cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuronal inhibition by a GABAB receptor agonist in the rostral ventrolateral medulla of the rat

We recorded the effects of the gamma-aminobutyric acid class B (GABAB) receptor agonist baclofen on neuronal activity in the rat rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) in tissue slices and in vivo. In vitro, baclofen (3 microM) produced hyperpolarization (13 of 17), decrease in input resistance (12 of 16), and reduction of spontaneous synaptic activity (7 of 14). Baclofen inhibited 84 of 87 spontaneously active neurons recorded extracellularly in vitro. Inhibition was concentration dependent (0.1-3 microM, maximum inhibition: 94 +/- 4%, n = 16) and persisted in low-Ca2+/high-Mg2+ medium (n = 19). The GABAB receptor antagonists CGP-54626A (1 microM, n = 19), CGP-55845A (1 microM, n = 15), and 2-hydroxysaclofen (0.5 mM, n = 3) attenuated inhibition by baclofen (1-3 microM) but not by muscimol or GABA. In vivo, iontophoresis of baclofen inhibited 31 of 32 RVLM neurons, including bulbospinal barosensitive (15 of 16) and respiratory ones (7 of 7). CGP-55845A attenuated baclofen inhibition (6 of 9). Bicuculline attenuated the effect of GABA but not that of baclofen (4 of 4). In summary, RVLM presympathetic neurons have somatodendritic GABAB receptors that may contribute to baclofen-induced hypotension in humans.
Nonzero-temperature entanglement negativity of quantum spin models: Area law, linked cluster expansions, and sudden death.

We show that the bipartite logarithmic entanglement negativity (EN) of quantum spin models obeys an area law at all nonzero temperatures. We develop numerical linked cluster (NLC) expansions for the ``area-law'' logarithmic entanglement negativity as a function of temperature and other parameters. For one-dimensional models the results of NLC are compared with exact diagonalization on finite systems and are found to agree very well. The NLC results are also obtained for two dimensional $XXZ$ and transverse field Ising models. In all cases, we find a sudden onset (or sudden death) of negativity at a finite temperature above which the negativity is zero. We use perturbation theory to develop a physical picture for this sudden onset (or sudden death). The onset of EN or its magnitude are insensitive to classical finite-temperature phase transitions, supporting the argument for absence of any role of quantum mechanics at such transitions. On approach to a quantum critical point at $T=0$, negativity shows critical scaling in size and temperature.
Sensory Systems and Brain Evolution Across the Bilateria: Commonalities and Constraints

Enlarged brains with relatively elaborate neural circuitry have arisen multiple times across bilaterally symmetrical animals, particularly in cephalopod molluscs, arthropods, and craniates (hagfishes and vertebrates). The transition from noncraniate chordate to craniate was marked by a substantial enlargement of both the central and peripheral nervous systems. A plausible model for this transition posits that enlargement of parts of the brain, along with paired eyes, occurred first and served as a preadaptation for later elaboration of the peripheral nervous system. This model is consistent with the sequence of evolutionary events that are postulated to have occurred in the elaboration of the brain within various arthropod lineages. The nervous systems of the earliest bilaterally symmetrical animals are deemed to have had at least the genetic basis for a rostral brain that included a hypothalamic region with paired eyes or eye spots, a hindbrain region, and descending nerve cord(s). Specializations present in the brains of both arthropods and craniates can be accounted for as elaborations on this basic plan.
Scalable association rule mining with predication on semantic representations of data

Finding semantic associations from a vast amount of heterogeneous data is an important and useful task in various applications. We present a framework to extract semantic association patterns directly from a very large graph dataset without the extra step of converting graph data into transaction data. The proposed algorithm SAG (Semantic Association Generator) utilizes the principle of minimum description length to unearth general relevant associations and demonstrates that SPARQL commands can be used to perform data mining tasks.
When the Gold Standard Loses Its Luster, Perhaps It Is Time to Change Nomenclature.

A report from the B-Path (Breast Pathology) study reveals problems with the gold standard for breast cancer diagnosis. The data show significant interpretation discordance. The editorialists discus...
Temperature dependence of the Cl atom reaction with deuterated methanes.

Kinetic isotope effect (KIE) and reaction rate coefficients, k1–k4, for the gas-phase reaction of Cl atoms with 12CH3D (k1), 12CH2D2 (k2), 12CHD3 (k3), and 12CD4 (k4) over the temperature range 223–343 K in 630 Torr of synthetic air are reported. Rate coefficients were measured using a relative rate technique with 12CH4 as the primary reference compound. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to monitor the methane isotopologue loss. The obtained KIE values were 12CH3D: KIE1(T) = (1.227 ± 0.004) exp((43 ± 5)/T); 12CH2D2: KIE2(T) = (1.14 ± 0.20) exp((191 ± 60)/T); 12CHD3: KIE3(T) = (1.73 ± 0.34) exp((229 ± 60)/T); and 12CD4: KIE4(T) = (1.01 ± 0.3) exp((724 ± 19)/T), where KIEx(T) = kCl+12CH4(T)/kx(T). The quoted uncertainties are at the 2σ (95% confidence) level and represent the precision of our data. The following Arrhenius expressions and 295 K rate coefficient values (in units of cm3 molecule–1 s–1) were derived from the above KIE using a rate coefficient of 7.3 × 10–12 exp(−1280/T) cm3 molec...
LIGHT AFFECTS IN VITRO DEVELOPMENT OF GAMETANGIA AND SPORANGIA OF MONOBLEPHARIS MACRANDRA (CHYTRIDIOMYCETES, MONOBLEPHARIDALES)

The effect of light on in vitro reproduction of Monoblepharis macrandra was studied in liquid shake cultures. Zoospores inoculated into a medium of 0.25% tryptone, 0.125% yeast extract, and 0.3% glucose developed into populations of small branched thalli. Cultures grown in darkness developed only gametangial thalli by the sixth day while those grown in light or in light after 72 h darkness developed only sporangial thalli by the fifth day. Sporangial development was more synchronous and more zoospores were produced in dark-grown cultures that were transferred to a dilute salts buffer and light on the fourth day than in cultures that were transferred to light only. The oogamous reproductive pattern found in the Monoblepharidales is unique in the fungi. Cornu (1871), Woronin (1904), and Sparrow (1933) have provided detailed and well illustrated observations of antherozooid (sperm) release, oosphere (egg) approach, and fertilization in field-collected material of Monobleph? aris. These fungi hold obvious promise for research in comparative sexuality and reproductive mechanisms but it has been delayed by the lack of adequate procedures for growing and manipulating these fungi in axenic culture. Emerson (1950) was the first to report axenic culture of members ofthe Monoblepharidales but he could not induce sexual reproduction in his isolates. Unestam (1966) reported on the nutritional requirements of M. macrandra (Lagerheim) Woronin, and noted occasional appearance of oogonia in his cultures. Whisler (1974,1978), working with a variety of species in the genus, was able to induce and film fertilization of M. hypogyna Perrott and M. polymorpha Cornu but these tech? niques used agar and water cultures which limited their value for direct experimentation. Recently, a strain of M. macrandra was isolated which showed a strong tendency for sexual reproduction in culture when grown in darkness and for asexual reproduction when illuminated. This discovery permitted the development of methods for growing large populations of either gametangial or sporangial thalli in liquid media using zoospores as inoculum. In this paper I describe these meth? ods and the effects of light on in vitro reproduction of M. macrandra,
CREATING A CAPITAL INVESTMENT WELFARE STATE: THE NEW AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM* 1998 Presidential Address

In the past few decades forces such as globalization and international competition, rising public budgets, and aging populations have caused many nations to reexamine the social programs they established at least a half century ago. Some nations have cut spending; others have reorganized priorities to provide support for dual-earner families, single mothers, or elderly people who need long-term care. The United States appears instead to be in transition from a social insurance welfare state to a "capital investment welfare state " in which the objective is to increase savings and investment. This shift in U.S. public policy is most explicit in the ascendance of a neoconservative ideology, which depicts the welfare state as an impediment to a free market. This ideology has lent credence to proposals for privatizing Social Security and is implicit in seemingly minor technocratic changes in Medicare, which nonetheless have inserted market principles into a social insurance program. Whether current trends represent the most recent manifestation of American exceptionalism or a concurrent restructuring across nations can be determined only by comparative research examining (1) how different nations are responding to contemporary fiscal pressures, and (2) if nations are redistributing the social welfare burden from the public to the private sector.
The Limits on Congress's Authority to Investigate the President

In this era of unprecedented executive power, congressional oversight of the President is vital in order to maintain the balance of power in the federal government. But what of the opportunity for political mischief from such investigations? Professor Marshall argues that congressional investigations have been used as political weapons because there are few, if any, costs to the legislative branch in taking such action. As such, minimal political capital and, indeed, very little effort is necessary to initiate such investigations. However, rather than excluding Congress from investigating substantive areas, Professor Marshall's solution to this problem focuses on process limitations to protect against congressional abuse. The legislature's powers thus will not be blunted, but sufficient political capital will have to be expended in order to subject the President to investigations. Congress will be less likely to engage in abusive inquiries if political costs are imposed for taking up investigations. By choosing to pursue process reform, rather than limiting the areas in which the congressional oversight may occur, the ability to engage in legitimate and necessary investigations is not compromised.
Recent advances in pediatric anesthesia.

Current concepts are presented concerning those agents and practices which have improved the safety of the child who must undergo anesthesia. Risk of anesthetic agents to operating room personnel and pediatric outpatient anesthesia are also discussed.
Lifetimes of the First Excited States of Mg 25 and Al 25

The lifetimes of the first excited states of ${\mathrm{Mg}}^{25}$ and ${\mathrm{Al}}^{25}$, at 0.58 and 0.45 MeV, respectively, have been measured using a pulsed Van de Graaff beam technique. The mean lives were found to be (4.82\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.10) nsec for ${\mathrm{Mg}}^{25}$ and (3.33\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.07) nsec for ${\mathrm{Al}}^{25}$.
State of Prefab Practice in the Electrical Construction Industry: Qualitative Assessment

AbstractTo overcome productivity challenges encountered in construction projects, electrical contractors often apply reactive measures such as overtime and shiftwork. This paper recommends that electrical contractors use prefabrication (prefab) as a proactive measure to enhance their projects’ performance. Current advancements in information technology have made it feasible for contractors to adopt nonconventional construction methods and to incorporate preplanned and preassembled components within their projects. Because there is limited information available on the current state of prefab use in the electrical construction industry, qualitative data from 142 electrical contractors in the United States and Canada were collected. The qualitative data were analyzed to understand the impact of prefab use on project performance as perceived by electrical contractors. The examined data revealed that prefab use has significantly increased over the last decade and electrical contractors perceive that it offers ...
Development of MATLAB software to control data acquisition from a multichannel systems multi-electrode array

A Multichannel Systems (MCS) microelectrode array data acquisition (DAQ) unit is used to collect multichannel electrograms (EGM) from a Langendorff perfused rabbit heart system to study sudden cardiac death (SCD). MCS provides software through which data being processed by the DAQ unit can be displayed and saved, but this software's combined utility with MATLAB is not very effective. MCSs software stores recorded EGM data in a MathCad (MCD) format, which is then converted to a text file format. These text files are very large, and it is therefore very time consuming to import the EGM data into MATLAB for real-time analysis. Therefore, customized MATLAB software was developed to control the acquisition of data from the MCS DAQ unit, and provide specific laboratory accommodations for this study of SCD. The developed DAQ unit control software will be able to accurately: provide real time display of EGM signals; record and save EGM signals in MATLAB in a desired format; and produce real time analysis of the EGM signals; all through an intuitive GUI.
A 6-Month-Old Infant With Different Capnography Values in Polysomnography.

A 6-month-old infant with a past medical history of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy was referred for evaluation of snoring. She was born at 41 weeks' gestational age to a 25-year-old gravida 1, para 1 mother via vacuum-assisted delivery due to cardiac decelerations. The infant's Apgar scores were 1, 4, and 6 with nuchal cord and meconium at delivery. She was started on positive-pressure ventilation but eventually required intubation at approximately 40 minutes of life. Brain MRI showed abnormal areas of restricted diffusion, involving the corpus callosum, bilateral posterior limb of the internal capsules, and possible scattered areas of frontal and occipital lobe cortices.
Characterizing storm response and recovery using the beach change envelope: Fire Island, New York

Abstract Hurricane Sandy at Fire Island, New York presented unique challenges in the quantification of storm impacts using traditional metrics of coastal change, wherein measured changes (shoreline, dune crest, and volume change) did not fully reflect the substantial changes in sediment redistribution following the storm. We used a time series of beach profile data at Fire Island, New York to define a new contour-based morphologic change metric, the Beach Change Envelope (BCE). The BCE quantifies changes to the upper portion of the beach likely to sustain measurable impacts from storm waves and capture a variety of storm and post-storm beach states. We evaluated the ability of the BCE to characterize cycles of beach change by relating it to a conceptual beach recovery regime, and demonstrated that BCE width and BCE height from the profile time series correlate well with established stages of recovery. We also investigated additional applications of this metric to capture impacts from storms and human modification by applying it to several post-storm historical datasets in which impacts varied considerably; Nor'Ida (2009), Hurricane Irene (2011), Hurricane Sandy (2012), and a 2009 community replenishment. In each case, the BCE captured distinctive upper beach morphologic change characteristic of these different beach building and erosional events. Analysis of the beach state at multiple profile locations showed spatial trends in recovery consistent with recent morphologic island evolution, which other studies have linked with sediment availability and the geologic framework. Ultimately we demonstrate a new way of more effectively characterizing beach response and recovery cycles to evaluate change along sandy coasts.
Do We Decide Intentionally

ABSTRACTIn a recent article in this journal, Joshua Shepherd presents and rejects a new argument for the sceptical conclusion that everyday decisions aren't intentional actions. After relating his focal argument to a different argument for the same conclusion that is presented and rejected by Alfred Mele, I defend these arguments from extant criticisms, and develop new objections that shed light on the intentionality of typical decisions.
Potential and spin-exchange interaction between Anderson impurities in graphene

The effective interaction between resonant magnetic Anderson impurities in graphene, mediated by conduction electrons, is studied as a function of the strength of the on-site energy level of the impurities and the amplitude of coupling to conduction electrons. The sign and character of the interaction depend on whether the impurities reside on the same or opposite sublattices. For the same (opposite) sublattice, the potential interaction is attractive (repulsive) in the weak coupling limit with $1/{R}^{3}$ dependence on the distance; the interaction reverses sign and becomes repulsive (attractive) in the strong coupling limit and displays $1/R$ behavior. The spin-exchange coupling is ferromagnetic (antiferromagnetic) at both large and small distances, but reverses sign and becomes antiferromagnetic (ferromagnetic) for intermediate distances. For opposite sublattices, the effective spin-exchange coupling is resonantly enhanced at distances where the energy levels cross the Dirac points.
44 – Women, Stress, and Health

This chapter examines the specific social-environmental stressors that women commonly encounter and the pathways through which these stressors affect women's health and well being. Stress is defined as a state of arousal resulting either from the presence of socio-environmental demands that tax the ordinary adaptive capacity of the individual or from the absence of the means to attain sought after ends. Epidemiologic research indicates that social groups differ in the extent to which they experience stress. These group differences in stress are a function of two key processes: differences in exposure to stress and differences in vulnerability to stress. Exposure to stress occurs when an individual encounters an objectively defined socio-environmental demand—also referred to as a stressor. Similar levels of stress exposure do not always have similar effects on health. Vulnerability to stress refers to the extent to which stress exposure results in the psychological and biological changes that undermine health and well being. Numerous studies identify the beneficial aspects of personal relationships for health and well being, but a growing body of evidence indicates that the negative dimensions of personal relationships—those that involve demands, strains, and conflict—have greater effects on physical and mental health than do the positive components.
A Passage into Critical Theory.

She might have deplored the sentiment, had it come from one of her students. "What we need," she was saying, trying hard not to whine, "is a short cut, a simple guide, a kind of recipe for each of these theories, telling us step by step how to make a particular reading." It was the second week of a three-week institute dedicated to the proposition that all teachers were created equal and that therefore all should share in the excitement and challenge of the on-going transformation of literary criticism. But these teachers, it was clear, were just on the verge of saying, "Let's just pretend that nothing important has happened since, oh, 1967." I had whipped them into an evangelistic fever at the outset of the institute, ready to receive the spirit of critical theory; and they had read so much and worked so hard. But I nodded. She was right. They were mired in complexity and subtleties. I realized, of course, that no one whose loaf was fully sliced would seriously attempt an overview of recent critical theory in a few pages. But all they needed was to get their bearings, and then the confusion of ideas bouncing around in their heads would probably start falling into some comprehensible order. So I came up with the briefest of guides to some of the recent critical theory, an overview that would succeed when its users began to understand its limitations. My strategy was to show how a single passage might be treated by a handful of different critical theories-certainly not every theory available, but enough to show how theory shapes practice and to help my students with those most puzzling them. Although multiple readings of the same work are easy to assemble and useful, my effort not only had the virtue of a calculated simplicity and brevity, it also displayed the same reader attempting to act as the extension of various different interpretive codes. The passage I chose, a wonderful excerpt from Brendan Gill's Here at the New Yorker, is itself brief, but also rich. In offering these notes I am assuming that my reader, like those teachers, knows enough about recent critical theory to be confused. Obviously, my theorizing will be alarmingly reductive, and the examples won't illustrate what any student at any level can produce, given a sketch of this or that theory. They illustrate only what I can do to provide in a very small space an example of a particular kind of critical behavior. But my teacher/students, as well as my student/students, have found these discussion/examples helpful, and so I'll proceed immediately to Gill's text and then mine, before anyone gets cut on any of these slashes.
Shot Noise and Thermal Noise

It is well known that electronic amplifiers introduce noise. The noise can be heard in any radio receiver tuned between stations. Some of the noise comes from the environment, but most of the noise is generated internally in the amplifiers. One source of amplifier noise is the shot noise that accompanies a flow of electric current. Another source is thermal noise, emitted by any resistor at any given temperature. Amplification is a nonequilibrium process, and thus amplification involves noise sources other than thermal sources.
Flow Number Test and Assessment of AASHTO TP 79-13 Rutting Criteria: Comparison of Rutting Performance of Hot-Mix and Warm-Mix Asphalt Mixtures

The flow number (FN) test was recommended in NCHRP Project 9-19 as a simple performance test for rutting evaluation of asphalt mixtures. The test showed good correlation with rutting performance of mixtures from WesTrack, MnROAD, and FHWA’s accelerated loading facility. Despite this fact, no standard protocol was recommended for temperature and required stress level. Subsequent NCHRP studies allowed the development of a provisional standard. AASHTO TP 79-13 includes test parameters for stress and temperature, specimen conditioning, and minimum FN criteria that were established for hot-mix asphalt (HMA) and for warm-mix asphalt (WMA) on the basis of traffic level. In NCHRP Project 9-47A, the rutting potential of WMA mixtures was compared with that of HMA mixtures by using the FN test and the rutting criteria included in the AASHTO TP 79-13 were also evaluated. The analysis included results of samples produced by using field and lab mixtures. Thirteen mixes using 10 WMA technologies and eight corresponding ...
Gravimetric Adsorption Studies of Hydrogen on Granular Metal Surfaces Using a Vacuum Microbalance

A Cahn RG microbalance has been incorporated into a high-vacuum gravimetric adsorption apparatus for hydrogen adsorption studies from 77 to 273 K on granular metal surfaces. A study was undertaken to eliminate or minimize the expected thermomolecular flow (TMF) effects and make gravimetric adsorption results meaningful under these conditions.
Feminist Political Solidarity

This article examines some of the conceptual history of collective political action within feminist movements beginning with sisterhood and moving to feminist political solidarity. I argue that feminist political solidarity is built on a commitment by individuals to form a unity in opposition to injustice or oppression. Three moral relations emerge from this understanding of feminist political solidarity: the relation to the cause, the relation among members of the solidary group, and the relation between the solidary group and the larger society. These relations evoke certain obligations and responsibilities which I present and defend. Feminist political solidarity is informed by the particularities of the cause and thus any theoretical account of the moral obligations is necessarily limited, but by looking at these three relations together with a sociological account of transnational feminist political solidarity drawn from Clare Weber’s sociological description of the Women’s Empowerment Project, a clearer picture of some of the moral requirements of a commitment to feminist political solidarity emerges.
A Systematic Review of Barriers and Facilitators to Mammography in American Indian/Alaska Native Women

Introduction: The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize the current knowledge of factors that enable or impede American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women from accessing breast ca...
Alternative Treatment Utilization Before Hysterectomy for Benign Gynecologic Conditions at a Large Integrated Health System

ABSTRACT Study Objective To investigate rates of utilization of alternative treatments before hysterectomy for benign gynecologic indications within a large integrated health care system. Design Retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent hysterectomies for benign gynecologic conditions between 2012 and 2014 (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). Setting Kaiser Permanente Northern California, a community-based integrated health system. Patients Women who underwent hysterectomy for a benign gynecologic condition between 2012 and 2014. Interventions From an eligible cohort of 6892 patients who underwent hysterectomy, a stratified random sample of 1050 patients were selected for chart review. Stratification was based on the proportion of indications for hysterectomy. Measurements and Main Results The primary outcome was the use of alternative treatments before hysterectomy. Alternative treatments included oral hormone treatment, leuprolide, medroxyprogesterone intramuscular injections, a levonorgestrel intrauterine device, hormonal subdermal implants, endometrial ablation, uterine artery embolization, hysteroscopy, and myomectomy. Of the 1050 charts reviewed, 979 (93.2%) met the criteria for inclusion in this study. The predominant indication for hysterectomy was symptomatic myomas (54.4%), followed by abnormal uterine bleeding (29.0%), endometriosis (5.8%), pelvic pain (3.1%), dysmenorrhea (3.4%), and other (4.3%). The major routes of hysterectomy were laparoscopy (68.7%) and vaginal hysterectomy (13.4%). Before hysterectomy, 81.2% of patients tried at least 1 type of alternative treatment (33.8% with 1 treatment and 47.4% with at least 2 treatments), and 99.3% of patients were counseled regarding alternative treatments. Compared with younger women age Conclusion More than 80% of patients received alternative treatments before undergoing hysterectomy for a benign gynecologic condition. Additional investigation is warranted to assess alternative treatment use as it relates to preventing unnecessary hysterectomies.
Beyond the bilingual advantage: The potential role of genes and environment on the development of cognitive control

In recent years there has been considerable debate about the presence or absence of a bilingual advantage in tasks that involve cognitive control. Our previous work has established evidence of differences in brain activity between monolinguals and bilinguals in both word learning and in the avoidance of interference during a picture selection task. Recent models of cognitive control have highlighted the importance of a set of neural structures that may show differential tuning due to exposure to two languages. There is also evidence that genetic factors play a role in the availability of dopamine in neural structures involved in cognitive control. Thus, it is important to investigate whether there are interactions effects generating variability in language acquisition when attributed to genetic (e.g., characteristics of dopamine turnover) and environmental (e.g., exposure to two languages) factors. Here preliminary results from genotyping of a sample of bilingual and monolingual individuals are reported. They reveal different distributions in allele frequencies of the DRD2/ANKK1 taq1A polymorphism. These results bring up the possibility that bilinguals may exhibit additional flexibility due to differences in genetic characteristics relative to monolinguals. Future studies should consider genotype as a possible contributing factor to the development of cognitive control across individuals with different language learning histories.
Activation of Styrenes toward Diels−Alder Cycloadditions by Osmium(II): Synthesis of Stereodefined Decalin Ring Systems

The complex [Os(NH3)5(η2-anisole)]2+ reacts with acetals or Michael acceptors to form 4-methoxystyrene complexes that are exclusively coordinated at the arene (η2). These styrene complexes are active dienes and readily participate in Diels−Alder reactions with electron-deficient olefins to form tetrahydronaphthalene complexes. The cycloadducts are formed typically as single diastereomers and are valuable as precursors to functionalized tetralins and decalins.
Identifying models of trait-mediated community assembly using random forests and approximate Bayesian computation.

Ecologists often use dispersion metrics and statistical hypothesis testing to infer processes of community formation such as environmental filtering, competitive exclusion, and neutral species assembly. These metrics have limited power in inferring assembly models because they rely on often-violated assumptions. Here, we adapt a model of phenotypic similarity and repulsion to simulate the process of community assembly via environmental filtering and competitive exclusion, all while parameterizing the strength of the respective ecological processes. We then use random forests and approximate Bayesian computation to distinguish between these models given the simulated data. We find that our approach is more accurate than using dispersion metrics and accounts for uncertainty in model selection. We also demonstrate that the parameter determining the strength of the assembly processes can be accurately estimated. This approach is available in the R package CAMI; Community Assembly Model Inference. We demonstrate the effectiveness of CAMI using an example of plant communities living on lava flow islands.
Monolayer studies of novel synthetic compounds and biological systems

Neutron and X-ray reflection measurements and surface pressure isotherms of spread films of fullerene-dodecylamine adduct Qo-[NH2(CH2)iiCH3], and fullerene-propylamine adduct C6o-[NH2(CH2)2CH3], all indicate that these materials may form monomolecular layers on water surface. The reflection data sets (neutron on both HjO and D2O) can be accounted for by a single model structure defined in terms of the dimensions of an average cell and its chemical composition. For the dodecylamine adduct, this model ascribes a total thickness of about 29 A to the molecular interface layer with the following internal structure. The fullerenes (with several alkyl chains attached) form a central stratum and the remainder alkyl tails are located close to both the air and the water interfaces. The alkyl moieties close to the aqueous substrate are hydrated. The reflection experiments and the isotherms suggest that on average 8 ± 3 dodecylamine molecules arc present per fullerene, consistent within error, with elemental analysis 5 ± 2. For the propylamine derivative, the isotherm indicates that a phase transition may exist in a two dimensional closed packed monolayer. The thickness of the 32 film changes from 12 to 15 A as extracted from the reflectivity data. The adduct is elevated by alkyl chains over the water, and the alkyl moieties close to the aqueous subphase are hydrated. By contrast, neutron reflection and surface pressure v.;. area data of spread films of Cgo fullerene on aqueous surfaces indicate the formation of inhomogeneous multilayer films with a thickness and a surface roughness exceeding the molecular size. These underivatized fullerenes thus do not form monomolecular films.
Scout scatters the mob: Using To Kill a Mockingbird and Fury to teach the concept of deindividuation

Courses: Persuasion, Group Communication, Communication Theory, Computer-Mediated Communication.Objectives: In this activity, students discuss and analyze film clips in order to understand theories...
Unmanned Aerial System Integrated Sensor for Remote Gamma and Neutron Monitoring.

Tools for remote radiation sensing are essential for environmental safety and nuclear power applications. The use of unmanned aerial systems (UASs) equipped with sensors allows for substantially reducing the radiation exposure of personnel. An ambient temperature Cs2LiYCl6:Ce3+ (CLYC) elpasolite scintillation sensor for simultaneous gamma and neutron measurements was designed as a user-friendly “plug and fly” module integrated into an octocopter robotic platform. Robot Operating System (ROS) was used to analyze the sensor’s data. The measured CLYC’s energy resolution was <5% at 662 keV gamma rays; neutron flux was measured using 6Li(n,α)t reaction. Time and GPS data were combined with radiation data in the ROS, supporting real time monitoring and assessment tasks, as well as radiation source search missions. Because UASs can be irradiated, radiation damage of the sensor and robot’s electronics was estimated using FLUKA code.
A high-speed programmable and scalable terahertz holographic metasurface based on tiled CMOS chips

Metasurfaces, which consist of arrays of subwavelength scatterers, can be used to precisely control incident electromagnetic fields, but are typically static once fabricated. A dynamically programmable array of terahertz meta-elements, in which each element can be individually reconfigured to allow controlled wavefront shaping, could be of value in terahertz applications such as wireless communication, sensing and imaging. Here, we show that large-scale programmable metasurfaces can be created using arrays of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS)-based chip tiles. We developed an aperture with a 2 × 2 array of tiled chips consisting of 576 meta-elements, each individually addressable and digitally programmable with 8 bits of control at GHz speed, and fabricated in a 65 nm industry-standard CMOS process. The active-circuit-coupled terahertz meta-element structure can be reconfigured, providing digitally programmable metasurfaces with amplitude and phase control, around 25 dB of amplitude modulation depth, dynamic beamforming across ±30°, multibeam formation and programmable holographic projections at 0.3 THz. The integration of active electronic systems and meta-elements using commercial silicon fabrication techniques can be used to create scalable and dynamically programmable terahertz metasurfaces.
Assessing quality-adjusted years of life lost associated with exclusive cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use.

Abstract The main purpose of this analysis is to quantify quality adjusted life years (QALYs) lost associated with lifetime exclusive cigarette or smokeless tobacco use among U.S. adults. Multiple waves of National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data linked to death certificate records were used to define current exclusive cigarette and smokeless tobacco use and associated mortality risks. NHIS data were used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Regression and Cox proportional hazard modeling were used to adjust HRQOL and mortality risk associated with tobacco use for age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, education, and household poverty level. QALYs were estimated based on adjusted HRQOL and mortality risks. All analyses were initiated in 2019 and completed in 2020. Male current exclusive cigarette smokers, aged 25 to 29 years would lose 8.1 QALYs (SE = 0.09), and male current exclusive smokeless tobacco users aged 25 to 34 would lose 4.1 QALYs (SE = 0.22), compared to never users of tobacco. Current exclusive cigarette or smokeless tobacco use is associated with QALY loss. QALYs lost can be lessened through preventing the initiation of tobacco product use or helping tobacco product users quit as early in life as possible.
Simply Connected Digital Spaces

Let S be a surface in a digital space (V,π). For any practical application, it would be impossible to determine whether S is near-Jordan by examining all π-paths from II(S) to IE(S). It is desirable to have a result which says that S is near-Jordan if some local condition is satisfied at every surfel of S. We illustrate this with the digital space (Z3,ω3). Let (c, d) be a surfel of a surface S in (Z3,ω3). If one of the edges of (c, d) is “loose” (in the sense that no other surfel in the surface shares this edge; see Figure 6.1.1), then one is able to get from c to d via an ω3-path of length 3 which does not cross S. For S to be near-Jordan, it is in particular necessary that ω3-paths of length not more than 3 from c to d must cross S. It would be very useful if this local condition were also sufficient. However, this is not the case for an arbitrary digital space (V, π), even if we restrict our attention to finite ππ-boundaries in binary pictures over (V, π).
Blood sampling through umbilical catheters.

An in vitro study testing the reliability of chemical determinations on blood samples withdrawn through an umbilical catheter is described. Blood samples were withdrawn through three different sizes of umbilical catheters containing a solution of dextrose, sodium bicarbonate, and potassium. Using either a 5 French or a 3½ French catheter, accurate results were obtained for pH, sodium, potassium, and glucose when measurements were made after an initial 4-ml blood sample was discarded. With an 8 French catheter, accurate results were obtained for pH, sodium, and potassium but plasma glucose determinations remained inaccurate after 6 ml of blood was discarded.
Layering: What Does it Mean?

Layering. What does it mean?’ Robert Ginsburg made this passing comment in the mid-1960s when the author was looking at a core sequence from Biscayne Bay, Florida. The core was a burrowed carbonate wackestone with a Hurricane Betsy storm layer at the top. It was a timely question as ‘Layering – What does it mean?’ has been asked many times since then. A few important answers have emerged – but there are still some serious challenges ahead. Understanding layering is more than just looking at the layers. It includes an appreciation of grain size, sorting and abrasion, influences of bioturbation and subsequent diagenesis. Together, these provide the critical tools to reconstruct paleoenvironmental setting, define depositional processes and determine the spectrum of energy levels operating in the system.
Detection of several enzymatic activities in leaf prints of cucumber plants

Abstract Leaf printing directly onto nitrocellulose membranes under high pressure was adapted for screening activities of defence-related enzymes after inoculation of cucumber plants with Colletotrichum lagenarium , tobacco necrosis virus (TNV) or treatment with dipotassium phosphate and after inoculation of tobacco plants with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Increased activities of peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, lipoxygenase, chitinase and α-glucosidase were detected in cucumber leaves in the vicinity of lesions caused by pathogens or phosphate application. The activity of β-glucosidases was increased in cucumber leaves by TNV, to a lesser extent with C. lagenarium and was not altered by phosphate treatment. Galactosidase activity was not induced in cucumber leaves. Low activity of β-1,3-glucanase in cucumber precluded the detection of this enzyme by the tissue printing technique. However, an increase of β-1,3-glucanase activity was detected around lesions caused by TMV in tobacco. Peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, α- and β-glucosidases and galactosidase were detected with specific substrates on the membranes after leaf printing. Activities of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase were determined as lytic zones in substrate-containing overlaying gels incubated with leaf prints on the membranes and lipoxygenase was detected on the membranes by the reaction with specific antibodies. The leaf printing technique is applicable to the determination of the spatial distribution of various defence-related enzymatic activities and their relevance to disease resistance in plants.
Successful therapeutic hypothermia in patients with congenital long QT syndrome.

Therapeutic hypothermia has been shown to improve neurological outcomes in patients who remain comatose following resuscitation from cardiac arrest. While there are numerous reports of patients who have had a successful course after induction of therapeutic hypothermia, such therapeutic intervention has not been described in patients with congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS). We report outcomes in two patients with LQTS who had therapeutic hypothermia following a ventricular fibrillation arrest. Careful and routine monitoring of the QT interval in this patient population is necessary due to the potential for worsening electrical instability during induced hypothermia. Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2011;16(1):100–103
Escherichia coli at the Intestinal Mucosal Surface

Escherichia coli is the predominant facultative anaerobe in the gastrointestinal tracts of mammals. A large and growing body of evidence indicates that commensal E. coli strains grow in the intestine on nutrients acquired from mucus. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of mouse intestinal thin slices showed that E. coli BJ4, a rat commensal isolate, is dispersed in the mucus layer but is not associated with the epithelium. Colonization resistance is the ability of a complete intestinal microflora to resist colonization by an invading bacterium. When E. coli and serovar Typhimurium enter the mouse cecum, they initially encounter cecal contents. Since E. coli and serovar Typhimurium fail to grow in cecal contents but grow rapidly in cecal mucus, they must be able to enter the mucus layer and grow by using available nutrients. Genetic screens based on signature-tagged mutagenesis identify individual mutants that are lost from pools of mutants used to infect suitable animals. It is becoming increasingly clear that once E. coli strains reach the large intestine, in order to colonize, they must enter the mucus layer and utilize nutrients there for growth.
Factors That Influence Depressive Symptoms in Mothers of Infants An Interpersonal Perspective

This study explored the association between interpersonal factors and depressive symptoms in first-time mothers over the first two years of parenthood. An interpersonal style characterized by dependency, recollections of rejection in childhood, and current relationship characteristics was assessed in a nonclinical sample of 133 women. The final model explained 52% of the variance in depressive symptoms at 24 months. Controlling for initial symptom levels, interpersonal variables explained 24% of the outcome variance. The findings suggest that two interpersonal attributes, peer rejection in childhood and a dependent interpersonal style, are particularly important to our understanding of depressive symptomatology.
The white dwarf descendants of Wolf-Rayet planetary nuclei

Evolutionary links between Wolf-Rayet planetary nuclei and the hottest H-deficient white dwarfs are summarized with recent developments and evidence of ongoing mass loss in the white dwarf descendants highlighted.
Evolution Is an Experiment: Assessing Parallelism in Crop Domestication and Experimental Evolution (Nei Lecture, SMBE 2014, Puerto Rico)

In this commentary, I make inferences about the level of repeatability and constraint in the evolutionary process, based on two sets of replicated experiments. The first experiment is crop domestication, which has been replicated across many different species. I focus on results of whole-genome scans for genes selected during domestication and ask whether genes are, in fact, selected in parallel across different domestication events. If genes are selected in parallel, it implies that the number of genetic solutions to the challenge of domestication is constrained. However, I find no evidence for parallel selection events either between species (maize vs. rice) or within species (two domestication events within beans). These results suggest that there are few constraints on genetic adaptation, but conclusions must be tempered by several complicating factors, particularly the lack of explicit design standards for selection screens. The second experiment involves the evolution of Escherichia coli to thermal stress. Unlike domestication, this highly replicated experiment detected a limited set of genes that appear prone to modification during adaptation to thermal stress. However, the number of potentially beneficial mutations within these genes is large, such that adaptation is constrained at the genic level but much less so at the nucleotide level. Based on these two experiments, I make the general conclusion that evolution is remarkably flexible, despite the presence of epistatic interactions that constrain evolutionary trajectories. I also posit that evolution is so rapid that we should establish a Speciation Prize, to be awarded to the first researcher who demonstrates speciation with a sexual organism in the laboratory.
Development of a molecular probe to baboon interleukin-10 mRNA for in situ hybridization during experimental schistosomiasis.

: A nucleic acid probe complementary to baboon interleukin 10 (IL-10) mRNA was developed for in situ hybridization. Highly conserved IL-10 protein sequences from several mammals were aligned to design oligonucleotide primers flanking a 270-bp sequence of the target cDNA. RNA was isolated from stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). IL-10 cDNA was reverse-transcribed from the total PBMC RNA and amplified with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Cloning and sequencing of the PCR product confirmed it to be of baboon IL-10 origin, with 97.8% identity to human and 100% identity to macaque mRNA sequences. The baboon IL-10 DNA probe hybridized in Southern blots to a 7.9-Kbp or 8.6-Kbp band after digestion of genomic baboon DNA with Bam H1 or Eco R1, respectively. Preliminary results with an antisense riboprobe derived from this sequence showed the presence of IL-10 mRNA in sections of granulomatous tissues.
Targeting IDH: the next big thing in AML

In this issue of Blood , Chaturvedi and coworkers use a small molecule inhibitor of mutant isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) to reverse the myeloproliferative effects induced by the “oncometabolite” 2-hydroxyglutarate (2-HG).[1][1] ![Figure][2] Mutant IDH enzymes convert a Krebs cycle
Evolution of precollective nuclei and a tripartite classification of nuclear structure.

Precollective nuclei, that is, those with E(${4}_{1}^{+}$)/E(${2}_{1}^{+}$)2.0, are shown to evolve structurally in a very simple and universal way, in which E(${4}_{1}^{+}$) is linear against E(${2}_{1}^{+}$) with a slope of unity. A clue to this behavior is provided in terms of a seniority v=0 pair addition mode. Combined with recent studies of vibrator and rotor nuclei, this ``seniority'' regime gives a new tripartite global characterization of the evolution of nuclear structure.