cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fast Foods of the Forest: The Influence of Figs on Primates and Hornbills Across Wallace’s Line

We examine relationships between fruit production and patterns of primate and hornbill densities on Sulawesi and Sumatra, Indonesia. Sumatra lies within the Asian biogeographic realm and has greater biodiversity while Sulawesi lies within Wallacea and has greater endemism. Phenological samples share 51% families, 29% genera but only 7% species. Generally, Sumatran trees are dispersed more often by small birds, bats and squirrels. Sulawesi has more wind-dispersed species. Fruiting is more seasonal on Sulawesi and is related to rainfall while Sumatran fruiting patterns show no relationship with rainfall. Sulawesi has larger trees, larger crops and smaller fruits. Average fruit production is five times higher on Sulawesi. On both islands, figs contribute disproportionately to fruit biomass. Hornbill and primate assemblages are less complex on Sulawesi but biomass of both groups is significantly higher. Hornbills and primates share 41 and 45% of diet species on Sumatra and Sulawesi, respectively. Wide-ranging hornbills on both islands decline in number or leave study areas when fig availability is low. Primates and hornbills (except Buceros rhinoceros) do not respond to the availability of other important diet species in the Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae, Meliaceae or Myristicaceae families. Fig availability influences resource defense and grouping patterns of primates and hornbills. We suggest that figs are a keystone guild due to their prime influence on abundance, distribution and behavior of large frugivores in Asia and Wallacea.
Influenza Vaccination Accelerates Recovery of Ferrets from Lymphopenia

Ferrets are a useful animal model for human influenza virus infections, since they closely mimic the pathogenesis of influenza viruses observed in humans. However, a lack of reagents, especially for flow cytometry of immune cell subsets, has limited research in this model. Here we use a panel of primarily species cross-reactive antibodies to identify ferret T cells, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), B cells, and granulocytes in peripheral blood. Following infection with seasonal H3N2 or H1N1pdm09 influenza viruses, these cell types showed rapid and dramatic changes in frequency, even though clinically the infections were mild. The loss of B cells and CD4 and CD8 T cells, and the increase in neutrophils, were especially marked 1–2 days after infection, when about 90% of CD8+ T cells disappeared from the peripheral blood. The different virus strains led to different kinetics of leukocyte subset alterations. Vaccination with homologous vaccine reduced clinical symptoms slightly, but led to a much more rapid return to normal leukocyte parameters. Assessment of clinical symptoms may underestimate the effectiveness of influenza vaccine in restoring homeostasis.
Rearing black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in the laboratory: colonization and life table statistics for Simulium vittatum

A robust colony of Simulium vittatum Zetterstedt is now in its 3rd year, spanning 24 generations. Survival from egg to adult for all rearings combined has exceeded 95%, with >256,000 adults produced. Mean development time for larvae is strongly correlated with water temperature, quantity of food, and density. Maturation from hatching to 50% adult emergence requires 460 degree-days. Adults are large and hardy; their mean wing lengths and fecundities equal or exceed those of field populations or other laboratory populations under optimal conditions. During the first several generations, a clear trend of selection for mating behavior was observed, with a concomitant selection against oviposition by uninseminated flies. These two factors accounted for the rapid rise of R from 1.16 in the parental rearing to 15.18 by the F2 generation. A mean yield of ca. 28,000 embryonated eggs per generation was obtained, and eggs could be stored at 2-3°C for up to 2 weeks with no decrease in viability. Flies reared on higher protein diet (34 versus 18% vegetable protein) were significantly larger and more fecund.
Reproductive pauses by female caribou

Parturition status of 53 radiocollared, female caribou ( Rangifer tarandus granti ) of the central Arctic herd was determined through repeated observations by fixed-wing aircraft during 2–5 periods of parturition. The overall frequency of reproductive pauses for females that were initially parturient, or previously confirmed to be parturient, was 24% (ca. once every 4 years). Most pauses preceded (78%) and followed (87%) parturition events. Periodic infertility, as a response to nutritional stress, may enhance long-term reproductive performance in caribou and other ungulates.
A Comparison of Flavor Differences between Pecan Cultivars in Raw and Roasted Forms.

The objective of this research was to explore sensory differences among 8 different pecan cultivars (“Pawnee,” “Witte,” “Kanza,” “Major,” “Lakota,” “Giles,” “Maramec,” “Chetopa”) in raw and roasted forms. The cultivars were collected from 2 growing seasons (2013 and 2014) and evaluated separately. Trained panelists evaluated each cultivar from each season in raw and roasted forms, measuring intensities of 20 flavor attributes using descriptive analysis. The intensities of 10 of the 20 flavor attributes were higher for the roasted pecans across all cultivars. These included pecan ID, overall nutty, nutty-woody, nutty-grainlike, nutty-buttery, brown, caramelized, roasted, overall sweet, and sweet. The cultivars exhibited significant differences from one another for 8 attributes: pecan ID, nutty-buttery, caramelized, acrid, woody, oily, astringent, and bitter. Each of the cultivars displayed unique flavor profiles with some demonstrating extremes of certain attributes, for example the high astringency of “Lakota” or the buttery characteristics of “Pawnee.” These results may help pecan growers and pecan product manufacturers understand flavor differences between different varieties of pecans, both in raw and roasted states, and the changes that occur during this process. Practical Application Results from this article can assist pecan growers in understanding how the roasting process changes the flavor of pecan cultivars. This study shows which cultivars have similar flavors, which have flavor defects, and which have unique flavors that can be valuable to manufacturers or consumers. Understanding the sensory profiles of the pecans will assist in the reduction of product waste, the increase of consumer application, and the economic growth of the pecan industry.
Design and Implementation of Power Quality Intelligent Monitoring System in Guangxi Power Grid

In order to enhance the power quality management of whole power grid,a power quality intelligent monitoring system which covers Guangxi power grid is needed.The system has a design of hierarchical structure,which has three levels in logic,two layers in physic.The system has functions such as data monitoring and acquisition,data transmission and process,data searching and analysis,report handle,Web application and system maintenance and so on.The system can realize goals of real time,effective and accurate monitoring of power quality data,which are helpful for people concerned to master power quality status of whole power grid and propose the control measures.The system provides technique support for further improvement of power quality in Guangxi power grid.
Leadership and the Use of Power: Shaping an Ethical Climate

Leaders have several tools at their disposal to reinforce an ethical work climate. Five sources of power available to leaders are explored. These sources of power fall into the two broad categories of positional power and personal power. It is hypothesized that personal power may be more effective than positional power in promoting ethical conduct. Specific suggestions for the most effective use of power are provided to leaders.
Investigation of human-robot interface performance in household environments

Today, assistive robots are being introduced into human environments at an increasing rate. Human environments are highly cluttered and dynamic, making it difficult to foresee all necessary capabilities and pre-program all desirable future skills of the robot. One approach to increase robot performance is semi-autonomous operation, allowing users to intervene and guide the robot through difficult tasks. To this end, robots need intuitive Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) that support fine motion control without overwhelming the operator. In this study we evaluate the performance of several interfaces that balance autonomy and teleoperation of a mobile manipulator for accomplishing several household tasks. Our proposed HMI framework includes teleoperation devices such as a tablet, as well as physical interfaces in the form of piezoresistive pressure sensor arrays. Mobile manipulation experiments were performed with a sensorized KUKA youBot, an omnidirectional platform with a 5 degrees of freedom (DOF) arm. The pick and place tasks involved navigation and manipulation of objects in household environments. Performance metrics included time for task completion and position accuracy.
Understanding Grit in the Context of Higher Education

Success in college is traditionally predicted by standardized assessments of cognitive academic ability. However, only 10 % of college students who do not finish bachelor’s degrees leave higher education prematurely due to poor academic performance. A growing body of evidence suggests that additional factors related to students meta-cognitive skills and attributes matter to college students’ likelihood of success. The author examines one meta-cognitive factor—grit—in the context of higher education. The author reviews literature related to grit and related constructs and theories, and conceptualizes the ideal type of grit to comprise three components: (a) intrinsic interest and passion, (b) preference for long-term goals, and (c) view of obstacles as manageable. Issues related to assessing grit are discussed along with interventions and contextual factors that promote or inhibit students’ development of grit. The author highlights two theoretical perspectives—human capital and critical race theory— that have largely fueled the debate about grit in education, and concludes by outlining future directions for studying grit with qualitative and mixed methods and discussing the implications of grit in higher education including university admissions, course placement, and academic advising.
Boundary Conditions in Conformal Field Theory

Abstract We consider conformal field theories on manifolds with a boundary, and the constraints placed by modular invariance on their partition functions. In particular, the partition functions on an annulus with particular boundary conditions are given by the fusion rules. This leads to a simple derivation of the Verlinde formula. We note the remarkable fact that, for some integrable models, these partition functions have the same form away from criticality, with the modular parameter q of the annulus replaced by a temperature-like variable, and give a partial explanation of this in the case of the Ising model.
A design for reliability methodology based on selective overdesign

Negative Bias Temperature Instability and Channel Hot Career degrades the life time of both the analog and digital circuits significantly and should be a major concern in nanoscale regime. These problems are usually addressed by leaving large design margins (called overdesign) or employing complicated calibration algorithm both of which result in larger area as well as excessive power consumption. We present a methodology to grade critical sections of a circuit and selectively overdesign them to harden the circuit characteristics against of these degradation. We have demonstrated our approach for various example circuits. For these examples, compared to conservative overdesign techniques, our approach achieves up to 20% and 33% improvement for area and power, respectively.
Reconsidering ethnic media research: An argument for a diasporic identity framework

ABSTRACTSince Robert Park’s foundational work on the ethnic press, the assimilation-pluralism paradigm has dominated research. This article proposes a new framework that combines ethnic media and diasporic media literatures to advance future scholarship. Ethnic media research can provide direction in better conceptualizing media of ethnic groups/diasporas and can reinforce the importance of racial context, and diasporic media research can address the limitations of the assimilation-pluralism framework and its inability to incorporate globalization, transnationalism, and hybridity. This article submits that ethnic media be conceptualized as specific to media produced by a diasporic or indigenous ethnic population within the host society and that future textual research on ethnic media engage a diasporic identity framework. The framework would (a) call attention to transnationalism; (b) call attention to local/transnational, ethnic/race, and inter-generational tensions; (c) focus on race as a salient and im...
Technological Change and Climate Change Policy

Because of the extent of the transformation required, the effectiveness of climate policy in improving social welfare is inherently tied to its ability to stimulate technological change in climate-related technology. Foremost, pollution pricing plays a central role in shifting decisions, especially those involving energy use, toward activities less damaging to the climate. Pricing greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions would also increase the payoffs to investments in the development and deployment of low-carbon technology. The literature on technological change has shown that, because of its peculiar characteristics, additional policy instruments are required to provide sufficient incentives for innovation. Most importantly, investments in technological change typically generate substantial knowledge spillovers, leading to incentives to free ride and to aggregate underinvestment in innovation. This article reviews the characteristics of the process of innovation as well as the market failures associated with climate-related innovation. It discusses the possible policy instruments that could be implemented to improve incentives. It also points to additional issues of concern, for example the need for policy-created incentives to be credible over long time periods due to the long lifetimes of both capital stock in the energy industry and GhGs in the atmosphere.
Supporting cells remove and replace sensory receptor hair cells in a balance organ of adult mice

Vestibular hair cells in the inner ear encode head movements and mediate the sense of balance. These cells undergo cell death and replacement (turnover) throughout life in non-mammalian vertebrates. However, there is no definitive evidence that this process occurs in mammals. We used fate-mapping and other methods to demonstrate that utricular type II vestibular hair cells undergo turnover in adult mice under normal conditions. We found that supporting cells phagocytose both type I and II hair cells. Plp1-CreERT2-expressing supporting cells replace type II hair cells. Type I hair cells are not restored by Plp1-CreERT2-expressing supporting cells or by Atoh1-CreERTM-expressing type II hair cells. Destruction of hair cells causes supporting cells to generate 6 times as many type II hair cells compared to normal conditions. These findings expand our understanding of sensorineural plasticity in adult vestibular organs and further elucidate the roles that supporting cells serve during homeostasis and after injury.
Sleep-Induced Apraxia of Eyelid Opening.

Background:Apraxia of eyelid opening (AEO) primarily has been described as bilateral loss of volitional ability to open the eyes at certain times and often associated with neurodegenerative disease. Rarely, it can occur in isolation and as an idiopathic phenomenon. There are a few reports of unilate
Can End-Users Develop their Own Data-Base Oriented Decision Support Systems?

End-user systems development is one of the key factors for increasing productivity in the end-user and in the MIS department environments. Model oriented Decision Support Systems (DSS) have been developed by end-users quite successfully. Surprisingly, data-base oriented DSS (that would take advantage of massive transactional data-bases created by MIS in the last decades) were not. The objective of this work is to test the ability of end-users to develop data-base oriented DSS in an experimental setting. The overall conclusion is that, given adequate data-base oriented DSS tools and training, users are quite capable of developing their own systems with a reasonably high level of effectiveness and efficiency.
I Gotta Say, Today Was a Good (and Meaningful) Day: Daily Meaning in Life as a Potential Basic Psychological Need

Prior research has found that global meaning in life promotes several forms of well-being such as better coping and lower stress, and suggests that meaning in life is a common experience that is shaped by daily experiences. We build on this research by testing the possibility that meaning is a basic psychological need. In Study 1, participants (N = 195) completed a 21-day diary that included daily assessments of depressive symptomology, affect, and self-esteem. In Study 2, participants (N = 142) completed a 14-day diary, adding stress and vitality as additional indicators of well-being. Across both studies, we found that meaning in life is a consistent predictor of psychological well-being. Further, in Study 2, we tested the unique role of meaning in life against other basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness), finding that meaning in life continues to predict well-being even in the presence of other psychological needs.
Review of Community-Engaged Research in Pediatric Diabetes

Community-engaged research (CER), which is characterized by collaborations between researchers and community partners, is a promising approach to bridge the gaps in translating research evidence into care settings and to address health disparities. This review describes CER in investigations focused on pediatric diabetes. Studies were focused on African American, Hispanic, and Native American youth. Most studies aimed to develop and evaluate preventive interventions for type 2 diabetes. Across studies, the community partners and organizations that collaborated with researchers were diverse (e.g., youth, schools). In most studies, community partners participated in developing behavioral, psychosocial, or public health interventions, and/or participant recruitment. Fewer studies reported intensive involvement in other aspects of the research (e.g., grant writing, publication). The findings suggested that CER is a feasible approach for engaging community partners in the development of interventions and participant recruitment in studies focused on diabetes among minority youth.
Human Papillomaviruses and Cancer

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) have evolved an intricate network of interactions with their keratinocyte host cells in order to infect, remain latent, and productively replicate in an orderly fashion. Distinct phases of the HPV life cycle take place in geographically distinct areas within the epidermis and are in turn influenced by the cellular differentiation status. Carcinogenesis resulting from HPV infection is relatively rare, and usually incompatible with the natural viral life cycle. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on HPV genome status and functions of viral replication proteins and viral oncogenes. We describe in detail the reprogramming of specific host cell factors, which can affect the replicative or transforming potential of HPV. Molecular events that drive stepwise malignant transformation are included, with a particular emphasis on the role of DNA damage and genome instability that were more recently identified. Persistent HPV infection is known to be almost universally associated with cervical malignancies, but has now been clearly implicated in the etiology of a subset of head and neck cancers (HNCs). Emerging commonalities and possible differences between HPV-associated cervical versus HNCs are outlined toward the end of this review.
Folate metabolites as modulators of antitumor drug activity

[R,S]-5-formyltetrahydrofolate (5-CHOFH4) has shown significant potentiation of fluorouracil (FU) activity in colorectal, breast, and head and neck cancer.1–7 The biochemical basis for this enhanced activity is metabolic conversion of 5-CHOFH4 to 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (CH2FH4) which in turn stabilizes the inhibitory complex formed between the active metabolite of fluorouracil, 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine-5’-monophosphate (FdUMP), and thymidylate synthase. This inhibition results in depletion of thymidylate required for DNA synthesis and repair.8–11
Frequency doubling of continuous-wave laser

Abstract This paper describes a new intracavity frequency doubling technique suitable for generating high-power continuous-wave (CW) ultraviolet (UV) radiation. By combining elliptical focusing with a beta barium borate crystal, multi-watt CW deep UV can be obtained in intracavity doubling of an argon ion laser. An elliptical focusing scheme reduces the focus intensity in the crystal by one hundredth without reducing the conversion efficiency. Low intensity is effective in minimizing the risk of damage to the crystal. The feasibility of creating such a high power CW UV source is studied by using modeling and experiment.
Immunotherapy Combinations in Multiple Myeloma — Known Unknowns

Immunotherapy Combinations in Multiple Myeloma The FDA required labeling changes for the programmed cell death 1 inhibitor pembrolizumab and thalidomide-analogue immunomodulatory agents to include ...
Occupational Therapy Telehealth Applications for the Dementia-Caregiver Dyad: A Scoping Review

Aims: The aim of this review was to examine how occupational therapy practitioners use telehealth to provide services to clients with dementia and their caregivers. Methods: This study utilized Ark...
A perilous path: the inborn errors of sphingolipid metabolism

The sphingolipid (SL) metabolic pathway generates structurally diverse lipids that have roles as membrane constituents and as bioactive signaling molecules. The influence of the SL metabolic pathway in biology is pervasive; it exists in all mammalian cells and has roles in many cellular and physiological pathways. Human genetic diseases have long been recognized to be caused by mutations in the pathway, but until recently these mutational defects were only known to affect lysosomal SL degradation. Now, with a nearly complete delineation of the genes constituting the SL metabolic pathway, a growing number of additional genetic disorders caused by mutations in genes within other sectors of the pathway (de novo ceramide synthesis, glycosphingolipid synthesis, and nonlysosomal SL degradation) have been recognized. Although these inborn disorders of SL metabolism are clinically heterogeneous, some common pathogenic mechanisms, derived from the unique properties and functions of the SLs, underlie several of the diseases. These mechanisms include overaccumulation of toxic or bioactive lipids and the disruption of specific critical cellular and physiological processes. Many of these diseases also have commonalities in physiological systems affected, such as the nervous system and skin. While inborn disorders of SL metabolism are rare, gene variants in the pathway have been linked to increased susceptibility to Parkinson's disease and childhood asthma, implying that the SL metabolic pathway may have a role in these disorders. A more complete understanding of the inborn errors of SL metabolism promises new insights into the convergence of their pathogenesis with those of common human diseases.
Accuracy of Left Ventricular Cavity Volume and Ejection Fraction for Conventional Estimation Methods and 3D Surface Fitting

Background While left ventricular cavity volume ( LVV ) and ejection fraction ( LVEF ) are used routinely for clinical decision-making, the errors in LVV and LVEF estimates in the clinic have yet to be rigorously quantified and are perhaps underappreciated. Methods and Results The goal of this study was to quantify the accuracy and precision of several common geometric-model-based methods for estimating LVV and LVEF using a highly sampled, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging data set and an independent ground truth. The effect on LVV and LVEF accuracy of slice number and orientation was also studied. When using the common geometric assumptions and limited short- and/or long-axis views, the expected LVEF measurement uncertainty can be as high as 49%. The composite midpoint rule applied to a stack of short-axis slices can achieve LVEF error <3% and LVV error of ≈10%, but in the clinic an additional ≈8% uncertainty is expected. An analogous approach applied to a series of radially prescribed long-axis slices can achieve higher LVEF accuracy, up to 3.9% with 12 slices, and more reliable LVV measurements than methods based solely on short-axis images. Using a mathematical 3-dimensional surface model that incorporates anatomic information from multiple views achieves superior accuracy, with LVEF error <4% and LVV error <2.5% when using 6 slices in each short- and long-axis view. Conclusions Combining anatomical information from multiple views into a conformal 3-dimensional surface model greatly reduces errors in LVV and LVEF estimates, with potential clinical benefit via improved early detection of cardiac disease.
Mapping Dynamic Exposure: Constructing GIS Models of Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity in Artificial Stream Systems

In flowing environments, the degree of turbulent flow determines the movement and distribution of chemicals. Variation in flow alters the patchiness of toxicant plumes within a stream ecosystem. This patchiness translates into variability in exposure pulses for organisms encountering the toxic plume. Throughout a stream, the processes that give rise to chemical plume structure will vary as a function of local flow characteristics. This research examines the influence of toxicant mode of entry and stream flow velocity on the spatiotemporal patterning of exposure. Two introduction treatments were evaluated: one mimicking groundwater and the other mimicking runoff. The influence of flow regime was examined through the comparison of models constructed under two stream flow velocities. Concentrations of a tracer molecule were recorded using an electrochemical monitoring system. From these localized, direct measurements, geographic information systems (GIS) were used to model exposure throughout the stream. Conceptualizing exposure as a series of toxicant pulses, exposure can be defined using a variety of chemical peak characteristics. Three-dimensional, layered maps were constructed defining exposure as the integrated area of toxicant peaks, the magnitude of peaks, and peak frequency. Differences in the spatial and temporal patterning of exposure were apparent both within treatments and between treatments. No two definitions of exposure yielded the same exposure distributions for any treatment. These models demonstrate that distribution of chemical exposure throughout a stream ecosystem is linked to both toxicant mode of introduction and stream hydrodynamics. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that optimal exposure modeling relies on first defining exposure.
Public memory and popular culture: biopics, #MeToo, and David Foster Wallace

Public memory scholars contend that depictions of a figure can never be definitive, but the “biopic” genre of film complicates this. Biopics may be an audience’s only exposure to a figure, lending ...
Exploiting stilbene’s scintillation anisotropy for neutron source localization

Abstract A technique for neutron source localization that exploits the scintillation anisotropy of stilbene is presented. The light output anisotropy of stilbene and constraints on the direction of recorded scatter events imposed by a threshold were used to estimate the direction of a 252Cf neutron source relative to the crystal axes of a stilbene crystal. The neutron source location was determined via triangulation using source directions estimated from multiple detectors. Two measurements that illustrate the efficacy of the technique are presented. The first measurement was designed with a favorable geometry for triangulation, which resulted in low uncertainties in the estimate of the neutron source location. The second measurement was designed with both favorable and unfavorable geometries for triangulation, which exhibited low and high uncertainties in the estimates of neutron source location, respectively. Pair-wise combinations of three detectors were used to estimate the source location for both measurements. The neutron source was localized with errors of 5.0, 8.9, and 3.9 cm for the first measurement with source detector-distance of 89, 90, and 88 cm for the three detectors. The neutron source was localized with errors of 2.8, 14.2, 6.2 cm for the second measurement with source detector-distances of 233, 123, and 130 cm.
Enhancements in the tribological performance of environmentally friendly water-based drilling fluids using additives

Abstract Since their introduction in the 1960s, oil-based drilling fluids or muds (OBM) have been applied as drilling fluids in oil & gas exploration activities. However, they cause potential issues, such as contaminating immediate areas of freshwater aquifers around the well site, and causing permanent damage to the environment during the disposal of cuttings. In an effort to seek promising environmentally-friendly alternative drilling fluids with competitive or even better drilling performance than OBM, this paper investigates the tribological performance of potassium chloride polymer water-based muds (WBM) and artificial sea water (KCl brine), and comparing them with a reference OBM. To improve the OBM tribological attributes, select additives are adopted and added individually into the above-mentioned muds. Test results show that the tribological performance of both WBM and KCl brine could be drastically improved to levels equal or better than the widely-used OBM with the addition of a low percentage of certain friction-modifying additives. Chemical characterization showed the formation of an effective FeCl2/Fe3O4 tribofilm, which is the main reason for the significant enhancement.
SKP2 My Lou, My Darling

Myxofibrosarcoma and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) lack specific molecular underpinnings, show high rates of metastasis, and display limited responsiveness to current therapies, making them challenging cancers both to treat and to study. It has been noted that MFS and UPS frequently lose function of the tumor suppressor genes RB1 and TP53 In this issue of Cancer Research, Li and colleagues demonstrate that proliferation in RB1- and TP53-deficient MFS and UPS depends on SKP2; inhibiting SKP2 with the neddylation inhibitor, pevonedistat, halts tumor growth in a panel of patient-derived xenografts. This renders the oncogenic protein SKP2 a promising therapeutic target.See related article by Li et al., p. 2461.
Mind the gap: how a large-scale course re-design in economics reduced performance gaps

Large lecture classes in higher education continue to be a context in which large performance differences between underrepresented minorities and their White and Asian peers are observed. In the cu...
Pharmaceuticals, Hospitals, Nursing Homes, Drug Store Chains, and Pharmacy Benefit Manager/Insurer Integration

This chapter examines the continuing corporatization in the American healthcare system. First, the upsurge in consolidation is revealed through the merger and acquisition activity of each segment of the industry: pharmaceutical firms, insurers, hospitals and health systems, and the more recent intensely pharmacy benefit managers. Ongoing federal subsidizations are examined to show the attractiveness for investment in health care for mighty lucrative returns. This incentive structure remains even while Republican efforts to restrain spending are chiefly targeting the indigent, seniors, and seriously ill rather than the connected, powerfully entrenched vested interests in health care. Employer reactions to persistent cost escalation are also examined with implications to workers’ benefits and further rationalization of medicine and health care. Lastly, the huge recent incursions by information technology firms suggest that the American healthcare system may be on the verge of a further corporate takeover, instead of resolving issues of access, quality, cost, and accountability through a progressive public health approach.
Freeze–Thaw Resistance of Nonproprietary Ultrahigh-Performance Concrete

Abstract In cold regions, early deterioration of concretes due to freezing and thawing is a major concern. This study determined the freezing and thawing resistance of ultrahigh-performance concret...
Impact of Shipping on Nigerian Economy: Implications for Sustainable Development

It is imperative to explore avenues that exert impact on the citizenry of Nigeria Vis-a-vis an improvementmaterial per capita income, hence, improved material income and standard of living. Shipping as a capitaland/or Inland water trade has tremendous impact on the nation’s economy of which the study is aimed atexploring through cargo reservation, transportation and haulage of wet and dry cargo within and outsidethe Nigerian waterways. The study will invariably invoke, recreate and set in motion the impact andeconomic opportunities of the Nigerian shipping sector for possible investment by public or private sector,or a combination. The investment climate in Nigerian Shipping Industry is guided by the current Nationaleconomic development policy which is aimed at promoting strong private sector driven industry withgovernment as the enabler. Nigeria looses a lot of revenue due largely to lack of cargo carrying capacity ofNigerian fleet. Example, the liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), iron ore, and otherbulk cargo is mostly carried by foreign ships. Nigeria cannot afford to toy with the maritime sector due tothe linkages between shipping activities and economic development as it is a primary logistic provider.There are opportunities for investment in dry bulk, tankers, liner/container, coastal cruise services, andoffshore services if properly harnessed. With Nigeria as a flag state, proper funding and good managementwill attract foreign ships for registration. Nigerian oil and gas is useless and valueless without shipping. Oiland gas are like Siamese twins. Shipping facilitates movement of oil and gas from point of production topoint of need locally and internationally.
Reverse-dialysis can be misleading for drug release studies in emulsions as demonstrated by NMR dilution experiments.

Abstract Emulsions are an important class of carriers for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. While knowledge of drug release kinetics is critical to optimizing drug carrying emulsions, there remain many open questions about the validity of standard characterization methods such as the commonly used reverse-dialysis. In this paper, the kinetic parameters of isoflurane release in perfluorotributylamine emulsions determined from both reverse-dialysis and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) dilution experiments are compared. The NMR-determined kinetic parameters of isoflurane release were found to be approximately seven orders of magnitude larger than those determined from conventional reverse-dialysis and were also shown to be consistent with prior in vivo observations of the anesthetization of rats.
Large Plastic Deformation of Pressurized Cylinders

Solutions are obtained for the large plastic deformations of cylindrical membrane shells under internal pressure. Comparisons are made of the results given by incremental and deformation theories for a material obeying the Mises yield condition and which strain hardens according to the power law σ = K ɛ n. These comparisons show close agreement between the results of the two theories even for eases in which large variations in the stress biaxiality ratio occur during deformation. The accuracy of the approximate deformation theory solution proposed by Weil is shown to be satisfactory for the range of cases considered. The results of tests of three mild steel cylinders with radius-thickness ratios of approximately 40 and length-diameter ratios of 0.547, 1.02, and 2.01 are given. Comparisons of the results of these tests with both exact and approximate theories are made and the agreement found to be satisfactory in all cases.
Agricultural Use of Phosphorus in Sewage Sludge

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the impact of sludges on agricultural land. Three types of sludges are considered—namely, organic sludge, chemical sludge, and combined sludge. If crops are removed from the land, the supply of phosphorus in the soil becomes the limiting factor in crop production. Large quantities of phosphorus compounds are used as fertilizers and an extensive phosphate deposit in a country represents a great natural resource. Sewage sludge is the by-product of wastewater treatment processes. Handling and disposal of sludge are the most costly phases of sewage treatment. The traditional means of sludge handling and disposal are ocean disposal through barging or pipeline transport, dewatering and drying with disposal in a landfill, incineration, and lagooning. Sludge has been spread on agricultural land for disposal, fertilizing, and soil conditioning purposes for decades. Phosphorus, in the form of phosphate, is one of the major uncontrolled pollutants in wastewater. High phosphorus removal is achieved from wastewater chemically or biologically. Addition of phosphate-precipitating chemicals, such as lime, aluminum sulfate, sodium aluminate, or ferric chloride, during sewage treatment minimizes effluent phosphate concentrations. Chemical sludges and combined sludges vary in phosphorus concentrations, depending upon the characteristics of the wastewater, the type of chemical, the quantity of the chemical, and the place of addition of the chemical during the wastewater treatment process.
Prognosis in Newborn Infants with X-Chromosomal Abnormalities.

Sex-chromosomal aberrations occur with a relatively high frequency and have been associated with mental retardation, perceptual problems, psychopathology, and growth abnormalities. Identification of this possibly high risk group at birth enables the study of their growth and development to determine if and when they deviate from normal. Routine screening of the chromatin constitution of 21,214 consecutive newborn infants has identified 32 babies with gross X chromosome abnormalities. Three died in the newborn period. During the past 5 years, 27 children have been followed from birth. The evaluation process consists of semiannual and annual physical and developmental examinations, psychological testing, growth measurements, pedigree analysis, dermatoglyphic analysis, home environment evaluation, and, in mosaics, repeated chromosome analysis. The patients with 45,X karyotypes have classical physical signs. The other patients have normal phenotypes, although several have minor physical manifestations such as clinodactyly and epicanthic folds. Overall development in all except two patients has been within normal limits. In mosaics, there is a tendency for the abnormal cell line to disappear.
SM22alpha promoter targets gene expression to vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro and in vivo.

Gene transfer into vascular smooth muscle cells (vsmcs) holds promise for studying the pathogenesis of arterial disorders. However, a potential limitation of vectors with heterologous promoters is organ toxicity resulting from unrestricted transgene expression. Vascular smooth muscle cell-specific gene expression could increase the safety of vectors for vascular diseases. To develop vectors that target gene expression to vsmcs, we constructed vectors encoding human placental alkaline phosphatase (hpAP) and chloramphenicol transferase (CAT) driven by a 441-bp region of the murine SM22α promoter (AdSM22α-hpAP). Transfection of AdSM22α-hpAP into vascular and nonvascular cells resulted in the expression of alkaline phosphatase (AP) in primary arterial and venous smcs, but not in primary endothelial cells or National Institutes of Health (NIH) 3T3 cells. Expression of AP was observed on 32.5 6 1.4% of primary pig vsmcs-infected AdSM22α-hpAP at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 500; whereas, infection with AdCMV-hpAP resulted in 100 6 0.0% expression at a MOI of 250. In vitro, expression from the heterologous cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter was approximately 103-fold higher in vsmcs, compared with the SM22α promoter. Following introduction of AdSM22α-hpAP vectors into balloon-injured pig arteries, AP recombinant protein was detected in neointimal (2.23 6 1.14%) and medial (0.56 6 0.21%) smcs, but not in endothelial or adventitial cells. In contrast, AdCMV-hpAP vectors led to AP expression in intimal endothelial and smcs cells (39.14 6 10.09%) and medial smcs (2.846 1.05%). AP expression was not observed in endothelial or vsmcs following transfection with the control vector, adenoviral vector lacking E1 (AdDE1). The SM22α promoter programs recombinant gene expression exclusively to vascular smcs in vitro and in vivo. Although expression levels are lower than with heterologous promoters, these vectors may provide a safe and effective tool for gene therapy of vascular diseases.
The Symbolic Approach to Repeated Games (Abstract)

We consider zero-sum repeated games with omega-regular goals. Such hgames are played on a finite state space over an infinite number of rounds: at every round, the players select moves, either in turns or simultaneously; the current state and the selected moves determine the successor state. A play of the game thus consists in an infinite path over the state space or, if randomization is present, in a probability distribution over paths. Omega-regular goals generalize the class of regular goals (those expressible by finite automata) to infinite sequences, and include many well-known goals, such as the reachability and safety goals, as well as the Buchi and parity goals. The algorithms for solving repeated games with omega-regular goals can be broadly divided into enumerative and symbolic/ algorithms. Enumerative algorithms consider each state individually; currently, they achieve the best worst-case complexity among the known algorithms. Symbolic algorithms compute in terms of sets of states, or functions from states to real numbers, rather than single states; such sets or functions can often be represented symbolically (hence the name of the algorithms). Even though symbolic algorithms often cannot match the worst-case complexity of the enumerative algorithms, they are often efficient in practice. We illustrate how symbolic algorithms provide uniform solutions of many classes of repeated games, from turn-based, non-randomized games where at each state one of the players can deterministically win, to concurrent and randomized games where the ability to win must be characterized in probabilistic fashion. We also show that the symbolic algorithms, and the notation used to express them, are closely related to game metrics which provide a notion of distance between game states. Roughly, the distance between two states measures how closely a player can match, from one state, the ability of winning from the other state with respect to any omega-regular goal.
A Theory of Creep Failure in Overconsolidated Clay

A theory of creep failure is set forth that explains the interaction between the phenomena of creep, strain softening, and time dependent failures in overconsolidated clay. The theory is based on the hypothesis that time dependent, irreversible strains (creep) have some detrimental effect on the soil’s internal bonds as do the plastic strains ccurring during the strain softening stage of a triaxial test. The theory is considered with reference to laboratory tests and observed field behavior reported in the literature. An example is presented to demonstrate application of the theory in predicting the lifetime of a slope in overconsolidated clay.
Delayed and prolonged vascular leakage in inflammation. 3. Immediate and delayed vascular reactions in skeletal muscle.

Abstract Thermal injury was induced in the cremaster muscle of rats by application of a heated (54°C) copper disc to the scrotal skin for 40 seconds. Carbon was injected intravenously at various intervals after injury and the cremaster was examined with the light and electron microscope. By light microscopy, carbon deposition was localized in medium-sized venules in the immediate phase of vascular leakage. During the delayed phase, 2–4 hours after injury, most of the blackened vessels were small venules and capillaries. By electron microscopy, leakage of carbon occurred through discrete gaps in the endothelium in the majority of leaking vessels at all intervals after injury. In addition, signs of endothelial damage and occasional necrosis were present in the delayed phase, especially in the smaller vessels. The significance of these findings was discussed in relation to the mechanisms involved in the immediate and delayed phases of increased vascular permeability.
The Wrong Deficit: Jobs, Good Deficits, and the Misguided Squabble over the Debt Ceiling

Sometimes we have to step back and clearly state, in the plainest language, the problems we now face and the many myths about the economy. This economist does just that. But he also has come up with an important phrase. What America now needs is a "smart deficit." Maybe the language will catch on.
On community-oriented internet measurement

In this paper we describe a new measurement framework that researchers can use to abstract away some of the mundane logistic details that tend to dog every measurement project. The measurement community has outlined the need for better ways to gather assessments from a multitude of vantage points and our system is designed to be an open community-oriented response to this desire. While many previous efforts have approached this problem with heavyweight systems that ultimately fizzle due to logistical issues (e.g., hosts breaking and no money to replace them) we take the opposite approach and attempt to use the lightest possible weight framework that allows researchers to get their work done. In particular, we take the approach of designing a system without any sort of central "core" component and therefore the system has no single point of failure. In addition, our proposed system is community-oriented in that there is no central control and we build just enough mechanism for the community to get their work done and police the infrastructure. In addition, our proposed system works in an open fashion such that results from the community's infrastructure are immediately provided to the community through publicly available "live feeds".
Depression and frailty in later life: a synthetic review.

Background Many of the symptoms, consequences, and risk factors for frailty are shared with late-life depression. However, thus far, few studies have addressed the conceptual and empirical interrelationships between these conditions. This review synthesizes existing studies that examined depression and frailty among older adults and provides suggestions for future research.