cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Light Intensity Effects on Meadowfoam Growth and Flowering

Date of flowering influences meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba Hartweg ex Bentham) adaptation, economic yield, and management. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of photosynthetic photon fluxes (PPF) before and after photoperiodic floral induction (PF1) on meadowfoam growth and flowering. ‘Mermaid’ growth and flowering responses to PPF of 150, 300, 450, 600, 750, and 900 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ were investigated in a controlled environment. Treatments were initiated either 24 d before or at PF1. Increasing PPF, both before and at PF1, reduced days to first flower, flowering duration, total flowers produced per plant, flowers with bad stamens, and plant height and dry weight at maturity. More flowers were produced when PPF treatments were initiated 24 d before PF1 compared with those initiated at PF1. Light intensities 600 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ after PF1 enhanced flowering and maturity, and decreased plant size, flower number, and duration of flowering. After PF1, 450 to 600 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ PPF appeared optimum for a balance of flower production and plant growth in controlled environments. Higher PPF before PFI, however, may increase the potential number of flowering stems and flowers, but it did not substitute for long daylength required for floral induction. Results suggest that in western Oregon low light intensity during fall and winter months may contribute to excessive vegetative growth of Mermaid meadowfoam at the expense of seed production. Oregon Agric. Exp. Stn. Tech. Paper no. 10071.
A radioimmunoassay of plasma estradiol-17β with the use of polyethylene glycol to separate free and antibody-bound hormone

Abstract A radioimmunoassay for plasma estradiol-17β was developed using polyethylene glycol to separate free from antibody-bound hormone. Specificity for estradiol-17β was achieved by a modified celite microcolunm procedure in which estradiol was.separated from interfering estrogens, including estrone. Using trace 3 H-estradiol to monitor procedural losses, the method was shown to be sensitive and accurate. Intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variation of the method was 8.7 and 10.6%, respectively. Polyethylene glycol used for antibody precipitation appears to be a generally applicable method for steroid hormone radioimmunoassays. The simplicity, precision and rapid analysis, coupled with its lack of time dependence and ease in automation, makes this a convenient and practical method.
THE PREVALENCE OF MALE RIGHT-HANDEDNESS IN THE INDO-WEST PACIFIC FIDDLER CRABS UCA VOCANS (LINNAEUS) AND U. TETRAGONON (HERBST) (DECAPODA: OCYPODIDAE)

ABSTRACT Right-handedness of the major cheliped was found in 97.3% of 2,784 male specimens of U. vocans from collections of the National Museum of Natural History (U.S. National Museum) and the 1979 R/V ALPHA HELIX expeditions to the western Pacific. A comparable figure of 96.8% right-handedness was obtained for 281 specimens of the rarer U. tetragonon. Since the collections span the known geographical ranges of both species, it would appear that a strong bias for right-handedness is a universal trait for each. The two species are thus an exception to the right-left equality of handedness previously thought to prevail for the genus. Recently published studies provide possible clues to the mechanism for the determination of right-handedness and its functional significance.
Haemodialysis induces mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis.

Background Mitochondria play a crucial role in the regulation of the endogenous pathways of apoptosis activated by oxidant stress. Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is a central integration site for pro-inflammatory signals and oxidative stress. Materials and methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated from eight end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients before haemodialysis (Pre-HD) and during the last 10 min of HD (End-HD). A new polysulfone membrane (F70, Fresenius) was used for dialysis. Intracellular generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial redox potential (Δψm) and PBMC apoptosis were determined by flow-cytometry. Results Plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) (24·9 ± 7·0 vs. 17·4 ± 5·5 pg dL−1, P < 0·05), IL-6 soluble receptor (52·2 ± 4·9 vs. 37·6 ± 3·2 ng dL−1, P < 0·02) and IL-6 gp130 (405·7 ± 41·0 vs. 235·1 ± 38·4 ng dL−1, P < 0·02) were higher end-HD compared to pre-HD. IL-6 secretion by the isolated PBMC (24·0 ± 2·3 vs. 19·3 ± 3·5 pg dL−1, P < 0·02) increased end-HD. Percentage of lymphocytes exhibiting collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (43·4 ± 4·6% vs. 32·6 ± 2·9%, P < 0·01), apoptosis (33·4 ± 7·1% vs. 23·7 ± 7·7%, P < 0·01), and generation of superoxide (20·7 ± 5·2% vs. 12·5 ± 2·9%, P < 0·02) and hydrogen peroxide (51·1 ± 7·8% vs.38·2 ± 5·9%, P < 0·04) were higher at end-HD than pre-HD. NF-κB activation (3144·1 ± 208·1 vs. 2033·4 ± 454·6 pg well−1, P < 0·02), expression of B-cell lymphoma protein-2 (6494·6 ± 1461 vs. 3501·5 ± 796·5 ng mL−1, P < 0·03) and heat shock protein-70 (9·81 ± 1·47 vs. 6·38 ± 1·0 ng mL−1, P < 0·05) increased during HD. Conclusions Intra-dialytic activation of cytokines, together with impaired mitochondrial function, promotes generation of ROS culminating in augmented PBMC apoptosis. There is concomitant activation of pathways aimed at attenuation of cell stress and apoptosis during HD.
The Ordered and Compartment-specific Autoproteolytic Removal of the Furin Intramolecular Chaperone Is Required for Enzyme Activation

The propeptide of furin has multiple roles in guiding the activation of the endoprotease in vivo. The 83-residue N-terminal propeptide is autoproteolytically excised in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) at the consensus furin site, -Arg104-Thr-Lys-Arg107↓-, but remains bound to furin as a potent autoinhibitor. Furin lacking the propeptide is ER-retained and proteolytically inactive. Co-expression with the propeptide, however, restores trans-Golgi network (TGN) localization and enzyme activity, indicating that the furin propeptide is an intramolecular chaperone. Blocking this step results in localization to the ER-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC)/cis-Golgi network (CGN), suggesting the ER and ERGIC/CGN recognize distinct furin folding intermediates. Following transport to the acidified TGN/endosomal compartments, furin cleaves the bound propeptide at a second, internal P1/P6 Arg site (-Arg-Gly-Val72-Thr-Lys-Arg75↓-) resulting in propeptide dissociation and enzyme activation. Cleavage at Arg75, however, is not required for proper furin trafficking. Kinetic analyses of peptide substrates indicate that the sequential pH-modulated propeptide cleavages result from the differential recognition of these sites by furin. Altering this preference by converting the internal site to a canonical P1/P4 Arg motif (Val72 → Arg) caused ER retention and blocked activation of furin, demonstrating that the structure of the furin propeptide mediates folding of the enzyme and directs its pH-regulated, compartment-specific activation in vivo.
Semiclassical bound states in an asymptotically free theory

A semiclassical calculation of the particle spectrum in the Gross--Neveu model was carried out. It is a two-dimensional model with N species of fermions interacting through a symmetrical scalar-scalar interaction and is renormalizable, asymptotically free, and exhibits spontaneous symmetry breaking. A rich spectrum of particles is found which can be interpreted as fermion- antifermion bound states and multifermion bound states. These states fall into supermultiplets whose origin one does not completely understand. The binding mechanism is a vacuum-polarization effect rather than the direct interaction between particles. A general method for handling fermions in semiclassical calculations is developed. (auth)
Numerical evaluation of the performance of active noise control systems

This paper presents a generalized numerical technique for evaluating the optimal performance of active noise controllers. In this technique, the indirect BEM numerical procedures are used to derive the active noise controllers for optimal control of enclosed harmonic sound fields where the strength of the noise sources or the description of the enclosure boundary may not be known. The performance prediction for a single-input single-output system is presented, together with the analysis of the stability and observability of an active noise-control system employing detectors. The numerical procedures presented can be used for the design of both the physical configuration and the electronic components of the optimal active noise controller.
Static real-time data distribution

We describe the design and implementation of a static real-time data distribution mechanism that uses a real-time event service and a real-time scheduling service to ensure the ontime, and temporally valid delivery of data. The mechanism implements an algorithm, called the just-in-time data distribution algorithm to determine scheduling parameters that will ensure that data that arrives at a requesting target is valid. We use a navy weapons alignment application to demonstrate the necessity and usefulness of the algorithm and implementation. We also present results of tests that demonstrate that our implementation fulfills the guarantees predicted by the theoretical results.
Measurement and analysis of the indoor radio channel in the frequency domain

Using a network analyzer, several experiments for the frequency-domain characterization of the indoor radio channel in the 0.9-1.1-GHz band are performed. In the experiments, the frequency response measurements are taken at spatially distributed locations throughout the test area by fixing the receiver in a central location and moving the transmitter to different locations. The experiments are performed in a high-rise office building and a three-story building with offices and laboratories. For each experiment, the exponent of the power-distance relationship and the statistics of the 3-dB width of the frequency correlation function are determined from the frequency-domain data. The approximation to the impulse response of the channel is obtained from the inverse Fourier transform of the frequency response. An empirical exponential relationship between the 3-dB width of the frequency correlation function and the inverse of the RMS (root mean square) delay spread of the impulse response is derived. >
Genome Sequences of Eight Morphologically Diverse Alphaproteobacteria

Prosthecae or stalks are found in a morphologically diverse group of Gram-negative bacteria belonging primarily to the class Alphaproteobacteria. The stalked Alphaproteobacteria typically have a characteristic dimorphic life cycle in which two dissimilar cell types are produced by asymmetric cell division (2, 4, 8–10, 17, 18). The swarmer progeny cells are motile and do not replicate DNA. The start of the new cell division cycle is coincident with the differentiation of the swarmer cell into a stalked cell. Stalks are true extensions of the cell body and are an integral part of the cell, bounded by both the cell membranes and the cell wall, and form a thin cylindrical extension of the cell surface layer (10). Stalks are essential for the reproduction of a subset of prosthecate bacteria, including Rhodomicrobium and Hyphomicrobium, which divide by budding, in which the daughter cell develops at and is later released from the tip of the stalk. The stalks of both budding and nonbudding prosthecate bacteria have been implicated in nutrient uptake and are likely to be particularly advantageous in oligotrophic habitats (5, 14–16, 18). To facilitate an enhanced understanding of the function of stalks, the mechanism of budding, and regulation of dimorphic life cycles, the genomes of three nonbudding stalked bacteria, three budding stalked bacteria, and two closely related nonstalked bacteria were sequenced. The nonbudding stalked bacteria include Brevundimonas subvibrioides, Asticcacaulis biprosthecum, and Asticcacaulis excentricus. The budding stalked bacteria include Hirschia baltica, Rhodomicrobium vannielii, and Hyphomicrobium denitrificans. Finally, the nonstalked,
Entitlements, Generational Equity, and Public-Opinion Manipulation in Kansas City

To sow public doubts about Social Security and other federal old-age programs, one would need to erode their bases of support. This case study describes a year-long editorial campaign by The Kansas City Star that argued repeatedly for retrenchment of federal old-age programs and essentially promoted the policy agenda of the Concord Coalition. Generational inequity was a strong series theme. Readers, especially young people, were recruited to participate in public events that manufactured quotable support for the paper's stance. Throughout, shrill and unflattering portrayals of age-group interests did little to advance civic understanding of policy issues or forestall intergenerational tensions.
Emerging Nicotine Delivery Products. Implications for Public Health

The idea of clean nicotine delivery systems that would satisfy nicotine craving and promote smoking cessation has been considered as a possible public health tool for many years. Nicotine medications have been useful for smoking cessation but have not found widespread popularity among smokers, perhaps because of slow nicotine delivery and other sensory characteristics that differ from cigarettes. Traditional smokeless tobacco delivers as much nicotine as cigarettes and has been advocated for harm reduction but contains carcinogenic nitrosamines and has not been proven to promote cessation. Furthermore, there is concern that dual use of smokeless tobacco and cigarettes may inhibit quitting smoking. Newer oral dissolvable tobacco products contain lower levels of toxicants than other smokeless tobacco but also deliver much less nicotine and have not been popular with consumers. Electronic cigarettes that aerosolize nicotine without generating toxic tobacco combustion products have become quite popular and hold promise as a way to attract smokers away from cigarettes, although efficacy in promoting smoking cessation has not yet been demonstrated. There are concerns about safety of long-term use, and there is evidence that youth, including nonsmokers, are taking up e-cigarette use. E-cigarettes are marketed for use when one cannot smoke conventional cigarettes, and such use might result in more persistent cigarette smoking. Although their benefits and risks are being vigorously debated, e-cigarettes or other clean nicotine delivery devices could play an important role as an adjunct to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulatory intervention to make cigarettes less addictive and in this context could contribute to the end of cigarette smoking and smoking-induced disease.
Middle Cerebral Artery Stenosis: Endovascular and Surgical Options

Atherosclerotic middle cerebral artery stenosis is a rare but potentially devastating cause of cerebral ischemia and stroke. While medical management remains the mainstay for stroke prevention, surgical and/or endovascular intervention is indicated in selected patients. This article reviews the role of surgery and endovascular techniques in the treatment of middle cerebral artery stenosis based on its natural history, pathophysiology, and prognosis when treated medically.
Solubilities of corundum, wollastonite and quartz in H2O–NaCl solutions at 800 °C and 10 kbar: Interaction of simple minerals with brines at high pressure and temperature

Abstract Solubilities of corundum (Al2O3) and wollastonite (CaSiO3) were measured in H2O–NaCl solutions at 800 °C and 10 kbar and NaCl concentrations up to halite saturation by weight-loss methods. Additional data on quartz solubility at a single NaCl concentration were obtained as a supplement to previous work. Single crystals of synthetic corundum, natural wollastonite or natural quartz were equilibrated with H2O and NaCl at pressure (P) and temperature (T) in a piston-cylinder apparatus with NaCl pressure medium and graphite heater sleeves. The three minerals show fundamentally different dissolution behavior. Corundum solubility undergoes large enhancement with NaCl concentration, rising rapidly from Al2O3 molality ( m Al 2 O 3 ) of 0.0013(1) (1σ error) in pure H2O and then leveling off to a maximum of ∼0.015 at halite saturation (XNaCl ≈ 0.58, where X is mole fraction). Solubility enhancement relative to that in pure H2O, X Al 2 O 3 / X Al 2 O 3 ° , passes through a maximum at XNaCl ≈ 0.15 and then declines towards halite saturation. Quenched fluids have neutral pH at 25 °C. Wollastonite has low solubility in pure H2O at this P and T ( m CaSiO 3 = 0.0167 ( 6 ) ) . It undergoes great enhancement, with a maximum solubility relative to that in H2O at XNaCl ≈ 0.33, and solubility >0.5 molal at halite saturation. Solute silica is 2.5 times higher than at quartz saturation in the system H2O–NaCl–SiO2, and quenched fluids are very basic (pH 11). Quartz shows monotonically decreasing solubility from m SiO 2 = 1.248 in pure H2O to 0.202 at halite saturation. Quenched fluids are pH neutral. A simple ideal-mixing model for quartz-saturated solutions that requires as input only the solubility and speciation of silica in pure H2O reproduces the data and indicates that hydrogen bonding of molecular H2O to dissolved silica species is thermodynamically negligible. The maxima in X Al 2 O 3 / X Al 2 O 3 ° for corundum and wollastonite indicate that the solute products include hydrates and Na+ and/or Cl− species produced by molar ratios of reactant H2O to NaCl of 6:1 and 2:1, respectively. Our results imply that quite simple mechanisms may exist in the dissolution of common rock-forming minerals in saline fluids at high P and T and allow assessment of the interaction of simple, congruently soluble rock-forming minerals with brines associated with deep-crustal metamorphism.
Identification of non-linear additive autoregressive models

Summary. We propose a lag selection method for non-linear additive autoregressive models that is based on spline estimation and the Bayes information criterion. The additive structure of the autoregression function is used to overcome the ‘curse of dimensionality’, whereas the spline estimators effectively take into account such a structure in estimation. A stepwise procedure is suggested to implement the method proposed. A comprehensive Monte Carlo study demonstrates good performance of the method proposed and a substantial computational advantage over existing local-polynomial-based methods. Consistency of the lag selection method based on the Bayes information criterion is established under the assumption that the observations are from a stochastic process that is strictly stationary and strongly mixing, which provides the first theoretical result of this kind for spline smoothing of weakly dependent data.
Solid solution, subsolidus reduction and compositional characteristics of spinels in some Apollo 15 basalts.

Compositional data for spinels in the chromite-hercynite-ulvospinel system from three large basalts and for spinels in 48 basalt particles in four soil samples show: (1) that the range of compositions are comparable to those of spinels in Apollo 12 basalts; (2) that the spinel series is complete between 0.75 FeCr2O4 0.25 FeAl2O4 and Fe2TiO4; (3) that the Apollo 12 bimodal distribution is present insofar as chromite-rich and ulvospinel-rich phases are more commonly present than compositions intermediate between these two end members; (4) well defined ionic relationships exist for those cations displaying high octahedral site preference energies in the spinel structure (viz. Cr vs Al and Ti vs Cr+ Al); (5) cations displaying low site preference energies (Fe2+, Mg) show poor correlation; and (6) the absence of a simple relationship between the divalent ions (Fe2+ and Mg), and the paucity (10% of 356 analyses) of intermediate compositions suggests a strong dependence on the structural stability of intermediate members of a normal (hercynite, chromite) — inverse (ulvospinel) solid solution series
Do measures matter? Comparing surface-density-derived and census-tract-derived measures of racial residential segregation

Racial residential segregation is hypothesized to affect population health by systematically patterning health-relevant exposures and opportunities according to individuals' race or income. Growing interest into the association between residential segregation and health disparities demands more rigorous appraisal of commonly used measures of segregation. Most current studies rely on census tracts as approximations of the local residential environment when calculating segregation indices of either neighborhoods or metropolitan areas. Because census tracts are arbitrary in size and shape, reliance on this geographic scale limits understanding of place-health associations. More flexible, explicitly spatial derivations of traditional segregation indices have been proposed but have not been compared with tract-derived measures in the context of health disparities studies common to social epidemiology, health demography, or medical geography. We compared segregation measured with tract-derived as well as GIS surface-density-derived indices. Measures were compared by region and population size, and segregation measures were linked to birth record to estimate the difference in association between segregation and very preterm birth. Separate analyses focus on metropolitan segregation and on neighborhood segregation. Across 231 metropolitan areas, tract-derived and surface-density-derived segregation measures are highly correlated. However overall correlation obscures important differences by region and metropolitan size. In general the discrepancy between measure types is greatest for small metropolitan areas, declining with increasing population size. Discrepancies in measures are greatest in the South, and smallest in Western metropolitan areas. Choice of segregation index changed the magnitude of the measured association between segregation and very preterm birth. For example among black women, the risk ratio for very preterm birth in metropolitan areas changed from 2.12 to 1.68 for the effect of high versus low segregation when using surface-density-derived versus tract-derived segregation indices. Variation in effect size was smaller but still present in analyses of neighborhood racial composition and very preterm birth in Atlanta neighborhoods. Census tract-derived measures of segregation are highly correlated with recently introduced spatial segregation measures, but the residual differences among measures are not uniform for all areas. Use of surface-density-derived measures provides researchers with tools to further explore the spatial relationships between segregation and health disparities.
ENVIRONMENTAL ORIGINS OF SEXUALLY SELECTED VARIATION AND A CRITIQUE OF THE FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY–SEXUAL SELECTION HYPOTHESIS

Abstract Identifying sources of phenotypic variability in secondary sexual traits is critical for understanding their signaling properties, role in sexual selection, and for predicting their evolutionary dynamics. The present study tests for the effects of genotype, developmental temperature, and their interaction, on size and fluctuating asymmetry of the male sex comb, a secondary sexual character, in Drosophila bipectinata Duda. Both the size and symmetry of elements of the sex comb have been shown previously to be under sexual selection in a natural population in northeastern Australia. Two independent reciprocal crosses were conducted at 25° and 29°C between genetic lines extracted from this population that differed in the size of the first (TC1) and third (TC3) comb segments. These temperatures are within the documented range experienced by the species in nature. Additive and dominance genetic effects were detected for TC1, whereas additive genetic, and Y-chromosomal effects were detected for TC3. TC...
Assessing Healthcare Utilization for Influenza-like Illness at an Emergency Department and a Student Health Service during the 2009–2010 H1N1 Pandemic

Estimates of healthcare utilization during an influenza pandemic are needed in order to plan for the allocation of staff and resources. The aim of this study was to assess the number, age, and arrival time of patients with influenza-like-illness (ILI), and associations between their symptoms during the 2009–2010 H1N1 pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of electronic health records from the student health service (SHS) and an emergency department (ED) in Morgantown, West Virginia, between January 2009 and December 2010. During the 2009–2010 H1N1 pandemic, patient arrivals at SHS and ED varied over the week. SHS patients arrived early in the week and primarily in the afternoon. ED patient arrivals were more evenly distributed, with busier evenings and weekends. Those with fever were more likely to experience cough, sore throat, vomiting/nausea, chills, congestion, headache, and body-ache. These results can assist health professionals in preparing for an influenza pandemic.
Herbal and Nonherbal Alternative Medicine Use in Northwest Ohio

OBJECTIVE:To determine the prevalence and characteristics of herbal and nonherbal alternative medicine use among adults living in northwest Ohio.DESIGN:Cross-sectional survey.SETTING:Three grocery store intercepts in northwest Ohio.SUBJECTS:A consecutive sample of 326 English-speaking persons ≥18 years old.METHODS:A 26-item survey self-administered to participants over a 6-month period.OUTCOME MEASURES:Prevalence of herbal remedy use.RESULTS:Forty percent of respondents have used an herbal remedy during the last 12 months. The average number of herbs used was 2.3 per person. Herbal remedy use was not associated with specific sociodemographic variables. Desire to improve general health was the most common reason for use of an herbal remedy (16%). Herbal users cited “herbals are natural” as the most common benefit. Magazines (17%), health food stores (16%), and friends (14%) were the most common sources of herbal remedy information. Only 50% of the population informed their physician of such use. Forty-one ...
SLIP CASTING OF ALUMINUM OXIDE

Fused alumina, after being subjected to ball milling and acid treatment, may be suspended in water to form a slip. Deflocculation is obtained by the addition of the proper amount and type of either an acid or a base. Both drain and solid castings can be produced successfully from acidic or basic slips. The casting behavior of the slips and the properties of the cast pieces are summarized for variations in pH and specific gravity, the range of pH being 3.00 to 12.50 and the range of specific gravity, 2.60 to 3.00. Although no extensive investigation of the firing behavior was made, sufficient firing was done to indicate that no special techniques are required.
Readjustment of the national geodetic vertical datum

New geodetic techniques and computer technology are providing scientists in the United States and other countries of North America with the precise tools needed to modernize the North American horizontal and vertical geodetic control networks—a web of geodetic survey monuments that spans the continent. When the project is completed in 1987, it will provide an improved base for mapping and engineering projects, crustal motion studies, inventories of natural resources, land parcel recordation, and the launch and recovery of space vehicles. In particular, the earth scientist will have available, in an instant, 100 years of historical geodetic data in computer-readable form, supplying valuable information on crustal motion and earthquake prediction. The National Ocean Survey (NOS) through one of its main line components, the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), is responsible for the geodetic mission of the United States government. This task began on February 10, 1807, when the Congress enacted legislation proposed by President Jefferson to perform a ‘Survey of the Coast of the United States,’ thereby creating the first federal scientific agency. The first work performed was the measurement of two baselines and an 11-station triangulation network in the vicinity of New York City during the period 1816–1818 [Powell, 1976], The first geodetic leveling survey was made during 1856 and 1857 by the U.S. Coast Survey (renamed the National Ocean Survey in 1970). This survey, directed by G. B. Vose, was in support of a detailed study of tides and currents in the vicinity of New York Bay and the Hudson River [Berry, 1976].
Government Budgets as the Hunger Games: The Brutal Competition for State and Local Government Resources Given Municipal Securities Debt, Pension and OPEB Obligations, and Taxpayer Needs

This article examines how obligations associated with public employment (including pensions and OPEB) and obligations associated with complex financial instruments (including derivatives) fit into the puzzle of local government fiscal health. As the recent experiences of Detroit and other distressed municipalities suggest, pension and OPEB obligations and obligations associated with complex, non-traditional securities can strain local government resources, particularly when accompanied by corruption and/or macroeconomic distress. Focusing on the federal securities laws, I advocate for reforms designed to (i) standardized and require compliance with uniform accounting standards in the public sector, so that stakeholders can assess municipal fiscal heath and identify challenges to fiscal stability; (ii) create a data collection resource and oversight body to help identify and manage risks associated with complex financial instruments, (iii) create a data collection resources and oversight body to help identify and management risks associated with public employee compensation (particularly pensions and OPEB), and (iv) expand the reach of the fiduciary standard to a broader range of stakeholders involved in local government financial decision-making, including public officials, underwriters and certain derivatives counterparties.
SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS, MOTIVATION, AND ACHIEVEMENT IN WRITING: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The purpose of this article is to examine the contribution made by the selfefficacy component of A. Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory to the study of writing in academic settings. A brief overview of Bandura’s social cognitive theory and of self-efficacy is first provided, followed by a description of the manner in which writing self-efficacy beliefs are typically operationalized and assessed. This is followed by a synthesis of research findings that address the relationship between writing self-efficacy, other motivation constructs related to writing, and writing outcomes in academic settings. These findings demonstrate that students’ confidence in their writing capabilities influence their writing motivation as well as various writing outcomes in school. Academic implications and strategies that may help guide future research are offered. When learning theorists first proposed views of social learning that rejected behaviorist notions of associationism in favor of drive reduction principles, they did not take into account the creation of novel responses or the processes of delayed and nonreinforced imitations. Bandura and Walters (1963) broadened the frontiers of social learning theory with the nowfamiliar principles of observational learning and vicarious reinforcement. Rejecting the behaviorists’ indifference to self-processes, Bandura (1986) later proposed a view of human functioning that emphasized the role of self-referent beliefs. In this sociocognitive perspective, individuals are viewed as proactive and self-regulating rather than as reactive and controlled by biological or environmental forces. Also in this view, individuals are understood to possess self-beliefs that enable them to exercise a measure of control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions. In all, Bandura painted a portrait of human behavior and motivation in which the beliefs that people have about their capabilities are critical elements. In
Regional or parochial? Support for cross-community sharing within city-regions

This article explores whether citizens of city-regions hold a particular attitude about collective action. We model individual support for the new regionalist idea that communities sharing the same city-region (i.e., metropolitan area) should share resources across them to solve regional problems. Using data from a random sample survey of adults living in 15 metropolitan areas in the state of Georgia in the United States, we use Bayesian analysis to determine the effects of a set of individual and contextual factors on the attitude. Conventional political cleavages of race, gender, and place of residence produce the strongest effects. We offer a set of theoretical, methodological, and practical implications for future research on political orientations of citizens in city-regions.
Abstract 18125: Left Ventricular Radial Strain Improvement After Surgery for Ebstein’s Anomaly

Background: Impact of right ventricular (RV) overload on left ventricular (LV) performance has been demonstrated in Ebstein’s anomaly (EA). We have shown that LV radial strain (RS) in 83 EA patients was significantly less than in controls. We subsequently sought to evaluate LV strain after EA surgery. Methods: Systolic strain, strain rate (SR) and early diastolic strain rate (SRe) were retrospectively performed, using velocity vector imaging, in 24 repaired EA patients (age 35 ±12 years; 67% women) with LV ejection fraction >50%, preoperatively (median 5 days [1-145 days]) and postoperatively within 5 years at sequential follow-up (6 months-3 years). Repair of EA included tricuspid valve repair, valve replacement and bidirectional cavopulmonary anastomosis. A slope of change postoperatively was estimated for each subject using linear regression. A one-sample t-test of the mean slope=0 assessed average change per year. Results: Mean (standard deviation) and median (range) of preoperative LV RS was 36.5 +/- 11.4% and 36.3% (16.8-59.8) respectively. LV strain analyses are summarized in tables 1 and 2. Conclusions: LV RS improved significantly after EA surgery whereas circumferential strain (CS), SR and radial SR did not. This may reflect the change in RV and subsequently LV geometry after resolution of tricuspid regurgitation with EA surgery. Ongoing evaluation with deformational imaging may help to characterize if these changes are compensatory or maladaptive and may determine optimal timing for surgery. In the subgroup with the lowest RS, significant improvement postoperatively was not seen. This may suggest that surgery was performed too late to allow favorable remodeling.
Dialectical Pluralism and Solidarity of Others: Towards a New Paradigm

Le pluralisme dialectique est relativement optimiste a propos de l'avenir du pluralisme religieux. On peut promouvoir non seulement une sensibilite pluraliste, un partage dialogique et une praxis pluraliste de la justice, mais egalement une spiritualite pluraliste, la culture de la solidarite avec les autres au-dela de toutes les differences entre categories. L'imperatif de la solidarite implique sans doute d'accepter l'autre sans toutefois pouvoir forcement le comprendre. La consequence en est l'abandon du logocentrisme et de l'intellectualisme qui tente de reduire l'autre au meme-que-soi
Free and conjugated dopamine in plasma during levodopa therapy.

A method is described for the isolation aOO measurement of dopamine in plasma. Only nanogram quantities of dopamine were detected in plasma of patients during levodopa treatment for Parkinson's disease or of dogs given single oral doses of levodopa. Concentrations of conjugated dopamine in these plasma samples, determined by isolation and measurement of the dopamine produced after enzymatic hydrolysis of the conjugate, always greatly exceeded those of free dopamine. In contrast to most of the metabolites of levodopa, conjugated dopamine appeared to accumulate in plasma during levodopa treatment of patients. There was evidence of occasional occurrence of small amounts of conjugated 3-0-methyldopa in plasma of patients during levodopa treatment.
Factors affecting the strength of slag-fly ash mixed cementitious system without cement clinker

In this paper,we used testing tool for testing the strength of slag-fly ash mixed cementitious system without cement clinker,and evaluated the affecting rules of the foundation material ratio and exciting agent ratio for the mixed system.The result shows that adopting the slag and fly ash industry waste and exciting agent can regulate coagulation time,and obtain early phase strength and later stage strength highly.So this paper supplied the base for mixed cementitious system without cement clinker.
Prevalence of Non–Cytochrome P450–Mediated Metabolism in Food and Drug Administration–Approved Oral and Intravenous Drugs: 2006–2015

In recent years, claims of increased involvement of non-cytochrome P450 (non-P450) enzymes in the metabolism of drugs have appeared in the literature. However, no temporal summaries of the contribution of non-P450 enzymes to the metabolism of drugs have been published. Using data from human radiolabeled absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion studies available for a set of 125 orally or intravenously administered small-molecule drugs approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration from 2006 to 2015, the contributions of P450 and non-P450 enzymes to the formation of major metabolites (≥10% of dose) were assessed and tabulated. Over this time frame, the involvement of P450 versus non-P450 enzymes in the formation of major metabolites is compared, and the individual non-P450 enzymes responsible are described. This analysis indicates that non-P450 enzymes contribute significantly to the metabolism of the 125 drugs analyzed. Approximately 30% of the metabolism of these drugs is carried out by non-P450 enzymes, with the predominant non-P450 enzymes identified being glucuronosyltransferases (11.7%), hydrolases (10.8%), carbonyl reductases (2.4%), and aldehyde oxidase (1.1%). Although significant, the relative contribution of non-P450 enzymes to drug metabolism does not appear to have increased dramatically over the last 10 years. As the current evaluation involves drugs which emerged from the discovery phase >10 years ago, this evaluation may not reflect the current or evolving situation in some research organizations; therefore, additional monitoring and assessment of the involvement of non-P450 enzymes in the metabolism of drugs will be conducted in the future.
From Modernism to Postmodernism: Making the rose red: Stein, proper names, and the critique of indeterminacy

To readers operating in the wake of poststructuralist theory – particularly those affiliated with the language movement – Stein's poetry has been the irrefutable evidence of her proto-postmodernism. Take, for example, the lines “So great so great Emily./Sew grate sew grate Emily” or “A go to green and a letter spoke a go to green or praise or/Worships worships worships” from Stein's 1913 poem “Sacred Emily,” where her famous line “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose” first appears. In lines like these, meaning becomes indeterminate, the postmodernist argument runs, because we can't decide whether a word like “go” is being used as a noun or an infinitive or an imperative verb, or because we are confronted with the fact that the same sounds – sō grāt – correspond to multiple meanings. And for readers in search of Stein's postmodernism, ambiguities like these seem all the more urgently underscored by Stein's own remarks about the literary aims of her trademark ruptured syntax, interchanged parts of speech, and homophonic puns in her much cited lecture “Poetry and Grammar.” Certainly the conclusion of the previous chapter – that Stein's work is designed above all to reveal (and continually rehearse) the logical conditions of possibility for representing “any thing” and “any one” – would seem to add to the evidence.
Further Evidence Concerning the Presence of Horse at Ventana Cave

Two recently discovered horse jaws are added to the faunal inventory of Ventana Cave. Both jaws belong to the extinct American species, Equus occidentalis Leidy.
Uncertainty Propagation of correlated quaternion and Euclidean states using partially-conditioned Gaussian mixtures

The partially-conditioned Gaussian (PCG) density, a variant of the Gauss-Bingham density, quantifies the uncertainty of a state vector comprised of an attitude quaternion and other Euclidean states on their natural manifold, the unit hypercylinder. The conditioned Gaussian density is first developed by conditioning a Gaussian density on the unit hypersphere, and is an alternate representation of the Bingham density. The PCG density is then developed, which conditions only the quaternion portion of the aforementioned state vector on the unit hypersphere. The PCG density is then extended to the PCG mixture density, which can be used to approximate an arbitrary density on the unit hypercylinder. A method to construct a PCG mixture density approximating the PCG density on the two-dimensional cylinder is then developed. The temporal evolution of the PCG mixture density given system dynamics is then quantified and is compared to a Monte Carlo approach in order to verify its performance.
The chemical biology of the persulfide (RSSH)/perthiyl (RSS·) redox couple and possible role in biological redox signaling

The recent finding that hydropersulfides (RSSH) are biologically prevalent in mammalian systems has prompted further investigation of their chemical properties in order to provide a basis for understanding their potential functions, if any. Hydropersulfides have been touted as hyper-reactive thiol-like species that possess increased nucleophilicity and reducing capabilities compared to their thiol counterparts. Herein, using persulfide generating model systems, the ability of RSSH species to act as one-electron reductants has been examined. Not unexpectedly, RSSH is relatively easily oxidized, compared to thiols, by weak oxidants to generate the perthiyl radical (RSS·). Somewhat surprisingly, however, RSS· was found to be stable in the presence of both O2 and NO and only appears to dimerize. Thus, the RSSH/RSS· redox couple is readily accessible under biological conditions and since dimerization of RSS· may be a rare event due to low concentrations and/or sequestration within a protein, it is speculated that the general lack of reactivity of individual RSS· species may allow this couple to be utilized as a redox component in biological systems.
Student success and retention using new definitions created for nonterm, direct assessment CBE

Background Nonterm, direct assessment competency-based education gives students unique options for tailoring their coursework to fit their individual needs. These options invalidate traditional measures of student retention and success (such as such as yearly retention, grade point average, or 4-year graduation rates) that assume all students will complete courses at the same rate and will remain continuously enrolled from admission to graduation. In this article, we propose a new measure of retention, reenrollment within 6 months, and explore its relationship to student success in the University of Wisconsin Flexible Option. Methods We examined data for the 1,311 subscriptions that occurred during the first 2 years of the program: from January 2014 through December 2015. These subscriptions represented 565 unique students who each enrolled between one and eight times. Using each subscription's academic outcomes, we conducted a series of logistic regressions to describe students’ likelihood to retain. Results We found that academic outcomes strongly predict a student's likelihood to reenroll within 6 months. Students who mastered at least one competency set during their first subscription were particularly more likely to reenroll. Furthermore, we found that academic outcomes from the previous subscription and the student's longevity in the program also significantly predicted retention. Conclusion While further research is needed, these definitions provide a starting point to understand student behavior in nonterm, direct assessment CBE, and suggest the educational value to using 6-month reenrollment as the measure for retention. The results also suggest possible best educational practices in this unique environment.
Exponential leap-forward gradient scheme for determining the isothermal layer depth from profile data

Two distinct layers usually exist in the upper ocean. The first has a near-zero vertical gradient in temperature (or density) from the surface and is called the isothermal layer (or mixed layer). Beneath that is a layer with a strong vertical gradient in temperature (or density), called the thermocline (or pycnocline). The isothermal layer depth (ILD) or mixed layer depth (MLD) for the same profile varies depending on the method used to determine it. Also, whether they are subjective or objective, existing methods of determining the ILD do not estimate the thermocline (pycnocline) gradient. Here, we propose a new exponential leap-forward gradient (ELG) method of determining the ILD that retains the strengths of subjective (simplicity) and objective (gradient change) methods and avoids their weaknesses (subjective methods are threshold-sensitive and objective methods are computationally intensive). This new method involves two steps: (1) the estimation of the thermocline gradient G th for an individual temperature profile, and (2) the computation of the vertical gradient by averaging over gradients using exponential leap-forward steps. Such averaging can filter out noise in the profile data. Five existing methods of determining the ILD (difference, gradient, maximum curvature, maximum angle, and optimal linear fitting methods) as well as the proposed ELG method were verified using global expendable bathythermograph (XBT) temperature and conductivity–temperature–depth (CTD) datasets. Among all the methods considered, the ELG method yielded the highest skill score and the lowest Shannon information entropy (i.e., the lowest uncertainty).
In-Field Habitat Management to Optimize Pest Control of Novel Soil Communities in Agroecosystems

The challenge of managing agroecosystems on a landscape scale and the novel structure of soil communities in agroecosystems both provide reason to focus on in-field management practices, including cover crop adoption, reduced tillage, and judicial pesticide use, to promote soil community diversity. Belowground and epigeal arthropods, especially exotic generalist predators, play a significant role in controlling insect pests, weeds, and pathogens in agroecosystems. However, the preventative pest management tactics that dominate field-crop production in the United States do not promote biological control. In this review, we argue that by reducing disturbance, mitigating the effects of necessary field activities, and controlling pests within an Integrated Pest Management framework, farmers can facilitate the diversity and activity of native and exotic arthropod predators.
The Paradox of Unanimous Consent and Majority Preference: Interpreting Consent in the Arrovian Context

The paper re-states a result I wrote about at least as far back as 2005. Specifically, majority preference can elect an alternative which lacks unanimous consent over an alternative which has unanimous consent. Thus, the paper makes perfectly clear that the norms of majority preference and consent maximization are not identical. This working paper specifically discusses that result in the context of Arrovian voting systems.
Directional Plasmonic Image Sensors for Lens-Free Compound-Eye Vision

We describe a novel lens-free camera technology inspired by the compound-eye vision modality that combines ultrathin plasmonic metasurfaces to enable angle-resolved photodetection with computational imaging for wide field-of-view image reconstruction.