cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Central Place Foraging by Beavers (Castor canadensis) in a Complex Lake Habitat

Beavers (Castor canadensis) are important as ecosystem engineers and are useful model organisms for testing central-place foraging theory. Much previous work has done this in controlled situations, whereas here we tested predictions in a complex natural habitat by collecting data on beaver-cut and uncut trees in sites at various distances from an isolated beaver lodge on a large reservoir. The most basic theoretical predictions are that selectivity of predators should increase with distance from the central place and that preferred prey size should increase with distance. Consistent with the first prediction, beavers were more selective for preferred tree species when foraging far from shore or at sites some distance from their lodge than when near the shore or at sites near their lodge. Consistent with both predictions, beavers were more selective for particular sizes of trees and selected larger sizes of trees as distance from the shore increased. Overall, beavers showed a preference for intermediate tree sizes, avoiding both very large and very small trees, but as distance from shore increased, beavers cut fewer trees from the smaller end of this size range and more from the upper end in such a manner as to increase both selectivity and mean size. Similarly and within this same size range, as distance from the lodge through the water increased, beavers cut larger trees at greater distances due to reduced cutting of small trees and increased cutting of larger ones. In this case, however, overall selectivity did not increase, just an increase in the size selected. Overall, then, our study shows that central-place foraging theory can predict the behavior of beavers foraging in a complex natural landscape, and the patterns observed have implications for how beavers might influence tree species composition in forests.
Making Sense of the Environment: The Role of Perceived Effectiveness

This manuscript develops and explores two ideas: (1) that perceptions of environmental uncertainty are after-the-fact rationalizations used by decision makers to explain strong or weak effectiveness assessments, and (2) that different contexts motivate different sense-making outcomes. The findings, based on a sample of senior decision makers from 34 firms in two industries, suggest that assessments of effectiveness and perceptions of environmental uncertainty are related through decision makers' sense-making efforts. The manuscript also addresses the limitations and implications of these results.
Do asylum recognition rates in Europe respond to transnational terrorism? The migration-security nexus revisited

Scholars assume that transnational terrorism has culminated in policy securitization with expansive restrictions on migration. I evaluate the impact of transnational terrorism on asylum recognition among European Union and Schengen member-states from 1980 until 2007. I unpack the impact of terrorism according to the location of incidents. The article illustrates that policy tightening is more pronounced when recipient states experience terrorism on their own soil or against their citizens. In contrast, measuring transnational terrorism as attacks worldwide mutes the impact of security concerns. The findings show that policy stringency is not directed against particular sources of terrorism and demonstrates that the humanitarian principles underpinning asylum recognition have not been eroded by terrorism. The article thus represents an important step in differentiating between channels of impact whereby transnational terror shapes policy outcomes.
Surface Structure of CdSe Nanorods Revealed by Combined X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Measurements and ab Initio Calculations

We report orientation-specific, surface-sensitive structural characterization of colloidal CdSe nanorods with extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and ab initio density functional theory calculations. Our measurements of crystallographically aligned CdSe nanorods show that they have reconstructed Cd-rich surfaces. They exhibit orientation-dependent changes in interatomic distances which are qualitatively reproduced by our calculations. These calculations reveal that the measured interatomic distance anisotropy originates from the nanorod surface.
Parasitic modeling and noise mitigation in advanced RF/mixed-signal silicon germanium processes

The potential for highly integrated radio frequency (RF) and mixed-signal (AMS) designs is today very real with the availability cost-effective scaled silicon-germanium (SiGe) process technologies. However, the lack of effective parasitic modeling and noise mitigation significantly restrict opportunities for integration, due to a lack of computer-aided design solutions and practical guidance for designers. This tutorial paper provides a broad in-depth coverage of the key technical areas that designers need to understand in estimating and mitigating IC parasitic effects. A detailed analysis of the parasitic effects in passive devices, the interconnect (including transmission line modeling) and substrate impedance, and isolation estimation is presented-referencing a large number of key publications in these areas.
Vasopressin inhibits calcium-coupled sodium efflux system in rat brain

Centrally released vasopressin plays an important role in the regulation of brain water and electrolyte composition and can affect brain intracellular pH and ATP synthesis in vivo. In this study, we evaluated the effects of [Arg8]vasopressin (AVP) on the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger, an important pathway in the regulation of cell Ca2+ concentration. It was found that AVP inhibited the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger in rat brain synaptosomes. This effect was completely blocked by the vasopressin V1-receptor antagonist d(CH2)5[(O-Me) Tyr2, Arg8]vasopressin. In addition, the vasopressin V2-receptor agonist 1-desamino-8-D-arginine vasopressin had no effect on the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger in rat brain synaptosomes. Depletion of intracellular Ca2+ by caffeine also had no effect on the effect of AVP on the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger. Na+ uptake by other pathways was also evaluated. It was found that AVP had no effect on Na+ uptake by pathways other than the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger. It is concluded that AVP inhibits the Na(+)-Ca2+ exchanger in neuronal membranes through vasopressin V1 receptors. Since this pathway is important in the regulation of cell volume and cytosolic Ca2+ in excitable tissue, AVP may impair neuronal cell repolarization in the central nervous system.
Nanotechnology in China

China seems to show a remarkable development in nanotechnology alongside with India. We would like to start summarizing this journey with first a sour note from Cong Cao (2009) by mentioning some of his ideas as to why these celebrated efforts by a developing country might lack some stable future.
Word sense induction by community detection

Word Sense Induction (WSI) is an unsupervised approach for learning the multiple senses of a word. Graph-based approaches to WSI frequently represent word co-occurrence as a graph and use the statistical properties of the graph to identify the senses. We reinterpret graph-based WSI as community detection, a well studied problem in network science. The relations in the co-occurrence graph give rise to word communities, which distinguish senses. Our results show competitive performance on the SemEval-2010 WSI Task.
Higher order fermionic and bosonic operators

This paper studies a particular class of higher order conformally invariant differential operators and related integral operators acting on functions taking values in particular finite dimensional irreducible representations of the Spin group. The differential operators can be seen as a generalization to higher spin spaces of kth-powers of the Euclidean Dirac operator. To construct these operators, we use the framework of higher spin theory in Clifford analysis, in which irreducible representations of the Spin group are realized as polynomial spaces satisfying a particular system of differential equations. As a consequence, these operators act on functions taking values in the space of homogeneous harmonic or monogenic polynomials depending on the order. Moreover, we classify these operators in analogy with the quantization of angular momentum in quantum mechanics to unify the terminology used in studying higher order higher spin conformally invariant operators: for integer and half-integer spin, these are respectively bosonic and fermionic operators. Specifically, we generalize arbitrary powers of the Dirac and Laplace operators respectively to spin-\(\frac {3}{2}\) and spin-1.
The New Governance: 2015 Pomerantz Lecture

Corporate governance mechanisms designed to ensure that managers act in shareholders’ interest have evolved dramatically over the past forty years. “Old governance” mechanisms such as independent directors and performance-based executive compensation have been supplemented by innovations that give shareholders greater input into both the selection of directors and ongoing operational decisions. Issuer boards have responded with tools to limit the exercise of shareholder power both procedurally and substantively. This article terms the adoption and use of these tools, which generally take the form of structural provisions in the corporate charter or bylaws, the “new governance.”Delaware law has largely taken a hands-off approach to the new governance. The courts have policed shareholder innovations that interfere unduly with board authority and have invalidated board innovations that are extreme or adopted for an inequitable purpose. For the most part, however, the law has deferred to private ordering – leaving individual firms to structure their governance mechanisms as they see fit, with market discipline forming the primary constraint. In 2015, however, the Delaware legislature responded to the growth of bylaws designed to control the extent of shareholder litigation with an unusual step; it amended the statute to impose mandatory limits on litigation bylaw and charter provisions that went beyond the constraints imposed by the Delaware courts and that could not be altered by individual firms. It is difficult to reconcile the legislature’s action in light of Delaware’s traditional deference to the courts and the market.This article argues that the legislature’s response to litigation bylaws is best understood as a mandate that corporations who seek to avail themselves of Delaware law by incorporating within the state submit to the full package of Delaware corporate law – a package that includes both statutory provisions and oversight by the Delaware courts. In that light, the legislation should not be understood as signalling an intention to subject the new governance to greater oversight.
Modulation of gasp frequency by activation of pre-Bötzinger complex in vivo.

Under hyperoxic conditions, both chemical stimulation of neurons and focal hypoxia in the pre-Botzinger complex (pre-BotC) in vivo modify the eupneic pattern of inspiratory motor output by elicitin...
IL-10R blockade enhances effector and memory CD4+ T cell responses during persistent bacterial infection (MPF6P.733)

Several bacterial pathogens have evolved to establish persistent infection in their hosts through suppression of host immune responses. IL-10 has emerged as a key immune-regulator during infection with various pathogens. Ehrlichia are tick transmitted bacteria that establish persistent infection in their natural reservoir hosts. In the present study, we analyzed the role of IL-10 in the development of immune responses and subsequent long-term protection against persistent ehrlichial infection in a murine model. We demonstrate that IL-10 secretion leads to reduced inflammatory responses and bacterial clearance and it also inhibits antigen-specific effector and memory CD4+ T cell responses during persistent bacterial infection. We also found that IL-10 secretion had no significant effect on the antigen-specific CD8+ T cell population. We observed that therapeutic blockade of IL-10R enhanced the magnitude and functional capacity of antigen-specific effector CD4+ T cells that translated into increased and more effective memory responses and secondary recall response after bacterial re-challenge. Our results provide new insights into the mechanisms of bacterial persistence and support the idea that alternative immune-based strategies may have applications in persistent bacterial infections.
Validation of the Parenting Stress Index–Short Form With Minority Caregivers

OBJECTIVES: There has been little examination of the structural validity of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) for minority populations in clinical contexts in the Unites States. This study aimed to test prespecified factor structures (one-factor, two-factor, and three-factor models) of the PSI-SF. Methods: This study used confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 240 predominantly Black and Latino caregivers of children with behavioral difficulties. Results: The three-factor model fit was reasonable, and the criterion validity for the subscale and total scores was good supporting continued cautious use of the PSI-SF for clinical minority populations. Conclusions: The PSI-SF could be integrated as part of screening and intake assessment procedures, which could allow social work practitioners to make more informed decisions about treatment planning, as well as facilitate conversations with caregivers around identifying sources of stress and developing healthy coping strategies. Language: en
Fungi in Planktonic Synedra from Brackish Waters

Nine species of fungi are known to occur on various species of Synedra (Sparrow, 1960: 1086). Of these, Ectrogella perforans Peter? sen, E. licmophorae Scherffel, and E. eurychasmoides J. & G. Feldmann are known from strictly marine habitats, occurring in species of Licmophora. In 1962 and 1964 specimens of Synedra infected by fungi were collected in three brackish water areas of one North Carolina estuary. This paper reports these fungi. Inasmuch as two of the fungi occurred in a rather unusual habitat, a brief statement on major features of the collection sites is given. A more or less regular collection program for fungi in the Neuse River of Eastern North Carolina has been under way since 1955. In 1956, seven promi? nent station sites were established along a salinity gradient in this estuary. Monthly or bimonthy samplings for various fungi have been made since 1956, and in 1962 these same stations became the sites for either regularly or intermittently scheduled plankton tows. Salinity, temperature and pH of the waters at these stations have been determined at each sampling since 1956, and in the years 1958-1960, dissolved oxygen, nitrate and phosphate tests were also made. Thus, rather complete records of major environmental factors are extant. The fungi reported in this paper were each found once at one of three stations in the estuarine system. Flanner's Beach Station is near the uppermost reaches of the estuary. Salinity ranges here from 7.816.9%c, but predominates in the region of 8-11%C. Adam's Creek Station, some six nautical miles east of Flanner's Beach has had, in nine years, a salinity range of 7-23.1%0 (predominantly 12-17%c), while the Core Creek Station three nautical miles nearer the mouth of the estuary has had a somewhat higher range: ll-26.5%c, generally 18-23%c. Diurnal tidal cycles are evident at all three stations, but the highest amplitude is at Core Creek. Although Synedra species are to be found in the fresh-water sector of the river, they are not thus far known to be infected by fungi.
Response of arterial wall to intramural cholesterol.

SummaryA technic is described for study of response of avian arteries to intramural injection of cholesterol. This material, when injected into the wall of the artery, causes a foreign body reaction at site of injection. In addition, a localized proliferation of collagenous connective tissue is found in the intima. These intimal plaques resemble some forms of human atherosclerosis. The development of the plaques is not affected by adding cholesterol or various fats to the diet. These findings suggest that the lesions are the result of the local metabolic alteration.
Mucopolysaccharide, protein and desoxyribosenucleic acid concentration of granulation tissue induced by polyvinyl sponges.

SummaryPolyvinyl sponges inserted under the dorsal skin of guinea pigs fill with cellular connective tissue. Dry weight of the granulation tissue, concentration of protein, desoxyribosenucleic acid and acid mucopolysaccharide at intervals between 1 and 12 weeks are reported. Both glucosamine and galactosamine were present in the mucopolysaccharide fraction. Evidence for the presence of 3 types of mucopolysaccharide components was obtained by chromatography and carbazole/orcinol ratios. A decrease in carbazole/orcinol ratios suggested an increased proportion of chondroitin sulfate B in the older granulomas.
Borehole water-level variations and implications for the subglacial hydraulics of South Cascade Glacier, Washington State, U.S.A.

Boreholes were drilled in South Cascade Glacier to investigate the hydraulics of subglacial water flow. Results indicate that subglacial water pressures are generally close to local ice-overburden pressures and that a subglacial debris layer probably exists. Calculations indicate that the range of hydraulic conductivity of this layer is 10−7-10−4m−1. The borehole water levels generally increased during the ablation season and may be caused by a seasonal evolution in the permeability of the debris layer. Water in the debris layer drains to a subglacial conduit, the existence of which is inferred by large diurnal variations in the water level of one borehole. These levels commonly reached the bottom of the glacier, indicating near-atmospheric pressures in the conduit.
Nitrapyrin in Streams: The First Study Documenting Off-Field Transport of a Nitrogen Stabilizer Compound

Nitrapyrin is a bactericide that is co-applied with fertilizer to prevent nitrification and enhance corn yields. While there have been studies of the environmental fate of nitrapyrin, there is no documentation of its off-field transport to streams. In 2016, 59 water samples from 11 streams across Iowa were analyzed for nitrapyrin and its degradate, 6-chloropicolinic acid (6-CPA), along with three widely used herbicides, acetochlor, atrazine, and metolachlor. Nitrapyrin was detected in seven streams (39% of water samples) with concentrations ranging from 12 to 240 ng/L; 6-CPA was never detected. The herbicides were ubiquitously detected (100% of samples, 28–16000 ng/L). Higher nitrapyrin concentrations in streams were associated with rainfall events following spring fertilizer applications. Nitrapyrin persisted in streams for up to 5 weeks. These results highlight the need for more research focused on the environmental fate and transport of nitrapyrin and the potential toxicity this compound could have on ...
Prospective analysis of qol in patients undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy for locally advanced head and neck cancer.

e16058 Background: This is a prospective analysis of quality of life (QoL) in patients undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and IMRT for locally advanced head and neck cancers. Methods: In a prospect...
The Myeloid-Lymphoid Initiating Cell (ML-IC) Assay Assesses the Fate of Multipotent Human Progenitors In Vitro

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are cells with self-renewing multilineage differentiation potential. Although engraftment in xenogeneic recipients can be used to measure human HSC, these assays do not allow assessment of individual progenitors. We developed an in vitro assay that allows the identification of a single human bone marrow progenitor closely related to HSC, which we termed “Myeloid-Lymphoid Initiating Cell,” or ML-IC, because it is capable of generating multiple secondary progenitors that can reinitiate long-term myeloid and lymphoid hematopoiesis in vitro. The assay is done in contact with murine AFT024 fetal liver stromal cells and with Flt3-Ligand, stem cell factor, and interleukin-7. In this assay, 0.2% to 1.7% of Lin−/34+/DRdim cells could generate 1 to 3 long-term culture initiating cells (LTC-IC) as well as 1 to 4 NK-IC after 4 to 6 weeks. In addition, this assay measures contribution of net-progenitor conservation and net-progenitor proliferation over time, providing insight in the fate of individual LTC-IC and NK-IC. This assay will prove useful to enumerate the number of very primitive human progenitors with multilineage differentiation potential, as well as to evaluate future ex vivo culture conditions.
Abstract KP02: STARING DOWN THE BARREL OF A TUBE AT THE ORIGINS OF OVARIAN CANCER

There is an emerging consensus that a majority of high-grade serous carcinomas, the most common type of ovarian cancer, are derived from PAX8-expressing cells in the distal fallopian tube. Careful histologic examination of fallopian tubes from BRCA1/2 mutation carriers has led to the identification of a morphological continuum that begins with a benign secretory cell, transitions to identifiable precursor lesions, and culminates in serous carcinoma. We have previously demonstrated the biologic plausibility of this hypothesis by showing that dysregulation of BRCA1/2 and TP53 in PAX8-expressing mouse or human fallopian tube secretory epithelial cells (FTSECs) can induce tumors that are genomically and phenotypically identical to human high-grade serous ovarian cancers. While PAX8 serves as the basis for many of the fallopian tube-based models we have developed, little is known about its role during neoplastic transformation. PAX8 is a lineage-defining transcription factor that directs the development of the Mullerian duct (the female reproductive tract). Its expression is retained by nearly all high-grade serous carcinomas but it remains unknown whether alterations in the PAX8 cistrome contribute to ovarian carcinomas. Using whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing (RNA-Seq) after PAX8 knockdown and ChIP-Seq, we show that FTSECs and high-grade serous carcinomas are distinguished by marked reprogramming of the PAX8 cistrome. Interestingly, the majority of PAX8 binding peaks are found in intronic and intergenic regions of the genome rather than promoters. Genes that are significantly altered between FTSECs and carcinoma lines are enriched near PAX8 binding sites. These sites are also near TEAD binding sites, and these transcriptional changes may be related to PAX8 interactions with the TEAD/YAP1 signaling pathway. These data suggest that transcriptional changes after transformation in ovarian cancer are closely related to epigenetic remodeling in lineage-specific transcription factors. Citation Format: Ronny Drapkin. STARING DOWN THE BARREL OF A TUBE AT THE ORIGINS OF OVARIAN CANCER [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 11th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium; Sep 12-13, 2016; Seattle, WA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2017;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr KP02.
Affect and Incident Participation Restriction in Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis.

Objective Participation restriction, common among people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), may be influenced by positive and negative affect. We examined the risk of incident participation restriction over 84 months conferred by positive and negative affect among people with knee OA. Methods Participants are from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study and had or were at high risk of knee OA. Participation restriction and positive and negative affect were measured with the Late Life Disability Index, Instrumental Role Limitation subscale and the positive affect and depressed mood subscales of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, respectively. Robust Poisson regression was used to calculate risk of incident participation restriction over 84 months conferred by combinations of low and high positive and negative affect, adjusting for covariates. Results Of 1810 baseline participants (mean: 62.1 years, 56% female), 470 (26%) had incident participation restriction over 84 months. Participants with low positive affect had 20% greater risk of incident participation restriction than those with high positive affect; participants with high negative affect had 50% greater risk of incident participation compared to those with low negative affect. Participants with both low positive and high negative affect had 80% greater risk of incident participation restriction compared to other combinations of positive and negative affect. Conclusion Low positive and high negative affect, both alone and in combination, increase risk of participation restriction among adults with knee OA. Efforts aimed at preventing participation restriction in this population should consider these mood states. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
What Constitutes Open Source? A Study of the Vista Electronic Medical Record Software

Strictly speaking, Open Source Software is any program that is covered by an Open Source Software license. However, the notion of Open Source Software Development conjures images of high-quality, market dominating products developed by armies of volunteer programmers, who work only for the joy of programming. Certainly, banner projects like Apache, the Linux kernel, and Mozilla/Firefox resemble this notion, even if they do employ significant numbers of paid programmers.
Reevaluating the effectiveness of visual cues for website security

Certificate authorities (CAs) are responsible for providing security for the online world. Anytime an individual enters personal information on a website, there are possibilities of interception by a hacker to reveal this data. For this purpose, security has been implemented on websites to protect data from being stolen. Not all websites are secured, but those that do, display some sort of notification indicating that a trusted CA has confirmed its legitimacy through digital signatures and validation. These visual indicators are meant to raise awareness, and in turn, allow the user to make an educated decision to proceed or seize in their next move. This paper investigates the studies conducted on visual cues. The goal is to find out how often Internet users actually look at these security indicators and how useful they actually consider them to be. This paper also attempts to explore if notifications are being ignored and if so, is it intentional and why, or do they go unnoticed due to the lack of knowledge. While researching this topic, it was found that there are other tools such as add-ons available to enhance security notifications but the valued impact was not significant. The focus of this paper is to determine if people find these visual cues to be ambiguous or a nuisance and over time discontinue using them, or do they go unnoticed all together? The conclusions made from researching this area of security is to resolve user behavior speculations and standardize visual cues with a teachable component.
Beauty, odds, and credence

This paper considers fair betting odds for certain bets that might be placed in the situation discussed in the so-called Sleeping Beauty Problem. This paper examines what Thirders, Halfers, and Double Halfers must say about the odds as determined by various decision theoretic approaches and argues that Thirders and Halfers have difficulties formulating plausible and coherent positions concerning the relevant betting odds. Double Halfers do not face this problem and that is an important consideration in favor of Double Halfers.
On-chip photonic particle sensor

We propose an on-chip photonic particle sensor design that can perform particle sizing and counting for various environmental applications. The sensor is based on micro photonic ring resonators that are able to detect the presence of the free space particles through the interaction with their evanescent electric field tail. The sensor can characterize a wide range of the particle size ranging from a few nano meters to micron (~1 micron). The photonic platform offers high sensitivity, compactness, fast response of the device. Further, FDTD simulations are performed to analyze different particle-light interactions. Such a compact and portable platform, packaged with integrated photonic circuit provides a useful sensing modality in space shuttle and environmental applications.
Toward Real-Time Motion Planning

Abstract We show that parallel search techniques derived from their sequential counterparts can enable the solution of motion planning problems that are computationally impractical on sequential machines. We present a parallel version of a robot motion planning algorithm based on “quasi best first” search with randomized escape from local minima and random backtracking, and discuss its performance on a variety of problems and architectures.
Localization, Route Planning, and Smartphone Interface for Indoor Navigation

Low-cost navigation solutions for indoor environments have a variety of real-world applications ranging from emergency evacuation to mobility aids for people with disabilities. Primary challenges for commercial indoor navigation solutions include robust localization in the absence of GPS, efficient route-planning and re-planning techniques, and effective user interfaces for resource-constrained platforms like smartphones and mobile phones. In this chapter, we present an architecture for indoor navigation using an Android smartphone that integrates three core components of localization, map-representation, and user interface towards a robust and effective solution for guiding a variety of users, from sighted to the visually impaired to their intended destination. Specifically, we developed a navigation solution that combines complementary localization algorithms [10] of dead reckoning (DR) and WiFi signal strength fingerprinting (SSI) with enhanced route-planning algorithms to account for the sensory and mobility constraints of the user to efficiently plan safe routes and communicate the route information with sufficient resolution to address the needs of the users. To evaluate the feasibility of our solution, we develop a prototype application on a commercial smartphone and tested it in multiple indoor environments. The results show that the system was able to accurately estimate user location to within 5 m and subsequently provide effective navigation guidance to the user.
Distributed acoustic sensing for near-surface seismic applications

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) has been used in the oil and gas industries for vertical seismic profiling (VSP) for approximately the past ten years. Its use for near-surface seismic surveys has also been investigated. This study relates to these types of applications. DAS consists of a buried optical fiber cable with one of its fibers connected to electro-optical instrumentation, i.e., an optical interrogator. The interrogator injects pulses of coherent light into the fiber and receives backscattered light. Seismic disturbances deform the cable, strain the interrogated fiber, and change the fiber’s optical path length. The resulting phase changes of the backscattered light are recorded by the interrogator. These phase change measurements, proportional to strain, are probed through time at spatially sequential (i.e., “distributed”) segments along the length of the fiber. The length of each segment is referred to as the gauge length. A single fiber is thus a nominal array of sensors with the gauge length defining the spatial separation. Here, we present DAS signals from ground vibrations caused by impact-hammer and electro-magnetic-shaker sources. The signals were recorded simultaneously by geophones for comparison. Interrogator modifications allowed selectable gauge lengths, 10, 4 and 2 meters. The experimental results demonstrate the benefits of higher resolution.
Creation and Regulation of Bank Liquidity

Liquidity creation is a core function of banks and an important economic service to the economy. This chapter carefully examines the theoretical and empirical literature on bank liquidity creation. The focus is on the economics of bank liquidity creation, both in the traditional relationship banking context and in the shadow banking context. Related prudential regulation issues – pertaining mainly to capital requirements and liquidity requirements – are also discussed. A historical overview is provided, starting in the early 1800s and ending with Basel III and the Dodd-Frank Act. Open research questions are identified.
Time is Not on Our Side: Why Specious Claims of Collective Bargaining Rights Should Not Be Allowed to Delay Police Reform Efforts

Many view the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 as the best chance for police departments to make meaningful and lasting improvements. That legislation provides the federal government with the authority to investigate and sue local law enforcement agencies for engaging in a pattern or practice of policing that violates the rights of individuals. However, police unions have attempted to intervene in structural reform litigation designed to remedy unconstitutional policing practices. Those attempts have largely been based on employment rights conferred through collective bargaining laws and similar employment protections. The unions argue that the terms of consent decrees crafted to remedy unconstitutional policing impair their interests and rights as detailed in pre-existing terms of collective bargaining agreements. Legal scholars have argued that the collective bargaining terms serve as impediments to police reform efforts. And while courts in some jurisdictions have found that employers cannot unilaterally change a collective bargaining agreement when constitutional violations are at issue, courts have not directly addressed the issues presented when consent decree requirements contradict union contract terms. This Article seeks to fill the gap in the existing literature as it provides an empirical analysis of all consent decrees since 1997 to evaluate the impact they were intended to have on union contracts. It also argues that the unions do not have a legal right to bargain on issues related to use of force policies and police accountability because such issues are outside of the permissible scope of negotiable issues. Court decisions permitting unions to intervene on the basis of specious interests only aid the delay of much needed reform efforts. The Article proposes that both state and federal courts should apply the managerial-function standard, which removes policy and public interest issues from collective bargaining, when considering whether unions have a right to oppose settlement agreements in structural police reform litigation. The Article also proposes that state and local governments promulgate ordinances clarifying the scope of public employee collective bargaining rights, as well as the authority of local officials to make management and policy decisions for police departments.
The core seafloor microbiome in the Gulf of Mexico is remarkably consistent and shows evidence of recovery from disturbance caused by major oil spills

The microbial ecology of oligotrophic deep ocean sediments is understudied relative to their shallow counterparts, and this lack of understanding hampers our ability to predict responses to current and future perturbations. The Gulf of Mexico has experienced two of the largest accidental marine oil spills, the 1979 Ixtoc-1 blowout and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) discharge. Here, microbial communities were characterized for 29 sites across multiple years in > 700 samples. The composition of the seafloor microbiome was broadly consistent across the region and was well approximated by the overlying water depth and depth within the sediment column, while geographic distance played a limited role. Biogeographical distributions were employed to generate predictive models for over 4000 OTU that leverage easy-to-obtain geospatial variables which are linked to measured sedimentary oxygen profiles. Depth stratification and putative niche diversification are evidenced by the distribution of taxa that mediate the microbial nitrogen cycle. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that sediments impacted by the DWH spill had returned to near baseline conditions after 2 years. The distributions of benthic microorganisms in the Gulf can be constrained, and moreover, deviations from these predictions may pinpoint impacted sites and aid in future response efforts or long-term stability studies.
Anticholinesterase Agents: An Odyssey

It would be wrong for us to discuss important elements of the history of neuromuscular blocking agents without simultaneously discussing anticholinesterase drugs. Not only are they important in medical therapy, but our understanding of the chemistry of myoneural transmission and Otto Loewi’s Nobel prize winning work would have been impossible without these agents. I believe there is no other group of drugs that has as interesting a past history and is as important to society as are anticholinesterases. It is estimated that without insecticides (most are anticholinesterase drugs) we would only able be to feed 25–30% of the world’s people. The history of these drugs is just as fascinating but more important to civilization than that of muscle relaxants.
Escherichia coli O157 survival in liquid culture and artificial soil microcosms with variable pH, humic acid and clay content

AIMS This research was performed to investigate the influence of clay and humic acid on Escherichia coli O157 survival in model soils. Additionally, the influence of pH and humic acid on E. coli O157 in liquid culture was investigated. METHODS AND RESULTS Artificial soil microcosms were prepared with sand, kaolinite, bentonite and humic acid. Artificial soil microcosms pH was adjusted (6·0-7·0) with aluminium sulphate before E. coli O157 inoculation. After 56 days of incubation at 30°C, significant differences in E. coli O157 log CFU per gram were observed between 0 and 1000 ppm (P < 0·0001) and 0 and 5000 ppm (P < 0·0001) humic acid in 1·5% clay soils, but not in 7·5 or 15% clay soils. Significant differences (P < 0·05) in E. coli O157 log CFU per ml were observed in liquid culture influenced by humic acid concentrations after 8 h at 37°C. CONCLUSIONS The developed model soils support E. coli O157 populations over 28 days, and higher clay soils may aid in E. coli O157 survival. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY These results provide insights into physicochemical properties of soil that may influence E. coli O157 in the environment and help explain E. coli O157 survival in various soils and geographical regions.
Spectroscopic Study on Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilm in the Presence of the Aptamer-DNA Scaffolded Silver Nanoclusters.

We report the effectiveness of silver nanocluster (Ag-NC) against the biofilm of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). Two DNA aptamers specific for PA and part of their sequences were chosen as templates for growing the Ag-NC. While circular dichroism (CD) studies determined the presence of secondary structures, UV/Vis absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopic studies confirmed the formation of the fluorescent Ag-NC on the DNA templates. Furthermore, mesoscopic physics-based partial wave spectroscopy (PWS) was used to analyze the backscattered light signal that can detect the degree of nanoscale mass density/refractive index fluctuations to identify the biofilm formation, comparatively among the different aptamers with respect to the control sample. The importance of the secondary structure of the aptamer DNA in targeting, successfully binding with the cells and delivering the Ag-NC, is evidenced by the decrease in disorder strength (Ld) of the Ag-NC treated samples compared to the untreated PA cells, which showed the abundance of higher Ld in the PWS studies. The higher Ld value attributed to the higher mass density fluctuations and the formation of biofilm. We envision this study to open a new avenue in using a powerful optical microscopic technique like PWS in detection, and DNA aptamer enclosed silver nanoclusters to prevent biofilms for opportunist pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The “Antitrust Revolution” and The Antitrust Revolution: A Perspective from the Inside:

There clearly has been a revolution in the way that modern microeconomics has come to occupy a central role in the development of antitrust policy and in the structuring of antitrust cases over the...
Extending the personal branding affordances typology to parasocial interaction with public figures on social media: Social presence and media multiplexity as mediators

Abstract The extent of a social media public figure's success often rests on their ability to establish a personal connection with audiences. Drawing from decades of prior research on parasocial interaction and a typology of personal branding affordances developed in our prior work, this study examined the extent to which a platform's perceived affordances might predict such parasocial interaction. Results supported this association and identified social presence and media multiplexity as independent mediators of it, consistent with prior work in interpersonal communication and technology research. Moreover, the pattern of findings validated audience involvement and locus of promotion as key dimensions delineating the personal branding affordances typology, with multiplatform participatory affordances fostering the most intimate perception of public figures by audiences (i.e., with heightened social presence, media multiplexity, and parasocial interaction).
Thermo-viscous acoustic modeling of perforated micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)

An analytical model based on the low reduced-frequency method is developed for the damping and spring force coefficients of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) structures. The model is based on a full-plate approach that includes thermal and viscous losses and hole end effects, as well as inertial and compressibility effects. Explicit analytical formulas are derived for damping and spring forces of perforated circular MEMS with open and closed edge boundary conditions. A thermo-viscous finite-element method (FEM) model is also developed for the numerical solution of the problem. Results for the damping and spring coefficients from the analytical models are in good agreement with the FEM results over a large range of frequencies and parameters. The analytic formulas obtained for the damping and spring coefficients provide a useful tool for the design and optimization of perforated MEMS. Specifically, it is shown that for a fixed perforation ratio of the back-plate the radius of the holes can be optimized to minimize the damping.
Rupture limit equation for shielded COPVs

Abstract How well a spacecraft component resists the damage that might occur following a high-speed impact by a meteoroid or piece of orbital debris is one of the main design considerations for earth orbiting spacecraft. Most spacecraft have at least one pressurized tank on board, such as a liquid propellant tank. In addition to a hole, it is possible that, for certain tank designs, construction materials, operating conditions, and impact parameters, a pressurized vessel may experience catastrophic failure (i.e. rupture) as the result of such a high-speed impact. Risk assessments performed during the design phase of a spacecraft typically consider and weigh the likelihoods and consequences of various failures that might occur following a MOD particle impact, including whether or not such a tank rupture might occur. In this paper, the datasets from several test programs involving shielded and unshielded composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) are combined to yield a single, new equation that can be used for this purpose. Comparison with test data shows that this new equation is able to correctly discriminate between the COPV rupture and non-rupture data points for the full high-speed impact test database considered herein.
Analog Layout Generation using Optimized Primitives

Hierarchical analog layout generators proceed from leaf cells (“primitives”) to progressively larger blocks that are placed and routed. The quality of primitive cell layout is critical for design performance. This paper proposes a methodology that defines and optimizes the performance metrics of primitives during leaf cell layout. It incorporates layout parasitics and layout-dependent effects, providing a set of optimized layout choices for use by the place-and-route engine, as well as wire sizing guidelines for connections outside the cell. For FinFET-based designs of a high-frequency amplifier, a StrongARM comparator, and a fully differential VCO, our approach outperforms existing methods and is competitive with time-intensive manual layout.
Statistical energy minimization theory for systems of drop-carrier particles

Drop-carrier particles (DCPs) are solid microparticles designed to capture uniform microscale drops of a target solution without using costly microfluidic equipment and techniques. DCPs are useful for automated and high-throughput biological assays and reactions, as well as single-cell analyses. Surface energy minimization provides a theoretical prediction for the volume distribution in pairwise droplet splitting, showing good agreement with macroscale experiments. We develop a probabilistic pairwise interaction model for a system of such DCPs exchanging fluid volume to minimize surface energy. This leads to a theory for the number of pairwise interactions of DCPs needed to reach a uniform volume distribution. Heterogeneous mixtures of DCPs with different sized particles require fewer interactions to reach a minimum energy distribution for the system. We optimize the DCP geometry for minimal required target solution and uniformity in droplet volume.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mapping of Brain Tumor Burden: Clinical Implications for Neurosurgical Management: Case Report

Background and importance Distinction of brain tumor progression from treatment effect on postcontrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an ongoing challenge in the management of brain tumor patients. A newly emerging MRI biomarker called fractional tumor burden (FTB) has demonstrated the ability to spatially distinguish high-grade brain tumor from treatment effect with important implications for surgical management and pathological diagnosis. Clinical presentation A 58-yr-old male with glioblastoma was treated with standard concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) after initial resection. Throughout follow-up imaging, the distinction of tumor progression from treatment effect was of concern. The surgical report from a redo resection indicated recurrent glioblastoma, while the tissue sent for pathological diagnosis revealed no tumor. Presurgical FTB maps confirmed the spatial variation of tumor and treatment effect within the contrast-agent enhancing lesion. Unresected lesion, shown to be an active tumor on FTB, was the site of substantial tumor growth postresection. Conclusion This case report introduces the idea that a newly developed MRI biomarker, FTB, can provide information of tremendous benefit for surgical management, pathological diagnosis as well as subsequent treatment management decisions in high-grade glioma.
Interfacing Techniques in Digital Design with Emphasis on Microprocessors

Microprocessors: An Introduction Circuit and Electrical Interfacing Considerations Bus Interfacing Communications and Data Transfer IBM Personal Computer Interfacing Analog Interfacing to Microcomputers Local Area Networks High Level Programs Appendices.