cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adapting Cooperative Structure to the New Global Environment

Cooperatives flourish when competition is weak and decline when it is robust. Many agricultural cooperatives were, for example, formed during the depression, while many struggle in today’s competitive environment. Factors contributing to the present cooperative stress are many. Maturing capital markets and falling risk premia have eroded cooperatives’ historical borrowing advantage. Declining transportation costs and trade barriers have expanded market boundaries. Healthy returns in equity markets have facilitated the capitalization of investor-owned firms (IOFs), increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-tradable and non-dividend-bearing cooperative equity. The notion that cooperatives should prosper when markets are poorly competitive has long been maintained as the competitive yardstick hypothesis. If cooperative formation is rational when market imperfections arise, we might wonder if dissolution is rational when the imperfections fade. In this article, we show that the answer is yes. More generally, we show that cooperatives would wish to choose from a continuum of cooperative, new-generation, and IOF models as market conditions and interest groups vary. For this purpose, we develop a general organizational framework of the agricultural processing firm, paying attention to the mechanisms distinguishing the cooperative from the IOF structure, the tension between active and retired members, and the influence of competition in raw and finished product markets. Optimality is considered first from the perspective of the cooperative member, in terms of maximizing the expected present value of net cash flows, then from the perspec
Prying the Gates Wide Open: Academic Freedom and Gender Equality at Brown University, 1974-1977.

In 1974, Brown University’s Department of Anthropology denied tenure to assistant professor Louise Lamphere. Convinced that her dismissal was the product of sex discrimination, Lamphere filed suit against Brown. Lamphere and three other female scholars who joined her suit successfully pressed Brown into an out-of-court settlement in 1977. Significantly, the settlement required Brown not only to provide redress to the plaintiffs but also to take sweeping action in rectifying its faculty’s inequitable gender ratio. While Lamphere’s case marked a rare victory for academic women in the male preserve of the Ivy League, this study concerns the bearing of the lawsuit on academic freedom. It argues that academic freedom entails two interlocking principles: freedom of inquiry and departmental autonomy. Lamphere emphasised the former while Brown advocated the latter. Ultimately, the Lamphere case illustrates how academic freedom loses its efficacy when freedom of inquiry and departmental autonomy are decoupled.
Controversies in nursing ethics: a historical review

The author critiques the dialectic between justice-based ethics and an ethic of caring from a historical perspective (by analogy with the dialectic between agape and friendship). Justice-based ethics have been problematic for nursing because of the decontextualized approach. The ethic of caring is problematic because caring, being contextual, is particularistic and therefore can be based on morally irrelevant factors, such as liking. There is a tradition of writing which seeks to reconcile the particularistic obligations of friendship with the moral duty to all others equally. Ideas from the following authors are reviewed for relevance to nursing: Aristotle, Aelred of Rievaulx, Augustine, John Cassian, Cicero, George Berkeley, Immanuel Kant, Michel de Montaigne, Jeremy Taylor and Max Weber. The authors concludes by noting that both sides of the dialectic are synthesized in the lived experience of individuals. A synthesis in thought is called for on this basis.
Special perspectives section: responsible research and innovation for synthetic biology

In November 2014, a group of more than 100 scholars and practitioners from academia, industry, and non-profit organizations gathered in Tempe, AZ for an intensive two-day workshop to articulate the most important and pressing questions on the societal aspects of synthetic biology. The aim of the workshop was not just to reflect on the social science research that has been done around synthetic biology, but also to generate new questions to construct a new (set of) research agenda(s). A subset of the papers the participants wrote and circulated in advance of the workshop focused on the theme of responsible innovation; these authors agreed to revise their papers for this Special Perspectives Section. Together these articles communicate a diverse set of new ideas for work in responsible innovation.
A PRACTITIONER'S PERSPECTIVE ON UNIFIED FAMILY COURTS: CASE STUDIES

As a summary of simple examples demonstrating practical advantages of a family court, this article relates a few experiences from the perspective of a family law attorney who practices regularly in the Fulton County Family Division in Atlanta.
Structure of Ethene Adsorption Sites on Supported Metal Catalysts from in Situ XANES Analysis

The structures of the catalytically active sites in supported metal catalysts are a long sought after goal. In this study, XAS has been used to establish these structures. The ethene-induced changes in the XAS spectra as a function of temperature and pressure were correlated to changes in the adsorption mode of the hydrocarbon. At low temperature, ethene was adsorbed in on-top (π) and bridged (di-σ) sites on small platinum clusters. Below room temperature, the adsorbed ethene was dehydrogenated to an ethylidyne species, which was adsorbed in threefold Pt sites. On larger clusters the dehydrogenation proceeded at higher temperature indicating a different reactivity. EXAFS results showed that changes in the geometrical structures were mainly due to (co)adsorbed hydrogen. Our results for platinum agree with those obtained using other techniques proving that detailed shape analysis of the L3 edge XANES is a practical tool to determine the structure of the sites that are involved in bonding to reactants and in...
Wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) data-block switching for parallel computing and interconnects

We report a new generation switch, the data-block switch, which can greatly increase the capacity and reduce the complexity of the interconnect network of a parallel computing system. By using WDM techniques, parallel data can be multiplexed and transmitted through a single fiber. By using photonic switching techniques, we can switch a block of parallel data in one switch operation to any site desired. In this work, we demonstrate such an operation with our fabricated 1 X 2 semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) switch. This integrated device is an active/passive Y- junction waveguide device with a passive waveguide region in the middle and 3 active waveguide regions at each end. The amplified spontaneous emission spectrum of the SOA shows that this broadband switch can easily cover a wavelength range of more than 64 ITU wavelength grids (100 GHz). The switch operation of multiple wavelengths and the switching speed of the device were studied. A switching time of around 400 ps was achieved.
The Hysteretic Damping Model in Vibration Theory

The characterization of damping elements by differential or integral equations relating physical variables by transfer functions in the frequency domain and by impulse response functions in the time domain is carried out for the ideal viscous damper, the ideal hysteretic damper and the band-limited hysteretic damper. It is shown that the latter two models are flawed because they do not satisfy the causality requirement.
PURIFICATION OF BOVINE ALPHA -LACTALBUMIN BY IMMOBILIZED METAL ION AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY

The milk protein alpha-lactalbumin was isolated from bovine whey protein concentrate solution by immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) using Cu(II)-Chelating Sepharose Fast Flow. Stepwise pH (5.5-3.8) changes in sodium acetate buffer were used to elute the protein selectively, at which time it was concentrated and reapplied to an uncharged Chelating Sepharose Fast Flow column to remove the contaminating Cu(II) ions. A purity of 90% and recovery of 80% was achieved. The described method appears to be suitable for isolation of alpha-lactalbumin in a form adequate for milk formula engineering.
Serum neuroleptic activity, prolactin, and tardive dyskinesia in schizophrenic outpatients.

The authors measured serum neuroleptic activity and serum prolactin levels in 26 schizophrenic outpatients on prolonged neuroleptic therapy. Of the 24 patients, 11 had moderafe to severe tardive dyskinesia, as assessed by the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). AIMS scores were positively correlated with age, duration of illness, and negative schizophrenic symptoms, but not with variables of neuroleptic exposure, current serum levels of neuroleptic activity, or serum prolactin levels. Neuroleptic activity and prolactin levels were positively correlated, and both variables also correlated with the current daily dose of neuroleptics.
Pre-emptive shadows: eliminating the blinding light from projectors

Users interacting with front-projected displays often work between the projector and the display surface. This causes undesirable projection on the user as well as temporary blindness from looking into the bright light of the projector. In this paper, we present pre-emptive shadows, a technique that uses a camera-projector system to detect and turn off pixels that would otherwise be needlessly cast upon users' bodies, especially their faces. We present measurements that show that system reduces the brightness of the blinding light by about a factor of 5.
Statistics of fluctuations in high-frequency low-grazing-angle backscatter from a rocky sea bed

This paper examines the fluctuations in low-grazing-angle 100-kHz backscatter from a rocky limestone sea bed near Copenhagen, Denmark, at horizontal ranges up to 420 m. The sea-bed reverberation was characterized by strong short spatial-scale variations in scattering strength and statistical parameters. The measured areal backscatter strengths were in the range from -50 to -24 dB at grazing angles less than 3/spl deg/, showing a strong local variability and grazing-angle dependence definitely not in accordance with Lambert's law. The observed echo-amplitude distributions varied between log-normal and Rayleigh models, with more Rayleigh-like probability density functions having higher scintillation indices and skewness (approaching values of 1.0 and 0.63, respectively). The scintillation index and skewness parameters were found to increase mildly with both horizontal range and water-current magnitude. A simple model using the coherent superposition of multiple scatterers was proposed to explain the observed scattering statistics. This model is based on the assumption that the sea bed is effectively immobile, with water-borne scintillation and micro-multipaths providing fluctuations in scatterer phase. This simple model shows that echo-amplitude fluctuations can deviate from the Rayleigh model through two mechanisms: 1) decreasing the levels of water-borne phase fluctuation and 2) increasing the nonuniformity of the sea-bed scatterer amplitudes.
Dissecting ant recognition systems in the age of genomics

Hamilton is probably best known for his seminal work demonstrating the role of kin selection in social evolution. His work made it clear that, for individuals to direct their altruistic behaviours towards appropriate recipients (kin), mechanisms must exist for kin recognition. In the social insects, colonies are typically comprised of kin, and colony recognition cues are used as proxies for kinship cues. Recent years have brought rapid advances in our understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms that are used for this process. Here, I review some of the most notable advances, particularly the contributions from recent ant genome sequences and molecular biology.
Foot Ash as a Means of Quantifying Bone Mineralization in Chicks

Abstract Three studies were conducted to evaluate foot ash as an alternative method to quantify the degree of bone mineralization in broiler chicks. In Experiment 1, the objective was to evaluate whether degree of bone mineralization would be reflected by foot ash in broiler chickens at 14 d of age. Birds receiving 0.24, 0.32, or 0.40% of dietary available phosphorus (AP) demonstrated significant differences in foot ash (10.93, 13.46, and 15.45%, respectively). In Experiment 2, we determined that the time required for a foot sample to dry to a constant weight at 105°C was 48 h. In Experiment 3, the objectives were to compare the response of bone mineralization to dietary phosphorus levels as reflected by foot ash and tibia bone ash and to evaluate the effect of fat extraction on the determination of these parameters. Broiler chicks were fed graded levels of AP (0.25, 0.30, 0.35, and 0.40%) from 1 to 14 d of age. Significantly different responses between each dietary AP level could be detected by any method used. A significant linear response was observed between dietary AP and percentage of extracted or unextracted tibia or foot ash, with determination coefficients above 90% found for all 4 methods used. Results confirmed that the dietary phosphorus levels affected bone mineralization and that the degree of mineralization could reliably be reflected by foot ash. The assay was found to be as reliable as the tibia bone ash in reflecting degree of bone mineralization in chicks during the first 14 d of age. Fat extraction did not affect the reliability of either assay.
Immunoglobulin G Responses to a Panel of Candida albicans Antigens as Accurate and Early Markers for the Presence of Systemic Candidiasis

Despite shortcomings, cultures of blood and sterile sites remain the “gold standard” for diagnosing systemic candidiasis. Alternative diagnostic markers, including antibody detection, have been developed, but none are widely accepted. In this study, we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to measure serum antibody responses against 15 recombinant Candida albicans antigens among 60 patients with systemic candidiasis due to various Candida spp. and 24 uninfected controls. Mean immunoglobulin G (IgG) responses against all 15 antigens were significantly higher among patients with systemic candidiasis than among controls, whereas IgM responses were higher against only seven antigens. Using discriminant analysis that included IgG responses against the 15 antigens, we derived a mathematical prediction model that identified patients with systemic candidiasis with an error rate of 3.7%, a sensitivity of 96.6%, and a specificity of 95.6%. Furthermore, a prediction model using a subset of four antigens (SET1, ENO1, PGK1-2, and MUC1-2) identified through backward elimination and canonical correlation analyses performed as accurately as the full panel. Using the simplified model, we predicted systemic candidiasis in a separate test sample of 32 patients and controls with 100% sensitivity and 87.5% specificity. We also demonstrated that IgG titers against each of the four antigens included in the prediction model were significantly higher in convalescent-phase sera than in paired acute-phase sera. Taken together, our findings suggest that IgG responses against a panel of candidal antigens might represent an accurate and early marker of systemic candidiasis, a hypothesis that should be tested in future trials.
Decreased Migration of Langerhans Precursor-Like Cells in Response to Human Keratinocytes Expressing Human Papillomavirus Type 16 E6/E7 Is Related to Reduced Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-3α Production

Infection with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types, particularly types 16 and 18, contributes to 90% of cervical cancer cases. HPV infects cutaneous or mucosal epithelium, tissue that is monitored for microbial infection or damage by Langerhans cells. In lesions produced by HPV type 16, there is a reduction in numbers of immune cells, especially Langerhans cells. Langerhans precursor cells selectively express CCR6, the receptor for macrophage inflammatory protein 3α (MIP-3α), and function as potent immune responders to inflamed epithelium and initiators of the innate immune response. It has been reported that E6 and E7 of high-risk HPVs interfere with immune mediators in order to suppress the recruitment of immune cells and antiviral activities of infected cells. Here we show that, following proinflammatory stimulus, HPV-16 E6 and E7 inhibit MIP-3α transcription, resulting in suppression of the migration of immature Langerhans precursor-like cells. Interestingly, the E6 and E7 proteins from the low-risk HPV types also inhibited MIP-3α transcription. These results suggest that one mechanism by which HPV-infected cells suppress the immune response may be through the inhibition of a vital alert signal, thus contributing to the persistence of HPV infection.
Theoretical comparisons of nerve and muscle activation by neuromuscular incapacitation devices

In this study important aspects of the TASER® M26™ and X26™ neuromuscular incapacitation device waveforms are simulated, analyzed and contrasted against electrical stimulation with rectangular waveforms (commonly used in therapeutic stimulation devices). Expected skeletal muscle forces evoked by M26™ and X26™ stimulation are simulated also and compared against forces expected with higher or lower frequency trains. The first half-cycle of the M26™ damped 50 kHz sinusoidal wave is the main contributor to stimulation threshold with this device. The pseudo-monophasic component of the X26™ waveform primarily determines threshold for this system, with the leading damped 100 kHz component contributing little in this regard. Simulated isometric forces evoked at 19 Hz with either device are moderately intense (about 46% of maximal). Lower frequencies would likely not provide sufficient levels of contraction to override volitional motor control.
In search of bad mothers: Social constructions of birth and adoptive motherhood

Abstract This article explores representations of birth and adoptive mothers in the United States from the 1940s to the 1990s. In contrast to previous feminist research on adoption, which primarily has focused on the predicament of birth mothers, the feminist approach advanced in this article emphasizes the interplay of gender and power in the social and scientific construction of both birth motherhood and adoptive motherhood. The article shows that both birth and adoptive mothers in the clinical adoption literature have been depicted as deviants who, at least potentially, fail to conform to dominant definitions of true womanhood and good mothering. In conclusion I examine the feminist response to the on-going sealed records controversy and call for a broader and more balanced feminist definition of motherhood and kinship.
Central and forward tracking chambers of CDF

Abstract The Collider Detector at Fermilab is currently studying 1.8 TeV p p interactions at the Fermilab Tevatron. This paper describes the design and construction of the detector's tracking chambers in the light of the measurement requirements dictated by physics goals. The chambers described are the Forward Tracking Chamber, the Central Tracking Chamber, the Central Drift Tubes, and the Vertex Time Projection Chamber.
MICROFLUIDIC DROPLET CONSISTENCY MONITORING AND ENCAPSULATED CELL DETECTION VIA LASER EXCITATION

Microfluidic droplets formed in emulsions are used in a variety of analytical techniques and hold great potential for future scientific and commercial applications. Our experiments merge quantitative quality engineering methods into the microdroplet field. We present a unique microdroplet generation and consistency monitoring system with laser optics excitation and detection. Our setup analyzes each droplet with sub-millisecond signal resolution and single photon accuracy, and is compatible with process control methods. To demonstrate the consistency of microdroplet generation over time, we measure and examine the mean frequency of aqueous plug-shaped droplet (microplug) formation in oil phase, as well as the mean length of plugs, and the interval between consecutive droplets. We also demonstrate the detection of cancer cells encapsulated within aqueous microdroplets in continuous oil phase flow. Two-channel optical monitoring allows for the simultaneous and independent inspection of both microdroplet generation and identification of green fluorescent protein-labelled cancer cells within the droplets. Increased accuracy and consistency are central to many established and developing microfluidic technologies. A systematic, quantitative approach as demonstrated with our experiments may be essential in the development of advanced microfluidic concepts that require exacting reproducibility and would greatly benefit from incorporated automated measurement techniques for process control.
Direction in Business Intelligence: An Analysis of Applications

Business intelligence (BI) is a growing area of applications that go beyond the reporting and analysis avail able with transaction processing systems, which are more frequently being implemented with enterprise software. The BI space shares many of the same objectives as previously examined decision support system s (DSS) . A number of DSS frameworks were formula ted that describe the ir characteristics and may appl y in the BI applications space. DSS frameworks are examined to formulate a set of characteristics that are use ful with BI case -based applications. The research supports the framework characteristics. H owever, the results indicate that the source, time horizon, and currency of information do not h ave a strong relationship to decision category , whereas the range of users, operational efficiency, duration of use, and need for rapid development are distingu ishing characteristics . P rototyping is supported as the only development methodology exploited in creating BI applications. Additional research should be conducted regarding other BI applications and DSS frameworks.
Optimal and suboptimal procedures in group sequential sampling

This paper investigates the problem of choosing between two simple hypothesis, H0 and H1, in terms of independent, identically distributed random variables, when observations can be taken in groups. At any stage in the decision process it must be decided whether to stop and take action now or to continue, in which case the size of the next group of observations must be decided upon. The problem is to find an optimal procedure incorporating a stopping, group size (batch) and terminal action rule. It is proven, in general, that the optimal stopping and terminal action rule is of the sequential probability ratio type (SPRT). Fixed stopping rules of the SPRT type are studied and an iterative procedure of the policy improvement type, both with and without a value determination step, is developed. It is shown, for the general situation, that both the average risk and scheduling rule converge to the optima. Also, six suboptimal scheduling rules are considered with respect to the average risks they achieve. Numerical results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the procedures.
Behavioral influence assessment for organizational cooperation in cyber security

Even with substantial investment in cyber defense resources, the risk of harm from cyber attacks can be significant for modern organizations. The effectiveness of cyber defense might be enhanced if organizations that face similar cyber threats have programs in place that allow them to share information and resources relating to cyber security. Despite clear benefits, cyber defense teams also face motivations not to cooperate with those in other organizations. These motivations include potential damage to reputation, competition, and group inertia. We created a simulation model to better understand decision-making and cooperative dynamics in cooperative cyber defense programs. The model uses the Behavioral Influence Assessment framework, a hybrid cognitive-system dynamics modeling framework based on psychological, social, and behavioral economic theory. The model was populated and calibrated using data and interviews with subject matter experts, and used to explore policy options that could make a cooperative cyber security program more effective.
Frustrated polyelectrolyte bundles and T= 0 Josephson-junction arrays.

Author(s): Grason, Gregory M; Bruinsma, R F | Abstract: We establish a one-to-one mapping between a model for hexagonal polyelectrolyte bundles and a model for two-dimensional, frustrated Josephson-junction arrays. We find that the T=0 insulator-to-superconductor transition of the quantum system corresponds to a continuous liquid-to-solid transition of the condensed charge in the finite-temperature classical system. We find that the role of the vector potential in the quantum system is played by elastic strain in the classical system. Exploiting this correspondence we show that the transition is accompanied by a spontaneous breaking of a discrete symmetry associated with the chiral patterning of the array and that at the transition the polyelectrolyte bundle adopts a universal response to shear.
Population Psychology in Perspective

Abstract Many aspects of population, from fertility regulation to migration, may be viewed as examples of human behavior occurring within a particular socioeconomic and environmental context, and thus appropriate for psychological research. Especially considered in this paper are (1) the current status of population growth and the importance of population processes as research topics for psychologists; (2) basic assumptions concerning the complementarity of behavioral and biomedical sciences in population research; (3) behavioral science contributions, specifically from psychology; and (4) recommendations for cooperative multidisciplinary efforts.
Peer groups, neighbor groups, and edge detection

Standard edge detectors such as Canny edge detector use a local gradient operator to find the ridges in digital images. In this study we show that peer groups and neighbor groups, a new measure introduced in this paper, can be used to improve the performance of gradient operators. Some of the pixels near the threshold are weaker edge pixels of the objects in the image and others are unimportant edges created by unevenness of the background. We find that peer groups and neighbor groups of these marginal pixels can be used to make a better decision regarding them than using a single rigid threshold value.
RENAL IGF-1 MRNA LEVELS ARE ENHANCED FOLLOWING UNILATERAL NEPHRECTOMY IN IMMATURE BUT NOT ADULT RATS

The increase in IGF-1 gene expression following unilateral nephrectomy (UNX) in adult rats is controversial. In this study we have examined whether developmental differences exist in the effect of UNX on IGF-1 gene expression. Immature (23 days) and adult (4 months) Wistar rats underwent a sham operation or left UNX, and were sacrificed 24 or 48 hrs later. IGF-1 mRNA levels were determined in left (control) and right (compensated) kidneys using solution hybridization/RNase protection assays. By 48 hrs post-UNX, remnant kidneys had grown -20±l% in adult rats (P<0.05), and 69±5% in immature rats (P<0.05). IGF-1 mRNA levels were not increased in the adult compensated kidneys at either 24 or 48 hrs post-UNX. In contrast, kidneys from immature rats 24 and 48 hrs post-UNX had an average 4-fold increase (P<0.05) in exon 1 IGF-1 mRNA levels, and an average 3- fold increase (P<0.05) in exon 2 mRNA levels. Thus, these findings suggest that there is an age-dependent difference in the effects of UNX on IGF-1 gene exp...
Trust and privacy in electronic commerce

Trust and privacy have been widely recognized as important issues in the field of electronic commerce. We propose a research model with trust and privacy as two endogenous variables along with other exogenous variables like independent self-construal, interdependent self-construal, technological knowledge, and Web site quality, that are expected to effect Internet consumers' trust level and privacy concerns.
Stability and evolution of solitary waves in perturbed generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equations

In this paper, we study the stability and evolution of solitary waves in perturbed generalized nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) equations. Our method is based on the completeness of the bounded eigenstates of the associated linear operator in L2 space and a standard multiple-scale perturbation technique. Unlike the adiabatic perturbation method, our method details all instability mechanisms caused by perturbations of such equations and explicitly specifies when such instabilities will occur. In particular, our method uncovers the instability caused by bifurcation of nonzero discrete eigenvalues of the linearization operator. As an example, we consider the perturbed cubic-quintic NLS equation in detail and determine the stability regions of its solitary waves. In the instability region, we also specify where the solitary waves decay, collapse, develop movingfronts, or evolve into a stable spatially localized and temporally periodic state. The generalization of this method to other perturbed nonlinear wave systems is also discussed.
Realizing anomalous anyonic symmetries at the surfaces of three-dimensional gauge theories

The hallmark of a two-dimensional (2d) topologically ordered phase is the existence of deconfined ``anyon'' excitations that have exotic braiding and exchange statistics, different from those of ordinary bosons or fermions. As opposed to conventional Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson phases, which are classified on the basis of the spontaneous breaking of an underlying symmetry, topologically ordered phases, such as those occurring in the fractional quantum Hall effect, are absolutely stable, not requiring any such symmetry. Recently, though, it has been realized that symmetries, which may still be present in such systems, can give rise to a host of new, distinct, many-body phases, all of which share the same underlying topological order. These ``symmetry enriched'' topological (SET) phases are distinguished not on the basis of anyon braiding statistics alone, but also by the symmetry properties of the anyons, such as their fractional charges, or the way that different anyons are permuted by the symmetry. Thus a useful approach to classifying SETs is to determine all possible such symmetry actions on the anyons that are algebraically consistent with the anyon statistics. Remarkably, however, there exist symmetry actions that, despite being algebraically consistent, cannot be realized in any physical system, and hence do not lead to valid 2d SETs. One class of such ``anomalous'' SETs, characterized by certain disallowed symmetry fractionalization patterns, finds a physical interpretation as an allowed surface state of certain three-dimensional (3d) short-range entangled phases, but another, characterized by some seemingly valid but anomalous permutation actions of the symmetry on the anyons and encoded in an ${H}^{3}(G,\mathcal{A})$ group cohomology class, has so far eluded a physical interpretation. In this work, we find a way to physically realize these anomalously permuting SETs at the surfaces of certain 3d long-range entangled phases, expanding our understanding of general anomalous SETs in two dimensions.
Frontier Configurations and a New Classification of Annulenes

Organic “diradicals” are important for the synthetic chemist who wants to exploit them as precursors of target molecules, for the mechanistic chemist who seeks to unravel reaction pathways, for the quantitative theoretician who is anxious to test different computational schemes on such molecules because of the formalistic intricacies involved, and for the qualitative theoretician who seeks to understand how these species are bound. Specialists of the latter two types most often adhere to MO theory and they discuss the electronic properties of “diradicals” in the following way: They depart from Huckel MO theory and point out why neglect of interelectronic repulsion renders it inapplicable to problems involving “diradicals”. Then, the discussion shifts to the SCF-MO level and various formal drawbacks and resulting pitfalls are recognized. Finally, one is forced to examine the problem at the SCF-MO-CI level, something which guarantees that the potential audience of the paper is exponentially reduced and that the ensuing discussion is rendered cumbersome and lengthy. In a recent work,1 we advanced the argument that qualitative Valence Bond theory has the formal correctness and conceptual clarity which can allow one to dispense with problems which are hard to deal with within the MO theoretical framework in the space of a paragraph or two. In particular, in treating homonuclear systems involving relatively weak pi bonds, one can use the Approximate Heitler-London (AHL) theory outlined in the original monograph.
Protozoan Predation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Is Unaffected by the Carriage of Shiga Toxin-Encoding Bacteriophages.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 is a food-borne bacterium that causes hemorrhagic diarrhea and hemolytic uremic syndrome in humans. While cattle are a known source of E. coli O157:H7 exposure resulting in human infection, environmental reservoirs may also be important sources of infection for both cattle and humans. Bacteriophage-encoded Shiga toxins (Stx) carried by E. coli O157:H7 may provide a selective advantage for survival of these bacteria in the environment, possibly through their toxic effects on grazing protozoa. To determine Stx effects on protozoan grazing, we co-cultured Paramecium caudatum, a common ciliate protozoon in cattle water sources, with multiple strains of Shiga-toxigenic E. coli O157:H7 and non-Shiga toxigenic cattle commensal E. coli. Over three days at ambient laboratory temperature, P. caudatum consistently reduced both E. coli O157:H7 and non-Shiga toxigenic E. coli populations by 1–3 log cfu. Furthermore, a wild-type strain of Shiga-toxigenic E. coli O157:H7 (EDL933) and isogenic mutants lacking the A subunit of Stx 2a, the entire Stx 2a-encoding bacteriophage, and/or the entire Stx 1-encoding bacteriophage were grazed with similar efficacy by both P. caudatum and Tetrahymena pyriformis (another ciliate protozoon). Therefore, our data provided no evidence of a protective effect of either Stx or the products of other bacteriophage genes on protozoan predation of E. coli. Further research is necessary to determine if the grazing activity of naturally-occurring protozoa in cattle water troughs can serve to decrease cattle exposure to E. coli O157:H7 and other Shiga-toxigenic E. coli.
Phylogeny and Divergence Times of Lemurs Inferred with Recent and Ancient Fossils in the Tree

Paleontological and neontological systematics seek to answer evolutionary questions with different data sets. Phylogenies inferred for combined extant and extinct taxa provide novel insights into the evolutionary history of life. Primates have an extensive, diverse fossil record and molecular data for living and extinct taxa are rapidly becoming available. We used two models to infer the phylogeny and divergence times for living and fossil primates, the tip-dating (TD) and fossilized birth-death process (FBD). We collected new morphological data, especially on the living and extinct endemic lemurs of Madagascar. We combined the morphological data with published DNA sequences to infer near-complete (88% of lemurs) time-calibrated phylogenies. The results suggest that primates originated around the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, slightly earlier than indicated by the fossil record and later than previously inferred from molecular data alone. We infer novel relationships among extinct lemurs, and strong support for relationships that were previously unresolved. Dates inferred with TD were significantly older than those inferred with FBD, most likely related to an assumption of a uniform branching process in the TD compared with a birth-death process assumed in the FBD. This is the first study to combine morphological and DNA sequence data from extinct and extant primates to infer evolutionary relationships and divergence times, and our results shed new light on the tempo of lemur evolution and the efficacy of combined phylogenetic analyses.
Why perform a routine history and physical examination

Science uses two types of data--one for generating hypotheses and a second for testing hypotheses. In clinical medicine the history and physical examination generate the data used for making hypotheses about what could possibly be wrong with the patient; but the various laboratory and imaging procedures are used for hypothesis-testing, ie, deciding which of the possible problems is actually the one bothering the patient. Although comparisons between physical examination maneuvers and imaging procedures may tell something about the precision of the former, in general such comparisons can tell little about the intrinsic worth of one versus the other, because these two different types of procedures generate data with two completely different types of usage.
Controlling Strain Bursts and Avalanches at the Nano- to Micrometer Scale

We demonstrate, through three-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics simulations, that the complex dynamical response of nano- and microcrystals to external constraints can be tuned. Under load rate control, strain bursts are shown to exhibit scale-free avalanche statistics, similar to critical phenomena in many physical systems. For the other extreme of displacement rate control, strain burst response transitions to quasiperiodic oscillations, similar to stick-slip earthquakes. External load mode control is shown to enable a qualitative transition in the complex collective dynamics of dislocations from self-organized criticality to quasiperiodic oscillations.
Microwave-assisted synthesis of a nanoamorphous (Ni0.8,Fe0.2) oxide oxygen-evolving electrocatalyst containing only “fast” sites

Nickel–iron oxyhydroxides (Ni1−xFexOOH) are non-precious metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) that have high efficiency in alkaline media. It has been suggested that the layered-double hydroxide (LDH) crystal structure of Ni0.8Fe0.2OOH contains two types of catalytic sites, “fast” Fe sites and “slow” Ni sites, which may limit the overall activity because only 20% of the catalytic surface is highly active. Herein, we report a facile microwave-assisted synthesis route of creating a nanoamorphous nickel–iron oxide electrocatalyst that contains only “fast” catalytic sites. Benchmarking experiments on flat electrodes (roughness factors <1.4) showed that the microwave-assisted, nanoamorphous (Ni0.8,Fe0.2) oxide had a low OER overpotential of 286 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm−2. We measured the kinetic rate constant of the active sites directly with the surface interrogation mode of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SI-SECM). We show that the microwave-assisted, nanoamorphous (Ni0.8,Fe0.2) oxide has only one type of catalytic site with an OER kinetic rate constant of 1.9 s−1 per site. We compared this to a crystalline Ni0.8Fe0.2OOH that was synthesized via electrochemical conditioning of crystalline Ni0.8:Fe0.2 oxide, and verified that the Ni0.8Fe0.2OOH contained two types of catalytic sites – “fast” sites with an OER rate constant of 1.3 s−1 per site and “slow” sites with an OER rate constant of 0.05 s−1 per site. The percentage of “fast” sites in the crystalline Ni0.8Fe0.2OOH was well matched to the total iron atom content, while 100% of the sites were “fast” in the microwave-assisted, nanoamorphous (Ni0.8,Fe0.2) oxide.
Use of Gnotobiotic Mice in the Study of Metabolic Syndrome

Abstract Obesity and its interrelated metabolic abnormalities, collectively referred to as metabolic syndrome, have been associated with alterations in gut microbiota composition. The use of gnotobiotic mice has afforded approaches to investigate the functional consequences of such alterations, primarily by studying animals in the absence of a microbiota [i.e., germfree (GF)] or using GF mice as recipients of microbiota from humans or mice with or without metabolic disease. This chapter reviews some of the key findings from these studies and discusses some of the practical concerns to be managed in this area of research.
Trust: A Concept Analysis With Watson’s Theoretical Perspective:

Trust is a concept discussed in the literature of many disciplines, but the definitions used are varied. In this paper, the author explores the use of trust in various disciplines to create a definition suitable for nursing science using Watson's theoretical perspective.
Chiroptical Properties of Imines Derived from R-(+)-Norbornenone: The Role of Electronegativity Differences

To allow a comparison with the specific rotations of R-(+)-5-methylenenorbornene (1) and R-(+)-norbornenone (2) we performed calculations at the LC-wPBE/aug-cc-pVTZ level for the imines (5a and 5b) derived from norbornenone and also for their protonated derivative (6). In accord with our results for simpler systems, the specific rotations increase in the order of 1 < 5 < 2 ≈ 6. In addition, the specific rotation of the protonated ketone was calculated and found to be considerably larger than that for 2 or 6. These rotations were found to be linearly dependent on the Hirshfeld charges at the carbon of the exocyclic double bond. This leads to the conclusion that charge transfer from the endocyclic double bond to the π* MO of the exocyclic double bond is an important component of the process that leads to the optical activity of these compounds.
In Memoriam: Amir Hassanpour (1943-2017)

This tribute memorialises Professor Amir Hassanpour (1943-2017) a pioneer of Kurdish sociolinguistics, an influential advocate of Kurdish studies, a public intellectual, and a visionary humanist. As a scholar, his contributions are wide and varied and have had a significant impact, broadening our knowledge of the Kurdish history, nationalism, language, media, gender, social structures and movements. He will be remembered for raising and transforming the consciousness of the academic community regarding the rightful place of the Kurdish language and studies. As a revolutionary, Hassanpour played a key role in studying, organising, and leading social movements. He was truly an inspiration to many young researchers and political activists, a heroic man with a lifelong commitment to justice and a new vision of communism.
Persistent Pandemic Lineages of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli in a College Community from 1999 to 2017

The incidence of drug-resistant community-acquired urinary tract infections (CA-UTI) continues to increase worldwide. In 1999 to 2000, a single lineage of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) sequence type 69 (ST69) caused 51% of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole-resistant UTI in a Northern California university community. We compared the clonal distributions of UPEC and its impact on antimicrobial resistance prevalence in the same community during two periods separated by 17 years. We analyzed E. coli isolates from urine samples from patients with symptoms of UTI who visited a health service between September 2016 and May 2017 and compared them to UPEC isolates collected similarly between October 1999 and March 2000. Isolates were tested for antimicrobial drug susceptibility and genotyped by multilocus sequence typing. In 1999 to 2000, strains belonging to ST95, ST127, ST73, ST69, ST131, and ST10 caused 125 (56%) of 225 UTI cases, while the same STs caused 148 (64%) of 233 UTI cases in 2016 to 2017. The frequencies of ampicillin resistance and ciprofloxacin resistance rose from 24.4% to 41.6% (P < 0.001) and from 0.9% to 5.1% (P < 0.003), respectively. The six STs accounted for 78.6% and 72.7% of these increases, respectively. Prevalence of drug-resistant UTI in this community appears to be largely influenced by a small set of dominant UPEC STs circulating in the same community 17 years apart. Further research to determine the origin and reasons for persistence of these dominant genotypes is necessary to combat antimicrobial-resistant CA-UTI.
Delftware and the Domestication of Chinese Porcelain

In contrast to scholarship that has emphasized a European exoticization of China in the early modern period, this essay focuses on the “domestication” of Chinese material culture through an examination of the Dutch reception and reproduction of Chinese porcelain. The term “domestication” is used here to explain the evolving identification of blue-and-white ceramics as a Dutch, rather than a Chinese, national product. Tracing almost 300 years of history, the essay argues that the quotidian domestic language with which Chinese porcelain was first described in Dutch texts, was replaced in the eighteenth century with concerns about the corrupting influences of porcelain, as it was displayed and imitated (in delftware) and exported to female consumers in eighteenth-century England. Following a period of neglect and decline, delftware was rediscovered by Dutch entrepreneurs and American tourists in the nineteenth century, who returned these blue-and-white wares to a benign domestic space. American writers, responding in part to the resurgence and promotion of the Dutch delftware industry, presented Dutch femininity and domesticity as a model of stability and harmony. None of these interpretations would have been possible, however, had the viability of delftware as a specifically “Dutch” material relied on only the physical properties of the earthenware body; instead, this essay argues, their interpretations depend upon the representational possibilities of the vessels’ painted surfaces, upon particular combinations of blue and white, to form an image of “Dutchness.”
Cognitive Assessment Prediction in Alzheimer’s Disease by Multi-Layer Multi-Target Regression

Accurate and automatic prediction of cognitive assessment from multiple neuroimaging biomarkers is crucial for early detection of Alzheimer's disease. The major challenges arise from the nonlinear relationship between biomarkers and assessment scores and the inter-correlation among them, which have not yet been well addressed. In this paper, we propose multi-layer multi-target regression (MMR) which enables simultaneously modeling intrinsic inter-target correlations and nonlinear input-output relationships in a general compositional framework. Specifically, by kernelized dictionary learning, the MMR can effectively handle highly nonlinear relationship between biomarkers and assessment scores; by robust low-rank linear learning via matrix elastic nets, the MMR can explicitly encode inter-correlations among multiple assessment scores; moreover, the MMR is flexibly and allows to work with non-smooth l2,1-norm loss function, which enables calibration of multiple targets with disparate noise levels for more robust parameter estimation. The MMR can be efficiently solved by an alternating optimization algorithm via gradient descent with guaranteed convergence. The MMR has been evaluated by extensive experiments on the ADNI database with MRI data, and produced high accuracy surpassing previous regression models, which demonstrates its great effectiveness as a new multi-target regression model for clinical multivariate prediction.
The role of water in fault lubrication

The friction between two adjacent tectonic plates under shear loading may dictate seismic activities. To advance the understanding of mechanisms underlying fault strength, we investigate the frictional characteristics of calcite in an aqueous environment. By conducting single-asperity friction experiments using an atomic force microscope, here we show three pathways of energy dissipation with increasing contact stresses: viscous shear of a lubricious solution film at low normal stresses; shear-promoted thermally activated slip, similar to dry friction but influenced by the hydrated ions localized at the interface; and pressure-solution facilitated slip at sufficiently high stresses and slow sliding velocities, which leads to a prominent decrease in friction. It is also shown that the composition of the aqueous solution affects the frictional response. We use this nanoscale evidence to scrutinize the role of brines on fault behavior and argue that pressure solution provides a weakening mechanism of the fault strength at the level of single-asperity contacts.