cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The power of persuasion: Grassroots advocacy in the academic library

La formation des bibliothecaires aux techniques de la persuasion et de la defense des bibliotheques academiques fait partie des objectifs strategiques de l'ACRL (Association of Research and College Libraries), qui a mis en place des ateliers en ce sens. Il s'agit de renforcer l'influence des bibliothecaires sur le campus en ce qui concerne les politiques publiques relatives a l'enseignement superieur.
The transcription factor Sox9 is required for the differentiation of Paneth cells in the intestinal epithelium

3955 In the crypts of the intestinal epithelium, undifferentiated multipotent stem cells give rise to proliferating transient cells, which differentiate into four epithelial cell types: enterocytes, goblet cells, enteroendocrine cells, and Paneth cells. Whereas Paneth cells migrate towards the bottom of the crypts, the other cell types migrate up the crypt-villi axis and are shed into the lumen. Sox9 is a target gene of Wnt/β-catenin in epithelial cells of the intestinal crypts and duplicates the pattern of expression of β-catenin in these cells, i.e. in stem cells, proliferative transient cells and Paneth cells. In other tissues Sox9 is required for the differentiation of a discrete number of distinct cell types including chondrocytes in the skeleton, glial cells in the nervous system, Sertoli cells in the male gonad, cells in the endocardial cushions in the heart and others. We have previously shown that Sox9 also inhibits proliferation of chondrocytes and have proposed that this occurs through the inhibition of the transcriptional activity of β-catenin by Sox9. To clarify the function of Sox9 in the intestine, we inactivated the Sox9 gene in the intestine using the Cre recombinase /LoxP recombination system. In Villin-Cre transgenic mice, Cre is expressed in all intestinal epithelial cells, which enables the deletion of Sox9 gene throughout the small intestine. Immunohistochemical staining using Sox9 antibodies showed almost complete absence of Sox9 expression in the intestinal epithelium of Sox9floxed/floxed;VillinCre mice. Histological analysis of mutant miceshowed an overall normal morphology of crypts and villi, but the cells in the bottom of the crypts did not show the typical granules of Paneth cells. In the knock-out mice those cells were negative for Lysozyme, an early marker for Paneth cells. Whereas in wild type mice Paneth cells were negative for the proliferation marker Ki67, in Sox9 mutants cells in the bottom of the crypts were positive for Ki67. Thus in the mutant there is a marked expansion of the domain of proliferationg cells in the crypts. We also noted that the length from pylorus to cecum of the Sox9floxed/floxed;VillinCre mice is longer than that of littermate controls. Our results indicate that Sox9 is required for the differentiation of Paneth cells from progenitor cells and suggest the hypothesis that Sox9 may participate in the control of intestinal epithelial cell proliferation.
Robust Bijels for Reactive Separation via Silica-Reinforced Nanoparticle Layers.

Pickering emulsions have been successfully used as media for catalysis and separation. However, simultaneous reaction and separation cannot be performed in a continuous mode in these systems, because reagents cannot be readily loaded into or recovered from the dispersed phase. Bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels), in which the oil and water phases are continuous throughout the structure, have potential as media for simultaneous reaction and separation in a continuous mode. In this work, we take a major step toward realizing this vision by demonstrating the ability of bijels to be used in reactive separation performed in a batch fashion. To perform effectively, bijels must maintain their morphology and interfacial mass transfer properties during reaction. To strengthen the bijels, we modify the solvent transfer-induced phase separation (STRIPS) method to make bijels resistant to mechanical stresses and prevent detachment of nanoparticles from the oil/water interface due to pH changes by...
Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) from β-Ga2O3 crystals

Abstract Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) has been used in β-Ga2O3 crystals to identify and characterize a variety of defects possessing unpaired spins. These include shallow donors, acceptors, self-trapped holes, transition-metal ions, and rare-earth ions. Among the impurities that have been studied are Si, Sn, Mg, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Er. In this chapter, a brief introduction to the EPR technique is provided. A review of the primary results from the various EPR investigations reported thus far in this wide-band-gap semiconductor then follows. The characteristics of these observed spectra (their g values, resolved hyperfine interactions, and zero-field splittings) are described. Although not yet reported in the literature, the expected features of an EPR spectrum from singly ionized oxygen vacancies are discussed.
Problems with Rationales for Parceling that Fail to Consider Parcel-Allocation Variability.

In structural equation modeling applications, parcels—averages or sums of subsets of item scores—are often used as indicators of latent constructs. Parcel-allocation variability (PAV) is variabilit...
Acrylamide Content of Experimental and Commercial Flatbreads.

Acrylamide, formed in baked and fried plant-based foods, is reported to induce numerous adverse effects in cells, animals, and humans. Examples from the literature show that processed potato- and cereal-based products are two major food types that seem to contribute the highest amounts of acrylamide to the diet worldwide. To meet both the demand for gluten-free products and the interest in alternative grains, we previously developed recipes for flatbreads using a variety of different grains. In this study, we determined the acrylamide content of 15 experimental flatbreads made from a variety of flours and 21 commercial flatbreads. The application of a validated, highly sensitive HPLC/MS method revealed that flatbreads made with the following flours baked at 195.5 °C for 2 min had very low (<10 μg/kg) levels of acrylamide: brown rice, buckwheat, cornmeal, millet, oat, and quinoa. The acrylamide levels of the following flatbreads were 14 to 59 μg/kg: rye, sorghum, soy, wheat, commercial pita, pita crackers, pizza, naan, and lavash. Wheat-based matzo breads, which are rapidly baked to a crisp texture at high heat (∼400 °C), contained 101 to 504 μg/kg acrylamide. Potato-based products were some of the highest of the products tested, ranging from 153 (potato pancakes) to 2,070 (potato-containing gluten-free matzos) μg/kg acrylamide. Except for the potato-containing products, the flatbreads made in this study were lower in acrylamide content (<3 to 21.3 μg/kg) than any of the commercial products tested. Of these experimental flatbreads, wheat- and sorghum-based products were the highest. Flatbreads from alternative grains can result in gluten-free products with high nutritional value and less acrylamide. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Acrylamide formation is dependent on both the composition of the food product and the method of cooking. Flatbreads have the potential to be high in acrylamide due to cooking methods which lead to the development of desirable browning products. Flatbreads developed in this study using alternative and ancient grains were mostly lower in acrylamide content than their wheat counterpart, suggesting that they can serve as a low-acrylamide, gluten-free functional food.
Phase II study of sitravatinib in combination with nivolumab in patients undergoing nephrectomy for locally-advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

TPS686Background: Sitravatinib is a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (RTKI) that targets multiple closely related RTK pathways including VEGFR, PDGFR, KIT, MET and the TAM receptors (TYRO3, AXL a...
A Time-frequency Based Multivariate Phase-amplitude Coupling Measure

Interaction of neuronal oscillations across different frequency bands plays an important role in perception, attention, and memory. One particular form of interaction is the modulation of the amplitude of high-frequency oscillations by the phase of low-frequency oscillations, known as phase-amplitude coupling (PAC). Current methods for quantifying PAC mostly rely on Hilbert transform which assumes that brain activity is stationary and narrowband. Moreover, these methods are limited to quantifying bivariate PAC and cannot capture multivariate cross-frequency coupling between different brain regions. This paper presents a new complex time-frequency based high resolution PAC measure and its extension to the multivariate case using PARAFAC (Parallel Factor) model. The proposed approach is evaluated on both simulated and real electroencephalogram (EEG) data.
Gradient morphophonology: Evidence from Uyghur vowel harmony

For the Structuralists and early Generativists (e.g. Bloomfield 1933; Chomsky & Halle 1968), all grammatical knowledge was by definition discrete and categorical. Since phonetic patterns are gradient, early work argued that phonetics was extra-grammatical. However, a significant body of work has since shown that phonetic patterns are language-specific and must constitute part of a speaker's knowledge about their language (e.g. Keating 1985). As a result, linguistic knowledge is not ontologically categorical. For other areas of the grammar, though, much work continues to assume that linguistic knowledge is categorical. In this paper, I investigate the categoricality of phonological patterns using acoustic vowel harmony data from Uyghur. By comparing subphonemic variation in Uyghur with attested patterns of phonetic reduction and interpolation, I demonstrate that gradience is not always derivable from phonetic forces. On these grounds I argue that vowel harmony, and by extension phonology, may be gradient.Â Furthermore, the claim that gradience plays a larger role in linguistic representations is also supported by a number of descriptive works, which suggest that gradient harmony may occur in a wide range of languages. Building on experimental, and typological evidence, I thus contend that gradience isn't restricted to phonetics, but pervades both the phonological and phonetic modules of the grammar.
Sfrp4 repression of the Ror2/Jnk cascade in osteoclasts protects cortical bone from excessive endosteal resorption.

Loss-of-function mutations in the Wnt inhibitor secreted frizzled receptor protein 4 (SFRP4) cause Pyle’s disease (OMIM 265900), a rare skeletal disorder characterized by wide metaphyses, significant thinning of cortical bone, and fragility fractures. In mice, we have shown that the cortical thinning seen in the absence of Sfrp4 is associated with decreased periosteal and endosteal bone formation and increased endocortical resorption. While the increase in Rankl/Opg in cortical bone of mice lacking Sfrp4 suggests an osteoblast-dependent effect on endocortical osteoclast (OC) activity, whether Sfrp4 can cell-autonomously affect OCs is not known. We found that Sfrp4 is expressed during bone marrow macrophage OC differentiation and that Sfrp4 significantly suppresses the ability of early and late OC precursors to respond to Rankl-induced OC differentiation. Sfrp4 deletion in OCs resulted in activation of canonical Wnt/β-catenin and noncanonical Wnt/Ror2/Jnk signaling cascades. However, while inhibition of canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling did not alter the effect of Sfrp4 on OCgenesis, blocking the noncanonical Wnt/Ror2/Jnk cascade markedly suppressed its regulation of OC differentiation in vitro. Importantly, we report that deletion of Ror2 exclusively in OCs (CtskCreRor2fl/fl) in Sfrp4 null mice significantly reversed the increased number of endosteal OCs seen in these mice and reduced their cortical thinning. Altogether, these data show autocrine and paracrine effects of Sfrp4 in regulating OCgenesis and demonstrate that the increase in endosteal OCs seen in Sfrp4−/− mice is a consequence of noncanonical Wnt/Ror2/Jnk signaling activation in OCs overriding the negative effect that activation of canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling has on OCgenesis.
IoT Security and Privacy Labels

IoT devices are riddled with vulnerabilities and design flaws. In consequence, we have witnessed the rise of IoT specific malware and botnets with devastating consequences on the security and privacy of consumers using those devices. Despite the growing attacks targeting these vulnerable IoT devices, manufacturers are yet to strengthen the security posture of their devices and adopt best-practices and a security by design approach. To this end, we devise an concise, informative IoT labelling scheme to convey high-level security and privacy facts about an IoT device to the consumers so as to raise their security and privacy awareness.
Quantitative gait assessment in children with 16p11.2 syndrome.

Neurodevelopmental disorders such as 16p11.2 syndrome are frequently associated with motor impairments including locomotion. The lack of precise measures of gait, combined with the challenges inherent in studying children with neurodevelopmental disorders, hinders quantitative motor assessments. Gait and balance are quantifiable measures that may help to refine the motor phenotype in 16p11.2. The characterization of motor profile is useful to study the trajectories of locomotion performance of children with genetic variants and may provide insights into neural pathway dysfunction based on genotype/phenotype model. Thirty-six children (21 probands with 16p11.2 deletion and duplication mutation and 15 unaffected siblings), with a mean age of 8.5 years (range 3.2–15.4) and 55% male, were enrolled. Of the probands, 23% (n = 6) had a confirmed diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and were all male. Gait assessments included 6-min walk test (6MWT), 10-m walk/run test (10MWR), timed-up-and-go test (TUG), and spatio-temporal measurements of preferred- and fast-paced walking. The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory-Computer Adaptive Tests (PEDI-CAT), a caregiver-reported functional assessment, was administered. Measures of balance were calculated using percent time in double support and base of support. Analyses of the six children with ASD were described separately. Thirty-six participants completed the protocol. Compared with sibling controls, probands had significantly lower scores on the 6MWT (p = 0.04), 10MWR (p = 0.01), and TUG (p = 0.005). Group differences were also identified in base of support (p = 0.003). Probands had significantly lower PEDI-CAT scores in all domains including the mobility scale (p < 0.001). Using age-matched subsamples, the ASD and non-ASD genetic variant groups had larger base of support compared to the controls. In the fast-paced condition, all participants increased their velocity, and there was a corresponding decrease in percent time in double support compared to the preferred-pace condition in all participants. Only the ASD group presented with upper limb arm/hand stereotypies. Children with 16p11.2, with and without ASD, present with balance impairment during locomotion activities. Probands performed worse on functional assessments, and quantitative measures revealed differences in base of support. These results highlight the importance of using precise measures to differentiate motor dysfunction in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
A simple theory for the modulation of tropical instability waves by ENSO and the annual cycle

Motivated by a recent active period of Tropical Instability Waves (TIWs) that followed the extreme 2015/2016 El Nino, we developed a stochastically forced linear model for TIWs with its damping rat...
Comparison of surveys and use records for quantifying medically important antimicrobial use in 18 U.S. beef feedyards

The objective of this study was to evaluate agreement between medically important antimicrobial use metrics derived from in-person surveys of feedyard management as opposed to metrics derived from production unit-level antimicrobial use records. Survey respondents were asked to estimate values which would allow calculation of the metrics of regimens per animal year (Reg/AY) and milligrams of antimicrobial per kilogram of liveweight sold (mg/kg-LW). At the study level, values were calculated by antimicrobial class within the use categories of in-feed use, control of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and individual animal treatment. At the feedyard level, values were calculated by total overall use and total use within use category. Feedyard level correlation coefficients between survey and record values for total use were 0.76 (p = .0004) and 0.73 (p = .0009) for Reg/AY and mg/kg-LW, respectively. Correlation coefficients for use category within metric ranged from 0.25 (p = .3224) to 0.65 (p = .0061). Comparing feedyard level survey and record values for total Reg/AY and mg/kg-LW using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test resulted in p-values (95% CI) of 0.3247 (-1.06, 0.25) and 0.7019 (-14.49, 10.387), respectively. Evaluation of comparative rankings as total use by metric indicated that for Reg/AY, only two of the five top-ranked feedyards were consistent between the two data sources. The relationship for mg/kg-LW demonstrated the lowest two and highest three values were consistent between sources; however, the ranking similarities appear to markedly decline in the middle ranks. This report demonstrates that survey-based antimicrobial use data may closely reflect summary values determined from records across multiple beef feedyards. However, individual feedyard relationships between their record and survey values vary widely and ranking by survey may lead to different conclusions as to highest and lowest use than ranking by data collected from use records.
Thermally induced reactions of monolayer WS2 with Au-Ti substrates

Abstract The thermal stability of WS2 flakes is studied after integration into a device structure with a Si/SiO2 substrate, a Ti adhesion layer and a Au-contact layer. WS2 /Au/Ti is commonly used in catalytic and electronic devices, and its thermal stability is important for extended operation and mitigation of breakdown at local hot-spots during operation. The thermal stability is severely impacted by rapid diffusion of Ti into and through the polycrystalline Au. Thin film samples of Au/Ti, with and without an exfoliated WS2 monolayer, were annealed sequentially from 275 to 625 °C in vacuum. The near-surface chemical information was extracted with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy for each annealing step. Ti from the sticking layer, which is buried under 25 nm of Au, diffuses into the near surface region, and initiates a wide range of reactions forming: Ti oxide, carbide, sulfide and a Ti-Au alloy, mainly Au2Ti. WS2 experiences S loss for T > 350 °C and forms Ti-sulfide for T > 600 °C. Higher thermal loads spanning the same temperature range lead to coalescence within the nanocrystalline Au layer, limiting grain boundary diffusion of Ti. The results provide insight on the stability of the WS2/Au/Ti material system which impacts its performance in catalytic and electronic applications.
Celebrating Cuba! Collaborating to Provide Global Access to the Cuban National Library's Catalog Records

This article outlines a highly collaborative effort among the Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba Jose Marti (BNJM), the University of Florida's George A. Smathers Libraries, and OCLC to open the Cuban nat...
Characterization of Carcass Color Differences Between Hens (Small Birds) and Meat-Type Male Pheasants (Large Birds)

The underlying changes in hen carcass color upon freezing were compared with the color of meat-type male pheasants upon freezing. Chemical and physical assessments of these two pheasant types (n=5) and the effects of different chilling methods on hen carcasses (n=10) were evaluated. The results showed that hen carcasses exhibited more red pigmentation (myoglobin, hemoglobin), as well as significantly higher pH values and redness, than the carcasses from meat-type pheasants. The moisture content was higher in hens than in meat-type pheasants, especially in the skin. The intermediate fiber (IIA) type was the only type found in the pectoralis major muscle, regardless of pheasant type. Chilling method significantly changed the color attributes of the hen carcass. Immersion chilling decreased skin redness (less pigmentation and Commission Internationale de l Eclairage [CIE] a*); the breast meat was less red than that from the chilling-in-a-bag condition. The skin had substantially higher levels of red pigmentation than the breast muscles, irrespective of the pheasant type and chilling method (P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that the more intense red appearance may be related to a combination of greater residual hemoglobin levels and higher pH within the skin. The greater moisture content of the skin may have facilitated the development of greater transparency to the darker, more red breast muscle.
Leveraging the Electronic Health Record to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues its global spread. Coordinated effort on a vast scale is required to halt its progression and to save lives. Electronic health record (EHR) data are a valuable resource to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. We review how the EHR could be used for disease surveillance and contact tracing. When linked to "omics" data, the EHR could facilitate identification of genetic susceptibility variants, leading to insights into risk factors, disease complications, and drug repurposing. Real-time monitoring of patients could enable early detection of potential complications, informing appropriate interventions and therapy. We reviewed relevant articles from PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar searches as well as preprint servers, given the rapidly evolving understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pedestrian Safety Versus Traffic Flow: Finding the Balance

Pedestrian safety is an issue in many urbanized areas throughout the world. While this is recognized by policymakers, many tend to focus more on traffic congestion and finding solutions to improve traffic flow. These two objectives are often in conflict in urban areas. This paper outlines the early history of this conflict in Great Britain and the USA leading up to the development of engineering guidelines focused on improving traffic flow and the level of service in cities, guidelines that are replicated in many developing countries. New safety manuals are being developed and some of the flaws with these are also highlighted, primarily that they tend to ignore behavioral adaptation that can occur in response to safety policies. This is followed by a review of research examining safety trends and policies that have successfully reduced fatalities. This research also suggests that the construction of large arterial and collector roads is counterproductive, despite the recommendations in engineering guidance. Pedestrian casualties and their severity are then discussed, with findings that show that larger, high-speed roads tend to result in more severe injuries and that various features of urban environments are beneficial for pedestrian safety. Various problems with the data available for conducting this type of analysis, especially pedestrian fatality data, make the rigorous tracking of such information problematic. Solutions to improving traffic and pedestrian safety are then highlighted, including shared space concepts, complete streets, and road diets that reduce the flow of traffic. A cost/benefit analysis of a road diet is evaluated showing that for the case studied, the safety benefits are overwhelmingly positive, with only minor costs associated with extra traffic delay. In closing, the implications for rapidly developing countries are briefly discussed with a warning not to follow the path of some western countries.
Engineering insects from the endosymbiont out

Insects are an incredibly diverse group of animals with species that benefit and harm natural ecosystems, agriculture, and human health. Many insects have consequential associations with microbes: bacterial symbionts may be embedded in different insect tissues and cell types, inherited across insect generations, and required for insect survival and reproduction. Genetically engineering insect symbionts is key to understanding and harnessing these associations. We summarize different types of insect–bacteria relationships and review methods used to genetically modify endosymbiont and gut symbiont species. Finally, we discuss recent studies that use this approach to study symbioses, manipulate insect–microbe interactions, and influence insect biology. Further progress in insect symbiont engineering promises to solve societal challenges, ranging from controlling pests to protecting pollinator health.
A Time to Adapt, Not “Return to Normal”: Lessons in Compassion and Accessibility from Teaching During COVID-19

COVID-19 drastically altered teaching and learning. The unprecedented public health crisis forced educators to transition courses online, to learn new technologies, and to embrace adaptability and ...
Safety and efficacy of cryoballoon versus radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation in elderly patients: A real-world evidence.

BACKGROUND There are limited data describing the experience of radiofrequency (RF) vs. cryoballoon (CB) ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) among elderly patients in the United States. METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients ≥75 years of age undergoing index RF vs. CB ablation between January 2014 and May 2020 at our center. The choice of ablation technique was left to the operator's discretion. Major complications and efficacy, defined as freedom from any atrial tachyarrhythmia (ATA) lasting ≥30 seconds after one year of follow-up, were assessed in patients with index RF vs. CB ablation. RESULTS In our cohort of 186 patients, the median age was 78 (76-81) years, 54.8% were men, and 39.2% had persistent AF. The median CHA2DS2-VASc score was 4 (3-4), while the median duration of AF was 3 (1-7) years. The majority (n = 112, 60.2%) underwent RF ablation. The median procedure time was significantly lower in CB group (197 vs 226.5 minutes, p=<0.01). The incidence of complications was similar in the two sub-groups (RF: 1.8% vs. CB: 2.7%, p = 0.67). Similarly, arrhythmia-free survival rate on antiarrhythmic drugs at 1-year follow-up remained statistically comparable (63.4% vs. 68.9%, p = 0.33) between patients receiving RF vs. CB ablation. CONCLUSION The safety and efficacy of RF vs. CB ablation for AF remained comparable in our cohort of patients older than 75 years. CB ablation was associated with a shorter procedure time.
Recent trends in carbon nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors for biomolecules: A review

Carbon nanomaterials are advantageous for electrochemical sensors because they increase the electroactive surface area, enhance electron transfer, and promote adsorption of molecules. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been incorporated into electrochemical sensors for biomolecules and strategies have included the traditional dip coating and drop casting methods, direct growth of CNTs on electrodes and the use of CNT fibers and yarns made exclusively of CNTs. Recent research has also focused on utilizing many new types of carbon nanomaterials beyond CNTs. Forms of graphene are now increasingly popular for sensors including reduced graphene oxide, carbon nanohorns, graphene nanofoams, graphene nanorods, and graphene nanoflowers. In this review, we compare different carbon nanomaterial strategies for creating electrochemical sensors for biomolecules. Analytes covered include neurotransmitters and neurochemicals, such as dopamine, ascorbic acid, and serotonin; hydrogen peroxide; proteins, such as biomarkers; and DNA. The review also addresses enzyme-based electrodes that are used to detect non-electroactive species such as glucose, alcohols, and proteins. Finally, we analyze some of the future directions for the field, pointing out gaps in fundamental understanding of electron transfer to carbon nanomaterials and the need for more practical implementation of sensors.
The Ehrenfeucht-Mycielski sequence

We study the disjunctive binary sequence introduced by Ehrenfeucht and Mycielski in [1]. The match length associated to the bits of the sequence is shown to be a crucial tool in the analysis of the sequence. We show that the match length between two consecutive bits in the sequence differs at most by 1 and give a lower bound for the limiting density of the sequence. Experimental computation in the automata package has been very helpful in developing these results.
Compressing Elevation Data

This paper compares several, text and image, lossless and lossy, compression techniques for regular gridded elevation data, such as DEMs. Sp_compress and progcode, the best lossless methods average 2.0 bits per point on USGS DEMs, about half the size of gzipped files, and 6.2 bits per point on ETOPO5 samples. Lossy compression produces even smaller files at moderate error rates. Finally, some technques for compressing TINs will be introduced.
Gestational Alcohol Exposure and Other Factors Associated With Continued Teenage Drinking

Purpose. A longitudinal cohort of adolescents who initiated drinking before age 15 were studied to determine which factors distinguished between early initiators who continued to drink (persisters) from those who stopped drinking (desisters). There were 308 early initiators in the total sample (n = 917); 247 were persisters, and 61 were desisters. Method. A stepwise discriminant analysis identified differences between the two groups. Considered risk/protective factors were parenting practices, peer drinking, child and maternal depression, child behavior, prenatal alcohol exposure, home environment, and demographic factors. Results. Desistence was significantly related to African American race and more parental strictness. Exposure to ≥1 drink/day during pregnancy and high levels of autonomy from parents were significant predictors of persistent drinking. Conclusions. Early initiation places adolescents at risk for continued and heavier drinking. Identifying characteristics of those who start early but do ...
Effects of subducting seafloor roughness on upper plate vertical tectonism: Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

[1] Subduction of seamounts and ridges along thinly sedimented convergent margins results in deformation of the overriding forearc. Exposures of newly recognized late Pleistocene, shallow water deposits (i.e., Marenco formation) record intervals of rapid subsidence and uplift across the Costa Rican forearc inboard of the subducting Cocos Ridge. In general, the Marenco formation is a fining upward, fossiliferious, late Pleistocene, marine sand disconformably overlying beveled surfaces cut across the competent Osa melange basement. The ∼50 to 27 ka age of the Marenco formation is constrained by 12 accelerator mass spectrometry and two conventional 14C dates obtained on marine macrofossils. The deposition of this sequence coincident with a general fall in sea level during oxygen isotope stage 3 requires >6 mm yr−1 subsidence inboard of the northwest flank of the subducting Cocos Ridge. Presently, exposures of the Marenco formation are found at >75 m above sea level, requiring uplift rates in excess of 6 mm yr−1. We interpret the down and up history of vertical tectonism recorded by the Marenco formation as the response of the upper plate to variations in the elevation of the subducting Cocos Ridge. On the basis of a model where the upper plate deforms through bends because of roughness on a rigid downgoing plate, the rate, duration, and spatial distribution of vertical tectonism across the forearc are determined by the magnitude of the orthogonal component of the relative convergence vector and the bathymetry of the underthrusting plate. Application of this model to bathymetric data for the Cocos plate offshore yields a broad agreement between predicted future rates of subsidence and uplift and rates over the last 50 kyr recorded by the Marenco formation. Furthermore, analysis suggests that the arrival of the blunt-tipped leading edge of the Cocos Ridge (0.5–3 Ma) resulted in an initial period of very rapid (∼30 mm yr−1) uplift.
Property Rules versus Liability Rules

A fundamental legal problem is whether property rights should be protected by property rules or by liability rules. In this Article, we provide a systematic economic analysis of the choice between property and liability rules. We answer a basic question: why is it that liability rules are commonly used in the context of harmful externalities (such as pollution and automobile accidents), whereas property rules are generally employed to protect possessors of things against potential takers? In the course of our analysis, we demonstrate that many commonly held beliefs about property and liability rules are mistaken. Our analysis is also relevant to policy; for example, we show that in important contexts liability rules (and pollution taxes) are more efficient than property rules (including much regulation) even when damages must be set using only limited information about harm.
Experimental investigations on fracture of polymers

This article describes the experimental investigations on fracture of a polymeric material under various uniaxial and biaxial stress fields, at controlled rates of loading. The biaxial stress fields have been produced by subjecting tubular specimens to pure internal pressure, internal pressure combined with tension loading, pure torsion and torsion combined with tension loadings. The experimental arrangements developed for conducting the above tests have been described. Examination of fractured specimen subjected to various biaxial stress fields indicates that the fractured surface is mostly along the plane of maximum normal stress. However, the mode of fracture in the case of pure compression test resembles that of a brittle material. From the experimental fracture data, limiting failure curves for the material have been obtained corresponding to various maximum extension ratio rates. The experimental failure data were compared with various criteria of failure essentially developed for metals. It was found that none of the classical failure criteria applies to the material tested.
Does BLM helicase unwind nucleosomal DNA

RecQ helicases maintain chromosome stability by resolving several highly specific DNA structures. BLM, the protein mutated in Bloom’s syndrome, is a member of the RecQ helicase family, and possesse...
Improved atmospheric compensation of hyperspectral imagery using LIDAR

Atmospheric compensation of hyperspectral data is important to a number of critical applications such as spectral unmixing and material identification. Current methods perform well at mitigating effects due to sunlight, skylight, and upwelled radiance, but these methods have no information about the geometric properties of the area being imaged. These geometric properties such as line-of-sight to the sun and sky are typically unknown to the standard atmospheric compensation techniques. This research proposes using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems to provide a three-dimensional model of the area being imaged. This geometric model is combined with methods such as ELM to provide an improved atmospheric compensation technique that cannot be done with ELM alone. Results demonstrate the improved estimation of reflectance signatures and their effect on subpixel detection applications.
A Gentle Introduction to Risk-Limiting Audits

Risk-limiting audits provide statistical assurance that election outcomes are correct by manually examining portions of the audit trail-paper ballots or voter-verifiable paper records. This article sketches two types of risk-limiting audits, ballot-polling audits and comparison audits, and gives example computations. These audits do not require in-house statistical expertise.
Endothelial cell basal PGI2 release is stimulated by wine in vitro: One mechanism that may mediate the vasoprotective effects of wine

Abstract Wine consumption is correlated with a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease. Experimental model systems have demonstrated that wine reduces platelet reactivity, thrombosis, and vasoconstriction. The objective of this investigation was to determine if a single mechanism could mediate these cardioprotective effects. Prostacyclin and nitric oxide are cell signaling molecules that have been described as inhibitors of vasoconstriction, platelet reactivity, and thrombosis. Endothelial cell release of these molecules was investigated because blood-borne phytochemicals can come in contact with endothelial cells. Cabernet Sauvignon , alcoholized and dealcholized, stimulated bovine aortic endothelial cell release of prostacyclin but not nitric oxide. In addition, concentrations that significantly increased prostacyclin release were equivalent to those previously published as inducers of vasorelaxation. Prostacyclin release seemed to be dependent on basal or subbasal protein kinase C activity and occurred in the presence of the calcium ionophore ionomycin. The conclusion from this study is that if wine acts in vivo as we observed it to in vitro, the ability of wine to inhibit platelet reactivity, thrombosis, and vasoconstriction could be mediated through the single mechanism of wine-induced prostacyclin release.
Energetics based design of small flapping wing air vehicles

In this paper, the energetics of a flapping wing micro air vehicle is analyzed with the objective of design of flapping wing air vehicles. The salient features of this study are: (i) design of an energy storage mechanism in the air vehicle similar to an insect thorax which stores part of the kinetic energy of the wing as elastic potential energy in the thorax during a flapping cycle; (ii) inclusion of simplified aerodynamic wing models and inertia of the mechanism using rigid body modeling techniques; (iii) optimization of parameters of the energy storage mechanism using the dynamic models so that energy input from the external actuators during a flapping cycle is minimized. A series of engineering prototypes based on these studies have been fabricated which justify the use of these mathematical techniques.
Provider perceptions of child deaths.

Background The quality and context of end-of-life care for children are not as well studied as they are for adults. The components of quality care are less clear, and differences between providers' perception of the quality of death are also not well understood. Objective To compare nurse and physician perceptions of the quality of care and events of death of the same children. Design Self-administered surveys following child deaths. Setting Academic, tertiary care, faith-based children's hospital. Participants Seventy-one matched sets of physicians and nurses who had cared for the same child at the time of death. Main Outcome Measures Self-administered survey comprising closed-ended questions on the quality of care based on focus groups. Results Physicians and nurses usually agreed on what had happened for events surrounding the child's care. In general, physicians tended to have more positive views of the death; however, positive reports of the quality of death of these patients were common for all providers. Agreement was high (>75%) for the matched sets with a few exceptions, including questions that asked for a provider's own behavior or expectation (eg, expecting further contact with a patient's family). However, chance-corrected agreement (measured as κ) was low. Conclusions There was a good quality of care at the time of death for most patients, with minimal pain and suffering reported by providers. There were differences in perception explained by roles (physicians vs nurses). Future research should examine differences by provider experience and in other care settings.
Down-regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor in a human colon carcinoma cell line transfected with an antisense expression vector specific for c-src

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is implicated in the angiogenesis of human colon cancer. Recent evidence suggests that factors that regulate VEGF expression may partially depend on c-src-mediated signal transduction pathways. The tyrosine kinase activity of Src is activated in most colon tumors and cell lines. We established stable subclones of the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line HT29 in which Src expression and activity are decreased specifically as a result of a transfected antisense expression vector. This study determined whether VEGF expression is decreased in these cell lines and whether the smaller size and reduced growth rate of antisense vector-transfected cell lines in vivo might result, in part, from reduced vascularization of tumors. Northern blot analysis of these cell lines revealed that VEGF mRNA expression was decreased in proportion to the decrease in Src kinase activity. Under hypoxic conditions, cells with decreased Src activity had a 50-fold increase. VEGF protein in the supernatants of cells was also reduced in antisense transfectants compared with that from parental cells. In nude mice, subcutaneous tumors from antisense transfectants showed a significant reduction in vascularity. These results suggest that Src activity regulates the expression of VEGF in colon tumor cells.
Mammography fixed grid versus reciprocating grid: Evaluation using cadaveric breasts as test objects

In this study we use unfixed cadaveric breasts to obtain mammographyimages with fixed and reciprocating grids. Sheets of acrylic, containing one or more clusters of simulated calcifications and masses, were superimposed on two fresh cadaveric breasts (3.4 and 6.5 cm thick), and were imaged with a fixed grid and a reciprocating grid. Six radiologists, working independently, attempted to identify the number of clusters and/or masses in 114 images containing 139 clusters of simulated calcifications and 42 simulated masses. Thirty‐four of these images were normal, containing no lesions. For the thinner breast, no statistically significant difference was found in the detection of clusters of calcifications in the images produced with the fixed grid compared to those produced with the reciprocating grid. However, for the detection of calcifications in images of the thicker breast, sensitivity of 74% for detection of calcifications when a fixed grid was used was significantly less than sensitivity of 86% when a reciprocating grid was used (P=0.006). The mass detection sensitivity was 91% for images made with a fixed grid compared to 96% for images made with a reciprocating grid, but the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.346). The use of cadaveric breasts as test objects was well accepted by radiologists. Only for the thick cadaveric breast were differences between the two grids significant, and these differences were restricted to the task of finding calcifications.
Quantitative mechanical/chemical imaging of bone from Dmp1 null mice

Dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1) is an acidic noncollagenous protein which plays an important role in mineralized tissue formation. Dmp1 null adult mice are ricketic and osteomalacic and are a model for hypophosphatemic rickets [1]. Mutation in humans results is Autosomal Recessive Hypophosphatic Rickets [1]. The degree of bone mineralization significantly contributes to bone tissue mechanical properties, but precise relationships and interactions between chemical and mechanical variables are unknown. The objective of this study was to relate the differences in chemical properties in the Dmp1 wildtype (WT) and null (KO) mouse femoral cortical bone to their mechanical properties by using FTIR imaging and Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM). Interactive mechanical (elastic modulus) and chemical images (i.e., mineral/matrix ratios) were generated from the same region of bone at a lateral resolution of ˜10 um. Mechanical analysis showed that elastic modulus, 75 percentile around 7.1 GPa, was ˜60% less in Dmp1 KO than that in WT, in which elastic modulus was 75 percentile around 15.2 GPa. The mineral-to-matrix ratios in Dmp1KO (4.96±1.63) were ˜2 times lower than that in Dmp1 WT (8.65±1.14). The mineral crystallinity and collagen crosslink ratios were not significantly different between KO and WT. Conclusions: The results relate the bone elastic modulus changes in Dmp1WT and KO mice with chemical changes within a specific bone site. These measurements provide a new tool for describing the variability of bone chemical and mechanical properties.
An assessment of ion temperature measurements in the boundary of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak and implications for ion fluid heat flux limiters

The ion temperature is not frequently measured in the boundary of magnetic fusion devices. Comparisons among different ion temperature techniques and simulations are even rarer. Here we present a comparison of ion temperature measurements in the boundary of the Alcator C-Mod tokamak from three different diagnostics: charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (CXRS), an ion sensitive probe (ISP), and a retarding field analyzer (RFA). Comparison between CXRS and the ISP along with close examination of the ISP measurements reveals that the ISP is space charge limited. It is thus unable to measure ion temperature in the high density (>1019 m−3) boundary plasma of C-Mod with its present geometry. Comparison of ion temperatures measured by CXRS and the RFA shows fair agreement. Ion and electron parallel heat flow is analyzed with a simple 1D fluid code. The code takes divertor measurements as input and results are compared to the measured ratios of upstream ion to electron temperature, as inferred respectively by CXRS and a Langmuir probe. The analysis reveals the limits of the fluid model at high Knudsen number. The upstream temperature ratio is under predicted by a factor of 2. Heat flux limiters (kinetic corrections) to the fluid model are necessary to match experimental data. The values required are found to be close to those reported in kinetic simulations. The 1D code is benchmarked against the 2D plasma fluid code UEDGE with good agreement.
Accounting for the computational basis of consciousness: a connectionist approach.

This paper argues for an explanation of the mechanistic (computational) basis of consciousness that is based on the distinction between localist (symbolic) representation and distributed representation, the ideas of which have been put forth in the connectionist literature. A model is developed to substantiate and test this approach. The paper also explores the issue of the functional roles of consciousness, in relation to the proposed mechanistic explanation of consciousness. The model, embodying the representational difference, is able to account for the functional role of consciousness, in the form of the synergy between the conscious and the unconscious. The fit between the model and various cognitive phenomena and data (documented in the psychological literatures) is discussed to accentuate the plausibility of the model and its explanation of consciousness. Comparisons with existing models of consciousness are made in the end.
Stabilization in the order I>Br>Cl among trimethylsilylmethyl halides, compared to carbon analogs. Possible role of electronegativity in organosilicon chemistry

Abstract Electronegativities may be used to rationalize the observation that the equilibrium, CH 3 (CH 2 ) 3 I + (CH 3 ) 3 SiCH 2 Cl ⇌ CH 3 (CH 2 ) 3 Cl + (CH 3 ) 3 SiCH 2 I, lies to the right.