cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phylogenetic analysis of pectin-related gene families in Physcomitrella patens and nine other plant species yields evolutionary insights into cell walls

Pectins are acidic sugar-containing polysaccharides that are universally conserved components of the primary cell walls of plants and modulate both tip and diffuse cell growth. However, many of their specific functions and the evolution of the genes responsible for producing and modifying them are incompletely understood. The moss Physcomitrella patens is emerging as a powerful model system for the study of plant cell walls. To identify deeply conserved pectin-related genes in Physcomitrella, we generated phylogenetic trees for 16 pectin-related gene families using sequences from ten plant genomes and analyzed the evolutionary relationships within these families. Contrary to our initial hypothesis that a single ancestral gene was present for each pectin-related gene family in the common ancestor of land plants, five of the 16 gene families, including homogalacturonan galacturonosyltransferases, polygalacturonases, pectin methylesterases, homogalacturonan methyltransferases, and pectate lyase-like proteins, show evidence of multiple members in the early land plant that gave rise to the mosses and vascular plants. Seven of the gene families, the UDP-rhamnose synthases, UDP-glucuronic acid epimerases, homogalacturonan galacturonosyltransferase-like proteins, β-1,4-galactan β-1,4-galactosyltransferases, rhamnogalacturonan II xylosyltransferases, and pectin acetylesterases appear to have had a single member in the common ancestor of land plants. We detected no Physcomitrella members in the xylogalacturonan xylosyltransferase, rhamnogalacturonan I arabinosyltransferase, pectin methylesterase inhibitor, or polygalacturonase inhibitor protein families. Several gene families related to the production and modification of pectins in plants appear to have multiple members that are conserved as far back as the common ancestor of mosses and vascular plants. The presence of multiple members of these families even before the divergence of other important cell wall-related genes, such as cellulose synthases, suggests a more complex role than previously suspected for pectins in the evolution of land plants. The presence of relatively small pectin-related gene families in Physcomitrella as compared to Arabidopsis makes it an attractive target for analysis of the functions of pectins in cell walls. In contrast, the absence of genes in Physcomitrella for some families suggests that certain pectin modifications, such as homogalacturonan xylosylation, arose later during land plant evolution.
Structural Insights into Maize Viviparous14, a Key Enzyme in the Biosynthesis of the Phytohormone Abscisic Acid

The key regulatory step in the biosynthesis of abscisic acid (ABA), a hormone central to the regulation of several important processes in plants, is the oxidative cleavage of the 11,12 double bond of a 9-cis-epoxycarotenoid. The enzyme viviparous14 (VP14) performs this cleavage in maize (Zea mays), making it a target for the rational design of novel chemical agents and genetic modifications that improve plant behavior through the modulation of ABA levels. The structure of VP14, determined to 3.2-A resolution, provides both insight into the determinants of regio- and stereospecificity of this enzyme and suggests a possible mechanism for oxidative cleavage. Furthermore, mutagenesis of the distantly related CCD1 of maize shows how the VP14 structure represents a template for all plant carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs). In addition, the structure suggests how VP14 associates with the membrane as a way of gaining access to its membrane soluble substrate.
Displacement chromatography of amino acids: Effects of selectivity reversal

Separating mixtures of α-amino butyric acid (ABA) and isoleucine (Ile) by displacement chromatography with a cation exchange resin and an alkaline displacer leads to the formation of a displacement train, in which only ABA is recovered as a pure component, while Ile is recovered in a mixed band with ABA. The purity of the Ile band depends on the concentration of the displacer, and essentially pure Ile is obtained when the displacer concentration is reduced to a low value. The observed behavior is explained by considering the nonideality of the equilibrium uptake of these amino acids by the resin. An equilibrium model, representing the pure component isotherms, predicts variable selectivity and the occurrence of selectivity reversal in the two-component system. Analyses using this model based on the theory of coherent waves and a numerical solution of the conservation equations for the displacement chromatography process agree with the observed behavior, predicting the formation of “azeotropic” bands during the development of the displacement train. Such analyses are used to determine under what conditions a complete separation may be obtained for a given experimental system.
Spontaneous thoracic spinal cord herniation through an anterior dural defect

A 44-year-old woman was examined for progressive left lower extremity weakness and spasticity. Thoracic spine MR imaging and CT myelography showed a ventral dural defect at T7-T8 with an extradural subarachnoid fluid collection and extradural herniation of the spinal cord. Intraoperative sonography confirmed the appropriate level for dural entry and the finding of spinal cord herniation. After reduction of the herniated spinal cord, the patient experienced gradual improvement in neurologic function.
Insertion of proteins into the inner membrane of mitochondria: the role of the Oxa1 complex

The inner mitochondrial membrane harbors a large number of proteins that display a wide range of topological arrangements. The majority of these proteins are encoded in the cell's nucleus, but a few polytopic proteins, all subunits of respiratory chain complexes are encoded by the mitochondrial genome. A number of distinct sorting mechanisms exist to direct these proteins into the mitochondrial inner membrane. One of these pathways involves the export of proteins from the matrix into the inner membrane and is used by both proteins synthesized within the mitochondria, as well as by a subset of nuclear encoded proteins. Prior to embarking on the export pathway, nuclear encoded proteins using this sorting route are initially imported into the mitochondrial matrix from the cytosol, their site of synthesis. Protein export from the matrix into the inner membrane bears similarities to Sec-independent protein export in bacteria and requires the function of the Oxa1 protein. Oxa1 is a component of a general protein insertion site in yeast mitochondrial inner membrane used by both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA encoded proteins. Oxa1 is a member of the conserved Oxa1/YidC/Alb3 protein family found throughout prokaryotes throughout eukaryotes (where it is found in mitochondria and chloroplasts). The evidence to demonstrate that the Oxa1/YidC/Alb3 protein family represents a novel evolutionarily conserved membrane insertion machinery is reviewed here.
Human effector and memory CD8+ T cell responses to smallpox and yellow fever vaccines.

Summary To explore the human T cell response to acute viral infection, we performed a longitudinal analysis of CD8 + T cells responding to the live yellow fever virus and smallpox vaccines—two highly successful human vaccines. Our results show that both vaccines generated a brisk primary effector CD8 + T cell response of substantial magnitude that could be readily quantitated with a simple set of four phenotypic markers. Secondly, the vaccine-induced T cell response was highly specific with minimal bystander effects. Thirdly, virus-specific CD8 + T cells passed through an obligate effector phase, contracted more than 90% and gradually differentiated into long-lived memory cells. Finally, these memory cells were highly functional and underwent a memory differentiation program distinct from that described for human CD8 + T cells specific for persistent viruses. These results provide a benchmark for CD8 + T cell responses induced by two of the most effective vaccines ever developed.
Dynamic temporal requirement of Wnt1 in midbrain dopamine neuron development

Wnt1-expressing progenitors generate midbrain dopamine (MbDA) and cerebellum (Cb) neurons in distinct temporal windows and from spatially discrete progenitor domains. It has been shown that Wnt1 and Lmx1a participate in a cross-regulatory loop that is utilized during MbDA neuron development. However, Wnt1 expression dynamically changes over time and precedes that of Lmx1a. The spatial and temporal requirements of Wnt1 in development and specifically its requirement for MbDA neurons remain to be determined. To address these issues, we generated a conditional Wnt1 allele and temporally deleted Wnt1 coupled with genetic lineage analysis. Using this approach, we show that patterning of the midbrain (Mb) and Cb by Wnt1 occurs between the one-somite and the six- to eight-somite stages and is solely dependent on Wnt1 function in the Mb, but not in the Cb. Interestingly, an En1-derived domain persists after the early deletion of Wnt1 and mutant cells express OTX2. However, the En1-derived Wnt1-mutant domain does not contain LMX1a-expressing progenitors, and MbDA neurons are depleted. Thus, we demonstrate an early requirement of Wnt1 for all MbDA neurons. Subsequently, we deleted Wnt1 in the ventral Mb and show a continued late requirement for Wnt1 in MbDA neuron development, but not in LMX1a-expressing progenitors. Specifically, Wnt1 deletion disrupts the birthdating of MbDA neurons and causes a depletion of MbDA neurons positioned medially and a concomitant expansion of MbDA neurons positioned laterally during embryogenesis. Collectively, our analyses resolve the spatial and temporal function of Wnt1 in Mb and Cb patterning and in MbDA neuron development in vivo.
Network Science collaborative experimentation methods and tools to accelerate network science innovation within the ITA and NS-CTA

Network Science research within the ITA and NS-CTA explores the challenges and emerging directions for networked armed forces. This paper presents the justification, methodology and supporting tools built by the alliance to promote deeper collaboration among its members in order to accelerate the pace of research and further connect basic research with Army relevance. Our approach leverages virtualization, dynamic network provisioning and high-fidelity network simulation techniques for modeling, reproducing and extending complex distributed multi-genre network experimentation with research capabilities that can be readily enlisted by the consortium researchers.
How to Form a Christian Identity: A Matter of Syllabi?

The word paideia implies simultaneously the molding of an individual to the habitus of Hellenic culture and the performance of that Hellenic habitus in order to designate the Hellene, showing that the proper molding has taken place. Because this habitus of paideia is both generative and performative it lends itself in allocating a standard of appropriate choices of living, while at the same time provides itself as the standard itself for defining the appropriateness of new choices. Different understandings of this socially symbolic system and its integrality to Hellenic identity has encouraged different reactions from Christians as to how the two might be negotiated: their Christianness and their Greekness. Was “Christian” an entirely new ethnos apart from being Greek, or could the two coincide? The answer depends upon whom you ask, and when you ask them. Basil enters this equation most explicitly in his A ddress to Young Men on the Right Use of Greek Literature where he weighs out the value of Greek literature, and by extension paideia , to the education of a Christian. In this work Basil likens paideia to the preparation of a fabric that is necessary before the dye of Christianity is applied ( Address II). In this way, Basil appropriates Christianity into his understanding of paideia , choosing it as a philosophical lifestyle appropriate to paideia and performing it as such. In my paper I will demonstrate how the philosophical practices of Christians like Basil in the fourth century can be seen as forays into what was possible, renegotiating the subject of the self in the ethos of a newly-formed social and political spheres where Christians enjoyed hegemony in the Roman Empire. In this cultural shift, writings like Basil’s Address to Young Men are helpful guides in navigating the blurring distinctions between Christianitas and Romanitas .
Test of Exact Solutions for Non-EIT Fast-Light Pulses

We analyze exact non-EIT type solutions to the equations for propagation of fast-light pulses through a resonant medium. We examine instabilities encountered attaining superluminal group velocities with an ultra-short rather than adiabatic or cw probe.
More Active Living–Oriented County and Municipal Zoning Is Associated With Increased Adult Leisure Time Physical Activity—United States, 2011

Although zoning is recognized for its role in facilitating healthy communities, no study has examined whether active living–oriented zoning codes are associated with adult leisure time physical act...
Japanese Company Histories as Repositories of Tacit Knowledge

A special issue commemorating 115 years of its publication of Shūkan Tōyō Keizai, devoted its cover story, comprising some 45 pages, to a survey of other Japanese companies that had passed the one hundred year milestone. Kunisada Fumitaka advises readers to seek the kind of tacit knowledge needed to revive Japanese economic engines by reading histories of successful companies that survived for more than a century, “Company histories are treasure troves of business knowledge for turning point eras, such as the present. Read them!!” The appendices of shashi are rich in statistics, but the narrative portions of the books have their own value as primary sources as well. A well-known limitation of shashi is that the stories they tell are self- serving, extolling the feats of their founders and achievements over the years without any criticism. Those narratives can be used to derive insights into the past. Perhaps they can also be a stimulus for imagining the future.
Mechanism of spinal cord stimulation in augmentation of cerebral blood flow

Objective To explore the sympathetic and parasympathetic effects of cervical spinal cord stimulation(SCS) on cerebral blood flow(CBF). Methods SD rats were divided into 5 groups.For those in control group(n=14),the animals did not undergo any surgery of the nerve fibers and ganglia.In V1 group(n=9),the animals underwent bilateral resection of the nasociliary and postganglionic parasympathetic nerve fibbers.In SCG group(n=8),the animals underwent bilateral resection of supper cervical ganglia.In V 1+SCG group(n=9),the animals underwent both surgeries as V1 and SCG group did.In sham operation group(n=11),the animals underwent carotid manipulation with blunt-tipped forceps as well as dissection of nasociliary and postganglionic parasympathetic nerve fibers around the ethmoidal foramen,without cutting any nerves.SCS was performed on rats and CBF was monitored by laser Doppler flowmeter(LDF) recordings.Results During SCS,there was no significant difference in the changes of LDF values among V1 group,SCG group and control group(P0.05).The effects of SCS on augmentation of CBF were significantly inhibited in V 1+SCG group.Conclusion SCS-induced CBF augmentation may be realized by both parasympathetic and sympathetic pathways.
Arrhythmias and conduction disturbances following cardiac operation for the removal of left atrial myxomas

Between September, 1971, and April, 1982, 11 patients (seven female) with left atrial myxomas underwent surgical resection at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The tumors ranged in size from 4 to 9 cm (mean 6.3 cm) and were attached to the interatrial septum (four superiorly, four inferiorly), the free atrial wall (one posteriorly, one at the dome), or both (one). Although all patients were symptomatic preoperatively, arrhythmias were uncommon; only one had chronic atrial fibrillation, and two others had had single episodes of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in the immediate preoperative period. Early postoperatively, all but one patient had episodes of atrial fibrillation (eight patients), atrial flutter (four patients), junctional rhythm (six patients), sinus arrest (two patients), or complete heart block (three patients). Ten patients required antiarrhythmic therapy, and two required permanent pacemaker implantation. After a mean follow-up of 48 months (range 7 to 124), seven patients continue to have episodic or chronic supraventricular arrhythmias, with only three patients not using antiarrhythmic drugs regularly. The pathophysiological basis for these arrhythmias is unclear, but some patients appear to have sustained injury to the sinus node or atrioventricular node, while others have developed interatrial or intra-atrial conduction delays. Attention should be directed to the basis of these arrhythmias and conduction disturbances, as surgical technique may be the major determinant of this early and late postoperative complication.
3D reconstruction from electron micrographs a personal account of its development.

Abstract Prior to the development of 3D reconstruction, images were interpreted in terms of models made from simple units like ping-pong balls. Generally, people eye-balled the images and with other knowledge about its structure, such as the number of subunits, proposed models to account for the images. How was one to know if the models were correct and to what degree they faithfully represented the true structure? The analysis of electron micrographs of negatively stained viral structures led to the answers and 3D reconstruction.
Beta-receptor-mediated increase in cerebral blood flow during hypoglycemia.

We tested the hypothesis that beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation is involved with the increase in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) during hypoglycemia. Rats were surgically prepared with the u...
Conservative Christian Families and Their Moral World: Some Reflections For Sociologists

"The husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is head of the Church: let wives be subject to their husbands as to the Lord." "Does this describe your relationship," I ask the couple sitting across from me in their living room. They are members of an independent Baptist congregation and part of my sample consisting of families who have at least one child attending a Baptist school (grades 1 through 12) attached to the Church. Husband and wife turn to look at one another and smile. "Yes, it does. He's the one in charge," says the wife. The continuing looks and smiles at one another tell me to keep digging. "O.K., let's take each one of these separately now: major purchases, you know-car, furniture, washer and dryer-you make the final decision and tell your wife about it, right?" "No, not really-heck we talk it over because it's easier that way." "O.K., well, how about disciplining the children. You're the last word there, right?" "No," the wife says, still looking at her husband, "we kind of take turns, but that's a responsibility for both of us and we always talk it over if it's something serious." "Well," I say, "how about where you go on vacations-visiting your folks or hers, for example-you decide that?" "No, no, we talk that over, too." I'm running out of categories. "O.K., let me put it this way: looking back over the past year-and please take you time doing this-give me an example of the last time you (husband) made a decision with or without talking it over with your wife, and, so to speak, got out of bed one morning and said, this is the way it's going to be." Long pause-and more exchanges of looks and smiles. It's obvious. He can't do it. And he can't do it because despite the rhetoric of husband-headship and wifely submission, their interaction is negotiatory. Like so many-(most?)husbands and wives, they talk things over and work things out until some mutually satisfactory decision is arrived at. When I asked about wives working outside the home, the same thing happened again. No, they said, working outside the home is OK, understandable if economically necessary, but should not be done at the expense of time with the children. Too many women work, they said, without real need and their kids are raised without enough attention. After the fourth or fifth interview had gone this way, I thought about John Scanzoni's recent book, Shaping Tomorrow's Family (1983), and his depiction of conservative families as having "morphostatic scripts," in which husbands and wives act from "fixed role and behavioral prescriptions," and that such families are ill-prepared to help their children take a dynamic and open view toward a rapidly changing society in which partner
A robust load shedding strategy for microgrid islanding transition

A microgrid is a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources. It can operate in either grid-connected mode to exchange energy with the main grid or run autonomously as an island in emergency mode. However, the transition of microgrid from grid-connected mode to islanded mode is usually associated with excessive load (or generation), which should be shed (or spilled). Under this condition, this paper proposes an robust load shedding strategy for microgrid islanding transition, which takes into account the uncertainties of renewable generation in the microgrid and guarantees the balance between load and generation after islanding. A robust optimization model is formulated to minimize the total operation cost, including fuel cost and penalty for load shedding. The proposed robust load shedding strategy works as a backup plan and updates at a prescribed interval. It assures a feasible operating point after islanding given the uncertainty of renewable generation. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated on a simulated microgrid consisting of a wind turbine, a PV panel, a battery, two distributed generators (DGs), a critical load and a interruptible load. Numerical simulation results validate the proposed algorithm.
Making events less slippery with eel

Event-driven programming divides a program's logical control flow into a series of callback functions, making its behavior difficult to follow. However, current program analysis techniques can preserve the event model while making event-driven code easier to read, write, debug and maintain. We designed the Explicit Event Library (libeel) to be amenable to program analysis, and created tools to graphically expose control flow, verify resource safety properties, and simplify debugging. The result sustains the advantages of event-driven programming while adding the important advantage of programmability.
The shame of Ba'al : the mnemonics of odium

In this study, I examine a hitherto unrecognized literary phenomenon in which merely sounding the consonants found in Ba'al's name (i.e., ב-ע-ל) sometimes compelled Israelite authors to employ in equal measure the consonants found in the word "shame" (ב-ז-ש) and/or its synonymic word pairs (e.g., חפד "reproach" and כלם "humiliation"). I contend that the device has its origins in socially constructed memories concerning the events at Ba'al-Peor, where the Israelites first worshiped Ba'al, and that, as such, the dysphemistic device conjures images of apostasy, sexual infidelity, and infertility.
Altered sensory code drives juvenile to adult behavioral maturation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Adults perform better than juveniles in food-seeking tasks. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to probe the neural mechanisms underlying behavioral maturation, we found that adults and juveniles require different combinations of sensory neurons to generate age-specific food-seeking behavior. We first show that adults and juveniles differ in their response to and preference for food-associated odors, and we analyze genetic mutants to map the neuronal circuits required for those behavioral responses. We developed a novel device to trap juveniles and record their neuronal activity. Activity measurements revealed that adult and juvenile AWA sensory neurons respond to the addition of diacetyl stimulus, whereas AWB, ASK, and AWC sensory neurons encode its removal specifically in adults. Further, we show that reducing neurotransmission from the additional AWB, ASK, and AWC sensory neurons transforms odor preferences from an adult to a juvenile-like state. We also show that AWB and ASK neurons drive behavioral changes exclusively in adults, providing more evidence that age-specific circuits drive age-specific behavior. Collectively, our results show that an odor-evoked sensory code is modified during the juvenile-to-adult transition in animal development to drive age-appropriate behavior. We suggest that this altered sensory code specifically enables adults to extract additional stimulus features and generate robust behavior.
Lineage-Biased Stem Cells Maintain Estrogen-Receptor-Positive and -Negative Mouse Mammary Luminal Lineages.

Summary Delineating the mammary differentiation hierarchy is important for the study of mammary gland development and tumorigenesis. Mammary luminal cells are considered a major origin of human breast cancers. However, how estrogen-receptor-positive (ER + ) and ER − luminal cells are developed and maintained remains poorly understood. The prevailing model suggests that a common stem/progenitor cell generates both cell types. Through genetic lineage tracing in mice, we find that SOX9-expressing cells specifically contribute to the development and maintenance of ER − luminal cells and, to a lesser degree, basal cells. In parallel, PROM1-expressing cells give rise only to ER + luminal cells. Both SOX9 + and PROM1 + cells specifically sustain their respective lineages even after pregnancy-caused tissue remodeling or serial transplantation, demonstrating characteristic properties of long-term repopulating stem cells. Thus, our data reveal that mouse mammary ER + and ER − luminal cells are two independent lineages that are maintained by distinct stem cells, providing a revised mammary epithelial cell hierarchy.
Colonization of Urinary Catheters by Escherichia Coli and Providencia Stuartii in a Laboratory Model System

A laboratory model system was developed to investigate the progressive colonization of urinary catheters by Escherichia coli Providencia stuartii, prominent organisms in the polymicrobial bacteriuria of the long-term catheterized urinary tract. We hypothesized that colonization of the catheter and artificial urine by E. coli is influenced by the presence of P. stuartii. E. coli or P. stuartii in pure culture both rapidly colonized the artificial urine and catheters, and both persisted throughout all experiments. In systems containing both organisms, P. stuartii occurred in significantly higher numbers in the artificial urine and on the catheters than E. coli (p 8.5) and considerable precipitate formation in the model system. The paradox of P. stuartii enhancing colonization by E. coli in the artificial urine, yet inhibiting its colonization on the catheter surface, illustrates the complexity of polymicrobial interactions in colonization of the catheterized urinary tract.
Soil-Compressibility Prediction Models Using Machine Learning

AbstractThe magnitude of the overall settlement depends on several variables such as the compression index, Cc, and recompression index, Cr, which are determined by a consolidation test; however, t...
Autologistic models for benchmark risk or vulnerability assessment of urban terrorism outcomes

We develop a quantitative methodology to characterize vulnerability among 132 U.S. urban centers ('cities') to terrorist events, applying a place-based vulnerability index to a database of terrorist incidents and related human casualties. A centered autologistic regression model is employed to relate urban vulnerability to terrorist outcomes and also to adjust for autocorrelation in the geospatial data. Risk-analytic 'benchmark' techniques are then incorporated into the modeling framework, wherein levels of high and low urban vulnerability to terrorism are identified. This new, translational adaptation of the risk-benchmark approach, including its ability to account for geospatial autocorrelation, is seen to operate quite flexibly in this socio-geographic setting.
Unpacking Ethical Dilemmas: A Neo-Weberian Model

In a context where rationalist approaches prevail in the study of ethical decisions, critical scholars have called for more complex models. To this end, we have built on Weber’s theory of social ac...
TMEM106B and myelination: rare leukodystrophy families reveal unexpected connections.

This scientific commentary refers to ‘A recurrent de novo mutation in TMEM106B causes hypomyelinating leukodystrophy’, by Simons et al. (doi: 10.1093/brain/awx314 ).
Atmospheric Processing of Perovskite Solar Cells Using Intense Pulsed Light Sintering

Atmospheric processing of metal–organic halide perovskite materials is highly desirable for large-scale manufacturing of solar cells. Atmospheric deposition and thermal processing of perovskite thin films for photovoltaic applications facilitated via rapid intense pulsed light (IPL) processing have been carried out. The interplay between the deposition chemistry, process, and IPL parameters to produce a functional photoactive thin film is discussed. Further addition of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as functional surfactant is explored to influence grain growth during the IPL process. Structural analysis by x-ray diffraction revealed formation of mixed-phase perovskite crystals from methylammonium chloride and lead iodide precursors. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy indicated that the light absorption by the perovskite films lay within a narrow band of the visible spectrum with bandgap of 2.9 eV. Scanning electron microscopy characterization of the surface morphology of the perovskite films revealed that addition of PVP to the ink chemistry assisted the IPL process in forming a fully covered surface with clearly defined grains. Functional devices with perovskite thin film processed by IPL under fully atmospheric conditions were demonstrated.
The Effect of Segregation on Intergroup Relations

Inter-ethnic residential segregation is correlated with intergroup bias and conflict, poorly functioning states and civil societies, weak economic development, and ethnocentric political behavior. As such, segregation has been a subject of long-standing interest. However, segregation has not been assigned in randomized controlled trials, so the observed correlations may be spurious and the mechanism behind these correlations is poorly understood. In two experiments, we randomly assign segregation in a laboratory and demonstrate that segregation affects perceptions of other people and causes intergroup bias in costly decision-making. Rather than segregation merely inhibiting intergroup contact, we demonstrate that segregation directly affects perception and thus can affect intergroup relations even when holding contact constant.
Partnering with schools for community development: Power imbalances in rural community collaboratives addressing childhood adversity

Complex challenges such as toxic stress and childhood adversity require cooperation and collaboration between organizations – particularly schools – and communities in order to be addressed. Howeve...
“I Became a Lioness”: Pathways to Feminist Identity Among Women’s Movement Activists

Feminist identity is a powerful predictor of activism on behalf of women. However, little is known about how feminist identity develops worldwide, either in terms of social identity theory or the s...
Supergravity and Phenomenology

We present phenomenological applications of the theory of supergravity. Using techniques of dimensional reduction to define an N=8 gravitini model in a d=5 dimensional world from an original supergravity scheme with N=1, d=11, one finally arrives by a factorizing ansatz for the fields at a realistic massive theory of supergravity in 4 dimensions. The covariant quantization of this theory is discussed in some detail. Particular attention is devoted to a new scheme of supersymmetric regularization, which is a modification of ordinary dimensional regularization in which fermions and vector and tensor fields remain 4-dimensional quantities.
Guarding the Threshold of Birth

This Article examines the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the Federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (PBABA) in Carhart v. Gonzales (Carhart II), and suggests that, despite some flawed analysis, the majority reached the proper conclusion. Section II emphasizes that two dimensions of the abortion debate, spatial and temporal, should be viewed in conjunction. While the Court historically has focused exclusively on the temporal dimension (the age of the fetus), Carhart II signals a dramatic shift by not only its recognition of, but its singular focus on the spatial dimension (where fetal demise occurs). Section III continues by examining the Court's reasoning in Stenberg v. Carhart (Carhart I), and how the majority failed to consider both the spatial and temporal dimensions adequately. This section also highlights Justice Kennedy's Carhart I dissent, and the three important government interests he emphasized. Section IV analyzes Carhart II and the Court's decision to uphold the PBABA, arguing that the opinion is consistent with the controlling standards for abortion regulations, as outlined in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Although the majority attempts to circumvent any direct reversal of Carhart I, this section contends that Justice Kennedy's Carhart II majority opinion is constitutionally correct for the same reasons that his Carhart I dissent was constitutionally correct. Specifically, the PBABA does not create an undue burden on a woman's right to obtain a pre-viability abortion. Further, the unique interests at stake, both spatial and temporal, in post-viability applications of the PBABA justify the Court's decision to not require a health exception. Section V considers in greater detail the important governmental interests emphasized in Justice Kennedy's Carhart I dissent and Carhart II majority, which are also highlighted in the PBABA. First, government has an important interest in protecting fetal life from the outset of pregnancy. This interest was emphasized in Roe, reaffirmed in Casey, and its status has been solidified by Carhart II. Second, government has an important interest in safeguarding the integrity of the medical profession. This interest has been discussed in various contexts. Two such contexts, assisted suicide and involuntary medical treatment of death row inmates, are discussed as comparisons. Third, and most importantly, government has an interest in drawing a clear line between abortion and infanticide. While abortion is secured as a constitutional right through the Court's jurisprudence, neither the Constitution nor the laws of the United States should ever condone infanticide. By examining the historical consensus favoring infanticide and contemporary support for it, this section argues that the government has the constitutional authority, as well as the moral and ethical duty, to draw a clear line between the two procedures.
He would be Good: Abraham Lincoln’s Early Mathematics, 1819–1826

This chapter, jointly written by Nerida Ellerton, Valeria Aguirre Holguin, and Ken Clements, offers a comprehensive analysis of the earliest extant handwritten manuscript of Abraham Lincoln—22 pages (11 leaves), from a cyphering book that Lincoln prepared between 1819 and 1826. The pages are examined from historical, mathematical and educational perspectives, and an order in which they were written is conjectured, with justifications provided. This is the first time all 22 pages have been examined, it having become received tradition that there were only 20 surviving pages. The authors argue that if the corpus of all extant U.S. cyphering books were to be studied, then the future President’s cyphering book would not be particularly outstanding from calligraphic, penmanship, or abstract mathematical points of view. Analysis reveals, nevertheless, that Lincoln succeeded in his quest to prepare an attractive cyphering book in which almost all entries were arithmetically correct—despite his having to cope with rough frontier circumstances.
Window Operation and Its Impacts on Thermal Comfort and Energy Use

Operable windows provide occupants’ ability to control over local environment and satisfy human’s expectation to access to outdoor environment. Operation strategies for operable windows can have significant impacts on indoor thermal comfort and energy consumption of building performance. It is not uncommon that building facility managers complain that operable windows were left open in buildings with a conventional HVAC system. However, optimum control strategies of window operation can improve thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption for building using natural ventilation or mixed mode ventilation. The study focuses on the investigation of the impacts of window operations on building performance for different types of building systems including natural ventilation, mixed mode ventilation, and conventional HVAC systems in a medium-size reference office building. Building performance simulation tool―EnergyPlus is used to simulate window operations for each system in three different climates. Various control strategies of window operations for building operation systems, implemented using (EMS) in EnergyPlus, are evaluated based on the criteria of thermal comfort and energy consumption. The results highlight the impacts of window operations on thermal comfort and energy use and identify that hybrid ventilation for perimeter zones has 12–20 % saving potentials of annual HVAC site energy consumption.
Victorian Economic Change and Heights: A Note on Lagged Effects

Major phenomena in nineteenth century Britain were the defeat of Napoleon and the subsequent economic expansion across the decades of a vigorous century (Crafts and Harley 1992). Throughout the period vigorous men and women of character and presence were evident; they left a stereotype of people in the era as prominent, active, and occasionally eccentric. On closer inspection, however, the period also represented a greater number striving merely to maintain themselves in the face of rapid and not always beneficial social change.
CHAPTER 5 – Thermodynamics, Chemical Kinetics, and Energy Metabolism

This chapter discusses the thermodynamics, chemical kinetics, and energy metabolism involved in a living system. Thermodynamics deals with the changes in energy content between reactants and products, whereas kinetics is concerned with the reaction rates. The study of chemical reaction rates is called chemical kinetics. Nearly all chemical changes involving breakage and formation of covalent bonds in a living organism are catalyzed by enzymes, without which the reactions would proceed too slowly for biological systems to function at any significant rate. The energy changes that occur in cellular reactions obey the two laws of thermodynamics. The first law states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed but can be converted from one form into another, and the second law states that in all processes involving energy changes under a given set of conditions of temperature and pressure, the entropy of the system and the surroundings increases and attains a maximum value at equilibrium. The term “metabolism” encompasses the numerous chemical transformations that occur within the human body and comprises anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism is concerned with the synthesis of new molecules, usually larger than the reactants, and is an energy-requiring process. Catabolism is concerned with degradation processes, usually the breaking down of large molecules into smaller ones, and is an energy-yielding process. Two main sources of energy for metabolism are carbohydrates and fats (lipids). In a living system, the energy derived from food is released as body heat and also used in the synthesis of ATP. The energy captured in ATP is then transformed into other forms such as chemical (synthesis of new compounds), mechanical (muscle contraction), electrical (nerve activity), electrochemical (various ion pumps), thermal (maintenance of body temperature), and informational (base sequences in nucleic acids, amino acids in proteins).
Intergroup Emotions toward Asian Americans as Mediators in the Relationships of Intergroup Stereotypes and Ingroup Identity with Intergroup Behaviors

The purpose of this study is to examine if intergroup emotions toward Asian Americans mediate the effects of intergroup stereotypes and ingroup identity on intergroup behaviors. Results indicate th...
Sleep and Brain Plasticity

Recent studies combining sleep measurements with measurements of neuronal plasticity have provided important insights into how sleep influences synaptic remodeling in the central nervous system. Scientists have employed different approaches to this problem that include classic models of plasticity in vivo and in vitro and more theoretical organizing principles. The resulting findings have in turn led to a reassessment of theories of sleep function and the role of sleep in brain plasticity. In this chapter, I discuss these key findings and current theories that posit different roles for sleep in neuronal plasticity.
Combined ionic direct current and pulse frequency modulation improves the dynamic range of vestibular canal stimulation.

Background Vestibular prostheses emulate normal vestibular function by electrically stimulating the semicircular canals using pulse frequency modulation (PFM). Spontaneous activity at the vestibular nerve may limit the dynamic range elicited by PFM. One proposed solution is the co-application of ionic direct current (iDC) to inhibit this spontaneous activity. Objective We aimed to test the hypothesis that a tonic iDC baseline delivered in conjunction with PFM to the vestibular semicircular canals could improve the dynamic range of evoked eye responses. Methods Gentamicin-treated chinchillas were implanted with microcatheter electrodes in the vestibular semicircular canals through which pulsatile and iDC current was delivered. PFM was used to modulate vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) once it was adapted to a preset iDC and pulse-frequency baseline. Responses to stimulation were assessed by recording the evoked VOR eye direction and velocity. Results PFM produced VOR responses aligned to the stimulated canal. Introduction of an iDC baseline lead to a small but statistically significant increase in eye response velocity, without influencing the direction of eye rotation. Conclusions Tonic iDC baselines increase the dynamic range of encoding head velocity evoked by pulsatile stimulation, potentially via the inhibition of spontaneous activity in the vestibular nerve.
Pregnancy-Related Mortality and Severe Maternal Morbidity in Rural Appalachia: Established Risks and the Need to Know More

Purpose The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology have called for researchers to further elucidate medical and social determinants of pregnancy-related death and severe maternal morbidity. This report begins to answer this call in the context of rural Appalachia. Methods This report identifies risk factors exposing women in rural Appalachia to pregnancy-related death and severe maternal morbidity. We also use CDC WONDER data to illustrate rural-urban differences in pregnancy-related death. Findings Rural women nationally die of pregnancy-related causes at a greater rate than urban women. It is unknown how rurality specifically influences pregnancy-related death, but rural women more often embody multiple risk factors associated with negative maternal outcomes. Established risk factors, including high rates of chronic illness and substance abuse, place rural women at risk for severe maternal morbidity and pregnancy-related mortality. These women may also lack the resources to mitigate these risks, including access to high-risk obstetric care. Next steps To address these issues and the concerning lack of data, we propose 4 directions for future study: (1) a determination of the prevalence of pregnancy-related death and severe maternal morbidity in this population; (2) an examination of how rural women utilize existing pre- and perinatal resources; (3) better validation concerning surveillance methods of pregnancy-related death and severe maternal morbidity in rural areas; and (4) an exploratory qualitative study of rural women and health care providers.
Password Manager Combining Hashing Functions and Ternary PUFs

Hashing functions protect passwords against various hacking techniques because message digests can replace the passwords when stored in the network for future authentication. However, the message digests remain exposed to password guessing attacks, most hashing functions are known, and public. The objective of the protocols presented in this paper is to offer additional lines of defense using physical unclonable functions to convert the message digests into challenge-response pairs. The use of ternary physical unclonable functions reduces false rejection rates, and lowers the latencies during the processing of the authentications. Without having access to the PUFs, the look up tables storing challenge-response pairs are more difficult to attack than those storing message digests: they are unclonable, contain high levels of randomness, and quasi unique. The modeling efforts, and algorithms developed in this paper to validate the schemes, use commercially available components, and SRAM based ternary PUFs.
Exploring the Effect of Communication Patterns and Transparency on Performance in a Human-Robot Team:

Human-robot interaction requires communication, however what form this communication should take to facilitate effective team performance is still undetermined. One notion is that effective human-a...
The analysis of commercially available natural products recommended for use in electronic cigarettes

Rationale Natural plant products have been used to promote health, prevent sickness, and treat various ailments. These products often consist of leaves, flowers, bark, roots, seeds, and/or other parts of the plant. Many of the pharmacologically active constituents of these products are known, but the pharmacology of these constituents may not be fully elucidated. Natural plant-based products are also available in various forms other than the raw plant material. A wide array of commercial products such as capsules, powders, extracts, and electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) electronic liquids (e-liquids) are readily available and can be purchased from various outlets, both store-based retailers and online. Newer e-cigarettes are often advertised as "heat not burn" and are used for "vaping" various forms of extracts including "waxes" and "dabs" and raw plant material. Methods A single manufacturer was found online selling "24 different herbs" in powders, extracts, or e-liquids. These were advertised as "legal in the USA" and each product listed multiple effects. Eight e-liquids, six extracts (resins), and four powders from eight different "herbs," namely African dream, areca nut, blue lotus, damiana, kra thum na, kra thum kok, klip dagga, and wild lettuce, were purchased. An advertisement for these products stated, "Most people use the leaves, powder or resin in vaporizers." Direct analysis in real time AccuTOF™ mass spectrometry (DART-MS) was used to identify the psychoactive components in the natural products. Results The psychoactive compounds that were identified in only two of the eight e-liquids, three of the five resins, and three of the four powders were arecaidine, arecoline, coumarin, entadamide, mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, and nuciferine. Conclusions Psychoactive and potentially harmful substances were present in the powders and resins of the natural products. The newer types of e-cigarettes made for consuming natural products may increase their abuse potential.