cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
1 – The Physiological and Pathological Chemistry of Nitric Oxide

This chapter focuses on the physiological and pathological chemistry of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a simple molecule, consisting of single oxygen bonded to one nitrogen atom. Mammalian cells were discovered to produce nitric oxide (NO) as a short-lived intercellular messenger. The physiological implications continue to rapidly expand and have so far implicated nitric oxide in the regulation of blood pressure, platelet adhesion, neutrophil aggregation, as well as synaptic plasticity in brain. Nitric oxide and its secondary oxidants are also major cytotoxic agents produced by activated macrophages and neutrophils. This chapter begins with a discussion on why does nitric oxide have an unpaired electron. The chapter also discusses why half-life of nitric oxide is so short in vivo . It further explains concepts related to chemistry of nitric oxide and related nitrogen oxides. The chapter also describes handling and detection of nitric oxide. An overview of pathological implications of tyrosine nitration is also presented in this chapter. The chapter elaborates, in detail, the reactions with trace metal contaminants. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the chemistry of nitric oxide reacting with superoxide.
DEApp: an interactive web interface for differential expression analysis of next generation sequence data

A growing trend in the biomedical community is the use of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies in genomics research. The complexity of downstream differential expression (DE) analysis is however still challenging, as it requires sufficient computer programing and command-line knowledge. Furthermore, researchers often need to evaluate and visualize interactively the effect of using differential statistical and error models, assess the impact of selecting different parameters and cutoffs, and finally explore the overlapping consensus of cross-validated results obtained with different methods. This represents a bottleneck that slows down or impedes the adoption of NGS technologies in many labs. We developed DEApp, an interactive and dynamic web application for differential expression analysis of count based NGS data. This application enables models selection, parameter tuning, cross validation and visualization of results in a user-friendly interface. DEApp enables labs with no access to full time bioinformaticians to exploit the advantages of NGS applications in biomedical research. This application is freely available at https://yanli.shinyapps.io/DEApp and https://gallery.shinyapps.io/DEApp .
Trillion Operations Key-Value Storage Engine: Revisiting the Mission Critical Analytics Storage Software Stack

Data is the new natural resource of this century. As data volumes grow and applications aimed at monetizing the data continue to evolve, data processing platforms are expected to meet new scale, performance, reliability and data retention requirements. At the same time, storage hardware continues to improve in performance and price-performance. In this paper, we present TOKVS - Trillion Operation Key-Value Store, a NoSQL storage engine that redefines the storage software stack to meet the requirements of next-generation applications on next-generation hardware.
Rock as a Three‐Value Tradition

Gracyk, Kania, and Davies all agree that the rock tradition is distinctive for the central place that it gives to the appreciation of recorded tracks. But we should not be led by those arguments to conclude that the central position of the recorded track makes such appreciation the exclusive interest in rock. I argue that both songwriting and live performance are also central to the rock tradition by showing that the practice of recording tracks admits of a diversity of goals and aims that is not exhausted by a concern for track construction.
Diagnostic Errors in Primary Care Pediatrics: Project RedDE.

Abstract Objective Diagnostic errors (DEs), which encompass failures of accuracy, timeliness, or patient communication, cause appreciable morbidity but are understudied in pediatrics. Pediatricians have expressed interest in reducing high-frequency/subacute DEs, but their epidemiology remains unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the frequency of two high-frequency/subacute DEs and one missed opportunity for diagnosis (MOD) in primary care pediatrics. Methods As part of a national quality improvement collaborative, 25 primary care pediatric practices were randomized to collect 5 months of retrospective data on one DE or MOD: elevated blood pressure (BP) and abnormal laboratory values (DEs), or adolescent depression evaluation (MOD). Relationships between DE or MOD proportions and patient age, gender, and insurance status were explored with mixed-effects logistic regression models. Results DE or MOD rates in pediatric primary care were found to be 54% for patients with elevated BP (n = 389), 11% for patients with abnormal laboratory values (n = 381), and 62% for adolescents with an opportunity to evaluate for depression (n = 400). When examining the number of times a pediatrician may have recognized an abnormal condition but either knowingly or unknowingly did not act according to recommended guidelines, providers did not document recognition of an elevated BP in 51% of patients with elevated BP, and they did not document recognition of an abnormal laboratory value without a delay in 9% of patients with abnormal laboratory values. Conclusions DEs and MODs occur at an appreciable frequency in pediatric primary care. These errors may contribute to care delays and patient harm.
Inhibition by oestrogen of collagen breakdown in the involuting rat uterus.

1. Both the post-partum involution of the rat uterus and the rapid breakdown of collagen that accompanies it are extensively inhibited by oestrogenic hormones. In the normal rat, 85% of the uterine collagen is degraded within 4 days after parturition; in rats treated with 100μg. of 17β-oestradiol/day, only 35% of uterine collagen is broken down in the same period. 2. Similar effects are produced by diethylstilboestrol if the dose is increased tenfold. 3. Collagen breakdown is inhibited to a greater extent than is the loss of wet weight by oestradiol but not by diethylstilboestrol. 4. The oestrogens appear to act by blocking the breakdown of collagen. There is a greatly decreased concentration of free hydroxyproline in the uterus of treated animals. 5. Acid hydrolase concentrations (β-glucuronidase, β-galactosidase, cathepsin D and acid phosphatase) in the uterus are decreased by oestrogen treatment compared with controls, but the total amounts of these enzymes in the uterus are somewhat elevated. Oestrogens do not appear to inhibit collagen breakdown by altering the concentration and total amount of acid hydrolases.
Bone voyage—Osteoblasts remotely control tumors

Cancer is a systemic disease. Tumor growth and malignant progression rely not only on the intrinsic aberrant genetic and epigenetic makeup of tumor cells but also on the tumor-induced systemic factors that affect cells in the primary tumor as well as distant microenvironments ( 1 ). Notably, bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) have been shown to contribute to primary tumor progression by promoting hallmark processes such as inflammation, immunosuppression, vasculogenesis, and extracellular matrix remodeling. BMDCs are also involved in establishing tumor-permissive microenvironments that form before the arrival of disseminated tumor cells at future metastatic sites (known as premetastatic niches) and promote metastatic outgrowth ( 2 – 5 ). In addition to the direct effects of tumor-secreted factors on BMDC recruitment to tumors, on page [eaal5081][1] of this issue Engblom et al. ( 6 ) report that osteoblasts, which reside in the bone, can be remotely activated by secreted factors from lung adenocarcinoma, which in turn mobilize a specific subset of BMDCs—neutrophils—to foster tumor growth. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aal5081
Non-cardiac uptake of technetium-99m pyrophosphate in transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis

Technetium-based bone scintigraphy is rapidly becoming the most common non-invasive imaging tool in the diagnosis of Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR). Skeletal muscle uptake has been described with technetium-99m-3,3-diphosphono-1,2-propanodicarboxylic acid (TcDPD), and may account for masking of bony uptake. We sought to investigate skeletal muscle uptake of technetium-99m-pyrophosphate (TcPYP) in patients with ATTR. This was a retrospective analysis of 57 patients diagnosed with ATTR who underwent TcPYP scintigraphy. Cardiac uptake was assessed on whole-body planar imaging using a semiquantitative scale (grades 0 to 3) and on single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with CT attenuation correction using total myocardial counts per voxel after a 3-hour incubation. Skeletal muscle (psoas and biceps), vertebral body, LV myocardium, and blood pool mean counts were calculated. In the cohort (age 78 ± 9 years, 77% male, and 30% hereditary ATTR), there was no visualized tracer uptake in skeletal muscle or soft tissue on qualitative SPECT assessment. Total and blood pool-corrected uptake in the muscle groups were significantly less than myocardium and bone (P < 0.001). Blood pool-corrected muscle uptake was not associated with semiquantitative grade 3 vs 2 uptake (psoas P = 0.66, biceps P = 0.13) or presence of hereditary ATTR (psoas P = 0.43, biceps P = 0.69). As bony uptake decreased, there was no corresponding increase in skeletal muscle uptake. In patients with ATTR cardiac amyloidosis, skeletal muscle uptake of TcPYP is minimal when assessed by qualitative and quantitative metrics, and is not significantly different in patients with grade 2 vs 3 semiquantitative uptake. The properties of this tracer may be different than TcDPD with respect to non-cardiac uptake.
Topical application of nerve-specific fluorophores for image-guided nerve sparing surgical procedures (Conference Presentation)

Nerve damage plagues surgical outcomes, significantly affecting post-surgical quality of life. Surprisingly, no method exists to enhance direct nerve visualization in the operating room, and nerve detection is completed through a combination of palpation and visualization when possible. Fluorescence image-guided surgery offers a potential means of enhanced nerve identification and preservation, however a clinically approved nerve-specific contrast agent does not yet exist. Several classes of nerve-specific fluorophores have recently been demonstrated including the distyrylbenzenes (DSB), select oxazines (oxazine 4 perchlorate), and certain cyanines (3,3’-diethylthiatricarbocyanine iodine), which could provide intraoperative guidance. The nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy is a surgical procedure that could benefit from fluorescence image-guided nerve identification. Although the nerve-sparing surgical technique was developed over 30 years ago, nerve damage following radical prostatectomy is reported in some form in up to 60% of patients one to two years post-surgery. To facilitate clinical translation of fluorescence image guided surgery to the nerve sparing prostatectomy, a direct administration methodology was developed that allows selective nerve highlighting with a significantly lower fluorophore dose than systemic administration, where large animal studies have confirmed the technique’s translatability. Tissue penetration will be critical for clinical feasibility of the direct administration methodology and novel formulation strategies have been explored to enhance tissue penetration for identifying buried nerves. In addition, several biomolecular targets of Oxazine 4, a promising candidate for nerve-specific fluorophore development into a near-infrared (NIR) agent, have been identified, providing insight into the mechanism of nerve-specificity. Fluorophore development has made progress towards the goal of creating a NIR nerve-specific fluorophore and determining the structure-activity relationship responsible for nerve binding.
Multi-Key Searchable Encryption, Revisited

We consider a setting where users store their encrypted documents on a remote server and can selectively share documents with each other. A user should be able to perform keyword searches over all the documents she has access to, including the ones that others shared with her. The contents of the documents, and the search queries, should remain private from the server.
Effects of Short-Term International Study Trips on Graduate Students in Higher Education.

This article focuses on the impact of international short-term study trips on the multicultural competence of graduate students in higher education administration. The analysis demonstrates graduat...
Natural user interface for physics-based character animation

Using natural user interface to interact with digital worlds is becoming commonplace in our daily life, as evidenced by the high demand for Microsoft Kinect since its launch in 2010. However, comparatively little research effort has focused in the past on harnessing these capabilities to create great applications. In this paper, we introduce unified framework for combining natural user interface and physics-based character animation. Our framework takes the form of a continuous controllable space for the combination of the two techniques. We also propose a human-in-the-loop control paradigm which allows a player or performer to sense and act for the character. With the information encapsulated in the human performance, the proposed framework accomplishes its goal in two steps: first, by recognizing and potentially modifying the performance such that it is appropriate for the given scenario; and second, by balancing interactivity and control in order to maintain both physical responsivity to the virtual world and faithfulness to the human performance.
The pKa Gate Mechanism for Protomotive Coupling: Effects of Internal Buffers on Initial Rates of ATP Synthesis

The chemiosmotic hypothesis proposed by Mitchell (1966) has maintained that an energy transducing membrane is a semipermeable barrier separating two, osmotically distinct, aqueous spaces, and that the “high energy” intermediate between electron transport and ATP synthesis is the electrochemical gradient of protons consisting of an electrical potential difference (Δψ) and a pH difference (ΔpH) between the two spaces. This electrochemical gradient was proposed to be generated by anisotropic electron transport enzymes spanning the otherwise proton-impermeable membrane which transduced oxidation/reduction reactions into transmembrane vectorial proton fluxes. The proton permeability barrier of the biomembrane is interrupted by an anisotropic ATPase which when operating in the forward direction expended the protomotive potential to generate ATP. Not only does this hypothesis predict structures and links them to functions, but it also provides a rational formulation of the thermodynamic properties which govern the rates of the reactions of membrane-bound, energy-transducing enzymatic complexes. This theme of anisotropic, localized, macromolecular “machines” endowed with vectorial functions and linked by a global thermodynamic property, the electrochemical potential, forms the basis of most experiments in bioenergetics today, whether or not the experimental results are consistent with the original formulation of the chemiosmotic hypothesis.
Graph Domination, Coloring and Cliques in Telecommunications

This chapter aims to provide a detailed survey of existing graph models and algorithms for important problems that arise in different areas of wireless telecommunication. In particular, applications of graph optimization problems such as minimum dominating set, minimum vertex coloring and maximum clique in multihop wireless networks are discussed. Different forms of graph domination have been used extensively to model clustering in wireless ad hoc networks. Graph coloring problems and their variants have been used to model channel assignment and scheduling type problems in wireless networks. Cliques are used to derive bounds on chromatic number, and are used in models of traffic flow, resource allocation, interference, etc. In this chapter we survey the solution methods proposed in the literature for these problems and some recent theoretical results that are relevant to this area of research in wireless networks.
Growth, nutrient utilization and intestinal morphology of pigs fed high-fiber diets.

Two trials (24 and 48 pigs; 9.7 kg initial body weight) were conducted to determine the effects of dietary fiber on growth, nutrient utilization and intestinal morphology of young pigs. The four diets fed were: basal corn-soybean meal (B), 15% oat hulls (OH), 15% soybean hulls (SH), and 20% alfalfa meal (AM). Fiber source did not have major effects on performance in a 35-d feeding trial. Balance trials (7-d duration) were conducted 32 d (Trial 1) or 6 d (Trial 2) after completion of the feeding trials. Feed intakes were equalized at 8.7% (Trial 1) or 10.3% (Trial 2) of initial body weight (kg.75). All fiber sources decreased apparent digestibilities of N, energy and dry matter (P less than .05) with no effect on N retention. Apparent digestibilities of neutral and acid detergent fiber, cellulose, and hemicellulose were reduced by OH and AM (P less than .01), but not by SH. Fiber sources did not affect apparent Ca, P, Zn or Mn absorption or retention, or Mg absorption, but decrease Mg retention (P less than .05). Apparent Na absorption was decreased by OH and increased by AM (P less than .05) but was unaffected by SH. All fiber sources increased K intake, but only SH and AM increased apparent K absorption (P less than .05). Fiber sources did not affect Na or K retention. The OH increased Cu intake and balance (P less than .05). All fiber sources increased Fe intake, but only SH and AM increased (P less than .05) Fe balance. Villus shape and surface morphology in jejunum and ileum examined by scanning electron microscopy (Trial 1 only) appeared to be independent of diet. However, jejunum villus morphologies of two pigs fed AM were characterized by loss of epithelial cells and microvilli at the villus apex, and ileum villi were blunted and frequently folded in one pig fed SH. Fiber sources at the levels included in a corn-soybean meal diet fed in this study had only a minimal impact on performance and utilization of minerals and N and intestinal structure, although apparent energy utilization was decreased.
Ascending Somatosensory Systems

An ascending somatosensory pathway can be considered literally as any axonal conduction route from the spinal cord or brain stem to higher levels of the brain. There are a number of such pathways, which convey somatosensory information to the brain for three purposes: arousal and attention, movement control, and the perception of somatic sensation. In this chapter, we will concentrate mainly, though not exclusively, on the ascending pathways that are generally believed to enable the organism to experience a conscious appreciation of energies impinging on transducers of the body surface and deep tissues. These sensory modalities are classified as tactile, nocisensory, and propriosensory and are typically described by terms such as touch, pressure, vibration, pain, heat, cold, position, itch, and tickle. The pathways extend from the peripheral transducers as far as the cerebral cortex and involve a minimum of three synaptic connections to get there (Fig. 12.1).
Ghosts in the schoolyard: racism and school closings on Chicago’s South Side

Ghosts in the Schoolyard investigates the massive school closures that happened in Chicago in 2013, focusing on the historic Bronzeville community on the South Side. The school closures disproporti...
Geographic Differences in Population Health and Expected Organ Supply in the Gulf Coast Region of the United States Compared to Non-Gulf States.

Background The Final Rule aimed to reduce geographic disparities in access to transplantation by prioritizing the need for transplant over donor proximity. However, disparities in waiting times persist for deceased donor kidney transplantation. The kidney allocation system implemented in 2014 does not account for potential local supply based on population health characteristics within a donation service area (DSA). We hypothesized that regions with traditionally high rates of comorbid disease, such as the states located along the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf States), may be disadvantaged by limited local supply secondary to poor population health. Methods Using data from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation County Health Rankings, the United States Renal Data System, and the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, we compared population-level characteristics and expected kidney donation rates by Gulf States location. Results Prevalence of African American ethnicity, end-stage renal disease, diabetes, fair/poor self-rated health, physical inactivity, food insecurity, and uninsurance were higher among Gulf State DSAs. On unadjusted analyses, Gulf State DSAs were associated with 3.52 fewer expected kidney donors per 100 eligible deaths than non-Gulf States. After adjustment, there was no longer a statistically significant difference in expected kidney donation rate. Conclusions Although Gulf State DSAs have lower expected donation rates, these differences appear to be driven by the prevalence of health factors negatively associated with donation rate. These data suggest the need to discuss population health characteristics when examining kidney allocation policy, to account for potential lower supply of donors and to further address geographic disparities in access to kidney transplantation.
Families of conic Kähler–Einstein metrics

Let $$p:X\rightarrow Y$$ be an holomorphic surjective map between compact Kahler manifolds and let D be an effective divisor on X with generically simple normal crossings support and coefficients in (0, 1). Provided that the adjoint canonical bundle $$K_{X_y}+D_y$$ of the generic fiber is ample, we show that the current obtained by glueing the fiberwise conic Kahler–Einstein metrics on the regular locus of the fibration is positive. Moreover, we prove that this current is bounded outside the divisor and that it extends to a positive current on X.
PENGARUH FAKTOR MOTIVASI, KARAKTERISTIK PEKERJAAN, KARAKTERISTIK INDIVIDU, KONDISI KERJA DAN SUMBER DAYA TERHADAP KINERJA KARYAWAN DAN DOSEN PADA SEKOLAH TINGGI MANAJEMEN INFORMATIKA KOMPTER (STMIK) MATARAM

Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh faktor Motivasi, Karakteristik pekerjaan, Karakteristik individu, Kondisi kerja dan Sumber daya baik secara parsial maupun simultan terhadap kinerja karyawan dan untuk mengetahui mana diantara faktor tersebut yang mempunyai pengaruh paling dominan terhadap kinerja karyawan dan dosen pada Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Informatika Kompter (STMIK) Mataram. Penelitian ini adalah penelitian asosiatif kausal yang berarti bahwa variabel dependen dipengaruhi oleh variabel independen, pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan instrumen/kuesioner terhadap seluruh karyawan dan dosen pada Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Informatika Komputer (STMIK) Mataram sebanyak 80 karyawan. Teknik Analisia yang digunakan adalah regresi linier berganda serta pengujian hipotesis menggunakan program Statistical Product and Solution (SPSS) for Windows . Hasil analisis dengan menggunakan analis regresi linier berganda menunjukkan faktor Motivasi, Karakteristik pekerjaan, Karakteristik individu, Kondisi kerja berpengaruh signifikan secara simultan terhadap kinerja karyawan dan dosen pada Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Informatika Kompter (STMIK) Mataram, terbukti dari uji F yang dilakukan diperoleh hasil F hitung lebih besar dari F tabel (3,182 > 2,23), dan nilai R 2 = 0,721. Sementara secara parsail, signifikansi pengaruh masing – masing variabel ditunjukkan oleh uji T. Hasil uji T menunjukkan variabel karyawan dan dosen pada Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Informatika Kompter (STMIK) Mataram berpengaruh secara signifikan. Dengan demikian berdasarkan uji pengaruh parsial maupun simultan dari penelitian tersebut sudah terjawab. Hasil uji pengaruh parsial masing – masing variabel bebas juga menunjukkan variabel motivasi merupakan variabel yang berpengaruh paling dominan terhadap kinerja karyawan dan dosen pada Sekolah Tinggi Manajemen Informatika Kompter (STMIK) Mataram. Hal tersebut ditunjukkan oleh nilai t hitung untuk variabel motivasi paling besar diantara variable yang lain yaitu sebesar 2,865. Kata Kunci : Motivasi, Karakteristik pekerjaan, Karakteristik individu, Kondisi kerja dan Kinerja
Optimal Contexts for Verb Learning

Purpose Verb learning is a critical but challenging part of language acquisition. Children with or at increased risk for developmental language disorder may particularly struggle with verb learning...
Aversion towards simple broken patterns predicts moral judgment

Abstract To what extent can simple, domain-general factors inform moral judgment? Here we examine whether a basic cognitive-affective factor predicts moral judgment. Given that most moral transgressions break the assumed pattern of behavior in society, we propose that people's domain-general aversion towards broken patterns – their negative affect in response to the distortion of repeated forms or models – may predict heightened moral sensitivity. In Study 1, participants’ nonsocial pattern deviancy aversion (e.g., aversion towards broken patterns of geometric shapes) predicted greater moral condemnation of harm and purity violations. This link was stronger for intuitive thinkers, suggesting that this link occurs via an intuitive rather than analytical pathway. Extending these results, in Study 2, pattern deviancy aversion predicted greater punishment of harm and purity violations. Finally, in Study 3, in line with pattern deviancy aversion predicting moral condemnation because moral violations break the pattern of behavior in society, pattern deviancy aversion predicted context-dependent morality. Participants higher in pattern deviancy aversion exhibited a greater shift towards tolerating moral violations when these violations were described as the pattern of behavior in an alternate society. Collectively, these results suggest that something as basic as people's aversion towards broken patterns is linked to moral judgment.
Considerations in prescribing pharmacotherapy for localized and metastatic urothelial carcinoma

While the majority of urothelial cancers are localized in nature, metastatic urothelial carcinoma has a generally poor prognosis, with a 5-year survival rate of ~5%. Historically, cytotoxic chemoth...
Conclusion to Part III

This chapter briefly summarizes the major take home messages of Part 3 of this book, with a focus on human responses to threat and how people do and do not feel a sense of shared humanity with others.
Disabling the Fanconi Anemia Pathway in Stem Cells Leads to Radioresistance and Genomic Instability.

Fanconi Anemia (FA) is an inherited genome instability syndrome characterized by interstrand crosslink hypersensitivity, congenital defects, bone marrow failure, and cancer predisposition. Although DNA repair mediated by FA genes has been extensively studied, how inactivation of these genes leads to specific cellular phenotypic consequences associated with FA is not well understood. Here we report that FA stem cells in the C. elegans germline and in murine embryos display marked nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ)-dependent radiation resistance, leading to survival of progeny cells carrying genetic lesions. By contrast, DNA crosslinking does not induce generational genomic instability in FA stem cells, as widely accepted, but rather drives NHEJ-dependent apoptosis in both species. These findings suggest that FA is a stem cell disease reflecting inappropriate NHEJ, which is mutagenic and carcinogenic as a result of DNA misrepair, while marrow failure represents hematopoietic stem cell apoptosis.
Phenology, Development, and Parasitism of Allium Leafminer (Diptera: Agromyzidae), a Recent Invasive Species in the United States

Allium leafminer, Phytomyza gymnostoma (Diptera: Agromyzidae), is an invasive species first recorded in the Western Hemisphere in 2015 and has expanded its range into northeastern and MidAtlantic states. Its host range encompasses Allium species grown for food and ornamentals, weedy species, species used for pollinator provisioning, and species of conservation concern. Using field and laboratory studies, we advanced methods for rearing, developed a phenology model for spring emergence, describe pupal development, and report on parasitism. Spring emergence was best detected by scouting wild alliums as opposed to emergence cages, and modeled using 350 degree-days above a lower threshold of 1.0°C. Spring adult flight occurred for about 5 wk. Larval development required 22 and 20 d at 17.5 and 25°C, respectively. Pupal development progressed along a color gradient, and an initial presence of fat cell clusters and an air bubble, followed by an exarate pupa. Pupal developed at 3-5% per day at 3°C and reached 25% per day at 21.5°C, but development was not successful at 30°C. Although parasitism rates were low, we documented two Chalcidoidea parasitoids, Halticoptera circulus (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) and Chrysocharis oscinidis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Together, these data provide baseline information to advance IPM for this invasive species both in crops and noncrop areas.
The Role of Partnerships in Economic Development and Labor Markets in the United States

This paper describes the role of local partnerships in the delivery of workforce and economic development services in the United States. Partnerships include both public and private organizations and increasingly depend upon local business people for leadership. With grassroots organizations traditionally taking the lead in addressing local issues and a long history of decentralized government, it is not surprising that a labyrinth of partnerships characterize the provision of public services. This paper grew out of a study tour that the Upjohn Institute conducted in conjunction with the Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). Delegates from 16 European countries visited nearly two dozen partnership organizations in the U.S. Midwest. The paper summarizes the history of local partnerships in the United States, tracks the separate evolution of workforce and economic development activities, describes the leadership roles of the federal and state governments in fostering partnerships, and provides case studies of current public-private partnerships that the delegates visited on the tour. The paper concludes by drawing lessons learned from the tour regarding the efficiency of partnerships, the efficiency of service delivery, the local management of programs, and the proper roles of federal, state, and local governments.This paper describes the role of local partnerships in the delivery of workforce and economic development services in the United States. A version of the paper appears in an OECD volume on partnerships entitled Local Partnerships for Better Governance, prepared by Sylvain Giguere.
Three decades in the field of gender and language: a personal perspective

This essay provides an account of one scholar’s thirty-five-year immersion in language and gender research. I included a chapter on conversations between women and men in That’s Not What I Meant!, my first book for general audiences, as part of an overview of interactional sociolinguistics. Disproportionate interest in that chapter led me to write You Just Don’t Understand, which I assumed would be my last word on the topic. Then insights into gendered patterns turned out to be crucial in all my subsequent books, each of which grew out of the one before. Writing about gendered patterns in conversational interaction raised my own consciousness, illuminating aspects of a previous study that I had overlooked. It also brought me face to face with agonistic conventions in academic discourse, and the distortions and misrepresentations that result from them.
Do rare emotional scenes enhance LPP modulation

Abstract The slow wave late positive potential (LPP) is one of the most dependable measures of emotional processing in human neuroscience. While LPP positivity shows modest malleability by emotional regulation and competing tasks, its fundamental enhancement by emotional scene perception is extremely reliable. Here we assess the impact of emotional scene frequency (67%, 50% and 17%) on the strength of LPP modulation, across 3 groups of participants, using consistent presentation and analysis methods. The results demonstrate strong consistency in the strength of emotional modulation across frequent, equiprobable, and rare emotion conditions. However, a small enhancement of LPP positivity was found during unpleasant scenes in the rare emotion condition. The LPP thus appears to be largely insensitive to contextual features such as scene frequency and predictability, suggesting that strong emotional cues persistently engage orienting and evaluation processes because this tendency was selected in phylogeny.
The Role of International Human Resource Management in the Formulation and Implementation of Ethics Programs in Multinational Enterprises

Organizations, across the globe, are implementing ethics programs but with mixed results. This issue becomes more complex for multinational enterprises operating in several different economies simultaneously. In this chapter, we extensively review the literature on ethics programs in the US and the international context to suggest ways of better understanding the role of international human resource management in the success of ethics programs in multinationals. We propose that the ethics programs should be fully integrated with the human resource practices for their successful formulation, designing in terms of content, and communication of ethics programs. We also suggest that this integration should be examined along with institutional, industry- and country-level, and organizational forces affecting the success of ethics programs to garner a holistic view of the role of international human resource management in the formulation and implementation of ethics programs in multinational enterprises.
Maturation of the developing human fetal prostate in a rodent xenograft model.

BACKGROUND Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed nonskin cancer in men. The etiology of prostate cancer is unknown, although both animal and epidemiologic data suggest that early life exposures to various toxicants, may impact DNA methylation status during development, playing an important role. METHODS We have developed a xenograft model to characterize the growth and differentiation of human fetal prostate implants (gestational age 12–24 weeks) that can provide new data on the potential role of early life stressors on prostate cancer. The expression of key immunohistochemical markers responsible for prostate maturation was evaluated, including p63, cytokeratin 18, α-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, caldesmon, Ki-67, prostate-specific antigen, estrogen receptor-α, and androgen receptor. Xenografts were separated into epithelial and stromal compartments using laser capture microdissection (LCM), and the DNA methylation status was assessed in >480,000 CpG sites throughout the genome. RESULTS Xenografts demonstrated growth and maturation throughout the 200 days of post-implantation evaluation. DNA methylation profiles of laser capture microdissected tissue demonstrated tissue-specific markers clustered by their location in either the epithelium or stroma of human prostate tissue. Differential methylated promoter region CpG-associated gene analysis revealed significantly more stromal than epithelial DNA methylation in the 30- and 90-day xenografts. Functional classification analysis identified CpG-related gene clusters in methylated epithelial and stromal human xenografts. CONCLUSION This study of human fetal prostate tissue establishes a xenograft model that demonstrates dynamic growth and maturation, allowing for future mechanistic studies of the developmental origins of later life proliferative prostate disease. Prostate 73:1761–1775, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Are School Counselors a Cost-Effective Education Input?

While much is known about the effects of class size and teacher quality on achievement, there is little evidence on whether policymakers can improve education by utilizing non-instructional resources. We exploit plausibly exogenous within-school variation in counselors and find that one additional counselor increases boys’ reading and math achievement by over one percentile point, and reduces misbehavior of both boys and girls. Estimates imply the marginal counselor has the same impact on overall achievement as increasing the quality of every teacher in the school by nearly one-third of a standard deviation, and is twice as effective as reducing class size by hiring an additional teacher.
Increasing both CoCrMo-alloy Particle Size and Surface Irregularity Induces Increased Macrophage Inflammasome Activation In vitro Potentially through Lysosomal Destabilization Mechanisms

Recent investigations indicate that innate immune “danger-signaling” pathways mediate metal implant debris induced-inflammatory responses, e.g. NALP3 inflammasome. How the physical characteristics of particles, (size, shape and chemical composition) affect this inflammatory reactivity remains controversial. We examined the role of Cobalt-Chromium-Molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy particle shape and size on human macrophage phagocytosis, lysosomal destabilization, and inflammasome activation. Round/smooth vs. irregularly shaped/rough CoCrMo-alloy particles of ~1µm and 6 to 7µm diameter were investigated for differential lysosomal damage and inflammasome activation in human monocytes/macrophages. While spherical/smooth 1µm CoCrMo-alloy particles did not measurably affect macrophage IL-1β production, irregular 1µm CoCrMo-alloy particles induced significant IL-1β increases over controls. Both round/smooth particles and irregular CoCrMo-alloy particles that were 6 to 7µ min size induced >10-fold increases in IL-1β production compared to similarly shaped smaller particles (p 3-fold increase in IL-1β vs. similarly sized round/smooth particles (at an equal dose, particles/cell). CoCrMo-alloy particle-size-induced IL-1β production was dependent on the lysosomal protease Cathepsin B, further supporting lysosomal destabilization as causative in inflammation. Phagocytosable larger/irregular shaped particles (6µm) demonstrated the greatest lysosomal destabilization (observed immunofluorescently) and inflammatory reactivity when compared on an equal dose basis (particles/cell) to smaller/spherical 1µm particles in vitro.
Determinants of forward pulmonary vein flow: An open pericardium pig model

Abstract OBJECTIVE To elucidate determinants of pulmonary venous (PV) flow. BACKGROUND Right ventricular (RV) systolic pressure (vis a tergo), left atrial (LA) relaxation and left ventricular (LV) systole and relaxation (vis a fronte) have been suggested as determinants of the pulmonary venous (PV) anterograde Doppler flow velocities, but their relative contributions to those flow velocities have not been quantified. METHODS We analyzed, by multiple regression analysis, the determinants of PV anterograde velocities in an open-pericardium, paced (70 and 90 beats/min) pig model in which LA afterload was modified by creating LV regional ischemia (left anterior descending coronary artery constriction). We measured high fidelity LA, LV and RV pressures and Doppler flow velocities (epicardial echocardiography). We calculated LV tau, LA relaxation (a through x pressure difference divided by time, normalized by a pressure), LA peak v through x and RV systolic through LA peak v (RVSP-v) pressure differences, LV ejection fraction, long-axis shortening, stroke volume (LV outflow integral × outflow area) and LA four-chamber dimensions, Doppler transmitral and PV flow velocities and velocity-time integrals. RESULTS Left ventricular regional ischemia increased mildly LA y trough pressure (8 ± 1 vs. 6 ± 1 mm Hg, p = 0.001). Left ventricular stroke volume (coefficient: 0.5 cm/ml, SE: 0.2, p = 0.005) and LA peak v pressure (coefficient: −0.8 cm/mm Hg, SE: 0.3, p = 0.008) determined the PV total systolic integral. Left atrial relaxation determined both PV early systolic peak velocity and integral (coefficient: −0.8 cm/mm Hg, SE: 0.3, p = 0.04). Left atrial maximum area (coefficient: 2 cm−1, SE: 0.7, p = 0.01) and RVSP-v (coefficient: 0.1 cm/mm Hg, SE: 0.05, p = 0.03) determined the late systolic integral. The PV total systolic integral determined both PV early diastolic peak velocity and integral (coefficient: 1.2, SE: 0.2, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In an experimental model of LV acute ischemia of limited duration, the main independent predictors of PV systolic anterograde flow velocities are LA relaxation and compliance (LA peak v pressure) and LV systole—all vis a fronte factors. In the setting of mildly increased LA pressures, PV systolic flow (LA reservoir filling) is an independent predictor of PV early diastolic flow (LA early conduit).
Disaggregation of GOES land surface temperatures using surface emissivity

[1] Accurate temporal and spatial estimation of land surface temperatures (LST) is important for modeling the hydrological cycle at field to global scales because LSTs can improve estimates of soil moisture and evapotranspiration. Using remote sensing satellites, accurate LSTs could be routine, but unfortunately the only instruments available to provide diurnal cycle observations have coarse spatial resolution (4 km). One approach that may help overcome the spatial resolution constraint is to disaggregate geostationary LST data using visible to thermal infrared information provided by single time of day MODIS 1 km observations. These higher-resolution observations are correlative with observations at 4-km scales, and thus can be used to estimate 1-km LST values throughout a day. Inamdar et al 2008, for example, showed how GOES 10 imager and MODIS data could be combined to produce accurate half-hourly, 1-km LST values. However, the method disaggregated coarse LST values using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data and was sometimes highly inaccurate when considering heterogeneous terrain. This problem can be greatly reduced with an alternative approach, whereby MODIS land cover emissivity data sets supply the needed 1-km information. In a study of LST estimation over the US Southwest, diurnal disaggregation models using emissivity data were significantly more accurate than a comparable NDVI-based model. This alternative approach which directly employs 8-day composites of MODIS 1 km emissivity is a simple and fast method.
Materializing and persisting inferred and uncertain knowledge in RDF datasets

As the semantic web grows in popularity and enters the mainstream of computer technology, RDF (Resource Description Framework) datasets are becoming larger and more complex. Advanced semantic web ontologies, especially in medicine and science, are developing. As more complex ontologies are developed, there is a growing need for efficient queries that handle inference. In areas such as research, it is vital to be able to perform queries that retrieve not just facts but also inferred knowledge and uncertain information. OWL (Web Ontology Language) defines rules that govern provable inference in semantic web datasets. In this paper, we detail a database schema using bit vectors that is designed specifically for RDF datasets. We introduce a framework for materializing and storing inferred triples. Our bit vector schema enables storage of inferred knowledge without a query performance penalty. Inference queries are simplified and performance is improved. Our evaluation results demonstrate that our inference solution is more scalable and efficient than the current state-of-the-art. There are also standards being developed for representing probabilistic reasoning within OWL ontologies. We specify a framework for materializing uncertain information and probabilities using these ontologies. We define a multiple vector schema for representing probabilities and classifying uncertain knowledge using thresholds. This solution increases the breadth of information that can be efficiently retrieved.
Waves in a Lennard-Jones Dusty Plasma Liquid

Recently it has been proposed to alter the interaction between dust grains in a plasma by applying ac electric fields to distort the Debye spheres surrounding the grains, which may lead to interaction potentials with a Lennard-Jones form under certain conditions (e.g., Kompaneets et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 043705 (2009)). Motivated by this, we consider the dispersion relations of longitudinal and transverse waves in a dusty plasma liquid where the grains interact via a Lennard-Jones potential. We use the Quasi-Localized Charge approximation combined with an analytic expression for the pair distribution function for Lennard-Jones fluids (Matteoli and Mansoori, J. Chem. Phys. 103, 4672 (1995)). Possible dusty plasma experimental parameters are considered. (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The President's Economy: Parity in Presidential Party Performance

Have Democratic presidents since World War II had economic records that were superior to those of their Republican counterparts? In a previous study, I reported findings that there were no significant differences between the economic records of the presidential parties once the conditions of the economy they inherited from their predecessor were taken into account. Comiskey and Marsh challenged this finding with an analysis that controlled for business cycle effects. This article reexamines the issue and Comiskey and Marsh’s analysis. The reexamination reaffirms my earlier findings that the presidential parties have not significantly differed in their economic records once the effects of inherited economic conditions are taken into account.
Design issues for SiGe heterojunction bipolar transistors

Recent progress in the growth of strained SiGe epitaxial layers, demonstrating the feasibility of silicon-based heterojunction transistors, is examined. The specific design issues for SiGe HBTs are discussed. These are illustrated by reviewing the experimentally obtained electrical characteristics of recent SiGe-based devices. Analytical and numerical calculations are used to explain the device physics and to assess the potential circuit advantage of SiGe for present and future technologies. Experimental results for a double-polysilicon structure with a non-self-aligned emitter opening are reported. For this type of device the additional degree of freedom available for profile optimization can be employed to enhance f/sub T/, shift the peak f/sub T/ to lower current density, or lower the base sheet resistance. Very good DC operation has been observed at room and low temperature, suggesting improved speed performance over homojunction devices. >
Pragmatic liberalism and the critique of modernity

Introduction: the question of modernity Part I. Richard Rorty: The Rudiments of Pragmatic Liberalism: 1. The philosophy of representations 2. Knowledge without representations 3. Justification as a social practice 4. The problem of truth 5. Davidsonian therapy 6. Truth and science 7. Ethics without foundations 8. Liberal ironism Part II. Alasdaire MacIntyre: A Modern Malgre Lui: 1. MacIntyre's critique of the enlightenment 2. Which enlightenment? 3. In defense of enlightenment humanism 4. The lure of tradition 5. The tradition of the virtues 6. MacIntyre and modernity 7. MacIntyre versus pragmatic liberalism Part III. Charles Taylor: An Augustinian Modern: 1. Taylor's historical project 2. Locke and the radical enlightenment 3. The primacy of everyday life 4. Beyond the enlightenment: evil, romanticism, and poetic truth 5. Taylor's critique of naturalism 6. Williams and objectivity 7. Naturalism and hypergoods: pragmatic liberalism Conclusion.