cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Easier Said than Done: An Empirical Investigation of Software Design and Quality in Open Source Software Development

We empirically examine the relationship between software design modularity and software quality in open source software (OSS) development projects. Conventional wisdom suggests that degree of software modularity affects software quality. An analysis of 203 software releases in 46 OSS projects hosted on SourceForge.net lends support for a more complex relationship between software modularity and software quality than conventional wisdom suggests. We find that software modularity is associated with reduced software complexity, an increased number of static software bugs, and a mixed relationship with the percentage of bugs closed. We do not find empirical evidence supporting any relationship between modularity and other measures of customer satisfaction. In addition to empirically testing the relationship between modularity and quality, we introduce new measures of software modularity and software quality. Implications are developed for the theory of modularity and the practice of software development.
Incidence of Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Mice Irradiated with 1 GeV/nucleon 56Fe Ions

Abstract Estimates of cancer risks posed to space-flight crews by exposure to high atomic number, high-energy (HZE) ions are subject to considerable uncertainty because epidemiological data do not exist for human populations exposed to similar radiation qualities. We assessed the leukemogenic efficacy of one such HZE species, 1 GeV (56)Fe ions, a component of space radiation, in a mouse model for radiation-induced acute myeloid leukemia. CBA/CaJ mice were irradiated with 1 GeV/nucleon (56)Fe ions or (137)Cs gamma rays and followed until they were moribund or to 800 days of age. We found that 1 GeV/nucleon (56)Fe ions do not appear to be substantially more effective than gamma rays for the induction of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, (56)Fe-ion-irradiated mice had a much higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than gamma-irradiated mice, with an estimated RBE of approximately 50. These data suggest a difference in the effects of HZE iron ions on the induction of leukemia compared to solid tumors, suggesting potentially different mechanisms of tumorigenesis.
The early history of IBM's SiGe mixed signal technology

The history of Silicon Germanium (SiGe) at IBM is a story of persistence. The program began with an idea to replace a conventional implantation step, used in every silicon semiconductor bipolar process, by growing an in-situ doped alloy (SiGe). Many people thought the idea was of value only for a few exotic niche "research" applications. This is a story about how a small group of people persuaded a large digital computer manufacturer to invest in a new unproven technology for telecommunication applications in a field which the company knew little about. It is a success story, as SiGe technology has now become the only BiCMOS technology in development in IBM and is in the roadmaps of every major telecommunication company.
Who Loses in American Democracy? A Count of Votes Demonstrates the Limited Representation of African Americans

Critics have long feared that America's winner-take-all electoral system would undermine the interests of minorities. Unfortunately, few available tests broadly assess how well minorities fare in a democracy. To gauge winners and losers in the American case, I introduce a new measure of representation. For any election, I count up how many voters from each demographic group vote for a candidate that loses. After comparing this new measure to its alternatives, I use data from the entire series of Voter News Service exit polls and a sample of mayoral elections to determine which kinds of voters end up losers. I find that across the range of American elections, African Americans are consistently more likely than other groups to end up losers, raising questions about equity in American democracy. The one exception to the pattern of black failure—congressional House elections—suggests ways to better incorporate minority interests.
The treatment of long-lived, carbon-containing products in inventories of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere

Abstract The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) requires that all parties to the convention periodically report their emissions of greenhouse gases and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has published guidelines on how to estimate these emissions. Estimating carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions is complicated by the fact that consumption of fossil-fuels and harvesting of forests do not necessarily mean that the contained C has been released to the atmosphere as CO 2 . Some fractions of fossil-fuels and harvested wood are incorporated into products that have lifetimes ranging from months to centuries. The IPCC methodology addresses durable products by assuming that some prescribed fraction goes to permanent storage while the remainder is oxidized instantly. The question posed here is whether the annual increase in stocks of durable products, i.e. the difference between the rates of production and oxidation, can be reasonably estimated as a simple fraction of their current rate of production. Although the annual stock change can be described as a simple fraction of annual production when production is growing exponentially and oxidation is a first order decay process, a description of annual stock changes needs to consider how both production and oxidation are evolving with time, regardless of the functional forms of these changes with time.
The Ethical Issues in Uranium Mining Research in the Navajo Nation

We explore the experience of Navajo communities living under the shadow of nuclear age fallout who were subjects of five decades of research. In this historical analysis of public health (epidemiological) research conducted in the Navajo lands since the inception of uranium mining from the 1950s untill the end of the 20th century, we analyze the successes and failures in the research initiatives conducted on Navajo lands, the ethical breaches, and the harms and benefits that this research has brought about to the community. We discuss how scientific and moral uncertainty, lack of full stakeholder participation and community wide outreach and education can impact ethical decisions made in research.
Aerosol–cloud drop concentration closure for clouds sampled during the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation 2004 campaign

This study analyzes 27 cumuliform and stratiform clouds sampled aboard the CIRPAS Twin Otter during the 2004 International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) experiment. The data set was used to assess cloud droplet closure using (1) a detailed adiabatic cloud parcel model and (2) a state-of-the-art cloud droplet activation parameterization. A unique feature of the data set is the sampling of highly polluted clouds within the vicinity of power plant plumes. Remarkable closure was achieved (much less than the 20% measurement uncertainty) for both parcel model and parameterization. The highly variable aerosol did not complicate the cloud droplet closure, since the clouds had low maximum supersaturation and were not sensitive to aerosol variations (which took place at small particle sizes). The error in predicted cloud droplet concentration was mostly sensitive to updraft velocity. Optimal closure is obtained if the water vapor uptake coefficient is equal to 0.06, but can range between 0.03 and 1.0. The sensitivity of cloud droplet prediction error to changes in the uptake coefficient, organic solubility and surface tension depression suggest that organics exhibit limited solubility. These findings can serve as much needed constraints in modeling of aerosol-cloud interactions in the North America; future in situ studies will determine the robustness of our findings.
Metadata, by Marcia Lei Zeng and Jian Qin

During the past 15 years, libraries, archives, museums, and a host of other communities have developed a diverse array of metadata applications and standards for managing their digital resources. W...
Attachment and Personality Disorders: Exploring Maladaptive Developmental Pathways

Recent theorizing and research from an attachment perspective has begun to trace linkages between attachment in childhood and the later appearance of personality disorders. This paper contributes to this work by identifying consistencies between descriptions of insecure attachment in childhood provided by Crittenden (1995, 1997a, 1997b) and descriptions of personality disorders provided by Millon (1996). Implications for clinical assessment and intervention are discussed. In particular, understanding of dimensional characteristics shared by attachment organization and personality disorders may shed light on the differential use of primarily cognitive-behavioral and primarily psychodynamic clinical interventions.
Why criticizing grand regional narratives matters

Writing regional narratives of the sort envisaged in this article is much more fraught with difficulties than acknowledged by its author. Four conditions are identified for avoiding the glib story telling that afflicts the genre: reflecting on the limits of previous narratives, particularly the foundational myth of the disinterested observer of timeless truths; being clear about the metanarratives that unavoidably inform meaningful descriptive narratives; avoiding the call of elite and popular appeal at the expense of scholarly integrity; and cultivating an outsider status that speaks to the epistemological fragility of all regional narratives including those we might write, particularly when the emphasis in academia, for good philosophical as well as practical reasons, is on more analytic endeavors. The barriers set by these conditions suggest reasons why the genre is so little practiced.
Forensic Analysis and Investigation Application of Y-STR

The human Y Chromosome has unique genetic characteristics.The genetic information on Y chromosome of a male must inherit from his father,which is similar to the way we get our family name,so the STR loci on Y chromosome is also called "famaily gene".Combining the Y-STR analysis technique in the view of "family name gene" with detective methods,would strenthen forenisc medical analysis and narrow the investigation scale,making us take the initiative in investigation.
[The prenatal diagnosis of hydronephrosis: when and why NOT to operate?].

Objectives To determine the proper timing and indications for pyeloplasty in infants with prenatally diagnosed unilateral hydronephrosis. Methods Examination of the 1) biological features of hydronephrosis which are unique to the newborn, 2) natural history of non-operated newborn hydronephrosis, and 3) accuracy of tests which assess obstruction in hydronephrosis. Results Prenatally diagnosed unilateral hydronephrosis is a benign disease in most infants because obstruction is not present: the hydronephrosis will improve or disappear spontaneously, and impaired renal function will improve or normal renal function will remain stable. Consequently surgical treatment is not indicated; it will neither hasten nor improve the outcome. Unfortunately, the conventional tests for assessing obstruction are invalid in the infant and obstruction must be diagnosed or excluded by newly described protocols which use serial measurement of pelvic dilation, differential renal function and renal size. Conclusion UPJ obstruction presents a diagnostic but not a therapeutic dilemma in infancy. True UPJ obstruction should be operated upon as soon after birth as possible to prevent renal deterioration. However, over 85% of infants with prenatally diagnosed hydronephrosis do not have a true obstruction and do not require surgery; they will improve spontaneously. The difficulty in deciding which patients require surgery can be minimized by a careful diagnostic protocol.
Immuno and functional characterization of CFTR in submandibular and pancreatic acinar and duct cells

Cystic fibrosis results from defective Cl- channel activity mediated by the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene product. In the gastrointestinal tract this is manifested in abnormal salivary secretion and pancreatic insufficiency. This is generally attributed to defective Cl- transport by the ductal system of the glands. We provide the first immunocytochemical and functional evidence for expression of CFTR protein and Cl- current in rat and mouse submandibular gland (SMG) and pancreatic acinar cells, a site proximal to the ductal system of these secretory glands. Monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies recognizing COOH-terminal epitopes of CFTR show that duct and acinar cells from the two glands express CFTR in the luminal membrane. Specificity of the polyclonal antibody was verified by absence of staining in duct and acinar cells of the SMG of cf-/cf- and delta F/delta F mice. Identification of CFTR in acinar cells was aided by demonstrating coexpression of CFTR and type 3 inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors in the luminal pole of acini and absence of type 3 inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors in ducts. Electrophysiological characterization in single SMG duct and acinar cells shows the presence of a protein kinase A-activated, voltage- and time-independent, ohmic Cl- current and absence of repolarization-dependent tail currents, all of which are kinetic properties of the CFTR-dependent Cl- channel. In addition, the channel was activated by the nonhydrolyzable ATP analog 5'-adenylylimidodiphosphate and the benzimidazalone NS-004. Channels activated by all activators were inhibited by glibenclamide and a known inhibitory antiserum [anti-CFTR-(505-511)]. Combined immunologic, functional, and pharmacological evidence allows us to conclude that acinar cells of the SMG and pancreas express functional CFTR-dependent Cl- channels. Because this site is proximal to the duct, modification of activity of this channel in acinar cells is likely to contribute to abnormal salivary secretion and pancreatic insufficiency typical of cystic fibrosis.
Food and nutrition policy--now and in the future.

Nutritional considerations should be an integral part of a sound national food and agricultural policy.
Alterations in Ionic Currents and Relation to Contractile Dysfunction with Severe Cardiac Hypertrophy and Failure

Myocardial dysfunction with severe cardiac hypertrophy and congestive heart failure is associated with abnormalities in myocyte action potential morphology, and consequently, trans-sarcolemmal ionic currents. Determination of the primary ionic current or event which contributes to myocardial contractile dysfunction is an area of active research. This review article coalesces findings on ionic processes and systems which have direct relevance in the setting of hypertrophy and congestive heart failure. The consensus conclusion that can be drawn from human and animal studies of severe hypertrophy and/or congestive heart failure is that action potential prolongation is associated with alterations in the outward K+ currents and the inward Ca2−currents.
Redefining American Families: The Disparate Effects of IIRIRA's Automatic Bars to Reentry and Sponsorship Requirements on Mixed-Citizenship Couples:

With passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), the goal of discouraging illegal immigration and the legal immigration of the poor triumphed over t...
Abstract 3: Targeted Inhibition Of Transforming Growth Factor Beta In Cardiac Myocytes Prevents Myocardial Rupture After Infarction

Introduction Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death and myocardial infarction (MI) its most severe manifestation.TGFb is a major switch governing the myocardial response to injury and global inhibition is detrimental following MI. Recently, cell-specific gene manipulation models have enabled investigation of cardiomyocyte (CM) versus non-CM TGFb signaling on maladaptive remodeling. We found CM TGFb to be central to pressure-overload disease. Here, we tested the hypothesis that CM TGFb modifies acute post-MI remodeling, and thus benefits rather than worsens outcome as observed with antibody-based inhibition that primarily targets interstitial/vascular cells. Methods Mice with cardiac-specific conditional knockdown of TgfbR1 or 2 (aMHC - MCM TgfbR fl/fl) or injection of TGFb-neutralizing antibody were subjected to proximal LAD-ligation and followed by echocardiography and continuous ECG monitoring. Expression and activity of the major matrix metalloproteinases MMP2/MMP9 and TIMP1 were assessed by qRT-PCR, immunoblot, and zymography, respectively. Only mice surviving >24h after surgery (>90%) were included in analyses. Results LAD ligation decreased fractional shortening on day 1 to 18±2% (61±1% in sham animals) with no differences between genotypes (n≥8). Similarly, echocardiographic parameters of myocardial dimensions and function did not differ at weeks 1 or 3. Early mortality (day 4 - 10) was strikingly lower in knockdown mice as compared to controls (10% vs 48%, p Conclusion TGFb inhibition exhibits differential effects in wound healing following MI. Where global inhibition is deleterious, CM-targeted knockdown powerfully protects the heart from rupture. This highlights potent cross-talk between the CM TGFb signal and matrix remodeling and the importance of targeted inhibition to benefit cardiac disease.
Cognitive Domain Ontologies in lookup tables stored in a memristor string matching architecture

Cognitive agents are typically utilized in autonomous systems for automated decision making. These systems interact at real time with their environment and are generally heavily power constrained. Thus, there is a strong need for a real time agent running on a low power platform. This paper examines how some of the components of a cognitive agent can be mapped onto lookup tables stored in memristor crossbar circuits capable of highly parallel string matching. The agent examined is the Cognitively Enhanced Complex Event Processing (CECEP) architecture. This is an autonomous decision support tool that reasons like humans and enables enhanced agent-based decision-making. It has applications in a large variety of domains including autonomous systems, operations research, intelligence analysis, and data mining. One of the most time consuming and key components of CECEP is the mining of knowledge from a repository described as a Cognitive Domain Ontology (CDO). We show that CDOs can be implemented in lookup tables, and present a memristor crossbar circuit capable of storing these lookup tables very efficiently.
Using Activity Theory in Designing Science Inquiry Games

It’s been widely recognized that students in middle and high schools are often disengaged in the didactic science classrooms. Game-based learning has the potential to better engage students in meaningful learning. This chapter describes the design and development of a scenario-based science inquiry game using Activity Theory as a design framework. Evaluation results showed that both teachers and students perceived the science inquiry game positively in increasing the students’ situational interests and cognitive learning through active real-world problem-solving activities in a fun and concrete context.
Using authentic science in climate change education

ABSTRACTIn this article, we argue that engagement with authentic science is a means to mediate trust and motivation in those who are learning about climate change. To illustrate the argument, we provide a curricular example that focuses on authentic climate science data. We conclude with an example of how researchers from multiple disciplines can use model-based reasoning to collaboratively design educational experiences.
Millennial scale climate-fire-vegetation interactions in a mid-elevation mixed coniferous forest, Mission Range, northwestern Montana, USA

Mixed coniferous forests are widespread at middle elevations in the Northern Rocky Mountains, yet relatively little is known about their long-term vegetation and fire history. Pollen and charcoal records from Twin Lakes, in the Mission Range of northwestern Montana provide information on mixed-coniferous forest development and fire activity over the last 15,000 years. These data suggest an open parkland and minimal fire activity before 13,500 cal yr BP, consistent with cold, dry conditions. Increases in Pinus pollen after 13,500 cal yr BP indicate a transition to closed forests, and a slight rise in fire activity as conditions warmed and fuel biomass increased. High levels of Artemisia pollen between 10,000 and 6000 cal yr BP suggest an open forest during the early Holocene when conditions were warmer and drier than present. Low-severity fires likely maintained open forest/shrublands but produced little charcoal during this interval. Present-day mixed-coniferous forests were established in the last 6 ka and included forest taxa characteristic of low- (Pseudotsuga-Larix/Pinus ponderosa) and high-severity fire regimes (Picea/Abies). Increased climate variability and anthropogenic burning may have helped maintain heterogeneous, mixed-coniferous forests during the last several millennia when climate conditions became cooler and wetter.
Day-to-day variations in daily rest periods between working days and recovery from fatigue among information technology workers : One-month observational study using a fatigue app

BACKGROUND The European Union's Working Time Directive stipulates recovery periods as "Eleven consecutive hour daily rest periods (DRPs) between working days." In Japan, adopting this regulation has been discussed. OBJECTIVE To examine the association between weekday DRPs and recovery from fatigue by conducting a one-month observational study using a fatigue monitoring application (fatigue app) on a smart tablet. METHODS Fifty-five daytime employees working at an information technology company participated in this study. Visual analogue scales (VAS) regarding fatigue, psychological detachment from work, a psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), and sleep-wake logs were repeatedly measured using a fatigue app that we developed for this study. Sleep was measured by a wrist actigraph. RESULTS The average and SD of weekday DRPs was 13.1 ± 2.3 h. However, 54.5% of employees experienced less than the minimum 11-hour DRP at least once a month. Sleep duration was significantly changed with weekday DRPs, though no significant difference was found in sleep efficiency. Linear mixed effects models showed that sleep duration increased by approximately 15 minutes for each hour of weekday DRPs (β = 0.24, 95% CI; 0.17, 0.32, p <.001). VAS-measured fatigue and psychological detachment from work significantly improved as DRPs increased (β = -3.4, 95% CI; -4.7, -2.1, p <.001; β = 2.6, 95% CI; 1.2, 4.0, p <.001, respectively). However, PVT performance did not significantly change with weekday DRPs. CONCLUSIONS Ensuring weekday DRPs plays an essential role in protecting the opportunities to sleep, with better recovery from fatigue and stress among information technology workers.
Case Studies in Mechanical Ventilation

A series of cases demonstrate the key concepts regarding the approach to acute respiratory failure, understanding the ventilator screen, ventilator management, and assessment of the deteriorating ventilated patient. The cases highlight management of mechanical ventilation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and neurologic injury.
Architecture and Circuit Choices for 5G Millimeter-Wave Beamforming Transceivers

As 5G takes advantage of the vast amount of available spectrum in the mmWave bands, system and circuit designers face new challenges to create efficient, high-performance phased array transceivers. This article covers scaled CMOS circuit and system tradeoffs for large mmWave power consumers including the PA, LO generation, and LO distribution, in the context of mobile link requirements and beamforming system architectures. We survey a selection of published mmWave transceivers relevant to 5G communications and provide insight into tradeoffs made in practice. Finally, we discuss the application of these concepts toward E-band 71-76 GHz circuit blocks in the Intel 22FFL FinFET process with measurement results.
Distinguishing Tumor from Associated Fibrosis to Increase Diagnostic Biopsy Yield with Polarization-Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography.

Purpose: With recent advancements in personalized medicine, biopsies must contain sufficient tumor for histological diagnosis and molecular testing. However, inadvertent biopsy of tumor-associated fibrosis compromises tumor yield, resulting in delayed diagnoses and/or repeat procedures when additional tumor is needed. The ability to differentiate tumor from fibrosis intraprocedurally during biopsy could significantly increase tumor yield. Polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) is an imaging modality that is endoscope and/or needle-compatible, and provides large volumetric views of tissue microstructure with high resolution (~10 μm) while simultaneously measuring birefringence of organized tissues such as collagen. We aim to determine whether PS-OCT can accurately detect and distinguish tumor-associated fibrosis from tumor. Experimental Design: PS-OCT was obtained ex vivo in 64 lung nodule samples. PS-OCT birefringence was measured and correlated to collagen content in precisely matched histology, quantified on picrosirius red (PSR) staining. Results: There was a strong positive correlation between PS-OCT measurement of birefringent fibrosis and total collagen content by PSR (r = 0.793, p 20% fibrosis from those with low fibrosis (≤ 20%) that would likely yield higher tumor content (p <0.0001). Conclusions: PS-OCT enables accurate fibrosis detection and can distinguish tumor regions with low fibrosis. PS-OCT has significant potential for clinical impact, as the ability to differentiate tumor from fibrosis could be used to guide intraprocedural tissue sampling in vivo, or for rapid biopsy adequacy assessment ex vivo, to increase diagnostic tumor yield essential for patient care and research.
68) Neurologic Morbidity in Previously Healthy PICU Patients with Bronchiolitis

Purpose: Despite its high prevalence, neurologic outcomes of PICU patients with bronchiolitis are poorly described. We aimed to estimate acute and chronic neurological dysfunction in previously healthy critical bronchiolitis patients using two large, multicenter databases. Methods: With IRB approval, we separately interrogated the Virtual PICU Systems (VPS, LLC, Los Angeles CA) and the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS, Children’s Hospital Association, Lenexa KS) databases for subjects < 2 years old admitted to a participating center (VPS: n=152; PHIS: n=48) between 2009-2015 with a primary diagnosis code of bronchiolitis. Pre-existing …
Rapid organoid development, drug screening, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy response prediction for patients with locally advanced bladder cancer.

543Background: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy prior to radical cystectomy (RC) for muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma (UCCx) is the standard of care though the absolute survival benefit is small, and s...
African elephant bones modified by carnivores: Implications for interpreting fossil proboscidean assemblages

Abstract Carcasses of African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana africana) are affected by large and small carnivores which mark, move, break, and subtract bones. Bone-gnawing scavengers modify proboscidean carcasses and individual bones in patterned sequences. We summarize how scavengers modify major skeletal elements in stages which may reflect the extent of carcass utilization. The stages of modification also may be detectable in fossil proboscidean assemblages, which would potentially strengthen ecological interpretations of assemblage origins. We discuss the significance of tooth marking and breakage of bones, different bone-gnawing behaviors, variations in intensity of gnawing, and the effects of increasingly worn carnivore teeth. We demonstrate that tooth marks made by carnivores which are habitual bone-gnawing scavengers have substantially different sizes from tooth marks made by conspecifics with less worn teeth, an unexplored complication when attempting to identify taxon of scavenging carnivores in fossil proboscidean assemblages. Herein we provide a guide for identifying carnivore effects on proboscidean bones, which may partially or wholly reduce analysts’ variability in reporting frequencies of carnivore modifications in fossil proboscidean assemblages.
Fine-Tuning Lipid Metabolism by Targeting Mitochondria-Associated Acetyl-CoA-Carboxylase 2 in BRAFV600E Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Background: BRAFV600E acts as an ATP-dependent cytosolic kinase. BRAFV600E inhibitors are widely available, but resistance to them is widely reported in the clinic. Lipid metabolism (fatty acids) i...
Neural Perturbations Associated With Recurrent Binge Alcohol in Male and Female Rats.

Background Binge drinking, characterized by brief periods of high intoxication interspersed with periods of abstinence, appears to be particularly damaging to the brain. Binge drinking is increasing among American women, yet few preclinical studies have assessed sex differences in the neurobehavioral effects of binge alcohol. Methods Adult Long-Evans rats were administered 4 g/kg ethanol (EtOH; or an isocaloric control dose) via intragastric gavage once-weekly. Brains were collected after 3 or 8 binge doses, and immunohistochemistry for mature neurons (NeuN), microglia (Iba1), neurogenesis (DCX), and reactive astrogliosis (vimentin) performed. Stereology was used to quantify target cell populations in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). In a separate cohort of animals, cognition (spatial navigation and reversal learning), affect (tickling-evoked ultrasonic vocalizations), and task-induced c-fos activation were assessed after 3 or 8 binge doses. Results Blood EtOH concentration did not differ significantly between females (175 ± 3.6 mg/dl) and males (180 ± 3.7 mg/dl) and did not change significantly over time, indicating that tolerance did not develop. After 3 or 8 binge doses, the number of granule neurons in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of both sexes was significantly reduced in comparison with controls, although there was no binge effect on newly generated neurons. Moreover, 8 (but not 3) binge doses significantly increased the total number of microglia and the number of partially activated microglia in the hippocampus and mPFC in both sexes. There was no detectable reactive astrogliosis (vimentin) in either region at any timepoint. There was no effect of binge alcohol on behavior outcomes in either sex, but binged rats showed increased cellular activation in the mPFC following reversal learning. Conclusions Our data indicate that recurrent binge alcohol results in similar neural damage and neuroimmune activation in alcohol-vulnerable corticolimbic brain regions in males and females.
When Smart Systems Fail: The Ethics of Cyber–Physical Critical Infrastructure Risk

Critical infrastructure (CI) remains an important part of daily life in support of providing basic goods and services. Cyber–physical connections between CI systems and sectors continue to increase with the development and integration of new technology. We study the emerging threat landscape and ethical implications of cyber–physical connections within CI. Using both a comprehensive literature review and a coupled epistemic–ethical analysis, we provide evidence that new approaches in science, technology, and policy are necessary. We propose future research directions and emphasize the need for value transparency throughout the science policy landscape.
Warm Perches: A Novel Approach For Reducing Cold Stress Effect on Production, Plasma Hormones, and Immunity in Laying Hens

ABSTRACT Cold temperature is a common environmental stressor that induces pathophysiological stress in birds with profound economic losses. Current methods used for preventing cold stress, such as reducing ventilation and using gas heaters, are facing challenges due to poor indoor air quality and deleterious effects on bird and caretaker health. The aim of this study was to examine if the novel designed warmed perch system, as a thermal device, can reduce cold stress-associated adverse effects on laying hens. Seventy-two 32-week-old DeKalb hens were randomly assigned to 36 cages arranged to 3 banks. The banks were assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: cages with warmed perches (WP; perches with circulating water at 30°C), air perches (AP, regular perches only), or no perches (NP) for a 21-d trial. The room temperature was set at 10°C during the entire experimental period. Rectal temperature and body weight were measured from the same bird of each cage at d 1, 8, 15, and 21 during the cold exposure. Egg production was recorded daily. Feed intake, egg and eggshell quality were determined during the 1st and 3rd wk of cold stress. Plasma levels of corticosterone, thyroid hormones (3, 3’, 5-triiodothyronine and thyroxine), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10, were determined after 1 d and 21 d of cold exposure. Compared to both AP and NP hens, WP hens were able to maintain their body temperature without increasing feed intake and losing BW. The eggs from WP hens had thicker eggshell during the 3rd wk of cold exposure. Warmed perch hens also had a lower thyroxine conversion rate (3, 3’, 5-triiodothyronine/thyroxine) at d 1, while higher plasma concentrations of IL-6 at d 21. Plasma levels of corticosterone, 3, 3’, 5-triiodothyronine, and IL-10 were not different among treatments. Our results indicate that the warmed perch system can be used as a novel thermal device for preventing cold stress-induced negative effects on hen health and welfare through regulating immunity and metabolic hormonal homeostasis.
Understanding how social norms affect modern contraceptive use.

An aim of this study is to introduce a practitioner-friendly behavior model. Few theories of health behavior explicitly take the effect of social norms on behavior into account. Generally, theories that do take social norms into account assume that the effect of social norms on behavior operates through motivation. We use the Fogg Behavior Model (FBM), a behavior model that is new to public health, to explore whether social norms are associated with modern contraceptive use among Nigerian women, and whether they affect behavior through motivation or through ability. In other words, do social norms that discourage contraception lower women’s motivation to use contraception or do they lower women’s ability to use contraception. This study uses data from a cross-sectional household survey of Nigerian women, ages 14–24. The survey collected data on socio-economic and demographic characteristics of women, whether they were sexually experienced, and whether they used contraception. Modern contraceptive use was the outcome of interest for the study. The survey also collected data on social norms around premarital sex and contraceptive use. Multivariate logistic regression was used for the analysis. After adjusting for a range of socio-economic and demographic variables, we found that social norms that discourage contraception had a statistically significant negative association with contraceptive use (aOR = 0.90, p < 0.001). The analysis found that the negative association between social norms and contraceptive use remained statistically significant after controlling for motivation but did not remain statistically significant after controlling for ability. These findings suggest that social norms may affect contraceptive use in Nigeria through ability rather than motivation. In terms of programmatic implications, these finding suggest that public health interventions may be able to counter the negative effects of social norms that discourage contraceptive use by increasing women’s ability to practice contraception.
Correlated Evolution in the Small Parsimony Framework

When studying the evolutionary relationship between a set of species, the principle of parsimony states that a relationship involving the fewest number of evolutionary events is likely the correct one. Due to its simplicity, this principle was formalized in the context of computational evolutionary biology decades ago by, e.g, Fitch and Sankoff. Because the parsimony framework does not require a model of evolution, unlike maximum likelihood or Bayesian approaches, it is often a good starting point when no reasonable estimate of such a model is available. In this work, we devise a method for detecting correlated evolution among pairs of discrete characters, given a set of species on these characters, and an evolutionary tree. The first step of this method is to use Sankoff9s algorithm to compute all most parsimonious assignments of ancestral states (of each character) to the internal nodes of the phylogeny. Correlation between a pair of evolutionary events (e.g., absent to present) for a pair of characters is then determined by their (co-) occurrence patterns among their respective ancestral assignments. We implement this method: parcours (PARsimonious CO-occURrenceS) and use it to study the correlated evolution among vocalizations in the Felidae family, revealing some interesting results. The parcours tool is freely available at https://github.com/murraypatterson/parcours .
Psychosocial Functioning Among Caregivers of Childhood Cancer Survivors Following Treatment Completion.

OBJECTIVE To inform efforts to better support caregivers of children with cancer during the transition from treatment to survivorship, this study sought to characterize caregiver mental health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and anxiety, and examine the influence of family psychosocial risk and caregiver problem-solving on these outcomes. METHOD Participants included 124 caregivers (child age M = 10.05 years; SD = 4.78), 12-19 months from the conclusion of cancer-directed treatment. Participants' self-reported mental HRQOL, anxiety, and problem-solving were compared with community norms using t-tests. Correlations and hierarchical multiple regressions examined the influence of psychosocial risk and problem-solving on caregiver mental HRQOL and anxiety. RESULTS Overall, caregivers reported HRQOL and anxiety within normal limits. Caregivers also reported more adaptive patterns of problem-solving than community norms. Subsets of caregivers reported clinical levels of psychosocial risk (11%) and at-risk levels of mental HRQOL (2.5%) and anxiety (5.7%). Females reported greater anxiety than males. Psychosocial risk and negative problem orientation (NPO) were both related to poorer mental HRQOL and greater anxiety (r = .40-.51, p's < .001). Positive problem orientation related to better mental HRQOL and lower anxiety (r = .18-.21, p's < .05). Impulsivity/carelessness and avoidance were associated with greater anxiety (r = .19-.25, p's < .05). Only NPO accounted for additional variance in mental HRQOL and anxiety, over and above psychosocial risk and demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS The majority of caregivers appear to be resilient and experience limited distress during the off therapy period. Targeting negative cognitive appraisals (NPO) through cognitive-behavioral therapy or problem-solving skills training may further improve caregiver psychosocial functioning.
Chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking of used nuclear fuel welded stainless steel canisters: A review

Abstract It has been shown the salt deposition conditions in coastal areas result in chloride-induced stress corrosion cracking (CISCC) on the stainless steels used to contain nuclear fuel. The present study conducts a critical review of the realistic environmental conditions in-service canisters are subjected to, including the presence of surface temperature variables, surface relative humidity, surface deposits and tensile stresses that are caused by welding processes. The CISCC related experimental results of the canister materials are also reviewed to evaluate the potential occurrence of CISCC.
Inhibition of Bordetella pertussis and Bacillus anthracis adenylyl cyclases by polyadenylate and "P"-site agonists.

Abstract Inhibition of adenylyl cyclases from Bacillus anthrasis and Bordetella pertussis by polyadenylate and by the most potent "P"-site agonists was investigated. These bacterial adenylyl cyclases differed in their sensitivity to inhibition by nominal "P"-site agents and in the effect of divalent cations on this inhibition. The enzyme from Bordetella pertussis was relatively insensitive to inhibition by "P"-site agonists, exhibiting a rank order of potency of 2'd3'AMP greater than 3'-AMP greater than 2',5'-ddAdo approximately Ado approximately 2'-dAdo, with IC50 values for 2'd3'AMP and 3'-AMP of 1-3 mM. Inhibition by 2'd3'AMP, however, was not affected by divalent cation, making it distinct from "P"-site-mediated inhibition of most mammalian adenylyl cyclases. The sensitivity to these nucleosides was comparable with potency for inhibition of bovine sperm adenylyl cyclase but was 3 orders of magnitude less potent than for activated enzyme from bovine or rat brain. The Bordetella pertussis enzyme was similarly insensitive to inhibition by polyadenylate, with 16 microM inhibiting less than 20%. By comparison, Bacillus anthrasis adenylyl cyclase was more potently inhibited by 2'd3'AMP (IC50 approximately 85 microM) but not by the other nucleosides (less than 15% inhibition at 1 mM), and inhibition by 2'd3'AMP was optimally enhanced by 5-10 mM Mg2+ or Mn2+, as is typical for inhibition by "P"-site agonists. The Bacillus anthrasis enzyme was potently inhibited by polyadenylate (IC50 approximately 0.3 microM), comparable to inhibition of brain adenylyl cyclases. Sensitivity of Bacillus anthrasis adenylyl cyclase to poly(A) was diminished somewhat by Ca2+/calmodulin (to IC50 approximately 1 microM) although Ca2+/calmodulin was without effect on inhibition by 2'd3'AMP. In contrast to inhibition of mammalian adenylyl cyclases via the "P"-site, inhibition of both bacterial adenylyl cyclases by 2'd3'AMP was competitive with respect to substrate MgATP. The data indicate basic differences in susceptibilities of these bacterial adenylyl cyclases to inhibition by poly(A), by adenosine analogs, and the effects of divalent cations. Although the potency of 2'd3'AMP and the metal-dependent nature of inhibition of Bacillus anthrasis adenylyl cyclase shared characteristics of "P"-site-mediated inhibition, the fact that inhibition of both bacterial adenylyl cyclases was competitive with respect to substrate strongly suggests that this inhibition was at the catalytic site and that these bacterial enzymes do not contain a distinct "P"-site.
Is the U.S. Capital Market Losing its Competitive Edge

In this paper I analyze the competitiveness of the U.S. equity markets by studying the recent trend in the share of global IPOs they are able to attract. I find that the U.S. equity market share has dropped dramatically from 2000 to 2005. This drop cannot be explained by changes in the geographical or the sectoral composition of IPOs. The most likely cause is a combination of an improvement in the competitors (mostly European equity markets) and an increase in the compliance costs for publicly traded companies.
Pressurized Tubes Constrained by Rigid Collars

The influence of unbonded rigid collars on the otherwise uniform expansion of long pressurized cylindrical tubes is examined in detail for the general case where the collar length is prescribed arbitrarily. Previous work on this problem has been restricted to special cases which do not present the complete description of the total interaction problem. The purpose of this note is to extend previous work to include consideration of collar lengths not previously considered and to present a complete description of the influence of unbonded, rigid collars of arbitrary length on pressurized cylindrical tubes.
Quantum Criticality in Quasi-Two-Dimensional Itinerant Antiferromagnets

Quasi-two-dimensional itinerant fermions in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) quantum-critical region of their phase diagram, such as in the Fe-based superconductors or in some of the heavy-fermion compounds, exhibit a resistivity varying linearly with temperature and a contribution to specific heat or thermopower proportional to TlnT. It is shown, here, that a generic model of itinerant anti-ferromagnet can be canonically transformed so that its critical fluctuations around the AFM-vector Q can be obtained from the fluctuations in the long wavelength limit of a dissipative quantum XY model. The fluctuations of the dissipative quantum XY model in 2D have been evaluated recently, and in a large regime of parameters, they are determined, not by renormalized spin fluctuations, but by topological excitations. In this regime, the fluctuations are separable in their spatial and temporal dependence and have a spatial correlation length which is proportional to the logarithm of the temporal correlation length, i.e., for some purposes, the effective dynamic exponent z=∞. The time dependence gives ω/T scaling at criticality. The observed resistivity and entropy then follow. Several predictions to test the theory are also given.
10 - Methods and Applications of Resonance Ionization Spectroscopy

Resonance ionization spectroscopy (RIS) is a process for the selective ionization of atoms or molecules. The process uses a series of atomic or molecular photo-absorptions, at least one of which is a resonance step, and it terminates when an electron is removed from the atom or molecule. This fortuitous combination of selectivity and sensitivity (even at the one-atom level) has led to wide use of the RIS method in physics, chemistry, biology, geology, industry, and other fields. Applications of a simple atom counter include physical and chemical studies of small populations of atoms. Advanced systems incorporating mass spectrometers to greatly reduce isotopic interferences provide state-of-the-art analytical capability. Rare species produced by atomic or nuclear processes in accelerator experiments are studied extensively with RIS. An isotope accelerator delivers ions of a particular isotope into a small target where short-lived nuclei decay.
Succinyl Coenzyme A Synthetase from Escherichia coli II. ASSAYS FOR PARTIAL REACTIONS: THE PHOSPHOENOLPYRUVATE-REDUCED NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE ASSAY SYSTEM FOR ADENOSINE DIPHOSPHATE

Abstract The reaction between coenzyme A and adenosine triphosphate catalyzed by partially purified extracts of Escherichia coli has been studied and its relevance to the mechanism of succinyl coenzyme A synthetase determined. The apparent phosphorylation of coenzyme A by adenosine triphosphate, which had led to the proposal that free coenzyme A phosphate was an intermediate of the succinyl coenzyme A synthetase reaction, is shown to be dependent on an impurity in commercially available coenzyme A. The impurity has been isolated, identified as 3',5'-diphosphoadenosine, and its reaction with adenosine triphosphate shown to be mediated by the sequential action of two enzymes present in partially purified E. coli extracts. The first enzyme, a 3'-nucleotidase, converts 3',5'-diphosphoadenosine to adenosine 5'-monophosphate, and the second enzyme, adenylate kinase, catalyzes the reaction between adenosine 5'-monophosphate and adenosine triphosphate with the formation of 2 eq of adenosine diphosphate. Chromatographically purified coenzyme A does not react with adenosine triphosphate in these enzyme systems.