cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Human Resource Management Practices and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Study of Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria

The impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on organizational performance has been subject of discourse among social scientists from a wide range of disciplines in the last two decades. But unfortunately, very insufficient number of studies in this area has been conducted in Nigeria and other developing countries. This study was undertaken to fill this obvious research gap. The author applied descriptive method and collected the data via a survey of 164 respondents in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry. Data collected were analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation and t-test analysis. The study found that there is a significant relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance. As predicted, the study revealed that human resource management practices exert positive and statistically significant impact on organizational performance. Requisite conclusion and recommendations were provided in the light of theoretical and empirical findings. With this study, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the role of HRM practices in creating and sustaining organizational performance, specifically in the Nigerian context.
Nursing and healthcare innovation PhD students’ reflective autobiographical narratives

Abstract Nursing is a growing profession that offers multiple graduate educational paths such as Masters, DNP, and PhD. These autobiographical narratives provide insight from our perspectives in the areas of advocacy, academia, and evidence-based innovation. We hope that our multicultural backgrounds and multidisciplinary perspectives can provide clarity about the journey, and reassure future scholars that perseverance, dedication, and passion are the key ingredients of a successful PhD degree.
Resonant Scattering between Dark Matter and Baryons: Revised Direct Detection and CMB Limits

Traditional dark matter (DM) models, eg. WIMPs, assume dark matter is weakly coupled to the standard model so that elastic scattering between DM and baryons can be described perturbatively by Born approximation. Most direct detection experiments are analyzed according to that assumption. We show that when the interaction is attractive and strong, DM-nucleus scattering exhibits rich resonant behavior with a highly non-trivial dependence on atomic mass. The scattering is non-perturbative in much of the natural parameter range, and a full numerical calculation is needed. We also show that the extended rather than point-like nature of nuclei significantly impacts the cross sections and must therefore be properly taken into account. These effects are particularly important for dark matter with GeV-scale masses, near the boundary of exclusion regions from existing direct detection limits. They also affect the interpretation of CMB constraints, as we show. We report the corrected limits, which are in some respects weaker and in other respects stronger than previous bounds in the literature, which were based on perturbation theory and point-like sources and hence are now superceded. Sexaquark ($uuddss$) DM with mass $\lesssim 2$ GeV, which exchanges QCD mesons with baryons, remains unconstrained for most of the parameter space of interest.
Apocrine ductal carcinoma in situ associated with testosterone therapy in a transgender individual.

We report the first case of apocrine ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in a female-to-male transgender individual on testosterone therapy (TT). The gender confirmation total mastectomy revealed 2 cm DCIS with apocrine cytology, high nuclear grade with associated calcification, and necrosis. Immunohistochemistry revealed the DCIS was negative for ER, positive for AR with HER2/neu overexpression (3+). This patient with negative screening mammography developed apocrine DCIS on TT, suggesting that gender-affirming hormone therapy may have advanced malignant transformation of atypical apocrine cells. This may have implications for increased surveillance within the transgender population.
Heterospecific pollination by an invasive congener threatens the native American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens

Invasive plants have the potential to interfere with native species' reproductive success through a number of mechanisms, including heterospecific pollination and hybridization. This study investigated reproductive interactions between a native North American woody vine (American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens) and an introduced congener (oriental bittersweet, C. orbiculatus). The decline of C. scandens in the eastern portion of its range is coincident with the introduction and spread of C. orbiculatus, and the two species are known to hybridize. The relationship between proximity and floral production of conspecific and heterospecific males on fertilization and hybridization rates was measured at a field site in northwestern Indiana, USA where both species occur and reproduce. We found that the invasive vine had an extreme advantage in both male and female floral production, producing nearly 200 times more flowers per staminate plant and 65 times more flowers per pistillate plant than the native. Using nuclear microsatellite DNA markers we found that hybridization rates were asymmetric; 39% of the C. scandens seeds tested were hybrids, compared to only 1.6% of C. orbiculatus seeds. The asymmetric hybridization rates were likely not solely due to greater abundance of C. orbiculatus pollen because experimental hand crosses revealed that C. scandens had a higher rate (41%) of heterospecific fertilization than C. orbiculatus (2.4%). We previously reported that few hybrids were observed in the wild, and hybrids had greatly reduced fecundity. Thus, in our system, the threat posed by heterospecific pollen is not replacement by hybrids or introgression, but rather asymmetric reproductive interference. Reproductive interference extended to distances as great as 100 meters, thus, efforts to conserve the native species must reduce its exposure to C. orbiculatus over a relatively large spatial scale.
Abstract 12605: Defining the Reference Range for Left Ventricular Strain by Echocardiography in Healthy Subjects: A Novel Meta-analysis Strategy

Background: Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS), circumferential strain (LVGCS) and radial strain (LVGRS) are established echocardiographic parameters of systolic function with wide...
Generics as instructions

Generic claims like ‘women stay home and raise children’ and ‘boys don’t cry’ are normative generics: generic claims that express (and usually endorse) a norm. The truth conditions of normative generics are even harder to account for than those for more descriptive generics like ‘ducks lay eggs.’ Until recently, such generics were treated as deviant and thus not accounted for in standard accounts of generics. But recent work on the semantics and pragmatics of normative generics has changed that. In light of this recent work, I propose that a speech act analysis of normative generics as instructions will shed light on normative generics. I end by discussing the ways in which this might allow us to use generics to counter harmful speech.
In-Hospital Mortality and Related Outcomes for Elevated Risk Acute Pulmonary Embolism Treated With Mechanical Thrombectomy Versus Routine Care:

PurposeTo compare in-hospital mortality and other hospitalization related outcomes of elevated risk patients (Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index [PESI] score of 4 or 5, and, European Society of Card...
Estimation of the Parameters in an Expanding Dynamic Network Model

In this paper, we consider an expanding sparse dynamic network model where the time evolution is governed by a Markovian structure. Transition of the network from time t to t + 1 involves three components where a new node joins the existing network, some of the existing edges drop out, and new edges are formed with the incoming node. We consider long term behavior of the network density and establish its limit. We also study asymptotic distributions of the maximum likelihood estimators of key model parameters. We report results from a simulation study to investigate finite sample properties of the estimators.
Structural Investigations of Mo-Ge Multilayers by X-Ray Anomalous Scattering and EXAFS

Studies of atomic arrangements in amorphous and crystalline, low period Mo-Ge multilayers using synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction (transmission and reflection), supplemented by EXAFS, are described. Differential anomalous scattering and EXAFS were utilized to determine the environment of each species. Intermixing, as well as a BBC epitaxial Ge structure, are among the observed structural characteristics.
The Alienability of Lockean Natural Rights

This essay is about natural rights over one’s person, one’s life, and one’s liberty.’ The possession of such basic moral rights has profound implications for one’s legitimate freedom with regard to medical treatment and procedures, and may have similarly profound implications for one’s responsibilities with regard to medical treatment. Yet what the precise implications of these rights are crucially depend upon how these natural rights are understood. Perhaps the key interpretative issue here is whether these rights are to be understood as inalienable. A right is alienable if and only if the bearer of that right can, by his choice, waive or transfer that right.² If the moral rights of each person over himself, his life and his liberty are alienable and are not otherwise compromised by significant countervailing moral considerations, then these rights vindicate a sweeping doctrine of informed consent and mutually voluntary interaction in the biomedical sphere. Suicide and the assistance of suicide, the donation and the sale of bodily parts, surrogate childbearing, and broad freedoms of self-medication are only the most obvious libertarian implications of such a conception of natural rights. On one level, the question of whether natural rights are alienable has, I believe, an easy and obvious answer, viz., yes. This is to say, if natural rights are understood as defining for each person a basic sphere of moral jurisdiction within which each rightholder may do as he sees fit, then it seems obvious that no feature or aspect of a person’srights can block the moral permissibility of chosen actions within his protected domain. However, this argument may rely too much, or at least too readily, upon assuming this particular domain of choice conception of natural rights. For there may be alternative conceptions of basic moral rights according to which some or all of these rights cannot be waived or transferred. Under such an alternative conception of rights, the bearers of these rights do not have the moral power to choose not to be protected by them. They cannot, by their choice, open themselves to forms of treatment, e.g., to being euthanized or to having bodily parts removed to be transplanted in others, which absent their consent would profoundly wrong them. In this essay the key issue of the alienability of basic moral rights is cast as an exercise in interpreting John Locke’sviews on natural rights.
Cholesterol Metabolism Is Altered When Rats Are Fed Either Beef Tallow as the Only Dietary Fat or Fat Containing the Lipid Extracts of Beef

This study was designed to evaluate tissue cholesterol concentrations in rats fed the nonpolar component or the polar component of the lipid extracted from beef. Comparisons were made to tissue cholesterol concentrations of rats fed either whole beef or beef tallow. The nonpolar component was predominantly triacylglycerol with a fatty acid composition similar to that of the beef tallow. Rats consuming the diet containing the nonpolar component had a plasma cholesterol concentration similar to those of rats in the other treatment groups. However, their plasma HDL cholesterol concentration was significantly greater and their hepatic cholesterol concentration was significantly less than for rats fed the diet with beef tallow but not rats fed the diet with beef or the polar component of beef lipid. Rats fed the diet with the polar component had a plasma cholesterol concentration that was significantly less than that of the beef tallow-fed group but similar to those of the other treatment groups; however, their plasma HDL cholesterol concentration was not different from that of any other group. Comparing electrophoretic lipoprotein profiles among diet groups demonstrated enhanced proportions of HDL in rats fed beef or the nonpolar component rather than beef tallow. These data suggest a novel effect of endogenous nonpolar beef lipid on cholesterol metabolism, which seems to depend upon factor(s) other than properties that are similar to the properties of beef tallow, i.e., fatty acid composition and lipid polarity.
ABAD FACIOLINCE, FUGUET, VALENCIA Y VOLPI: REDEFINICIÓN DE LA PROSA NO FICTICIA HISPANOAMERICANA

ABSTRACTUnlimited in terms of publishing media and the migration of forms, a major shift hasoccurred in the reception of non-fiction by authors associated wi...
Approaches to Measuring Soil Nitrogen Transformations under Continuous or Steady-State Conditions

Soil is a three-phase system consisting of solids, water, and gases. It provides diverse niches for microorganisms, which are subject to dynamic fluctuations in environmental conditions (Fig. 1). Measurement of microbial processes in soil is confounded by this heterogeneity and the complex interactions among soil particles, the soil solution, and the soil atmosphere. In order to appreciate the difficulties involved with measuring microbial activity in soil under continuous or steady-state conditions, it is necessary to review briefly the soil environment experienced by microorganisms and some of the characteristics of soil N transformations.
An improved frequency compensation techinique for low power, low voltage CMOS amplifiers [techinique read technique]

This paper presents an improved frequency compensation technique for low power and low voltage CMOS operational amplifier. The op amp designed for a high speed high resolution pipeline ADC is a two-stage with folded-cascode as the first stage and uses this improved compensation technique to achieve closed loop bandwidth of 350 MHz while driving a 2K resistor load and a 3.5 pF capacitive load consuming much lower power when compared to the conventional Miller compensation technique or cascode compensation technique. The op amp was designed in a 0.15-/spl mu/m CMOS technology and achieves a THD of 70 dB for a 30 MHz signal and consumes a total power of 4 mW of a 1.35 V supply.
Mutational Analysis of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Vif Protein

Lentivirus Vif proteins are potent regulators of virus infectivity. However, relatively little is known about the functional domains, peptide motifs, or residues of any Vif protein. In this report, we present the first extensive mutagenesis analysis of the 192-amino-acid human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Vif protein. A large number of scanning missense (mostly alanine substitution) and deletion mutations were introduced into the HIV-1HXB3 vif gene, and the resulting proteins were evaluated for the induction of virus infectivity as well as subcellular localization. The results show that amino acids dispersed throughout Vif’s linear sequence are important for function. However, because many of the inactive proteins also appear to be mislocalized, we suggest that many of them may actually be misfolded rather lacking an intracellular targeting signal. Interestingly, disruptions within an internal region spanning residues 114 to 146 give rise to mutant proteins that either retain function or are inactive but are not substantially mislocalized. We therefore speculate that this region, which harbors two essential cysteine residues and one essential serine residue, may contain aspects of a putative Vif effector domain.
THE MODAL ARGUMENTS AND THE COMPLEXITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

This paper explores consequences of the claim that phenomenal experiences are physical events of great descriptive complexity. This claim is attractive both because it can explain our most perplexing intuitions about the quality of consciousness and also because it is suggestive of very productive research opportunities. I illustrate the former by showing that two of the most compelling anti-physicalist arguments about phenomenal experience – the modal argument of Kripke and the conceivability argument of Chalmers – are not sound if this claim is true. I illustrate the latter by showing that significant empirical predictions are a consequence of this claim.
Morphology and Ultrastructure of Normal Rod-Shaped and Filamentous Forms of Erwinia amylovora

Filamentous cells of Erwinia amylovora were usually 3 to 35 times longer than the normal rod-shaped ones, and only the former produced minicells.
Building Social Capital in Hightown: The Role of Confianza in Latina Immigrants’ Social Networks in the New South

In this article, we examine the social networks of immigrant Latinas from two women's groups in northwestern North Carolina. We explore how participants built social capital and confidence in self through sharing knowledge and experiences in intimate, mujerista spaces. We argue that traditional analyses of social capital, framed in terms of cost–benefit obligations, are insufficient for understanding the complex relationship of commitment and trust, or confianza, that characterized the social networks the women developed.
Biotransformation of p-xylene and 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene by xylene monooxygenase cloned from a Sphingomonas isolate

Sphingomonas strain ASU1 was isolated from an industrial wastewater bioreactor and grew on 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene (2,6-DMN) as the sole carbon/energy source. The genes for a xylene monooxygenase were cloned from strain ASU1. Expression of the ASU1 xylene monooxygenase was compared to expression of the pWWO xylene monooxygenase in Escherichia coli. Both monooxygenases transformed p-xylene and 2,6-DMN by initially hydroxylating one methyl group. In addition, the ASU1 monooxygenase also hydroxylated the second methyl group on p-xylene and 2,6-DMN whereas the pWWO monooxygenase hydroxylated the second methyl group only on p-xylene. Endogenous E. coli enzymes contributed to further oxidation of the resulting aromatic alcohols to form aromatic carboxylates.
Changing motives for use: Outcomes from a cognitive-behavioral intervention for marijuana-dependent adults

Background Motives for use have been identified as important predictors of substance use and related problems; however, little is known about how motives for use change following an intervention and how this change may impact future substance use behaviors. The present study sought to describe change in motives following an intervention for marijuana-dependent adults. Furthermore, investigators examined change in motives as a predictor of treatment outcome.
Shell Midden Diversity: A Case Example from Coastal New York

This article is an examination of the diverse roles shell middens played in the prehistoric settlement systems of coastal New York. Test expectations are generated for three kinds of shell middens established by hunter-gatherer groups employing different subsistence/settlement strategies to exploit the coastal environment. The identification of the different shell middens is based on information commonly collected or reported from excavated coastal sites, including shellfish frequencies, artifact assemblages and architectural features. An analysis of eight shell middens excavated along the north shore of Long Island and the New York City vicinity suggests that the functions and occupation durations of these coastal sites varied significantly, findings that indicate a complex mix of coastal settlement strategies were practiced by prehistoric groups.
Mascara on the face of the Earth

The Pleistocene: Geology and Life in the Quaternary Ice Age. By Tage Nilsson. Reidel/MTPPress: 1983. Pp.650. Dfl.265, $115, £67.25.
Robotic 3D dual-drive force/velocity control for tactile sensing and object recognition

ABSTRACT This work describes the development and testing of a 3-D dual-drive surface tracking controller thatenables a robot to track along any specified path on the surface of an object. The dual-drive controllercomputes the normal and tangent vectors relative to movement along the path. The result is controlled movement in 3-D on the surface of an object. It is assumed that the path is generated by an external Recognizer in such a way that the data points collected by tactile sensing along the path will maximizethe probability of correctly identifying the object. This tactile data collection method is referred to as"object-dependent" sensing because the location of the sensing paths is driven by comparisons made bythe Recognizer to a model data base. The application for such a data collection system is object recognitiontasks in environmental exploration and manipulation. 1. OVERVIEW Tactile sensing and force control have been employed to enable a robotic system to gather data aboutits environment in order to perform tasks and/or to identify objects. The research of Khatib1 is concernedwith real-time motion and force control of robot systems to accomplish finger sensing and assembly oper-ations. The research of Allen2'3 employs a tactile sensing along with computer vision to recover the shapeof an object by using sparse contact data points. Tactile sensing is directed by prior knowledge of theposition of an object2'3.Many applications of tactile sensing for data collection concentrate on driving the position of the robotby machine vision in order to collect discrete data points on the surface of an object. The work presentedhere differs in the respect that the dual-drive controller allows the robot to stay in contact with a surfaceand in general the result is that more data points can be collected in a shorter period of time. This paperwill show that tactile force sensing can be used to control the robot and could be the main data collectionmethod. Machine vision would be used as a secondary data collection method that supplements tactilesurface tracking by providing information about the bounding outline, and an estimate for the surfacenormal and thus the approach vector for tactile surface contact points at the beginning of each path."Object-dependent" tactile sensing with the 3-D dual-drive controller is an improvement over the gen-eral 3-D object tracking algorithm4 with the 2-D dual-drive controller. The 3-D dual-drive controller allows
Timing and influence of early experiences of child maltreatment and homelessness on children's educational well-being

Abstract Major national reports have highlighted the deleterious influence of early childhood familial risk factors that adversely influence young children's educational well-being. Guided by a developmental epidemiology framework, the purpose of the present population-based study was to examine the timing and influence of first experiences of substantiated child maltreatment and homelessness on children's academic achievement and attendance at the end of second grade for an entire cohort of 12,045 second grade students in a large, urban school district. Information on first experiences of substantiated child maltreatment and homelessness, birth risks, demographics, and academic achievement and attendance outcomes was obtained and linked through an integrated data system. Event history analyses were used to examine the timing of first experiences of homelessness and substantiated child maltreatment in early childhood. A series of multiple regression models was used to examine the relationship between first experiences of child maltreatment and homelessness on second grade academic achievement and attendance, when controlling for demographics, poverty, and birth risks. Results showed that after controlling for birth risks, poverty, and demographics, different patterns emerged for the influence of timing of first substantiated child maltreatment and homelessness on academic achievement and attendance. Practice and policy implications were discussed.
Design and development of an autonomous mobile smart vehicle: a mechatronics application

Mechatronics is a synthesis of mechanical and electronic domains that overlap in the design of complex systems. It represents the multidisciplinary technological backbone of today's smart products. An autonomous mobile robot is a smart product that has mechatronics blended into its design configuration. The research describes the design and development of an autonomous mobile vehicle that can exhibit intelligent behaviors such as obstacle avoidance, and response to light and sonar inputs so as to exist and behave as an intelligent entity that accommodates its changing environment. The paper also focuses on the behavior characterization of various analog and digital transducers, such as infrared, sonar, and light sensors.
Left Ventricular Volume Calculation With Integrated Backscatter From Echocardiography

Integrated backscatter analysis (IB) is a new echocardiographic method for automatically differentiating tissue from blood on the basis of differences in the amplitude of reflected ultrasound. Left ventricular volume was estimated with IB by use of a modification of Pappus' theorem and a summated ellipsoid method. IB measurements correlated well with a standard biplane area-length method derived off-line from endocardial borders drawn by hand from the same echocardiographic data ( y = 1.09 x - 35, r = 0.95). Integrated backscatter measurement of ventricular volume derived from six imaging planes with both the Pappus' rule and the summated ellipsoid methods correlated well with magnetic resonance imaging volume estimates ( r = 0.91 and r = 0.90, respectively), whereas use of one imaging plane correlated less well ( r = 0.75). Automated analysis of integrated backscatter differentiates tissue from blood sufficiently to allow accurate volume calculations compared with magnetic resonance imaging and to standard hand-drawn echo techniques. This method provides accurate measurement of left ventricular volumes that should be useful in clinical hemodynamic assessments.
Ion Energy Effects in Photographic Detection in Organic Mass Spectrometry

Abstract The relative response of emulsion (Ilford Q2) and evaporated AgBr (Ionomet) plates to a polyatomic (C9H20 +) and a monoatomic (129Xe+) ion has been studied as a function of ion energy. Data from the former are readily interpreted qualitatively and semi-quantitatively. Previously reported fragmentation numbers of impacting ions are corrected. Evidence is suggested to relate fragmentation number to a thermodynamic quantity.
CAUSES OF SYNCHRONOUS FLOWERING IN ASTRAGALUS SCAPHOIDES, AN ITEROPAROUS PERENNIAL PLANT

Many plant populations reproduce synchronously over time. Hypotheses to explain reproductive synchrony have typically been based on evolutionary advantages of synchrony, such as increased pollination or decreased predation with increasing numbers of flowering plants, often referred to as economies of scale. We tested for decreased herbivory, increased fruit set, and decreased predation as evolutionary mechanisms driving synchronous reproduction in an iteroparous perennial plant, Astragalus scaphoides, at three semiarid sagebrush steppe sites in intermountain valleys of Idaho and Montana, USA. Reproduction was synchronous at all sites and significantly bimodal at two sites, but it was never as variable as distinctly mast-seeding plant species. Plants in all populations experienced at least one economy of scale: decreased inflorescence herbivory, increased fruit set, and/or decreased weevil seed predation with increasing flowering plant density. At two of three sites, these relationships were strong enough to increase expected geometric mean seed set. However, among-site differences in benefits and strength of synchrony were not concordant. In particular, the site with the strongest economy of scale and highest coefficient of variation (cv) was the least bimodal. We suggest that different mechanisms drive cv and bimodality in this species, both of which contribute to overall synchrony. In addition to reflecting direct fitness benefits, synchrony may be at least partly an indirect consequence of individual-level reproductive constraints. Recent models have demonstrated that individual-level constraints can make bimodal, alternate-year flowering likely.
Lack of behavioral sensitization to repeated cocaine administration from postnatal days 1 to 10.

This research determined whether sensitization (or tolerance) to the behavioral effects of cocaine in rat pups would occur following repeated cocaine administration. Rats were injected daily with 20 mg/kg of cocaine HC1 s.c. from postnatal day 1 to day 10, injected with saline vehicle only, or left untreated during this period. On day 11, animals from each group were challenged with either 0,. 625, 1.25, or 2.50 mg/kg of cocaine and their behavioral responses were recorded. Prior cocaine treatment did not influence the acute effects of cocaine on ultrasonic vocalizations or on any observed motor responses. In contrast, the cocaine- and saline-treated pups differed in a similar manner from the untreated control group on several behavioral measures. These results indicate that the sensitizing effects of repeated cocaine administration are not manifested during the neonatal period. However, the stimulation (stress) of handling and injection may alter the subsequent responsivity of infant rats to a cocaine ch...
Down syndrome due to partial trisomy 21q

A patient is reported with a typical Down syndrome phenotype, caused by patrial trisomy of chromosome 21. Based on the present case and data from the literature, it is suggested that the Down phenotype is due to the trisomy of the distal portion of the band (q22) of chromosome 21.
PROFESSOR “X”: HOW EXPERTS RATED HIS STUDENT RATINGS

ABSTRACT This paper attempts to place the reader in the situation of interpreting data on the evaluation by students of a fellow member of faculty (staff). The comments of the evaluators reveal a widespread divergence of views, but they rarely seem to question the purpose of the exercise.
Operating Speed Prediction Models for Horizontal Curves on Rural Four-Lane Highways

Previous studies documented that a uniform design speed does not necessarily guarantee design consistency on rural two-lane facilities. Since a similar process is also followed for four-lane rural highways, it is reasonable to assume that similar inconsistencies could be found on such roadways. The operating speed-based method has been extensively used in other countries as the primary method to examine design consistency. Numerous studies have been completed on rural two-lane highways for predicting operating speeds and evaluating design consistency. However, few studies have considered these issues for rural four-lane highways. Therefore, prediction models for rural four-lane highways are needed. This study aims to develop models to predict operating speeds on horizontal curves of rural four-lane highways. A parallel study documented that speeds on inside and outside lanes are different; therefore, two multiple linear regression models are developed. For the inside lane, the significant factors are shou...
Testosterone and energetics in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii)

Ovarian function in female hominoids is sensitive to both energy flux and energy balance, resulting in a reduced probability of conception during periods when a successful reproductive outcome is less likely. However, the extent to which energetic factors constrain gonadal function in male hominoids is not clear. We examined the effects of both acute and chronic variation in energy availability on urinary testosterone (T) levels in adult male chimpanzees. Acute changes in energy availability, which were assayed by means of observational data on feeding behavior, did not result in decreased T production for 11 individuals at Kibale National Park, Uganda. Chronic energy shortages, on the other hand, may be associated with lower T levels in this population. Adult males in Kibale (n=11), who maintain suboptimal access to energy, exhibit significantly lower urinary T levels than males in captivity (n=11), who are more sedentary and better fed. These results suggest that data on hormonal function in captive chimpanzees should be interpreted with caution because individuals may produce T at levels well above those that are typical in the wild. They also suggest that short-term variations in T levels in male hominoids are more likely to be explained by social factors than by energetic ones.
Step Response Improvement by Pole Placement with Observer

This paper presents simulation results for improving the performance of a single-input, single-output state-space system by the method of pole placement using an estimate of the state vector generated by a full-order observer. The particular performance criteria under consideration are percent overshoot, 2% settling time, and zero steady-state error of the unit step response of the state-space system. It is observed that if the initial conditions of the observer are not close to those of the original system, the use of the observer state in place of the actual state for pole placement will result in significant deviation of the performance criteria from the desired criteria. If the initial conditions of the observer are very close to that of the state-space system, the use of the observer state can yield results close to that of using the actual state. For the case that the initial conditions of the observer are not close to those of the state-space system, there is no improvement of the performance criteria by pushing the observer poles deep into the left half plane even though this will make the state of the observer converge rapidly to the state of the original system.
Gene therapy progress and prospects : Hydrodynamic gene delivery

Over the last few years, hydrodynamic tail vein delivery has established itself as a simple, yet very effective method for gene transfer into small rodents. Hydrodynamic delivery of plasmid DNA expression vectors or small interfering RNA allows for a broad range of in vivo experiments, including the testing of regulatory elements, antibody generation, evaluation of gene therapy approaches, basic biology and disease model creation (non-heritable transgenics). The recent development of the hydrodynamic limb vein procedure provides a safe nucleic acid delivery technique with equally high efficiency in small and large research animals and, importantly, the prospects for clinical translation.
Regulation of Cardiac Gene Expression by GATA-4/5/6.

Abstract The identification of nuclear regulatory proteins provides great promise for advancing our understanding of the transcriptional control of cardiac gene expression. Three new members of the GATA family of DNA-binding transcription factors were recently discovered and designated GATA-4/5/6. On the basis of expression patterns, the identification of candidate cardiac target genes and the current understanding of how other GATA factors function in the hematopoietic system, it appears that these genes are important for regulating programs of cardiac development and terminal differentiation. Indeed, a functional role for GATA-4/5/6 in activating the cardiac differentiation program was demonstrated in cell culture and embryonic systems; however, recent results obtained in embryonic stem (ES) cells with a targeted mutation of GATA-4 raise new questions regarding specificity of action among the three genes. The future direction of research in the field is discussed; understanding GATA-4/5/6 function and regulation is likely to provide important insight into the specification and/or differentiation of cardiac progenitors, development and morphogenesis of the heart, and regulation of cardiac-specific gene expression . (Trends Cardiovasc Med 1997;7:75–83). © 1997, Elsevier Science Inc .
Recognition of Alluvial-Fan Environments in Stratigraphic Record: ABSTRACT

Alluvial fans are orogenic deposits whose geometry is influenced by the rate and duration of uplift of the adjacent mountains and by climatic changes. Three longitudinal shapes are common. A fan may be a wedge that is thickest (or thinnest) near the mountains, or it may be lenticular. An alluvial fan may consist of water-laid sediments, debris-flow deposits, or both. Water-laid sediments occur as channel, sheetflood, or sieve deposits. Main stream channels commonly are backfilled with coarse-grained sediments. Sheets of finer grained sediments are deposited downslope from the channel. The fine-grained sediments may be cross-bedded, massive, or thin bedded; the coarse-grained sediments may be imbricated, massive, or thick bedded. Sieve deposits consist of intertonguing lobes of very permeable gravel. Debris flows are poorly sorted and may have graded bedding or preferred particle orientation. Boulders weighing many tons may be present in an unsorted matrix. Mudflows are fine-grained debris flows. Platy fragments are oriented parallel with the bedding in low-viscosity flows. In high-viscosity flows, fragments are oriented vertically, and normal to the direction of flow. Individual beds may be traced for long distances along radial sections, and channel deposits are scarce. Cross-fan sections reveal beds of limited extent that are interrupted by cut-and-fill structures, which are most common near the fan apex. Logarithmic plots of the coarsest 1-percentile and median-particle size make patterns which are distinctive of fan environments. Sinuous patterns indicate tractive-current environments. Rectilinear patterns indicate mudflow environments. End_of_Article - Last_Page 710------------
Navier-Stokes Simulation of Viscous, Separated, Supersonic Flow Over a Projectile Rotating Band

Abstract : A numerical simulation is made of the separated, turbulent flow over the rotating band of a projectile-like body at Mach numbers 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5. The simulation is made by -solving the thin-layer, compressible, mass-averaged, Navier-stokes equations using an implicit numerical procedure. Numerical solutions are generated on a body-conforming computational grid which is constructed by adapting the boundary conditions of a grid generation scheme which solves the two-dimensional Poisson equations. The computed surface pressure distributions are compared to existing supersonic wind tunnel measurements. An evaluation is made of the accuracy and suitability of the numerical approach, and recommendations are made for the direction of future investigation. Navier-Stokes computations, Supersonic flow, Fluid dynamics, Turbulent flow, Projectile rotating band, Flow separation.
Person-Centered Health Care: Capabilities and Identity

Entwistle and Watt (2013) make an important contribution to the person-centered view of health care by reframing past thinking on the subject in terms of the capability approach. Past thinking abou...
Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) population density and structure in southwest Louisiana

Pupal density, wing length at emergence, host-seeking female abundance, and host-seeking female wing length and parity were determined monthly for a population of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) in a southwestern Louisiana tire dump from January 1988 through January 1989. Pupae and host-seeking females were first collected in April. Pupal densities were consistently high from June through September. Host-seeking female abundance was highest during July and August. Average female wing length was longest during spring, declined in midsummer, and increased slightly during fall. Average wing length was negatively correlated with average pupal density during the month of collection and with average air temperature recorded the previous month. Host-seeking females had consistently longer wings than emerging females, and parous host-seeking females had longer wings than nulliparous host-seeking females. Average wing length of the parous host-seeking females was consistently long throughout the season. Parity of host-seeking females parity was highest during July when approximately 21 parous host-seeking females were collected per hour. These results indicate that seasonal patterns in immature population density influence average body size and parity structure in Ae. albopictus.
Corrigendum to “Exercise and bone mineral density in men: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials” [Bone 53 (2013) 103–111]

Corrigendum to “Exercise and bone mineral density in men: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials” [Bone 53 (2013) 103–111] G.A. Kelley ⁎, K.S. Kelley , W.M. Kohrt b,2 a School of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, PO Box 9190, Morgantown, WV 26506-9190, USA b Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12631 East 17th Avenue — L15, PO Box 6511, Mail Stop B179, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
MALDI-TOF MS of phosphorylated lipids in biological fluids using immobilized metal affinity chromatography and a solid ionic crystal matrix.

When targeting a certain class of analytes, such as the phosphorylated lipids in complex biological extracts, interfering species can pose challenges to qualitative and quantitative analyses. Two aspects of lipid analysis were optimized to simplify the isolation and characterization of phosphorylated lipids in biological extracts. A new solid ionic crystal MALDI matrix was synthesized which combined the lipid response enhancing UV-absorber p-nitroaniline with the protonating agent butyric acid. Mass spectra of the extracts containing phosphorylated lipids were simplified by revealing only protonated molecules [M + H]+ of the zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine (PC) headgroup-containing lipids, such as lyso-PC, PC, and platelet-activating factor. For the anionic phosphorylated lipids, such as phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidic acid, and phosphatidylserine, further spectrum simplification is obtained by the appearance of only the monosodium adducts [M + Na]+ as the major molecular ions, in preference to the do...
Models of the relationship of the firm to society

Authors of books on business ethics and corporate social responsibility fall into two general approaches when they answer the question: ‘Why should a business firm, which represents private property, have greater obligations to the local community than an ordinary citizen?’ Authors generally subscribe to a ‘rights’ approach or to a ‘power’ model. This paper will present four rights approaches and three power models which are used to describe the relationship of the firm to society. Introducing these different approaches and models will be two brief expositions which provide the setting for determining the relationship of a firm to society. The first traces two lines to the development of the contemporary American corporation. The second views the business corporation as a quasi-public institution.
Iodine nutrition and the prevalence of thyroid disease after salt iodization: a cross-sectional survey in Shanghai, a coastal area in China.

Background Both insufficient and excess iodine may produce thyroid disease. After salt iodization in China, the median urine iodine concentration (UIC) of children aged 8–10 years appeared adequate. However, it is unknown whether dietary changes due to rapid economic development in Shanghai have affected whole population iodine nutrition. Objective To assess dietary iodine intake, UIC and the prevalence of thyroid disease in the general population of Shanghai. Design A cross-sectional survey was conducted with general participants aged 5–69 years (n = 7,904) plus pregnant and lactating women (n = 380 each) selected by stratified multistage sampling. The iodine concentrations in their salt, drinking water and urine were measured. Daily iodine intake was estimated using the total diet study approach. Serum thyroid hormone concentrations and thyroid-related antibodies were measured and thyroid ultrasonography was performed. Results The median iodine concentration in salt was 29.5 mg/kg, and 12.8 µg/L in drinking water. Iodized salt, used by 95.3% of participants, contributed 63.5% of total dietary iodine. Estimated daily iodine intake was 225.96 µg. The median UIC of general participants was 146.7 µg/L; UIC 300 µg/L (iodine excess) in 10.1%. Pregnant women had a median UIC of 135.9 µg/L, with UIC <150 µg/L in 55.4%. Thyroid nodules and subclinical hypothyroidism were found in 27.44% and 9.17%, respectively. Conclusions According to published criteria, the current dietary iodine intake in Shanghai was generally sufficient and safe, but insufficient in pregnant women. Thyroid nodules and subclinical hypothyroidism were the commonest thyroid diseases identified.
Iterative driver‐response dynamics of human‐environment interactions in the Arizona‐Sonora borderlands

In complex social-ecological systems, human and physical processes mutually condition one another through co-adaptation at multiple scales from the local to the global. For this paper we modified a driver-response conceptual model of social-ecological interactions by considering the degree to which each binary set of processes (human or physical) is simultaneously a driver and a response to global change. Processes that we understood to be mutually conditioned offered greater potential compared to solely social or ecological communities to adapt to demographic and economic change, on the one hand, and to climate, water resources, and ecosystems dynamics, on the other. By considering case material from the United States–Mexico border region, we characterized social-ecological interactions along a continuum from those acting exclusively as drivers to others reacting to change primarily as responses. We considered water resources to integrate multiple global change processes including climate change and variability, ecosystem resilience, and human water demands for a variety of purposes. Thus, we examined in detail two watersheds in the Arizona–Sonora borderlands representing mutually conditioned social-ecological systems. First, the Rio Magdalena in Sonora represented an illustrative case of smallholder agriculture and rural livelihoods engaged in social-ecological interaction that exhibited both driver and response elements centered on reflexive, low-impact adaptive strategies. Second, in Ambos Nogales relying on the Santa Cruz River and its associated aquifers, urban growth, the equity of water access for human purposes, and environmental quality represented especially pressing challenges. Here, human impacts on ecosystems were the predominant drivers although there was growing concern for the medium- and longer-term implications of climate change. Adaption planning in Ambos Nogales was centered on infrastructure-based solutions including an inter-basin water transfer connection with the Rio Magdalena. Wastewater flows to riparian corridors posed a particular challenge for human-environment interactions. Cross-border collaboration represents an important opportunity for adaptation based on the mutually conditioned interactions presented here. We summarized the analysis of both cases by raising conceptual questions for further enquiry and for adaptation and planning that are generic for the borderlands and beyond.