cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The cellulose-utilizing capability of the fungus cultured by the attine ant Atta colombica tonsipes.

Evidence is presented which establishes that the fungus cultured by the fungus-growing ant Atta colombica tonsipes Santschi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) can utilize cellulose as a carbon source in synthetic culture media. Additional evidence is presented which indicates that cellulose in the natural substrate is utilized by the fungus in the fungus gardens of the ant nest. The ecological significance of this metabolic capability is discussed.
Nanoporous Structure of Semirigid Alternating Copolymers via Nitrogen Sorption and Molecular Simulation

Surface area and porosity of a series of semirigid alternating copolymers consisting of tert-butyl carboxylate-functionalized stilbene or tert-butyl carboxylate-functionalized styrene and maleic anhydride or tert-butyl carboxylate-functionalized N-phenylmaleimide were investigated using nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms at 77 K and atomistic molecular simulations. Surface areas from experiments using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) theory and geometric surface areas of molecular simulations show good correlation. It is shown here that the stilbene copolymers have higher surface areas than their styrene analogues. It is also found that BET surface areas increase as the persistence length (chain stiffness) increases for these alternating copolymers.
The Origins and Early Development of Possessive Behavior

Possessive attitudes and behaviors are an important constituent in political life. This paper discusses the nature of possession-related behavior, with an emphasis on its developmental origins in early childhood. Possession is analyzed in relation to two basic components: (1) effectance or competence motivation, and (2) a sense of self associated with personal possessions. The empirical work upon which this discussion is based consists of (1) an interview study with 270 American, Israeli kibbutz, and Israeli city children and adults, and (2) observational studies of early peer interaction. It is argued that the origins of possession are found in universal motivational characteristics of young children (effectance motivation in conjunction with suddenly increasing mobility in the second year of life), in interaction with equally universal structural characteristics of their surrounding environments (older children and adults' efforts to protect certain objects from damage and destruction). With development, however, the control of objects becomes an important aspect of dominance and power relations in early childhood, and socialization with respect to possessions is viewed as an important component of political socialization.
Optimization of MPI Runtime Parameters Based on Attribute Reduction

Currently,MPI implementations provide hundreds of tunable runtime parameters,but the default parameters can not achieve ideal application performance. To provide the near-optimal runtime parameters for applications,attribute reduction in rough set theory is adopted to build an optimization model. First,the method generates values of parameters for different benchmarks through attribute reduction,then,predictes parameter values for unknown input application according to their features based on the model built. Experimental evaluations show the method proposed in this paper can predict values of parameters effectively,and achieve approximate 20% performance enhancement.
Deposition oxygen pressure effect on the photoluminescence properties of nanocrystal Si

Silicon suboxides (SiOx,x2) thin films with thickness of 300nm on Si matrices have been fabricated by pulsed laser deposi-tion (PLD) technique using a Nd:YAG laser with different deposition oxygen pressure of 1.33, 2.66, 3.99, 5.32, 6.65, and7.98Pa. Af-ter deposition ,the films were annealed in Ar ambient at 1000℃ for 30 min, and Si nanocrystals (nc-si) growed in it. The optic spectrum analyzer was used to analyze the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the samples at room temperature. It has been observed that PL peak wavelength reduces (blueshift) with increasing oxygen pressure, which showed the size of nc-Si reduces. At the same time, PL intensity strongly depending on the deposition oxygen pressure was also observed, it reached the peak at the pres-sure of 2.66-3.99Pa.
Effect of in vivo corticosteroids on Na+ transport across airway epithelia

We have investigated the role in vivo of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid hormones in regulating the rate of electrogenic amiloride-sensitive Na+ absorption across murine airway tissue studied ...
Chemical Germplasm Investigations in Soybeans: The Flotsam Hypothesis

The genus Glycine Willd. is currently divided into two subgenera Glycine and Soja (Moench) F. J. Herm.1 The subgenus Soja includes the soybean, G. max (L.) Merr. and its closest relative, the wild soybean, G. soja Sieb. and Zucc. (Table 1.). The wild soybean is found in open fields, hedgerows, along roadsides and riverbanks in the Republic of China, adjacent areas of the USSR (Primorskiy and Khaborovsk Kray), Korea, Japan and Taiwan.2 Both G. max and G. soja are diploids (2n=40).3–10 Evidence gather from cytogenetic, morphological and seed protein studies suggest that the two species are conspecific11–16 and supports the hypothesis that G. soja is the wild ancestor of the cultivated soybean.3,4 There are few, if any, cytogenetic barriers to hybridization between the two species.
Onlay Island Flap Urethroplasty for Severe Hypospadias: A Variant of the Technique

A variant of the onlay island flap urethroplasty in severe hypospadias repair is described. The principles of the technique include mobilization of the urethral plate without dividing it, release of chordee, creation of a pedicle island flap on the dorsal penile skin with redundant vascularized tissue that is transposed to the ventral side of the penis by a buttonhole maneuver, and onlay of the flap to the mobilized urethral plate, covering all suture lines with a wide pedicle of flap. During the last 3 years this operation was performed in 92 patients 12 months to 19 years old with severe hypospadias. The complication rate was 5%.
Selective Electrochemical versus Chemical Oxidation of Bulky Phenol

The electrochemical oxidation of selected tert-butylated phenols 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol (1), 2,6-di-tert-butylphenol (2), 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenol (3), 2-tert-butylphenol (4), and 4-tert-butylphenol (5) was studied in an aprotic environment using cyclic voltammetry, square-wave voltammetry, and UV-vis spectroscopy. All compounds exhibited irreversible oxidation of the corresponding phenol or phenolate ion. Compound 2 was selectively electrochemically oxidized, while other phenol analogues underwent mostly chemical oxidation. The electrochemical oxidation of 2 produced a highly absorbing product, 3,5,3',5'-tetra-tert-butyl-4,4'-diphenoquinone, which was characterized by X-ray crystal diffraction. The electrochemical oxidation was monitored as a function of electrochemical parameters and concentration. Experimental and theoretical data indicated that the steric hindrance, phenoxyl radical stability, and hydrogen bonding influenced the outcome of the electrochemical oxidation. The absence of the substituent at the para position and the presence of the bulky substituents at ortho positions were structural and electrostatic requirements for the selective electrochemical oxidation.
From Disaster to Development: Finance Provides a Platform to Empower Technology for Resilience to Climate Change

Abstract The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction emphasizes four principles: understanding risk; strengthening governance; investing in resilience; and building back better. Parametric insurance, offered to nations, provides a financial platform to pool and transfer risk from the regional to the global marketplace. The Caribbean Ocean Assets Sustainability faciliTy (COAST) expands upon the prior success of parametric insurance by providing a new platform to more fully link policy and technology with the aim of increasing disaster resilience. COAST focuses upon the nexus among food and nutrition security, the health of the ocean, and the occurrence of severe weather in the Caribbean Sea. The benefits of COAST - linking the technologies highlighted in the Climate-Smart Agriculture Sourcebook and the goals of the Caribbean Community Common Fisheries Policy - are examined using ghost fishing and spiny lobster as an example. This study points to the potential of using finance to provide a platform to empower technology to increase resilience in the face of a changing climate.
Optimal Pricing for Voice Mail Services: A Comment

The presence of voice mail services not only increases the likelihood of a successful communication between two callers, it also creates additional calls, which can increase telecommunications company revenue. If voice mail is available to both parties, a voice mail message spawns return calls, some of which may also be diverted to voice mail. These back-and-forth calls are a multiple of the number of initial calls placed by the initiating party. Because voice mail increases the number of calls made, it may be possible that the telecommunications company increases its profits by making voice mail available to its customers.
Compact, lensless digital holographic microscope for remote microbiology

In situ investigation of microbial life in extreme environments can be carried out with microscopes capable of imaging 3-dimensional volumes and tracking particle motion. Here we present a lensless digital holographic microscope approach that provides roughly 1.5 micron resolution in a compact, robust package suitable for remote deployment. High resolution is achieved by generating high numerical-aperture input beams with radial gradient-index rod lenses. The ability to detect and track prokaryotes was explored using bacterial strains of two different sizes. In the larger strain, a variety of motions were seen, while the smaller strain was used to demonstrate a detection capability down to micron scales.
On the Distribution of Worker Productivity: The Case of Teacher Effectiveness and Student Achievement

ABSTRACTIt is common to assume that worker productivity is normally distributed, but this assumption is rarely, if ever, tested. We estimate the distribution of worker productivity, where individual productivity is measured with error, using the productivity of teachers as an example. We employ a nonparametric density estimator that explicitly accounts for measurement error using data from the Tennessee STAR experiment, and longitudinal data from North Carolina and Washington. Statistical tests show that the productivity distribution of teachers is not Gaussian, but the differences from the normal distribution tend to be small. Our findings confirm the existing empirical evidence that the differences in the effects of individual teachers on student achievement are large and the assumption that the differences in the upper and lower tails of the teacher performance distribution are far larger than in the middle of the distribution. Specifically, a 10 percentile point movement for teachers at the top (90th)...
Abstract B31: IRAK-4 signaling in melanoma contributes to reduced expression of inflammatory factors in vitro while contributing to tumor growth in vivo

An underlying and universal hindrance to T-cell-based cancer therapies is the development of immunosuppressive mechanisms that in large part originate from the persistent expression of inflammatory factors. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms that regulate chronic inflammation and targeting of this pathway(s) is critical for developing effective strategies to restore anti-tumor T-cell activity. We recently reported that the IL-1 receptor associated kinase-4 (IRAK-4) is over-expressed and activated in most melanoma cases. IRAK-4 is a central kinase in the inflammatory process that regulates the expression of various inflammatory and immunosuppressive molecules. Inhibiting IRAK-4 activity in melanoma drastically reduced the expression of various inflammatory factors in vitro. Furthermore, IRAK-4 signaling in melanoma contributed to tumor growth in vivo and was associated with an increased frequency of phenotypically exhausted (PD1+Lag3+) tumor infiltrating T-cells, myeloid derived suppressor cells, and a trend toward higher numbers of CD4+ T regs. Ongoing studies are focused on testing the hypothesis that targeting IRAK-4 signaling in tumor cells will alter the expression of inflammatory factors in the tumor environment which will reduce immunosuppression and sensitize melanoma to T-cell-mediated killing. Citation Format: Jackline Joy Martin Lasola, Degui Geng, Rojesh Shrestha, Eduardo Davila. IRAK-4 signaling in melanoma contributes to reduced expression of inflammatory factors in vitro while contributing to tumor growth in vivo. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy; 2016 Oct 20-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2017;5(3 Suppl):Abstract nr B31.
Introduction: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Therapy

Management of a patient with a failed back following unsuccessful back surgery poses a serious problem to all health practitioners who attempt to aid these unfortunate sufferers. Neurosurgeons, orthopedists, psychiatrists, family practitioners, physical therapists, nurses, and even marriage counselors all too often find themselves frustrated in their therapeutic efforts. Many of these patients fail to respond to prolonged therapy, but the situation is certainly not hopeless. The list of therapeutic possibilities is, in fact, quite long and varied. Unfortunately, in many instances the failure to achieve success must be attributed to a lack of flexibility and versatility in the therapeutic efforts expended on these patients. One’s approach to these problems must be based on a systematic awareness of the potential therapies available and careful tailoring of therapeutic efforts to the patient’s specific symptoms, physical findings, and psychologic makeup.
A Comparison of Control-Channel Schemes in OSA Networks Using a Configurable Testbed

In this paper, the control channel for secondary users in opportunistic spectrum access networks is considered. Given a licensed bandwidth for primary users, we compare the performance of three control-channel schemes: dedicated, underlay, and overlay. The key performance metric for comparison is the primary data rate, i.e., how it is affected by interference from secondary control messaging. The comparison is conducted via a configurable testbed implementation of a primary and a secondary network, each composed from two USRP radios connected through an RF channel emulator. The MATLAB#x002F;Simulink software toolbox is used to develop the baseband models for the radio transceivers. Trade-offs between the three schemes, as well as insight on the practical implementation of NC-OFDM in opportunistic spectrum access systems, are provided.
MUITO ALÉM DO VELHO DARWINISMO: RESENHA DO LIVRO LANCE DE DADOS, DE STEPHEN JAY GOULD

O livro Lance de dados , de Stephen Jay Gould, analisa a natureza da realidade, bem como as ideias de evolucao, progresso e superioridade. Suas analises dirigem-se aos casos da ciencia e do esporte. Desse modo, constitui-se num texto interessante para refletir sobre a questao da verdade dentro do campo da educacao fisica.
Membrane lipids and cell signaling

Purpose of reviewReception and transmission of signals across the plasma membrane has been a function generally attributed to transmembrane proteins. In the last 3 years, however, a growing number of reports have further acknowledged important contributions played by membrane lipids in the process o
Hyperpolarized 129 Xenon MRI of the Lung

Pulmonary imaging is the least evolved branch of proton MRI, primarily due to the low volume fraction of tissue in the lung; only ~20% of the volume contains tissue or blood while the remainder is filled with air. By comparison, most of the volume in other organs is hydrogen. Another source of the inherently weak MR signal in the lungs is the extremely large area of the tissue-gas interface. The 3 ppm difference in magnetic susceptibility between tissue and air causes an alteration of the local magnetic field resulting in very short signal coherence times. Despite having limited SNR, several promising techniques have been developed (Edelman et al. 1996; Mai et al. 2001; Hatabu et al. 2001; Jakob et al. 2004; Detre et al. 1994; Hopkins and Prisk 2010; Deimling et al. 2008; Bauman et al. 2009). These techniques work better at low magnetic fields (such as 1.5 T) because of the air/tissue susceptibility issue. This may be problematic for the future as the overall drive for clinical imaging is in the direction of higher field strengths. In preclinical small animal imaging, Kuethe et al. (2007) used 1.89 T field strength system to produce lung images approaching the quality of CT.
Sparse linear regression for optimizing design parameters of double T-shaped monopole antennas

In this paper we propose using sparse linear regression for antenna design optimization. The new method provides an automatic, efficient, and reliable framework to identify optimal design parameters for a reference dual band double T-shaped monopole antenna in order to achieve the best performance in terms of the fractional bandwidth of its two bands.
The Disney Way: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

(2000). The Disney Way: Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company. Quality Management Journal: Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 80-81.
Risk of second primary malignancy in patients with sinonasal tumors: a population‐based cohort study

BACKGROUND The 5-year overall survival rate for patients with sinonasal cancers has remained around 50% for the last 3 decades. Prior studies on head and neck cancers have suggested that 1 reason for poor survival is the frequent development of second primary malignancies (SPMs). The purpose of this study is to assess overall and site-specific risks of SPM following treatment of sinonasal malignancy. METHODS A retrospective, population-based cohort study was performed on 2614 patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database who were diagnosed with primary sinonasal malignancy between 1973 and 2014. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) and absolute excess risks (AERs) were calculated to assess risk of SPM relative to incidence in the general population. RESULTS A total of 422 (16.1%) patients with primary sinonasal malignancies developed a total of 480 SPMs. This cohort had a significantly higher frequency of SPMs than expected in the general population (SIR 1.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20 to 1.44; AER 53.41). Site-specific analyses of SIRs suggested highest risk of malignancy in the sinonasal tract (SIR 75.64; 95% CI, 53.53 to 103.83; AER 17.22), followed by bone, eye and orbit, oral cavity and pharynx, and lung and mediastinum. CONCLUSION Patients with history of sinonasal cancer are at significantly increased risk of developing an SPM. Careful monitoring for development of additional tumors may be warranted.
A Coupled Marine Ice-Stream - Ice-Shelf Model

Evidence as to the potential roles of marine ice flows in the dramatic climatological changes which have occurred from the late Pleistocene to the present is reviewed, indicating the need for careful modeling studies to evaluate several crucial hypotheses. A scale analysis of the flow of a marine ice stream coupled to a freely floating ice shelf is presented, in two dimensions and ignoring thermodynamic effects. With these limitations, the most important control of the dynamics of the ice stream is associated with first-order buoyancy effects related to the density contrast ∆ρ/ρ w between ice and sea-water. It is shown that longitudinal stretching, arising from large gradients in basal sliding velocity, dominates shearing deformation provided the aspect ratio ω2 « ∆ρ/ρ w. The buoyancy control is established through the necessity of having continuously varying longitudinal strain-rates in the neighborhood of the grounding line. The scale analysis is the basis for derivation of a simplified model of a fast-flowing ice stream coupled to a freely floating ice shelf. The distance in the ice stream up-stream from the grounding line over which the above dynamic regime extends is estimated and found to be relatively insensitive to the basal sliding velocity and to the rheological constant of ice. A further potentially important feed-back mechanism between ice stream and ice shelf is associated with buoyancy corrections to the longitudinal deviatoric stress field.
Can multilingual machine translation help make medical record content more comprehensible to patients

With the development of electronic personal health records, more patients are gaining access to their own medical records. However, comprehension of medical record content remains difficult for many patients. Because each record is unique, it is also prohibitively costly to employ human translators to solve this problem. In this study, we investigated whether multilingual machine translation could help make medical record content more comprehensible to patients who lack proficiency in the language of the records. We used a popular general-purpose machine translation tool called Babel Fish to translate 213 medical record sentences from English into Spanish, Chinese, Russian and Korean. We evaluated the comprehensibility and accuracy of the translation. The text characteristics of the incorrectly translated sentences were also analyzed. In each language, the majority of the translations were incomprehensible (76% to 92%) and/or incorrect (77% to 89%). The main causes of the translation are vocabulary difficulty and syntactical complexity. A general-purpose machine translation tool like the Babel Fish is not adequate for the translation of medical records; however, a machine translation tool can potentially be improved significantly, if it is trained to target certain narrow domains in medicine.
Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis in the Neurosurgical Patient

The optimal approach for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis in the neurosurgery patient is a challenge of balancing the reduction in incidence of DVT and pulmonary embolus (PE) without risking an increase in catastrophic hemorrhages. In this article, the authors review the current literature on DVT/PE prophylaxis in neurosurgery. Mechanical and pharmacologic DVT prophylaxis strategies are discussed in terms of their efficacy in reducing DVT/PE rates as well as safety in terms of catastrophic hemorrhages. The authors offer recommendations regarding the best approach given the current state of the literature.
Design and Development of Smart TV Protector

Televisions have become "smart" with the addition of computers into their designs. Smart TVs represent a recent risk to the digital cybersecurity ecosystem. Higher-end smart TV models generally sell for more than $1000. Some smart TV's sell for more than $10000. Research has shown that these relatively expensive devices have little to no effective protection against malware leaving them at risk of total loss. This situation creates the need for an apparatus that could conceivably provide a reasonable level of protection from malware at a marginal cost relative to the cost of a high-end Smart TV. This paper presents several concepts for such an apparatus and postulates a recommended approach to secure users against malware attacks on Smart TVs.
Takeover Litigation in 2015

This report provides preliminary statistics for takeover litigation in 2015. Takeover litigation was substantially disrupted in 2015 by the Delaware courts' willingness to challenge "disclosure only" settlements. For the full year, lawsuits were brought in 87.7% of completed takeovers versus 94.9% in 2014. However, the lawsuit rate dropped precipitously in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 21.4% of all transactions in the wake of Delaware's challenge. There were also substantial delays in the approval of litigation settlements and attorneys' fee awards. Multi-jurisdictional litigation continued its sharp decline, falling approximately 50% from its 2012 high. Despite the higher rates of dismissals, large awards and settlements were give in litigation arising from the Rural/Metro, Dole and Freeport-McMoRan transactions, among others.
Malassezia: The Forbidden Kingdom Opens.

Malassezia yeast exist on all humans and have long been associated with healthy and diseased skin. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Sparber et al. (2019) and Limon et al. (2019) present murine models for Malassezia/host interaction and describe a role for Malassezia in inflammatory skin and gut disease.
Experimental test of a planning intervention for forming a 'higher order' health-habit.

Objective: Habit-formation interventions may help individuals initiate and maintain behaviour change. This paper proposes and empirically tests the idea that it is possible for individuals to form ...
Cardiac Myosin Promotes Thrombin Generation and Coagulation In Vitro and In Vivo

Objective: Cardiac myosin (CM) is structurally similar to skeletal muscle myosin, which has procoagulant activity. Here, we evaluated CM’s ex vivo, in vivo, and in vitro activities related to hemos...
Tumor phantom for training and research in transoral surgery.

Objective With the paradigm shift towards minimally invasive surgical techniques such as transoral laser microsurgery and transoral robotic surgery for resection of head and neck malignancies, there is a need to enhance the surgical training of these techniques as well as provide a platform for testing new approaches and technologies. The steeper learning curve associated with minimally invasive surgical techniques may be mitigated with the use of tumor phantoms (TP) placed in cadaver models. Methods An injectable TP was developed using an agar-gelatin base, unsalted chicken stock, deionized water, food coloring for visual mimicry, and iohexol for radiographic mimicry. Four percentage glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent for solidification of the TP. The TP was then injected in various mucosal anatomic sites in four unfixed cadaver heads. Visual, radiographic, and tactile mimicry was assessed via endoscopy, CT scan, and tumor dissection and palpation, respectively. Results Tumor phantom injection was successfully achieved in all four cadaver heads. Visually and tactilely, the TP demonstrated similar color change, induration, and firmness of a typical squamous cell carcinoma (SCCa). However, ulceration that is often seen with SCCa could not be replicated. CT mimicry was compared with nine patients with known SCCa. Tumor radiodensity in the nine patients was between 77 and 110 HU (mean 86.3 HU) whereas TP radiodensity was 59 and 127 HU (mean 93.7 HU), with no significant difference between groups (P = .21). Conclusion This inexpensive, easy to apply, and unique tumor phantom could be used both to train transoral techniques and as a tool to further investigate new approaches and technologies for transoral surgery. Level of evidence NA.
Highly Recommended: Collaborative Filtering Gives Customers What They Want

Netflix Top Picks, Amazon recommendations, the iTunes Genius button. They all have one thing in common: they are driven by clever algorithms that use a technique known as collaborative filtering. Often used in machine learning operations, collaborative filtering is the process by which a firm like Netflix generates predictions about a single user's preferences using data taken from a large number of users. This technical note offers an overview of three of the main collaborative filtering methods: slope one, a purely predictive nonparametric model; ordinal logit, a parametric regression model; and alternative least squares, a matrix factorization technique. Excerpt UVA-M-0974 Aug. 23, 2019 Highly Recommended: Collaborative Filtering Gives Customers What They Want You're ready to Netflix and chill. You pull up your browser and scroll through the new releases on Netflix.com. Nothing looks interesting. You turn your attention to the recommended titles, the “Top Picks” selected just for you. And there it is—the classic film you'd forgotten you wanted to see but has always been at the top of your to-watch list. Netflix Top Picks, Amazon recommendations, the iTunes Genius button. They all have one thing in common: they are driven by clever algorithms that use a technique known as collaborative filtering. . . .
Manuscript review continuing medical education: a retrospective investigation of the learning outcomes from this peer reviewer benefit.

Objectives This study investigates the learning outcomes for peer reviewers participating in a manuscript review continuing medical education (CME) process. CME from serving as a peer reviewer is one of the many benefits of serving as a reviewer. Design This is a descriptive study retrospectively analysing learning outcomes self-reported by peer reviewers from 2013 to 2017 using a CME assessment framework. Setting, participants and primary outcome measures Participant data are from 1985 peer reviewers who completed 2413 manuscript reviews over 32 medical journals from 2013 to 2017 and completed the CME process after their prepublication manuscript review. 417 reviewer responses were practice behaviour change(s) that were studied in depth using an assessment framework on changes in knowledge, competence and performance. Results The results show positive learning outcomes reported by reviewers at the knowledge, competence and performance behaviour levels as a result of reviewing manuscripts. Higher levels of learning outcomes are more frequently achieved when reviewers consult multiple sources when conducting reviews. Reviewer demographics, such as gender or years of experience, did not have a significant association to learning outcomes. Conclusions Manuscript Review CME is an effective way that learning within the peer reviewer process can occur and helps reviewers gain knowledge, improve competence and make changes to their professional practice at all stages of their careers. Journal publishers should emphasise and support reviewers through offering CME to reviewers and encourage consultation of multiple sources when conducting reviews, which is an added benefit and resource to help professionals continue their development.
Characterization and performance of the upgraded NIRSPEC on the W. M. Keck Telescope

NIRSPEC is a high-resolution near-infrared echelle spectrograph on the Keck II telescope that was commissioned in 1999 and upgraded in 2018. This recent upgrade was aimed at improving the sensitivity and longevity of the instrument through the replacement of the spectrometer science detector (SPEC) and slit-viewing camera (SCAM). Commissioning began in 2018 December, producing the first on-sky images used in the characterization of the upgraded system. Through the use of photometry and spectroscopy of standard stars and internal calibration lamps, we assess the performance of the upgraded SPEC and SCAM detectors. First, we evaluate the gain, readnoise, dark current, and the charge persistence of the spec detector. We then characterize the newly upgraded spectrometer and the resulting improvements in sensitivity, including spectroscopic zero points, pixel scale, and resolving power across the spectrometer detector field. Finally, for SCAM, we present zero points, pixel scale, and provide a map of the geometric distortion of the camera.
United States - Military Intervention in Iraq as a Subsidy on Crude Oil

This fictional World Trade Organization panel decision explores whether a foreign military intervention that benefits an industry of the intervening state can be considered a “subsidy” under WTO law.
Youth in Adult and Juvenile Correctional Facilities: Comparison of Services and Behavioral Management:

Given contemporary efforts to prevent adolescents from experiencing the negative consequences of incarceration, it is critical to assess the impact of juvenile transfer. Relative to a potential det...
A Unified Approach to Translate Classical Bandit Algorithms to Structured Bandits

We consider a finite-armed structured bandit problem in which mean rewards of different arms are known functions of a common hidden parameter θ*. This problem setting subsumes several previously studied frameworks that assume linear or invertible reward functions. We propose a novel approach to gradually estimate the hidden θ* and use the estimate together with the mean reward functions to substantially reduce exploration of sub-optimal arms. This approach enables us to fundamentally generalize any classic bandit algorithm including UCB and Thompson Sampling to the structured bandit setting. We prove via regret analysis that our proposed UCB-C and TS-C algorithms (structured bandit versions of UCB and Thompson Sampling, respectively) pull only a subset of the sub-optimal arms O(log T ) times while the other sub-optimal arms (referred to as non-competitive arms) are pulled O(1) times. As a result, in cases where all sub-optimal arms are noncompetitive, which can happen in many practical scenarios, the proposed algorithms achieve bounded regret.
Reflective Variants of Solomonoff Induction and AIXI

Solomonoff induction and AIXI model their environment as an arbitrary Turing machine, but are themselves uncomputable. This fails to capture an essential property of real-world agents, which cannot be more powerful than the environment they are embedded in; for example, AIXI cannot accurately model game-theoretic scenarios in which its opponent is another instance of AIXI. In this paper, we define reflective variants of Solomonoff induction and AIXI, which are able to reason about environments containing other, equally powerful reasoners. To do so, we replace Turing machines by probabilistic oracle machines stochastic Turing machines with access to an oracle. We then use reflective oracles, which answer questions of the form, "is the probability that oracle machinei¾ź$$T$$T outputsi¾ź1 greater thani¾źp, when run on this same oracle?" Diagonalization can be avoided by allowing the oracle to answer randomly if this probability is equal toi¾źp; given this provision, reflective oracles can be shown to exist. We show that reflective Solomonoff induction and AIXI can themselves be implemented as oracle machines with access to a reflective oracle, making it possible for them to model environments that contain reasoners as powerful as themselves.
SU-E-E-12: Validation of the Implementation of Different CT Scanners in Proton Treatment Planning

Purpose: To quantify the impact of the relationship of CT number and Relative Stopping Power (RSP) among different CT-scanners in the evaluation of dose distribution, for different tumor sites and proton therapy modalities like Pencil Beam and Uniform Scanning. Methods: The same tissue characterization phantom was used to analyze the difference in the X-rays energy spectra of 2 CT scanners of the same vendor. One CT is for planning and the other for treatment verification. The Hounsfield unit (HU) variations and associated dosimetric uncertainty were investigated in uniform scanning and pencil beam treatment plans of different sites. At the same time comparisons of the CT calibration curve were done using the same acquisition protocols. The phantom was imaged on a 16 multi-row CT scanner, with energies of 120 and 140 kVp,currents of 263 and 245 mA and slice thickness of 2 and 3mm respectively. The dosimetric uncertainty of the plans was evaluated in a homogeneus phantom comparing DVHs, gamma index criteria 3% 3mm, and range between them. Results: The variation of HU was within the standard deviation of the average for each tissue substitute. The curves fitted with a bilinear interpolation show a maximum deviation in high density materials likemore » cortical bone and solid water, where the HU values deviated more than 0,6% for the 120kVp protocol. For the others curves the deviation was more than 2% for low densities materials. The gamma index uncertainty criteria passed in all the cases. Conclusion: The HU variations for the different scanners were ≤3%. Lower than the 3,5% uncertainties considered in our treatment planning system. The dosimetric analysis shows that the X-ray spectrum has a small effect on the HU-RSP curve, allowing the use of a single tissue characterization curve in our proton treatment planning system for plans verifications.« less
Biogas in the United States: estimating future production and learning from international experiences

The substitution of biogas, an energy source derived from biological feedstock, for fossil natural gas (NG) can mitigate the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, making it an attractive renewable energy source in a carbon-constrained future. Although upgraded, pipeline-quality biogas can augment the NG market supply in the United States of America (USA), researchers and energy industry experts have little studied its long-term potential. This report estimates (1) levelized costs of energy for biogas production facilities operating with landfill waste, animal manure, wastewater sludge, and biomass residue feedstocks, (2) feedstock and technology pathway-specific biogas supply functions, and (3) the aggregate national biogas supply potential for the USA by 2040. Under a range of specified assumptions, generation of biogas could be expanded to approximately 3–5 % of the total domestic NG market at projected prices of $5–6/MMBtu, with the largest potential source coming from thermal gasification of agriculture and forest residues and biomass. As market signals have not spurred widespread adoption of biogas in the USA, policy incentives, similar to those used in the European Union (E.U.), may be necessary to increase its production and use. Bioenergy policy in the E.U. and the resulting market penetration achieved there therefore provides important lessons for how biogas markets in the USA can overcome barriers to market expansion and, in doing so, provide substantial climate mitigation benefits.
JUDICIAL REVIEW AND JUDICIAL DUTY: THE ORIGINAL UNDERSTANDING

What we call “judicial review” was not established in Marbury v. Madison, or by American courts. It had existed in English and then American law for centuries, not as some kind of peculiar power but rather as a corollary of the judicial duty to decide cases according to the law of the land. While that duty sometimes required judicial courage in the face of political threats, this was not its most difficult or pervasive demand. The real challenge was the requirement that judges purge their decision-making of the influence of their own wills, which required them to set aside their own views about natural law, God’s will, sound policy, and even justice itself.Phillip Hamburger’s Law and Judicial Duty advances and defends these claims with subtlety and detailed evidence. He carries his historical study up through the end of the eighteenth century, and thus has little to say about subsequent changes in the understanding of judicial review and judicial duty. But there are obvious implications for our contemporary debates about the proper role of judges and about the distinction between law and politics. This review touches on those debates, and suggests that a broadened political role for the federal judiciary may have been more clearly foreseeable than the leading proponents of our Constitution thought it wise to acknowledge during the ratification debates.
Histone post-translational modifications regulate transcription and silent chromatin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Regulation of chromatin structure is important for the control of DNAtemplated processes such as gene expression and silencing, and its dysregulation is implicated in diverse developmental and cell proliferative defects such as tumorigenesis. Covalent post-translational modifications of histones are one of the prominent means to regulate the chromatin structure. Here, we summarize findings from our lab and others regarding the interactions between different covalent modifications of histones in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. First, we describe the effect of histone H3 phosphorylation at residue serine 10 in transcriptional gene activation, and its histone H3 acetylation dependent and independent modes of action and downstream effects on TATA-binding protein (TBP) recruitment. Further, we review how ubiquitylation of histone H2B and its deubiquitylation by ubiquitin proteases Ubp8 and Ubp10 regulate histone H3 methylations, and consequently affect co-activator-dependent gene transcription and silent chromatin, respectively.
Parents attending a family weight management program perceive similar home fruit and vegetable accessibility, but greater child proxy agency and physical activity opportunity

Many children do not meet current guidelines for physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, two areas of health-related behavior with links to obesity. Objective: To examine child and parent perceptions of child proxy agency, home physical activity opportunity, and home accessibility of fruits and vegetables. Methods: Dyads (N = 117) of parents and children completed questionnaires for this cross-sectional study. Results: For child proxy agency, fruits and vegetables accessibility, and physical activity opportunity, the parent and child perceptions were significantly related. Parent ratings of physical activity opportunity and child proxy agency were significantly greater than child ratings. Perceptions of both parents and children for proxy agency were associated with fruits and vegetables accessibility and physical activity opportunity. Conclusions: Parents and children hold similar, yet distinct perceptions of physical activity opportunity and child proxy agency. Perceptions of child proxy agency are associated with obesity-related home environmental characteristics.
Caenorhabditis elegans Culture

The nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans, has rapidly become one of the premier model organisms for biomedical research. A number of the worm's attributes – including its small size, rapid life cycle and tolerance for cryogenic freezing – enable researchers to maintain and study literally millions of worms and hundreds of mutant strains within a small research laboratory. Keywords: caenorhabditis elegans; stock maintenance; animal handling
Growth and development of larval Taenia crassiceps (Cestoda). III. The relationship between larval biomass and the uptake and incorporation of 14C-leucine

Abstract The rate of increase in larval biomass in the abnormal ORF strain of Taenia crassiceps was significantly greater than in the normal KBS strain during 26 weeks of infection. Larvae of both strains (in terms of biomass) increased more rapidly in female mice than in male mice. In vitro uptake and incorporation rates of 14C-leucine were found to be inversely proportional to the increase in larval biomass of both ORF and KBS strains, when measured at intervals of 3 weeks throughout a 26-week infection period. There was no correlation between larval biomass, sex of host, and ratios of uptake rate to incorporation rate of 14C-leucine, in either strain. The mean ratio of uptake to incorporation rate of 14C-leucine was significantly less in the ORF strain, indicating that ORF larvae incorporate leucine at significantly higher rates than KBS larvae.
A general post-processing approach to leakage current reduction in SRAM-based FPGAs

A negative effect of ever-shrinking supply and threshold voltages is the larger percentage of total power consumption that comes from leakage current. Several techniques have been developed to help reduce leakage in SRAM-based memory, in which the percent leakage power is especially acute. SRAM-based field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) pose similar leakage problems, but their structure and function require different solutions. This paper introduces a low complexity post-processing approach to reducing FPGA leakage current by ground-gating off SRAM cells that are unused in a particular device configuration. The approach is general enough to apply to any device configuration, and results reveal that the significant leakage current reduction can be achieved with no delay penalty and acceptable area overhead.
The Impact of Response Error on Participation Rates and Contributions to Defined Contribution Pension Plans

The accuracy of information about coverage and contributions to defined contribution (DC) pension plans is important in understanding the economic well-being of future retirees because these plans are an increasingly important part of retirement income security. Using data from the 1996 and 2004 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) merged with information from W-2 tax records, we examine the extent to which estimated participation rates and contribution amounts to DC plans derived from SIPP reports differ from estimates obtained from tax-deferred contributions in the W-2 tax records. Findings indicate that the participation rate in DC plans is about 11 percentage-points higher when using W-2 tax records rather than survey reports. The analysis of possible sources of reporting error regarding plan participation indicates that an error is more likely to occur when missing data are imputed by the Census Bureau than in actual reports by respondents.
Teaching Software Verification and Validation to Software Practitioner

We describe the development and teaching of a two-week course in software verification and validation (V&V). The course is taught to Air Force software practitioners by faculty at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). We show that by organizing teaching materials using a framework involving interrelationships of activities throughout the software development life cycle, we were able to significantly enhance the development and teaching of the course. Such an organization is logical since V&V pervades all activities in every part of the life cycle.
Stückelberg mechanisms for tensor multiplets and compactification on AdS3χS3

We present Stueckelberg mechanisms for tensor multiplets coupled to supergravity in four dimensions (4D), six dimensions (6D), and three dimensions (3D). For N=1 supergravity in 4D, our field content is (e{sub {mu}}{sup m},{psi}{sub {mu}}), (B{sub {mu}{nu},{chi}},{phi}) and (A{sub {mu},{lambda}}), respectively, for the supergravity, tensor, and vector multiplets. In our Stueckelberg mechanism, the Abelian vector field A{sub {mu}} is absorbed into the longitudinal component of the tensor B{sub {mu}{nu}}, which becomes massive. The field strength F=dA of A is replaced by F{identical_to}F+mB, where m is a coupling constant with the dimension of mass. In 6D, we utilize the so-called dual version for N=2 supergravity, in order to avoid the obstruction caused by the Chern-Simons term F and A in the B-field strength G. Instead of the F and A-term in G, the 6D Lagrangian has a peculiar topological and cubic interaction term proportional to m{sup -1}F and F and F. In 3D, we also show that a similar mechanism works for N=1 supergravity. Interestingly, the basic structure is parallel to the 4D case, except that the originally nonpropagating field B starts propagating, after absorbing the A-field. We also show a possible compactification of 6D theory on AdS{sub 3}xS{sup 3}.
PubMatrix: a tool for multiplex literature mining

Background Molecular experiments using multiplex strategies such as cDNA microarrays or proteomic approaches generate large datasets requiring biological interpretation. Text based data mining tools have recently been developed to query large biological datasets of this type of data. PubMatrix is a web-based tool that allows simple text based mining of the NCBI literature search service PubMed using any two lists of keywords terms, resulting in a frequency matrix of term co-occurrence.
A Double-Guarded Cold-Plate Thermal-Conductivity Apparatus

Double-guarded cold plate apparatus for measuring thermal conductivity of multilayer insulations, powders, fibers and foams