cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Introducing Alice to a Squeak wonderland

The Alice project, started at the University of Virginia by Randy Pausch and now continuing at Carnegie Mellon University, is designed to simplify the process of building interactive 3D worlds so that novices without extensive training can build interesting worlds. In this paper I describe some of the aspects of Squeak Alice, a version of the Alice tool that I ported to Squeak, an open-source descendant of Smalltalk. Because Squeak Alice applies many of the lessons learned from Alice, I describe some of those lessons. Rather than dwelling on the similarities between the two systems, I then focus on describing some of the architectural, surface, and functional differences between Squeak Alice and Alice, and I describe some of the new capabilities that Squeak Alice provides.
Duff Distribution Influences Fire Severity and Post-Fire Vegetation Recovery in Sagebrush Steppe

Woody plant expansion is a global phenomenon that alters the spatial distribution of nutrients, biomass, and fuels in affected ecosystems. Altered fuel patterns across the landscape influences ecological processes including fire behavior, fire effects, and can impact post-fire plant germination and establishment. The purpose of this study was to determine how accumulations of ground fuels beneath western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis) canopies, composed of litter and duff, affect post-fire species response in sagebrush steppe and to quantify fuel loading patterns. Field sampling and analysis was conducted across environmental gradients following the 2007 Tongue-Crutcher Wildfire in southwestern Idaho to determine conditions that were most influential in post-fire vegetation recovery patterns. Duff depth and fire severity were determined to be the most influential factors affecting post-fire vegetation response. Decreasing species richness and native perennial grass cover was represented along the increasing duff depth gradient. Species response grouped by fire severity revealed significant presence of cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) in low severity sites and a dominance of snowbrush ceanothus (Ceanothus velutinus) in higher severity sites. Determining sub-crown surface fuel characteristics offers the potential to predict future patterns and processes as they relate to burn severity and vegetation recovery components in developing woodlands.
Counting the Votes

There are a number of instances where election scholars might simply say: “You just can’t make this stuff up.” Indeed, consider this real newspaper story about counting votes in a local election reported by Zachary K. Johnson in The Stockton (CA) Record: At the election office on Wednesday, two observers and two election workers tried to decipher the scrawl on one pink envelope. The numbers in the address were unclear; so were the letters in the voter’s name. Best guesses led them through a search of the voter rolls before his signature came up on a computer screen. “That’s Justin,” said staffer Jeff Dale, matching it up to the signature on the envelope. After a few more steps, including checking to see if it was the only time the person voted, the envelope landed in the box for envelopes to be opened and counted. “He went to the correct (polling) place. He didn’t return his absentee (ballot). We’re good to go,” elections supervisor Liz Orosco said before the group moved on to the next pink envelope.1
Biographies of Recipients of the James A. Graaskamp Award

The inaugural winner of the James A. Graaskamp Award in 1990, James R. Webb, was recognized for his significant contribution in “changing the model of real estate professional organizations, especially the role they play, and the services they provide, through his successful efforts to develop the American Real Estate Society (ARES).” Just as Graaskamp was distinguished by excelling in multiple disparate though ultimately linked fields, so also is Webb distinguished by excelling both in his organizational entrepreneurial role and in his hard-science research role as a highly prolific academic researcher.
3D Discrete Dopant Effects on Small Semiconductor Device Physics

The requirements of high speed and performance and cost effectiveness demand of VLSI chips a continuing push in miniaturization. As a consequence, the design rule (or the effective gate length) has been reduced from several microns down to < 0.1 μm envisioned within a few years. While the expected 256 Mb chip requires the use of quarter micron design rules, it is expected that we will need 0.1–0.15 μm rules for gigabit chips, and the extrapolation of the down scaling trends will extend the design rules to sub-0.1 μm for a terabit memory chip in the near future. With this scenario for VLSI technology development, the deep understanding of the device physics governing device operation is the key to successful device design, as different physical mechanism impose different level of effects on different device scales.
Movement Disorders and Pregnancy

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews latest studies concerning pregnancy and movement disorders. Pregnancy may uncover a pre-existing movement disorder tendency such as for the development of chorea, or pregnant patients may develop chorea gravidarum (CG). Moreover, pregnancy can have variable effects on the clinical manifestations of such movement disorders as Parkinson's disease (PD). PD is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that clinically presents with rigidity, resting tremor, bradykinesia, flexed posture, and loss of corrective postural reflexes. Other associated diseases are Huntington's disease, dystonia, essential tremor, Wilson's disease, restless legs syndrome, Tourette's syndrome. Chorea (derived from the Latin word choreus meaning “dance”) is a form of movement disorder that consists of irregular, involuntary, brief, and unpredictable movements resulting from continuous flow of random muscle contractions from one body part to another, whereas Huntington's disease is an autosomal dominant progressive neurodegenerative disorder with complete penetrance. In addition, restless legs syndrome, also known as Ekbom syndrome, is the most frequent movement disorder associated with pregnancy and affects up to 23% of pregnancies, usually in the third trimester. Clinically, RLS is characterized by the presence of paresthesias or dysesthesias occurring mainly in the lower extremities associated with an irresistible urge to move the legs.
Making Them Move: Mechanics, Control & Animation of Articulated Figures

Making Them Move: Mechanics, Control, and Animation of Articulated Figures Edited by Norman I. Badler, Brian A. Barsky, and David Zeltzer PART ONE -- INTERACTING WITH ARTICULATED FIGURES Chapter 1 Task-level Graphical Simulation: Abstraction, Representation, and Control David Zeltzer Chapter 2 Composition of Realistic Animation Sequences for Multiple Human Figures Tom Calvert Chapter 3 Animation from Instructions Norman I. Badler, Bonnie L. Webber, Jugal Kalita, and Jeffrey Esakov PART TWO -- ARTIFICIAL AND BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS FOR MOTOR CONTROL ARTIFICIAL MOTOR PROGRAMS Chapter 4 A Robot that Walks: Emergent Behaviors from a Carefully Evolved Network Rodney A. Brooks BIOLOGICAL MOTOR PROGRAMS Chapter 5 Sensory Elements in Pattern-Generating Networks K.G. Pearson Chapter 6 Motor Programs as Units of Movement Control Douglas E. Young and Richard A. Schmidt Chapter 7 Dynamics and Task-specific Coordinations M.T. Turvey, Elliot Saltzman, and R.C. Schmidt Chapter 8 Dynamic Pattern Generation and Recognition J.A.S. Kelso and A.S. Pandya LEARNING MOTOR PROGRAMS Chapter 9 A Computer System for Movement Schemas Peter H. Greene and Dan Solomon PART THREE -- MOTION CONTROL ALGORITHMS Chapter 10 Constrained Optimization of Articulated Animal Movement in Computer Animation Michael Girard Chapter 11 Goal-directed Animation of Tubular Articulated Figures or How Snakes Play Golf Gavin Miller Chapter 12 Human Body Deformations Using Joint-dependent Local Operators and Finite-Element Theory Nadia Magnenat-Thalmann and Daniel Thalmann PART FOUR -- COMPUTING THE DYNAMICS OF MOTION Chapter 13 Dynamic Experiences Jane Wilhelms Chapter 14 Using Dynamics in Computer Animation: Control and Solution Issues Mark Green Chapter 15 Teleological Modeling Alan H. Barr Appendix A: Video Notes Appendix B: About the Authors Index
Party Brand Images and Partisan Tides

This study builds upon existing literature by presenting and empirically testing a theory of where party brands come from and how party brands affect election outcomes. The theory argues that parties affect elections not only because certain proportions of the public identify themselves as belonging to one of the other party, but also because the public’s level of favorability towards each party’s brand can vary. The public’s impressions of a party’s brand are formed on the basis of how competently officeholders from that party perform their job in government, and how their actions in government position the party ideologically. The effects of these party brand images are widespread, affecting virtually all candidates running under the party label. As such the concept of party brands is particularly useful for explaining the common phenomenon of partisan tides in American politics.
In Vitro Correlates of LCM Virus-Induced Immune Response

LCM virus-specific immune responses of virus-immune and virus carrier BALB/c mice were studied by an in vitro assay involving the lysis of 51Cr-labeled virus-infected “target” L cells by either splenic lymphocytes or antibody in the presence of complement. Lysis by immune lymphocytes was inhibited by anti-θ serum but could not be blocked by anti-viral complement-fixing antibody. The susceptibility of target cells to lymphocyte-mediated lysis was closely related to the density of immunofluorescent staining virus-specific antigen at their surfaces. The number of cells with demonstrable surface antigen decreased with continued passage in culture without a concomitant decrease in intracytoplasmic viral antigen.
Bridging Mixture Model Estimation and Information Bounds Using I-MMSE

We derive bounds on mutual information for arbitrary estimation problems in additive noise, modeled using Gaussian mixtures. Previous work exploiting the I-minimum-mean-squared-error (MMSE) formula to formulate a bridge between bounds on the MMSE for Gaussian mixture model estimation problems and bounds on the mutual information are generalized to allow arbitrary noise modeling. A novel upper bound on estimation information is also developed for the general estimation case. In addition, limits are analyzed to develop bounds on arbitrary entropy, asymptotic behavior of all bounds, and bound errors with some results bridged back to the MMSE domain.
Lost in Thought — The Limits of the Human Mind and the Future of Medicine

The complexity of medicine now exceeds the capacity of the human mind. Computers are the solution, but using them to manage this complexity will require fundamental changes in the way we think about thinking, and in the structure of medical education and research.
Falls and Drops

Falls or drops are usually the result of severe gait or balance difficulties. There are a multitude of underlying causes that affect gait and balance. A detailed history is necessary as the falls are unlikely to occur during the clinical examination and understanding the events and sensations before a fall can help clarify the problem. Determining the underlying cause of falls or drops will assist the clinician in developing strategies to prevent falls and protect the patient.
Solubility of boron in Fe3C and variation of saturation magnetization, curie temperature, and lattice parameter of Fe3(C,B) with composition

Using quantitative metallography, X-ray lattice parameter, and Curie temperature measurements, it was found that at 1000°C 80 pct of the carbon in Fe3C could be replaced by boron. Based on magnetic data, it is proposed that an electron transfer occurs between the interstitial atoms and the 3d shell of iron. A study of solubility data of interstitial compounds of iron indicates that the solid solubility is not only dependent upon a similarity of atomic size of the interstitial elements, but is determined to a large extent by the influence of the solute atoms on the electron density of the 3d shell of iron.
The Rise of Cognition

Comparative studies with macaques and chimpanzees indicate how the left-sided fronto-temporal language circuits might have evolved in modern humans. In particular, tractographic findings show a gradual adaptation to spoken language processing. In light of these findings, the role of mirror neurons is discussed. In turn, the vocalization abilities, particularly in songbirds, let us conclude that despite common features the ability to compute simple recursive hierarchical structures in a symbolic fashion seems to be unique to modern humans. When the transition to crossmodal neural projection occurred, is difficult to determine, but the increase of cranial capacity in Homo erectus indicate that this species is a good candidate for proto-language. We further illustrate how different cultural stages may reflect the development of cognition and of a more sophisticated language system in the human lineage.
Lactic acid dehydrogenase activity and plasma hemoglobin elevations in sickle cell disease.

Lactic dehydrogenase and plasma hemoglobin are usually elevated to about twice normal in the steady state of sickle cell anemia. On the 1st day of a febrile, painful crisis, plasma hemoglobin or lactic dehydrogenase activity (or both) further increase to 4 or 5 times normal and the lactic dehydrogenase isozyme pattern shows a predominance of Isozymes 1 and 2. The wide fluctuation of plasma hemoglobin in the steady state limits its usefulness in differentiating crisis from other illnesses; however, elevations of lactic dehydrogenase of over 1000 Wroblewski units would suggest a febrile, painful crisis.
A Multisymplectic Framework for Classical Field Theory and the Calculus of Variations: I. Covariant Hamiltonian Formalism

Several recent results on the Hamiltonian formalism in the calculus of variations are presented. In particular, I propose a new candidate for the covariant phase space and show that it carries a canonical multisymplectic structure. Corresponding covariant Legendre transformations are constructed; while not necessarily unique, the class of all such is completely characterized. A suitable notion of regularity is also defined. These results comprise the foundation of a truly Hamiltonian framework for the calculus of variations in general, and enable one to deal directly with higher order Lagrangians as well as multiple integrals in much the same way as one treats ordinary mechanics. The key ingredient in this work is a generalization of Kijowski and Szczyrba's notion of “multiphase space.”
Electrolyte and Metabolic Derangements

Acid – base disorders are very common in the NCCU. The normal pH range is 7.35–7.45; alkalosis is defined as pH >7.45, and acidosis is defined as pH <7.35. pH is a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration in the extracellular fluids and is determined by the pCO2 and HCO3 concentration. [H2] (meq/L) = 24 × (PCO2/HCO3). The initial change in PCO2 or HCO3 is called the primary disorder; the subsequent change is called the compensatory or secondary disorder. Compensatory changes frequently will not return the pH to the normal range but will serve to limit the effect of the primary derangement. Acid – base disorders are of particular concern in neurophysiology because of their effects on cerebral blood flow (CBF). Acidosis (decrease in pH) results in cerebral vasodilation, whereas alkalosis (increase in pH) results in cerebral vasoconstriction. As pH increases, cerebral vasoconstriction also increases, resulting in decreased CBF and therefore decreased cerebral blood volume and ICP. Changes in acid – base status within the blood are transmitted across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) via CO2 rather than by H+ ions; the BBB is impermeable to H+, but CO2 crosses freely. The subsequent change in the CSF pH is a result of the conversion of CO2 + H2O to H+ and HCO3 by carbonic anhydrase. The pH of the CSF returns to normal after 6–8 h, as HCO3 is either retained or extruded across the BBB despite ongoing hyper- or hypocapnia, respectively. As the CSF pH returns to normal, CBF also trends toward normal
The Jónsson Class of Boolean Algebras

The general results of the theory of Jonsson classes, developed in §4, are applied here to the Jonsson class of (proper) Boolean algebras. The α-homogeneous-universal Boolean algebra ℭ α of cardinality a and its Stone space S α , which exist if and only if \(\alpha = {\alpha ^{\underset{\raise0.3em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\smile}$}}{\alpha } }}\), are studied in considerable detail and characterized by properties given in terms of the partial order of a Boolean algebra; these properties are similar to the η α -property of ordered sets (studied in §5). We study the Jonsson class of Boolean algebras not mainly to illustrate the general theory of Jonsson classes, but rather in order to describe the space S α itself; in later sections some of its properties will be set in analogy or contrast to those of certain spaces of ultrafilters. There are intriguing parallels between some rather refined properties of S α and corresponding properties of the space U(α + ) (to be defined in § 7) of uniform ultrafilters on α+ the particular case α = ω+=2 ω the space S ω + indeed is homeomorphic to the space (of non-principal ultrafilters on ω) s(ω)\ ω (cf. the introduction and results of § 14 and § 15).
Plenary: Progress in Regional Landslide Hazard Assessment—Examples from the USA

Landslide hazard assessment at local and regional scales contributes to mitigation of landslides in developing and densely populated areas by providing information for (1) land development and redevelopment plans and regulations, (2) emergency preparedness plans, and (3) economic analysis to (a) set priorities for engineered mitigation projects and (b) define areas of similar levels of hazard for insurance purposes. US Geological Survey (USGS) research on landslide hazard assessment has explored a range of methods that can be used to estimate temporal and spatial landslide potential and probability for various scales and purposes. Cases taken primarily from our work in the U.S. Pacific Northwest illustrate and compare a sampling of methods, approaches, and progress. For example, landform mapping using high-resolution topographic data resulted in identification of about four times more landslides in Seattle, Washington, than previous efforts using aerial photography. Susceptibility classes based on the landforms captured 93 % of all historical landslides (all types) throughout the city. A deterministic model for rainfall infiltration and shallow landslide initiation, TRIGRS, was able to identify locations of 92 % of historical shallow landslides in southwest Seattle. The potentially unstable areas identified by TRIGRS occupied only 26 % of the slope areas steeper than 20°. Addition of an unsaturated infiltration model to TRIGRS expands the applicability of the model to areas of highly permeable soils. Replacement of the single cell, 1D factor of safety with a simple 3D method of columns improves accuracy of factor of safety predictions for both saturated and unsaturated infiltration models. A 3D deterministic model for large, deep landslides, SCOOPS, combined with a three-dimensional model for groundwater flow, successfully predicted instability in steep areas of permeable outwash sand and topographic reentrants. These locations are consistent with locations of large, deep, historically active landslides. For an area in Seattle, a composite of the three maps illustrates how maps produced by different approaches might be combined to assess overall landslide potential. Examples from Oregon, USA, illustrate how landform mapping and deterministic analysis for shallow landslide potential have been adapted into standardized methods for efficiently producing detailed landslide inventory and shallow landslide susceptibility maps that have consistent content and format statewide.
Variants of B19

The human parvovirus B19 (B19), the only known human pathogenic parvovirus, was discovered in 1975. Like other parvoviruses it is a small (22-24 nm diameter) non-enveloped icosahedral virus, with a single-stranded genome. As part of its life history it replicates to high titre in the bone marrow, and in acute infection high titres of infectious virus are present in the peripheral blood. Parvovirus B19 is therefore not an uncommon 'contaminant' of blood and blood products [1]. In addition the lack of lipid membrane envelope renders parvoviruses insensitive to solvent detergents, and the small genome confers relative resistance to heat and gamma irradiation. Many medical reviews have been written on the molecular biology, clinical features, approaches to diagnosis and management, and these should be consulted for more information [2]. This review will give an overview of the biology of parvovirus B19 infection, and the more recently described variants of parvovirus B19.
Time-Resolved Raman Studies of Laser-Excited Semiconductors

The phonon Raman spectrum of Si has been studied as a function of time during and after the ~100 nsec high reflectivity phase induced by an intense (~ 1 J/cm2) laser pulse. In ion-implantation-amorphized Si the onset of recrystallization is clearly characterized by the appearance of a sharp Raman feature near 520 cm−1 well within the first 50 nsec. We find no Raman line during the laser-induced high reflectivity period in either crystalline or amorphous Si and find immediately thereafter that the optic phonon population is characteristic of a temperature no greater than 450 C. We show also that the correction factors necessary for evaluating a temperature from the Stokes/anti-Stokes ratio may be empirically obtained rigorously from the time-reversal invariance of the Raman cross section.
What Is the Utility of Ultrasound for Small Bowel Obstruction

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has not been widely adopted for the diagnosis of small bowel obstruction (SBO), yet this imaging modality has excellent sensitivity and specificity as a screening evaluation. POCUS performed by emergency physicians at the bedside can rule in and rule out SBO expediently, with a sensitivity of 93–97% (95% CI 89–99) and a specificity of 90–96% (95% CI 84–99). Additional imaging may be needed to identify the level and etiology of the obstruction.
Single-Source Vapor Deposition of Quantum-CuttingYb 3+ :CsPb(Cl 1– x Br x ) 3 and Other Complex Metal-HalidePerovskites

Metal-halide semiconductors exhibit attractive properties for a host of applications including photovoltaics, solid-state lighting, and photodetection. Among the remarkable recent developments is t...
Tomorrow's Child: Unlikely to Be Obsolete.

Robert Sparrow’s article “Yesterday’s Child: How Gene Editing for Enhancement Will Produce Obsolescence—and Why It Matters” anticipates that using gene editing for human enhancement would create a ...
Upregulation of the Autophagy Adaptor p62/SQSTM1 Prolongs Health and Lifespan in Middle-Aged Drosophila

Summary Autophagy, a lysosomal degradation pathway, plays crucial roles in health and disease. p62/SQSTM1 (hereafter p62) is an autophagy adaptor protein that can shuttle ubiquitinated cargo for autophagic degradation. Here, we show that upregulating the Drosophila p62 homolog ref(2)P/dp62, starting in midlife, delays the onset of pathology and prolongs healthy lifespan. Midlife induction of dp62 improves proteostasis, in aged flies, in an autophagy-dependent manner. Previous studies have reported that p62 plays a role in mediating the clearance of dysfunctional mitochondria via mitophagy. However, the causal relationships between p62 expression, mitochondrial homeostasis, and aging remain largely unexplored. We show that upregulating dp62, in midlife, promotes mitochondrial fission, facilitates mitophagy, and improves mitochondrial function in aged flies. Finally, we show that mitochondrial fission is required for the anti-aging effects of midlife dp62 induction. Our findings indicate that p62 represents a potential therapeutic target to counteract aging and prolong health in aged mammals.
Can Wearable Technology Be Useful in the Diagnosis of Ventricular Arrhythmias

A 75-year-old previously healthy man presented to the emergency department with sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia, which required an electric cardioversion to return him to sinus rhythm. During that admission, he was found to have a nonischemic cardiomyopathy. As a result, he was placed
Development and application of classical genetics in Toxoplasma gondii

Abstract Apicomplexan parasites have complex life cycles involving sexual replication in a single definitive host and asexual replication in a variety of alternative hosts. Toxoplasma gondii undergoes its sexual cycle only in cats, yet it also infects a wide range of other vertebrates where it propagates asexually. In Europe and North America the bulk of T. gondii infections are due to one of three major clonal lines (types 1, 2, and 3) which only recently originated from a few closely related parental lines. In South America, T. gondii strains exhibit significantly more genotypic diversity. Despite being genetically quite similar, even the North American clonal types differ substantially in various biological traits including virulence in laboratory mice, induction of changes in host-cell signaling, and transcription. The ability to perform experimental genetic crosses has been exploited extensively in the past 15 years, first to generate linkage maps to facilitate completion of the genome assembly, and then later to map traits differing in the parental lines to individual loci. This chapter will highlight the power of this approach to map both simple and complex biological traits, including drug resistance, replication rate, pathogenesis in laboratory mice, induction of host gene expression, and modulation of the immune response. The most exciting findings to emerge from this approach in T. gondii have been the unequivocal identification of families of secreted effectors that are capable of direct modulation of the host environment, including those capable of disrupting cell-autonomous immune responses and the recruitment of host organelles.
Segmentation of Anterior Tissues in Craniofacial Cone-Beam CT Images

Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images are used in craniofacial research for diagnosing dentofacial deformities, skeletal malocclusion severity and to assist in virtual surgical planning. There is a need for automated guidance in predicting regions that could most benefit from surgical intervention. As a part of the effort to conduct such experiments, it is preferable to remove soft tissues in the craniofacial region in CBCT images. However, this front end "data preparation" step is non-trivial for CBCT images due to the inherent fluctuations in the intensity of tissues and bones caused by photon scattering of cone beam shaped X-rays during image acquisition. In this paper, we describe our automated segmentation approach for segmenting anterior tissues in more than 600 3D CBCT images with good result, by combining a selected set of 2D image processing techniques in conjunction with certain facial biometric parameters.
Inclusive Leadership in Thought and Action: A Thematic Analysis:

While research in the diversity and leadership literatures has given attention to the concept of inclusive leadership, work in these areas has progressed within relatively independent theoretical s...
Touch&Fold: A Foldable Haptic Actuator for Rendering Touch in Mixed Reality

We propose a nail-mounted foldable haptic device that provides tactile feedback to mixed reality (MR) environments by pressing against the user's fingerpad when a user touches a virtual object. What is novel in our device is that it quickly tucks away when the user interacts with real-world objects. Its design allows it to fold back on top of the user's nail when not in use, keeping the user's fingerpad free to, for instance, manipulate handheld tools and other objects while in MR. To achieve this, we engineered a wireless and self-contained haptic device, which measures 24×24×41 mm and weighs 9.5 g. Furthermore, our foldable end-effector also features a linear resonant actuator, allowing it to render not only touch contacts (i.e., pressure) but also textures (i.e., vibrations). We demonstrate how our device renders contacts with MR surfaces, buttons, low- and high-frequency textures. In our first user study, we found that participants perceived our device to be more realistic than a previous haptic device that also leaves the fingerpad free (i.e., fingernail vibration). In our second user study, we investigated the participants’ experience while using our device in a real-world task that involved physical objects. We found that our device allowed participants to use the same finger to manipulate handheld tools, small objects, and even feel textures and liquids, without much hindrance to their dexterity, while feeling haptic feedback when touching MR interfaces.
RNA and the Goldilocks Zone: Where Mg2+ concentration is just right

Mg2+, the most abundant divalent cation in cells, catalyzes RNA cleavage but can also promote RNA folding. Because folding can protect RNA from cleavage, we predicted a "Goldilocks zone", which is a local maximum in RNA lifetime at the minimum Mg2+ concentration required for folding. By simulation and experiment, we characterized the RNA Goldilocks zone and its dependence on cleavage parameters and extent of folding. We show experimentally that yeast tRNAPhe can inhabit a Goldilocks zone. The Goldilocks phenomena appears to be robust and is tunable by changes in magnesium affinity, and a variety of other factors. Goldilocks behavior can be more pronounced for RNAs with intermediate folding states. Goldilocks behavior allows ultrafine control of RNA chemical lifetime. A subset of RNAs in vivo are expected to occupy the Goldilocks zone. In evolutionary context, Goldilocks behavior may have shaped RNA in an early Earth environment containing Mg2+ and other metals. RNAs that do not fold cannot access a Goldilocks zone. Significance StatementRNA, natures most fragile biopolymer, can inhabit a "Goldilocks zone" of chemical protection. Using simulation and experiment, we show that in the Goldilocks zone, RNA is protected by Mg2+ contributions to RNA folding, offsetting contributions to cleavage. RNA is shifted in and out of the Goldilocks zone by changes in [Mg2+] and by other factors. The effects of cation concentrations, temperature, RNA sequence, and chemical modification on Goldilocks behavior allow ultrafine control of RNA chemical lifetime. The RNA Goldilocks zone may have played a role in the emergence of RNA during prebiotic chemical processes.
Pregnant people's experiences discussing their cannabis use with prenatal care providers in a state with legalized cannabis.

Abstract Background As cannabis legalization spreads, so do concerns about potential harms from use during pregnancy. Legalization may facilitate improved patient-provider interactions about cannabis use. Yet little is known about pregnant people’s discussions of cannabis use with healthcare providers in an environment where recreational cannabis is legal. Methods In May-August 2019, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 33 pregnant or postpartum people in California who used cannabis during pregnancy, and explored their discussions with healthcare providers about their cannabis use. We audio-recorded and transcribed interviews, and conducted thematic analysis using inductive and deductive methods. Results Participants were diverse by age, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic position. Most reported daily cannabis use, both before and during pregnancy. Most participants did not disclose their cannabis use to their prenatal care providers, due to fears of being reported to child protective services (CPS), or fears of provider judgment. Participants reported that few providers initiated any discussions about cannabis use in pregnancy with them; some participants interpreted this omission as tacit endorsement of cannabis use in pregnancy. When participants and providers did discuss cannabis use in pregnancy, participants heard a wide range of sometimes-conflicting health messages, as well as some legal threats. Conclusions This study documents notable deficits in patient-provider interactions about cannabis. Pregnant patients’ fears of being reported to CPS and separated from their children for cannabis use persist despite cannabis legalization. Providers’ role as potential reporters to CPS appears to pose a significant barrier to comprehensive, compassionate counseling and education on cannabis use in pregnancy.
An Update on the Definition of Marketing

About the only area of agreement concerning the definition of marketing is that marketing people can not agree on a single definition. In this paper recent articles on the subject are reviewed and synthesized for the purpose of offering still another variation on a definition. It is suggested that this definition will be particularly useful for students.
Estimates of power plant NOx emissions and lifetimes from OMI NO2 satellite retrievals

Isolated power plants with well characterized emissions serve as an ideal test case of methods to estimate emissions using satellite data. In this study we evaluate the Exponentially-Modified Gaussian (EMG) method and the box model method based on mass balance for estimating known NOx emissions from satellite retrievals made by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). We consider 29 power plants in the USA which have large NOx plumes that do not overlap with other sources and which have emissions data from the Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS). This enables us to identify constraints required by the methods, such as which wind data to use and how to calculate background values. We found that the lifetimes estimated by the methods are too short to be representative of the chemical lifetime. Instead, we introduce a separate lifetime parameter to account for the discrepancy between estimates using real data and those that theory would predict. In terms of emissions, the EMG method required averages from multiple years to give accurate results, whereas the box model method gave accurate results for individual ozone seasons.
Buckling and Collapse Under Combined External Pressure and Tension

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses buckling and collapse under combined external pressure and tension. In several important offshore and onshore oil exploration and production applications, long and tubular structures are held suspended in either vertical or catenary-shaped positions in water head that often extend up to several thousand feet. In such configurations, the submerged weight of the pipe must be supported at the top, resulting in significant build-up of axial tension in a structure. Although the tensile force decreases as the depth increases, there can be sections that simultaneously experience significant external pressure and axial tension. Buckling and collapse of long tubes under combined axial tension and external pressure are influenced by the same problem parameters as the pure external pressure problem. They mainly depend on the material elastic modulus and yield stress, on the tube D/t, and on initial ovality. The main effect of tension is that it interacts with the circumferential stress and lowers the pressure at which the pipe yields.
Not all water becomes wine: Sulfur inputs as an opportune tracer of hydrochemical losses from vineyards

[1] California's widespread and economically important vineyards offer substantial opportunities to understand the interface between hydrology and biogeochemistry in agricultural soils. The common use of native sulfur (S) as a fumigant or soil additive provides a novel way to isotopically differentiate among sulfate (SO42−) pools, allowing the estimation of water and SO42− budgets. The objectives of this study were (1) to characterize the near-surface hydrological flow paths in a vineyard during irrigation and storm events and (2) to determine how those flow paths affect the fate and transport of SO42− across seasons. Integrating hydrological theory with measurements of SO42− concentration and sulfate-S isotopic ratios (expressed as [SO42−] and δ34S, respectively) in inputs, soil water, and leachate provided a means of determining flow paths. Low [SO42−] and δ34S in leachate during 4-h irrigation events reflect minimal engagement of the soil matrix, indicating that preferential flow was the dominant path for water in the near surface. In contrast, high [SO42−] and δ34S values during 8-h irrigation and storm events reflect near-complete engagement of the soil matrix, indicating that lateral flow was the dominant pathway. Because hydrologic response and SO42− mobility are tightly coupled in these soils, the magnitude of water fluxes through the near surface controls S cycling both on and off site. These results indicate that preferential flow is an important loss pathway to consider in managing both water resources and water quality (reactive elements) in vineyard land use systems.
A universal extremum seeking-based stabilizer for unknown LTV systems with unknown control directions

We solve the problem of model-independent semiglobal exponential practical stabilization for any linear time-varying single-input system under the assumption that the time-varying input vector, which is otherwise unknown, satisfies a persistency of excitation condition over a sufficiently short window. We employ an extremum seeking algorithm, with the square of the norm of the state used as the cost function. The stability analysis is inspired by the approach in a recent work by Durr, Stankovic, and Johansson, which combines a Lie bracket second-order averaging result of Gurvits and Li with a perturbation theory semiglobal practical stability result of Moreau and Aeyels. As an alternative to the classical Nussbaum gain type of a design by Mudgett and Morse, when applied to time-invariant systems, our design gives up globality and perfect regulation to the origin but ensures exponential practical stabilization and prevents large overshoots that characterize the Nussbaum gain design when the initial estimate of the control direction is of the wrong sign. Furthermore, while the Nussbaum gain design leads to instability when the control direction periodically changes sign, our design guarantees stability.
The use of electrostatic probes for plasma diagnostics—A review

The use of electrostatic, or Langmuir, probes for plasma diagnostics is reviewed. The emphasis is on experimental implementation and current techniques, and particular attention is paid to sources of error in theoretical interpretation as well as to experimental problems that can occur in complex, reactive plasmas.
Cephacetrile: Clinical Evaluation in 27 Patients

Abstract Cephacetrile, a new derivative of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid, was evaluated in 27 patients. Soft tissue infections due primarily to gram-positive cocci were treated in 16 patients; 12 had bacteriological and clinical cure, and 4 improved but the lesions resolved incompletely or cultures remained positive. Seven of eight patients with respiratory tract infections were cured, including three with pneumococcal pneumonia; the eighth proved to have a noninfectious process and failed to respond. Two patients with acute urinary tract infections due to Escherichia coli had prompt clinical and bacteriological improvement, but follow-up was incomplete. One patient with sepsis due to Staphylococcus aureus expired. Laboratory abnormalities observed during cephacetrile therapy included mild eosinophilia in four patients, thrombocytosis in nine, direct Coombs' test positivity in four, and an elevated serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase in eight patients. No evidence of nephrotoxicity was detected. Severe superinfection due to Enterobacter species was observed in one patient. Mean peak serum concentrations of cephacetrile were 22, 69, and 104 μg/ml after 1 g intramuscularly, 1 g intravenously, and 1.5 g intravenously, respectively. Thus, in early studies cephacetrile was efficacious for selected bacterial infections, but determination of its comparative value within the cephalosporin group of antibiotics requires further clinical investigation.
Fast semiempirical calculations for nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts: A divide-and-conquer approach

A new approach to calculate nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts has been implemented at the semiempirical modified neglect of diatomic overlap level using gauge-including atomic orbitals. The perturbed density matrix with respect to the magnetic field is obtained by the diagonalization of the complex Fock matrix using the divide and conquer (DC) method, instead of by solving the computationally expensive coupled perturbed Hartree–Fock equations. Adopting the Patchkovskii and Thiel parameters [S. Patchkovskii and W. Thiel J. Comput. Chem. 20, 1220 (1999)], we were able to reproduce their results for small organic molecules. The errors introduced by DC method are negligible, as shown by the calculations on a series of polyalaine structures. Test calculations on proteins have demonstrated that our approach makes it possible to calculate chemical shifts routinely on systems with hundreds of atoms with good accuracy.
Bricks and mortar: offline shopping in online America

Familiar FramesBricks and Mortar documents 12 drive-to-store shopping trips made by the author in the spring of 2014. Eight of the trips were solo, three were with an adult woman with the same last...
Pancreatic islet-cell toxicity.

AbstractA review of pancreatic islet-cell toxicity historically starts with a kidney poison. Dunn et al.,1 while investigating the possible role of some uric acid derivatives in kidney damage, administered alloxan to rabbits. The expected kidney damage was observed and unexpectedly the islets of Langerhans were found to have undergone necrosis. These workers1 were the first to ask the important question, “How is the islet-cell lesion produced?” Thirty-one years and hundreds of research papers later that question remains unanswered. The mass of information produced and the use of modern techniques, however, may allow the answer to evolve in the near future.
Application of phase-shift optical triangulation to precision gear gauging

Traditionally, gear tooth profile is measured by coordinate measurement machines using mechanical probe scanning, which is very time consuming. Therefore, normally only a few lines are scanned across the gear tooth surface, which often do not faithfully represent the whole tooth surface profile. In this paper, a phase-shift optical triangulation technique is applied to the gear profile measurement, which has the advantages of redundant information, speed and non-contact nature. When examining a 2 cm2 area, comparative measurement accuracy better than 1 micrometers and resolution about 0.1 micrometers has been successfully demonstrated with the system; this corresponds to a 5 by 10-5 relative accuracy. The measurement result from the optical system displaced good correlation with those form a mechanical probe on a coordinate measurement machine. A few teeth/second measurement speed can also be expected. Different factors to effect the measurement accuracy are discussed, and the possible solutions are provided.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
On the Evolution of Dispersal and Altruism in Aphids

How competitive interactions and population structure promote or inhibit cooperation in animal groups remains a key challenge in social evolution. In eusocial aphids, there is no single explanation for what predisposes some lineages of aphids to sociality, and not others. Because the assumption has been that most aphid species occur in essentially clonal groups, the roles of intra- and interspecific competition and population structure in aphid sociality have been given little consideration. Here, I used microsatellites to evaluate the patterns of variation in the clonal group structure of both social and nonsocial aphid species. Multiclonal groups are consistent features across sites and host plants, and all species—social or not—can be found in groups composed of large fractions of multiple clones, and even multiple species. Between-group dispersal in gall-forming aphids is ubiquitous, implying that factors acting ultimately to increase between-clone interactions and decrease within-group relatedness were present in aphids prior to the origins of sociality. By demonstrating that between-group dispersal is common in aphids, and thus interactions between clones are also common, these results suggest that understanding the ecological dynamics of dispersal and competition may offer unique insights into the evolutionary puzzle of sociality in aphids.
Effects of classical nonlocality on the optical response of three-dimensional plasmonic nanodimers

We examine the optical scattering from a variety of axially symmetric plasmonic nanoparticle dimers separated by nanoscale gaps, quantifying the role of classical nonlocality on their optical properties. Due to the rotational symmetry of the analyzed structures, a high degree of accuracy is achieved using a computational approach termed 2.5D modeling, in which a small number of simulations on a two-dimensional domain can replace a memory- and time-intensive simulation on a three-dimensional domain. We find that scattered light from dimers consisting of nanoparticles with flat surfaces, such as nanodisks, exhibits pronounced spectral shifts due to the nonlocality of the electron fluid; these significant shifts persist even at relatively large (>1 nm) gap dimensions, where quantum tunneling effects are believed to be negligible. The 2.5D modeling technique accurately incorporates all responses due to any nonaxially symmetric eigenmodes of the system, such as dipolar and quadrupolar modes, thereby providing a complete characterization of the system for any excitation.
A Cytoplasmic Organelle of Melanocytes

DURING his classical investigations of intracellular organelles Claude isolated melanin granules from the liver of Amphiuma tridactylum1. Sections of these granules were later examined by Drochmans, who showed them to possess definite structural detail2. Other investigations have shown the existence of a highly regular, almost crystalline lattice in melanin granules from other tissues3. Melanin itself was suggested by Longuet-Higgins as having properties of a one-dimensional semi-conductor4, and this was agreed on by Pullman5. Semiquinone free radicals have been demonstrated in melanin granules and the characteristic signals6 became more pronounced during irradiation of such granules with light7,8.