cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cutting the trees to save the forest: The Finch Pruyn working forest

The past two decades have seen sales of millions of acres of commercial forest land in the United States. Changed ownership often results in altered forest management, parcelization or development. Such changes have profound implications for forest species and ecosystems, as well as the timber industry, recreational opportunities, and local and regional economies. An emerging strategy seeks to protect lands through complex public-private partnerships involving state agencies, conservation organizations, and commercial investors. By definition, these partnerships have both environmental and socioeconomic goals; as such, they represent contemporary experiments in sustainable development applied to forested landscapes. As this approach is a recent innovation, its benefits for nature and people have yet to be demonstrated, and the general applicability of this integrated approach to conservation is unknown. Our objective is to identify context-specific objectives and indicators to support integrated monitoring and adaptive management for the former Finch Pruyn lands, which encompass 161,000 acres in the Adirondack region of New York State. This interdisciplinary project involves social science faculty and students from Cornell University and cooperation from conservation scientists from The Nature Conservancy. Through a review of the literature on criteria and indicators for sustainable forestry, we developed an analytical framework for measuring ecological, social, and economic implications of forest management practices. Through key informant interviews, we identified context-specific objectives and indicators for the Finch Pruyn lands, including forest health, species protection, expanded recreation opportunities and community economic vitality. Our approach allows us to compare existing commitments to collection of monitoring data to ideal data sets as defined by actors occupying various structural positions. Identification of potential gaps in monitoring represents an opportunity for dialogue, reallocation of resources and enrollment of new strategic partners. Over time, these global and local indicators can support an adaptive framework through which flows of information inform management in an iterative process. Preliminary results indicate that this project entails several innovations that may contribute to its success, including the development of a comprehensive ecological baseline and the explicit engagement of local claims to livelihoods and access. We make several recommendations for future working forest agreements, such as the need to define clear environmental and socioeconomic goals at the outset, and, when private philanthropy is central to project viability, the incorporation of monitoring costs into initial fundraising targets. We believe these lessons are applicable to conservation development projects in the Northern Forest region and beyond.
The mighty arginine, the stable quaternary amines, the powerful aromatics, and the aggressive phosphate: their role in the noncovalent minuet.

In the age of proteomics, the role of certain amino acid residues and some post-translational modifications in noncovalent complex formation are gaining in importance, as the understanding of interactions between biological molecules, is at the heart of the structure function relationship puzzle. In this work, mass spectrometry is used to highlight ammonium− or guanidinium−aromatic interactions through Cation-π bonds and ammonium− or guanidinium−phosphate interactions through salt bridge formation. Such interactions are crucial factors in certain ligand−receptor interactions and receptor−receptor interactions. In addition, the ability of phosphorylated residues and phosphorylated lipids to form noncovalent complexes with guanidinium and quaternary ammonium (mostly through Coulombic interactions) is demonstrated, and could explain the stability of certain membrane embedded protein, or a possible role for phosphorylation in protein−protein interactions. Dougherty's work demonstrates cation−π interactions in...
Effect of exogenous androgen on the Steelman-Pohley assay for follicle stimulating hormone.

SummaryA single injection of 25, 100, or 1000 μg of testosterone propionate given 24 or 48 hr prior to the administration of chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) plus various doses of FSH altered the slope of the logdose-response curve. Since the ovarian weight obtained with HCG alone was greatly increased in pretreated animals the slope of the curve was reduced. The results suggest that androgen priming caused an increased output of endogenous FSH in the assay animal.
Discordant retail brand ideology in the House of Barbie

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to expand the scant literature related to retail branding ideology and the application of mythotypes to flagship stores within the Chinese setting. The study explores the transplantation of a retail brand ideology in the form of complex home‐country cultural content to a host culture whose local retail narratives differ significantly from those of the brand enterprise.Design/methodology/approach – This is an ethnographic study that spans the two years of the focal store's existence. With the help of native‐speaking graduate assistants, store visits, interviews with Chinese locals and internet mentions and secondary information were collected. Data include fieldnotes, interview transcripts, photographs, news articles, blog comments and website information.Findings – The paper details the mythotypic mistuning of marketscape and mindscape that contributed to the failure of this flagship store and build theory concerning the implementation of retail brand ideology and retail...
Mechanical properties of bioabsorbable meniscal arrows as a function of tear location: an ex vivo experimental study.

BackgroundEx vivo studies have established that arrow fixation of meniscal tears is inferior to vertical sutures and is dependent on arrow length, although the influence of tear location is not known.HypothesisArrow length and tear location influence the mechanical properties of meniscal arrows.Study DesignControlled laboratory study.MethodsA longitudinal incision was created either 2 mm or 7 mm from the periphery in 70 bovine medial menisci. Each was repaired with a meniscal arrow (10, 13, or 16 mm) or a single vertical suture and subjected to load-to-failure testing and video- graphic analysis.ResultsMode of failure (P < .0001), maximum force (P < .0001), stiffness (P < .01), 2-mm gap force (P < .03), and ultimate gap formation (P < .002) were all directly related to arrow length. Sixteen-mm arrows and suture exhibited similar, superior mechanical properties. Tear location significantly influenced properties of 10-mm and 16-mm but not 13-mm arrows. Ten-millimeter arrows displayed the worst performance.C...
Critical Load Analysis for a Layered Half-Space under Sliding Indentation

Analyses are presented for cracking or delaminating problems of thin coatings on dissimilar thick substrate materials under a normal and a tangential force. Based on the energy principle associated...
Synthesis of a 600-nucleotide-long plus-strand DNA by virions of Moloney murine leukemia virus

Abstract A discrete, 600-nucleotide-long plus-strand DNA has been identified among the products of reverse transcription by virions of Moloney murine leukemia virus. Its polarity was shown by hybridization to minus-strand DNA. It appears to be copied from the right end of minus-strand DNA because (i) its restriction endonuclease cleavage pattern corresponds to the redundant 600-base segment found at either end of the ultimate double-stranded reverse transcription products, (ii) its synthesis is actinomycin D sensitive, and (iii) its synthesis begins during the first hour of a reverse transcription reaction when only the right-hand end of minus-strand DNA is available as template. We therefore call this DNA plus-strong-stop DNA by analogy with the minus-strong-stop DNA copied from the left end of the viral RNA. Both strong-stop DNAs are made early during in vitro reactions and decline in concentration later, consistent with postulated roles as initiators of long minus- and plus-strand DNA. Unlike minus-strong-stop DNA, plus-strong-stop DNA remains as a double-stranded nucleic acid after its synthesis, as shown by S1 nuclease resistance. A primer to initiate plus-strong-stop DNA synthesis has not been identified; the product found thus far has no detectable RNA attached to it.
Enhancement of intestinal iron absorption by a humoral effect of hypoxia in parabiotic rats.

SummaryParabiotic rats have been employed in an attempt to determine if hypoxia can enhance intestinal iron absorption by a humoral effect. The mean absorption of iron by rats whose partners were exposed to hypoxia was significantly greater than that of rats whose partners were normally oxygenated (0.025p<0.05). Additional experiments using bilaterally nephrectomized rats exposed to hypoxia indicated that (i) bilaterally nephrectomized rats absorbed less iron than sham-operated controls; (ii) hypoxia increased the absorption of iron in bilaterally nephrectomized animals over that of nephrectomized rats that were normally oxygenated; and (iii) this enhanced absorption of iron by the bilaterally nephrectomized rats was not associated with increased erythropoiesis. If one assumes that what applies in the single animal also holds for the parabiotic pair and vice versa, the results of these experiments suggests that intestinal iron absorption may be mediated by a transferable humoral factor that is not erythro...
METHOTREXATE USE IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

To overstate the importance of methotrexate in the contemporary management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) would be difficult. During the last 15 years, methotrexate has simultaneously revolutionized and revitalized the treatment of patients with RA. 13,38,57 Methotrexate, a drug that was seldom given in the early 1980s, is now the disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) most commonly used to treat RA. 13 Methotrexate was not approved by the FDA for use in RA until 1988; it is now not only the most commonly used but also the first prescribed DMARD by most rheumatologists in the United States for the treatment of RA. 57 It has achieved this distinction because of both its efficacy and tolerability. Other currently available DMARDs offer sustained benefit (≤2 years) to only a small minority of RA patients 63,92 compared with sustained benefit in well over 50% of methotrexate-treated patients. 43,45,63,87,92 The current therapeutic goal for all patients with RA is to produce a remission of the patient's disease 47 ; despite all of the significant improvements seen when methotrexate is used, it nevertheless rarely induces remissions. 43,78,87 This article reviews the data on the efficacy and toxicity of methotrexate, discusses caveats for clinical use, examines the use of methotrexate in combination therapy, and speculates on the future use of methotrexate in RA.
Vector characterization of photodetectors, photoreceivers, and optical pulse sources by time-domain pulse response measurements

Deconvolution of measurement system effects from pulse response measurements is demonstrated to yield reproducible, accurate characterization of the impulse response (and vector frequency response) of a photodetector or photoreceiver, as well as the intensity waveform of an optical pulse. Calibration is based on a 40 GHz and an optical pulse source to >30 GHz are demonstrated. Calibration and effects of noise are discussed. >
Characteristics of partnership success: Partnership attributes, communication behavior, and conflict resolution techniques

The formation of partnerships between firms is becoming an increasingly common way for firms to find and maintain competitive advantage. While the antecedents of partnership formation and the characteristics of the resulting cooperative working relationship have been explored in the literature, an understanding of characteristics associated with partnership success is lacking. Such an understanding is important in reconciling the prescriptions to form partnerships with the reality that a majority of such partnerships do not succeed. We hypothesize that partnership attributes, communication behavior, and conflict resolution techniques are related to indicators of partnership success (satisfaction and sales volume in the relationship). The hypotheses are tested with vertical partnerships between manufacturers and dealers. Results indicate that the primary characteristics of partnership success are: partnership attributes of commitment, coordination, and trust; communication quality and participation; and the conflict resolution technique of joint problem solving. The findings offer insight into how to better manage these relationships to ensure success.
Reverse genetics through random mutagenesis in Histoplasma capsulatum

Background The dimorphic fungal pathogen Histoplasma capsulatum causes respiratory and systemic disease in humans and other mammals. Progress in understanding the mechanisms underlying the biology and the pathogenesis of Histoplasma has been hindered by a shortage of methodologies for mutating a gene of interest.
Direct Measurement of Polyol Pathway Activity in the Ocular Lens

A method to measure the polyol pathway metabolic flux in the intact rabbit lens by 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is described. In the lens exposed to 35.5 mM glucose, the polyol pathway accounts for ⅓ of the total glucose turnover. The high metabolic activity of the pathway suggests a significant alteration in the reduced to oxidized pyridine nucleotide ratio in the lens exposed to high glucose.
Dialect/accent classification via boosted word modeling

The paper addresses novel advances in English dialect/accent classification/identification. A word level based modeling technique is proposed that is shown to outperform a LVCSR based system with significantly less computational cost. The new algorithm, which is named WDC (word-based dialect classification), converts the text independent decision problem into a text dependent problem and produces multiple combination decisions at the word level rather than make a single decision at the utterance level. There are two sets of classifiers employed for WDC, word classifier, D/sub W(k)/, and utterance classifier, D/sub u/. D/sub W(k)/ is boosted via the real AdaBoost.MH algorithm in the probability space directly instead of the feature space. D/sub u/ is boosted via the dialect dependency information of the words. Two dialect corpora are used in the evaluation. Significant improvement in dialect classification is achieved for both corpora.
Competitive adsorption by components of landfill leachate

A new approach to the construction of isotherms, with application to actual concentrated industrial wastes and landfill leachates.
Illicit and Nonmedical Drug Use Among Older Adults: A Review

Objective: Substance abuse among older adults is a looming public health concern. The number of Americans aged 50+ years with a substance use disorder is projected to double from 2.8 million in 2002-2006 to 5.7 million in 2020. The authors provide a review of epidemiological findings for this understudied area of research by focusing on illicit drug use disorders and nonmedical use of prescription drugs among adults aged 50+ years. Method: MEDLINE and PsychInfo were searched using keywords drug use, drug abuse, drug misuse, substance use disorder, and prescription drug abuse. Using the related-articles link, additional articles were screened for inclusion. This review included articles published between 1990 and 2010. Result: Results from multiple sources indicated a much higher rate of illicit drug use and nonmedical use of prescription drugs and drug-related treatment admissions for persons 50 to 64 years of age compared with adults 65+ years of age. Rates of treatment admissions involving primary use o...
Discrete event solution of gas dynamics within the DEVS framework

The DEVS (Discrete Event Systems Specification) formalism has been applied to continuous and discrete phenomena. The use of discrete events, rather than time steps, as a basis for simulation has been shown to reduce computation time by orders of magnitude in many applications. However, the application of DEVS to partial differential equation (pde) simulation has only recently been investigated. Here, in an application to a shockwave problem, we show that the time to solution is significantly reduced when a discrete event integration scheme is employed compared to a representative conventional approach. Recent theory suggests that speed advantages are to be expected for pdes that are characterized by heterogeneity in their time and space behavior. The implications for use of DEVS as a basis for adaptive control of large scale distributed simulations are discussed.
Query Co-Processing on Commodity Hardware

The rapid increase in the data volumes for the past few decades has intensified the need for high processing power for database and data mining applications. Researchers have actively sought to design and develop new architectures for improving the performance. Recent research shows that the performance can be significantly improved using either (a) effective utilization of architectural features and memory hierarchies used by the conventional processors, or (b) the high computational power and memory bandwidth in commodity hardware such as network processing units (NPUs), and graphics processing units (GPUs). This seminar will survey the micro-architectural and architectural differences across these processors with data management in mind, and will present previous work and future opportunities for expanding query processing algorithms to other hardware than general-purpose processors. In addition to the database community, we intend to increase awareness in the computer architecture scene about opportunities to construct heterogeneous chips (chip multiprocessors with different architectures in them).
An oceanic fixed nitrogen sink exceeding 400 Tg N a −1 vs the concept of homeostasis in the fixed-nitrogen inventory

Abstract. Measurements of the N2 produced by denitrification, a better understanding of non-canonical pathways for N2 production such as the anammox reaction, better appreciation of the multiple environments in which denitrification can occur (e.g. brine pockets in ice, within particles outside of suboxic water, etc.) suggest that it is unlikely that the oceanic denitrification rate is less than 400 Tg N a−1. Because this sink term far exceeds present estimates for nitrogen fixation, the main source for oceanic fixed-N, there is a large apparent deficit (~200 Tg N a−1) in the oceanic fixed-N budget. The size of the deficit appears to conflict with apparent constraints of the atmospheric carbon dioxide and sedimentary δ15N records that suggest homeostasis during the Holocene. In addition, the oceanic nitrate/phosphate ratio tends to be close to the canonical Redfield biological uptake ratio of 16 (by N and P atoms) which can be interpreted to indicate the existence of a powerful feed-back mechanism that forces the system towards a balance. The main point of this paper is that one cannot solve this conundrum by reducing the oceanic sink term. To do so would violate an avalanche of recent data on oceanic denitrification. A solution to this problem may be as simple as an upwards revision of the oceanic nitrogen fixation rate, and it is noted that most direct estimates for this term have concentrated on nitrogen fixation by autotrophs in the photic zone, even though nitrogen fixing genes are widespread. Another simple explanation may be that we are simply no longer in the Holocene and one might expect to see temporary imbalances in the oceanic fixed-N budget as we transition from the Holocene to the Anthropocene in line with an apparent denitrification maximum during the Glacial-Holocene transition. Other possible full or partial explanations involve plausible changes in the oceanic nitrate/phosphate and N/C ratios, an oceanic phosphorus budget that may also be in deficit, and oscillations in the source and sink terms that are short enough to be averaged out in the atmospheric and geologic records, but which could, perhaps, last long enough to have significant impacts.
Impact of Arizona’s SB 1070 Immigration Law on Utilization of Health Care and Public Assistance Among Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers and Their Mother Figures

Objectives. We examined the impact of Arizona’s “Supporting Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act” (SB 1070, enacted July 29, 2010) on the utilization of preventive health care and public assistance among Mexican-origin families.Methods. Data came from 142 adolescent mothers and 137 mother figures who participated in a quasi-experimental, ongoing longitudinal study of the health and development of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers and their infants (4 waves; March 2007–December 2011). We used general estimating equations to determine whether utilization of preventive health care and public assistance differed before versus after SB 1070’s enactment.Results. Adolescents reported declines in use of public assistance and were less likely to take their baby to the doctor; compared with older adolescents, younger adolescents were less likely to use preventive health care after SB 1070. Mother figures were less likely to use public assistance after SB 1070 if they were born in the United States and if ...
Population and service characteristics of youth with schizophrenia‐spectrum diagnoses in the Hawaii system of care

Background: Population and service characteristics were compared for youth (age 3–18 years) with and without schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, who received public mental health services in Hawaii’s comprehensive system of care between July 1, 2000 and June 30, 2001. Methods: Electronic records of youth with a diagnosis in the schizophrenia-spectrum (n ¼ 71) were compared to all other youth (n ¼ 13,904) who received services with respect to age, gender, ethnicity, comorbidity, type of service, and service cost. Results: The schizophrenia-spectrum group had higher Asian representation, greater comorbidity, and was more likely to receive restrictive services for a higher average annual expense. When restrictive services were provided, they were of similar duration and intensity across groups. Almost all youth received less intensive services, but the schizophrenia-spectrum group received a higher frequency or longer duration of such services. Conclusions: Although youth with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders were uncommon, collectively they represented a distinct population with above average service consumption. Future monitoring of interventions and outcomes may help develop systematic and effective treatment strategies for youth with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Keywords: Schizophrenia spectrum, services, demographics.
Man as a Monitor

The use of the feedback principle in monitoring as well as in continuous control situations is proposed. A simple feedback model is discussed and the associated variables identified. These include frequency of observation and response, sensitivity, time constants in feedback and control and reversibility of control. Ten monitoring or vigilance experiments are analyzed in terms of the model.
Insulin-like growth factor I stimulates recovery of bone lost after a period of skeletal unloading.

IGF-I stimulates osteoblast proliferation, bone formation, and increases bone volume in normal weight-bearing animals. During skeletal unloading or loss of weight bearing, bone becomes unresponsive...
Interannual and Decadal Changes in Equatorial Wind Stress in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans and the Eastern Ocean Coastal Response

Abstract Recently, Clarke and Lebedev showed that τ, the low-frequency eastward equatorial wind stress zonally averaged along the equator, can, in the case of the Pacific Ocean winds, be linearly estimated by Δp, the surface atmospheric pressure difference between the eastern and western ocean boundaries. The authors find that detrended interannual τ calculated from monthly winds is similarly linearly correlated with detrended Δp in the equatorial Atlantic and Indian Oceans since 1964 when enough wind data are available. The regression coefficient between τ and Δp enables the authors to estimate the turbulent stress atmospheric boundary layer height as being about 240 m for the equatorial Atlantic Ocean and 320 m for the equatorial Indian Ocean. Using a central Pacific pressure observation at 168°W, the authors similarly estimate the western and eastern Pacific turbulent stress atmospheric boundary layer heights as about 665 and 630 m, respectively. Unlike the wind data, the pressure data do not contain s...
Autoimmunization of Ewes Against Pregnancy-associated Glycoproteins Does Not Interfere with the Establishment and Maintenance of Pregnancy

Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are a large grouping of placental proteins that belong to the aspartic peptidase gene family. Although useful to detect pregnancy in ruminant species, the function of these molecules is unclear. Several PAGs expressed by trophoblast binucleate cells can enter the maternal circulation, suggesting that they could have a systemic role in altering maternal physiology. The objective of this work was to examine whether these circulating placental antigens were important in pregnancy by actively immunizing ewes against them. PAGs were purified by pepstatin-affinity chromatography and conjugated to the immunogenic protein, keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Ewes were immunized with PAG–KLH conjugate (n 5 22) or with KLH alone (n 5 9), and bred to intact rams. Blood samples, collected on Day 0 (day of estrus), Day 10, Days 15 to 25 and weekly throughout pregnancy, were analyzed for PAG by an ELISA. On Day 30, pregnancy was confirmed by ultrasound. Ewes immunized against PAG–KLH produced a range of reactive anti-PAG titers, whereas all immunized ewes had high anti-KLH immunoreactivity. PAGs became detectable in the anti-KLH (control) ewes at Day 21.6 6 2.2 of pregnancy. Those ewes immunized against PAGs (n 5 7), that had very low immunoreactivity toward PAGs, had measurable PAG by Day 22.9 6 1.3, and their PAG serum profiles throughout pregnancy did not differ from the controls. Those exhibiting moderate to high anti-PAG immunoreactivity (n 5 15), had significantly lower PAG concentrations than controls, with antigen not becoming detectable until Day 48.1 6 15.6. The decrease in circulating PAG in the immunized animals did not correlate with changes in pregnancy rates, lamb number or lamb birth weight. These results suggest that while PAGs may play a role in maintaining pregnancy, their major contribution is likely to be at the fetal–maternal interface. Their actions at extra-placental sites are presumably of more secondary importance.
Fine-needle aspiration cytology of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma

Extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma (EES) is a round-cell malignancy that manifests most commonly in the paravertebral and intercostal regions. It occurs predominantly in adolescents and young adults, between the ages of 10 and 30 yr, and follows an aggressive course with a high recurrence rate. Distant metastasis is also common. The tumor is often confused with other round, small-cell neoplasms, including primitive neuroectodermal tumor, neuroblastoma, embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, and lymphoma. This report pertains to a fine-needle aspiration cytologic diagnosis of EES, supported by clinicopathologic and fine structural correlations in a 56-yr-old man who presented with a rapidly growing, massive, right groin mass. The smears showed a diffuse cellular population of malignant round cells composed of two types: one group of larger cell exhibiting a thin-rim, pale cytoplasm, less hyperchromatic nuclei, nucleoli, and diffusely dispersed chromatinic nuclear details; and the second group of smaller and darker cells with highly hyperchromatic and almost smudged nuclei. These are chief cells and dark cells, respectively. Special studies revealed significant intracytoplasmic glycogen and positive vimentin and HBA-71 immunostaining. Cytogenetic findings of chromosomal 11;22 translocation is also supportive of the diagnosis of EES.
Quarter-dose (0.025 mmol/kg) gadobenate dimeglumine for abdominal MRI in patients at risk for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: preliminary observations.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of 0.025 mmol/kg gadobenate dimeglumine, which is one quarter of the standard dose, for abdominal 3-T MRI studies in patients considered to be at risk for nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, using qualitative and quantitative measures and comparison with higher doses.MATERIALS AND METHODS. The MRI database was retrospectively searched to select consecutive patients who underwent quarter-dose gadobenate dimeglumine–enhanced abdominal MRI at 3 T, between January 1, 2009, and January 15, 2010, and who underwent half-dose (0.05 mmol/kg) gadobenate dimeglumine–enhanced abdominal MRI at 3 T during one randomly chosen month. There were 25 patients in the final quarter-dose group (16 men and nine women; mean age, 57 years) and 44 patients in the half-dose group (21 men and 23 women; mean age, 58 years). The enhancement of abdominal organs and aorta was evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively on contrast-enhanced images. The overall quality of abdom...
Lattice Site of Helium Implanted in Si and Diamond

Single crystals of silicon and diamond were implanted at 300K with 70 keV 3He. Ion channeling analyses were executed by application of Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and nuclear reaction analysis. Helium exhibits a non-random lattice site in the channeling angular distributions for silicon and diamond. A major fraction of the implanted 3He was qualitatively identified to be near to the tetrahedral interstice in both materials.
Debonding and impact tolerant sandwich panel with hybrid foam core

Abstract A major problem of sandwich panels is the debonding at or near the core/face sheet interface, especially under impact loading, which can lead to sudden loss of structural integrity and causes catastrophic consequences. The objective of this study is to develop and characterize new sandwich panels which are based on hybrid cores consisting of metallic millitubes and polymer matrix. To this end, two types of new hybrid cores were proposed. One consisted of polymer resin reinforced by vertically (transversely) aligned continuous metallic millitubes, denoted as Type-I sandwich panel. The other was made of polymer resin reinforced by horizontally (longitudinally) aligned continuous metallic millitubes, denoted as Type-II sandwich panel. Additionally, traditional sandwich panels with syntactic foam core were also prepared for comparison. Quasi-static compression and bending tests, low velocity impact test, and ballistic impact test demonstrated that the interface debondings and the subsequent shear failure in the core could be largely excluded from the Type-II panel. Meanwhile, a significant transition to ductile failure mode was observed in Type-II sandwich panel with dramatically enhanced load carrying capacity and impact energy dissipation. The results indicated that Type-II panel may be considered as an alternative for sandwich structures requiring debonding and impact tolerance.
Symmetric non-rigid image registration via an adaptive quasi-volume-preserving constraint

The standard implementation of non-rigid image registration is asymmetric, even though symmetry might be an intrinsic attribute of the particular application, e.g., pairwise image alignment. Current approaches to restore symmetry to non-rigid registration, although successful in achieving inverse-consistency, generally alter the objective function through implicit inclusion of a nonuniform weight in the integral that is computed on the native space of an input image. This inhomogeneous integral measure, which varies through the course of the registration, results in regional biases by allowing image regions to contribute differently to the objective function. In this work, instead of symmetrizing the objective function, we address the root of the problem: the nonuniformity of the integral in both the asymmetric and the symmetrized implementations. We introduce a new quasi-volume-preserving constraint that keeps the forward and backward objective functions arbitrarily close to each other - hence the registration symmetry - without compromising the uniformity of the integrals. We show the advantages of our method through experiments on synthetic images and real X-ray and MRI data.
To Fight or Switch

This case describes a situation in which a student is complaining about a grade. The professor must decide given standards for the course, potentially extenuating circumstances, and personal conflicts about grading whether or not to change the students grade. Any professor who has had this discussion will be sympathetic and have an opinion about what to do.
Deriving operating characteristic equations for overcurrent protection devices based on eigensystem realization algorithm

AbstractAccurate representation of the operating characteristics of conventional inverse-time overcurrent (OC) protection devices plays an important role in protection coordination schemes. Based on the singular value decomposition of the Hankel matrix, this study uses the eigensystem realization algorithm to curve-fit the characteristic curves of OC protection devices under the digital state-space model and obtain the equations of their operating characteristics. This study applies the proposed method to four types of OC protection devices, including two electromechanical OC relays, one digital OC relay, and one power fuse. One characteristic curve from each protection device is selected for curve-fitting. For all four OC protection devices, the absolute error values for the hundreds of sample points between the actual characteristic curves and the corresponding curve-fitting equations are all less than 10 ms. The numbers of fitting components required are determined by the desired maximum absolute value...
Classroom Inequality and the Cognitive Race Gap: Evidence from 4-Year Olds in Public PreK

This study utilizes a unique sample of public pre-kindergarten classrooms and students (preK 4) across eleven states to analyze race differences in cognitive performance and assess how teacher qualities can mitigate them. I first document substantial learning gains from the fall to the spring across all racial groups in various measures of cognitive ability, suggesting public preK offers real educational opportunities. I then document gaps in cognitive ability for four year olds by race that persist from fall to spring but show that they are insignificant after accounting for simple measures of parental socio-economic status. I then identify two characteristics of teachers that robustly predict test scores gain from the fall to the spring (teacher self-efficacy and a classroom quality measure), and show that these qualities are less frequently found in teachers of blacks and Hispanics. The classroom quality gaps between black and white and Hispanic and white students are larger than their gaps in spring test scores. Using regression-based value-added estimates of the effect of high-quality teaching, I calculate that equalizing teacher quality would reduce the unadjusted black-white gap in spring outcomes by roughly 11 percent and by 22 percent, adjusting for socio-economic characteristics. Moving a black student from the lowest quality classroom to the highest would be enough to close even the unadjusted spring race-gap. These estimates are somewhat imprecise due to the small sample size. The analysis is consistent with the theory that achievement gaps across racial groups emerge early in life because of inequality in parental background, but these gaps can be substantially mitigated through equal access to high-quality classrooms.
Reciprocity attacks

In mobile and pervasive computing environments, users may easily exchange information via ubiquitously available computers ranging from sensors, embedded processors, wearable and handheld devices, to servers. The unprecedented level of interaction between users and intelligent environments poses unparalleled privacy challenges. We identify a new attack that can be used to acquire users' private information---using reciprocity norms. By mutually exchanging information with users, an attacker may use a psychological method, the norm of reciprocity, to acquire users' private information. We implemented software to provide a rich shopping experience in a mobile and pervasive computing environment and embedded the reciprocity attack. Our experiments showed that participants were more willing to provide some types of private information under reciprocity attacks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to understand the impact of the norm of reciprocity as an attack in mobile and pervasive computing environments. These human factors should be taken into consideration when designing security measures to protect people's privacy.
Methods for obtaining the venous outflow from the hypothalamus and hypophysis.

SummaryA method is outlined whereby the great cerebral vein (of Galen) can be cannulated via an intradural sinus approach through the superior sagittal sinus. This allows for collection of venous blood draining the hypothalamic area of the brain. Also, a method for obtaining cavernous sinus blood via the facial vein is described. Assays of plasma obtained from these vessels revealed that they contained more LH (OAAD activity) than samples obtained from a leg vein.
Infrared Photoresponses from PbS Filled Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes

The void space inside carbon nanotubes provides an interesting platform to study the interaction of nanotubes with other spatially confined materials. Here, we report on the feasibility of creating broad-band infrared and room temperature multiheterojunction diodes by filling the interior space of multiwalled carbon nanotubes with a semiconductor material via a solution based method. Lead sulfide is chosen because of its potential use in mid-infrared sensing. However, the approach described here can be extended to other materials. The device structure shows electrical rectification and photocurrent generation for a broad band of wavelengths in the near- and mid-infrared. We studied our device structure by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and micro-Raman spectroscopy and demonstrate compact filling of the carbon nanotubes with lead sulfide over a length of 880 nm with an aspect ratio of more than 20. These findings open the possibility of engineering devices with differen...
Photoresponsive Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogels with Tunable Mechanical Properties for Cartilage Tissue Engineering

Photoresponsive hydrogels were obtained by coordination of alginate–acrylamide hybrid gels (AlgAam) with ferric ions. The photochemistry of Fe(III)-alginate was used to tune the chemical composition, mechanical properties, and microstructure of the materials upon visible light irradiation. The photochemical treatment also induced changes in the swelling properties and transport mechanism in the gels due to the changes in material composition and microstructure. The AlgAam gels were biocompatible and could easily be dried and rehydrated with no change in mechanical properties. These gels showed promise as scaffolds for cartilage tissue engineering, where the photochemical treatment could be used to tune the properties of the material and ultimately change the growth and extracellular matrix production of chondrogenic cells. ATDC5 cells cultured on the hydrogels showed a greater than 2-fold increase in the production of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (sGAG) in the gels irradiated for 90 min compared to the dar...
A new species of Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae: Etroplinae) from northeastern Madagascar, with a phylogeny and revised diagnosis for the P. damii clade

Paretroplus loisellei, a new species of etropline cichlid from Madagascar, is described from the middle to lower reaches of the Mahanara River, located to the north of the Masoala Peninsula in northeastern Madagascar. The new species is recovered within the “Paretroplus damii clade” on the basis of several apomorphic anatomical features, including the presence of a triangular, black or dark gray, pectoral-axil patch, chest scales that are greatly reduced in size and highly embedded, and flank scales in which the posterior field is thin and unossified. The new species is distinguished from its sister taxon, P. damii, by a more or less horizontal profile extending from the anterior margin of the lower jaw to the ventroposterior margin of the suspensorium (vs. strongly rounded and convex), horizontally oriented oral jaws with fleshy lips (vs. oblique and thin), tricuspid symphyseal teeth in the upper jaw with distinct and sharp lateral cusps, a much darker overall pigmentation pattern, and distinctive bright golden breeding coloration (vs. brick red).
Communal and Individual Learning Contexts as They Relate to Mathematics Achievement Under Simulated Classroom Conditions

The current study builds on previous communalism research by exploring the enduring facilitative effects of communal learning contexts on academic achievement for African American children over ext...
Query efficient posterior estimation in scientific experiments via Bayesian active learning

A common problem in disciplines of applied Statistics research such as Astrostatistics is of estimating the posterior distribution of relevant parameters. Typically, the likelihoods for such models are computed via expensive experiments such as cosmological simulations of the universe. An urgent challenge in these research domains is to develop methods that can estimate the posterior with few likelihood evaluations.In this paper, we study active posterior estimation in a Bayesian setting when the likelihood is expensive to evaluate. Existing techniques for posterior estimation are based on generating samples representative of the posterior. Such methods do not consider efficiency in terms of likelihood evaluations. In order to be query efficient we treat posterior estimation in an active regression framework. We propose two myopic query strategies to choose where to evaluate the likelihood and implement them using Gaussian processes. Via experiments on a series of synthetic and real examples we demonstrate that our approach is significantly more query efficient than existing techniques and other heuristics for posterior estimation.
Active and sustainable materials from rice starch, fish protein and oregano essential oil for food packaging

Abstract The development of blends using sustainable raw materials promises to reach superior properties compared to biodegradable materials in general, besides the low cost and environmental appealing. This study investigates the addition of oregano essential oil (OEO) in blends from rice starch/fish protein to be used as active packaging. For this purpose, rice starch was extracted from broken grains and fish protein was recovered from Withemouth Croacker (Micropogonias furnieri). The influence of different ratios of starch/protein was confirmed by mechanical properties, solubility, water vapor permeability, opacity and color parameters. The results showed that the ratio 50/50 of starch/protein was the most suitable for packaging materials development. It had the lower solubility (8.0%), water vapor permeability (0.18 g mm kPa−1 h−1 m−2), and intermediate mechanical properties (Tensile strength 5.69 MPa, Elongation 85.5%). Morphology and thermal tests were related to the properties of the films and confirmed that the matrix was homogeneous and cohesive. The antioxidant tests confirmed the activity of the blends in inhibition of peroxidase suggesting its promising application as anti-browning packaging in fruits and vegetables. Based on the results, this research demonstrated that the use of rice starch and fish protein to form sustainable blends represents an interesting alternative for the production of active packaging and for the development of eco-friendly technologies.
Shear Stress Stimulated MSC Activities: Direct Changes of Membrane Tension or Cytoskeletal Stress?

Fluid shear stress induced membrane transport such as Ca2+ influx and the activation of ion channels has been widely reported. The shear stress can be mediated by a direct change in bilipid membrane tension and/or by a change in cytoskeletal stress via binding proteins that link channels to actin, but how the shear stress is coupled to ion channels is unclear. Using narrow shear pulse stimuli generated by a pressure servo in a microfluidic chamber, we measured the changes of membrane tension and cytoskeletal protein stress simultaneously in astrocytes. The membrane tension was reported using molecular motor probes (2-carboxy-2-cyanovinyl)-julolidine farnesyl ester (FCVJ) and cytoskeletal tension reported by genetically encoded force probe actinin-cpst-FRET. Our results show that the changes of membrane tension are highly localized and the gradient is relevant to the flow directions. A shear stress pulse (23 dyn/cm2, 400 ms duration) caused a rapid increase in membrane tension at the front edge of the cell with respect to the flow and a decrease in tension (compression) at the distal edge. The rise time was less than 30 ms, and the tension dropped to the initial state within ∼30 ms post stimulus, showing a typical elastic behavior. In contrast, the same shear pulse generated profound and long-lasting tension in cytoskeletal cross-linking proteins α-actinin at the front edge of the cell, and the tension persisted for the entire experimental duration of 60 s. In situ Ca2+ imaging showed that the initial Ca2+ influx was strongly correlated with the region having high cytoskeletal tension, but weakly linked to the bilayer tension. The results suggest the cytoskeletal tension plays primary role in shear stress activated Ca2+ influx. This work was funded by NINDS.
Mechanisms for phase transformation induced slip in shape memory alloy micro-crystals

Abstract Compression of a single crystal, superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) micro-pillar and the stress-field around an ellipsoidal twinned martensite (M) plate embedded in an austenite (A) matrix were simulated using a coupled phase transformation and crystal plasticity model. Post-mortem transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis of the dislocation structures in a foil extracted from a compressed NiTi micro-pillar was also performed. Based on these modeling and experimental data, we propose mechanisms for phase-transformation-induced defect generation in superelastically stressed NiTi SMA. The geometry of the simulated slip bands shows that dislocations nucleate and grow in the austenite phase adjacent to a growing or receding martensite plate to accommodate local strain gradients. The simulated resolved shear stress on individual slip systems, and Burgers vector analysis of dislocations in the TEM data show that the slip system and amount of slip activity depend on the magnitude of the strain gradients, which are controlled by the martensite crystallography, the dynamics of martensite plate growth, and scale of the twinned structure and A-M interface. In addition to a[0 1 0] (1 0 1 ¯ ) and a [0 0 1] ( 1 ¯ 1 0) slip systems observed in prior experiments, we report the activation of a third slip system: a[0 0 1](1 1 0). We show that the three slip systems are likely to be active at different locations around a martensite plate. The modeling component in this work complements ex-situ TEM characterization by furnishing the resolved shear stress and slip activity on austenite slip systems throughout the cyclic loading.