cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CEREBRAL FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITY MAPPED WITH 18F-2-DEOXY-2-FLUORO-D-GLUCOSE

Abstract The effect of functional activity on local cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (LCMRgl) in man has been studied using the 2- 18 F-fluoro-2-D-deoxyglucose technique. This technique utilizes a positron emission tomographic scanner to detect the in vivo distribution of intravenously administered 18 F-labeled 2-fluoro-2-D-deoxyglucose. One of three distinct stiumuli were presented to young normal male volunteers. In the visual stuides one visual hemifield was stimulated by slowly moving high contrast abstract images in front of one half of a clear plastic hemisphere into which the subject looked, while the opposite half of the hemisphere was blackened. This hemifield visual stimulation caused a marked asymmetry in the occipital pole with the side contralateral to the stimulated hemifield exhibiting a greater LCMRgl than the ipsilateral side. The somatosensory stimulus, consisting of brush stroking of the fingers and hand of one arm, caused an increase in LCMRgl in the post-central gyrus contralateral to the hand being stimulated. The auditory stimulus, listening attentively to a story with either the left or right ear, caused the condrolateral temporal cortex to become appreciably more active than the left temporal cortex. These studies demonstrate the utility of the 18 F-2-fluoro-2-D-deoxyglucose technique for mapping metabolic changes in response to alterations in functional activity in man.
Administrative (in)Visibility of Patient Structural Vulnerability and the Hierarchy of Moral Distress among Health Care Staff

Public programs such as Medicaid offer highly circumscribed access to health care for low-income patients in the United States. This article describes the work of a variety of health care staff who manage specialized cancer care for publicly insured patients who have difficulty gaining or maintaining program eligibility or for uninsured and undocumented patients who are excluded from state programs. I highlight the moral distress that occurs when clinic employees become individually responsible for reconciling policies that limit patients' access to care. I conclude that responsibility for securing access to cancer care for structurally vulnerable patients frequently falls to safety net clinics and that patients' financial constraints are visible to particular types of staff, such as non-licensed health care staff and non-physician providers, who may experience moral distress disproportionately.
Number of Eating Occasions and Source of Foods and Drinks Among Young Children in the United States: NHANES, 2009–2014

An understanding of the source of children’s foods and drinks is needed to identify the best intervention points for programs and policies aimed at improving children’s diets. The mean number and type of eating occasions and the relative proportions of foods and drinks consumed from different sources were calculated among children aged 1–4 years (n = 2640) using data from the 2009–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Children consumed 2.9 meals and 2.4 snacks each day. Among children who received anything from childcare, childcare provided 36.2% of their foods and drinks. The majority of foods and drinks came from stores for all children (53.2% among those receiving anything from childcare and 84.9% among those not). Among children receiving food from childcare, childcare is an important source of foods and drinks. Because most foods and drinks consumed by children come from stores, parents and caregivers may benefit from nutrition education to promote healthful choices when buying foods.
Experiential Preference Elicitation for Autonomous Heating and Cooling Systems

AI systems that act on behalf of users require knowledge of user preferences, which can be acquired by preference elicitation. In many settings, users can respond more easily and accurately to preference queries reflecting their current, or recently experienced, context (e.g., state of the environment), than to those reflecting contexts further removed. We develop and study a formal model of experiential elicitation (EE) in which query costs and response noise are state-dependent. EE settings tightly couple the problems of control and elicitation. We provide some analysis of this abstract model, and illustrate its applicability in household heating/cooling management. We propose the use of relative value queries, asking the user to compare the immediate utility of two states, whose difficulty is related to the degree and recency of a user's experience with those states. We develop a Gaussian process-based approach for modeling user preferences in dynamic EE domains and show that it accrues higher reward than several natural baselines.
Assessment and application of the Bunkie test in college students.

Abstract Introduction The ‘Bunkie test’ is a functional performance test consisting of five different plank positions held bilaterally. No current literature has established appropriate rest intervals for in-between plank positions nor termination criteria. Purpose The current study examined rest interval duration and test termination criteria for the Bunkie test. Methods Forty college students participated in the study, completing three Bunkie test sessions separated by at least 48 h. Positions included the anterior power line (APL), lateral stabilizing line (LSL), posterior power line (PPL), posterior stabilizing line (PSL), and medial stabilizing line (MSL). Positions were held for as long as possible with proper form. Each session utilized a different rest interval of either 30s, 1min, or 2min between each of the plank positions. Results A repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant differences bilaterally among rest intervals for APL (p = .009; p = .001) whereas, no significant differences (p Conclusions The current study revealed that utilizing a shorter rest interval time frame (30s) appears to create greater variability in performance outcomes. Since no differences were found between using a 1min or 2min rest interval for both the final hold times and tension times, a rest interval of at least 1min will allow for more dependable data.
Exploring the Implications of Culturally Relevant Teaching: Toward a Pedagogy of Liberation:

Schools in America may provide opportunities for upward mobility while also perpetuating social inequality. The inequities found in the US public school system probably result in such a highly stra...
The Effect of Charter School Openings on Traditional Public Schools in North Carolina and Massachusetts

The rapid expansion of charter schools in the U.S. has fueled concerns about their impact on the traditional public schools. I estimate the effect of charter school openings on traditional public schools in Massachusetts and North Carolina by comparing schools near actual charter sites to those near proposed charter sites that were never ultimately occupied. I find that charter openings reduce public school enrollment by around 5 percent. I find no impact of charter openings on student achievement in math or ELA, and my 95 percent confidence interval rules out effects larger than 0.05 standard deviations in either direction. I find no effect of charter openings on attendance and suspensions.
Predicting Pattern Formation in Multilayer Networks

We investigate how the structure of interactions between coupled oscillators influences the formation of asynchronous patterns in a multilayer network by formulating a simple, general multilayer oscillator model. We demonstrate the analysis of this model in three-oscillator systems, illustrating the role of interactions among oscillators in sustaining differences in both the phase and amplitude of oscillations leading to the formation of asynchronous patterns. Finally, we demonstrate the generalizability of our model's predictions through comparison with a more realistic multilayer model. Overall, our model provides a useful approach for predicting the types of asynchronous patterns that multilayer networks of coupled oscillators which cannot be achieved by the existing methods which focus on characterizing the synchronous state.
Special Session: Starting a Dialogue on Decolonization in Engineering Education

Decolonization is a radical approach to transforming education by confronting and undoing colonizing practices used in the past that continue today. This session endeavors to begin a dialogue on decolonization in engineering education. Through a series of activities and facilitated discussions, participants will critically analyze how engineering may not be neutral or objective, describe how the myths of objectivity and neutrality in engineering perpetuate colonialism, critically examine the different values and assumptions that underpin engineering decisions and how these affect different people in different ways, and reflect on what decolonizing might mean for engineering education. This is a challenging topic that requires considerable thought, reflection, and openness to different ways of knowing. We believe such conversations can help advance our shared mission of diversifying engineering education and enhancing research and engineering practice.
For scholars … When studying the queer of color image alone isn’t enough

The availability of more black queer images provides an opportunity to re-assess the ways we tend to study such images. When we bring our theoretical toolboxes to bear on a text, it does not necess...
A New Federer-Type Characterization of Sets of Finite Perimeter

Federer’s characterization states that a set $$E\subset \mathbb {R}^n$$ is of finite perimeter if and only if $$\mathcal H^{n-1}(\partial ^*E)<\infty $$. Here the measure-theoretic boundary $$\partial ^*E$$ consists of those points where both E and its complement have positive upper density. We show that the characterization remains true if $$\partial ^*E$$ is replaced by a smaller boundary consisting of those points where the lower densities of both E and its complement are at least a given number. This result is new even in Euclidean spaces but we prove it in a more general complete metric space that is equipped with a doubling measure and supports a Poincare inequality.
Determinants of Porter’s competitive strategy utilization among agro-dealers in Kenya

Utilization of Porter’s competitive strategies is considered a crucial tactic in enhancing the competitiveness of small-scale agro-dealers in developing countries. The dynamic nature of the agro-de...
Soft-gluon corrections for the associated production of a single top quark and a Higgs boson

We discuss soft-gluon resummation for the associated production of a single top quark and a Higgs boson ($tqH$ production) in single-particle-inclusive kinematics. We present analytical results for the higher-order corrections and numerical results for the cross sections at LHC energies. We calculate approximate next-to-next-to-leading-order total rates, including scale dependence and uncertainties from parton distributions, as well as top-quark transverse-momentum and rapidity distributions. In all cases we find that the soft-gluon corrections are dominant and provide important contributions to the total and differential cross sections.
Modulation of optical properties of inorganic lead halide perovskites using magnesium and their applications in light-emitting diodes

We investigated the effect of the partial replacement of Pb2+ with Mg2+ in CsPbX3 (X-halides) on photophysical properties and their potential applications in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The new composites exhibited a slight variation in the lattice dimension without altering their structure and morphology. However, the replacement of Pb2+ with Mg2+ imparted enhancement in photoluminescence and bandgap energies with maintaining the high luminous property. As a result, the application of these nanocrystals as the color conversion layers (3D printing-based design) in the fabrication of white LEDs generated white light with excellent color characteristics.
Mapping the Reactivity of Dicobalt Bridging Nitrides in Constrained Geometries.

Low-nuclearity nitrides of the late transition metals are rare and reactive molecular species, with little experimental precedent. The first putative examples of dicobalt bridging nitrides, [(nPDI2)Co2(μ-N)(PMe3)2][OTf]3 (n[Co2N]3+; PDI = pyridyldiimine; n = 2 or 3, representing the length of the aliphatic chain linking PDI imino groups), were reported recently and shown to undergo a range of intramolecular reaction pathways, including N-H bond formation, C-H bond insertion, and P═N bond formation at the bridging nitride. The specific mode of reactivity changed with the phase of the reaction and the size of the macrocycle used to support the transient species. The present contribution offers a computational investigation into both the geometric and electronic structures of these nitrides as well as the factors governing their reaction selectivity. The compounds n[Co2N]3+ exhibit μ-N-based lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs) that are consistent with subvalent, electrophilic nitrides. The specific orientations of the LUMOs induce ring-size-dependent stereoelectronic effects, thereby causing the product selectivity observed experimentally. Notably, the nitrides also exhibit a degree of nucleophilicity at μ-N by way of a high-energy, μ-N-based lone pair. This ambiphilic character appears to be a direct result of the constrained environment imposed by the folded-ligand geometries of n[Co2N]3+. When combined with the experimental findings, these data led to the conclusion that the folded-ligand isomers are the reactive species and that the constrained geometry imposed by the macrocyclic ligand plays an important role in controlling the reaction outcome.
Privacy Governance for Institutional Trust

Currently, we frame individuals online as in a series of exchanges with specific firms, and privacy, accordingly, is governed to ensure trust within those relationships. However, the focus on the relationship between consumers and specific firms does not capture how the online environment behaves. The aggregation and secondary use of consumer data is performed by market actors behind the scenes without any relationship with consumers. Trusting a single firm is not enough; individuals must trust the online market in general. Such institutional trust has gone under-examined in regards to privacy online. Little has been done to measure how aggregating and using consumer data supports a larger online market and impacts institutional trust online. This paper explores how privacy governance should also be framed as protecting a larger market to ensure consumers trust being online. In a series of studies, I empirically examine (a) how typical secondary uses are judged along a generalized (for the good of the market) versus reciprocal (for the good of the consumer) exchange and impact institutional and consumer trust, and (b) whether governance mechanisms (limitations on the use of data such as adequate notice, auditing, non-identifiable information, limited storage, etc.) increase consumer trust in companies. I find: • Respondents find secondary uses of consumer data more appropriate if judged more within a generalized exchange (academic research) or within a reciprocal exchange (product search results) or both (credit security). However, most secondary uses of data are deemed privacy violations and decrease institutional trust online. • Using privacy notices is the least effective governance mechanism of those included here whereas being subject to an audit was as effective as using anonymized data in improving consumer trust. • Institutional trust online impacts a consumer’s willingness to engage with a specific online partner in a trust game experiment The findings have implications for public policy and practice. Secondary uses of information online need not only be justified in a simple quid-pro-quo exchange with the consumer but could also be justified as appropriate for the online context within a generalized exchange. However, the majority of secondary uses currently popular cannot be justified as within either a general exchange or a reciprocal exchange and are judged inappropriate, violations of privacy, and decrease both interpersonal and institutional trust. Second, if privacy violations hurt not only interpersonal consumer trust in a firm but also institutional trust online, then privacy would be governed similar to insider trading, fraud, or bribery — to protect the integrity of the market. Punishment for privacy violations would be set to ensure bad behavior is curtailed and institutional trust is maintained rather than to remediate a specific harm to an individual.
Determinants of Social Commerce Adoption: An Empirical Study of Vietnamese Consumers

Social networking website usage has been rapidly expanding ever since their introduction in the early 2000s. This strategy of social commerce is paying off with increased revenues for many business...
Activation of Hypocretin Neurons in Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a gynecological disease affecting 6-10% of women of reproductive age. In addition to gynecologic symptoms, endometriosis is associated with various systemic effects, including inflammation, altered body weight, and behavioral changes. Previous murine studies demonstrate that endometriosis is causally inked to increased pain sensitization, behavioral changes, and low body mass index (BMI). One possible cellular target that may mediate some of these findings is the hypocretin/orexin neurons. This neuronal system plays a role in regulating wakefulness/sleep cycles, pain perception, and appetite. We hypothesize that endometriosis alters activity level of the hypocretin/orexin (Hcrt) neuronal system. Mice underwent endometriosis induction surgeries (endo) or sham surgeries (sham) for the development of the experimental model. Immunocytochemistry was performed on harvested samples from the lateral hypothalamus, and activation levels of Hcrt cells were examined by quantifying the expression of phosphorylation of cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) in these cells after an acute stress in sham and endo mice. Mice with endometriosis had greater Hcrt neurons activation than sham mice. Mice with endometriosis fed with high fat diet showed a lower fat/body weight and fat/lean tissue ratio compared to mice without endometriosis. There was no significant difference in food intake between sham and endometriosis mice. These results demonstrate that endometriosis is associated with low body mass and increased hypocretin/orexin activity, which could be implicated in the behavioral changes and to differences in body composition.
Neuroprognostication after Cardiac Arrest: Who Recovers? Who Progresses to Brain Death?

Approximately 15% of deaths in developed nations are due to sudden cardiac arrest, making it the most common cause of death worldwide. Though high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation has improved overall survival rates, the majority of survivors remain comatose after return of spontaneous circulation secondary to hypoxic ischemic injury. Since the advent of targeted temperature management, neurologic recovery has improved substantially, but the majority of patients are left with neurologic deficits ranging from minor cognitive impairment to persistent coma. Of those who survive cardiac arrest, but die during their hospitalization, some progress to brain death and others die after withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment due to anticipated poor neurologic prognosis. Here, we discuss considerations neurologists must make when asked, “Given their recent cardiac arrest, how much neurologic improvement do we expect for this patient?”
Using the Expiratory Flow Curve With APRV to Personalize Release Phase to Lung Compliance

Background: ARDS remains a significant problem with an unacceptably high mortality. The only treatments are supportive mechanical ventilation (MV) and proning. However, if MV is set inappropriately unintended ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) can significantly increase mortality. A key mechanism of VILI is repetitive alveolar collapse and expansion (RACE). Conventional MV attempts to minimize RACE by arbitrarily setting PEEP, usually adjusted by oxygenation. Using the APRV mode, PEEP can be set by adjusting release phase time (Tlow) generating a time-controlled PEEP (TC-PEEP). We hypothesize that setting the release phase using the time-controlled adaptive ventilation (TCAV) method will personalize release phase time, tidal volume (VT), and TC-PEEP to changes in respiratory system compliance (CRS). We tested our hypothesis by varying the compliance settings on the ASL 5000 Lung Solution test lung. Methods: The ASL 5000 test lung was used to simulate compliance in normal lungs, and then adjusted to progressively lower compliance in order to mimic mild, moderate, and severe ARDS. Ventilation was delivered via the Drager Evita mechanical ventilator using the APRV mode of ventilation with a Phigh of 30 cm H2O, Plow of 0 cm H2O, Thigh of 5 s and Tlow (also known as release phase time) set to achieve the termination of peak expiratory flow (T-PEFR) of 75% (an application of the TCAV method of setting/optimizing Tlow). At each of the 4 levels of compliance we measured VT, CRS, TC-PEEP, and the angle of the slope (slopeangle) of the line connecting peak expiratory flow (PEF) with the termination of peak expiratory flow (T-PEF) at 75% of PEF. Relationships between variables were measured by Pearson r correlation coefficient. Results: As CRS decreased the slopeangle increased from 42° to 79° (coefficient of correlation of r = -0.85), VT decreased from 680 mL to 372 mL (r = +0.82), release phase time decreased from 0.27 to 0.18 s (r = +0.75), and TC-PEEP decreased from 19 cm H2O to 9 cm H2O (r = +0.85). Conclusions: Using the expiratory flow curve to adjust the release phase time via the TCAV method, VT and TC-PEEP were personalized to the level of CRS. When CRS was low, VT was low, and TC-PEEP was low. Thus, by using the TCAV method the VT and TC-PEEP are set and adjusted according to patient lung pathophysiology and guided by the previous breath.
Combining Foxc2 and Connexin37 deletions in mice leads to severe defects in lymphatic vascular growth and remodeling.

Abstract Connexins (Cxs), proteins that are vital for intercellular communication in vertebrates, have recently been shown to play a critical role in lymphatic development. However, our knowledge is currently limited regarding the functional relationships of Cxs with other proteins and signaling pathways. Cell culture studies have shown that Cx37 is necessary for coordinated activation of the transcription factor NFATc1, which cooperates with Foxc2 (another transcription factor) during lymphatic endothelial development. These data suggest that Cxs, Foxc2, and NFATc1 are part of a common developmental pathway. Here, we present a detailed characterization of Foxc2+/−Cx37−/− mice, demonstrating that lymphatic network architecture and valve formation rely on the concurrent embryonic expression and function of Foxc2 and Cx37. Foxc2+/−Cx37−/− mice have lymphedema in utero, exhibit craniofacial abnormalities, show severe dilation of intestinal lymphatics, display abnormal lacteal development, lack lymphatic valves, and typically die perinatally (outcomes not seen in Foxc2+/− or Cx37−/− mice separately). We provide a rigorous, quantitative documentation of lymphatic vascular network changes that highlight the specific structural alterations that occur in Foxc2+/−Cx37−/− mice. These data provide further evidence suggesting that Foxc2 and Cx37 are elements in a common molecular pathway directing lymphangiogenesis.
Relative Control Optimization

The control implementation resulting from relative control synthesis can be optimized further to reduce its size. Control optimization can be performed either at the logic level by using a finite-state machine model [MSBSV90, SDP90] or at a higher level by using a hardware model described in terms of constraints on the sequencing and timing of the operations [Wo190, DM92]. In the former case, the operations are bound to control states. This implies that the cycle-per-cycle behavior of the control cannot be altered without changing the control specification. Techniques such as sequential logic synthesis and microcode compaction can be used to reduce the cost of the control implementation [GRVD87].
Effect of water restriction on the development of hypothalamic lesions in weanling rodents given MSG. II. Drinking behaviour and physiological parameters in rats (Rattus norvegicus) and golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Abstract No hypothalamic lesions were found in weanling Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats or in golden hamsters deprived of water and/or food overnight (ON 19.00–09.00 h) and offered monosodium l -glutamate monohydrate (MSG) in up to 10% solution for 30 min subsequently. ON restriction of water resulted in haemoconcentration, with elevation of haematocrit, plasma protein, electrolytes and osmolality in SD rats. Water-restricted rats avidly consumed large volumes of concentrated MSG solution and showed further evidence of haemoconcentration, with delayed restoration of plasma sodium and with high plasma glutamate, but did not develop lesions at up to 5.4 g MSG/kg b.w. Hamsters deprived of water ON consumed smaller volumes of MSG in aqueous solution than did SD rats, and in them no hypothalamic lesions were observed. That SD rats and golden hamsters, which are susceptible to hypothalamic lesions from the parenteral administration of high doses of MSG, did not develop lesions following the voluntary intake of MSG in aqueous solution, even under conditions of severe thirst, is further evidence of the safety of MSG as a food ingredient.
Using Charged Particles to Trace Interplanetary Magnetic Field Topology

The topology of interplanetary magnetic field lines relative to the Sun has traditionally been determined from the directions of the fields observed in space. By assuming that charged particles originate in the solar corona and follow field lines as they propagate away from the Sun, it is possible to infer field topologies by comparing the local particle flow directions with the field directions. Recent results with E > 2 keV electrons to study magnetic polarities at sector boundaries show that polarity changes do not correlate well with magnitudes of changes in field directions. Work with heat-flux electrons has shown that intrasector field reversals arise from (1) folds in the unipolar fields, or (2) injections of closed fields into the sector structure, presumably from coronal mass ejections. We consider additional candidate techniques for inferring the magnetic polarity of the interplanetary field.
A phase field dislocation dynamics model for a bicrystal interface system: An investigation into dislocation slip transmission across cube-on-cube interfaces

Abstract In this work, we present a phase field dislocation dynamics formulation designed to treat a system comprised of two materials differing in moduli and lattice parameters that meet at a common interface. We apply the model to calculate the critical stress τ crit required to transmit a perfect dislocation across the bimaterial interface with a cube-on-cube orientation relationship. The calculation of τ crit accounts for the effects of: 1) the lattice mismatch (misfit or coherency stresses), 2) the elastic moduli mismatch (Koehler forces or image stresses), and 3) the formation of the residual dislocation in the interface. Our results show that the value of τ crit associated with the transmission of a dislocation from material 1 to material 2 is not the same as that from material 2 to material 1. Dislocation transmission from the material with the lower shear modulus and larger lattice parameter tends to be easier than the reverse and this apparent asymmetry in τ crit generally increases with increases in either lattice or moduli mismatch or both. In efforts to clarify the roles of lattice and moduli mismatch, we construct an analytical model for τ crit based on the formation energy of the residual dislocation. We show that path dependence in this energetic barrier can explain the asymmetry seen in the calculated τ crit values. Significantly, the analysis reveals that τ crit scales with a ( 2 ) G ( 2 ) a ( 1 ) + a ( 2 ) ( a ( 1 ) a ( 2 ) − G ( 1 ) G ( 2 ) ) 2 , where G is the shear modulus, a is the lattice parameter, and the superscripts (1) and (2) indicate quantities for material 1 and material 2, respectively.
Who is a legitimate French speaker? The Senegalese in Paris and the crossing of linguistic and social borders:

Just as the distinction between ‘French’ and ‘Francophone’ has implications in French literary studies, the boundaries that position certain groups as outsiders also exist in French society at larg...
Locating local extrema under interval uncertainty: Multi-D case

In many practical situations, we need to locate local maxima and/or local minima of a function which is only know with interval uncertainty. For example, in radioastronomy, components of a radiosource are usually identified by locations at which the observed brightness reaches a local maximum. In clustering, different clusters are usually identified with local maxima of the probability density function (describing the relative frequency of different combinations of values). In the 1-D case, a feasible (polynomial-time) algorithm is known for locating local extrema under interval (and fuzzy) uncertainty. In this paper, we extend this result to the general multi-dimensional case.
$\mathfrak{sl}(2)$ operators and Markov processes on branching graphs

We present a unified approach to various examples of Markov dynamics on partitions studied by Borodin, Olshanski, Fulman, and the author. Our technique generalizes Kerov's operators which first appeared in Okounkov (Random Matrix Models and Their Applications, pp. 407---420, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001), and also stems from the study of duality of graded graphs in Fomin (J. Algebr. Comb., 3(4):357---404, 1994). Our main object is a countable branching graph carrying an $\mathfrak {sl}(2,\mathbb{C})$ -module of a special kind. Using this structure, we introduce distinguished probability measures on the floors of the graph, and define two related types of Markov dynamics associated with these measures. We study spectral properties of the dynamics, and our main result is the explicit description of eigenfunctions of the Markov generator of one of the processes. For the Young graph our approach reconstructs the z-measures on partitions and the associated dynamics studied by Borodin and Olshanski (Probab. Theory Relat. Fields, 135(1):84---152, 2006; Probab. Theory Relat. Fields, 144(1):281---318, 2009). The generator of the jump dynamics on the Young graph corresponding to the z-measures is diagonal in the basis of the Meixner symmetric functions introduced recently by Olshanski (Zap. Naua?. Semin. POMI, 378:81---100, 230, 2010; Laguerre and Meixner orthogonal bases in the algebra of symmetric functions, 2011). We give new proofs to some of the results of these two papers. Other graphs to which our technique is applicable include the Pascal triangle, the Kingman graph (with the two-parameter Poisson---Dirichlet measures), the Schur graph and the general Young graph with Jack edge multiplicities.
Biocultural implications of mortuary treatment and paleopathology at the Isle La Motte site

Little is known about biocultural adaptations during the terminal Late Archaic period (ca. 1,000–500 B.C.) in the northeastern United States. To shed light on population structure and social organization, I examined mortuary treatment and paleopathology of six skeletons recovered at the Isle La Motte site in Vermont “Typical” Glacial Kame artifacts accompanied the cremated and uncremated remains. Mortuary practices indicate status differences based on gender and perhaps on age as well. Grave furniture seems to include items of both personal adornment and socio-ceremonial import. Radiographic analysis of two skeletons showed signs of a virulent, infectious disease, which was diagnosed as disseminated bone tuberculosis. Epidemiological modeling suggests a population size well into the hundreds. Despite occasional suboptimal nutrient intake, diet generally appears to have been adequate. Taken together, the findings indicate a moderately-sized population—socially, perhaps hierarchically, ordered—of gatherers,...
Nutrition and somatomedin. XVI: Somatomedins and somatomedin inhibitors in fasted and refed rats.

Nutritional deprivation is associated with poor growth and decreased levels of net circulating somatomedin activity, as measured by bioassay. Since somatomedin activity reflects the contributions both of somatomedins (which stimulate cartilage) and of somatomedin inhibitors (which antagonize the ability of the somatomedins to stimulate cartilage), we asked if changes in net somatomedin activity could involve progressive underlying alterations in levels of both somatomedins and somatomedin inhibitors. Groups of rats were killed during three days of fasting and 24 hours of refeeding. Fasting was associated with a rise in serum β-hydroxybutyrate from 1.6 to 12.6 mmol/L after one day, followed by a decline to 4 mmol/L at three days. Somatomedins (low-MW) were separated from somatomedin inhibitors (high-MW) by gel permeation chromatography at acid pH on Sephadex G-50 and TSK-2000 HPLC. Somatomedins fell 35% after one day of fasting, and decreased to 59% below control levels after three days (P < .05). Somatomedins did not change with six hours of refeeding, but then rose rapidly, reaching control levels after 24 hours. Somatomedins were correlated with change in weight (r = .41, P < .05), but not with glucose or β-hydroxybutyrate. Inhibitors rose to 195% above control-levels after one day of fasting, and continued to rise to 375% above control after three days (P < .01). In contrast to the delayed change in somatomedins with refeeding, there was an abrupt fall in inhibitors (41% below three-day fasted levels after six hours), returning to control levels after 24 hours. Levels of somatomedin inhibitors were correlated significantly with both β-hydroxybutyrate and change in weight (both P < .05). Somatomedin responses appeared to be due in part to changes in circulating IGF-I, but inhibitor responses could not be attributed to changes in serum IGF binding activity. We conclude that circulating levels of both somatomedins and somatomedin inhibitors respond progressively to changes in nutritional status; apparent more rapid responsiveness of somatomedin inhibitors to refeeding may indicate noncoordinate regulation of production/clearance of somatomedins v inhibitors.
Creep behavior of fine-grained two-phase Al2O3–Y3Al5O12 materials

Abstract The compression creep behavior of fine-grained two-phase Al 2 O 3 –Y 3 Al 5 O 12 (matrix) materials was investigated over the temperature range 1400–1500°C under applied stresses 3 and 20 MPa. The fine-grained two-phse Al 2 O 3 –Y 3 Al 5 O 12 materials exhibited brief normal primary creep transiet (less than 2%) prior to steady-state behavior with stress exponents close to unity, suggesting that the deformation was controlled by a diffusional creep mechanism. The activation energy for creep of the two-phase materials was between 592 and 612 kJ mol −1 , which is within the range of values reported for creep of both single-phase Al 2 O 3 and Y 3 Al 5 O 12 . The creep data of the two-phase materials correlated well with the predicted behavior based on the isostress model, suggesting that the creep behavior of the two-phase materials is most probably controlled by the faster deforming phase.
Proteinuria with first-line therapy of metastatic renal cell cancer:

BackgroundVascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitors, mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors are approved for metastatic renal cell cancer. Proteinuria...
Dissipation monitoring for assessing EGF-induced changes of cell adhesion

Epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced cell de-adhesion has been implicated as a critical step of normal embryonic development, wound repair, inflammatory response, and tumor cell metastasis. Like many other cellular processes, this cell de-adhesion exhibits a complex, time-dependent pattern. A comprehensive understanding of this process requires a quantitative, real-time assessment of cell-substrate interactions at the molecular level. We employed the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) to successfully track the EGF-induced changes in energy dissipation factor, ΔD, of a monolayer of MCF10A cells in real time. This time-dependent ΔD response correlates well both qualitatively and quantitatively with sequential events of a rapid disassembly, transition, and slow reassembly of focal adhesions of the cells in response to EGF exposure. Based on this strong correlation, we utilized the QCM-D to demonstrate that this dynamic focal-adhesion restructuring is regulated temporally by the downstream pathways of EGFR signaling such as the PI3K, MAPK/ERK, and PLC pathways. Because the QCM-D is a noninvasive technique, this novel approach potentially has a broad range of applications in the fundamental study of cellular processes, such as cell signaling and trafficking and mechanotransduction, and holds promise for drug and biomarker screening.
Directed evolution of cutinase using in vitro compartmentalization

High-throughput screening (HTS) is a key step to the success of directed evolution of enzymes. Recently, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) has emerged as a promising tool for HTS. Directed evolution of Fusarium solani cutinase, which is partially released from E. coli cells, was carried out using a FACS-based screening technique to increase its activity for (R)-flurbiprofen. First, the ability of using the FACS-based screening technique to screen active cutinase using wild type cutinase (WT) and inactivated cutinase mutant (S42A) was examined. Although the FACS-based screening using E. coli cells did not work well due to the diffusion of fluorescent product and/or an interference by the partially released cutinase from the the cells, FACS could be used to effectively screen active wild type cutinase via in vitro compartmentalization using water/oil/water emulsion microcompartments. Cutinase variants showing higher activity for (R)-flurbiprofen could be screened after four screening steps. The mutants 2–95 and 0–5 showed 8.0- and 6.8-fold higher activities for fluorescein (R)-flurbiprofen diester compared to that of the wild type cutinase, respectively. The mutant 0–5 also showed 5.0-fold higher activities for fluorescein butyl diester compared to that of the wild type cutinase.
Minimally selected p and other tests for a single abrupt changepoint in a binary sequence.

Summary. A novel changepoint statistic based on the minimum value, over possible changepoint locations, of Fisher's Exact Test, is introduced. Specific points in the exact distribution of the minimally selected Fisher's value may be rapidly calculated as a lattice-path counting problem via known recurrence methods. The test is compared to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov two-sample test, the maximally selected chi-square, and a likelihood ratio test. The tests are applied to assessing recombination in genetic sequences of HIV.
Body size and postcranial robusticity of European Upper Paleolithic hominins

The robust diaphyses of Pleistocene hominins are said to indicate higher activity levels in these prehistoric humans than among people today. Thus, it could be argued that the prediction of body mass from fossil lower limb diaphyseal cortical area (CA) using recent human regressions might lead to erroneously high body mass estimates. This study uses three body mass prediction formulae based on the following features: reconstructed femoral 80% (subtrochanteric) CA, femoral head diameter (FH), and bi-iliac breadth and stature (BIB-St) among European Early and Late Upper Paleolithic (EUP and LUP) and recent humans from Africa and Europe. All three methods produce similar body mass estimates for all groups studied, including recent humans. Gleaning behavioral differences from these data is more difficult, as no significant differences in CA were found among the fossil and recent Europeans. It has been suggested that the EUP had less robust diaphyses than their LUP counterparts. However, here this result is only obtained when CA is size-standardized to femoral length(3) (Ruff et al., 1993, Am. J. phys. Anthrop.91, 21-53 Trinkaus et al., 1998, in Neandertals and Modern Humans in Western Asia, pp.391-404, New York: Plenum). This should not be interpreted as evidence for lower activity levels in the EUP, but rather as an artefact of standardization, for as Wolpoff (1999), Am. J. phys. Anthrop.109, 416-423 points out, these standardized variables are extremely sensitive to limb length differences, and the EUP have longer limbs than their LUP counterparts. With this in mind, these data do not support a pattern of behavioral differences between EUP and LUP humans, and therefore more sensitive measures than CA may be required to detect such differences.
Chemistry for commercial scale production of yttrium-90 for medical research.

Abstract Studies were initiated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 1982 for the radiolabeling of resin microspheres with yttrium-90 ( 90 Y) for liver cancer therapy. Yttrium-90 is the decay product of strontium-90 ( 90 Sr). Subsequently, 90 Y became a major radioisotope of choice for labeling antibodies for therapeutic trials in the treatment of other forms of cancer. A 25-Ci 90 Y generator or 90 Sr cow was placed in service to supply the anticipated needs of customers. In vivo use of 90 Y required that the 90 Sr contamination levels be kept below 10 μCi/Ci 90 Y (corrected to preparation time). Also, it was necessary to remove trace metals that interfered in the 90 Y antibody radiolabeling process, giving low radiolabeling yields. Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (HDEHP) in dodecane has been used routinely at ORNL to extract 90 Y and thereby give a product that meets the radiochemical purity required with respect to 90 Sr. Methods were also developed to remove interfering trace elements to provide acceptable labeling yields.
Studying the continuum limit of the Ising model.

Different continuum limits of the Ising model in dimensions 2, 3, and 4 are investigated numerically. The data indicate that triviality occurs for [ital D]=4 and fails for [ital D][lt]4 in each limit.
Alkyl-transition metal compounds IV. Fragmentation of n- and sec-alkylchromium compounds☆

Abstract The tris(4-phenyl-n-butyl)- and tris(4-phenyl-sec-butyl)chromium systems undergo stepwise fragmentation on warming. At low temperatures the products, in both cases, are the alkane and terminal olefin. At higher temperatures they are alkane, 1- and 2-alkene, respectively, and a chromium based isomerization catalyst. Both (4-phenyl-n-butyl)-and (4-phenyl-sec-butyl)chromium dichlorides undergo fragmentation to alkane and terminal olefin. We conclude that the two fundamental processes of homolysis and β-metal hydride elimination are involved in the fragmentation of alkylchromium compounds.
Taphonomy of Jack's Birthday Site, a diverse dinosaur bonebed from the Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation of Montana

Jack's Birthday Site is a diverse vertebrate assemblage from the Upper Two Medicine Formation of western Montana. Age is roughly 74 Ma. The site covers roughly 3000 m2, and excavations over 140 m2. A large bone sample (> 1600 skeletal elements) allowed statistical evaluation of the preservational and compositional variation within the site. Evidence, including sedimentary facies, plant and invertebrate fossils, and bone orientation and condition, indicates Jack's Birthday Site represents part of a small, shallow floodplain lake. Lithologies and fossil preservation vary from northwest to southeast over a distance of 50 m. This variation represents a transition from lake through shoreline to marginal shoreline/floodplain environments. Containing ten dinosaur taxa and a variety of non-dinosaurs, Jack's Birthday Site provides one of the best single faunal samples of the region. The vertebrate assemblage includes two taphonomic fractions. The first, consisting of attritional, predominantly isolated and allochthonous elements, represents a time-averaged assemblage. The other consists of associated, parautochthonous remains restricted to a single horizon. Taxa represented by associated remains include three iguanodontoids, Hypacrosaurus, Prosaurolophus, and Gryposaurus, and the theropod Troodon. Associated individuals of these taxa have non-random distributions within the site (Fisher's Exact Test, p < 0.01) and observed taxonomic clustering may reflect group behavior and/or event mortality. The four or more Troodon represent the first described multi-individual troodontid occurrence. The diversity and spatial complexity of the parautochthonous fraction of the Birthday Site assemblage is difficult to explain. Discussion of possible event mortality mechanisms focuses on three: drought, botulism and cyanobacterial toxicosis. These share an ability to act over an ecologically significant period of time, affect a variety of species and concentrate mortality along water sources, aspects that may have been important in generating the Birthday Site assemblage. Evidence at the site favors drought or perhaps a drought/botulism hypothesis. However, taxonomic clusters could represent completely separate events with a variety of causes.
Electroactive Polymers as Artificial Muscles: Capabilities, Potentials and Challenges

The low density and the relative ease of shaping made polymers highly attractive materials and they are increasingly being chosen for aerospace applications. Polymer matrix composite materials significantly impacted the construction of high performance aircraft components and structures. In recent years, the resilience characteristics of polymers made them attractive to the emerging field of inflatable structures. Balloons were used to cushion the deployment of the Mars Pathfinder lander on July 4, 1997, paving the way for the recent large number of related initiatives. Inflatable structures are now being used to construct a rover, aerial vehicles, telescopes, radar antennas, and others. Some of these applications have reached space flight experiments, whereas others are now at advanced stages of development.
Control Profiles of Football Players, Tennis Players, and Nonathletes

Summary Control profiles of three samples of male college students (49 football players, 70 tennis players, and 88 nonathletes) were determined by administering a battery of sphere-specific scales measuring perception of control. Athletes reported greater perception of control than nonathletes in all behavioral spheres. Football players were particularly high in interpersonal control, whereas tennis players rated highest in personal efficacy. Tennis players experienced higher personal efficacy when their sport was in season. Within each sport an athlete's success was related to his belief in Machiavellian tactics.