cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Provably good mesh generation

Several versions of the problem of generating triangular meshes for finite-element methods are studied. It is shown how to triangulate a planar point set or a polygonally bounded domain with triangles of bounded aspect ratio, how to triangulate a planar point set with triangles having no obtuse angles, how to triangulate a point set in arbitrary dimension with simplices of bounded aspect ratio, and how to produce a linear-size Delaunay triangulation of a multidimensional point set by adding a linear number of extra points. All the triangulations have size within a constant factor of optimal and run in optimal time O(n log n+k) with input of size n and output of size k. No previous work on mesh generation simultaneously guarantees well-shaped elements and small total size. >
Determination of horizontal and vertical structure of an unusual pattern of short period gravity waves imaged during ALOHA-93

An all-sky CCD imager has been used to measure the properties of short period gravity waves present over the Hawaiian Islands during the ALOHA-93 campaign. Observations of emissions from four different altitudes provided a capability to describe the vertical as well as the horizontal structure of the wave field. On several occasions during this campaign an unusual morphology wave pattern was detected that consisted of a group of small-scale waves oriented in the same direction. These were most noticeable in the OI (557.7 nm) emission, altitude ∼96 km, and were usually observed in association with a larger scale gravity wave. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of data recorded on the night of 22 October during which both types of waves were prominent. The small-scale waves exhibited highly coherent phase structures at each emission altitude, consistent with a ducted wave motion. The spatial intensity and phase modulation of this display is indicative of interference between two waves with similar characteristics and slightly different propagation directions. The larger scale wave motion was observed to propagate perpendicular to the small-scale waves, and showed evidence of phase progression with altitude, implying upward energy propagation. These data have been interpreted in the context of simultaneous wind measurements from an MF radar.
Joint multiple imputation for longitudinal outcomes and clinical events that truncate longitudinal follow‐up

Longitudinal cohort studies often collect both repeated measurements of longitudinal outcomes and times to clinical events whose occurrence precludes further longitudinal measurements. Although joint modeling of the clinical events and the longitudinal data can be used to provide valid statistical inference for target estimands in certain contexts, the application of joint models in medical literature is currently rather restricted because of the complexity of the joint models and the intensive computation involved. We propose a multiple imputation approach to jointly impute missing data of both the longitudinal and clinical event outcomes. With complete imputed datasets, analysts are then able to use simple and transparent statistical methods and standard statistical software to perform various analyses without dealing with the complications of missing data and joint modeling. We show that the proposed multiple imputation approach is flexible and easy to implement in practice. Numerical results are also provided to demonstrate its performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Shaping the metaphase chromosome: coordination of cohesion and condensation

Recent progress in our understanding of mitotic chromosome dynamics has been accelerated by the identification of two essential protein complexes, cohesin and condensin. Cohesin is required for holding sister chromatids (duplicated chromosomes) together from S phase until the metaphase-to-anaphase transition. Condensin is a central player in chromosome condensation, a process that initiates at the onset of mitosis. The main focus of this review is to discuss how the mitotic metaphase chromosome is assembled and shaped by a precise balance between the cohesion and condensation machineries. We argue that, in different eukaryotic organisms, the balance of cohesion and condensation is adjusted in such a way that the size and shape of the resulting chromosomes are best suited for their accurate segregation.
Influence of Dietary Fat on Factors in Serum That Regulate Thyroid Cell Metabolism

The type of dietary fat affected the production of cAMP by cultured thyroid cells incubated with mouse and rat sera. Greater amounts of cAMP were produced with serum from mice fed 30% rac-1(3)-palmitoyl glycerol and 4% safflower oil (PG + SO) than with serum from mice fed 30% rac-1(3)-palmitoyl glycerol (PG). The serum from mice fed PG + SO gave a response similar to that with calf serum. Sera were separated into lipoprotein and aqueous fractions by centrifugation. A combination of both the lipoprotein and aqueous fractions of serum from mice fed PG + SO was required for the increased response. Proteolysis of the aqueous fraction of the serum from either mice fed PG or rats fed 30% hydrogenated coconut oil (HCO) reduced the amount of cAMP produced by the thyroid cells. However, the same effect was not seen with aqueous fractions of calf serum or serum from mice fed PG + SO or rats fed HCO plus 5% corn oil. These findings suggest that there are at least three factors in serum capable of regulating thyroid cell metabolism that are controlled by the type of fat fed the animal.
Analysis of Variance Versus Bootstrap Procedures for Analyzing Dependent Observations in Small Group Research

Small group investigators have been plagued by the problem of observational dependency. This problem exists when data collected from members of the same group are more similar to each other than they are to data collected from another small group receiving identical treatment. Observational dependency can result in inflated Type I error rates. This study demonstrates the effect of different levels of observational dependency on Type I error rates for ANOVA and introduces an alternative statistical procedure to address the problem. Bootstrapping is shown to be superior to ANOVA in minimizing the effect of Type I error rates due to observational dependency.
Disturbance reduction system: testing technology for precision formation control

The Disturbance Reduction System (DRS) is a space technology demonstration within NASAs New Millennium Program. DRS is designed to validate system-level technology required for future gravity missions, including the planned LISA gravitational-wave observatory, and for formation-flying interferometers. DRS is based on a freely-floating test mass contained within a spacecraft that shields the test mass from external forces. The spacecraft position will be continuously adjusted to stay centered about the test mass, essentially flying in formation with the test mass. Colloidal microthrusters will be used to control the spacecraft position within a few nanometers, over time scales of tens to thousands of seconds. For testing the level of acceleration noise on the test mass, a second test mass will be used as a reference. The second test mass will also be used as a reference for spacecraft attitude. The spacecraft attitude will be controlled to an accuracy of a few milliarcseconds using the colloidal microthrusters. DRS will consist of an instrument package and a set of microthrusters, which will be attached to the European Space Agencys SMART2 spacecraft with launch scheduled for August 2006.
Investigation of tradeoffs between efficiency, power density and switching frequency in three-phase two-level PWM boost rectifier

Efficiency and power density are usually two important goals regarding power converter design. The focus of this paper is to develop an evaluation procedure to investigate the relationship between efficiency, power density and switching frequency. Three-phase two-level PWM boost rectifier is used as an example. Estimated efficiency and converter weight changing along with switching frequency and power rating are shown. A comparison with a hardware prototype is carried out to verify the estimation procedure.
Apoptosis: Basic Mechanisms and Implications for Cardiovascular Disease

Since Kerr et al1 in 1972 coined the term “apoptosis” for a morphologically distinct mode of cell death, this concept of cell suicide has gained increasing interest in cytology and pathology. In terms of tissue kinetics, apoptosis may be considered a mechanism that counterbalances the effect of cell proliferation by mitotic division. In fact, deregulated apoptosis has been implicated as a fundamental pathogenetic mechanism in a variety of human diseases. Excessive apoptotic cell death may cause organ atrophy and organ failure, as suggested for neurodegenerative diseases and viral hepatitis. On the other hand, inefficient elimination of malignant, autoreactive, infected, or redundant cells may lead to the development of neoplasia, autoimmunity, viral persistence, and congenital malformations. Further interest in apoptosis has arisen from the recent elucidation of effector and regulatory mechanisms with the aid of molecular biology, genetics of lower organisms, and genetic modification of the mouse. However, only recently, compelling evidence has accumulated indicating that apoptotic cell death may also play a critical role in a variety of cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, heart failure, and atherosclerosis. Apoptosis can be differentiated from other forms of cell death that occur in response to toxins, physical stimuli, and ischemia. Although not widely used, this form of cell death was termed “accidental cell death” in the pathology literature.2 In contrast to apoptosis, accidental cell death does not involve suicide mechanisms and is not energy dependent. In the case of accidental cell death induced by ischemia, depletion of intracellular ATP stores, swelling, and disruption of the cell membrane, leading to liberation of cytoplasmic contents into the extracellular space, are prominent features (Figure 1⇓). This specific form of accidental cell death is also referred to as “oncosis.” The term “necrosis,” often used to describe cell death other than apoptotic cell death, is …
Ecology, Virulence, and Phylogeny of Blastulidium paedophthorum ,a Widespread Brood Parasite of Daphnia spp.

ABSTRACT Parasitism is now recognized as a major factor impacting the ecology and evolution of plankton, including Daphnia. Parasites that attack the developing embryos of daphniids, known as brood parasites, were first described in the early 1900s but have received relatively little study. Here, we link previous morphological descriptions of the oomycete brood parasite Blastulidium paedophthorum with information on its phylogenetic placement, ecology, and virulence. Based on the morphology and phylogenetic relationship with other members of the Leptomitales, we show that a brood parasite observed in daphniids in the Midwestern United States is B. paedophthorum. We used morphology, DNA sequences, and laboratory infection experiments to show that B. paedophthorum is a multihost parasite that can be transmitted between species and genera. A field survey of six hosts in 15 lakes revealed that B. paedophthorum is common in all six host taxa (present on 38.3% of our host species-lake-sampling date combinations; the maximum infection prevalences were 8.7% of the population and 20% of the asexual adult female population). Although B. paedophthorum was observed in all 15 lakes, presence and infection prevalence varied among lakes. Infection with B. paedophthorum did not reduce host life span but significantly impacted host fecundity. Theory predicts that parasites that affect host fecundity without affecting host life span should have the strongest impact on host population dynamics. Based on its virulence and commonness in natural populations and on the central role of daphniids in freshwater food webs, we predict that B. paedophthorum will influence daphniid ecology and evolution, as well as the larger food web.
Mass Spectral fragmentation patterns of heterocycles. V . Electron impact promoted mass spectral fragmentation of indolo[1,7‐ab][1]benzazepine and Some of its Derivatives

The fragmentation patterns of 1,2,6,7-tetrahydroindolo[1,7-ab][l]benzazepin-1-one (1), 6,7-dihydroindolo-[1,7-ab][l]benzazepine (2) and indolo[1,7-ab][1]benzazepine (3) on electron impact have been examined. Loss of carbon monoxide to form the base peak at m/e 207 and loss of CHO radical to give m/e 206 consititute the major fragmentation pathways for 1. The moleclar ions (M+) are abundant for each of the compounds; observed as the second most intense peak for 1 (85% relative intensity) and the base peaks for 2 and 3. The spectrum of 2 is characterized by intense M-1 and M-2 ions and by the presence of a M-15 ion (m/e 204) of moderate intensity (11.4%). In all other respects the spectra of 2 and 3 are strikingly similar. The M-15 ion from 2, assigned the heteroaromatic pyrroloacridinium structure, is also formed in the spectrum of 1. A second heteroaromatic ion at m/e 191, common to the spectra of 1, 2 and 3, is believed to have the pyrrolocarbazol-ium structure. Metastable ion transitions and exact mass measurements support most of the proposed fragmentation pathways and structural assignments.
Optical Flow as a Factor in Falling: The Case for More Research

This chapter and the presentation at the NATO ARW reviewed the three issues that focus on the question of postural control in the elderly, namely the somatosensory, vestibular, and visual systems. A summary of the review attempts to make the case that the empirical effort and investigations on the somatosensory system and the vestibular system is greater than what is known relative to the role of visual perception in the maintenance of postural stability and thus the prevention of falls in the elderly. Having reviewed the research on the somatosensory and vestibular aspects of postural control, the chapter seeks to present opportunities from the ecological perspective for gaining a better understanding of visual perception and the role it plays in specifying motion in an individual via an optical flowfield. Some research is discussed and preliminary data presented to indicate the potential for this kind of research as an important element of better understanding the overall problem of falling in the elderly and how the three systems integrate more precisely in maintaining postural stability.
Accounting Disclosures of Toxics Release Inventory for 2002

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), published annually by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, contains a rich collection of data about hazardous chemical emissions of American industrial facilities. Mandated by the Emergency Planning and Community Right‐to‐Know Act of 1986, the TRI is a novel attempt at stimulating pollution control through self‐reported disclosure of environmental degradation activities. TRI data are collected and reported at the level of the emitting plant. For each reporting location, information is given by chemical type. This study attempts to determine whether mandated TRI disclosures are carried over to financial reports and other publicly available sources of information about the firm's performance. We examined disclosures of the 200 highest‐volume emitters of toxic chemical wastes for 2002 and found no correlation between the level of such releases—as reported in the TRI—and extensiveness of company reporting in non‐TRI sources. Separately, we tested for a relationship bet...
Ex vivo lung perfusion: Theme and variation.

From the Division of Cardiac Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass; and the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Center for Advanced Heart Failure, Memorial Hermann Hospital/Texas Medical Center, Houston, Tex. Disclosures: Authors have nothing to disclose with regard to commercial support. Received for publication June 18, 2015; accepted for publication June 23, 2015; available ahead of print July 28, 2015. Address for reprints: Jose P. Garcia, MD, Division of Cardiac Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit St, Cox Building 642, Boston, MA 02114 (E-mail: jgarcia@partners.org). J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2016;151:576-7 0022-5223/$36.00 Copyright 2016 by The American Association for Thoracic Surgery http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2015.06.055 Jose P. Garcia, MD, and Keshava Rajagopal, MD, PhD
Role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the excitatory-inhibitory imbalance during the critical period of postnatal respiratory development in the rat.

Abstract The critical period of respiratory development in rats is a narrow window toward the end of the second postnatal week (P12–13), when abrupt neurochemical, electrophysiological, and ventilatory changes occur, when inhibition dominates over excitation, and when the animals’ response to hypoxia is the weakest. The goal of this study was to further test our hypothesis that a major mechanism underlying the synaptic imbalance during the critical period is a reduced expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its TrkB receptors. Our aims were to determine (1) that the inhibitory dominance observed in hypoglossal motoneurons during the critical period was also demonstrable in a key respiratory chemosensor, NTS VL ; (2) if in vivo application of a TrkB agonist, 7,8‐DHF, would prevent, but a TrkB antagonist, ANA‐12, would accentuate the synaptic imbalance; and (3) if hypoxia would also heighten the imbalance. Our results indicate that (1) the synaptic imbalance was evident in the NTS VL during the critical period; (2) intraperitoneal injections of 7,8‐DHF prevented the synaptic imbalance during the critical period, whereas ANA‐12 in vivo accentuated such an imbalance; and (3) acute hypoxia induced the weakest response in both the amplitude and frequency of sEPSCs during the critical period, but it increased the frequency of sIPSCs during the critical period. Thus, our findings are consistent with and strengthen our hypothesis that BDNF and TrkB play a significant role in inducing a synaptic imbalance during the critical period of respiratory development in the rat.
Simplified Method of Conjugation of Silver Nanoparticles to Type I Collagen: Morphological Evidence for a Stable Microparticle

Drug delivery and targeting on the molecular level comprises a fast growing branch of the biomaterials and bioengineering fields. A requirement for success is the proper choice of biomaterial used. Currently, there are several polymers used as biomaterials, many of which can cause long-term side effects and complications. Collagen is a natural, inert biomaterial found suitable for drug delivery. It is valued for its superior biocompatibility, biodegradability, and weak antigenicity relative to other polymers used as biomaterials. It has been used in resorbable surgical sutures, hemostatic agents, and wound dressings for many years and shows promise for future development in the drug delivery field. Collagen has been rarely implicated in adverse reactions and can be molded into a variety of drug delivery systems.
The Visual Vocabulary: Skos:example and the Illustrated Artists’ Books Thesaurus

The Artists’ Books Thesaurus provides a case study for the inclusion of visual content in library thesauri using skos:example. It demonstrates a model for back-end management of visual content and front-end browsing and discovery solutions (including social media). External image links upgrade the thesaurus to five-star, Linked Open Data, and integrate the thesaurus with the Semantic Web. This work shows that inclusion of visual content in library thesauri is achievable using free, open-source Web tools and a simple curatorial workflow.
Progeny Production and Longevity of Individual Pairs of Brachymeria ovata on Heliothis virescens in the Laboratory

Mean progeny on Heliothis virescens (F.) produced by female Brachymeria ovata (Say) was 227.2±98.3 at 30° C in the laboratory, and more female progeny were produced at this temperature than at other temperatures. Males developing at 35° C were generally sterile, while those developing at lower temperatures became sterile after a few days of exposure to 35° C. Mean male longevity ranged from 34.4 days at 35° C to 162.9 days at 20° C; females lived somewhat shorter periods, but one female held at 15° C lived 326 days. The study was conducted to gain knowledge of reproductive potential of this parasite for use as a biological agent of the range caterpillar, Hemileuca oliviae Cockerell.
Inelastic pion scattering from /sup 18/O

The inelastic scattering of 164 MeV pions from /sup 18/O is studied using the distorted-wave impulse approximation in momentum space. The sensitivity of the predictions to various shell model descriptions of the yrast 2/sup +/ state is examined in detail. The excitation of the triplet of states (4/sup +//sub 1/, 0/sup +//sub 2/, 2/sup +//sub 2/) near 3.7 MeV and the (3/sup -//sub 1/, 0/sup +//sub 3/, 2/sup +//sub 3/) triplet at about 5.2 MeV are also investigated within the context of the shell model. In order to explain the scattering to natural parity states (those with angular momentum J and parity (-1)/sup J/), one must enhance the theoretical results by about the same factor as needed to explain the B (EJ; 0 ..-->.. J) transition rates obtained from electromagnetic excitation. The sensitivity of the results to the isoscalar or isovector character of this enhancement is examined. Agreement between distorted-wave impulse approximation calculations and experiment is found to be satisfactory.
Catecholamine-Releasing Agent Recovered from Plasma of Subjects with Arterial Hypertension

SummaryIn 9 of 98 hypertensive patients undergoing clinical screening, plasma processed by the Boucher method induced atypical pressor responses in the assay procedure. Similar atypical responses were obtained from urine of two of these patients. The response was bradykinin-like in nature and the pressor component was blocked by dibenzylene as well as bilateral adrenalectomy of the assay rat. The agent can not be bradykinin, however, since this agent is not recovered by the Boucher method. The material is recoverable in similar quantities from peripheral or renal venous blood and, therefore, it is unlikely to be specifically of renal origin. Patients with such atypical plasma components may represent a “class” of as yet undescribed hypertensives.
Mixed Nitrogen Nutrition and Productivity of Wheat Grown in Hydroponics

The objective of this study was to study the effects of nitrogen (N) supplied as either mixtures of NOa and NH. or as all NOa on the final yield of spring wheat. Two separate greenhouse experiments evaluated the durum spring wheat (Triticum durum L.) cultivar 'Inbar' in 1986, and the hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestu'um L.) cultivar' Len' in 1987, Nitrogen treatments consisted of all NOa or mixtures (75/25 or SO/SO) ~ of NOa and NH.. At maturity, plants were harvested, separated into leaves, stems, roots, and grain, and each part analysed for dry matter and chemical composition. Compared to plants receiving only NOa as the source of N, mixed N nutrition resulted in greater ' accumulation of whole plant reduced-N (49 to 108 % more), phosphorus (38 to 69 % more), and potassium (25 % more) for both cultivars. In all cases, plants produced higher grain yields (28 % for Len to 78 % for Inbar) when grown with mixed N nutrition than with only NO3. The yield increase was not associated with heavier grains or more grains per ear, but rather with an increase in the number of ear-bearing tillers per plant, For both cultivars, the higher yields with mixed N resulted from the production of more total biomass (36 to 76 %) as the partitioning of dry matter between plant parts was not altered by N treatment. Under the hydroponic conditions of this experiment, the utilization of both NOa and NH. resulted in greater growth, nutrient absorption, and yield than NO3 alone, which was primarily associated with an I enhancement in tiller development.
Development and Integration of an SSR-Based Molecular Identity Database into Sugarcane Breeding Program

Sugarcane breeding is very difficult and it takes 12 to 14 years to develop a new cultivar for commercial production. This is because sugarcane varieties are highly polyploid, inter-specific hybrids with 100 to 130 chromosomes that may vary across geographical areas. Other obstacles/constraints include the small size of flowers that may not synchronize but may self-pollinate, difficulty in distinguishing hybrids from self progenies, extreme (G × E) interactive effect, and potential variety mis-identification during vegetative propagation and varietal exchange. To help cane breeders circumvent these constraints, a simple sequence repeats (SSR)-based molecular identity database has been developed at the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Sugarcane Research Unit in Houma, LA. Since 2005, approximately 2000 molecular identities have been constructed for clones of sugarcane and related Saccharum species that cover geographical areas including Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, India, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, USA (Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Hawaii), and Venezuela. The molecular identity database is updated annually and has been utilized to: (1) provide molecular descriptors to newly registered cultivars; (2) identify in a timely fashion any mislabeled or unidentifiable clones from cross parents and field evaluation plots; (3) develop de novo clones of energy cane with S. spontaneum cytoplasm; (4) provide clone-specific fingerprint information for assessing cross quality and paternity of polycross; (5) determine genetic relatedness of parental clones; (6) select F1 hybrids from (elite × wild) or (wild × elite) crosses; and (7) investigate the inheritance of SSR markers in sugarcane. The integration of the molecular identity database into the sugarcane breeding program may improve the overall efficacy of cultivar development and commercialization.
Drug resistance of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from different sources

Objective To analyse antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus strains from patients and environment.Methods The antibiotic resistance of 85 Staphylococcus aureus strains from the patients and environment was determined by using VITEK 2 compact Automatic Chemistry Analyzer.Results The antibiotic drug resistant rate of 85 Staphylococcus aureus strains was 38.4%.All strains were resistant to oxacillin and penicillin.All strains were sensitive to quinupristin/dalpopristin and furan.The drug resistant rate to 15 antibiotics showed no significant different between strains from patients and environment.But the strains from patients had the higher resistant rate to 7 antibiotics than strains from environment.The detection rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA)were 14.1%(12/85).All MRSA strains were isolated from patients.Conclusions MRSA mainly from patients showed multiple resistance to antibiotics than that isolated from environment.The drug resistance of the strains from environment was higher than that from patients.
Analysis of the current status of injuries in Songjiang District of Shanghai

OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to assess the accurate epidemiological status of injuries in Songjiang District, so to provide a reference for the field of Injury Prevention First. METHODS A two-stage random sampling procedure was used to select 2170 permenant residents of Songjiang District, and their injuries occurred between November 1st of2010 and April 30th of 2011 were retrospectively surveyed. RESULTS Among the permenant residents of Songjiang District,the 6-month incidence of injuries was 7.74% and the incidence of injuries was 8.58%; no gender difference was observed(P﹥0.05). Children between the age of 0-14 had the highest incidence of injuries(21.33%), followed by middle-aged between the age of 40-64( 9.16%), elderly over the age of 65( 8.04%), and young adults between the age of 15-39(5.16%); the incidence of injuries was statistically different between different age groups(P﹤0.00). The top three causes of injuries among the female surveyees were tumbles / falls, cutting / piercing, and traffic accidents, which are consistent with that among the entire surveyed populations; similarly, the top three causes of injuries among the male surveyees were cutting / piercing, tumbles / falls, and traffic accidents. The average cost of direct economic loss caused by the injuries was $1 355.80per person per injury, and the average number of days of absence was 3.57 days per person per injury. CONCLUSION Injuries have become a major public health concern that has been impacting the lives and health of residents of Songjiang District. Therefore, it is critical to reinforce the prevention and control of tumbles / falls and children′s injury in the area.
Epidemiological Characteristics of Measles among Non-targeted Population of Immunization in Wuxi City from 2004 to 2010

[Objective]To understand the epidemiological characteristics of the non-targeted population of immunization in Wuxi City from 2004 to 2010. [Methods]Descriptive epidemiological analysis was performed on the measles incidence among the target population of the non-targeted population of immunization. [Results]The incidence of measles among non non-targeted population of immunization occupied 52.40% of total incidence during 204-2010 with onset age drifting to both 2 ends.The peak incidence appeared in winter and spring.The local residents with no immunization history and unknown immunization history had high risk of measles. [Conclusion]In recent years,the onset age of measles cases drifts to both 2 ends.The incidence of non-targeted population of immunization becomes a new obstacle to the process of elimination of measles in Wuxi City.
Risk-Neutral Agent

When a risk-neutral agent accepts a contract offer (w, p), his expected utility rate is composed of the expected value of the compensation rate from the principal and a deterministic cost rate of the service capacity which can be expressed as \(w - pP(1)-\mu\), where P(1) denotes the steady state probability of the unit being in the failed state. Similarly denote the steady state probability of the unit being operational by \(P(0) = 1 - P(1)\).
Strain diversity and host specificity in a specialized gut symbiont of honeybees and bumblebees.

Host-restricted lineages of gut bacteria often include many closely related strains, but this fine-scale diversity is rarely investigated. The specialized gut symbiont Snodgrassella alvi has codiversified with honeybees (Apis mellifera) and bumblebees (Bombus) for millions of years. Snodgrassella alvi strains are nearly identical for 16S rRNA gene sequences but have distinct gene repertoires potentially affecting host biology and community interactions. We examined S. alvi strain diversity within and between hosts using deep sequencing both of a single-copy coding gene (minD) and of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. We sampled workers from domestic and feral A. mellifera colonies and wild-caught Bombus representing 14 species. Conventional analyses of community profiles, based on the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, failed to expose most strain variation. In contrast, the minD analysis revealed extensive strain variation within and between host species and individuals. Snodgrassella alvi strain diversity is significantly higher in A. mellifera than in Bombus, supporting the hypothesis that colony founding by swarms of workers enables retention of more diversity than colony founding by a single queen. Most Bombus individuals (72%) are dominated by a single S. alvi strain, whereas most A. mellifera (86%) possess multiple strains. No S. alvi strains are shared between A. mellifera and Bombus, indicating some host specificity. Among Bombus-restricted strains, some are restricted to a single host species or subgenus, while others occur in multiple subgenera. Findings demonstrate that strains diversify both within and between host species and can be highly specific or relatively generalized in their host associations.
Global Dynamics of Ikeda's Plane-Wave Map

Since Ikeda’s earlier prediction,1 numerous models have been suggested that predict chaotic dynamics in a nonlinear optical scenario. Most models assume a plane-wave approximation and rely on local linear stability analysis plus numerical solutions at interesting parameter values. In the present work we adopt a more general and more powerful approach of global-phase-space analysis. Returning to the plane-wave model of a bistable ring cavity studied by Ikeda we show that a whole series of new dynamical phenomena can be predicted for this system. Most notable of these phenomena are (1) the preimage of the chaotic attractor is present in the complex E plane (phase plane) long before one reaches the accumulation point of a period-doubling cascade, (2) multiple attracting periodic cycles with their own basins of attraction can coexist in the phase plane at certain parameter values. These additional cycles are created via saddle-node bifurcations in the vicinity of homoclinic tangencies, and (3) explosion (interior crisis) and destruction (boundary crisis) of strange attractors occur as a result of heteroclinic orbits’ being formed linking the basins of coexisting attractors.
The Representation of Women in Urological Leadership

Abstract Introduction While urology has historically been a male dominated field, the number of female urologists is increasing. In 2015 women made up 7.7% of practicing urologists and 17.1% of urologists younger than age 45 years. In the medical field overall females have been markedly underrepresented in leadership positions. We assess the current prevalence of women in urological leadership roles. Methods Using data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and society and journal leadership boards, we compiled a list of editorial staff, boards of directors, department chairs and program directors in July 2016. Queried societies included the American Board of Urology, American Urological Association, Society of Genitourinary Reconstructive Surgeons, Societies for Pediatric Urology, Society of Urologic Oncology, Society of Academic Urologists, Society of Urodynamics, Female Pelvic Medicine and Urogenital Reconstruction, and the Large Urology Group Practice Association. Editorial boards examined were from The Journal of Urology® and Urology. We also included committee members who wrote American Urological Association guidelines between 2011 and 2016. Results Women represent 10% of leadership positions in the queried organizations and are underrepresented in advanced leadership positions. There were no women on the American Urological Association board of directors and women made up 1.6% of department chairs. Of the committees 76% included at least 1 woman. Overall, 75% of women on committees were urologists. By comparison, 95% of men on committees were urologists. Conclusions Overall, women are fairly represented in a broad cross-section of leadership roles. Women are less well represented in the upper echelon of urological leadership, especially department chairs.
The Application of Biostatistics to Your Surgical Practice

Whether moderating a journal club, reviewing scientific meeting abstracts, considering new evidence to integrate into your practice, or tracking your own outcomes, this chapter aims to provide a pragmatic guide to the considerations of studies relating to surgical practice. To that end, this chapter is framed through questions that a young surgeon should ask when reading, reviewing, or designing a research study. We highlight the biostatistical issues that should be considered as part of that evaluation.
Hawthorne’s Renewal: Quantified Total Self

Technologies of selfhood are often the focus of study in personal realms, but their role in the workplace has received less attention. This chapter uses archival documents from the pioneering Hawthorne Works experiments (1924–1933) to explore the implications of capturing the subjective dimension of work. The Hawthorne experiments targeted and transformed employees’ subjective states, focusing particularly on the apparently mundane and inconsequential thoughts, daydreams and incidental musings with which workers occupied themselves–which researchers gathered up via some 20,000 interviews and analysed. Drawing from this history of targeting subjectivity, the chapter explores how self-tracking technologies in workplaces are taking shape today. Developments in self-tracking, monitoring systems, and internet, social media and digitization growth directly impact work, workplaces and workers’ psyches at a moment of late-industrial capitalism.
Poor Adherence Is Associated with More Infections after Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant.

Abstract We prospectively examined rates of outpatient oral medication adherence in children after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (post-HSCT). For 6 months after first discharge post-HSCT, 50 patients (aged 0 to 16 years) and their primary caregivers agreed to store 1 oral medication in an electronic pill bottle that date and time stamps each bottle opening. Demographics, disease, donor type, and prescribed post-HSCT medication regimen were collected via chart review. For each patient percent adherence was calculated by dividing the number of doses taken as indicated by the electronic pill bottle by the number of doses prescribed for the same time period. Average percent adherence ranged from 63% at 1 month after discharge to 57% at 6 months after discharge. For patients who received an allogeneic transplant, lower adherence was associated (P
The Political Significance of Plato's Allegory of the Cave

The article argues that Plato’s cave is fundamentally a political and not an episte-mological allegory, and that only if we see it thus can we understand its relation to the images of the sun and the line. On the basis of textual evidence, the article raises questions regarding the main hypotheses grounding the effort to find an epistemo-logical parallel between the cave and the line: that the prisoners represent humanity in general, and that the cave symbolizes the visible world of everyday experience, while the world outside the cave represents the realm of ideas. The suspension of these assumptions makes possible a reading that highlights the cultural and politi-cal issues at stake in this famous allegory.
The Dewey School as Triumph, Tragedy, and Misunderstood: Exploring the Myths and Historiography of the University of Chicago Laboratory School.

Background/ContextOver the last century, perhaps no school in American history has been studied more than John Dewey's Laboratory School at the University of Chicago (1896–1904). Scholars have publ...
A Stability Radius for Nonlinear Differential Equations Subject to Time Varying Perturbations

Abstract The stability behavior of nonlinear differential equations subject to parametric time varying perturbations is discussed near a common fixed point of the drift and the perturbation vector fields. It is shown that a stability radius measuring the distance to the perturbed equations for which the equilibrium is not locally asymptotically stable is determined by the Lyapunov exponents of the linearized systems. The distance is based on the size of the range of the perturbations. This allows us to use recent results on stable manifolds under time varying perturbations.
Optimizing the Design of Chilled Water Plants in Large Commercial Buildings

Design of chilled water plants has very large impact on building energy use and energy operating cost. The chapter proposes procedures and analysis techniques for energy efficiency design of chilled water plants. The approach that leads to optimal design variables can achieve a significant saving in cooling cost. The optimal variables include piping sizing, chilled water temperature difference, and chilled water supply temperature. The objective function is the total cooling energy cost. The proposed design method depends on detailed cooling load analysis, head and energy calculations, and optimization solver. The pump head calculations including piping, all fittings, valves, and devices are achieved by using the Darcy–Weisbach Equation and given flow parameters. The energy calculations are done by using generic chiller, fan, and pump models. The method is tested on an existing office two-storey building with a packaged air-cooled chiller. A whole building energy simulation model is used to generate the hourly cooling loads, and then the optimal design variables are found to minimize the total energy cost. The testing results show this approach will achieve better results than rules-of-thumb or traditional design procedures. The cooling energy saving could be up to 10 % depending on particular projects.
Closing Federalism's Loophole in Intellectual Property Rights

For more than ten years the courts and Congress have grappled with the issue of subjecting states to suit in federal court for intellectual property infringement. Under the Supreme Court's Florida Prepaid decisions, states and state entities are currently insulated from suit by private entities in federal court for intellectual property infringement under the sovereign immunity preserved by the Eleventh Amendment. This holding has far-reaching effects on the ability of private parties to enforce their intellectual property rights because federal court is the preferred and, often, the only venue available for enforcing such rights. Furthermore, this state of the law is of increasing importance in view of the growing role that many states and state entities are taking in the intellectual property arena. Since the Florida Prepaid decisions, several different legislative remedies have been proposed in Congress, but none have yet been enacted into law. Congress has also commissioned a study by the General Accounting Office to gather statistics and opinions concerning the involvement of states in intellectual property law and the effect of the immunity from suit they currently enjoy in federal court. The results of this study, made available this past year, will impact the scope of the proposed legislation and whether, assuming it is enacted, the legislation survives judicial review.
Per-call energy saving strategies in all-to-all communications

With the increase in the peak performance of modern computing platforms, their energy consumption grows as well, which may lead to overwhelming operating costs and failure rates. Techniques, such as Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (called DVFS) and CPU Clock Modulation (called throttling) are often used to reduce the power consumption of the compute nodes. However, these techniques should be used judiciously during the application execution to avoid significant performance losses. In this work, two implementations of the all-to-all collective operations are studied as to their augmentation with energy saving strategies on the per-call basis. Experiments were performed on the OSU MPI benchmarks as well as on a few real-world problems from the CPMD and NAS suits, in which energy consumption was reduced by up to 10% and 15.7%, respectively, with little performance degradation.
Simulation of Isarithmic Congestion Avoidance in Computer Networks

Abstract This paper deals with global (also called isarithmic) congestion avoidance in computer communication networks. In this technique, data traffic inside a computer network is kept to a comfortable level by imposing an upper limit on the number of data packets that can be present in the network at any time. This technique is implemented by using permits. A message seeking entry into the network must acquire a permit and a message leaving the network must release the permit. The paper shows that performance of a computer network using isarithmic congestion avoidance, depends upon the distribution oi permits among the network nodes. The paper considers three schemes for distribution of permits: complete sharing (CS), complete partitioning (CP), and proportional sharing (PS). The main idea behind these schemes is to prevent active users from monopolizing all the permits and also to prevent relatively inactive users from starving for permits. This paper presents a comparison of these schemes by simulation a ten-node computer network. Simulation results are presented in terms of average message delay and throughput. It has been observed that the proportional sharing scheme gives the best overall performance.
Multi-resonant photonic band-gap/saddle coil DNP probehead for static solid state NMR of microliter volume samples

Abstract The most critical condition for performing Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) NMR experiments is achieving sufficiently high electronic B1e fields over the sample at the matched EPR frequencies, which for modern high-resolution NMR instruments fall into the millimeter wave (mmW) range. Typically, mmWs are generated by powerful gyrotrons and/or extended interaction klystrons (EIKs) sources and then focused onto the sample by dielectric lenses. However, further development of DNP methods including new DNP pulse sequences may require B1e fields higher than one could achieve with the current mmW technology. In order to address the challenge of significantly enhancing the mmW field at the sample, we have constructed and tested one-dimensional photonic band-gap (PBG) mmW resonator that was incorporated inside a double-tuned radiofrequency (rf) NMR saddle coil. The photonic crystal is formed by stacking ceramic discs with alternating high and low dielectric constants and thicknesses of λ/4 or 3λ/4, where λ is the wavelength of the incident mmW field in the corresponding dielectric material. When the mmW frequency is within the band gap of the photonic crystal, a defect created in the middle of the crystal confines the mmW energy, thus forming a resonant structure. An aluminum mirror in the middle of the defect has been used to substitute one-half of the structure with its mirror image in order to reduce the resonator size and simplify its tuning. The latter is achieved by adjusting the width of the defect by moving the aluminum mirror with respect to the dielectric stack using a gear mechanism. The 1D PBG resonator was the key element for constructing a multi-resonant integrated DNP/NMR probehead operating at 190–199 GHz EPR/300 MHz 1H/75.5 MHz 13C NMR frequencies. Initial tests of the multi-resonant DNP/NMR probehead were carried out using a quasioptical mmW bridge and a Bruker Biospin Avance II spectrometer equipped with a standard Bruker 7 T wide-bore 89 mm magnet parked at 300.13 MHz 1H NMR frequency. The mmW bridge built with all solid-state active components allows for the frequency tuning between ca. 190 and ca. 199 GHz with the output power up to 27 dBm (0.5 W) at 192 GHz and up to 23 dBm (0.2 W) at 197.5 GHz. Room temperature DNP experiments with a synthetic single crystal high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) diamond (0.3 × 0.3 × 3.0 mm3) demonstrated dramatic 1500-fold enhancement of 13C natural abundance NMR signal at full incident mmW power. Significant 13C DNP enhancement (of about 90) have been obtained at incident mmW powers of as low as F ≈ 75 provides up to 12-fold or 11 db gain in the average mmW power vs. the non-resonant probehead configuration employing only a reflective mirror.
The Diagnosis of Upper Urinary Tract Obstruction in Children: Comparison of Diuresis Renography and Pressure Flow Studies

We report the use of diuresis renography and pressure flow studies to diagnose urinary tract obstruction in 41 collecting systems of 33 children. If differential pressures between the renal pelvis and the bladder in excess of 22 cm. water at a flow rate of 10 ml. per minute is accepted as evidence of obstruction and below 15 cm. water is accepted as normal the interpretation of the renogram showing O'Reilly's pattern IIIa as evidence of stasis without obstruction was correct in 74 per cent of the cases. Likewise, the interpretation of O'Reilly's renogram pattern IIIb as showing partial obstruction was correct in only 40 per cent of the cases. Thus, we urge caution in the use of the diuresis renogram to diagnose or to rule out upper urinary tract obstruction.