cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Forms of hydraulic fractures created during a field test in overconsolidated glacial drift

Abstract Hydraulic fractures as long as 13 m were created at depths of 2 m in overconsolidated silty clay glacial drift during a field test using equipment designed to create hydraulic fractures in oil wells. The vicinity of each fracture was excavated, typically revealing a continuous fracture whose geometry was defined by four zones: a vertical fracture adjacent to the parent borehole; a flat-lying fracture in the vicinity of the borehole; a gently dipping fracture that assumes a preferred direction of propagation away from the borehole; a vertical fracture that intersects the ground surface. The hydraulic fractures were gently dipping with a preferred direction of propagation that apparently was controlled by loading of the ground surface; the fractures propagated away from a back hoe parked next to the parent borehole. Sand pumped into some of the fractures formed permeable layers that could increase flow into or out of low-permeability soils or rock, suggesting that sand-filled hydraulic fractures could have a variety of geotechnical or environmental applications.
Engineering design of a cardiac myocyte

We describe a design algorithm to build a cardiac myocyte with specific spatial dimensions and physiological function. Using a computational model of a cardiac muscle cell, we modeled calcium (Ca 2+ ) wave dynamics in a cardiac myocyte withcontrolledspatialdimensions.Themodeledmyocytewasreplicatedinvitrowhen primaryneonateratventricularmyocyteswereculturedonmicropatternedsubstrates. The myocytes remodel to conform to the two dimensional boundary conditions and assume the shape of the printed extracellular matrix island. Mechanical perturbation of the myocyte with an atomic force microscope results in calcium-induced calcium release from intracellular stores and the propagation of a Ca 2+ wave, as indicated by high speed video microscopy using fluorescent indicators of intracellular Ca 2+ .A nal- ysis and comparison of the measured wavefront dynamics with those simulated in the computer model reveal that the engineered myocyte behaves as predicted by the model. These results are important because they represent the use of computer mod- eling, computer-aided design, and physiological experiments to design and validate the performance of engineered cells. The ability to successfully engineer biological cells and tissues for assays or therapeutic implants will require design algorithms and tools for quality and regulatory assurance.
Temperature governs on-host distribution of the northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Acari: Macronyssidae).

Abstract: The northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestri & Fanzago), is an ectoparasite of more than 70 species of North American wild birds, but it has a particularly significant impact on chickens, where it is a permanent resident of vent feathers. Improved control practices depend on a better understanding of host–mite relationships. ISA Brown hens were inoculated experimentally with northern fowl mite adults, and northern fowl mite populations developed naturally. Using a fast-response microprobe, temperatures of individual vent feathers (n = 15) were recorded at 5-mm increments along the length of the feather shaft. Immediately after temperatures were recorded, the individual feathers were quickly clipped at the skin surface and then flash-frozen between 2 small blocks of dry ice, freezing all northern fowl mite stages in situ. The feathers then were cut into 5-mm sections for careful mite enumeration by life stage. There were no overall differences among life stages in the distributions ...
Statistical model of in-vehicle sound generated from highway rumble strips

Shoulder and centreline rumble strips are used on highways in the USA to prevent single-vehicle run-off-road and opposite direction crashes. Both rumble strip types have been shown to provide positive safety benefits on a variety of roadway types. The elevated in-vehicle sound and vibration levels produced by rumble strip patterns provide the alerting properties to warn drivers that their vehicles have left the intended travel lane. This study estimated a model of in-vehicle sound intensity, frequency, and duration using seemingly unrelated regression. The statistical model indicates that increasing the vehicle speed; rumble strip length, width, and groove depth; and using a milled versus a rolled rumble strip pattern, all increase the in-vehicle sound level relative to the ambient level. A rumble strip on the right-side of the travel lane; increasing the vehicle angle of departure; increasing the centre-to-centre spacing of the grooves; a concrete roadway surface; and a wet roadway surface, all decrease the in-vehicle sound relative to the ambient sound.
The acquisition of concrete, abstract, and emotion words in a second language

The purpose of the current work was to investigate whether wordtype moderates the learning of vocabulary words in a new language. English-speaking monolinguals were trained on a matched set of concrete (e.g., jewel), emotion (e.g., angry), and abstract (e.g., virtue) words in Spanish. Participants learned a set of Spanish words and then engaged in a Stroop color-word task where they determined the color in which the words appeared (none were related to color). They also engaged in a translation recognition task where foils included semantic associates of the newly acquired word. Results indicated that although the semantic representations of all three wordtypes were acquired, there was a gradient in the degree to which those meanings were automatically activated. The pattern of data indicated that newly learned emotion words vs. non-emotion words produced faster color naming times, longer recognition times, and higher error rates in recognition.
Luteinizing hormone regulation and sexual behavior in middle-aged female rats.

LH regulation and lordosis were compared in groups of young (3 months old) and middle-aged (8–14 months old) female rats, all of whom were exhibiting regular estrous cycles at the beginning of experimentation. There were four main findings. First, in females having 4-day estrous cycles, the preovulatory surges of LH and progesterone were significantly lower in middle-aged animals. Second, phasic LH release, elicited in ovariectomized females with either estradiol benzoate (EB) and progesterone or EB and mating, was significantly reduced in middle-aged females by 8 months of age. This effect was evident in short and long term ovariectomized females. Third, the postovariectomy rise in LH and the negative feedback response to EB were attenuated in middle-aged females, but not until 11 months of age. Fourth, middle-aged and young females were equivalent in lordotic responses after ovariectomy and EB administration. Plasma steroid measurements at selected time points during the experiments confirmed that the s...
MIMO-OFDM channel estimation in the presence of I/Q imbalance and phase noise for IEEE 802.11N

In this paper, we propose a robust non-iterative pilot-aided channel estimator for multi-input multi-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems in the presence I/Q imbalance and phase noise. We show that by exploiting the phase noise and I/Q imbalance properties, the joint cost function for estimating them reduces to separate cost functions, each of which can be readily solved. Mean-squared-error performance of the proposed estimator is evaluated for IEEE 802.11n wireless local area network applications.
Data mining using two-dimensional optimized association rules: scheme, algorithms, and visualization

We discuss data mining based on association rules for two numeric attributes and one Boolean attribute. For example, in a database of bank customers, "Age" and "Balance" are two numeric attributes, and "CardLoan" is a Boolean attribute. Taking the pair (Age, Balance) as a point in two-dimensional space, we consider an association rule of the form((Age, Balance) ∈ P) ⇒ (CardLoan = Yes),which implies that bank customers whose ages and balances fall in a planar region P tend to use card loan with a high probability. We consider two classes of regions, rectangles and admissible (i.e. connected and x-monotone) regions. For each class, we propose efficient algorithms for computing the regions that give optimal association rules for gain, support, and confidence, respectively. We have implemented the algorithms for admissible regions, and constructed a system for visualizing the rules.
Short-pulse electromagnetic scattering from arbitrarily oriented subsurface ordnance

A rigorous method-of-moments (MoM) analysis is used to model wide-band scattering from general three-dimensional perfectly conducting objects buried in a lossy layered medium. The authors focus on ordnance buried in a half space (soil). The time-domain fields scattered from a tilted antitank mine are examined in detail as a function of polarization and observation position.
Automatically extracting highlights for TV Baseball programs

In today's fast-paced world, while the number of channels of television programming available is increasing rapidly, the time available to watch them remains the same or is decreasing. Users desire the capability to watch the programs time-shifted (on-demand) and/or to watch just the highlights to save time. In this paper we explore how to provide for the latter capability, that is the ability to extract highlights automatically, so that viewing time can be reduced.We focus on the sport of baseball as our initial target—it is a very popular sport, the whole game is quite long, and the exciting portions are few. We focus on detecting highlights using audio-track features alone without relying on expensive-to-compute video-track features. We use a combination of generic sports features and baseball-specific features to obtain our results, but believe that may other sports offer the same opportunity and that the techniques presented here will apply to those sports. We present details on relative performance of various learning algorithms, and a probabilistic framework for combining multiple sources of information. We present results comparing output of our algorithms against human-selected highlights for a diverse collection of baseball games with very encouraging results.
Shaping Up with the Gut Microbiota

Bacteria that take up residence within our bodies, our microbiota, have emerged as a powerful contributor to human health. Understanding how these bacterial communities are built and maintained will be important for future therapeutic applications. A long-standing question has been whether the
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GETS INTO SPACE

Information Technology is changing the nature of organizations and the way all ofus work. IT design variables make it possible to create new organization structures andnew modes of operation. The second order impact of these new types of organizationsand working arrangements is on physical space: virtual organizations, highly mobile workforces and electronic commerce will change the demand for and nature of office, retail andindustrial space. Yet a third-order impact of this technology will be changes in cities,suburbs and rural areas brought about by these new trends in space.
Jahn¿Teller distortions considered as steady state bifurcations

The steady state bifurcation model can be used to determine the Jahn–Teller distortion modes of a molecule having symmetry point group G to lower symmetry structures having symmetry point groups H j ⊂ G. In order to find such distortion modes, the trace formula arising from bifurcation theory is applied to all subgroups H j of G to give a sum of irreducible representations Γ(G → H j ) corresponding to the possible distortion modes of G to H j . These subgroups H j correspond to epikernel subgroups of G for any irreducible representation of G found in Γ(G → H j ). This method has been applied to Jahn–Teller distortions of square (D 4 h ), octahedral (O h ), and icosahedral (I h ) molecules leading to lower symmetry structures.
Sterile granuloma following transradial catheterization

A 29-year-old Hispanic male with a history of hypertension and mitral valve replacement presented with an acute coronary syndrome. He underwent diagnostic coronary angiography through the right radial approach using a 6 Fr 25-cm long Terumo hydrophilic-coated GlidesheathTM. Two weeks later, he presented with a violaceous, non-pulsatile, papulonodular lesion at the radial access site (Panel A). Radial pulses were normal and symmetric with normal capillary refill. The lesion spontaneously resolved in 3 weeks after local wound care and warm compresses (Panel B).
Statistical consistency with Dempster's rule on diagnostic trees having uncertain performance parameters

This paper defines statistical consistency, a property that we propose as a necessary characteristic of any calculus for evidence combination. Statistical consistency holds when the combination of repeated observations of a system in a given state leads to the indication that the system is in that state of nature. We show that, for a suitable choice of parameters, Dempster's rule has this desirable property, both for simple systems and for systems composed of a hierarchy of subsystems and described by diagnostic or fault trees, but for other parameter values the rule leads to the wrong conclusion. A necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of simple bpa's being statistically consistent is that Po + ql > 1, where Po and ql are the reliability (or specificity) and sensitivity of individual sensors detecting malfunctions in components and (sub)systems. A sufficient condition for statistical consistency is that the reliability and sensitivity of each sensor be greater than 0.5. We show that statistical consistency is preserved under diagnostic
IT Service Provider's Multi-Customer and Multi-Tenant Environments

The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) provides guidance for IT service management but does not specifically address the challenges that Service Providers face. A Service Provider is an enterprise whose business is to manage the IT business of other enterprises. To manage its cost the Service Provider must host multiple diverse customers in a shared environment. The customers have unique business requirements, such as customizations of the processes based on customer policies and role, which the Service Provider must address while supporting the services in such a way that they provide functionality that appropriately spans organizational units, satisfying the customers' goals to be ITIL compliant and meeting the economic pressures of constantly reducing cost. The paper considers the impact that hosting multiple customers in a shared environment has on data segregation, process definition, and security, explores different models of Service Provider operations and outlines future work needed in this area.
Learning in the hypercube

A discussion on learning from a geometric point of view is presented. Its main purpose is to obtain ways of pre-estimating the weights and thresholds of a neural network and of analyzing the corresponding effects on the learning procedure speed. It is conceivable that even a rough preliminary evaluation of the position of the hyperplanes will improve the learning process. It is also conceivable that, in spaces with well-defined geometric properties, the information inherently contained in the training data set can be helpful in making such an evaluation. This subject is discussed, and basic alternatives for doing so are shown. It is concluded that, depending on the configuration of the space, geometric tools can indeed lead to improvements. >
Attribution of tumour lethality and estimation of the time to onset of occult tumours in the absence of cause-of-death Information

A new statistical approach is developed for estimating the carcinogenic potential of drugs and other chemical substances used by humans. Improved statistical methods are developed for rodent tumorigenicity assays that have interval sacrifices but not cause-of-death data. For such experiments, this paper proposes a nonparametric maximum likelihood estimation method for estimating the distributions of the time to onset of and the time to death from the tumour. The loglikelihood function is optimized by using a constrained direct search procedure. Using the maximum likelihood estimators, the number of fatal tumours in an experiment can be imputed. By applying the procedure proposed to a real data set, the effect of calorie restriction is investigated. In this study, we found that calorie restriction delays the tumour onset time significantly for pituitary tumours. The present method can result in substantial economic savings by relieving the need for a case-by-case assignment of the cause of death or context of observation by pathologists. The ultimate goal of the method proposed is to use the imputed number of fatal tumours to modify Peto's International Agency for Research on Cancer test for application to tumorigenicity assays that lack cause-of-death data.
Vasopressin and angiotensin II in reflex regulation of heart rate: effect of water deprivation.

This study tested the hypothesis that endogenous angiotensin II (ANG II) and vasopressin enhance baroreflex-mediated increases in heart rate in water-replete dogs and in dogs water deprived to chronically elevate plasma ANG II and vasopressin concentrations. The baroreflex was assessed by examining the heart rate response to infusion of increasing doses of nitroprusside (0.3, 0.6, 1.5, and 3.0 micrograms.kg-1.min-1). The effect on the baroreflex of pretreating the dogs with the competitive ANG II antagonist saralasin, a V1-vasopressin antagonist, or a combined V1/V2-vasopressin antagonist, alone or in combination, was determined. Nitroprusside infusion produced dose-dependent increases in heart rate, and the heart rate response was greater in water-deprived dogs in association with higher plasma levels of ANG II and vasopressin than in water-replete dogs. ANG II blockade alone depressed reflex increases in heart rate in water-deprived but not water-replete dogs. In both water-replete and water-deprived dogs, blockade of V1-vasopressin receptors reduced the heart rate response to hypotension, but this effect could be produced only when ANG II receptors were also blocked. In addition, administration of saralasin and the V1/V2-vasopressin antagonist led to a further reduction of the reflex tachycardia. These data suggest that endogenous vasopressin, acting at both V1- and V2-receptors, can amplify the increase in heart rate produced by hypotension. In addition, the results further support a physiological role for chronic elevations in endogenous ANG II in the maintenance of normal baroreflex function.
The Chronic Exercise–Cognition Interaction and Parkinson Disease

Parkinson disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that not only impacts motor function but also severely impacts cognition, which often precedes PD diagnosis. Cognitive problems for those with PD include difficulty with psychomotor and cognitive slowing, set-shifting and multitasking, working memory, and forgetfulness, attributed to deregulation of dopamine-mediated frontostriatal circuitry. However, with neuroplasticity mechanisms, it has been demonstrated that habitual exercise can blunt cognitive decline associated with aging. Exercise has been shown to improve motor function both in animal models of PD and in humans with PD. Recently, researchers have begun exploring exercise effects on cognition in PD. The findings from these smaller Phase I and II trials demonstrate promising effects upon a range of cognitive aspects. However, it is necessary to examine the effects of exercise over longer intervals (6 months or 12 months) and conduct randomized clinical trials to detect the cognitive symptoms of PD most amenable to change.
Desafío a la excelencia profesoral : profesionalismo, personal a tiempo parcial y cambio

Este texto analiza los determinantes de la calidad de la educacion superior, en la cual la atencion se centra en el profesorado. La presencia de un profesorado sobresaliente se considerada como la mejor garantia de una institucion sobresaliente, de tal manera que la relacion a veces se presenta de forma axiomatica: "un profesorado excelente equivale a una institucion excelente".
Over-the-Counter Medications: Update on Cough and Cold Preparations.

1. Jennifer A. Lowry, MD* 2. J. Steven Leeder, PharmD, PhD† 1. *Section of Clinical Toxicology, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Innovations, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, University of Missouri – School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO. 2. †Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutic Innovations, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Departments of Pediatrics and Pharmacology, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO. Although there are benefits to the availability of over-the-counter products (eg, rapid access to effective medications, decreased utilization of the health care system, and patient autonomy), there also are risks to their use that clinicians should know and discuss with their patients and families. These include delay in seeking advice from a health care professional, increased drug-drug interactions, potential for misuse and abuse, and increased adverse effects when not used properly. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Recognize that over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold preparations have not been adequately studied in children younger than 6 years of age and that they are not recommended for treating the common cold. 2. Recognize the systemic effects of oral decongestants and antihistamines in infants and young children. 3. Recognize the signs and symptoms of acetaminophen and aspirin toxicity and know the management of overdose of these agents. 4. Be aware of potentially harmful additives in OTC medications. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications are widely marketed and frequently used to treat most health problems in adults and children. The use of symptomatic treatments, such as OTC medications for the common cold, is controversial. Children often receive analgesics, decongestants, antihistamines, expectorants, and cough suppressants during the course of their illnesses. However, these OTC products have not been proven to be safe and effective in young children. In addition, their common use puts children at risk for poisonings. Published data show no efficacy (no benefit) of OTC cough and cold preparations when compared to placebo for most ingredients in these products. After much review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association issued …
Hollowed Ground—Copper Mining and Community Building on Lake Superior, 1840s–1990s

Larry Lankton. Pp. 375. 2010. Wayne State University Press. Paperback. ISBN 978-0-8143-3490-4. Price $34.95 In 1843, six years before the Forty-niners headed west for the goldfields of California, the United States’ first great mineral rush began to a land that was, as Patrick Henry told Congress, “beyond the most distant wilderness and remote as the moon.” He was referring to the Keweenaw Peninsula of northern Michigan. This rush was not for gold or silver, but for copper. And not just any copper, but native copper, so pure it required little refining before use. The early horde of fortune-seekers came with visions of finding mountains of solid copper, spurred on by stories of large masses of “float copper” that included the famous Ontonagon Boulder, a large mass of native copper originally found lying 32 km up the steep and rugged valley of the Ontonagon River (and now gathering dust in the Smithsonian Museum). In part, the early prospectors found copper by exploring sites originally discovered and worked by early Native Americans. But it soon became apparent that turning any property into a paying mine would require large-scale production, a sizeable labor force, and substantial investments in technology, housing, and other site developments. This meant that, although individuals and small groups could participate in the rush to find copper deposits, corporations were required to take on the risks and costs involved in developing the deposits into …
Larval Development and Consumption by Anticarsia gemmatalis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Fed Various Legume Species

Numbers of instars, weight gains, relative growth rate, relative consumption rate, and efficiency of conversion of ingested and digested food were measured for the velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner, while feeding on six legume species: hairy indigo, lespedeza, soybean, sesbania, white sweetclover, and cowpea. Sesbania was the most suitable host; lespedeza the most unsuitable. Supernumerary instars were observed for larvae fed cowpea and lespedeza. Two other legumes, crotalaria and sicklepod, did not support complete larval development.
New insights on the corrosion of ancient bronzes using X-ray powder diffraction: The importance of paratacamite, sampleite, and connellite

Research employing X-ray powder diffraction shows that clinoatacamite as the phase which should be predominant in the chloride-induced corrosion of ancient bronzes is not necessarily the dominant copper trihydroxychloride species at all, since mixtures are common, and other phases such as paratacamite or the dubious mineral phase anarakite have relevance to the corrosion products or patina of bronze antiquities. The potential reasons for this are discussed and related to the compositional parameters of ancient bronzes as well as the burial environment. Paratacamite is still identified, even in the absence of zinc, which is supposed to be the major stabilizing influence on the paratacamite lattice. X-ray power diffraction has been employed in the examination of a range of ancient bronzes from Chinese, Egyptian, Ecuadorian, Lydian, Albanian, Palestinian, and Greek contexts. This study has revealed that, far from being exotic novelties, the occurrence of both sampleite and connellite as important corrosion p...
Markers of Oxidative Stress in Human Milk Do Not Differ by Maternal BMI But Are Related to Infant Growth Trajectories

Objective Obesity in adults is associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. Whether or not this phenotype is reflected in human milk (HM) composition, or may impact infant growth remains unknown. We investigated whether HM from overweight/obese (OW/Ob) mothers exhibited higher concentrations of inflammatory cytokines and markers of oxidative stress. We also correlated these bioactive components with infant growth patterns. Methods This was an observational cohort of 56 breastfeeding mothers and their infants [33 normal weight (NW) and 23 OW/Ob]. Infants were followed until 6 months of age and HM collected at 2-weeks and 4-months. Results Markers of oxidative stress, 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8OHdG) and 4-hydroxynonenol (HNE), decreased in HM over time (p < 0.001) and did not differ between NW and OW/Ob women. Concentrations of inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α, were all inter-correlated (p < 0.001) but did not differ between NW and OW/Ob women. HM fat, protein, lactose, and total calories did not differ between NW and OW/Ob women. Infant growth patterns did not differ by group. In a model of infant weight-for-length-Z score trajectory, there was a significant interaction between both lactose and 8OHdG with maternal group: HM lactose and 8OHdG concentrations were both positively associated with increases in WLZ trajectory only among infants breastfed by OW/Ob mothers. Conclusions for Practice HM composition was relatively stable between NW and OW/Ob women. In exclusively breastfed infants, HM concentrations of lactose and 8OHdG, a marker of oxidative stress, may contribute to regulation of infant weight gain, especially among infants of OW/Ob women.
Effect of physical workload on navigation task performance by high-fit young males

Many occupations require both physical exertion and the ability to navigate in an environment, simultaneously. This study investigated how intensity of physical activity influences direction determination and distance estimation. Thirty high fit young males participated in a lab study. Results showed that while high fit young males were accurate in determining direction across levels of physical exertion, they were significantly less accurate in distance estimation under high exertion intensity. Although physical activity level did not influence direction determination accuracy, response time was significantly shorter when participants were subject to low physical loading in comparison to medium and high loading. In addition, we found that distance estimation response time increased as physical workload increased. Findings of this study can be used to enhance presentation of navigation information in occupations that require concurrent physical activity and navigation.
The effect of instructional quality on low- and high-performing students

The study assessed the effects of the quality of reading and math instruction and classroom climate on the academic skills and engagement of 314 children in 245 classrooms at the end of third grade. All of the children in the study were from families with low incomes. On a classroom observation measure developed for the study, regression analyses revealed that relatively high ratings on the reading and math instruction subscales, which were scored after a half-day observation, predicted better reading and math achievement test scores, respectively, for third graders who had previously had poor academic performance, but did not have a significant effect for relatively high-performing students. High teacher ratings on the reading instruction and classroom climate observation scales predicted high levels of student engagement. The findings suggest the importance of high-quality teaching for economically disadvantaged children who have poor academic skills.
CD-ROM Instruction: Teaching by Bad Example.

As CD-ROM databases are acquired by increasing numbers of libraries, library staff must meet the challenge of providing simple and effective instruction. The author proposes a new twist to teaching search strategies on SilverPlatter's PsychLTI: using common novice errors to illustrate basic search techniques.
Epidemiological response to syndromic surveillance signals.

The epidemiological response to syndromic surveillance data must be tempered by the following considerations. It is not yet known how accurately either the syndromes themselves or the data used to define them predict or correlate with the target conditions/diseases under surveillance. In addition, because of the need for maximal sensitivity, the positive predictive value of an alarm signal for biological terrorism is by necessity going to be extremely low. It is not known what the positive predictive value of a syndromic surveillance signal is for other naturally occurring conditions of public health importance. Finally, the statistical methods used to analyze and interpret syndromic surveillance data are new and have not been sufficiently evaluated under “real world” conditions to understand their usefulness in public health decision making. Nonetheless, syndromic surveillance makes intuitive sense to many epidemiologists, who believe that, as the science of syndromic surveillance evolves and matures, the value of such systems will become apparent. In King County, Washington, we conduct syndromic surveillance using computerized electronic emergency department and primary care clinic databases in the form of International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD-9) codes and chief complaint data. Aberrations in the data trigger an epidemiological response when we detect an alarm signal corresponding to a statistically significant increase over expected observations based on baseline data using the quality control cumulative sums (CUSUM) methods and those displayed in the Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Investigations are also initiated for any report of an otherwise notifiable condition or unexplained death. The first step in investigating an alarm is confirmation of the signal. We “drill down” and examine the individual cases comprising the cluster that triggered the alarm to obtain additional demographic and geographic data. In this way, we have detected system errors that include duplication of individual case data and improper coding at the clinical site. If the signal is real, the ensuing steps are designed to increase the specificity of the signal to the greatest extent possible. We evaluate the absolute number of events leading to the signal and, when possible, the proportion of cases from the reporting institution. In systems with relatively small populations and fewer observations, signals frequently correspond to a small increase in target conditions. Data on whether the patient was admitted or discharged are available, and investigations are more likely to
Structure/function of the soluble guanylyl cyclase catalytic domain

Soluble guanylyl cyclase (GC-1) is the primary receptor of nitric oxide (NO) in smooth muscle cells and maintains vascular function by inducing vasorelaxation in nearby blood vessels. GC-1 converts guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) into cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP), which acts as a second messenger to improve blood flow. While much work has been done to characterize this pathway, we lack a mechanistic understanding of how NO binding to the heme domain leads to a large increase in activity at the C-terminal catalytic domain. Recent structural evidence and activity measurements from multiple groups have revealed a low-activity cyclase domain that requires additional GC-1 domains to promote a catalytically-competent conformation. How the catalytic domain structurally transitions into the active conformation requires further characterization. This review focuses on structure/function studies of the GC-1 catalytic domain and recent advances various groups have made in understanding how catalytic activity is regulated including small molecules interactions, Cys-S-NO modifications and potential interactions with the NO-sensor domain and other proteins.
Wood exploitation patterns and pastoralist–environment relationships: charcoal remains from Iron Age Ṡhakal, Dhufar, Sultanate of Oman

Pastoralists have played a key role in shaping the landscape of Dhufar, Oman. With woody taxa tightly restricted to ecological zones and evidence of continuity in the structure of these vegetative communities, this region is a good case study for examining the relationships between pastoralists and their environments over time. The ethnobotanical literature of modern Dhufar documents pastoralists’ preferences for woody taxa for particular tasks. What remains uncertain is the time depth of these patterns. The archaeological site of Ṡhakal provides a rich charcoal assemblage, a material culture that allows archaeologists to approach human–landscape relations, even as such assemblages are relatively rare from ancient pastoralist sites. We argue that there is continuity to wood resource use over the last two millennia and this continuity correlates with a self-sufficient herding economy. With statistical analyses of the taxa identified and their respective contexts in the Iron Age occupations at Ṡhakal, we detect continuity in wood resource use over the last two millennia. Our results suggest that the wood exploitation patterns at Ṡhakal reflect preferences for abundant wood types with distinct physical properties. Furthermore, these results are consistent with a long-term self-sufficient pastoral tradition sustainable over millennia in a region that has only recently experienced severe environmental degradation.
Population Genomics of Colonization and Invasion

Population genomic analyses can reveal the mechanisms shaping the evolution of colonizing and invasive taxa, as for any species, including the fundamental processes of mutation, genetic drift, gene flow, and selection. Colonization events associated with species introductions, range shifts, and invasions pose a number of unique evolutionary questions, however, for which population genomic approaches are especially well-equipped to answer. These include quantifying the extent of founder effects, genetic bottlenecks, gene flow, and admixture that give rise to successful colonizing populations, identifying the nature and architecture of adaptive variation that resides in these populations (including types of mutations, their effect sizes, and their standing levels of variation), disentangling signatures of adaptation from other mechanisms of evolution, and identifying the ecological traits that have been the targets of natural selection and might be directly involved in the evolution of colonizing ability itself. We address each of these topics in this chapter, highlighting examples of recent research and the potential for population genomics to provide answers to some of the most pressing questions in the biology of colonizing and invasive species.
Postmortem brain MRI is related to cognitive decline, independent of cerebral vessel disease in older adults.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether metrics of brain tissue integrity derived from postmortem magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are associated with late-life cognitive decline, independent of cerebral vessel disease. Using data from 554 older adults, we used voxelwise regression to identify regions where the postmortem MRI transverse relaxation rate constant R2 was associated with the rate of decline in global cognition. We then used linear mixed models to investigate the association between a composite R2 measure and cognitive decline, controlling for neuropathology including 3 indices of vessel disease: atherosclerosis, arteriolosclerosis, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. This composite R2 measure was associated with the rate of decline (0.049 unit annually per R2 unit, p
Sugars in Nectar Sources and their Use by Butterflies (Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea) in the Sierra Nevada, California

Previous laboratory and controlled experiments demonstrated that some species of butterflies may prefer sucrose to other sugars. However, sugar use has not been quantified for an assemblage of butterflies in the field. The abundance of nectar-producing plants, and the volume and concentration of the nectar in those plants, peaks in the initial years following a fire, facilitating investigation of nectar use by butterflies. In 2014 and 2015, we surveyed butterflies and vegetation within the boundary of the Rim Fire event (Stanislaus National Forest, Tuolumne County, California), a major wildfire that occurred in 2013. We quantified the masses of glucose, fructose, and sucrose for all plant species on which we observed butterflies feeding. We tested whether intensity of use of each 20 nectar sources (the number of butterflies observed taking nectar from each source across both years) was associated with the total sugar mass, mass of sucrose, or relative proportion of sucrose. We found no evidence that intensity of butterfly use was associated with sugar mass, mass of sucrose, or the relative proportion of sucrose. Instead, butterflies appeared to use indiscriminately any nectar sources that were available to them. The difference between apparent sugar preferences in the laboratory and in the field may be explained in part by resource availability, and may change as vegetation succession progresses.
Legal Aspects of Reverse Engineering

With the current eruption of technological development, technology is advancing at a rapid rate. The legal world is beginning to realize a need for concomitant advancement. Laws must keep pace with technological development. The copyright laws that currently govern the development of computer software, for example, are still quite ambiguous. There is debate over the scope of the law as well as difficulty in applying the law. In the light of conflicting case law, it is troublesome for attorneys to give clients advice as to whether particular software development techniques violate copyright laws or carry other legal consequences (Behrens and Levary 1998).
Organosiloxane-Cross-Linked Poly(2,6-Dimethyl-1,4-Phenylene Oxide) Network Structures

The use of two types of siloxane bridges as chemical cross-links in poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) network structures was investigated. The PPO was initially functionalized through a bromination process and then cross-linked using two systems. The first used γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to produce relatively few siloxane bonds between cross-links, while the second utilized the same silane in combination with a higher molar mass, α, ω-functionally terminated poly( dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) to provide longer chains between crosslinks. The resulting networks showed notable differences in tensile properties which depended on the type of crosslinks present. In addition, both elastomers showed good strength and elongation characteristics and reduced craze formation when compared to the PPO homopolymer.
The Search for Cues and Motives

Spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB), as exhibited by mature, intact, tame animals, is among psychology’s most reliable phenomena. It also appears to be incredibly simple, and yet it has posed problems for some of our most inventive and insightful researchers. Why do animals alternate? Exactly what is it to which they are alternating? Those two questions, intimately intertwined, come up again and again. A direct answer to the latter (the “cues” question) is a lot easier to achieve in principle than one to the former (the “motive” question). Cues can be uncovered through clever, though straightforward analytic procedures; identifying motives is much more dependent on global inferences and an intuitive feeling for the “rightness” of a hypothesis. In this chapter, I will address both questions, beginning with the easier one. Recognize, however, that the two questions are not independent and that answers to one can have profound implications for the other.
F&E-Aktivitäten und Differenzierung der Marktstruktur in duopolistischen Patentrennen

In der jungsten Literatur zu den unternehmerischen Patentrennen werden die bislang vernachlassigten strategischen Interaktionen der Konkurrenten wahrend eines Rennens in den Mittelpunkt der Analyse geruckt. Eine wesentliche Voraussetzung fur strategische F&E-Aktivitaten inmitten des Forschungsprozesses sind Informationen uber den jeweiligen „Zwischenstand“ im Rennen. Dementsprechend wird in diesem Kapitel eine vollkommene Informationsstruktur der Form unterstellt, das alle Unternehmen ohne Verzogerung uber die Position der Konkurrenten, gemessen am Stand ihres technischen Wissens, genau Bescheid wissen (vgl. zur Bedeutung der Informationsstruktur auch Fudenberg, Titole 1987). Die Kenntnis ihrer Position im Rennen ermoglicht es den Unternehmen, ihren optimalen F&E-Einsatz in einem sequentiellen Entscheidungsprozes jeweils in Abhangigkeit ihres eigenen technischen Wissens sowie des technischen Wissens der Konkurrenten zu bestimmen. Von besonderem Interesse ist das F&E-Verhalten der einzelnen Unternehmen, sofern sie im Patentrennen nicht gleichauf liegen, sondern unterschiedliche Niveaus an technischem Wissen aufweisen und daher noch unterschiedliche „Forschungsleistungen“ bis zur Verwirklichung ihrer Innovation erbringen mussen. Derartig differenzierte Konstellationen stellen sich selbst unter gleichen Startbedingungen im Laufe eines Rennens ein, falls neben der technischen und der Marktunsicherheit zusatzlich noch Unsicherheit in der Wissensproduktion berucksichtigt wird.
Partitiviruses of Fungi

Viruses belonging to the family Partitiviridae usually cause cryptic infections in fungi and plants, and are classified into three genera, Partitivirus, Alphacryptovirus, and Betacryptovirus. The genus Partitivirus consists of viruses that infect filamentous fungi. The genera Alphacryptovirus and Betacryptovirus include viruses that are found in plants. Over 20 fungal virus (mycovirus) species have been identified or tentatively identified as members of the genus Partitivirus. The name Partitiviridae originates from the Latin partitus, which means ‘divided’ due to the fact that the genome of these viruses is bipartite (separately encapsidated) and consists of two linear monocistronic dsRNAs. Viruses of the genus Partitivirus have isometric particles with icosahedral symmetry ranging from 30 to 35 nm in diameter. The virion capsid is not enveloped and consists of 12 capsomers and 120 capsid protein (CP) subunits. The two genomic dsRNA components of partitiviruses are 1.5–2.4 kbp in size. Additional dsRNAs (satellite or defective) may be present in purified partitivirus particles. The larger dsRNA component encodes a virion-associated RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (size range 77–86 kDa), whereas the smaller dsRNA encodes the CP (size range 57–76 kDa).
Waiting for a Miracle

This chapter contains a case study of the family of a 73-year-old African-American male with a significant history of congestive heart failure presenting to the emergency department via emergency medical service with severe shortness of breath. The case juxtaposes medical care issues of a patient in end-stage heart failure with the psychosocial-spiritual issues of the family expectation of healing by divine intervention.
Normal CT anatomy of the lateral fontanelles

One hundred and thirteen CT studies of 107 patients ranging in age from several hours to 6 months were reviewed to study the anterolateral and posterolateral fontanelles. The lateral fontanelles were always patent in the first month of life and were almost always closed by 6 months of age. The appearance of the fontanelles before closure is variable. The membrane may be thick and nodular, thick and smooth, or thin. The membrane may show foci of ossification. There is generally uniform enhancement of the membrane. The presence of irregular nodularity and enhancement of the membrane should be recognized as a normal variant.
Defectivity reduction in area selective atomic layer deposition by monolayer design (Conference Presentation)

Lithography faces an increasing number of challenges as errors in pattern overlay and placement become increasingly significant as scaling continues. The flexibility of removing a lithography step offers a significant advantage in fabrication as it has the potential to mitigate these errors. Furthermore, this strategy also relaxes design rules in semiconductor fabrication enabling concepts like self-alignment. The use of selective area atomic layer deposition with self-assembled monolayers that incorporate different side group functionalities was evaluated in the deposition of a sacrificial etch mask. Monolayers with weak supramolecular interactions between components (e.g. Van der Waals) were found to exhibit significant defectivity when depositing this material at and below 100nm feature sizes. The incorporation stronger supramolecular interacting groups in the monolayer design, such as hydrogen bonding units or pi-pi interactions, did not produce an added benefit over the weaker interacting components. However, incorporation of reactive moieties in the monolayer component enabled the subsequent reaction of a SAM surface generating a polymer at the surface and providing a more effective barrier, greatly reducing the number and types of defects observed in the selectively deposited ALD film. These reactive monolayers enabled the selective deposition of a film with critical dimensions as low as 15nm. The deposited film was then used as an effective barrier for standard isotropic etch chemistries, allowing the selective removal of a metal without degradation to the surrounding surface. This work enables selective area ALD as a technology by (1) the development of a material that dramatically reduces defectivity and (2) the demonstrated use of the selectively deposited film as an etch mask and its subsequent removal under mild conditions.