cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of mesoscale environmental heterogeneity and dispersal limitation on floristic variation in rain forest ferns

Summary 1 Field studies to evaluate the roles of environmental variation and random dispersal in explaining variation in the floristic composition of rain forest plants at landscape to regional scales have yet to reach a consensus. Moreover, only one study has focused on scales below 10 km 2 , where the effects of dispersal limitation are expected to be easiest to observe. 2 In the present study, we estimate the importance of differences in some key environmental variables (describing canopy openness, soils and topography) relative to the geographical distances between sample plots as determinants of differences in pteridophyte (ferns and fern allies) species composition between plots within a c . 5.7 km 2 lowland rain forest site in Costa Rica. 3 To assess the relative importance of environmental vs. geographical distances in relation to the length of environmental gradient covered, we compared the results obtained over the full range of soil types, including swamps, with those for upland soils alone. 4 Environmental variability was found to be a far stronger predictor of changes in floristic differences than the geographical distance between sample plots. In particular, differences in soil nutrient content, drainage and canopy openness correlated with floristic differences. 5 The decline in mean floristic similarity with increasing geographical distance was stronger than proposed by the random dispersal model over short distances (up to c . 100 m), which is probably attributable to both dispersal limitation and environmental changes. The scatter around the mean was large at all distances. 6 Our initial expectation was that the effects of dispersal limitation (represented by geographical distance) on observed patterns of floristic similarity would be stronger, and those of environmental differences weaker, than at broader spatial scales. Instead, these results suggest that the niche assembly view is a more accurate representation of pteridophyte communities at local to mesoscales than the dispersal assembly view.
UPS Shipping and Handling

Abstract It is now clear that the two broad sets of reactions in the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), the conjugative and degradative steps, are intricately coupled in vivo and that there are numerous factors that aid in the handling and delivery of ubiquitylated proteins to the proteasome. The report from Richly et al. (2005)([this issue of Cell ]) suggests how several of the known players in this process might work together in guiding and delivering some substrates to their final destinations.
Analysis of Automatic Contingency Selection Algorithms

This paper presents a method for evaluating the effectiveness of the presently used Automatic Contingency Selection (ACS) algorithms in capturing contingencies which give out-of-limit conditions. The evaluation is given in terms of both capture and false- alarms rates, which are computed a priori together with a stopping criterion. Furthermore a method is given for enhancing the ACS algorithm's effectiveness in terms of maximizing the capture rate and minimizing the false-alarm rate. The theory is given for selecting the set of weights in the scalar performance index (PI) for both real power and voltage problems in order to circumvent some of the misranking problems, and more importantly, how to select the threshold value of the PI in order to capture all the critical contingencies while minimizing the capture of the non- critical ones. Since the PI used in the paper is similar to that used in the present ACS algorithms, the results give a systematic method for tuning these algorithms in order to maximize their effectiveness for the particular power system under study.
Prepregnancy obesity and sFlt1-induced preeclampsia in mice: Developmental programming model of metabolic syndrome

Objective We sought to establish a model of fetal programming of metabolic syndrome by exposure to soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt1)-induced preeclampsia (PE) and preexisting maternal obesity (MO). Study design CD-1 female mice were placed on either standard or high-fat diet for 3 months. On day 8 of pregnancy, mice were injected with either adenovirus-carrying sFlt1 or adenovirus-carrying murine immunoglobulin G2α Fc fragment. Offspring were studied at 6 months of age. Results Exposure to MO with/without PE resulted in significant increase in progeny's weight and adiposity. Blood pressure in males was significantly increased due to MO with PE. Metabolic blood analytes were affected in males and females exposed to only PE or MO with/without PE; inflammatory—in females exposed to MO with/without PE and males born to MO with PE; atherosclerotic—in females exposed to MO. Conclusion Exposure to maternal prepregnancy obesity and sFlt1-induced preeclampsia alter the offspring's blood pressure, metabolic, inflammatory, and atherosclerotic profiles later in life.
Mechanism of reduced T-cell effector functions and class-switched antibody responses to herpes simplex virus type 2 in the absence of B7 costimulation.

T-cell costimulation molecules B7-1 and B7-2 play an important role in activation of T cells to cytolytic effector function and production of cytokines. Interaction with B7 also causes T cells to upregulate surface molecules, such as CD40L, that effectively stimulate antibody responses in conjunction with cytokines. We have shown that mice lacking both B7-1 and B7-2 (B7KO mice), when infected intravaginally with virulent herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), developed more severe disease and higher mortality than their wild-type counterparts. We have now investigated the effects of B7 costimulation deficiency on induction of immune responses to HSV-2 infection of the genital tract. Fewer gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-producing T cells were present in the genital lymph nodes of B7KO mice compared to wild-type mice, either acutely after primary infection or in recall responses. Less IFN-γ and especially interleukin-10 were produced by B7KO mice, and cytolytic T-lymphocyte activity was also attenuated. Reduced expression of CD25 on CD4+ T cells after infection of B7KO mice was consistent with deficits in T-cell activation to effector functions. Although HSV-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) titers were comparable for both B7KO mice and wild-type mice, B7KO mice had significant deficits in HSV-specific serum IgG responses, with markedly reduced levels of IgG2a and IgG1. In addition, significantly less IgG was detected in the vaginal secretions of B7KO mice than in those from wild-type mice. CD4+ T-cell expression of CD40L was depressed in B7KO mice in vivo and in vitro. Together with reduced cytokine production, these results suggest a mechanism for decreased IgG class switching or production. Thus, in the absence of B7 costimulation, naive T cells fail to undergo proper activation in response to HSV-2, which limits T-cell cytokine production, cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity, and provision of help for class-switched antibody responses.
Anti-windup via the creation of an independent loop transmission around the saturating actuator

Stability and performance degradation in feedback control systems under saturation can be overcome by anti-windup techniques. The loop transmission around the actuator is the key factor for saturation compensation. In this paper, the importance of this loop transmission is emphasized. First, a representation of the nonlinear system in terms of this loop transmission is presented, incorporating another decomposition proposed by Weston and Postlethwaite (2000), which facilitates the analysis of the nonlinear system stability and performance. Second, a synthesis method based on this representation, considering both robust stability and performance, is proposed by solving a standard H/sub /spl infin// problem. The merits of this method are the simplicity and generality. It allows for plant uncertainties and applies to multi-variable systems. It generalizes many existing anti-windup schemes in the literature, notably, coprime factorization based approaches.
Sampling-Based Stochastic Sensitivity Analysis Using Score Functions for RBDO Problems with Correlated Random Variables

This study presents a methodology for computing stochastic sensitivities with respect to the design variables, which are the mean values of the input correlated random variables. Assuming that an accurate surrogate model is available, the proposed method calculates the component reliability, system reliability, or statistical moments and their sensitivities by applying Monte Carlo simulation to the accurate surrogate model. Since the surrogate model is used, the computational cost for the stochastic sensitivity analysis is affordable compared with the use of actual models. The copula is used to model the joint distribution of the correlated input random variables, and the score function is used to derive the stochastic sensitivities of reliability or statistical moments for the correlated random variables. An important merit of the proposed method is that it does not require the gradients of performance functions, which are known to be erroneous when obtained from the surrogate model, or the transformation from X-space to U-space for reliability analysis. Since no transformation is required and the reliability or statistical moment is calculated in X-space, there is no approximation or restriction in calculating the sensitivities of the reliability or statistical moment. Numerical results indicate that the proposed method can estimate the sensitivities of the reliability or statistical moments very accurately, even when the input random variables are correlated.
Structure and bonding in the pyridine intercalates of tantalum disulfide

Abstract Consideration of the substituted pyridine intercalation compounds of tantalum disulfide shows that in a number of cases the plane of the aromatic ring is oriented perpendicular to the sulfide layers; in other cases, it is parallel. In addition, no evidence was found for “plugging-in” of the aromatic nitrogen to the metal atom. The most likely configuration is that proposed for ammonia with the nitrogen toward the center of the van der Waals gap. This implies that guest-guest interactions are important in the formation of these complexes.
Children's Lung Health Improves With Reduced Air Pollution.

Air quality improvement was associated with the growth of lung function in children between the ages of 11 and 15 years. FOR THE FIRST time, researchers have shown that reductions in the levels of air pollution that have occurred over the past two decades are associated with increased respiratory function in children between 11 to 15 years of age, a period of critical lung development (Gauderman et al., 2015). It has been known for many years that high levels of air pollution, specifically fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, have been associated with breathing difficulty; however, it has not been known what the benefits of improved air quality would have on lung development. This lack of evidence has fueled the disagreement between environmentalists who believe that the federal emission standards are not strict enough to protect the health of children and conservatives who claim that the regulations are excessively strict and place an unnecessarily economic burden on businesses. The new study, a 20-year investigation conducted in Southern California by the University of Southern California (U.S.C.) provides evidence of the relationship between better air quality and the improved growth of lung function in children between the ages of 11 and 15 years with or without asthma. Using data from the Children's Health Study the researchers at U.S.C. studied air pollution levels in five regional communities as policies to reduce air pollution can affect the Los Angeles basin area. They measured the breathing capacity in 2,120 school children from these communities during three periods: 1994–1998, 1997–2001, and 2007–2011. Lung function testing took place in school three times for each cohort, when the children were approximately 11, 13, and 15 years old. During these years federal and state emission regulations
Perioperative ketorolac increases post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage in adults but not children.

Objectives/Hypothesis To evaluate the risk of post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage associated with perioperative ketorolac use. Study Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of primary articles reporting individual-level post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage rates in subjects receiving perioperative ketorolac and matched controls. Retrospective and prospective studies were both included. Methods PubMed search was performed for “[ketorolac OR toradol] AND tonsillectomy.” Articles fulfilling inclusion criteria were subjected to meta-analysis to determine summary relative risk (RR). Results Adults are at five times increased risk for post-tonsillectomy hemorrhage with ketorolac use (RR: 5.64; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.08–15.27; P < .001). In contrast, children under 18 are not at statistically significantly increased risk (RR: 1.39; 95% CI: 0.84–2.30; P = .20). Both retrospective and prospective studies yield consistent findings. There is no association of RR with pre- or postoperative administration of ketorolac. Conclusions Ketorolac can be used safely in children, but is associated with a five-fold increased bleeding risk in adults. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 124:1789–1793, 2014
women in modernizing societies1

It is commonly assumed that modernization generally brings an increase in sexual equality. This paper examines the alternative possibility, that modernization favors an inferior status for women. Focusing on economic variables as a basis for comparison, an examination of modern changes in various societies in which women's traditional position has been relatively strong indicates a deterioration in women's position relative to men.
A novel wireless local positioning system for airport (indoor) security

A novel wireless local positioning system (WLPS) for airport (or indoor) security is introduced. This system is used by airport (indoor) security guards to locate all of, or a group of airport employees or passengers within the airport area. WLPS consists of two main parts: (1) a base station that is carried by security personnel; hence, introducing dynamic base station (DBS), and (2) a transponder (TRX) that is mounted on all people (including security personnel) present at the airport; thus, introducing them as active targets. In this paper, we (a) draw a futuristic view of the airport security systems, and the flow of information at the airports, (b) investigate the techniques of extending WLPS coverage area beyond the line-of-sight (LoS), and (c) study the performance of this system via standard transceivers, and direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems with and without antenna arrays and conventional beamforming (BF).
Empirical organizational-level examinations of agency and collaborative predictions of performance-contingent compensation

Competitive predictions regarding the relationships between: (a) monitoring and agent tenure, and (b) performance-contingent compensation are derived from agency theory and collaborative perspectives. These results are tested in a within-industry (trucking) sample and in a cross-industry sample. The results partially support both perspectives, particularly with respect to monitoring and agent tenure. Implications of the results for theory and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Risk factors for an outbreak of multi-drug-resistant Acinetobacter nosocomial pneumonia among intubated patients.

Introduction Acinetobacter baumanii is a Gram-negative coccobacillus that is normally a commensal pathogen but can be a nosocomial pathogen. An epidemiologic study was performed to investigate an outbreak of A baumanii that occurred in our medical intensive care unit (MICU) from March to September 1995. Methods A case-control study was performed by retrospective chart review, comparing case patients to randomly selected patients who were mechanically ventilated in the MICU for at least 1 week during the outbreak. A case patient was defined as any patient with an Acinetobacter infection in which the epidemic strain was considered to be a pathogen. The epidemic strain was defined by its antibiogram. Case patients and control patients were compared for age, gender, underlying disease, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation III score, length of MICU stay, prior antibiotic use, presence of fever, sepsis, type of pulmonary infiltrate, and outcome. Environmental and hand-washing studies also were performed during the period of the outbreak. Molecular typing was performed on available bloodstream isolates. Results There were 15 cases of A baumanii nosocomial pneumonia. Fifty percent were bacteremic; one chart was unavailable for review. Twenty-nine patients were identified as control patients. The mean age for case patients was 50 (range, 21 to 84). The mean duration of time from admission to the ICU to infection was 12.8 days (range, 4 to 40). Sepsis developed in 35% of the case patients. Forty-three percent of the case patients died during their hospitalization, with two of those deaths attributed to Acinetobacter infection. Univariate analysis showed that prior use of ceftazidime was associated with infection with Acinetobacter (11/14 case patients compared to 11/29 control patients; p Conclusion The use of ceftazidime was associated with an increased risk of nosocomial pneumonia with resistant strains of Acinetobacter. Health-care workers need to improve compliance with hand-washing recommendations.
Salt form selection and characterization of LY333531 mesylate monohydrate.

LY333531 is a potent protein kinase C(beta) (PKC(beta)) inhibitor currently under development for the treatment of diabetic complications. Seven salts of LY333531 (hydrochloride, sulfate, mesylate, succinate, tartrate, acetate and phosphate) were evaluated during the early phase of development. Physical property screening techniques including microscopy, DSC, TGA, XRPD, hygroscopicity and solubility were utilized to narrow the selection to two salts: the mesylate and hydrochloride. Identification of the optimal salt form was based upon solubility, bioavailability, physical stability and purity. During the evaluation process three hydrated forms (anhydrate, monohydrate, and tetrahydrate) of the hydrochloride salt were identified. The mesylate salt was found to give only one, a monohydrate. Processing parameters (e.g. filtration rate, crystal form stability) demonstrated that the anhydrate was the preferred form of the hydrochloride salt. Bioavailability studies in dogs indicated that the C(max) and area under the plasma concentration vs. time curve (AUC) for LY333531 and its active metabolite, LY338522, following administration of the mesylate salt were approximately 2.6 times those obtained after the LY333531 HCl dose. This difference was presumed to be due primarily to the fact that the mesylate was five times more soluble than the hydrochloride salt in water. These factors led to selection and development of LY333531 mesylate monohydrate as the active pharmaceutical ingredient for clinical evaluation.
Informed consent and perioperative nursing

Until recently, most courts have held that hospital and its employees have no duty to obtain consent--that is the responsibility of physicians. Emerging case law is establishing the duty of the hospital and nursing staff to ensure that consent is obtained. Courts seems to believe that a hospital will work harder and the patient record will be more complete if the hospital is held liable. If a patient indicates uncertainty or has questions indicating a lack of understanding, the nursing supervisor or attending physician must be contacted. Health care providers should not proceed if there is any question that the patient is withdrawing consent or reconsidering consent. Consent is valid only until it is withdrawn. It is better to defend caution to supervisors and physicians than to defend cavalier actions in a court of law. Hospitals and nurses may be held liable for lack of informed consent if they know or should have known there was not adequate disclosure or adequate consent. Case law regarding informed consent usually involves the physician and patient. Nurses, however, must be educated about how these laws affect them.
Portrait of a Revolutionary: Naglaa-"The Lion of the Midan"

This essay examines the (re)production of the discourses of dispossession that frame women’s issues in the Arab, Middle East and Muslim majority world. Taking the case of revolutionary women in the Arab Uprisings as an example, the author traces the constructs of dehistoricization, disempowerment and western centric logic that underlies media coverage reports about women’s participation in public protest. The essay produces a counter narrative to the dominant coverage of the western driven media by offering an account by an Egyptian revolutionary woman, Naglaa whose lived experience encourages us to rethink how discourse reproduces the grand narrative of western postcolonialist discourse.
Feasibility Testing of a Protocol to Stop Ineffective Drug and Nondrug Treatments

Ineffective treatments continue to be given to nursing home residents with dementia, and many more treatments are started than stopped. The Track and Trigger Treatment (T(3)) Protocol assists nurses to track responses to new treatments and get ineffective treatments stopped or altered. This preliminary study determined feasibility for end users and examined differences between two randomized groups in assessments, treatment changes, nurse time, and drug costs over 8 weeks. Controlling for number of medical diagnoses, 41 residents in the T(3) group had significantly more treatments stopped than 37 residents in the usual care group. Treatments were most commonly stopped because of ineffectiveness (33%), followed by the problem being resolved (29%), side effects (18%), and a change in goals of care (20%). Assessment quality was a statistically significant mediator, and drug costs were significantly less for the T(3) group. The T(3) processes were rated as useful and easy, with one caveat.
Measuring Regal Fritillary Butterfly (Speyeria idalia) Habitat Requirements in South-Central Pennsylvania: Implications for the Conservation of an Imperiled Butterfly

Abstract To understand the habitat components that contribute to the presence of populations of a rare butterfly, we examined the abundance of critical plant-components of old fields that support some of the last remaining Eastern Speyeria idalia (Regal Fritillary Butterfly) subpopulations at Fort Indiantown Gap (FTIG), a National Guard training facility in south-central Pennsylvania. We compared densities of larval-host plants (Viola spp. [violets]), adult-nectar plants (Asclepias spp. [native milkweeds] and Cirsium spp. [thistles]), and native, tussock-forming, warm-season bunch grasses that provide protective resting and pupation sites in fields occupied by the butterfly and in nearby fields that were unoccupied. We found no significant difference in violet density among sites. Fields with Regal Fritillary Butterfly populations had significantly more nectar-plant flowering structures and greater bunch-grass percent cover. Grassland habitat occupied by Regal Fritillaries was characterized by a violet de...
Unfolded, Not Opened: On Bernhard Siegert's Cultural Techniques

Il secretario , a sixteenth-century guide for princely secretaries, was, it seems, not written but plagiarized by Francesco Sansovino, son of Jacopo Sansovino, the Venetian architect. Francesco, “a printer, a rewrite man, a writer, and a popular izer,” had selectively excerpted and printed under his own name those portions of Il principe , a 1561 treatise on the train ing of princes by Giovan Battista Nicolucci (Il Pigna), esteemed secretary to Duke Alfonso II d’Este, pertaining specifically to the secretarial arts. 1 Sansovino printed Il secretario , the first of many such manuals that appeared during the Baroque period, in four volumes in 1564 and then seven in 1579, subsequent to which the work was issued in thirteen more editions through 1608. Perhaps the work’s popularity was due to its promise to those aspiring to serve as secretaries to princes and nobles, sequestered in rooms off to the side but with access to private apartments above, and exerting a quiet, mighty power, to “show and teach the way to write letters in proper fashion and with art on any subject whatsoever.” 2 Following detailed instructions on how to write to popes, kings, cardinals, as well as to one’s father, the treatise’s first book ends with instructions on folding and sealing letters to addressees of different social standing. 3 As Bernhard Siegert points out in Relays: Literature as an Epoch of the Postal System , the folding of letters dates to the widespread use of paper as an epistolary medium in the late medieval period, following which anything that circulated on unfoldable parch ment was in effect a public document, while anything that cir culated as a sealed letter was a possible source of courtly intrigue. According to Siegert, with the arrival of printing presses, what might have previously been a distinction between publicly legi ble parchment and privately enfolded royal instructions now divided into two paper-based techniques: typography and chi rography, or handwriting. Whence, a folded letter could follow its destiny to become, as Siegert puts it, an instance of what Michel Foucault calls, after his seventeenth-century sources, raison d’etat (state reason), or governmental rationality. 4 Some time ago, Gilles Deleuze showed that folding was
Enhanced thermoelectric performance driven by high-temperature phase transition in the phase change material Ge4SbTe5

Phase change materials are identified for their ability to rapidly alternate between amorphous and crystalline phases and have large contrast in the optical/electrical properties of the respective phases. The materials are primarily used in memory storage applications, but recently they have also been identified as potential thermoelectric materials. Many of the phase change materials researched today can be found on the pseudo-binary (GeTe)1-x(Sb2Te3)x tie-line. While many compounds on this tie-line have been recognized as thermoelectric materials, here we focus on Ge4SbTe5, a single phase compound just off of the (GeTe)1-x(Sb2Te3)x tie-line, that forms in a stable rocksalt crystal structure at room temperature. We find that stoichiometric and undoped Ge4SbTe5 exhibits a thermal conductivity of ~1.2 W/m-K at high temperature and a large Seebeck coefficient of ~250 μV/K. The resistivity decreases dramatically at 623 K due to a structural phase transition which lends to a large enhancement in both thermoelectric power factor and thermoelectric figure of merit at 823 K. In a more general sense the research presents evidence that phase change materials can potentially provide a new route to highly efficient thermoelectric materials for power generation at high temperature.
The Offensive/Defensive Balance of Military Technology: A Theoretical and Historical Analysis

This study examines various attempts to define the concept of the offensive/defensive balance of military technology, to trace the theoretical consequences of an offensive or defensive advantage, and to measure or classify the balance for the last eight centuries. It is concluded that the last two tasks are flawed because of the ambiguity of the concept of the offensive/defensive balance. There are multiple definitions and multiple hypotheses, but these are not interchangeable, particularly between the pre-nuclear and nuclear eras, where the concept means something fundamentally different. Hypotheses appropriate for one definition may be implausible or tautological for another. It is concluded that the notion of the offensive/defensive balance is too vague and encompassing to be useful in theoretical or historical analysis, but that some of the individual variables that have been incorporated under this broader concept may themselves be useful. Much more analysis is needed, however, to demonstrate that these concepts have important theoretical consequences. The literature on international relations and military history contains numerous references to the offensive or defensive balance of military technology and its impact on war. Historians often characterize a particular era as favoring the offense or the defense, and theorists often hypothesize that technology favoring the offense increases the likelihood of war or contributes to empire-building. More generally, it has been suggested that the history of warfare and weaponry can be viewed in terms of the interplay between the offense and the defense (Snow, 1983:83). These analyses are not generally meaningful, however, because they are rarely guided by any explicit definition of the key concept of the offensive/defensive balance. The concept itself has been defined in a variety of ways which are often contradictory and which confuse the meaning of the hypotheses in question. Attempts to classify the balance historically are also inconsistent. These inconsistencies are obscured by the failure of both the theoretical and historical literature to acknowledge and build upon earlier scholarship and also by the absence of any general review of the literature. As a result, little is known about the offensive/defensive balance and its impact on war.
A Survival Kit for the College Mathematician

(1971). A Survival Kit for the College Mathematician. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 78, No. 3, pp. 291-296.
Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Breast Cancer in Mammography: Evidence and Potential

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) methods are being developed to help radiologists improve the interpretation of mammograms for the detection of breast cancer. We review several laboratory observer performance studies of computer-aided diagnosis of malignant and benign breast lesions. These studies show that CAD can improve radiologists' diagnostic performance by increasing the number of their biopsy recommendations for actual malignant lesions while reducing the number of their biopsy recommendations for suspicious but actually benign lesions, and by reducing the variability in their interpretation of mammograms. These results indicate a potential clinical role of CAD in mammography for the detection of breast cancer.
Progress in Advanced Imaging Techniques for the Lumbar Spine

Low back pain remains challenging to diagnose and treat. There has been considerable progress in advanced spine imaging that has improved the understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the lumbar spine. Advanced imaging can now reveal fundamental properties of lumbar spine tissues and lend insight into the specific chemical, physiological, and mechanical changes that occur with degeneration. Some of these imaging modalities may eventually be used in clinical evaluation and may direct interventional management of patients with low back pain. While there are many novel and exciting developments, very few imaging methods have been applied to the known spine pain syndromes. The advanced imaging methods most amenable to direct clinical application for known spine pain syndromes are fat-suppressed magnetic resonance imaging, T1rho magnetic resonance imaging, and metabolic tracer studies. This paper reviews these imaging methods alongside many others in development; these imaging modalities inform the understanding of the lumbar spine and may be used in the future to assess spine pain syndromes and direct treatment.
STUDY ON THE TECHNOLOGY ABOUT ANTIBACTERIAL PROBIOTICS REPLACE FEED ANTIBIOTIC

This topic aims to sift lactic acid bacteria strains and bacillus strains with high activities of bacteria resistance.The effects of their metabolic product on bacteria resistance and antibacterial spectrum were studied,the bacillus and lactic acid bacteria Was matched which will have different antibacterial spectrums.Their effects on animals was daetcted.The bacillus B7348 and lactic acid bacteria LP11 with high activities of bacteria resistance were selected through the test,The matched bacillus B7348 and lactic acid bacteria LP11 can replace the use of antibiotics in animal feed.Its effect was ketter than feed antibiotics in terms of improving the body resistance and reducing incidence of diseases.
Ein Regressionsansatz für Gemischte Datenstrukturen Mittels Optimalen Reskalierens von Distanzen

In a wide class of approaches to handle qualitative variables in data analysis the qualitative structures are replaced by an appropriate set of scalings (Young [1981]). With these scalings a quantitative analysi is then performed where the scalings are optimal fitted in order to improve the goal of the quantitative model. Examples for such methods are the well known multidimensional scaling method by J.B. Kruskal and the regression approach for nominal or/and ordinal variables described in detail in Young/Leeuw/Takane [1976], In this paper a method is presented which extends this regression approach to the situation where the variables may have in addition a variety of different complex information levels; i.e. hierarchic, lattice ordered, profile ordered or only pairwise compared. The method uses scalings of distances as a measure of the dissimiliarity between two cases instead of scalings of the cases on the real axis.
Quick image processing method of HJ satellites applied in agriculture monitoring

Multi-temporal and large scale remote sensing images are very useful for crop monitoring, the HJ Satellites become one of the most important data sources in crop monitoring as the broad-spectral and high-temporal relatively. The paper focused on the agricultural remote sensing monitoring which based on the HJ satellite images, a method of quick processing was carried out. Firstly, image radiation correction, atmospheric correction and more than 10 vegetation indexes are calculated by ENVI/IDL. Secondly, the ArcSDE combined with Oracle Database realizes fast storage of images. Finally, thematic image of agriculture remote sensing monitoring is quickly published in ArcGIS Server. This work provides a complete solution towards fast remote sensing image preprocessing, storage and publishing for agriculture monitoring.
Saturation velocity and velocity overshoot of inversion layer electrons and holes

In this paper we address the effect of a wide range of parameters on the high-field transport of inversion layer electrons and holes. The studied parameters include substrate doping level, surface micro-roughness, nitridation of the gate oxide, and device channel length. Our findings point to electron velocity overshoot at room temperature, dependence of electron and hole saturation velocity on nitridation of the gate oxide, and relative insensitivity of electron and hole mobility and saturation velocity to moderate surface roughness. >
The Shortwave Spectral Signature of Cloud Spatial Structure – a New Observable for Cloud Remote Sensing

We show that cloud morphology manifests itself as spectral signatures in radiance and irradiance observations, and argue that this connection may pave the way for improved estimates of cloud-aerosol radiative effects from space.
Determining 3-D motion of planar objects from image brightness patterns

The brightness patterns in two successive image frames are used to recover the motion of a planar object without computing the optical flow as an intermediate step. Based on a least-squares formulation, a set of nine nonlinear equations are derived. A simple iterative scheme for solving these equations is presented. Using a selected example, it is shown that in general, the scheme may converge to cither of two possible solutions depending on the initial condition. Only in the special case where the translational motion vector is perpendicular to the surface does our algorithm converge to a unique solution.
Acceptance of the Dana Medal fo the Mineralogical Society of America for 2003

Thank you, President Carpenter and the members of the Mineralogical Society of America, and my thanks to Ian for his kind and generous introduction. I am deeply honored to be designated a recipient of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America. The award is named in respect of the accomplishments of two of the most distinguished American scientists of the nineteenth century: James Dwight Dana, a naturalist of extraordinary observational perception and arguably the first scientist to study volcanic eruptions, and his son, Edward Salsbury Dana, who with his father systematized the study of minerals and effectively invented the science of mineralogy. To be mentioned in conjunction with these two legendary scientists is profoundly humbling, as it is to associate my name with previous recipients of this award. But fortunately for me the Mineralogical Society of America has designed this award with an escape clause. The Dana Medal is a mid-career award, given both in recognition and in expectation. Infamous deeds of the past notwithstanding, the award of the Dana Medal raises the bar, points squarely toward the future, and demands an answer to the question “So, what are you going to do next?” For the challenge of continued accomplishment, I am more grateful to the Society for conferring this honor upon me than for any (perhaps misguided) assessment of my previous work. The kinds of scientific questions that interest me all have a central theme, that being the quantitative evaluation of chemical reactions that drive differentiation in the Earth. I make thermodynamic models. Yes, you heard correctly; I make models. I admit it here before a higher power, and Im proud of it. In the not too distant past, geochemists and petrologists who spent most of their time constructing models were ostracized by their peers. Sometimes, with …
Do Performance-Safety Tradeoffs Cause Hypometric Metabolic Scaling in Animals?

Hypometric scaling of aerobic metabolism in animals has been widely attributed to constraints on oxygen (O2) supply in larger animals, but recent findings demonstrate that O2 supply balances with need regardless of size. Larger animals also do not exhibit evidence of compensation for O2 supply limitation. Because declining metabolic rates (MRs) are tightly linked to fitness, this provides significant evidence against the hypothesis that constraints on supply drive hypometric scaling. As an alternative, ATP demand might decline in larger animals because of performance–safety tradeoffs. Larger animals, which typically reproduce later, exhibit risk-reducing strategies that lower MR. Conversely, smaller animals are more strongly selected for growth and costly neurolocomotory performance, elevating metabolism.
The role of internalized homonegativity in the faith and psychological health of lesbians

Among lesbians, faith-based beliefs and behaviors may be associated with negative psychological health due to the interplay between religious and sexual identities. The present study examined health outcomes, faith-based beliefs (views of God as loving and controlling), faith-based behaviors (personal spiritual practices, religious activities), and internalized homonegativity in a sample of 225 self-identified lesbians. We hypothesized that internalized homonegativity would moderate the relationship between health outcomes and faith-based beliefs and behaviors among lesbians. Generally, results indicated that some faith-based beliefs and behaviors were related to negative health outcomes among lesbians with higher levels of internalized homonegativity, but among those with lower levels of internalized homonegativity, the negative associations with health were mitigated.
How seemingly innocuous words can bias judgment: Semantic prosody and impression formation

Abstract Would we think more negatively of a person who caused rather than produced an outcome or who is described as utterly rather than totally unconventional? While these word choices may appear to be trivial, cause and utterly occur more frequently in a negative context in natural language use than produced or totally, even though these words do not have an explicit valenced meaning. Words that are primarily used in a valenced context are said to have semantic prosody. Five studies show that semantically-prosodic descriptors affect the impressions formed of others. These effects occur even in situations where perceivers are likely to be skeptical of messages, and they impact behavioral intentions toward targets. An utterly changed person was perceived as less warm and competent than a totally changed person (Study 1), and people held more negative impressions of an utterly rather than totally unconventional boss (Study 2). People had stronger intentions to vote for a political candidate who produced budget changes over one who caused them (Study 3) and preferred a bank that lends money (a word with positive semantic prosody) over a bank that loans money (Study 4). Finally, participants had more (less) romantic interest in potential dating partners with Tinder profiles that utilized words with positive (negative) semantic prosody (Study 5). We conclude that semantically prosodic descriptors that lack a clear positive or negative meaning still lead people to infer the valence of what is to come, which colors the impressions they form of others.
The impact of daily bladder filling on small bowel dose for intensity modulated radiation therapy for cervical cancer.

Research demonstrates that instructing patients to have a full bladder for pelvic radiotherapy results in highly variable bladder volumes at daily treatment. We aimed to determine bladder volume variation in patients with intact cervical cancer treated with intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) on an empty bladder and estimate the difference in radiation dose to the small bowel compared to treating on a full bladder. We identified 29 patients treated with IMRT from 2010 to 2013 who underwent 2 planning computed tomography (CT) scans, 1 with a full bladder followed by 1 with an empty bladder. Interfractional variation in bladder volume was measured using 782 daily cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. To estimate dose to small bowel, radiation plans were created on both empty and full bladder CT scans using an automated knowledge-based planning modeling program. Mean bladder volume with empty bladder instructions was 67 ± 26 cc compared to 91 ± 43 cc for no bladder instructions and 154 ± 54 cc for full bladder instructions (p < 0.001). There was a significant reduction in the absolute bladder volume variation in patients given empty bladder instructions compared to full bladder instructions (p < 0.05) The intraclass correlation coefficient showed low reliability of bladder filling across all groups (p = 0.6). The average bowel V45 for the empty bladder plans was 188 cc, compared to 139 cc for the full bladder plans (p < 0.05). More plans created on an empty bladder exceeded Quantitative Analyses of Normal Tissue Effects in the Clinic (QUANTEC) guidelines but this was not significant (31% vs 14%, p = 0.12). Reliability of bladder volume at the time of radiation treatment is low, regardless of bladder filling instructions, although an empty bladder reduces absolute variation in bladder volume. Radiation planning on an empty bladder predicts a larger volume of small bowel receiving 45 Gy compared to a full bladder, although bowel dose on average is still within QUANTEC guidelines (V45 < 195 cc).
An energy-efficient graphics processor featuring fine-grain DVFS with integrated voltage regulators, execution-unit turbo, and retentive sleep in 14nm tri-gate CMOS

Graphics workloads are highly dynamic in nature, using multi-threaded SIMD execution units (EUs), fixed-function units, samplers, and media accelerators to provide ever-increasing amounts of graphics performance. These workloads are often limited by power and thermal constraints, requiring dynamic voltage/frequency scaling (DVFS) of the graphics processor (GPU). This coarse-grain DVFS, driven by a power-management IC (PMIC) setting a shared rail voltage (V IN ), incurs performance loss while waiting for PLL re-lock and slow-rail voltage transitions. In addition, it does not allow a performance-critical unit (e.g. an EU) to use on demand a higher V/F (e.g. for EU turbo) without an energy penalty for the rest of the GPU.
Climate evolution across the Mid-Brunhes Transition

Abstract. The Mid-Brunhes Transition (MBT) began ∼ 430 ka with an increase in the amplitude of the 100 kyr climate cycles of the past 800 000 years. The MBT has been identified in ice-core records, which indicate interglaciations became warmer with higher atmospheric CO2 levels after the MBT, and benthic oxygen isotope ( δ18O ) records, which suggest that post-MBT interglaciations had higher sea levels and warmer temperatures than pre-MBT interglaciations. It remains unclear, however, whether the MBT was a globally synchronous phenomenon that included other components of the climate system. Here, we further characterize changes in the climate system across the MBT through statistical analyses of ice-core and δ18O records as well as sea-surface temperature, benthic carbon isotope, and dust accumulation records. Our results demonstrate that the MBT was a global event with a significant increase in climate variance in most components of the climate system assessed here. However, our results indicate that the onset of high-amplitude variability in temperature, atmospheric CO2 , and sea level at ∼430 ka was preceded by changes in the carbon cycle, ice sheets, and monsoon strength during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 14 and MIS 13.
Rates of return for crowdfunding portfolios: theoretical derivation and implications

Crowdfunding (CF) is emerging as a fast-growing new class of private equity investment. But research on the rates of return that CF investments should yield is sparse. In this paper, we analyse CF ...
Trade Unions: Empirical Analyses

Empirical analysis of unions falls largely into four related categories: (a) unions as maximizing agents, (b) the bargaining process: strikes and labor disputes, (c) the effect of unions on wages, and (d) the determination of union membership. Category (a) is covered in Trade Unions, Economic Behavior of, and category (b) is covered in Dispute Resolution in Economics. This article is organized around discussions of categories (c) and (d), the effect of unions on wages and the determination of union membership, respectively. Careful attention is paid to definition of what is estimable and to problems of causal inference in discussing the effect of unions on wages. The decision processes of both workers and employers are considered in deriving empirical models of the determination of the union status determination of both workers and employers are considered in deriving empirical models of the determination of union status of workers. Finally, implications of the modesl of union status determination for estimation of the union wage gap is considered.