cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radiometric normalization and image mosaic generation of ASTER thermal infrared data: An application to extensive sand sheets and dune fields

Abstract Data from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) have a significant advantage over previous datasets because of the combination of high spatial resolution (15–90 m) and enhanced multispectral capabilities, particularly in the thermal infrared (TIR) atmospheric window (8–12 μm) of the Earth where common silicate minerals are more easily identified. However, the 60 km swath width of ASTER can limit the effectiveness of accurately tracing large-scale features, such as eolian sediment transport pathways, over long distances. The primary goal of this paper is to describe a method for generating a seamless and radiometrically accurate ASTER TIR mosaic of atmospherically corrected radiance and from that, extract surface emissivity for arid lands, specifically, sand seas. The Gran Desierto in northern Sonora, Mexico was used as a test location for the radiometric normalization technique because of past remote sensing studies of the region, its compositional diversity, and its size. A linear approach was taken to transform adjacent image swaths into a direct linear relationship between image acquisition dates. Pseudo-invariant features (PIFs) were selected using a threshold of correlation between radiance values, and change-pixels were excluded from the linear regression used to determine correction factors. The degree of spectral correlation between overlapping pixels is directly related to the amount of surface change over time; therefore, the gain and offsets between scenes were based only on regions of high spectral correlation. The result was a series of radiometrically normalized radiance-at-surface images that were combined with a minimum of image edge seams present. These edges were subsequently blended to create the final mosaic. The advantages of this approach for TIR radiance (as opposed to emissivity) data include the ability to: (1) analyze data acquired on different dates (with potentially very different surface temperatures) as one seamless compositional dataset; (2) perform decorrelation stretches (DCS) on the entire dataset in order to identify and discriminate compositional units; and (3) separate brightness temperature from surface emissivity for quantitative compositional analysis of the surface, reducing seam-line error in the emissivity mosaic. The approach presented here is valid for any ASTER-related study of large geographic regions where numerous images spanning different temporal and atmospheric conditions are encountered.
The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) in the Sierra Yalijux, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala

The Resplendent Quetzal Pharomachrus mocinno is a restricted-range species occurring from Chiapas (Mexico) to Panama, generally at elevations above 1,400 m. P. mocinno is a frugivore that feeds on a variety of fruits. Listed as “Lower Risk/Near Threatened Species” and in CITES Appendix I, P. mocinno is dependent on standing dead and mature trees for breeding holes, which are only formed in primary cloud forest, even if tree stumps occur temporally in secondary growth as remnants of primary cloud forest. A population of P. mocinno in the northernmost Guatemalan mountain range (Chelemha Plot, Sierra Yalijux, Alta Verapaz) was studied in 2002 and compared with a census at the same location in 1988. Between 1988 and 2002, the number of males did not change significantly: a small increase took place from 15 to 18 individuals per 100 ha. The species’ breeding behaviour is linked to the long-term existence of primary forests such as the few remaining in highland Guatemala. Breeding success was proven and at least three juveniles from two breeding pairs were observed until the end of September 2002.
Estimating cloudmaps from outdoor image sequences

Cloud shadows dramatically affect the appearance of outdoor scenes. We describe two approaches that use video of cloud shadows to estimate a cloudmap, a spatio-temporal function that represents the clouds passing over the scene. Our first method makes strong assumptions about the camera geometry and estimates the cloud motion direction. Our second method uses techniques from manifold learning and does not require known geometry. Neither method requires directly viewing the clouds, but instead uses the pattern of intensity changes caused by the cloud shadows. We show renderings of cloudmaps extracted using both methods from videos of real outdoor scenes as well as quantitative results on synthetic datasets. An accurate estimate of the cloudmap has potential applications in surveillance and graphics, as well as scientific studies that depend on solar radiation.
Cephalic insulin response as a test for completeness of vagotomy to the pancreas

Abstract Rats received one of four surgical manipulations of the abdominal vagus; either a total vagotomy, a selective dorsal trunk vagotomy, a selective ventral trunk vagotomy or a sham operation. After recovery from the surgery, all rats were fasted overnight and given a saccharine solution the next day. Blood samples were taken 30 min prior to and 3 min after the sampling of the saccharin. Rats with the dorsal vagal trunk intact (those with either a sham lesion or with a selective ventral trunk lesion) had an elevation of immunoreactive insulin after drinking the saccharin whereas those with the dorsal vagal trunk severed did not. This simple procedure is recommended as a test for completeness of vagotomy to the pancreas since it is quick and easy to perform and since it is non-terminal and relatively non-invasive.
Supporting the Father When an Infant is Breastfed

Breastfeeding is the best form of infant nutrition for mother and infant, but because it perpetuates the exclusive mother-infant relationship that existed during pregnancy, the father may feel excluded, jealous, and resentful to the detriment of breastfeeding success and the adult couple relationship. Supporting the father during breastfeeding may help improve the mother's satisfaction with breastfeeding, duration of breastfeeding, and adaptation of both parents to parenting. This paper provides recommendations for education and support related to breastfeeding based on recent research findings on the male experience of expectant and new parenthood. Recommendations based on these findings focus on anticipatory guidance about breastfeeding, anticipatory guidance to support the adult couple relationship during the transition to parenthood, and ways to enhance the father-infant relationship.
Cerebrovascular disease associated with sickle cell pulmonary hypertension.

In patients with sickle cell disease, anemia is a recognized risk factor for stroke, death, and the development of pulmonary hypertension. We have proposed that hemolytic anemia results in endothelial dysfunction and vascular instability and can ultimately lead to a proliferative vasculopathy leading to pulmonary hypertension. Consistent with this mechanism of disease, we now report a case series of six patients with obliterative central nervous system vasculopathy who also have pulmonary hypertension and high hemolytic rate. These patients, identified in the course of a prospective screening study for pulmonary hypertension, presented with neurological symptoms prompting neuroimaging studies. Compared to 164 other patients of similar age in the screened population, those with newly diagnosed or clinically active cerebrovascular disease have significantly lower hemoglobin levels and higher levels of lactate dehydrogenase. A review of the literature suggests that many clinical, epidemiological, and physiological features of the arteriopathy of pulmonary hypertension closely overlap with those of stroke in sickle cell disease, both known to involve proliferative vascular intimal and smooth muscle hypertrophy and thrombosis. These cases suggest that cerebrovascular disease and pulmonary hypertension in sickle cell disease share common mechanisms, in particular, reduced nitric oxide bioactivity associated with particularly high-grade hemolysis. Clinicians should suspect occult cerebrovascular disease in sickle cell patients with pulmonary hypertension.†
Lateral shear interferometer using multiplexed holographic lenses and spatial Fourier transform: varying spectrum position and phase fluctuations

Previously, we reported a simple method to obtain lateral shear in both the x - and y -directions using a multiplexing technique. The phase data was extracted using the inherent spatial carrier fringes formed due to the tilt in the two sheared beams. In this article, we report that an error in phase map is introduced when the band-pass-filtered Fourier transform (FT) spectrum is not centered prior to performing the inverse FT to obtain the phase. We also found that intentionally introducing aberrations when capturing dynamic fluctuations in the wave front, resulted in controlling the spread of the Fourier spectrum.
Large deflection random response of flat and blade stiffened carbon-carbon panels

The large deflection random response of flat and blade-stiffened carbon-carbon panels is studied both experimentally and analytically. The experimental data was obtained from tests performed in the Thermal Acoustic Fatigue Apparatus at NASA Langley. The analytical results were generated using a numerical simulation program that used the measured acoustic pressure as input. Comparisons of the measured and simulated power spectral densities are presented for several locations on each panel. A comparison of the rms strains at various locations on each panel is also discussed. The measured rms strains were generally a factor of two larger than the predicted. The effect of the nonlinearity was overpredicted at higher sound spectrum levels.
Agricultural and residential stakeholder input for watershed management in a mid-Michigan watershed

Abstract Michigan municipalities confront changing landscapes and pressures on water resources from urban sprawl and land use change. Municipalities have been asked to incorporate stakeholder perspectives in their efforts to develop watershed management plans. Confronted with the needs and interests of diverse stakeholder groups, managers may struggle to understand these groups’ disparate (and shared) watershed goals and concerns. The reported research collected data using a self-administered, mail survey of agricultural and residential landowners in a mid-Michigan watershed. The results reveal similarities and differences in how these residential and agricultural landowners use and perceive their shared watershed. Furthermore, the data reveal significant differences within these groups’ ranking of watershed uses, importance of watershed services, support for watershed programs, and preferred information source. The results demonstrate the utility of stakeholder surveys for watershed planning as well as identify key watershed use, knowledge, and concerns that are the same and those that differ within and across stakeholder groups.
Adiabatic hyperspherical representation for the three-body problem in two dimensions

We explore the three-body problem in two dimensions using the adiabatic hyperspherical representation. We develop the main equations in terms of democratic hyperangular coordinates and determine several symmetry properties and boundary conditions for both interacting and noninteracting solutions. From the analysis of the three-body effective potentials, we determine the threshold laws for low-energy three-body recombination, collision-induced dissociation, as well as inelastic atom-diatom collisions in two dimensions. Our results show that the hyperspherical representation can offer a simple and conceptually clear physical picture for three-body process in two dimensions which is also suitable for calculations using finite-range two-body interactions supporting a number of bound states.
Knowledge-based parametric tools for concrete masonry walls: Conceptual design and preliminary structural analysis

Abstract The paper explores the potential uses of parametric modeling to embed construction and structural design knowledge in the form of generative rules and feedback rule-checking functions. The goal of the research reported here is to relate knowledge regarding constructive and structural principles during conceptual design in order to improve early decision-making. For that purpose we have developed a series of functions to guide conceptual design exploration by providing timely evaluation of design alternatives. The research focuses on load-bearing concrete masonry walls, and on basic requirements for doubly curved walls as a design case study. The research extends the Building Object Behavior methodology developed by Lee and others to elucidate, translate and implement design expertise into parametric rules and behaviors. The paper introduces the methodology in the context of a prototype modeling tool for early-stage design of concrete masonry walls and discusses the implications of a parametric modeling approach for conceptual design and collaboration.
Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, shyness, and effortful control in preschool-age children.

Resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and shyness were examined as predictors of effortful control (EC) in a sample of 101 preschool-age children. Resting RSA was calculated from respiration and heart rate data collected during a neutral film; shyness was measured using parents’, preschool teachers’, and classroom observers’ reports; and EC was measured using four laboratory tasks in addition to questionnaire measures. Principal components analysis was used to create composite measures of EC and shyness. The relation between RSA and EC was moderated by shyness, such that RSA was positively related to EC only for children high in shyness. This interaction suggests that emotional reactivity affects the degree to which RSA can be considered a correlate of EC. This study also draws attention to the need to consider the measurement context when assessing resting psychophysiology measures; shy individuals may not exhibit true baseline RSA responding in an unfamiliar laboratory setting.
Sympathetic neural activity, sex dimorphism, and postural tachycardia syndrome

Objective To elucidate the mechanisms whereby postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) patients maintain orthostatic blood pressure and explain the greater prevalence of female cases in POTS cohorts. Methods We investigated muscle sympathetic nerve (MSN) discharge characteristics in 12 female POTS patients and in 9 male and 12 female control subjects using the burst amplitude distribution and the relative contribution of burst frequency and burst amplitude. Results At rest, burst distribution was shifted toward larger amplitudes in POTS patients (p < 0.005), consistent with increased sympathetic activity. During hypotension, the distribution shifted toward larger amplitude bursts in control subjects (p < 0.001), whereas it did not change in POTS patients. Total MSN activity increase to hypotension did not differ between subject groups, but the relative contribution of burst frequency change to the total activity increase was greater in POTS patients than in female (p < 0.05) and male (p < 0.001) control subjects. In contrast, the relative contribution of burst amplitude change to total MSN activity increase was greater in male compared with female control subjects (p < 0.05) and POTS patients (p < 0.001). Interpretation At rest, the burst amplitude distribution was consistent with increased sympathetic activity in POTS and did not change in response to hypotension. In response to hypotension, burst frequency makes a proportionally greater contribution to the increase in total MSN activity in POTS patients compared with female control subjects, and female compared with male control subjects. These physiological differences in MSN discharge characteristics, in the setting of sympathetic fiber loss associated with POTS, may contribute to the predisposition to and greater prevalence of POTS in female individuals. Ann Neurol 2007
A new H3 potential energy surface and its implications for chemical reaction

Abstract A new H 3 potential energy hypersurface for arbitrary nuclear arrangements is generated from Liu's very accurate (≈0.3 kcal/mole error) collinear ab initio calculation and compared with other general geometry surfaces. Preliminary classical trajectory calculations on the new hypersurface are presented and compared with results on the Porter-Karplus surface.
Interplay between iridescent and non-iridescent coloration in bio-inspired electrically-tunable nanostructures

This work is inspired by biological nanostructured surfaces possessing structural color generation and wettability control. Nanostructured films consisting of a tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) nanopost array (nanograss) formed on top of a continuous Ta2O5 layer on a reflective Ta thin-film have been fabricated and investigated. A non-iridescent coloration typical for short-range order was produced by the nanograss while iridescent coloration was produced by the underlying continuous Ta2O5 layer. When the nanograss surface is wetted with organic liquids, a different non-iridescent blue color appears. Moreover, this blue color can be dynamically and reversibly switched on and off by applying electrical current to an indium-tin-oxide electrode.
At-Rest Earth Pressure of Overconsolidated Cohesionless Soil

Earth pressure theories occupy a paramount position in the field of geotechnical engineering. An experimental investigation of the at-rest earth pressure of overconsolidated cohesionless soil acting on retaining walls was conducted. A prototype model of a vertical rough wall, retaining horizontal backfill, was developed in the laboratory. The model was instrumented to measure the earth pressure at selected points on the wall, the total earth force acting on the wall, and the overconsolidation ratio (OCR) in the sand mass. Tests were conducted on walls retaining homogeneous overconsolidated dense, medium, or loose sands. Test results showed that the coefficient of at-rest earth pressure increases with the increase of the OCR. The present experimental results were used to examine the empirical formulas available in the literature. It can be reported that these formulas compared well with the experimental results for OCR values up to 3. An empirical formula is proposed to predict the coefficient of at-rest earth pressure for overconsolidated cohesionless soils. The results obtained by this formula agreed well with the present experimental results for all values of overconsolidation ratios.
Design and analysis of mismatch probes for long oligonucleotide microarrays

Nonspecific hybridization is currently a major concern with microarray technology. One of most effective approaches to estimating nonspecific hybridizations in oligonucleotide microarrays is the utilization of mismatch probes; however, this approach has not been used for longer oligonucleotide probes. Here, an oligonucleotide microarray was constructed to evaluate and optimize parameters for 50-mer mismatch probe design. A perfect match (PM) and 28 mismatch (MM) probes were designed for each of ten target genes selected from three microorganisms. The microarrays were hybridized with synthesized complementary oligonucleotide targets at different temperatures (e.g., 42, 45 and 50°C). In general, the probes with evenly distributed mismatches were more distinguishable than those with randomly distributed mismatches. MM probes with 3, 4 and 5 mismatched nucleotides were differentiated for 50-mer oligonucleotide probes hybridized at 50, 45 and 42°C, respectively. Based on the experimental data generated from this study, a modified positional dependent nearest neighbor (MPDNN) model was constructed to adjust the thermodynamic parameters of matched and mismatched dimer nucleotides in the microarray environment. The MM probes with four flexible positional mismatches were designed using the newly established MPDNN model and the experimental results demonstrated that the redesigned MM probes could yield more consistent hybridizations. This study provides guidance on the design of MM probes for long oligonucleotides (e.g., 50 mers). The novel MPDNN model has improved the consistency for long MM probes, and this modeling method can potentially be used for the prediction of oligonucleotide microarray hybridizations.
Convolutions of Distributions With Exponential and Subexponential Tails

Distribution tails F(t) = F(t, ∞) are considered for which and as t → ∞. A real analytic proof is obtained of a theorem by Chover, Wainger and Ney, namely that .In doing so, a technique is introduced which provides many other results with a minimum of analysis. One such result strengthens and generalizes the various known results on distribution tails of random sums.Additionally, the closure and factorization properties for subexponential distributions are investigated further and extended to distributions with exponential tails.
Heart-surface reconstruction and ECG electrodes localization using fluoroscopy, epipolar geometry and stereovision: application to noninvasive imaging of cardiac electrical activity

To date there is no imaging modality for cardiac arrhythmias which remain the leading cause of sudden death in the United States (>300,000/yr.). Electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI), a noninvasive modality that images cardiac arrhythmias from body surface potentials, requires the geometrical relationship between the heart surface and the positions of body surface ECG electrodes. A photographic method was validated in a mannequin and used to determine the three-dimensional coordinates of body surface ECG electrodes to within 1 mm of their actual positions. Since fluoroscopy is available in the cardiac electrophysiology (EP) laboratory where diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias is conducted, a fluoroscopic method to determine the heart surface geometry was developed based on projective geometry, epipolar geometry, point reconstruction, b-spline interpolation and visualization. Fluoroscopy-reconstructed hearts in a phantom and a human subject were validated using high-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging. The mean absolute distance error for the fluoroscopy-reconstructed heart relative to the CT heart was 4 mm (phantom) and 10 mm (human). In the human, ECGI images of normal cardiac electrical activity on the fluoroscopy-reconstructed heart showed close correlation with those obtained on the CT heart. Results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach for clinical noninvasive imaging of cardiac arrhythmias in the interventional EP laboratory.
Interspecific mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms in Aspergillus section Flavi

Mitochondrial DNA restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) are described for 64 isolates, representing 11 species of Aspergillus section Flavi. Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes were identified following digestion of total cellular DNA with the restriction enzymes HaeIII, AseI, or DraI. In general, isolates of the same species possessed identical mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. Three haplotypes were found in multiple, closely related species: one in A. flavus, A. oryzae, and A. subolivaceus; a second in A. parasiticus and A. sojae; and a third in A. tamarii and A. flavofurcatis. Four distinct haplotypes were each associated with a single species: A. nomius, A. avenaceus, A. leporis, and A. zonatus. Mitochondrial DNA haplotypes complement traditional morphological and growth criteria in making taxonomic decisions within Aspergillus section Flavi.
Adaptive IQ imbalance correction for OFDM systems with frequency and timing offsets

Direct conversion (from RF to complex I and Q baseband in one mixing step) architectures are increasingly popular as they enable lower implementation costs. The resulting frequency dependent amplitude and phase imbalance between the I and Q conversion rails can cause significant performance degradations to complex modulation techniques such as 64-QAM and above typically used for high data rate transmission. Conventionally, this IQ imbalance is only corrected at the receiver at power up while the imbalance at the remote transmitter is assumed to be pre-corrected. However, aging, manufacturability, and temperature variations can be difficult to calibrate and can result in performance degradation (e.g., range reduction, etc.). Future ad hoc networks will also require imbalance correction per packet as they might come from many different transmitters. in this paper, we propose an adaptive scheme in the receiver to correct the IQ imbalances at the remote transmitter as well as the receiver. The proposed scheme, as it jointly corrects remote transmitter and local receiver I imbalances in the presence of frequency and timing rate offsets, is therefore more robust than the earlier results.
PLACE: protocol for location and coordinate estimation: a wireless sensor network approach

In this paper a Protocol for Location And Coordinate Estimation (PLACE) is presented as a distributed multihop positioning approach based on wireless sensor networks without relying on GPS data at each sensor node. It is suitable for military applications where GPS services are unavailable, unstable, or unreliable. PLACE conducts the positioning task in three phases: distance estimating, positioning, and refining. Issues caused by alias problems and measurement errors are discussed and solved in order to improve the practicability of the PLACE and its accuracy of the location and coordinates estimations. Simulation results comparing the PLACE approach with another popular multi-hop positioning approach, DV-Hop, show that (i) for the PLACE approach the average multi-hop positioning error is smaller than the corresponding one-hop range detection error and is also several magnitudes smaller than that of the DV-Hop; (ii) the average positioning error decreases as the average number of neighbor nodes increases in the PLACE approach while the relationship is random in DV-Hop, which directly supports the design idea that the PLACE takes advantages of the network redundancy to improve the location estimation accuracy; and (iii) a dense wireless sensor network should be deployed when applying the PLACE for accurate location and coordinates estimations. Therefore this research contributes: (i) a distributed multi-hop positioning algorithm and an associated protocol; (ii) solutions to practical issues that increase the practicability of the multi-hop positioning approach; and (iii) investigations on relationships between network density, network scale, positionability, and positioning accuracy.
Sectional and overall reachability for systems with S‐shaped distillation lines

Total and minimum reflux bounds serve as limiting case scenarios for determining feasibility in azeotropic distillation columns. Specifically, all reachable feed compositions in a staged rectifying or stripping section have been reported as the union of points enclosed by the distillation and pinch-point curves through a desired product. By eigenvalue considerations of pinch bifurcations and geometric analysis of fundamental region structures, the region of all reachable compositions has seemingly been identified. Additional insights are needed to fully characterize the feasible compositions in a subset of azeotropic mixtures. This article describes how sectional profiles can actually cross pinch-point curves and generate a region of additional feasibility outside the one previously reported. It also demonstrates how a substantially larger region between the distillation line and pinch-point curve after the intersection is only accessible by composition profiles going through the extended region. This extended reachable region is explained by evaluating the conditions for a fixed point in composition space. The effect on sectional profiles is illustrated for both an artificially parametric VLE manifold and a nonideal azeotropic system with more than one simple distillation region. Sectional profiles extended beyond the traditional bounds affect coupled sections in a distillation cascade.
Influence of tillage and plant residue management on respiration of a Florida Everglades Histosol

Subsidence of drained, high organic matter Histosols in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is a concern for the sustainability of crop production in southern Florida. Histosol subsidence is primarily due to oxidation of organic matter by aerobic microorganisms, but far less is known about the influence of agricultural practices. The use of shallow tillage, as opposed to deep tillage, combined with proper plant residue management, may help to reduce the present rate of subsidence and soil CO2 emissions. The present study was conducted on a Lauderhill soil (euic, hyperthermic, Lithic Haplosaprist) previously cropped in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). The objectives were to (1) determine the effects of tillage depth on short-term CO2 losses in a herbicide-killed weedy residue covered field and another field kept fallow without residue cover, and (2) compare soil respiration measurements made with two different dynamic closed-system portable chamber techniques. Four tillage practices common to the EAAwere used to produce soil disturbance ranging in depth from approximately 20 to 300 mm. These practices included switch plowing, disk harrowing, and single and multiple tine cultivation. Twenty-four hours after tillage, cumulative CO2 loss from the deepest tillage treatment (switch plow; 300 mm deep) was as much as 33 times greater than that from the no-till (control) treatment. Cumulative CO2 loss following intermediate tillage (disk harrow; 78‐145 mm deep) was as much as 2.3-fold greater than the no-till treatment, but shallower tillage (tine cultivation; 20‐41 mm deep) was generally not different. Short-term tillage-induced CO2 loss was primarily related to soil moisture content and soil porosity. Soil respiration measurements made with the two chamber techniques agreed well with each other except for the deepest tillage treatment, where the larger chamber measured CO2 flux that was approximately 10 times greater than for the smaller chamber. Results indicate that minimum or no-tillage may reduce shortterm tillage-induced CO2 emissions on organic soils, thus minimizing soil subsidence. # 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.
The impact of drought on the population dynamics of canopy-tree seedlings in an aseasonal Malaysian rain forest

In the first 3 mo of 1998, an aseasonal tropical rain forest at Lambir Hills National Park on the north-west coast of Borneo suffered an unusually severe drought. Extreme climatic events such as this one are expected to influence tree population structure and community dynamics through differential effects on growth and mortality. The demo- graphics of seedlings of seven shade-tolerant tree species, including two dipterocarps, during this severe drought were contrasted with baseline demographic data from two earlier census intervals, one of which included a slight drought, and one of which included no drought. Hemispherical photographs were used to document an opening of the canopy that resulted from the dieback and mortality of large trees during the severe 1998 drought. Seedlings that experienced an increase in canopy openness were less likely to die than other seedlings. Rates of mortality and height loss were significantly increased in association with drought. The overall mortality rates during the severe drought and slight drought census intervals were 8.2% y −1 and 7.3% y −1 respectively, compared with 4.9% y −1 for the non-drought census interval. The incidence of height loss during the severe drought census interval was 27.5%, compared with rates of 11.7% and 20.1% for earlier census intervals. Dipterocarp species were less affected than some non-dipterocarp species, and the smallest seedlings suffered the greatest impact. If droughts in this region continue to increase in intensity and severity, they may ultimately cause a change in the species population densities and stand structure of the understorey seedling community of this rain forest.
Emerging Mechanisms of Resistance to Androgen Receptor Inhibitors in Prostate Cancer

During the past 10 years, preclinical studies implicating sustained androgen receptor (AR) signalling as the primary driver of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) have led to the development of novel agents targeting the AR pathway that are now in widespread clinical use. These drugs prolong the survival of patients with late-stage prostate cancer but are not curative. In this Review, we highlight emerging mechanisms of acquired resistance to these contemporary therapies, which fall into the three broad categories of restored AR signalling, AR bypass signalling and complete AR independence. This diverse range of resistance mechanisms presents new challenges for long-term disease control, which may be addressable through early use of combination therapies guided by recent insights from genomic landscape studies of CRPC.
VIRAL AND CELLULAR REQUIREMENTS FOR ENTRY OF HERPES SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE 1 INTO PRIMARY NEURONAL CELLS

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) causes many disease states including mucosal lesions, encephalitis or disseminated infection in the immunocompromised host. These diverse clinical manifestations reflect the capacity of the virus to infect both epithelial and neuronal cell types. Determining the requirements for virus entry into both cell types may provide insights into the pathogenesis of HSV. Previous studies have focused on identifying viral and cellular requirements for entry using epithelial cells. However, little is known about the requirements for binding and entry into neuronal cells. The purpose of the studies reported here was to identify viral and cellular components involved in entry of HSV-1 into primary neuronal cells. Heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans were found to serve as a receptor for entry of HSV-1 into primary neuronal cells. Evidence to support this includes the findings that heparin (an analogue of heparan sulfate) competitively inhibited virus binding and expression of immediate early virus gene products. In addition, heparitinase removed viral receptors and inhibited virus entry. In epithelial cells, deletion of HSV-1 glycoprotein C (gC) results in virions that have reduced specific binding activity (virus particles bound per cell) and specific infectivity. However, in neuronal cells, it was found that deletion of gC resulted in no loss in specific binding activity, but did result in significant impairment of virus entry as measured by expression of immediate early viral gene product. Taken together, these findings suggest cell-type differences in virus binding and entry and a different role for gC in neuronal cell infection.
Classification based on weighted sparse representation using smoothed L 0 norm with non-negative coefficients

We present a novel classification technique based on sparse representation. The main idea of sparse representation for classification is the assumption that the training samples, or atoms, for a particular class form a linear basis for any new test sample that belongs to that class. Currently, most of the methods for sparse representation classification do not apply constraints to the coefficients that form the linear combination of the atoms, which leads to coefficients that can be positive or negative. In addition, all the training samples in the dictionary are treated equally. In this paper, we impose non-negative constraint on the components of the coefficient vector to ensure that the coefficient vector represents the contributions of the training samples towards the query, which is more natural for classification purposes. We also use the mutual information between the query sample and each of the training samples to obtain a weight for each of the atoms in the dictionary. These weights have the effect of reducing the search space and speeding the convergence of the algorithm in finding the coefficient vector. Experiments conducted on the Extended Yale B database for face recognition and on the University of Notre Dame (UND) database for ear recognition show that the proposed non-negative weighted sparse representation obtained by smoothed l0 norm outperforms other state-of-the-art classifiers.
Autograding and Feedback for Snap!: A Visual Programming Language (Abstract Only)

While text based languages have been (relatively) easy to grade automatically, visual programming languages have been largely left out of the equation. However, as the demand for introductory CS courses has recently grown, so too has the interest in CS courses that use visual programming languages, and thus the need for a scalable solution to providing student feedback. In this poster we present a system design for an autograder for Snap!, a visual programming language designed at UC Berkeley, inspired by Scratch. Creativity and open-ended responses are an important part of many CS0 courses, such as the Beauty and Joy of Computing, our autograder includes tools that allow instructors to build robust feedback mechanisms that handle a wide variety of student submissions. We also present our initial work to integrate this system into edX for a series of MOOCs as well as a prototype of integrating this tool into a traditional LMS on campus.
Yüan Hung-tao and the Kung-an School

Professor Chou here offers a perspective on the rise and fall of the Kung-an school as a key to understanding the development of Chinese literary criticism in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. His book focuses upon the literary theories of Yuan Hung-tao (1568–1610) - the leader of the Kung-an school - and his two brothers. Its core is a detailed study of the poetry and prose of Yuan Hung-tao, comparing his theories with his writings and analysing systematically the merits and flaws of his work. The book concludes with a discussion of the legacy of the Kung-an school, treating the school not only as the major force behind the expressive trend in the late Ming period, but also as one of the precursors of the modern Chinese literary movement.
Promotion Factors,Research and Development Routes and Difficult Problems of Smart Grid

In the key respects of Smart Grid,the implementing strategy of the Smart Grid construction in China is investigated.Based on the foundation of several key features of Smart Grid,this paper analyzes several key factors to promote Smart Grid construction home and abroad,two different RD methods with the same target,discusses the difficult self-adaptation problems in the control system coordination,the quickly event-started simulation decision-making,which has been researched for many years but failed to achieve any progress in present network,and is needed to resolve in Smart Grid particularly.
Analysis on epidemic characteristics of Japanese encephalitis in Pubei County of Guangxi from 1990-2011

[Objective]To analyze the epidemic characteristics of Japanese encephalitis( JE) in Pubei County in past 22 years,provide the scientific basis for JE prevention and control.[Methods]The JE cases in Pubei County from 1990-2011 were collected and statistically analyzed,and ELISA test was used to test IgM in JE early diagnosis.[Results]A total of 136 JE cases were reported in Pubei County from 1990-2011,and there were 24 cases of death and 5 cases of sequelae. In past 22 years,no case was reported in 5 years. In rest 17 years,the average annual incidence rate was 1. 02 / lakh,while the average annual mortality rate was0. 18 / lakh. In 1999 and 2002,the annual incidence rate reached 10. 09 / lakh and 2. 31 / lakh respectively,while the annual mortality rate was 2. 42 / lakh and 0. 51 / lakh respectively. 89. 71% of cases were children aged 0-6 years old,and 15 of 16 towns in this county had the reports.[Conclusion]This county is one of the counties that JE epidemic situation is very unstable in Guangxi. It is necessary to strengthen and improve the coverage rate of JE vaccine among the high risk population every year,to reduce the incidence rate of JE.
Hair transplantation and bald-scalp reduction

Improvements in the techniques and instruments used in hair transplantation have led to the production of better grafts, a more natural-appearing hairline, a greater number of grafts from a donor site, effective control of postoperative bleeding, and the reduction of large areas of baldness prior to hair transplantation.
A Dual-Threshold Voltage Approach for Timing Speculation in CMOS Circuits

Better Than Worst-Case design is a style that aims to improve performance by breaking from traditional design practice. It allows certain timing errors to occur during the normal operation of the integrated circuit (IC), while preserving correctness by adding error detection and correction (EDAC). In order to quantify the tradeoff between the performance gain and the error rate during the design phase, an understanding is needed of: (1) how circuits behave under typical loads, and (2) what error rate is produced when the clock goes beyond the traditional limit. This paper describes a design automation flow that enables designers to obtain timing errors from analyzing value change dump files. The timing information is back-annotated into a synthesized netlist before simulation. By using circuit statistical results of the cells' switching activity, timing errors can be reduced by replacing highly active and critical cells from a low-threshold cell library. Critical cells on error-prone paths are identified based on Monte Carlo simulations. Four different ISCAS85 circuits (i.e., multiplier, ALU, SEC/DED, and interrupt controller) were selected and synthesized with the Synopsys 32-nm library. The performance improvement using the dual-threshold voltage ranged from 16% to 30% for the selected benchmark circuits.
A Cross-Campus Cooperative Research Project on the Benefits from Restoring Snake River Salmon and Steelhead

This paper provides an example of a cross-campus cooperative research project completed by students in the Environmental and Natural Resource Economics classes at Reed and Whitman Colleges. The active learning strategy described in this paper is an alternative and complement to traditional "chalk and talk" teaching methods. The project involved student participation in the critique and implementation of a web-based survey and the analysis of survey data. The cross-campus collaborative nature of this project allowed economies of scale to be achieved resulting in a much richer learning environment. The process of developing a cross-campus collaborative project is discussed and assessed.
Olig1 gene expression in brain tissue of newborn rat of periventricular leukomalacia and the relation with remyelination

Objective To determine Oligl transcription factor expression in periventricular tissue of day 2 newborn rat of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) and to explore the relation with remyelination.Methods PVL newborn rat model was successfully established through bilateral common carotid artery ligation,followed by 8% oxygen exposure for 30 min. On day 0,day 7 and day 14 after operation,Oligl expression was examined through in situ hybridization, oligodendrocyte precursor cells and oligodendrocytes were detected via immunohistochemistry method and mRNA levels of MBP, PLP, MAG in control and PVL group were examined with quantitative real-time PCR. Results Oligl positive cells of control group were 115 ± 15/mm2. On day 0 and day 7 after operation,oligl positive cells were 72 ± 20/mm2and 75 ± 12/mm2 ,and there was significant difference as compared with control group (P both ＜ 0. 05), however the oligl positive cells on day 14 after operation(146 ± 1 1/mm2) significantly increased with comparison to control group (P ＜0. 05). Compared to control group, GST-Ⅱ positive oligodendrocytes and O4 positive oligodendroglial progenitor cells of PVL group were significantly decreased on day 0, day 7 after operation (P both ＜ 0. 05), and these cells both increased on day 14 after operation ,however there was no difference as compared with control group (P ＞ 0. 05). Compared to control group, mRNA levels of MBP, PLP, MAG all significantly decreased on day 0,day 7 after operation(P all ＜ 0. 05), and these levels slightly increased on day 14 after operation (P ＞ 0. 05). Conclusion Oligl transcription factor may be essential in the remyelination and repair of myelin in PVL. Key words: Olig1 transcription factor; Periventricular leukomalacia; Remyelination; Newborn rat
Population biology and conservation of rare plants

Conservation of rare and endangered plant taxa and their habitats requires an understanding of the population dynamic factors affecting recruitment, reproduction, dispersal and genetic capacity to evolve. Population size, dispersion and certain genetic structure variables determining effective population size are reviewed in order to emphasize the maintenance of genetic variation in small, subdivided populations. Research on an annual plant genus, Limnanthes living in vernal pools as islands and containing several rare taxa, provided excellent examples of many of these genetic and demographic properties. Genetic variation patterns based on allozyme surveys appeared to fit an island model such that rarity based on narrow geographical range and highly localized gene flow clearly affected the patterns. Several other rare plant examples are also reviewed briefly in order to point out the critical population biological research needed for designing nature reserves and their monitoring or management strategies. Current research in conservation biology should advance the in situ approaches, and some basic field studies as outlined here; in most cases, even preliminary information on life history, genetic structure, gene flow, breeding system and population size variation would prove highly valuable.
Mark Edmundson, Self and Soul: A Defense of Ideals. Reviewed by

Mark Edmundson explores and defends the value of ideals in contemporary culture, focusing on courage, contemplation and compassion. In his argument, he explicates the ideas of authors and thinkers such Homer, Plato, and the Christian and Eastern religious traditions. Shakespeare and Frued are seen as detractors of the Soul.
Language contact in the US Southeast: The case of Spanish subject expression in an emerging bilingual community in Georgia

This study examines the use of subject pronouns among Spanish speakers in the Southeastern US and explores the incipient stages of language contact through a case study of speakers in Roswell, Georgia, an emergent (recently developing) variety that thus far has rarely been studied in the literature. Sociolinguistic interviews were conducted in Roswell ( Wilson 2013 ) and transcribed to allow for analysis of pronouns and factors that may influence subject expression (e.g. person/number) as well as social variables (e.g. length of residency). Results indicate an overall pronoun rate of 21%, similar to that of Mainland newcomers in New York ( Otheguy, Zentella, and Livert 2007 ). However, results from the multivariate analysis suggest that pronoun usage in Roswell diverges from these communities, with differential effects observed for factors such as Coreferentiality Index (subject continuity). This analysis of subject expression reveals an intermediate stage of language shift in this particular community.