cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Natural selection and the origin and maintenance of standard genetic marker systems

Natural selection has always been assumed to be the major force of evolution, but its presence has been difficult to demonstrate. A review of the evidence for selective differences among genotypes for most human genetic polymorphisms indicates there is little of a direct nature. Indirect theoretical evidence, however, seems to support a major role for natural selection, and it does not seem to support the hypothesis that most amino acid substitutions within the human species are neutral. Among small isolates, most of the gene frequency differences are most likely due to genetic drift or the founder effect, and the principal counterbalancing force is gene flow or migration. But genetic differences among the major human subdivisions do not seem to be due to the same interacting forces. One reason for the inability to detect selection has been an oversimplified view of its operation, which assigns genotypes a constant fitness in every generation. Many recent theoretical developments of more complicated kinds of selection may lead to a resolution of the problem and suggest better interpretations of the enormous amount of data on human genetic variation that is rapidly accumulating.
A swarm of Stokeslets with interfacial tension

A formal analogy between sedimenting drops in Stokes flow and a swarm of Stokeslets [Machu et al., J. Fluid Mech. (in press)] is extended to include interfacial tension. Using a cohesive potential, mean curvature is extended as a meaningful quantity off the interface, allowing the boundary-integral formulation to be rewritten in volumetric form. A prescription for assigning forces to the Stokeslets comprising the swarm incorporates the action of interfacial tension without having to identify a boundary surface. Numerical simulations agree with linear small-deformation theory, and reproduce the spontaneous coalescense of two touching drops.
Numerical simulations of a Van der Pol oscillator

Abstract Numerical simulations of the statistics of the amplitude of the response of a lightly damped Van der Pol oscillator under a Gaussian white excitation are presented. Computational aspects of several parameters of the numerical model of the Gaussian white process are discussed. The numerical data obtained are used to assess the reliability of an approximate solution for the stationary probability density function of the response amplitude. The computation cost of the numerical simulations is considered.
Predictive Multivariate Regression to Increase the Specificity of Carotid Duplex Ultrasound for High-grade Stenosis in Asymptomatic Patients

Background Carotid duplex ultrasound (CDUS) is commonly used to screen for carotid artery stenosis. Specificities of CDUS criteria however are lower than sensitivities, potentially resulting in false-positive examinations with subsequent unnecessary imaging or surgery. Our objective was to establish a multivariate logistic regression to increase the specificity of CDUS for high-grade (≥70%) stenosis. Methods A retrospective review collected CDUS velocities and radiographic measurements from patients who underwent both CDUS and computed tomography angiography (CTA). After stratification with standard CDUS criteria, a logistic regression was created using peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and PSV ratio (PSV of internal carotid artery [ICA]/PSV of common carotid artery [CCA]) as predictor variables. A receiver operating characteristic curve was generated to test the model's predictive ability. A cutoff probability for unequivocal high-grade stenosis was chosen based on optimal specificity. The regression model was applied to patients with equivocal high-grade stenosis. Probabilities for detection of high-grade stenosis were calculated. Descriptive statistics were generated to quantify the accuracy of the model. Results A total of 244 vessels were included. Standardized velocity criteria for ≥70% stenosis yielded a sensitivity of 90.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 82.3–95.6%), specificity of 63.5% (95% CI, 55.4–70.5%), positive predictive value (PPV) of 57.0% (95% CI, 48.8–65.5%), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 92.7% (95% CI, 85.8–96.5%). Regression analysis produced a model for predicting the probability of high-grade stenosis defined as probability = logit−1 (−4.97 + [0.00938 × PSV] + [0.0135 × EDV] + [0.103 × PSV ICA/CCA ratio]). A cutoff probability of 0.65 for high-grade stenosis yielded a sensitivity of 54.7% (95% CI, 43.9–65.0%), specificity of 94.3% (95% CI, 89.3–97.2%), PPV of 83.9% (95% CI, 71.6–91.9%), and NPV of 79.3% (95% CI, 72.8–84.5%). A cutoff PSV of 400 cm/sec was chosen for unequivocal stenosis of ≥70%. A total of 94 patients were found to meet criteria for high-grade stenosis (PSV ≥ 230 cm/sec) but fall short of criteria for unequivocal high-grade stenosis (PSV Conclusions Our regression model provides increased specificity of CDUS for high-grade stenosis in patients who have met initial highly sensitive screening criteria. Application of this model may limit the need for additional imaging and increase the threshold for operative intervention in asymptomatic patients with equivocal high-grade carotid stenosis.
The Communication of Ideas across Subfields in Political Science

What factors inhibit or facilitate cross-subfi eld conversations in political science? This article draws on diff usion scholarship to gain insight into cross-subfi eld communication. Diff usion scholarship represents a case where such communication might be expected, given that similar diff usion processes are analyzed in American politics, comparative politics, and international relations. We identify nearly 800 journal articles published on diff usion within political science between 1958 and 2008. Using network analysis we investigate the degree to which three “common culprits”—terminology, methodological approach, and journal type— infl uence levels of integration. We fi nd the highest levels of integration among scholars using similar terms to describe diff usion processes, sharing a methodological approach (especially in quantitative scholarship), and publishing in a common set of subfi eld journals. These fi ndings shed light on when cross-subfi eld communication is likely to occur with ease and when barriers may prove prohibitive.
Ultra Low Power 60 GHz ASK SiGe Receiver with 3-6 GBPS Capabilities

This paper presents an ultra low power 60 GHz SiGe ASK receiver capable of 3-6 Gbps communications. The receiver is based on a 4-stage low-noise amplifier and an ASK detector, all in a 0.12 um SiGe transistor technology. The LNA and ASK detector were designed for wide bandwidth in order to result in a very high data rate. The LNA+Detector chip consumes 11 mW and is capable of 3-6 Gbps communications with a BER 3 Gbps with a BER < 10 -12 over the entire temperature range.
The Spot Sign Score in Primary Intracerebral Hemorrhage Identifies Patients at Highest Risk of In-Hospital Mortality and Poor Outcome Among Survivors

Background and Purpose— The spot sign score is a potent predictor of hematoma expansion in patients with primary intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We aim to determine the accuracy of this scoring system for the prediction of in-hospital mortality and poor outcome among survivors in patients with primary ICH. Methods— Three neuroradiologists retrospectively reviewed CT angiograms (CTAs) performed in 573 consecutive patients who presented to our Emergency Department with primary ICH over a 9-year period to determine the presence and scoring of spot signs according to strict criteria. Baseline ICH and intraventricular hemorrhage volumes were independently determined by computer-assisted volumetric analysis. Medical records were independently reviewed for baseline clinical characteristics and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at hospital discharge and 3-month follow-up. Poor outcome among survivors was defined as a mRS ≥4 at 3-month follow-up. Results— We identified spot signs in 133 of 573 CTAs (23.2%), 11 of which ...
DSG-N 2 : A group-based social routing algorithm

Devices in a mobile ad-hoc environment can follow different movement patterns based on the application environment. Some environments, such as mass transit systems, follow regular and predictable patterns. Others, such as an aerial monitoring network, generally follow random paths. Optimal routing schemes tend to take advantage of information regarding movement patterns available in social interaction domains. In a social environment like wildlife tracking or monitoring socio-human interactions, the devices and/or users will follow regular contact habits, tending to encounter social groups in which they participate. In this paper, by dynamically identifying these groups, the patterns are used to speed routing through a social environment. When social groups are formed, a probability based scheme is used to route messages to devices efficiently. This algorithm can be implemented ad null, meaning the devices have no information of their environment, and works to reduce overhead, message traffic, and delivery time while maintaining a high delivery ratio.
Identifying and counting point defects in carbon nanotubes

The prevailing conception of carbon nanotubes and particularly single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) continues to be one of perfectly crystalline wires. Here, we demonstrate a selective electrochemical method that labels point defects and makes them easily visible for quantitative analysis. High-quality SWNTs are confirmed to contain one defect per 4 μm on average, with a distribution weighted towards areas of SWNT curvature. Although this defect density compares favourably to high-quality, silicon single-crystals, the presence of a single defect can have tremendous electronic effects in one-dimensional conductors such as SWNTs. We demonstrate a one-to-one correspondence between chemically active point defects and sites of local electronic sensitivity in SWNT circuits, confirming the expectation that individual defects may be critical to understanding and controlling variability, noise and chemical sensitivity in SWNT electronic devices. By varying the SWNT synthesis technique, we further show that the defect spacing can be varied over orders of magnitude. The ability to detect and analyse point defects, especially at very low concentrations, indicates the promise of this technique for quantitative process analysis, especially in nanoelectronics development. A
Systematics and body size: implications for feeding adaptations in New World monkeys.

The relationship between body size and feeding ecology is well established for primates. It is argued that the evolutionary history of modern New World monkeys and, in particular, the path to attainment of current body size is significant in understanding the similarities and differences between dietary strategies and other ecological parameters of similar-sized monkeys. Current interpretations of New World monkey evolutionary relationships are reviewed. Based on a synthesis of available body weights and the assumption that the earliest New World monkeys weighed close to 1 kg, similar to modern Aotus and Callicebus, predicted patterns of body size change in each lineage are given. Restrictions on directions of body size change in primates are discussed, and it is shown that “Stanley's Rule” offers a good explanation for differing body size ranges in New and Old World anthropoids. Predicted ecological correlates to body size drawn from the mammalian literature are offered and tested using data on New World monkeys, which show some concurrence and several interesting departures from predicted patterns. Sexual dimorphism in body weight of New World monkey species is reviewed, based on the new summary of body weight data given. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Muslims in Prison: A Case Study from Ohio State Prisons:

The present study explores core issues related to the understudied population of Muslim inmates. Mail questionnaires were sent to the full-time chaplains employed by religious services in thirty Ohio state male prisons. The survey examines: (1) characteristics of Muslim inmates, (2) patterns of identification with Islam, (3) religious behavior inside the prisons, and (4) relations between conversion to Islam and crime committed. Our findings indicate that while the vast majority of Muslim inmates are African-American, they are otherwise similar to the incarcerated population in terms of age, education, and marital status. Most of the Muslims in our sample converted while incarcerated. The devotion of Muslim prisoners in the sample tends to be high as demonstrated by adherence to central religious practices. Finally, we found no relationship between crime and conversion to Islam inside prison. Although our data must be understood as tentative, it offers a basis for further investigation of this population ...
Using remote sensing and GIS technology for an improved decision support: a case study of residential water use in El Paso, Texas

This paper presents a case study of using remote sensing and geographic information system technology for extracting green-surface areas of a residential neighborhood (933.20 acres) of El Paso, Texas. Four IKONOS images (September 2000) and a parcel layer were used to identify the green-surface areas which is an important variable in modelling the outdoor water use of individual households. The modelled outdoor water use together with indoor water use was compared with water meter reading and was used to analyse the behaviour of individual household-based water consumption. The modelling processes improve our understanding of water consumption and resource distributions so that a better decision in water management can be made. The results showed that pervious (green) and impervious surfaces constitute 26% and 74% of the total area of the 2422 parcel lots, and 21% and 79% of the entire study area, respectively. Average indoor water use of 2374 residential parcels is 31 m3 (or 11 ccf) per month, derived by...
An Adaptive System Identification Model of the Biomechanical Response of the Human Trunk During Sudden Loading

Sudden loading injuries to the low back are a concern. Current models are limited in their ability to quantify the time-varying nature of the sudden loading event. The method of approach used six males who were subjected to sudden loads. Response data (EMG and kinematics) were input into a system identification model to yield time-varying torso stiffness estimates. The results show estimates of system stiffness in good agreement with values in the literature. The average root mean square error of the model's predictions of sagittal motion was equal to 0.1 deg. In conclusion, system identification can be implemented with minimal error and used to gain more insight into the time-dependent trunk response to sudden loads.
Interviewer as instrument: accounting for human factors in evaluation research.

This methodological study examines an original data collection model designed to incorporate human factors and enhance data richness in qualitative and evaluation research. Evidence supporting this model is drawn from in-depth youth and adult interviews in one of the largest policy/ program evaluations undertaken in the United States, the Drug, Alcohol, and Tobacco Education evaluation (77 districts, 118 schools). When applying the explicit observation technique (EOT)—the strategic and nonjudgmental disclosure of nonverbal human factor cues by the interviewer to the respondent during interview—data revealed the observation disclosure pattern. Here, respondents linked perceptions with policy or program implementation or effectiveness evidence. Although more research is needed, it is concluded that the EOT yields richer data when compared with traditional semistructured interviews and, thus, holds promise to enhance qualitative and evaluation research methods. Validity and reliability as well as qualitative and evaluation research considerations are discussed.
Outflow boundary conditions for one-dimensional finite element modeling of blood flow and pressure waves in arteries

Abstract Flow and pressure waves, originating due to the contraction of the heart, propagate along the deformable vessels and reflect due to tapering, branching, and other discontinuities. The size and complexity of the cardiovascular system necessitate a “multiscale” approach, with “upstream” regions of interest (large arteries) coupled to reduced-order models of “downstream” vessels. Previous efforts to couple upstream and downstream domains have included specifying resistance and impedance outflow boundary conditions for the nonlinear one-dimensional wave propagation equations and iterative coupling between three-dimensional and one-dimensional numerical methods. We have developed a new approach to solve the one-dimensional nonlinear equations of blood flow in elastic vessels utilizing a space-time finite element method with GLS-stabilization for the upstream domain, and a boundary term to couple to the downstream domain. The outflow boundary conditions are derived following an approach analogous to the Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DtN) method. In the downstream domain, we solve simplified zero/one-dimensional equations to derive relationships between pressure and flow accommodating periodic and transient phenomena with a consistent formulation for different boundary condition types. In this paper, we also present a new boundary condition that accommodates transient phenomena based on a Green’s function solution of the linear, damped wave equation in the downstream domain.
Teachers' Shifting Assessment Practices in the Context of Educational Reform in Mathematics.

Abstract This paper presents a study of primary and secondary mathematics teachers’ changing assessment practices in the context of policy, stakeholder, and personal presses for change. Using survey and interviews, we collected teachers’ reports of their uses of three forms of assessment, one linked to traditional practice (exercises), and two linked to reforms in mathematics education (open-ended problems and rubrics). Findings revealed several trajectories of change in the interplay between assessment forms and the functions that they serve. Teachers may implement new assessment forms in ways that serve ‘old’ functions; teachers may re-purpose ‘old’ assessment forms in ways that reveal students’ mathematical thinking. Our developmental framework provides a way to understand the dynamics of teacher development in relation to ongoing educational reforms.
Epicardial adipose tissue volume is independently associated with aortic root size as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Background Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), located between the myo-epicardium and the visceral pericardium, is a metabolically active organ and secretes pro-inflammatory, fibrotic and atherogenic adipokines. The absence of a fascial layer between EAT and aortic adventitia may allow the EAT secretome to alter aortic extracellular matrix promoting aortic root dilatation. Aortic root size has been shown to be an independent predictor of incident heart failure, stroke, and cardiovascular and allcause mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the association of EAT volume with aortic measurements both within and outside the pericardium using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).
Photodissociation Dynamics of the Ethoxy Radical (C2H5O)

Photodissociation of the ethoxy (C2H5O) radical is investigated using photofragment translational spectroscopy. The ethoxy radical is generated by photodetachment of C2H5O- and subsequently dissociated by photon absorption in the range of 270−220 nm; no dissociation is seen at higher wavelengths. The photofragment yield (PFY) spectrum is structureless but exhibits abrupt increases in intensity at 260 and 225 nm. The product mass distribution shows that C2H5O dissociates into the vinyl radical (C2H3) and H2O throughout the entire absorption band. We propose that these products are formed by isomerization and dissociation on electronically excited surfaces rather than by internal conversion to the ground state. The translational energy P(ET) distributions for this channel are largely insensitive to photon energy. However, at the two highest photon energies (5.51 and 5.96 eV), a new feature appears at ET ≤ 0.3 eV, which is assigned as production of an excited state of C2H3.
Design of metallic textile core sandwich panels

Abstract Metallic sandwich panels with textile cores have been analyzed subject to combined bending and shear and then designed for minimum weight. Basic results for the weight benefits relative to solid plates are presented, with emphasis on restricted optimizations that assure robustness (non-catastrophic failure) and acceptable thinness. Select numerical simulations are used to check the analytical results and to explore the role of strain hardening beyond failure initiation. Comparisons are made with competing concepts, especially honeycomb and truss core systems. It is demonstrated that all three systems have essentially equivalent performance. The influence on the design of a concentrated compressive stress that might crush the core has been explored and found to produce relatively small effect over the stress range of practical interest. “Angle ply” cores with members in the ±45° orientation are found to be near optimal for all combinations of bending, shear and compression.
Necessary conditions for consistent set-based graphical model selection

Graphical model selection, where the goal is to estimate the graph underlying a distribution, is known to be an NP-hard problem. An important issue is to study theoretical limits on the performance of graphical model selection algorithms. In particular, given parameters of the underlying distribution, we want to find a lower bound on the number of samples required for accurate graph estimation. When deriving these theoretical bounds, it is common to treat the learning problem as a communication problem where the observations correspond to noisy messages and the decoding problem infers the graph from the observations. Current analysis of graphical model selection algorithms is limited to studying graph estimators that output a unique graph. In this paper, we consider graph estimators that output a set of graphs, leading to set-based graphical model selection (SB-GMS). This has connections to list-decoding where a decoder outputs a list of possible codewords instead of a single codeword. Our main contribution is to derive necessary conditions for accurate SB-GMS for various classes of graphical models and show reduction in the number of samples required for consistent estimation. Further, we derive necessary conditions on the cardinality of the set-based estimates given graph parameters.
A framework for global collaboration in teaching software engineering

This paper proposes a framework for global collaboration in teaching software engineering courses. The framework is developed based on experiences and lessons we learned from our global collaborations in teaching software engineering during last several years. The participant students of our pilot projects were undergraduate computer science or software engineering students from United States and other countries. Students studied the fundamental software engineering principles and practices and collaborated remotely to produce software systems following good software engineering practices. The framework proposed in this paper includes guidelines for building an effective collaboration infrastructure, ideas for designing a high quality collaboration course and assessment procedures for continuously improving teaching quality. The framework is useful for others who plan to be involved in similar global collaboration projects in the future.
DRS: A Developer Risk Metric for Better Predicting Software Fault-Proneness

Previous studies have reported that the performance of a developer can greatly impact the quality of the software he/she has worked on. Such performance can be measured using two developer risk metrics during a particular development period. One is the ratio of the number of bug-introduce commits to the total number of commits made by a developer (i.e., the DQ metric). The other is the proportion of faulty software modules out of all modules modified by the developer (i.e., the BR metric). However, all bug-introduce commits, no matter its severity, are treated equally by both DQ and BR metrics. Moreover, the complexity of a software module that a developer is working on may also have a potential impact on his/her performance but is not considered by either DQ or BR. To resolve these two problems, we propose Developer Risk Score (DRS), which takes both program complexity and the severity of bug-introduce commits into account, to evaluate the performance of a developer. Nine software risk metrics based on DRS are further derived to predict the fault proneness of a given software module. Results from our case studies show that (1) DRS-based software risk metrics are generally more correlated with the number of bugs in a software module and the cumulative severity score of bug-introduce commits for a module than DQ-and BR-based metrics, and (2) models using DRS-based metrics are generally more effective in predicting software fault-proneness than those using DQ-and BR-based metrics.
Deskilling emotional labour: evidence from department store retail

How have the skills of service jobs changed? Have they undergone deskilling, upgrading or some contingent or compensatory development? This study examines these questions as they pertain to frontli...
Separating Portfolio Performance into Opportunity, Foresight, and Active Management Risk

We introduce a decomposition showing precisely how actively-managed portfolio returns can be separated into three measurable components that we call Opportunity, Foresight, and Active Management Risk. Opportunity reflects the degree to which the investment opportunity set contains exploitable asset returns. Foresight and Active Management Risk reflect how well a manager forecasts relative asset returns for the next period and how aggressively a manager changes portfolio weights at the start of the period. Using simulated weights, we show that our measures have the power to detect even modest levels of predictive ability. They also can disentangle predictive ability and aggression. We apply the decomposition to asset allocation recommendations from a set of Investment Houses. We find little Foresight, but considerable Active Management Risk.
A Multiple Model Prediction Algorithm for CNC MachineWear PHM

We present a multiple model approach for wear depth estimation of milling machine cutters using dynamometer, accelerometer, and acoustic emission data. The feature selection, initial wear estimation and multiple model fusion components of the proposed algorithm are explained in details and compared with several alternative methods using the training data. The performance evaluation procedure and the resulting scores from the submitted predictions are also discussed.
Pulmonary haemodynamics during recovery from maximum incremental cycling exercise

Assessment of cardiac function during exercise can be technically demanding, making the recovery period a potentially attractive diagnostic window. However, the validity of this approach for exercise pulmonary haemodynamics has not been validated. The present study, therefore, evaluated directly measured pulmonary haemodynamics during 2-min recovery after maximum invasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing in patients evaluated for unexplained exertional intolerance. Based on peak exercise criteria, patients with exercise pulmonary hypertension (ePH; n=36), exercise pulmonary venous hypertension (ePVH; n=28) and age-matched controls (n=31) were analysed. By 2-min recovery, 83% (n=30) of ePH patients had a mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) In conclusion, we observed that mPAP and PAWP decay quickly during recovery in ePH and ePVH, compromising the sensitivity of recovery haemodynamic measurements in diagnosing pulmonary hypertension. ePH and ePVH had different PVR and PVC recovery patterns, suggesting differences in the underlying pulmonary hypertension pathophysiology.
Factors influencing measurement of hyaluronidase activity by dermal spread of an indicator.

Summary1. The presence of several controllable sources of error in the study of indicator spreading by the enzyme hyaluronidase has been demonstrated. These are rate of injection, enzyme concentration, volume of the injection mass and measurement after equal intervals of enzyme activity. 2. Each factor of error singly or in any possible combination with others may materially alter the results of any investigation using this spreading as a biological measure.
Stigma in Medical Settings As Reported Retrospectively by Women With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) for Their Childhood and Adolescence

Objectives To perform a qualitative study of stigma experienced in medical settings by children and adolescents with congenital genital ambiguity (CGA). Methods 62 women with classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) of variable severity took part in a qualitative retrospective interview that focused on the impact of CAH and its medical treatment, with an emphasis on childhood and adolescence. Categorization of stigmatization was based on deductive content analysis of the interview transcripts. Results Many women recalled experiencing the genital examinations in childhood and adolescence as adverse, stigmatizing events, leading to avoidance reactions and self-perception as abnormal, particularly when the examinations included groups of trainees. Some women also experienced as adverse the nonverbal and verbal reactions of individual physicians who were unfamiliar with CGA. Conclusions Genital examinations constitute salient events for children and adolescents with CGA. They are easily experienced as strongly stigmatizing, especially when combined with teaching.
Supportive care. Treating pain

In spite of recent discoveries both in the neuroscience of pain mechanisms and in the pharmacologic management of pain, numerous patients with cancer continue to suffer of untreated or under treated pain. This article will give an overview of the different therapeutic modalities including the World Health Organization (WHO) stepladder, more invasive techniques such as the spinal delivery of drugs, the use of neurostimulation and radiofrequency neuroablation. It will also look at complementary and alternative therapies such as acupuncture and end of life care or palliative/supportive care.
Clinical experience with high power (140 mj.), large fiber (320 micron) pulsed dye laser lithotripsy.

AbstractThe pulsed dye laser, at 504nm. wavelength with a pulse duration of 1μsec., was used at 140mj. per pulse via a 320μ. (core) fiber for fragmentation of 72 ureteral calculi. The fragmentation efficiency and clinical results using the 140mj./320μ. fiber were compared to previous experience using the 60mj./200μ. (core) fiber. Fragmentation efficiency was significantly improved requiring many fewer laser pulses to fragment calculi of similar size and composition, and decreasing the need for auxiliary methods to complete stone fragmentation. The higher energy and larger fiber allowed for more efficient ureteroscopic ureteral stone fragmentation without compromising tissue safety.
Paleoenvironmental control of species distributions and intraspecific variability in Neogene Corbulidae (Bivalvia: Myacea) of the Dominican Republic

The widespread occurrence and local abundance of corbulid bivalves in Neogene deposits of the northern Dominican Republic provide an opportunity to evaluate physical controls on species distributions and intraspecific variability in this group. First and last appearances of species probably do not record speciation and extinction, but instead represent migrations into and out of the study area, and reflect corbulids' preference for marginal-marine and shallow-marine conditions. Corbula cercadica and C. viminea show patterns of intraspecific morphologic variability over time and space. Corbula cercadica shows continuous morphologic variability along a paleoenvironmental gradient of salinity, depth, and bioclastic fabric, whereas variation in C. viminea is morphologically clinal from west to east in roughly contemporaneous sediments, with variability related to sediment type and bioclastic fabric. Ecophenotypic variation or genetic differences, rather than taphonomic processes, seem to control geographic variability within C. cercadica and C. viminea. Although it is not possible to determine whether intraspecific morphologic variability was under genetic control, its stronger relationship with paleoenvironmental conditions relative to stratigraphic position suggests lack of anagenetic morphological evolution.
The Half-Blood Princes: Mary I, Elizabeth I, and Their Strategies of Legitimation

Visiting England in 1553, an Italian traveler recorded his impressions of a kingdom recently thrown into turmoil by the death of its young king, the rise and fall of a young female usurper, and the revolt by an older princess whose victory established her as the first English queen regnant.1 With those events still fresh, he explained how a new monarch claimed power:The apparent clarity of this process, however, masked the complicated reality of the tortured marital history of Henry VIII. As the father of two daughters, a bastard son, and finally one legitimate son, Henry needed to determine the succession by weighing the conflicting issues of blood, female rule, illegitimacy, royal authority, and popular support. While no single set of laws governed who would be the next monarch, blood relations were important, and Henry never denied paternity of any of his four children.3 When he at last had fathered a legitimate male heir, he still included his two daughters in the line of succession after his son. Although he considered promoting as heir his illegitimate son, Henry Duke of Richmond, he never did. Rather, near the end of his life, the king ignored the technical bastardy of his two daughters, and by Act of Parliament and in his will Henry placed them in the succession. Through those two documents, Henry bestowed the crown as he pleased and set a precedent that in a patriarchal society relied on popular support for female sovereignty. This transference of royal power would not happen easily or “without fail.”
Critical Realism and Feminist Criminology: Shall the Twain Ever Meet?

This article assesses the commonalities and divergences between critical realist criminology and feminist criminology. Using Roger Matthews’ (2014) construction of Critical Realism as discussed in his book, Realist Criminology, the article first notes that critical realists have largely overlooked or dismissed feminist criminology, despite the potential synergy between the two perspectives. The article then identifies three major areas – (1) epistemology and research methods; (2) a critique of essentialism; and (3) commitment to culturally competent and client/community-centered interventions – in which the perspectives share similarities, while distinguishing the differences in each area as well. The article concludes with an invitation for dialogue between critical realists and feminist criminologists.
Distributed Spatio-Temporal Spectrum Sensing: An Experimental Study

In this experimental study, we propose simple spectrum sensing algorithms for localizing transmitters in space using frequency agile sensors that are capable of sensing only a limited bandwidth at any instant of time. We present heuristics to localize a single transmitter and multiple asynchronous sources transmitting in the same band, by applying simple triangulation techniques based on sensed power at the each sensor. We also address the problem of finding the spectral occupancy over a wide band of frequencies, using frequency agile sensors capable of sensing a limited bandwidth. We identify important practical issues in frequency agile spectrum sensing, including the observation that simple algorithms like energy detection and triangulation methods for localization, though simple, are not sufficient in "identifying" heterogeneous transmissions interfering with each other in a given location.
Preoperative telephone consultation does not decrease patient anxiety before Mohs micrographic surgery

Background Many factors influence anxiety and satisfaction of patients undergoing Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS). Objective We sought to determine the effect of a preoperative educational telephone call on anxiety and satisfaction for patients undergoing same-day office consultation and MMS. Methods Patients with skin cancer (N = 104) scheduled for same-day office consultation and MMS were randomly assigned to receive or not to receive an educational telephone call during the week before surgery. All patients rated their anxiety levels immediately before and after the same-day office consultation and MMS by completing the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and an anxiety visual analog scale. Patients also rated satisfaction immediately after MMS by completing the Visit-Specific Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire. Results Patients undergoing same-day office consultation and MMS reported similar levels of increased anxiety and high satisfaction, regardless of whether they received a preoperative educational telephone call. Limitations Lack of control for patients' prior surgery or self-education is a limitation. Conclusion Preoperative educational telephone calls did not relieve anxiety or improve satisfaction for patients undergoing same-day office consultation and MMS. Preoperative education and counseling has uncertain benefits to anxiety and satisfaction of patients undergoing MMS.
Vapor deposition: The first hundred years

Highlights in the development of the CVD process, and some of its current applications. It will play a much more important role in metallurgical-processing operations
Outcome of acute myeloid leukemia in patients with a history of autoimmune disease.

6579 Background: Increased risks of solid and lymphoid malignancies are described in patients with autoimmune (AI) disease. The association between AI disease, AI treatment (particularly anti-TNF t...
Structural characterization of membrane-bound human immunodeficiency virus-1 Gag matrix with neutron reflectometry

The structural characterization of peripheral membrane proteins represents a tremendous challenge in structural biology due to their transient interaction with the membrane and the potential multitude of protein conformations during this interaction. Neutron reflectometry is uniquely suited to address this problem because of its ability to structurally characterize biological model systems nondestructively and under biomimetic conditions that retain full protein functionality. Being sensitive to only the membrane-bound fraction of a water-soluble peripheral protein, neutron reflectometry obtains a low-resolution average structure of the protein-membrane complex that is further refined using integrative modeling strategies. Here, the authors review the current technological state of biological neutron reflectometry exemplified by a detailed report on the structure determination of the myristoylated human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) Gag matrix associated with phosphoserine-containing model membranes. The authors found that the HIV-1 Gag matrix is able to adopt different configurations at the membrane in a pH-dependent manner and that the myristate group orients the protein in a way that is conducive to PIP2-binding.
A Quasi-experimental Estimate of the Impact of P2P Transportation Platforms on Urban Consumer Patterns

With the pervasiveness of mobile technology and location-based computing, new forms of smart urban transportation, such as Uber & Lyft, have become increasingly popular. These new forms of urban infrastructure can influence individuals' movement frictions and patterns, in turn influencing local consumption patterns and the economic performance of local businesses. To gain insights about future impact of urban transportation changes, in this paper, we utilize a novel dataset and econometric analysis methods to present a quasi-experimental examination of how the emerging growth of peer-to-peer car sharing services may have affected local consumer mobility and consumption patterns.
An efficient FPGA-based memory architecture for compute-intensive applications on embedded devices

FPGAs are increasingly being utilized to accelerate real-time compute and data intensive applications on embedded platforms. FPGAs achieve high speed-performance by exploiting a variety of parallelisms in computations. However, on-chip memories of current FPGAs are typically dual-port, which hinders multiple simultaneous read/write (R/W) operations required for parallel processing. Although several multi-ported memories are proposed in the literature to address this issue, there is a tradeoff associated with the existing architectures; that is, increasing the number of ports, reduces the total available memory on chip for the block RAMs to store essential data for real-time processing. This tradeoff is not desirable, especially for real-time compute/data intensive applications on embedded platforms, due to the significant amount of time spent on accessing the external memory. In this research work, we introduce a novel and efficient multi-ported memory architecture to bridge the gap between this tradeoff. Experiments are performed to evaluate the feasibility and efficiency of our multi-ported memory architecture. Our unique memory architecture is generic and parameterized. Our memory can be configured to provide a sufficient number of ports for simultaneous R/W operations, while utilizing the total available on-chip memory to store the essential data.
Computational analysis identifies putative prognostic biomarkers of pathological scarring in skin wounds.

Pathological scarring in wounds is a prevalent clinical outcome with limited prognostic options. The objective of this study was to investigate whether cellular signaling proteins could be used as prognostic biomarkers of pathological scarring in traumatic skin wounds. We used our previously developed and validated computational model of injury-initiated wound healing to simulate the time courses for platelets, 6 cell types, and 21 proteins involved in the inflammatory and proliferative phases of wound healing. Next, we analysed thousands of simulated wound-healing scenarios to identify those that resulted in pathological (i.e., excessive) scarring. Then, we identified candidate proteins that were elevated (or decreased) at the early stages of wound healing in those simulations and could therefore serve as predictive biomarkers of pathological scarring outcomes. Finally, we performed logistic regression analysis and calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve to quantitatively assess the predictive accuracy of the model-identified putative biomarkers. We identified three proteins (interleukin-10, tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-1, and fibronectin) whose levels were elevated in pathological scars as early as 2 weeks post-wounding and could predict a pathological scarring outcome occurring 40 days after wounding with 80% accuracy. Our method for predicting putative prognostic wound-outcome biomarkers may serve as an effective means to guide the identification of proteins predictive of pathological scarring.
Nonadministration of medication doses for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in a cohort of hospitalized patients

Purpose Results of a study to characterize patterns of nonadministration of medication doses for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention among hospitalized patients are presented. Methods The electronic records of all patients admitted to 4 floors of a medical center during a 1-month period were examined to identify patients whose records indicated at least 1 nonadministered dose of medication for VTE prophylaxis. Proportions of nonadministered doses by medication type, intended route of administration, and VTE risk categorization were compared; reasons for nonadministration were evaluated. Results Overall, 12.7% of all medication doses prescribed to patients in the study cohort ( n = 75) during the study period (857 of 6,758 doses in total) were not administered. Nonadministration of 1 or more doses of VTE prophylaxis medication was nearly twice as likely for subcutaneous anticoagulants than for all other medication types (231 of 1,112 doses [20.8%] versus 626 of 5,646 doses [11.2%], p p Conclusion Scheduled doses of subcutaneous anticoagulants for hospitalized patients were more likely to be missed than doses of all other medication types.
Facial nerve paralysis occurring 4 days following stereotactic radiosurgery for a vestibular schwannoma

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is commonly used for the treatment of vestibular schwannomas given its high rate of tumor control and low rate of complications. Facial nerve palsy has been reported several months after treatment as a rare late complication of SRS. Here, we report a case of facial weakness occurring only 4 days after treatment and discuss potential etiology and management considerations.
Preserving kidney health during intensive blood pressure control.

Intensive lowering of blood pressure can decrease the risk of death and cardiovascular events in individuals with hypertension. However, a reanalysis of data from the SPRINT and ACCORD trials suggests that intensive blood pressure lowering increases the risk of chronic kidney disease.
A 3D Lagrangian cell-centered hydrodynamic method with higher-order reconstructions for gas and solid dynamics

Abstract The Lagrangian finite volume cell-centered hydrodynamic method introduces dissipation into the calculation by solving a multidirectional approximate Riemann problem. The amount of dissipation created is a function of the jump in the velocity and stress at the node. These jumps in velocity and stress can be reduced by using higher-order reconstructions that are constructed by fitting cell-average values in neighboring cells. One challenge is that a large stencil is required to create high-order reconstructions. To address this challenge, a new two-step reconstruction process is proposed to build a quadratic polynomial by only communicating with face-neighboring cells. The two-step reconstruction method is applied to scalar, vector, and tensor fields. Another challenge is that limiters must be used to reduce the higher order reconstructions towards piecewise constant fields near discontinuities to prevent artificial new extrema. We address this second challenge and propose a new hierarchical limiter that uses a discrete Mach number as a smoothness indicator. The inclusion of the Mach number is essential for minimizing dissipation errors. The new limiter is used with the reconstructions of pressure, velocity, and deviatoric stress. The accuracy and robustness of the new two-step reconstruction method with the new limiter is demonstrated by simulating a suite of 3D Cartesian test problems covering both gas and solid dynamics.
Leaders for the Twenty-First Century: Preparation, Experiences, and Roles in Technology Implementation

This research sought to understand perspectives of tech-savvy administrators from the US in regards to how they learned what they know and how they lead their schools in the twenty-first century. It explored this issue in light of gathered information about targeted other countries’ requirements for administrator preparation. Looking through the lens of Fullan (1991), a mixed-methods survey gathered a sample of US leaders’ perspectives. Findings indicate that most leaders have not been formally prepared to implement technology systemically in their school; rather, those with skills in this area have learned on their own or through other educational experiences. Successful tech-savvy leaders purposefully set goals for their school, serve as role models, and support professional development for staff.