cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prehistoric anthropogenic introduction of partulid tree snails in Papua New Guinean archipelagos

Aim Members of the tropical tree snail family Partulidae are endemic to Pacific high oceanic islands and typically have single-island ranges. Two nominal Papua New Guinean species, Partula carteriensis and Partula similaris, deviate from familial norms by having extensive multi-island ranges that include low islands. We hypothesized that undocumented anthropogenic introductions may underlie this regional biogeographical anomaly and evaluated this hypothesis with novel field distributional and genotypic data. Location Papua New Guinean archipelagos between 1.4 and 11.4° S and 146.5 and 154.2° E. Methods Ethanol-preserved museum lots of P. carteriensis (from New Britain, Bismarck Archipelago) and P. similaris (from Woodlark, Boiaboiawaga and Goodenough islands) were genotyped for a standard mitochondrial marker, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), and the resulting haplotypes were subjected to phylogeographical analyses. Results All four genotyped populations showed very little genetic or conchological differentiation, irrespective of nominal taxonomic status, the archipelago sampled or whether the island was low, high, oceanic or continental. Partula carteriensis and P. similaris exhibit atypical distributions on larger high islands, being restricted to coastal villages and absent from native forest. Main conclusions Our results strongly indicate that P. carteriensis and P. similaris are conspecific, although a formal taxonomic revision is beyond the scope of this present study. They collectively exhibit the most heterogeneous geographical range known among partulids and their explicitly synanthropic association with high island coastal villages strongly implicates human introduction as the regional dispersal mechanism. We currently lack insights into the timeframe (apart from regional prehistory) and cultural context of these translocations. We also lack a convincing source population, and it may be necessary to survey the partulid fauna of the neighbouring Solomon Islands to identify one. Partulids are critically endangered throughout much of their range and the discovery of populations that apparently thrive in human-altered landscapes is noteworthy. Their study may provide clues of broad relevance to partulid conservation.
Pharmacokinetics of valerenic acid after administration of valerian in healthy subjects

Objectives: To describe the pharmacokinetics of valerenic acid in a group of healthy adults after a single oral dose of valerian using a newly developed sensitive assay for serum concentrations of valerenic acid, a commonly used marker for qualitative and quantitative analysis of valerian root and valerian products. Study design: Six healthy adults (22–61 years, five men, one female) received a single 600 mg dose of valerian at 08:00. Blood samples were collected for 8 h after administration. Valerenic acid was extracted from serum and measured using a LC/MS/MS method developed in our laboratory. Results: The maximum serum concentration of valerenic acid for five of the six subjects occurred between 1 and 2 h ranging from 0.9 to 2.3 ng/mL. Valerenic acid serum concentrations were measurable for at least 5 h after the valerian dose. One subject showed a peak plasma value at 1 h and a second peak at 5 h. The elimination half-life (T1/2) for valerenic acid was 1.1 ± 0.6 h. The area under the concentration time curve (AUC) as a measure of valerenic acid exposure was variable (4.80 ± 2.96 µg/mL. h) and not correlated with subject's age or weight. Conclusions: Assuming that valerenic acid serum concentrations correlate with the pharmacological activity of valerian, the timing of the valerenic acid peak concentration is consistent with the standard dosage recommendation to take valerian 30 min to 2 h before bedtime. Ongoing studies are evaluating the relationship between valerenic acid serum concentrations and objective measures of sleep in patients. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparative effectiveness of nonpurpuragenic 595-nm pulsed dye laser and microsecond 1064-nm neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser for treatment of diffuse facial erythema: A double-blind randomized controlled trial

Background Facial erythema is a common symptom that responds to vascular laser treatment, but there are few comparative studies. Objective We sought to compare the effectiveness of microsecond 1064-nm neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser with nonpurpuragenic 595-nm pulsed dye laser (PDL) for diffuse facial erythema. Methods This was a split-face, double-blind randomized controlled trial. Bilateral cheeks received 4 treatments each at one month intervals with PDL or Nd:YAG. Spectrophotometer measurements, digital photographs, pain scores, and patient preferences were recorded. Results Sixteen patients enrolled and 2 dropped out. Fourteen patients, all skin types I to III, 57% women, mean age 42 years, completed the study and were analyzed. Spectrophotometer readings changed after both PDL (8.9%) and Nd:YAG (2.5%), but varied by treatment type, with PDL reducing facial redness 6.4% more from baseline than Nd:YAG ( P = .0199; 95% confidence interval −11.6 to −1.2). Pain varied ( P = .0028), with Nd:YAG associated with less pain, at 3.07, than PDL at 3.87. Subjects rated redness as improved by 52% as a result of PDL, and 34% as a result of Nd:YAG ( P = .031; 95% confidence interval −34.6 to −1.94). No serious adverse events were observed. Limitations Lasers settings are not standardized across devices. Conclusion Facial erythema is safely and effectively treated with PDL and Nd:YAG. Nonpupuragenic PDL may be more effective for lighter-skinned patients, but microsecond Nd:YAG may be less painful.
Solid Phase Extraction Gas Chromatography/Electron Capture Detector Method for the Determination of Organochlorine Pesticides in Wildlife Whole Blood

A gas chromatographic method for the analysis of 10 organochlorine pesticides in 0.5 mL of whole blood is described. Sample preparation involved an ethyl ether and hexane extraction, followed by a silica solid phase extraction cleanup. The pesticides are quantified by gas chromatography/electron capture detection. Method limits of detection ranged from 1.1 to 5.2 Ig/L. The mean and standard deviation for the recovery of 10 pesticides was 97.9 ( 5.5%. Recoveries from whole blood were comparable to recoveries from plasma. This indicates that the preparation of plasma is unnecessary for the quantification of organochlorine pesticides in blood. This approach is particularly useful as a nonlethal approach for monitoring pesticide contamination in small animals for which the volume of blood is limiting.
The Triumph of the Egg

On 11 December 1912, Philadelphians encountered an extraordinary sight in their city's streets. Groups of prominent society women—“famous beauties and matrons … known all over the continent”—were selling eggs all over town. These eggs differed from those we buy today in that most had been in storage since April. Housewives nonetheless flocked to buy them, because they cost only 24 cents a dozen, much less than other April eggs. The sellers, themselves members of the Housekeepers' League, claimed they would not make money off the “hen fruit” that they had bought by the carload, but neither would they lose it. Rather, they aimed to break a commercial corner on eggs that, they claimed, fostered unfair and deceptive trade practices. In particular, they wanted to stop merchants from charging “strictly fresh” prices for what were in fact refrigerated eggs.
An AFS-based supercomputing environment

The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center (PSC) has been using the Andrew File System (AFS) to integrate its supercomputing environment. Work has been completed to make AFS the PSC's primary, permanent file-storage system. The PSC is using many of the components of this system in production. The PSC has extended AFS to meet its mass storage needs. These extensions include adding archival services to the AFS server and porting the AFS client to the Unicos operating system. The authors discuss the advantages of this system as well as how it performs in a supercomputing environment. >
The nonlinear response of resonant microbeam systems with purely-parametric electrostatic actuation

Electrostatically-actuated resonant microbeam devices have garnered significant attention due to their geometric simplicity and broad applicability. Recently, some of this focus has turned to comb-driven microresonators with purely-parametric excitation, as such systems not only exhibit the inherent benefits of MEMS devices, but also a general improvement in sensitivity, stopband attenuation and noise rejection. This work attempts to combine each of these areas by proposing a microbeam device which couples the inherent benefits of a resonator with purely-parametric excitation with the simple geometry of a microbeam. Theoretical analysis reveals that the proposed device exhibits desirable response characteristics, but also quite complex dynamics. Of particular note is the fact that the device's nonlinear frequency response is found to be qualitatively dependent on the system's ac excitation amplitude. While this flexibility can be desirable in certain contexts, it introduces additional design and operating limitations. While the principal focus of this work is the proposed system's nonlinear response, the work also contains details pertaining to model development and device design.
Advanced recycling technology for unsorted plastic waste

The object of this paper is to present results of our continuous effort to develop an advanced recycling technology for unsorted (mixed) plastic waste. The pulverization of plastics occur when pressure and high shear are coupled with extensive cooling of the extruder. Under certain processing parameters, plastic chips or flakes (used as feedstock) are converted into a controlled particle size powder. Melt flow rate data has been generated for post-consumer polyolefins previously made via the new Solid-State Shear Extrusion (SSSE) pulverization process. A first-of-a-kind laboratory scale, modified co-rotating twin-screw extruder ZE-25 was built by H. Berstorff Maschinenbau, GmbH, Germany, and is now operational at BIRL's Polymer Reclamation Center. Although the post-consumer polyolefins include a variety of colors, the products from this process are homogeneous, and unusually light in color. The pastel color of the pulverized material demonstrates another advantage of this process as a step in plastics recycling. Several parts of different geometry have been injection molded using coarse powder as a feedstock without pelletization. Mixes of post-consumer, muliticolor flakes of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and green/clear flakes of polyethylene terphthalte (PET) have been successfully pulverzed and tested. Currently, HDPE and PET are being sorted due to their incompatibility in order to be recycled. This novel extrsion-pulverization process offers new opportunities for developing value-added products from commingled plastic waste.
Knowledge Management Technology for Revealing Cognitive Diversity within a Management Team

The cognitive diversity of top management teams has been shown to affect the performance of a firm. However, most approaches to measure cognitive diversity never attempt to open the "black box" to understand what makes up the cognitive diversity of the team. This research reports on an approach that identifies diverse belief structures, i.e., cognitive subgroups, through the use of causal mapping and cluster analysis. The procedures of the approach are automated using group support systems technology resulting a Group Cognitive Mapping System (GCMS). The results from a study of 13 top managers on a strategic planning team for an information services firm show that the use of causal mapping provides an efficient and effective way to identify idiosyncratic and shared knowledge among members of a top management team.
Arrhythmia diagnosis using morphology and timing from atrial and ventricular leads

A two-channel computer arrhythmia detection system has been designed and successfully tested on a database of simultaneous esophageal electrograms and surface-lead ECGs. The system examines the morphology of atrial depolarization on the esophageal electrogram as well as QRS morphology on the surface ECG. This allows recognition of both ectopic and retrograde atrial activation. The system measures the interval between two consecutive atrial depolarizations, the interval between two consecutive ventricular depolarizations, and the interval between the atrial and ventricular depolarizations. The system has been tested on 29 passages from 21 patients. The results yielded 99.2% accuracy for single-beat diagnosis and 99.5% accuracy for underlying-arrhythmia diagnosis. There were no false positives or false negatives. >
Claiming landscape as architecture

Our question is, What was the cause of that ‘unfortunate and unnatural state of things’, which, according to Herbert Langford Warren, provided an ‘excuse for the entrance of a new claimant in the f...
Signal extrapolation in the real Zak space

A new formulation of the Gerchberg-Papoulis (1974, 1975) algorithm for extrapolation of bandlimited signals was introduced. The new formulation was obtained by translating the fundamental operations of the GP procedure, the truncation, and the Fourier transform into the language of the finite Zak (1967) transform. However, the Zak transform formulation of the GP algorithm assumes complex-valued signals, whereas the GP procedure is usually applied to real signals. We present a new and more efficient algorithm that acts directly on a real signal via the real Zak transform (RZT) relation between a signal and its Hartley transform, leading, in effect, to approximately a four-fold reduction in the computational complexity of the complex Zak space approach.
Video metamorphosis using dense flow fields

Metamorphosis is generally known as the continu- ous evolution of a source into a target. There is frame-to-frame camera or object motion most of the time when either the source or the target is an image sequence. It would be desirable to make smooth morphing transitions simultaneously along with the origi- nal motion. In this paper, we describe a novel semi-automatic mor- phing technique for image sequences. The proposed technique ef- fectively exploits temporal coherence and automatic image match- ing. One-to-one dense mappings between pairs of corresponding frames are obtained by applying a compositing procedure and a hi- erarchical image matching technique based on dynamic program- ming. These dense mappings can be initialized by sparse frame- to-frame feature correspondences obtained semi-automatically by integrating a friendly user interface with a robust feature tracking algorithm. Experimental results show that our approach to video metamorphosis can produce superior results.
Identifying and Accounting for Task-Dependent Bias in Crowdsourcing

Models for aggregating contributions by crowd workers have been shown to be challenged by the rise of task-specific biases or errors. Task-dependent errors in assessment may shift the majority opinion of even large numbers of workers to an incorrect answer. We introduce and evaluate probabilistic models that can detect and correct task-dependent bias automatically. First, we show how to build and use probabilistic graphical models for jointly modeling task features, workers' biases, worker contributions and ground truth answers of tasks so that task-dependent bias can be corrected. Second, we show how the approach can perform a type of transfer learning among workers to address the issue of annotation sparsity. We evaluate the models with varying complexity on a large data set collected from a citizen science project and show that the models are effective at correcting the task-dependent worker bias. Finally, we investigate the use of active learning to guide the acquisition of expert assessments to enable automatic detection and correction of worker bias.
Crop Damage by Larvae of the Whitefringed Beetle as Related to Time of Larval Introduction into Soil

Dales when larvae of whitefringed beetles were introduced into the soil directly influenced the rate of larval development and, therefore, the capacity of larvae to reduce stands of rye and soybeans. Wet weights of rye, harvested from plots infested with newly hatched larvae in July. were significantly less than those of plots infested in August and September. Seedling numbers of soybeans planted in April in plots infested the previous July and August were significantly less than numbers in plots infested the previous September. Seedling numbers of soy beans planted in May in plots infested in August were significantly less than numbers in plots infested in July and September. Data suggest the need for preventive adulticidal treatments during critical ovipositional periods to reduce the establishment of larval populations.
Intersectionality, the household economy, and ethnic entrepreneurship†

ABSTRACTThe literature on ethnic entrepreneurship emphasizes the role of ethnicity in facilitating group differences in enterprise based on access to ethnic-based resources. This treatment tends to conflate family-based resources with those of ethnicity. Using a framework derived from intersectionality theory, this qualitative study investigates how two aspects of the household economy, namely household composition and family ideology, shape intra-group differences among fifty middle-class Mexican-origin entrepreneurs. Findings reveal that household class and gender dynamics shape access to three family-based resources that facilitate enterprise: family labour, entrepreneurial capital, and inheritance; differences in entrepreneurial activity between family members exceed in some cases those observed between ethnic groups. This study reveals that intersectional dimensions of identity and collectivity influence entrepreneurial outcomes within ethnic households. This study encourages researchers to consider ...
Overwintering Habitats, Spring Emergence Patterns, and Winter Mortality of Some South Carolina Hemiptera

During a 3-year study, 522 overwintered individuals among 47 species of Pentatomidae, Scutelleridae, Corimelaenidae, Cydnidae, Coreidae, and Reduviidae emerged into cages placed over ground litter in 6 habitats. Among economically important pentatomids, Euschistus servus (Say) was most abundant and preferred open habitats, whereas E. tristigmus (Say) and Podisus maculiventris (Say) overwintered in deciduous woods and their borders. Acrosternum hilare (Say) preferred deciduous woods. Nezara viridula (L.) was found to overwinter primarily in above-ground habitats. Euthyrhynchus floridanus (L.) overwintered as eggs behind tree bark. No N. viridula survived the winter when caged over wild radish, deciduous leaf litter, or soybean stubble. Only 9% of the A. hilare caged over leaf litter survived during 1976 and 1977. Weather data suggest that absence of N. viridula in South Carolina during 1977 and 1978 was due to the two previous severe winters. Most overwintered A. hilare survivors emerged during early April; E. servus and E. tristigmus emerged from late March through April. Spring emergence was stimulated by increasing temperatures.
PTPS-04LUMBAR SPINAL ATYPICAL TERATOID RHABDOID TUMOR- CASE REPORT

INTRODUCTION: Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a rare, highly aggressive pediatric tumor of the central nervous system with a dismal prognosis. Although there is sufficient literature on brain AT/RT, spinal AT/RT continues to be a rare entity with lumbar location even less frequently reported. We report a recently diagnosed case of a lumbar spinal AT/RT in an African American child in our institution. CASE REPORT: A 30-month-old African American male child with multiple comorbidities presented with the inability to ambulate, encopresis and urinary dribbling. MRI showed an intradural extramedullary mass extending downwards from L3-4 level. He underwent L3-S2 laminoplasty. The surgically resected mass was marked by sheets of cells with large nuclei and prominent nucleoli. The tumor cells stained with antibodies to synaptophysin and CAM 5.2 and showed an absence of immunoreactivity to INI-1 antibody. A diagnosis of a WHO grade IV AT/RT was rendered. There was no mutation detected in the SMARCB1 gene on comprehensive analysis of blood. Patient is currently being treated according to the Medical University of Vienna ATRT-protocol (MUV-ATRT) with no evidence of tumor recurrence 8 months after surgery. DISCUSSION: Although not observed in all the cases, mutations of hSNF5/INI1, also known as SMARCB1 gene on chromosome 22q11, is pathognomic for AT/RT. Recent studies have suggested that the inactivation of INI1 might be associated with a poor prognosis. It is not known if spinal AT/RTs routinely have the chromosomal 22q abnormality frequently seen with brain AT/RT or if the two entities even have a different prognosis. More cases need to be reviewed to differentiate spinal from brain AT/RT to determine an effective prognostic marker and treatment strategy for patients with this rare tumor.
Determine thirteen volatile halogenated hydrocarbons in drinking water by headspace capillary gas chromatography

Objective:Developing a method to determine the thirteen volatile halogenated hydrocarbons in drinking water.Methods: The thirteen volatile halogenated hydrocarbons in drinking water were determined by headspace capillary gas chromatography.Results: Under the optimal experimental conditions,the recoveries of the thirteen volatile halogenated hydrocarbons were in the range of 81.3%~104.7%,the relative standard deviations were from 1.52% to 5.68%,and the determination limited is between 0.025 μg/L～8.4 μg/L.Conclusion: The method we developed is rapid,simple and accurate.Using the method,a variety of volatile halogenated hydrocarbons could be determined simultaneously.
Totally endoscopic atrial septal defect repair with robotic assistance.

In the past decade, the face of cardiac surgery has been changed by a number of advances, most notably the development of minimally invasive techniques, including minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB), off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB), and minimal-access valve surgery. Initial attempts to perform cardiac operations through small incisions were hindered by the lack of appropriate accessory technology, such as visualization systems, retractors, stabilizers, and alternate methods of vascular cannulation and cardiopulmonary bypass. With the development of these enabling technologies, surgeons have been increasingly able to perform complex cardiac procedures, including coronary artery bypass, mitral and aortic valve replacement, and atrial septal defect (ASD) closure, through smaller-than-traditional incisions. Nonetheless, in many cases, the extent to which incision size has been reduced by these minimally invasive approaches has been matched by a corresponding increase in technical difficulty and operative time—and a potentially decreased safety margin—due to the constraints imposed by limited or incomplete cardiac exposure.
Comparative investigations of serum creatine phosphokinase and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase activities in equine paralytic myoglobinuria.

SUMMARY The distributions of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) activities were determined in various organs. Activities of CPK were highest in skeletal and cardiac muscle, while GOT activities were high in skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and liver. Normal serum creatine phosphokinase (SCPK) and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) activities were determined in 43 horses. Exercise was observed to cause moderate elevations in SCPK activity, and marked elevations in SCPK and SGOT activities were observed in 2 cases of paralytic myoglobinuria. The results indicate that SCPK activity determinations are specific for muscle necrosis and preferable to SGOT determinations in the diagnosis of myopathies of the horse. However, the different disappearance rates of these enzymes suggests that the simultaneous determination of both enzymes is of considerable value in the diagnosis and prognosis of myopathies of the horse.
Tryptophan availability of some feedstuffs determined by pig growth assay.

Three experiments were conducted with young pigs to measure the availability of tryptophan in soybean meal, meat and bone meal, cottonseed meal, corn and sorghum. In Exp. 1, a 17.5% crude protein corn and gelatin-based diet, deficient in tryptophan, was supplemented with graded levels of L-tryptophan to establish the growth response of 10- to 20-kg pigs to graded additions of dietary tryptophan. From these data the requirement for maximal growth was calculated to be .16% of the diet using a broken-line model. In Exp. 2, the effects of excess amino acids in a test feedstuff, i.e., soybean meal, on the growth assay method for estimating tryptophan availability was evaluated. The addition of excess crystalline amino acids to the basal diet in proportions equal to the excesses contributed by a test level of soybean meal resulted in a 17.7 percentage unit reduction in the estimate of tryptophan availability (82.3%). When the standard diet was supplemented with amino acids to provide the pattern of excess amino acids found in the corn-gelatin basal diet with added soybean meal, the availability of tryptophan in soybean meal was estimated to be 95.2%. In Exp. 3, the tryptophan availabilities for meat and bone meal, cottonseed meal, corn and sorghum were estimated to be 82.2%, 80.9%, 94.0% and 86.4%, respectively. The diets used in this experiment were supplemented to contain excesses of individual amino acids in the same proportions as found in the basal diet, with the test feed ingredient added as a source of tryptophan. In these experiments the tryptophan content of the various feedstuffs was measured by ion-exchange liquid chromatography following alkaline hydrolysis.
Use of Color in Three News Magazines to Identify Political Parties

AbstractThe authors examine how three news magazines use colors to portray political parties. The results support the commonly held view that the color red is associated with Democrats and the color blue is associated with Republicans. Statistical analysis reveals that this use is apparently deliberate, and is most pronounced at Time magazine. The authors suggest this use of color can be traced back to editorial decisions made in the 1930s, and represents an institutional attitude that is still present today. The authors conclude by suggesting further research to discover why this link between affective and cognitive use of color exists.
Neoplasms of the Penile and Testis

Objectives 1. Describe penile and testicular neoplasms. 2. Identify populations that benefit from screening for penile and testicular neoplasms. 3. Appropriately order imaging studies and relevant labs to make the diagnosis of penile or testicle testicular neoplasm. 4. Discuss surveillance issues unique to these malignancies.
Magnesium diboride: one year on

AT THE end of 2000 superconductivity in metal alloys and compounds appeared to remain trapped by a glass ceiling. Over the previous 10 years the temperature at which certain oxide-based compounds – such as bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide and mercury barium calcium copper oxide – lost their resistance to electric current had soared to well over 100 K. Mean-while, the transition temperature, Tc, for carbon-based materials, including alkali-doped carbon-60 compounds, had risen close to the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (77K). During the same period, however, the superconducting transition temperature of intermetallic compounds (materials made solely of metals and metal-like elements) remained close to 20 K – as it had been since the mid-1960s.
The Retail Consumption Tax

Retail consumption taxes may be levied at the national, state or local level. In the USA, a retail sales tax is levied on the sale of products (but not services) in nearly all the states. So far, the national government has not seen fit to assess a similar tax at the national level, although there has been talk of instituting such a national tax as a supplement to or as a replacement for the income tax.
Closed-loop afferent electrical stimulation for recovery of hand function in individuals with motor incomplete spinal injury: Early clinical results

Afferent electrical stimulation is known to augment the effect of rehabilitative therapy through use-dependent cortical plasticity. Experiments pairing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) have shown a timing-dependent effect on motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitude suggesting that PNS applied in closed-loop (CL) mode could augment this effect through positive reinforcement. We present early results from a clinical trial in which an EEG brain-machine interface (BMI) was used to apply PNS to two subjects in response to motor intent detected from sensorimotor cortex in a cue-driven hand grip task. Both subjects had stable incomplete cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) with impaired upper limb function commensurate with the injury level. Twelve sessions of CL-PNS applied over a 4–6 week period yielded results suggesting improved hand grip strength and increased task-related modulation of the EEG in one hand of both subjects, and increased TMS-measured motor map area in one. These observations suggest that rehabilitation using such interactive therapies could benefit affected individuals.
Computer Control of Extrusion

Polymer extrusion is a complicated process. A typical extrusion line generally includes an extruder, a die, a cooling line and a take-up device. The feedstock enters the extruder in a solid form. The extruder continuously conveys, melts and pumps the polymer to the die. The primary goal of extrustion control is to maintain quality production at a high output rate. The ‘quality’ is determined by several measurable quantities which must match the specifications of the product. These measurable quantities generally fall into three categories. One, which is aesthetic in nature, is the visual appearance, such as roughness, gloss, haze, waviness and streaking, of the product. The second is functional, in that the products must meet certain physical, chemical or performance specifications. The third can be classified as dimension accuracy, referring to a close dimensional tolerance.
Dedications: that's what you need

The principal speaker at the dedication of the main accelerator at Fermilab on 11 May 1974 professed bewilderment. "Until the call which commanded me here," physicist Leon Lederman told the audience, "I hadn't even known that the protons we had been studying were coming from an undedicated accelerator." He claimed to be out of his element. People who run dedication ceremonies are not scientists, he said, but "older persons, or statesmen or philosophers".
Translating Jakob von Uexküll — Reframing Umweltlehre as biosemiotics

Thomas Sebeok attributed it to what he called the ‘wretched’ translation of Uexkull’s Theoretische Biologie (1920) that the notion of Umwelt did not reach the Anglo-American intellectual community much earlier. There is no doubt that making more of Uexkull’s Umweltlehre available in English will not only further the biosemiotic movement, but also fill a gap in the foundational theoretical canon of semiotics in general. The purpose of this paper is to address issues of terminology and theory translation between Uexkull’s Umweltlehre and current biosemiotics.
A Franco-Italian Etymological Note: borfolu

Franco-Italian V 13 (Venice, Manoscritto marciano francese XIII = 256) is part of a tradition of written linguistic mixing occuring in a series of manuscripts from Northern Italy during the thirteenth through fifteenth centuries. One frequent linguistic phenomenon is metathesis, which explains many of the hapax legomena in these texts, including this previously unexplained lexeme, borfolu.
Functions of the environment in behavioral evolution.

This paper explores some of the ways in which the environment functions with respect to behavior within an explanatory framework analogous to that of evolutionary biology. In both the behavioral and organic domains, the environment functions differently with respect to individual occurrences and evolutionary units. Within the behavioral domain, the problem of accounting for an occurrence of an operant instance differs from that of accounting for the existence of the operant unit of which the instance is a part. Maintaining these distinctions in levels of analysis within the behavioral domain, we focus first on operant units and operant instances as products of evolutionary processes occurring in the behavioral domain and second upon the causal role of the environment with respect to the existence of operant units and the occurrence of operant instances. The environment’s function is selective with respect to origin, maintenance, suppression, and extinction of behavioral populations. At the level of operant instances, the environment has instantiating functions—evocative or alterative. Evocative functions are exemplified by discriminative relations, and alterative functions include both conditional and motivative relations. Implications are considered regarding extension of the analogy to more complex behavior-environment relations.
Monocular OKN Asymmetry and Defective Stereopsis in Parents of Children with Infantile Esotropia

It is well established that children with infantile esotropia have deficient stereopsis and asymmetrical monocular optokinetic (OKN) nystagmus, even despite successful surgical alignment. On the ba...
The Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) mutation spectra in different anatomical regions of the large intestine in colorectal cancer

Abstract The enhanced incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in the U.S.A. has been linked to promutagens, such as heterocyclic aromatic amines, in the western diet that are produced by high temperature cooking of meat. However, a prior analysis of driver nonsense mutations in the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) gene, which is mutated in 75% of human CRC, indicated that the C·G → A·T transversions produced by this class of mutagens were not enriched but actually lower than what would be statistically anticipated. Moreover, the APC mutation patterns in the U.S.A. vs. China were indistinguishable despite differences in diet. In the present study, we have dissected the APC mutation pattern in tumors that arise in the different anatomical regions of the large intestine. The results show that the nonsense mutation pattern in APC differ in the different regions and that there is a statistically significant increase in C·G → A·T transversions in the rectum vs. the other regions, albeit, the percent of C·G → A·T mutations still remains lower than predicted based on random mutagenesis.
IONS, ION-PAIRS, AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN ELECTRON-AND PROTON-TRANSFER REACTIONS

Three somewhat interrelated topics are discussed in this paper: (1) Methods of differentiation between free ions and the various kinds of ion-pairs. After briefly mentioning the older techniques used in such studies, we shall stress the newer ones developed during the last few years. (2) Changes of the rates and equilibrium constants of electron- and proton-transfer reactions resulting from replacement of free ions by ion-pairs or tight ion-pairs by the loose pairs. The temperature dependence of such processes is particularly interesting when two or more different kinds of ionic species of a particular substrate simultaneously coexist in the studied system. (3) The role of dianions in proton-transfer and some electron-transfer reactions involving radical-anions.
Activation of the Preoptico-Hypophysial Neurosecretory System through Olfactory Afferents in Fishes

The nature of the afferent pathways to the hypothalamic preoptic nuclei is a matter of importance, since neurosecretory axones from these nuclei extend to the pituitary gland. If we can define precisely the afferents to the preoptic nuclei, then better understanding of pituitary regulation by external factors may be expected. It is known, for example, that changes in the osmotic value of the internal and external environment affect the amount of stainable neurosecretory material in the preoptic or supraoptic nuclei of a variety of vertebrates (Sawyer and Roth, 1953; Legait, 1959; Oksche et al., 1959; Philibert and Kamemoto, 1965; Hild, 1951; Tramezzani and Uranga, 1954). Furthermore, injections of hypertonic solution into the blood by Cross and Green, 1959; Brooks et al., 1962 and by Koizumi et al., 1964, evoked changes in electrical activity of neurones in the supraoptic nucleus. From such work it is inferred that the hypothalamic neurones are themselves osmoreceptive, or that they are synaptically related to an osmoreceptor, and that they are involved in a reflex regulation of tonicity of body fluids, probably through release of antidiuretic hormones.
Parathyroid hormone impairs extrarenal potassium tolerance in the rat

The effect of parathyroid hormone (PTH) on the extrarenal disposition of an acute potassium load was examined in acutely nephrectomized rats infused with KCl (0.75 meq.kg-1.h-1 for 90 min) alone or in combination with 8-10 U.kg-1.min-1 PTH, with serial monitoring of plasma potassium every 10 min. The rise in plasma potassium concentration (delta PK) in the PTH group was higher than control. PTH was then administered along with KCl to two groups of nephrectomized and acutely thyroparathyroidectomized (TPTX) rats in doses of 1 and 0.25 U.kg-1.min-1 for 90 min. delta PK with PTH in both groups was higher than TPTX control (P less than 0.01). The two higher doses of PTH resulted in a decrease in mean arterial pressure from their respective controls. A similar reduction in arterial pressure in three groups of nephrectomized rats by administration of hydralazine or nitroprusside or by acute blood loss did not change delta PK subsequent to potassium infusion from that in control rats. Furthermore, the lowest dose of PTH did not lower arterial pressure from its respective control. Therefore, hypotension is not a cause for the PTH-induced potassium intolerance. Serum levels of insulin, aldosterone, catecholamines, calcium, plasma HCO3 concentration, and pH were not different in PTH-infused vs. respective control rats. These data suggest that PTH impairs extrarenal potassium disposal in the rat. The effect of PTH may relate to enhanced calcium entry into cells.
Use of 18F-ASEM PET to Determine the Availability of the α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor in Recent-Onset Psychosis

Limited postmortem evidence suggests a diminished availability of the α7 -nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7-nAChR) in the hippocampus in psychosis. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we used PET with 18F-ASEM (18F-JHU82132; 3-(1,4-diazabicyclo[3.2.2]nonan-4-yl)-6-[18F]fluorodibenzo[b,d]thiophene 5,5-dioxide), a radiotracer targeting the α7-nAChR, to compare the binding of 18F-ASEM in the hippocampus of individuals who had recent-onset psychosis with that in healthy controls. Results: Individuals with recent-onset psychosis (nonaffective psychosis or affective psychosis), particularly those with nonaffective psychosis, showed lower hippocampal binding of 18F-ASEM than healthy controls. Among patients, lower binding was associated with lower performance in 2 cognitive domains after controlling for age. Conclusion: Low availability of the α7-nAChR in the hippocampus may be linked to recent-onset psychosis. Further study is needed to assess its clinical relationship to neuropsychiatric symptoms.
The local-mobile paradox: Missed innovation opportunities at local newspapers:

We employ a mixed-methods approach to examine the state of mobile web publishing among U.S. local newspapers. Analysis of the mobile version of news websites (N = 100) across the 50 states yields a...
Wedding cakes, equality, and rhetorics of religious freedom

Wedding cakes are a site of vigorous debate about the meaning and scope of religious freedom. Unfortunately, when we privilege religious freedom as a frame for understanding these controversies we ...
A Review: Mind Gym an Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence

Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence walks readers through descriptions and applications of ideas that can help individuals in different roles prepare for and use during performances. T...
Considering Power Relations in Citizen Science

In "The Rise of Citizen Science in Health and Biomedical Research," Wiggins and Wilbanks present an analysis of the ethics of citizen science (Wiggins and Wilbanks 2019). The breadth of the analysi...
Earth Observations from a New Generation of Geostationary Satellites

The latest generation of geostationary satellites carry sensors such as the Advanced Baseline Imager (GOES-16/17) and the Advanced Himawari Imager (Himawari-8/9) that closely mimic the spatial and spectral characteristics of widely used polar orbiting sensors such as EOS/MODIS. More importantly, they provide observations at 1-5-15 minute intervals, instead of twice a day from MODIS, offering unprecedented opportunities for monitoring large parts of the Earth. In addition to serving the needs of weather forecasting, these observations offer new and exciting opportunities in managing solar power, fighting wildfires, and tracking air pollution. Creation of actionable information in near realtime from these data streams is a challenge that is best addressed through collaborative efforts among the industry, academia and government agencies.
Sustainable Development Goals in Europe and Their Intersection with the Business and Human Rights Framework

This chapter examines the compatibility of respective frameworks and suggests integrating proposals. It explores the relevant legal and policy framework, taking into account the overarching European Commission's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The chapter also explores related developments at the EU and broader international level, as well as the European Commission's strategy concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR) and issues related therewith. The CSR standards shall also be promoted in developing countries by means of policy dialogue and development cooperation. The investigation of the SDGs also presupposes an interdisciplinary approach to the research. The predecessor of the SDGs might be found in the Millennium Development Goals proclaimed in 2001. The European Strategy on CSR sets an agenda consisting of several steps, including inter alia the integration of CSR principles into education, training and research, emphasizing national and sub-national CSR policies and better alignment of European and global approaches to CSR.
The Role of HDAC1 Acetylation in Hematopoiesis and GATA-1 Function.

Abstract 1459 Poster Board I-482 Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play important roles in transcriptional regulation in eukaryotic cells. Several lines of evidence also link HDACs to cancer. HDAC inhibitors have shown preclinical promise when combined with other therapeutic agents in the treatments of leukemia and solid tumors. HDAC1 often presents in repressor complexes, such as Sin3, NuRD and CoREST complexes. We previously found that HDAC1 can be acetylated in vivo by acetyltransferase p300 and that acetylated HDAC1 completely loses its deacetylase activity (Qiu et al, 2006). In this study, we investigate the role of HDAC1 during erythroid differentiation. HDAC1 deacetylase activity gradually reduced upon the induction of differentiation. However, the HDAC1 protein level remains unchanged, suggesting that HDAC1 deacetylase activity, but not its protein level, is regulated. To further test the role of HDAC1 in erythroid differentiation, stable cell lines that overexpress HDAC1 and mutants mimicking acetylated or unacetylated HDAC1 were established. We also generated stable HDAC1 and HDAC2 knock down cell lines. The results showed that HDAC1 deacetylase activity is required to promote erythroid proliferation and to inhibit differentiation. Next, we studied whether HDAC1 modulates erythroid differentiation through regulating the activity of key erythroid transcription factor GATA-1. GATA-1 interacts with many other key hematopoietic transcription factors, as well as chromatin remodeling/modifying coactivators and corepressors. It is suggested that GATA-1 mediates gene activation through its association with coactivator complexes. However, recent studies indicated that GATA-1 associates with HDAC1/2 containing corepressor complexes (NuRD) throughout differentiation of erythroid cells. We investigated the deacetylase activity of the GATA-1 associated NuRD complex during erythroid differentiation. We found that the deacetylase activity of the complex decreased and further diminished at day 5 of DMSO induced MEL cells. Accordingly, the acetylated form of HDAC1 within the GATA-1 complex increased during erythroid differentiation. We further demonstrated the role of HDAC1 in GATA-1 mediated gene transcription in transient transfection assays. These studies indicate that HDAC1 plays an important role in regulating GATA-1 activity and the deacetylase activity of the GATA-1 associated NuRD complex is also regulated. This complex may play different roles in undifferentiated and differentiated erythroid cells. Thus, our results suggest a novel but rather general regulatory mechanism of histone deacetylase containing protein complexes. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Definitive Resection Arthroplasty of the Knee: A Surprisingly Viable Treatment to Manage Intractable Infection in Selected Patients

Abstract Background Resection arthroplasty of the hip is considered a viable option after multiple failed attempts to eradicate a prosthetic joint infection (PJI). However, much less information about resection arthroplasty of the knee is available. The goals of this study were to determine the success of infection eradication with a resection arthroplasty of the knee and subsequent functional outcomes in this group. Methods We retrospectively identified 25 knees (23 patients) treated with resection arthroplasty of the knee for PJI performed at a single institution between 1974 and 2016. The mean age at resection arthroplasty was 65 years. The mean body mass index was 37 kg/m2, and the mean Charleston Comorbidity Index was 5. Patients had a mean of 5 operations on the knee (mean of 3 operations for infection) before the resection arthroplasty. Failure to eradicate the infection was defined as any reoperation for infection. Clinical outcomes were assessed via ambulatory status, use of gait aids, and ongoing pain. The mean follow-up was 4 years. Results At most recent follow-up, 84% (21 of 25) of knees were free of infection. Three patients had recurrent infection within the first year, and 1 patient had a late infection at 4 years postoperatively. However, only 1 patient required a subsequent amputation. Forty-five percent were community ambulators, 35% were household ambulators, and 20% were only able to transfer. All patients required knee bracing and assistive devices. Fifteen percent of patients were using long-term narcotics. Conclusion This large series demonstrates the results of selected use of resection arthroplasty as a treatment for recalcitrant periprosthetic knee infections that have failed multiple attempts to eradicate an ongoing PJI. The resection definitively solved the infection in 84% of patients. Functional results were variable but surprisingly good in some. All patients required bracing and assistive devices.
Ball Magnets Clicked Together on the Epiglottis

Neodymium ball magnets are commonly ingested by children and are a risk of causing significant morbidity if not addressed appropriately. While most ingested magnets are located distal to the epiglottis in the gastrointestinal tract, they can rarely get lodged across tissues in the mouth and throat such as the epiglottis. Though rare, this represents an impending airway emergency and requires urgent treatment once identified. We present the case of a two-year-old, asymptomatic male who presented after ingesting two neodymium ball magnets that were found to be clicked together across his epiglottis, which were ultimately retrieved by bronchoscopy without complications.