cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ecological optimality in water-limited natural soil-vegetation systems: 2. Tests and applications

The long-term optimal climatic climax soil-vegetation system is defined for several climates according to previous hypotheses in terms of two free parameters, effective porosity and plant water use coefficient. The free parameters are chosen by matching the predicted and observed average annual water yield. The resulting climax soil and vegetation properties are tested by comparison with independent observations of canopy density and average annual surface runoff. The climax properties are shown also to satisfy a previous hypothesis for short-term optimization of canopy density and water use coefficient. Using these hypotheses, a relationship between average evapotranspiration and optimum vegetation canopy density is derived and is compared with additional field observations. An algorithm is suggested by which the climax soil and vegetation properties can be calculated given only the climate parameters and the soil effective porosity. Sensitivity of the climax properties to the effective porosity is explored.
Uninformative Advertising as an Invitation to Search

What the firm should say in an advertising message, the choice of content, is a critical managerial decision. Here, we focus on a particular aspect of the advertising content choice: an attribute-focused appeal versus an appeal with no direct information on product attributes. We make two assumptions that capture the reality of the advertising context. First, we assume that the bandwidth of advertising is limited: a firm can only communicate about a limited number of attributes. Second, we assume that consumers are active: they can choose to engage in a costly search to obtain additional product-related information. In this setting, we show that there exists an equilibrium where the high-quality firm chooses to produce messages devoid of any attribute information in order to invite the consumer to engage in search, which is likely to uncover positive information about the product. Whereas most of the previous literature has focused on the decision to advertise as a signal of quality, we show that message content, coupled with consumer search, can also serve as a credible signal of quality. In an extension, we show that our results are robust to endogenizing the firm's decision on the amount of advertising spending.
Comment on “Satellite altimetry and the intensification of Hurricane Katrina”

In a recent Eos article, Scharroo et al. [2005] reported that the dynamic sea topography anomalies along the track of Hurricane Katrina were the most prominent factors causing the intensification of Katrina as it passed over these anomalous regions in the Gulf of Mexico. They show that the sea surface temperature (SST) in the entire Gulf of Mexico was uniformly ∼30°C and was not associated with the rapid intensification of Katrina. We partly agree with their findings based on the results of dynamic topography associated with Katrina's intensification; however, we do not concur with their idea that SST was not linked with the rapid intensification of Katrina. Here, we show the significant impact of high SST anomaly in the Gulf on Katrina's rapid intensification and the role of anomalous SST in governing the air-sea interactions during its intensification.
In search of good ideas for occupational therapy

This paper explores the scholarly process by which good ideas may be sought for the future development of occupational therapy as an integrated profession. It is suggested that the assumptions of the science supporting practice need to be made explicit and that new ideas be generated which fit the dilemmas and puzzles of occupational therapy practice and are compatible with its view of human beings.
Changes in Carbon Storage and Net Carbon Exchange One Year After an Initial Shelterwood Harvest at Howland Forest, ME

Although many forests are actively sequestering carbon, little research has examined the direct effects of forest management practices on carbon sequestration. At the Howland Forest in Maine, USA, we are using eddy covariance and biomet- ric techniques to evaluate changes in carbon storage following a shelterwood cut that removed just under 30% of aboveground biomass. Prior to harvest, the stand contained about 76 Mg C/ha (30 m 2 /ha basal area) in aboveground and belowground live bio- mass. Harvesting removed about 15 Mg C/ha (SEM 2.1) and created about 5.3 Mg C/ha (SEM 1.1) of aboveground and 5.2 Mg C/ha (SEM 0.7) of root/stump detritus. Leaf-area index (LAI) and litterfall declined by about 40% with harvest. Approxi- mately half of the harvested wood was used for paper products and half for longer-lived wood products. Eddy covariance mea- surements in a nearby unharvested stand indicated that net eco- system exchange (NEE) averages about 1.8 Mg C/ha/year of C sequestration. A comparison of NEE at unharvested and har- vested stands, both preharvest and postharvest, indicated that NEE declined following the harvest by about 18%, which is less than expected based on basal area and LAI changes. Soil respi- ration declined slightly (but nonsignificantly, P 0.23) with har- vest, suggesting no major soil C loss after harvest. When decay of paper and wood products is included in a preliminary carbon budget, we calculate a postharvest net source of C to the atmo- sphere for at least 5 years, assuming preharvest growth rates of trees. How quickly the carbon balance becomes positive will de- pend largely on whether postharvest growth rates increase.
Ridge estimation of price sensitivities for long distance telephone demand for bell competitors

This paper considers the modeling and estimation of a composite OCC telephone demand model. Ridge and principal components estimators were evaluated as alternatives to classical least squares. The criterion of first plausible results was introduced to assist in the selection process.
AN ASSESSMENT OF SEVERAL OF THE HISTORICALLY MOST INFLUENTIAL THEORETICAL MODELS USED IN ECOLOGY AND OF THE DATA PROVIDED IN THEIR SUPPORT

Abstract Certain theoretical models (the logistic, Lotka-Volterra and density-dependent stock recruitment models in fisheries) and their mathematical representations are used pervasively in the teaching of ecology and in the application of ecology to various applied problems. Although few claim that these models will or should give accurate predictions of populations in nature, it nevertheless is claimed routinely that they have great heuristic value and are ‘a good place to start’ when making more complex and, presumably, more accurate formulations. Yet if these equations are a good place to start, there should be some data to show that they are good predictors of populations in nature under at least some conditions. Considerable data do exist in the literature that have been used to support the use of these equations. I examine these data and find that in fact none of it support the use of these equations. I for which they are offered as support. Some implications of the transfer of these unvalidated models to management are discussed with particular reference to Pacific salmon.
Lattice Cleaving: A Multimaterial Tetrahedral Meshing Algorithm with Guarantees

We introduce a new algorithm for generating tetrahedral meshes that conform to physical boundaries in volumetric domains consisting of multiple materials. The proposed method allows for an arbitrary number of materials, produces high-quality tetrahedral meshes with upper and lower bounds on dihedral angles, and guarantees geometric fidelity. Moreover, the method is combinatoric so its implementation enables rapid mesh construction. These meshes are structured in a way that also allows grading, to reduce element counts in regions of homogeneity. Additionally, we provide proofs showing that both element quality and geometric fidelity are bounded using this approach.
Power-Efficient Scheduling for Heterogeneous Distributed Real-Time Embedded Systems

This paper addresses the problem of variable-voltage scheduling of multirate periodic task graphs (i.e., tasks with precedence relationships) in heterogeneous distributed real-time embedded systems. Such an embedded system may contain general-purpose processors, field-programmable gate arrays, and application-specific integrated circuits. First, we discuss the implications of the distribution of power consumption, i.e., power profile, of tasks and characteristics of voltage-scalable processing elements (PEs) on variable-voltage scaling. Then, we present a power-efficient variable-voltage scheduling algorithm to address these implications. The scheduling algorithm performs execution order optimization of scheduled events to increase the chances of scaling down voltages and frequencies of these voltage-scalable PEs in the distributed embedded system. It also performs power-profile and timing-constraint driven slack allocation to maximize power reduction via voltage scaling, based on the observation that the energy consumption of a task on a voltage-scalable PE is normally a convex function of the clock speed. The scheduling algorithm is also effective in the case where the variations in power consumption of different tasks can be ignored. It can be included in the inner loop of a system-level synthesis tool for design space exploration of real-time heterogeneous embedded systems, since it is very fast. We show its efficacy by comparing it to other approaches from the literature
Transmitter Pre-emphasis and Adaptive Receiver Equalization for Duobinary Signaling in Backplane Channels

In this paper, an adaptive equalization technique of a multi-gigabit channel using duobinary signaling is proposed. Both the receiver and transmitter are equalized and implemented using ADS. The results show that the duobinary signaling performs better than NRZ at half of the bandwidth. The algorithm was tested in a Tyco XAUI-FR4 backplane.
Role of Nitric Oxide in Cyclosporine A–Induced Hypertension

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is an immunosuppressive agent that also causes hypertension. The effect of CsA on vascular responses was determined in Sprague-Dawley rats and isolated rat aortic rings. Male rats weighing 250 to 300 g were given either CsA (25 mg. kg-1. d-1) in olive oil or vehicle by intraperitoneal injection for 7 days. CsA administration produced a 42% increase (P<0.001) in mean arterial pressure (MAP) that reached a plateau after 3 days. Conversely, the levels of both nitrate/nitrite, metabolites of nitric oxide (NO), and cGMP, which mediates NO action, decreased by 50% (P<0.001) and 35% (P<0.001), respectively, in the urine. Thoracic aortic rings from rats treated with CsA and precontracted with endothelin (10(-9) mol/L) showed a 35% increase (P<0.001) in tension, whereas endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by acetylcholine (ACh, 10(-9) mol/L) was inhibited 65% (P<0.001) compared with that in untreated rats. This response was similar to that of endothelium-denuded aortic rings from untreated rats in which ACh-induced relaxation was completely abolished (P<0.001), but relaxation induced by S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP, 10(-8) mol/L) was unaffected (P<0.001). ACh-induced formation of both nitrate/nitrite and cGMP by both denuded and CsA-treated aortic rings was inhibited 95% (P<0.001) and 65% (P<0.001), respectively, compared with intact aortic rings. The effects of CsA were reversed both in vivo and in vitro by pretreatment with L-arginine (10 mg. kg-1. d-1 IP), the precursor of NO. There were no changes in MAP and tension in rats treated with L-arginine alone. In summary, CsA inhibits endothelial NO activity, with resulting increases in MAP and tension, and this inhibition can be overcome by parenteral administration of L-arginine.
The dissection experience as a laboratory for self‐discovery about death and dying: Another side of clinical anatomy

Dissection of the human body raises questions for medical students about the source of bodies, bodily trespass, invasion of privacy, death, dying, and their own mortality. Facing and expressing the aversions, fears, and fantasies associated with human dissection help prepare the student both for academic work in the anatomy laboratory and for the emotional work implicit in patient care. With little additional curricular time within the longitudinal continuity of the dissection course we have developed a program in medical humanities that fosters both skills. This program, heavily dependent upon the arts, uses exposure to painting, film, and literature coupled with reflection, writing, and small group discussions to explore and express students' attitudes toward death and dissection as they experience the first year of medical school. The final session, a service of memoriam and thanksgiving planned and produced by the students, provides an appropriate personal closure of the dissection experience. Our students affirm that such a program, evolving over the past 12 years, has provided a foundation early in medical education for development of caring physician-patient relationships and for continued exploration of humanistic and ethical issues in medicine. These experiences illustrate that clinical anatomy has the potential to contribute to both the art and science of medicine.
Instantaneous prediction of ionospheric transmission circuits by the communication Zone Indicator ("COZI")

Detection of long-distance echoes by an oblique-incidence hf sounder with directive antenna provides a novel technique for predicting ionospheric transmission conditions to remote points. Measurements on oscilloscopic echo patterns can be correlated with (a) field strength of remote cw stations, (b) response of remote beacons synchronously triggered by the sounder, or (c) predictions based upon CRPL-Signal Corps world-wide contours of ionospheric layer heights and muf s. The results indicate that most of the echoes are due to energy backscattered at the earth, lonospherically reflected en route. Further, the transmission time (slant range) to the leading edge of the backscatter pattern measures reasonably well the skip distance (ground range) for long distances. Thus the backscatter echoes may be attributed to a ground area near and somewhat beyond skip distance to which communication is possible. A PPI echo display with a rotating directive antenna reveals in a striking manner the azimuthal variation of skip distance, giving at a glance the possible distant conmunication zones. Transmission modes, such as F-layer and sporadic-E layer reflections are readily discernible. Diurnal variation of the communication zones may be determined by comparing PPI photographs taken throughout the day. Results, recently declassified by the government, are given in a series of PPI photographs and corresponding azimuthal maps, commencing more than four years ago. Early equipment consisted of 20- kw peak power pulsers, with nominal lO0-microsecond pulse width and 20 per second repetition rate. Horizontal rhombics and multielement rotatable Yagi antennas were employed. Later, longer pulse widths up to 2 milliseconds and peak powers less than I kw were employed with results equally useful for many applications. Backscatter patterns have been observed on 9, 12, 16, and 22 mc. The first demonstration of the PPI technique is shown in a nighttime photograph taken at S . Dartmouth, Mass. on May 6, 1948 at 16 mc. A typical diurnal variation of PPI patterns is shown in a series of photographs taken at 15-minute intervals, at 22 mc, on January 19, 1950. Effect of different frequencies is shown in a series of PPI photographs taken at 12, 16, and 22 inc. F-layer and sporadic-E modes are noted. Suggested applications of the "COZI" technique includes assisting communication services in better circuit utilization, for implementing ionospheric prediction services, and as a new tool for ionospheric research.
Protein fragment complementation in M.HhaI DNA methyltransferase

The 5mC DNA methyltransferase M.HhaI can be split into two individually inactive N- and C-terminal fragments that together can form an active enzyme in vivo capable of efficiently methylating DNA. This active fragment pair was identified by creating libraries of M.HhaI gene fragment pairs and then selecting for the pairs that code for an active 5mC methyltransferase. The site of bisection for successful protein fragment complementation in M.HhaI was in the variable region near the target recognition domain between motif VIII and TRD. This same region is the location of bifurcation in the naturally split 5mC methyltransferase M.AquI, the location for circular permutation in M.BssHII, and the location for previously engineered split versions of M.BspRI.
Symbolic Product Attributes And Emulatory Consumption: The Case Of Rodeo Fan Attendance And The Wearing Of Western Clothing

Clothing is an ideal product for the study of emulatory consumption because it is visible, accessible, and relatively inexpensive. This study addresses the relationship between the purchase and usage of symbolic products (western clothing) and involvement with reference groups (rodeo society). Data presented are from a survey which was distributed to 1,559 rodeo fans who attended the 1991 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Optimal Spending In A Private Foundation Given Known Parameters

Private foundations are subject to an income tax of either 1% or 2% on their net investment income. The choice of whether to apply the 1% or 2% is based on a percentage derived by taking the funds expended divided by the asset base. If the percentage expended in the current year was greater than the average percentage for the last five years the foundation qualifies for the reduced percentage. Optimal spending is defined as the amount necessary to be expended in the current year to qualify for the reduced tax rate. The only accurate way to calculate the percentage is after the year is over (this can be somewhat modified if the foundation opts to use first-of-month values for their assets, instead of the more common end-of-month values). While accurate, this is not helpful for the private foundation that wishes to proactively try to qualify for the reduced percentage. Therefore, a number of assumptions must be made in performance of the calculation. This paper treats the assumptions as constants, based on the best estimate by an organization. Future research will lift this constraint, but as a first step in developing the literature on optimal spending, using known parameters is justified, and perhaps required.
Optimizing outcomes in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

During the past two decades, major advances in the treatment of acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), including coronary care units and thrombolysis, have lowered the mortality after hospital presentation to approximately 5%. However, in recent years, there has been little
Tocopherols in cancer: An update

Tocopherols exist in four forms designated as α, β, δ, and γ. Due to their strong antioxidant properties, tocopherols have been suggested to reduce the risk of cancer. Cancer prevention studies with tocopherols have mostly utilized α-tocopherol. Large-scale clinical trials with α-tocopherol provided inconsistent results regarding the cancer-preventive activities of tocopherols. This review summarizes our current understanding of the anticancer activities of different forms of tocopherols based on follow-up of the clinical trials, recent epidemiological evidences, and experimental studies using in vitro and in vivo models. The experimental data provide strong evidence in support of the anticancer activities of δ-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol, and the natural tocopherol mixture rich in γ-tocopherol, γ-TmT, over α-tocopherol. Such outcomes emphasize the need for detailed investigation into the cancer-preventive activities of different forms of tocopherols to provide a strong rationale for intervention studies in the future.
Simple Arcs and Simple Closed Curves

A set homemorphic with a closed inverval is a simple arc. A set homemorphic with a circle of positive radius is a simple closed curve.
The Indirect Impact of Long-Term Overbrowsing on Insects in the Allegheny National Forest Region of Pennsylvania

Overbrowsing has created depauperate plant communities throughout the eastern deciduous forest. We hypothesized these low-diversity plant communities are associated with lower insect diversity. We compared insects inside and outside a 60-year-old fenced deer exclosure where plant species richness is 5x higher inside versus outside. We sampled aboveground and litter insects using sweep nets and pitfall traps and identified specimens to family. Aboveground insect abundance, richness, and diversity were up to 50% higher inside the fenced exclosure versus outside. Conversely, litter insect abundance and diversity were consistently higher outside the exclosure. Community composition of aboveground insects differed throughout the summer (P < 0.05), but litter insects differed only in late summer. Our results demonstrate that the indirect effects of long-term overbrowsing can reduce aboveground insect diversity and abundance, and change composition even when plant communities are in close proximity.
The Transition from Animal Capital to Land Capital in Colonial Punjab, 1850–1900

The transformation of Punjab into a “hydraulic society,” and into a Green-Revolution breadbasket of both India and Pakistan, is well known even beyond the cadre of the region's historians (Ali 1988...
Agricultural Productivity Patterns

At the center of our empirical work is a model of state-specific productivity growth as a function of investments in agricultural research. While the notions of productivity and changes in productivity are intuitive, it is not easy to develop meaningful measures of productivity or to identify the productivity consequences of investments in agricultural R&D. Schultz (1953) argued that the root reason for an interest in the sources of productivity growth is an interest in the sources of output growth. And, expressing an idea he attributed to Zvi Griliches, Schultz (1956, p. 758) wrote.
Early years of Soviet nuclear physics

Despite hardships, Soviet physicists made remarkable advances in the 1930s in the nascent field of nuclear physics, and by the eve of the Nazi invasion they had laid the foundations for work on the atomic bomb.
Ontogenetic, Reproductive, and Nutritional Effects on the Cuticular Hydrocarbons of the Host-Specific Ectoparasitoid Cephalonomia tarsalis (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae)

Cuticular hydrocarbons have been identified from adult males and females of the bethylid wasp Cephalonomia tarsalis (Ashmead). The 2 sexes possess the same cuticular hydrocarbons, but in different amounts and proportions. Hydrocarbon components identified include n-alkanes (C 23 -C 37 ), 5-methyl alkanes (5-MeC 25 -5MeC 29 ), 5,X-dimethyl alkanes (5,17-and 5,19-diMeC 29 and 5,17- and 5,19-diMeC 33 ), and a homologous series of Z-monones with double bonds at Δ 11 , Δ 9 , and Δ 7 (C 25:1 -C 37:1 ). The n-alkanes and alkenes are the predominant components in all cases, the 5-methyl alkanes being only minor components. The dimethyl components are present in only trace amounts. Age, mating status, and, for females, host-feeding status, were examined for their effect on hydrocarbon quantities and proportions. Males showed little change in their hydrocarbon profiles, but females showed strong age, host feeding, and age x host feeding effects on total hydrocarbon quantities and on individual hydrocarbon components. Mating status did not affect female hydrocarbons. The silk cocoons from which the parasites emerged yielded the same cuticular hydrocarbon components as were found on the newly emerged male and female wasps, but n-alkanes were now the major components. Hydrocarbon profiles of female cocoons differed from male cocoon hydrocarbons primarily in the relative abundances of the monene isomers. Bioassays of male response to hexane extracts of female and male cocoons indicated that the male could differentiate between the two. The primary gender recognition cue is not the cocoon hydrocarbons, but rather a female-produced sex pheromone, the hydrocarbons serving as a secondary recognition cue.
Chemically synthesized heterostructures of two-dimensional molybdenum/tungsten-based dichalcogenides with vertically aligned layers.

We demonstrate a one-step, facile chemical synthesis of heterostructures based on two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) with vertically aligned 2D layers. Specifically, by using a chemical vapor transport method, we synthesize molybdenum (Mo)/tungsten (W)-based disulfide and diselenide heterostructures, such as MoS2/WS2 and MoSe2/WSe2. Detailed structural characterizations reveal that the 2D layers of two different TMDCs are vertically standing/aligned exposing the edge sites of the layers. The TMDC heterostructure materials exhibit a high uniformity of structural/chemical heterogeneity over a large area (>1 cm2) and show anisotropic carrier transport properties. These materials with unique heterostructures have great implications for both technological applications and fundamental sciences.
Le mythe de la globalisation

Depuis une dizaine d'annees, la vie des affaires se caracterise par une internationalisation croissante et donc par l'integration de nombreux marches de produits de grande consommation, de produits industriels ou de services au plan mondial. Non seulement de plus en plus de societes americaines trouvent des opportunites d'expansion et de croissance sur les marches exterieurs, mais on assiste egalement a l'arrivee de societes europeennes et japonaises sur les marches mondiaux. Ceci constitue un defi majeur dans de nombreuses industries traditionnellement dominees par les Americains. Dans le secteur de la lame de rasoir par exemple, Gillette doit desormais faire face a la concurrence de Wilkinson et de Bic sur la presque totalite de son marche international. De meme, General Motors et Ford se heurtent a la concurrence de Toyota et de Honda non seulement sur leur propre marche interieur mais aussi sur leurs marches d'exportation a travers le monde. En outre, de nombreuses societes multinationales du Tiers Monde commencent a deployer leurs ailes et a jouer un role de plus en plus important dans l'electronique, les textiles, la construction navale ou l'acier par exemple. Il resulte de cela qu'un nombre croissant d'industries cles telles que celles de l'automobile, la moto, l'equipement agricole, l'aerospatial, l'armement, les telecommunications et l'electronique deviennent des industries a « concurrence mondiale ». La reconnaissance de cette tendance a l'internationalisation des marches
Shock detection and capturing methods for high order Discontinuous-Galerkin Finite Element Methods

High-order Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods have shown a lot of promise in being able to provide high accuracy and efficiency as well as the flexibility to handle complex unstructured grids. However in order to solve compressible flow problems effectively, we need to be able to detect discontinuities/shocks in the flow and capture them effectively such that the solution accuracy is not affected elsewhere. Traditionally finite difference and finite volume schemes have used a variety of physical sensors. Such physical sensors are not best suited to distinguish between different flow phenomena in more complex viscous flows involving boundary layers, vortices etc. Also, owing to the availability of higher resolution in each element/cell in these high order finite element methods, it would be optimal to detect shocks/discontinuities through a mathematical procedure inside each element and capture the shock inside a single element . While there has been considerable progress in this direction, robust shock detection across the broad spectrum of compressible flow problems still remains an issue. While we have been able to get some of these methods to work quite well for certain cases, they need to be fine-tuned to each problem and there is lack of rigor in how one should do the same. Klockner also points out certain problems with methods which infer the presence of discontinuities using just the decay (or not) of the highest (few) modal frequencies. The most important issue is that the modal co-efficient decay is not uniform for a small finite resolution and the situation is only worse in polynomial bases compared to Fourier spectra. All this amounts to unreliable performance in complex flows, with inadequate separation of scales between shocks and other flow features like vortices and boundary layers. These issues make it hard to build a generic solver for inviscid and viscous compressible flow computations.
Timing-Driven Placement

Recent work on wirelength optimization suggests that hierarchical [23] or multi-level [27, 161] approach is indispensable to efficiently solve large-scale placement problem. Correspondingly, timing-driven placement problem using hierarchical or multi-level framework should draw research attention. Several recent works address this problem. Ou et al. [114] adopt a net-cut control method in min-cut placement. Halpin et al. [70] presented a linear programming based net length control for recursive bisection placement. Kahng et al. [83] extended the placement flow in [23] to incorporate direct minimization of the critical path. The above approaches shows the trend of the combination between traditional timing-driven approach and top-down placement flow. However, delay budgeting, as a previously effective approach, has not been applied into the top-down placement framework.
Design and Realization of Distributed Video Meeting System in WAN

The aim of the authors system is to solve the classic problem in the central video meeting system. By introducing the IP multi-broadcast service, it designs and realizes the distributed video meeting system.
The Lottery Paradox

As I’ve noted, there are essentially four primary forms of support for the Knowledge Norm, and we can envision them like the legs of a four-legged stool.1 They are: the Lottery Paradox, Moore’s Paradox, challenges such as “How do you know?”, and the relationship between norms and goals. The purpose of this chapter is to break off one of those legs of support, the Lottery Paradox. Statements about lotteries raise parallel problems for epistemologists who want to articulate conditions for knowledge and those working on norms of assertion.2 In fact, the role of the lottery paradox is central in various arguments for the Knowledge Norm. So anyone attempting to argue for an alternate norm of assertion must deal with these arguments. The central concern is whether one can know or warrantedly assert sentences like: (A) Ticket n will lose before the draw is made.3 A growing consensus has formed that (A) and propositions like it are neither knowable nor assertible. Some writers on the topic, such as Timothy Williamson, have argued that this fact is best explained by, and thus provides evidence for, the Knowledge Norm.
The Practice and Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Advisory practice and procedure: contributing to the evolution of international human rights law

Some of the most important advisory opinions would not have been issued if the Court ‘had started from an outmoded voluntarist conception of International Law, with an instinctive attachment to the consent of the individual State for the exercise of not only the contentious but also the advisory jurisdictions of international tribunals.’ Advisory opinions in general In the last decade, States and international organizations, sometimes led by non-governmental human rights organizations, have emphasized the advisory jurisdiction of international courts to address controversial or developing issues in international law. An advisory opinion is an authoritative but non-binding explanation of a question or issue. Advisory proceedings are less confrontational than contentious proceedings in that States are not parties and do not have to defend themselves against formal charges. A tribunal does not have the authority under advisory jurisdiction to order judicial sanctions or impose duties or obligations on any State. Although an advisory opinion cannot create legal obligations, it often exerts moral authority on States. As stated by Judge Bustamante, ‘there is a second difference of capital importance between an advisory opinion and a judgment of the Court, namely that the former is in no way binding upon those concerned, the opinion given having only moral authority, while the second imposes upon the parties alegal obligation having the force of res judicata’.
Prison, Money, and Drugs: The Federal Sentencing System Must be More Critical in Balancing Priorities Before it is Too Late

America is currently facing a major crisis with prison overcrowding and operating costs that exceed the annual budget. In the 1980s, the federal government began a “war on drugs” and Congress passed a number of drug statutes that carried mandatory minimum penalties for offenders. Since then, the federal prison population began to grow exponentially and has now reached a practically unsustainable level. The marginal changes made thus far are simply not enough to address the problem. Since 1984, the federal sentencing system has struggled to efficiently and effectively balance mandatory minimum sentences with the sentencing guidelines. Mandatory minimum sentences should be abolished, and all authority transferred to the Sentencing Commission. The Commission needs to comprehensively reevaluate and reformulate all sentencing guidelines free from the control of the mandatory sentences. Nevertheless, a complete reform of the sentencing system will take quite some time and more immediate relief is necessary. In the interest of alleviating the strain of the prison population and its costs, the Commission and Congress need to first eliminate the mandatory sentences for drug offenses and begin developing alternatives to incarceration for those whose offenses do not warrant imprisonment or who are in need of treatment. The Comment discusses the federal sentencing system and how mandatory minimum sentences spurred by the “war on drugs” have created a culture of incarceration that cannot be sustained by prison facilities or budgets. The sentencing system needs comprehensive reform that eradicates mandatory minimums and values treatment as well as punishment.
Next-Generation Sequencing Based Testing for Breast Cancer

The breast cancer can be sporadic or familial. Studies in the early 1990s lead to the recognition of the role of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in hereditary breast cancer. Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have permitted expansion of the number of genes that can be simultaneously analyzed for assessment of breast cancer risk. NGS has opened a large window into the complex biology of carcinogenesis and management of breast cancer. Mutation panels are now being commonly used in the making therapeutic decisions. In this chapter, we review the data on the gene panels being used for risk assessment and clinical management of patients and discuss the pros and cons of the approaches.
Accelerated freshening of Antarctic Bottom Water over the last decade in the Southern Indian Ocean.

Southern Ocean abyssal waters, in contact with the atmosphere at their formation sites around Antarctica, not only bring signals of a changing climate with them as they move around the globe but also contribute to that change through heat uptake and sea level rise. A repeat hydrographic line in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean, occupied three times in the last two decades (1994, 2007, and, most recently, 2016), reveals that Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) continues to become fresher (0.004 ± 0.001 kg/g decade−1), warmer (0.06° ± 0.01°C decade−1), and less dense (0.011 ± 0.002 kg/m3 decade−1). The most recent observations in the Australian-Antarctic Basin show a particularly striking acceleration in AABW freshening between 2007 and 2016 (0.008 ± 0.001 kg/g decade−1) compared to the 0.002 ± 0.001 kg/g decade−1 seen between 1994 and 2007. Freshening is, in part, responsible for an overall shift of the mean temperature-salinity curve toward lower densities. The marked freshening may be linked to an abrupt iceberg-glacier collision and calving event that occurred in 2010 on the George V/Adelie Land Coast, the main source region of bottom waters for the Australian-Antarctic Basin. Because AABW is a key component of the global overturning circulation, the persistent decrease in bottom water density and the associated increase in steric height that result from continued warming and freshening have important consequences beyond the Southern Indian Ocean.
The importance of brain temperature in cerebral injury

The recent finding that small variations in brain temperature can critically determine the extent of histopathological injury in animal models of brain injury has generated renewed interest in hypothermic brain protection. Whereas mild hypothermia protects the brain from ischemic and traumatic brain injury, mild hyperthermia worsens ischemic outcome. Selective brain cooling has many advantages over whole body cooling, including the elimination of harmful side effects, such as cardiac arrhythmias. In addition to the clinical issue of brain protection, manipulating brain temperature has become a powerful tool with which to investigate the pathophysiology of ischemic and traumatic brain injury. The purpose of this article is to review and discuss recent findings demonstrating the importance of brain temperature in ischemic and traumatic brain injury. Potential mechanisms by which mild hypothermia may attenuate and mild hyperthermia accentuate the detrimental consequences of brain injury are reviewed.
An Introduction to Knot Theory

This paper concentrates on the construction of invariants of knots, such as the Jones polynomials and the Vassiliev invariants, and the relationships of these invariants to other mathematics (such as Lie algebras).
Connecting Soccer to Middle School Science: Latino Students' Passion in Learning.

Building on a pedagogical model designed to support the teaching and learning of the language of science investigation practices with middle school emergent bilingual learners, we developed a serie...
A foundation of ecology rediscovered: 100 years of succession on the William S. Cooper plots in Glacier Bay, Alaska.

Understanding plant community succession is one of the original pursuits of ecology, forming some of the earliest theoretical frameworks in the field. Much of this was built on the long-term research of William S. Cooper, who established a permanent plot network in Glacier Bay, Alaska, in 1916. This study now represents the longest-running primary succession plot network in the world. Permanent plots are useful for their ability to follow mechanistic change through time without assumptions inherent in space-for-time (chronosequence) designs. After 100-yr, these plots show surprising variety in species composition, soil characteristics (carbon, nitrogen, depth), and percent cover, attributable to variation in initial vegetation establishment first noted by Cooper in the 1916–1923 time period, partially driven by dispersal limitations. There has been almost a complete community composition replacement over the century and general species richness increase, but the effective number of species has declined significantly due to dominance of Salix species which established 100-yr prior (the only remaining species from the original cohort). Where Salix dominates, there is no establishment of “later” successional species like Picea. Plots nearer the entrance to Glacier Bay, and thus closer to potential seed sources after the most recent glaciation, have had consistently higher species richness for 100 yr. Age of plots is the best predictor of soil N content and C:N ratio, though plots still dominated by Salix had lower overall N; soil accumulation was more associated with dominant species. This highlights the importance of contingency and dispersal in community development. The 100-yr record of these plots, including species composition, spatial relationships, cover, and observed interactions between species provides a powerful view of long-term primary succession.
Particles, vortex dynamics and stochastic partial differential equations

The derivation of quasilinear stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE’s) for mass distributions and their generalizations is reviewed in Section 2. Special emphasis is given to the vorticity distribution and its macroscopic limit in a 2D-fluid. In Section 4 and 5 bilinear SPDE’s on weighted Hilbert spaces are derived from the underlying particle system. Moreover, it is shown that spatially homogeneous initial conditions imply that the solution is also spatially homogeneous. I.e., (non-Gaussian!!) homogeneous random fields are derived from an underlying particle system using SPDE methods.
Discrepancy in Motivation for Weight Loss and Exercise in Rural Patients.

Objectives We explored the extent to which discrepancy between motivation for weight loss and exercise is related to obesity among rural patients with chronic disease, and identified the psychosocial correlates of this discrepancy. Methods 497 patients with diabetes and/or hypertension were recruited from a network of Federally Qualified Health Centers in the rural South and completed a battery of assessments. Results Most persons in the sample (83.1%) were overweight and 65.0% were obese. For motivation for change, 70.8% reported being in the Action stage or higher for weight loss, whereas only 24.9% reported being in the Action stage or higher for motivation for exercise. When controlling for age, education level, income, sex, and race/ethnicity, individuals who were motivated for weight loss but not exercise were twice as likely to be obese (p = .005). Race and sex were significantly associated with this discrepancy, with African-American patients 1.7 times as likely (p = .05) and women 2.3 times as likely to be discrepant (p = .001). Conclusions Findings underscore the importance of focusing not simply on weight loss among rural patients with chronic disease, but rather to incorporate specific activities designed to build simultaneous motivation for engaging in exercise.
iCoq: regression proof selection for large-scale verification projects

Proof assistants such as Coq are used to construct and check formal proofs in many large-scale verification projects. As proofs grow in number and size, the need for tool support to quickly find failing proofs after revising a project increases. We present a technique for large-scale regression proof selection, suitable for use in continuous integration services, e.g., Travis CI. We instantiate the technique in a tool dubbed iCoq . iCoq tracks fine-grained dependencies between Coq definitions, propositions, and proofs, and only checks those proofs affected by changes between two revisions. iCoq additionally saves time by ignoring changes with no impact on semantics. We applied iCoq to track dependencies across many revisions in several large Coq projects and measured the time savings compared to proof checking from scratch and when using Coq's timestamp-based toolchain for incremental checking. Our results show that proof checking with iCoq is up to 10 times faster than the former and up to 3 times faster than the latter.
Signal and image processing techniques for functional near- infrared imaging of the human brain

Near-infrared spectro-imaging (NIRSI) is a quickly developing method for the in-vivo imaging of biological tissues. In particular, it is now extensively employed for imaging the human brain. In this non-invasive technique, the information about the brain is obtained from the analysis of spatial light bundles formed by the photons traveling from light sources to detectors placed on the surface of the head. Most significant problems in the functional brain NIRSI are the separation of the brain information from the physiological noise in non-cerebral tissues, and the localization of functional signals. In this paper we describe signal and image processing techniques we developed in order to measure two types of functional cerebral signals: the hemodynamic responses, and neuronal responses.
Dual-imaging contrast agent for ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging: gas-generating plasmonic-core nanoconstruct (Conference Presentation)

We introduce a dual imaging contrast agent for ultrasound and photoacoustic (US/PA) imaging. Glycol-chitosan-coated gold nanoparticles (GC-AuNPs) were previously applied to photoacoustic imaging of lymph node mapping and cancer cell visualization. Based on the enhanced cellular uptake, strong photoacoustic signal was observed. Using this nanoparticle platform, we developed a gas-generating nanoconstruct consisting of GC-AuNP and azide compounds that produce gas upon laser irradiation. The gas-generating nanoparticles have unique properties desired for ultrasound imaging. Compared with conventional ultrasound contrast agents (i.e., microbubbles), the novel contrast agent is superior in terms of nanometer-scale size and controlled gas generation. We showed that the developed nanoparticles were feasible as an ultrasound imaging contrast agent with signal enhancement caused by laser-triggered nitrogen gas generation. More importantly, the signal enhancement was controlled through the intensity and duration of excitation laser pulses. Overall, the discovery of the photocatalytic function of gold nanoparticles in the photolysis of azide enabled synthesis of the gas-generating contrast agent consisting of less than 50 nm diameter particles. Our results strongly suggested that gas-generating nanoparticles will allow ultrasound imaging of various diseases that conventional ultrasound contrast agents cannot reach and, therefore, detect, diagnose, and characterize. In addition, the plasmonic core of the developed nanoparticles serves as contrast agent for photoacoustic imaging and allow for further increase of diagnostic sensitivity of combined US/PA imaging. Broadly, the developed gas-generating nanoparticles may play critical role in various applications of light and sound ranging from diagnostic imaging to image-guided therapy.
2,4-Diamino-8-quinazoline carboxamides as novel, potent inhibitors of the NAD hydrolyzing enzyme CD38: Exploration of the 2-position structure-activity relationships.

Abstract Starting from 4-amino-8-quinoline carboxamide lead 1a and scaffold hopping to the chemically more tractable quinazoline, a systematic exploration of the 2-substituents of the quinazoline ring, utilizing structure activity relationships and conformational constraint, resulted in the identification of 39 novel CD38 inhibitors. Eight of these analogs were 10–100-fold more potent human CD38 inhibitors, including the single digit nanomolar inhibitor 1am. Several of these molecules also exhibited improved therapeutic indices relative to hERG activity. A representative analog 1r exhibited suitable pharmacokinetic parameters for in vivo animal studies, including moderate clearance and good oral bioavailability. These inhibitor compounds will aid in the exploration of the enzymatic functions of CD38, as well as furthering the study of the therapeutic implications of NAD enhancement in metabolic disease models.