cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of drought- and disturbance-mediated competition in shaping community responses to varied environments

By altering the strength of intra- and interspecific competition, droughts may reshape plant communities. Furthermore, species may respond differently to drought when other influences, such as herbivory, are considered. To explore this relationship, we conducted a greenhouse experiment measuring responses to inter- and intraspecific competition for two grasses, Schedonorus arundinaceus and Paspalum dilatatum, while varying water availability and simulating herbivory via clipping. We then parameterized population growth models to examine the long-term outcome of competition under these conditions. Under drought, S. arundinaceus was less water stressed than P. dilatatum, which exhibited severe water stress; clipping alleviated this stress, increasing the competitive ability of P. dilatatum relative to S. arundinaceus. Although P. dilatatum competed weakly under drought, clipping reduced water stress in P. dilatatum, thereby enhancing its ability to compete with S. arundinaceus under drought. Supporting these observations, population growth models predicted that P. dilatatum would exclude S. arundinaceus when clipped under drought, while S. arundinaceus would exclude P. dilatatum when unclipped under drought. When the modeled environment varied temporally, environmental variation promoted niche differences that, though insufficient to maintain stable coexistence, prevented unconditional competitive exclusion by promoting priority effects. Our results suggest that it is important to consider how species respond not just to stable, but also to variable, environments. When species differ in their responses to drought, competition, and simulated herbivory, stable environments may promote competitive exclusion, while fluctuating environments may promote coexistence. These interactions are critical to understanding how species will respond to global change.
Panel Discussion: Where You Stand Depends on Where You Sit: The Implications of Organizational Location for University-Based Programs in Nonprofit Management

Lane: It seems to me that the organizational location of any particularfield in a university is a function of three kinds of developments: intellectual (within and among academic fields), organizational (within any particular academic institution), and "real world" (within any particular area of societal activity). Accordingly, our opening questions are: What is the mission of management education for nonprofit organizations? and Where within universities are these programs best located? Young: It seems to me that the mission of nonprofit management education is two-fold: first, to prepare those who currently are or intend to become leaders or managers of private, not-for-profit organizations; and second, to educate leaders and managers of public sector and business organizations to the nuances of nonprofits so that they can interact more effectively with nonprofits. These two aspects of the mission are premised on the understanding that nonprofits do not operate in isolation but are very much intertwined with, yet distinct from, business and government.
Cytogenetic testing of iris melanoma using fine needle aspiration biopsy in 17 patients.

PURPOSE To determine the incidence of Chromosome 3 monosomy in iris melanoma using fine needle aspiration biopsy. METHODS Noncomparative case series of 17 patients. Fine needle aspiration biopsy was performed intraoperatively immediately before treatment of iris melanoma. Genetic analysis using DNA amplification and microsatellite assay was performed in the specimen. RESULTS Clinical features and outcomes related to Chromosome 3 monosomy were reviewed. Disomy 3 was found in 5 melanomas (29%), partial Monosomy 3 in 7 melanomas (41%), and complete Monosomy 3 in 5 melanomas (29%). The only feature statistically associated with partial/complete Monosomy 3 (vs. Disomy 3) was older patients' age (median, 60 vs. 46 years, P = 0.03). A comparison of clinical features showed Monosomy 3 (vs. Disomy 3) tumors to be thinner (median, 2.8 vs. 4.2 mm) and with smaller base (median, 5.1 vs. 10 mm) but with greater iris seeding (mean, 5.7 vs. 2.4 clock hours) and greater angle seeding (mean, 3.2 vs. 0 clock hours), producing elevated intraocular pressure <22 mmHg (17 vs. 0%). Monosomy 3 tumors showed mixed/epithelioid cell type in 80% versus 0% in Disomy 3 (P = 0.14). No patients developed local melanoma recurrence or melanoma-related metastasis or death in the short 16-month mean follow-up. CONCLUSION Using fine needle aspiration biopsy, cytogenetic analysis can be achieved in iris melanoma. Iris melanoma demonstrated partial or complete Monosomy 3 in 71%, and this statistically correlated with increasing patients' age. Mixed/epithelioid cell type was far more commonly seen in patients with Monosomy 3, although this did not reach statistical significance.
Qualité et chaudières nucléaires

Conception, fabrication des composants, montage, essais, ces differentes etapes de la realisation d'une chaudiere nucleaire s'effectuent selon des techniques et une organisation tres precisement definies. Sur le plan technique, l'auteur montre comment les regles de l'art, l'experience, les essais, le respect des codes et normes concourent a la qualite de la realisation. Il aborde ensuite l'organisation de l'Assurance de qualite en evoquant plus particulierement un texte americain qui pose un certain nombre de principes largement repris au-dela des frontieres des Etats-Unis.
Optical and Luminescence Properties of Upconverting Chelates

Measurements of the optical absorption, intermediate state lifetime, excitation spectrum, and luminescence of different upconverting chelate compounds are presented. The influence of the chelating ligand on the luminescence properties of the lanthanide ion is studied.
Life History of Thelia Bimaculata Fab. (Membracidæ)

Thelia bimaculata Fab., is one of the most common and widely distributed of the species of Membracidre in eastern United States and is abundant on locust ( Robinia pseudacacia L.) in the vicinity of Ithaca, N. Y., where the following study has been made. The life history of this insect has not hitherto been described and the only reference in literature to the immature form seems to be the short description and the excellent figure of the last nymphal stage by Matausch in 1912. Although both adults and nymphs may be collected in large numbers throughout the summer, the efforts of several years of rather extensive field work on the local forms of the family failed to show any records of oviposition or traces of the eggs until it was noticed that early in the spring the nymphs appeared most abundant near the bases of the trees and seemed to be migrating upward on the trunk, which led to the natural conclusion that the eggs were laid near the ground. This surmise proved to be correct and upon removing the dead leaves and humus from around the bases of the trees, great numbers of nymphs with their attendants were exposed, and the bark, a few inches under the forest litter and just above the roots, was found to be punctured with egg-slits and full of eggs and emerging nymphs. This location for the egg-punctures is rather peculiar, since most of the species of Membracidre common to this locality lay their eggs in the buds or in the younger twigs near the end of the branches. After the eggs were discovered and the egg-laying habits observed, no difficulty was experienced in rearing the insects and in securing the rest of the life-history data.
Specific metal recognition in nickel trafficking

Nickel is an essential metal for a number of bacterial species that have developed systems for acquiring, delivering, and incorporating the metal into target enzymes and controlling the levels of nickel in cells to prevent toxic effects. As with other transition metals, these trafficking systems must be able to distinguish between the desired metal and other transition metal ions with similar physical and chemical properties. Because there are few enzymes (targets) that require nickel for activity (e.g., Escherichia coli transports nickel for hydrogenases made under anaerobic conditions, and Helicobacter pylori requires nickel for hydrogenase and urease that are essential for acid viability), the "traffic pattern" for nickel is relatively simple, and nickel trafficking therefore presents an opportunity to examine a system for the mechanisms that are used to distinguish nickel from other metals. In this review, we describe the details known for examples of uptake permeases, metallochaperones and proteins involved in metallocenter assembly, and nickel metalloregulators. We also illustrate a variety of mechanisms, including molecular recognition in the case of NikA protein and examples of allosteric regulation for HypA, NikR, and RcnR, employed to generate specific biological responses to nickel ions.
Resilience to What? Resilience for Whom?

The discourse on disaster resilience and vulnerability entails diverse research and policy communities each assigning different meanings to the concepts, which in turn influences their measurement and implementation in decision-making contexts. This invited contribution introduces a themed section with five independently submitted papers on the broad topic of vulnerability and resilience. The distinctive geographical focus on the historical development of vulnerability and resilience and their contemporary manifestations is illustrated by the five internationally focused case studies presented in the themed section.
Utilization of β-Lactams Antibiotics and Trend Analysis

OBJECTIVE:To probe into the status quo and trend of the utilization of β-Lactams antibiotics for providing references for clinical rational use of antibiotics.METHODS:The analytical methods of consumption sum ranking and DDDs were employed for analyzing the utilization of β-Lactams antibiotics during the period 2005-2009 with regard to the variation in varieties,annual consumption quantity and consumption sum,constituent ratio of the quantity and consumption sum,DDDs and daily drug cost(DDC).RESULTS:During the period 2005-2009,the numbers of varieties of β-Lactams antibiotics increased to 30 from 25,presenting a stable condition.Excluding the factor of Benzylpenicillin Sodium,the annual consumption quantity of the antibiotics steadily increased year by year until 2009 at which point a little downward tendency was noted.The annual consumption sum presented the similar tendency.With regard to DDDs ranking,the DDDs of cephalosporins showed an year-on-year increase trend.CONCLUSION:The utilization of β-Lactams antibiotics in our hospital was stable in general,but the DDDs of some categories of cephamycins were too high.
Classification of acute pancreatitis.

Increased knowledge of the natural history, etiology, morphology, complications and systemic response of the patient to acute pancreatitis has led to a rapid evolution in the classification of acute pancreatitis. It is recommended that the following elements be included in a classification system of acute pancreatitis:
Fighting electoral corruption in the Victorian era: An overlooked dimension of John Stuart Mill’s political thought:

For nearly half a century John Stuart Mill was a major critic of the forms of electoral corruption prevalent in Victorian England. Yet this political commitment has been largely overlooked by schol...
Mechanical vasoconstriction for a cerebral myogenic autoregulatory model

This work presents the design of a mechanical vasoconstriction mechanism with application for cerebral autoregulation. The relationship between the applied voltage of a DC motor and the tension within a pressurized vessel wall was utilized for constricting an arteriole segment within an intracranial vascular model. Using current proportional to the string tension, options for closed loop feedback control are considered.
Two-sided tolerance intervals for members of the (log)-location-scale family of distributions

In this paper, we propose methods to calculate exact factors for two-sided control-the-centre and control-both-tails tolerance intervals for the (log)-location-scale family of distributions, based on complete or Type II censored data. With Type I censored data, exact factors do not exist. For this case, we developed an algorithm to compute approximate factors. Our approaches are based on Monte Carlo simulations. We also provide algorithms for computing TIs that control the probability in both tails of a distribution. A simulation study for Type I censored data shows that the estimated coverage probability is close to the nominal confidence level when the expected number of uncensored observations is moderate to large. We illustrate the methods with applications using different combinations of distributions and types of censoring.
The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement Anna O.Marley, Editor. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.

The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement Anna O. Marley, Editor. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.This book is published in conjunction with the exhibition, "The Artist's Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement, 1887-1920," a show organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The exhibition was held at the Academy from February 12th to May 24th, 2015 and will travel to three other locations across the country over the course of 2016: the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA; the Reynolda House Museum of Art in Winston-Salem, NC; and The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA.This exhibition catalogue does an excellent job of engaging both scholars and the general public. It is a beautifully designed volume, containing more than one hundred full-color illustrations of paintings, sculptures, book illustrations, book covers, chromolithographs, and auto chromes from the period. But it also features some of the latest, and the best, scholarship on a period in American cultural history that is only now being understood to be very complex and conflicted. Essays in the book include Anna Mar ley's "Producing Pictures without Brushes: American Artists and Their Gardens"; Virginia Grace Tuttle's '"A Desperately Aesthetic Business': Garden Art in America, 1870-1920"; Alan C. Braddock's "Home of the Hummingbird: Thaxter, Hassam, and the Aesthetics of Nature Conservation"; Erin Leary's "'A Tendency to Outstrip Native Blossoms in Life's Race': Nativism in Impressionist Gardens"; Katie A. Pfohl's "The Garden Painted, Planted, and Printed: Chromolithography and Impressionism in America"; James Glisson's "American Impressionists and the Problem of Urban Parks"; and Judith B. Tankard's "Designing Paradise: Women Landscape Architects and the American Country House Garden."As Marley explains in her introduction, this catalogue and exhibition are the first to address "the intertwining stories of American artists, impressionism, and the growing popularity of gardening as a middle-class leisure pursuit at the turn of the twentieth century" (1). Previous publications on American impressionist gardens (such as May Brawley Hill's The American Impressionists in the Garden, 2010 or William Gerdts's Down Garden Paths: The Floral Environment in American Art, 1983) had "confined themselves to a fine art approach to the subject with little attention to social history" (8-9).As the titles of the essays in this volume suggest, Marley and her collaborators probe much more deeply than previous scholars into questions concerning what was really going on "behind the scenes" in this seemingly innocent confluence of painting and gardening in Progressive-era America. …
Reducing the incidence of hospital-associated venous thromboembolism within a network of academic hospitals: Findings from five University of California medical centers.

BACKGROUND Almost 700 patients suffered from hospital-associated venous thromboembolism (HA-VTE) across 5 University of California hospitals in calendar year 2011. OBJECTIVE Optimize venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis (VTEP) in adult medical/surgical inpatients and reduce HA-VTE by at least 20% within 3 years. DESIGN Prospective, unblinded, open-intervention study with historical controls. SETTING Five independent but cooperating academic hospitals. PATIENTS All adult medical and surgical inpatients with stays ≥3 days. The baseline year was 2011, 2012 to 2014 were intervention years, and year 2014 was the mature comparison period. VTEP adequacy was assessed with structured chart review of 45 patients per month at each site via random selection beginning partway through the study. HA-VTE was identified by discharge coding, capturing patients readmitted within 30 days of prior VTE-free admit and VTE occurring during index admission. Cases were stratified medical versus surgical and cancer or noncancer. INTERVENTIONS Interventions included structured order sets with “3-bucket” risk-assessment, measure-vention, techniques to improve reliable administration of VTEP, and education. RESULTS Adequate prophylaxis reached 89% by early 2014. The rate of HA-VTE fell from 0.90% in 2011 to 0.69% in 2014 (24% relative risk [RR] reduction; RR: 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.68-0.852), equivalent to averting 81 pulmonary emboli and 89 deep venous thrombi. VTE rates were highest in cancer and surgical patients. CONCLUSIONS Hospital systems can reduce HA-VTE by implementing a bundle of active interventions including structured VTEP orders with embedded risk assessment and measure-vention. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:S22–S28. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine
Activation of neuronal endothelin B receptors mediates pressor response through alpha‐1 adrenergic receptors

Abstract Abnormalities in activity of the endothelin (ET) system have been widely reported in a number of cardiovascular disease states such as hypertension and heart failure. Although the vascular responses to ET are well established, the interaction between ET and other important modulators of blood pressure, such as the sympathetic nervous system, are less understood. Previous reports implicate ET signaling through ET type B (ET B ) receptors in increasing neuronal activity. Therefore, we hypothesized that activation of ET B receptors on sympathetic nerves would increase blood pressure through an adrenergic‐mediated mechanism. Thus, we used anesthetized ET B ‐deficient rats, which only express functional ET B receptors on adrenergic neurons, and genetic controls, which express functional ET B receptors in vascular tissue and kidney epithelium. We determined the pressor response to the selective ET B receptor agonist sarafotoxin c (S6c). Separate groups of rats were treated with the α 1 ‐adrenergic receptor antagonist prazosin or the β ‐adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol to elucidate the role of adrenergic signaling in mediating the blood pressure response. We observed a dose‐dependent pressor response to S6c in ET B ‐deficient rats that was reversed by prazosin treatment and augmented by propranolol. In genetic control rats, the effects of S6c on sympathetic neurons were mostly masked by the direct activity of ET B receptor activation on the vasculature. Heart rate was mostly unaffected by S6c across all groups and treatments. These results suggest that ET B activation on sympathetic neurons causes an increase in blood pressure mediated through α 1 ‐adrenergic receptor signaling.
Association of prior epidemiologic exposures with cytogenetic risk in adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

7047 Background: In addition to secondary AML (sAML), important lifestyle and environmental exposures associated with increased risk of AML development have been identified in recent case-control studies including obesity (BMI>30kg/m2), smoking, regular acetaminophen use, and rural/farm habitat. The association of these exposures with AML cytogenetic risk groups is unknown. We therefore evaluated relevant exposures in a cohort of 301 AML patients with confirmed central cytogenetics analysis diagnosed and treated at Mayo Clinic FL and AZ since 1995. Methods: Documented patient exposures were extracted from central electronic medical records, including: prior chemotherapy/radiation or hematologic malignancy, occupation, select medications, “toxins” (esp. benzene) and solid organ transplantation (SOT). Standard cytogenetic risk categories (including intermediate abnormal) were applied. The association of epidemiologic exposures with cytogenetic risk was evaluated on multivariable analysis using logistic regr...
Inducible somatic embryogenesis in Theobroma cacao achieved using the DEX-activatable transcription factor-glucocorticoid receptor fusion

To carry out mass propagation of superior plants to improve agricultural and silvicultural production though advancements in plant cell totipotency, or the ability of differentiated somatic plant cells to regenerate an entire plant. The first demonstration of a titratable control over somatic embryo formation in a commercially relevant plant, Theobroma cacao (Chocolate tree), was achieved using a dexamethasone activatable chimeric transcription factor. This four-fold enhancement in embryo production rate utilized a glucocorticoid receptor fused to an embryogenic transcription factor LEAFY COTYLEDON 2. Where previous T. cacao somatic embryogenesis has been restricted to dissected flower parts, this construct confers an unprecedented embryogenic potential to leaves. Activatable chimeric transcription factors provide a means for elucidating the regulatory cascade associated with plant somatic embryogenesis towards improving its use for somatic regeneration of transgenics and plant propagation.
Covalent inhibitors for eradication of drug-resistant HIV-1 reverse transcriptase: From design to protein crystallography

Development of resistance remains a major challenge for drugs to treat HIV-1 infections, including those targeting the essential viral polymerase, HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT). Resistance associated with the Tyr181Cys mutation in HIV-1 RT has been a key roadblock in the discovery of nonnucleoside RT inhibitors (NNRTIs). It is the principal point mutation that arises from treatment of HIV-infected patients with nevirapine, the first-in-class drug still widely used, especially in developing countries. We report covalent inhibitors of Tyr181Cys RT (CRTIs) that can completely knock out activity of the resistant mutant and of the particularly challenging Lys103Asn/Tyr181Cys variant. Conclusive evidence for the covalent modification of Cys181 is provided from enzyme inhibition kinetics, mass spectrometry, protein crystallography, and antiviral activity in infected human T-cell assays. The CRTIs are also shown to be selective for Cys181 and have lower cytotoxicity than the approved NNRTI drugs efavirenz and rilpivirine.
Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Neovasculature Expresses Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen—a Possible Novel Therapeutic Target

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a type II transmembrane glycoprotein receptor, is highly expressed in prostate cancer and in the tumor neovasculature of colon, breast, and adrenocortical tumors. Here, we analyzed PSMA expression in the neovasculature of various thyroid cancer subtypes and assessed whether PSMA expression is correlated with aggressive behavior. From a prospectively maintained database, we evaluated 91 samples from 68 patients, including 37 primary differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs) [11 classic papillary (cPTC), 9 follicular-variant (FvPTC), 11 follicular (FTC), 6 radioactive iodine-refractory (RAIR)], 5 anaplastic (ATC) carcinomas, 9 distant and 12 lymph node metastases, 21 benign thyroid nodules, and 7 normal thyroid specimens. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue blocks were immunostained for vascular endothelial marker CD31 and PSMA with proper controls. PSMA expression was not detected in normal thyroid tissue. DTC tumors demonstrated a significantly higher PSMA expression, in regard to both intensity and percentage of vessels stained, than benign tumors (p < 0.001). Among the histologic subtypes, cPTC, FTC, and RAIR carcinomas demonstrated the highest percent of moderate to strong PSMA staining. PSMA expression was seen more frequently in specimens from distant metastases (100%) compared with specimens from only lymph node metastases (67%). PSMA is significantly overexpressed in the neovasculature of DTCs compared with normal and benign thyroid nodules specifically with increased expression in RAIR carcinomas and distant metastases. PSMA should be further explored as a novel therapeutic target for metastatic and RAIR carcinomas.
A Geographical Perspective on Germination Ecology: Temperature and Arctic Zones

The chapter discusses seed germination ecology of species growing in temperate and arctic regions of the world. It also illustrates that the temperate-arctic zone possesses many features and types of vegetation, such as sclerophyllous woodlands that grow during winter rain, moist warm temperate woodlands, deciduous forests, steppes, semi-deserts and deserts with cold winters, boreal coniferous zone, tundra, and mountains. For each type of vegetation, a detailed summary of information on germination of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbaceous species has been provided. Besides this, weeds are also considered; attention is provided to special biotic and abiotic factors influencing germination. This type of vegetation is characterized by dense thickets of woody plants with evergreen sclerophyllous leaves. Evergreen sclerophyllous woodlands are replaced by heath lands in places with low soil nutrients. Matorral vegetation extends to regions with a Mediterranean climate. Moreover, seeds of most matorral trees are nondormant at maturity, but those of a few species have physical or physiological dormancy. Shrubs dominate matorral vegetation as they grow tall.
Date and Time Stamps

The need to know when has many meanings with mobile evidence. When did the suspect or victim get the phone call? When was the SMS or MMS sent or received? When was the image taken or stored? When did the chat conversations take place? When did the user access the browser? As we view the potential stored evidence, the “ when's ” can be many. The most common question after viewing a specific artifact is the follow-up inquiry as to the specific month, day, year, and in some case seconds contributing to the artifact or artifacts. The encoding of the dates and times will start counting on a specific date and may even include microseconds. Mobile devices will use various types of date and time formats, each with its own integer and associated bytes based on an origin, or epoch. Understanding the various epochs helps examiners deal with the encoding formats.
ANALISIS DAN OPTIMALISASI DALAM MENJUAL ”PERSONAL SELLING SKILL IN SALES MAGIC”

Abstract: The factors that most entrepreneurs faced a / businessman is how they can make sale of the interaction product or service offered to buyers or consumers with effective, thus reducing the risk of rejection and failure in sales promotion, especially in getting the sales margins can be expected. Many ways can be done to bring hope to be included in the criteria of success to sell and realize the expected objectives, among others, with ways of being and optimism in selling Keyword: entrepreneur, sales interaction, criteria for successful selling
β-Arrestin1 mediates hMENA expression and ovarian cancer metastasis

Ubiquitously expressed β-arrestin1 (β-arr1) and β-arrestin2 (β-arr2) proteins were originally identified and characterized based on their function to desensitize activated G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) with respect to heterotrimeric G protein signaling, and to mediate GPCR endocytosis. Work over the past decade has shown that β-arrestins also function as molecular scaffolds that control spatiotemporal distribution and mitogenic activity of partner proteins involved in a myriad of fundamental cellular functions, ranging from metabolism to growth and migration (1, 2). For example, β-arr1 binds to and activates the tyrosine kinase c-Src (3) that, in turn, transactivates EGF receptor to promote ERK protumorigenic activity in colorectal cancer (4). β-arr1 was also shown to promote prostate tumor growth by regulating androgen receptor activity (5), and transgenic mice with overexpressed β-arr1 allowed the faster growth rate of xenograft hepatic tumors in comparison with control animals (6). Similarly, β-arr2 was reported to mediate the initiation and progression of myeloid leukemia through activation of Wnt signaling (7), and to induce ovarian tumor cell invasion and metastasis by nuclear β-catenin (8). Hence, β-arrestins regulate specific cellular functions as a result of interacting with defined partner proteins. In PNAS, Di Modugno et al. (9) identify hMENA, an actin binding protein of the ENA/VASP family, as a novel interacting partner of β-arr1 critical for endothelin-1 (ET-1) and its cognate receptor ET1AR signaling in ovarian cancer cell invasion and metastasis (Fig. 1). Using elegant biochemical and cellular imaging approaches, the authors convincingly show a required role for β-arr1 in ET-1–regulated assembly of an ET1AR/β-arr1/hMENA complex, invadopodia maturation, and ovarian tumor invasion and metastasis. Clinical relevance of the cell- and animal-based conclusions are established with bioinformatics analysis of human patient datasets. Using Kaplan–Meier analysis and the log-ranked test showed that expression level of EDRNA (the gene encoding ET … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: ydaaka{at}ufl.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
CUTOFF RATES WHEN DECODING WITH APPROXIMATE CHANNEL STATISTICS

We derive expressions for the “cutoff rate” of memoryless channels and certain channels with finite memory when the decoder uses approximate channel statistics. For channels with memory we examine both the use of ideal interleavers and deinterleavers with conventional decoders and the use of optimum maximum likelihood decoders that take advantage of the channel memory.
The Taxonomy of Howler Monkeys: Integrating Old and New Knowledge from Morphological and Genetic Studies

The taxonomic history of the howler monkeys, genus Alouatta, has been long, complex, and filled with omissions and mistakes. This has created confusion over the validity of different taxa. Here we review the taxonomic history of the genus and evaluate the validity of the different taxa based on current knowledge generated through morphological and genetic studies. We recognize nine species of howlers (A. palliata, A. pigra, A. seniculus, A. arctoidea, A. sara, A. macconnelli, A. guariba, A. belzebul, A. caraya) and three more taxa that we tentatively consider full species (A. nigerrima, A. ululata, A. discolor), but for which genetic and/or morphological studies are required to confirm this status. We recognize five subspecies in A. palliata (A. p. mexicana, A. p. palliata, A. p. coibensis, A. p. trabeata, and A. p. aequatorialis), three in A. seniculus, (A. s. seniculus, A. s. juara, and A. s. puruensis), two in A. guariba (A. g. guariba and A. g. clamitans), and acknowledge the possibility that A. pigra may have two subspecies (A. p. pigra and A. p. luctuosa). Most species and subspecies require field studies to determine their actual distribution ranges. Furthermore, a combination of morphological and genetic analyses is needed to confirm the validity of several taxa. Given the broad presence of howler monkeys in the Neotropics, these studies would require the collaboration of a multidisciplinary network of researchers across the range of distribution of the genus.
Single-Phase, Liquid Jet Impingement Cooling of High-Performance Chips

For computer chips configured in isolation or as part of an array, a consistent trend has been one of progressively increasing power dissipation. In many applications chip heat fluxes are approaching 100 W/cm2, and it is not unlikely that fluxes of 200 W/cm2 will be realized before the turn of the century. One of the most promising options for dissipating such heat fluxes, while maintaining chip surface temperatures at acceptable levels, involves single phase convection cooling via liquid jet impingement. By eliminating intervening conduction resistances between the chip and the liquid and by providing highly effective convection cooling at the chip surface, chip-to-coolant thermal resistances as low as 0.3°C·cm2/W may be achieved using a dielectric liquid with a modest coolant flowrate of 1 1pm. After considering pertinent hydrodynamic conditions for both free-surface and submerged jets, this paper reviews the results of heat transfer studies which have been performed for simulated chip conditions. The review considers both circular and rectangular (slot) jets, single and multiple chip configurations, the use of extended surfaces for heat transfer enhancement, and the effects of jet confinement and outflow conditions. The results confirm the suitability of using impinging liquid jets for high performance cooling and provide a useful knowledge base for cooling system design.
Routine Glucose Monitoring in Postoperative Pheochromocytoma Patients: Yes or No?

Pheochromocytomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors characterized by the release of catecholamines. In the preoperative setting, the release of these catecholamines can lead to hyperglycemia by promoting liver glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, inhibiting pancreatic insulin secretion, and enhancing peripheral insulin resistance. Postoperatively, there is often a period of rebound hypoglycemia that can be dangerously prolonged given the preoperative depletion of glycogen stores secondary to high catecholamine levels. This complication of postoperative hypoglycemia can be extremely detrimental given that it often goes unrecognized secondary to the masking effects of anesthesia. The change in mental status associated with hypoglycemia may be incorrectly attributed to residual anesthesia. Alpha and beta-blockade further blunt the body’s natural response to hypoglycemia which is usually tachycardia, palpitations, and sweating. Prolonged, unrecognized hypoglycemia can lead to severe neurologic consequences such as seizures, unconsciousness, or even irreversible brain damage. This complication must therefore be preemptively anticipated and acutely managed. A thorough literature search over the years provides data in favor of routine postoperative glucose monitoring after pheochromocytoma resection. Given the high stakes involved with missing this relatively common diagnosis seen in 4–15% of pheochromocytoma patients undergoing resection, a GRADE 1C recommendation for routine monitoring in all postoperative pheochromocytoma patients for the first 5 h has been deemed appropriate.
Containerized cargo security at the U.S. – Mexico border: how supply chain vulnerabilities impact processing times at land ports of entry

Nucleus of this research is to identify how the strategies of trucking and land transportation and logistics companies utilizing the U.S. Mexican border land routes affect border processing times, while providing policy recommendations for specific problems. Namely, this work identifies a link between delays and security at the border, as opposed to security risk-mitigation strategies by truckers on the Mexican side of the border. As higher volumes of containerized cargoes are processed at the U.S. Borders each year, security risks also increase. In fact, illegitimate entities such as money laundering, drug trafficking, contraband and human trafficking cartels strategically select busy ports of entry and high traffic times, in order for illegitimate trade and travelers to penetrate the U.S. borders (Burns J Transp Secur. 11(3–4): 85–100 2018; Basu J Transp Secur 7:99–113 2014; Bohle et al in J Transp Secur 7:255–276 2014). Optimum border management and border security results do not depend exclusively on border patrol and border protection agencies: industry stakeholders can contribute towards optimum results once they eliminate waste and operate in greater efficiency (Burns J Transp Secur. 11(3–4): 85–100 2018). For this to be achieved, supply chain stakeholders and partners should make strategic decisions with increased visibility, harmonization of processes, and standard operating procedures in place. This paper is a part of a broader border security research conducted by the author, focusing on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) missions “to safeguard lawful trade and travel”, “to secure and manage our borders”, and the goal “to secure the U.S. borders, by preventing the illegal flow of people and goods across the borders, while expediting the safe flow of lawful travel and commerce” (DHS 2015–2019; DHS 2014–2018; DHS 2012–2016). This paper entails three goals: First, to identify and classify the high risk areas at the border. Second, to propose recommendations for improvement whereas pinpointing time saved. Third, to offer an array of options where government professionals (such as U.S. DHS, CBP (2017c, d), ICE) and industry stakeholders can pick and choose solutions and avoid, eliminate, share or allocate to contractors their security risks throughout different stages of the supply chain.
Organization of small scale mining activities in Ghana

Small scale mining (SSM) has been going on for a long time in Ghana. SSM was legalized by the PNDC Law 218, 1989. Since then there have been numerous gains from the SSM industry. The SSM is organized locally by the concession owner who engages people to work for the gold which he buys. Small scale miners (SSMs) use crudely made sluices in Ghana and, therefore, their production falls below what is expected. The SSMs work in groups and not as cooperatives, as they do in Brazil and other Latin American countries. Legalization of SSM has curbed gold smuggling considerably because a gold marketing entity is available. SSM poses certain environmental problems like pollution of water bodies and soils by mercury and indiscriminate digging of pits.
Drought less predictable under declining future snowpack

Mountain snowpack serves as an immense natural water reservoir, and knowledge of snow conditions helps predict seasonal water availability and offers critical early warning of hydrologic drought. This paradigm faces an impending challenge given consensus that a smaller fraction of future precipitation will fall as snow. Here, we apply downscaled hydrologic simulations from 28 climate model projections to show that by mid-century (2036–2065), 69% of historically snowmelt-dominated areas of the western United States see a decline in the ability of snow to predict seasonal drought, increasing to 83% by late century (2070–2099). Reduced predictability arises when peak snowpack approaches zero or because of decreased warm-season runoff efficiency. Changes in drought prediction skill show significant (P < 0.01) elevation dependence, with lower-elevation coastal areas most impacted by warming. Ancillary predictive information can only partially mitigate snow-based predictability losses to 65% of areas, underscoring the importance of declining future snowpack. Climate warming causes less mountain precipitation to fall as snow. Hydrologic simulations predict that in a high-end emissions scenario, this decreases the predictability of seasonal water resources across the western United States, with low-elevation coastal areas impacted most strongly.
Validation of Medicare Rehabilitation Functional Assessments in Routine Care.

Importance Assessment of functional outcomes is currently limited by a lack of large data sets. Functional assessments are included in Medicare rehabilitation assessment files, yet the validity of these measures in routine care is unknown. Objective To evaluate the validity of individual-level routine care functional assessments in Medicare rehabilitation settings compared with criterion-standard National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) research assessments obtained no more than 90 days later. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study of individuals aged 65 years and older used the 2011 to 2015 NHATS linked with Medicare assessment files. Individuals with a discharge assessment from inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, or home health agencies and a criterion-standard NHATS assessment were included. Data analysis was performed June 2019 to November 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures Summary functional assessment based on independence with eating, toilet hygiene, bathing, dressing, transfers, and mobility or walking. Linear regression was used to assess agreement between the 2 scales, adjusting for time between assessments and rehabilitation setting. Results A total of 1036 adults aged 65 years and older (671 [64.8%] aged ≥80 years; 670 [64.7%] women; 685 [66.1%] white participants) met the study criteria. The correlation of the assessments was 0.63 (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.66; mean [SD] rehabilitation score, 27.5 [7.2]; mean [SD] NHATS score, 30.5 [10.1]). The correlation increased to 0.66 (95% CI, 0.60 to 0.71) for assessments no more than 30 days apart. The linear regression model adjusting for rehabilitation setting and days between evaluations found the assessments were strongly correlated (β = 1.00 [95% CI, 0.93 to 1.08]; intercept, 0.72 [95% CI, −1.79 to 3.24];R2 = 0.42). Differences in scores were generally small (mean [SD] of NHATS − rehabilitation score, 2.96 [7.91]), and only 59 assessments (5.7%) differed by more than 2 SDs of the mean difference. Rehabilitation service scores were typically higher than NHATS scores in individuals with lower mean scores; however, the population with lower mean scores was small (156 [15.1%]). Conclusions and Relevance In this large sample of older US adults, routine care rehabilitation facility functional assessments had overall moderate correlation with criterion-standard research assessments.
Palestinian theatre in the West Bank: our human faces

The outcome of the author’s PhD research, Gabriel Varghese’s Palestinian Theatre in the West Bank: Our Human Faces is a scrupulous study that provides its reader with insight into the work of five ...
The Many Deaths of the Last ‘Abbāsid Caliph al-Musta‘ṣim bi-llāh (d. 1258)

The death of the last ‘Abbāsid Caliph al-Musta‘ṣim bi-llāh (d. 1258) has been the object of contradictory historical accounts by medieval historians both in the East and the West. Was he put to death by starvation? Did he have melted gold poured down his throat? Was he executed by Hulegu's own hands, or even by a Georgian Prince? Was he rolled in a carpet and kicked to death, hanged, or strangled? Writers of the period offer colourful portrayals of this event. Some saw it as martyrdom, others as a humiliating death preceded by moral admonishment and blame by Hulegu. Building upon earlier studies, this article offers a comprehensive view of the extant sources on the topic produced both in the Abode of Islam and Western Europe, as well as in Armenia and Georgia. Rather than seeking the “facts” behind the accounts, this article adopts a literary-critical and socio-political approach, arguing that the accounts are replete with symbolism targeting their specific audiences, and that the choices made by the historians on the manner of the Caliph's death were meant to offer commentary on—and evaluation of—‘Abbāsid rule.
Subgraph Matching on Multiplex Networks

An active area of research in computational science is the design of algorithms for solving the subgraph matching problem to find copies of a given template graph in a larger world graph. Prior works have largely addressed single-channel networks using a variety of approaches. We present a suite of filtering methods for subgraph isomorphisms for multiplex networks (with different types of edges between nodes and more than one edge within each channel type). We aim to understand the entire solution space rather than focusing on finding one isomorphism. Results are shown on several classes of datasets: (a) Sudoku puzzles mapped to the subgraph isomorphism problem, (b) Erdős-Renyi multigraphs, (c) real-world datasets from Twitter and transportation networks, (d) synthetic data created for the DARPA MAA program.
How Using Greenspan’s Continuum Can Bridge the Huge Abyss That Exists Between Orthodox and Heterodox Economists Who Are Dealing With the Concept of Uncertainty

In spite of the detailed work, done by Keynes in 1908 ,1921,and 1936 in his second Fellowship dissertation for Cambridge University, A Treatise on Probability, and the General Theory, respectively ,and by Knight in 1921 in Risk, Uncertainty and Profit ,that argued convincingly that uncertainty was a range that extended from complete ignorance to complete knowledge, economists are completely divided over what uncertainty means and its relevance. Orthodox economists place emphasis on using the extreme outcome of complete knowledge ,since this allows them to assume that all decision makers know the probability distributions, while heterodox economists place emphasis on using the other extreme outcome of complete ignorance, since this allows them to assume that decision makers do not know the probability distributions. Greenspan’s continuum specifies that the entire range or continuum between complete ignorance and complete knowledge is important to consider, not just the extremes. The current polarization of the economics profession could only benefit from agreeing to use Greenspan’s continuum as a planning tool for economic analysis. There are very significant difficulties with the concept of rational expectations as developed by Muth in 1960 regarding the interpretation of probability he is using. Was it subjective or objective? It can't be both.
The fluorescence quantum yield parameter in Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)—Meaning, misperception, and molecular design

The fluorescence quantum yield parameter in Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) processes underpins vital phenomena ranging from light harvesting in photosynthesis to design of sensors for monitoring physiological processes. The criteria for choosing a donor for use in FRET processes include chemical features (solubility, bioconjugatability, synthetic accessibility, and stability) as well as photophysical properties pertaining to absorption (wavelength and molar absorption coefficient) and fluorescence (wavelength and fluorescence quantum yield). The value of the donor fluorescence quantum yield (Φf, or emphatically, Φf(D)) alone has sometimes been thought (erroneously) to place a ceiling on the possible quantum yield of energy transfer (Φtrans). A high value of the donor Φf, while attractive, is not at all essential; indeed, many valuable candidates for use as FRET donors have likely been excluded on the basis of this injudiciously applied filter. Such disregard is unwarranted. In this tutorial overview, the equations for FRET are reviewed along with pertinent core concepts in photophysics. An analogy using simple hydraulics provides a pedagogical tool for the non-aficionado to better understand photochemical kinetics. Ten examples are presented of donor–acceptor systems with donors that exhibit a range of Φf values (0.60, 0.59. 0.21, 0.17, 0.12, 0.118, 0.04, 0.018, 0.007, and 0.003; i.e., 60%–0.3%), yet for each corresponding donor–acceptor pair, the value of Φtrans is at least 0.70 and in some cases nearly 1.00 (i.e., 70%–100%). The systems encompass protein, synthetic inorganic, and synthetic organic architectures. The objectives of this illustrative review are to deepen understanding of FRET and to broaden molecular design considerations by enabling selection from among a far richer set of donors for use in FRET processes.