cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Weak states, weak societies: Europe's east-west gap

The transfer of rules, such as in the European Union's recent enlargements, requires well-functioning institutions of government as well as societal actors ready to engage with the new rules. Officials of the European Commission and other practitioners highlighted the need for both in the run-up to enlargement, whereas critics of the 2004 and 2007 rounds have faulted the state-centric approach employed by the EU for undercutting societal actors in the new member states. This article examines data from the World Values Survey and World Bank Governance Indicators and shows that state capacity and organized interests do indeed go hand in hand: Among the 27 EU member states, countries that score high on good governance also have citizens engaged in interest organizations, volunteering for a broad variety of causes and ready to participate in acts of protest. By the same token, in countries where governments struggle to deliver results, organized interests are insufficiently established and rarely in a position to perform governance functions. The data show systematic and statistically significant differences between old and new member states, with Eastern Europe lagging behind most of the older democracies on both dimensions, that is, state capacity and civil society. Considerable variation within each block does not negate this basic gap, though it highlights the need for nuance and cautions against determinism. The article seeks to set the stage for the case studies contained in this special issue.
Distributed probabilistic inferencing in sensor networks using variational approximation

This paper considers the problem of distributed inferencing in a sensor network. It particularly explores the probabilistic inferencing problem in the context of a distributed Boltzmann machine-based framework for monitoring the network. The paper offers a variational mean-field approach to develop communication-efficient local algorithm for variational inferencing in distributed environments (VIDE). It compares the performance of the proposed approximate variational technique with respect to the exact and centralized techniques. It shows that the VIDE offers a much more communication-efficient solution at very little cost in terms of the accuracy. It also offers experimental results in order to substantiate the scalability of the proposed algorithm.
Reliability-Based Splitting Algorithms for Time-Constrained Distributed Detection in WSNs

We consider distributed detection applications for a fusion center that has a limited time to collect, weight and fuse local decisions to produce a global decision in a wireless sensor network that uses a random access protocol. When this time is not long enough to collect decisions from all nodes in the network, a strategy is needed for collecting those with the highest reliability. This is accomplished by incorporating a reliability-based splitting algorithm into the random access protocol: the collection time is divided into frames and only nodes with a specified range of reliabilities compete for the channel within each frame. Nodes with the most reliable decisions attempt transmission in the first frame; nodes with the next most reliable set of decisions attempt in the next frame; etc. To ensure that the results we derive are lower bounds on the detection performance that would be seen in practice, the local decisions that arrive within a frame are assigned the smallest reliability in the range associated with that frame. Two performance measures are used: Detection Error Probability (DEP) and Asymptotic Relative Efficiency (ARE) of the proposed scheme relative to a TDMA-based scheme. We then show how to minimize the DEP by determining the reliability intervals that define which nodes attempt to transmit in each frame. Intervals that maximize the channel throughput will often, but not always, minimize the DEP of the proposed scheme. Necessary conditions for the optimality of the maximum throughput intervals are thus derived. Numerical results indicate that these conditions are often sufficient when the observation noise is Gaussian. From the ARE, we determine when the proposed scheme asymptotically outperforms a TDMA-based scheme.
Persistent hypoglycemia of unknown etiology in a patient without diabetes: a case report and review.

Purpose: This case report reviews the presentation, evaluation, and treatment of persistent hypoglycemia in a patient without a history of diabetes. The use of laboratory tests to differentiate between drug-induced and disease-induced hypoglycemia is reviewed. Summary: A 51-year-old female with multiple medical conditions including bipolar disorder and no history of diabetes was admitted for evaluation and treatment of hypoglycemia. Pharmacotherapy included intravenous dextrose infusions and bolus doses. A battery of tests was ordered to evaluate intrinsic and extrinsic causes. Endocrine Society guidelines for hypoglycemia exist and have recommendations for testing and strategies to rule out drug-related causes. Her insulin level was 57 IU/mL (normal range < 17). Her proinsulin level was 356.8 pmol/L (normal range <8.8). Conclusion: The guidelines recommend a battery of laboratory tests; however, the results are not rapidly available necessitating a structured follow-up process. In our patient, exposure t...
A Phase Field Model of Sintering with Direction-Dependent Diffusion

A phase field model of sintering with direction-dependent interface diffusion is presented, in which the surface and grain boundary diffusions occur along the tangent of surfaces and grain boundaries, respectively. Compared with previous phase field models of sintering, the proposed model is more consistent with the sharp interface model regarding the directions of interface diffusions. Numerical simulations show that the direction of interface diffusion is critical to model sintering kinetics and morphological evolution, and the performance of phase field model is improved significantly with appropriate interface diffusion directions. The proposed model is able to capture relevant features of sintering such as neck growth and its dependence on particle size, interface energies and mobilities. These features agree well with theoretical predictions. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.M2011317]
Antagonism of 5-Hydroxytryptamine2A Receptors Attenuates the Behavioral Effects of Cocaine in Rats

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) 5-HT(2A) receptors have been shown to modulate dopamine (DA) function and a more thorough appreciation of this modulatory interaction between 5-HT2A receptors and DA systems may yield insight into novel approaches to treatment of cocaine dependence. The present study examined the effects of two ligands with varying selectivity for 5-HT2A receptors on the locomotor stimulant and discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine in male rats. Locomotor activity was measured following intraperitoneal injection of vehicle (1 ml/kg), the selective 5-HT2A receptor antagonist M100907 [R-(+)-(2,3-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-[2-(4-fluorophenylethyl)]-4-piperidine-methanol] (0.02-2.0 mg/kg), or the 5-HT(2) receptor antagonist ketanserin (0.04-4 mg/kg) 45 min before administration of saline (1 ml/kg) or cocaine (10 mg/kg); monitoring of activity in photobeam chambers began at once and proceeded for 1 h. Neither M100907 nor ketanserin significantly altered basal locomotor activity, but both drugs attenuated cocaine-induced hyperactivity (p < 0.05). In drug discrimination studies, rats were trained to discriminate cocaine (10 mg/kg) from saline (1 ml/kg) in a two-lever, water-reinforced operant task. M100907 (0.05-1.6 mg/kg) and ketanserin (0.05-4 mg/kg) evoked a dose-related attenuation of the stimulus effects of cocaine (5 mg/kg, p < 0.05). These results suggest that 5-HT2A receptors play an important role in the behavioral effects of cocaine and that 5-HT2A receptors should be considered a viable target for analysis in the search for pharmacotherapies useful in the treatment of cocaine dependence.
NRC Welding Residual Stress Validation Program International Round Robin Program and Findings

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) are working cooperatively under a memorandum of understanding to validate welding residual stress (WRS) predictions in pressurized water reactor (PWR) primary cooling loop components containing dissimilar metal (DM) welds. These stresses are of interest as DM welds in PWRs are susceptible to primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) and tensile weld residual stresses are the primary driver of this degradation mechanism. The NRC/EPRI weld residual stress (WRS) analysis validation program consists of four phases, with each phase increasing in complexity from laboratory size specimens to component mock-ups and cancelled-plant material. This paper discusses Phase 2 of the WRS characterization program involving an international round robin analysis project in which participants analyzed a prototypic reactor coolant pressure boundary component. Mock-up fabrication, WRS measurements and comparison with predicted stresses through the DM weld region are described. The results of this study show that, on average, analysts can develop WRS predictions that are a reasonable estimate for actual configurations as quantified by measurements. However, the scatter in predicted results from analyst to analyst can be quite large. For example, in this study, the scatter in WRSs through the centerline of the main DM weld (prior to stainless steel weld application) predicted by analysts is approximately +/− 200 to 300 MPa at 3 standard deviations for axial stresses and +/− 300 to 400 MPa at 3 standard deviations for hoop stresses. Sensitivity studies that vary important parameters, such as material hardening behavior, can be used to bound such large variations.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Experiences in Design and Implementation of a High Performance Transport Protocol

This paper describes our experiences in the development of the UDP-based Data Transport (UDT) protocol, an application level transport protocol used in distributed data intensive applications. The new protocol is motivated by the emergence of wide area high-speed optical networks, in which TCP is often found to fail to utilize the abundant bandwidth. UDT demonstrates good efficiency and fairness (including RTT fairness and TCP friendliness) characteristics in high performance computing applications where a small number of bulk sources share the abundant bandwidth. It combines both rate and window control and uses bandwidth estimation to determine the control parameters automatically. This paper presents the rationale behind UDT: how UDT integrates these schemes to support high performance data transfer, why these schemes are used, and what the main issues are in the design and implementation of this high performance transport protocol.
Vacuum ultraviolet spectroscopy of the optical properties and electronic structure of seven poly(di-alkylsilanes)

We report the ultraviolet (UV) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) optical properties and electronic structure, up to 44 eV, of thin-film samples of seven poly(di-alkylsilanes) [alkyl=n-butyl, n-pentyl, i-hexyl, n-hexyl, n-octyl, and n-tetradecyl] with three types of Si-Si backbone conformations: helical, planar zigzag, and trans-gauche--tra~s-gauche' (TGTG'). The backbone conformation determines the UV transitions, with helical materials exhibiting one near-UV absorption, while two UV transitions are seen for the two-phase materials containing both the helical and planar zigzag backbone conformations. The TGTG' backbone exhibits a single UV absorption at 3.6 eV. At higher energies all materials show a prominent shoulder at 7.2 eV, with a doublet peak structure seen at ~9 and 12 eV. The 7.2 eV transition is unaffected by the backbone conformation or alkyl substitution, while comparison with the electronic transitions in polyethylene shows that the high-energy double-peak structure corresponds to transitions in the hydrocarbon sidechains. The ~ 12 eV transitions appear to shift to higher energy with increasing sidechain length and in tetradecyl these sidechaln transitions are noticeably narrowed, suggesting unusual sidechain crystallization in poly(di-n-tetradecylsilane). A hierarchy of electronic transitions can be developed whereby the UV transitions arise in the Si backbone, at intermediate energies backbone to sidechain transitions are observed, while the highenergy transitions are of the alkyl sidechains. This hierarchy in the electronic transitions demonstrates the ability of VUV spectroscopy of the electronic structure to serve as a microscopic probe of the bonding and structure of polysilanes, for example providing detailed insight into the properties of the sidechains in these polymers.
Induction of Bcl-3 by acute binge alcohol results in Toll-like receptor 4/LPS tolerance

Acute alcohol binge results in immunosuppression and impaired production of proinflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α. TNF-α production is induced by LPS, a TLR4 ligand, and is tightly regulated at various levels of the signaling cascade, including the NF-κB transcription factor. Here, we hypothesized that acute alcohol induces TLR4/LPS tolerance via Bcl-3, a nuclear protein and member of the NF-κB family. We found that acute alcohol pretreatment resulted in the same attenuating effect as LPS pretreatment on TLR4-induced TNF-α production in human monocytes and murine RAW 264.7 macrophages. Acute alcohol-induced Bcl-3 expression and IP studies revealed increased association of Bcl-3 with NF-κB p50 homodimers in alcohol-treated macrophages and in mice. ChIP assays revealed increased occupancy of Bcl-3 and p50 at the promoter region of TNF-α in alcohol-pretreated cells. To confirm that the Bcl-3-p50 complex regulates transcription/production of TNF-α during acute alcohol exposure, we inhibited Bcl-3 expression using a targeted siRNA. Bcl-3 knockdown prevented the alcohol-induced inhibition of TNF-α mRNA and protein production. In a mouse model of binge alcohol, an increase in Bcl-3 and a concomitant decrease in TNF-α but no change in IL-10 production were found in mice that received alcohol followed by LPS challenge. In summary, our novel data suggest that acute alcohol treatment in vitro and in vivo induces molecular signatures of TLR4/LPS tolerance through the induction of Bcl-3, a negative regulator of TNF-α transcription via its association with NF-κB p50/p50 dimers.
Advances in Ethnobiological Field Methods

This article serves as an introduction for a special issue of Field Methods titled “Field Methods in Ethnobiology.” The contribution of ethnobiological research to the development of methods in the...
Psychiatric correlates in chronic fatigue syndrome.

Abstract PURPOSE: This study presents psychiatric correlates in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) that emerged from the CDC's Surveillance Study. It seeks to determine the time of onset and rates of syndromal psychiatric disorders and identify the predominant disorder. Other goals are to ascertain whether depression is associated with CFS symptomatology, compare syndromal to self- reported depression, and test for the specificity of the 1988 CDC case definition for CFS. METHODS: All 565 enrolled subjects had fatiguing illnesses and were evaluated for CFS. They completed the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for the DSM-III-R and the Beck Depression Inventory. Prevalence estimates for current syndromal psychiatric disorders were calculated. CFS symptoms were compared by depression status. Syndromal and self-reported depression were contrasted. Groups that did and did not meet the case definition were compared by three outcome variables. RESULTS: Rates of current psychiatric disorders were high in CDC subjects compared to the community. The predominant disorder was depression. Although prior disorders tended to persist (75%), many disorders were incident to the fatiguing illness (57%). Depression was not associated with increased CFS symptomatology. There was only weak agreement between measures of syndromal and self-reported depression (kappa = 0.3219). Subjects designated as CFS had similar rates of syndromal psychiatric disorders, syndromal depression, and self-reported depression as did non-CFS subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Current syndrome; psychiatric disorders appear associated with fatiguing illnesses. While prior psychiatric disorders are risk factors for current, the onset was largely concurrent with the fatiguing illnesses. The BDI should probably not be used as a measure for psychiatric morbidity in CFS subjects. Regardless of outcome, there was no evidence of specificity of psychiatric features to the CDC case definition.
Fuzzy ARTMAP: A neural network architecture for incremental supervised learning of analog multidimensional maps

A neural network architecture is introduced for incremental supervised learning of recognition categories and multidimensional maps in response to arbitrary sequences of analog or binary input vectors, which may represent fuzzy or crisp sets of features. The architecture, called fuzzy ARTMAP, achieves a synthesis of fuzzy logic and adaptive resonance theory (ART) neural networks by exploiting a close formal similarity between the computations of fuzzy subsethood and ART category choice, resonance, and learning. Four classes of simulation illustrated fuzzy ARTMAP performance in relation to benchmark backpropagation and generic algorithm systems. These simulations include finding points inside versus outside a circle, learning to tell two spirals apart, incremental approximation of a piecewise-continuous function, and a letter recognition database. The fuzzy ARTMAP system is also compared with Salzberg's NGE systems and with Simpson's FMMC system. >
Curriculum Evaluation: An Outcomes Assessment of the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. Preparedness, alumni, undergraduate, teaching, course content SUMMARY. The Iowa State University undergraduate horticulture program has been nationally ranked as one of the best in the nation. Regular and systematic outcomes assessment is one means to evaluate the programfor purposes of sustaining this level of excellence. The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey of horticulture graduates to determine preparedness when entering the workforce, departmental effectiveness, and to evaluate how well graduates met departmental learner outcomes. A 59-question survey instrument was distributed electronically to a proportional sample of 221 horticulture alumni who graduated between 2000 and 2006. The response rate was 47%. Results showed that graduates found jobs quickly, and a majority (76.7%) noted that their first and current jobs were highly related to their degree. Furthermore, 41.8% rated themselves as adequately prepared, 37.9% as more than adequately prepared, and 15.5% as exceptionally well prepared for their first job. Respondents also ranked their abilities related to the 33 learner outcomes questions as good to excellent.
Efficient Brain MRI Segmentation Algorithm on TK1

In the past decades, image processing technologies have been applied to process medical images. Usually, image segmentation is an important strategy. Fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm has been wildly used for segmentation of brain magnetic resonance image. In the paper, we implement a genetic Fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm based on embedded graphic process units system, NVIDIA TK1, to accelerate computation speed of time-consuming on segmenting brain magnetic resonance image. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm not only can used to analyze such image on cheap device but also gains from the performance.
Ultrafast optical image processing through non-collinear third-harmonic generation in thin organic films

We report on ultrafast image processing based on non-collinear third-harmonic generation in a polymer composite and demonstrate image frequency conversion and image recognition using 100 fs pulses at 1,550 nm in a compact correlator geometry.
Abstract 2364: Overexpression of SATB1 (Special AT-Rich Sequence-Binding Protein 1) in prostate cancer potentiates metastatic phenotype

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC One of the reasons for the most prostate cancer-related deaths is the growth of secondary tumors due to metastases and not the primary organ-confined carcinoma. Metastasis in cancer cells results in acquiring abilities of increased motility and invasiveness, to home in other parts of the body. The key regulator involved in the control of metastasis genes in prostate cancer is presently unknown. Special AT-rich sequence-binding protein 1 (SATB1) is a transcription factor and functions as genome organizer. SATB1 being a transcription factor tend to bind with AT rich base unpaired sequences of the target gene. SATB1 acquires a “3 D chickenwire” network by forming anchor loops around chromatin, recruits chromatin remodeling complexes on the anchorage sites, and regulates histone modifications by rendering DNA sequences accessible or inaccessible for transcription. Earlier studies suggested the role of SATB1 in breast cancer progression. We aimed to observe the role of SATB1 in prostate cancer progression. We used different grades of human prostate cancer specimens, non tumorigenic and aggressive prostate cancer cells. Immunohistochemical evaluation of SATB1 in prostate cancer specimens of various Gleason grades exhibited significantly increased expression with increase in Gleason grade. A progressive increase in nuclear SATB1 expression was observed as tumor grade increased along with its presence in the cytoplasm. Further, SATB1 protein levels were higher in human prostate cancer cell lines viz. HPV-CA-10, DU145, DUPro, PC-3, PC-3M compared to non-tumorigenic prostate epithelial cells PZ-HPV-7. Nuclear expression of SATB1 was higher in biologically aggressive subclones of prostate cancer cells. Introduction of SATB1 through transient infections into non-tumorigenic PZ-HPV-7 cells increased its invasiveness and migration capabilities, whereas these properties were inhibited by silencing SATB1 through shRNA techniques. Furthermore, knock down of SATB1 caused increased E-cadherin expression and simultaneous reduction in matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression, providing further evidence that SATB1 significantly influences the metastasis process. Taken together, our results suggest that SATB1 is a master regulator of the metastasis process in prostate cancer and, therefore, could be considered as an independent prognostic factor and a potential therapeutic target for prostate cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2364.
Multi-modal learning-based pre-operative targeting in deep brain stimulation procedures

Deep brain stimulation, as a primary surgical treatment for various neurological disorders, involves implanting electrodes to stimulate target nuclei within millimeter accuracy. Accurate pre-operative target selection is challenging due to the poor contrast in its surrounding region in MR images. In this paper, we present a learning-based method to automatically and rapidly localize the target using multi-modal images. A learning-based technique is applied first to spatially normalize the images in a common coordinate space. Given a point in this space, we extract a heterogeneous set of features that capture spatial and intensity contextual patterns at different scales in each image modality. Regression forests are used to learn a displacement vector of this point to the target. The target is predicted as a weighted aggregation of votes from various test samples, leading to a robust and accurate solution. We conduct five-fold cross validation using 100 subjects and compare our method to three indirect targeting methods, a state-of-the-art statistical atlas-based approach, and two variations of our method that use only a single modality image. With an overall error of 2.63±1.37mm, our method improves upon the single modality-based variations and statistically significantly outperforms the indirect targeting ones. Our technique matches state-of-the-art registration methods but operates on completely different principles. Both techniques can be used in tandem in processing pipelines operating on large databases or in the clinical flow for automated error detection.
Effects of Exogenous Polyamine Regulators on the Growth and Polyamine Content of Rice Coleoptiles and Young Roots under Osmotic Stress

Using the indica rice varieties including Xiangzaoxian 32,Jiazao 935 and Han 116 with different drought resistance as the materials,the effects of exogenous polyamine(PA)regulators on the growth and polyamine content of coleoptiles and young roots under osmotic stress were studied.The results showed that the growth of both coleoptiles and young roots was inhibited under osmotic stress,and the contents of Put,Spd and Spm in coleoptiles and young roots of all rice varieties significantly increased,but the drought-resistant varieties Jiazao 935 and Han 116 had a larger increment than the drought-sensitive variety Xiangzaoxian 32.The exogenous MGBG and D-Arg treatments significantly inhibited an increase in Put,Spd and Spm contents in coleoptiles and young roots,aggravated harm of osmotic stress on them.The exogenous Spd treatment significantly raised Put,Spd and Spm contents in both coleoptiles and young roots,and it alleviated inhibition of osmotic stress on the growth of coleoptiles but aggravated harmful degree of osmotic stress on the growth of young roots.
Sino-US Telecom Summit '99 Promotes new cooperation

The Sino-US Telecom Summit '99 sponsored by the MII and the US Department of Commerce took place on the 1st of April. This is the third summit meeting following the previous ones held in 1995 and 1997 respectively. Set against the background of fast moving information technology, global communication market fierce contention as well as drastic change in telecom regulatory landscapes, the 3rd summit meeting focused its concerns on such issues of common interests as information infrastructure buildups, future development of network technology, Electronic Commerce, mobile communications and the standardization of the related industrial specifications. The summit offered rare opportunity for extensive exchange of views to further Promote mutual understanding and closer cooperation between China and USA in the area of information industry. The delegations were represented not only by the government officials but also by a large team of telecom enterprises, which signed up a turnkey project valued at 160 mil USD, including Motorola's mobile base station equipments for the Hunan Telecom Administrations and UNICOM's Shenzhen-based branch office, and the procurement of host computers from Hewlett Packard, IBM and Compaq for the ChinaPosts' postal integrated computer network.Minister Wu Jichuan of the MII commented that the meetingwill further Promote the cooperation between the two countries basedon the principles of equality and mutual benefit. He believes theprospects of cooperation in the area of information industry will bebroaden.
Application of laser heterodyne interferometer in solid rocket motor vibration

The vibration frequency and intensity of the solid rocket motor in operation were studied by laser heterodyne interferometer.For experiment vibration system of engine model,a laser heterodyne interferometer system in laboratory condition was established.Experiments show that the measurement bandwidth of laser heterodynes interferometer vibration system is 7.8 Hz,and measurement standard deviation is less than 5.6×10-8.Glass vibration experimental results coincide with the local oscillator frequency,and signal strength exhibits a linear relationship with the amplitude of the system.Laser heterodyne interferometry is applicable in engine vibration measurement process.
The Role of Transportation Disadvantage for Women on Community Supervision

Access to transportation (i.e., walking, public transit, personal vehicles), or lack thereof, has not been extensively explored in criminal justice samples. Consequently, mixed-methods study of 366...
Countercurrents and eddies

In this analysis of large-scale ocean circulation, we have relied so much on the high mechanical and thermal inertia of the oceans that we have not bothered to look beyond very slow changing, actually stationary (steady-state) types of circulation. Any effects connected with variations on a scale smaller than the average flow pattern we grouped under the name ‘turbulence’ or ‘turbulent eddies’. All energy and mass transport relations between the highly variable fields and average flows were grouped into a convenient quantity — eddy coefficient, which itself depends on the average flow field. The only assumption concerning the scales of turbulence was that of anisotropy, which implies that horizontal turbulent fluctuations are many times larger than vertical ones.
Monolithic III-nitride nanowire detectors on silicon

III-nitride nanowires and disk-in-nanowire heterostructures grown on silicon substrates have been used to realize light emitting diodes (LEDs) [1, 2] and diode lasers [3, 4]. We have recently demonstrated edge-emitting disk-in-nanowire diode lasers, in which the gain region consists of multiple In x Ga 1−x N (0.3≤×≤0.85)/GaN disks and the emission wavelength varied in the range of 0.53 to 1.2 μm [4]. A monolithic detector technology using III-nitride nanowires on silicon has not been demonstrated in any wavelength range. The InGaN disk, or a quantum dot formed in the disk region [5] would be the main photon absorbing region of the device. Along with the monolithic diode lasers, the detectors could form a part of a photonic integrated circuit on silicon. In the presented study we have investigated the potential of InGaN/GaN disk-in-nanowire arrays on (001)Si for near-infrared and infrared detection.
Physical Factors: Rock, Soil, Landform, Water, and Wind

With this chapter we begin a more detailed exploration of the origin and maintenance of grasslands in the South. As reviewed in chapter 2, prolonged periods of drier climate or increased seasonality can convert forest to grassland. This process has occurred periodically in the past. Positive feedback loops involving megaherbivores and fire further contribute to grassland formation and can maintain grassland after climatic conditions favorable for its development have ended. The long sequence of grassland-adapted vertebrates in the fossil record, patterns of disjunction in plant and animal taxa between the semiarid West and the Southeast, and positive responses to fire in the flora and fauna provide evidence of this history.
Once More, with Feeling: Revisiting the Role of Touch in Performer-Instrument Interaction

The dynamical response of a musical instrument plays a vital role in determining its playability. This is because, for instruments where there is a physical coupling between the sound-producing mechanism of the instrument and the player’s body (as with any acoustic instrument), energy can be exchanged across points of contact. Most instruments are strong enough to push back; they are springy, have inertia, and store and release energy on a scale that is appropriate and well matched to the player’s body. Haptic receptors embedded in skin, muscles, and joints are stimulated to relay force and motion signals to the player. We propose that the performer-instrument interaction is, in practice, a dynamic coupling between a mechanical system and a biomechanical instrumentalist. We take a stand on what is actually under the control of the musician, claiming it is not the instrument that is played, but the dynamic system formed by the instrument coupled to the musician’s body. In this chapter, we suggest that the robustness, immediacy, and potential for virtuosity associated with acoustic instrument performance are derived, in no small measure, from the fact that such interactions engage both the active and passive elements of the sensorimotor system and from the musician’s ability to learn to control and manage the dynamics of this coupled system. This, we suggest, is very different from an interaction with an instrument whose interface only supports information exchange. Finally, we suggest that a musical instrument interface that incorporates dynamic coupling likely supports the development of higher levels of skill and musical expressiveness.
Threads of local continuity between centralized and decentralized causality: Transitional explanations for the behavior of a complex system

One line of research on student understanding of complex systems has tended to emphasize discontinuities between common misconceptions and relatively more sophisticated understandings. Other work has focused on instruction while acknowledging the existence of other ways of understanding complex systems, but less emphasis has been on examining the knowledge structures within these intermediate ways of understanding. This study takes a microgenetic approach to examining student’s explanations for the behavior of complex systems. Using the Knowledge-in-Pieces epistemological perspective, the analysis documents a continuity of reasoning patterns across less prototypically centralized and more prototypically decentralized (a more sophisticated causality) explanations while explaining the movement of sand dunes. The first analysis examines 31 interviews and shows that many reflected a general reasoning pattern that encompassing some combination of an initial centralized explanation, a final decentralized explanation, and transitional explanations. A second analysis examines a single student’s reasoning pattern and finds that the activation of relevant intuitive knowledge pieces (p-prims) and transitional explanations function as threads of continuity across the continuum of reasoning patterns. These findings suggest that students are able to exhibit a continuity of reasoning patterns across centralized to decentralized causality and are able to access productive intuitive knowledge about complex systems that are applicable to both the macro and micro levels of sand dune movement. Implications suggest that future research investigate these transitional explanations along with the mechanisms of shifting explanations that can account for this robust continuum.
Effect of naturally random allocation to lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on the risk of coronary heart disease mediated by polymorphisms in NPC1L1, HMGCR, or both: a 2 × 2 factorial Mendelian randomization study.

Abstract Background Considerable uncertainty exists as to whether lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by inhibiting the Niemann-Pick C1-Like 1 (NPC1L1) receptor with ezetimibe, either alone or in combination with a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) inhibitor (statin), will reduce the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). Objectives This study evaluated the effect of naturally random allocation to lower LDL-C mediated by polymorphisms in the NPC1L1 gene (target of ezetimibe), the HMGCR gene (target of statins), or both (target of combination therapy) on the risk of CHD. Methods We constructed NPC1L1 and HMGCR genetic LDL-C scores to naturally randomize participants into 4 groups: reference, lower LDL-C mediated by NPC1L1 polymorphisms, lower LDL-C mediated by HMGCR polymorphisms, or lower LDL-C mediated by polymorphisms in both NPC1L1 and HMGCR . We compared the risk of CHD (fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction) among each group using a 2 × 2 factorial mendelian randomization study design. Results A total of 108,376 persons (10,464 CHD events) from 14 studies were included. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics among the 4 groups, thus confirming that allocation was random. Compared to the reference group, the NPC1L1 group had 2.4 mg/dl lower LDL-C and 4.8% lower risk of CHD (odds ratio [OR]: 0.952, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.920 to 0.985); whereas the HMGCR group had 2.9 mg/dl lower LDL-C and a similar 5.3% lower risk of CHD (OR: 0.947, 95% CI: 0.909 to 0.986). The group with lower LDL-C mediated by both NPC1L1 and HMGCR polymorphisms had 5.8 mg/dl additively lower LDL-C and a 10.8% log-linearly additive lower risk of CHD (OR: 0.892, 95% CI: 0.854 to 0.932). Conclusions The effect of lower LDL-C on the risk of CHD mediated by polymorphisms in NPC1L1 , HMGCR, or both is approximately the same per unit lower LDL-C and log-linearly proportional to the absolute exposure to lower LDL-C.
Supine Urethroscopic Cystometry

Cystometry is the measurement of the intravesical pressure-volume relationship during filling of the bladder with a distending medium. It allows one to assess the compliance, control, sensation and capacity of the bladder. The distending medium may be sterile water, saline, carbon dioxide or urine. Normal cystometry is defined as the ability to fill the bladder to a normal maximum cystometric capacity in the absence of any involuntary detrusor contractions or voluntary uninhibited contractions. Previously a pressure rise greater than 15 cmH2O was also considered a measure of detrusor instability (abnormal cystometrogram) but the International Continence Society no longer includes this measure as a necessary part of the definition. However, pressure rises of >15 cmH2O still indicate an abnormality of storage function.
Classical Statistical Mechanics of Soliton-Bearing Systems

We review the status of classical statistical mechanics for some 1-D soliton or solitary wave-bearing systems. Much of the recent activity is attributable to the motivating impact of molecular-dynamics (MD) results on discrete Φ4-[1–4] and sine-Gordon (sG) systems [5, 6] and the Toda lattice [7], which revealed the need for including soliton features in a statistical description, in particular, of dynamic properties. In keeping with these model systems, we discuss the evidence for kink, breather (envelope-soliton) and pulse-soli ton effects, including the associated new excitation branches. Primary attention is given to: a) thermodynamic properties and static form factors, and b) dynamic form factors (DFF) and displacement patterns.
Multiple isodicentric Y chromosomes in myeloid malignancies: a unique cytogenetic entity and potential therapeutic target

Multiple isodicentric Y chromosome [idic(Y)] is a cytogenetic abnormality consisting of duplicative copies of the short-arm of Y chromosome. Several mechanisms have been postulated to explain the f...
A Prospective Examination of Physical Activity Predictors in Pregnant Women with Normal Weight and Overweight/Obesity

Abstract Background Scant research has examined the relationship between exercise behavior and weight status in pregnant women. Methods A prospective study was conducted in which pregnant women (N = 332) completed self-report measures at each trimester. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance (controlling for race, education, and parity) examined changes in the motivational determinants of exercise over time and by weight status. Regression analyses were conducted to understand how the motivational determinants predicted exercise behavior and to examine the impact of prepregnancy weight status. Results A significant main effect for time was observed, with an increase in early pregnancy followed by a decrease in late pregnancy for the motivational determinants of exercise and exercise behavior. A significant main effect for weight status was observed such that normal weight pregnant women had significantly greater attitude and intention for exercise when compared with pregnant women with overweight/obesity. The primary predictors of intention were perceived behavioral control (first to second trimester) and attitude (second to third trimester). The primary predictor of exercise behavior was intention. Prepregnancy weight status provided no unique contributions. Conclusions Findings from this study suggest that interventions designed to promote exercise in pregnancy should consider targeting perceived behavioral control in early pregnancy and attitude in later pregnancy. Improving exercise attitude in women with overweight or obesity may further strengthen their motivation to be active in pregnancy. Customized interventions may need to be designed to address the unique needs of women because their motivational determinants change over the course of pregnancy.
Orbital Edge Computing: Machine Inference in Space

Edge computing is an emerging paradigm aiding responsiveness, reliability, and scalability of terrestrial computing and sensing networks like cellular and IoT. However, edge computing is largely unexplored in high-datarate nanosatellite constellations. Cubesats are small, energy-limited sensors separated from the cloud by hundreds of kilometers of atmosphere and space. As they proliferate, centralized architectures impede advanced applications. In this work, we define and characterize Orbital Edge Computing. We describe power and software optimizations for the orbital edge, and we use formation flying to parallelize computation in space.
Electrical Characteristics of Peripheral Nerve Stimulators: Implications for Nerve Localization

In order to determine the electrical characteristics of peripheral nerve stimulators (PNSs) that contributed to the localization of a peripheral nerve, the electrical properties of eight commercially available peripheral nerve stimulators and a Grass S-88 stimulator were measured. The PNSs were then used in the laboratory to locate a peripheral nerve in an anesthetized cat. The controlled environment in the laboratory allowed each PNS to be used under nearly identical conditions. The electrical characteristics that contributed to the successful localization of a peripheral nerve are (1) a linear output; (2) high and low output ranges; (3) properly marked polarity; (4) constant current output; and (5) a short stimulation pulse. In addition, other features of the PNS that contributed to the localization of a peripheral nerve are a large, easily turned dial, a digitalized output meter, and a battery check.
"With middal smal and wel ymake": Objectification and Power in Medieval English Love Songs

Through reading sets of medieval love songs one can notice trends that are connected to the conventions of fin’amor or courtly love. Troubadours, medieval French poets, would compose and sing songs that reflect the trends of courtly love during the time period. Within the lyrics of these songs there are two main trends when it comes to the objectification of the female beloved. First, they spend a great deal of time in describing the physicality of the beloved, but make no inferences or connections to her interior life—going so far as to animalize her. Even when those beautiful features may be manufactured, their artificiality still supersedes her personhood. Second, they use the lyric technique of reprisal to formally reinforce sense of woman as inanimate. Using the anonymous “Alison” and Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Complaint to his Purse” as example cases, in this essay I demonstrate the techniques that effect this displacement of power, as well as how they are still prevalent in popular music today. Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Elizabeth E. Tavares
Toward Single-Lens Epi-Fluorescent Light Sheet Microscopy with Single-Pixel Detection

We report a method for epi-fluorescent light-sheet microscopy with a single-element detector. This method is based on spatial frequency projection imaging and utilizes PSF engineering to enhance the depth of field.
A Stochastic Subgradient Method for Nonsmooth Nonconvex Multi-Level Composition Optimization

We propose a single time-scale stochastic subgradient method for constrained optimization of a composition of several nonsmooth and nonconvex functions. The functions are assumed to be locally Lipschitz and differentiable in a generalized sense. Only stochastic estimates of the values and generalized derivatives of the functions are used. The method is parameter-free. We prove convergence with probability one of the method, by associating with it a system of differential inclusions and devising a nondifferentiable Lyapunov function for this system. For problems with functions having Lipschitz continuous derivatives, the method finds a point satisfying an optimality measure with error of order $1/\sqrt{N}$, after executing $N$ iterations with constant stepsize.
Interspecies fractional collisions

Relaxing the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method to be compatible with variable particle weights has significant advantages when applied to simulations with a large density variation, as the statistical noise in the low density region can be controlled. The stochastic weighted particle method [S. Rjasanow and W. Wagner, J. Comput. Phys. 124, 243–253 (1996)] enables the control of particle weight but has never been applied to a multicomponent gas mixture or plasma. This paper focuses on charge-exchange collisions, but the method is applicable to any interspecies collision reactions including ionization and excitation collisions, providing the correct collision rate between different species with different weights in the context of no-time-counter scheme, which can easily be extended to other DSMC schemes. The method is first verified through two test cases observing the depletion of high-energy ions as impacting background neutral particles and looking at the spatial variation and temporal evolution of different species. Then, the method is applied to a simple electric propulsion plume simulation, demonstrating the controllability of species ratio and capability in reducing statistical noise for the charge-exchange ions.
New measurements of gamma-ray energies and their absolute intensities from the decay of 231 Pa

Accurate nuclear data for the decay of 231Pa is highly important for non-destructive analysis in the areas of radiochronometry and nuclear forensics. However, the evaluated nuclear data for this isotope is lacking; many previous measurements have large uncertainties and only two measurements are used to determine the absolute intensities. This work presents modern measurements of the major gamma-ray emissions from the decay of 231Pa to 227Ac including the energies and absolute intensities. For many of these measurements, the error envelopes have been significantly decreased compared to previous measurements, while remaining in good agreement. The absolute intensity of the 283 keV reference line was measured as 0.0163(2).