cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Primary production in an impounded baldcypress swamp (Taxodium distichum) at the northern limit of the range

The ability of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum)swamps to maintain themselves near the northern limit of their range depends on their levels of production, which is not only are response to climate but also to local environmental factors(e.g., impoundment). We asked if primary production was reduced under impounded conditions and if species’ responses to impoundment were individualistic or more generalized. To examine long-term production trends in a permanently impounded baldcypress swamp, a 6-year study of leaf litterfall was conducted in Buttonland Swamp, Illinois, which had been impounded for 10 years before the beginning of the study. Buttonland Swamp is at the northern boundary of the baldcypress swamp region along the Cache River, Illinois, in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley of the United States. When the litter production of impounded sites was compared to those with natural hydrology in the same region, impounded sites had about half of the total litterfall of natural sites. Overall, leaf litterfall rates declined during the study(201 vs. 113 gm−2 yr−1), but the pattern was negatively correlated with water depth, which explained 97% of the variation in the data. Along the transect with the lowest mean minimum water depth(<0.5 cm), leaf litterfall decreased linearly over 6 years from 377 to 154gm−2 yr−1. Total leaf litterfall rates were lower at the other three depths(5, 43, and 49 cm mean minimum water depths)and remained below 200 gm−2 yr−1 throughout the study. Acer saccharinum, Nyssa aquatica, and Salix nigra were most responsible for the decline in total leaf litterfall. Amounts of leaf litterfall of T. distichum and Liquidambar styraciflua also generally decreased, while that of Cephalanthus occidentalis increased overtime. Because species’ responses to environmental factors such as impoundment are individualistic, models should be based on the responses of individual species, rather than on communities. Our study further suggests that the effects of climate change on impounded swamps may differ from those with natural hydrology, since impounded swamps already have reduced production levels. This finding is particularly relevant since the hydrology of the majority of the world’s riverine ecosystems has been altered.
Autonomous multisensor coordination: the science goal monitor

Next-generation science and exploration systems will employ new observation strategies that will use multiple sensors in a dynamic environment to provide high quality monitoring, self-consistent analyses and informed decision making. The Science Goal Monitor (SGM) is a prototype software tool being developed to explore the nature of automation necessary to enable dynamic observing of earth phenomenon. The tools being developed in SGM improve our ability to autonomously monitor multiple independent sensors and coordinate reactions to better observe the dynamic phenomena. The SGM system enables users to specify events of interest and how to react when an event is detected. The system monitors streams of data to identify occurrences of the key events previously specified by the scientist/user. When an event occurs, the system autonomously coordinates the execution of the users desired reactions between different sensors. The information can be used to rapidly respond to a variety of fast temporal events. Investigators will no longer have to rely on after-the-fact data analysis to determine what happened. Our paper describes a series of prototype demonstrations that we have developed using SGM and NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite and Earth Observing Systems Aqua/Terra spacecrafts MODIS instrument. Our demonstrations show the promise of coordinating data from different sources, analyzing the data for a relevant event, autonomously updating and rapidly obtaining a follow-on relevant image. SGM is being used to investigate forest fires, floods and volcanic eruptions. We are now identifying new earth science scenarios that will have more complex SGM reasoning. By developing and testing a prototype in an operational environment, we are also establishing and gathering metrics to gauge the success of automating science campaigns.
Accurately evaluating application performance in simulated hybrid multi-tasking systems

Evaluating the performance of reconfigurable computing applications in multi-tasking systems using simulation (as can be needed in early design-space exploration) faces several challenges. The complexity of full-system, cycle-accurate simulation prevents executing applications of any appreciable size to completion. One must sample only a portion of execution; yet unless care is taken, the measured performance for the sampled interval will not be indicative of the complete execution. Although this is generally a problem for simulation-based evaluation, the problem is exacerbated for multi-tasking systems. This paper therefore presents work to develop a performance evaluation methodology that accurately measures hybrid (both hardware and software) application performance, accounts for additional overhead introduced by hybrid resource management (such as run-time allocation of reconfigurable hardware), and correctly compensates for momentary imbalances in processor time allocation that are only artifacts of the (necessarily) short simulated execution timespan and would balance out over time.
Comparative Triplex Tandem Mass Spectrometry Assays of Lysosomal Enzyme Activities in Dried Blood Spots Using Fast Liquid Chromatography: Application to Newborn Screening of Pompe, Fabry, and Hurler Diseases

We report a comparative study of triplex tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) based assays of lysosomal enzymes in dried blood spots for the early detection of Pompe, Fabry, and Hurler diseases in newborns. Four methods have been evaluated that differed in sample handling and the equipment used. A newly developed method uses assay quenching with acetonitrile to precipitate blood proteins followed by analysis on an LC–electrospray/MS/MS system capable of multiple consecutive sample injections on two parallel chromatographic columns. This method requires 1.5 min per a triplex analysis of enzyme products and internal standards, which matches the throughput of the previously reported flow injection method. LC separation reduces matrix effects and allows for more facile sample workup. The new LC-based method showed figures of merit that were superior to those of the currently used method based on liquid–liquid extraction into ethyl acetate and flow injection into the mass spectrometer. The other methods we investi...
Zik1, a Transcriptional Repressor That Interacts with the Heterogeneous Nuclear Ribonucleoprotein Particle K Protein

The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle (hnRNP) K protein is comprised of multiple modular domains that serve to engage a diverse group of molecular partners including DNA, RNA, the product of the proto-oncogene vav, and tyrosine and serine/threonine kinases. To identify additional K protein molecular partners and to further understand its function, we used a fragment of K protein as a bait in the yeast two-hybrid screen. The deduced primary structure of one of the positive clones revealed a novel zinc finger protein, hereby denoted as Zik1. In addition to the nine contiguous zinc fingers in the C terminus, Zik1 contains a KRAB-A domain thought to be involved in transcriptional repression. Zik1 and K protein bound in vitro and co-immunoprecipitated from cell extracts indicating that in vivo their interaction is direct. Expression of Gal4 DNA-binding domain-Zik1 fusion protein repressed a gene promoter bearing Gal4-binding elements, indicating that from cognate DNA elements Zik1 is a transcriptional repressor. The known diverse nature of K protein molecular interactions and now the identification of a K protein partner that is a transcriptional repressor lends support to the notion that K protein is a remarkably versatile molecule that may be acting as a docking platform to facilitate communication among molecules involved in signal transduction and gene expression.
A RE‐EVALUATION AND REDESCRIPTION OF A DIFFICULT ASIA MINOR PHYLLOSCOPUS

SUMMARY Phylloscopus brevirostris (Strickland) of Asia Minor is redescribed. It appears to be closest to lorenzii of the Caucasus on the basis of structure and pattern, but approaches P. collybita abietinus, which also breeds in the Caucasus, in pigmentation. Two species of chiffchaff type are recognized, P. collybita, a migratory northern and western form, and a sedentary south and eastern form (probably derived from a northern population of P. collybita which had reduced lipochromes) for which P. brevirostris may be the appropriate name.
Civic Education, Political Discussion, and the Social Transmission of Democratic Knowledge and Values in a New Democracy: Kenya 2002

How does civic education affect the development of democratic political culture in new democracies? Using a unique threewave panel data set from Kenya spanning the transitional democratic election of 2002, we posit a two-step process of the social transmission of democratic knowledge, norms, and values. Civic education first affected the knowledge, values, and participatory inclinations of individuals directly exposed to the Kenyan National Civic Education Programme (NCEP). These individuals became opinion leaders, communicating these new orientations to others within their social networks. Individuals who discussed others’ civic education experiences then showed significant growth in democratic knowledge and values, in many instances more than individuals with direct exposure to the program. We find further evidence of a “compensation effect,” such that the impact of civic education and post-civic education discussion was greater among Kenyans with less education and with lower levels of social integration.
Neural Networks and Adaptive Nonlinear Control of Agile Antiair Missiles

Research has shown that neural networks can be used to improve on approximate dynamic inversion for control ofuncertainnonlinearsystems.Inonearchitecture,theneuralnetworkadaptively cancelsinversionerrorsthrough on-linelearning. Suchlearning isaccomplishedby asimpleweightupdaterulederived from Lyapunov theory,thus assuring the stability of the closed-loop system. This methodology is reviewed and extended to incorporate an important classof neural networkswith onesigmoidal hidden layer. An agileantiair-missile autopilot is subsequently designed using this control scheme. A control law based on approximate inversion of the nonlinear dynamics is presented. This control system is augmented by the addition of a neural network with on-line learning. Numerical results from a nonlinear agile antiair-missile simulation demonstrate the effectiveness of the resulting autopilot.
A windowed Fourier pseudospectral method for hyperbolic conservation laws

A class of local spectral wavelet filters, discrete singular convolution (DSC) filters, is utilized to facilitate the Fourier pseudospectral method for the solution of hyperbolic conservation law systems. The DSC lowpass filters are adaptively implemented directly in the Fourier domain (i.e., windowed Fourier pseudospectral method), while a physical domain algorithm is also given to enable the treatment of some special boundary conditions. By adjusting the effective wavenumber region of the DSC filter, Gibbs oscillations can be removed effectively while the high resolution feature of the spectral method can be retained for a wide class of problems with various boundary conditions. The utility and effectiveness of the present approach are validated by extensive numerical experiments. The proposed method could operate at a resolution as high as only five points per wavelength (PPW) for the interaction of shocks and physical high frequency waves, which is some of the best for this class of problems. This high resolution, together with the low complexity of the fast Fourier transform (FFT), endows the proposed method considerable potential for solving large scale problems in hyperbolic conservation laws.
Comparative staff values on the community mental health ideology scale

The community mental health ideologies of groups composed of profession and nonprofessional mental health service providers were measured by use of the Baker-Schulberg Community Mental Health Ideology (CMHI) Scale. The study was designed to: (1) compare current CMHI scores with the original criterion scores of mental health workers, (2) compare CMHI scores of mental health workers from different disciplines who work in the same community mental health setting, and (3) measure CMHI scores for previously nonreported workers, ministers, and board and care operators. Results of the present study indicate that CMHI scores had not changed from the criterion scores over a series of studies, and that score consistency is such that the scale appears to be a reliable discriminatory tool. Contrary to previously reported findings, psychiatrists scored as high as other mental health professionals in the system, and no significant difference was found between disciplines within the professional group. The paraprofessional group, however, ranked significantly lower than the professional group. Clerical and administrative staff, and board and care operators had CMHI scores that were significantly lower than all other study groups. Interestingly, the minister group had a mean score higher than all other groups studied. Our findings suggest that the CMHI Scale differentiates, not only between disciplines of mental health workers who work in the same setting, but also between groups of human services providers in the community.
Scalable VANET content routing using hierarchical bloom filters

In this paper, we discuss scalable content-oriented routing that enables storing, sharing, and searching data totally within the urban VANET. We introduce a scalable proactive content discovery scheme, hierarchical bloom-filter routing HBFR, to tackle mobility, large population, and rich content challenges of VANETs. Our simulation results show that HBFR achieves low latency and high content availability with relatively low overhead in practical VANET scenarios. In particular, HBFR improves the response time by up to 45% compared with the conventional Content Centric Networking CCN and reduces the traffic by up to 85% compared with timer-based intelligent content search. HBFR suits the popular private data services the best and also achieves low response time comparable with that of flooding-based content discovery when applying to popular public data services.Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
One Year Later: Evaluating a Changing Delivery System

One year after the introduction of primary nursing on four medical and surgical units in the tertiary hospital, a 23-item survey was distributed to primary and associate nurses on these units to evaluate the nurses' perceptions of the status of this change in nursing care delivery. Lewin's theory of change provided direction for evaluation of the change. The survey assessed improvements in patient care, changes in nursing practice, and interactions with other disciplines. The majority of nurses surveyed reported that patient care had improved under primary nursing; 100% of the primary nurses agreed that care had improved. The nurses identified continuity of care, communications, and awareness of patient problems as specific areas of improvement. They also identified improved interactions with many members of the healthcare team; the greatest were with dietitians, social workers, and physicians. The authors reported both positive and negative perceptions of how practice had changed under primary nursing. Results from the survey provided suggestions for continued support for staff nurses in this change in nursing care delivery within the studied facility, and suggested the need for future assessment and further evaluation.
Short-term testosterone manipulations modulate visual recognition memory and some aspects of emotional reactivity in male rhesus monkeys

Abstract The role of testosterone (T) in modulating cognitive function and emotion in men remains unclear. The paucity of animal studies has likely contributed to the slow progress in this area. In particular, studies in nonhuman primates have been lacking. Our laboratory has begun to address this issue by pharmacologically manipulating T levels in intact male rhesus monkeys, using blind, placebo-controlled, crossover designs. We previously found that T-suppressed monkeys receiving supraphysiological T for 4 weeks had lower visual recognition memory for long delays and enhanced attention to videos of negative social stimuli (Lacreuse et al., 2009, 2010) compared to when treated with oil. To further delineate the conditions under which T affects cognition and emotion, the present study focused on the short-term effects of physiological T. Six intact males were treated with the gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist degarelix (3 mg/kg) for 7 days and received one injection of T enanthate (5 mg/kg) followed by one injection of oil vehicle 7 days later (n = 3), or the reverse treatment (n = 3). Performance on two computerized tasks, the Delayed-non-matching-to-sample (DNMS) with random delays and the object-Delayed Recognition Span test (object-DRST) and one task of emotional reactivity, an approach/avoidance task of negative, familiar and novel objects, was examined at baseline and 3–5 days after treatment. DNMS performance was significantly better when monkeys were treated with T compared to oil, independently of the delay duration or the nature (emotional or neutral) of the stimuli. Performance on the object-DRST was unaffected. Interestingly, subtle changes in emotional reactivity were also observed: T administration was associated with fewer object contacts, especially on negative objects, without overt changes in anxious behaviors. These results may reflect increased vigilance and alertness with high T. Altogether, the data suggest that changes in general arousal may underlie the beneficial effects of T on DNMS performance. This hypothesis will require further study with objective measures of physiological arousal.
Relationships between Socioeconomic Status and Drinking Problems among Black and White Men

We sought to examine the relationships between socioeconomic status and drinking problems within the Black and White male populations. A two-way interaction of social class with race/ethnicity, and with drinking consequences and alcohol dependence symptoms was hypothesized among drinkers. Drinking problems were regressed on social class, race/ethnicity, age, alcohol consumption, and drinking settings. Social class was based on a composite of respondent's income, education, and main wage earner's occupation. Two types of drinking problems were analyzed : drinking consequences and alcohol dependence symptoms. Our hypothesis was partially confirmed. Interactions of social class with race/ethnicity and with drinking problems were observed. Less affluent Black men reported greater numbers of drinking consequences and total drinking problems than less affluent White men ; the reverse was true for affluent Black and White men. Results suggest that the relationships between socioeconomic status and drinking problems may vary by race/ethnicity.
Improved pose measurement and tracking system for motion correction of awake, unrestrained small animal SPECT imaging

An improved optical landmark-based pose measurement and tracking system has been developed to provide 3D animal pose data for a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging system for awake, unanesthetized, unrestrained laboratory animals. The six degree of freedom animal position and orientation measurement data are time synchronized with the SPECT list mode data to provide for motion correction after the scan and before reconstruction. The tracking system employs infrared (IR) markers placed on the animal's head along with synchronized, strobed IR LEDs to illuminate the reflectors and freeze motion while minimizing reflections. A new design trinocular stereo image acquisition system using IEEE 1394 CMOS cameras acquires images of the animal with markers contained within a transparent enclosure. The trinocular configuration provides improved accuracy, range of motion, and robustness over the binocular stereo previously used. Enhanced software detects obstructions, automatically segments the markers, rejects reflections, performs marker correspondence, and calculates the 3D pose of the animal's head using image data from three cameras. The new hardware design provides more compact camera positioning with enhanced animal viewing through the 360 degree SPECT scan. This system has been implemented on a commercial gantry and tested using live mice and has been shown to be more reliable with higher accuracy than the previous system. Experimental results showing the improved motion tracking results are given.
Strategic choices of quality, differentiation and pricing in financial services

Abstract Two financial services firms (FSFs) produce information on future returns from risky assets, incorporate this information in a report and sell the reports to investors. The FSFs make strategic choices of the quality, differentiation and prices of their reports. Their optimal strategic choices of quality and differentiation divide the market for the report into three segments. Each FSF has a monopoly in its own segment, and the two compete head-to-head in a duopoly segment. The sizes of the monopoly segments increase with increases in quality and differentiation. An increase in differentiation reduces the size of the duopoly market, while an increase in quality has an ambiguous effect on the duopoly market: for high enough equilibrium differentiation, the size of the duopoly market decreases with an increase in quality. The non-cooperative FSFs pursue niche strategies, each focusing on a different related set of risks, in order to coordinate the contents of their reports to achieve the equilibrium degree of product differentiation. Recent years have seen a worldwide wave of financial-firm mergers and acquisitions. This paper’s model suggests that in equilibrium FSFs differentiate their products and develop profitable niches; in principle, however, sufficiently strong economies of scope could lead to a small number of FSFs with little differentiation that dominate all financial services markets.
Non-zero sum games: Online learning solution of coupled Hamilton-Jacobi and coupled Riccati equations

In this paper we present an online adaptive control algorithm based on policy iteration reinforcement learning techniques to solve the continuous-time (CT) multi player non zero sum (NZS) game with infinite horizon for linear and nonlinear systems. The adaptive algorithm learns online the solution of coupled Riccati equations and coupled Hamilton-Jacobi equations for linear and nonlinear systems respectively. This adaptive control method finds in real-time approximations of the optimal value and the NZS Nash-equilibrium, while also guaranteeing closed-loop stability. The optimal-adaptive algorithm is implemented as a separate actor/critic parametric network approximator structure for every player, and involves simultaneous continuous-time adaptation of the actor/critic networks. A persistence of excitation condition is shown to guarantee convergence of every critic to the actual optimal value function for that player. A detailed mathematical analysis is done for 2-player NZS games. Novel tuning algorithms are given for the actor/critic networks. The convergence to the ash equilibrium is proven and stability of the system is also guaranteed. Simulation examples show the effectiveness of the new algorithm.
Carbonate Cycle Stacking Patterns and Hierarchies of Orbitally Forced Eustatic Sealevel Change

Ordered stacking of meter-scale upward-shallowing cycles, manifested as repeated thickness hierarchies within cratonic carbonate sequences, has been considered primary evidence for causal relations between orbitally forced climate change and eustatic sealevel variation. Explicit in this argument is the assumption that each individual cycle represents a single sealevel rise. Sensitivity testing of one-dimensional forward models incorporating a depth threshold of carbonate accumulation indicates that multiple upward-shallowing cycles may originate during any single rise in sealevel. Variation in resultant cycle stacking pattern is sensitive to changes in sealevel amplitude, sedimentation rate, and subsidence rate, with highest stacking ratios (ratio of number of cyclic units to number of eustatic periods) produced by low sealevel amplitudes and high sedimentation and subsidence rates. These relations indicate that direct correlation between multiple-frequency eustatic sealevel variations and meter-scale cycle stacking hierarchies is unwarranted. Thus, prevalent interpretations regarding the stacking record of orbital forcing in ancient carbonate rock sequences should be reevaluated.
Fenestrated Amplatzer device for percutaneous creation of interatrial communication in patients after Fontan operation.

A customized Amplatzer septal device with a 5 mm fenestration was used to create an interatrial communication in two patients with previous Fontan operation and clinical indication for fenestration. At follow-up, device fenestration was occluded in both patients. In both patients, the device fenestration was reopened and patency maintained by placement of two stents within the communicating channel.
Role of MicroRNA Processing in Adipose Tissue in Stress Defense and Longevity

Excess adipose tissue is associated with metabolic disease and reduced life span, whereas caloric restriction decreases these risks. Here we show that as mice age, there is downregulation of Dicer and miRNA processing in adipose tissue resulting in decreases of multiple miRNAs. A similar decline of Dicer with age is observed in C. elegans. This is prevented in both species by caloric restriction. Decreased Dicer expression also occurs in preadipocytes from elderly humans and can be produced in cells by exposure to oxidative stress or UV radiation. Knockdown of Dicer in cells results in premature senescence, and fat-specific Dicer knockout renders mice hypersensitive to oxidative stress. Finally, Dicer loss-of-function mutations in worms reduce life span and stress tolerance, while intestinal overexpression of Dicer confers stress resistance. Thus, regulation of miRNA processing in adipose-related tissues plays an important role in longevity and the ability of an organism to respond to environmental stress and age-related disease.
Plant-herbivore coevolution in a spatially and genetically explicit model

A coevolutionary model was developed to test interactions between diploid plants and herbivores using genetic algorithms on a spatial lattice. Simulated plants carried defensive genes and herbivores carried genes coding for resistance (metabolism of herbivore defense) in gene-for-gene synchrony. Collectively these genes are referred to as defensive/resistance genes (DR-genes). Genes were linked on chromosomes. Regulatory genes modified both dominance at these DR loci and the tradeoff cost involved in producing either defense or resistance. We tested the effects of varying a) the number of DR-loci, b) the ratio of the number of herbivore:plant generations, c) the shape (square vs. long and thin) and function (torus vs. island) of the lattice, and d) herbivore encounter rate on plant progeny dispersal distance. Increasing both the number of DR-genes and the ratio of herbivore:plant generations caused a tighter coevolutionary response between plants and herbivores. Plant defense was highly sensitive to herbivory but not to increasing encounter rates. Plant DR-genes were selectively disadvantageous with only one lucus but selectively favored with two or more loci. Increasing the number of herbivore:plant generations caused increased fluctuations in herbivore resistance gene frequencies and a decrease in the lag time in herbivore response to changes in plant defensive gene frequencies. The relationship between heterotroph and autotroph DR-genes increased exponentially with increasing numbers of DR-loci. This relationship suggests that autotrophs benefit from increased diversity of defense that causes a relative increase in cost for the heterotrophs. The shape of the lattice interacted with lattice function, resulting in high species persistence on wraparound habitats and the greatest extinction likelihood on rectangular islands. Low to moderate herbivore encounter rates increased plant progeny dispersal distance while high herbivore encounter rates tended to reduce dispersal distance. The frequencies of genes coding for plant defense and herbivore resistance were dynamic for thousands of generations, despite the homogeneous lattice. This interaction may increase extinction probabilities in fragmented habitats.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Brain Damage

Alcohol exposure in utero causes mental retardation in humans. This paper reviews animal studies of alcohol exposure during both pre-natal and early post-natal periods demonstrating that alcohol disrupts the structural development of the central nervous system. More specifically, the proliferation of neurons has been delayed. Migration patterns are altered in the cerebral cortex where neuronal precursors remain in the deep layers rather than continuing into the more superficial layers. Differentiation of dendritic arborization appears to be suppressed in pyramidal neurons in the cortex and hippocampus and aberrant synaptic connectivity can be observed. The distribution and shape of dendritic spines appear immature at some time periods, although these alterations may recover by adulthood. The changes in the development of the central nervous system are reflected in behavioural dysfunction.
THE COSMOLOGICAL BARYON DENSITY FROM THE DEUTERIUM-TO-HYDROGEN RATIO IN QSO ABSORPTION SYSTEMS: D/H TOWARD Q1243+3047

We report the detection of deuterium absorption at redshift 2.525659 toward Q1243+3047. We describe improved methods to estimate the deuterium to hydrogen abundance ratio (D/H) in absorption systems, including improved modeling of the continuum level, the Lyα forest, and the velocity structure of the absorption. Together with improved relative flux calibration, these methods give D/H = 2.42 × 10-5 from our Keck I HIRES spectra of Q1243+3047, where the error is from the uncertainty in the shape of the continuum level and the amount of D absorption in a minor second component. The measured D/H is likely the primordial value because [O/H] = -2.79 ± 0.05. This absorption system has a neutral hydrogen column density log N = 19.73 ± 0.04 cm-2, shows five D lines, and is mostly ionized. The best estimate of the primordial D/H is 2.78 × 10-5, from the log D/H-values toward five QSOs. The dispersion in the five values is larger than we expect from their individual measurement errors, and we suspect this is because some of these errors were underestimated. We observe a trend in D/H with log N that we also suspect is spurious. The best value for D/H is 0.6 σ smaller than we quoted in O'Meara et al. from three QSOs, and although we have more values, the error is similar because the dispersion is larger. In standard big bang nucleosynthesis (SBBN), the best D/H corresponds to a baryon-to-photon ratio η = 5.9 ± 0.5 × 10-10 and gives precise predictions for the primordial abundances of the other light nuclei. We predict more 4He than is reported in most measurements, although not more than allowed by some estimates of the systematic errors. We predict a 3He abundance very similar to that reported by Bania et al., and we predict 3-4 times more 7Li than is seen in halo stars. It is unclear if those stars could have destroyed this much of their 7Li. The η-value from D/H corresponds to a cosmological baryon density Ωbh2 = 0.0214 ± 0.0020 (±9.3%), which agrees with the WMAP value of Ωbh2 = 0.0224 ± 0.001.
Emerging High-Growth Firms and Economic Development Policy

Emerging high-growth firms create the lion’s share of jobs in the United States. Even though these firms are economically important, policy researchers have not studied themto a great extent. This focus section tries to stim ulate interest in the issue by reporting results of cutting-edge exploratory research on emerging high-growth firms and public policy. Authors, in turn, explore contributions of Chinese and Indian immigrant entrepreneurs in high-tech Silicon Valley industries, recipients of Small Business Innovation Research awards, connections between home-based businesses and e-commerce, and the Clinton administration’s New Markets Initiative. A mere 3% to 5% of small firms account for three fourths of jobs created in the United States (Birch, Haggerty, & Parsons, 1998; Case, 1996; Hall, 1995). Half of America’s economic growth derives from firms that did not exist a decade ago (“Innovations in Industry,” 1999). Not only do these emerging high-growth firms generate jobs, they also (a) are much less likely than other small businesses to fail; (b) create considerably more wealth in the form of profits, sales, and value; (c) pay higher wages and offer greater employee benefits; (d) are much more likely to export products and services; and (e) invest more in research and development, in turn leading to higher productivity, innovation, and job creation (American Entrepreneurs for Economic Growth, 1998; Brophy, 1996; Coopers & Lybrand, 1998).
The role of hospital volume in coronary artery bypass grafting: is more always better?

Abstract Objectives The goal of this study was to determine whether outcomes of nonemergent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) differed between low- and high-volume hospitals in patients at different levels of surgical risk. Background Regionalizing all CABG surgeries from low- to high-volume hospitals could improve surgical outcomes but reduce patient access and choice. “Targeted” regionalization could be a reasonable alternative, however, if subgroups of patients that would clearly benefit from care at high-volume hospitals could be identified. Methods We assessed outcomes of CABG at 56 U.S. hospitals using 1997 administrative and clinical data from Solucient EXPLORE, a national outcomes benchmarking database. Predicted in-hospital mortality rates for subjects were calculated using a logistic regression model, and subjects were classified into five groups based on surgical risk: minimal ( Results A total of 2,029 subjects who underwent CABG at 25 low-volume hospitals and 11,615 subjects who underwent CABG at 31 high-volume hospitals were identified. Significant differences in in-hospital mortality were seen between low- and high-volume facilities in subjects at moderate (5.3% vs. 2.2%; p = 0.007) and high risk (22.6% vs. 11.9%; p = 0.0026) but not in those at minimal, low or severe risk. Hospital costs and lengths of stay were similar across each of the five risk groups. Based on these results, targeted regionalization of subjects at moderate risk or higher to high-volume hospitals would have resulted in an estimated 370 transfers and avoided 16 deaths; in contrast, full regionalization would have led to 2,029 transfers and avoided 20 deaths. Conclusions Targeted regionalization might be a feasible strategy for balancing the clinical benefits of regionalization with patients’ desires for choice and access.
American and Arab Perceptions of an Arabic Turn-Taking Cue

Languages differ in the way that speakers coordinate their interaction moment by moment, and this can cause intercultural misunderstandings. The authors explore this in the domain of listening behavior. One way that listeners show interest and attention is by producing back-channel feedback (short utterances such as okay and hmm) at appropriate times, and these times are determined, in part, by the interlocutor, who signals when such feedback is welcome with various cues. In Arabic these cues include a prosodic feature in the form of a steep continuous drop in pitch. This article shows that English speakers can misinterpret this, perceiving it as an expression of negative affect, and that this tendency can be substantially alleviated by training.
Increased Survival of ARDS Patients with Severe Hypoxemia (ECMO Criteria)

The adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a form of diffuse lung injury associated with multiple risk factors. Patients with severe hypoxemia who meet blood gas criteria defined by the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation trial (ECMO) of 1974 to 1977 have a reported survival of 11 percent. The reported survival has remained unchanged for 15 years despite numerous technologic advances. We prospectively studied ARDS patients who met ECMO blood gas criteria. One hundred seventy-eight ARDS patients were prospectively screened over a 30-month period. Fifty-one of these patients met ECMO blood gas criteria and 23 (45 percent) survived (p vs ECMO trial). No obvious differences in etiology, APACHE II score, organ system failure, or the incidence of sepsis was found between survivors and nonsurvivors. We conclude that survival of ARDS patients who met ECMO blood gas criteria in our institution is higher than that previously reported from both other centers and our own hospital.
Energy storage and return in dynamic elastic response prosthetic feet

Dynamic Elastic Response prosthetic feet are designed to store energy in midstance and return a portion of that energy to assist the amputee with push-off. While dozens of designs exist, the literature has not developed a consensus understanding of foot function. Several methods are explored to determine prosthesis energy storage and return, including joint translational power, segmental power, and prosthesis instrumentation.
One Year Later and the Myth of a Post-Racial Society

Many commentators, both conservative and liberal, have celebrated the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, claiming the election signified America has truly become a “post-racial” society. It is not just Lou Dobbs who argues the United States in the “21st century [is a] post-partisan, post-racial society.” This view is consistent with beliefs the majority of White Americans have held for well over a decade: that African Americans have achieved, or will soon achieve, racial equality in the United States despite substantial evidence to the contrary. Indeed, this view is consistent with opinions found in the Boston Globe , Wall Street Journal , New York Times , and elsewhere—attitudes that even the tragic events following the Katrina disaster had nothing to do with race.
Optimal control for a class of stochastic hybrid systems

In this paper, an optimal control problem over a "hybrid Markov chain" (HMC) is studied. An HMC can be thought of as a traditional MC with continuous time dynamics pertaining to each node; from a different perspective, it can be regarded as a class of hybrid system with random discrete switches induced by an embedded MC. As a consequence of this setting, the index to be maximized, which depends on the dynamics, is the expected value of a nondeterministic cost function. After obtaining a closed form for the objective function, we gradually suggest how to device a computationally tractable algorithm to get to the optimal value. Furthermore, the complexity and rate of convergence of the algorithm is analyzed. Proofs and simulations of our results are provided; moreover, an applicative and motivating example is introduced.
Mechanical Unloading Restores β-Adrenergic Responsiveness and Reverses Receptor Downregulation in the Failing Human Heart

Background — Mechanical unloading of the failing human heart with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) results in clinically documented reversal of chamber dilation and improvement of cardiac function. We tested the hypothesis that LVAD support normalizes the ability of cardiac muscle to respond to sympathetic nervous system stimulation by reversing the downregulation of β-adrenergic receptors. Methods and Results — Human LV tissue was obtained from nonfailing hearts of unmatched organ donors and failing hearts at the time of transplantation, with or without LVAD. Baseline contractile parameters and inotropic response to a β-adrenergic agonist were measured in isolated trabecular muscles. β-Adrenergic receptor density was quantified by radioligand binding. Results showed a significant increase in the response to β-adrenergic stimulation after LVAD (developed tension increased by 0.76±0.09 g/mm 2 in nonfailing, 0.38±0.07 in failing, and 0.68±0.10 in failing+LVAD; P P Conclusions — Data demonstrate that mechanically supporting the failing human heart with an LVAD can reverse the downregulation of β-adrenergic receptors and restore the ability of cardiac muscle to respond to inotropic stimulation by the sympathetic nervous system. This indicates that functional impairment of cardiac muscle in human heart failure is reversible.
Natural Killer Cell Immunomodulation: Targeting Activating, Inhibitory, and Co-stimulatory Receptor Signaling for Cancer Immunotherapy.

There is compelling clinical and experimental evidence to suggest natural killer (NK) cells play a critical role in the recognition and eradication of tumors. Efforts at using NK cells as antitumor agents began over two decades ago, but recent advances in elucidating NK cell biology have accelerated the development of NK cell-targeting therapeutics. NK cell activation and the triggering of effector functions is governed by a complex set of activating and inhibitory receptors. In the early phases of cancer immune surveillance, NK cells directly identify and lyse cancer cells. Nascent transformed cells elicit NK cell activation and are eliminated. However, as tumors progress, cancerous cells develop immunosuppressive mechanisms that circumvent NK cell-mediated killing, allowing for tumor escape and proliferation. Therapeutic intervention aims to reverse tumor-induced NK cell suppression and sustain NK cells’ tumorlytic capacities. Here, we review tumor-NK cell interactions, discuss the mechanisms by which NK cells generate an antitumor immune response, and discuss NK cell-based therapeutic strategies targeting activating, inhibitory, and costimulatory receptors.
Shielding concepts for low-background proportional counter arrays in surface laboratories.

Abstract Development of ultra low background gas proportional counters has made the contribution from naturally occurring radioactive isotopes – primarily α and β activity in the uranium and thorium decay chains – inconsequential to instrumental sensitivity levels when measurements are performed in above ground surface laboratories. Simple lead shielding is enough to mitigate against gamma rays as gas proportional counters are already relatively insensitive to naturally occurring gamma radiation. The dominant background in these surface laboratory measurements using ultra low background gas proportional counters is due to cosmic ray generated muons, neutrons, and protons. Studies of measurements with ultra low background gas proportional counters in surface and underground laboratories as well as radiation transport Monte Carlo simulations suggest a preferred conceptual design to achieve the highest possible sensitivity from an array of low background gas proportional counters when operated in a surface laboratory. The basis for a low background gas proportional counter array and the preferred shielding configuration is reported, especially in relation to measurements of radioactive gases having low energy decays such as 37Ar.
A Summary of the Novelties Proposed in the Journal Rhodora (1899–2014) with Their Exact Dates of Publication

Abstract Dates of publication are given for each novelty proposed in the New England Botanical Club’s journal Rhodora from volume 1, part 1, to volume 116, part 968. All of these issues are available online via the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Full bibliography data are provided for the 5775 validly published names of extant vascular plants proposed in the journal from 1899 through 2014.
Efficient fault management for high performance computing

Over the past decades, the insatiable demand for more computational power in science and engineering has driven the development of ever-growing supercomputers. Modern high performance computing (HPC) systems have grown to incorporate with hundreds to thousands of processors. The mean-time-between-failure values of such systems are on the order of 10-100 hours. Therefore reliability becomes a critical issue in HPC. However, current fault tolerance techniques are not sufficient to address the challenges in fault management in HPC. This thesis work attacks the reliability issue by describing an efficient fault management system for HPC. In this thesis an automatic failure analysis and prediction service is designed to discover useful information and forecast the failure occurrence in large systems. Based on the failure prediction, adaptive runtime decisions and strategies are proposed to optimize application and system performance. Finally a fast restart mechanism is presented to reduce the failure recovery time by taking advantages of hardware parallelism and data access pattern. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that our work significantly improves performance and reliability in HPC production systems.
Application of spatial pedotransfer functions to understand soil modulation of vegetation response to climate

A fundamental knowledge gap in understanding land–atmosphere interactions is accurate, high-resolution spatial representation of soil physical and hydraulic properties. We present a novel approach to predict hydraulic soil parameters by combining digital soil mapping techniques with pedotransfer functions (PTFs) and demonstrate that simple derived quantities are related to observed spatial patterns in ecosystem production during the North American Monsoon. Landsat reflectance and elevation data were used to predict physical soil properties at a 5-m spatial resolution for a semiarid landscape of 6265 ha using regression kriging. Resulting soil property maps were applied to the Rosetta PTF to predict saturated hydraulic conductivity and water retention parameters from which approximate water residence times were derived. Estimated idealized residence time for water lost to the deeper vadose zone and evapotranspiration corresponded to vegetation response. Antecedent precipitation was more important for explaining the relationships between modeled soil properties and vegetation response than the amount of monsoon precipitation. Increased spring precipitation before the monsoon produced stronger negative correlations with hydraulic conductivity and stronger positive correlations with plant available water. Modeled water residence times explained the patterns of vegetation and landscape morphology validating our approach as a method of producing functional spatial PTFs. Linking digital soil mapping with Rosetta led to predictions of hydraulic soil properties that were more closely related to vegetation dynamics than the data available in the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) soil database.
A Ni0(η2-(Si–H))(η2-H2) Complex That Mediates Facile H Atom Exchange between Two σ-Ligands

σ-adduct complexes of low-valent, late first-row metal complexes are highly unusual, and this is particularly true of d10 systems. We have discovered a nickel/phosphine/silyl system that undergoes reaction with H2 in solution to generate a species best described as Ni0(η2-(Si–H))(η2-H2) on the basis of multinuclear NMR studies. Theoretical calculations suggest that the Ni center facilitates H atom exchange between the η2-(Si–H) and η2-H2 ligands via interconversion with a higher valent NiII isomer. This exchange is exploited in the selective, catalytic deuteration of exogenous silanes.