cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Co-treatment of H2S and toluene in a biotrickling filter

Abstract Biological treatment is an emerging technology for the treatment of publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) off-gases. Most of POTWs off-gases contain H 2 S and a wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Since co-treatment of odors and VOCs in biotrickling filters is a relatively unexplored area, the simultaneous biotreatment of H 2 S and toluene (as the model VOC) was investigated. The experimental setup included two identical biotrickling filters, one operated at pH 4.5 and the other one was operated at pH 7.0. High concentrations of H 2 S (up to 170 ppm v ) and toluene (up to 2.2 g m −3 ) were supplied to determine the influence of the pH on the maximum performance. A rapid startup (a few days) was observed for both toluene and H 2 S removal in the neutral-pH biotrickling filter. In the acidic biotrickling filter, toluene degradation also started immediately but at a lower rate. However, after several weeks of operation, the toluene elimination capacity (EC) at low pH reached a steady value identical to this found in the neutral-pH biotrickling filter. H 2 S did not affect toluene degradation at concentrations up to 170 ppm v at either pH. At a volumetric load of 100 m 3 m −3 h −1 , maximum elimination capacities of 70 g toluene m −3 h −1 (at 1.7 g m −3 toluene) and 20 g H 2 S m −3 h −1 (at 170 ppm v H 2 S, the highest concentration tested) were observed. Microbial counting and activity measurements indicated the development of different microbial populations in the reactors. In the neutral-pH biotrickling filter, a population developed which had a limited tolerance to low pH. The population in the acidic biotrickling filter showed a broader pH range for removal of H 2 S and toluene. Overall, the results presented indicated that effective co-treatment of H 2 S and VOCs can be obtained in a single-stage biotrickling filter.
George Whitefield on Slavery: Some New Evidence

George Whitefield's racial views pose an enigma for the historian, for he has been closely identified with both the rise of humanitarian ideals and the defense of slavery. In the middle of the eighteenth century as he traveled up and down the American seaboard electrifying the English colonists with his preaching, Whitefield showed a special concern for the plight of the slaves in America. Despite this concern, a nagging fear of insurgency by the blacks gripped him and shaped his reflections about the institution of slavery.
Comparison of different neural network architectures for digit image recognition

The paper presents the design of three types of neural networks with different features, including traditional backpropagation networks, radial basis function networks and counterpropagation networks. Traditional backpropagation networks require very complex training process before being applied for classification or approximation. Radial basis function networks simplify the training process by the specially organized 3-layer architecture. Counterpropagation networks do not need training process at all and can be designed directly by extracting all the parameters from input data. Both design complexity and generalization ability of the three types of neural network architectures are compared, based on a digit image recognition problem.
Li–Fraumeni syndrome: a role for surgical pathologists?

Abstract Li–Fraumeni syndrome is a rare familial predisposition to a heterogeneous array of tumours, which is associated with TP53 mutation. The purpose of this review is to discuss the clinical, molecular and histopathologic aspects of Li–Fraumeni syndrome relevant to the surgical pathologist. Several tumours that commonly arise in the context of germ-line TP53 mutations, and challenges related to their histopathologic interpretation, are highlighted. On this basis it is demonstrated that, despite being a tumour syndrome, very little is known about the histopathologic aspects of tumours arising with germ-line TP53 mutation. With the advent of organized databases identifying and sharing details on these rare patients comes a renewed need to rigorously study tumour pathology. It is possible that this in turn will translate into better care for patients and their families through earlier identification, as well as potentially limiting the adverse effects of treatments, such as radiotherapy.
Planar lens amplifier

A quasi-optical power combining transmission amplifier with a focal point feed has been developed for increasing the power level available from solid-state devices. The focal point feed improves power coupling efficiency over that of a plane-wave feed. Both the receive and transmit sections of the amplifier are fabricated on a single substrate. A 7-PHEMT, 10 GHz amplifier is presented, demonstrating a 29 dB isolation figure and up to a /spl plusmn/30/spl deg/ scan angle with less than 2.5 dB power variation. >
Phase lag bounded velocity planning for high performance path tracking

We propose an algorithm for planning the velocity of a vehicle on a pre-planned path applicable to differentially steered, zero turn radius, mobile robots with symmetric mass distribution about the turn axis. This approach uses estimates of path curvature to maintain tracking precision in the vehicle's heading controller. The longitudinal speed of the vehicle is restricted to limit the bandwidth of the input forcing function (the path). As a result, we guarantee bounds on the driving frequency in the heading controller so that the robot stays close to the intended path. The result allows the robot to use the full performance envelope of the drive motors and provides a principled means of regulating precision and time performance during path traversal. Evaluation of the technique is conducted in simulation and in real experiments on the UMass uBot. Results indicate that the proposed velocity planner can make full use of motor performance and reduces path tracking error and traversal times relative to constant velocity plans.
The New Frontiers of Manchu China and the Historiography of Asian Empires: A Review Essay

The irruption of the barbarian on the stage of civilization as savior or scourge has been a subject of enduring fascination for historians of the larger canvas. The theme has inspired universal historical narratives in the past, and will perhaps continue to do so in the future, for the story of the decline and fall of empires bridges at once the history of Asia and Europe, Rome and China. The history of "barbarians" or outsiders, one might argue, is integral if not indispensable to the civilizational framework implied in this discourse. The books on China discussed here effectively disrupt such a framework, and represent a truly critical turn in Chinese historiography, and by implication the history of other regions of Asia. Both individually and taken together, they urge a serious reconsideration of some very long-lived and stubborn axioms about the relationships between the settled and the nomadic, sown and the steppe, and about the supposed predilection of mature imperial formations to infect peripheral people with their particular oikoumene. Each of these four studies addresses the unusual problem of studying the Manchus as relative outsiders who built and sustained a Chinese empire of unprecedented longevity and extent. The Qing, by all accounts, succeeded in bringing under one writ not only the Han Chinese, but people of dissimilar backgrounds across a huge and diverse Inner Asian terrain far exceeding the reach of previous dynasties. The Manchus established a formidable military organization through a tightly knit and
Views on the independent director system

The present paper,giving an account of the cause for the independent director system to come into being and mentioning the points to be paid attention to as to promoting and establishing the system in China,advances some political suggestions concerning the constrution of the system.
Significance of aflatoxins in rural and global health: concern for agricultural workers.

Aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, and G2 are highly toxic and carcinogenic secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus fungi. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) has been recognized as one of the most potent chemical carcinogens [1]. The acute toxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity of aflatoxins are associated with the presence of the 8,9 double bond and the terminal cyclopentanone ring (Figure 1). The order of the severity of acute and chronic toxicity is B1> G1> B2> G2, reflecting the role of the 8,9 double bond and the greater potency associated with the cyclopentanone ring of the B series [2].
Taking food safety to the next level—An augmented reality solution

ABSTRACTFood safety training is utilized in the food industry to provide employees with the needed knowledge on how to prevent foodborne illnesses. However, although there is evidence that current food safety training is effective in increasing employee knowledge, employees’ observed behaviors often do not change and, therefore, the risk of foodborne illness is not decreased. In this review we discuss several motivational theories and propose a unique use of augmented reality for training to increase compliance of employees in regards to safe handling of foods.
Controlled Self-Assembly inside C-Shaped Polyaromatic Strips

Chirality-assisted synthesis (CAS) embodies a powerful strategy for the creation of chiral molecules with well-defined shapes and large cavities. In this communication, we show that C-shaped molecular receptors created with this approach bind to stacks of amphipathic perylenediimide (PDI) dyes. Evidence from 1 H NMR titrations, DOSY-NMR studies, and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations indicates that – in the preferred supramolecular binding mode – such polyaromatic strips specifically recognize stacked PDI dimers in solution. These results represent a key step toward the controlled self-assembly of dye molecules inside chiral cavities of shape-persistent, polyaromatic strips.
Clinical supervision in a challenging behaviour unit.

AIM As part of an ongoing service development programme at St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, it was identified that it would be beneficial to explore whether qualified nursing staff in the hospital's five clinical divisions were satisfied with the clinical supervision they received. Also, the survey examined whether supervision was of good quality, was suitable for different specialist environments and if it affected motivation, skills, confidence and stress levels. The survey also explored if there was a difference between D or E-grade nurses and nurses who are F grade and above regarding their perception of clinical supervision. METHOD This included a Likert scaled questionnaire (Ladany et al, 1996); and a retrospective (ex-post-facto) cross-sectional survey design. A questionnaire and information sheet was dispatched to 50 qualified nursing staff. Ten nurses from each of the five divisions were invited to participate. After one month, 35 (70 per cent) had returned the questionnaires. RESULTS Senior staff benefit more and are more satisfied with regular supervision than junior staff. The survey shows that clinical supervision is in quite good shape, with most nurses receiving regular supervision within a limited time span. CONCLUSION Large numbers of qualified nurses receive supervision in the hospital and this is extremely positive. However, there are a number of discrepancies regarding who receives supervision, and within what time frame, and why so many qualified nurses feel the supervision is not helping them work more effectively.
A Semi-discrete SUPG Method for Contaminant Transport in Shallow Water Models

In the present paper, a finite element model is developed based on a semi-discrete Streamline Upwind Petrov-Galerkin method to solve the fully-coupled two-dimensional shallow water and contaminant transport equations on a non-flat bed. The algorithm is applied on fixed computational meshes. Linear triangular elements are used to decompose the computational domain and a second-order backward differentiation implicit method is used for the time integration. The resulting nonlinear system is solved using a Newton-type method where the linear system is solved at each step using the Generalized Minimal Residual method. In order to examine the accuracy and robustness of the present scheme, numerical results are verified by different test cases.
Neostriatal Neuronal Activity Correlates Better with Movement Kinematics under Certain Rewards.

This study investigated how the activity of neostriatal neurons was related to the kinematics of movement when monkeys performed visually and vibratory cued wrist extensions and flexions. Single-unit recordings of 142/236 neostriatal neurons showed pre-movement activity in a reaction time task with uncertain reward. Monkeys were pseudo-randomly rewarded for correct performance on 75% of trials. A regression model was used to determine the relationship between neostriatal neuronal activity and the kinematic variables (position, velocity and acceleration) of wrist movement, and the dependence of this relationship on reward schedule, sensory cues of different modalities, and movement direction. The regression results were quantified using coefficients of determination (CoD) that represented the proportion of the variance in neuronal activity explained by the regression model. The delay between neuronal firing and wrist movements was quantified as time of best correlation (ToC). The CoD was greater during the trials in which rewards were certain, called “A” trials, as compared with those in which reward was uncertain called (“R”) trials. Additionally, wrist flexion (Flex) trials were characterized by higher CoD as compared to extension (Ext) trials. Finally, CoD was greater during visually (VIS) cued trials than during vibratory (VIB) cued trials. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that reward predictability facilitates the conversion of neostriatal activity into the vigor of wrist movements. We discuss how neostriatal recordings could contribute to building better upper-limb neuroprostheses.
Nonlinear Optimal Control Using Dynamic Programming in Cell Space — Application to Nonlinear CSTR

Abstract Optimal control problems for nonlinear systems are generally difficult to study. Closed-form solutions are often limited to linear systems and quadratic performance indices. This paper proposes a numerical approach to solve nonlinear optimal control problems using Bellman's principle of optimality in discrete time and space. The approach is based on Simple Cell Mapping (SCM), a numerical procedure to approximately describe nonlinear state-space dynamics. The paper discusses the construction of a general control database and performance index database along with a backward search algorithm to formulate optimal control policy. The cell space dynamic programming methodology is investigated on a nonlinear CSTR model. Numerical studies dealing with the influence of space and time discretization on computational feasibility are presented
Systemic and Adjuvant Therapies for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma represents the second most common primary liver cancer and is increasing in incidence. Most patients are diagnosed at an advanced, nonsurgical stage and only about 1 in 5 cases are surgically resectable. Despite surgery, the 5-year survival is low at only 30%. Multifocal, node- or margin-positive disease is at a higher risk of recurrence after resection. There is no level 1 evidence in support of postoperative adjuvant therapy. A recent adjuvant therapy phase III trial from the Partenariat de Recherche en Oncologie Digestive-Actions Concertees dans les Cancers Colo-Rectaux et Digestifs (PRODIGE) group reported no survival advantage with adjuvant gemcitabine and oxaliplatin therapy. Locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma is treated with gemcitabine-based systemic chemotherapy with suboptimal response and survival. Integration of local therapy such as focal radiation along with induction chemotherapy is now being investigated in multicenter clinical trials. Recent molecular profiling studies have indicated that about 30% to 40% of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cases have actionable mutations. These include fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), isocitrate dehyrogenase 1 (IDH1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and BRAF genetic aberrations. Clinical trials targeting these mutations as well as immune therapy using programmed cell death 1 (PD1) inhibitors indicated a promising early signal showing clinical efficacy.
Psychobiological Mechanisms in Personality Development

Every individual is born with a genetically endowed set of emotional reactivities and of emotional responsivities, where reactivity may be defined as the sensitivity to threats of a specific kind—fear, frustration, or isolation—and responsivity as the reaction to that threat—respectively, anxiety, anger, or depression. Operationally, one can combine the two concepts into a single mechanism where the tendency to demonstrate a given emotional response is considered as a function of the sensitivity to the corresponding threat. Under that paradigm, a low threshold to fear, frustration, or isolation would result in a tendency to respond, respectively, with anxiety, anger, or depression, whereas a high threshold to such threats would be characterized by the absence of correspondingly strong emotional responses. There is some theoretical advantage in separating the parameters of sensitivity and responsivity and in certain cases we shall do so, but from an operational point of view, the concept of threshold is sufficiently specific.
Traffic Accident Detection with Spatiotemporal Impact Measurement

Traffic incidents continue to cause a significant loss in deaths, injuries, and property damages. Reported traffic accident data contains a considerable amount of human errors, hindering the studies on traffic accidents. Several approaches have been developed to detect accidents using traffic data in real time. However, those approaches do not consider the spatiotemporal patterns inherent in traffic data, resulting in high false alarm rates. In this paper, we study the problem of traffic accident detection by considering multiple traffic speed time series collected from road network sensors. To capture the spatiotemporal impact of traffic accidents to upstream locations, we adopt Impact Interval Grouping (IIG), which compares real-time traffic speed with historical data, and generates impact intervals to determine the presence of accidents. Furthermore, we take a multivariate time series classification approach and extract three novel features to measure the severity of traffic accidents. We use real-world traffic speed and accident datasets in our empirical evaluation, and our solutions outperform state-of-the-art approaches in multivariate time series classification.
Some Applications of Eigenvalues of Graphs

The main goal of spectral graph theory is to relate important structural properties of a graph to its eigenvalues. In this chapter, we survey some old and new applications of spectral methods in graph partitioning, ranking, and epidemic spreading in networks and clustering.
Urticaria, Urticarial Vasculitis, Angioedema, and Related Diseases

Dermatologists are frequently called to evaluate patients with urticaria in the emergency room, urgent care clinics, and hospitals. Many acute urticarial eruptions will resolve without long-term sequelae; however, there are red flags that clinicians must be aware of. First-line treatment for acute urticaria is regular dose H1 antagonists; however, the dose can be increased up to fourfold for refractory disease. Short courses of corticosteroids should be avoided as rebound urticaria is common upon discontinuation. Urticarial vasculitis presents with persistent, atypical urticaria, burning, and residual lesions. The most common extra-cutaneous manifestation of urticarial vasculitis is musculoskeletal involvement. Schnitzler syndrome is a rare, severe condition but new evidence provides promise for use of biologic therapies. Acute spontaneous urticarial eruptions are commonly encountered in hospitalized patients. This review provides readers with the tools needed to delineate benign eruptions from more concerning conditions.
Why the Obese Patient is at Risk for Perioperative Complications

Obesity has become a worldwide problem of epidemic proportions. Extreme obesity is associated with pathophysiologic changes in all organ systems, which in turn effect anaesthetic management. Since obese patients undergo all types of surgery, and not just weight loss operations, surgeons, anaesthesiologists and critical care physicians must be familiar with the special needs of the morbidly obese surgical patient.
Airport Management Program and Curriculum Issues at 2- and 4-year Aviation Colleges and Universities

The majority of aviation related education programs at U.S. colleges and universities focus on flight education and training. These flight education programs and curricula have been developed over time and within the regulatory constructs of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Parts 61, 141, 145 and others. Not as well developed are curricula and goals for student outcomes related to airport management and operations, or aviation management programs in general. This paper presents and outlines issues as they relate to the development of an airport/aviation management curriculum for 2- and 4- year post secondary education institutions and promotes discussion on these issues in light of practical and accreditation constraints.
The evolution of low-cost Carrier operational strategies pre- and post-recession

Abstract This study presents an analysis of low-cost carrier (LCC) competition strategies for Continental US (CONUS) domestic markets. Using OAG schedule data from 2005 to 2015, pre- and post-recession trends in LCC flight offerings were analyzed and compared with their major carrier counterparts in terms of number of markets served, flight frequency, and competition structures of served markets. Results show that LCCs are increasing the number of markets served to/from large airports and are entering highly-competitive markets. The results further suggest that LCCs and major carrier strategies evolved differently during the study period, where LCCs outpaced major carriers in terms of markets entered while major carriers have gained a greater flight frequency share in the markets they already serve. Results clearly indicate that overall LCCs are still growing in terms of O-D markets served and increasing competition with major carriers. However, evidence suggests that each of the top four LCCs adopted different operating strategies as part of their business model during the study period.
Phenolation of cyclodextrin polymers controls their lead and organic micropollutant adsorption

Porous β-cyclodextrin polymers linked with tetrafluoroterephthalonitrile (TFN-CDPs) have shown promise for adsorbing organic micropollutants (MPs) more quickly and effectively than conventional adsorbents. Prior to their discovery, the nucleophilic aromatic substitution (SNAr) reaction used to prepare TFN-CDP was nearly unknown for the aliphatic alcohol nucleophiles, and the low isolated yields of TFN-CDP motivated model studies of the reaction between TFN and n-butanol. These experiments reveal a previously undescribed substitution reaction of TFN in which a fluorine is substituted by a hydroxyl group. This process is responsible for the low yields of the polymerization and incorporates phenolate groups into the polymer network. Phenolation and polymerization (etherification) are competing processes, and the level of phenolate incorporation was controlled by varying the rate of base addition and initial monomer concentrations. TFN-CDPs with varying phenolate content were prepared and evaluated as adsorbents for both Pb2+ ions and 83 MPs. More heavily phenolated polymers showed increased capacity to bind Pb2+ ions. Phenolation was also correlated with increased binding affinity for almost all of the 83 MPs tested, including neutral, cationic, and anionic substances. These results leverage a newly discovered side reaction during SNAr reactions of electron-poor aryl fluorides to improve both the yield and the uptake affinity for both lead and organic MPs of TFN-CDPs.
Social Reproduction Theory in the Academic Library: Understanding the Implications of Socially Reproductive Labor as Labor

Traditional Marxist and Postmodern theories have been very useful in describing the library’s ideological role within society, however they both lack an ability to explain why the library came into...
Human Settlement Dynamics in Hurricane-Prone Zones of Conterminous U.S: A View from Nighttime Remote Sensing

Hurricane is one of the most devastating natural disasters on earth, posing great threats to people living in coastal areas. Thus, a better understanding of human settlement dynamics, especially in hurricane-prone areas, is in great need. This study examines nighttime satellite-derived human settlement in hurricane-prone areas of conterminous U.S from 1992 to 2013. To solve the lack of on-board calibration problem and saturation of luminosity problem, the original DMSP/OLS time series were intercalibrated and desaturated using NDVI products from AVHRR and MODIS. A popular index, VANUI, was derived and was later applied Mann-Kendall and Theil-Sen trend test. Four hurricane-prone zones, representing different level of hurricane proneness, were delineated from historical NAB-origin storm tracks using a wind-speed weighted track density function. The dynamic of VANUI in different hurricane-prone zones was finally quantified and analyzed. The result suggests a distinctive discrepancy in settlement intensity between northern and southern study area. It also indicates that the both the extent and the increase rate in settlement intensity positively correlate hurricane proneness in predefined hurricane-prone zones.
A Case Report of Mesenteric Panniculitis.

A 33-year-old male with a past medical history of hypertension, migraine, depression, and alcohol abuse presented with complaints of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. He was found to have an elevated lipase and ethanol level. CT scan of the abdomen was done which showed peripancreatic fat stranding around the pancreatic head consistent with mild acute uncomplicated pancreatitis. CT scan of the abdomen also revealed multiple clustered nodes in the central mesentery with fatty haziness and ground-glass appearance of the mesenteric fat, representing mesenteric panniculitis.
Psychotherapy at a public hospital in the time of COVID-19: telehealth and implications for practice

As the crisis of global pandemic continues to unfold and alter the everyday workings of public life, early trends in the impact on mental healthcare treatment at a safety-net hospital illuminate im...
Mitochondria Control Cortical Cell Fate after Mitosis

During brain development, the daughter cells of neural stem cells have to make a choice — either to become new stem cells or to differentiate into neurons. In a recent issue of Science, Iwata et al. (2020) show that these fate decisions can be determined after mitosis by mitochondrial remodeling.
Daytime activity and sleep are associated with motor function in older intensive care unit survivors.

Abstract Background Hospitalized older intensive care unit (ICU) survivors are often inactive and experience sleep disturbances. Objective We explored associations between post-ICU activity, sleep/rest, and motor function among hospitalized older ICU survivors. Methods We enrolled 30 older ICU survivors, ages 65 and older, within 24–48 h of ICU discharge. Actigraphy measured post-ICU activity and sleep/rest. Selected measures from the National Institutes of Health Toolbox Motor Battery assessed grip strength and dexterity. Multivariate regression examined associations between post-ICU activity, sleep/rest, and motor function, adjusting for covariates. Results Lower daytime activity (β = 0.258, p = .035) and greater daytime sleep/rest (β = −0.295, p = .022) were associated with worse grip strength. Lower daytime activity (β = −0.376, p = .037) and greater daytime sleep/rest (β = 0.409, p = .026) were associated with worse dexterity. Conclusion Post-ICU inactivity and prolonged rest periods are associated with worse motor function in hospitalized older ICU survivors.
Semantically Ambiguous Language in the Teaching Operating Room.

OBJECTIVE Teaching and training surgeons work hard in the OR to understand each other, yet miscommunication is an important cause of preventable adverse events in surgery. Our objective was to perform a formal semantic analysis of language in authentic teaching surgical cases, identify the prevalence and typology of ambiguous or potentially ambiguous language, and describe their potential for miscommunication. DESIGN In this secondary analysis of qualitative data, we collaborated with a semanticist, categorizing linguistic phenomena often associated with miscommunication. We defined an ambiguous phenomenon as a string of language that could be reasonably interpreted in more than one way. We analyzed transcripts of 319 minutes of surgery, coding for 14 linguistic categories. Cohen's kappa was calculated. We determined the prevalence and rate of each linguistic category and chose illustrative examples. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING Six surgical attendings, four fellows, and six residents, ranging from PGY1 to PGY4, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a tertiary medical center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. RESULTS We found 3912 examples of potentially ambiguous language, 12.3 per minute. Percentage agreement between two expert raters was 76.3%. The most common phenomena were deixis (3.1 per minute), directional (2.6), anaphora (1.3), implicit instruction (1.3), and degree modifiers (0.7). Restatements/reframing occurred 1.4 times per minute. We identified 131 near misses associated with potentially ambiguous language. Cohen's kappa was 0.70 among expert semanticists. CONCLUSIONS Potentially ambiguous language is common and has the potential to jeopardize safe teaching surgery. We postulate that the high amount of potentially ambiguous language use in the operating room places a burden on the training surgeon to comprehend surgical instruction.
The organization of the gravity-sensing system in zebrafish

Motor circuits develop in sequence from those governing fast movements to those governing slow. Here we examine whether upstream sensory circuits are organized by similar principles. Using serial-section electron microscopy in larval zebrafish, we generated a complete map of the gravity-sensing (utricular) system from the inner ear to the brainstem. We find that both sensory tuning and developmental sequence are organizing principles of vestibular topography. Patterned rostrocaudal innervation from hair cells to afferents creates a directional tuning map in the utricular ganglion, forming segregated pathways for rostral and caudal tilt. Furthermore, the mediolateral axis of the ganglion is linked to both developmental sequence and temporal kinetics. Early-born pathways carrying phasic information preferentially excite fast escape circuits, whereas later-born pathways carrying tonic signals excite slower postural and oculomotor circuits. These results demonstrate that vestibular circuits are organized by tuning direction and kinetics, aligning them with downstream motor circuits and behaviors.
Perceptual reasons

The two main theories of perceptual reasons in contemporary epistemology can be called Phenomenalism and Factualism. According to Phenomenalism, perceptual reasons are facts about experiences conceived of as phenomenal states, i.e., states individuated by phenomenal character, by what it’s like to be in them. According to Factualism, perceptual reasons are instead facts about the external objects perceived. The main problem with Factualism is that it struggles with bad cases: cases where perceived objects are not what they appear (illusions, broadly speaking) or where there is no perceived object at all (hallucinations). The main problem with Phenomenalism is that it struggles with good cases: cases where everything is perfectly normal and the external object is correctly perceived, so that one’s perceptual beliefs are knowledge. In this paper we show that there is a theory of perceptual reasons that avoids the problems for Factualism and Phenomenalism. We call this view Propositionalism. We use ‘proposition’ broadly to mean the entities that are contents of beliefs and other doxastic attitudes. The key to finding a middle ground between Phenomenalism and Factualism, we claim, is to allow our reasons to be false in bad cases. Despite being false, they are about the external world, not our phenomenal states.
Influential factors of farmers' demands for agricultural science and technology in China

Abstract Agricultural science and technology (AST) is of great significance to the development of rural China. In order to boost farmers' demands for AST, possible influential factors affecting the demands are analyzed by this study. With regard to multiple types of AST for Chinese main agricultural industries-breeding and planting, the study discusses farmer families' demands instead of farmer individual demands. Using linear regression analysis, variables of the possible influential factors are categorized in four groups: family characteristics, farmers' operational status, farmers' attitudes toward AST and government service. Based on 3669 valid questionnaires collected from 15 towns of Anhui Province in China, the paper does the factor analysis and reliability test as well as examines the significance of possible influential factors, indicating that labor saving in farmers' attitudes group is the most important factor for planting industrial AST, and showing that capital support in government service group has the most crucial effect for breeding industrial AST. Hence, differences do exist among diverse factors, and the most significant factors affecting the demands for breeding and planting industrial AST are disparate. According to these results, suggestions concerning the most significant factors are specifically given to the Chinese government on how to expand the demands for AST and how to stimulate rural development.
Mass spectra of Sceletium alkaloids

The mass spectra of several naturally occuring Sceletium alkaloids, as well as several synthetic variants, have been investigated. Techniques used include high resolution mass measurements, analysis of metastable transitions by the technique of ion defocusing and specific deuterium labeling in conjunction with low resolution mass spectrometry. Characteristic major fragmentation pathways have been determined for four basic structure types studied: the cis-3a-aryl-octahydroindole ring system, exemplified by mesembrine; its 2,3-pyrido analog, Sceletium A4; the seco series of pyridine bases, represented by tortuosamine; and the seco analog of the mesembrine-type represented by tortuosamine; and the seco analog of the mesembrine-type represented by dehydrojoubertiamine.
Effect of propranolol on platelet function

Excessive reactivity of blood platelets may contribute to atherosclerotic vascular disease. Hence drugs which alter platelet function may be protective. Prompted by findings that propranolol therapy normalized hyperactive platelet aggregation in patients with coronary artery disease, we studied propranolol in vitro to assess its action on platelets. At concentrations similar to those achieved in vivo (0.1-1 muM), propranolol raised the thresholds for aggregation of some normal paltelets by adenosine diphosphate (ADP). At higher concentrations (10-50 muM), propranolol abolished the second wave of platelet aggregation induced by ADP and epinephrine, and inhibited aggregation induced by collagen, thrombin, and the ionophore A23187. Propanolol blocked the release of 14C-serotonin from platelets, inhibited platelet adhesion to collagen, and interfered with clot retraction. Propranolol blocked ionophore-induced uptake of 45Ca by platelets. Inhibition appeared unrelated to beta-adrenergic blockage, as d(+) propranolol (which lacks beta-blocking activity) was equipotent with 1(-) propranolol. Moreover, practolol, a beta-blockading drug which is nonlipophilic, did not inhibit platelet function. These studies suggested that propranolol, like local anesthetics, decreased platelet responsiveness by a direct action on the platelet membrane, possibly by interfering with calcium availability. Modulation of platelet function by propranolol may occur at concentrations achieved at usual clinical doses of the drug.
Connective Tissue Diseases

An analysis of combined data on A and B loci antigens from all the available studies showed that B5 and B8 frequencies were significantly increased in Caucasian patients (Table 16.1). However, it should be noted that only Szegedi et al.’s data1 showed a significant association with B5. B8 was found to be associated with this disease in several independent studies.
The Legal Characterization of God in the Pentateuch

Speeches always indirectly characterize their speaker by providing readers the basis for inferring what kind of person talks this way. So the law codes voiced directly by God in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers provide a powerful impression of the divine character. The character of Y H W H as law-giver which emerges from these speeches resembles the characterizations of their sponsors provided by many ancient Near Eastern law collections, treaties, and commemorative and dedicatory inscriptions. Civil provisions reflect the similar goals of biblical and Mesopotamian law, namely, the characterization of the law-giver as just according to internationally recognized standards of law. Many of the religious provisions resemble those found in inscriptions commemorating the founding of a temple or cult, and cast Y H W H as the ruler who by sponsoring the cult guarantees the cosmic order. The sanctions attached to laws and collected in lists of blessings and curses emphasize God's willingness to act as royal enforcer. Even the traces of legal development in the codes represent the divine king's work of legal interpretation and reform. Thus throughout Y H W H's speeches, the law collections of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers implicitly depict their speaker as fulfilling the ancient ideal of a good monarch.
Radar Astronomy of Solar System Plasmas

Harmonic frequency radar echoes from the moon are being used at Stanford to measure the density and dynamics of the ionized cislunar medium by a combination of Doppler frequency (phase path) and Faraday polarization techniques. For example, during the solar eclipse of July 20, 1963, comparisons of the radar data with ionosonde and VLF whistler measurements appear to indicate that at Stanford, where the maximum solar-disk area covered by the moon was 23%, the radar detected a blocking of the solar wind by the moon.
Regulation of calmodulin-sensitive adenylate cyclase by the stimulatory G-protein, Gs.

Abstract Studies in bovine and rat brain membranes have suggested that calmodulin can potentiate neurotransmitter- and GTP-stimulated adenylate cyclase activities. To examine whether calmodulin and the stimulatory G-protein, Gs, are potentiative at a calmodulin-sensitive adenylate cyclase, Gs was purified from rabbit liver and reconstituted with a partially purified calmodulin-sensitive adenylate cyclase from bovine brain. Activated Gs (G*s) stimulated basal adenylate cyclase activity and enhanced the stimulation by calmodulin. The potentiation of the calmodulin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was dose-dependent with respect to G*s concentration. At the highest concentration of G*s tested (3 nM), a 2-fold enhancement of the calmodulin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity was observed at all concentrations of calmodulin. The synergistic activation of adenylate cyclase by calmodulin and Gs was dependent on the presence of Ca2+ and occurred at physiologically relevant Ca2+ concentrations. The potentiation was not observed when either a nonactivated Gs or a mixture of activated Gi/Go was used. G*s was not able to stimulate or potentiate a calmodulin-stimulated adenylate cyclase purified from membranes pretreated with the nonhydrolyzable GTP analog, guanyl-5'-yl beta,gamma-imidodiphosphate. Photochemical cross-linking of 125I-calmodulin-diazopyruvamide to proteins having an Mr corresponding to the known Mr of adenylate cyclase was not enhanced by G*s. The results demonstrate that the guanyl nucleotide-dependent enhancement of calmodulin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity is mediated by G*s and suggest that G*s modulates the enzymatic turnover of the calmodulin-stimulated activity.
The Disintegration (or not) of the Nonlinear Internal Tide

Abstract : This research is aimed at studying the underlying dynamics of, and identifying the conditions that control, the disintegration of the internal tide into large-amplitude internal solitary-like waves. The objectives are to use a combination of theoretical and numerical models to study the evolution of the internal tide and its possible disintegration into internal solitary waves. A central aspect of this work is to explore the role of rotation in the process. Rotation permits the presence of periodic, nonlinear inertia-gravity waves (i.e., the tide) that can act as attractors and arrest the steepening of the internal tide, and hence affect the production of the shorter solitary-like waves (Gerkema, 1996). In light of recent observations of strongly nonlinear internal solitary waves in the South China Sea (e.g. Duda et al, 2004; Ramp et al., 2004; Zhao and Alford, 2006) and numerous other locations, an important objective is to allow for fully nonlinear waves. A further objective is to test these theories and models with observations obtained from the NLIWI South China Sea DRI in order to improve the ability to predict the arrival of large-amplitude internal solitary waves.
Achieving minimum-cost multicast: a decentralized approach based on network coding

We present decentralized algorithms that compute minimum-cost subgraphs for establishing multicast connections in networks that use coding. These algorithms, coupled with existing decentralized schemes for constructing network codes, constitute a fully decentralized approach for achieving minimum-cost multicast. Our approach is in sharp contrast to the prevailing approach based on approximation algorithms for the directed Steiner tree problem, which is suboptimal and generally assumes centralized computation with full network knowledge. We also give extensions beyond the basic problem of fixed-rate multicast in networks with directed point-to-point links, and consider the case of elastic rate demand as well as the problem of minimum-energy multicast in wireless networks.
Comparison of Enzyme Activities of Arterial Samples from Sexually Mature Men and Women

A comparison was made of activities of 25 different enzymes in aortic, pulmonary artery, and coronary artery samples derived from 18- to 54-year-old men and women. The aorta and coronary artery of women were found to contain lower concentrations of 4 TPN-dependent enzymes (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, isocitric dehydrogenase, and TPN-malic enzyme). Since TPNH is a compound involved in the synthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids, the observed sex difference in arterial TPN-dependent enzyme activities may be associated with the lower susceptibility of premenopausal women to arteriosclerosis.
Intrinsic gradient networks

Artificial neural networks are computationally powerful and exhibit brain-like dynamics. Unfortunately, the conventional gradient-dependent learning algorithms used to train them are biologically implausible. The calculation of the gradient in a traditional artificial neural network requires a complementary network of fast training signals that are dependent upon, but must not affect, the primary output-generating network activity. In contrast, the network of neurons in the cortex is highly recurrent; a network of gradient-calculating neurons in the brain would certainly project back to and influence the primary network. We address this biological implausibility by introducing a novel class of recurrent neural networks, intrinsic gradient networks, for which the gradient of an error function with respect to the parameters is a simple function of the network state. These networks can be trained using only their intrinsic signals, much like the network of neurons in the brain. We derive a simple equation that characterizes intrinsic gradient networks, and construct a broad set of networks that satisfy this characteristic equation. The resulting set of intrinsic gradient networks includes many highly recurrent instances for which the gradient can be calculated by a simple, local, pseudo-Hebbian function of the network state, thus resolving a long-standing contradiction between artificial and biological neural networks. We demonstrate that these networks can learn to perform nontrivial tasks like handwritten digit recognition using only their intrinsic signals. Finally, we show that a cortical implementation of an intrinsic gradient network would have a number of characteristic computational, anatomical, and electrophysiological properties, and review experimental evidence suggesting the manifestation of these properties in the cortex.
Diderot: a Domain-Specific Language for Portable Parallel Scientific Visualization and Image Analysis

Many algorithms for scientific visualization and image analysis are rooted in the world of continuous scalar, vector, and tensor fields, but are programmed in low-level languages and libraries that obscure their mathematical foundations. Diderot is a parallel domain-specific language that is designed to bridge this semantic gap by providing the programmer with a high-level, mathematical programming notation that allows direct expression of mathematical concepts in code. Furthermore, Diderot provides parallel performance that takes advantage of modern multicore processors and GPUs. The high-level notation allows a concise and natural expression of the algorithms and the parallelism allows efficient execution on real-world datasets.
Smart Money: The Effect of Education on Financial Behavior

Household financial decisions are important for both households and the greater economy. Yet, our understanding of the process of financial decision-making is limited. Applying standard and two-sample instrumental variables strategies to census and credit bureau data, we provide the first precise, causal estimates of the effects of education on financial behavior. Education has large effects on financial market participation and smaller, but statistically and economically significant effects on financial management. We find that education improves credit scores, and dramatically reduces the probability of declaring bankruptcy or suffering foreclosure during the financial crisis. Examining mechanisms, we show that cognitive ability increases financial participation, and discuss how education may affect decision-making through: attitudes, borrowing behavior, discount rates, risk-aversion, and the influence of coworkers and neighbors.
Inflammatory disease of the central nervous system.

Inflammatory conditions affecting the central nervous system are discussed. Clinical signs, diagnostic procedures, therapeutic regimeris, and prognosis are described.
A Funnel Cloud in a Convective Cloud Line to the Rear of a Surface Cold Front

Abstract This brief case study describes the unusually benign environment in which a funnel cloud formed along a line of convective towers during the summer in Kansas. The parent cloud line was solitary and very narrow, yet organized on the mesoscale. The cloud line appeared to be best correlated with a zone of horizontal temperature gradient to the northwest of cool (evaporatively produced) outflow from an area of precipitation located just to the rear of a cold front. Implications for forecasting such an event are noted.