cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Returns to Ocean-Bordering Properties over the Housing Cycle

Abstract We estimate a hedonic pricing model controlling directly for a property's proximity to the ocean and find a significant and sustained premium accruing to transacted prices for ocean-bordering properties. We find on average that properties that border the ocean earn a 74% premium, even after controlling for distance, but the magnitude of the border premium varies over time. Furthermore, the border premium is positively related to home prices and has been declining along with home prices from a peak value of 119% in late 2007, early 2008. We also find evidence that ocean-affected properties are transacting much less frequently, as the share of these properties among all transactions has been declining since 2005.
Sterol 14-demethylase inhibitors for Trypanosoma cruzi infections.

Chagas disease is caused by infection with the protozoan pathogen, Trypanosoma cruzi. The only approved therapeutics for treating Chagas disease are two nitroheterocydic compounds (benznidazole and nifurtimox) that are suboptimal due to poor curative activity for chronic Chagas disease and high rates of adverse drug reactions. Sterol 14-demethylase inhibitors include azole antifungal drugs such as ketoconazole, fluconazole, itraconazole, and others. The first reports of potent activity of azole antifungal drugs against Trypanosoma cruzi came out about 25 years ago. Since then, a sizeable literature has accumulated on this topic. Newer triazole compounds such as posaconazole and D0870 have been shown to be effective at curing mice with chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Small clinical studies with ketoconazole or itraconazole in humans with chronic Chagas disease have not demonstrated significant curative activity. However, there is good reason for optimism that newer compounds with greater potency and improved pharmacokinetic properties might be more efficacious. Data have been published demonstrating synergistic activity of azole drugs with various other compounds, indicating that combination chemotherapy may be an effective strategy as this field moves ahead. In light of the near absence of adequate therapeutics for curing patients with chronic Chagas disease, additional effort to develop better drugs needs to be a priority.
Evaluating the impact of practice conditions (randomized vs. blocked) and schedule (distributed vs. massed) on script training in aphasia.

Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that intensity of therapy is a critical factor influencing outcomes in aphasia treatment regardless of the treatment approach. However, little inform...
Contested Ground: The Campaign to Enhance the Status of the European Union in the UN General Assembly

The implementation of the Lisbon Treaty in New York raised a number of questions about the inter-institutional relationship between the EU and the UN and about the role of international organizations within the UN system in general. There were several distinct phases of this process: (1) the informal discussions within the EU that started as early as in 2008; (2) the active phase of the implementation process, which was launched on December 1, 2009 when the Lisbon Treaty finally came into force, and which was crowned by the adoption of the Resolution of the General Assembly (GA) “Participation of the European Union in the works of the United Nations” on May 3, 2011; and (3) the post-adoption phase. The adoption of the EU resolution has not brought the definitive solution for the future modus operandi of the EU at the UN, but only opened a new series of sensitive questions and is challenging once again the EU consensus on this matter. The EU debate on how to implement the Lisbon Treaty in New York in the environment of multilateral diplomacy will continue even after the EU got its desired “enhanced status”—as the search for the “arrangements” and “practical modalities” for the external representation of the EU and its member states continues at the UN. This paper consists of two parts. After a brief introduction into the changes brought by the Lisbon Treaty, the paper provides in Part II an extended narrative of the EU’s effort to gain enhanced observer status resulting in the adoption of the above-mentioned GA resolution. Part III is analytical. Several frameworks are used to contextualize the chal-lenges of the EU to gain enhanced status: the nature of EU multilateral diplomacy; the symbolic nature of UN politics; issues of institutional isomorphism as other regional organizations highlight their own legitimate claims to relevance status based upon their internal integration processes; and the EU’s role in broader transformations of multilateralism.
Price And Quality Value Influences On Retail Customer Satisfaction And Loyalty

This paper examines how price and quality value obtained in a shopping experience influence store and service satisfaction and subsequent customer loyalty in a discount retail setting. The multiple dimensions of value and satisfaction and their influence on loyalty is examined based on a sample of Wal-Mart and Target customers. The results indicate that quality value is related to store and service satisfaction. Price value was not related to store or service satisfaction. Store satisfaction was found to be related to customer loyalty, although service satisfaction was not related. The research provides managers with evidence on the specific dimensions of value and satisfaction that influence customer loyalty in a discount retail setting. Price value was not found to be related to store or service satisfaction suggesting that customers of discount retailers expect lower prices and therefore do not consider them as a driver of satisfaction. A similar logic may hold true for the relationship between service satisfaction and loyalty as a high level of service may not be considered as a requirement for discount retail shoppers.
Free Rides in Dockless, Electric Vehicle Sharing Systems

We study free-ride policies as a mechanism to incentivize users of a "dockless" or "free-floating" electric vehicle sharing system (EVSS) to park vehicles at charging stations in order to maintain a charged fleet. A balanced system has a fleet that is adequately charged and evenly dispersed throughout the city. If left to unfold naturally, the system would fall out of balance, and revenue and customer experience might suffer. Most sharing systems use manual repositioning to achieve this balance, but we consider pricing incentives as an alternative method. We develop an infinite horizon dynamic program to analyze free-ride policies. We focus on an EVSS that offers free rides to customers if they return vehicles to charging stations. We build on this initial formulation to construct a mixed-integer program that outputs intuitive, battery-threshold rules for when to offer free rides. We also extend the model to accommodate more general discount-based policies. In a discrete-event simulation model using real data from an EVSS, we compare the performance of this simple policy against other sophisticated policies, including the commonly used fi ne-based policy. We fi rst find that the simple threshold-based policy performs close to a more sophisticated, black-box policy in terms of revenue. We also discover that the free-ride policies generate customer utilities that are ten times higher than fi ne-based policies, but also generate less revenue. However, free-ride policies can be less costly to implement since they rely on manual repositioning up to 65-75% less than the benchmarking policies. Our simulation reveals this three-dimensional trade-off between customer satisfaction, revenue, and operational complexity. Furthermore, we fi nd that the cost of repositioning and the customer heterogeneity in the likelihood to accept a discount are major drivers of the frequency of free-ride offers. Our results are robust under many demand patterns and under a variety of network settings.
VO 2 Switch for Electrostatic Discharge Protection

On-chip protection from electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electrical overstress (EOS) is a continuous challenge in the semiconductor industry, requiring significant design costs and die space. Insulator-metal transition (IMT) materials like vanadium dioxide (VO2) could be used as bidirectional, compact voltage snapback devices for ESD protection that are not required to be in the front-end silicon. However, the reliability and response of these materials to ESD is not yet well studied. Here, we perform transmission line pulse (TLP) tests on thin film (50– 150 nm) VO2 devices. These can repeatedly sustain high currents in their metallic state, but still return to insulating once an ESD event is over. Devices with widths from 5 to 50 $\mu \text{m}$ can carry a maximum current ( ${I} _{{\text {t}2}}$ ) from ~1 to over 10 A, equivalent to ~1 to 15 kV of ESD protection. Furthermore, the snapback voltage can be engineered by varying the device length. These results suggest that IMT materials could be promising for use in on-chip ESD/EOS protection.
Understanding the Psychological Distress of Food Insecurity: A Qualitative Study of Children’s Experiences and Related Coping Strategies

Abstract Background Food insecurity, a condition of inadequate household food availability, affects 15.7% of US households with children. Food insecurity is generally believed to affect the quantity and quality of food consumed. However, an understudied but important aspect of the experience of food insecurity is psychological distress. Objective To critically explore the psychological distress associated with children’s food insecurity using children’s own reports of their experiences. Design In-depth qualitative interviews conducted with children to better understand the psychological distress associated with food insecurity. Participants/setting Sixty children (aged 7 to 14 years) were recruited from the San Francisco Bay Area. Children were eligible in the case that they spoke English fluently and their parent reported any experience of household food insecurity during the past year. Results Children discussed six themes related to the psychological distress associated with food insecurity: worrying about not having enough food, worrying about their parents’ well-being, anger and frustration about not having enough food, embarrassment about their family’s food situation, strain on the family’s dynamics due to food insecurity, and sadness over not having enough food. After describing their experiences, children described strategies they employed to tolerate or cope with food insecurity, including distracting from or using their imagination to cope with food insecurity, increasing tolerance of their family’s food situation, and appreciating their parents for providing food and resources. Conclusions Food insecurity contributes to children’s psychological distress. Given the known effects of chronic stress in childhood, the psychological distress of food insecurity may represent an important mechanism by which food insecurity adversely influences children’s growth and development and deserves investigation in future studies.
Is aquatic bioenergy with carbon capture and storage a sustainable negative emission technology? Insights from a spatially explicit environmental life-cycle assessment

Abstract It is anticipated that achievement of the Paris Climate Agreement goals will require widespread deployment of negative emission technologies (NETs). The most prominent NET is bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), which is typically envisioned to use terrestrial crops as feedstock. Several recent studies have focused on aquatic BECCS (A-BECCS), making use of microalgae or macroalgae as feedstock, as possible means of reducing water and land use. However, the high logistical complexity of the A-BECCS supply chain makes it likely that regional biophysical and socio-technical factors will strongly influence its overall favorability. Therefore, this study applies life-cycle assessment (LCA) incorporating a geographic information system (GIS) framework to estimate the environmental impacts of A-BECCS over all stages of its life-cycle. Three candidate locations in the USA are evaluated based on seemingly good proximity to coastal regions and CO2 storage; namely, East Coast, West Coast, and the Gulf of Mexico. Monte Carlo simulation is used to characterize distributions of model outputs, including energy return on investment (EROI) and net global warming potential (GWP). Results reveal that only the Gulf of Mexico configuration has any likelihood of achieving both net energy production (probability of EROI > 1 = 29%) and net CO2 sequestration (probability of GWP 1), but not net negative carbon sequestration. These results call into question the feasibility of the modeled A-BECCS system as an energy-producing NET and offer insights into possible system reconfiguration. For example, anaerobic digestion offers very low EROI and creates multiple carbon-bearing waste streams, which strongly undercuts overall net CO2 sequestration. Finally, it is observed that enhanced oil recovery (EOR) strongly contributes to net-energy production (EROI > 1) in the modeled A-BECCS system, but also strongly undercuts net CO2 sequestration, which is arguably the main goal of any NET. This analysis showcases how geographically-explicit analysis can advance our understanding of biomass-based NETs.
Impacts of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia and Pain on Sleep in Women with Gynecologic Malignancies: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Insomnia is an adverse cancer outcome impacting mood, pain, quality of life, and mortality in cancer patients. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based treatment for diverse psychoph...
THE PERCEPTION OF NASAL VOWELS

Publisher Summary The experimental study of the perception of nasal vowels spans a period of over 30 years and has focused on acoustic–perceptual relations. Characterization of these relations, however, entails an understanding of complex articulatory acoustic relations, as the effects of nasal coupling on the vowel spectrum vary to some extent with degree of coupling and with oral cavity configuration. Characterization of acoustic–perceptual relations also requires an understanding of complex interactions of the feature [nasal] with other vowel properties. This chapter discusses two fundamental questions concerning the perception of nasal vowels; what spectral property—or set of spectral properties—correlates with perceived nasality in vowels and what are the other aspects of perceived vowel quality that are influenced by the spectral effects of vowel nasalization. The acoustic–perceptual relations proposed in answer to these questions involve interactions between nasality and the inherent vowel properties of height, backness, duration, and phonation type, and extrinsic factors relating to vowel context.
Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Approach to Simulating Clay Behavior

AbstractA unique simulation was developed within the large-scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator (LAMMPS) open source molecular dynamics environment to model kaolinite clay during one-dimensional consolidation. The simulation was composed of a coarse-grained representation of the mineral with long-range and short-range interaction potentials. Additionally, the simulation allows for the edge-to-edge and edge-to-face attractions to develop through use of two subparticle types. Periodic simulation boundaries were created and thus allowed for consolidation to proceed without any wall effects distorting the resulting fabric. By following the parallel processing paradigm of the LAMMPS code, the number of particles simulated was limited only by the hardware on which the simulation was run. The results of the simulation showed remarkable consistency with previous published studies over all the void ratios explored and the transition from overconsolidated to normally consolidated behavior was capture...
Desenvolvimento e diferenciação dos ovócitos de pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887) (Osteichthyes, Characidae)

This work aim is to clarify doubts about the Piaractus mesopotamicus (Osteichthyes, Characidae) oocyte ultrastructural development and differentiation, following the transformations during the ovogenic processes, such as formation and accumulation of various organelles, nucleolar and/or citoplasmic inclusions, and follicular wall (envelope). During the primary growth phase, Balbiani corpuscles are evident, but their role is not clear. The peculiar lamellae structures are also present. The second phase (secondary growth) is initially characterized by cortical alveolus formation. After that, protein yolk granules appear in the peripherical regions, where mitochondria and ribosomes are abundant. Changes in the follicle epitelium ( granulosa ) are described together with the radiate zone formation, which constitutes the follicular envelope.
Lung collagen composition and synthesis. Characterization and changes with age.

In the lung, collagen is found associated with bronchi, with blood vessels, and with the alveolar interstitium; it is known to be fundamental in the maintenance of lung structure and function. Two collagen chains, α1 and α2, can be extracted from rabbit lung homogenates; each chain has an approximate molecular weight of 100,000 and is composed of amino acids that are characteristic of collagen, but are not specific for lung. Lung slices incubated in vitro synthesize α1 and α2 chains, as demonstrated by carboxymethylcellulose chromatography, by sodium dodecyl sulfate acrylamide gel electrophoresis, by acidic acrylamide gel electrophoresis, by sensitivity to collagenase, and by sensitivity to trichloroacetic acid at 90°. As a percentage of dry weight, lung protein does not change significantly during maturation, but the content of collagen increases 5-fold from the late stages of gestation to adult life. The average rate of collagen synthesis per cell decreases slowly 10-fold from fetal to adult life whereas the average rate of noncollagen protein synthesis per cell rapidly decreases to adult levels before birth. The rate of collagen synthesis relative to the rate of total protein synthesis is low in fetal life, rises from 2 to 15% in the first month of life, and then declines by 2 months of age to the fetal level throughout adult life. The maturing lung, therefore, has significant changes in genetic expression during a period of rapid growth as the lung converts to a gas-exchanging organ.
Lipopolysaccharide induces DNA binding activity specific for the IFN-stimulated response element in murine peritoneal macrophages.

Several murine macrophage genes that exhibit transcriptional response to LPS (e.g., IP-10, D3) have IFN-stimulated response element (ISRE) sequences present in regions flanking the transcription start sites. In the present study, the ability of LPS to activate proteins in murine peritoneal macrophages capable of binding to the ISRE has been investigated. Nuclear extracts from both LPS-treated and untreated macrophages are capable of forming four distinct complexes with a radiolabeled oligonucleotide containing the ISRE sequence as detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. LPS-treated nuclei contained an additional ISRE binding activity (complex I) that was not found in unstimulated cells. The induction of the latter activity by LPS was sensitive to polymyxin B sulfate, a lipid A antagonist, demonstrating that LPS was the primary inducing activity. All five retarded protein-DNA complexes formed were specific for the ISRE sequence as shown by competition with a series of oligonucleotides containing either ISRE-related or -unrelated sequences. Complex I binding activity was dependent upon the concentration of LPS and the time of LPS treatment. Furthermore, complex I was similar to that induced in response to treatment with IFN-beta in terms of electrophoretic mobility and specificity for the ISRE. LPS-induced complex I formation was partially independent of protein synthesis and could not be blocked by including neutralizing antibody to IFN-alpha/beta in the culture medium. Thus, even though LPS is a potent inducer of IFN-beta in murine macrophages, class I IFN expression may not be an obligatory intermediate event in the LPS-driven activation of ISRE binding activity. These results suggest that induction of ISRE binding activity may be an important part of the signaling process initiated by LPS.
Formation of the Ferritin Iron Mineral Occurs in Plastids (An X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study

Ferritin in plants is a nuclear-encoded, multisubunit protein found in plastids; an N-terminal transit peptide targets the protein to the plastid, but the site for formation of the ferritin Fe mineral is unknown. In biology, ferritin is required to concentrate Fe to levels needed by cells (approximately 10(-7) M), far above the solubility of the free ion (10(-18) M); the protein directs the reversible phase transition of the hydrated metal ion in solution to hydrated Fe-oxo mineral. Low phosphate characterizes the solid-phase Fe mineral in the center of ferritin of the cytosolic animal ferritin, but high phosphate is the hallmark of Fe mineral in prokaryotic ferritin and plant (pea [Pisum sativum L.] seed) ferritin. Earlier studies using x-ray absorption spectroscopy showed that high concentrations of phosphate present during ferritin mineralization in vivo altered the local structure of Fe in the ferritin mineral so that it mimicked the prokaryotic type, whether the protein was from animals or bacteria. The use of x-ray absorption spectroscopy to analyze the Fe environment in pea-seed ferritin now shows that the natural ferritin mineral in plants has an Fe-P interaction at 3.26A, similar to that of bacterial ferritin; phosphate also prevented formation of the longer Fe-Fe interactions at 3.5A found in animal ferritins or in pea-seed ferritin reconstituted without phosphate. Such results indicate that ferritin mineralization occurs in the plastid, where the phosphate content is higher; a corollary is the existence of a plastid Fe uptake system to allow the concentration of Fe in the ferritin mineral.
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF VERTICAL TRANSLOCATION AND LATERAL CROSS‐CONTAMINATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI O157:H7 DURING MECHANICAL TENDERIZATION OF BEEF

Quantitative vertical translocation and lateral cross-contamination of Escherichia coli O157:H7 during mechanical tenderization of beef meat were investigated using a restaurant-style meat tenderizer, which was first used to tenderize a surface-inoculated sample, and then an additional four uninoculated samples. It was observed that the vertically translocated bacteria (in log10 cfu/g) was directly proportional to the logarithm of the tenderization depth, with an average translocation coefficient of 3.14 ± 0.66 log10 cfu/g per log10 mm of depth. For lateral cross-contamination, the bacterial counts recovered from the top layers of the first four pieces of meat decreased by approximately 0.5 log10 cfu/g after each tenderization. There was no decrease in the bacterial counts recovered from the top layers after the 4th tenderization. More tenderization studies were needed to quantitatively analyze the trend of lateral cross-contamination. However, it is evident that both vertical translocation and lateral cross-contamination can occur during mechanical tenderization of meat. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Foodborne illnesses caused by consumption of undercooked non-intact beef meats contaminated with Escherichia coli O157:H7 are an emerging public food safety concern as evidenced by a major outbreak recently. This study investigated both vertical translocation and lateral cross-contamination of E. coli O157:H7 during mechanical tenderization of beef. The results from this work can aid quantitative assessment of risks caused by non-intact beef meats.
Breathing life into digital archives: use of natural language processing to revitalize the grey literature of public health

The goal of our 2-year Robert Wood Johnson-funded project is to apply Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to improve access and use of the digitalized public health "grey" literature. Much public health information, such as meeting notes, think-tank reports, policy statements, and data sets, is not available through traditional commercial pathways and is considered grey or fugitive literature. Although grey literature documents are increasingly posted in digital archives on the Web, the unstructured and varied nature of grey literature makes accessing useful content difficult at best.In an effort to help make the content of public health digital collections more accessible to public health providers, we will use proven NLP techniques to identify and extract key elements of digital documents. NLP techniques can be used to identify and tag key elements from full-text documents. Once tagged, the content of various documents can be extracted and summarized in tables and charts for comparison and review. The ability of NLP to recognize and represent both the explicit and implicit content of full text documents makes it a powerful technique for interpreting the language of text documents. Our NLP information access system has been used in other domains to extract individual entities and events, as well as draw relationships between entities and events to build a content representation.The goal is to develop a model of public health interventions and identify key entities and events from these digital archives. Key elements may include type of study and population demographics as well as more traditional bibliographic elements such as author, title and publication date.NLP technology will be used to search, identify and extract key elements based on the user's request. Key elements can be extracted across multiple documents for summary and comparison. For example, the user can extract key elements from annual reports about "teenage smoking cessation programs" to compare method of intervention, demographic population, and outcome. Such comparisons will help public health professionals to determine how a particular intervention fits with similar interventions reported in the grey literature. This system holds great promise for improving access to public health information through digital archives.
Effects of spray-irrigated wastewater effluent on temporary pond-breeding amphibians.

Comparison was made of abiotic conditions, amphibian reproductive outputs, and the survival of embryonic and larval amphibians in wastewater effluent-irrigated and natural temporary ponds in an area in Centre County, Pennsylvania that has been spray-irrigated with secondarily treated, chlorinated wastewater effluent from The Pennsylvania State University for approximately 14 years. Three species of temporary pond-breeding amphibians were studied: wood frogs (Rana sylvatica LeConte), Jefferson salamanders (Ambystoma jeffersonianum Green), and spotted salamanders (A. maculatum Gravenhorst). Comparisons of physico-chemical parameters in 10 wastewater-irrigated and 10 natural temporary ponds over 19 weeks in 1997 indicated that wastewater -irrigated ponds had significantly higher median conductance, pH, ?Na, ?K, ?Ca, ?Mg, and ?N-NO(3) and lower ?dissolved oxygen. Many of the wastewater-irrigated ponds supported large mats of duckweed (Lemna spp.) that completely blanketed the pond's surface by mid-May. There were significantly fewer egg masses of all three species in wastewater-irrigated ponds than in natural ponds in both 1997 and 1998. In situ egg hatching success and larval survival (over a 6-day period) of all species was lower in wastewater-irrigated ponds than in natural ponds. Cumulatively, these studies suggest that wastewater effluent irrigation may impact amphibian populations by reducing the survival of amphibian eggs and larvae.
Tumor immunotherapy: making an immortal army.

Manipulation of cell renewal pathways creates T memory stem cells that can generate a sustained and targeted immune response. These findings have broad implications for vaccine development and immunotherapy.
Minocycline attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced white matter injury in the neonatal rat brain

Our previous studies have shown that intracerebral administration of endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), induces selective white matter injury and hypomyelination in the neonatal rat brain and that the LPS-induced brain injury is associated with activation of microglia. To test the hypothesis that inhibition of microglial activation may protect against LPS-induced white matter injury, we examined roles of minocycline, a putative suppressor of microglial activation, on LPS-induced brain injury in the neonatal rat. A stereotactic intracerebral injection of LPS (1 mg/kg) was performed in postnatal day 5 Sprague-Dawley rats and control rats were injected with sterile saline. Minocycline (45 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally 12 h before and immediately after LPS injection and then every 24 h for 3 days. Inflammatory responses, activation of microglia and brain injury were examined 1 and 3 days after LPS injection. LPS injection resulted in brain injury in selective brain areas, including bilateral ventricular enlargement, cell death at the sub- and periventricular areas, loss of O4+ and O1+ oligodendrocyte (OL) immunoreactivity and hypomyelination, as indicated by decreased myelin basic protein immunostaining, in the neonatal rat brain. Minocycline administration significantly attenuated LPS-induced brain injury in these rat brains. The protective effect of minocycline was associated with suppressed microglial activation as indicated by the decreased number of activated microglial cells following LPS stimulation and with consequently decreased elevation of interleukin 1β and tumor necrosis factor-α concentrations induced by LPS and a reduced number of inducible nitric oxide synthase expressing cells. Protection of minocycline was also linked with the reduction in LPS-induced oxidative stress, as indicated by 4-hydroxynonenal positive OLs. The overall results suggest that reduction in microglial activation may protect the neonatal brain from LPS-induced white matter injury and inhibition of microglial activation might be an effective approach for the therapeutic treatment of infection-induced white matter injury.
Dostoevsky's Prison House of Nation(s): Genre Violence in Notes from the House of the Dead

Fedor Dostoevsky's autobiographical prison novel Notes from the House of the Dead (1860–62) has been widely discussed—and presented by Dostoevsky himself—as an account of the author's life-changing encounter with the Russian narod. But, like its Omsk prototype, Dostoevsky's literary prison is home not only to Russian prisoners; it is also a prison house of nations. This article attributes significance to the very heterogeneity of the prison and reads House through an imperial optic that sheds light on the text's generic indeterminacies. The prison condenses Russian space and motivates familiar literary modes for representing the peoples of Russia, but allows none of them to develop their full potential. Ultimately, the literary modes of House express a tension between unity and multiplicity and express a conflict between two ideological projects: patriotic celebration of the diversity and expanse of empire, and desire for Russian national unity.
Consistency analysis and improvement for single-camera localization

In this paper, we study the problem of estimator inconsistency in single-camera simultaneous localization and mapping (MonoSLAM) from a standpoint of system observability. Specifically, we postulate that a leading cause of inconsistency is the gain of spurious information along unobservable directions, resulting in smaller uncertainties, larger estimation errors, and divergence. Moreover, we introduce an Observability-Constrained MonoSLAM (OC-MonoSLAM) approach, which explicitly enforces the unobservable directions of the system, hence preventing spurious information gain and reducing inconsistency. Our analysis, along with the proposed method for reducing inconsistency, are validated with simulation trials and real-world experimentation.
Magnetohydrodynamics in the extreme relativistic limit

We present two new formulations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), in the limit where the inertia of the charge carriers can be neglected. The first employs Lagrangian coordinates and generalizes Newcomb's formalism to allow for a variable time slicing. It contains an extremely simple prescription for generalizing the action of a relativistic Nambu-Goto string to four dimensions. It is also related by a duality transformation to the action presented by Achterberg. This transformation causes the perturbed and unperturbed Lagrangian coordinates to exchange roles as dynamical fields and background spacetime. Our second formulation introduces massless electrically charged fermions as the current carrying modes, and considers long wavelength perturbations with ${\ensuremath{\omega}}^{2}{,k}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}^{2}\ensuremath{\ll}\mathrm{eB}.$ Because the Fermi zero mode can be bosonized separately on each magnetic flux line, the current density may be written in terms of a four-dimensional axion field that acts as a Lagrange multiplier to enforce the MHD condition. The fundamental modes of the magnetofluid in this limit comprise two oppositely directed Alfv\'en modes and the fast mode, all of which propagate at the speed of light. We calculate the nonlinear interaction between two Alfv\'en modes, and show that in both formulations it satisfies the same simple expression. This provides the first exact treatment of the effects of compressibility on nonlinear interactions between MHD waves. We then summarize the interactions between Alfv\'en modes, between Alfv\'en modes and fast modes, and between fast modes in terms of a simplified Lagrangian. The three-mode interaction between fast modes is a magnetohydrodynamic analogue of the QED process of photon splitting, but occurs in background magnetic fields of arbitrary strength. The scaling behavior of an Alfv\'en wave cascade in a box is derived, paying close attention to boundary conditions. This result also applies to nonrelativistic MHD media and differs from those obtained by previous authors in the nonrelativistic regime. Finally, we briefly outline the physical processes which determine the inner scale of such a cascade in neutron star magnetospheres, black hole accretion disks, and \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray burst sources. At low charge density, the waves at the inner scale may become charge starved; whereas Compton drag is the dominant dissipative mechanism at large optical depth to electron scattering. A turbulent cascade leads to effective dissipation even in optically thick media, and in particular can significantly raise the entropy-baryon ratio in the relativistic outflows that power cosmological \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray bursts.
Application and analysis of a coupled surface and groundwater model

Abstract A model which couples two-dimensional transient saturated subsurface flow (Boussinesq equation) and one-dimensional gradually-varied unsteady open-channel flow (Saint-Venant equations) is developed and applied to the Truckee River system in northern Nevada. The coupled model involves simultaneous numerical solution of the surface and subsurface flow equations using the Galerkin finite-element method. This paper attempts to address questions regarding the application of such a model to both real and hypothetical hydrologic systems in terms of analysis of parameter sensitivity, predictive uncertainty and uniqueness of model solution. Investigation of parameter sensitivity provides information regarding the relative accuracy with which individual system parameters should be measured in order to insure successful model operation. Model predictive uncertainty is evaluated based on comparison of model output and field observations obtained over a two-year period from the Truckee River study area in northern Nevada. Results indicate fair to good prediction of both high and low river stage and groundwater table elevations with predictive accuracy decreasing with distance away from river channel. A procedure for quantifying uniqueness of model solution is developed to provide insight into the reliability associated with extrapolation of model output beyond the limits of observed field measurements. Based on results for the Truckee River system, such extrapolation appears to be justified.
Comparison of Effects of Antihypertensive Drugs on Heart Rate: Changes From Baseline by Baseline Group and Over Time

Baseline heart rate is becoming recognized as a predictor of cardiovascular risk. Various antihypertensive drugs have differing effects on heart rate. A randomized controlled clinical trial of 1292 ambulatory men with stage 1 or 2 hypertension was conducted in 15 Veterans Affairs medical centers. Patients were treated with hydrochlorothiazide, atenolol, captopril, clonidine, diltiazem, prazosin, or placebo for up to 2 years. Heart rates were measured at baseline, the end of titration, 1 year, and 2 years. Data were also stratified by baseline heart rate. A subset of patients had heart rate also determined by electrocardiogram. All drugs except prazosin reduced heart rate from baseline; additional small decreases were obtained over time with hydrochlorothiazide and placebo. The decrease initially achieved with clonidine was attenuated over time. The overall reduction in heart rate was greatest for atenolol (-12.2 beats/min) and least for prazosin (+3.8 beats/min). Only atenolol effected a further reduction of heart rate for patients whose baseline rate was or =85 beats/min. Data derived by electrocardiogram yielded similar results. The drugs used in this study differ in their ability to reduce heart rate, sustain that reduction over time, and to change heart rate in groups with high or low rates at baseline. The importance of these comparative changes as independent cardiac risk factor variables remains to be determined.
The metabolism of cortisol and progesterone by cultured uterine fibroblasts, strain U12-705.

Abstract 1. 1. Cultured human fibroblasts (U12-705) metabolize cortisol-4-14C and progesterone-4-14C to a variety of steroid products. 2. 2. 4-Pregnene-11β-17α,20β,21-tetrol-3-one, 4-pregnene-17α,20β,21-triol-3,20, dione have been identified and corticosterone and 11β-hydroxyandrostene dione-3-17 have been tentatively identified as products of cortisol metabolism. 3. 3. 4-Pregnene-20β-ol-3-one, 4-pregnene-20α-ol-3-one and allopregnane-3,20-dione have been identified as products of progesterone. Evidence is also presented which demonstrates the presence of two or more additional products of the pregnanolone series (pregnane or allopregnane-20α-ol-3-one and/or their epi isomers; or pregnane or allopregnane-3-α-ol-20-one and/or their epi isomers).
Whole body optical imaging without a scattering background

An imaging method that utilizes a laser topography scan and a multigrid reconstruction based on a diffusion model avoids the scattering emulsion background. Image reconstructions for a tissue phantom and fluorescence in a mouse are shown.
Inverse scattering with sparse Bayesian vector regression

A Bayesian formulation is employed to develop a sparse vector regression model. The model is used to characterize the connection between measured vector scattered-field data x and the underlying target responsible for these fields, characterized by the parameter vector t. The scattering data x may be measured at multiple positions and/or at multiple frequencies. The statistical model is trained using a set of data established from a measurement and/or a forward model. Given observed scattered fields x, the model yields the expected target parameters t, as well as the associated accuracy of this estimate, defined in terms of 'error bars'. After developing the theory, we consider scattering from dielectric targets buried under a lossy half-space. We address examples for which the actual target responsible for the scattered fields is not matched to that used in the regression model, as well as scattering data with large additive noise.
Plant Golgi-associated vesicles contain a novel α-actinin-like protein

Summary By using Western blotting, immunofluorescence and immuno-gold labeling, a novel α-actinin-like protein was found in pollen and pollen tubes of Lilium davidii , a model system for cytoskeleton and Golgi apparatus study of plant. As measured by Western blotting, the molecular mass of the α-actinin-like protein was about 80 kDa. Under confocal laser scanning microscopy after immunofluorescence labeling, the distribution of the α-actinin-like protein appeared punctated in the cytoplasm of the pollen and pollen tubes. When double labeled, the protein was co-localized with Golgi 58K protein. In addition, some fraction of the α-actinin-like protein was found to co-distribute with F-actin bundles in the pollen tubes. Additional studies with immuno-gold labeling and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the α-actinin-like protein bound mainly to the membranes of Golgi-associated vesicles. When the pollen tubes were treated with Brefeldin A (BFA), the α-actinin-like proteins were dispersed into the cytoplasm, and the growth of pollen tubes was inhibited. After BFA was removed, the protein was reversibly recovered on the Golgi apparatus. These results suggest that the novel α-actinin-like protein is a BFA-sensitive protein on the membranes of Golgi-associated vesicles, and may participate in Golgi-associated vesicles budding and/or sorting, together with actin microfilaments.
Electric bike sharing: simulation of user demand and system availability

Abstract This paper describes the operational concepts and system requirements of a fully automated electric bike (e-bike) sharing system demonstrated through a pilot project at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) campus (deployed in September 2011). This project is part of a movement to develop a sustainable transportation system, and is one of the green initiatives on UTK campus. E-bikes are more energy efficient and produce fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per person compared to other transport modes such as car, bus, and motorcycle. Without empirical demand information for an e-bike sharing system, we simulated the operations of such a system to gain insights during the design process before field deployment. The simulation exercise focused on three critical demand parameters – distributions of trip rates, trip lengths, and trip durations – and coupled them with supply parameters – number of e-bikes, number of swappable batteries, and battery recharging profiles. The primary purpose of these simulations is to evaluate the efficiency of an off-board battery recharging system, where the depleted battery is removed from an e-bike upon its return and inserted into one of the charging slots at the kiosk. We tested various scenarios with different number of batteries always maintaining an initial condition with the battery to e-bike ratio greater or equal to 1.0 to ensure battery availability. We applied empirical battery recharging rates and system operations rules to determine the number of e-bikes and batteries available under different potential demand situations, with a focus on optimizing the number of batteries to meet user demands. By adjusting input parameters, numerous scenarios were simulated for sensitivity analysis. Based on the results of the simulation, this paper presents a cost constrained e-bike sharing system design that can maintain a high level of system reliability (e-bike and battery availability) through optimal battery charging and distribution management. We found that high demand scenarios require multiple swappable batteries per e-bike to reasonably meet the maximum demand. Trip duration has the most influence on e-bike and battery availability, followed by trip rate, and then trip length.
New local gazetteers from China

Purpose – New (post‐1949) Chinese local gazetteers are one of the major primary resources for contemporary China Studies in the field of history, social sciences, humanities and sciences. Major research libraries in North America have collected them; however, the research value of this series of publications has not yet fully explored. This paper aims at examining how new local gazetteers have been compiled, the scope of their content and research value, and how scholars have used them.Design/methodology/approach – The paper explores the scope and importance of the new Chinese local gazetteers collection through reviewing relevant regulations, policies and guidelines regarding compilation of the new local gazetteers, and randomly examining over 30 provincial, city and county gazetteers.Findings – The paper provides a detailed account of publishing history of this collection; rich and unique research information available; and approaches to collection development, including utilizing digitized gazetteers b...
Measuring Stability of Threshold-Based Feature Selection Techniques

Feature selection has been applied in many domains, such as text mining and software engineering. Ideally a feature selection technique should produce consistent outputs regardless of minor variations in the input data. Researchers have recently begun to examine the stability (robustness) of feature selection techniques. The stability of a feature selection method is defined as the degree of agreement between its outputs to randomly-selected subsets of the same input data. This study evaluated the stability of 11 threshold-based feature ranking techniques (rankers) when applied to 16 real-world software measurement datasets of different sizes. Experimental results demonstrate that AUC (Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve) and PRC (Area Under the Precision-Recall Curve) performed best among the 11 rankers.
Khotin 1621, or how the Poles changed the course of Ottoman history

This article underlines the close connection between the disappointing performance of the Ottoman central army during the siege of Khotin, which was defended by the forces of the Polish — Lithuanian Commonwealth in the fall of 1621, and the regicide of the Ottoman sultan Osman II in the spring of 1622. Interpreting the regicide of Osman II within the larger context of the Ottoman military rebellions of the late 16th century and the later depositions of the 17th century, this study suggests looking at the history of the Ottoman Empire in 17th and 18th centuries from a fresh perspective that would emphasise the transformation of the Ottoman political structures in this period to create — what the author calls — the “Second Empire”.
Book review essays

Book reviewed in this article: Regionalism and monopoly capitalism: a new approach to the study of local power: Dulong, R. 1978: Les regions, l'etat et la societe locale. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. Regionalism and monopoly capitalism: a new approach to the study of local power: Logroye, J. Wright, V. editors 1979: Local government in Britain and France: problems and prospects (LGBF). Regionalism and monopoly capitalism: a new approach to the study of local power: Tarrow, S., Katzenstein, P. and Graziano, L. editors 1978: Territorial politics in industrial nations (TPIN). Regionalism and monopoly capitalism: a new approach to the study of local power: Lojkine, J. 1977: Big firms' strategies, urban policies and urban social movements (1975). In Harloe, M., editor, Captive cities.
Extensions of Asymptotic Neutron Diffusion Theory

A formulation of asymptotic neutron diffusion theory for numerical calculations is presented which provides in simple ways for physical features not included in the elementary form of the theory. T...
On the relationship between Lorentz's theorem for viscous flow and Onsager's reciprocal theorem

This paper views the Lorentz reciprocal theorem of slow viscous flow as a thermodynamic theorem and shows that it is a special case of the more general (and powerful) reciprocal theorem of non-equilibrium thermodynamics due to Onsager, applied at the global (as opposed to local) level. The point is illustrated with two simple problems in viscous flow theory.