cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What Drives Chytrid Infections in Newt Populations? Associations with Substrate, Temperature, and Shade

The pathogenic chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is considered responsible for the population declines and extinctions of hundreds of amphibian species worldwide. The panzootic was likely triggered by human-assisted spread, but once the pathogen becomes established in a given region, its distribution is probably determined by local drivers. To assess the relative importance of potential drivers of infection in red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens), we measured Bd levels in 16 populations throughout central Pennsylvania. Infected individuals were detected in all but four populations, indicating that Bd is widespread in this region. We quantified local factors hypothesized to influence Bd, and found that infection levels were best predicted by the proportion of the pond substrate consisting of leaf litter or vegetation, along with a significant effect of water temperature. Bd infection in amphibians is temperature-dependent, and one possible explanation of the apparent substrate effect is that tree cover and vegetation provide shade, reducing the availability of shallow, warm-water patches in which newts might reduce or clear Bd infections. Alternatively, leaf litter and emergent vegetation might increase Bd infection more directly, perhaps by providing substrates for environmental growth of the fungus. We also observed a curvilinear relationship between Bd load and snout-vent length (a proxy for age), hinting that newts might develop acquired resistance to Bd infection. Though correlational, these results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that environmental temperature is an important driver of Bd infection dynamics.
Long range meteoric echoes via F-layer reflections

This note reports HF observations of meteoric back-scatter echoes at ranges greatly exceeding radio line-of-sight. The observations were part of a program of measurements on backscatter using COZI equipment, Examples are given of observations at South Dartmouth, Massachusetts in 1949 on 16 mc and of more recent observations in 1954 on 12 and 16 mc using improved equipment. Short duration echoes are observed in advance at ranges shorter than those of the ground backscatter. No such meteoric echoes are observed when the ground backscatter disappears. The meteoric echo ranges move with time of day just as the range to the ground backscatter moves. A plausible explanation for the observed meteoric echo ranges exceeding 1,000 miles is that they are due to backscatter from the trail, ionospherically propagated to and fro via the F region, just as the ground backscatter. Other possible ionospheric propagation modes are discussed
Health insurance coverage health care-seeking behaviors and genital chlamydial infection prevalence in sexually active young adults.

Genital chlamydial infection remains prevalent in young adults. Differential access to health care and thus the opportunity for testing treatment sexual partner services and risk reduction counseling may be among the factors contributing to variation in chlamydial prevalence. We investigated associations of health insurance coverage and health care-seeking behaviors both indicators of healthcare access to chlamydial infection in a nationally representative sample of young adults. Weighted logistic regression techniques were used to examine associations between indicators of healthcare access and chlamydial infection as determined using Chlamydia trachomatis ligase chain reaction among a subset of sexually active young adults ages 18 to 27 interviewed at wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N _ 9347). Analyses were stratified by gender and controlled for age and race/ethnicity. Having continuous health insurance coverage in the preceding 12 months was associated with a lower risk of chlamydial infection in both men and women. Usual site of health care was also associated with chlamydial infection. Men who reported emergency rooms as their usual site of care had a higher risk of infection whereas women who used school clinics had a lower risk compared with those seen in primary care settings. Having seen a provider in the preceding 12 months was associated with a lower risk of chlamydial infection for men only. These associations remained even after adjusting for racial/ ethnic differences in health insurance coverage and health care-seeking behaviors. Independent of race/ethnicity indicators of healthcare access are associated with chlamydial infection in young adults. Furthermore our analyses reveal differences in these associations by gender. Improved healthcare access for young people could help reduce chlamydia-associated reproductive health morbidity potentially through access to chlamydial screening treatment sex partner services and risk reduction counseling. (authors)
Aircraft small-disturbance theory with longitudinal-lateral coupling

Thelinearized aircraft equations of motion arepresented in a form thatismore general than theclassical uncoupled longitudinal and lateral formulations.Theeffectsofinertial,gyroscopic, and aerodynamiccoupling, aswell as turning e ight, are included. The formulation is presented in both dimensional and nondimensional form. Example results are presented that show that longitudinal ‐lateral coupling can signie cantly affect the classical modes of a propeller-driven airplane with high power-to-weight ratio. Predictions from this formulation are consistent with those from the classical formulation, when the coupling terms and bank angle are set to zero. Computation time is not signie cantly increased over that required for the classical formulation.
Geometrical Linear Responses and Directional Energy Derivatives for Energetically Degenerate MCSCF Electronic Functions

For state-averaged multiconfigurational self consistent field (SA-MCSCF) wave functions, second-order geometrical response equations are derived that allow the determination of first-order configuration amplitude response for equally weighted, energetically degenerate states. The first-order response equations obtained in earlier work do not suffice to determine these particular responses parameters. To formulate such a derivation in a well defined manner, it is found that a specific linear combination of the degenerate states must be formed; this specific combination of states then defines how state energies and wave functions evolve as one passes through the surface intersection. The linear combination among the degenerate states is dependent upon the molecular distortion for which the responses are to be evaluated. Expressions for first- and second-order directional energy derivatives for these energetically degenerate wave functions are also derived. All the equations obtained are computationally tractable and expressed in terms of quantities that result from optimizing the SA-MCSCF wave functions and from solving the first- and part of the second-order geometrical response equations.
Toward a functional theory of reduction transformations

Abstract The theory is advanced that reduction transformations function to provide speakers with the option of deleting redundant information when communicating to a topic-cognizant addressee and/or when using a written mode. To test the theory, an experiment was run in which subjects from an advanced cell physiology class were given a list of deep structure proximal sentences (base propositions), all pertaining to the topic of cellular energy, and were asked to communicate them, in either a written or oral mode, to either graduate students in biochemistry or freshman nonscience majors. An analysis of the subjects' use of reduction transformations when communicating the base propositions supported the redundancy-deletion theory developed in the paper. The implications of these results for the perceptual complexity theory of reduction transformations (Fodor & Garrett, 1967) are discussed.
Mason's theorem and syzygy gaps

Abstract From Mason's theorem on rational function fields (the progenitor of the abc-conjecture) we immediately derive upper bounds for “syzygy gaps” (Theorems 3, 8, 11, and Corollary 9). These in turn quickly give: (1) The author's conjecture Z ( l ) , used in the study of Hilbert–Kunz series. (2) A lower bound for certain “F-pure thresholds.” (3) Han's explicit description of the 3-dimensional p-fractal attached to x, y and x + y . (4) Some apparently simple degree estimates, observed in the past but unproved until now (Corollary 6 and Theorem 10).
Colorimetric changes in composites resulting from visible-light-initiated polymerization

We evaluated three shades of nine light-cured composites to determine the colorimetric changes which occur as a result of the photo-polymerization reaction. A photo-electric tristimulus colorimeter was used to measure the color of a 0.5-mm-thick sample of composite on two different backgrounds before and after the polymerization process had been initiated. The results showed that each of the photo-initiated composites tested produced a visually significant change in color as a result of the polymerization reaction, regardless of the shade of the backing. In general, the light-cured composites produced a characteristic chromatic shift toward the blue region of color space, which resulted in a perceived decrease in yellow chroma. Therefore, direct shade selection of a resin composite which is more yellow or more chromatic than the tooth which is being restored is recommended to compensate for this characteristic immediate color shift.
Radial distribution functions for the gaussian model.

Radial distribution functions $g$ are computed for the "Gaussian model" using the Monte Carlo (MC) method and the convolution-hypernetted-chain (CHNC) and Percus-Yevick (PY) integral equations. These results are compared with the density-expansion results obtained by Helfand and Kornegay (HK). For low density, the MC, PY, and CHNC $g'\mathrm{s}$ show excellent agreement with HK data, indicating that the errors introduced in the numerical solutions are small. At higher densities the HK data are no longer applicable, but the PY, CHNC, and MC results continue to show good agreement, with closest agreement between CHNC and MC results.
High-Resolution Secondary Reconstructions with the Use of Flat Panel CT in the Clinical Assessment of Patients with Cochlear Implants

SUMMARY: Radiologic assessment of cochlear implants can be limited because of metallic streak artifacts and the high attenuation of the temporal bones. We report on 14 patients with 18 cochlear implants (17 Med-El standard 31.5-mm arrays, 1 Med-El medium 24-mm array) who underwent flat panel CT with the use of high-resolution secondary reconstruction techniques. Flat panel CT depicted the insertion site, cochlear implant course, and all 216 individual electrode contacts. The calculated mean angular insertion depth for standard arrays was 591.9° (SD = 70.9; range, 280°). High-resolution secondary reconstructions of the initial flat panel CT dataset, by use of a manually generated field of view, Hounsfield unit kernel type, and sharp image characteristics, provided high-quality images with improved spatial resolution. Flat panel CT is a promising imaging tool for the postoperative evaluation of cochlear implant placement.
Nurse and patient characteristics associated with duration of nurse talk during patient encounters in ICU

Abstract Background Communication interactions between nurses and mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are typically brief. Factors associated with length of nurses' communication have not been explored. Objective To examine the association between nurse and patient characteristics and duration of nurse talk. Methods In this secondary analysis, we calculated duration of nurse talk in the first 3-min of video-recorded communication observation sessions for each nurse–patient dyad ( n = 89) in the SPEACS study (4 observation sessions/dyad, n = 356). In addition, we explored the association between nurses' characteristics (age, gender, credentials, nursing experience, and critical care experience) and patients' characteristics (age, gender, race, education, delirium, agitation-sedation, severity of illness, level of consciousness, prior intubation history, days intubated prior to study enrollment, and type of intubation) on duration of nurse talk during the 3-min interaction observation. Results Duration of nurse talk ranged from 0–123 s and varied significantly over the 4 observation sessions ( p = .007). Averaging the duration of nurse talk over the observation sessions, differences in talk time between the units varied significantly by study group ( p p = .008). Length of intubation prior to study enrollment had a curvilinear relationship with talking duration (linear p = .002, quadratic p = .013); the point of inflection was at 23 days. Nurse characteristics were not significantly related to duration of nurse talk. Conclusion Length of time the patient is intubated, and the patient's level of consciousness may influence duration of nurse communication in ICU.
Use of Grammatical Morphemes by Beginning Readers

Grammatical morphemes have little inherent meaning but provide the syntactic cues necessary to structure language (the, -ing). Twenty-four good beginning readers and 24 poor readers from 12 suburban schools were tested on three measures of grammatical morpheme use: sentence recall, speech production, and language comprehension. The two groups did not differ in sentence recall. Good readers produced more correct grammatical morphemes than poor readers, but the difference disappeared when IQ effects were partialized. More grammatical morphemes were comprehended by good readers than poor readers, even when IQ was controlled.
A scalable method for multiplex LED-controlled synthesis of DNA in capillaries

As research in synthetic biology and genomic sciences becomes more widespread, the need for diverse oligonucleotide populations has increased. To limit reagent cost, it would be advantageous to obtain high quality populations in minute amounts. Towards that end, synthesis of DNA strands in capillaries utilizing photolabile 3-nitrophenylpropyloxycarbonyl (NPPOC) chemistry and ultraviolet-light emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) was examined. Multiple oligonucleotides were made in single capillaries and were characterized by hybridization, sequencing and gene synthesis. DNA synthesized in capillaries was capable of being hybridized and signal intensities correlated with microarray data. Sequencing demonstrated that the oligonucleotides were of high quality (up to 44% perfect sequences). Oligonucleotides were combined and used successfully for gene synthesis. This system offers a novel, scalable method to synthesize high quality oligonucleotides for biological applications.
Algorithm-based fault tolerance for dense matrix factorizations

Dense matrix factorizations, such as LU, Cholesky and QR, are widely used for scientific applications that require solving systems of linear equations, eigenvalues and linear least squares problems. Such computations are normally carried out on supercomputers, whose ever-growing scale induces a fast decline of the Mean Time To Failure (MTTF). This paper proposes a new hybrid approach, based on Algorithm-Based Fault Tolerance (ABFT), to help matrix factorizations algorithms survive fail-stop failures. We consider extreme conditions, such as the absence of any reliable component and the possibility of loosing both data and checksum from a single failure. We will present a generic solution for protecting the right factor, where the updates are applied, of all above mentioned factorizations. For the left factor, where the panel has been applied, we propose a scalable checkpointing algorithm. This algorithm features high degree of checkpointing parallelism and cooperatively utilizes the checksum storage leftover from the right factor protection. The fault-tolerant algorithms derived from this hybrid solution is applicable to a wide range of dense matrix factorizations, with minor modifications. Theoretical analysis shows that the fault tolerance overhead sharply decreases with the scaling in the number of computing units and the problem size. Experimental results of LU and QR factorization on the Kraken (Cray XT5) supercomputer validate the theoretical evaluation and confirm negligible overhead, with- and without-errors.
A global model of avian influenza prediction in wild birds: the importance of northern regions.

Avian influenza virus (AIV) is enzootic to wild birds, which are its natural reservoir. The virus exhibits a large degree of genetic diversity and most of the isolated strains are of low pathogenicity to poultry. Although AIV is nearly ubiquitous in wild bird populations, highly pathogenic H5N1 subtypes in poultry have been the focus of most modeling efforts. To better understand viral ecology of AIV, a predictive model should 1) include wild birds, 2) include all isolated subtypes, and 3) cover the host’s natural range, unbounded by artificial country borders. As of this writing, there are few large-scale predictive models of AIV in wild birds. We used the Random Forests algorithm, an ensemble data-mining machine-learning method, to develop a global-scale predictive map of AIV, identify important predictors, and describe the environmental niche of AIV in wild bird populations. The model has an accuracy of 0.79 and identified northern areas as having the highest relative predicted risk of outbreak. The primary niche was described as regions of low annual rainfall and low temperatures. This study is the first global-scale model of low-pathogenicity avian influenza in wild birds and underscores the importance of largely unstudied northern regions in the persistence of AIV.
Development of a novel femtosecond micromachining workstation using spectral interferometry

A workstation that enables real-time measurement of the ablation depth while micromachining with femtosecond laser pulses is demonstrated. This method uses spectral interferometry to measure the ablation depth while cutting with an amplified pulse.
The effect of crack surface interaction on the stress intensity factor in Mode III crack growth in round shafts

Abstract Turbine-generator shafts are often subjected to a complex transient torsional loading. Such transient torques may initiate and propagate a circumferential crack in the shafts. Mode III crack growth in turbo-generator shafts often results in a fracture surface morphology resembling a factory roof. The interaction of the mutual fracture surfaces results in a pressure and a frictional stress field between fracture surfaces when the shaft is subjected to torsion. This interaction reduces the effective Mode III stress intensity factor. The effective stress intensity factor in circumferentially cracked round shafts is evaluated for a wide range of applied torsional loading by considering a pressure distribution between mating fracture surfaces. The pressure between fracture surfaces results from climbing of asperities respect to each other. The pressure profile not only depends on the fracture surface roughness (height and width (wavelength) of the peak and valleys), but also depends on the magnitude of the applied Mode III stress intensity factor. The results show that asperity interactions significantly reduce the effective Mode III stress intensity factor. However, the interactions diminish beyond a critical applied Mode III stress intensity factor. The critical stress intensity factor depends on the asperities height and wavelength. The results of these analyses are used to find the effective stress intensity factor in various Mode III fatigue crack growth experiments. The results show that Mode III crack growth rate is related to the effective stress intensity factor in a form of the Paris law.
Biology of Large Dose per Fraction Irradiation

Experimental radiobiology has by happenstance focused on the implications of intraoperative and high-dose-per-fraction radiotherapy in more detail than it has standard fractionated radiotherapy. This is because the majority of radiobiological literature of tumor and normal tissue features in vivo and in vitro studies in which the radiation was administered in a single fraction. Similarly, when fractionation is used experimentally, fraction sizes near the clinical 1.8–2 Gy size used for most external beam irradiation therapy (EBRT) are rarely utilized. As a result, much of our radiobiological understanding of tumor and normal tissue response should and does relate well to that observed clinically for intraoperative irradiation therapy (IORT).
Workshop Engineering Education Proposal Writing and Project Management Workshop

Participants will be engaged in proven strategies and techniques for writing proposals to and managing projects for the National Science Foundation (NSF) divisions of Undergraduate Education (DUE) and Engineering Education and Centers (EEC). Through hands-on activities, participants will learn how to a) analyze a program announcement/solicitation, b) align their project ideas with program goals, c) identify relevant prior work, and d) craft responsive engineering education proposals. Participants will also look forward to receipt of an award and learn how to effectively manage an on-going project with due attention to budgeting, evaluation, sustainability, and reporting requirements. Workshop participants will receive a new handbook, fusing attention to research, engineering education, and project management into a seamless whole. The handbook and workshop build upon guidance developed by NSF program officers and grantees. This workshop is being offered as a project of the Center for the Advancement of Scholarship on Engineering Education (CASEE) of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) consistent with its emphasis on enhancing excellence in engineering education including education research.
Voluntary facial expression and hemispheric asymmetry over the frontal cortex.

Brain activity was monitored while 36 participants produced facial configurations denoting anger, disgust, fear, joy, and sadness. EEG alpha power was analyzed during each facial pose, with facial conditions grouped according to the approach0withdrawal motivational model of emotion. This model suggests that “approach” emotions are associated with relatively greater left frontal brain activity whereas “withdrawal” emotions are associated with relatively greater right frontal brain activity. In the context of a bilateral decrease in activation, facial poses of emotions in the withdrawal condition resulted in relatively less left frontal activation in the lateral-frontal, midfrontal and frontal-temporal-central region, but not in the parietal region, as predicted. Findings in the approach condition were less consistently supportive of predictions of the approach0withdrawal model. Implications for the approach0withdrawal model and for the emotion eliciting potential of voluntary facial movement are discussed.
A retrodirective antenna array using a spatially fed local oscillator

This work investigates a spatially fed local oscillator (LO) for a retrodirective antenna array. Compared to conventional planar transmission-line feed networks, the spatial feed offers a more flexible array layout and easier implementation, especially in large two-dimensional (2-D) arrays. This method of delivery involves radiating the LO through free space to the back-side of the array where it is received by slot-coupled patch antennas and delivered to the mixing elements. A four-element linear retrodirective array utilizing this approach is demonstrated at an LO frequency of 10.7 GHz. Retrodirectivity is observed at scan angles from -40/spl deg/ to +40/spl deg/.
Parenting Efficacy and the Early School Adjustment of Poor and Near-Poor Black Children

This short-term longitudinal study investigated whether maternal educational attainment, maternal employment status, and family income affect African-American children's behavioral and cognitive functioning over time through their impacts on mothers' psychological functioning and parenting efficacy in a sample of 100 poor and near-poor single black mothers and their 3- and 4-year-old focal children. Results indicate that education, working status, and earnings display statistically significant, negative, indirect relations with behavior problems and, with the exception of earnings, statistically significant, positive, indirect relationships with teacher-rated adaptive language skills over time. Findings suggest further that parenting efficacy may mediate the link between poor and near-poor single black mothers' depressive symptoms and their preschoolers' subsequent school adjustment. Implications of these findings for policy and program interventions are discussed.
A Distributed Hardware Mechanism for Process Synchronization on Shared-Bus Multiprocessors

Several techniques have been used to reduce the performance impact of process synchronization in fine-grained multiprocessor systems. These existing techniques tend to have long synchronization times or high shared-bus use, or they require complex and expensive hardware. A new technique is presented that uses distributed hardware locking queues to reduce both contention and latency to the minimum values that can be obtained using a shared-bus. This technique is shown to require at most two shared-bus transactions, with one transaction being typical. The latency for process continuation after obtaining a lock is reduced to near zero. Barrier synchronization using this distributed mechanism requires only one shared-bus transaction per processor involved in the barrier. This new technique is scalable and applicable to both new architectures and to existing systems, and is less complex than other hardware solutions.
Validating the English Language Learner Motivation Scale (ELLMS): Pre-college to measure language learning motivational orientations among young ELLs

Abstract This study modified and validated a measure of motivational orientations – grounded in self-determination theory and originally developed for postsecondary students – for use with younger (pre-college) English language learners (ELLs). Exploratory factor analysis results in Sample A ( n = 528) indicated that the data were best explained by a three-factor solution (intrinsic motivation, introjected regulation, and external regulation) that explained 51.6% of the variance. These results were corroborated by a confirmatory factor analysis in an independent Sample B ( n = 529; GFI = .97, CFI = .96, SRMR = .04, RMSEA = .05). The test for invariance across the two samples further supported the validity of the measure. The modified instrument, named English Language Learner Motivation Scale (ELLMS): Pre-College , showed strong psychometric characteristics for use with elementary (ages 9–11 years), middle (ages 12–14 years), and high school (ages 16–17) ELLs. Applications of the measure are discussed.
Vitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease

Vitamin D is best known for its influence on skeletal health. There is growing recognition, however, that vitamin D has nonskeletal actions, which could have important implications for understanding the consequences of vitamin D deficiency. In epidemiologic studies, vitamin D deficiency has been consistently associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Disruption of vitamin D signaling in animal models promotes hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, and atherosclerosis. This evidence has led to the initiation of prospective randomized trials of vitamin D supplementation in individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease. The results of these trials should help to guide strategies for screening and management of vitamin D deficiency in the clinic and at the population level.
Mining Streaming Tweets for Real-Time Event Credibility Prediction in Twitter

Social media like Twitter has been widely adopted for information dissemination due to its convenience and efficiency. However, false information and rumors on social media are undermining its utility as a valuable real-time information source. Existing works for information credibility analysis are based on offline batch analysis, often incurring a long lag since the event first occurs. In this paper, we develop a generative probabilistic model for real-time event credibility prediction in Twitter. We propose an online prediction algorithm based on streaming tweets, without storing or reprocessing the past tweets. We evaluate both the offline batch prediction and online streaming prediction performance of the proposed model on the Twitter dataset. The empirical results show that its batch prediction performance outperforms other algorithms based on aggregation analysis, and the online prediction performance quickly approaches that of the batch prediction with only a few hundred tweets.
Microstructure, Nanostructure and Properties of the Wasp Petiole

The wasp petiole (waist) is a self-assembled, multifunctional, hierarchically structured tube, which in some species has a simple, near-cylindrical shape that simplifies mechanical property characterization. We describe studies performed by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy that reveal several details about the hierarchical structure of mud dauber wasp petiole, including: the number and thickness of the concentric layers of cuticle comprising the wall; the similarity (and differences) between the wall structure and the structure of multi-layer corrugated cardboard; and the different anisotropies of the dorsal and ventral internal surfaces. We also describe a simple experiment in which a petiole is used as a cantilever to determine its stiffness in bending; the result (1.5 GPa) demonstrates a material efficiency in bending similar to that of GFRP and aluminum.
Vertical Clearance Modification of Two Railroad Tunnels

Two century old rock tunnels required increased vertical clearance to accommodate double-stacked container cars. At the Haverstraw and Kingston Tunnels, located on Consolidated Rail Corporation9s River Line up to two ft (0.6 m) of rock was removed from the crown of each tunnel. A survey was conducted at each tunnel to determine the existing vertical clearance, and tunnel mapping and rock mass characterization were performed to assess the stability of the tunnel crown and side walls. Rock reinforcement and rock support were designed based on the field mapping and rock mass characterization. Construction involved removing rock from the crown by smooth wall blasting techniques and installing rock reinforcement and rock support.
Optical Power Dynamics in Wavelength Layer Software Defined Networking

Optical power dynamics that result from wavelength switching and routing require system tuning that will impact the performance of SDN methods in the physical layer. We review the constraints on SDN functions due to optical power dynamics.
Second Thoughts on the Entrepreneurial Myth

Conventional wisdom often reduces entrepreneurship to the art of small business by formulating an ideological spirit rather than a scientific foundation for the field. Debunking the entrepreneurial myth, the focus must be on the political ideology behind the entrepreneurial explosion of the 1980s. Acting as the ideology of business avant-gardism, the entrepreneurial myth has become the context within which conventional wisdom about entrepreneurship has been influenced.
Behavioral Responses of Male Trichoplusia ni in a Sustained-Flight Tunnel to the Two Sex Pheromone Components

Male Trichoplusia ni were tested individually in a sustained-flight tunnel to different amounts and ratios of the two sex pheromone components, ( Z )-7-dodecenyl acetate ( Z 7-12:Ac) and dodecyl acetate (12:Ac). The primary component, Z7-12:Ac, was responsible for activation and initiation of upwind oriented flight. The secondary component, 12:Ac, elicited no behavioral response when presented alone. When 12:Ac was combined with Z7-l2:Ac in the natural blend, 93:7 Z7-l2:Ac and 12:Ac, at the optimum dosage tested, the number of upwind flights to the source, the duration of close range flight, contact and attempted copulations with the source were significantly higher than in response to Z7-l2:Ac alone. Males exhibited individual variation in duration of various phases of the response, but no significant dosage effects were observed with respect to initiation of activation or duration of wing fanning and upwind flight in moths that flew to within 25 cm of the source.
High Fidelity In-Flight Pressure and Inertial Canopy Sensing

In order to effectively understand airdrop system dynamics, analysis and verification beyond simulation alone must be pursued. This requires accurate experimental data for both the canopy and payload. Measurement of parafoil-payload relative motion has always been challenging due to the flexible nature of the canopy and requires a sensing system that does not interfere with canopy packing, does not significantly increase the canopy mass, and requires no physical connection between the canopy and payload. In 1999, Strickert and Jann [1] successfully used video-image processing techniques to measure parafoil-payload relative motion. Post flight analysis demonstrated the difficulty in estimating the differences in the orientation of the payload and canopy. Later in [2] and [3], using the same videomeasurement system, a multi-body simulation was used primarily to investigate relative longitudinal displacement, lateral displacement, and yawing. In this paper, the authors take a different approach by embedding multiple miniature low power wireless inertial sensors into the canopy. After release, the canopy sensors transmit inertial data to a main payload flight computer in during flight. As in [4], information provided from each sensor includes: magnetometer data, angular velocity, and accelerations; however, new to this work is the addition of pressure sensors which can also measure individual cell pressures and multiple GPS modules. The miniature canopy sensors were installed in an MC-4/5 canopy that mated with an autonomous guidance unit (AGU). Data was collected first for two drops with three sensors, with an emphasis on working out communication logistics between all of the sensors and the main payload module and evaluating the most recent sensor upgrades. A final drop was completed with 14 sensors embedded in the canopy (two GPS sensors and 12 pressure-inertial sensors). The experimental miniature wireless canopy sensors platform used in the parafoil and payload system is outlined in Section 2. Section 3 details the first two drops and analyzes the trajectories of each, followed by the pressure measurements and their analysis in Section 4. Section 5 highlights the performance of the system with 14 embedded sensors.
Training Lay People to “Practice” Scripture Rhetorically: A Pedagogical Model with Biblical Precedent and Warrant from the Gospel of Matthew

Teaching Bible to empower believers for Christian ministry is best done from a “situated” perspective that is contextual, rhetorical, artistic, and reasoned. A situated pedagogy integrates “transformative learning” into broader practices of Christian faith and formation. This kind of training is rhetorical: it pays attention to the ways that words function in Scripture, in life, in church, and in the world. It is artistic: it treats Scripture, scholarship, and social analysis as raw materials or as “points of departure” for creative reworkings of the Christian tradition. It primes students to turn scriptural knowledge into specific, Scripture-based interventions that are fit for purpose. It also encourages and equips them to discern whether these reworkings align with the will of God's Spirit. An emic rationale for this pedagogy is constructed by analyzing the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus calls his disciples to rework and re-purpose scriptural texts, and the Gospel writer, Matthew has put these instructions i...
Experiences of Power System Deregulation in Typical Emerging Market Countries and Its Reference Value for China

The newround of electricity reform in China focuses on reloading the power system deregulation process towards reverting the merchandise property of electricity and setting up its market mechanism. However details of electricity reform implementation remain to be discussed. Russia,India and Brazil,the other three countries of BRIC,are typical emerging market countries,and their experiences of power system deregulation have reference value for China. Firstly,their power system deregulation courses as well as existing electricity industry systems and electricity market models are introduced. Then,several key issues to be treated in power system deregulation in developing countries,such as private capital introduction,power market balance,public electricity service and power industry investment are discussed. Finally,a power market mode is proposed for recent period of power system deregulation in China.
The Effect of MRS' Susceptibility Test in Different Culture Temperature

Objective To study the effect of MRS'susceptibility test in different culture temperature,supplying more correct medicine for clinical use.Methods collecting separating and identifying MRS,using this microbial to do susceptibility test in 34℃and 36 ℃respectively in K-B methods.Result The variation of 32 plants MRS'susceptibility test with Cefoxitin were significant different between 34℃and 36℃culture.Conclusion When doing the MRS susceptibility test,the culture temperature should be controlled in the range from 33℃to 35℃to supply more correct medicine for clinical use.
“Follow the Partners”: A Relational Ontology for NGO Studies

William E. DeMars and Dennis Dijkzeul, eds. (2015). The NGO Challenge for International Relations Theory. Routledge, New York, 340 pp., $52.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-1-13-884530-5). In The NGO Challenge for International Relations Theory , DeMars and Dijkzeul argue that the major approaches to inquiry in IR—realism, liberalism, and constructivism—have failed to provide adequate frameworks for studying NGOs. To address the limitations of prior approaches, the authors recommend a relational ontology that views NGOs as permeable sites of affiliation rather than as bounded objects, and instruct scholars to pay more attention to NGOs’ relationships with other actors. Their edited volume is organized into five parts. In the introductory and concluding chapters (parts 1 and 5, respectively) DeMars and Dijkzeul outline their critiques of existing approaches against which they contrast their framework. Rationalists improperly “attribute a single, common, strategic rationality to all NGOs, and portray them as autonomous and unaffected by interactions with other actors” (294), while constructivists mistakenly focus on “vertical axes of political causality” and “rule out of consideration horizontal causal interactions of NGO operations with local politics and society, or with NGOs in other issue domains” (293). Existing approaches that portray NGOs as agents of states (realism), facilitators of international cooperation (liberalism), or vehicles for global norms (constructivism) presume common fallacies. NGOs are not homogeneous, “clearly bounded, hard shelled bureaucracies” (313) ancillary to states, as conventional approaches might suppose, but rather are … gmitchell{at}ccny.cuny.edu
Effectively Monadic Predicates

Monadic predicates play a prominent role in many decidable cases, including decision procedures for symbolic automata. We are here interested in discovering whether a formula can be rewritten into a Boolean combination of monadic predicates. Our setting is quantifier-free formulas over a decidable background theory, such as arithmetic and we here develop a semi-decision procedure for extracting a monadic decomposition of a formula when it exists.
THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the mechanical properties of matter. It defines stress and strain. The chapter presents the formulation of an empirical relation between stress and strain—called Hooke's law. It introduces the three primary elastic moduli. The chapter illustrates a number of examples that show how the elastic moduli are used in various practical and theoretical calculations. The analysis of the properties of matter is at the macroscopic level; it is the level at which the measuring instruments and senses can respond. A macroscopic quantity registers the combined actions of many atoms or molecules. In contrast, a microscopic quantity describes a single atom or molecule. The physical states of matter can be divided into two broad classes—solids and fluids. A solid maintains its shape: It resists the actions of external forces that tend to change its shape or volume and it is not easily “sliced” or compressed. A fluid, on the other hand, can easily change shape and flow when subjected to a force.
The Real Problem with Appraisal Arbitrage

In the controversial practice of appraisal arbitrage, activist investors buy up the shares of a corporation to be acquired by merger in order to assert appraisal rights challenging the price of the deal – which may already have been approved by the target stockholders. The practice is controversial because the appraisal remedy is widely seen as intended to protect existing stockholders who are (or will be) forced to sell their shares in the merger – because the majority rules. But the real puzzle is why appraisal arbitrage is profitable since the goal of an appraisal proceeding is to determine the fair price of target shares using the same techniques of valuation used by financial professionals who advise the parties to such deals. Thus, commentators have argued that the profit derives from (1) a free option to assert appraisal rights at any time until target shares are cancelled (and indeed for short time thereafter), (2) the award of pre-judgment interest at a too-generous rate, and (3) the use of a too-low supply-side discount rate in the valuation of shares. As shown in this article, none of these explanations has merit, but the third may be on the right track in that it has become almost standard practice among appraisal courts to reduce the discount rate by the projected rate of inflation and general economic growth for the so-called terminal period beyond five years into the future. The fallacy in doing so is that the discount rate implicit in market prices already incorporates these factors because investors demand and expect returns commensurate therewith. While it may be appropriate to adjust the terminal period discount rate for company-specific growth funded by the plowback of returns at a rate implicit in projected terminal period cash flow, it is incorrect to assume that growth will simply happen in lock-step with the economy as a whole. Thus, appraisal arbitrage is likely encouraged by awards that are skewed to the high side by erroneous valuation practices.
Mesoscale Modeling of the Meteorological Impacts of Irrigation during the 2012 Central Plains Drought

AbstractIn the summer of 2012, the central plains of the United States experienced one of its most severe droughts on record. This study examines the meteorological impacts of irrigation during this drought through observations and model simulations using the Community Land Model coupled to the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. A simple parameterization of irrigation processes is added into the WRF Model. In addition to keeping soil moisture in irrigated areas at a minimum of 50% of soil moisture hold capacity, this irrigation scheme has the following new features: 1) accurate representation of the spatial distribution of irrigation area in the study domain by using a MODIS-based land surface classification with 250-m pixel size and 2) improved representation of the time series of leaf area index (LAI) values derived from crop modeling and satellite observations in both irrigated and nonirrigated areas. Several numerical sensitivity experiments are conducted. The WRF-simulated temperature fiel...
In Defense of Comic Pluralism

Jokes are sometimes morally objectionable, and sometimes they are not. What’s the relationship between a joke’s being morally objectionable and its being funny? Philosophers’ answers to this question run the gamut. In this paper I present a new argument for the view that the negative moral value of a joke can affect its comedic value both positively and negatively.
Abstract 121: Identification and characterization of calcium channel blockers as inhibitors of YAP/TAZ and glioblastoma cells

Glioblastomas (GBM) are the most aggressive primary brain tumors. Despite major advances in neuroimaging and neurosurgical techniques over the past decades, the neurosurgical management of GBM patients remains challenging. Median survival of the patients is about 14.6 months. In order to radically alter the clinical course of these tumors, it is important to develop targeted therapies based on identified oncogenic mutations and signaling pathways that drive their development and sustain their maintenance. In a screen for small molecules, which can inhibit the growth of human glioblastoma cells, we identified a set of calcium channel blockers (CCB). We found that these CCB induce cell death through an apoptosis-independent process. To understand the mechanisms of the non-apoptotic cell death induced by these CCB, we dissected cellular signaling which is responsible for the cell death induction. We found that these CCB are able to inhibit YAP and TAZ, two oncogenic effectors of the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway. Importantly, GBM cells expressing the YAP active mutant or overexpressing YAP are less sensitive to these CCB. These results suggested that inhibition of YAP/TAZ is a mechanism by which CCB suppress tumor cell growth. The Hippo pathway is an essential signaling network in regulating tissue homeostasis. In this pathway, the transcription co-activators YAP and TAZ promote a gene expression program favoring cell proliferation, survival and self-renewal. In normal brain, the nuclear accumulation of YAP is largely limited to regions harboring neural progenitor cells. However, increased nuclear accumulation of YAP is found in various brain tumors, especially those more aggressive subsets of gliomas. In addition, high expression of YAP is associated with reduced mean survival in astrocytoma patients. Our results identified a novel approach to target the Hippo pathway for GBM treatment. We will present our work in further characterizing these regulations and therapeutic potentials of these calcium channel blockers in the conference. Citation Format: Wei Li, Zhijun Liu, Jennifer Xavier, Hong-Gang Wang. Identification and characterization of calcium channel blockers as inhibitors of YAP/TAZ and glioblastoma cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 121. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-121