cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adiabatic variation. Part III. A deep mirror model

The asymptotic theory for the total change in the action of a simple oscillator is extended to modulation with a frequency minimum small compared with the general frequency level. The action change then fails to be ‘exponentially small’, but remains transcendental, in fact, is found exponential in a new parameter. Moreover, almost the whole transition of the action may then occur during but a few oscillator periods! The resulting change of emphasis produces striking insights into the character of adiabatic invariance and suggests a marked enlargement of the class of modulations accessible to the theory.
Fluorine diffusion on a polysilicon grain boundary network in relation to boron penetration from P/sup +/ gates

The combined effect of boron penetration and fluorine transport from P/sup +/ polycrystalline gates on flat-band voltage is studied. The SIMS concentration depth profiles elucidate the effect of annealing temperature on the fluorine transport, which in turn affects the boron penetration induced change in flat-band voltage. The fluorine diffusion in the poly gate is dominated by grain boundary diffusion. The identification of this mechanism is supported by SIMS profiles and a simulation based on a new methodology of network diffusion. >
Runtime aspect weaving through metaprogramming

We describe an extension to the Java language, Handi-Wrap, that supports weaving aspects into code at runtime. Aspects in Handi-Wrap take the form of method wrappers, which allow aspect code to be inserted around method bodies like advice in AspectJ. Handi-Wrap offers several advantages over static aspect languages such as AspectJ. First, aspects can be woven into binary libraries. Second, a wrapper in Handi-Wrap is a first-class Java value, which allows users to exploit Java mechanisms to define and weave wrappers. For example, wrappers can be passed explicit constructor arguments, and wrapper objects can be composed. Finally, methods in all Java classes, including anonymous classes, can be wrapped. A prototype of Handi-Wrap is implemented in a compile-time metaprogramming system for Java, called Maya; we briefly describe how Maya's features support Handi-Wrap.
Can free-electron lasers answer critical questions in ultraviolet photobiology?

This paper will evaluate the potential of ultraviolet free electron lasers, and particularly the soon to be available UV-FEL at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility for such experiments.
System-level energy and performance projections for nanomagnet-based logic

This paper examines how realistic implementations of the drive circuitry needed to control circuit elements made from nano-scale magnets can affect system-level energy and performance. Expected non-uniform clock fields, clock field discontinuities and out-of-plane fields are all considered. We find that realistic fabrication mechanisms should not inhibit logical correctness and that this technology appears capable of outperforming low power CMOS equivalents with similar energy requirements - and paths to additional energy savings exist.
Liquidity, volatility, and flights to safety in the US treasury market: Evidence from a new class of dynamic order book models

We propose a new class of dynamic order book models that allow us to 1) study episodes of extreme low liquidity and 2) unite liquidity and volatility in one framework through which their joint dynamics can be examined. Liquidity and volatility in the U.S. Treasury securities market are analyzed around the time of economic announcements, throughout the recent financial crisis, and during flight-to-safety episodes. We document that Treasury market depth declines sharply during the crisis, accompanied by increased price volatility, but that trading activity seems unaffected until after the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. Our models’ key finding is that price volatility and depth at the best bid and ask prices exhibit a negative feedback relationship and that each becomes more persistent during the crisis. Lastly, we characterize the Treasury market during flights to safety as having much lower market depth, along with higher trading volume and greater price uncertainty.
Blastocyst Implantation in the Rat and the Immunohistochemical Distribution and Rate of Synthesis of Uterine Lysosomal Cathepsin D

Major concentrations of the lysosomal protease, cathepsin D, identified by immunohistochemical staining were observed in glandular and luminal epithelial cells in cross sections of uteri of pregnant rats. Blastocyst implantation decreased the level of cathepsin D observed in the luminal epithelium on Day 5 of pregnancy. The rate of synthesis of the enzyme protein in uterine segments containing implantation sites was approximately half the rate measured in interimplantation uterine segments. These data suggest that deterioration and eventual removal of uterine epithelial cells during blastocyst implantation involve epithelial cell lysosomes and their content of cathepsin D.
Variational Approach to Melting. II

A variational approach to the equilibrium thermodynamic properties of an original system based upon an inequality for the Helmholtz free energy of that system is introduced. A system with molecules obeying the cell model of Lennard‐Jones and Devonshire, and having a harmonic‐oscillator‐type potential function inside their cells, is used for a reference system to produce the inequality for the Helmholtz free energy of the original system. Optimization upon this inequality indicates that a variational calculation based on a reference system with highly ordered structure, as the cell model, predicts the properties of the solid phase better than the liquid phase. Also, it shows that by an ordered‐structure reference model, it is possible to predict the liquid–solid phase transition. Equilibrium thermodynamic properties of the solid phase and liquid–solid phase equilibria are calculated and are compared with the machine‐calculated and the experimental data.
Elective laparoscopic surgery for benign internal enteric fistulas: a review of 43 cases.

Laparoscopic surgery has been applied to the management of various colorectal conditions, with shorter recovery periods than reported for open surgery. This study reviewed the feasibility and outcome of laparoscopic surgery for benign internal enteric fistulas. All the patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for colovesical, colovaginal, enterovesical, and enterocolic fistulas caused by diverticulitis or Crohn’s disease from 1995 to 2003 were identified from the prospective laparoscopic surgery database and retrospectively analyzed. Crohn’s ileo-ileal fistulas were excluded from the study because these are generally resected more simply en bloc with the terminal ileum. This study enrolled 43 patients (23 men and 20 women) with median age of 43 years, a mean body mass index of 24.5, and in American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) distribution of 3/33/8/0 (class 1/2/3/4). The diagnosis was diverticular for 24 patients and Crohn’s disease for 19 patients. The mean operative time was 163 ± 80 min (155 in completed and 180 in converted cases), and the mean length of hospital stay was 5.2 ± 4.7 days (3.9 in completed and 7.9 days in converted cases). A total of 14 patients (32.6%) required conversion for dense adhesions (n = 8), duodenal involvement (n = 3), multiple fistulae (n = 1), fecal leak (n = 1), and additional pathology (n = 1). Conversion rates, analyzed by fistula type, were duodenal (100%), vaginal (66.7%), sigmoid (27.7%), bladder (15.4%), enterocolic (0%), and colocolic (0%). There were six major complications (14%) including anastomotic leak (n = 3), abscesses (n = 2), and postoperative bleeding (n = 1). There were seven minor complications (16.3%) including postoperative ileus (n = 2), transient pleural effusion (n = 1), wound infection (n = 1), transient small bowel obstruction (n = 2), and brachial plexus neuralgia (n = 1). There was no significant difference in the complication (p = 0.57), reoperation (p = 0.3), or readmission (p = 0.4) rates between the completed and converted cases. Laparoscopic surgery for benign internal enteric fistula offers the earlier recovery seen with other laparoscopic colorectal operations. Duodenal and vaginal involvement by the fistula is associated with a higher conversion rate. A low threshold toward early conversion is useful in these difficult cases to reduce delays in the operating room and the unnecessary use of hospital resources.
Optimum maintenance strategy for deteriorating bridge structures based on lifetime functions

Abstract The highway networks of most European and North American countries are completed or close to completion. However, many of their bridges are aging, and in the United States alone a very significant part of the about 600,000 existing bridges is considered to be deficient and must be replaced, repaired or upgraded in the short term. The funds available for the maintenance of existing highway bridges are extremely limited when compared with the huge investment necessary, and must, therefore, be spent wisely. In this paper, a model based on lifetime functions for predicting the evolution in time of the reliability of deteriorating bridges under maintenance is presented. This model uses the probability of satisfactory system performance during a specified time interval as a measure of reliability and treats each bridge structure as a system composed of several components. In this manner, it is possible to predict the structural performance of deteriorating structures in a probabilistic framework. In addition, the optimum maintenance strategy is identified using as objective the minimization of the present value of the life-cycle maintenance cost. An existing bridge is analyzed using lifetime functions and its optimum maintenance strategy is found.
Teacher Community in Elementary Charter Schools

The organizational context of charter schools may facilitate the formation of a strong teacher community. In particular, a focused school mission and increased control over teacher hiring may lead to stronger teacher professional communities. This paper uses the 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey to compare the level of teacher community in charter public and traditional public schools. It also estimates the effect of various charter policy variables and domains of school autonomy on teacher community. Charter school teachers report higher levels of teacher community than traditional public school teachers do, although this effect is less than one-tenth of a standard deviation and is dwarfed by the effect of a supportive principal, teacher decision-making influence, and school size. Charter public schools authorized by universities showed lower levels of teacher community than those authorized by local school districts. Teachers in charter schools that have flexibility over tenure requirements and the school budget report higher levels of teacher community. This study reveals that charter schools do facilitate the formation of strong teacher communities, although the effect is small. The analysis also suggests that the institutional origin of the charter school and specific areas of policy flexibility may influence teacher community.
In vitro study on the interaction between the 32 kDa enamelin and amelogenin

Enamel extracelluar matrix components play vital roles in controlling crystal nucleation and growth during enamel formation. We investigated the interaction between the 32 kDa enamelin fragment and amelogenin using immunochemical and biophysical methods. Immunoprecipitation studies revealed that the 32 kDa enamelin and amelogenin eluted together from a Protein A column. Dynamic light scattering results showed that the 32 kDa enamelin had a profound effect on amelogenin assembly at pH 8.0, causing partial dissociation of the nanospheres, in a dose-dependent manner. The appearance of an isodichroic point and the shifting and intensity decrease of the ellipticity minima in the circular dichroism spectra of amelogenin following the addition of the 32 kDa enamelin were indicative of conformational changes in amelogenin and of a direct interaction between the two macromolecules. Our results collectively demonstrate that the 32 kDa enamelin has a direct interaction with amelogenin in vitro. Our current studies provide novel insights into understanding possible cooperation between enamelin and amelogenin in macromolecular self-assembly and in controlling enamel mineral formation.
Dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 inhibitors and pancreatic cancer: a cohort study

Aims Dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4i) have been implicated with an increased pancreatic cancer risk. We therefore compared pancreatic cancer incidence and diagnostic work-up among initiators of DPP-4i versus sulfonylureas (SU) and thiazolidinediones (TZD).
Introduction to Special Issue on the Property Tax and the Financing of K–12 Education

reschovsky@lafollette.wisc.edu The property tax is the mainstay of local K–12 education revenue. Public schools derive over 80 percent of their local own-source revenue from the property tax (Reschovsky 2014). At the same time, nearly half of total property tax dollars collected in the United States is used to finance public elementary and secondary education (U.S. Census Bureau 2013, 2014). This close link between property taxation and school finance is one motivation for this special issue. Another motivation is the state and local fiscal aftermath of the Great Recession. Over the past few years the financing of public elementary and secondary education has become particularly challenging. In real per pupil terms, total revenues devoted to public education fell by 6.2 percent between the 2008–09 and 2011–12 school years.2 Although comprehensive revenue data are not yet available for the most recent years, existing evidence points to a continued decline in financial support for public education. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Summary of State and Local Tax Revenue indicate that per capita real local government property tax revenues (for school and non-school purposes) declined by 3 percent between fiscal years 2011 and 2013 (Collins and Langley 2014). And a survey conducted by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that in 33 states, real
More than 1000 ultraconserved elements provide evidence that turtles are the sister group of archosaurs

We present the first genomic-scale analysis addressing the phylogenetic position of turtles, using over 1000 loci from representatives of all major reptile lineages including tuatara. Previously, studies of morphological traits positioned turtles either at the base of the reptile tree or with lizards, snakes and tuatara (lepidosaurs), whereas molecular analyses typically allied turtles with crocodiles and birds (archosaurs). A recent analysis of shared microRNA families found that turtles are more closely related to lepidosaurs. To test this hypothesis with data from many single-copy nuclear loci dispersed throughout the genome, we used sequence capture, high-throughput sequencing and published genomes to obtain sequences from 1145 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and their variable flanking DNA. The resulting phylogeny provides overwhelming support for the hypothesis that turtles evolved from a common ancestor of birds and crocodilians, rejecting the hypothesized relationship between turtles and lepidosaurs.
Vacuolate-attached filaments: highly productive Ridgeia piscesae epibionts at the Juan de Fuca hydrothermal vents

Vacuolate sulfur bacteria with high morphological similarity to vacuolate-attached filaments previously described from shallow hydrothermal vents (White Point, CA) were found at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. These filamentous bacteria grow in dense mats that cover surfaces and potentially provide a significant source of organic carbon where they occur. Vacuolate-attached filaments were collected near vents at the Clam Bed site of the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge and from the sediment surface at Escanaba Trough on the Gorda Ridge. A phylogenetic analysis comparing their 16S rRNA gene sequences to those collected from the shallow White Point site showed that all vacuolate-attached filament sequences form a monophyletic group within the vacuolate sulfur-oxidizing bacteria clade in the gamma proteobacteria. Abundance of the attached filaments was quantified over the length of the exterior surface of the tubes of Ridgeia piscesae worms collected from the Clam Bed site at Juan de Fuca yielding a per worm average of 0.070 ± 0.018 cm3 (n = 4). In agreement with previous results for White Point filaments, anion measurements by ion chromatography showed no detectable internal nitrate concentrations above ambient seawater (n = 9). For one R. piscesae tube worm “bush” at the Easter Island vent site, potential gross epibiont productivity is estimated to be 15 to 45× the net productivity of the worms.
The Cumulative Claim Cost (C 3 ) Index: A Tool for Managing the Book of Long-Tail Casualty Claims

On-the-job employee accidents create legal and fiduciary obligations on the part of employing organizations: To compensate injured workers, while also to manage the overall injury-related expenditures in a fiscally sound manner. As it regards the latter of the two obligations, active and effective management of the total cost of on-the-job accidents demands informational specificity that very few organizations have, in spite of the requisite detailed accident and injury data being readily available. Especially vexing is the challenge of effective cost management of long-tail casualty claims, which are those that remain open more than 12 months after the initial filing date. The primary problem that impedes effective management of those claims is their inherent age and type heterogeneity, which makes meaningful cross-time comparisons difficult. This paper discusses a simple computational approach – the Cumulative Claim Cost Index, or C 3 Index – designed to help managers make objective and reliable year-over-year long-tail claim cost comparisons, while also being able to “drill down” into the underlying causes of any observed variability.
Resistant Depression in the Very Old—A Role for Maintenance ECT?

(1995). Resistant Depression in the Very Old—A Role for Maintenance ECT? Harvard Review of Psychiatry: Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 152-155.
Activated partial thromboplastin time-protamine dose relation in the presence and absence of heparin.

A protamine titration is one of the methods to determine the protamine dose necessary to neutralize heparin. The protamine dose response was studied with the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) in the presence of a known amount of heparin and in the absence of heparin, using freshly prepared human plasma. When heparin was present in the plasma, APTT values plateaued between a minimal neutralizing dose of protamine and a protamine dose five times greater. At doses above the APTT plateau, protamine exerted its own anticoagulant action as evidenced by an increase in APTT values. In the absence of heparin, APTT did not change until the protamine concentration reached 50 μg/mL. Then the APTT began to increase above this critical concentration. The increases in APTT values caused by an increase of 50 μg/mL of protamine were significantly greater without heparin than they were in the presence of heparin. These results suggest that protamine has a wide safety range when neutralizing heparin without exerting its own anticoagulant action. Although the mechanisms are under speculation, the heparin-protamine complex may inhibit the anticoagulant action of protamine in vitro.
Distributed representation of spectral and temporal information in rat primary auditory cortex

Modulations of amplitude and frequency are common features of natural sounds, and are prominent in behaviorally important communication sounds. The mammalian auditory cortex is known to contain representations of these important stimulus parameters. This study describes the distributed representations of tone frequency and modulation rate in the rat primary auditory cortex (A1). Detailed maps of auditory cortex responses to single tones and tone trains were constructed from recordings from 50–60 microelectrode penetrations introduced into each hemisphere. Recorded data demonstrated that the cortex uses a distributed coding strategy to represent both spectral and temporal information in the rat, as in other species. Just as spectral information is encoded in the firing patterns of neurons tuned to different frequencies, temporal information appears to be encoded using a set of filters covering a range of behaviorally important repetition rates. Although the average A1 repetition rate transfer function (RRTF) was low-pass with a sharp drop-off in evoked spikes per tone above 9 pulses per second (pps), individual RRTFs exhibited significant structure between 4 and 10 pps, including substantial facilitation or depression to tones presented at specific rates. No organized topography of these temporal filters could be determined.
The Zebrafish Information Network: the zebrafish model organism database provides expanded support for genotypes and phenotypes

The Zebrafish Information Network (ZFIN, http://zfin.org), the model organism database for zebrafish, provides the central location for curated zebrafish genetic, genomic and developmental data. Extensive data integration of mutant phenotypes, genes, expression patterns, sequences, genetic markers, morpholinos, map positions, publications and community resources facilitates the use of the zebrafish as a model for studying gene function, development, behavior and disease. Access to ZFIN data is provided via web-based query forms and through bulk data files. ZFIN is the definitive source for zebrafish gene and allele nomenclature, the zebrafish anatomical ontology (AO) and for zebrafish gene ontology (GO) annotations. ZFIN plays an active role in the development of cross-species ontologies such as the phenotypic quality ontology (PATO) and the gene ontology (GO). Recent enhancements to ZFIN include (i) a new home page and navigation bar, (ii) expanded support for genotypes and phenotypes, (iii) comprehensive phenotype annotations based on anatomical, phenotypic quality and gene ontologies, (iv) a BLAST server tightly integrated with the ZFIN database via ZFIN-specific datasets, (v) a global site search and (vi) help with hands-on resources.
The Impact of Twenty-First Century Climate Change on Wildland Fire Danger in the Western United States: An Applications Perspective

High-temporal resolution meteorological output from the Parallel Climate Model (PCM) is used to assess changes in wildland fire danger across the western United States due to climatic changes projected in the 21st century. A business-as-usual scenario incorporating changing green- house gas and aerosol concentrations until the year 2089 is compared to a 1975-1996 base period. Changes in relative humidity, especially drying over much of the West, are projected to increase the number of days of high fire danger (based on the energy release component (ERC) index) at least through the year 2089 in comparison to the base period. The regions most affected are the northern Rockies, Great Basin and the Southwest - regions that have already experienced significant fire activity early this century. In these regions starting around the year 2070, when the model climate CO2 has doubled from present-day, the increase in the number of days that ERC (fuel model G) exceeds a value of 60 is as much as two to three weeks. The Front Range of the Rockies and the High Plains regions do not show a similar change. For regions where change is predicted, new fire and fuels management strategies and policies may be needed to address added climatic risks while also accommodating complex and changing ecosystems subject to human stresses on the region. These results, and their potential impact on fire and land management policy development, demonstrate the value of climatemodels for important management applications, as encouraged under the Department of Energy Accelerated Climate Prediction Initiative (ACPI), under whose auspices this work was performed.
Wind-Induced Currents and Bottom-Trapped Waves in the Santa Barbara Channel

The Santa Barbara Channel (SBC) is a coastal basin about 100 km long bounded by the Southern California mainland on the north and by a chain of islands on the south. The SBC is at most 50 km wide and just over 600 m deep. The nature of current and wind variance peaks in the 2‐4-day and 4‐6-day bands in the channel are analyzed from January to July 1984. For both bands the dominant empirical mode of the currents is highly coherent with the dominant empirical mode of the winds over this region. Surface intensification of currents is revealed by measurements made between 25 and 300 m. In contrast the deeper currents are characterized by bottom trapping. Evidence for baroclinic bottom-trapped topographic Rossby waves is found on the northern shelf at the western mouth of the channel in both frequency bands. At 30 m the distribution of phases shows currents at the center of the western mouth leading the southern interisland passes by about 0.3 day and the eastern mouth by about 0.6 day. In both bands co- and quadrature vectors of currents and winds describe this wind‐current system in detail. It is speculated from spatial and temporal eigenfunctions of currents and winds and from available satellite images that the dominant current mode described above is a channelwide response to upwelling north of Point Conception (northwestward of the SBC). The upwelling-related currents cause a net inflow of mass into the western end of the channel, which is compensated by an outflow passing through both the interisland passes and through the eastern mouth of the channel. As a result of the narrowness and shallowness of the passes and of the shallowness of the southern shelf in general, high flow speeds are attained there that, the authors speculate, seem to force deep high-frequency motions both at the center of the SBC and at the northern half of its western mouth.
Synaptotagmin: Transducing Ca 2+ -Binding to Vesicle Fusion

Synaptotagmins are a large family of transmembrane proteins consisting of at least 15 isoforms in mammals (1), and seven in Drosophila (2). Synaptotagmin 1 is the most conserved of the synaptotagmin isoforms (3) and is known to play a role in the synaptic vesicle cycle. Genetic studies in mice (4–10), Caenorhabditis elegans (11), and Drosophila (12–22) have shown that synaptotagmin 1 is required for efficient synaptic transmission. Although synaptic transmission persists in synaptotagmin knockouts (4,11,12), it is severely disrupted. Biochemical and genetic studies have implicated synaptotagmin function during several stages in the synaptic vesicle cycle, including (1) docking synaptic vesicles at release sites, (2) priming synaptic vesicles for quick release, (3) binding the Ca2+ required to trigger fusion, and (4) endocytosis of synaptic vesicles after fusion. This chapter reviews the evidence supporting each of these hypotheses, and discusses the molecular interactions that may underlie these abilities.
Why Should Managers Like Payback Period

Most companies use payback period in capital budgeting though it is often criticized lack of the concept of time value of money. Why should people like payback period so much? I list literature and illustrate models of both constant cash flows and stochastic cash flows. In these two models, payback period method is equivalent to the IRR method. In addition, payback is related to the duration of future cash flows so it serves as a good proxy to describe liquidity and risk when cash flows are constant. Hence, finance and accounting textbooks have to be revised to address the importance of payback and its relation to other finance indicators.
Novel expression and regulation of the renin-angiotensin system in metanephric organ culture

To evaluate the presence and regulation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in metanephric organ culture, embryonic day 14 (E14) rat metanephroi were cultured for 6 days. mRNAs for renin and both...
Combined deletion of cathepsin protease family members reveals compensatory mechanisms in cancer

Proteases are important for regulating multiple tumorigenic processes, including angiogenesis, tumor growth, and invasion. Elevated protease expression is associated with poor patient prognosis across numerous tumor types. Several multigene protease families have been implicated in cancer, including cysteine cathepsins. However, whether individual family members have unique roles or are functionally redundant remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate stage-dependent effects of simultaneously deleting cathepsin B (CtsB) and CtsS in a murine pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor model. Early in tumorigenesis, the double knockout results in an additive reduction in angiogenic switching, whereas at late stages, several tumorigenic phenotypes are unexpectedly restored to wild-type levels. We identified CtsZ, which is predominantly supplied by tumor-associated macrophages, as the compensatory protease that regulates the acquired tumor-promoting functions of lesions deficient in both CtsB and CtsS. Thus, deletion of multiple cathepsins can lead to stage-dependent, compensatory mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment, which has potential implications for the clinical consideration of selective versus pan-family cathepsin inhibitors in cancer.
On diameter stability of graphs

A graph G is called an (l,d)-graph if the removal of at least l edges from G is required in order that the resulting graph would have a diameter larger than d. G is called l-distance stable if the removal of at least l edges is required to increase the distance between any two nonadjacent vertices of G. Some properties of (l,d)-graphs, and l-distance stable graphs are derived. In particular, a Mengerian type characterization of l-distance stable graphs is obtained.
Water Balance to Recharge Calculation: Implications for Watershed Management Using Systems Dynamics Approach

Groundwater depletion in the face of growth is a well-known problem, particularly in those areas that have grown to become dependent on a declining resource. This research comprises a broad synthesis of existing water resources data, to understand the long-term implications of continued growth in water demand on groundwater dominant water resources, and to develop a tool for sustainable water management. The Palouse region of Washington and Idaho, USA. (approximately 60,000 people in a rural setting) is entirely dependent on groundwater from two basalt aquifers for potable water. Using the systems dynamics approach and a water balance that considered the entire hydrologic cycle, a hydrologic model of these aquifers was developed, tested and applied to simulate their behavior over a 150 year time period assuming the current infrastructure does not change. With 1% population growth and current water extraction rates, the results indicated the upper aquifer use may be sustainable, while the lower aquifer use is likely unsustainable in the long term. This study also shows that uncertainties in key aspects of the system create limitations to groundwater management.
Life History Notes on Micrathyria (Odonata)

The nymphs of four species of this little known genus have recently come to hand. One of them, M. hageni , occurs within the limits of the United States. All four are West Indian, and all were reared by me during recent visits to these islands. The nymph of M. dissocians was well described and figured by Dr. Elsie Broughton Klots in her report on the Odonata of Puerto Rico of 1932, from specimens that I collected on the island in 1930. I wish to note at the outset that hers is the first description of a nymph of this genus; for the Brazilian nymph that I described in 1904 (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 27: 211) along with the adult reared from it as “ Micrathyria pallida ” n. sp. has been found to belong in the closely related genus Erythrodiplax. I reared nymphs of M. aequalis in Cuba in 1937, and of M. didyma and M. hageni in Santo Domingo in 1940; these I now wish to describe and differentiate by means of keys. I will also add a few observations on the very unusual egg-laying habits of M. aequalis .
Ultrathin and Smooth Silver Film by Aluminum-doping and Applications in Plasmonics and Meta-materials

Wetting-layer-free, ultra-thin and smooth Silver film is achieved by doping Aluminum in Ag film deposition. Hyperbolic meta-material using Al-doped Ag films shows high transmittance and homogeneous response.
Microstructure Analysis of Thermally Stable Ohmic Contact to Both n and p+-GaAs

A thermally stable Pd/Ge/Ti/Pt/ ohmic contact with low specific contact resistance was formed on both n and p+-GaAs. The lowest specific contact resistances were 4.7×10-7 and 6.4×10-7 Ω.cm2 for the n and p+-GaAs, respectively, when the n-GaAs was doped with Si to 2×1018cm-3, and the p+-GaAs was doped with carbon to 5×1019 cm-3. Interfacial reactions and element diffusions of the contacts were investigated by using transmission electron microscopy, Auger electron spectrometry with depth profiles. All the contacts were thermally stable at 300 °C for 20 hours, and it appeared that the p-contacts were more stable than the n-contacts.
Insecticidal sugar baits for adult biting midges.

The mixing of an insecticide with sugar solution creates an oral toxin or insecticidal sugar bait (ISB) useful for reducing adult insect populations. The ability of ISBs to kill the biting midge Culicoides sonorensis Wirth and Jones (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a vector of bluetongue virus, epizootic hemorrhagic disease and vesicular stomatitis viruses, was tested. The commercial insecticide formulations (percentage active ingredient) tested included bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, permethrin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and spinosad. Mortality rates were determined for various concentrations of commercial formulations (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, 1, 2 and 3%) and observed at 1, 4, 10 and 24 h post-exposure to the ISB. In the first set of assays, laboratory-reared midges were fed sugar ad libitum and then exposed to insecticide-treated sugar solutions to measure mortality. The second assay assessed competitive feeding: midges were provided with a control sugar solution (10% sucrose) in one vial, and a sugar and insecticide solution in another. Pyrethroid treatments resulted in the greatest mortality in the first hour at the lowest concentrations and spinosad consumption resulted in the least mortality. Biting midges were not deterred from feeding on the 1% ISB solutions despite the presence of an insecticide-free alternative source of sugar.
Neural Markers of the Development of Executive Function: Relevance for Education

Executive functions are involved in the development of academic skills and are critical for functioning in school settings. The relevance of executive functions to education begins early and continues throughout development, with clear impact on achievement. Diverse efforts increasingly suggest ways in which facilitating development of executive function may be used to improve academic performance. Such interventions seek to alter the trajectory of executive development, which exhibits a protracted course of maturation that stretches into young adulthood. As such, it may be useful to understand how the executive system develops normally and abnormally in order to tailor interventions within educational settings. Here we review recent work investigating the neural basis for executive development during childhood and adolescence.
Boron Doped NanoCrystalline Diamond Sensor Integrated Lab on a Chip Device for Blood Gas Sensing Using Electrochemical Approach

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) bioavailability and exogenous hydrogen sulfide therapy regulate numerous disease states including inflammation, cancer, cardiovascular, neurological and gastrointestinal diseases. This proposed work investigates and demonstrates new H2S detection techniques well suited to disease detection through a Lab on a Chip (LOC) approach. Currently, a novel chip has been designed to detect the level of H2S present in the blood. A unique LOC device has various parts which serve specific purposes. Three layers, liberation layer, silicone membrane and the trapping layer were bonded and integrated with electrodes at trapping layer. The micro-fabricated liberation layer was coated with the sulfide liberation buffer. The liberated gas was then passed via a highly selective polymer membrane and then collected at the final chamber for its quantification. The electrochemical detection was made possible at this chamber using carbon nanotube modified boron doped nanocrystalline diamond electrode (BDUNCD) electrode. Detection using bare and modified electrodes have been also investigated and compared. This research specifically highlights the optimization of the sensor integrated lab on the chip device to detect sulfide in biological range in a water based sample. The limit of detection was shown to be 0.1 µM. In general, results showed that detection of H2S using this method was less labor intensive, fast and achievable with low cost.
Gender Affirmation and Resiliency Among Black Transgender Women With and Without HIV Infection.

Abstract Purpose: Among black transgender women (transwomen) at high risk of HIV acquisition or already living with HIV/AIDS, the study examined whether medical or socially based gender affirming factors may contribute differentially to selected measures of resiliency, perceived stress, and a scale measure of mental health outcomes. This question has implications for clinical care and counseling of this population. Methods: Seventy-seven black transwomen were recruited to participate in a private, face-to-face structured interview. Two index measures of gender affirmation (GA) were constructed from the data. One comprised medical aspects only and the other comprised social aspects of GA. Assessed outcomes were personal competence and acceptance of self and life (resiliency), perceived stress and recent anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation (mental health). Associations between GA variables and outcomes were first assessed using bivariate level correlations. Significant bivariate associations were then...
Vertical transmission of a chemoautotrophic symbiont in the protobranch bivalve, Solemya reidi.

Invertebrates that contain endosymbiotic chemoautotrophic bacteria are widely distributed in a variety of reducing marine habitats (i.e., hydrothermal vents and cold seeps). The mechanisms of symbiont transmission and incorporation during early host development are poorly understood primarily because these critical early life stages have not been procured. Solemya reidi is a gutless protobranch bivalve found inhabiting pulpmill effluent and sewage outfall sites. Endosymbiotic sulfur oxidizing bacteria are contained within specialized host cells of the gill filaments. These bivalves have the advantage over their deep-sea counterparts in that they can be spawned and cultured axenically, providing the opportunity to examine the ontogenetic process of symbiont incorporation. The 16S rDNA of the symbiont from Solemya reidi was sequenced from a PCR product obtained using two bacterial-specific primers. Phylogenetic analysis of this sequence identified a hypervariable region of the molecule that was unique to this symbiont. An 18-base oligonucleotide probe was synthesized and tested for specificity and sensitivity to detect its symbiont-specific target. Immobilized cellular RNAs from a range of taxa were used to screen the specificity of the Solemya probe. At high stringency, the symbiont-specific probe hybridized only to RNA extracted from gill tissue of S. reidi. When matched with a bacterial-specific forward primer in PCR amplifications, the symbiont-specific probe successfully amplified S. reidi symbiont 16S rDNA genes in genomic DNA isolated from the host ovary, eggs, and 1- and 4-day-old larvae. Amplifications detected the presence of symbiont target in the germ tissue and larvae. Nonradioactive in situ hybridizations were performed on 3-day-old larvae with the symbiont-specific probe. Detection of hybrids localized the symbionts to the epithelial test cells of the larvae. These results suggest that the symbionts are vertically transmitted with the egg and are incorporated as a post-metamorphosis event.
Steroid use in Lyme disease-associated facial palsy is associated with worse long-term outcomes.

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences in long-term facial function outcomes following acute Lyme disease-associated facial palsy (LDFP) exist between patients who received antibiotic monotherapy (MT); dual therapy (DT) with antibiotics and corticosteroids; and triple therapy (TT) with antibiotics, corticosteroids, and antivirals. Study Design Retrospective cohort. Methods All patients with a prior diagnosis of unilateral LDFP who presented to our center between 2002 and 2015 were retrospectively assessed for inclusion. Two blinded experts graded static, dynamic, and synkinesis parameters of facial functions using standardized video documentation of facial function. Results Fifty-one patients were included. The mean time of assessment following LDFP onset was 15.1 months (range 0.3–84 months). Significantly worse facial outcomes were seen among those who received DT and TT as compared to those who received MT, most pronounced among those assessed 12 months or later following onset of LDFP (Dynamic—P = 0.031, post hoc MT vs. TT: mean difference [MD], 15.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.54–30.13; P = 0.030. Synkinesis—P = 0.026, post hoc MT vs. DT: MD, 21.50; 95% CI, 0.68–42.32; P = 0.043, post hoc MT vs. TT: MD, 19.22; 95% CI, 2.23–36.22; P = 0.027). Conclusion An association between corticosteroid use in acute LDFP and worse long-term facial function outcomes has been demonstrated. Care should be taken in differentiating viral or idiopathic facial palsy (e.g., Bell palsy) from LDFP. Level of Evidence 4. Laryngoscope, 127:1451–1458, 2017
Spatiotemporal evolution of fault slip rates in deforming continents: The case of the Great Basin region, northern Basin and Range province

Compilation and synthesis of neotectonic data from the Great Basin region (western U.S.), based on 173 published studies for 171 faults across the region, offer an unprecedented view into the spatiotemporal evolution of strain release in continental domains, at time scales of 1 k.y. to 1 m.y. The results indicate a mean vertical surface displacement for normal faulting earthquakes of 2 m (approximately two-thirds of events in the 1–3 m range). The distribution of earthquake recurrence intervals is more scattered, with a mode of 1–3 k.y., a mean of 11 k.y., and 15% of recurrence intervals >20 k.y. While strike-slip faults nearest the plate boundary show relatively steady slip rates through time, northern Great Basin normal faults have had marked temporal slip-rate variations in the Quaternary. Since 15 ka, strain release has been concentrated near the margins (fault slip rates to 1–2 mm/yr), with the central region being nearly inactive. However, over the past 150 k.y., finite deformation is more evenly distributed as faults show more uniform slip rates (0.2–0.3 mm/yr) consistent with their long-term rates. The paleo-earthquake distribution since ca. 60 ka shows two kinematic patterns: local clusters (episodes of events repeated on a single fault) and regionally distributed faulting (episodes of events distributed across several parallel faults, each with a single event). We thus propose a model for northern Great Basin normal faults where they alternate between (1) transient fast periods (1–2 mm/yr) lasting ∼50 k.y., characterized by local clusters; and (2) transient slow periods (0.05–0.1 mm/yr) lasting 200–400 k.y., characterized by regional distributed faulting.
Abstract 2387: Pre-adipocytes promote myeloma homing to and growth in bone by secretion of soluble molecules

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic malignancy of plasma cells that thrives in and metastasizes throughout the bone marrow microenvironment. This microenvironment is host to a variety of cell types, including osteoblasts, osteoclasts and stromal cells, that become altered both at the primary tumor site and distant bone sites to support the growth and spread of MM cells. We recently reported that under certain conditions, such as when MM cells overexpress heparanase, MM cells redirect osteoblast progenitors from osteoblastogenesis towards adipogenesis. In addition, adipocytes naturally accumulate in aging marrow and adipocytes/adipose tissues have endocrine functions, secreting soluble factors such as adiponectin and leptin. Thus, adipocytes have the potential to be influential on MM cell behavior. Here, we hypothesized that adipocytes play an active role in MM progression through the secretion of soluble molecules that promote MM growth and metastasis to bone. To test this we used a co-culture system in which 3T3-L1 mouse pre-adipocytes or mature adipocytes were separated by a porous membrane from 5TGM1 mouse MM cells, allowing cross-talk by secreted molecules but not direct cell-cell contact. We then tested the motility of these “educated” 5TGM1 MM cells by migration assay. Somewhat surprisingly, we found that it was not mature adipocyte but pre-adipocyte education that enhanced the migration ability of MM cells compared to MM cells cultured alone. In a separate experiment, we injected 5TGM1 MM cells cultured alone, with pre-adipocytes, or with mature adipocytes into syngeneic C57BL/KaLwRij mice via tail vein and monitored progression by bioluminescent imaging. Total tumor burden was evaluated by IgG2bκ (a soluble marker of 5TGM1 MM cells) levels in mouse serum. Compared to MM cells cultured alone, those cultured with pre-adipocytes homed to the bone sooner and grew faster whereas those cultured with mature adipocytes showed no difference in homing or growth. To identify factors that may contribute to this apparent difference, pre-adipocyte or mature adipocyte conditioned media (CM) was analyzed using a cytokines/chemokines array. The results showed that pre-adipocytes secrete significantly larger quantities of molecules HGF, MCP-1 and IL-6 than mature adipocytes. Additional migration assays also confirmed that MM cells migrate more towards pre-adipocyte CM than to fresh media alone or mature adipocyte CM. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that pre-adipocytes, through the secretion of a variety of soluble molecules, promote a more aggressive phenotype in MM cells and contribute to MM growth and bone homing. Citation Format: Timothy N. Trotter, Patrick D. Rowan, Qianying Pan, Yang Yang. Pre-adipocytes promote myeloma homing to and growth in bone by secretion of soluble molecules. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2387. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2387