cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Taxonomy and biostratigraphy of Coniacian through Maastrichtian Anchura (Gastropoda: Aporrhaiidae) of the North American Pacific Slope

North American Pacific Slope deposits of Coniacian to Maastrichtian age have yielded eight biostratigraphically useful species of Anchura: A. (Helicaulax?) popenoei new species, Coniacian; A. halberdopsis new species, early Campanian; A. callosa Whiteaves, 1903, early Campanian; A. falciformis (Gabb, 1864), late early to middle Campanian; A. phaba new species, middle to late Campanian; A. ainikta new species, middle to late Campanian; A. gibbera Webster, 1983, late Campanian to early Maastrichtian; A. baptos new species, late Maastrichtian to early Danian. In addition, two other possible species are A. nanaimoensis (Whiteaves, 1879), middle to late Campanian, and Anchura? new species, late Maastrichtian. These species together with two additional Turonian species, A. (Helicaulax) tricosa Saul and Popenoe, 1993, and A. (H.) condoniana Anderson, 1902, allow the definition at least eight Late Cretaceous Anchura zones for the Pacific Slope. These zones have durations of 1.5 m.y. to 4 m.y.Anchura (H.?) popenoei from northern California appears most closely related to A. (Helicaulax) tricosa Saul and Popenoe, 1993, of Turonian age from southern California. Anchura callosa, A. falciformis, A. nanaimoensis, and A. phaba appear to be closely related based on sculptural elements, as does A. gibbera despite having an anterior spur on the wing. However, these species appear to belong to two latitudinally differentiated faunal provinces. Species having a northern range include A. callosa, A. falciformis, and A. nanaimoensis, whereas A. phaba and A. gibbera are from more southern deposits, as are also A. halberdopsis, A. ainikta, and A. baptos.
In-Situ Treatment Technologies

In the United States, federal legislation and implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA/”Superfund”) of 1980 and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 led to the discovery of large and wide-spread subsurface contamination. One significant source was from leaking underground storage tanks at gasoline stations and fuel tank farms (depots).
Quantitative Gait Evaluation in the Clinic

The purpose of this paper is to present a clinically feasible method to provide objective, quantitative information regarding the quality of a patient's gait. The technique used is simple and economical and requires minimal equipment. The four basic temporal and distance factors are 1) stride length, 2) step length, 3) cadence, and 4) velocity. The technique requires the following equipment: 1) grid pattern, 2) stop watch, 3) portable tape recorder, 4) tape measure, 5) marking pen, and 6) masking tape. Case examples are provided to demonstrate the use of the data obtained.
MAKING LEGAL REGIMES FOR INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION REFLECT HUMAN RIGHTS PRINCIPLES: TRANSFORMING THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD WITH THE HAGUE CONVENTION ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION

This 2003 article helped to reconfigure the international adoption debate in fundamental human rights terms. The article begins by noting the confusing ideological conflict surrounding the adoption question, and notes that the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption did little by itself to answer the question of what human rights law demanded for the many children living out of parental care. The article takes on the flaws inherent in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the issue of alternative care for children living without their original families. It explores how the Hague Convention might transform national approaches to inter-country adoption such that the UN children's rights establishment would have no further need to oppose international adoption in the manner they have to date.The article argues, importantly, that there is an urgent need to create a disinterested, expert group of persons to count and account for the often hidden population of children living out of parental care, to ensure that national governments are acting in a manner consistent with the genuine rights of these children.
Buckling and postbuckling of composite beam-plate with multiple central delaminations

A closed form solution is developed for calculating the critical load and the postbuck- ling behavior of a composite beam-plate with multiple delaminations. The configuration studied consists of a beam-plate with two central across-the-width delaminations located at arbitrary depths. The analysis is based on the nonlinear beam equations, combined with the appropriate kinematic continuity and equilibrium conditions. First, the characteristic equation is derived by performing a proper linearization and the critical load is calculated and compared with previously published data. In addition, the effects of the magnitude and locations of the delaminations on the critical load were analyzed. Subsequently, a perturbation tech- nique is employed for the postbuckling analysis, which transforms the nonlinear equations into a sequence of linear equations. An asymptotic description of the postbuckling behavior of the plate is thus obtained. Some interesting conclusions were drawn regarding to the redistribution of internal loads among subplates and the difference in post buckling behaviors between plates with long delaminations and short delaminations.
Enhancement of Two-Photon Luminescence from Quantum Emitters: Metamaterial-Enabled Chiral Selectivity

We present a chiral metamaterial that exhibits both distinguishable linear and nonlinear features. The chiral center of the metamaterial is opened for direct access, where emitters occupying the light-confining regions produce chiral-selective enhancement of two-photon luminescence.
Durability of remission after ABMT for NHL: the importance of the 2-year evaluation point

Few series describing the results of autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma report mature follow-up. We retrospectively reviewed 110 adults with NHL treated with ABMT from 1988 to 1993. Overall survival and relapse-free survival were 50% and 35%, respectively. Estimated median relapse-free survival was 16 months. There was no statistically significant difference in relapse-free or overall survival by low, intermediate, and high-grade histologies, as defined by the International Working Formulation. The most powerful negative prognostic variable was an elevated LDH at the time of transplant (relapse-free survival 17% vs 42% for those with a normal LDH). Forty-seven patients were in complete remission 2 years after transplant. Extended follow-up revealed that 100% of patients with high-grade histologies remained in complete remission, whereas patients with intermediate-grade and low-grade histologies remained at risk of relapse with longer follow-up. Of 22 patients with diffuse large cell lymphoma (LCL) or immunoblastic (IBL) histologies, eight of eight with IBL remain in continued remission, while four of 14 with LCL relapsed 24-48 months after ABMT. We conclude that patients with high-grade histologic subtypes of NHL who are in complete remission 2 years after ABMT are likely to be cured. However, patients with intermediate and low-grade histologic subtypes are at continued risk of relapse and require appropriate clinical surveillance for at least 48 months after ABMT.
The Nomenclature of Altered Proteins

The scientific literature contains an increasing number of reports of proteins altered in many different ways. It is becoming evident that a nomenclature system needs to be implemented to bring some order to this research area. Comments and suggestions relating to what such a system should include, focusing on specific recommendations in certain areas, are presented in this report.
Chromium supplements for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes: limited evidence of effectiveness.

Some adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) believe that chromium-containing supplements will help control their disease, but the evidence is mixed. This narrative review examines the efficacy of chromium supplements for improving glycemic control as measured by decreases in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) or hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Using systematic search criteria, 20 randomized controlled trials of chromium supplementation in T2DM patients were identified. Clinically meaningful treatment goals were defined as an FPG of ≤7.2 mmol/dL, a decline in HbA1c to ≤7%, or a decrease of ≥0.5% in HbA1c. In only a few randomized controlled trials did FPG (5 of 20), HbA1c (3 of 14), or both (1 of 14) reach the treatment goals with chromium supplementation. HbA1c declined by ≥0.5% in 5 of 14 studies. On the basis of the low strength of existing evidence, chromium supplements have limited effectiveness, and there is little rationale to recommend their use for glycemic control in patients with existing T2DM. Future meta-analyses should include only high-quality studies with similar forms of chromium and comparable inclusion/exclusion criteria to provide scientifically sound recommendations for clinicians.
Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes regeneration after adult zebrafish spinal cord injury

Unlike mammals, zebrafish can regenerate their injured spinal cord and regain control of caudal tissues. It was recently shown that Wnt/β-catenin signaling is necessary for spinal cord regeneration in the larval zebrafish. However, the molecular mechanisms of regeneration may or may not be conserved between larval and adult zebrafish. To test this, we assessed the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling after spinal cord injury in the adult zebrafish. We show that Wnt/β-catenin signaling is increased after spinal cord injury in the adult zebrafish. Moreover, overexpression of Dkk1b inhibited Wnt/β-catenin signaling in the regenerating spinal cord of adult zebrafish. Dkk1b overexpression also inhibited locomotor recovery, axon regeneration, and glial bridge formation in the injured spinal cord. Thus, our data illustrate a conserved role for Wnt/β-catenin signaling in adult and larval zebrafish spinal cord regeneration.
A Mass Press: Hearst and Harmsworth

During the final decade of the nineteenth century Anglo-American popular journalism acquired the form that was to characterize it for much of the succeeding hundred years. A crescendo of press activity marked this decade, a sense of unprecedented journalistic excitement, with words like “novelty” and “sensation,” and phrases such as “Yellow Journalism,” being freely bandied about. Technology and commerce merged fortunes in a drive for increased productivity and profits, while large-scale advertisements jostled for space with fast-paced news stories. Newspaper staffs proliferated in size. Pictures and text increasingly complemented each other. Banner headlines appeared on the front pages of penny and halfpenny newspapers. Crime, sports and gossip became integral facets of news coverage, while defined reading markets (women, children, consumers of fiction) were catered to within a general interest format. Cartoons and comic strips became syndicated and, as personal by-lines gradually replaced anonymous authorship, a handful of journalists emerged as celebrities in their own right. It was in many ways journalism run slightly amok, though responsive to multiple groups of readers in ways that would have been unimaginable 70 years earlier.
Continuous-Time and Continuous-State Branching Processes

For the continuous-time and continuous-state branching process, the probability of extinction differs from that of the continuous-time and discrete-state branching process considered in the preceding chapters. One obvious difference is, in the continuous-state process, the random variable \(X(t) \in [0,\infty )\) as opposed to X(t) ∈ { 0, 1, 2…}.
Maternal Support of Children's Early Numerical Concept Learning Predicts Preschool and First-Grade Math Achievement.

The primary goal in this study was to examine maternal support of numerical concepts at 36 months as predictors of math achievement at 4½ and 6-7 years. Observational measures of mother–child interactions (n = 140) were used to examine type of support for numerical concepts. Maternal support that involved labeling the quantities of sets of objects was predictive of later child math achievement. This association was significant for preschool (d = .45) and first-grade math (d = .49), controlling for other forms of numerical support (identifying numerals, one-to-one counting) as well as potential confounding factors. The importance of maternal support of labeling set sizes at 36 months is discussed as a precursor to children's eventual understanding of the cardinal principle.
Multilevel Bargaining and the Negotiation of a Regional Trade Agreement: A Classroom Simulation

This article introduces a regional trade agreement (RTA) simulation for undergraduate students. The simulation uses a multilevel bargaining framework, in which students can represent not only governments of negotiating countries but also domestic interests. By allowing students to experience international bargaining at different levels, they gain a deeper understanding of controversial international trade processes.
Quick and Autonomous Platoon Maintenance in Vehicle Dynamics For Distributed Vehicle Platoon Networks

Platoon systems, as a type of adaptive cruise control systems, will play a significant role to improve travel experience and roadway safety. The stability of a platoon system is crucial so that each vehicle maintains a safety distance from its proceeding vehicle and can take necessary actions to avoid collisions. However, current centralized platoon maintenance method cannot meet this requirement. We suggest to use a decentralized platoon maintenance method, in which each vehicle communicates with its neighbor vehicles and self-determines its own velocity. However, a vehicle needs to know its distance from its preceding vehicle to determine its velocity, which is unavailable in vehicle communication disconnection caused by vehicle dynamics (i.e., node joins and departures). Thus, a formidable challenge is: how to recover the platoon quickly in vehicle dynamics even when the distance information is unavailable? To handle this challenge, we first profile a succeeding vehicle's velocity to minimize the time to recover the connectivity hole with its preceding vehicle and find that the profiles are almost the same at the beginning regardless of its current velocity and distance to its preceding vehicle. Accordingly, we devise a strategy, in which a succeeding vehicle uses its stored common velocity profile when it is disconnected from its preceding vehicle and then adjusts its velocity once the connection is built. Experimental results from simulation show the efficiency and effectiveness of our decentralized platoon maintenance method.
Adipocyte glucocorticoid receptor is important in lipolysis and insulin resistance due to exogenous steroids, but not insulin resistance caused by high fat feeding.

Abstract Objective The critical role of adipose tissue in energy and nutrient homeostasis is influenced by many external factors, including overnutrition, inflammation, and exogenous hormones. Prior studies have suggested that glucocorticoids (GCs) in particular are major drivers of physiological and pathophysiological changes in adipocytes. In order to determine whether these effects directly require the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) within adipocytes, we generated adipocyte-specific GR knockout (AGRKO) mice. Methods AGRKO and control mice were fed chow or high fat diet (HFD) for 14 weeks. Alternatively, AGRKO and control mice were injected with dexamethasone for two months. Glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, adiposity, lipolysis, thermogenesis, and insulin signaling were assessed. Results We find that obesity, insulin resistance, and dysglycemia associated with high fat feeding do not require an intact GR in the adipocyte. However, exogenous dexamethasone (Dex) promotes metabolic dysfunction in mice, and this effect is reduced in mice lacking GR in adipocytes. The ability of Dex to promote “whitening” of brown fat is also reduced in these animals. We also show that GR is required for β-adrenergic and cold stimulation-mediated lipolysis via expression of the key lipolytic enzyme ATGL. Conclusion s Our data suggest that the GR plays a role in normal adipose physiology via effects on lipolysis and mediates at least some of the adverse effects of exogenous steroids on metabolic function. The data also indicate that intra-adipocyte GR plays less of a role than previously believed in the local and systemic pathology associated with overnutrition.
A "No Data Center" Solution to Cloud Computing

Current Cloud Computing is primarily based on proprietary data centers, where hundreds of thousands of dedicated servers are setup to host the cloud services. In addition to the huge number of dedicated servers deployed in data centers, there are billions of underutilized Personal Computers (PCs), usually used only for a few hours per day, owned by individuals and organizations worldwide. The vast untapped compute and storage capacities of the underutilized PCs can be consolidated as alternative cloud fabrics to provision broad cloud services, primarily infrastructure as a service. This approach, thus referred to as "no data center" approach, complements the data center based cloud provision model. In this paper, we present our opportunistic Cloud Computing system, called cuCloud, that runs on scavenged resources of underutilized PCs within an organization/community. Our system demonstrates that the "no data center" solution indeed works. Besides proving our concept, model, and philosophy, our experimental results are highly encouraging.
Functions of Fuzzy Random Variables

We first discuss some theoretical results and then look at applications in the next two sections. The theoretical results are stated in terms of continuous fuzzy random variables.
HIS BUNDLE PACING RESULTS IN A NARROWER PACED QRS COMPARED TO BI-VENTRICULAR PACING FOR CARDIAC RESYNCHRONIZATION THERAPY

His bundle pacing (HBP) has recently shown to be effective for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) by overcoming bundle branch block (BBB). We analyzed paced QRS duration (QRSd) among patients receiving HBP for CRT in comparison to patients who received traditional biventricular (BiV) pacing for
Brief Report: Recent Methamphetamine Use Is Associated With Increased Rectal Mucosal Inflammatory Cytokines, Regardless of HIV-1 Serostatus

Background:Methamphetamine use increases the risk of HIV-1 infection among seronegative users and can exacerbate disease progression in HIV-positive users. The biological mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. In this cross-sectional pilot study, we examine the associations between
Evaluation of parasomnias in children

Parasomnias are undesirable motor, autonomic, or experiential phenomena that occur exclusively or predominately during sleep. The parasomnias that most often come to the attention of medical or psychiatric care providers are unusual arousals out of sleep. The differential diagnosis for these arousals includes disorders of arousal, nocturnal dissociative states, gastroesophageal reflux, sleep apnea, conditioned arousals, nightmares, post-traumatic stress disorder, and nocturnal panic. The sleep history, sleep diary, and medical and neurologic histories are the most important tools for working through this differential. Occasionally, polysomnography is necessary in these evaluations. In the majority of cases, an accurate diagnosis can be established and an effective treatment instituted.
Design and Analysis of Battery-Aware Automotive Climate Control for Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles (EV) as a zero-emission means of transportation encounter challenges in battery design that cause a range anxieties for the drivers. Besides the electric motor, the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is another major contributor to the power consumption that may influence the EV battery lifetime and driving range. In the state-of-the-art methodologies for battery management systems, the battery performance is monitored and improved. While in the automotive climate control, the passenger’s thermal comfort is the main objective. Hence, the influence of the HVAC power on the battery behavior for the purpose of jointly optimized battery management and climate control has not been considered. In this article, we propose an automotive climate control methodology that is aware of the battery behavior and performance, while maintaining the passenger’s thermal comfort. In our methodology, battery parameters and cabin temperature are modeled and estimated, and the HVAC utilization is optimized and adjusted with respect to the electric motor and HVAC power requests. Therefore, the battery stress reduces, while the cabin temperature is maintained by predicting and optimizing the system states in the near-future. We have implemented our methodology and compared its performance to the state-of-the-art in terms of battery lifetime improvement and energy consumption reduction. We have also conducted experiments and analyses to explore multiple control window sizes, drive profiles, ambient temperatures, and modeling error rates in the methodology. It is shown that our battery-aware climate control can extend the battery lifetime by up to 13.2% and reduce the energy consumption by up to 14.4%.
Adaptive Estimation of Generalized Distance to Uniformity

In this paper, we reconsider the problem of distance to uniformity estimation of discrete distributions. As a fundamental problem in distribution property estimation, the problem with known alphabet size has been addressed in [1] [3] and is fairly well understood. In particular, let $k$ be the alphabet size and $\epsilon$ be the error tolerance parameter, people have shown that the corresponding $\epsilon$ -minimax sample complexity, i.e., the minimum sample size that is sufficient for achieving an estimation error of $\epsilon$ even in the worst case, is $\Theta(k/(\epsilon^{2}\log k))$ . Surprisingly, the natural setting where the distribution is over an alphabet of unknown size has not been studied. In this work, we propose and study the well-motivated yet unexplored problem of estimating the generalized distance to uniformity, i.e., the distance of an unknown distribution to the closest uniform distribution. We provide both upper and lower bounds for its $(S,\epsilon)$ -minimax sample complexity. Specifically, let $p$ be the underlying distribution and $S(p)$ be the support size of the closest uniform distribution to $p.\mathbf{For}\ \epsilon\in(4/\sqrt{\log S(p)},\ 1]$ , we present an estimator, that takes $\mathcal{O}(S(p)/(\epsilon^{3}\log\check{S}(p))$ independent samples from the underlying distribution, with probability 2/3, estimates its generalized distance to uniformity up to an additive error of $\epsilon$ without knowing the alphabet $\Omega$ or the support size $S(p)$ . In addition, the estimator can be computed in nearly linear time in the sample size. In the typical high precision regime where $\epsilon\in(0,0.15)$ , we show that the existence of an $\epsilon$ -adaptive estimator implies a lower bound of $\Omega_{\epsilon}(S/\log S)$ on the maximum $(S^{\prime},\epsilon)$ -minimax sample complexity over $[S/2,2S]$ .
Bevacizumab: A Rare Cause of Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy

Left ventricular dysfunction is a rare side effect of bevacizumab occurring in 2–4% of cases. We report the case of a 68-year-old woman who presented to the emergency department (ED) with sudden onset of shortness of breath, orthopnea, and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. She was tachypneic and in respiratory distress. Physical examination revealed jugular venous distention, diffuse expiratory wheeze, and bipedal edema. She had been started on bevacizumab for the treatment of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia 1 month prior to presentation. Laboratory tests revealed BNP of 1697 pg/ml with slightly elevated troponin 0.05 ng/ml. Chest X-ray showed interstitial edema with cardiomegaly, and transthoracic echocardiogram showed ejection fraction of 30% with global hypokinesia. Left heart catheterization revealed widely patent coronary arteries. Flash pulmonary edema secondary to acute left ventricular dysfunction in this case was attributed to recent treatment with bevacizumab after ruling out other possible etiologies. This case highlights the importance of early recognition of this rare but potentially reversible side effect of bevacizumab to prevent long-term sequelae.
Reconsidering the Heartland: A Review Essay

Review of: "Remaking the Heartland: Middle America since the 1950s," and "Red State Religion: Faith and Politics in America's Heartland," both written by Robert Wuthnow.
Understanding urbanization: A study of census and satellite-derived urban classes in the United States, 1990-2010.

Most of future population growth will take place in the world’s cities and towns. Yet, there is no well-established, consistent way to measure either urban land or people. Even census-based urban concepts and measures undergo frequent revision, impeding rigorous comparisons over time and place. This study presents a new spatial approach to derive consistent urban proxies for the US. It compares census-designated urban blocks with proxies for land-based classifications of built-up areas derived from time-series of the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) for 1990–2010. This comparison provides a new way to understand urban structure and its changes: Most land that is more than 50% built-up, and people living on such land, are officially classified as urban. However, 30% of the census-designated urban population and land is located in less built-up areas that can be characterized as mainly suburban and peri-urban in nature. Such insights are important starting points for a new urban research program: creating globally and temporally consistent proxies to guide modelling of urban change.
"Code-Stroke" CT Perfusion; Challenges and Pitfalls.

Rationale and Objectives Regarding the most recent ischemic stroke treatment guideline, perfusion imaging has been recommended up to 24 hours after initial symptoms of brain infarction. Patients with a significant amount of salvageable peri-infarct ischemia and no contraindications benefit from delayed thrombolysis and intra-arterial thrombectomy. This approach causes increasingly more CT perfusion to be done in the subacute phase of ischemic stroke. CT perfusion findings in this “subacute phase” are slightly different from “hyper-acute” ischemic stroke. The interpreting radiologist must be confident in reporting the CT perfusion study in an urgent setting since these studies are under the umbrella of “code-stroke” and should be read in minutes. In addition, results of the CT perfusion have a critical effect on the patient's outcome and misinterpretation can be fatal in that underestimation of the salvageable ischemia excludes the patient from potential effective treatment. Underestimation of infarct volume may cause unnecessary thrombolysis/thrombectomy and potentially fatal intracranial hemorrhage. Materials and Methods In this review, we are trying to explain the basic concept of “code-stroke” CT perfusion, typical findings, and pitfalls in a practical way.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms Are Associated With Lower Adaptive Behavior Skills in Children With Autism.

Objective To investigate the predictive power of comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms on adaptive behavior skills in children who have an autism specrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Method This case-control study recruited 347 children from specialty clinics, primary care, and the community. Linear regression was used to test whether ADHD Rating Scale, Fourth Edition, scores of autistic children associated with poorer adaptive behavior scores, after controlling for the effects of age, intelligence, sex, and ASD symptom severity. Adaptive behaviors were measured with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition. Subsequent analyses tested this relation in a subset of the ASD sample with subclinical ADHD symptoms (n = 179) and another with teacher ratings (n = 153). Prior relations between age with adaptive behaviors and ADHD symptoms were replicated and age was explored as a moderator. Results ADHD symptoms predicted poor adaptive behavior scores in the full ASD sample (caregiver ratings, ΔR2 = 0.033–0.119; teacher ratings, ΔR2 = 0.113–0.163) and in the subset with subclinical ADHD symptoms (caregiver ratings, ΔR2= 0.023–0.030; teacher ratings, ΔR2 = 0.097–0.159) after controlling for confounds. Age correlated negatively with ADHD symptoms (r = −0.21) and adaptive behaviors (−0.17 Conclusion ADHD symptoms predict poorer adaptive behavior for autistic children across settings, even for children with subclinical co-occurring ADHD symptoms. Findings support a Research Domain Criteria framework that behavioral impairments and functional outcome measures exist along a continuum.
Enhanced plasmid-mediated bioaugmentation of RDX-contaminated matrices in column studies using donor strain Gordonia sp. KTR9

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is the lateral movement of genetic material between organisms. The RDX explosive-degrading bacterium Gordonia sp. KTR9 has been shown previously to transfer the pGKT2 plasmid containing the RDX degradative genes (xplAB) by HGT. Overall, fitness costs to the transconjugants to maintain pGKT2 was determined through growth and survivability assessments. Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 transconjugants demonstrated a fitness cost while other strains showed minimal cost. Biogeochemical parameters that stimulate HGT of pGKT2 were evaluated in soil slurry mating experiments and the absence of nitrogen was found to increase HGT events three orders of magnitude. Experiments evaluating RDX degradation in flow-through soil columns containing mating pairs showed 20% greater degradation than columns with only the donor KTR9 strain. Understanding the factors governing HGT will benefit bioaugmentation efforts where beneficial bacteria with transferrable traits could be used to more efficiently degrade contaminants through gene transfer to native populations.
A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Heroin-Related Calls for Emergency Medical Services and Community-Health Centers in Boston, Massachusetts

Using a combination of data derived from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration’s Behavioral Health Systems Locator and the Boston Police Department’s Incident Reports, this study examines the spatio-temporal distribution of calls for medical assistance following a heroin-related injury between 2015 and 2018. As well, an examination is conducted regarding the accessibility of Health Care Centers (HCCs) in relation to individuals in need of medical assistance. Distance-based measures of spatial association, including nearest neighbor and K-function analysis, were used to determine the clustering of calls at various spatial scales. Structural neighborhood characteristics (i.e., distance to the closest HCC) and physical and social vulnerability were used to predict the rate of calls for a heroin-related injury per 1,000 persons in the city of Boston using a spatial autoregressive model. HCC catchment areas for the set of medical emergency calls were created using Voronoi tessellations. Results showed that the average nearest neighbor distance (NND) of each call for medical assistance was approximately 187 m or .12 miles. Calls for assistance became more probable and increasingly more spatially concentrated over the study period. The K-function analysis revealed that the calls clustered at different spatial scales and in proximity to HCCs. Average distance to the nearest HCC and Household/Disability vulnerability were significantly associated with the census tract call rate per 1,000 persons. The average travel distance between the calls for medical assistance and the nearest HCC was 941 m, or just over a half-mile. Policy implications for the provision, through HCCs, of a focused and comprehensive community-based support system in a large urban city for individuals with serious drug problems are discussed in context.
What's Next for AI Ethics, Policy, and Governance? A Global Overview

Since 2016, more than 80 AI ethics documents - including codes, principles, frameworks, and policy strategies - have been produced by corporations, governments, and NGOs. In this paper, we examine three topics of importance related to our ongoing empirical study of ethics and policy issues in these emerging documents. First, we review possible challenges associated with the relative homogeneity of the documents' creators. Second, we provide a novel typology of motivations to characterize both obvious and less obvious goals of the documents. Third, we discuss the varied impacts these documents may have on the AI governance landscape, including what factors are relevant to assessing whether a given document is likely to be successful in achieving its goals.
Extracellular voltage thresholds for maximizing information extraction in primate auditory cortex: implications for a brain computer interface

Objective Research by Oby et al (2016) demonstrated that the optimal threshold for extracting information from visual and motor cortices may differ from the optimal threshold for identifying single neurons via spike sorting methods. The optimal threshold for extracting information from auditory cortex has yet to be identified, nor has the optimal temporal scale for representing auditory cortical activity. Here, we describe a procedure to jointly optimize the extracellular threshold and bin size with respect to the decoding accuracy achieved by a linear classifier for a diverse set of auditory stimuli. Approach We used linear multichannel arrays to record extracellular neural activity from the auditory cortex of awake squirrel monkeys passively listening to both simple and complex sounds. We executed a grid search of the coordinate space defined by the voltage threshold (in units of standard deviation) and the bin size (in units of milliseconds), and computed decoding accuracy at each point. Main results The optimal threshold for information extraction was consistently near two standard deviations below the voltage trace mean, which falls significantly below the range of three to five standard deviations typically used as inputs to spike sorting algorithms in basic research and in brain-computer interface (BCI) applications. The optimal binwidth was minimized at the optimal voltage threshold, particularly for acoustic stimuli dominated by temporally dynamic features, indicating that permissive thresholding permits readout of cortical responses with temporal precision on the order of a few milliseconds. Significance The improvements in decoding accuracy we observed for optimal readout parameters suggest that standard thresholding methods substantially underestimate the information present in auditory cortical spiking patterns. The fact that optimal thresholds were relatively low indicates that local populations of cortical neurons exhibit high temporal coherence that could be leveraged in service of future auditory BCI applications.
Priming social media and framing cause-related marketing to promote sustainable hotel choice

Hotels utilize cause-related marketing (CRM) to attract consumers by advertising green practices. However, CRM does not always result in the intended outcomes. In online settings, customer-generate...
Analysis of unrestrained crawler-crane counterweights during tip-over accidents

Crawler crane designers continually extend the height of the machines. Models that reach over 500 feet high are commercially available. Of course, as the crane height increases, so do the hazards a...
Pore-Edge Tailoring of Single-Atom Iron–Nitrogen Sites on Graphene for Enhanced CO2 Reduction

Hosting atomically dispersed nitrogen-coordinated iron sites (Fe–N4) on graphene offers unique opportunities for driving electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to CO. However, the strong ad...
The Role of Flavonoids and Garlic in Cancer Prevention

The biological functions of garlic and of bioflavonoids relating to carcinogenesis are reviewed in this brief overview. The organosulfur compounds that constitute the active principle of garlic have a variety of actions inhibiting carcinogen formation, scavenging carcinogens, and suppressing tumor development. These effects are well documented by numerous experimental studies. Clinical studies investigating the effect of garlic consumption on cancer incidence are fewer in number. Although as yet no conclusion can be reached, there are a number of studies that suggest that high garlic intake is associated with reduced incidence of certain cancers. Similarly, bioflavonoids have been extensively studied in vitro and in vivo and animal experiments give strong support to an anticarcinogenic activity of these compounds. Experimental tumor development is inhibited at various stages by bioflavonoids but so far only one prospective clinical study, which shows no correlation between flavonoid intake and cancer incidence, has been performed. It is concluded that both garlic and bioflavonoids are important biofactors that have great potential to inhibit cancer growth but will require more investigations, especially clinical studies, to establish their effect in humans.
Past Performance Information: Analysis of the Optimization of a Performance Evaluation Criteria

Performance information has been defined as “the set of metrics used to quantify both the efficiency and effectiveness of actions (Neely 1995).” From this definition, past performance information can be extrapolated to entail those metrics that consider the effectiveness of past or previous actions. Within value-based procurement methodologies, the use of past performance information as an evaluation criteria is common; however, the optimal use, method, specific criteria, and collection techniques vary widely across clients and buyers. This paper presents a history and evolution of the use of past performance information within a specific procurement and project delivery process called the Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS). It also includes an analysis of the modifications made, an analysis of the effort required for the inclusion of past performance information as a selection criteria as calculated from the procurer’s perspective, and an analysis of a new methodology of a vendor driven collection process as compared to a buyer driven collection process.
ISS-Lobster: a low-cost wide-field x-ray transient detector on the ISS

ISS-Lobster is a wide-field X-ray transient detector proposed to be deployed on the International Space Station. Through its unique imaging X-ray optics that allow a 30 deg by 30 deg FoV, a 1 arc min position resolution and a 1.6x10-11 erg/(sec cm2) sensitivity in 2000 sec, ISS-Lobster will observe numerous events per year of X-ray transients related to compact objects, including: tidal disruptions of stars by supermassive black holes, supernova shock breakouts, neutron star bursts and superbursts, high redshift Gamma-Ray Bursts, and perhaps most exciting, X-ray counterparts of gravitational wave detections involving stellar mass and possibly supermassive black holes. The mission includes a 3-axis gimbal system that allows fast Target of Opportunity pointing, and a small gamma-ray burst monitor. In this article we focus on ISS-Lobster measurements of X-ray counterparts of detections by the world-wide ground-based gravitational wave network.
Neuregulins Increase α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Enhance Excitatory Synaptic Transmission in GABAergic Interneurons of the Hippocampus

Neuregulins are highly expressed in the CNS, especially in cholinergic neurons. We have examined the effect of neuregulin on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in neurons dissociated from the rat hippocampus. Rapid application of acetylcholine (ACh) induced a rapidly rising and decaying inward current in some of the neurons, which was completely blocked by methyllycaconitine, a specific antagonist of the α7 subunit of the nAChR. When the cells were treated with 5 nm neuregulin (NRG1-β1) for 2–4 d, a twofold increase in amplitude of the peak ACh-induced current was observed, and there was a comparable increase in125I-α-bungarotoxin binding. The fast ACh-induced peak current was prominent in large neurons that also contained GABA immunoreactivity. These presumptive GABAergic neurons constituted ∼10% of neurons present in 7- to 9-d-old cultures. In addition to the large inward peak current, ACh also evoked transmitter release from presynaptic nerve terminals. Pharmacologic experiments indicated that the shower of PSCs was mediated by glutamate, with a small minority caused by the action of GABA. Chronic exposure to NRG1-β1 increased the amplitude of ACh-evoked PSCs but not the minimum “quantal” PSC. NRG1-β1 also increased the percentage of neurons that exhibited ACh-evoked PSCs.
Batch Markovian Arrival Processes (BMAP)

This article describes the batch Markovian arrival process (BMAP), a point process that is characterized by Markov-modulated batch arrivals of random size. The BMAP is a generalization of many well-known processes including the Markovian arrival process (MAP), the Poisson process, and the Markov-modulated Poisson process. It provides a common framework for modeling arrival processes in a variety of applications. We formally define the continuous- and discrete-time BMAP, review a few basic results for each, and show how these processes generalize many common point processes. Additionally, we provide suggestions for further reading on the subject. Keywords: batch Markovian arrival process; Markovian arrival process; batch arrivals
Separation of Powers, Independent Agencies, and Financial Regulation: The Case of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

The Supreme Court will hear in December one of the most important separation-of-powers case in many years involving the structure of administrative agencies. The case, Free Enterprise Fund v. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and this article, addresses virtually every major constitutional issue regarding the design of administrative governance: the line between principal and inferior officers of the United States; the appointment power; the removal power; separation of powers; and the status of independent agencies, including whether they can be Departments under the Constitution. The case is a challenge to the constitutionality of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which Congress enacted in 2002 to address the corporate auditing debacles in cases such as Enron, WorldCom, and others. The Act's centerpiece was a new regulatory body, located within the Securities and Exchange Commission, with the power to regulate and oversee the accounting industry in the United States, under the supervision of the SEC. Judicial resolution of this conflict will determine not only the constitutionality of regulatory oversight of the accounting industry that Sarbanes-Oxley sets up. That resolution will determine the kinds of options Congress has for designing politically-insulated administrative structures to deal with the current financial crisis and with other major regulatory needs in the coming years. This article analyzes these central constitutional issues in the context of the larger system of financial regulation. The analysis argues that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the new agency it creates is constitutional. This article is a substantially revised version, which addresses a number of new issues, of an earlier posted draft.
Never-Dried Cotton Fibers: Part VII: Preservation of the Never-Dried State with Ethyl Acrylate and Alkylene Oxides

The preservation of the mechanical and transport properties of never-dried cotton has been accomplished by the treatment of never-dried fibers with ethylene oxide or propylene oxide under mildly alkaline conditions. Fibers subjected to this process display high extensibility, accessibility, and strength comparable or superior to the corresponding properties of never-dried cotton at standard conditions of temperature and humidity. Gamma-initiated radiation grafting of ethylacrylate to never-dried and once-dried cotton indicated that never-dried fibers grafted at higher rates than ordinary cotton.
Cascading effects of cannibalism in a top predator

1. Predator interactions are often driven by size differences, with larger predators consuming smaller ones. Cannibalism is widespread among predators, and can be more intense than antagonistic interactions between different predator species. 2. In a series of greenhouse experiments and a field experiment, we investigated the role of size structure in shaping the impacts of a top predator (the wandering spider Cheiracanthium mildei L. Koch) on an insect herbivore in vineyards of Napa County, California. 3. In greenhouse cages, survival of small C. mildei was lower when large C. mildei were present, and the combined effects of small and large C. mildei on leafhopper numbers and grape leaf damage were non-additive. The frequency of cannibalism in C. mildei did not change when the abundance of leafhoppers was manipulated. However, in the field experiment small and large C. mildei combined additively to reduce leafhopper numbers. 4. Results show that cannibalism has the potential to dampen the cascading effects of C. mildei in a vineyard food web, but that it may be less important than other mortality factors in the field. Nonetheless, C. mildei substantially impacted leafhoppers in both the greenhouse and the field, suggesting that mortality caused by cannibalism or other factors may not compromise its overall predatory impacts.
Signal Timing Across the Macaque Visual System

Schmolesky, Matthew T., Youngchang Wang, Doug P. Hanes, Kirk G. Thompson, Stefan Leutgeb, Jeffrey D. Schall, and Audie G. Leventhal. Signal timing across the macaque visual system. J. Neurophysiol....
Group-scheduling problems in electronics manufacturing

This paper addresses the flowshop group-scheduling problems typically encountered in the assembly of printed circuit boards in electronics manufacturing. A mathematical programming model is formulated to capture the characteristics inherent to group-scheduling problems experienced in electronics manufacturing as well as those common to a wide range of group-scheduling problems encountered in other production environments. Several heuristics, each incorporating different components that underlie the tabu search concept, are developed to solve this strongly NP-hard problem effectively in a timely manner. In order to investigate the quality of the heuristic solutions with respect to tight lower bounds, an effective and efficient decomposition approach is developed. The problem is decomposed into a master problem and single-machine subproblems, and a column generation algorithm is developed to solve the linear programming relaxation of the master problem. Branching schemes, compatible with the column generation subproblems, are employed to partition the solution space when the solution to the linear programming relaxation is not integral. Furthermore, tabu search based fast heuristics are implemented to solve the subproblems, and an effective stabilization method is developed to accelerate the column generation approach. An experimental design with both fixed and random factors accompanied by rigorous statistical analyses of computational tests conducted on randomly generated test problems as well as on a large size real industry problem confirm the high performance of the proposed approach in identifying quality lower bounds and strongly suggest its flexibility and applicability to a wide range of real problems.