cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Black-capped chickadee dawn chorus and subsequent sexual activity

Abstract Male Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) sing for several minutes prior to dawn during the breeding season. In northeastern Colorado, dawn singing was associated with male-female interactions rather than male-male interactions; males did not approach one another during the chorus. Males sang until female arrival, at which point they attempted copulation. During copulation attempts, males always uttered strings of variable sees and nearly always attached gargles to these strings. All gargles terminated in an acoustically similar, low-pitched, buzzy syllable.
The Problem of Policy Problems

Abstract Although conceptions of policy design have well-developed conceptions of the instruments used to address public problems, they have much less developed conceptions of those problems themselves. This article proposes one analytic scheme for understanding the nature of policy problems and issues, and begins to relate the choice of instruments to the nature of the underlying problems for society.
The need to segment abnormal events from the calculation of reliability indices

The abnormal events that seriously impact an electric utility's operational ability to provide reasonable customer service must be removed from the calculation of reliability indices, and be reviewed individually. This will allow an accurate indication of both the system's reliability trend and the ability of the system to respond to abnormal events. Different processes, management talent, workforce efforts, and leadership are required to respond to these two types of reliability impacts. Different reviews are also required.
Addition of arthropod cocoons to house wren nests is correlated with delayed pairing

Males in the cavity-nesting house wren (Troglodytes aedon) frequently add arthropod cocoons to their nests during building, possibly as an ornamental cue for female choice. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the time to pairing for males that did and did not add cocoons to their nests and for males in whose nests we manipulated the number of cocoons prior to pairing. We also tested the hypothesis that females acquire fitness-related benefits by selecting mates based on their use of cocoons. The use of cocoons by males was not consistently related to habitat, but the number of cocoons added per nest increased during the course of the breeding season. Contrary to prediction, the time to pairing for males adding cocoons was significantly longer than that for males without cocoons in their nests at both unmanipulated and experimental nests. There was also no consistent fitnessrelated benefit for females related to the use of cocoons by their mates. Therefore, we conclude that females did not prefer males that added cocoons to their nests, and that the increased time to pairing for males that add cocoons likely results in fitnessrelated costs brought about by delayed breeding. Nonetheless, male house wrens routinely use cocoons, and why they do so remains unknown. Key words: female choice, house wrens, nest building, sexual selection, Troglodytes aedon. [Behav Ecol]
Mobile Microbiome: Oral Bacteria in Extra-oral Infections and Inflammation

The link between oral infections and adverse systemic conditions has attracted much attention in the research community. Several mechanisms have been proposed, including spread of the oral infection due to transient bacteremia resulting in bacterial colonization in extra-oral sites, systemic injury by free toxins of oral pathogens, and systemic inflammation caused by soluble antigens of oral pathogens. Mounting evidence supports a major role of the systemic spread of oral commensals and pathogens to distant body sites causing extra-oral infections and inflammation. We review here the most recent findings on systemic infections and inflammation complicated by oral bacteria, including cardiovascular disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer, respiratory tract infections, and organ inflammations and abscesses. The recently identified virulence mechanisms of oral species Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Streptococcus mutans, and Campylobacter rectus are also reviewed. A pattern emerges indicating that only select subtype(s) of a given species, e.g., F. nucleatum subspecies animalis and polymorphum and S. mutans non-c serotypes, are prone to extra-oral translocation. These findings advocate the importance of identification and quantification of potential pathogens at the subtype levels for accurate prediction of disease potential.
Religious Service Attendance and Distress: The Moderating Role of Stressful Life Events and Race/Ethnicity

Research findings on religiosity and mental health have been somewhat inconsistent over the years, leading researchers to examine different dimensions of religiosity to determine their individual and combined impacts on mental health. Aside from varying operationalizations of religiosity, stressful life events and race/ethnicity may be important moderators of the impact of religiosity on mental health. Secondary data analyses on a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults reveal a cur- vilinear relation of religious service attendance on distress. Specifically, those reporting moderate levels of service attendance also report lower levels of distress than their counterparts. Moreover, there were racial/ethnic differences with Hispanics and African Americans showing a stronger relationship between attendance and distress than non-Hispanic whites. However, there was no evi- dence that stressful life events interacted with attendance to explain distress.
Treatment Options for Streptococcal Pharyngitis

Group A β-hemolytic streptococcus, the most common bacterial cause of pharyngitis, is susceptible to treatment with penicillins, macrolides, or cephalosporins. Current treatment guidelines recommend narrow-spectrum penicillins as first-choice therapy. Macrolides (erythromycin) and first-generation oral cephalosporins are recommended as suitable alternative therapy for patients who are allergic to penicillin, the former for patients who do not exhibit immediate-type hypersensitivity to β-lactam drugs. These guidelines are somewhat outdated and may not adequately consider advantages offered by other agents. Amoxicillin offers better taste, an important consideration when dealing with pediatric patients. Azithromycin and clarithromycin are generally better-tolerated and preferred over erythromycin, and azithromycin offers a simpler and short-course regimen. Group A β-hemolytic streptococcus resistance to macrolides as a class is a growing problem that should temper their use. Most oral cephalosporins have su...
Evaluation of Vascular Complications of Pancreas Transplantation with High-Spatial-Resolution Contrast-enhanced MR Angiography

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate high-spatial-resolution contrast material–enhanced three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance (MR) angiography for assessment of vascular complications of pancreas allografts. Materials and Methods: The institutional review board approved the study and waived the requirement for informed patient consent owing to the retrospective nature of the study with use of an anonymous-subject database. The study was HIPAA compliant. The clinical and MR angiography findings in 11 patients (eight men, three women; mean age, 43 years; age range, 30–54 years) who had a history of pancreatic transplant dysfunction and underwent a total of 13 contrast-enhanced 3D MR angiography examinations were retrospectively reviewed. Comparison with conventional angiography findings was possible for four MR angiography examinations, comparison with surgical findings was possible for two examinations, and clinical follow-up was possible for all examinations. Two observers in consensus and blinded to ...
Properties of niobate high-temperature piezo-electric ceramics

Piezo-electric ceramics based on barium titanate have found applications in transducers for vibration measurement and in the generation and detection of ultrasonic vibration, where they combine low cost with properties more advantageous than those of piezo-electric crystals such as quartz, Rochelle salt or ammonium dihydrogen phosphate. Niobates have the further advantage that they retain their piezo-electric properties at temperatures considerably higher than the titanates. They are therefore suitable for use in vibration transducers able to operate at high temperatures and in ultrasonic generators able to operate at large amplitude, without losing their piezo-electric properties as a result of overheating. Some of the materials have a low temperature coefficient of resonant frequency and may therefore find applications in composite resonators in filter circuits.
Achieving Better Estimates of Greater Sage-Grouse Chick Survival in Utah

Abstract Declining sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations may be characterized by poor recruitment largely attributed to low chick survival. However, few published studies have explicitly examined factors that influence chick survival. We used a suture method to radiomark 1–2-day-old sage-grouse chicks (n = 150) in 2005–2006 on Parker Mountain in south-central Utah, USA, and monitored their survival to 42 days. We modeled effects of year, hatch date, chick age, brood-female age, brood-mixing, and arthropod abundance on chick survival. Our best model revealed an average survival estimate of 0.50 days to 42 days, which is the highest level ever documented for this long-lived species. Brood-mixing occurred in 21% (31/146) of chicks and 43% (18/42) of broods we studied. Moreover, yearling females had more chicks leave their broods than did adults. We found that survival may be higher among chicks that switch broods compared to those that stayed with their natal mother until fledging. Thus, broo...
Initiation Mechanisms and Kinetics of Pyrolysis and Combustion of JP-10 Hydrocarbon Jet Fuel

In order to investigate the initiation mechanisms and kinetics associated with the pyrolysis of JP-10 (exo-tricyclo[5.2.1.02,6]decane), a single-component hydrocarbon jet fuel, we carried out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations employing the ReaxFF reactive force field. We found that the primary decomposition reactions involve either (1) dissociation of ethylene from JP-10, resulting in the formation of a C8 hydrocarbon intermediate, or (2) the production of two C5 hydrocarbons. ReaxFF MD leads to good agreement with experiment for the product distribution as a function of temperature. On the basis of the rate of consumption of JP-10, we calculate an activation energy of 58.4 kcal/mol for the thermal decomposition of this material, which is consistent with a strain-facilitated C−C bond cleavage mechanism in JP-10. This compares well with the experimental value of 62.4 kcal/mol. In addition, we carried out ReaxFF MD studies of the reactive events responsible for oxidation of JP-10. Here we found overall ag...
The relation of reduplication, recombination, synapsis and chromosome coiling.

It has long been believed that partially paired chromosomes observed at early meiotic prophase represent synapsis caught in the act and that crossing over must follow or accompany this stage. In contradiction to this it has often been suggested that certain observations (e.g. the occurrence of 3: 1 ratios from individual tetrads of yeast, Neurospora and Aspergillus ) are most easily explained if it is assumed that crossing over occurs at the time of reduplication which in turn is now thought to occur during the premeiotic interphase (Taylor, 1957). Another phenomenon, which has been reported in Neurospora, Drosophila and bacteriophage, and apparently must be fitted into any successful model of recombination, is localized negative interference.
Revisiting Affirmative Action in Leveling the Playing Field Who Have Been the True Beneficiaries Anyway

Affirmative action is an amalgam of federal, state, and local ordinances and other legislative mandates to remedy inequities in employment for traditionally marginalized groups. The need for such p...
A Test of the Parsons–Veronis Hypothesis on the Separation of the Gulf Stream

Abstract The Parsons–Veronis model, based on a two-layer wind-driven ocean, predicts the latitude at which the western boundary current separates from the western boundary. It has been tested on the Gulf Stream using both satellite and in situ observations. The hypothesis attributes the difference in the thermocline depth from the eastern to the western side of the ocean and the corresponding northward geostrophic transport (with closed northern end) to the southward Ekman transport integrated across the basin. Twelve years (1977–88) of satellite sea surface temperature data and wind data [from the Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center (FNOC) wind database] have been used for this study. The satellite-derived Gulf Stream northern edges were used to determine the latitudes of separation (i.e., crossing the 2000-m isobath into deep water). Parsons' model is sensitive to two “free” parameters, namely, the reduced gravity and the thermocline depth on the eastern side of the basin. Based on available CTD data an...
Monotonicity in RT 0 and PWCF methods on triangular and tetrahedral meshes

In this paper we derive the monotonicity conditions for condensed-algebraic systems obtained by the discretization of the Poisson’s problem by the classical lowest order Raviart–Thomas (RT0) and the piece-wise constant fluxes (PWCF) MFE methods on triangular and tetrahedral meshes. We also establish the correspondence between the condensed system matrices resulting from application of these two methods.
Predictors of incomplete optical colonoscopy using computed tomographic colonography

Background/Aims: Optical colonoscopy (OC) is the primary modality for investigation of colonic pathology. Although there is data on demographic factors for incomplete OC, paucity of data exists for anatomic variables that are associated with an incomplete OC. These anatomic variables can be visualized using computed tomographic colonography (CTC). We aim to retrospectively identify variables associated with incomplete OC using CTC and develop a scoring method to predict the outcome of OC. Patients and Methods: In this case-control study, 70 cases ( with incomplete OC) and 70 controls (with complete OC) were identified. CTC images of cases and controls were independently reviewed by a single CTC radiologist. Demographic and anatomical parameters were recorded. Data was examined using descriptive linear statistics and multivariate logistic regression model. Results: On analysis, female gender (80% vs 58.6% P = 0.007), prior abdominal/pelvic surgeries (51.4% vs 14.3% P < 0.001), colonic length (187.6 ± 30.0 cm vs 163.8 ± 27.2 cm P < 0.001), and number of flexures (11.4 ± 3.1 vs 8.4 ± 2.9 P < 0.001) increased the risk for incomplete OC. No significant association was observed for increasing age (P = 0.881) and history of severe diverticulosis (P = 0.867) with incomplete OC. A scoring system to predict the outcome of OC is proposed based on CTC findings. Conclusion: Female gender, prior surgery, and increasing colonic length and tortuosity were associated with incomplete OC, whereas increasing age and history of severe diverticulosis were not. These factors may be used in the future to predict those patients who are at risk of incomplete OC.
Fluorescence detection of carbon-centered radicals in aqueous solution.

A simple, highly sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of arrays of carbon-centered radicals in aqueous systems is described. Radicals are efficiently trapped by an amino-nitroxide to form stable products which are then reacted with fluorescamine to produce highly fluorescent adducts. The adducts are easily separated by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography. The detection limit for individual radical adducts (0.5 to 2nM) is two to three orders of magnitude lower than those of current methods employing electron paramagnetic resonance detection. Results on the photolysis of ketones and z-keto acids demonstrate the potential of this technique. This approach should be widely applicable to the study of radical processes in biological and chemical systems.
Strategies and challenges on providing successful research experiences for undergraduates

Research experiences for undergraduates are considered an effective means for increasing student retention and encouraging undergraduate students to continue on to graduate school. In this paper, we present details of a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site with applied computer science research in Health Information Technology (HIT) in the Department of Computer Science at University of Central Arkansas (UCA). The site recruits a diverse pool of motivated undergraduate students with special focus on underrepresented gender and ethnic groups from HBCUs and instruction-oriented institutions. In each of the summers of the REU program, ten undergraduate students are selected and these student participants indulge in high-quality research under the guidance of experienced research mentors. Results from our first two years indicate this approach is manageable and effective for increasing students' ability and desire to conduct research. This paper also presents some unique challenges related to organizing a REU site and strategies we employed in addressing those challenges.
Butyrophenone on O-TiO2(110): one-dimensional motion in a weakly confined potential well.

We demonstrate the one-dimensional confinement of weakly bound butyrophenone molecules between strongly bound complexes formed via reaction with oxygen on TiO2(110). Butyrophenone weakly bound to Ti rows through the carbonyl oxygen diffuses freely in one dimension along the rows even at 55 K, persisting for many minutes before hopping out of the 1-D well. Quantitative analysis yields an estimate of the migration barrier of 0.11 eV and a frequency factor of 6.5 × 109 Hz. These studies demonstrate that weakly bound organic molecules can be confined on a surface by creating molecular barriers, potentially altering their assembly.
Imaging with NURBS Freeform Surfaces

New developments in the application of NURBS freeform surfaces in imaging systems are described, including their implementation and initial results from next generation designs using the complex shapes that can be modeled. Article not available.
Abstract 5116: Detection of pancreatic cancer using acidic pH targeted probes detected using multispectral optoacoustic tomography

Introduction: The use of theranostic nanoparticles for simultaneous tumor imaging and drug delivery is of great research interest. The tumor extracellular environment is significantly more acidic than physiologic pH, often in the range of pH 6.0-6.8. Exploitation the acidic extracellular tumor environment is a promising method of tumor localization with pH sensitive probes and targets. Further, the use of multispectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT) allows in vivo 3D tumor imaging via gold nanoparticles or near-infrared dyes conjugated to a targeting molecule. Gemzar is used for first-line treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, a malignancy with less than 5% survival at 5 years. We have created chitosan-capped mesoporous silica gold nanorods (C-MS-GNRs) to serve as pH sensitive theranostic nanoparticles for in vivo tumor imaging and targeted drug delivery. Methods: The chemical nature of all particles were characterized by electron microscopy, UV-Vis, and zeta-potential. Acidic pH specific Gemzar release was measured from C-MS-GNRs by UV-Vis. Cell viability assays on S2VP10 pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells with G-C-MS-GNR and Gemzar alone were performed at pH 6.5 and 7.4. S2VP10 cells were treated in pH 6.5 or 7.4 media with C-MS-GNR loaded with Indocyanin green (ICG) to demonstrate pH-sensitive cell targeting. ICG uptake was read on an Odyssey imaging system. Results: Particle characterization demonstrated appropriate chemical composition. A drug release assay of G-C-MS-GNR demonstrated 1/10 as much drug release at pH7.4 compared to in pH 6.4 or 6.0 media. Cell viability assays demonstrated enhanced cytotoxicity with Gemzar loaded C-MS-GNR at pH 6.5 and 7.4 compared to Gemzar alone. In vitro treatment of S2VP10 cells with C-MS-ICG in pH 6.5 media demonstrated 8X greater ICG delivery by C-MS-ICG than observed at pH 7.4. Conclusions: C-MS-GNR provides an efficacious means of targeting the acidic tumor environment for in vivo tumor imaging and drug delivery. C-MS-GNRs may be a suitable vehicle for tumor-targeted, pH-sensitive drug delivery to this currently untreatable tumor. Citation Format: Matthew Zeiderman, Anil Khanal, Charles W. Kimbrough, Jorge Gomez, William E. Grizzle, Kelly M. McMasters, Lacey R. McNally. Detection of pancreatic cancer using acidic pH targeted probes detected using multispectral optoacoustic tomography. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5116. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5116
Intraoperative arteriography facilitates penile revascularization.

AbstractPenile revascularization via inferior epigastric dorsal penile artery bypass is a treatment option for men with vasculogenic impotence due to proximal segmental arterial occlusion. Various diagnostic tests have been used to identify arterial vascular disease but pudendal arteriography remains the gold standard anatomical study. Unfortunately, more than 80% of impotent men have significant variations in penile arterial anatomy, and proximal arterial occlusions may prevent adequate visualization of the intrapenile arteries. We have found that intraoperative penile arteriography performed through the dorsal penile artery facilitates the planning of the arterial anastomosis to ensure adequate blood flow to the corpora cavernosum. The indications and technique of intraoperative penile arteriography are described.
Using Electromagnetic Induction Sensing to Understand the Dynamics and Interacting Factors Controlling Soil Salinity

Using Electromagnetic Induction Sensing to Understand the Dynamics and Interacting Factors Controlling Soil Salinity
Impact on Teaching: Consistent Knowledge Development, Reflection and Practice

Application of professional knowledge is developed and practiced through teacher experiences and reflection. If we want to understand the practices of teachers of the gifted in classroom, we need to know how teachers of the gifted develop their professional knowledge as active practitioners and what diverse factors lead to their own professional knowledge in their unique situations. The teacher is one of the most important factors in providing high quality of education. Gifted education is no exception. Teachers of gifted students should know how to work with diverse student populations and students with special needs. This research is a case study of two earlier career teachers in gifted education participating in professional development. We focused on how teachers’ needs combine with practicum experience result in individual unique professional knowledge. The results are as follows. The first, even though they are both beginning teachers of the gifted, their development phases as teachers of the gifted were different depending on their previous experience. The second, there different previous experience and practicum experience determined the direction and degree of the development of professional knowledge. The third, unique contexts are different from regular teacher, especially, isolation was a big barrier for their development. The last, their development was different due to their passion about teaching gifted students and continuous reflection on their practice and students reaction were strong motives for the development of their professional knowledge.
What’s in a name? The MacDonald condensation

In 1960, MacDonald and coworkers introduced a new method for porphyrin synthesis that involved the acid-catalyzed condensation of dipyrrylmethane dialdehydes with α,α′-diunsubstituted dipyrrylmethanes or the related dicarboxylic acids, followed by an air oxidation. The key bond forming steps entail electrophilic substitution at two pyrrole units with the aldehyde moieties to generate, following elimination of water, a 5,15-dihydroporphyrin or porphodimethene intermediate. Following addition of sodium acetate, or in later procedures zinc acetate, the dihydroporphyrins readily air oxidize to the fully aromatic porphyrin system. This strategy, which parallels chemistry contemporaneously developed by R. B. Woodward at Harvard for the total synthesis of chlorophyll a, demonstrated that dipyrrylmethanes were sufficiently stable to be utilized as intermediates in porphyrin syntheses and that porphodimethene formation circumvented acidolytic scrambling reactions that might lead to isomeric porphyrin products. This type of chemistry was later adapted by Johnson, Woodward and others to prepare porphyrin-type systems by a “3 + 1” strategy, or expanded porphyrins by “3 + 2” or other combinations of oligopyrrolic precursors. In recent years, the term “MacDonald condensation” has been increasingly used to describe other types of chemistry involving oligopyrrolic intermediates. Following on from a historical review of this area, guidelines for the identification of MacDonald-type reactions are proposed.
Network Scheduling Aware Task Placement in Datacenters

To improve the performance of data-intensive applications, existing datacenter schedulers optimize either the placement of tasks or the scheduling of network flows. The task scheduler strives to place tasks close to their input data (i.e., maximize data locality) to minimize network traffic, while assuming fair sharing of the network. The network scheduler strives to finish flows as quickly as possible based on their sources and destinations determined by the task scheduler, while the scheduling is based on flow properties (e.g., size, deadline, and correlation) and not bound to fair sharing. Inconsistent assumptions of the two schedulers can compromise the overall application performance. In this paper, we propose NEAT, a task scheduling framework that leverages information from the underlying network scheduler to make task placement decisions. The core of NEAT is a task completion time predictor that estimates the completion time of a task under given network condition and a given network scheduling policy. NEAT leverages the predicted task completion times to minimize the average completion time of active tasks. Evaluation using ns2 simulations and real-testbed shows that NEAT improves application performance by up to 3.7x for the suboptimal network scheduling policies and up to 30% for the optimal network scheduling policy.
Abstract 1194: O-GlcNAcylation regulates breast cancer lipid metabolism via sterol regulatory element binding protein 1

The Warburg hypothesis states that cancer cells display altered metabolic features to support their rapid growth and biosynthetic demands including increased glycolytic flux to synthesize necessary building blocks required by growing cells. Increased glucose uptake feeds not only glycolysis but other glucose dependent pathways as well, such as the Hexosamine Biosynthetic Pathway (HBP). HBP diverts fructose-6-phosphate from glycolysis to produce UDP-GlcNAc, the amino sugar donor to O-GlcNAc Transferase (OGT). Analagous to phosphorylation, O-GlcNAcylation can alter protein function and stability and itself is altered in several disease states. Our lab has demonstrated that OGT and O-GlcNAcylation are elevated in breast cancer and that expression of this enzyme is critical for various cancer phenotypes such as avoidance of ER stress and apoptosis, supporting invasion and metastasis and more recently promotion of Warburg effect. Here we demonstrate that OGT and O-GlcNAc are important for lipid metabolism in cancer cells through regulation of transcription factor SREBP-1 and its targets. Metabolic profiling revealed that OGT depletion in MDA-MB-231 cells decreased various lipids metabolites measured, including long-chain fatty acids, lysolipids and essential fatty acids. OGT suppression results in a decrease in SREBP-1 protein and mRNA and reduction of its transcriptional targets, enzymes involved in lipid synthesis, in both breast cancer cells and highly lipogenic normal tissue, the mammary fat pad. Over-expression of SREBP-1 blocks apoptosis induced by OGT suppression in 2D and 3D culture. Overall, we show that OGT and O-GlcNAc play a role in yet another process critical to cancer cell survival, lipid metabolism. Citation Format: Valerie L. Sodi, Zachary Bacigalupa, Christina Ferrer, Mauricio Reginato. O-GlcNAcylation regulates breast cancer lipid metabolism via sterol regulatory element binding protein 1. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1194. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1194
Conspicuous Consumption on the Long Tail: How can Luxury Brands Benefit from Counterfeits?

We study how luxury brands can use product line expansion as a strategy when facing a threat from the counterfeit market. Consumers who are status-conscious consider the bene fits and costs of buying luxury items in order to strengthen the beliefs of others about their status. Our findings suggest that product line expansion strategy serves these high-end consumers and their motives to strengthen their status image. In a market with counterfeiters, consumers have an incentive to buy additional products in order to reduce the uncertainty of their status signals. Increasing consumption makes it harder for others to imitate status when authentic brands signal quality and status with higher precision compared to counterfeits. Since each luxury item purchased contributes to one's status in a marginally declining fashion, it is rational for a luxury brand to expand its product line such that it maintains its core product and introduces peripheral products with lower status signalling benefi ts and prices. We further show that an increasing counterfeit market share can increase status-conscious consumers' willingness to pay for luxury goods. As a result, presence of counterfeiters can increase the pro t of a luxury brand.
How Likable Are Personality Disorder and General Personality Traits to Those Who Possess Them

Objective The goal of the present study was to investigate whether having higher scores on maladaptive personality traits was related to rating these traits as more likable. Method Two studies were conducted, one with personality disorder traits (N = 219; Mage = 19.4; 63.8% female; 76.6% Caucasian) and one with general personality traits (N = 198; Mage = 19.5; 69.7% female; 77.3% Caucasian). In each study, participants self-rated their own personality and separately provided ratings of how “likable” they considered those personality traits. Results As expected, participants rated maladaptive traits more favorably if they considered themselves to possess those traits as well. Also as expected, individuals with higher Antagonism scores (including self-rated Dark Triad constructs of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) rated Antagonism and its related facets as “tolerable”—not necessarily likable, but as less unlikable than the average participant. Conclusions These findings have implications for the ways that individuals with personality pathology perceive the people around them, which may in turn impact their expectations and behaviors.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GENERATIVE LEARNING MODEL WITH WRITE-PAIR-SWITCH STRATEGY IN MATHEMATICS LEARNING OF GRADE X STUDENTS AT SMA NEGERI 9 MAKASSAR

This research was purposed to know the effectiveness of generative learning model with write-pair-switch strategy in mathematics learning for students of grade X SMA Negeri 9 Makassar. The design of this study was Pre-Experimental Design, namely One-Group Pretest Posttest Design. This study involved two experimental classes, X.2 consist of 33 students and X.5 consist of 35 students by using simple random sampling technique. The data were collected by using students mathematics achievement test, learning implementation observation sheet, students activity observation sheet, and students response questionnaire. The techniques of data analysis were descriptive statistical analysis and inferential statistical analysis. The results of this study reveal that: 1) student’s learning achievement before being taught by using generative learning model with write-pair-switch strategy are in very low category, however student’s learning achivement after being taught by using generative learning model with write-pair-switch strategy are in high category, student’s learning achievement after being taught by using generative learning model with write-pair-switch strategy achieved minimal completeness criteria, the improvement of student’s learning achievement (gain) are in high category, student’s learning achivement after being taught by using generative learning model with write-pair-switch strategy did not achieve the classical mastery, and student’s attitude are in good category; 2) student’s activity in learning processes with generative learning model with write-pair-switch strategy are in good category; and 3) student’s response toward the implementation of generative learning model with write-pair-switch strategy are in tend positive category. Based on the criteria of effectiveness, generative learning model with write-pair-switch strategy is not effective in mathematics learning for students of grade X SMA Negeri 9 Makassar
SDN in wide-area networks: A survey

Over the past several years, Software Defined Networking (SDN) has emerged as a new and promising paradigm for the management of computer networks. While we have seen many use-cases and deployments of SDN in data center networks, wide-area networks still heavily rely on legacy routing and traffic engineering technologies. Rapidly increasing traffic demands (mainly due to increasing usage of video streaming and voice over LTE deployments), however, motivate the development of novel routing and more efficient traffic engineering mechanisms. New approaches leveraging an SDN paradigm in wide-area networks promise to mitigate many of today's limitations, inefficiencies, and scalability issues. In this paper, we give an overview of the current state of the art in Software Defined wide-area networking research and technologies and give directions and discuss ideas for future work.
Measuring Fidelity in Research Studies: A Field Guide to Developing a Comprehensive Fidelity Measurement System

An accurate assessment of fidelity, combined with a high degree of fidelity to the intervention, is critical to the reliability, validity, replicability, and scale-up of the results of an intervention research study. However, extant measures of fidelity are infrequently applicable to the program or intervention being studied, and the literature lacks guidance on the specific process of developing a system to measure fidelity in a manualized intervention. This article describes a five-step process to define the scope, identify components, develop tools, monitor fidelity, and analyze outcomes to develop a comprehensive fidelity measurement system for an intervention. The process describes the components, measures and key decisions that form a comprehensive fidelity measurement system. In addition, the process is illustrated by a case study of the development of a fidelity measurement system for a research study testing Pathways Triple P, a behavioral parent-training program, with a population of child welfare-involved families. Pathways Triple P is a common, manualized intervention and the process described in this article can be generalized to other manualized interventions. The implications and requirements for accurately assessing and monitoring fidelity in research studies and practice are discussed.
A Novel Nanoparticle Mediated Selective Inner Retinal Photocoagulation for Diseases of the Inner Retina

A novel nanoparticle mediated methodology for laser photocoagulation of the inner retina to achieve tissue selective treatment is presented. Methods: Transport of 527, 577, and 810 nm laser, heat deposition, and eventual thermal damage in vitreous, retina, RPE, choroid, and sclera were modeled using Bouguer–Beer–Lambert law of absorption and solved numerically using the finite volume method. Nanoparticles were designed using Mie theory of scattering. Performance of the new photocoagulation strategy using gold nanospheres and gold–silica nanoshells was compared with that of conventional methods without nanoparticles. For experimental validation, vitreous cavity of ex vivo porcine eyes was infused with gold nanospheres. After ~6 h of nanoparticle diffusion, the porcine retina was irradiated with a green laser and imaged simultaneously using a spectral domain optical coherence tomography (Spectralis SD-OCT, Heidelberg Engineering). Results : Our computational model predicted a significant spatial shift in the peak temperature from RPE to the inner retinal region when infused with nanoparticles. Arrhenius thermal damage in the mid-retinal location was achieved in ~14 ms for 527 nm laser thereby reducing the irradiation duration by ~30 ms compared with the treatment without nanoparticles. In ex vivo porcine eyes infused with gold nanospheres, SD-OCT retinal images revealed a lower thermal damage and expansion at RPE due to laser photocoagulation. Conclusion: Nanoparticle infused laser photocoagulation strategy provided a selective inner retinal thermal damage with significant decrease in laser power and laser exposure time. Significance: The proposed treatment strategy shows possibilities for an efficient and highly selective inner retinal laser treatment.
Long-Term Success with Driveline Exit Site Relocation for Deep Driveline Infection in Left Ventricular Assist Device Patients:

ObjectiveDriveline infection is a common complication of durable left ventricular assist device support. The majority involve the driveline exit site and can be treated with antibiotics and local w...
An animal-actuated rotational head-fixation system for 2-photon imaging during 2-d navigation

Understanding how the biology of the brain gives rise to the computations that drive behavior requires high fidelity, large scale, and subcellular measurements of neural activity. 2-photon microscopy is the primary tool that satisfies these requirements, particularly for measurements during behavior. However, this technique requires rigid head-fixation, constraining the behavioral repertoire of experimental subjects. Increasingly, complex task paradigms are being used to investigate the neural substrates of complex behaviors, including navigation of complex environments, resolving uncertainty between multiple outcomes, integrating unreliable information over time, and/or building internal models of the world. In rodents, planning and decision making processes are often expressed via head and body motion. This produces a significant limitation for head-fixed two-photon imaging. We therefore developed a system that overcomes a major problem of head-fixation: the lack of rotational vestibular input. The system measures rotational strain exerted by mice on the head restraint, which consequently drives a motor, rotating the constraint system and dissipating the strain. This permits mice to rotate their heads in the azimuthal plane with negligible inertia and friction. This stable rotating head-fixation system allows mice to explore physical or virtual 2-D environments. To demonstrate the performance of our system, we conducted 2-photon GCaMP6f imaging in somas and dendrites of pyramidal neurons in mouse retrosplenial cortex. We show that the subcellular resolution of the system9s 2-photon imaging is comparable to that of conventional head-fixed experiments. Additionally, this system allows the attachment of heavy instrumentation to the animal, making it possible to extend the approach to large-scale electrophysiology experiments in the future. Our method enables the use of state-of-the-art imaging techniques while animals perform more complex and naturalistic behaviors than currently possible, with broad potential applications in systems neuroscience.
Abstract 19611: Are Magnet® Hospitals Associated With Improved Outcomes in Children With Critical Illness?

Introduction: Little is known about the association of magnet recognition with outcomes among children with critical illness. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that children treated at magnet hospitals will be associated with improved outcomes as compared to children treated at non-magnet hospitals. Methods: Patients ≤ 18 years admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) at a Pediatric Health Information Systems (PHIS) participating hospital were included (2004-2014). Patients with both cardiac and non-cardiac diagnoses were included. We used inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method to create a sample where treatment selection was independent of measured baseline characteristics. As a sensitivity analysis, we compared outcomes using multivariate models after adjusting for baseline covariates. Results: A total of 454,616 patients (55.2%) of the patients were treated in 23 magnet hospitals, and 369,018 patients (44.8%) were treated in 19 non-magnet hospitals. Resource utilization (such as mechanical ventilation, nitric oxide, inotropes, and ECMO) was higher in magnet hospitals. After adjusting for patient and center characteristics, there was no difference in mortality between the two groups ( Table ). In adjusted models, we did not find any difference in hospital length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, or hospital charges. We found similar results among the cardiac and non-cardiac subgroups for all study outcomes by primary analysis using IPTW. The sensitivity analysis using multivariable models demonstrated similar results for all study outcomes, except for lower mortality in cardiac subgroup cared for in magnet hospitals. Conclusions: This study calls into question the utility of magnet recognition program among children with critical illness. However, results from sensitivity analysis among cardiac patients leave some ambiguity in the interpretation of results.
Frieden und Diplomatie

Das Zusammenleben der Volker scheint ein fortwahrender Kriegszustand zu sein, der nur von kurzen Perioden einer durch vollige Erschopfung herbeigefuhrten Entspannung unterbrochen wird. Bei der Betrachtung der letzten vierhundert Jahre europaischer Geschichte wurde ein pessimistischer Philosoph gewis versucht sein, den unheilvollen Satz des Heraklit zu wiederholen, wonach der Krieg der Vater aller Dinge ist. In den meisten Fallen jedoch sind die unvermeidlichen Spannungen, die sich aus territorialen und anderen Interessenkonflikten ergaben, durch diplomatische Methoden erfolgreich behoben worden. Nach den Lehrbuchern ist (oder war wenigstens) Diplomatie „die Anwendung von Klugheit und Takt auf die Gestaltung amtlicher Beziehungen zwischen den Regierungen unabhangiger Staaten“ (Satow). Ungeachtet der spottischen Bemerkung Napoleons gegenuber Talleyrand, „Vertrage mogen von Diplomaten unterzeichnet sein, aber sie werden von Soldaten gemacht“, erscheint daher der Krieg als das Versagen der Diplomatie, da er die Anwendung brutaler Gewalt ist. Allem gegenteiligen Anschein zum Trotz verringert die Diplomatie die Spannungen, die zwischen Staaten unvermeidlich sind, wenn ihre Ziele, wie etwa Gebietserwerbungen, in Konflikt miteinander geraten. Sie versucht, den Krieg zu vermeiden und doch ein Hochstmas an staatlichen Zwecken zu verwirklichen.
1 – FUNDAMENTALS OF EQUILIBRIUM THERMODYNAMICS

Thermodynamics is a science of energy in which temperature—as it is related to the average of molecular motions—is an important concept. Guggenheim defines thermodynamics as that part of physics concerned with any equilibrium property’s dependence on temperature. Thermodynamics also formulates the average changes taking place among large numbers of molecules; therefore, it is a macroscopic science. Carnot, Rankine, Clausius, Kelvin, Gibbs, and many others developed formulations of thermodynamic principles for describing the conservation and conversion of energy. The theoretical formulation of classical thermodynamics is a set of natural laws governing the behavior of macroscopic systems; these laws lead to a large number of equations and axioms that are exact, based entirely on logic, and attached to well-defined constraints. As natural phenomena are far from reversible, adiabatic, isothermal, equilibrium, or ideal, the engineer must exercise a pragmatic approach in applying the principles of thermodynamics to real systems. Some new texts have attempted to present thermodynamic principles and formulations in ways applicable to students and engineers, which would allow the formulations to be applied in modeling, designing, and describing some natural and complex phenomena. Principles of thermodynamics find applications in all branches of engineering and the sciences. Besides that, thermodynamics may present methods and “generalized correlations” for the estimation of physical and chemical properties when there are no experimental data available. Such estimations are often necessary in the simulation and design of various processes. This chapter briefly covers some of the basic definitions, principles of thermodynamics, entropy production, the Gibbs equation, phase equilibria, equations of state, and thermodynamic potentials.
Operator Theory and the Corona Problem on the Bidisk

We give five equivalent operator theory formulations for the corona problem forH ° °(D 2). Also, we give two sufficient and one necessary condition for the solution of the problem. Finally, we indicate the solution to the corona problem for the multiplier algebra of symmetric Fock space on the unit ball in ICn.
Fluctuations of Interfaces and Fronts

Many surfaces occurring in nature are characterized by self-affine fluctuations. The width ω of the interface grows with the observation length L as ω ~ Lζ. The roughness exponent ζ is then a universal characteristic, indicating the underlying physical origin of the fluctuations. The examples considered include interfaces pinned in random media, growth fronts in deposition, and surface of an evolving sandpile. In these cases the origin of the dynamically organized criticality can be traced to symmetries or conservation laws.
The Head, The Heart, and Business Virtues

In Section I, I criticize the view, implied by the concept of rational economic man, that feelings are inherently opposed to rationality. I attempt to show that emotions or feelings are essential to the proper functioning of reason, rational objectivity, and practical rationality or rational decision making. In addition, I argue that emotions can help to resolve certain ethical dilemmas. In Section II, I consider business writers who criticize business for overemphasizing the head at the expense of feelings or the heart. In Section III, I discuss the connection between material self-interest (as manifested in trade) – a concept of rational economic man – and business virtues.
How Biosocial Research Can Improve Interventions for Antisocial Behavior

Biological factors have been found to influence the development of antisocial behavior. These factors also affect how individuals respond to the environment, including how individuals respond to in...