cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The fluvial-to-marine transition within the post-rift Lower Cambrian Hardyston Formation, Eastern Pennsylvania, USA

Abstract Identification of fluvial-to-marine transitions is often problematic in Neoproterozoic and Cambrian strata due to the absence of diagnostic, physical, and/or biogenic sedimentary structures. This study highlights the identification of a fluvial-to-marine transition in a post-rift setting. Siliciclastic sediments of the Early Cambrian Hardyston Formation, in eastern Pennsylvania, are assigned into four facies associations (FA A–D), within which a fluvial-to-marine transition can be delimited. The lowermost subdivision, FA A, consists typically of thick-bedded, fining-upward beds of structureless, pebbly conglomerate that grade into structureless sandstone. Within the uppermost FA A, structureless sandstone is replaced by trough and planar, cross-stratified sandstone. FA A is best interpreted as deposits of a bedload-dominated, braided fluvial system. FA B consists of densely packed Skolithos burrows, thick-bedded, normally graded sandstone with rare poorly preserved tabular-planar and trough cross-beds near its upper boundary. Sedimentary structures in FA B are analogous to those found in a shoreface setting. Normally graded beds reflect deposition from waning storm-induced flow, with structured sandstone recording possible fair-weather or post-storm reworking. The fluvial–marine transition lies at the abrupt change from FA A to FA B and is identified by vertical changes from: (1) feldspathic to quartz sandstone, (2) fluvial bar to shoreface storm deposits, and (3) nonbioturbated to bioturbated strata. Additionally, heavy minerals are concentrated along the boundary. FA C is composed of trough cross-stratified conglomerate and sandstone with paleocurrents interpreted as shore-parallel and offshore-directed marine currents. FA C represents a marginal-marine setting reflecting a gradation from FA B to FA D, including characteristics of both Skolithos of FA B and a number of sedimentary structures indicative of FA D. FA D consists of offshore-directed, tabular-planar and trough cross-stratified quartz sandstone separated by thin siltstone–mudstone beds. Some tabular-planar cross-stratified beds contain obliquely oriented ripples on siltstone-draped pause planes. Preserved sinuous-crested dunes with superimposed current ripples cap some cross-bed cosets. The presence of tidal currents is inferred to be the mechanism responsible for the formation of FA D in a probable subtidal marine setting. The Hardyston Formation accumulated in response to thermal or jerky subsidence. Aggradational fluvial deposits developed as a result of the initial Sauk trangression. The fluvial–marine transition most probably records the shoreface retreat unconformity.
Molecular modelling and multisimplex optimization of tocotrienol-rich self emulsified drug delivery systems.

The objective of this study was to optimize a novel tocotrienol (TRF)-rich Self Emulsified Drug Delivery System (SEDDS). In the first part, an unusual phenomenon was investigated. It was observed that by substituting Tween® 80 with Cremophor® EL in the SEDDS it was possible to emulsify > 55% TRF (by weight of the formulation) into submicron (<200 nm) emulsion. With Tween®, only 17.5% of the loaded TRF could be emulsified into crude emulsion. The superiority of Cremophor® was attributed to the special arrangement of the surfactant at the oil/water interface, which was confirmed by modelling and docking studies. In the second part of this study, the composition of the secondary ingredients in the TRF-rich SEDDS were optimized by the modified Multisimplex® approach. SEDDS were manufactured at pre-defined step-size and tested for their dissolution behavior. Testing was performed sequentially until the optimum composition that can emulsify 50% of the loaded TRF into a stable < 150 nm submicron emulsion was obtained. Optimization end-point was identified when the “membership value” approached 1, which was confirmed by a second Multisimplex® run. Overall, this study demonstrated the utility of docking studies and the Multisimplex® approach in product development when little is known about the experimental “design space”.
Polyploidy in mouse embryos derived from in vivo and in vitro fertilization is dependent on the timing of pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG) injection

Nine hundred eighty-seven mouse embryos were cytogenetically analyzed at the two-cell stage to compare aneuploidy rates in embryos derived from both in vivo and in vitro fertilization using two different ovarian stimulation protocols. The rate of polyploidy was significantly ( P
Infrared electrodynamics and ferromagnetism in the topological semiconductors Bi 2 Te 3 and Mn-doped Bi 2 Te 3

We report on infrared (IR) optical experiments on ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Te}}_{3}$ and Mn-doped ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Te}}_{3}$ epitaxial thin films. In the latter film, dilute Mn doping (4.5%) of the topologically nontrivial semiconductor host results in a time-reversal-symmetry-breaking ferromagnetic order below ${T}_{C}=15$ K. Our spectroscopic study shows that both materials share the ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Te}}_{3}$ crystal structure, as well as classification as bulk degenerate semiconductors. Hence the Fermi energy is located in the ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Te}}_{3}$ conduction band in both materials, and furthermore, there is no need to invoke topological surface states to describe the conductivity spectra. We also demonstrate that the Drude oscillator strength gives a simple metric with which to distinguish the possibility of topological surface state origins of the low frequency conductance, and we conclude that in both the pristine and Mn-doped ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Te}}_{3}$ samples the electromagnetic response is indeed dominated by the bulk material properties, rather than those of the surface. An encouraging aspect for taking advantage of the interplay between nontrivial topology and magnetism, however, is that the temperature dependence of the Mn-doped ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Te}}_{3}$ film suggests bulk charge carriers do not play a significant role in mediating ferromagnetism. Thus, a truly insulating bulk may still be suitable for the formation of a ferromagnetic ground state in this dilute magnetic topological semiconductor.
Transgene-mediated suppression of dengue viruses in the salivary glands of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti

Controlled sex-, stage- and tissue-specific expression of antipathogen effector molecules is important for genetic engineering strategies to control mosquito-borne diseases. Adult female salivary glands are involved in pathogen transmission to human hosts and are target sites for expression of antipathogen effector molecules. The Aedes aegypti 30K a and 30K b genes are expressed exclusively in adult female salivary glands and are transcribed divergently from start sites separated by 263 nucleotides. The intergenic, 5'- and 3'-end untranslated regions of both genes are sufficient to express simultaneously two different transgene products in the distal-lateral lobes of the female salivary glands. An antidengue effector gene, membranes no protein (Mnp), driven by the 30K b promoter, expresses an inverted-repeat RNA with sequences derived from the premembrane protein-encoding region of the dengue virus serotype 2 genome and reduces significantly the prevalence and mean intensities of viral infection in mosquito salivary glands and saliva.
Combined Tripod Polishing and Fib Method for Preparing Semiconductor Plan View Specimens

Combining substantial pre-thinning of semiconductor device specimens via tripod polishing, followed by multiple, selective material removal steps with a focussed ion beam (FIB) tool, offers some unique possibilities with regard to preparing plan-view specimens at precise locations in the material below, and in the interconnect layers above, the semiconductor surface. Extension of these methods to other types of specimens in different configurations allows for the fabrication of multiple specimens on the same TEM grid that may not be possible by any other means.
Factors Affecting Physical Activity Behavior in Urban Adults With Arthritis Who Are Predominantly African-American and Female

Background and purpose Physical activity and exercise play a critical role in the management of arthritis. Understanding the factors affecting physical activity and exercise behavior is a necessary first step toward identifying the needs of, and intervention strategies for, people with arthritis. The purpose of this study was to identify factors affecting physical activity and exercise behavior in urban subjects with osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Subjects Seventy-two consecutive subjects were recruited from the rheumatology clinic at a large urban public hospital. The sample was predominantly African American (92%), female (87%), and not working (90%). The subjects' average age was 60.9 years (SD=13.9, range=30-90). Methods Time per day spent sitting or lying down and time per week spent in exercise, leisure, and household activities were determined by individual interview. Self-efficacy, outcome expectations, disability, pain, body mass index, and social support were measured as possible explanatory factors. Results The average daily total activity time was 3.1 hours. Household and leisure activities accounted for 85% of that time. Explanatory factors for physical activity behavior were not the same for subjects with OA and RA, despite similar between-group characteristics. Self-efficacy was present in all of the significant explanatory models. Discussion and conclusion The results indicate that factors that affect physical activity behavior among urban and predominantly African-American adults are dependent upon the type of physical activity and are different for people with OA and RA. Self-efficacy was the most consistent explanatory factor.
Adaptive Sky: A Feature Correspondence Toolbox for a Multi-Instrument, Multi-Platform Distributed Cloud Monitoring Sensor Web

The current suite of spaceborne and in-situ assets, including those deployed by NASA, NOAA, and other groups, provides distributed sensing of the Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land masses. As part of an activity supported through NASA's Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), we have developed techniques that enable such assets to be dynamically combined to form sensor webs that can respond quickly to short-lived events and provide rich multi-modal observations of objects, such as clouds, that are evolving in space and time. A key focus of this work involves relating the observations made by one instrument to the observations made by another instrument. We have applied approaches derived from data mining, computer vision, and machine learning to automatically establish correspondence between different sets of observations. We will describe a number of Earth science scenarios that were used to direct this development and which have benefited from the approach.
A rapid and simple procedure for the depletion of abundant storage proteins from legume seeds to advance proteome analysis: a case study using Glycine max.

2-D analysis of plant proteomes containing thousands of proteins has limited dynamic resolution because only abundant proteins can be detected. Proteomic assessment of the non-abundant proteins within seeds is difficult when 60-80% is storage proteins. Resolution can be improved through sample fractionation using separation techniques based upon different physiological or biochemical principles. We have developed a fast and simple fractionation technique using 10 mM Ca²⁺ to precipitate soybean (Glycine max) seed storage globulins, glycinin and β-conglycinin. This method removes 87±4% of the highly abundant seed proteins from the extract, allowing for 541 previously inconspicuous proteins present in soybean seed to be more detectable (volume increase of greater-than-or-equal50%) using fluorescent detection. Of those 541 enhanced spots, 197 increased more than 2.5-fold when visualized with Coomassie. The majority of those spots were isolated and identified using peptide mass fingerprinting. Fractionation also provided detection of 63 new phosphorylated protein spots and enhanced the visibility of 15 phosphorylated protein spots, using 2-D electrophoretic separation and an in-gel phosphoprotein stain. Application of this methodology toward other legumes, such as peanut, bean, pea, alfalfa and others, also containing high amounts of storage proteins, was examined, and is reported here.
Plantation Enterprise in Colonial South Carolina – By S. Max Edelson

The author of this book is to be congratulated for writing one of the most original works about the colonial South to appear in the last two decades. He focuses on plantations, their owners, and th...
The shapes of Nyquist plots [Lecture Notes]

The Nyquist criterion is a valuable design tool with applications to control systems and circuits. In this paper, it was shown that many Nyquist plots are classical plane curves. Surprisingly, this connection seems to have gone unnoticed. It was determine that the precise shapes of several Nyquist curves and relate them to the shapes of the classical plane curves. Some classical plane curves are related to exactly proper or improper loop transfer functions, which do not roll off at high frequencies and thus are not physical.
Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention With Drug-Eluting Stents Another Chapter in the Stent Controversy

Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (P-PCI) is the preferred reperfusion strategy for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction if it can be performed rapidly by an experienced team.1 Compared with balloon angioplasty, routine bare-metal stent (BMS) implantation decreases risk for target vessel revascularization (TVR) and possibly reduces myocardial reinfarction rates but does not reduce mortality rates.2,3 Therefore, BMS has become the dominant P-PCI strategy, despite initial concern about increased stent thrombosis rates from delayed healing or inadequate late stent apposition due to initial thrombus trapping. Less established is the role of drug-eluting stents (DES) in P-PCI. DES have the potential to further decrease TVR rates but may increase risk for stent thrombosis. In fact, the risk of stent thrombosis might even be higher in P-PCI than in electively treated patients because of the combination of increased platelet activation, delayed healing, lack of endothelialization, and the proinflammatory and prothrombotic environment in the infarct artery.4 Article see p 103 Several relatively small randomized clinical trials have shown inconsistent efficacy for DES over BMS for P-PCI. Three meta-analyses of these trials have concluded that there is no difference in death or myocardial infarction rates, but TVR rates are decreased.5–7 Variably included were 12 studies that differed in trial design, inclusion criteria, end-point definitions, stent types, duration of clopidogrel treatment, and type of follow-up (angiographic versus clinical). They were limited by sample size and duration of follow-up and usually required angiographic documentation of stent thrombosis, which may have underestimated its true incidence. In this issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions , Kukreja et al8 report a single-center registry study that is an expanded version of a previous publication.9 Again including the 185 ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients treated with Sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) from April 2002 to February 2003, they compare …
Effect of Mode-Mixity and Porosity on Interfacial Fracture of Low-k Dielectrics

In this study, we developed a system allowing interfacial adhesion measurements as a function of mode-mixity, from pure tension to pure shear. Results show that the debonding energy increases, by a factor of 3 to 10, as the amount of shear stress increases, approaching mode II conditions. For low k dielectrics, the debonding energy was found to decrease with increasing porosity and increase with increasing plasticity. The crack propagation is also dependent on mode-mixity.
A Systematic Review of Age, Sex, Ethnicity, and Race as Predictors of Violent Recidivism

Recidivism of released prisoners, especially violent recidivism, is an important policy issue. Equally important is an understanding of how demographic risk factors may act as moderators of recidivism. Knowledge of such relationships is important in developing a deeper theoretical understanding of the risk of recidivism as well as identifying points of intervention that may need to be re-oriented to reduce recidivism. The present study conducts a meta-analytic review of the violent recidivism literature focusing on the role of several demographic risk factors. Findings show that age, sex, and race (Whites) were significantly related to violent recidivism. Implications and directions for future research are identified.
DNA-binding orientation and domain conformation of the E. coli rep helicase monomer bound to a partial duplex junction: single-molecule studies of fluorescently labeled enzymes.

Abstract The SF1 DNA helicases are multi-domain proteins that can unwind duplex DNA in reactions that are coupled to ATP binding and hydrolysis. Crystal structures of two such helicases, Escherichia coli Rep and Bacillus stearothermophilus PcrA, show that the 2B sub-domain of these proteins can be found in dramatically different orientations (closed versus open) with respect to the remainder of the protein, suggesting that the 2B domain is highly flexible. By systematically using fluorescence resonance energy transfer at the single-molecule level, we have determined both the orientation of an E. coli Rep monomer bound to a 3′-single-stranded-double-stranded (ss/ds) DNA junction in solution, as well as the relative orientation of its 2B sub-domain. To accomplish this, we developed a highly efficient procedure for site-specific fluorescence labeling of Rep and a bio-friendly immobilization scheme, which preserves its activities. Both ensemble and single-molecule experiments were carried out, although the single-molecule experiments proved to be essential here in providing quantitative distance information that could not be obtained by steady-state ensemble measurements. Using distance-constrained triangulation procedures we demonstrate that in solution the 2B sub-domain of a Rep monomer is primarily in the “closed” conformation when bound to a 3′-ss/ds DNA, similar to the orientation observed in the complex of PcrA bound to a 3′-ss/ds DNA. Previous biochemical studies have shown that a Rep monomer bound to such a 3′-ss/ds DNA substrate is unable to unwind the DNA and that a Rep oligomer is required for helicase activity. Therefore, the closed form of Rep bound to a partial duplex DNA appears to be an inhibited form of the enzyme.
Pediatric orbital tumors

One hundred and sixty-one children with orbital tumors were seen in a clinical pediatric ophthalmology and orbital surgery practice in a 14-year period. Compared to the majority of published series of pediatric orbital tumors, the authors' clinically based series had a much lower incidence of malignant lesions (9.3%). The three most frequent pediatric orbital tumors in their series were dermoid cyst (31%), hemangioma (IlVo), and dermolipoma (7.5%). The actual frequencies of the various types of pediatric orbital tumors are better estimated by a series arising from a community practice setting than from other types of reports.
Oxygen uptake rates in cultured rat hepatocytes

One potential treatment of acute liver failure involves the use of an extracorporeal device composed of functional hepatocytes. A major issue in the design of such a large-scale device is providing the hepatocytes with a sufficient supply of oxygen and other nutrients. In this study, we have designed and characterized a simple perfusion system hepatocytes using this system. The OUR of hepatocytes was determined during the first day after seeding on a single collagen gel and during the long-term stable culture after the addition of a top layer of collagen. The OUR increased to 20.7 +/- 0.57 pmol/sec/microg DNA during the first 13 hours of culture on a single collagen gel, while during the next 11 hours, the OUR declined to 10.6 +/- 1.5 pmol/sec/microg DNA. In parallel with the increase in OUR during the first 10 hours, we observed significant cell spreading, suggesting that the oxygen supply to the cells may be critical for the spreading and adaptation of the anchorage-dependent hepatocytes following isolation. Addition of a top layer of collagen to hepatocyte cultures for 24 hours of culture on a single collagen layer resulted in a stable OUR for 15 days. These results indicate that OUR of hepatocytes in culture may vary depending on the phase of culture (i.e., early vs. late) and on the extracellular environment.
Object segmentation and labeling by learning from examples

We propose a system that employs low-level image segmentation followed by color and two-dimensional (2-D) shape matching to automatically group those low-level segments into objects based on their similarity to a set of example object templates presented by the user. A hierarchical content tree data structure is used for each database image to store matching combinations of low-level regions as objects. The system automatically initializes the content tree with only "elementary nodes" representing homogeneous low-level regions. The "learning" phase refers to labeling of combinations of low-level regions that have resulted in successful color and/or 2-D shape matches with the example template(s). These combinations are labeled as "object nodes" in the hierarchical content tree. Once learning is performed, the speed of second-time retrieval of learned objects in the database increases significantly. The learning step can be performed off-line provided that example objects are given in the form of user interest profiles. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system with hierarchical content tree representation and learning by color and 2-D shape matching on collections of car and face images.
Filtered Social Learning

Knowledge sharing is economically important but also typically incomplete: we “filter” our communication. This paper analyzes the consequences of filtering. In the model, homogeneous agents share knowledge with their peers whenever the private benefits exceed communication costs. The welfare implications of this transmission mechanism hinge on whether units of knowledge complement, substitute for, or are independent of each other. Both substitutability and complementarity generate externalities; cheaper communication eliminates externalities in the former case but not necessarily in the latter. Complementary basic skills such as numeracy catalyze technology adoption, and adoption may be path dependent even when payoffs are certain and independent across agents.
Social capital, ‘trust’ and the role of networks in Julfan trade: informal and semi-formal institutions at work

This essay examines the role of ‘trust’ and cooperation in early modern long-distance trade. While most literature on the subject posits trust as a given attribute of long-distance merchant communities and not as a factor in need of historical explanation or analysis, this essay seeks to provide a historical explanation for the creation and role of trust in such communities. It focuses on the history of Armenian merchants from New Julfa, Isfahan, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The central theoretical model this essay relies upon to explain trust among Julfan Armenian merchants derives from ‘social capital’ theory as elaborated in sociology and economic sociology, as well as theory from the New Institutional Economics associated with the influential work of Avner Greif. Unlike the latter body of work, however, this essay argues that Julfan trust must be understood not solely as an outcome of informal institutions such as reputation-regulating mechanisms discussed by Greif in his work on Maghribi Jews of the medieval period, but also as a result of the simultaneous combination of both informal and semi-formal legal institutions. In the Julfan context, the essay thus focuses on a merchant arbitrage institution known as the Assembly of Merchants, which enabled Julfan merchants to generate and maintain trust, trustworthiness and uniform norms necessary for collective action and cooperation.
On the Sedimentation and Accreditation of Social Knowledges of Difference: Mass Media, Journalism, and the Reproduction of East/West Alterities in Unified Germany

My research on the professional consequences of the post-1989 restructuring of the eastern German media system came to an abrupt halt when I realized that my initial assumption of generalizable East/West differences in professional culture was not being borne out in my interviews and workplace interactions. Of course, there is nothing unusual about a fieldworker's crisis of faith. Ethnography is not a precise business like mathematics, we like to say, and many of us take solace that our paradigms are inevitably always works in progress. But this discovery was particularly troubling to me because East/West difference had always seemed so certain to me as a point of departure for understanding the dynamics of contemporary German society. After retracing the steps of this conviction to see where I had gone astray, I became even more uneasy when I recognized to what degree my "expert" academic judgment of difference was nestled on a foundation of commonsensical notions about German culture and identity. In Germany, this common wisdom, what I would term "intuitive public knowledge," held and still holds that because there are German citizens of eastern and western origin, East/West is a meaningful axis of social classification from which one can infer stable distinctions of culture, behavior, and character, such as East German dim-wittedness versus West German creativity or West German austerity versus East German humanitarianism.' I was
Elastic properties of polycrystalline scandium and thulium sesquioxides

New data are presented on the porosity dependence of the Young's (E) and shear moduli (G) for Sc/sub 2/O/sub 3/ and Tm/sub 2/O/sub 3/. The temperature dependence of the moduli for Sc/sub 2/O/sub 3/ is also presented; that for Tm/sub 2/O/sub 3/ has been reported previously.
When in Doubt, Use Proxies Attitudes toward Domestic Politics and Support for European Integration

This article argues that citizens employ proxies rooted in attitudes about domestic politics when responding to survey questions about the European integration process. It develops a model of publi...
Stochasticity and noise-induced transition of genetic toggle switch

The ability to predict and analyze the function of genetic circuits will enhance the design of autonomous, programmable, complex regulatory genetic structures. An abundance of modeling techniques has recently been developed to delineate simple genetic structures in terms of their constituents. Simple systems with characteristics of feedback inhibition, multi-stability, switching, and oscillatory expression have often been the focus. The present work is an attempt to improve existing deterministic models that fail to oblige to the crucial aspect of noise in genetic modeling. The objective of this work is to analyze, model, and simulate the protein populations in gene expression mechanisms by resorting to stochastic algorithms. The system involves two types of genes; the protein produced from the expression of one gene is capable of turning off the expression of the other gene. Rates of degradation of these proteins are assumed to be proportional to their concentrations. The master equation of this ‘genetic toggle switch’ is formulated using the probabilistic population balance around a particular state and by considering five mutually exclusive events. The efficacy of the present methodology is mainly attributable to the ability to derive the governing equations for the means, variances, and covariance of the random variables by the method of system-size expansion of the nonlinear master Equation. A less laborious approach based on Kurtz’s limit theorems for the derivation of the stochastic characteristics is also presented for comparison. Solving the resultant ordinary differential equations governing the means, variances, and covariance of the master equations simultaneously using the published data yield information concerning not only the means of the two populations of proteins but also the minimal uncertainties of the populations inherent in the expressions. It is demonstrated that systems with small populations are susceptible to large internal fluctuations (or uncertainties) in their population evolution. Large uncertainties are observed after the populations enter the proximity of the saddle node, which is likely to cause transition of system’s steady state from one to another. Independent Monte-Carlo simulation runs clearly demonstrates that the occurrence of such internal noise-induced transition.
Protein turnover during in vitro tissue engineering.

Abstract Repopulating acellular biological scaffolds with phenotypically appropriate cells is a promising approach for regenerating functional tissues and organs. Under this tissue engineering paradigm, reseeded cells are expected to remodel the scaffold by active protein synthesis and degradation; however, the rate and extent of this remodeling remain largely unknown. Here, we present a technique to measure dynamic proteome changes during in vitro remodeling of decellularized tissue by reseeded cells, using vocal fold mucosa as the model system. Decellularization and recellularization were optimized, and a stable isotope labeling strategy was developed to differentiate remnant proteins constituting the original scaffold from proteins newly synthesized by reseeded cells. Turnover of matrix and cellular proteins and the effects of cell–scaffold interaction were elucidated. This technique sheds new light on in vitro tissue remodeling and the process of tissue regeneration, and is readily applicable to other tissue and organ systems.
How Much Income Is Enough? Measuring Public Judgments

How MUCH income is enough? If we are to make sense of this question, we must immediately ask at least three subsidiary questions. First, enough to do what? That is, how much income is enough to achieve a particular standard of living or level of welfare, for example, to "get along" or "not to be poor." Second, enough for whom? People differ in the circumstances that affect their needs for income, such as their family size and retirement status. Finally, enough according to whom? Are we to take the judgments of experts or those of ordinary people considering their own needs or the needs of others? The answers to these questions have important implications for the design and evaluation of income-maintenance and transfer programs and for understanding the mechanism by which objective circumstances, such as income, are translated to subjective well-being. This article considers these questions and the measurement traditions that are associated with their answers, and presents the results of an
Manipulation and Bribery When Aggregating Ranked Preferences

Manipulation and bribery have received much attention from the social choice community. We study these concepts for preference formalisms that identify a set of optimal outcomes rather than a single winning outcome. We assume that preferences may be ranked differ in importance, and we use the Pareto principle adjusted to the case of ranked preferences as the preference aggregation rule. For two important classes of preferences, representing the extreme ends of the spectrum, we provide characterizations of situations when manipulation and bribery is possible, and establish the complexity of the problems to decide that.
Unsupervised individual tree crown detection in high-resolution satellite imagery.

Rapidly and accurately detecting individual tree crowns in satellite imagery is a critical need for monitoring and characterizing forest resources. We present a two-stage semiautomated approach for detecting individual tree crowns using high spatial resolution (0.6 m) satellite imagery. First, active contours are used to recognize tree canopy areas in a normalized difference vegetation index image. Given the image areas corresponding to tree canopies, we then identify individual tree crowns as local extrema points in the Laplacian of Gaussian scale-space pyramid. The approach simultaneously detects tree crown centers and estimates tree crown sizes, parameters critical to multiple ecosystem models. As a demonstration, we used a ground validated, 0.6 m resolution QuickBird image of a sparse forest site. The two-stage approach produced a tree count estimate with an accuracy of 78% for a naturally regenerating forest with irregularly spaced trees, a success rate equivalent to or better than existing approaches. In addition, our approach detects tree canopy areas and individual tree crowns in an unsupervised manner and helps identify overlapping crowns. The method also demonstrates significant potential for further improvement.
Advice to the President: Addressing a Financial Crisis in the First Year

If confronted with a major financial crisis in the first year of his or her first term, what should the new President do? This essay explores the history of some of the financial crises in the United States and offers lessons for the new administration to help it prepare for such events during its first year. Eight episodes from history frame recommendations in respect to policies and priorities, processes, personnel, and politics. The sweep of history shows a trend of rising presidential intervention in material financial crises. The best presidential responses were agile, not doctrinaire, were strategic, not tactical; and promoted transparency, not opacity. This essay is part of an issue basket entitled “America’s Fiscal and Financial Future” and was commissioned by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.
A masquerader? Paecilomyces must be distinguished from Penicillium in fungal keratitis: a report of two contrasting cases

We describe the clinical outcomes of two contrasting cases of fungal keratitis due to Paecilomyces spp. The first case involving a 58-year-old woman was complicated by an initial laboratory misidentification as Penicillium and consequently a delay in treatment with an optimised antifungal regimen. The patient had a protracted clinical course that required a total of four penetrating keratoplasties. However, an accurate diagnosis was promptly made in the second case, a 46-year-old woman, which resulted in a satisfactory outcome after penetrating keratoplasty. Our principal aim was to highlight a diagnostic challenge relating to the accurate microbial identification of Paecilomyces spp. This can be difficult given its morphological similarity to Pencillium, and confusion over the two genera has resulted in misdiagnoses reported previously. Our report aims to raise awareness of this potential laboratory misidentification, which can affect clinical decision-making in guiding antimicrobial therapy.
Field and laboratory efficacy studies of erythrosin B for Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) and Drosophila robusta (Diptera: Drosophilidae) control

A 1.0% liquid bait formulation of erythrosin B was tested for house fly, Musca domestica L., control in one room of an environmentally controlled caged-layer poultry facility. Reduced fly numbers were recorded between day 14 and day 17 in the room treated with erythrosin B, after 17 d populations increased significantly in treatment and control rooms. Increasing the light intensity to 188 or 386 lm/m squared for 8 h a day or increasing bait stations from one station per 87 m3 to one station per 70 m2 had no effect on developing house fly populations. Annoying levels of a vinegar fly, Drosophila robusta group, developed in the poultry facility during the study. Populations increased to greater than 400 adults/m2 of wall surface by day 15, then declined in the treatment room to less than 1 adult/m2 by day 33. Mortality of house flies that had ingested a 1.0% liquid formulation of erythrosin B was recorded under laboratory light intensities of 51, 532, and 1,030 lm/m2. All three intensities resulted in mortality significantly higher than the control, but mortality among the light intensity treatments did not differ significantly. When house flies were supplied water with erythrosin B, mortality did not differ significantly from that of the control.
DIFFUSE ALVEOLAR HEMORRHAGE SECONDARY TO AMIODARONE TOXICITY: A RARE CAUSE OF CARDIOPULMONARY DECOMPENSATION IN CHRONIC SYSTOLIC HEART FAILURE

Amiodarone is used for prevention of recurrent ventricular arrhythmias in patients with heart failure. It is generally well tolerated; pulmonary toxicity is usually chronic in nature. Rarely, amiodarone can cause acute diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) and respiratory failure. Withdrawal of the drug
Augmented Natriuretic Response to Infusion of Saline in Dogs Rendered Acutely Hypertensive with Metaraminol

SummaryThe mechanism of the exaggerated natriuretic response to saline infusion exhibited by hypertensive subjects is not understood. An attempt was therefore made to reproduce this phenomenon in laboratory animals rendered hypertensive by pharmacologic means. Six mongrel dogs were studied. Their natriuretic response to saline infusion at a rate of 1 ml per minute was determined. The same dogs were restudied while their blood pressure was elevated with metaraminol. An enhanced natriuretic response to normal saline infusion was observed in 5 out of the 6 dogs made acutely hypertensive with metaraminol. The demonstration that exaggerated natriuresis may be induced in a species other than man makes available an experimental model for further study of this phenomenon. The present observations support previous evidence in man that exaggerated natriuresis depends on the presence of elevated blood pressure alone and is independent of the cause of the hypertension. From the acute nature of the present experiment ...
Analysis of a Second-Order Relative Motion Lambert Solver

In classical orbital mechanics, the Lambert problem consists of computing the full state of an orbiting body given two positions and the time elapsed between them. Similarly, a relative Lambert problem may cast to determine the relative velocity given two relative positions and the time elapsed between them. When considering linear relative dynamics, the relative Lambert problem may be solved analytically using matrix inversion. In this work, an analytic solution to the relative Lambert problem is derived using second-order Clohessy-Wiltshire equations and is applied directly in the relative frame. The problem is represented geometrically by the intersection of three quadric surfaces. The associated multivariate algebraic set is solved non-iteratively using Macaulay resultant expressions to high accuracy. The method is compared to the linear relative Lambert method as well as the classic Lambert routine.
Effects of age and gender upon Doppler stress measurements at rest and during exercise in normal subjects

As Doppler echocardiography becomes more popular as a non-invasive tool to assess left ventricular function, the need to develop a body of normal reference measurements becomes more important. In particular, it is crucial to define the effects on Doppler measurements of variables such as age, gender, body surface area, heart rate, loading conditions and contractility. For example, using M-mode echocardiography, investigators have previously demonstrated [1–4] a relationship between both age and body surface area and measurements of left ventricular, left atrial and aortic root dimensions, and left ventricular wall thickness. Body surface area, of course, has a close relationship to gender, males usually having larger body surface areas than females. Heart rate and loading conditions have also been documented to be related to cardiac chamber dimensions [5]. The purpose of this chapter is to assess in normal subjects the relationships, during both rest and exercise, between Doppler systolic flow velocity measurements and age, gender, and body surface area.
Home Visiting Interventions to Promote Values That Support School Success

The challenges, evaluation, and sustainability of home-visiting programs in the USA and worldwide are extensively discussed elsewhere in this book. This chapter focuses in greater detail on specific goals for home visits related to education in three particular settings. Here I want to draw attention to why these studies relied on home visits and what benefits resulted in terms of participant receptivity, project design, and achievement of objectives. The three projects reported here are similar in that they promote home–school connections, focus on parent–teacher communication, and involve Latino families, school participants, and a home–school mediator or liaison.
FPGA-Based Rate-Compatible LDPC Codes for the Next Generation of Optical Transmission Systems

In this paper, we propose a rate-compatible forward error-correcting (FEC) scheme based on low-density-parity check (LDPC) codes together with its software reconfigurable unified field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture. By FPGA emulation, we demonstrate that the proposed class of rate-compatible LDPC codes based on puncturing and generalized LDPC coding with an overhead from 25% to 46% provides a coding gain ranging from 12.67 to 13.8 dB at a post-FEC bit-error rate (BER) of 10−15. As a result, the proposed rate-compatible codes represent one of the strong FEC candidates of soft-decision FEC for both short-haul and long-haul optical transmission systems.
Goodwill: The Illusion of Value?

This paper examines the illusion of value generated by the booking of accounting goodwill and its impact as a driver of top line and bottom line growth in an otherwise satiated market.“Packaging is everything” is the popular phrase. “It holds truth regarding the illusion of value.” (The Illusion of Value, January 12, 2015)
Designing a Social Robot to Assist in Medication Sorting

Being able to sort one’s own medications is a critical self-management task for people with Parkinson’s disease. We analyzed the medication sorting task and gathered design considerations. Then we developed an autonomous robot to assist in the task. We used guidelines provided by occupational therapists to determine the level of assistance provided by the robot. Finally, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the robot with student evaluators determined that people trusted the robot to reliably assist and that people had a positive emotional experience completing the task.
The Mental Health Treatment of Minors: A New Approach in South Dakota

This article begins by addressing the plight of minors with emotional disorders. It describes the increasing reliance on psychiatric hospitalization for disturbed minors, many of whom do not suffer from the serious mental disorders traditionally associated with inpatient treatment. Social and economic factors that have generated an increased demand for institutional services are next examined. Further, federal and state legal systems which erect few barriers to the institutionalization of minors are described.The article then attempts an exhaustive analysis of one state's novel approach designed to encourage the development of an organized and comprehensive system of community care for disturbed minors by legislatively requiring interagency cooperation in service planning and provision. Also examined is new legislation regulating third-party admissions and the involuntary commitment of minors to both public and private inpatient psychiatric facilities. Not only are admissions criteria addressed, but also new standards for the provision of treatments, obtaining consent, and the right to refuse certain psychiatric interventions are analyzed.
Deciphering the Magnitude of Current Steps in Electrochemical Blocking Collision Experiments and Its Implications

Abstract The magnitude of the current steps due to blocking collisions is shown to be proportional to the square of the particle size, the concentration of the redox mediator, and inversely proportional to the size of the indicator electrode. A theoretical model and a simple analytical expression have been developed that allow for estimation of the average value of the current step magnitude in blocking collisions. Thus, it is now possible to directly relate the size of the analyte to the size of the average current step without worrying about the edge effect. It is proposed that by using the developed model and equations one could monitor the state of analyte species in solution, i.e., whether it is aggregated or not.
The Freshness of First Sessions

First meetings have a great potential if we know how to bring it out. Winnicott (1971b) certainly knew, from his work with children: I was struck by the frequency with which the children had dreamed of me the night before attending. . . here I was, as I discovered to my amusement, fitting in with a preconceived notion. . . Either this sacred moment is used or it is wasted. (pp. 4–5)
RNAseq Analysis of the Drosophila Response to the Entomopathogenic Nematode Steinernema.

Drosophila melanogaster is an outstanding model to study the molecular and functional basis of host–pathogen interactions. Currently, our knowledge of microbial infections in D. melanogaster is well understood; however, the response of flies to nematode infections is still in its infancy. Here, we have used the potent parasitic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae, which lives in mutualism with its endosymbiotic bacteria Xenorhabdus nematophila, to examine the transcriptomic basis of the interaction between D. melanogaster and entomopathogenic nematodes. We have employed next-generation RNA sequencing (RNAseq) to investigate the transcriptomic profile of D. melanogaster larvae in response to infection by S. carpocapsae symbiotic (carrying X. nematophila) or axenic (lacking X. nematophila) nematodes. Bioinformatic analyses have identified the strong induction of genes that are associated with the peritrophic membrane and the stress response, as well as several genes that participate in developmental processes. We have also found that genes with different biological functions are enriched in D. melanogaster larvae responding to either symbiotic or axenic nematodes. We further show that while symbiotic nematode infection enriched certain known immune-related genes, axenic nematode infection enriched several genes associated with chitin binding, lipid metabolic functions, and neuroactive ligand receptors. In addition, we have identified genes with a potential role in nematode recognition and genes with potential antinematode activity. Findings from this study will undoubtedly set the stage for the identification of key regulators of antinematode immune mechanisms in D. melanogaster, as well as in other insects of socioeconomic importance.