cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of the petrography, palynology, and paleobotany of the Little Fire Creek coal bed, southwestern Virginia, U.S.A.

Abstract Two continuous cores that penetrated the Lower Pennsylvanian Little Fire Creek coal bed in the Southwestern coal field in southwestern Virginia were sampled and X-ray radiographed to determine subunit distinctions. Comparison of petrographic, palynologic, and paleobotanic data from the same sample sets from the two cores allowed for comparison of compositional data within the Little Fire Creek coal bed. The proximate, petrographic, palynologic, and plant tissue data from two sets of samples indicate a high ash, gelocollinite- and liptinite-rich coal consisting of a relatively diverse paleoflora, including lycopsid trees, small lycopsids, tree ferns, small ferns, pteridosperms (seed ferns), and rare calamites and cordaites. The relatively very high ash yields (3–80 wt%), the relatively thin subunits (1–28 cm), and the large scale vertical variations in palynomorph floras suggest that the study area was at the edge of the paleopea-forming environment. As a result, most of the compositional correspondences are among those components indicative of degradation or decomposition.
Age-Related Changes in Bone Structure and Strength in Female and Male BALB/c Mice

Mice may be useful for studies of skeletal aging, but there are limited data on changes in bone structure and strength over their life span. We obtained bones from female and male BALB/c mice at ages 2, 4, 7, 12, and 20 months and evaluated their structural, densitometric, and mechanical properties. MicroCT of the mid-diaphysis of the femur and radius indicated that during skeletal growth (2-7 months) bone cross-sectional size (area, moment of inertia) increased rapidly; during aging (7-20 months) cortical area was maintained, while moment of inertia continued to increase. Bones from females were smaller than those from males at young ages but not at later ages. Changes in whole-bone stiffness and strength reflected the changes in bone size, with a rapid increase from 2 to 7 months, followed by little or no change. In contrast, energy-to-fracture declined with aging. Cortical tissue mineral density increased during growth and was maintained with aging. MicroCT of trabecular bone revealed age-related changes that were site-dependent. The proximal tibia showed a clear pattern of age-related decline in trabecular BV/TV, with progressive decreases after 4 months in both sexes; lumbar vertebra L5 had more modest age-related declines; in contrast, caudal vertebra Ca7 had increasing BV/TV with aging. Overall, we found no evidence that females had more pronounced age-related deterioration than males. We conclude that bones from aging female and male BALB/c mice exhibit many of the changes seen in humans and are therefore a clinically relevant model for studies of skeletal aging.
High pressure phase of MgTe: Stable structure at STP?

The crystal structure of MgTe has been studied in a diamond anvil cell using energy dispersive x-ray diffraction to 6 GPa at room temperature. The first pressure-induced structural phase transformation among magnesium chalcogenides was observed for MgTe at {ital P}{approx}1{minus}3.5 GPa. The new phase has been indexed as the NiAs structure and it persisted after unloading to low pressure (0. GPa) and annealing for 10 h at 100 {degree}C. This is the first experimental evidence consistent with a recent theoretical prediction that for low temperature the ground state of MgTe is the NiAs structure. It is also the first pressure-induced wurtzite to NiAs transition.
Remarks on the lifetime of charmed baryon Λ c

The interference andW-exchange contributions toΛ c + inclusive nonleptonic decay rate are expressed in terms of matrix elements of effective fourquark operators and evaluated in the MIT bag model. It is found that although theW-exchange is not necessarily subject to helicity and color suppression, it does not suffice to explain the measured lifetime ofΛ c +. The observed semileptonic branching ratio ofΛ c +, however, requires that its inclusive decay rate be dominated by the nonspectator contribution and thus theW-exchange be substantially enhanced by some nonperturbative effects. The implication for exclusive two-body decays ofΛ c + is briefly discussed.
Quasiracemic Crystallization as a Tool To Assess the Accommodation of Noncanonical Residues in Nativelike Protein Conformations

Quasiracemic crystallization has been used to obtain high-resolution structures of two variants of the villin headpiece subdomain (VHP) that contain a pentafluorophenylalanine (F5Phe) residue in the hydrophobic core. In each case, the crystal contained the variant constructed from l-amino acids and the native sequence constructed from d-amino acids. We were motivated to undertake these studies by reports that racemic proteins crystallize more readily than homochiral forms and the prospect that quasiracemic crystallization would enable us to determine whether a polypeptide containing a noncanonical residue can closely mimic the tertiary structure of the native sequence. The results suggest that quasiracemic crystallization may prove to be generally useful for assessing mimicry of naturally evolved protein folding patterns by polypeptides that contain unnatural side-chain or backbone subunits.
Gendering Abbottabad: Agency and Hegemonic Masculinity in an Age of Global Terrorism

During the week after the United States’ raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011, the media discussed women associated with the raid. Media reported that bin Laden hid “behind a woman” during the raid, describing bin Laden’s wife as a human shield. The press also discussed a photo of the Situation Room during the raid, calling attention to Hillary Clinton, who was thought to be gasping out of emotion in the photo. The narratives surrounding Amal Ahmed al-Sadah (married to bin Laden) and Secretary Clinton elicit insights into the place of gender vis-a-vis terrorism. In this paper, we content analyze non-op-ed newswires, debating how/whether the media framed al-Sadah and Clinton as political agents, feminine representations, and/or as superfluous to terrorism. We find that the press described Clinton as emotional and largely saw al-Sadah as passive and generically as a wife. Women were portrayed differently than men, who are considered active, but unemotional. Additionally, articles critiqued President Obama’s posture and clothing in the Situation Room and disparaged Osama bin Laden for unmanliness. We therefore conclude that the mainstream, print media press prioritizes hegemonic masculinity when discussing terrorism, overlooking women’s agency and ascribing feminine identities to women and marginalized masculinities to certain men.
The Provision of Advocacy Services to Women Leaving Abusive Partners An Exploratory Study

The current research was designed to examine the impact of providing short-term advocacy services to women leaving battered women's shelters. Previous research has suggested that a critical reason so many women remain with or return to their abusive partners is lack of access to community resources necessary for independent living. This study employed a true experimental design and was longitudinal, interviewing women four times over the first five months after they left a battered women's shelter. Women in the experimental condition received intensive, one-on-one services with trained paraprofessional advocates for a period of 10 weeks. Advocates assisted women in gaining access to needed community resources. Women in the control condition received no additional services. Findings corroborated earlier research that suggested that battered women often lack many resources needed to live independently of their assailants. Results further indicated that women who worked with advocates reported being more eff...
Quick-Release Bromocriptine for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Quick-release bromocriptine (bromocriptine-QR) (Cycloset) was approved in 2009 for treatment of type 2 diabetes. The exact anti-diabetic mechanism of action of bromocriptine-QR has not been elucidated, but the drug may help resetting the circadian dopamine signal. Randomized placebo-controlled trials showed that the mean reduction in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels by bromocriptine-QR was 0.0-0.2% when compared to baseline and 0.4-0.5% when compared with placebo after 24 weeks of therapy. Withdrawal rates due to adverse effects in patients receiving bromocriptine-QR and placebo were 24% and 11%, respectively. The most common adverse effect of bromocriptine-QR was nausea reported by 32% of patients compared with 7% of patients randomized to placebo. The advantages of bromocriptine-QR were minimal risk of hypoglycemia, neutral effect on weight, and reassuring cardiovascular safety over 1 year of use. However, the drug had multiple drawbacks including modest efficacy, high rates of nausea, lack of long-term efficacy and safety data, and considerable cost. Bromocriptine-QR may be used in patients with type 2 diabetes with mild hyperglycemia (HbA1c close to 7.5%) either as adjunctive treatment to metformin and sulfonylurea (SU) or as monotherapy in patients who are intolerant to both agents.
DIRECT NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF 3-D JETS USING COMPACT SCHEMES AND SPATIAL FILTERING *

Summary Direct numerical simulation (DNS) of threedimensional subsonic turbulent round jets is the main focus of this study. The full compressible threedimensional Navier-Stokes equations are solved using a parallel algorithm that employs a sixth-order compact scheme along with an eighth-order implicit spatial filter. Spatial filtering is used as the means of rejecting unwanted numerical oscillations that emanate from the boundaries of the computational domain. Tarn and Webb's non-reflecting boundary conditions are used to let acoustic waves freely exit the domain. Results for a turbulent jet of Reynolds number 1000 are presented. Excellent speedups up to 128 processors are obtained on an IBM SP machine. The current DNS code will be eventually used in a Computational Aeroacoustics (CAA) methodology for jet noise prediction.
Endothelial Cell Membrane Sensitivity to Shear Stress is Lipid Domain Dependent

Blood flow-associated shear stress causes physiological and pathophysiological biochemical processes in endothelial cells that may be initiated by alterations in plasma membrane lipid domains characterized as liquid-ordered (lo), such as rafts or caveolae, or liquid-disordered (ld). To test for domain–dependent shear sensitivity, we used time-correlated single photon counting instrumentation to assess the photophysics and dynamics of the domain-selective lipid analogues DiI-C12 and DiI-C18 in endothelial cells subjected to physiological fluid shear stress. Under static conditions, DiI-C12 fluorescence lifetime was less than DiI-C18 lifetime and the diffusion coefficient of DiI-C12 was greater than the DiI-C18 diffusion coefficient, confirming that DiI-C12 probes ld, a more fluid membrane environment, and DiI-C18 probes the lo phase. Domains probed by DiI-C12 exhibited an early (10 s) and transient decrease of fluorescence lifetime after the onset of shear while domains probed by DiI-C18 exhibited a delayed decrease of fluorescence lifetime that was sustained for the 2 min the cells were subjected to flow. The diffusion coefficient of DiI-C18 increased after shear imposition, while that of DiI-C12 remained constant. Determination of the number of molecules (N) in the control volume suggested that DiI-C12-labeled domains increased in N immediately after step-shear, while N for DiI-C18-stained membrane transiently decreased. These results demonstrate that membrane microdomains are differentially sensitive to fluid shear stress.
Using agronomic traits and semiochemical production in winter wheat cultivars to identify suitable trap crops for the wheat stem sawfly

Abstract Trap crops are a plausible control strategy for the wheat stem sawfly (WSS), Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), especially in alternate wheat—fallow cropping systems. Identifying the most suitable winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L., Poaceae) cultivars is necessary to further improve the effectiveness of winter wheat trap crops. We compared cultivars suitable for cultivation in Montana to identify those that exhibit the greatest potential as trap crops. To accomplish this we used nine winter wheat cultivars to analyze plant characteristics that influence the oviposition behavior of the WSS: stem height, stem diameter, rate of plant development, and emission of the WSS attractant (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate. Data on sawfly-induced stem cutting collected from these cultivars in field nurseries were analyzed to evaluate the potential of each cultivar to attract sawflies. Based on these criteria, five cultivars with good potential as trap crops are ‘Norstar’, ‘Neeley’, ‘Morgan’, ‘Rampart’, and ‘...
Use of Multiple Psychotropic Medications Among Adolescents Aging Out of Foster Care

Objectives: This study described the prevalence of and risk factors for using multiple concurrent psychotropics among adolescents leaving foster care. Methods: Inperson interviews were conducted with 406 adolescents who were aged 17 years and were leaving foster care in a Midwestern state. Results: Of the 403 who had complete records, most (N=257, or 64%) did not report taking any psychotropic medications, while 46 (10%) were on three or more concurrent psychotropics. A history of physical or sexual abuse and a diagnosis of major depressive disorder or manic episode were significantly associated with the use of three or more concurrent medications. Between 19% and 41% of adolescents with diagnoses for which psychotropics are indicated were not taking any medications. Conclusions: This local cohort of adolescents aging out of foster care seemed to display both overuse and underuse of psychotropics. Research on larger and more representative cohorts of youths leaving foster care is necessary in order to understand the appropriateness of psychotropic prescribing among these adolescents. (Psychiatric Services 59: 1052–1055, 2008) T he past several years have shown expansions in the use of psychotropic medications among children and adolescents in general and among those in the child welfare system in particular. However, much of this information comes from administrative claims data, which often lack information on clinical indications for such use. Psychotropic medication prescriptions for children and adolescents have risen two- to threefold in the past decade. The risk of aggressive psychopharmacology is high among children in the child welfare system, of whom 40% to 60% are reported to meet criteria for at least one DSM-IV disorder (1). National probability estimates suggest that 14% of these children receive psychotropic medications—a rate two to three times that of children in the community (2).
Kinship Ties: Attachment Relationships that Promote Resilience in African American Adult Children of Alcoholics

For many African Americans, the extended family has been the source of strength, resilience, and survival. Although changes in African American families, like changes in all families in the United States that have diluted the importance of kinship ties, many African Americans continue to place a high value on extended family members. Children of Africans and communities of African descent traditionally interact with multiple caregivers, consisting of kin, and fictive kin.Utilizing both attachment theory and risk and resilience literature, this paper discusses ways to better understand the resilient nature of African American families and how multiple attachment relationships assist at-risk African American children, specifically adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs).
Application of double negative materials to increase the power radiated by electrically small antennas

The effect of surrounding an electrically small dipole antenna with a shell of double negative (DNG) material (/spl epsiv//sub r/<0 and /spl mu//sub r/<0) has been investigated both analytically and numerically. The problem of an infinitesimal electric dipole embedded in a homogeneous DNG medium is treated; its analytical solution shows that this electrically small antenna acts inductively rather than capacitively as it would in free space. It is then shown that a properly designed dipole-DNG shell combination increases the real power radiated by more than an order of magnitude over the corresponding free space case. The reactance of the antenna is shown to have a corresponding decrease. Analysis of the reactive power within this dipole-DNG shell system indicates that the DNG shell acts as a natural matching network for the dipole. An equivalent circuit model is introduced that confirms this explanation. Several cases are presented to illustrate these results. The difficult problem of interpreting the energy stored in this dipole-DNG shell system when the DNG medium is frequency independent and, hence, of calculating the radiation Q is discussed from several points of view.
Control of self-steepening in quadratic media

We demonstrate control of the sign and magnitude of self-steepening in quadratic media. Consequently, the self-steepening-like distortions due to group-velocity mismatch can be enhanced or cancelled, which allows new applications in the near-single-cycle regime.
Six bioabsorbable polymers: in vitro acute toxicity of accumulated degradation products.

Bioabsorbable polymer implants may provide a viable alternative to metal implants for internal fracture fixation. One of the potential difficulties with absorbable implants is the possible toxicity of the polymeric degradation products especially if they accumulate and become concentrated. Accordingly, material evaluation must involve dose–response toxicity data as well as mechanical properties and degradation rates. In this study the toxicity and rates of degradation for six polymers were determined, along with the toxicity of their degradation product components. The polymers studied were poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), two samples of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) having different molecular weights, poly(ortho ester) (POE), poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL), and poly(hydroxy butyrate valerate) (5% valerate) (PHBV). Polymeric specimens were incubated at 37°C in 0.05 M Tris buffer (pH 7.4 at 37°C) and sterile deionized water. The solutions were not changed during the incubation intervals, providing a worst-case model of the effects of accumulation of degradation products. The pH and acute toxicity of the incubation solutions and the mass loss and logarithmic viscosity number of the polymer samples were measured at 10 days, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Toxicity was measured using a bioluminescent bacteria, acute toxicity assay system. The acute toxicity of pure PGA, PLA, POE, and PCL degradation product components was also determined. Degradation products for PHBV were not tested. PGA incubation solutions were toxic at 10 days and at all following intervals. The lower molecular weight PLA incubation solutions were not toxic in buffer but were toxic by 4 weeks in water. The other materials did not produce toxic responses during the 16-week exposures. The degradation products components in order from most toxic to least toxic are: lactic acid (PLA), ϵ-caproic acid (PCL), glycolic acid (PGA), cyclohexane dimethanol (POE), propionic acid (POE), 1,6 hexane diol (POE), pentaerythritol dipropionate (POE), and pentaerythritol (POE). © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Pitch conversion based on pitch mark mapping

Voice conversion is a subject of major research interest these days, due to its numerous applications including dubbing, text to speech synthesis and multimedia. Pitch conversion is an important building block for efficient voice conversion. This paper focuses on the implementation of pitch scaling and pitch conversion. Effective silence removal, voice/unvoiced detection, pitch extraction, pitch marking and PSOLA techniques have been implemented for pitch scaling along with an implementation of pitch mark mapping method for pitch conversion. A graphical user interface has been developed for evaluation and illustration purposes. Evaluation of the pitch scaling and pitch conversion technique was performed on various speech data. Pitch scaling and pitch conversion for both the male and female speakers was implemented and verified with the help of pitch contour plots of the transformed speech.
Effects of Various Thyroid Substances in Patients with Obesity

THE CLINICAL picture of thyrotoxicosis with its manifestations of generalized increased body metabolism and circulatory activity is well recognized. So, too, prolonged medication or overdosage with thyroid substances administered for therapeutic purposes may cause the appearance of such signs and symptoms of toxicity as palpitation, nervousness, diarrhea, tremors, weakness and increased diaphoresis. Rasmussen (1) demonstrated that long-continued administration of desiccated thyroid gland to dogs, a) produced paroxysmal tachycardia, b) augmented the systolic blood pressure, c) caused electrocardiographic changes (negative T waves or prolonged QT intervals) and d) finally death by circulatory insufficiency. In human subjects receiving thyroid therapy, acute dilation of the heart, angina, left heart failure (2), cardiac involvement such as that seen in Addison's disease (3) and auricular fibrillation (4) have been described. Salter (4) warned against overtaxing the physiologic reserves of the heart and adren...
The addict as savior: heroin, death, and the family

The high mortality rate among drug addicts is seen as a suicidal phenomenon with a family basis. The death wish, or instruction for the addict to die, is often quite clearly expressed by the family. He is placed in the role of savior and martyr. His death is seen as a noble, cleansing sacrifice in which he is often a willing participant. Language: en
Comparing double-negative and double-positive covers around a radiating line current

The power radiated by a line source per unit length, sur- rounded by a double-negative (DNG) material is analytically found and compared with that obtained in case of a double-positive (DPS) mate- rial. Results indicate that the presence of significant increase in the ra- diated power with a shift in resonance. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 48: 250 -252, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop. 21319
A 0.25/spl mu/m CMOS RF front-end with a low cost patch antenna for GPS receivers

The design of an RF front-end with 0.25 mum CMOS process is presented with a low cost patch antenna for global positioning system (GPS) receivers. The patch antenna is designed on a low cost dielectric material, FR-4, with epsir = 4.2. The antenna is matched to a 50 Omega transmission line that is connected to a 5th order Chebyshev edge coupled band-pass filter with center frequency at 1.57542 GHz, and bandwidth of 20 MHz via a recessed line-feed. A single-ended narrow-band low-noise amplifier (LNA) is designed with a gain of 28 dB, and NF of 3.4 dB. The single balanced mixer gives a gain of 20 dB, and an IF of 178 MHz, with on chip LC tanks. The mixer NF is 8.6 dB. The front-end is an all NMOS design. Total power dissipation is 18 mW, with total gain of 44 dB, an IIP3 -30 dBm, and NF of 3.8 dB
Invertebrate-mediated nutrient loading increases growth of an intertidal macroalga

Even in nitrogen-replete ecosystems, microhabitats exist where local-scale nutrient limitation occurs. For example, coastal waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean are characterized by high nitrate concentrations associated with upwelling. However, macroalgae living in high-zone tide pools on adjacent rocky shores are isolated from this upwelled nitrate for extended periods of time, leading to nutrient limitation. When high-intertidal pools are isolated during low tide, invertebrate-excreted ammonium accumulates, providing a potential nitrogen source for macroalgae. I quantified the influence of mussels (Mytilus californianus Conrad) on ammonium accumulation rates in tide pools. I then evaluated the effects of ammonium loading by mussels on nitrogen assimilation and growth rates of Odonthalia floccosa (Esp.) Falkenb., a common red algal inhabitant of pools on northeastern Pacific rocky shores. Odonthalia was grown in artificial tide pool mesocosms in the presence and absence of mussels. Mesocosms were subjected to a simulated tidal cycle mimicking emersion and immersion patterns of high-intertidal pools on the central Oregon coast. In the presence of mussels, ammonium accumulated more quickly in the mesocosms, resulting in increased rates of nitrogen assimilation into algal tissues. These increased nitrogen assimilation rates were primarily associated with higher growth rates. In mesocosms containing mussels, Odonthalia individuals added 41% more biomass than in mesocosms without mussels. This direct positive effect of mussels on macroalgal biomass represents an often overlooked interaction between macroalgae and invertebrates. In nutrient-limited microhabitats, such as high-intertidal pools, invertebrate-excreted ammonium is likely an important local-scale contributor to macroalgal productivity.
German Venture-Capital Firms and Portfolio-Company Performance: What Types of Management Support Make a Difference?

The article discusses how involved venture-capital firms (VCFs) in Germany should be with companies in their investment portfolios (PC). The author recommends that VCFs offer at least some level of non-monetary support to portfolio-company managers, such as serving on their board of directors or providing financial advice on business policy decisions. A VCF's level of involvement can have great impact on their PC's overall performance. It is possible for VCFs to have a level of control and directional power exceeding their minority stakeholder position. A VCF's investment may also impact management support in the German venture-capital industry based on its legal structure. The rate of growth in external environment is noted as a critical driver of management support by VCFs.
Hamilton cycles in trivalent Cayley graphs

Abstract It is shown that the Trivalent Cayley graphs, TC n , are near recursive . In particular, TC n is a union of four copies of TC n − 2 with additional well placed nodes. This allows one to recursively build the Hamilton cycle in TC n .
The Effects of Family Therapies for Adolescent Delinquency and Substance Abuse: A Meta-Analysis.

This meta-analysis summarizes results from k = 24 studies comparing either Brief Strategic Family Therapy, Functional Family Therapy, Multidimensional Family Therapy, or Multisystemic Therapy to either treatment-as-usual, an alternative therapy, or a control group in the treatment of adolescent substance abuse and delinquency. Additionally, the authors reviewed and applied three advanced meta-analysis methods including influence analysis, multivariate meta-analysis, and publication bias analyses. The results suggested that as a group the four family therapies had statistically significant, but modest effects as compared to treatment-as-usual (d = 0.21; k = 11) and as compared to alternative therapies (d = 0.26; k = 11). The effect of family therapy compared to control was larger (d = 0.70; k = 4) but was not statistically significant probably because of low power. There was insufficient evidence to determine whether the various models differed in their effectiveness relative to each other. Influence analyses suggested that three studies had a large effect on aggregate effect sizes and heterogeneity statistics. Moderator and multivariate analyses were largely underpowered but will be useful as this literature grows.
On reinforcement learning for robots

In the paper the author considers: what reinforcement learning is; what makes reinforcement learning difficult; biasing reinforcement learning; and integrating reinforcement learning into agent architectures.
Medusa: managing concurrency and communication in embedded systems

Microcontroller systems are almost always concurrent, event-driven systems. They monitor external events and control actuators. Typically, these systems are written in C with very little support from system software. The concurrency in these applications is implemented with hand-coded interrupt routines. Race conditions and other classic pitfalls of implementing parallel systems in shared-state programming languages have caused catastrophic, and sometimes lethal, failures in the past. We have designed and implemented Medusa, a programming environment for microcontrollers using the actor model. This paper presents three key contributions. First, the Medusa language, which is derived from Python and Erlang. Second, an implementation that runs on systems several orders of magnitude smaller than any other actor-model system previously described. Finally, a novel bridging mechanism to extend the domain of the actor-model to hardware. Combined, these innovations make it far easier to build complex, reliable and safe embedded systems.
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS OF MAMMALS CORROBORATE THE EXCEPTIONAL DECLINE OF PRAIRIE HABITAT IN THE CHICAGO REGION

Abstract The prairie deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii) was more common than the white-footed mouse (P. leucopus) in museum collections from the 6 Illinois counties of the Chicago region before 1920 but constitutes only 5% of specimens deposited since 1970. Because white-footed mouse prefers woody vegetation and because prairie deer mouse is limited to prairie or large open habitats, the change in proportion is likely driven by a disproportionate loss of prairie among remaining natural habitat and increases in woody vegetation within grasslands. The decline of the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) relative to the meadow vole (M. pennsylvanicus) and the lack of recent specimens of Franklin's ground squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii) corroborate the hypothesis that prairie habitats have declined much more so than wooded habitats in the Chicago region. Based on extinction models using museum records, it is probable that S. franklinii is already locally extirpated. Regression analysis suggests the ...
Effects of biradical deuteration on the performance of DNP: towards better performing polarizing agents

We study the effects of the deuteration of biradical polarizing agents on the efficiency of dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) via the cross-effect. To this end, we synthesized a series of bTbK and TOTAPol biradicals with systematically increased deuterium substitution. The deuteration increases the radicals' relaxation time, thus contributing to a higher saturation factor and larger DNP enhancement, and reduces the pool of protons within the so-called spin diffusion barrier. Notably, we report that full or partial deuteration leads to improved DNP enhancement factors in standard samples, but also slows down the build-up of hyperpolarization. Improvements in DNP enhancements factors of up to 70% and time savings of up to 38% are obtained upon full deuteration. It is foreseen that this approach may be applied to other DNP polarizing agents thus enabling further sensitivity improvements.
DelEnsembleElec: Computing Ensemble-Averaged Electrostatics Using DelPhi

A new VMD plugin that interfaces with DelPhi to provide ensemble-aver- aged electrostatic calculations using the Poisson-Boltzmann equation is presented. The general theory and context of this approach are discussed, and examples of the plugin interface and calculations are presented. This new tool is applied to systems of current biological interest, obtaining the ensemble-averaged electrostatic properties of the two major influenza virus glycoproteins, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, from explic- itly solvated all-atom molecular dynamics trajectories. The differences between the ensemble-averaged electrostatics and those obtained from a single structure are exam- ined in detail for these examples, revealing how the plugin can be a powerful tool in facilitating the modeling of electrostatic interactions in biological systems.
To Fix or to Float: Pros and Cons for the Different Regimes

The paper aims at acknowledging the differences among the most common exchange rate regimes. In that sense, the characteristics, similarities and differences among fixed, floating regime and crawling peg are accentuated and discussed.
Vaccines in Multiple Sclerosis

Vaccinations help prevent communicable disease. To be valuable, a vaccine’s ability to prevent disease must exceed the risk of adverse effects from administration. Many vaccines present no risk of infection as they are comprised of killed or non-infectious components while other vaccines consist of live attenuated microorganisms which carry a potential risk of infection—particularly, in patients with compromised immunity. There are several unique considerations with respect to vaccination in the multiple sclerosis (MS) population. First, there has been concern that vaccination may trigger or aggravate the disease. Second, disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) employed in the treatment of MS may increase the risk of infectious complications from vaccines or alter their efficacy. Lastly, in some cases, vaccination strategies may be part of the treatment paradigm in attempts to avoid complications of therapy.
Cost estimate for a proposed GDF Suez LNG testing program

At the request of GDF Suez, a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate was prepared for the design, construction, testing, and data analysis for an experimental series of large-scale (Liquefied Natural Gas) LNG spills on land and water that would result in the largest pool fires and vapor dispersion events ever conducted. Due to the expected cost of this large, multi-year program, the authors utilized Sandia's structured cost estimating methodology. This methodology insures that the efforts identified can be performed for the cost proposed at a plus or minus 30 percent confidence. The scale of the LNG spill, fire, and vapor dispersion tests proposed by GDF could produce hazard distances and testing safety issues that need to be fully explored. Based on our evaluations, Sandia can utilize much of our existing fire testing infrastructure for the large fire tests and some small dispersion tests (with some modifications) in Albuquerque, but we propose to develop a new dispersion testing site at our remote test area in Nevada because of the large hazard distances. While this might impact some testing logistics, the safety aspects warrant this approach. In addition, we have included a proposal to study cryogenic liquid spills on water more » and subsequent vaporization in the presence of waves. Sandia is working with DOE on applications that provide infrastructure pertinent to wave production. We present an approach to conduct repeatable wave/spill interaction testing that could utilize such infrastructure. « less
Rigid, Vapor-Permeable Poly(4-methyl-2-pentyne) Templates for High Resolution Patterning of Nanoparticles and Polymers

Soft lithography methods are emerging as useful tools for high-resolution, three-dimensional patterning of polymers and nanoparticles. However, the low Young's modulus of the standard template material, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), limits attainable resolution, fidelity, and alignment capability. While much research has been performed to find other more rigid polymer template materials, the high solvent and vapor permeability that is characteristic of PDMS is often sacrificed, preventing their use in those processes reliant on this property. In this work, a highly rigid, chemically robust, optically transparent and vapor-permeable poly(4-methyl-2-pentyne) template is developed. The combination of high rigidity and high vapor permeability enables high resolution patterning with simplified ink handling. This material was nanopatterned to create a template for patterning polymers and nanoparticles, achieving a resolution of better than 350 nm.
Optimized Vegetation Buffer Strips Design for Integrated Management of Goodwin Creek Watershed in Mississippi

A principal contributor to soil erosion and non-point source pollution, agricultural activities have a major influence on the environmental quality of a watershed. Impact of agricultural activities on the quality of water resources can be minimized by implementing suitable Best Management Practices (BMPs). The selection and design of these BMPs must be carried out by optimizing both technical and economical considerations. For example, a Vegetation Buffer Strip (VBS), one of the commonly used off-field structural BMPs, can significantly improve the water quality when it is designed and placed correctly. On the other hand, a VBS occupies a portion of the agricultural land that could have been used for crop production, and implementation/maintenance costs are involved. Currently, VBSs are designed (location, plant type, and width) based on field study results, and do not involve a science-based approach to ensure their efficiency under particular regional, climatic, geological and economical conditions. The present study proposes a new approach which integrates computational modeling of watershed processes, fluvial processes in the drainage network and modern heuristic optimization techniques to design cost effective VBSs. The watershed model AnnAGNPS and the channel network model CCHE1D are linked together to simulate the sediment/pollutant transport processes. Based on the computational results, a multi-objective function is set up to minimize soil losses, nutrient concentrations, and total costs associated with installation and maintenance of VBS, while the production profits from agriculture are maximized. The iterative optimization algorithm uses adaptive Tabu search heuristic to flip VBS design parameters. USDA’s Goodwin Creek experimental watershed located in Northern Mississippi is used to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed approach. The results show that the optimized design of VBS using an integrated approach at the watershed level can provide efficient and cost-effective conservation of the environmental quality by taking into account also productivity and profitability.
Structural characterization of peripheral nerve cells and nerve-muscle junctions of the oviduct of stable fly (Diptera:Muscidae).

Fine structure of both peripheral nerve cells and neuromuscular junctions associated with the oviduct of stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), was described. Twelve or more multipolar peripheral neurons were found along major branch nerves that enter the ovipositor. Several were suspended in the haemacoel and others were in close proximity to the surface of the oviduct. Some peripheral neurons contained an abundance of neurosecretory granules that ranged in size from 32 to 180 nm in diameter. No glial elements enveloped the perikarya of such cells. Neurosecretory axons were usually found in the boundary region of large nerves just beneath the stroma. Peripheral nerve cells in close apposition to oviduct muscles were generally non-neurosecretory and were ensheathed in a glial perineurium. Peripheral neurons were surrounded occasionally by an extensive network of extracellular spaces in the glial perineurium. Other smaller neurons were found within large nerve trunks. Nerve-muscle junctions contained large clusters of synaptic vesicles and occasionally included small groups of neurosecretory granules. Many nerve terminals on the surface of the oviduct contained a complex postsynaptic folding of sarcolemma. Active transmission sites were indicated by increased densities along the neurolemma. Some neurohemal release sites were also evident.
Threat Assessment of Target Group Based on Improved Glowworm Swarm Optimization and BP Neural Network

Setting the ship air defense system as a background,aiming at the problem of the accuracy can not meet the requirements and the convergence is slow in glowworm swarm optimization,the glowworm swarm optimization adjusting the adaptive step size dynamically is put foruard. It Establishes judge model improved the glowworm swarm optimization and BP neural network based on the improved glowworm swarm optimization algorithm. Optimization of BP neural network by improving the firefly algorithm the initial weights and thresholds,prediction can be better on the test set. Experimental results show that,the method can realize the threat assessment of target group quickly and accurately.
Determination of the Porosity Surfaces of the Disposal Room Containing Various Waste Inventories for WIPP PA.

This report develops a series of porosity surfaces for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The concept of a porosity surface was developed for performance assessment and comprises calculation of room closure as salt creep processes are mitigated by gas generation and back stress created by the waste packages within the rooms. The physical and mechanical characteristics of the waste packaging that has already been disposed--such as the pipe overpack--and new waste packaging--such as the advanced mixed waste compaction--are appreciably different than the waste form upon which the original compliance was based and approved. This report provides structural analyses of room closure with various waste inventories. All of the underlying assumptions pertaining to the original compliance certification including the same finite element code are implemented; only the material parameters describing the more robust waste packages are changed from the certified baseline. As modeled, the more rigid waste tends to hold open the rooms and create relatively more void space in the underground than identical calculations run on the standard waste packages, which underpin the compliance certification. The several porosity surfaces quantified within this report provide possible ranges of pressure and porosity for performance assessment analyses.3 Intentionally blank4 AcknowledgementsThis research is fundedmore » by WIPP programs administered by the U.S. Department of Energy. The authors would like to acknowledge the valuable contributions to this work provided by others. Dr. Joshua S. Stein helped explain the hand off between these finite element porosity surfaces and implementation in the performance calculations. Dr. Leo L. Van Sambeek of RESPEC Inc. helped us understand the concepts of room closure under the circumstances created by a rigid waste inventory. Dr. T. William Thompson and Tom W. Pfeifle provided technical review and Mario J. Chavez provided a Quality Assurance review. The paper has been improved by these individuals.Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC04-94Al850005 Intentionally Blank6« less
The Constraints on Industrialisation: Some Lessons from the First Industrial Revolution

It is easy to be misled by history. Development economists and economic historians have both spent a great of energy identifying the stylised facts and ‘patterns’ of development. Indeed, in uncritical moments we tend to gauge an economy’s performance by its ability to replicate or even exceed those stylised patterns. This is an ineffective use of history since it fails to exploit the information available. What we really want to know is how economies perform in response to technological events and changing world market conditions. What we really want to assess is the ability of an economy to reach its full potential, that is, to come close to optimal growth and industrialisation.
An N-path bandpass filter with a tuning range of 0.1–12 GHz and stopband rejection > 20 dB in 32 nm SOI CMOS

This paper presents an N-path bandpass filter with a tuning range of 0.1–12 GHz, a constant 3-dB bandwidth of 150 MHz (1-dB bandwidth of 80 MHz), and a stopband rejection greater than 20 dB. The filter includes two sets of 4-path mixers to remove the dependence of the rejection on the switch resistance, and also a clock (LO) divider which operates at 0.2–24 GHz. The passband insertion loss is 3–7.4 dB from 0.1–12 GHz with a power consumption of 20–130 mW. The measured in-band IIP3 is 21–6 dBm and the measured out-of-band IIP3 is 29–15 dBm at 120 MHz offset for 0.1–12 GHz, respectively. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the widest tuning range demonstrated for an N-path bandpass filter of any kind.
Human Rights and Security in US History

This Human Rights Day, commemorating the 10 December 1948 proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we embark on a year-long observance of the 50th anniversary of the two International Covenants on Human Rights: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966. Together these documents form an International Bill of Human Rights, the birthright of all human beings with respect to civil, political, cultural, economic, and social rights.The United States has drawn world focus on rights and freedoms – freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear – often in the context of preserving and promoting human rights through strong national and homeland security efforts, and requisite defense support to civil authorities, in the wake of natural and man-made disasters threatening each of those rights and freedoms.
Computer-assisted image processing 12 lead ECG model to diagnose hyperkalemia

Abstract Background We sought to develop an improved 12 lead ECG model to diagnose hyperkalemia by use of traditional and novel parameters. Methods We retrospectively analyzed ECGs in consecutive hyperkalemic patients (serum potassium (K) > 5.3 mEq/L) by blinded investigators with normokalemic ECGs as internal controls. Potassium levels were modeled using general linear mixed models followed by refit with standardized variables. Optimum sensitivity and specificity were determined using cut point analysis of ROC-AUC. Results The training set included 236 ECGs (84 patients) and validation set 97 ECGs (23 patients). Predicted K = (5.2354) + (0.03434*descending T slope) + (−0.2329*T width) + (−0.9652*reciprocal of new QRS width > 100 msec). ROC-AUC in the validation set was 0.78 (95% CI 0.69–0.88). Maximum specificity of the model was 84% for K > 5.91 with sensitivity of 63%. Conclusion ECG model incorporating T-wave width, descending T-wave slope and new QRS prolongation improved hyperkalemia diagnosis over traditional ECG analysis.
Predicting hospital admissions to reduce emergency department boarding

Abstract Recent research has established that Emergency Department (ED) congestion is often caused by the inability to transition patients into inpatient units within the hospital in a timely fashion. This problem, in which the ED boards inpatients, is common across the U.S. Predicting ED patient admission using demographic and clinical information with only a few admission predictor factors investigated so far. We have developed a prediction model that can be used as a decision support tool and help reduce ED boarding. Using secondary data from the ED of a local hospital, we have examined the importance of eight demographic and clinical determinant factors of ED patients' admission to the hospital. We have employed Logistic Regression (LR) and Neural Network (NN) modeling techniques and based on our statistical analysis, we have identified encounter reason, age, and radiology exam type as the most significant factors. We have studied patterns between input variables (i.e. age) and output variables (i.e. admitted or not) and have developed a set of rules of thumb for predicting admissions. These unique rules can be used without any modeling or further investigation during operations, therefore providing important information regarding the ultimate status of a patient after ED operations without any time or cost. The study proves that an admission prediction model based on demographic and clinical determinant factors can accurately estimate the likelihood of patient admission, thus decreasing ED boarding and congestion, both significant problems in hospital operations.