cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Equilibria: Definitions, Examples, and Existence

Equilibrium flows in atomic selfish routing networks (Definition 12.2) are a form of “pure” Nash equilibria, in that the agents do not randomize over paths. The Rock-Paper-Scissors game (Section 1.3) shows that some games have no pure Nash equilibria. When are pure Nash equilibria guaranteed to exist? How do we analyze games without any pure Nash equilibria? Section 13.1 introduces three relaxations of pure Nash equilibria, each more permissive and computationally tractable than the previous one. All three of these relaxed equilibrium concepts are guaranteed to exist in all finite games. Section 13.2 proves that every routing game has at least one pure Nash equilibrium. Section 13.3 generalizes the argument and defines the class of potential games. A Hierarchy of Equilibrium Concepts Many games have no pure Nash equilibria. In addition to Rock- Paper-Scissors, another example is the generalization of atomic selfish routing networks to agents with different sizes (Exercise 13.5). For a meaningful equilibrium analysis of such games, such as a price-ofanarchy analysis, we need to enlarge the set of equilibria to recover guaranteed existence. Figure 13.1 illustrates the hierarchy of equilibrium concepts defined in this section. Lecture 14 proves worst-case performance guarantees for all of these equilibrium concepts in several games of interest. Cost-Minimization Games A cost-minimization game has the following ingredients: • a finite number k of agents; • a finite set S i of pure strategies , or simply strategies , for each agent i ; • a nonnegative cost function C i (s) for each agent i , where s ∈ S 1 × · · · × S k denotes a strategy profile or outcome. For example, every atomic selfish routing network corresponds to a cost-minimization game, with C i (s) denoting i 's travel time on her chosen path, given the paths chosen by the other agents. Remark 13.1 (Payoff-Maximization Games) In a payoff-maximization Game , the cost function C i of each agent i is replaced by a payoff function π i . This is the more conventional way to define games, as in the Rock-Paper-Scissors game in Section 1.3. The following equilibrium concepts are defined analogously in payoff-maximization games, except with all of the inequalities reversed. The formalisms of cost-minimization and payoff-maximization games are equivalent, but in most applications one is more natural than the other.
You Can Quit Me But I’m Not Going to Quit You:” A Focus Group Study of Leaders’ Perceptions of Their Positive Influences on Youth in Boy Scouts of America

As part of a longitudinal, mixed-method study with Boy Scouts of America, we conducted five focus groups with a diverse group of 46 program leaders in order to better understand their perceptions of how they influence youth. Drawing from grounded theory analysis methods, we found that leaders believed they promoted positive youth outcomes, including character and self-confidence, through caring youth-leader relationships and facilitating opportunities for youth to participate in and lead skill-building activities and apply skills in different contexts. Leaders differed in the particular outcomes that they emphasized. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed.
A Phase I, Single Ascending Dose Study of Cimaglermin Alfa (Neuregulin 1β3) in Patients With Systolic Dysfunction and Heart Failure

A first-in-human, phase 1, double blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose study examined the safety, tolerability, and exploratory efficacy of intravenous infusion of a recombinant growth factor, cimaglermin alfa, in patients with heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD). In these patients on optimal guideline-directed medical therapy, cimaglermin treatment was generally tolerated except for transient nausea and headache and a dose-limiting toxicity was noted at the highest planned dose. There was a dose-dependent improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction lasting 90 days following infusion. Thus, cimaglermin is a potential therapy to enhance cardiac function in LVSD and warrants further investigation.
Diagnosing circuits with state: an inherently underconstrained problem

“Hard problems” can be hard because they are computationally intractable. or because they are underconstrained. Here we describe candidate generation for digital devrces with state, a fault localization problem that is intractable when the devices are described at low levels of abstraction, and is underconstrained when described at higher levels of abstraction. Previous v;ork [l] has shown that a fault in a combinatorial digital circuit can be localized using a constraint-based representation of structure and behavior. ln this paper we (1) extend this represerltation to model a circuit with state by choosrng a time granularity and vocabulary of signals appropriate to that circuit; (2) demonstrate that the same candidate generation procedure that works for combinatorial circuits becomes indiscriminate when applied to a state circuit modeled in that extended representationL(3) show how the common technique of singlestepping can be viewed as a divide-and-conquer approach to overcoming that lack of constraint; and (4) illustrate how using structural de?ail can help to make the candidate generator discriminating once again, but only at great cost.
Utilizing high-performance embedded computing, agile condor, for intelligent processing: An artificial intelligence platform for remotely piloted aircraft

A newly invented, high performance, pod-based computer architecture, called Agile Condor (patent pending), has been designed and developed. Agile Condor is supporting autonomous operations by providing a platform for the innovative use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and decision making algorithms upstream, near the information source, where the data is collected. In September 2016, experimental tests successfully demonstrated the ability to implement advanced neural networks and deep learning techniques on Agile Condor. We continue to use this new processing architecture, algorithms and bio-inspired computing methods to demonstrate existing, refine emerging and invent new artificial intelligence techniques that are highly applicable and needed for sensor platforms. For the first time ever, and in real-time, the system demonstrated: image processing, video processing and pattern recognition through the use of deep convolutional neural networks. Because of Agile Condor's modular architecture and performance characteristics, the system is providing flexible computational resources that will continue to bring new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities closer to sensor platforms.
FDG PET/CT imaging for prognosis of metastatic non-iodine avid differentiated thyroid cancer.

e17555Background: There are no standardized prognostication algorithms for metastatic differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). We hypothesized that [18F]-FDG PET/CT can be used to predict progression v...
Marijuana and Cardiac Arrhythmias: A Scoping Study

With increasing legalization, marijuana has become the most commonly abused substance in the United States. Together with the introduction of more potent marijuana products over the years, more adverse events are being reported and clinically characterized. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the active psychotropic component of marijuana, which acts mainly on G-protein cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Multiple isolated cases of arrhythmias associated with marijuana use have been published. In this manuscript we conduct a scoping study of a total of 27 cases of arrhythmia associated with marijuana. Most cases were reported in young males (81%) with a mean age of 28 ± 10.6 years. Atrial fibrillation (26%) and ventricular fibrillation (22%) were the most common arrhythmias reported. Brugada pattern was reported in 19% of the patients. Marijuana associated arrhythmia resulted in a high mortality rate of 11 %. While the exact mechanisms of arrhythmias associated with marijuana are not clear, several hypothesis have been introduced including the effect of marijuana on cardiac ion channels as well as its effects on the central nervous system. In this paper we discuss the possible mechanisms of marijuana induced arrhythmia citing the evidence available to-date.
Challenging Scenario of Aortic Valve Tendon Masquerading as Aortic Dissection During Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

The authors report a case of 85-year-old male undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), whose intraoperative transesophageal…
The resonance counting function for Schr\"odinger operators with generic potentials

We show that the resonance counting function for a Schrodinger operator has maximal order of growth for generic sets of real-valued, or complex-valued, $L^\infty$-compactly supported potentials.
Absorption heat pump cycles for simultaneous space conditioning and graywater purification

Abstract A thermodynamic model of an open-loop absorption heat pump cycle with integrated membrane-based water purification processes is developed for graywater purification and space conditioning. Two water purification processes are considered: forward osmosis and membrane distillation. The cycle is simulated over a wide range of water loads, and the performance of the cycle is calculated with each purification method. For low water loads, the cycles perform identically, while for high water loads, the membrane distillation cycle performs better than the forward osmosis cycle. Parametric studies are conducted on the water recovery, evaporator temperature, and graywater inlet temperature for the membrane distillation cycle. With some optimization, the energy ratio of the cycle, which peaks around 1.6 normally, can be increased to above 1.75.
The Incidence and Prevalence of Anxiety, Depression, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in a National Cohort of US Veterans With Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Background Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are more susceptible to mental health problems than the general population; however, temporal trends in psychiatric diagnoses' incidence or prevalence in the United States are lacking. We sought to identify these trends among patients with IBD using national Veterans Heath Administration data. Methods We ascertained the presence of anxiety, depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder among veterans with IBD (ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease) during fiscal years 2000-2015. Patients with prior anxiety, depression, or posttraumatic stress disorder before their first Veterans Health Administration IBD encounter were excluded to form the study cohort. We calculated annual prevalence, incidence rates, and age standardized and stratified by gender using a direct standardization method. Results We identified 60,086 IBD patients (93.9% male). The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder increased from 10.8 per 100 with IBD in 2001 to 38 per 100 with IBD in 2015; 19,595 (32.6%) patients had a new anxiety, depression, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis during the study period. The annual incidence rates of these mental health problems went from 6.1 per 100 with IBD in 2001 to 3.6 per 100 in 2015. This trend was largely driven by decline in depression. Conclusions The prevalence of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder is high among US veterans with IBD and increasing, given the chronicity of IBD and psychological diagnoses. Incidence, particularly depression, appears to be declining. Confirmation and reasons for this encouraging trend are needed.
The Role of Research In Hospital Planning and Administration

(1964). The Role of Research In Hospital Planning and Administration. Hospital Topics: Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 27-42.
Trends in Medicare Reimbursement for Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Procedures: 2000 to 2019.

Background An understanding of financial trends is important to advance agreeable reimbursement models in plastic surgery. This study aimed to evaluate trends in Medicare reimbursement rates for the 20 most commonly billed reconstructive plastic surgery procedures from 2000 to 2019. Methods The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Physician and Other Supplier Public Use File was used to identify the 20 reconstructive procedures most commonly billed to Medicare by plastic surgeons in 2016. Reimbursement data were extracted from The Physician Fee Schedule Look-Up Tool from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for each CPT code. Monetary data were adjusted for inflation to 2019 U.S. dollars. Average annual and total percentage changes in reimbursement were calculated based on these adjusted trends. Results The average adjusted reimbursement for all procedures decreased by 14.0 percent from 2000 to 2019. The greatest mean decrease was observed in complex wound repair of the scalp, arms, or legs (-33.2 percent). The only procedure with an increased adjusted reimbursement rate was layer-closure of the scalp, axillae, trunk, and/or extremities (6.5 percent). From 2000 to 2019, the adjusted reimbursement rate for all procedures decreased by an average of 0.8 percent annually. Conclusions This is the first comprehensive study evaluating trends in Medicare reimbursement in plastic surgery. When adjusted for inflation, Medicare reimbursement for the included procedures has steadily decreased from 2000 to 2019. Increased consideration of these trends will be important for U.S. policymakers, hospitals, and surgeons to ensure continued access to meaningful reconstructive plastic surgery care.
Good Literacy to Enhance Response in Diabetes Mellitus (GLITTER-DM)

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of individualized communication strategies and self-management action plans to improve A1c control at 3 months in patients with low health literacy. Methods: A prospective, open-labeled, pilot study was conducted on 23 patients with diabetes mellitus in a pharmacist-led ambulatory care clinic. Patients who had a Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine- Revised (REALM-R) score of 6 or less and an A1c greater than 7% upon study entry were included. The first group received the teach-back method, personalized actions, and follow-up phone calls to assess comprehension (N = 12). The second group was assigned to usual care (N = 11). Results: Patients receiving literacy-appropriate interventions had greater A1c percent reduction (A1c difference of -2.0 ± 1.3 vs -1.0 ± 2.2; P = 0.02) and less hyperglycemic events per week (0.1 vs. 2.1; P = 0.04). There were no differences in the number of hypoglycemic events, testing frequency, medication-adherence rates, or hospitalizations and emergency room visits related to diabetes. Conclusion: Literacy-appropriate methods such as the teach-back method, personalized action plans, and telephone follow-ups may improve glycemic control in low health literate patients with diabetes. Practice Implications and Innovations: The findings from this study suggest that pharmacists may improve diabetes outcomes when managing patients who possess low health literacy using simplified teaching methods. Original Research
Amorphous Solid Dispersions and the Contribution of Nanoparticles to In Vitro Dissolution and In Vivo Testing: Niclosamide as a Case Study

We developed an amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) of the poorly water-soluble molecule niclosamide that achieved a more than two-fold increase in bioavailability. Notably, this niclosamide ASD formulation increased the apparent drug solubility about 60-fold relative to the crystalline material due to the generation of nanoparticles. Niclosamide is a weakly acidic drug, Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) class II, and a poor glass former with low bioavailability in vivo. Hot-melt extrusion is a high-throughput manufacturing method commonly used in the development of ASDs for increasing the apparent solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble compounds. We utilized the polymer poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) (PVP-VA) to manufacture niclosamide ASDs by extrusion. Samples were analyzed based on their microscopic and macroscopic behavior and their intermolecular interactions, using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The niclosamide ASD generated nanoparticles with a mean particle size of about 100 nm in FaSSIF media. In a side-by-side diffusion test, these nanoparticles produced a four-fold increase in niclosamide diffusion. We successfully manufactured amorphous extrudates of the poor glass former niclosamide that showed remarkable in vitro dissolution and diffusion performance. These in vitro tests were translated to a rat model that also showed an increase in oral bioavailability.
Predictions of the Total Crack Length in Solidification Cracking Through LSBoost

The longitudinal Varestraint test is the most widely used technique to quantify the weld solidification cracking susceptibility, which provides the total crack length, TCL, as an indicator. But experimental work requires a significant amount of time and resource. Data-driven approaches can serve as alternatives to estimate the TCL through influencing factors, including metallurgical factors, welding conditions, and test parameters. We develop the least-squares boosting model to predict the TCL, a solidification cracking susceptibility indicator, based on the alloy composition, welding parameters, and applied strain. The model manifests high accuracy and stability, and applies to a wide range of stainless steels. It serves as a fast, robust, and low-cost tool for the assessment of solidification cracking susceptibility.
Toroidal DNA Condensates; Aspects of Formation, Structures, Dynamics and Biological Implications

DNA, of varying secondary structure, condenses from solution both intramolecularly and intermolecularly under a variety of conditions to form a range of structures including rods, spheres, toruses, lariats and amorphous banded aggregates. Toroidal DNA condensates, formed by intramolecular collapse with the naturally occuring trivalent cation spermidine, are of great interest as self-assembling structures since they represent convenient in vitro model systems for DNA condensation in certain bacteriophage and viruses. In this report we review the DNA condensate structures observed by an array of physical techniques, but concentrate our focus on torus DNA tertiary structure and certain aspects of their formation, stability, dynamics and relevance to the problem of DNA packaging in bacteriophage and viruses.
Andragogy in the Appalachians: Myles Horton, the Highlander Folk School, and Education for Social and Economic Justice

In the field of adult education, one of the better known concepts is that of the Six Assumptions of Malcolm Knowles. These assumptions, according to Knowles, divide the world of pedagogy, defined as the art and science of teaching children, from that of andragogy, conceived as the art and science of helping adults learn. In the realm of education for older learners, myriad schools and programs dot the educational landscape, but one particularly unorthodox institution of adult education, the Highlander Folk School, led by activist educator Myles Horton, stands out for its teaching roles in the Union Labor Movement of the 1930s and 1940s, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. This paper looks at Myles Horton of the Highlander Folk School, his background, education and preparation for establishing his lifelong dream of using alternative education among the "common uncommon people" for learning how to solve social and economic justice problems, and this paper then focuses on the extent to which the philosophy and teaching actions of Horton correspond to the Six Assumption Framework of andragogy as delineated by Malcolm Knowles.
Using the two-point bend technique to determine failure stress of pristine glass fibers

Abstract Two-point bending (2pb) is the simplest technique for the measurement of failure strains of glass fibers under a variety of experimental conditions. There is little chance of damage to fibers even when testing in liquid nitrogen, leading to reproducible and precise measurements of failure strain with Weibull moduli of greater than 100 measured routinely. However, a limitation of 2pb is that it measures failure strain not failure stress, and thus the Young's modulus of the sample must be known at the failure strain in order to evaluate the failure stress. In this paper the failure strains, under both inert and ambient conditions, for a number of conventional glasses (commercial silica, soda-lime silicate, and E-glass), as well as a number of simple glasses, including a nepheline glass and a range of binary sodium and potassium silicate glasses are presented. These strain values are converted to failure stresses using known or estimated non-linear modulus parameters and compared with strength values found in the literature. For silica optical fibers, the failure stresses calculated from 2pb failure strains vary from 12.1 ± 0.2 to 14.4 ± 0.3 GPa in inert (liquid nitrogen, 77 K) conditions and 7.0 to 7.3 ± 0.1 GPa in ambient conditions (room temperature, 50% RH), compared to reports of 11–14 GPa for liquid nitrogen and 4–5 GPa ambient tensile strength measurements. For a commercial E-glass, the calculated failure stress from 2pb, is 5.1 to 5.2 ± 0.1 GPa in inert conditions and 3.7 to 3.8 ± 0.1 GPa in ambient conditions, compared to reported tensile strengths of 5.3 GPa and 3.0–3.8 GPa, respectively. The failure stresses for binary alkali silicate glasses calculated from 2pb failure strains are 2–3 times greater than those reported in the literature.
Monkish Virtues, Artificial Lives: On Hume's Genealogy of Morals

The merchant's toil, the sage's indolence, The monk's humility, the hero's pride, All, all alike, find Reason on their side. (Pope, An Essay on Man, Epistle II, 172-4) Hume's moral philosophy is often interpreted as an example of a naturalistic approach to ethics. J.L. Mackie, for instance, writes that in Hume the questions of moral philosophy are answered ‘in sociological and psychological terms, by constructing and defending a causal hypothesis.’ Similarly, Pall S. Ardal claims that Hume ‘is concerned with an attempt to discover those psychological laws that explain human emotions (including moral emotions) and the behaviour of people in society.’ I argue in this essay that if Hume is read in this way as developing a general explanatory theory of moral sentiments, he faces an inescapable dilemma. Section I presents the dilemma. In sections II and ill, I argue why for Hume — interpreted as a proponent of general psychological laws — there is no way out of this dilemma.
Design and Testing of a High Performance Hydraulic Power System for a Legged Locomotion Application

The requirements imposed on the actuation system of an energy-autonomous, six-legged walking vehicle are both unique and rigorous. The analysis, design and testing of such an actuation system for the Adaptive Suspension Vehicle at The Ohio State University is presented. Special attention is given to the synthesis of the general system configuration which is a pump-controlled hydraulic system. Also the selection, design and testing of individual components and systems are presented.
Follicle-stimulating hormone regulation of A-kinase anchoring proteins in granulosa cells

It has been well established that the biochemical and morphological changes during maturation of granulosa cells that are induced by follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) occur through the elevation of intracellular cAMP and consequent activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). In this report we show that FSH action alters the expression of A-Kinase Anchoring Proteins (AKAPs), which function to target the subcellular distribution of the type II PKA. Exposure of granulosa cells grown in primary culture with FSH and estradiol for 72 h resulted in the up-regulation of an 80-kDa AKAP and the RII beta subunit of PKA, whereas cells grown in control medium containing only estradiol produced a time-dependent increase of a 140-kDa AKAP. RII overlays performed with [32P]RII alpha preferentially detected RII-binding bands of 80 and 95 kDa compared to blots probed with [32P]RII beta, suggesting that FSH may alter the subcellular location of PKA in an isoform-specific manner. FSH treatment causes a translocation of RII alpha from the particulate to the cytosolic fraction coincident with the induction of the 80-kDa AKAP, which is also predominately cytosolic. These data suggest that FSH promotes a redistribution of the type II PKA holoenzyme through the selective induction of an RII isoform-specific AKAP.
The Effect of Industry Diversification on Consensus and Individual Analysts' Earnings Forecasts

We study the effects of company diversification and analyst diversification on consensus and individual analysts' earnings forecasts. Company diversification is measured both as the number of segments reported by a company and as an entropy measure which decomposes the total diversification into an unrelated and a related component. For the consensus forecast analysis, we examine the effect of these variables both on forecast accuracy and inter-analyst earnings forecast disagreement. For the individual analyst forecast analysis, we examine the effect of the number of business segments followed by an analyst and analyst diversification on individual analyst forecast accuracy. We develop a new measure of individual analyst's diversification which takes into consideration the business segments of all companies followed by an analyst, and its interaction with the business segments of the company whose earnings are being forecasted. The results of our study show that as the level of a company's total diversification increases, analysts are less accurate in their earnings forecasts and have more inter-analyst disagreement. Analysts are less accurate and have more disagreement as unrelated diversification increases. A company's related diversification has no significant impact on these variables. For both forecast accuracy and inter-analyst disagreement, the impact of a unit of unrelated diversification is significantly higher than that of the impact of a unit of related diversification. For individual analysts' earnings forecasts, as the number of business segments followed by an analyst increases and as his level of diversification increases, his earnings forecast accuracy significantly declines. The results of our study have implications for researchers who use analysts? earnings forecasts in their studies, investors who use these forecasts for company valuation and for brokerage firms in evaluating individual analysts.
International Transfer Pricing

The goals of transfer pricing are to assign a monetary value to a transfer and to minimize the taxes paid by a company as whole. However, because a single company can now have operations literally around the world, transfer pricing has become a very complicated, costly, and lucrative business strategy. The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of transfer pricing on both the company, its divisions, as well as the countries involved in the transaction. We will also discuss the consequences of transfer pricing on the bottom line of a company and a country, the tax planning opportunities, the effects on company personnel, and the ethical implications of this practice.
Finance and the Common Good

I document empirically that the field of financial economics has been mostly concerned with positive issues (largely related to “informational efficiency” of prices) rather than allocative efficiency relative to the field of industrial organization, which I take as a comparison point. I argue these divergent paths are partly driven by financial incentives. The strength of regulation in competition policy and its reliance on economic evidence stimulated, through demand for teaching and consulting services, extensive work on welfare in industrial organization. The weakness and lack of economic rigor in financial regulation helped stimulate the rise of quantitative arbitrage strategies that demanded teaching and consulting services from economists, leading to extensive work on predicting the paths of asset prices or showing these cannot be predicted. I provide some weak suggestive empirical evidence consistent with this hypothesis and discuss prospects for these underlying conditions changing. I conclude with a discussion of how the works in this volume and the work of Jose Scheinkman in whose honor this volume was written might contribute to this shift.
Identification of a retinoic acid-inducible endogenous retroviral transcript in the human teratocarcinoma-derived cell line PA-1.

Abstract Retinoic acid (RA), a developmental morphogen, causes activation of a transcript of an endogenous retrovirus-related element in the human teratocarcinoma-derived cell line PA-1. This provirus is defective, and the provirus-related sequences exist as multicopy elements (more than 20 copies) in human DNA. This is the first human endogenous retroviral mRNA that is known to be transcriptionally activated by RA. The nucleotide sequence of the 3,357 bp of this viral cDNA was determined and shows a strong homology to the type C-related human endogenous retroviral proviruses ERV3 and 4-1. This cDNA contains 'R-U5-delta pol-env-U3-R sequences of the provirus. Adjacent to the putative 5' long terminal repeat of this provirus there is an 18-bp sequence complementary to the 3' end of isoleucine tRNA. We named this RA-responsive virus RRHERV-I.
Small soil storage capacity limits benefit of winter snowpack to upland vegetation

In the western United States, the mountain snowpack is an important natural reservoir that extends spring and summer water delivery to downstream users and ecosystems. The importance of winter snow accumulation to upland ecosystems is not as clearly defined. This study investigates the relative contribution of winter precipitation to upland spring and summer soil moisture storage and availability in a semi-arid mountainous watershed. At this site, coarse soil textures and shallow soil depths limit soil storage capacity to 6–16 cm. Winter precipitation exceeds soil storage capacity by 2.5 times. Accordingly, soil moisture profiles at most locations in the watershed reach field capacity in early winter. With soil storage near capacity, water released by snowmelt primarily contributes to deep drainage and makes a limited contribution to the soil moisture reservoir. Water that is retained by the soil after the snowpack melts is lost to evapotranspiration in as little as 10 days. In contrast, spring precipitation extends moist soil conditions by up to 90 days into the warm season, when ecological water demand is highest. These field observations suggest that changes in spring precipitation, not winter snowpack, may have the greater impact on upland ecosystems in this environment. Furthermore, because winter precipitation is in excess compared to the soil storage capacity, soil moisture availability may be fairly insensitive to climate change-induced transitions from snow to rain. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantitative analysis of germ cells and Leydig cells in rat made infertile with gossypol

Abstract This study utilized improved methods of fixation and plastic embedding to quantitatively evaluate the effects of gossypol on germ cells and Leydig cells in testes of rats made infertile with gossypol. Rats were fed by gavage with 10, 20 or 30 mg/kg per day of gossypol for 9 weeks; control animals received the vehicle alone. Numbers of A spermatogonia, preleptotene and pachytene spermatocytes, and step 7 or 8 spermatids per Sertoli cell were counted in stages VII–VIII of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. Although high doses (30mg/kg) of gossypol produced a significant decrease in the relative number of germ cells compared with vehicle-treated controls, no significant deviation in the relative number of germ cells was noted between controls and rats made infertile with 10 or 20 mg/kg/day of gossypol. Stereologic techniques were used to assess the changes in the Leydig cells. No significant deviation in the Leydig cell morphology, cell number, or cell volume was noted as a result of gossypol treatment at the dose levels employed. It appears that germ cell depletion, such as that caused by high doses of gossypol, is not mediated by a change in Leydig cell function. The present report emphasizes the importance of studies to determine the minimal effective doses for gossypol's antifertility activity in animal models as well as in man.
Body fat at puberty in rats: alteration by changes in diet.

Summary: The body composition (percent body fat) at vaginal opening of groups of rats fed different diets was determined. Serial changes in body composition prior to vaginal opening were also measured to assess the temporal relationship between first achievement of the body composition subsequently found at puberty and the actual onset of puberty (vaginal opening). The body weight at vaginal opening and the total carcass fat at vaginal opening were significantly different among the three dietary groups (F = 43.06 and 44.60, respectively; P < 0.001). In addition, the percent body fat at vaginal opening was also significantly different among the three dietary groups (F = 30.30; P < 0.001). In one group, the percent body fat was the same at the age of 31 days as it was at vaginal opening (mean age 41 days). In a group where food intake was restricted, the percent body fat prior to and at vaginal opening remained lower than that seen at vaginal opening in a group fed the same diet ad libitum. Thus, attainment of a critical level of body weight, total body fat stores, or percent body fat does not trigger puberty in rats. Speculation: Sexual maturation and body fat accumulation may be parallel but asynchronous processes which reflect completion of an animal's early period of rapid growth.
Virtual hyperbolic metamaterials for manipulating radar signals in air

Controlling the propagation of microwaves in air is hard because of their divergence and the lack of suitable optics. Kudyshev et al. show how this can be overcome using plasma channels to create virtual hyperbolic metamaterials to collimate and guide radar beams.
Mutations in the α1 domain of a class I gene define residues important for specific allorecognition

Abstract Our strategy to use saturation mutagenesis to produce an unbiased collection of major histocompatibility class I mutants has resulted in unpredicted mutant phenotypes. First, we have shown data supporting our earlier work of the DP20(Y27N) mutant. Allorecognition is altered at the clonal level while no variation in lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV)-restricted recognition is observed. The defect does not destroy the integrity of this class I protein on the basis of three observations: (i) LCMV self-restricted recognition is not impaired, (ii) β2 microglobulin still associates with DP20(Y27N) at the cell surface, and (iii) this mutant can stimulate a primary MLR. Thus, we believe DP20(Y27N) specifically affects allorecognition, perhaps by altering self peptide associations. The DP14(A11V;E32Q) mutant appears to interact with T cell receptors (TCR) from a cloned cytotoxic T lymphocyte, but is altered in inducing a wild type signal into the responding cell. This is presumably due to decreased interaction at the cell surface between DP14(A11V;E32Q) and wild type-specific TCR such that variations are detected in how a cell perceives extracellular signals. Analysis of additional mutants suggests that mutant DP163(N66S) alters the binding site for monoclonal antibodies 7–16.10 and 135, while leaving unaltered the binding site for monoclonal antibodies 34-1.2 and 11–20.3. This maps the residue responsible for 7–16.10 and 135 binding to the region of DP163(N66S).
Supercritical fluid impregnation of selected wood species with tebuconazole

The effects of pressure and temperature on supercritical fluid impregnation of tebuconazole were evaluated on Douglas-fir, western red cedar, red alder, white spruce, and white oak. Higher pressure markedly enhanced both the retention and distribution of tebuconazole in these species. When the rate of pressure release was altered at the ends of treatments of Douglas-fir, results varied. Generally, a higher rate of venting increased the steepness of the preservative gradient inward from the surface. Elevated pressures also affected some wood properties. Western red cedar and white spruce showed collapse, while the other three species were free of such defects. Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of Rupture (MOR) tended to decline with higher pressure in western red cedar and white spruce, but the differences were rarely significant. No significant changes in MOE/MOR occurred with the other 3 species.
Synchronous firing of antennal-lobe projection neurons encodes the behaviorally effective ratio of sex-pheromone components in male Manduca sexta

Olfactory stimuli that are essential to an animal’s survival and reproduction are often complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds in characteristic proportions. Here, we investigated how these proportions are encoded in the primary olfactory processing center, the antennal lobe, of male Manduca sexta moths. Two key components of the female’s sex pheromone, present in an approximately 2:1 ratio, are processed in each of two neighboring glomeruli in the macroglomerular complex (MGC) of males of this species. In wind-tunnel flight experiments, males exhibited behavioral selectivity for ratios approximating the ratio released by conspecific females. The ratio between components was poorly represented, however, in the firing-rate output of uniglomerular MGC projection neurons (PNs). PN firing rate was mostly insensitive to the ratio between components, and individual PNs did not exhibit a preference for a particular ratio. Recording simultaneously from pairs of PNs in the same glomerulus, we found that the natural ratio between components elicited the most synchronous spikes, and altering the proportion of either component decreased the proportion of synchronous spikes. The degree of synchronous firing between PNs in the same glomerulus thus selectively encodes the natural ratio that most effectively evokes the natural behavioral response to pheromone.
Prospective randomized trial of iohexol 350 versus meglumine sodium diatrizoate as an oral contrast agent for abdominopelvic computed tomography.

Purpose To compare the efficacy and patient tolerance of iohexol and meglumine sodium diatrizoate as oral contrast agents for computed tomography (CT). Subjects and methods One hundred patients were randomly assigned to drink 1000 mL of either meglumine sodium diatrizoate or iohexol 350 before their abdominopelvic CT examination. The images were evaluated independently and in a blinded fashion by 2 radiologists who scored the extent and density of bowel opacification. Attenuation value measurements were obtained in representative areas of each gastrointestinal tract segment (stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon) by a research technologist. Patients' tolerance of the oral contrast agent was assessed through a questionnaire administered immediately after the CT and with a follow-up phone call 2 to 3 days later. Results For most of the bowel, there was no statistically significant difference in the extent or degree of opacification between the 2 contrast agents. Opacification of the ileum was better with iohexol. There was no statistically significant difference between the 2 agents in adverse effects. Patients had a small but statistically significant preference for the taste of iohexol. Conclusion Iohexol 350 is a satisfactory oral contrast agent for abdominopelvic CT. It opacifies the gastrointestinal tract as well as meglumine sodium diatrizoate does, and patients prefer the taste of iohexol to that of diatrizoate.
Reliability-based optimization - A proposed analytical-experimental study

An analytical and experimental study for assessing the potential of reliability-based structural optimization is proposed and described. Competing designs obtained by deterministic and reliability-based optimization are compared. The experimental portion of the study is practical because the structure selected is a modular, actively and passively controlled truss that consists of many identical members, and because the competing designs are compared in terms of their dynamic performance and are not destroyed if failure occurs. The analytical portion of this study is illustrated on a 10-bar truss example. In the illustrative example, it is shown that reliability-based optimization can yield a design that is superior to an alternate design obtained by deterministic optimization. These analytical results provide motivation for the proposed analytical-experimental study, which is described elsewhere.
Effects of anisotropy and layering in the high-temperature superconductors

Abstract The key building blocks of the high-temperature copper-oxide superconductors are the CuO2 layers, on which superconductivity tends to be localized and along which the normal-state electrical conductivity is highest. Separating these layers (or bilayers, trilayers, etc.) are locally nonsuperconducting layers, which can be modeled as proximity junctions or tunnel junctions. In this paper I summarize some consequences of a theoretical model for strongly anisotropic high-temperature superconductors in which the interlayer regions are treated as Josephson junctions. In such a model, the vortex lines threading through the structure are best visualized as stacks of two-dimensional pancake vortices connected by Josephson strings. The two-dimensional pancake vortices are centered on the layers and have Abrikosov cores, while the Josephson strings are confined to the junctions and have Josephson cores. Outside the cores, the field and current distributions can be calculated from the anisotropic Ginzburg-Landau (or London) theory. Various features of the flux-pinning anisotropy can be explained using these approaches.
Expanding the scope of oligo-pyrrolinone-pyrrolidines as protein-protein interface mimics.

Oligo-pyrrolinone–pyrrolidines (generic structure 1) have the potential to interfere with protein–protein interactions (PPIs), but to reduce this to practice it is necessary to be able to synthesize these structures with a variety of different side chains corresponding to genetically encoded proteins. This paper describes expansion of the synthetic scope of 1, the difficulties encountered in this process, particularly issues with epimerization and slow coupling rates, and methods to overcome them. Finally, spectroscopic and physicochemical properties as well as proteolytic stabilities of molecules in this series were measured; these data highlight the suitability of oligo-pyrrolinone–pyrrolidines for the development of pharmacological probes or pharmaceutical leads.
IRANIAN WOMEN AS IMMIGRANT ENTREPRENEURS

This article addresses the lack of gender specificity in immigration literature on ethnic economies. In particular women's work in income-generating economic activity in ethnic enterprises is unveiled. Immigrant Iranian women's combined utilization of ethnic, gender, and class resources in the ethnic economy of Los Angeles is examined through two case studies of women's entrepreneurial endeavors in family-run businesses and in home-operated businesses. This article illustrates how ethnic resources are gender specific and that there is differential access to these resources in the ethnic economy.
Antagonist potency and receptor binding

Abstract Receptor binding constants, using 3H-dihydromorphine and P 2 fraction of rat brain homogenate, have been determined for 28 narcotic antagonists. A good correlation (R = 0.92) has been obtained between the binding constants and antagonist potency as determined by Kosterlitz et al. Using the guinea pig ileum preparation. It appears that the systems used in the correlation are useful in determining s similarities or dissimilarities of guinea pig ileum and rat brain receptors.
Diapause of the Pink Bollworm as Related to Crop Maturity12

The influence of crop maturity on the incidence and termination of diapause of Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) was studied in Arizona. Before Oct. 5, crops maturing earliest possessed a higher percentage of diapausing larvae than immature crops. However, because of low numbers of larvae occurring where the influence was most pronounced, the employment of early crop termination as a control measure for this pest is still feasible. Mature crops also exhibited more larvae exiting from bolls to overwinter. Diapause termination was not affected by crop maturity.
Analysis and Design of Superharmonic Injection-Locked Multipath Ring Oscillators

Frequency dividers can be modeled as superharmonic injection-locked oscillators. We propose a general model for ring-oscillator based dividers. Theoretically, the maximum division frequency of a frequency divider can be decoupled from the number of phases at its output when multipath coupling of ring oscillators is used. Accurate expressions for the locking range are derived that are used to find the optimum structure to maximize the division frequency. The results of the model are incorporated into a design procedure that can rapidly explore various coupling and sizing of the multipath structure. A design of a divider chain for a 48-Gb/s serializing transmitter is used as a demonstration.
Immune system modulation and its effect on the blood pressure of the spontaneously hypertensive male and female rat.

Abstract Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) demonstrate a consistently lower immune response to Con A as compared to Wistar Kyoto ( W K ). Using antithymocyte serum, T and B cell responses of SHR drop considerably while blood pressures decrease to normal levels. Levamisole treatment has little or no effect on mitogen responses, but depresses blood pressure of SHR. It is hypothesised that hypertension in SHR is autoimmune in nature.
Regulation of social contact by the female rat during the postejaculatory interval

Mating behavior of male and estrous female rats was observed in a large cage through three ejaculatory series. Movement, 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations, sexual behavior, and distance between animals were studied during the postejaculatory interval (PEI) to help establish how copulatory contact is maintained and reinitiated for successive ejaculations. Females moved more than males throughout the three series. The duration of vocalization by the male during the PEI increased in the presence of an experienced female. During the male’s vocalization, the rats exhibited a period of immobility that usually began with the experienced female’s terminating contact by moving away from the male and ended when the female reinitiated contact by moving toward the male. Virgin females did not show this pattern of movement. Experienced females maintained a greater distance from the male during the PEI than did virgin females. We conclude that the behavior of the experienced estrous female assures both considerable spatial separation during the male’s refractory period and the reinitiation of contact.