cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Wealth Management While Dealing with Memory Loss

This study aims to understand the mechanisms through which severe memory problems could affect portfolio choice of older households. We focus on two potential mediators, cognitive ability and survival expectations, which are both expected to be adversely affected by memory disorders. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, our findings show that cognitive ability and survival expectations are negatively associated with severe memory problems. Through the mediating role of cognitive ability, memory problems negatively affect the probability of holding risky assets, the amount of risky assets in the investment portfolios and financial wealth. Survival expectations, on the other hand, do not play a significant mediating role in portfolio allocation. In addition, the financial burden of severe memory problems does not seem to directly affect portfolio decisions.
Modeling of fiber-reinforced polymeric gels

Abstract When a polymer network is exposed to a suitable solvent, the migration of solvent molecules into the network will cause volumetric deformation, known as swelling, but more importantly forms a mixture that is known as a polymeric gel. Despite numerous potential applications, many aspects of the coupled diffusion-deformation behavior in polymeric gels have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Here, we focus our attention on the coupled deformation-diffusion response of fiber-reinforced polymeric gels. The presence of embedded fibers in a swellable polymer matrix leads to anisotropy in the overall behavior. In order to capture this response, we have developed a constitutive model for fiber-reinforced polymeric gels, that explicitly takes into account anisotropy in both the mechanical and diffusive behavior. The constitutive model is implemented as user element subroutine (UEL) in the commercial finite element software package Abaqus/Standard. Numerical simulations are performed to show the behavior of the model, and qualitative comparisons are made to experiments of a soft robotic gripper.
Covered stents: A 25-year odyssey

The concept of the PTFE-covered stent was introduced 25 years ago in the treatment of an aneurysmal vein graft. The study by Pavani et al. represents the largest cohort of patients treated with covered stents for Ellis type 3 perforations. Covered stents are effective in treating coronary perforations and remain an invaluable tool in the cardiac catheterization lab.
Pullbacks of maximally (strong) Prüfer rings

We investigate the behavior of (strong) Prufer rings in a general pullback diagram. We also consider three new Prufer conditions introduced by Klingler, Lucas, and Sharma.
The biodegradation of polyester and polyester polyurethane coatings using Papiliotrema laurentii

Abstract The rate and severity of polyurethane (PU) coating degradation is due to a combination of both abiotic and biotic factors. The contribution of biotic factors to the degradation process has not been fully realized, in part, because it is assumed that microorganisms cannot survive exclusively on polyurethane-based coatings. We isolated a strain of Papiliotrema laurentii that, as a biofilm, is capable of degrading a polyester-based polyurethane coating. The biodegradation potential of this strain was screened initially with Impranil®-DLN and then against biodegradable polyesters (polyethylene succinate and polyethylene adipate) and a thermoset polyester polyether polyurethane, Irogran®, with no additional carbon sources over 8 days at a relative humidity of >95%. We confirmed that P. laurentii preferentially hydrolyzed both polyesters coatings and the polyester segment of Irogran® coatings using optical and infrared microscopy techniques. The chemical and metabolic differences observed during the degradation of PES coatings compared to PEA and Irogran® coatings indicate that growth was not required for these coatings to be degraded. This strain of P. laurentii can both hydrolyze and metabolize polyester-based coatings under high humidity over 8 days. These microscopic and analytical data revealed how biodegradation was potentially linked to survival using this fungus isolated from the environment.
The Relative Importance of Physical Attractiveness and Personality Characteristics to the Mate Choices of Women and Their Fathers

Prior research assessing mate preferences among women and their parents reveals the potential for conflict within families; daughters value characteristics indicating genetic quality, such as physical attractiveness, more strongly than their parents do. However, prior research also suggests the potential for agreement within families; both daughters and their parents report valuing other mate characteristics much more strongly than physical attractiveness (e.g., mutual affection, intelligence, etc.). We assessed mate preferences among 86 daughter-father pairs using an experimental design varying target men’s physical attractiveness and personality characteristics. We tested five hypotheses investigating the relative importance of physical attractiveness and personality traits to women and their fathers as well as the potential for mate choice conflict between women and their fathers. Both women and their fathers were strongly influenced by the physical attractiveness of the target men and rated more attractive target men as more desirable partners for themselves or for their daughters. Reinforcing the importance of physical attractiveness, men with the most desirable personality profiles were rated more favorably than their counterparts only when they were moderately attractive or more attractive; unattractive men were never rated as more desirable partners for daughters, regardless of their personality profiles. However, physical attractiveness was more strongly related to women’s own dating preferences whereas personality favorability was more strongly related to fathers’ preferences for their daughters. Furthermore, when women and their fathers disagreed about the best mate, women chose the more attractive man while fathers chose the man with the more desirable personality traits. The importance of physical attractiveness to women’s mate choices may lead to conflict with their fathers.
MOLECULAR DYNAMICS COMPUTER SIMULATIONS OF AQUEOUS SOLUTION/PLATINUM INTERFACE

A detailed molecular level description of structure and dynamics of water and aqueous solutions next to metallic surfaces is of fundamental importance for electrochemistry, catalysis, and corrosion studies.1 Structural details about the water monolayer/metal interface can be obtained using different experimental techniques.2 In the case of bulk aqueous solution/metal interface, where very little of molecular level information is available from experiment, computer simulations can play a very significant role.
Options for Dialing Down From Single Payer

There are formidable institutional obstacles to passing a single-payer health program in the United States. Advocates should consider incremental improvements that may better match legislative real...
Statement of Commissioner Gail Heriot

On April 6, 2020, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights published a long-delayed report entitled Examining the Race Effects of Stand Your Ground Laws and Related Issues. This Statement is a part of that report. The report is unusual in the sense that (apart from individual Commissioner Statements) it consists solely of a five year-old briefing transcript. It contains no original analysis, findings or recommendations. It was not supposed to be that way. When the Commission undertook this project, the plan was for the Commission to conduct empirical research on “Stand Your Ground” laws and to produce a report containing both that research and a discussion of “Stand Your Ground” laws based in part on the testimony produced at the briefing but also on the Commission staff’s independent research. Alas, when the empirical research did not support the preconceived view of the Commission’s majority that “Stand Your Ground” laws harm African Americans, the project was shelved. Years later—at a time the Commission was interested in getting out as many reports as possible—it decided to publish a transcript of the briefing along with Commissioner Statements. After almost two further years of delay, the report was finally published. This individual Statement details how the Commission did not understand long history of “Stand Your Ground” laws and misconceived their racial impact.
Incentive sensitization for exercise reinforcement to increase exercise behaviors

Individuals can be sensitized to the reinforcing effects of exercise, although it is unknown if this process increases habitual exercise behavior. Sedentary men and women (body mass index: 25–35 kg...
A Comparison of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing and Field Walking Tests in Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Mild-to-Moderate Alzheimer's Dementia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among peak exercise parameters on 6-min walk test, shuttle walk test, and laboratory-based cardiopulmonary exercise testing in persons with Alzheimer's dementia. This study is a cross-sectional analysis of the baseline data of 90 participants (age 77.1 [6.6] years, 43% female) from the FIT-AD trial. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing produced significantly higher peak heart rate (118.6 [17.5] vs. 106 [22.8] vs. 106 [18.8] beats/min), rating of perceived exertion (16 [2.1] vs. 12 [2.3] vs. 11 [2.1]), and systolic blood pressure (182 [23.7] vs. 156 [18.9] vs. 150 [16.9] mmHg) compared with the shuttle walk test and 6-min walk test, respectively. Peak walking distance on shuttle walk test (241.3 [127.3] m) and 6-min walk test (365.0 [107.9] m) significantly correlated with peak oxygen consumption (17.1 [4.3] ml·kg-1·min-1) on cardiopulmonary exercise testing (r = .449, p ≤ .001 and r = .435, p ≤ .001), respectively, which is considerably lower than what is seen in older adults and persons with cardiopulmonary diseases.
The face of noncompliance in family interaction

This article examines the co-construction of dispute in parent-child remedial interchanges, where preference for provocation rather than agreement exists. Employing methodologies of video ethnography, linguistic anthropology, and conversation analysis, we examine practices for dispute management in middle class Los Angeles families (1540 h of video across 32 US families were collected and examined between 2002 and 2005) as well as in (sub)-working-class families in the historic center neighborhood of the Quartieri Spagnoli in Napoli, Italy (120 h of video across six families were collected and examined between 2008 and 2010). We problematize the notion that preference structures featuring politeness and moves towards swift social equilibrium in remedial interchanges are the basic organizing principles used in family interaction. Our findings suggest that rather than quickly restoring ritual equilibrium, children can create their own “character contests” in which they compete with parents for control. In response to a child’s breach, noncompliance, or offensive action, the parents can sanction inappropriate behavior, and socialize the child into what counts, in the family culture, as morally appropriate behavior. Whereas in US middle class families, the parents pursue apologies, in Neapolitan (sub)-working-class families, the parents are more concerned about explanations and accounts for inappropriate desires and actions. There is no expectation that the children apologize for untoward behavior. Across culture and class, during adult-child socializing encounters, moral claims intersect with affective stances to develop and negotiate personhood, identity, and adherence to cultural norms.
Testosterone signaling through ZIP9 renders melanoma more aggressive in males than in females

Melanoma and most other cancers occur more frequently, and have worse prognosis, in males compared with females. Though sex steroids are thought to be involved, melanoma lacks classical androgen and estrogen receptors. Here we show that testosterone promotes melanoma proliferation by activating ZIP9 (SLC39A9), a zinc transporter that is not intentionally targeted by available therapeutics. This activity requires zinc influx, MAPK activation and YAP1 nuclear translocation. We demonstrate that inhibitors of the classical androgen receptor, also inhibit ZIP9, and thereby antagonize the pro-tumorigenic effects of testosterone in melanoma. In male mice, androgen receptor inhibitors suppressed growth of ZIP9-expressing melanomas, but had no effect on isogenic melanomas lacking ZIP9, nor on melanomas in females. These data suggest that ZIP9 might be effectively targeted in melanoma and other cancers by repurposing androgen receptor inhibitors that are currently approved only for prostate cancer.
Using Mixed-Methods to Understand Community Vulnerability to Debris Flows in Montecito, CA

More communities around the world are living in hazard-prone areas. These communities are susceptible to natural hazards and negative impacts, which can be mitigated by adopting Disaster Risk Reduction measures that take into account an assessment of vulnerability. However, vulnerability studies can be limited and often do not take a spatio-temporal approach. In this study, we applied a spatio-temporal approach to the case of Montecito, CA, in order to better understand the variables that make a community vulnerable and to identify those who are the most vulnerable. In 2018, Montecito was heavily impacted by debris-flows resulting in material and human losses. Our results showed that informal workers, residents of voluntary evacuation areas, and renters were most vulnerable, and the main aspect that contributed to their vulnerability was a lack of understanding of debris-flow risk. Moreover, local authorities failed to use historical data to communicate and educate the community before the event to reduce the overall community vulnerability and rebuilding process is changing the community vulnerability.
Comprehensive Assessment Method of Natural Disaster Risk for Compact Transmission Corridor

In order to promote natural disaster protection level of compact transmission corridor, a comprehensive assessment method for evaluating the overall risk of lightning strike, windage, contamination and icing is proposed in this paper. On the basis of existing risk maps, the data is standardized as the risk value for each natural disaster accordingly. Combining with historical tripping data of compact transmission corridor and expert scores for the four natural disasters, the risk weights of lightning strike, windage, contamination and icing are determined by integrating analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with entropy weight. Through multiplying the risk values and risk weights, the overall risk of the four natural disasters is calculated. Using the tripping data of one compact transmission corridor from 2013 to 2016 for risk assessment analysis, the result shows that the accuracy of this comprehensive assessment method is up to 94.4%, which can be used to improve the stability and security of compact transmission corridor.
NonREM Disorders of Arousal and Related Parasomnias: an Updated Review

Parasomnias are abnormal behaviors and/or experiences emanating from or associated with sleep typically manifesting as motor movements of varying semiology. We discuss mainly nonrapid eye movement sleep and related parasomnias in this article. Sleepwalking (SW), sleep terrors (ST), confusional arousals, and related disorders result from an incomplete dissociation of wakefulness from nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Conditions that provoke repeated cortical arousals, and/or promote sleep inertia, lead to NREM parasomnias by impairing normal arousal mechanisms. Changes in the cyclic alternating pattern, a biomarker of arousal instability in NREM sleep, are noted in sleepwalking disorders. Sleep-related eating disorder (SRED) is characterized by a disruption of the nocturnal fast with episodes of feeding after arousal from sleep. SRED is often associated with the use of sedative-hypnotic medications, in particular the widely prescribed benzodiazepine receptor agonists. Compelling evidence suggests that nocturnal eating may in some cases be another nonmotor manifestation of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS). Initial management should focus upon decreasing the potential for sleep-related injury followed by treating comorbid sleep disorders and eliminating incriminating drugs. Sexsomnia is a subtype of disorders of arousal, where sexual behavior emerges from partial arousal from nonREM sleep. Overlap parasomnia disorders consist of abnormal sleep-related behavior both in nonREM and REM sleep. Status dissociatus is referred to as a breakdown of the sleep architecture where an admixture of various sleep state markers is seen without any specific demarcation. Benzodiazepine therapy can be effective in controlling SW, ST, and sexsomnia, but not SRED. Paroxetine has been reported to provide benefit in some cases of ST. Topiramate, pramipexole, and sertraline can be effective in SRED. Pharmacotherapy for other parasomnias continues to be less certain, necessitating further investigation. NREM parasomnias may resolve spontaneously but require a review of priming and predisposing factors.
Socrates Online: Creating a Sense of Community.

ABSTRACT If Socrates taught online, he would enhance learning using questioning, guided inquiry, and problem- and discovery-based learning. He would focus energy on building a sense of community, engaging students with analogies, metaphors, storytelling, and sharing of personal and professional experiences. This article provides nurse educators with examples of the application of the Socratic method to enhance learning and build a sense of belonging to a learning community in online education.
The Impact of Urban Sprawl on Temperature in the United States Over the Past Four Decades

Urban sprawl contributes to the heat island effect by eliminating vegetation, expanding dark surfaces, and increasing daily travel distance. This study quantifies this effect by constructing and linking the required measures and exploiting variations in the data using different identification strategies to quantify the causal relationship. I construct an index of residential compactness in US metropolitan areas using satellite remote sensing and geographic information to analyze landscape changes from 1974–2012 and link them to the Global Surface Summary of the Day data for the same period. To address the reverse causality issue (the effect of temperature differences on horizontal development), I utilize the planned interstate highways emanating from the central cities as an instrument for sub-urbanization in the United States. I also add another layer of identification by introducing a control group for each metropolitan statistic area (MSA) in the sample. The results suggest a positive and causal relationship between the temperature of the MSA center and urban sprawl. Thus, horizontal development of the city imposes an extra burden on the temperature of the city center.
Prolonged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 persistence, attenuated immunologic response, and viral evolution in a solid organ transplant patient.

Unlike immunocompetent hosts, the duration of viral persistence after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can be prolonged in immunosuppressed patients. Here, we present a case of viral persistence for over 19 weeks in a patient with a history of solid organ transplant and explore the clinical, virologic, and immunologic course. Our patient still demonstrated viral persistence at 138 days with low polymerase chain reaction cycle threshold values and evidence of continuing viral sequence evolution indicative of ongoing virus replication. These findings have important implications for infection prevention and control recommendations in immunosuppressed patients. Immune response, including neutralizing antibody titers, T cell activity, and cytokine levels, peaked around days 44-72 after diagnosis. Anti-S trimer antibodies were low at all time points, and T cell response was attenuated by day 119. As immune response waned and viral load increased, increased genetic diversity emerged, suggesting a mechanism for the development of viral variants.
A propagation-based fault detection and discrimination method and the optimization of sensor deployment

Abstract Industrial processes can be affected by faults having a serious impact on operation when not promptly detected and diagnosed. In this paper, a propagation-basedfaultdetectionanddiscrimination(PFDD) method is proposed to develop a strategy for fault diagnosis while in the design phase of a system. The PFDD method constructs the system model using the IntegratedSystemFaultAnalysis(ISFA) technique. Based on the system model, the propagation of hardware and software faults are simulated qualitatively. Given the results of the simulation, the process by which a fault propagates can be characterized using the qualitative features of system variables including the deviation of the system variables from their expected values, the variation of the system variables over time, and the order in which each variable is influenced during the propagation of the fault. The strategy by which a fault can be detected and discriminated is defined using those features. The PFDD method supports the detection and discrimination of faults in both steady states and transient states. Based on the PFDD method, the optimization of sensor deployment in a system is discussed. A brute force algorithm is developed to examine the system’s capability at diagnosing faults and the cost of sensor deployment for all possible configurations of sensors. The optimal sensor deployment strategy can be derived accordingly. However, the brute force method is only applicable to small-scale systems due to its high computational cost. A genetic algorithm is used to optimize sensor deployment in large-scale systems. The PFDD and sensor deployment optimization methods are applied to the Experimental Breeder Reactor II (EBR-II) for verification.
Drug Abuse and Psychiatric Disorders

Perhaps the most widely studied issue within the field of addiction has been the relationship of psychopathology to drug use. Because of the compulsive, antisocial, and self-destructive character of addiction, drug use has been considered a psychiatric illness in itself (DSM-III). However, there has also been a traditional belief that drug abuse is intimately related to other psychiatric disorders, although there has been considerable controversy regarding the nature of these relationships.
Perceptual Learning on Simultaneity and Temporal Order Judgments

Introduction: Prior research on bilateral-stream Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) displays reveals that participants often perceive left visual field (LVF) targets significantly sooner than right visual field (RVF) targets (Matthews, Welch, Festa & Clement, 2013). The hastened perception of LVF targets occurs for temporal order judgments (TOJs) but not simultaneity judgments (SJs) on the same stimuli. This demonstrates task-specific neural events for time perception. Here, we investigated the extent to which task-specific neural events govern time discrimination by evaluating whether training differentially affects the precision of SJs and TOJs.
Long Term Fate and Transport of Immiscible Aviation Gasoline in the Subsurface Environment

We measure and model the concentration of separate phase hydrocarbons downgradient of a 19 year old aviation gasoline spill at the US Coast Guard Air Station in Traverse City, Michigan. The separate phase aviation gasoline is presumed to exist in mobile and residual partitions whose transport is modeled as a simple one dimensional balance of storage, advection, volatilization, and linear sorption. Field calibration suggests a retardation factor of 13.1, while volatilization accounts for about 30% of the originally spilled product, underscoring the importance of these two mechanisms in immiscible gasoline fate and transport studies.
Adipose tissue islets: tissue culture of a potential source of fat cells in the adult rat.

Collagenase digests of adipose tissue of the 3 to 4-month-old rat contain groups of 20-100 tightly arranged cells (islets) that copurify with the free-floating fat cells. When cultured along with mature adipocytes the islets give rise to cells, initially fibroblast-like, which rapidly proliferate, acquire lipid droplets, and differentiate into small adipocytes within 4-6 days without the addition to the medium of the agents usually required to produce differentiation in stromal-vascular preadipocytes. Differentiation of these cells is independent of confluence and begins as early as day 2 of culture. The proportion of islet-derived cells that differentiate is directly correlated with the number of mature adipocytes simultaneously present in the culture (r = .709; P less than 0.001). Culture medium exposed to mature adipocytes demonstrated differentiation-promoting activity, suggesting a paracrine effect of these cells. Islets may in vivo constitute a source for newly formed adipocytes in the adult rat. The differentiation of these potential adipocytes may be regulated, at least in part, by the mature fat cells via a paracrine effect.
Higher order mode selection for power scaling in laser resonators using transmitting Bragg gratings

Power scaling using a higher order mode in a ribbon fiber has previously been proposed. However, methods of selecting the higher order mode and converting to a single lobe high brightness beam are needed. We propose using a multiplexed transmitting Bragg grating (MTBG) to convert a higher order mode into a single lobe beam. Using a ribbon fiber with core dimensions of 107.8 μm by 8.3 μm, we use the MTBG to select a higher order mode oscillating within the resonator with 51.4% efficiency, while simultaneously converting the higher order mode to a beam with diffraction limited divergence of 10.2 mrad containing 60% of the total power.
Course 8 Complex networks

Publisher Summary The chapter gives introduction on networks describing both empirical results and theory, and reviewing the current areas of research interest. A network or graph is, in its simplest form, a set of points joined in pairs by lines. The chapter describes some of the basic structural features observed and other networks and some of the mathematical tools developed for understanding the behavior of networked systems. One of the most remarkable properties of networks is the expansion property. This leads to something called the small-world effect, which has profound implications for the operation of networks in the real world. One of the most important properties of a network is the frequency distribution of the degrees, the so-called “degree distribution.” The degree distribution is visualized by making a histogram of the degrees. The models described are generative models. That is, they are models of the process by which a network is generated. Networks provide a useful mathematical abstraction of the structure of complex systems. The theory of networks is well developed and embraces empirical methods from the social, biological and information sciences, traditional methods of mathematical graph theory and a host of more recent developments from physics, computer science, and statistics.
A Review of “Tours of Vietnam: War, Travel Guides, and Memory”

In Tours of Vietnam, Scott Laderman (University of Minnesota, Duluth) innovatively examines the overlapping elements of history, memory, and international tourism to show the ways in which American...
Analysis of cost-effective pipe insulation requirements

The proposed ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1989R contains updated requirements for pipe insulation thicknesses developed on the basis of technical and economic principles. These requirements were determined based on computer simulations of the annual energy loss through the insulation, first cost assumptions for the insulation, and economic assumptions of discount rate and energy escalation rate. In later work, the same tools were used to analyze the sensitivity of the cost-effective insulation level for piping insulation to variations in operating hours, ambient temperature, fluid temperature, and economic assumptions. These analyses were carried out using cost data for pipe insulation averaged across several sources. The results of the sensitivity study showed that system operating hours is a critical parameter in determining the cost-effective pipe insulation thicknesses. Although there is a lack of reliable sources of typical operating hour data for heating systems, anecdotal information suggests that while most smaller building-level systems are operated only during a heating season, many site-wide steam and hot water heating systems are operated year round and insulation levels on these systems should reflect both the pipe size and the different operating schedules. In addition, the analysis showed that due to differences in private and federal sector economics, the cost-effectivemore » pipe insulation levels appropriate for the private sector are often substantially different from those that are appropriate for the federal sector.« less
Pain and psychological well-being among people with dementia in long-term care.

Objective To examine the relationship between self-reported pain and psychological well-being of people with dementia (PWD) living in residential long-term care as indicated by displays of observed emotional expression over the daytime period. Design Secondary analysis using repeated measures of self-report and observational data. Setting and Subjects A total of 177 PWD were included from 17 nursing homes and six assisted living facilities in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Methods Negative emotional expression was used as an indicator of reduced psychological well-being. Pain was assessed through PWD's response to a question about presence of pain obtained at each observation. Cognitive impairment was assessed using the Mini-Mental Status Examination. Linear mixed models were used that accounted for correlation of negative emotional expression measurements over time for each participant and between participants within the same facility. Results Among 171 participants who were able to express their pain, 44% of PWD reported pain once or more during the daytime period. Severity of cognitive impairment was related to expression of negative emotion. PWD with pain displayed more negative emotional expression than PWD without pain. Conclusions Routine pain assessment is feasible among PWD with moderate to severe dementia and positive report of pain is associated with greater observed negative emotional expression, an indicator of reduced psychological well-being. Improving pain management holds potential for enhancing psychological well-being among PWD living in residential long-term care.
Contested spaces of ethnicity: zainichi Korean accounts of the atomic bombings

This article examines the emergence of Korean hibakusha testimonies through the development of historical and testimonial works about Korean hibakusha resident in Japan. Their emergence is related to wider historical discussions and analyses by zainichi Koreans in the mid-1960s, which broadly centre on aspects of colonial and wartime history such as forced labour. The article examines how survivors, community organizations, and activists have positioned themselves vis-a-vis common narratives and understandings of the atomic bombings in Japan, criticized by some as “ethnic histories” that focus on the Japanese majority to the exclusion of others. The marginalization of zainichi Koreans is clearly evident in survivor testimonies, as are the ways that survivors, community members, and activists sought to narrate counter-histories incorporating a Korean perspective. From this we are better able to understand the historical context and experiences of Koreans at Ground Zero, as well as broader social and politi...
Discrete representations of the n-dimensional wave equation

A system of first-order difference equations on a rectangular n-dimensional lattice is presented, which reduces to the wave equation in the continuum limit. These equations allow solutions of the discrete wave equation to be expressed as summations of paths simpler than those obtained through standard path integral formalism, which in turn allows wave solutions to be simulated by the same Monte Carlo and other methods used to model diffusion phenomena.
Monitoring Arctic landscape variation by pole and kite mounted cameras

Optic surveillance is an important part of monitoring environmental changes in various ecological settings. Although remote sensing provides extensive data, its resolution is yet not sufficient for scientific research focusing on small spatial scale landscape variations. We are interested in exploiting high resolution image data to observe and investigate the landscape variations at a small spatial scale arctic corridor in Barrow, AK, as part of the DOE Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments (NGEE-Arctic). A 35 m transect is continuously imaged by two separate pole mounted consumer grade stationary cameras, one capturing in NIR and the other capturing in visible range, starting from June to August in 2014. Surface and subsurface features along this 35 m transect are also sampled by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), temperature loggers and water content reflectometers. We track the behavioral change along this transect by collecting samples from the pole images and look for a relation between the image features and electrical conductivity. Results show that the correlation coefficient between inferred vegetation indices and soil electrical resistivity (closely related to water content) increased during the growing season, reaching a correlation of 0.89 at the peak of the vegetation. To extrapolate such results to a larger scale, we use a high resolution RGB map of a 500x40 m corridor at this site, which is occasionally obtained using a low-altitude kite mounted consumer grade (RGB) camera. We introduce a segmentation algorithm that operates on the mosaic generated from the kite images to classify the landscape features of the corridor.
Implementation of two-step Runge-Kutta methods for ordinary differential equations

We investigate the potential for efficient implementation of two-step Runge-Kutta methods (TSRK), a new class of methods introduced recently by Jackiewicz and Tracogna for numerical integration of ordinary differential equations. The implementation issues addressed are the local error estimation, changing stepsize using Nordsieck technique and construction of interpolants. The numerical experiments indicate that the constructed error estimates are very reliable in a fixed and variable stepsize environment.
Retail Business Adjustment in Rural Hierarchies

Many rural hierarchies are becoming increasingly dominated by a few regional growth centers while the retail sector in adjacent smaller communities either stagnates or declines. This study tests the hypothesis that the rate of adjustment of the retail sector to changing consumer spending patterns is uniform across different ordered communities in a rural hierarchy. Neoclassical investment theory is combined with central place theory to develop a conceptual model of the relationship between the retail sector and investment in a community. A three tiered 49 community hierarchy is constructed using data from the Minnesota Department of Revenue and the Report of Condition and Income of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. A crosssectional time series ordinary least squares regression model is employed to estimate retail coefficients of adjustment for the hypothesis testing. Regional estimates indicate only partial adjustment in the retail sector across the whole hierarchy to shifts in consumer spending patterns. Community estimates, which decompose the regional estimate, indicate retail businesses in the largest and mid-sized communities adjust totally in one period, but that retail businesses in the smallest communities do not. The faster rates of adjustment by retail businesses in the larger communities to changing consumer spending patterns may augment the development of regional growth centers in rural areas.
Single-molecule nanoprobes explore defects in spin-grown crystals.

Thin, platelike single crystals of p-terphenyl (PT) doped with terrylene impurity molecules can be prepared by spin-coating from solution. Strikingly, individual terrylene molecules can be observed traveling inside the crystal over distances of several micrometers by using single-molecule fluorescence imaging at room temperature. Analysis of the motion by single-particle tracking and correlation methods indicates that the molecules act as nanoprobes by exploring long, thin crack-like defects with correlated orientations, defects that can be difficult to observe by other means. Apparently, the regions accessible to the moving molecules are in the interior of the crystal and hence are partially protected from oxidation. In addition to the traveling molecules, which photobleach in times on the order of 32 s under continuous irradiation at 2 kW/cm2, two other spatially fixed populations are observed: one with transition dipole oriented along the c-axis of the crystal with a characteristic photobleaching time...
High resolution in vivo imaging of the lamina cribrosa

The lamina cribrosa (LC) is considered to be the principal site of retinal ganglion cell axon injury in glaucoma. Imaging technology has steadily improved in recent years, allowing greater resolution of fine details of laminar structure. Histological studies have elucidated the details of LC structure, both in normal and glaucomatous eyes, but such studies are limited by smaller sample size, greater difficulty of conducting prospective studies, and possibility of altered tissue architecture during histologic processing. We reviewed the literature describing the LC in primate and human eyes using in vivo imaging devices and provided a brief explanation of the imaging technology and main results of the articles. We also discuss the advantages and limitations of each imaging modality described, including optic disk photography, confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (CSLO) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). These modalities provide en face and/or cross-sectional images of the LC in vivo. Enhanced depth imaging OCT has recently led to important advances in imaging deeper structures of the posterior segment, including the LC. Adaptive optics has been adopted in CSLO and OCT imaging to correct for ocular aberration and has improved resolution and contrast of the LC images. Post-image processing techniques to compensate for light attenuation and enhance contrast in OCT images enabled better visualization of the LC beneath the neuroretinal rim, vascular structures, and scleral rim. Long-wavelength probe OCT has shown good visualization of the LC with improved penetration when combined with swept-source OCT. Contrast agents for enhanced visualization of selective target structures in OCT have been developed. All these technologies hold great promise for improved in vivo imaging of the LC and require further investigation.
Undercooling of bulk metallic glasses processed by electrostatic levitation

Abstract Measurements of the thermophysical properties of a Ti34Zr11Cu47Ni8 (at.%) alloy processed by the method of electrostatic levitation are presented. On continuous cooling from the liquid state, specimen undercoolings were observed, with ΔTmax=226.3 K. The magnitude of this undercooling was found to be dependent on the specimen overheat above the liquidus temperature, Tliq. Discontinuous magnitudes of specimen undercooling were observed for specimen overheats of 300 K. The cooling curves indicate that a metastable phase was primarily solidified from the undercooled liquid for specimen overheats of 300 K. The large specimen undercoolings obtained were observed after holding the specimens in the molten state for time periods sufficiently long to break down and dissolve oxides or other contaminants that would initiate heterogeneous nucleation of crystals.
Perspectives of spatial scale in a wildland forest epidemic

The challenge of observing interactions between plant pathogens, their hosts, and environmental heterogeneity across multiple spatial scales commonly limits our ability to understand and manage wildland forest epidemics. Using the forest pathogen Phytopthora ramorum as a case study, we established 20 multiscale field sites to analyze how host-pathogen-environment relationships vary across spatial scales of observation in a wildland pathosystem. We developed statistical models of disease intensity across five nested levels of spatial aggregation, from an individual host through four broader spatial extents of observation. Analyses were conducted from two spatial perspectives: a focal view, where disease intensity at one scale was examined as a function of broader-scale landscape conditions, and an aggregate view, where disease intensity and landscape conditions was observed at the same scale of spatial aggregation. For each perspective, separate models were developed to compare direct field measurements of host density versus less expensive remotely sensed estimates of host habitat as predictors of disease in landscape-scale studies. From both perspectives, models using direct measurements of host density performed better than models using remotely sensed estimates of host habitat across all four spatial extents. We found no significant difference in model performance at the individual level. From the focal view, the performance of host density models declined with increasing spatial extent, whereas the performance of host habitat models improved with spatial extent. These results illustrate how the scale of observation – both spatial extent and measurement detail – can influence conclusions drawn from epidemiological models of wildland pathosystems.
The acidity dependence of the fluorescence of β-naphthylamin

Abstract The change of hybridization of β-naphthylamine from sp3 to sp2, subsequent to excitation is found to have little effect upon the entropy of protonation of β-naphthylamine in the lowest excited singlet state. Solvent relaxation of the neutral amine, subsequent to excitation and as a result of dipole-dipole interactions, is shown to play an important role in the energy of the lowest excited singlet state and the pKa∗ value. The rates of protonation and dissociation of excited β-naphthylamine appear to be slightly slower than the rate of fluorescence of the β-naphthylammonium ion.
Acoustic measurement of the surface tension of levitated drops

The measurement of the frequency of the fundamental mode of shape oscillation of acoustically levitated drops has been carried out to determine the surface tension of the drop material. Sound fields of about 20 kHz in frequency allow the suspension of drops a few millimeters in size, as well as the necessary drive for oscillations. The surface tension of water, hexadecane, silicone oil, and aqueous solutions of glycerin levitated in air has been measured, and the results have been compared with those obtained with standard ring tensiometry. The two sets of data are in good agreement, the largest discrepancy being about 10 percent. Uncertainties in the effects of the nonspherical static shape of drops levitated in the earth's gravitational field and the rotation state of the sample are the major contributors to the experimental error. A decrease of the resonance frequency of the fundamental mode indicates a soft nonlinearity as the oscillation amplitude increases.
The Politics of Memory: Rededicating Two Historical Monuments in Postwar Germany

For much of the past two centuries German governments encouraged or even sponsored the construction of war monuments. By the turn of the twentieth century Germany was covered in more than a thousand such shrines, most of which had local or regional significance as places of annual celebration or commemoration. Government, media, and business all contributed to an elaborate hagiography of Germany's battles, war heroes, and martyrs, with monuments usually serving as the centerpieces. Millions of middle-class Germans attended or participated in commemoration ceremonies at war monuments all over the country, and/or filled their homes with souvenir trinkets, tableware, wall decorations, coffee-table books, and other quotidian items that reproduced images of the monuments or scenes from the events they memorialized.
1637 DEMONSTRATION AND MECHANISM OF ACTION OF IgM C3NeF IN NORMALS AND PATIENTS WITH MEMBRANO-PROLIFERATIVE GLOMERULONEPHRITIS (MPGN)

1637 DEMONSTRATION AND MECHANISM OF ACTION OF IgM C3NeF IN NORMALS AND PATIENTS WITH MEMBRANO-PROLIFERATIVE GLOMERULONEPHRITIS (MPGN)
Varicella Zoster Vasculopathy

Varicella-zoster virus can cause neurological disease in primary and reactivated latent forms, with a wide spectrum of disorders throughout a person's lifetime. 35-year-old male with AIDS; histoplasmosis; mild, intermittent asthma; and hypertension presented to hospital with left-sided weakness and slurred speech. Exam showed left hemiparesis with left upper motor neurons facial palsy and dysarthria. Acute right basal ganglia infarct was detected in head CT without contrast. A subsequent MRI showed acute non-hemorrhagic infarct, right basal ganglia; fusiform dilatation, and proximal right middle cerebral artery. A CT angiogram of the bilateral carotid arteries revealed occlusion of the right anterior cerebral artery with conical dilatation at the origin; significant stenosis, and dilatation of the right middle cerebral artery. These findings were consistent with vasculitis. Patient was successfully treated with IV acyclovir. Rapid diagnosis of VZV vasculopathy is important because it is a treatable cause of stroke. Mortality rate is 25% without treatment.
Lipotoxicity in NASH

Exposure to a sedentary lifestyle, fat-rich and fiber-poor diets, positive caloric imbalance and an extended life disrupt the metabolic homeostasis causing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. A subset of patients with this emerging public health problem may develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer [1]. Understanding the molecular mechanisms promoting liver injury in NASH is not only of biomedical and public health interest, but also key to develop new avenues for specific treatment interventions. In this Snapshot article, we will outline current evolving concepts of signaling cascades that may be linked to liver injury in NASH. It is important to acknowledge that a significant amount of information has been obtained from in vitro and animal studies that may not entirely reflect the situation in the liver of patients with NASH. In addition, multiple pathways leading to apoptosis may be operational in NASH patients at the same time, but the relative contribution of each one is unknown. Nevertheless, targeting apoptotic pathways in NASH may represent a viable therapeutic strategy particularly in the context of acute liver injury augmented by fatty liver or in the setting of transplantation using highly steatotic donor livers. Major sources of hepatic saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are adipose tissue, diet, and de novo lipogenesis from glucose. Under physiological conditions, SFA are transported to mitochondria for b-oxidation or esterified for either excretion in very low density lipoproteins or storage as lipid droplets. SFA can be released from lipid droplets via macrolipophagy (Fig. 1A). Multiple mechanisms are concurrently operative to produce liver injury in hepatocytes overwhelmed by SFA, primarily from adipocyte lipolysis, and free cholesterol from de novo synthesis [1,2]. These lipids, and in particular SFA, can activate a variety of intracellular responses resulting in lipotoxic stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria, respectively. As a consequence, apoptosis occurs which represents a key pathogenic feature of NASH. Metabolic stress from lipids has also been linked to macrolipophagy dysfunction, presumably at the level of autophagosome-lysosome fusion [3]. Whether this promotes additional lipid accumulation or increased lipolysis in NASH remains to be addressed.