicate evidence of introgression and provide an initial step toward improved cultivars for mechanical harvesting.
Strategic Product/Service Innovations of an Online Firm

We study the incentives that drive an online firm to make various types of innovations in a competitive environment. We develop and use a simplified price competition model between two retailers, one online and one offline. A given fraction of consumers, called the Internet penetration, comparison shop online, independent of their customer type, thereby creating two markets for the offline retailer, a captive market and a competitive market. The online product has the steeper of the two linear utility functions, which means that the customers who buy online in our model are high end. We focus on the competitive region in which both retailers are (strictly) profitable in the competitive market and consider innovations that increase high-end appeal, low-end appeal, and/or reduce unit cost. We find that the online firm has a strong incentive to invest in innovations that either reduce unit cost and/or, equivalently, increase the appeal to all consumers equally. Investments of this type are strategic complements: implementing one increases the value of another, so the value of two innovations of this type is more than the sum of the values of each individually. We identify a relative strength measure of the online firm such that, as its high-end appeal increases and/or its unit cost decreases, we say that the online firm is stronger. This strength measure facilitates drawing an explicit dividing line between strong and weak online firms. If Internet penetration increases, the online firm's profits increase if and only if it is strong. If penetration increases over time, it is possible for a strong firm to turn weak and see its profits decrease and possibly disappear completely. A strong online firm has more opportunity to profit from low-end innovations than does a weak one, while the opposite is true for high-end innovations. Interestingly, some innovations may actually decrease the online firm's profits. We discuss the implications of our results for existing and future online innovations.
Donor Lymphoid Organs Are a Major Site of Alloreactive T-Cell Priming Following Intestinal Transplantation

We hypothesized that lymphoid organs within intestinal allografts contribute to their immunogenicity. Consistent with this hypothesis recipient T cells rapidly migrated to the lymph nodes and Peyer's patches of syngeneic and allogeneic intestinal grafts such that at 24 h approximately 50% of the lymphocytes isolated from donor lymphoid organs were of recipient origin. However, only in the lymphoid organs of allografts did recipient T cells display an activated phenotype, proliferate and produce IFNγ. Rejection of allogeneic intestines lacking lymphoid organs was dramatically impaired in splenectomized, lymph node-deficient recipients compared to lymph node bearing, wild-type allogeneic intestines. This demonstrates the important role of donor lymphoid organs in the rejection process. Furthermore, recipient T cells proliferated more extensively and produced more IFNγ in donor lymphoid organs than in recipient lymphoid organs, indicating that donor lymphoid organs play a dominant role in initiating the recipient anti-donor immune response following intestinal transplantation.
The NIT2 nitrogen regulatory protein of Neurospora: expression and stability of nit-2 mRNA and protein.

In Neurospora crassa, NIT2 is a global transcription factor that positively regulates the expression of up to 100 genes that are related to nitrogen metabolism. NIT2 is responsible for the lifting of nitrogen catabolite repression when the cellular levels of glutamine or other favored nitrogen sources become limited. Immunoprecipitation of the NIT2 protein showed that it is constitutively expressed, although its expression level is elevated a few-fold when nitrate instead of glutamine is used as the sole nitrogen source. The NIT2 protein is very stable and its stability is not affected by the nitrogen sources. The nit-2 transcripts appear to be very stable as well. The lack of significant regulation of cellular levels of nit-2 mRNA and of NIT2 protein suggests that its interactions with other proteins, e.g., in the nitrate assimilation pathway, with NIT4 and NMR, or post-translational modification of NIT2, may play important roles in modulating the function of NIT2 in response to environmental stimuli.
Multiwave nonlinear interactions in the axisymmetric mode

Nonlinear wave-wave interactions in turbulent jets were investigated based on the integrated energy of each scale of motion in a cross section of the jet. The analysis indicates that two frequency components in the axisymmetric mode can interact with other background frequencies in the axisymmetric mode, thereby amplifying an enormous number of other frequencies. The present computations produce several features consistent with experimental observations such as dependency of the interactions on the initial phase differences; enhancement of the momentum thickness under multi-frequency forcing: and an increase in background turbulence under forcing.
Fourier phase retrieval algorithm with noise constraints

Abstract A modified Fourier phase retrieval algorithm is proposed to reconstruct an object from a severe noise corrupted modulus. Both of the noise upper and lower level limits and occupied area are used to formulate noise constraints in the algorithm. This algorithm is shown to be desirable when the noise level is high.
DETECTION OF INTRACARDIAC SHUNTS WITH THE PLATINUM ELECTRODE, USING A SIMPLIFIED PERCUTANEOUS APPROACH.

Abstract A simple procedure for the detection of left-to-right intracardiac shunts is described. A modification of the sensitive hydrogen-platinum-electrode system was employed.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Heart Failure Patients with Narrow QRS

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an established therapy for severe symptomatic heart failure with depressed left ventricle (LV) systolic function and a wide QRS >120 ms. However only 30% heart failure patients will fulfill this criteria. Studies have demonstrated benefits of CRT with narrow QRS <120 ms with mechanical dyssynchrony. Aim: The aim of study was to evaluate the benefit of CRT in heart failure patients with narrow QRS <120 ms with mechanical dyssynchrony. Methods: 72 optimally managed heart failure patients in sinus rhythm, narrow QRS <120 ms, NYHA class III & IV, LV systolic EF <35% with mechanical dyssynchrony demonstrated by Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) were implanted with a CRT device. Clinical and echocardiography assessment was performed at baseline, 6 and 12 months. 55 patients completed 12 months follow up. Results: At 12 months 65 patients completed the study. There was significant improvement clinically in NYHA functional class (p<0.001) and 6 min walk (p<0.001). There was significant reduction of LV end systolic diameter (from 56.8±7.4 mm to 53.5±7.8 mm) p<0.001 and LV end diastolic from (66.3±7.6 to 63.8±7.3 mm) p<0.001. LV systolic EF improved significantly from (26.7±5.7% to 32.4±8.0%) p<0.001. Conclusions: CRT in heart failure with narrow QRS and mechanical dyssynchrony result in clinical improvement and LV reverse remodeling. CRT should be offered to heart failure patients with evidence of mechanical dyssynchrony.
When Less Is More in Public Health

With obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease reaching epidemic proportions and health-care cost costs spiraling out of control, policy experts in the United States are taking a closer look at alternatives to the medical model of health care. James C. Riley demonstrates that the public health model, with its emphasis on education, disease prevention, and skill development, effectively controlled infectious diseases in many poor countries during the 20th century. The countries Riley profiles have yet to attain economic success, yet each now boasts relatively low chronic disease rates and life expectancies that are at or near those in the United States. Riley’s book provides evidence that demand for high-cost interventions can be controlled when populations have the knowledge, skills, and motivation they need to stay healthy.
National Socialist Organization and Foreign Policy Aims in 1927

The publication of Hitler's second book, dictated in the summer of 1928, has helped to close the gap in our knowledge of National Socialism in the period between the reorganization of the party after Hitler's release from jail and the drive against the Young Plan in 1929. The letter from Rudolf Hess to Walter Hewel published in the following pages contributes substantial new insights to our picture of the National Socialist party in those years. Walter Hewel had been an early follower of Hitler. Having carried a flag in the attempted putsch of November 1923, he was sentenced to jail and served some time in Landsberg prison. After considerable travel, including a longer stay in England, Hewel spent several years on a plantation in Java before returning to Germany in the 1930s. Eventually he became the foreign minister's permanent representative in Hitler's head-quarters; he was killed or committed suicide in early May of 1945. While in London in 1926–27, he sent several letters to his old friends Adolf Hitler and Rudolf Hess. The answer Hess wrote on March 30, 1927, gave Hewel a picture of the development of the party and of its views. Written frankly and clearly, the letter illustrates the complete triumph of Hitler's absolutist concept within the party. It also shows the wide-ranging foreign policy views discussed in the Nazi inner circle.
The Broad Emission Line Profiles and Profile Variability of the Seyfert 1 Galaxy Arakelian 120: Erratum

Hα and Hβ broad emission-line profiles of the Seyfert galaxy Arakelian 120 from the past ∼10 yr, representing over 100 spectroscopic observations, are presented. The broad emission-line profiles of the Balmer lines are complex in structure and variable; the profile variations themselves are complex. We attempt to isolate separate emitting components within the profiles through profile differencing and profile fitting. If Gaussian-like, at least four separate components are present in the broad Balmer emission lines. The broad emission-line profiles of other emission lines (optical and UV) are also presented, and evidence is given for a stratified BLR
Prevention, detection, and management of early bacterial and fungal infections in a preclinical cardiac xenotransplantation model that achieves prolonged survival

BACKGROUND: We analyzed bacterial and fungal infectious complications in a cohort of 16 consecutive experiments with the longest surviving cardiac xenografts to date. METHODS: Transgenic, porcine-to-baboon, heterotopic (abdomen) cardiac xenotransplantation was performed in 16 consecutive experiments, using rapamycin, tacrolimus, corticosteroids, anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, and an alpha-Gal-PEG polymer, as immunosuppression. Prophylactic anti-microbials included i.v. trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, oral ganciclovir/valganciclovir, and oral itraconazole. An episode of bacterial infection was defined as a positive blood and/or wound culture with: leukocytosis, fever >101.5 degrees F, and/or clinical deterioration. RESULTS: Mean graft survival was 71 +/- 29 days; the longest was 113 days. There were 23 episodes of bacterial infection; 14 resolved with treatment. The mean time to the first episode of infection was 44 +/- 21 days (n=12). Eight of 16 deaths were due to infection: two bacterial-only, two cytomegalovirus (CMV) only, four both bacterial and CMV, and none fungal. The frequency of infection was 1, 2.8, and 1.8 episodes/100 survival days, respectively, for animals whose grafts survived for 30 to 59, 60 to 89, and >90 days. CMV infection (reviewed in detail in a separate communications) was due to baboon CMV, and was associated with low serum levels of ganciclovir. CONCLUSION: In a cardiac xenograft model that achieved prolonged (>3 months) survival, bacteremia was common, but usually reversible, and fungal infection was prevented with prophylaxis. The level of immunosuppression required to achieve clinically meaningful xenograft survival is associated with a level of bacterial and fungal infectious complications that is manageable and similar to the early clinical experiences in human transplantation. Further research will determine if the viral infectious complications observed in these experiments can be reduced by optimizing blood levels of anti-viral prophylaxis and monitoring viral polymerase chain reaction levels.