cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Performance-Driven Interconnect Design Based on Distributed RC Delay Model

In this paper, we study the interconnect design problem under a distributed RC delay model. We study the impact of technology factors on the interconnect designs and present general formulations of the interconnect topology design and wiresizing problems. We show that interconnect topology optimization can be achieved by computing optimal generalized rectilinear Steiner arborescences and we present an efficient algorithm which yields optimal or near-optimal solutions. We reveal several important properties of optimal wire width assignments and present a polynomial time optimal wiresizing algorithm. Extensive experimental results indicate that our approach significantly outperforms other routing methods for high-performance IC and MCM designs. Our interconnect designs reduce the interconnection delays by up to 66% as compared to those by the best known Steiner tree algorithm.
Estimation of Gibbs Free Energy Functions

A computational method has been derived for the estimation of the molar heat capacity contribution to the Gibbs free energy function (fefTO) above 298°K. This method, which is based on the observed temperature invariance of certain ratios of the integrals of these molar heat capacity contributions, has been applied to the analysis of fefTOdata for metal carbides, nitrides, fluorides, borides, and silicides in the crystalline state. The estimated fefTOfor a given compound is more accurate than that obtained by other known estimation techniques and permits a more accurate calculation of ΔG TO than is possible from the commonly used approximation ΔG TO=ΔG 298O- ΔG 298O.
Isolation and genetic characterization of T1-transducing mutants with increased transduction frequency.

Abstract Seven T1 mutants that transduce at higher than wild-type efficiencies were isolated. The mutants tranduced a λimm434dg prophage 50 to 27,000 times more efficiently than wild type. The mutations are located in a small region of the T1 chromosome coding for early functions between the am5 (gene 2) and am6 (gene 3) mutations. The mutations are nonidentical but closely linked. Using four-factor, reciprocal crosses it was possible to determine the order of the markers.
WHERE HAVE ALL THE CLADES GONE? A SYSTEMATIST'S TAKE ON INFERRING PHYLOGENIES1

Joseph Felsenstein published four papers between 1978 and 1985 that enabled phylogenetic biology to take giant steps forward. In chronological order, Felsenstein showed that parsimony could be misleading (1978), derived maximum likelihood methods for DNA phylogenies (1981), constructed a method for establishing significance of trees (bootstrapping: 1985a), and invented a phylogenetic correction to the comparative method (independent contrasts: 1985b). With the publication of Inferring Phylogenies 20 years later, he reviews a monumental portion of the increasingly difficult literature on phylogenetic methods that he helped foster. His book provides insights into extraordinarily difficult problems that few biologists are trained to understand and exposes the reader to the bleeding edge of a discipline undergoing rapid change. His emphasis on the very latest theoretical results is tempered by a consistently scholarly, if occasionally controversial, account of the history of the field. It is not much use as a beginner's guide to phylogenetic inference-one can search in vain through its nearly 600 pages for the most basic of definitions-nor does it adequately treat a large literature on parsimony-based phylogenetics (the reader is better off with Kitching et al.'s [1998] book), but no one with a serious interest in the quantitative aspects of the subject will be able to live without it. How quantitative the field has become will be apparent to the reader quickly. Something has happened to phylogenetic theory in the last 10 years. Previously, a few biologists with real expertise in math, like Felsenstein, together with a very small number of applied mathematicians-professional theorists, let's call them-were joined by a larger cadre of "enthusiastic amateurs" in moving the field forward. Recently, a New Wave of mathematicians and computer scientists has begun to play a much more dominant role. If you think Inferring Phylogenies is mathematically daunting, pick up a copy of Semple and Steel's Phylogenetics (2003), or the recently published edited volume by Olivier Gascuel on Mathematics of Evolution and Phylogeny (2005). Felsenstein's book builds a bridge between biologists and this New Wave. If you don't happen to recall Laplace or Fourier transforms, appreciate the utility of a "uniformly most powerful" statistical test, or enjoy the beauty of a good generating function, a few chapters will contain stumbling blocks. However, more often than not, he offers what may be the last best hope for those with persistence and at least a passing familiarity with basic calculus and probability theory. As arcane as the Had-
Thermochemical and Theoretical Study of Some Quinoxaline 1,4-Dioxides and of Pyrazine 1,4-Dioxide

Article on a thermochemical and theoretical study of some quinoxaline 1,4-dioxides and of pyrazine 1,4-dioxide.
Commentary: Evolution of action in cells and organisms

Davis BD. Transcriptional bias: a non-Lamarckian mechanism for substrate-induced mutations. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1989;86:5005–09. 45 Rosenberg SM, Thulin C, Harris RS: Transient and heritable mutators in adaptive evolution in the lab and in nature. Genetics 1998;148:1559–66. 46 Bjedov I, Tenaillon O, Gerard B et al. Stress-induced mutagenesis in bacteria. Science 2003;300:1404–09. 47 Hall BG. Spontaneous point mutations that occur more often when advantageous than when neutral. Genetics 1990;126:5–16. 48 Harris RS, Feng G, Ross KJ et al. Mismatch repair is diminished during stationary-phase mutation. Mutat Res 1999;437:51–60. 49 Harris RS, Feng G, Ross KJ et al. Mismatch repair protein MutL becomes limiting during stationary-phase mutation. Genes Dev 1997;11:2426–37. 50 Jin YH, Clark AB, Slebos RJC et al. Cadmium is a mutagen that acts by inhibiting mismatch repair. Nature Genetics 2003;14:326–29. 51 Lewontin R. The analysis of variance and the analysis of causes. Am J Human Genetics 1972;26:400–11. Reprinted in Int J Epidemiol June 2006. 52 Pigliucci M. Phenotypic Plasticity. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001, p. 5. 53 Ottman R. Gene-environment interaction: definitions and study designs. Prev Med 1996;25:764–70. 54 Suzuki Y, Nijhout HF. Evolution of a polyphenism by genetic accommodation. Science 2005;311:650–52. 55 Jablonka E, Lamb MJ. Evolution in Four Dimensions. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2005. 56 Cooney C, Dave A, Wolff G. Maternal methyl supplements in mice affect epigenetic variation and DNA methylation of offspring. J Nutr 2002;138:2393S–2400S. 57 Waterland R, Jirtle R. Early nutrition, epigenetic changes at transposons and imprinted genes, and enhanced susceptibility to adult chronic diseases. Nutrition 2004;20:63–68. 58 Charlton BG. Is immortality a possibility? A thought experiment concerning the inevitability of senescence due to endogenous parasitism. Perspect Biol Med 1995;39:146–49. 59 Greaves M. Cancer causation: the Darwinian downside of past success? Lancet Oncol 2002;3:244–51. 60 Weiss KM. Is there a paradigm shift in genetics? Lessons from the study of human diseases. Mol Phylogenet Evol 1996;5:259–65. 61 Vineis P, Husgafvel-Pursiainen K. Air pollution and cancer: biomarker studies in human populations. Carcinogenesis 2005;26:1846–55.
Review and Moore’s Dualisms

In a book to which I have referred at several points in the foregoing chapters, Professor W. H. Walsh sets Moore’s work on the topics that I have been considering in a strongly anti-metaphysical light. In commenting here upon his interpretation of Moore I will treat that interpretation as something of a proxy for the views of those commentators and critics who believe that the work of G. E. Moore cannot rightly be called metaphysics at all. Now my interest here is not just in salvaging the particular word ‘metaphysics’, in preference to various other words, as title for those portions of Moore’s work with which I have been dealing in this book. Rather, my interest lies in the substantive point of showing that to those topics and problems which philosophers (including Professor Walsh) identify as metaphysics Moore had important contributions to make.
The nurse practitioner: competitive or collaborative?

Abstract Nurses, functioning in expanded roles, have created uneasiness in some circles, particularly medicine. Will these new roles for nurses be competitive or collaborative? It is the thesis of the author that the nurse's new expanded role, which is fast becoming the norm, will be collaborative if there is 1) adequate understanding between the disciplines of nursing and medicine of their respective characteristics and range of activities, and if there is clarification of organizational, financial and certification issues; 2) adequate differentiation between the definitions of health and medical needs; 3) adequate attention and resources are given to prevention of disease and disability and promotion of health in a world dominated by medicine and episodic care; 4) organization and financing of health services that accommodate the utilization of nurses in expanded roles; 5) nurses who prepare themselves scientifically, humanistically, and politically for the type and kind of practitioner that society nee...
The effect of hypercholestrolemia on calf muscle hemoglobin oxygen saturation in patients with intermittent claudication.

The purpose was to compare calf muscle hemoglobin oxygen saturation and exercise performance in hypercholesterolemic and normocholesterolemic patients with peripheral arterial disease. Hypercholesterolemic and normocholesterolemic patients had similar ankle/ brachial index (0.72 ± 0.24 vs 0.79 ± 0.28, [mean ± SD]; P = .334). Hypercholesterolemic patients had shorter initial claudication distance (214 ± 168 m vs 331 ± 185 m, P = .026), absolute claudication distance (391 ± 219 m vs 549 ± 211 m, P = .035), and lower calf muscle hemoglobin oxygen saturation at the occurrence of initial claudication distance (27 ± 21% vs 39 ± 20%; P = .013), and absolute claudication distance (26 ± 21% vs 36 ± 21%; P = .021). Hypercholesterolemia is associated with shorter walking distances and calf muscle hemoglobin oxygen saturation during exercise in patients limited by intermittent claudication.
Peroxisome Proliferation: A Biological Marker for Toxicological Evaluation

Peroxisome proliferators constitute an important group of xenobiotics with therapeutic, societal, and agricultural importance. Because these agents induce liver tumors in rodents, but fail to exert the genotoxic or mutagenic effects directly in short-term in vitro test systems, they are considered a paradigm to investigate the mechanisms of nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogenesis. A concerted cell biological, biochemical, and molecular biological approach is essential to understand the relationship of xenobiotic-induced peroxisome proliferation to the eventual development of liver tumors. It is our intent to provide insight into the mechanisms responsible for tissue specificity and species differences in the biological responses to peroxisome proliferators.
Promotion of tumor development in prostate cancer by progerin

Progerin is a truncated form of lamin A. It is identified in patients with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a disease characterized by accelerated aging. The contribution of progerin toward aging has been shown to be related to increased DNA damages. Since aging is one major risk factor for carcinogenesis, and genomic instability is a hallmark of malignant cancers, we investigated the expression of progerin in human cancer cells, and whether its expression contributes to carcinogenesis. Using RT-PCR and Western blotting, we detected the expression of progerin in prostate PC-3, DU145 and LNCaP cells at mRNA and protein levels. Ectopic progerin expression did not cause cellular senescence in PC-3 or MCF7 cells. PC-3 cells progerin transfectants were sensitized to DNA damage agent camptothecin (CPT); and persistent DNA damage responses were observed, which might be caused by progerin induced defective DNA damage repair. In addition, progerin transfectants were more tumorigenic in vivo than vector control cells. Our study for the first time describes the expression of progerin in a number of human cancer cell lines and its contributory role in tumorigenesis.
Measuring the Work Function at a Nanobelt Tip and at a Nanoparticle Surface

The work function at the tips of individual ZnO nanobelts has been measured by an electromechanical resonant method using in-situ transmission electron microscopy. The work function of the ZnO nanobelts is ∼5.2 eV, which shows no significant dependence on the geometrical size. Using a ZnO nanobelt as a carrier beam, the work function of a single nanoparticle of a different material has also been measured.
Using stochastic linear-parameter-varying control for CPU management of internet servers

This paper presents a stochastic nonlinear control approach to performance management of Internet Web servers. In particular, a CPU frequency management problem is studied to satisfy response time SLA. The research in this paper is mainly motivated by two reasons: 1) the stochastic nature of workload characterization and performance metrics requires probabilistic approaches to system modeling and control designs, and 2) rather than over-provisioning for the worst-case load, performance management in today's Internet-server environments would limit rather than eliminate the risk of failing to meet service demand, allocating to each application the minimal server resources needed and leaving surplus resources to deploy elsewhere. The presented probabilistic linear-parameter- varying control utilizes an analytical fluid model that is scheduled by randomly distributed workload parameters, and provides control solutions via solving a stochastic semi-definite program. Evaluated through real Web server traces, the presented stochastic robust LPV control not only provides balance between meeting response time and resource efficiency, but also provides computational advantages in the implementation of control designs.
A High Standard of Living in Nineteenth-Century Japan: Fact or Fantasy?

In an effort to begin to solve the continuing controversy over how high the standard of living was in Japan prior to industrialization, this paper goes beyond the inadequate quantitative data and examines also qualitative and local evidence. Information on housing and food, urban water quality and waste disposal, and life styles is examined along with representative family budgets and two sets of real wage estimates. The evidence, taken together with life expectancy estimates, suggests that the standard of living in mid-nineteenth-century Japan was not only higher than in the 1700s, but relatively high in comparison to most of the industrializing West.
Technical communique: On the asymptotic stability of minimum-variance unbiased input and state estimation

In this note, we investigate the asymptotic stability of the filter for minimum-variance unbiased input and state estimation developed by Gillijns and De Moor. Sufficient conditions for the stability are proposed and proven, with inspiration from the Kalman filter stability analysis.
Write Head Design for Exchange Coupled Composite Media

A writer is designed for 10-nm-thick exchange coupled composite (ECC) media. At the air bearing surface (ABS), the writer is 60 nmtimes60 nm. Down track notches, cross track flares, and side shields are employed. A recording density of 1.18 Tb/in2 is achieved based on the write field profile. The bit aspect ratio (BAR) is estimated to be 8.9
How to Train for a Marathon

Although the title of this Cardiology Patient Page emphasizes “training” for a marathon, the ultimate goal of training for a marathon is not to start but to finish the 26.2 mile footrace. Consequently, the necessary steps to complete a marathon require a focus on 3 goals: injury avoidance, physical training, and psychological preparation (Figure 1). Because most popular marathon training programs focus on physical preparation, this article provides description of the general principles necessary to optimize the likelihood of crossing the finish line on race day. Figure 1. The three components of training and preparation necessary to optimize an individual’s likelihood of completing a marathon. Unfortunately, to train for a marathon is to expose oneself to a high risk of injury. For example, the yearly incidence rate for running injuries varies between 37 and 56%, and may be as high as 90% in individuals training for a marathon.1 About 50% to 75% of injuries are attributable to overuse, and 20% to 70% of individuals who experience an initial running-related injury encounter a recurrence. …
Energetic and environmental evaluation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles

The methods of energy, exergy, and life cycle analysis are applied to a new nano-manufacturing process producing 40 nm titanium dioxide particles. The use of identical boundaries for each analysis allows for direct comparison of the results from each method. It was found that the thermodynamic methods identify spray hydrolysis as a significant sink in the process and life cycle analysis shows it to be the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this agreement, there are some discrepancies between methods, and exergy analysis appears to give additional information that energy analysis overlooks. Of course the optimal method for a given application depends on the intended goals of the analysis.
Estimation of Electric Transformer Service Life from Oil Degradation Kinetics

Petroleum-based transformer oil performs the dual roles of insulator and electrolyte depending on charges in the oil. The availability of charges for conduction influences the level of voltage breakdown in the mineral oil and depends on the intensity of physicochemical processes such as redox action, hydrolysis, photodegradation, sludge/particle development, and gas formation arising from thermal, mechanical, chemical, and electrical stresses in the oil. Previous investigators have focused mostly on single oil aging indicators to build models for estimation of the aging rates of transformer oils, within a time frame that is too short relative to the operational service life of transformers. In this research, the interdependence of oil voltage breakdown and changes in oil physicochemical characteristics was investigated experimentally using T24 and T14 oils. Tests were performed with a DTS-100D oil tester for voltage breakdown and a HKV 4000 series high kinematic viscosity bath. The calculated activation e...
Enzymes of vancomycin resistance: the structure of D-alanine-D-lactate ligase of naturally resistant Leuconostoc mesenteroides.

Abstract Background: The bacterial cell wall and the enzymes that synthesize it are targets of glycopeptide antibiotics (vancomycins and teicoplanins) and β-lactams (penicillins and cephalosporins). Biosynthesis of cell wall peptidoglycan requires a crosslinking of peptidyl moieties on adjacent glycan strands. The d-alanine–d-alanine transpeptidase, which catalyzes this crosslinking, is the target of β-lactam antibiotics. Glycopeptides, in contrast, do not inhibit an enzyme, but bind directly to d-alanine–d-alanine and prevent subsequent crosslinking by the transpeptidase. Clinical resistance to vancomycin in enterococcal pathogens has been traced to altered ligases producing d-alanine–d-lactate rather than d-alanine–d-alanine. Results: The structure of a d-alanine–d-lactate ligase has been determined by multiple anomalous dispersion (MAD) phasing to 2.4 A resolution. Co-crystallization of the Leuconostoc mesenteroides LmDdl2 ligase with ATP and a di-d-methylphosphinate produced ADP and a phosphinophosphate analog of the reaction intermediate of cell wall peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Comparison of this d-alanine–d-lactate ligase with the known structure of DdlB d-alanine–d-alanine ligase, a wild-type enzyme that does not provide vancomycin resistance, reveals alterations in the size and hydrophobicity of the site for d-lactate binding (subsite 2). A decrease was noted in the ability of the ligase to hydrogen bond a substrate molecule entering subsite 2. Conclusions: Structural differences at subsite 2 of the d-alanine–d-lactate ligase help explain a substrate specificity shift (d-alanine to d-lactate) leading to remodeled cell wall peptidoglycan and vancomycin resistance in Gram-positive pathogens.
Estimation of Crayfish Abundance and Size-structure in Diets of White Ibis Chicks

Abstract We investigated the use of crayfish gastroliths and exoskeleton pieces for quantifying crayfish abundance and size-structure in diets of White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) chicks in the Everglades. We then quantified crayfish and fish abundance from various small hard parts and intact fish heads in 23 boluses, taken from two nesting colonies in Water Conservation Area 3 (WCA 3) and Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge (Lox) in the Florida Everglades during May 2006. We determined that using gastroliths to estimate crayfish numbers in boluses had significant drawbacks; only a small fraction of field-caught crayfish bear gastroliths and the two crayfish species in the Everglades differ in percentage bearing gastroliths. In contrast, counts of crayfish rostrums and chelae pairs gave simple and similar estimates of crayfish in the boluses. The two colonies had strikingly different diets in May 2006; New Colony 3 (Lox) boluses were dominated by crayfish while birds from the Alley North (W...
Uninformed consent for children undergoing operations.

Archives of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery Informed Consent in Pediatric Surgery: Do Parents Understand the Risks? Daniel P. Nadeau, MD; Jeremy N. Rich, MD; Scott E. Brietzke, MD, MPH Objective: To investigate parental understanding of the risks of pediatric ear, nose, and throat surgery after receiving counseling with and without the use of informational aids. Design: Prospective, randomized trial. Setting: Academic tertiary care center. Participants: Parents of children undergoing ear, nose, and throat surgery. Interventions: Parents were randomized to receive standard informed consent with or without detailed informational aids. Main Outcome Measures: Parents completed identical questionnaires testing their general procedure knowledge and their recall of 9 specific surgical risks both immediately after counseling and on the day of surgery. Results: Thirty-four parents enrolled in and completed the study (18 in the control group and 16 in the test group). The mean time from informed consent to surgery was 6.3 days (range, 1-22 days). Parents in the test group scored significantly higher on identifying the 9 risks on both the preoperative questionnaire (mean score, 6.00 vs 4.44;P = .007, 2-tailedttest) and the postoperative questionnaire (6.25 vs 4.17;P Conclusions: Parents of children undergoing ear, nose, and throat surgery recall far less than 100% of counseled risks. The use of detailed surgical risk counseling improves measured parental understanding of surgical risk. Parental educational level and maternal vs paternal parent may affect risk counseling recall.
The Single Server Queue in a Markovian Environment

This paper discusses the single server queue wherein the arrival and service rates are subject to random varitions. It is shown how the “Arrival-Service” function is useful in the analysis of such systems. The integral equation of the Busy Period is derived and the equilibrium conditions exhibited.
JCHIMP at 5 years: growth and development

No abstract available. (Published: 11 December 2015) Citation: Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 2015, 5 : 29937 -http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/jchimp.v5.29937
Optimizing Cooling Policy for System Power Plant

A dynamic programminng model has been developed for minimizing the cooling costs of a series of power plants along a tributary discharging into an estuary. Heat production and dissipation equations are utilized. The method of cooling is a once through no recycle system utilizing cooling ponds. The minimal cost policy is subject to several constraints including stream and estuary standards, land availability, budget limitations, and equity based on treatment levels at each power plant. The model has been applied to a hypothetical system using conditions typically found in summer in central Texas. The effect of variation of stream and estuary standards, degree of land availability, and degree of equity on the minimum cost policy are compared. This model can be used by planning and regulatory agencies for the purpose of analyzing the economics of regulatory standards and management policies.
Effect of underlying boron nitride thickness on photocurrent response in molybdenum disulfide — boron nitride heterostructures

Here we report on the photocurrent response of two-dimensional (2D) heterostructures of sputtered MoS2 on boron nitride (BN) deposited on (001)-oriented Si substrates. The steady state photocurrent (Iph) measurements used a continuous laser of λ = 658 nm (E = 1.88 eV) over a broad range of laser intensities, P (∼1 µW 1) in both the samples. The responsivities obtained over the range of laser intensity studied were in the order of mA/W (∼12 and ∼2.7 mA/W with 80 nm BN and 30 nm BN under layers, respectively). These investigations provide crucial insight into the optical activity of MoS2 on BN, which could be useful for developing a variety of optoelectronic applications with MoS2 or other 2D transition metal dichalcogenide heterostructures.
Client business models, process business risks and the risk of material misstatement of revenue

Abstract This research tests for understanding of the theory of business risk auditing. Focusing on process-level instead of entity-level business risk assessment, the study tests predictions for risk assessments given two business strategies and the fundamental operating processes of a manufacturing firm. Risk assessments for a client using a product differentiation strategy are compared with assessments made for a client using an operational excellence strategy. The focus is on hypotheses for judgments of process-specific business risk and the risk of material misstatement (RMM) of revenue. Business risk is the risk that a process will not produce the level of effectiveness necessary to achieve one or more entity-level strategic objectives (Bell, Peecher, & Solomon, 2002). Graduate accounting students with auditing experience demonstrated significant understanding of the predicted relationships. With a few exceptions, they (1) produced process-specific business risk judgments that are positively associated with RMM judgments for the critical processes of the product differentiation strategy, and not for the non-critical processes; (2) generated process-specific judgments of business risk that mediated the association of Production process performance and the RMM of revenue; and, (3) when the three product generation processes were performing less well, correctly assessed the highest RMM of revenue. Using this comprehensive set of conditions, contrary to many expressed concerns in the literature, the participants indicate business risk and RMM judgments that reflect significant understanding of the subtleties of business risk assessment.
Chart Generation

Charts constitute a natural uniform architecture for parsing and generation provided string position is replaced by a notion more appropriate to logical forms and that measures are taken to curtail generation paths containing semantically incomplete phrases.
Daily travel distances of zoo-housed chimpanzees and gorillas: implications for welfare assessments and space requirements

The degree to which the relatively smaller area of artificial environments (compared with natural habitats) has measureable effects on the behavior and welfare of captive animals has been debated for many years. While there is little question that these spaces provide far less opportunity for natural ranging behavior and travel, less is known about the degree to which captive animals travel within their environments and what factors influence these travel patterns. We intensively studied the movement of zoo-housed chimpanzees and gorillas using a computer map interface and determined their mean daily travel and found they travelled similar distances each day when restricted to their indoor areas, but when provided additional outdoor space, chimpanzees tended to increase their travel to a greater extent than did gorillas. Both species travelled shorter distances than has been recorded for their wild counterparts, however, when given access to their full indoor-outdoor exhibit; those differences were not as substantive. These findings suggest that while large, complex naturalistic environments might not stimulate comparable species-typical travel patterns in captive apes, larger spaces that include outdoor areas may be better at replicating this behavioral pattern than smaller, indoor areas.
Improved Media for Selecting Nitrate-Nonutilizing Mutants in Aspergillus Flavus

Selection and identification of nitrate-nonutilizing (nit) mutants of Aspergillus flavus was compared on six chlorate-containing agar media. Three isolates of A. flavus were used. Nit mutants isola...
LOCAL VARIATION IN THE GENETIC BASIS OF MORPHOLOGICAL TRAITS IN THE SALAMANDER AMBYSTOMA TALPOIDEUM.

Two local populations of the mole salamander Ambystoma talpoideum (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) were previously found to have similar phenotypic values for per capita fecundity and life-history pathway (paedomorphosis and metamorphosis), but to have different genetic bases for those traits (Harris et al. 1990). Because one adaptive phenotype could be specified by more than one genotype, it was concluded that independent evolution of these traits had occurred (Harris et al. 1990). The genetic basis of fecundity and life-history pathway was found to be less divergent between two other pairs of populations. We now expand on those results by presenting evidence of both similar and dissimilar genetic bases for a number of external and internal morphological traits among the three isolated populations of A. talpoideum that were studied earlier. The degree of genetic compatibility among local populations depends on their evolutionary histories. Lack of genetic compatibility is due to independent evolution from different populations or divergence from a common ancestral population. Genetically compatible populations are either linked by gene flow or have not diverged from a common ancestral population. Evidence of genetic compatibility among isolated populations can be inferred by analyzing the F1 and especially the F2 generations of hybrid and nonhybrid populations. Phenotypic dissimilarity of hybrid and nonhybrid trait values, referred to here as hybrid dissimilarity, is taken as a measure of genetic incompatibility (Dobzhansky 1970). Hybrid dissimilarity is caused by at least two factors: heterosis and epistasis (Wright 1931; Falconer 1989). Heterosis is proportional to the amount of dominance present at all loci that affect the trait. If the parental populations contain dominant alleles at different loci, then hybrids will have dominant alleles at a greater number of loci. This generally leads to a more fit hybrid or the phenomenon of hybrid vigor. Alternatively, unique epistatic interactions, the functional interaction of alleles at different loci, may come to characterize each parental population. When crossed, the epistatic structure of each population is altered, leading to hybrid dissimilarity or often hybrid breakdown. Both heterosis and epistasis reflect nonadditive genetic variation in the parental populations. Traits more closely related to fitness are expected to be underlain by epistatic interactions (Wright 1977, 1982; Travis et al. 1987). By expanding on previous results with additional traits, we are able to associate the pattern of genetic compatibility of traits among populations to the likely relationship of those traits to fitness. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thermodynamics of the amphiboles: Ca-Mg-Fe2+ quadrilateral

A thermodynamic model has been developed and calibrated for monoclinic and orthorhombic amphiboles compositionally contained within the Ca-Mg-Fe 2 + amphibole quadrilateral. The model incorporates the energetic consequences of cation ordering of Fe 2 + and Mg over nonequivalent sites in the crystal structure, and accounts for the temperature, pressure, and compositional dependence of the orthorhombic-monoclinic phase transition. Calibration is based on previously published work on the thermodynamic properties of Fe 2 + -Mg amphiboles and tremolite, and experimental cation-ordering data, along with solvus width and tieline orientations of natural coexisting amphiboles in the quadrilateral. Among derived parameters is the enthalpy of formation of end-member ferroactinolite (-10534.966 kJ/mol). A calculated FeMg - 1 isopotential solvus at mid-composition in the quadrangle agrees well with a revised calibration of experimental data from Cameron (1975). The solvus is not strongly asymmetric and narrows with increasing Fe/Mg ratio and temperature. Phase relations along the Mg and Fe sides of the quadrilateral are compared and contrasted. Cummingtonite-anthophyllite phase relations are shown in the T-X F e plane, with and without coexisting calcic amphibole. The breakdown reactions of quadrilateral amphiboles to assemblages of two pyroxenes, olivine, quartz, and H 2 O are depicted as functions of temperature, pressure, composition, H 2 O activity, and oxygen fugacity. Some highlights of their relevance to metamorphic and igneous systems are discussed.
A Moving Frame Method for Multi-Body Dynamics Using SE(3)

To describe the configuration of a multi-body system, Cartesian coordinate systems are attached to all bodies comprising the system. Their connections through joints and force elements are efficiently expressed by using 4×4 matrices of the homogeneous transformation, presented by Denavit and Hartenberg in 1955. However, at this time, there is no systematic method to compute velocities and angular velocities using the matrices of such homogeneous transformations.In this paper, homogeneous transformation matrices are identified as a subset of a Lie group, called the special Euclidean group denoted by SE(3). This observation enables the usage of the Lie group theory in multibody kinematics. The effective use of the theory is built upon a platform of a moving frame method as presented in this paper. In this method, for each body-attached Cartesian coordinate system, the coordinate vector basis is written explicitly following Elie Cartan. This moving frame notation enables us to use the Lie algebra of SE(3), denoted by se(3), to compute velocities and angular velocities by minimizing the complexities of the Lie group theory.For kinetics, a variational method is established in se(3) by deriving a relationship between a virtual angular velocities and the corresponding virtual rotational displacements. This constrained variation of virtual angular velocities allows the derivation of the d’Alembert principle of virtual work from Hamilton’s principle for multibody systems. Utilizing this variational tool, we present a systematic computation of equations of motion from Hamilton’s principle.Finally, we reduce the spatial dynamics to planar dynamics and list the simplifications achieved in the two-dimensional problems using SE(2). Then, for a two-degree-of-freedom manipulator the analytical equations of motion are obtained to demonstrate the power of the moving frame method.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Black Power in 1996 and the Demonization of African Americans

The cry of “Black Power” shook American society three decades ago. “Black Power” was a slogan that energized a generation of young African Americans, troubled their elders such as Dr. King (who agreed with many of the goals, but saw the slogan itself as divisive), and appalled the great majority of whites. As seriously as the slogan divided blacks, the intra-racial gap was small compared to the inter-racial gap as Aberbach and Walker documented in the pages of the APSR decades ago (1970). Blacks and whites understood black power to represent very different concepts. Where blacks understood the concept to mean either fairness or black unity, whites saw the slogan as representing blacks' demand that white supremacy be replaced with black supremacy.It has been nearly thirty years since our colleague Charles V. Hamilton co-authored the extremely influential Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America with Stokely Charmichael (1967). They forcibly argued that “before a group can enter the open society, it must first close ranks.” (Charmichael and Hamilton 1967, 44, emphasis in original). However, blacks generally rejected nationalist programs and opted as they had in the past for what many such as Guinier have labeled a civil rights agenda (Guinier 1994). Instead of rejecting traditional politics, black empowerment strategies embraced during the 1970s by both integrationist and nationalist forces concentrated on the electoral arena. Black power moved from confrontations in the streets and on college campuses into the electoral arena during this period. This “New Black Politics” was celebrated by many blacks and whites inside the academy. The “new” electoral successes were heralded as representing true black power, the institutionalization of the mass movement, the exercise of power in the real policy forums of the nation.
Bounds for optimalα-β binary trees

In this paper we consider a special kind of binary trees where each right edge is associated with a positive numberα and each left edge with a positive numberβ(α ≦ β). Givenα, β and the number of nodesn, an optimal tree is one which minimizes the total weighted path length. An algorithm for constructing an optimal tree for givenα, β, n is presented, based on which bounds for balances and total weighted path lengths of optimal trees are derived.
Structure analysis for filament-wound cylinder pressure vessel

The structure analysis of the filament-wound cylinder pressure vessel with internal liner are performed.In the analysis,the liner is regarded as an isotropic material and the filament-wound cylinder is orthotropic material.The elastic stress and strain in the liner and the filament-wound cylinder caused by internal pressure are obtained.The criteria for the material selection and structure design of the filament-wound vessel are discussed.It is suggested that the liner material should be of low modulus,high strength and excellent plasticity,and the filament-wound cylinder shoule be of high modulus and high strength.The liner thickness should be thiner and the adhesion between the filament-wound cylinder and the liner must be secure.The calculation example shows that the elastic stress analysis agrees with the results of the test.
Monitoring of disinfection in hospitals of all levels during 2008-2009 in Changxing

Objective:Understanding ChangXing various medical institution for scientific guiding effect,disinfection work,prevention of hospital and control of hospital infection provided scientific basis.Methods: According to the technical specification and the disinfectant sanitation standards of medical(GB15982-1995) method and requirements,2008-2009 at all levels of the medical institution,the air,the surface using hand,nurses were disinfection poison effect.Results: 2008-2009 the total rate respectively is 92.5%,96.4%,county hospitals,clinics,individual clinic township in total rate 99.1%,92.0%,95.2%.Conclusion: Changxing various medical institutions qualified effect though higher,but still need to strengthen quality of disinfection,especially should strengthen the implementation of work air disinfection.
Border Adjustments for Carbon Emissions: Basic Concepts and Design

We consider the economics and the design of border adjustments (BAs) under a carbon tax. BAs are taxes on imports and rebates on exports on the emissions from the production of a good. They are thought to be a method of reducing inefficiencies from a unilateral carbon price, such as shifts in the location of production, known as leakage. After examining the basic economics of BAs, we examine three design issues: which goods BAs should apply to, which emissions from the production of those goods should be taxed, and from and to which countries BAs should apply. We conclude that BAs will impose high administrative costs and need strong welfare justifications.
Biological facilitation of the giant tree fern Angiopteris evecta in the germination of the invasive velvet tree Miconia calvescens

Background. Biological facilitation is a type of relationship between two taxa that benefits at least one of the participants and harms neither. Although invasive species are widely known to compete with native taxa, recent studies suggest that invasive and native species can have positive relationships. This study aims to examine the biological facilitation of the germination of invasive Miconia calvescens by giant tree fern Angiopteris evecta, native to French Polynesia. Methods. Field surveys were conducted to measure A. evecta and M. calvescens by applying the 10×10 m2 quadrat survey method. The density of seedlings, saplings, and matures of M. calvescens growing on the rhizomes of A. evecta and on bare soil was compared, and the correlation between the size of the rhizomes and the number of M. calvescens growing on them was verified. Two separate sets of nutrient measurements of substrates were performed to compare the nutrient of A. evecta rhizome and other environments (abiotic and potential biotic environments). Leaf decomposition rate of five dominant tree species was compared to verify whether A. evecta has quickly decomposing leaves, and therefore induce the germination of M. calvescens indirectly. Results. Field surveys show that there is a greater number of seedlings and saplings of M. calvescens growing on the rhizomes of A. evecta as compared to bare soil. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between the size of rhizomes and the number of M. calvescens growing on them. Substrates of A. evecta had higher phosphorus and potassium contents compared to other soils and substrates, but did not differ from bark of other tree species that could potentially offer favorable microenvironments. A. evecta has quickly decomposing leaves. Discussion. A. evecta facilitates the germination of M. calvescens, supported by the much higher number of seedlings and saplings growing on the rhizomes and the positive correlation between the size of the rhizome and the number of M. calvescens growing on it. Microslopes on the rhizomes of A. evecta prevent leaf litter from accumulating on the rhizomes, and enable more sunlight to reach and facilitate the germination of M. calvescens seeds. Also, quickly decomposing leaves of A. evecta prevent the accumulation of leaf litter on the ground and enable more light to reach seed bank. Although the chemical components is not different from other tree species, physical structure of the rhizome and consequent higher light availability, and higher amount of potassium than bare soil would be the possible reason for the facilitation. Biological facilitation of the germination of invasive M. calvescens by native A. evecta can give better understanding on the invasion success and the relationship between the native and invasive species. Invasion of A. evecta can induce and promote further invasion of M. calvescens. Therefore, thorough management of ongoing invasion of A. evecta is particularly required.
4.4 A sub-nW 80mlx-to-1.26Mlx self-referencing light-to-digital converter with AlGaAs photodiode

Wearable sensors are increasingly common and continue to grow more diverse in their sensing modalities, ranging from glucose to heart rate monitoring. One compelling sensing modality for wearable sensors is cumulative light exposure. For instance, reduced light exposure exacerbates depression, while high levels of sunlight exposure are well known as the primary cause of skin cancer. In order for wearable sensors to determine how much light radiation the skin is receiving, a light-to-digital converter (LDC) is needed to both measure instantaneous light intensity and record the total accumulated light energy. LDCs targeting wearable devices will have tight constraints on area (cost) and power. At the same time, the wide dynamic range of light (∼106) from 0.1lx to 100klx places difficult performance requirements on the LDC. Previous LDCs integrate photodiode current and use a transimpedance amplifier followed by ADC conversion [1–2], resulting in continuous power consumption up to 100s of µW, which is not sustainable for wearable devices with small batteries. Recently, a low-power LDC based on logarithmic digital-to-resistance conversion was proposed for heart rate monitoring [3], but its input dynamic range is too small for light energy monitoring. An alternate approach converts light intensity to frequency [4], which is then measured with a frequency-to-digital converter. However, this approach consumes significant power at strong light levels as oscillation frequency increases linearly with light intensity. Also, this approach requires an accurate reference timer circuit that may not be available during sleep/standby modes common in wearable devices.
Advance Care Planning and Palliative Care Integration for Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Transplantation

Purpose:Advance care planning (ACP) in hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is challenging, given the potential for cure despite increased morbidity and mortality risk.The aim of this study was to evaluate ACP and palliative care (PC) integration for patients who underwent HSCT.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted and data were extracted from electronic medical records of patients who underwent HSCT between January 2011 and December 2015. Patients who received more than one transplant and who were younger than 18 years of age were excluded. The primary objective was to determine the setting and specialty of the clinician who documented the initial and final code status. Secondary objectives included evaluation of advance directive and/or completion of the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment form, PC consultation, hospice enrollment, and location of death.Results:The study sample comprised 39% (n = 235) allogeneic and 61% (n = 367) autologous HSCTs. All patients except one (n...
Colovesical Fistula: An Unusual Complication of Cytomegalovirus Colitis

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a double-stranded DNA virus that is associated with clinically significant disease in patients with advanced immunosuppression, particularly those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). End-organ disease with CMV is classically associated with a CD4 cell count less than 50 cells/microliter. CMV colitis is the second most common manifestation of end-organ disease in this patient population. CMV-associated enteric fistula is a rare complication that has been described in only a few case reports in the literature. These cases describe gastrocolic, enterocutaneous, enterocolic, rectovaginal, and colocutaneous fistulae. However, colovesical fistula has not been described previously. Here, we report the first case of CMV-associated colovesical fistula in a patient with HIV infection and AIDS.