cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accelerated Dysfunction Among the Very Oldest-Old in Nursing Homes

Background. The population aged 65 and older is often analyzed in three categories: young-old (65‐74), middle-old (75‐84), and oldest-old ( $ 85). This may blind heterogeneity within the oldest category. New, large data sets allow examination of the very oldest-old (e.g., aged $ 95) and contrasts with those who are younger. Methods. We determined the annual change of prevalence of physical and cognitive function, and of disease problems in the old to very oldest-old, using data from existing Resident Assessment Instrument records from nursing homes in seven states during 1992‐1994. We used data from 193,467 unique residents aged 80 or older, including 6,556 residents aged 100 or older. We computed the prevalence, by age, of selected conditions: physical and cognitive function, diseases, problem behavior, mood disturbance, restraint use, falls, weight loss, eating less, body mass index, chewing and swallowing problems, incontinence (bowel and bladder), catheter use, and selected diagnoses. Results. Prevalence of all measures of physical and cognitive dysfunction increased most rapidly with each year of age among the very oldest-old. Most of the slope changes occurred from 95 to 100 years of age. Such changes are less pronounced or not seen in measures of disease prevalence. Conclusions. Accelerated change in prevalence of dysfunction seen in the nursing home population may suggest a change in the mechanisms of aging that occur after the mid-nineties. Examination of the very oldest-old may provide new insight into the nature of the aging process. HE population of the United States, as of virtually all the world, is aging rapidly and with the greatest relative change in the oldest-old group. From 1960 to 1990, when the total U.S. population grew by 39%, the number of persons aged 65 or older increased by 89%, and those aged 85 or older increased by 232% (1). By 2030, older Americans aged 65 or older could represent 25% (12% currently) of the population, because the size of younger populations will have declined (2,3).
Early Mesoamerican Garbage: Ceramic and Daub Discard Patterns from Cuauhtémoc, Soconusco, Mexico

Formation processes are all too infrequently addressed by archaeologists excavating in Mesoamerica. This paper examines refuse disposal patterns from the site of Cuauhtemoc on the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico, to provide insight into how the site formed and how artifacts accumulated. This analysis uses materials dating between 1600-800 BCE which encompass the centuries before, during and after the late Early Formative or Early Olmec period (i.e., 1250-900 BCE). First, I employ sherds and daub from shared open-air middens and trash-filled pits to explore trash deposit formation through the 800 years that the site was occupied. Next, I use these same classes of data to make synchronic comparisons between five different depositional contexts dating to the Conchas phase (900-800 BCE). For all phases, these analyses demonstrate that pit features received more debris than open- air middens and that material in the latter contexts were more broken up. Further, the low density of daub from late Early Formative period contexts suggests that distinctive architectural customs may have been practised during this time. Conchas phase refuse indicates that waste disposal locations physically separated an elite residential zone from the rest of society and that elite contexts were more intensively used. Accounting for the formation of archaeological deposits allows for more nuanced interpretations of this early Mesoamerican village.
Using Labor-Based Industry Complexes for Workforce Development in Missouri

Application of the industry cluster concept by development agencies is limited because cluster policies benefit economically powerful core regions over periphery regions and are of little use when a region has no competitive industries. To address these limitations, industry complexes can be used as an alternative to traditional cluster approaches. To demonstrate this, 49 labor complexes in Missouri are identified using cluster and discriminant function analyses, and their application to workforce development policy in Missouri is discussed. Labor complexes can be used to assist (a) job placement programs by identifying industries that are similar in labor but dissimilar in primary economic activity, (b) economic development by identifying existing pools of specialized labor for recruitment, and (c) development of customized training and education programs that meet industry demands.
Crumbs Regulates Salvador/Warts/Hippo Signaling in Drosophila via the FERM-Domain Protein Expanded

Summary Background Altered expression of apicobasal polarity factors is associated with cancer in vertebrates and tissue overgrowth in invertebrates, yet the mechanisms by which these factors affect growth-regulatory pathways are not well defined. We have tested the basis of an overgrowth phenotype driven by the Drosophila protein Crumbs (Crb), which nucleates an apical membrane complex that functionally interacts with the Par6/Par3/aPKC and Scrib/Dlg/Lgl apicobasal polarity complexes. Results We find that Crb-driven growth is dependent upon the Salvador/Warts/Hippo (SWH) pathway and its transcriptional effector Yorkie (Yki). Expression of the Crb intracellular domain elevates Yki activity, and this correlates in tissues and cultured cells with loss of Expanded (Ex), an apically localized SWH component that inhibits Yki. Reciprocally, loss of crb elevates Ex levels, although this excess Ex does not concentrate to its normal location at apical junctions. The Ex-regulatory domain of Crb maps to the juxtamembrane FERM-binding motif (JM), a cytoskeletal interaction domain distinct from the PDZ-binding motif (PBM) through which Crb binds polarity factors. Expression of Crb-JM drives Yki activity and organ growth with little effect on tissue architecture, while Crb-PBM reciprocally produces tissue architectural defects without significant effect on Yki activity. Conclusions These studies identify Crb as a novel SWH regulator via JM-dependent effects on Ex levels and localization and suggest that discrete domains within Crb may allow it to integrate junctional polarity signals with a conserved growth pathway.
Acute prenatal ethanol exposure and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone messenger RNA expression in the fetal mouse brain.

Ethanol exposure during critical periods of development results in alterations of central nervous system morphology and function. In this study, the effects of acute ethanol exposure on the number of neurons expressing luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) messenger RNA (mRNA) has been analyzed. Also, the expression of LHRH mRNA in the diagonal band of Broca/preoptic area (DBB/POA) was determined. Pregnant C57BL/6J mice were intubated with two doses of a 25% solution of ethanol or water (2.9 g/kg body weight) 4 hr apart on gestation day 7 (G7), G10, or G11. Animals were killed on G18, and in situ hybridization was utilized to detect neurons expressing LHRH mRNA. The number of neurons expressing LHRH mRNA was determined along their migration route from the rostrum into the forebrain. Ethanol exposure on G7 did not significantly change the number of neurons expressing LHRH mRNA on G18 compared with that in control animals. However, the number of neurons expressing LHRH mRNA in the nasal septum area in animals exposed to ethanol on G10 or G11 was significantly less than the number in control animals (p < 0.05). Prenatal ethanol exposure on any of the aforementioned treatment days did not alter the expression of LHRH mRNA at the level of the DBB/POA on G18 in ethanol-treated animals compared with control animals. Also, neuron-specific enolase mRNA expression at the level of the DBB/POA was not altered by prenatal ethanol exposure. Therefore, ethanol exposure on the aforementioned treatment days did not differentially affect LHRH mRNA expression compared with neuron-specific enolase mRNA expression at the level of the DBB/POA. These data suggest that acute ethanol exposure may have specific effects on a subset of the LHRH neuron population, depending on the day of ethanol exposure during gestation and the neuroanatomical region in which the LHRH neurons are located.
Alternating-Sign Matrices and Domino Tilings (Part II)

We continue the study of the family of planar regions dubbed Aztec diamonds in our earlier article and study the ways in which these regions can be tiled by dominoes. Two more proofs of the main formula are given. The first uses the representation theory of GL(n). The second is more combinatorial and produces a generating function that gives not only the number of domino tilings of the Aztec diamond of order n but also information about the orientation of the dominoes (vertical versus horizontal) and the accessibility of one tiling from another by means of local modifications. Lastly, we explore a connection between the combinatorial objects studied in this paper and the square-ice model studied by Lieb.
Ferrous-Ferric Ratio and CEC Changes on Deferration of Weathered Micaceous Vermiculite

Ferrous iron in the layers increased 2-fold or more on deferration of coarser fractions of micaceous vermiculite naturally weathered from biotite (Colorado and Transvaal sources). The ferric iron content of the layers was decreased by the deferration treatment but the original content was restored by subsequent H2O2 treatment. Sesquioxide coatings on micaceous vermiculite from Colorado, examined electron microscopically, were composed predominantly of Fe2O3 (80 to 85 percent), along with Al2O2 and SiO2. The CEC increased from 64 to 95 meq per 100 g in the fraction coarser than 1000 microns and 50 to 64 meq per 100 g in the fraction 2–0.2, microns in diameter, as a result of removal by deferration of positively charged sesquioxide coating which had originally blocked a portion of the CEC. Although treatment with H2O2 after deferration restored the Fe3+ content to approximately the original value, the CEC was not affected probably because of deprotonation OH− O2− + H+ occurring simultaneous with Fe2+ Fe3+.
Lyophilized Lactic Acid Starter Culture Concentrates: Preparation and Use in Inoculation of Vat Milk for Cheddar and Cottage Cheese

Abstract A method to concentrate and lyophilize milk-grown cultures of lactic streptococci which produced cells active in fermentation is described. Inoculated nonfat milk was maintained at pH 6.3 by continuous addition of 30% aqueous sodium carbonate. After growth for 15 to 18 h at 30 C, the pH was adjusted to 6.9, and 4.5% sodium citrate was added to allow recovery of the cells by centrifugation. The cells were resus-pended in a medium of 10% sucrose, 5% sodium citrate, 5% gelatin, and 2% monosodium glutamate to l/20th the original culture volume, and were frozen and lyophilized. Vials containing the dry concentrate were sealed under vacuum, stored at −22 C and +22 C, and examined for cell viability and activity. Activity was assayed by simulating cottage and Cheddar cheese making procedures and measuring the final pH. Several lyophilized cultures maintained activity similar to conventional culture for storage of up to 3 mo. Cheddar and cottage cheese were made in 363-kg capacity vats with lyophilized and conventional cultures, and the dry concentrates performed as well as conventional cultures.
The Apache Longbow–Hellfire Missile Test at Yuma Proving Ground: Ecological Risk Assessment for Tracked Vehicle Movement across Desert Pavement

ABSTRACT A multiple stressor risk assessment was conducted at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, as a demonstration of the Military Ecological Risk Assessment Framework (MERAF). The focus was a testing program at Cibola Range that involved an Apache Longbow helicopter firing Hellfire missiles at moving targets, that is, M60-A1 tanks. This article describes the ecological risk assessment, using the MERAF, for the tracked vehicle movement component of the testing program. The principal stressor associated with tracked vehicle movement was soil disturbance, and a resulting, secondary stressor was hydrological change. Water loss to desert wash vegetation was hypothesized to result from increased infiltration and/or evaporation associated with vehicle disturbances to surrounding desert pavement, potentially affecting mule deer as well as vegetation. The simulated exposure of wash vegetation to water loss was quantified using estimates of disturbed land area from a digital orthogonal quarter quadrangle aerial photo ...
Measuring and Reporting High Quality Factors of Inductors Using Vector Network Analyzers

Accurate measurement of high quality factors in inductors is a challenging task. While Q values in the range of 30 and below can be assessed using network analyzers with standard calibration techniques, reporting Q values of 50 or higher demands careful consideration of the type of calibrations used, the accuracy of the instrumentation and associated reference standards, and of the effects of the testing structures involved. This paper examines the accuracy of network analyzers operating in the VHF through S -band range with short-open-load calibrations, and shows that these common instruments can provide accurate Q measurements up to several hundred or more, but only if special care and methods are used.
Listeria monocytogenes-based antibiotic resistance gene-free antigen delivery system applicable to other bacterial vectors and DNA vaccines

Plasmids represent a powerful tool to rapidly introduce genes into bacteria and help them reach high expression levels. In vaccine development, with live vaccine vectors, this allows greater flexibility and the ability to induce larger antigen amounts through multiple gene copies. However, plasmid retention often requires antibiotic resistance markers, the presence of which has been discouraged in clinical applications by the Food and Drug Administration. Therefore, we developed a Listeria monocytogenes-Escherichia coli shuttle plasmid that is retained by complementation of D-alanine racemase-deficient mutant strains both in vitro and in vivo. Our technology potentially allows the production of antibiotic resistance marker-free DNA vaccines as well as bacterial vaccine vectors devoid of engineered antibiotic resistances. As a proof of concept, we applied the D-alanine racemase complementation system to our Listeria cancer vaccine platform. With a transplantable tumor model, we compared the efficacy of the new Listeria vector to that of an established vector containing a conventional plasmid carrying a tumor-specific antigen. Both vaccine vector systems resulted in long-term regression of established tumors, with no significant difference between them. Thus, the Listeria vaccine vector presented here potentially complies with Food and Drug Administration regulations and could be developed further for clinical use.
18F-FDG PET Definition of Gross Tumor Volume for Radiotherapy of Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: Is a Single Standardized Uptake Value Threshold Approach Appropriate?

PET with 18F-FDG has been used in radiation treatment planning for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Thresholds of 15%–50% the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) have been used for gross tumor volume (GTV) delineation by PET (PETGTV), with 40% being the most commonly used value. Recent studies indicated that 15%–20% may be more appropriate. The purposes of this study were to determine which threshold generates the best volumetric match to GTV delineation by CT (CTGTV) for peripheral NSCLC and to determine whether that threshold can be generalized to tumors of various sizes. Methods: Data for patients who had peripheral NSCLC with well-defined borders on CT and SUVmax of greater than 2.5 were reviewed. PET/CT datasets were reviewed, and a volume of interest was determined to represent the GTV. The CTGTV was delineated by using standard lung windows and reviewed by a radiation oncologist. The PETGTV was delineated automatically by use of various percentages of the SUVmax. The PETGTV-to-CTGTV ratios were compared at various thresholds, and a ratio of 1 was considered the best match, or the optimal threshold. Results: Twenty peripheral NSCLCs with volumes easily defined on CT were evaluated. The SUVmax (mean ± SD) was 12 ± 8, and the mean CTGTV was 198 cm3 (97.5% confidence interval, 5–1,008). The SUVmax were 16 ± 5, 13 ± 9, and 3.0 ± 0.4 for tumors measuring greater than 5 cm, 3–5 cm, and less than 3 cm, respectively. The optimal thresholds (mean ± SD) for the best match were 15% ± 6% for tumors measuring greater than 5 cm, 24% ± 9% for tumors measuring 3–5 cm, 42% ± 2% for tumors measuring less than 3 cm, and 24% ± 13% for all tumors. The PETGTV at the 40% and 20% thresholds underestimated the CTGTV for 16 of 20 and 14 of 20 lesions, respectively. The mean difference in the volumes (PETGTV minus CTGTV [PETGTV – CTGTV]) at the 20% threshold was 79 cm3 (97.5% confidence interval, −922 to 178). The PETGTV at the 20% threshold overestimated the CTGTV for all 4 tumors measuring less than 3 cm and underestimated the CTGTV for all 6 tumors measuring greater than 5 cm. The CTGTV was inversely correlated with the PETGTV – CTGTV at the 20% threshold (R2 = 0.90, P
Brain Abscesses Complicating Acute Pneumococcal Meningitis During Etanercept Therapy

Brain abscess formation as a sequelae of community-acquired pneumococcal meningitis is extremely rare, accounting for less than 1% of all meningitis complications. Although metastatic seeding from a distal peripheral septic focus has been observed, this phenomenon most commonly occurs in the context of ear, nose and throat infections, post-cranial neurosurgical procedures, traumatic open cranial injury, or immunosuppression. We present the case of a man, 61 years old, on etanercept therapy for ankylosing spondylitis who developed multiple brain abscesses as a complication of pneumococcal meningitis. We believe that the predisposition to this extremely rare complication of a particularly aggressive pneumococcal meningitis was most likely due to the underlying immunosuppression resulting from etanercept therapy. As far as we know, this case is the first report linking multiple brain abscess formation in a patient with community-acquired pneumococcal meningitis with etanercept therapy.
Traffic sensor using a color vision method

In order to support intelligent traffic management systems, future traffic sensors will need to provide more traffic variables, and more accurate data than provided by the commonly used sensors today. In particular, future systems will need to recognize vehicles from sensor to sensor in order to measure point-to-point traffic variables like travel time. One characteristic that may be used to match vehicles between sensors is color. This work describes a machine vision based traffic sensor under development that uses sophisticated color signatures as a key component.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Late Postpartum Eclampsia with Postpartum Angiopathy: An Uncommon Diagnosis in the Emergency Department

Abstract Background Late postpartum eclampsia is defined as occurrence of eclampsia >48 h after delivery and is a rare clinical entity. The delayed onset and nonspecific symptoms at presentation make this entity a challenge to diagnose in patients presenting to the emergency department (ED); however, early recognition and timely interventions are the keys to reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with late postpartum eclampsia. Case Report A 28-year-old woman presented to our ED with a chief complaint of headache of 4 days duration, 8 days after an uncomplicated, normal vaginal delivery. Her past medical history was unremarkable and her entire pregnancy was without medical incident. The patient's examination was within normal limits other than a blood pressure of 152/111 mm Hg and pulse of 54 beats/min. Given her undifferentiated headache and the possibility of preeclampsia, the patient was treated with magnesium sulfate, which was subsequently stopped due to worsening bradycardia. Hydralazine was administered for blood pressure control. Three hours after the magnesium was stopped, the patient reported blurry vision, which was immediately followed by a generalized tonic-clonic seizure. After the seizure, lorazepam was given for control of seizures, and the patient was admitted to the medical intensive care unit. The patient was transferred to the postpartum floor 6 days later in stable condition and without any further seizure activity. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Patients with late postpartum eclampsia are infrequently encountered in the ED due to the rarity of this condition. Increased awareness of this entity among emergency physicians will lead to early interventions, which are crucial in decreasing morbidity and mortality in these patients.
Eucharist as Communion: The Eucharist and the Absolute in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit

G.W.F. Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit is ripe with allusions to the Eucharist. In this paper I explore the various Eucharistic references in this important work of Hegel’s in order to discover how they are functioning in Hegel’s argument. I make the interpretative claim that for Hegel the Eucharist represents the presence of absolute spirit in the religious community. By following the symbols of the Eucharist in the development of Hegel’s Phenomenology we can see the full development of consciousness from the immediacy of sense certainty to the presence of absolute Spirit amongst the community. Finally, I will conclude with potential ramifications of this thesis for thinking about mission in the context of religious communities. Namely, that the Eucharist represents a purposive social practice which directs the community toward justice, mission, and therefore the advent of spirit.
Evidence linking rapid Arctic warming to mid-latitude weather patterns.

The effects of rapid Arctic warming and ice loss on weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere is a topic of active research, lively scientific debate and high societal impact. The emergence of Arctic amplification—the enhanced sensitivity of high-latitude temperature to global warming—in only the last 10–20 years presents a challenge to identifying statistically robust atmospheric responses using observations. Several recent studies have proposed and demonstrated new mechanisms by which the changing Arctic may be affecting weather patterns in mid-latitudes, and these linkages differ fundamentally from tropics/jet-stream interactions through the transfer of wave energy. In this study, new metrics and evidence are presented that suggest disproportionate Arctic warming—and resulting weakening of the poleward temperature gradient—is causing the Northern Hemisphere circulation to assume a more meridional character (i.e. wavier), although not uniformly in space or by season, and that highly amplified jet-stream patterns are occurring more frequently. Further analysis based on self-organizing maps supports this finding. These changes in circulation are expected to lead to persistent weather patterns that are known to cause extreme weather events. As emissions of greenhouse gases continue unabated, therefore, the continued amplification of Arctic warming should favour an increased occurrence of extreme events caused by prolonged weather conditions.
Über die Verflüssigung von Natriumhydroxyd-Eiweißgelen

1. Wenn Huhnereiweis mit Natriumhydroxyd zusammengegeben wird, so entsteht ein Gel. Aus den hier beschriebenen Versuchen geht hervor, das die Bildung dieses Gels auf der Vereinigung des Proteins mit der Base unter gleichzeitiger Bindung und Losung von Wasser durch das Proteinat beruht. Dies geht hervor aus dem Anstieg des elektrischen Widerstandes des Gemisches, aus der Zunahme des Volumens und der Temperatur und aus der Verminderung der basischen Reaktion gegenuber Phenolphthalein. 2. Die Abnahme des elektrischen Widerstandes, der Viskositat und des Tropfengewichts bestatigt, das die nachfolgend beobachtete Verflussigung des Gels auf Hydrolyse des hydratisierten Proteinates und Losung der Natrium(und Ammonium-)salze der Proteinteilstucke zuruckzufuhren ist. Weitere Beweise fur diese Ansicht sind: das allmahliche Auftreten einer basischen Reaktion gegen Phenolphthalein, die Zunahme in der Bildung von Ammoniak, von Schwefelwasserstoff und von freien Aminogruppen. Alle diese Erscheinungen variieren mit dem Grad der Verflussigung der Proteinmasse. 3. Es wurde festgestellt, das die AlkaliEiweisgemische „atmen“; sie absorbieren Sauerstoff und setzen CO2 in Freiheit.
Laboratory Tests for Epidermolysis Bullosa

Determination of the correct diagnosis and subclassification of inherited and acquired forms of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) can be exceedingly challenging because the clinical morphologic findings and routine histology are frequently nonspecific. The most precise means of diagnosing inherited EB involves the assessment of a combination of ultrastructural and antigenic features by transmission electron microscopy, immunofluorescence antigenic mapping, and EB-related monoclonal antibody studies. Acquired EB can usually be diagnosed by split skin indirect or direct immunofluorescence. When necessary, immunoelectron microscopy, immunoprecipitation, and immunoblot can be used.
Keratinocyte Transient Transfections

The goal of this chapter is to give the reader a concise and easy-to-follow guide to proven transient transfection techniques for primary strains and continuous lines of keratinocytes. The emphasis is on readily available and inexpensive resources that also allow for repeatability and adaptability to scale, experimental conditions, and sample replicates. In addition, basic cell culture techniques necessary to achieve optimal transfection results are provided. Although specified for keratinocytes, these techniques also work well for simple epithelial lines and common laboratory lines, such as COS-7 and CV-1. The standard precipitation protocol is suitable for many experimental designs, and the poly-L-ornithine protocol is intended for situations where calcium is contraindicated. The extended notes section provides necessary technical details to guide the novice user and reminders to the experienced scientist that success with the protocol will depend on several quantitative and qualitative factors including promoter strength, cell culture practices and plasmid isolation.
CourseNavigator: interactive learning path exploration

Course selection decision making is an extremely tedious task that needs to consider course prerequisites, degree requirements, class schedules, as well as the student's preferences and constraints. As a result, students often make short term decisions based on imprecise information without deep understanding of the longer-term impact on their education goal and in most cases without good understanding of the alternative options. In this paper, we introduce CourseNavigator, a new course exploration service that attempts to address the course exploration challenge. Our service identifies all possible course selection options for a given academic period, referred to as learning paths, that can meet the student's customized goals and constraints. CourseNavigator offers a suite of learning path generation algorithms designed to meet a range of course exploration end-goals such as learning paths for a given period and desired degree as well as the highest ranked paths based on user-defined ranking functions. Our techniques rely on a graph-search algorithm for enumerating candidate learning paths and employ a number of strategies (i.e., early detection of dead-end paths, limiting the exploration to strategic course selections) for improving the exploration efficiency.
The role of interconnectivity in control of an Ebola epidemic

Several West African countries - Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea - experienced significant morbidity and mortality during the largest Ebola epidemic to date, from late 2013 through 2015. The extent of the epidemic was fueled by outbreaks in large urban population centers as well as movement of the pathogen between populations. During the epidemic there was no known vaccine or drug, so effective disease control required coordinated efforts that include both standard medical and community practices such as hospitalization, quarantine and safe burials. Due to the high connectivity of the region, control of the epidemic not only depended on internal strategies but also was impacted by neighboring countries. In this paper, we use a deterministic framework to examine the role of movement between two populations in the overall success of practices designed to minimize the extent of Ebola epidemics. We find that it is possible for even small amounts of intermixing between populations to positively impact the control of an epidemic on a more global scale.
The IPO Issue Process

This note covers the institutional process for companies making an initial public offering (IPO) of equity. It focuses on the basic institutional requirements of an underwritten security offering and the role of investment bankers. It is designed to familiarize students with the terminology and institutional practices of an IPO. In addition, it discusses the regulatory changes brought about by passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in April 2012 and compares the process before and after the act was implemented. Excerpt UVA-F-1700 Rev. Dec. 4, 2018 The IPO Issue Process An initial public offering (IPO) is a private company's initial issuance of stock to the public, also known as going public. While there may be several reasons to take a company public, the primary purpose of an IPO is usually to raise cash. The cash may be used to expand operations or to pay off debt. Alternatively, an IPO might be part of a process where the company's founder and early investors sell all or part of their interests in the company as part of an exit strategy. Whatever the reasons for considering an IPO, it is a significant event in the life of a company. Before management embarks on an IPO, they should have knowledge of the process of taking a company public. This note covers the basic institutional requirements of an IPO that is done on a firm commitment basis. Firm commitment offers are the predominant way firms choose to go public compared to other methods of issue (e.g., best-efforts offers and auction methods). It reviews the steps of the IPO issue process and the rationale for these long-standing institutional arrangements. The IPO issue process was altered by passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in April 2012, which attempted to reduce the regulatory burden and derisk the IPO process for potential first-time issuers. These changes were prompted by concerns about the decline in the number of firms going public in the United States and whether the process itself had become too burdensome and costly for firms. Timeline of IPO . . .
Individual housing-based socioeconomic status predicts risk of accidental falls among adults

Abstract Purpose Accidental falls are a major public health concern among people of all ages. Little is known about whether an individual-level housing-based socioeconomic status measure is associated with the risk of accidental falls. Methods Among 12,286 Mayo Clinic Biobank participants residing in Olmsted County, Minnesota, subjects who experienced accidental falls between the biobank enrollment and September 2014 were identified using ICD-9 codes evaluated at emergency departments. HOUSES (HOUsing-based Index of SocioEconomic Status), a socioeconomic status measure based on individual housing features, was also calculated. Cox regression models were utilized to assess the association of the HOUSES (in quartiles) with accidental fall risk. Results Seven hundred eleven (5.8%) participants had at least one emergency room visit due to an accidental fall during the study period. Subjects with higher HOUSES were less likely to experience falls in a dose-response manner (hazard ratio: 0.58; 95% confidence interval: 0.44–0.76 for comparing the highest to the lowest quartile). In addition, the HOUSES was positively associated with better health behaviors, social support, and functional status. Conclusions The HOUSES is inversely associated with accidental fall risk requiring emergency care in a dose-response manner. The HOUSES may capture falls-related risk factors through housing features and socioeconomic status-related psychosocial factors.
Improvements to GPS Airborne Radio Occultation in the Lower Troposphere Through Implementation of the Phase Matching Method

Airborne radio occultation (ARO) is a remote sensing technique for atmospheric sounding using Global Positioning System (GPS) signals received by an airborne instrument. The atmospheric refractivity profile, which depends on pressure, temperature, and water vapor, can be retrieved by measuring the signal delay due to the refractive medium through which the signal traverses. The ARO system was developed to make repeated observations within an individual meteorological event such as a tropical storm, regardless of the presence of clouds and precipitation, and complements existing observation techniques such as dropsondes and satellite remote sensing. RO systems can suffer multipath ray propagation in the lower troposphere if there are strong refractivity gradients, for example, due to a highly variable moisture distribution or a sharp boundary layer, interfering with continuous carrier phase tracking as well as complicating retrievals. The phase matching method has now been adapted for ARO and is shown to reduce negative biases in the refractivity retrieval by providing robust retrievals of bending angle in the presence of multipath. The retrieval results are presented for a flight campaign in September 2010 for Hurricane Karl in the Caribbean Sea. The accuracy is assessed through comparison with the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Interim Reanalysis (ERA-I). The fractional difference in refractivity can be maintained at a standard deviation of 2% from flight level down to a height of 2 km. The PM method decreases the negative refractivity bias by as much as 4% over the classical geometrical optics retrieval method.
Stratospheric Ozone Depletion: An Unlikely Driver of the Regional Trends in Antarctic Sea Ice in Austral Fall in the Late Twentieth Century

It has been suggested that recent regional trends in Antarctic sea ice might have been caused by the formation of the ozone hole in the late twentieth century. Here we explore this by examining two ensembles of a climate model over the ozone hole formation period (1955–2005). One ensemble includes all known historical forcings; the other is identical except for ozone levels, which are fixed at 1955 levels. We demonstrate that the model is able to capture, on interannual and decadal timescales, the observed statistical relationship between summer Amundsen Sea Low strength (when ozone loss causes a robust deepening) and fall sea ice concentrations (when observed trends are largest). In spite of this, the modeled regional trends caused by ozone depletion are found to be almost exactly opposite to the observed ones. We deduce that the regional character of observed sea ice trends is likely not caused by ozone depletion.
Grid adaption near moving boundaries in two dimensions for IC process simulation

During simulation of silicidation and oxidation, some layers are consumed (poly, silicon) and other layers grow (oxide, silicide). During these growth processes, grid must be added behind the advancing interface and removed in front of it. In a full integrated circuit process simulator, this has to be performed simultaneously with the transient solution of the diffusion equations for silicon dopants. This paper describes an approach of local adaption that leaves unchanged most of the grid. Robust algorithms are described for handling adaption in two-dimensional process simulation. Examples for etching, deposition, and oxidation are described. >
Empire's mastheads: Rewriting the "correspondents' war" from the edge of empire

This essay recovers a forgotten moment in the print culture history of US empire by examining a handful of newspapers and periodicals—American Soldier, Manila Outpost, Soldier’s Letter, Co. F Enterprise, and Volunteer—that were founded and written by and for US soldiers in the Philippines and Cuba. Unlike their more famous stateside counterparts who produced the “correspondents’ war” and trafficked in national culture’s romantic sensationalism, soldier-correspondents mapped the everyday culture of their imperial community, reporting on ordinary, everyday events of daily life in the imperial outpost like baseball games, debate clubs, popular barbers, robberies, sanitation violations, mail deliveries, and local advertisements. Such publications revise and remediate the dominant romantic ideology of empire at the turn of the century, creating an imagined community of empire far different from that produced by the “correspondents’ war.” Revising the romantic paradigm into an alternative narrative of everyday habit, ordinary routine, and mundane desire, soldier-newspapers produce a flat account of empire that endows the project of empire-building with a sense of the mundane and the nonheroic. This quotidianizing of empire not only conceals the violent realities of imperial encounter behind the dull shimmer of newsprint, but also remodels the romantic spaces of the public’s imperial imagination into the familiar spaces of everyday life, a process that normalizes empire as a way of life for soldiers.
2,4 Dinitroanisole (DNAN)

DNAN was historically used as an explosive in warheads containing Amatol 40 and is currently being investigated as a replacement for 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene (TNT) in melt-cast insensitive munitions (IM) formulations. Alternatives with suitable chemical and physical properties have been sought. 2,4-Dinitroanisole (DNAN) is a promising alternative that prima facie appears to possess adequate properties and, by virtue of reduced sensitivity, may enable the development of a new class of low sensitivity melt-cast formulations for use in Insensitive Munitions (IM). This chapter provides an overview of DNAN including its synthesis, characterization, and basic properties. In addition, the sensitivity and explosive properties of various DNAN-based formulations (containing RDX and/or NTO) are discussed.
Decreased Kidney Function Is Associated with Enhanced Hepatic Flavin Monooxygenase Activity and Increased Circulating Trimethylamine N-Oxide Concentrations in Mice

Circulating trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) predicts poor cardiovascular outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Accumulation of serum TMAO has been observed in CKD patients; however, the mechanisms contributing to this finding have been inadequately explored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanisms responsible for TMAO accumulation in the setting of decreased kidney function using a CKD mouse model. Mice were fed a diet supplemented with 0.2% adenine to induce CKD, which resulted in increased serum TMAO concentrations (females: CKD 29.4 ± 32.1 μM vs. non-CKD 6.9 ± 6.1 μM, P < 0.05; males: CKD 18.5 ± 13.1 μM vs. non-CKD 1.0 ± 0.5 μM, P < 0.001). As anticipated, accumulation of circulating TMAO was accompanied by a decrease in renal clearance (females: CKD 5.2 ± 3.8 μl/min vs. non-CKD 90.4 ± 78.1 μl/min, P < 0.01; males: CKD 10.4 ± 8.1 μl/min vs. non-CKD 260.4 ± 134.5 μl/min; P < 0.001) and fractional excretion of TMAO. Additionally, CKD animals exhibited an increase in hepatic flavin monooxygenase (FMO)-mediated formation of TMAO (females: CKD 125920 ± 2181 pmol/mg per 60 minutes vs. non-CKD 110299 ± 4196 pmol/mg per 60 minutes, P < 0.001; males: CKD 131286 ± 2776 pmol/mg per 60 minutes vs. non-CKD 74269 ± 1558 pmol/mg per 60 minutes, P < 0.001), which likely resulted from increased FMO3 expression in CKD mice. The current study provides evidence that both decreased renal clearance and increased hepatic production of TMAO may contribute to increments in serum TMAO in the setting of CKD. Hepatic FMO activity may represent a novel therapeutic target for lowering circulating TMAO in CKD patients.
Teaching as Wayfaring: Ethnographic Maps of Place and Art Teacher Induction

Teachers face complex challenges as they transition from pre-service education to professional practice. However literature on teacher induction does not address the needs of teachers in specific content areas and the literature on the induction process within art education is sparse. Research shows the complex variety of teaching tasks facing beginning art teachers affects their ability to balance time and energy. Additionally the dissonance between the expectations of art educators and school environments causes many qualified, passionate teachers to leave the field. This points to the need for continued research on the experiences of beginning teachers. In this qualitative study, I use sensory ethnographic maps of place and movement to discuss beginning art teachers changing habitation of school place and experiences during their first years on the job. Specifically, I consider how beginning art teachers (re)create their art rooms based on the needs of their curriculum, work to navigate others’ appropriation of the art room, their perceptions of time, and how they cope with the increase in students, supplies, and tasks which accompany a teaching position. I argue that art teachers are wayfaring learners—responsive wanderers mindfully reacting to their teaching environment and the chorus of elements that constantly contribute to their learning. In conclusion, this project, by closely examining beginning art teachers own accounts of their teaching experiences sheds new light on the neglected issues of the ways place and movement affect beginning art teachers experience school places.
A Distributed Quorum System for Ensuring Bounded Staleness of Key-Value Stores

Modern storage systems employing quorum replication are often configured to use partial, non-strict quorums to prioritize performance over consistency. These systems return the most recently changed data item only from a set of replicas to respond more quickly to a read request without guaranteeing that the data item is the most recently changed for all of the data. Because these partial quorum mechanisms provide only basic eventual consistency guarantees, with no limit on the freshness of the data returned, sometimes these configurations are not acceptable for certain applications. In this work, we have devised a new key-value store with partial quorums while ensuring bounded staleness. Our store reports the expected bounds on staleness with respect to wall clock. We evaluated our new key-value store with Yahoo! Cloud Service Benchmarks and show its performance.
Chapter 4 – Longitudinal Factor Analysis

There has been increasing interest in dynamic modeling, that is, the modeling of longitudinal data. When the number of variates repeatedly measured on few occasions is large, it is often useful to somehow summarize or condense these variates. This chapter describes, extends, and integrates one group of techniques—current methods of factor analysis—to the problem of parsimoniously analyzing longitudinal data. This covers the continuum from exploratory to confirmatory methods. The latter extreme encompasses what Joreskog and Sorbom (1984) have labeled the measurement model. With the objective of “measuring the same thing” at different times, special constraints must be placed on the regression weights or the factor pattern matrix. This structure is discussed under the rubrics of stationarity and invariance. Additional concern is given to the problem of correlated unique factors and factorial collapse. Some of the espoused models also include multiple populations and period/practice effects. Finally, all the suggested methods adhere to current statistical standards, such as, maximum likelihood estimation and asymptotic χ2-tests.
The role of competition for light in interference between velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti) and soybean (Glycine max)

ed from meteorological records of Iowa State University, Ames. In deriving 1% it was assumed that 50% of total incident shortwave radiation lies within the 400 to 700 nm waveband. Since it was impractical to monitor incident light interception continuously^ measurements were taken only at each of the four harvest dates, just prior to harvesting. A line quantum sensor^, oriented parallel to row direction, was used to measure the photosynthetic photon flux density (FFFD) at 0.01, 0.19, and 0.38 m to either side of each selected row section at the soil surface) one reading was taken directly above the canopy. The six FFFD values measured at the soil surface were averaged to obtain a mean value of FFFD below the canopy of each plot. FFFD was recorded automatically at 0.5 s intervals by a micrologger^ and averaged over a 25 s time period to obtain a better estimate of light interception. All FFFD measurements were taken at local solar noon i 1 h. The US was then calculated for each plot using these FFFD measurements. LUE was calculated in the following manner. A quadratic function was fitted to a plot of LIE over time (jDAP). Since LIE was not measured at emergence, an estimated value was used, based on typical expected LAI of soybean or velvetleaf at emergence. Daily lo and instantaneous daily values of LIE predicted from the equation of the line were then used to calculate J, the total amount of incident light (in energy terms) intercepted by canopies of the various species proportions, summed over each harvest interval from emergence to final harvest^ J S(LIE X lo). The LUE of each plot was then calculated for each harvest 4 Model LI-191SB. LiCor Inc., Lincoln, NE 68504. ^ Model 2iX. Campbell ScientiHc Inc., Logan, UT 84321.
Verbal communication impairment in dementia research frontiers in language and cognition.

A careful study of language changes in Alzheimer’s can be useful in at least three areas: (1) in identification and differential diagnosis, (2) in formulating intervention strategies and (3) in the study of neurolinguistics and the relationship between language and thought. Specifically, Dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT), as in all other progressive as well as reversible dementias, is characterized by a linguistic disorder as well as a profound communication disorder (Overman & Geoffrey, 1987; Bayles, 1985; Hier, Hagenlocker & Shindler, 1985). The linguistic and cognitive bases of language in comparison with the communication aspect of language are important concepts in understanding the disruptive effects of this disease and warrant explication. Thus, this chapter will attempt to lead the reader to a greater understanding of the central role which language plays in understanding and treating this disorder, and, how the study of this disorder may offer insight into the interdependence of language and thought.
Improved Bias Performance in Resonator Fiber Optic Gyros using a Novel Modulation Method for Error Suppression

A signal processing advancement for achieving navigation-grade resonator fiber optic gyros is reported. It simultaneously counters the effects of optical backscatter and modulation imperfections, leading to demonstrated short-term bias stability of 0.02+/−0.007 deg/hr.