cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
THE IMPACT OF SENTENCING GUIDELINES ON JAIL INCARCERATION IN MINNESOTA

Although available empirical evidence suggests that Minnesota's Determinate Sentencing Law has had little effect on prison incarceration, it is still uncertain whether the sentencing guidelines affected jail use. A few recent studies imply that the guidelines have had a positive effect on jail incarceration rates. Accounts have pointed to preexisting trends, more severe sanctioning of repeat property offenders, and judicial concern with prison overcrowding as possible underlying causes of this observed increase. Using longitudinal data and an ARIMA study design, we investigate the validity of these competing explanations. Our findings show that the onset of the sentencing guidelines increased judicial use of the jail sanction beyond the effect of preexisting trends. In addition, the effect of mitigated dispositional departures from the no prison/prison outcome on jail use is salient only when prison population levels are high. This latter finding supports the thesis that judicial concern with prison overcrowding motivated judges to circumvent the guidelines in order to shift the burden of incarcerating offenders from the state to the local level. The policy implications of these results for determinate sentencing reform are discussed. Most research on the effects of Minnesota's determinate sentencing reform has focused primarily on whether the sentencing guidelines increased proportionality and equity in sanctioning criminal offenders. This research shows overwhelmingly that the guidelines not only reduced sentencing disparity but also maintained the prison population within existing capacity limits (Blumstein et al., 1983). Yet, as several social scientists have noted, research conducted to date has been curiously silent about the effect of the guidelines on jail incarceration (Parent, 1988; Tonry, 1987). Despite evidence that jail and prison populations are intimately linked (Mays and Thompson, 1988) and that jail incarceration rates * An earlier version of this article was presented at the 1994 annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Miami, Florida. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions. We also are grateful to Sue Carter for providing access to the data of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission.
Connecting Ethics with High Ability: An Interdisciplinary Approach

This book builds interdisciplinary bridges between two very broad inquiry domains: ethics and high ability. Studies of ethics delve into conceptions of right conduct and the nuances of moral behavior. Studies of high ability scrutinize the nature and dynamics of giftedness, talent development, creativity, and intelligence. First, this chapter provides some justification for connecting these very complex, divergent bodies of knowledge. Second, it employs a variety of theories and research findings to illustrate the complexity, longevity, and interdisciplinary nature of the body of inquiry pertaining to ethics and morality. Third, it outlines a set of questions that underlie most of the work of the contributing authors. Finally, it provides an overview of the chapters in the volume.
A-computable graphs

Abstract We consider locally finite graphs with vertex set N . A graph G is computable if the edge set is computable and highly computable if the neighborhood function N G (which given v outputs all of its adjacent vertices) is computable. Let χ ( G ) be the chromatic number of G and χ c ( G ) be the computable chromatic number of G. Bean showed there is a computable graph G with χ ( G ) = 3 and χ c ( G ) = ∞ , but if G is highly computable then χ c ( G ) ≤ 2 χ ( G ) . In a computable graph the neighborhood function is Δ 2 0 . In highly computable graphs it is computable. It is natural to ask what happens between these extremes. A computable graph G is A-computable if N G ≤ T A . Gasarch and Lee showed that if A is c.e. and not computable then there exists an A-computable graph G such that χ ( G ) = 2 but χ c ( G ) = ∞ . Hence for A noncomputable and c.e., A-computable graphs behave more like computable graphs than highly computable graphs. We prove analogous results for Euler paths and domatic partitions. Gasarch and Lee left open what happens for other Δ 2 0 sets A. We show that there exists an ∅ T A T ∅ ′ such that every A-computable graph G with χ ( G ) ∞ has χ c ( G ) ∞ . Finally, we classify all such A.
AN AUTOMATED METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF SERUM BILIRUBIN.

The bilirubin method of Rand and DiPasqua (3) , which utilizes a stabilized diazonium salt solution of 2,4 dichloraniline, has been adapted to automatic chemical analysis. Both total bilirubin and "1-min. reacting" bilirubin can be assayed with good accuracy and precision. Data are presented to show excellent agreement with the manually performed procedure and the procedure of Malloy and Evelyn (1) , which was used as the reference method.
Evaluation of tedizolid against Staphylococcus aureus and enterococci with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin, daptomycin or linezolid

Objectives Tedizolid displays potent activity against Gram-positive pathogens. In vitro studies against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus and enterococci demonstrated improved tedizolid activity over linezolid. However, this is not well-characterized against a large collection of resistant isolates, including vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus (VISA), heterogeneous VISA (hVISA), daptomycin-non-susceptible (DNS) S. aureus, linezolid-resistant (LR) S. aureus and VRE. Therefore, our objective was to determine tedizolid activity versus other agents, against MRSA and VRE with various resistance phenotypes. Methods In total, 302 MRSA (75 DNS, 100 VISA, 120 hVISA and 7 LR) and 220 VRE [100 Enterococcus faecalis (all susceptible to daptomycin and linezolid) and 120 E. faecium (25 DNS and 10 LR)] were evaluated. LR isolates were analysed for the cfr gene. MICs of tedizolid, linezolid, ampicillin, clindamycin, daptomycin, gentamicin, levofloxacin, oxacillin, tigecycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and vancomycin were determined in accordance with CLSI guidelines. Results Tedizolid MIC90 values for hVISA, VISA and DNS were 0.5 mg/L (versus 4, 4 and 2 mg/L, respectively, for linezolid). The tedizolid MIC range for LR MRSA was 0.063-1 mg/L. Two LR MRSA possessed the cfr gene with tedizolid MICs of 0.125 and 0.25 mg/L (linezolid MICs of 16 and 8 mg/L). The tedizolid MIC90 for vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis and E. faecium was 0.25 and 1 mg/L, respectively; three dilutions lower for E. faecalis and two dilutions lower for E. faecium compared with linezolid. Conclusions Tedizolid MICs demonstrate activity against isolates with decreased susceptibility to alternative agents, including linezolid. Tedizolid may be a viable treatment option in clinical situations with MDR Gram-positive pathogens.
The Times Square Kiss: Iconic Photography and Civic Renewal in U.S. Public Culture

Two decades ago Thomas Bender called on historians to incorporate the many new forms of social explanation into an expanded conception of political history. Distinguishing such inquiry from consensus history and cautioning against a narrative hegemony, Ben der proposed that the focal point for this work be "the making of a public culture." That culture would be both the site where social groups contested for the power to define the nation, and the product of that dynamic, contingent process of public representation. By exploring how power is made manifest in, flows through, and assigns meaning to cul tural phenomena, one could again fulfill "the social role of the historian, who seeks, as the novelist Henry James and the historian Henry Adams understood so well, to create the images of society that become 'the mirror in which society looks at itself.'"1 It seems that Bender was swimming against a very strong current, and we doubt there is much interest today in narrative synthesis on behalf of "our common life as a people and as a nation." Likewise, "cultural studies" now references three decades of work in many disciplines on cultural phenomena as sites for domination, resistance, and negotia tion. The concept of "public culture," however, remains a vital idea that has just begun to be developed. By focusing on the public, it features a democratic understanding of the political that goes to the center of modern norms of legitimacy; by emphasizing culture, it features the media, arts, and other communicative practices that shape identity and agency throughout modern societies. As Bender wished, public culture is distinct from "mere social collectivities or cultural pastiches"; it also must include a stronger emphasis on public media than he imagined if the historian is to grasp how a democratic society works in practice.2 When Adams, Bender, and others speak of the images by which "society looks at itself," they are likely to be using the terms metaphorically. But how does society see itself? Much of the time, by seeing. People form, maintain, and continually revise their conception of themselves as a people by looking at images in the public media. They look at presidents, big league hitters, hurricane victims, and voters; terrorists, soldiers, talking heads, pro
Supervisor bashing: Round 1 book review

Teacher Evaluation: Educative Alternatives is reminiscent of the many popular books of the sixties and seventies that "bashed" American education and offered romanticized alternatives such as A.S. Neill's Summerhill. The new bashing mania focuses on supervisors, or more specifically, all those who evaluate teachers. The editor makes two claims for the book in the Preface (p. vi). The first claim is that it is the most systematic exploration of the nature of teacher evaluation yet undertaken and does so with erudition and poise. Certainly it is a very interesting and heavily documented exploration. The reviewer believes those concerned with teacher evaluation will find it thought-provoking. However, it is unnecessarily biased against evaluators and evaluation in general. A book that claims to be the most systematic exploration of the subject must represent both sides of the coin. Few professors or practitioners (I've observed none) would suggest that teacher evaluation strategies and techniques are unimportant or not in need of improvement. The authors, however, lay the cause of all fault at the feet of supervisors. They repeatedly characterize supervisors and the entire practice of teacher evaluation as an evil, diabolical, and heinous crime against teachers, with claims that supervision is a way of controlling, disenfranchising, pushing teachers around, and "silencing" them. On numerous occasions supervisors are portrayed as dispensers of knowledge and teachers as the receptors to be "filled." They further illustrate this attitude by clothing supervisors with timeworn quotes from Frederick Taylor's scientific management theory. The following quote was used twice:
Cerebrospinal Fluid Broth Culture Isolates: Their Significance for Antibiotic Treatment

Enriched broth medium is routinely used as a supplement for agar plate culture of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). To assess the clinical utility of broth cultures, 151 consecutive CSF bacterial and fungal isolates obtained from 91 patients were retrospectively reviewed for the effect of results on treatment. Treatment decisions associated with individual CSF specimens for which isolates were recovered from thioglycollate broth only were compared with the treatment decisions associated with CSF specimens for which isolates were recovered by agar plate culture. Treatment was defined as initiation of or change in antimicrobial therapy based on the reporting of CSF culture isolates. Thirty-six (24%) of the 151 isolates were recovered in broth only. Three (8%) of these 36 isolates (from 34 patients) resulted in treatment with antimicrobial agents; however, 2 of the 3 treated isolates (Candida tropicalis, Proteus mirabilis) were recovered from a second CSF specimen in agar plate culture within 24 hours. Thus, only a single isolate (3%; Staphylococcus epidermidis) was treated based solely on a positive broth culture result. In contrast, 60 (52%) of the 115 isolates recovered in agar plate culture from 23 (40%) of 57 patients were treated (staphylococci, 28; gram-negative bacilli, 14; Cryptococcus neoformans, 10; Streptococcus pneumoniae, 3; Streptococcus sanguis, 1; other, 4). We conclude that treatment with antimicrobial agents based on isolates recovered from CSF specimens in broth culture alone is infrequent and infer from the data that the use of CSF broth cultures contributes little to treatment decisions.
Assessing learned models of fish schooling behavior

Agent-based simulation is a valuable tool for validating the theoretical models biologists and ethologists use to explain animal behavior. By automating the process of constructing agent-based models (ABM) directly from observation data we can enable researchers to focus more of their time on the analysis of the behaviors and animals in question. We present experimental results using a modified version of (k) Nearest Neighbor to learn an executable model of fish schooling behavior from both synthetic data and tracking data of live juvenile Notemigonus Crysoleucas, and quantitatively asses the performance of the learned behavior. Our experiments illustrate that our method can successfully learn fish schooling, and provide an objective criteria for comparing competing biological theories of behavior.
How to isolate americium

Americium is a highly radioactive element found in used nuclear fuel. Because used commercial fuels always contain americium, chemical fuel processing must include separation of this element. Americium is easy to recover concurrently with eight other elements in the fuel (the lanthanide elements) but much more difficult to isolate free of those other eight. On page 652 of this issue, Dares et al. report a method that may provide a simple route to isolating americium ( 1 ).
Morphologic evaluation of acute endometritis in mares with differing resistance to uterine infections.

The study was designed to determine differences between normal mares and mares with endometrial pathology in the inflammatory response after bacterial challenge. Six normal mares (biopsy category I) and 4 mares with pathological endometrial changes (biopsy category II) were given an intrauterine infusion of β-hemolytic streptococci on the second day of estrus. All mares had a similar kind of inflammatory response after the bacterial inoculation as assessed by rectal and vaginal examinations. There were no significant differences in the amount of discharge, uterine tone, uterine size and cervical relaxation between the groups. Leukocytic response, as determined by endometrial smears and biopsies, was of the same magnitude in both groups. Two mares from the pathological group were not able to eliminate the infection, but had vaginal discharge and bacteriologically positive uterine swabs until the end of the experiment. It is concluded that the inability of some mares to clear uterine infections cannot be explained by a deficient inflammatory response.
Expression of TGFalpha in meningiomas.

The objective of this study was to examine the expression of transforming growth factor α (TGFα), a mitogen for many cell types, and its receptor in basic subtypes of meningiomas as well as in meningiomas of varying grade. Formalin-fixed tissues from 26 meningiomas including 15 benign (5 meningothelial, 5 transitional, and 5 fibrous variants), 6 atypical, and 5 malignant examples were immunohistochemically examined for both TGFα protein and EGF/TGFα receptor protein. In addition, in situ hybridization (ISH) was used to detect TGFα mRNA expression. Immunostaining for TGFα was strongest in fibrous and atypical meningiomas, followed closely by transitional and malignant tumors. Only weak reactivity was observed in the meningothelial variant. In all but 4 tumors (2 fibrous, 2 atypical), ISH showed TGFα mRNA to be present, the signal being stronger in malignant than in conventional or atypical tumors. Lastly, immunostaining for EGF/TGFα receptor was positive in all tumors studied. Strong TGFα protein expression in meningiomas is commonly associated with fibrous morphology. Although the frequent detection of both TGFα protein and its mRNA, as well as of EGF/TGFα receptor within tumors of all type and grades, suggests that TGFα serves to promote tumor growth, its possible role in tumorigenesis or malignant progression is uncertain.
Measuring Apoptosis in Neural Stem Cells

In trauma to, and diseases of, the central nervous system (CNS), apoptotic events are frequently observed in and around areas of damage. Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and their progeny have been suggested as possible therapeutic agents in the treatment of CNS diseases. The success of stem cell transplantation not only depends on the capacity of these cells to retain their functionality after transplant into the CNS but also on their ability to resist the in situ environmental cues that may lead to apoptosis. Although there are many methods used to detect apoptosis, the assessment of apoptosis in adherent cultures of primary stem cells and their progeny is more limited. We describe a series of protocols we have used to assess apoptosis in these cells.
The Setting: Institutional Social Structures, Success, and Excellence

What is the social setting of the manager as office executive? MacIntyre’s essay on moral agency and the “Case of J” provides insights about the setting of the manager. Part of the particularity of the modern manager is the (misguided) belief that one can act in a manner that is devoid of particularity, disengaged from concrete social practices and specific traditions. What character traits are needed to succeed as an office executive? Are these virtues? Raising these questions brings into focus MacIntyre’s schema of practices-institutions-goods-and-virtues. Contemporary management literature increasingly has recognized that “soft skills” are needed for managerial success. Reflecting on such traits while asking whether the so-called soft skills are virtues brings into focus the setting of the manager as office executive.
STYX: Stream Processing with Trustworthy Cloud-based Execution

With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), billions of devices are expected to continuously collect and process sensitive data (e.g., location, personal health). Due to limited computational capacity available on IoT devices, the current de facto model for building IoT applications is to send the gathered data to the cloud for computation. While private cloud infrastructures for handling large amounts of data streams are expensive to build, using low cost public (untrusted) cloud infrastructures for processing continuous queries including on sensitive data leads to concerns over data confidentiality. This paper presents STYX, a novel programming abstraction and managed runtime system, that ensures confidentiality of IoT applications whilst leveraging the public cloud for continuous query processing. The key idea is to intelligently utilize partially homomorphic encryption to perform as many computationally intensive operations as possible in the untrusted cloud. STYX provides a simple abstraction to the IoT developer to hide the complexities of (1) applying complex cryptographic primitives, (2) reasoning about performance of such primitives, (3) deciding which computations can be executed in an untrusted tier, and (4) optimizing cloud resource usage. An empirical evaluation with benchmarks and case studies shows the feasibility of our approach.
Toward a New Model of Usability: Guidelines for Selecting Reading Fluency Apps Suitable for Instruction of Struggling Readers:

Computer applications related to reading instruction have become commonplace in schools and link with established components of the reading process, emergent skills, decoding, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. This article focuses on computer technology in conjunction with durable methods for building oral reading fluency when readers struggle. The article offers guidelines to enhance the likelihood that for the selection of technology will be congruent with effective practice. Finally, we suggest a model for usability for parents, teachers, and designers to create better and more functional instructionally oriented applications.
What “blindness” to gender differences helps women see and do: Implications for confidence, agency, and action in male-dominated environments

Abstract The ways in which we discuss gender (embracing vs. downplaying difference) has implications for women’s workplace confidence and behavior, especially in male-dominated environments and positions of power. In five total studies (N = 1453), across a variety of samples, we found that gender-blindness—the belief that gender differences should be downplayed—is a more adaptive strategy for increasing female workplace confidence than gender-awareness—the belief that gender differences should be celebrated. In addition to increasing confidence, gender-blindness was related to actions necessary for reducing gender disparities (e.g., risk-taking, negotiation). We found that perceived gender differences in agency (i.e., assertiveness, independence) accounts for gender differences in workplace confidence, especially in male-dominated environments (e.g., business school) and positions of power (managerial positions). Finally, we found that gender-blindness either lessened or had no effect on men’s confidence, demonstrating the unique positive effect of gender-blindness on women’s confidence. Together, this research highlights the potential for downplaying differences, instead of emphasizing them, to combat the confidence gap.
THE SIERPINSKI TRIANGLE PLANE

The Sierpinski Triangle (ST) is a fractal which has Haussdorf dimension log23 ≈ 1.585 that has been studied extensively. In this paper, we introduce the Sierpinski Triangle Plane (STP), an infinite extension of the ST that spans the entire real plane but is not a vector subspace or a tiling of the plane with a finite set of STs. STP is shown to be a radial fractal with many interesting and surprising properties.
“Scrappy” Sustainability at Ohio Wesleyan University

Abstract This chapter describes a grassroots, distributed approach to sustainability on a college campus: students, staff, and faculty figure out how to make sustainability happen with no full-time staff and limited funds. There are some benefits to this approach to sustainability: it requires substantive collaboration between students, staff, and faculty. Creative and viable solutions arise from the cooperation of a diverse set of minds, all of whom can contribute some specific kind of expertise to the effort. This approach lends itself to more integration of sustainability across campus, and more active engagement, without depending on (or deferring to) one individual (a sustainability coordinator) for guidance and leadership. The engagement of an increasing number of students provides many excellent theory-into-practice experiences. Success after facing many challenges, but moving forward anyway, may be more meaningful given the persistence it requires. This persistence and creative engagement reveals dedication and commitment to environmental causes. Finally, this approach has put in place a strong foundation of sustainability upon which a sustainability coordinator can build.
Economic and Environmental Impacts of Agrobiotechnology: Conclusions

It is customary for a concluding chapter to summarize the findings presented in the main body of the book. Here, such a task would be especially challenging. The individual studies that make up the main text cover an enormous amount of material and present numerous insights on the impacts of first-generation agrobiotechnologies around the world. Many of the studies are significant contributions to the literature in their own right. I therefore do not attempt to summarize all their detail. Instead, I highlight some general themes and robust conclusions that shed light on what we truly know about the economic and environmental impacts of first-generation agrobiotechnologies.
Abstract 3242: Differences in stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer from women of African and European ancestry after accounting for tumor characteristics

Background: Women of African ancestry (AA) have higher breast cancer mortality than other US racial/ethnic groups, attributed to a number of social and economic factors. However, breast tumors in AA women are more likely to present with higher grade and lacking estrogen receptor (ER) expression compared to those from women of European ancestry (EA), suggesting the importance of tumor factors in breast cancer disparities. Emerging evidence suggests that stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL-str) have a role in immune response to therapy and prognosis of breast cancer. The objective of this study was to examine associations between risk factors for breast cancer and TIL-str, with consideration of tumor characteristics. Methods: We reviewed the hematoxylin and eosin slides from surgical or biopsy tumor blocks of invasive breast cancer from 1,385 cases (986 AA and 399 EA women, aged 20-75 years) in the Women9s Circle of Health Study, a multicenter case-control study in New York and New Jersey. In-person interviews were conducted at diagnosis to obtain data on demographics, family histories, hormone use, and reproductive and menstrual histories. Anthropometric measurements were taken by trained staff. TIL-str were scored as 0%, 1%, and 10% to 100% in increments of 10%. Linear regressions were performed to estimate differences in TIL-str scores (β). Results: In univariate analysis, TIL-str was higher in tumors from AA than those from EA women overall (mean score = 21.5% vs. 12.5; P Conclusion: Self-reported African compared to European ancestry is independently associated with higher TIL-str scores in breast tumors. Our findings suggest that immune response may play a role in the differences in breast cancer biology and outcomes between AA and EA women. (Funding: The Breast Cancer Research Foundation; NIH P01CA151135, R01CA100598, R01CA185623, P30CA072720, K07CA201334; US Army Medical Research and Material Command DAMD-17-01-1-0334) Citation Format: Ting-Yuan D. Cheng, Rochelle Payne Ondracek, Song Yao, Warren Davis, Angela Omilian, Mateusz Opyrchal, Elisa V. Bandera, Michael J. Higgins, Christine B. Ambrosone, Thaer Khoury. Differences in stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancer from women of African and European ancestry after accounting for tumor characteristics [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3242.
Does social capital pay off? The case of small business resilience after Hurricane Katrina

This article uses objective and subjective measures of small business resilience and multiple categories of social capital pay‐offs to answer two main questions. Does social capital pay off after a natural disaster; and if it does, what type of social capital has the greatest impact on small business resilience? The pay‐off from bridging social capital—receiving support from the community—is what drives both objective and subjective resilience post‐Katrina. The results also show linking capital—support from institutions—can improve economic resilience. Our results provide evidence social capital is a key asset for long‐term resilience for small businesses. Business owners with links to the community and institutions—with more social capital—will be better off when facing a natural disaster.
When 18 Days of Television Coverage Is Not Enough: A Six-Nation Composite of Motivations for Mobile Device Use in 2018 Winter Olympic Games

A survey of 2,296 people from 6 nations (Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and the United States) deciphered uses and gratifications for consuming content on a variety of media platforms durin...
PRE-BORDER GENE FOXB1 REGULATES THE DIFFERENTIATION TIMING AND AUTONOMIC NEURONAL POTENTIAL OF HUMAN NEURAL CREST CELLS

SUMMARY What are the factors that are induced during the transitory phases from pluripotent stem cells to lineage specified cells, how are they regulated, and what are their functional contributions are fundamental questions for basic developmental biology and clinical research. Here, we uncover a set of pre-border (pB) gene candidates, including forkhead box B1 (FOXB1), induced during human neural crest (NC) cell development. We characterize their associated enhancers that are bound by pluripotency factors and rapidly activated by β-catenin-mediated signaling during differentiation. Surprisingly, the endogenous transient expression of FOXB1 directly regulates multiple early NC and neural progenitor loci including PAX7, MSX2, SOX1, and ASCL1, controls the timing of NC fate acquisition, and differentially activates autonomic neurogenic versus mesenchymal fates in mature NC cells. Our findings provide further insight into the concept of the less characterized pB state and clearly establishes FOXB1 as a key regulator in early cell fate decisions during human pluripotent stem cell differentiation.
A Softer, Simpler View of Chevron

Justice Kennedy's concurrence in Pereira gives reason to hope that the Court may be finally catching on to the difficulties it created by Chevron's opening language, as distinct from its inherent reasoning. When courts quote language like "precise question" and "permissible" to limit themselves (as Justice Scalia and others unfortunately tended to reinforce by their quotations from the opinion), they stray not only from judicial function but also from the statute (APA) that instructs them how to review, and which strangely the opinion does not mention. But Chevron actually (a) independently found and defined a statutory gap within which the EPA would have authority to act (infra vires) and then (b) reviewed its action for reasonableness. There is no problem reconciling this approach with either proper judicial function or 5 USC 706.6.
Drought minimized nitrogen fertilization effects on bioenergy feedstock quality

Abstract Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is one of the leading candidates for sustainable lignocellulosic biofuel production in North America. Most current management recommendations for switchgrass include applications of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers to increase production, particularly when grown on marginal lands. However, this management can be costly to growers and have negative impacts on ecosystem functioning. Also, N-fertilization does not always result in higher yield in switchgrass and may have unintended effects on plant biomass quality, including cell wall composition, that can affect the efficiency of fermentation processes for biofuel production. Drought stress may reduce biomass responses to N-fertilization, further reducing the value of fertilizer application. To examine whether N-fertilization and reduced precipitation affected switchgrass productivity and cell wall composition, we conducted a two-year field experiment in mature stands of two switchgrass cultivars grown for bioenergy at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research Site in Michigan, USA. Nitrogen was added at a rate of 56 kg N ha−1 (urea and ammonium nitrate), and precipitation was reduced using rainout shelters. Overall, we did not observe any effect of N-fertilization on biomass production. However, under ambient rainfall conditions, N-fertilization altered switchgrass biomass quality by reducing hemicellulose. Reduced precipitation minimized the effects of N-fertilization on switchgrass cell wall composition. Switchgrass is a relatively drought-tolerant species, and our results indicate that this crop will be a viable bioenergy feedstock even in a changing climate. However, in this study, N-fertilization had no effect on biomass quality or quantity under drought conditions.
Evaluation of Steel Girder Bridge Strengthened with Carbon Fiber–Reinforced Polymer Posttension Bars

This project investigated the effectiveness of carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite materials to strengthen an existing, structurally deficient steel girder bridge. The bridge selected for strengthening with the CFRP posttensioning system is a three-span continuous steel stringer bridge on IA-141 approximately 1.6 mi west of Bayard, Iowa. The research program consisted of several tasks, and the main emphasis was the installation of the strengthening system and associated field testing. The bridge was instrumented to measure strain at selected critical locations and tested before installation of the posttensioning system, shortly following posttensioning, and after approximately 1 and 2 years of service to assess changes in behavior resulting from the addition of the posttensioning system and time. During the application of the posttensioning strengthening system, strain was measured to investigate the response of the bridge to the applied posttensioning forces. After the last follow-up test was completed, the posttensioning force was removed (and reapplied) to investigate any loss of posttensioning force that may have occurred during the 2-year period. In general, the installation of the posttensioning system required no special equipment or training other than access equipment, an acetylene torch to remove a portion of several diaphragms, and a hydraulic jack. A three-person crew was able to install the system in just over 1 day. On the basis of an analysis performed by using an HS-20 truck, it was found that the posttensioning strengthening system reduced the dead and live load induced moments by approximately 3% to 5%, allowing the bridge to carry additional live load.
Comparison of Afirma Gene Expression Classifier with Gene Sequencing Classifier in indeterminate thyroid nodules: A single-institutional experience.

Introduction The Afirma test has been used in the diagnosis of cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules to reduce diagnostic uncertainty and unnecessary surgeries. Gene Sequencing Classifier (GSC) was developed to improve the positive predictive value and overall test performance of Gene Expression Classifier (GEC). Here we present our experience comparing the performance of first-generation assay of Afirma (GEC) with the new assay (GSC). Methods Retrospective analysis was performed on all Bethesda III and IV cytology thyroid nodules tested with GEC and GSC. Test performance was evaluated by surgical pathology outcomes. Results In total, 167 cases were tested with GEC, of which 49% were reported as benign. Fourteen cases had surgical follow-up with 11 benign, one non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) and two malignant diagnoses. Of the 167 cases, 51% had suspicious GEC result. Fifty-seven of these suspicious GEC cases had surgical follow-up with 28 benign, nine NIFTP and 20 malignant histology. There 133 cases tested with GSC, of which 61% were reported as benign. Ten cases had surgical follow-up, all of which showed benign results and 32% of the cases were tested as suspicious. Thirty-six cases with suspicious GSC had surgical follow-up. Fourteen of them had benign, five NIFTP, and 17 malignant surgical pathology. Based on molecular testing, surgical resection could have been be prevented 61% with GSC, compared to 49% with GEC test. Conclusion Our experience shows that GSC has a better test performance than GEC. Also, our data support that GSC identify more cases as benign and reduces the number of unnecessary surgeries compared to GEC.
Report of the ALCTS/LITA Linked Library Data Interest Group Virtual Meeting. American Library Association Midwinter Conference, February 2020

The ALCTS/LITA Linked Library Data Interest Group (LLD IG) held a virtual meeting on Friday, February 28, for the 2020 American Library Association Midwinter Conference. Annamarie Klose, LLD IG coc...
Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes Among Pregnant and Post-Partum Women.

Background The incidence of cardiovascular disease among pregnant women is rising in the United States. Data on racial disparities for the major cardiovascular events during pregnancy are limited. ...
Is Celestial Mechanics Deterministic

It is shown that conditions for deterministic systems are neither satisfied by those dynamical systems which are encountered by actual physical situation, nor by problems of interest in celestial mechanics.
Impact of obesity on disability, function, and physical activity: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.

Objectives: Older adults with obesity are at risk for osteoarthritis (OA) and are predisposed to functional decline and disability. We examined the association between obesity and disability, physical activity, and quality of life at 6 years.Method: Using data from the longitudinal Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), we analysed older adults (age ≥ 60 years) with a body mass index (BMI) at baseline ≥ 18.5 kg/m2 (n = 2378) using standard BMI categories. Outcomes were assessed at the 6-year follow-up and included: the Late-Life Function and Disability Index (LLDI), the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), and the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE). Linear regression predicted outcomes based on BMI category, adjusting for age, sex, race, education, smoking, cohort status, radiographic knee OA, co-morbidity scores, and baseline scores when available.Results: Follow-up data were available for 1727 (71.9%) participants (mean age 67.9 ± 5.3 years; 61.6% female). At baseline, obese subjects compared...
Teaching Robots via Natural Nonverbal Cues

As personal robots enter the social environments of our workplaces and homes, it will be important for them to be able to learn from a wide demographic of people. Our research seeks to identify simple, natural, and prevalent human teaching cues that are useful for directing the attention of robot learners so that robots can learn efficiently and effectively from these interactions.
Racial disparities and socioeconomic status in the incidence of colorectal cancer in Arizona

Abstract Background The prevalence of racial and socioeconomic disparities in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) is well known; however, statewide variability exits across the United States. The aim of our study was to determine the overall incidence, socioeconomic and racial disparities in the development of CRC in the state of Arizona. Methods We performed a 16-year (1995 to 2011) retrospective review of the Arizona Cancer Registry including all patients with CRC. Patient demographics, stage of CRC disease, and patient outcomes were recorded. The outcome measures were incidence of CRC and the difference in racial and economic characteristics among patients. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the incidence of CRC. Results A total of 40,314 patients with CRC were included of which 16% (n = 6,450) were stage IV. The overall incidence of CRC decreased 17% over the study period. The highest incidence rates were seen in White non-Hispanic and African American populations. Right-sided tumors were more common in White non-Hispanic and African Americans whereas American Indians had higher incidence of rectal tumors and Asian/Pacific Islanders more commonly had left-sided tumors. African Americans had the highest occurrence (42.8%) of more advanced disease (stage III and stage IV). A negative correlation existed between socioeconomic status and the incidence of CRC. Conclusions Overall CRC incidence decreased in Arizona by 17%, with greatest decrease rate among, White non-Hispanic and African American populations. Educated patients with higher economic earnings experienced a lower decrease in the incidence of CRC.
Mimicking white matter tract topography using core-shell electrospun nanofibers to examine migration of malignant brain tumors.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), one of the deadliest forms of human cancer, is characterized by its high infiltration capacity, partially regulated by the neural extracellular matrix (ECM). A major limitation in developing effective treatments is the lack of in vitro models that mimic features of GBM migration highways. Ideally, these models would permit tunable control of mechanics and chemistry to allow the unique role of each of these components to be examined. To address this need, we developed aligned nanofiber biomaterials via core–shell electrospinning that permit systematic study of mechanical and chemical influences on cell adhesion and migration. These models mimic the topography of white matter tracts, a major GBM migration ‘highway’. To independently investigate the influence of chemistry and mechanics on GBM behaviors, nanofiber mechanics were modulated by using different polymers (i.e., gelatin, poly(ethersulfone), poly(dimethylsiloxane)) in the ‘core’ while employing a common poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) ‘shell’ to conserve surface chemistry. These materials revealed GBM sensitivity to nanofiber mechanics, with single cell morphology (Feret diameter), migration speed, focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and myosin light chain 2 (MLC2) expression all showing a strong dependence on nanofiber modulus. Similarly, modulating nanofiber chemistry using extracellular matrix molecules (i.e., hyaluronic acid (HA), collagen, and Matrigel) in the ‘shell’ material with a common PCL ‘core’ to conserve mechanical properties revealed GBM sensitivity to HA; specifically, a negative effect on migration. This system, which mimics the topographical features of white matter tracts, should allow further examination of the complex interplay of mechanics, chemistry, and topography in regulating brain tumor behaviors.
Introduction: Co-Teaching and Literacy

Though always a concern, reading and writing literacy for students with special needs is of particular importance in today's educational climate of high-stakes testing, accountability, and inclusio...
Global Environmental Change: Modelling and Monitoring

Stimulating work in many areas of environmental science has led to a growing awareness of and concern for the global environment. The subject of global change itself can be expressed narrowly, in terms of anthropogenic impacts on climate, or offered in the broadest sense, to include all changes occurring in the Earth-ocean-atmosphere system, either naturally, or as a result of human-induced interactions. Global Environmental Change: Modelling and Monitoring chooses the latter expression, and the authors ambitiously propose a unified global modeling system to study and monitor all such changes and provide real-time assessments to assist policymakers. Although the text is divided into 11 chapters, it conceptually splits into four sections. The introduction frames the need for a centralized, international monitoring organization by predicting the catastrophic trajectory of unsustainable development of the present Earth system based on a range of environmental and societal indicators; for example, enhanced atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, tropical forest destruction, unchecked fossil fuel consumption, and increases in human disease. The second section presents an overall structure of a system designed to chart this trajectory: a global observational data base linked to a vast model—or really a collection of interconnected modeling units—spanning ocean, atmospheric and terrestrial hydrodynamics, chemistry, and biology. The third section, which represents the bulk of the text, considers specific applications of the model as explored by the authors. The final two chapters describe some recent developments in microwave remote sensing capabilities and some theory into hypothesis testing and decision-making.
Starting on the Right Track: Introducing Students to Mechanical Engineering With a Project-Based Machine Design Course

Over the past four years, we have redesigned Harvard’s introductory mechanical engineering course to introduce the principles, practices, and pleasures of mechanical engineering in an accessible format. The main goals of the course are to provide experience in the design process, demonstrate the connection between engineering science and design early in the curriculum, and build student enthusiasm for engineering, serving to attract and retain students. Unlike most introductory mechanical engineering courses, we cover strength of materials and machine elements, material usually presented much later in the curriculum, in order to provide tools for the students to quantitatively evaluate their designs. By providing just enough of this background knowledge to allow for analysis of designs, we demonstrate the connection between engineering science and design early in curriculum and motivate in-depth coverage of these topics in later courses.
Precocious dominance of point-like configurations in hadronic form factors

Abstract The transition between the perturbative and non-perturbative regimes of QCD is studied by using realistic models to examine the spatial extent of wave packets formed in high- Q 2 elastic electron-nucleon scattering. We find that such packets may be much smaller than hadronic ground states, for momentum transfers as low as about Q 2 = 1 GeV/ c 2 .
Coronary artery disease and the concept of cardiac failure

Abstract A plea is made to abandon the abstract, nonoperational term heart failure and to describe the ways in which the heart functions abnormally. Such an operational approach clearly shows that any type of failure—clinical, biophysical, biochemical, molecular—may be present in the absence of congestive heart failure, a type that requires the participation of extramyocardial factors. Furthermore, the operational approach clearly indicates that one cannot distinguish the cause from effect without knowledge of the temporal relations of the two. Lastly, an event may be the effect of one phenomenon and the cause of another which, in turn, can modify the first. It is because of these vicious circles that death is usually not caused by exhaustion of the heart but by extracardiac factors that are incompatible with life. The fundamental cause of failure of the ischemic heart to function normally lies in loss of contractile power of the block of muscles supplied by the occluded artery. The degree and subsequent types of failures will depend upon the size of the block of tissue deprived of its blood supply, its location, reactive fibrosis, the capacity of the uninvolved portion of the myocardium to compensate for the lesion, the extracardiac effects of abnormal vascular pressures, reflex and hormonal relations to the injury and the integrity of organs other than the heart. Each of these factors is discussed.
Identification of aftershocks of deep earthquakes by a new ratios method

We describe a new statistical method for identifying pairs or groups of related events in sequences which resemble, but are not identical to, a Poisson process. For a particular earthquake, we form the ratio r(Nb,Na) of the relative origin times of the Na th subsequent event and the Nb th previous event. We then find the probability that such a ratio could occur if the sequence were a Poisson process. Presumably, sequences where the ratio is too small to be probable contain related events, and the subsequent events are aftershocks. Since the method requires knowledge of the origin times of only a few preceding and subsequent events, it is more powerful than methods which require knowledge of the mean activity rate of the Poisson process. Using this ratios method, we searched the ISC catalog for aftershocks of earthquakes with focal depths exceeding 70 km. From the world as a whole, events with at least one aftershock can be found in all depth ranges, including 250 km to 450 km. However, the incidence of aftershocks is significantly lower for events between 100 and 450 km than for shallower or deeper events.
The use of some imitation flavors for masking distasteful drugs. VI. Penicillin G potassium.

Imitation root beer, cream soda, and gingerale syrups were found to be the best of all vehicles, imitation flavored and official, as masking agents for penicillin G potassium. Cacao syrup, U. S. P., the only official vehicle used in this investigation, was not significantly superior to any vehicle.