cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Community engagement in Indian higher education: Financial and partnership trends

Abstract Because of the size and complexity of higher education in India, there are a multitude of strategies for addressing financial partnerships and trends. India, as the world's largest democracy and a country with a recent colonial history struggles with the pressures of tradition on one hand and outside influence on the other. It is not possible to address all of the issues and strategies in one paper. Accordingly, this paper discusses three issues that relate to the funding of higher education in India: neoliberal economics, business/government relationships, and philanthrocapitalism and their impact on the formation of private universities in satisfying the need for increased participation in higher education in India.
Alternative causes of myocardial ischemia in women: An update on spontaneous coronary artery dissection, vasospastic angina and coronary microvascular dysfunction:

Although coronary obstruction due to atherosclerosis is the most common cause of myocardial ischemia, a significant proportion of patients have myocardial ischemia in the absence of obstructive epicardial coronary artery disease (CAD). This finding is more common among women and alternative causes can mediate myocardial ischemia. Abnormalities in vascular structure, alterations in coronary vasomotion and dysfunction of the coronary microcirculation can all cause ischemia in the absence of obstructive CAD due to atherosclerosis. In this review, we provide an update on three alternative causes of myocardial ischemia: spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), vasospastic angina (VSA) and coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMVD). We review pathophysiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes related to these important clinical entities. There is increasing interest in better defining this patient population with use of advanced imaging and testing tools. Despite the increased associated risk with future cardiac events, evidence-based treatments for these diagnoses remain under-studied and poorly defined. These alternative diagnoses should be kept in mind when evaluating women with myocardial ischemia without obstructive CAD due to atherosclerosis.
Progress in Hospitality Ethics Research: A Review and Implications for Future Research

ABSTRACTThis study presents a comprehensive review of recent developments in hospitality ethics research articles published in major hospitality journals as well as in other fields in the period from 2006 to 2015. A total of 62 articles were analyzed and the results were presented with the discussion of research articles by journal and period, geographical locations of study, research method and data analysis, and research subject areas. Conclusions and implications for future research are offered.
Cytokinin Biosynthesis and Its Relationship to the Presence of Plasmids in Strains of Corynebacterium fascians

Corynebacterium fascians causes fasciation disease or witches’ broom in dicotyledonous plants. The disease is characterized by release of apical dominance and outgrowth of lateral buds, thus giving rise to the characteristic witches’ broom syndrome (Roussaux, 1965). The symptoms of the disease can be duplicated by treatment of seedlings with cytokinins, indicating that the disease may be caused by cytokinins produced by the microbe (Thimann and Sachs, 1966). This work deals with the kinds and quantities of cytokinins released into culture media and present in tRNA of five strains of C. fascians, ranging from highly virulent MW2, moderately virulent Cf2 and Cfl, weakly virulent Cf 15 to avirulent Cfl6. It examines the relationships of the presence of plasmids to cytokinin production and to pathogenicity. It also reports the isolation from highly virulent MW2 of activity of cytokinin synthase that catalyzes the formation of N6-(Δ2-isopentenyl) adenosine-5′-monophosphate (i6 AMP) from 5′-AMP and Δ2-IPP.
Lithium Batteries with Nearly Maximum Metal Storage.

The drive for significant advancement in battery capacity and energy density inspired a revisit to the use of Li metal anodes. We report the use of a seamless graphene–carbon nanotube (GCNT) electrode to reversibly store Li metal with complete dendrite formation suppression. The GCNT-Li capacity of 3351 mAh g–1GCNT-Li approaches that of bare Li metal (3861 mAh g–1Li), indicating the low contributing mass of GCNT, while yielding a practical areal capacity up to 4 mAh cm–2 and cycle stability. A full battery based on GCNT-Li/sulfurized carbon (SC) is demonstrated with high energy density (752 Wh kg–1 total electrodes, where total electrodes = GCNT-Li + SC + binder), high areal capacity (2 mAh cm–2), and cyclability (80% retention at >500 cycles) and is free of Li polysulfides and dendrites that would cause severe capacity fade.
Undergraduate and Medical School Physiology Education in the United States

In the United States, physiology education during much of the 20th century was concentrated in departments of physiology in professional and graduate schools, with more diffuse representation of mostly animal and exercise physiologists in undergraduate campuses. This model began to change in the
2020: A Proposal (2000)

B y a large margin 1998 was the warmest year ever recorded. The previous year was the second warmest. A growing volume of scientific evidence indicates that, given present trends, the combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation, and poor land-use practices will cause a major, and perhaps self-reinforcing, shift in global climate (Houghton 1997). With climatic change will come severe weather extremes, super storms, droughts, killer heat waves, rising sea levels, spreading disease, accelerating rates of species loss, and collateral political, economic, and social effects that we cannot imagine. We are conducting, as Roger Revelle once noted, a one-time experiment on the Earth that cannot be reversed and should not be run.
A study of the iron-chromium-nickel ternary system

The iron-chromium-nickel ternary phase relationships in fifty-five alloys have been studied by means of hardness, elongation, tensile strength, dilatometer indications, and microstructure analysis. A comparison has been drawn between the conclusions reached and a composite picture of the ternary made from what were considered the best references on the subject. The diagrams presented represent a ternary picture which is regarded as a fairly accurate picture of the ternary situation.
Exploring Member-Leader Behaviors and Interaction in an Online Support Group:

Online support groups are a common way for people to receive social support. Utilizing online support sites allows members to connect with people in similar situations, without the need for geographic proximity. Many online groups rely on member-leaders, or individuals with personal experience, to lead groups. These member-leaders are often favored by members over professional leaders but often lack training in leadership. This project explored how member-leaders interact in an online support group. This article uses both interaction process analysis (IPA) and research on leader behaviors to understand how member-leaders communicate in online support groups. Results show that leaders primarily use task messages, with the majority of leader behaviors labeled as meaning attribution and use of self. Member-leaders primarily focused on perspective taking rather than discussion facilitation. An examination of the task and relational interaction profile in terms of leader behaviors is also explored.
Experimental logging alters the abundance and community composition of ovipositing mosquitoes in the southern Appalachians

Virginia Tech; NIH F31 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service AwardUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [1F31AI080160-01A1]; Sigma Xi
Why are some plant–nectar robber interactions commensalisms?

Many plants that bear hidden or recessed floral nectar experience nectar robbing, the removal of nectar by a floral visitor through holes pierced in the corolla. Although robbing can reduce plant reproductive success, many studies fail to find such effects. We outline three mechanistic hypotheses that can explain when interactions between plants and nectar‐robbers should be commensal rather than antagonistic: the non‐discrimination (pollinators do not avoid robbed flowers), visitor prevalence (robber visitation is rare relative to pollinator visitation), and pollen saturation (stigmas receive sufficient pollen to fertilize all ovules with one or very few pollinator visits) hypotheses. We then explore these mechanisms in the North American subalpine, bumble bee‐pollinated and nectar‐robbed plant Corydalis caseana (Fumariaceae). We first confirmed that the effects of nectar robbing on female reproductive success were neutral in C. caseana. We then tested the three mechanisms underlying these neutral effects using a combination of observational studies and experiments. We found evidence for all three mechanisms. First, consistent with the non‐discrimination hypothesis, pollinators failed to discriminate against experimentally robbed flowers or inflorescences even though naturally robbed flowers offered significantly lower nectar rewards than unrobbed flowers. Second, C. caseana was more commonly visited by pollinators than by nectar robbers, in accordance with the visitor prevalence hypothesis. Third, stigmas of unvisited flowers as well as those visited once by pollinators were saturated with pollen, with all stigmas bearing pollen loads several orders of magnitude higher than the number of ovules per fruit, consistent with the pollen saturation hypothesis. Our investigation of the mechanisms driving the commensal outcome of nectar robbing in this system deepens our understanding of the ecology of nectar robbing and contributes to a more general understanding of the variation in the outcomes of interactions between species.
The Subunit Specific Effects of Novel Anabaseine-Derived Nicotinic Agents

Nicotine readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and elicits a variety of behavioral and physiological actions. Generally, nicotine improves a variety of spatial-memory and avoidance tasks in animals, while enhancing delayed recall, information manipulation, focused attention and other memory-related behaviors in humans. Nicotine also alters mood and reaction time, which can be difficult to distinguish from changes in memory-related behaviors. One characteristic of nicotine-induced improvements in memory-related behaviors is that these are generally seen over narrow dose-ranges, with higher doses causing a variety of side effects that interfere with performance (Warburton, 1990). This narrow dose-response range may be due in part to the nicotinic activation of a multiplicity of receptors in the brain and periphery, which is a powerful impetus for targeting drugs to those nicotinic receptor subtypes selectively involved in learning and memory in order to treat conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Which Losses Do We Impose on Some to Benefit Others

Those who have studied the moral intuitions displayed in responding to Trolley Problems have focused on subjects’ willingness to cause the death of one party to avert multiple deaths. Here, we explore whether it matters what is being traded off: lives, injuries, or property, for a larger number of lives or injuries, or more valuable property. We find that aggregation – the willingness to sacrifice some party’s interests when others will gain more if one does so – is most plainly impermissible when the party is considering trading a smaller for a larger number of deaths, and it is least impermissible when the harmed party is merely injured or loses property to save others’ lives. Cases in which the harmed party is injured to save others from injury, or loses property to save more valuable property, are intermediate, closer to the death/death cases. If subjects simply followed either a simple rule that it is impermissible to sacrifice the interests or violate the rights of an individual for the sake of others or a simple rule that they should always seek to maximize aggregate utility, responses to these cases would not be expected to differ; however, responses do differ, which suggests that subjects’ judgments are complex and multi-faceted.
Resolving the Amorphous Structure of Lithium Phosphorus Oxynitride (Lipon)

Lithium phosphorus oxynitride, also known as Lipon, solid-state electrolytes are at the center of the search for solid-state Li metal batteries. Key to the performance of Lipon is a combination of high Li content, amorphous character, and the incorporation of N into the structure. Despite the material’s importance, our work presents the first study to fully resolve the structure of Lipon using a combination of ab initio molecular dynamics, density functional theory, neutron scattering, and infrared spectroscopy. The modeled and experimental results have exceptional agreement in both neutron pair distribution function and infrared spectroscopy. Building on this synergy, the structural models show that N forms both bridges between two phosphate units and nonbridging apical N. We further show that as the Li content is increased the ratio of bridging to apical N shifts from being predominantly bridging at Li contents around 2.5:1 Li:P to only apical N at higher Li contents of 3.38:1 Li:P. This crossover from ...
Knightdoku Puzzle 3

Place 27 knights so that there are three in each row, each column, and each indicated three-by-three square cage. A clue indicates that there is a knight in that square and gives the number of othe...
Ultra-potent vinblastine analogues improve on-target activity of the parent microtubulin-targeting compound

Abstract In recent efforts, several C20′ urea vinblastine analogues were discovered that displayed remarkable potency against vinblastine-sensitive tumor cell lines (IC50 50–75 pM), being roughly 100-fold more potent than vinblastine, and that exhibited decreased susceptibility to Pgp efflux-derived resistance in a vinblastine-resistant cell line. Their extraordinary activity indicate that it is not likely or even possible that their cellular functional activity is derived from stoichiometric occupancy of the intracellular tubulin binding sites. Rather, their potency indicates sub-stoichiometric or even catalytic occupancy of candidate binding sites may be sufficient to disrupt tubulin dynamics or microtubule assembly during mitosis. We detail efforts to delineate the underlying behavior responsible for the increased potency and show that the ultra-potent extended C20′ ureas retain the mechanistic behavior of vinblastine, display enhanced affinity for tubulin and on-target activity approximately 100-fold both in vitro and in HeLa cells, but do not show evidence of catalytic disassembly of microtubulin. We also use the analogues to show that, in live interphase cells, the effects of the vinblastine class of drugs do not display a catastrophic effect on the microtubule skeleton, but rather a subtler insult to its dynamicity, acting as sub-stoichiometric drugs that inhibit normal microtubulin maturation and dynamics.
Gynecological associated disorders and management.

Background Chronic pelvic pain syndrome is complex and involves multiple organ systems. The gynecological aspects of chronic pelvic pain syndrome can be divided into four different areas: intra-abdominal, vaginal, pelvic floor muscles and sexual pain. This article provides an overview of gynecological evaluation in patients with chronic pelvic pain and reviews the most common gynecological diagnoses and their management. Methods An extensive review of the literature including guidelines from the International Continence Society, the European Association of Urology, and the International Association for the Study of Pain was performed. Results Gynecological evaluation of patients with chronic pelvic pain begins with a thorough history and physical examination. Laboratory tests, imaging studies and diagnostic procedures can be used as adjuncts to make a diagnosis. Treatment modalities include physical therapy, medications, trigger points injections, and surgery. Conclusion Common gynecological diagnoses of chronic pelvic pain include endometriosis, adenomyosis, vulvodynia, high tone pelvic floor dysfunction, and genitopelvic pain/penetration disorder. Gynecology is one of the many systems that can be associated with chronic pelvic pain. Managing patients with chronic pelvic pain requires a multimodal and multidisciplinary approach.
A Participatory Investigation of Dietary Diversity Amplifies Knowledge Coproduction and Participant Involvement in an Agroecological Intervention in Rural Tanzania (OR25-08-19)

Nutrition-sensitive interventions often fail because they lack contextual awareness. Participatory dissemination (PD), the formal sharing of research data with participants, can improve impact by fostering coproduction of knowledge and increasing participant involvement in the project. Here, we demonstrate how PD revealed previously unidentified challenges and solutions to dietary diversity, and strengthened a nutrition-sensitive project in Tanzania. Singida Nutrition and Agroecology Project (SNAP-Tz) is a participatory intervention in sustainable agriculture, nutrition, and gender equity. Study staff shared simple graphs of village-level findings, including those about children's diet and nutrition status in May-Jun 2017. Farmers (n = ∼175) from the 10 intervention villages reflected on and interpreted the data in groups of 2–12 (n = 26 groups). Discussions were recorded, transcribed in Swahili, and then translated to English. Thematic analyses and deductive coding were performed using Dedoose. Three main barriers to dietary diversity surfaced: 1. resource limitation was the main barrier identified (n = 42 mentions; 16 groups). Female-only groups disclosed that 2. gender inequity limits women's control of household resources and priority to food (n = 22; 13). This exacerbates resource limitation, especially when coupled with some men's alcohol consumption. 3. Cultural beliefs discourage the consumption of eggs (n = 7; 6). Two solutions were to: 1. encourage gender equity by including women in financial decisions and involving men in childcare (n = 6, 5 by males; 4), and 2. invest in livestock to become self-reliant for eggs, milk, and meat. Those with livestock noted the desire to use their production more for their families and not only for sale (n = 7; 5). PD opened up a space for peer-mentorship as participants shared previously unconsidered solutions. Mentor farmers amplified efforts for gender equity and began addressing cultural beliefs with these interpretations. Further, findings suggested avenues for quantitative exploration with survey data. This exercise strengthened the contextual understanding and participant involvement in the project, ensuring the intervention's success. McKnight Foundation and Atkinson Center for Sustainable Futures of Cornell University funded this study.
In vivo adenovirus vector-mediated transfer of the human thrombopoietin cDNA maintains platelet levels during radiation-and chemotherapy- induced bone marrow suppression

Thrombopoietin (TPO, c-mpl ligand) has emerged as a major hematopoietic cytokine stimulating megakaryocyte proliferation, endomitosis, and platelet production. This study shows that a single administration of an adenovirus (Ad) vector encoding TPO (AdCMV.TPO) abrogates thrombocytopenia induced in mice by carboplatin and irradiation. Normal Balb/c mice receiving the vector had increased platelet counts peaking at 7 days and returning to baseline by day 15. Mice rendered pancytopenic with 500 rads and 1.2 mg of carboplatin had a nadir platelet count of five percent of the baseline. Mice receiving AdCMV.TPO 3 days before receiving irradiation and chemotherapy achieved a platelet nadir fourfold higher, and had significant reduction in duration of thrombocytopenia, than mice receiving the control Ad vector. Introduction of AdCMV.TPO the same day of chemotherapy and irradiation was equally effective in acceleration of platelet recovery, but administration of AdCMV.TPO 3 days after chemotherapy-radiation had little effect on platelet recovery. At 30 days after therapy bone marrow and spleen of mice treated with AdCMV.TPO were populated with a large number of polyploid megakaryocytes, but there was no evidence of circulating megakaryocytes in the liver or lungs and no pathologic bone abnormalities such as osteosclerosis or myelofibrosis. These observations suggest that an Ad vector may be an excellent delivery system to provide adequate TPO production to maintain platelet levels in circumstances associated with life-threatening thrombocytopenia.
Medial clear space volume on cone beam CT scan offers objective measurement of congruency in supination external rotation ankle fractures in a cadaver model

Background We performed a volume analysis of gravity stress (GS) and simulated weight bearing (WB) CBCT scans of a cadaveric supination external rotation (SER) ankle fracture model. Methods An AO supination external rotation 44B3.1 ankle fracture was simulated in 6 human cadavers, each serving as its own control. MCS volume (mm3) was measured on GS and WB CBCT scans. Paired t-tests were used to compare the MCS volume for control versus experimental conditions for GS and WB conditions, and means ± standard deviation are presented. Results MCS on GS CBCT was greater for the experimental (1,540.15±374.8) versus control (984.5±226.5) groups (P=0.004), and MCS on WB CBCT was also greater for the experimental (1,225.57±274.1) versus control (1,059.40±266.6) groups (P=0.05). MCS on GS CBCT was greater for the experimental group compared to both WB CBCT controls (P=0.005) and WB CBCT experimental group (P=0.04). Additionally, MCS on WB CBCT was greater for the experimental group compared to GS CBCT controls (P=0.002), however there was no statistically significant difference in MCS on GS CBCT for controls versus WB CBCT for controls (P=0.08). Conclusions MCS volume increased on WB CBCT scans using a cadaveric SER ankle fracture model.
Adversarial Discriminative Attention for Robust Anomaly Detection

Existing methods for visual anomaly detection predominantly rely on global level pixel comparisons for anomaly score computation without emphasizing on unique local features. However, images from real-world applications are susceptible to unwanted noise and distractions, that might jeopardize the robustness of such anomaly score. To alleviate this problem, we propose a self-supervised masking method that specifically focuses on discriminative parts of images to enable robust anomaly detection. Our experiments reveal that discriminator’s class activation map in adversarial training evolves in three stages and finally fixates on the foreground location in the images. Using this property of the activation map, we construct a mask that suppresses spurious signals from the background thus enabling robust anomaly detection by focusing on local discriminative attributes. Additionally, our method can further improve the accuracy by learning a semi-supervised discriminative classifier in cases where a few samples from anomaly classes are available during the training. Experimental evaluations on four different types of datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms previous state-of-the-art methods for each condition and in all domains.
Creative industries beyond COVID-19

Oxford Economics, ‘a commercial venture with Oxford University’s business college’ projects a $US92.7 billion decline in revenue for the Creative Industries in the United Kingdom in 2020 (over 2019...
Resident Self-Entrustment and Expectations of Autonomy: OB > GYN?

Introduction Entrustment is a key component connecting to resident preparedness for surgical practice in the operating room (OR). Residents’ self-entrustment of their surgical competencies closely associates with their OR training experience and granted autonomy. Some recent studies have investigated how attending surgeons entrusted residents in the OR. There is little to no data, however, in examining these issues from the resident perspective. The goal of this study was to identify the perception and expectations of autonomy from residents’ perspective, as well as the self-entrustment of their surgical competencies in obstetrics (OB) and gynecologic (GYN) procedures. Methods Focus group interviews of OB/GYN residents were performed. Residents were selected by convenience sampling. Audio recordings of each interview were transcribed, iteratively analyzed, and emergent themes identified, using a framework method. Results A total of 123 minutes of interviews were recorded. Eight junior residents (PGY1-2) and 12 senior residents (PGY3-4) participated. Our data illustrated that (1) the perception of autonomy shifted significantly throughout residency training; (2) residents demonstrated higher expectations and self-entrustment for OB surgical procedures than for GYN surgical procedures upon graduation; and (3) case volume, modalities of OR teaching and mutual communication are 3 factors influencing resident self-entrustment of their surgical competencies. Conclusions Residents showed disparities in their self-entrustment and expectations of autonomy between OB and GYN surgical procedures. Better understanding these differences and the 3 influencing factors could help programs develop a potential solution for improvement in resident entrustment and autonomy upon graduation.
Utilizing an electronic feeder to measure individual mineral intake, feeding behavior, and growth performance of cow–calf pairs grazing native range

Crossbred Angus cow–calf pairs (n = 28 pairs) at the Central Grasslands Research Extension Center (Streeter, ND) were used to evaluate an electronic feeder to monitor individual mineral intake and feeding behavior and their relationship with growth performance and liver mineral concentrations. Cows and calves were fitted with radio frequency identification ear tags that allowed access to an electronic feeder (SmartFeed system; C-Lock Inc., Rapid City, SD) and were provided ad libitum minerals (Purina Wind and Rain Storm, Land O’Lakes, Inc., Arden Hills, MN). Mineral intake, number of visits, and duration at the feeder were recorded over a 95-d monitoring period while pairs were grazing native range. Liver biopsies were collected from a subset of cows on the final day of monitoring and analyzed for mineral concentrations. Data were analyzed with the GLM procedure in SAS for mineral intake and feeding behavior with age class (cows vs. calves), intake category (high vs. low), and the interaction between class and category in the model. Correlations were calculated among cow feeding behavior and calf intake and growth performance with the CORR procedure, and a comparison of liver mineral concentrations among cows of high (>90 g/d; average 125.4 g/d) and low ( 50 g/d; average 72.2 g/d) consumed greater (P < 0.001) amounts of minerals than low-intake calves (<50 g/d; average 22.2 g/d) intake calves. Cows and calves attended the mineral feeder a similar (P = 0.71) proportion of the days during the experiment (overall mean of 20%, or once every 5 d). On days calves visited the feeder, they consumed less (P < 0.01) minerals than cows (222 ± 27 vs. 356 ± 26 g/d, respectively). Over the grazing period, calves gained 1.17 ± 0.02 kg/d, whereas cows lost 0.35 ± 0.02 kg/d. Calf mineral intake was correlated with cow duration at the mineral feeder (r = 0.403, P = 0.05). Cows with high mineral intake had greater (P < 0.01) concentrations of Se (2.92 vs. 2.41 ug/g), Cu (247 vs. 116 ug/g), and Co (0.51 vs. 0.27 ug/g) compared with low mineral intake cows, but liver concentrations of Fe, Zn, Mo, and Mn did not differ (P ≥ 0.22). We were able to successfully monitor individual mineral intake and feeding behavior with the electronic feeder evaluated, and the divergence in mineral intake observed with the feeder was corroborated by concentrations of minerals in the liver.
High-Dose Micafungin in Neonates and Young Infants with Invasive Candidiasis: Results of a Phase 2 Study

Limited data are available on the most appropriate dosing, efficacy, and safety of micafungin in neonates and young infants with invasive candidiasis (IC). This study evaluated plasma levels, efficacy, and safety of micafungin at a dose of 8 mg/kg daily for a mean of 13.3 days (±5.2 days) in 35 neonates and young infants with IC. Micafungin plasma concentrations were 5.70 mg/liter preadministration and 17.23, 15.59, and 10.27 mg/liter after 1, 2, and 8 h, respectively. The resolution of the infection was achieved in 86.7% of patients treated for ≥14 days. In 20.0% of patients, we observed a transient hypertransaminasemia. Micafungin at a dose of 8 mg/kg daily is effective and well tolerated in neonates and young infants with IC. (This study has been registered at ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT03421002 and in the EU Clinical Trials Register under number 2014-003087-20.).
Prescribed pH for soil β-glucosidase and phosphomonoesterase do not reflect pH optima

Abstract In soil enzyme assays, buffers are most commonly employed to constrain the assay to a specific pH at which activity is assumed to be maximized (i.e., pH optima). The assumed pH optima prescribed for the assay of soil β-glucosidase and phosphomonoesterase activities are based on early studies from a limited set of soils and have subsequently been found to be invalid in broader contexts. Here, we used the USDA-NRCS national soil survey database to preselect soils with a broad range of edaphic characteristics—namely soil pH, organic matter content, and clay content—to robustly assess pH optima of β-glucosidase and phosphomonoesterase. β-Glucosidase pH optima occurred within a narrow range and were independent of soil or climatic properties, including soil pH. Conversely, phosphomonoesterase pH optima showed a broad range of values that were closely linked to soil pH. For most samples, the mismatch between the prescribed and optimal pH (maximal activity) corresponded to activity differences of
Discrete Maximum Principle for Nonsmooth Optimal Control Problems with Delays

Optimal control problems for discrete-time systems with delays are considered. Necessary optimality conditions of the discrete maximum principle type in the case of nonsmooth minimizing functions are derived. Two independent forms of the discrete maximum principle with transversality conditions described in terms of subdifferentials and superdifferentials are obtained. The superdifferential form is new even for non-delayed systems.
Tseng, Wen-Shing

Wen-Shing Tseng is professor emeritus at the John A. Burns School of Medicine of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Born in 1935 in Tainan, a southern city of Taiwan, Tseng entered the world during the period of Japanese occupation. By the time he attended the College of Medicine at National Taiwan University in 1954, Japan had returned Taiwan to China and the Nationalist Government had assumed political sovereignty in Taiwan since 1949. Tseng spent his early years speaking Japanese (he received a Japanese education until the fourth grade), but by 1961, the year he began his psychiatric residency training at the National Taiwan University Hospital, he had learned to communicate in his original maternal language, Mandarin Chinese, for more than 15 years. After he settled in Hawaii in the 1970s, his main language became English. As Tseng has emphasized on multiple occasions, the way that his life experience spans three national identities (Japanese, Chinese, and American) has played a significant role in the shaping of his deep-seated interest in cultural psychiatry and appreciation of different languages and cultures. Keywords: mental health; psychotherapies; cultural competence
Critical issues in vapor deposition of Cu(InGa)Se/sub 2/ on polymer web: source spitting and back contact cracking

This paper presents solutions to two critical problems encountered during the physical vapor deposition of Cu(InGa)Se/sub 2/ films on Mo coated polymer web in a roll-to-roll reactor. Spitting out of the Cu source, resulting in Cu-rich particles imbedded in the growing films and causing shorts in the devices, has been eliminated by changing the shape of the effusion nozzles. Sources having conical nozzles eliminated the spitting by reducing the temperature gradient along the nozzle. Heavy cracking of the Mo back contact film during the deposition of the Cu(InGa)Se/sub 2/ films has been found to be related to the reaction of Mo with Se in the reactor. Introducing an appropriate amount of oxygen into the Mo film eliminated the cracking by reducing the reactivity of the film to Se.
Central Nervous System (CNS)

The human brain undergoes several stages of intrauterine and postnatal development, each with specific and nonspecific vulnerabilities to developmental anomalies. In primary and secondary neurulation, there is normal development of the brain and spinal cord. The formation of the brain and spinal cord rostral to the lumbar segments is called primary neurulation. It occurs during the third and fourth weeks of gestation and begins at 18 days with the induction, by the notochord and chordal mesoderm, of the neuroectodermal plate derived from the dorsal midline of the ectoderm. Its lateral margins invaginate and close dorsally to form the neural tube, which gives rise to the CNS. The anterior end closes at about 24 days, and the posterior end, approximately at the lumbosacral level, closes at about 26 days. The surrounding mesoderm gives rise to the dura and the skull and vertebrae.
Springtime for Hitler: Lessons in Leadership

Much can be learned from negative leadership, possibly even more than from positive leadership. This paper examines the statements of one of the world’s most notorious leaders, Adolf Hitler, to see what can be learned about leadership. An examination of these quotations will make it quite obvious what is wrong with the narcissistic leadership style and why Hitler was a disastrous leader. Unfortunately, many of today’s leaders are using what they refer to as the "corporate model of leadership" as a fig leaf to hide behind and practice a Hitlerian form of leadership. They try to build organizations that revolve around their own needs, surround themselves with sycophants, show no compassion for others, and continually cover up unwanted truths. They have no real interest in ensuring their organization lives on beyond their lifetime; all that matters is their own self-aggrandizement. Conversely, it is hoped that by studying Hitler’s approach to leadership, we can learn what leaders of today must do to build a successful organization.
Adaptive sensing scheduling for energy harvesting sensors with finite battery

In this paper, we study the optimal sensing scheduling policy for an energy harvesting sensing system equipped with a finite battery. The objective is to strategically select the sensing epochs such that the long-term average sensing performance is optimized. In the sensing system, it is assumed that the sensing performance depends on the time duration between two consecutive sensing epochs. Example applications include reconstructing a wide-sense stationary random process by using discrete-time samples collected by a sensor. The randomness of the energy harvesting process and the finite battery constraint at the sensor make the optimal sensing scheduling very challenging. Assuming the energy harvesting process is a Poisson random process, we first identify a performance limit on the long-term average sensing performance of the system without the finite battery constraint. We then propose an energy-aware adaptive sensing scheduling policy, which dynamically chooses the next sensing epoch based on the battery level at the current sensing epoch. We show that as the battery size increases, the sensing performance under the adaptive sensing policy asymptotically converges to the performance limit of the system with an infinite battery, thus it is asymptotically optimal. The convergence rate is also analytically characterized.
Polymers as biomaterials for tissue engineering and controlled drug delivery

The advent of biodegradable polymers has significantly influenced the development and rapid growth of various technologies in modern medicine. Biodegradable polymers are mainly used where the transient existence of materials is required and they find applications as sutures, scaffolds for tissue regeneration, tissue adhesives, hemostats, and transient barriers for tissue adhesion, as well as drug delivery systems. Each of these applications demands materials with unique physical, chemical, biological, and biomechanical properties to provide efficient therapy. Consequently, a wide range of degradable polymers, both natural and synthetic, have been investigated for these applications. Furthermore, recent advances in molecular and cellular biology, coupled with the development of novel biotechnological drugs, necessitate the modification of existing polymers or synthesis of novel polymers for specific applications. This review highlights various biodegradable polymeric materials currently investigated for use in two key medical applications: drug delivery and tissue engineering.
Estimation of remaining life using embedded SRAM for wearout parameter extraction

Safety critical systems need methods for chips to monitor their health in the field. This paper proposes to use the embedded SRAM as a monitor of system health. The bit failures are tracked and the cause of each bit failure is diagnosed with on-chip built-in self test (BIST). The wearout model parameters are estimated from the diagnosis results and combined with system wearout simulation data to estimate the remaining lifetime of a system.
Clinical application of a scoring system for evaluation of antepartum fetal heart rate monitoring

Five hundred-seven passive tests (PT's) on 260 patients and 133 oxytocin challenge tests (OCT's) on 97 of these patients were reviewed. The tracings were categorized according to a proposed modified scoring system based on baseline fetal heart rate (FHR), variability, accelerations and decelerations of FHR, and fetal activity. The scoring system was compared with the usual criteria for fetal compromise currently employed in PT's and OCT's and was found to be superior in accuracy. The usefulness of antepartum FHR monitoring as evaluated throuth the scoring system is discussed. It is concluded that passive testing can largely replace the OCT.
Reptile-Associated Ticks from Dominica and the Bahamas With Notes on Hyperparasitic Erythraeid Mites

Ticks were collected or recorded from 522 individual reptiles on Dominica and from 658 reptiles from the Bahamas. Two species of ticks were collected on Dominica: Amblyomma antillorum and Amblyomma rotundatum. Similarly, 2 species were collected in the Bahamas: Amblyomma albopictum and Amblyomma torrei. On Dominica, A. antillorum was recorded from 517 Lesser Antillean iguanas (Iguana delicatissima), 2 boa constrictors (Boa nebulosa), 1 Antilles snake (Alsophis sibonius), and 1 Dominican ground lizard (Ameiva fuscata), whereas A. rotundatum was recorded from 1 Lesser Antillean skink (Mabuya mabouya). In the Bahamas, A. albopictum was recorded from 131 Andros iguanas (Cyclura cychlura cychlura), 271 Exuma Island iguanas (Cyclura cychlura figginsi), and 1 Andros curlytail lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus coryi), whereas A. torrei was recorded from 255 Exuma Island iguanas. In the Bahamas, A. albopictum parasitized iguanas on Andros Island and the central Exuma Islands, and A. torrei parasitized iguanas in the southern Exumas. An exception to this trend was that A. torrei was collected from iguanas on Pasture Cay in the central Exumas, an anomaly that is explained by the fact that iguanas (with attached ticks) on Pasture Cay were introduced by humans in the past from islands further south. External hyperparasitic larval erythraeid mites (Leptus sp.) were recorded from A. torrei in the Bahamas. Reptiles in the Caribbean region are parasitized by a unique suite of amblyommine ticks, including Amblyomma albopictum Neumann, Amblyomma antillorum Kohls, Amblyomma cruciferum Neumann, Amblyomma dissimile Koch, Amblyomma quadricavum (Schulze), Amblyomma rotundatum Koch, and Amblyomma torrei Vigeuras (Robinson, 1926; Whittick, 1939; Clifford and Kohls, 1962; Cern ´ y, 1969a; Kohls, 1969a, 1969b; Keirans, 1985; Keirans and Garris, 1986; Keirans and Klompen, 1996; Guglielmone et al., 2003; Durden and Knapp, 2005). Of these species, A. albopictum, A. antillorum, A. cruciferum, and A. torrei are known to be ectoparasitic specialists of iguanas (Robinson, 1926; Keirans, 1985; Guglielmone et al., 2003). However, the geograph- ical distribution of these tick species on the various Caribbean islands and their host associations are incompletely known. Additionally, to our knowledge, no external hyperparasites of any of these iguana-associated ticks have been reported previously. In this paper, we document the host associations for 2 of the above-listed tick species, A. albopictum and A. torrei, from the Bahamas, and for 1 congener, A. antillorum, from Dominica. We also document A. rotundatum from a skink in Dominica and report ectoparasitic erythraeid mites from A. torrei in the Bahamas. We also briefly discuss the known geographical distributions of the Caribbean iguana-associated ticks, including the intriguing apparently segregated distributions of A. albopic- tum and A. torrei in the Bahamas.
Some contributions to asymmetric error control codes

In some practical systems, most of the errors are of 1 → 0 type and 0 → 1 errors occur very rarely. In this thesis, first, the capacity of the asymmetric channel is derived. The capacity of the binary symmetric channel (BSC) and the Z-channel can be derived from this expression as special cases. Second, the error detecting capability of Bose-Lin codes beyond the maximum designed error detection capability are described. Third, a new class of a systematic t-unidirectional error detecting codes over Zm, m ≥ 2 is designed. These codes can detect 2 errors using r = 2 check bits and up to mr −2 + r − 2 errors using r > 2 check bits. Some upper bound on the maximum number of detectable errors when using r check bits are given. Finally, some analysis on the data throughput when using the following protocols over the m-ary Z-Channel, m ≥ 2 are derived: (1) ARQ protocols using t-Asymmetric Error Detecting (t-AED) codes. (2) ARQ protocols using All Asymmetric Error Detecting (AAED) codes. (3) Type-I Hybrid ARQ protocols using t-Asymmetric Error Correcting and All Asymmetric Error Detecting (t-EC|AAED) codes. (4) ARQ Protocols with diversity combining using t-Asymmetric Error Correcting and All Asymmetric Error Detecting (t-EC| AAED) codes. Finally, some open research problems are described.
Rehabilitative ultrasound imaging for assessment and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions.

Over the past decade, researchers have increasingly identified associations between neuromusculoskeletal disorders such as low back pain and underlying neuromuscular control deficits (Hodges and Moseley, 2003). However, reliable and valid non-invasive measurement strategies to assess neuromuscular control deficits that could be employed in a clinical setting have been scarce. Evidence for the use of ultrasound imaging as a strategy to assist with these patient populations is growing. The use of ultrasound technology for medical applications began in the 1950s and has proven to be an effective, safe, non-invasive, and relatively inexpensive tool for assessing morphologic characteristics and structural integrity of visceral organs and soft tissues. The use of ultrasound to assess muscle morphology and guide rehabilitation decision-making in physical therapy practice can be traced back to the late 1960s (Whittaker et al., 2007) and has been found to be reliable and valid (Koppenhaver et al., 2009) for specific muscles during particular movements. Over the last decade there has been rapid development of this technique with increased use both by clinicians and researchers.
Application of an Anode Model to Investigate Physical Parameters in an Internal Reforming Solid-Oxide Fuel Cell

A one-dimensional model of chemical and mass transport phenomena in the porous anode of a solid-oxide fuel cell, in which there is internal reforming of methane, is presented. Macroscopically averaged porous electrode theory is used to model the mass transfer that occurs in the anode. Linear kinetics at a constant temperature are used to model the reforming and shift reactions. Correlations based on the Damkohler number are created to relate anode structural parameters and thickness to a nondimensional electrochemical conversion rate and cell voltage. It is shown how these can be applied in order to assist the design of an anode.
Effect of a Perfusing Bath on the Rate of Rise of an Action Potential Propagating Through a Slab of Cardiac Tissue

Experiments show that the rate of rise of the action potential depends on the direction of propagation in cardiac tissue. Two interpretations of these experiments have been presented: (i) the data are evidence of discrete propagation in cardiac tissue, and (ii) the data are an effect of the perfusing bath. In this paper we present a mathematical model that supports the second interpretation. We use the bidomain model to simulate action potential propagation through a slab of cardiac tissue perfused by a bath. We assume an intracellular potential distribution and solve the bidomain equations analytically for the transmembrane and extracellular potentials. The key assumption in our model is that the intracellular potential is independent of depth within the tissue. This assumption ensures that all three boundary conditions at the surface of a bidomain are satisfied simultaneously. One advantage of this model over previous numerical calculations is that we obtain an analytical solution for the transmembrane potential. The model predicts that the bath reduces the rate of rise of the transmembrane action potential at the tissue surface, and that this reduction depends on the direction of propagation. The model is consistent with the hypothesis that the perfusing bath causes the observed dependence of the action-potential rate of rise on the direction of propagation, and that this dependence has nothing to do with discrete properties of cardiac tissue.
Evanescent wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy for probing surface processes

Abstract Sub-monolayer detection of adsorbed I 2 is demonstrated with the cavity ring-down technique by using intra-cavity total-internal reflection to generate an evanescent field that probes the adsorption process. A precision, fused-silica Pellin-Broca prism with ultra-smooth facets (surface roughness ∼0.05 nm r.m.s) is employed to provide the intra-cavity TIR. The known cross-section for the 1 Σ g + → 3 Π u transition of I 2 , which is largely invariant between pressure-broadened gaseous, weakly chemisorbed, and liquid states, provides quantification of sensitivity. A minimum detectable coverage of ∼0.04 monolayer is determined at a weakly absorbed probe wavelength.