cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genetic diversity and phenotypic variation for drought resistance in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) germplasm collected for drought tolerance

Drought is a major environmental factor hampering alfalfa productivity worldwide. Gene banks provide an array of trait diversity, frequently consisting of specific seed collection projects that focused on acquiring germplasm adapted to specific traits such as drought tolerance. These subsets provide a logical starting point to identify useful breeding resources. In the present study, we investigated the genetic diversity and evaluated 18 agronomic, physiological and quality traits associated with drought tolerance in a subset of 198 alfalfa accessions collected for their potential drought resistance. Significant differences were found among accessions for most of the traits evaluated. Water deficit significantly decreased biomass dry yield by 61.9% compared with well-watered control. A positive correlation was found between relative water content (RWC) and drought susceptible index, while negative correlations were found between RWC and leaf senescence (LS), and between RWC and canopy temperature (CT). Alfalfa accessions with high RWC showed relative lower yield reduction, cooler CT and delayed LS. Genetic variation for forage quality was also investigated and the correlation between agronomic and quality traits was analyzed. Biomass yield under drought was negatively correlated with total protein, relative feed value and relative forage quality, suggesting that the efforts to improve yield under drought tend to negatively affect forage quality. Therefore, maintaining forage quality should be considered for breeding alfalfa with drought resistance. Alfalfa accessions with high drought resistance scores and minimum loss of quality were identified in this study and can be used as genetic resources for developing alfalfa varieties with improved drought resistance and water use efficiency while maintaining forage quality.
Quantifying Heuristic Bias: Anchoring, Availability, and Representativeness.

Construct: Authors examined whether a new vignette-based instrument could isolate and quantify heuristic bias. Background: Heuristics are cognitive shortcuts that may introduce bias and contribute ...
Evaluating Nitrogen-Containing Biosynthetic Products Produced by Saltwater Culturing of Several California Littoral Zone Gram-Negative Bacteria

The biosynthetic potential of marine-sediment-derived Gram-negative bacteria is poorly understood. Sampling of California near-shore marine environments afforded isolation of numerous Gram-negative bacteria in the Proteobacteria and Bacteriodetes phyla, which were grown in the laboratory to provide extracts whose metabolites were identified by comparative analyses of LC-mass spectrometry and MSn data. Overall, we developed an assemblage of seven bacterial strains grown in five different media types designed to coax out unique secondary metabolite production as a function of varying culture conditions. The changes in metabolite production patterns were tracked using the GNPS MS2 fragmentation pattern analysis tool. A variety of nitrogen-rich metabolites were visualized from the different strains grown in different media, and strikingly, all of the strains examined produced the same new, proton-atom-deficient compound, 1-methyl-4-methylthio-β-carboline (1), C13H12N2S. Scale-up liquid culture of Achromobacte...
Psychometric Evaluation of the Spanish Versions of the Perceived Religious Influence on Health Behavior Scale and the Illness as Punishment for Sin Scale in a Sample of Churchgoing Latinas

The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Spanish versions of the Perceived Religious Influence on Health Behavior scale and the Illness as Punishment for Sin scale in a sample of churchgoing Latina women (N= 404). For the Perceived Religious Influence on Health Behavior scale, confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the expected one- factor model, internal consistency reliability was good, and there was evidence of convergent validity. For the Illness as Punishment for Sin scale, confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the expected one-factor model, but on a revised, seven-item version of the measure. Internal consistency reliability and convergent validity for this revised version were good. It is recommended that future studies use the Perceived Religious Influence on Health Behavior scale and the revised Illness as Punishment for Sin scale when examining these constructs among Latina women.
Effect of fraud risk assessments on auditor skepticism: Unintended consequences on evidence evaluation

This study examines whether auditors who learn that fraud risks differ between accounts could become less skeptical toward evidence that could signal financial misstatement in low‐fraud‐risk accounts. Our theoretical framework suggests that contrast effects could reduce skepticism about suspicious changes in low‐fraud‐risk accounts when auditors perform analytical procedures during the planning phase of assurance engagements. We conducted a laboratory experiment where experienced auditors analyzed year over year changes in accounts to assess misstatement risk for revenue and costs. We manipulated fraud risk for revenue and the presence of an inconsistent fluctuation in costs. Participants who learned that fraud risks had been assessed as high for revenue but low for costs rated misstatement risk at lower levels for cost accounts, compared with auditors who learned that fraud risk was assessed as low for both accounts.
Increased Loss Aversion in Unmedicated Patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Introduction Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients show abnormalities in decision-making and, clinically, appear to show heightened sensitivity to potential negative outcomes. Despite the importance of these cognitive processes in OCD, few studies have examined the disorder within an economic decision-making framework. Here, we investigated loss aversion, a key construct in the prospect theory that describes the tendency for individuals to be more sensitive to potential losses than gains when making decisions. Methods Across two study sites, groups of unmedicated OCD patients (n = 14), medicated OCD patients (n = 29), and healthy controls (n = 34) accepted or rejected a series of 50/50 gambles containing varying loss/gain values. Loss aversion was calculated as the ratio of the likelihood of rejecting a gamble with increasing potential losses to the likelihood of accepting a gamble with increasing potential gains. Decision times to accept or reject were also examined and correlated with loss aversion. Results Unmedicated OCD patients exhibited significantly more loss aversion compared to medicated OCD or controls, an effect that was replicated across both sites and remained significant even after controlling for OCD symptom severity, trait anxiety, and sex. Post hoc analyses further indicated that unmedicated patients' increased likelihood to reject a gamble as its loss value increased could not be explained solely by greater risk aversion among patients. Unmedicated patients were also slower to accept than reject gambles, effects that were not found in the other two groups. Loss aversion was correlated with decision times in unmedicated patients but not in the other two groups. Discussion These data identify abnormalities of decision-making in a subgroup of OCD patients not taking psychotropic medication. The findings help elucidate the cognitive mechanisms of the disorder and suggest that future treatments could aim to target abnormalities of loss/gain processing during decision-making in this population.
Using marijuana, drinking alcohol or a combination of both: the association of marijuana, alcohol and sexual risk behaviour among adolescents.

Background Although the association between alcohol use and sexual risk behaviour has been well-documented, there is little understanding of whether marijuana use alone or combining marijuana with alcohol use contributes to sexual risk behaviour among adolescents. Methods: A diverse sample of sexually active adolescents (n = 616) aged 12–18 years (50.32% Hispanic; 31.17% Black) completed a survey on alcohol use, marijuana use and sexual risk behaviour during a visit to a primary care clinic. Results: Adolescents were more likely to report having had two or more sexual partners in the past 3 months if they reported using both alcohol and marijuana (OR = 3.90, P < 0.0001), alcohol alone (OR = 2.51, P < 0.0001) or marijuana alone (OR = 1.89, P < 0.001) compared with adolescents who reported no use during the past month. Adolescents were more likely to report having both two or more partners and condomless sex if they used both alcohol and marijuana (OR = 3.19, P < 0.001) or alcohol alone (OR = 3.41, P < 0.01) in the past month compared with adolescents who reported using marijuana alone or had no use of either. Conclusions: Providers should screen for both alcohol and marijuana use among adolescents and discuss how use of alcohol or alcohol in conjunction with marijuana may be associated with sexual risk behaviours.
Is Cement Augmentation a Viable Treatment Option for an Osteoporotic Compression Fracture

Atlanto-axial rotatory-subluxation (AARS) is the most common pediatric cervical spine injury. Patients usually present with contralateral rotation and inclination of the upper cervical spine after minor trauma, or associated with an infection of the upper respiratory tract. According to the authors, initial management of patients with acute and chronic AARS type I-II should comprise closed reduction and immobilization with a cervical collar or a Halo-Body-Jacket. Surgical options of open reduction or C1/2 fusion should be restricted to irreducible or recurrent subluxations. This paper reviews the detailed technique of transoral closed reduction of AARS, as well as the preoperative and postoperative considerations.
Deep convolutional neural network for segmentation of knee joint anatomy.

Purpose To describe and evaluate a new segmentation method using deep convolutional neural network (CNN), 3D fully connected conditional random field (CRF), and 3D simplex deformable modeling to improve the efficiency and accuracy of knee joint tissue segmentation. Methods A segmentation pipeline was built by combining a semantic segmentation CNN, 3D fully connected CRF, and 3D simplex deformable modeling. A convolutional encoder-decoder network was designed as the core of the segmentation method to perform high resolution pixel-wise multi-class tissue classification for 12 different joint structures. The 3D fully connected CRF was applied to regularize contextual relationship among voxels within the same tissue class and between different classes. The 3D simplex deformable modeling refined the output from 3D CRF to preserve the overall shape and maintain a desirable smooth surface for joint structures. The method was evaluated on 3D fast spin-echo (3D-FSE) MR image data sets. Quantitative morphological metrics were used to evaluate the accuracy and robustness of the method in comparison to the ground truth data. Results The proposed segmentation method provided good performance for segmenting all knee joint structures. There were 4 tissue types with high mean Dice coefficient above 0.9 including the femur, tibia, muscle, and other non-specified tissues. There were 7 tissue types with mean Dice coefficient between 0.8 and 0.9 including the femoral cartilage, tibial cartilage, patella, patellar cartilage, meniscus, quadriceps and patellar tendon, and infrapatellar fat pad. There was 1 tissue type with mean Dice coefficient between 0.7 and 0.8 for joint effusion and Baker's cyst. Most musculoskeletal tissues had a mean value of average symmetric surface distance below 1 mm. Conclusion The combined CNN, 3D fully connected CRF, and 3D deformable modeling approach was well-suited for performing rapid and accurate comprehensive tissue segmentation of the knee joint. The deep learning-based segmentation method has promising potential applications in musculoskeletal imaging.
Mentoring influence on socially responsible leadership capacity based on institutional Carnegie Classification

Higher education institutions are being called to provide leaders capable of operating in increasingly complex environments (Astin & Astin, 2000; Daloz Parks, 2005; Longo & Gibson, 2011; Rost & Barker, 2000). As immersion into these complex environments has been found to assist students in developing leadership capacities, mentoring is needed to help support students during these immersion experiences. Researchers have explored how mentoring influences leadership development (Campbell, Smith, Dugan & Komives, in press; Collins-Shapiro, 2006; Gleason, 2009; Jabaji, Slife, Komives, & Dugan, 2008), but it is valuable to study mentoring effects within different institution types based on Carnegie Classification, as different environments have different influences on student effects and outcomes. There currently exists a lack of literature in this area. This post-positivist, quantitative study utilized a secondary data set, the 2009 MultiInstitutional Study of Leadership (National Center for Leadership Programs, 2011) to understand how mentoring and leadership development compare among institutions of different Carnegie Classifications. Respondents in this data set attended 101 institutions in the United States that had responded to an open call in the summer of 2008. A subsample of 57,713 of the original 115,632 cases contained responses related to mentoring for this study. The Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership utilized the Socially Responsible Leadership Scale as its primary scale, which was developed by Tyree (1998) and measures the core values of the Social Change Model. Seven research questions provided the foundation of the study, which was operationalized in Astin’s (1993) Input-Environment-Output (I-E-O) Model. Variables in the study were analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics; inferential statistics, such as analysis of
Experiment, Theory Choice, and the Duhem-Quine Problem

The fallibility and corrigibility of experimental results is well established. One need only look at a survey of the measurements of fundamental physical constants1 or at the “Review of Particle Properties,”2 a standard reference for high-energy physicists, to see that the measured values of not only particular quantities, but also of the world average of such quantities, change by far more than their cited experimental uncertainties would suggest is plausible or probable.3 A case in point is the history of measurements of η+-, the CP violating parameter in K° decay (see Figure 1). Prior to 1973, η+- had been measured six times. The results were in good statistical agreement and had a mean of (1.95 ± 0.03)× 10-3. The four succeeding measurements agreed with each other, and had a mean of (2.27 ± 0.022)×10-3. These means differ by eight standard deviations, an unlikely change if these are two sets of correct measurements of the same quantity. (The probability is 1.24×10-15). Unless one is willing to consider the possibility that η+- changed in 1973, we must conclude that at least one of these sets of measurements is incorrect.
A subtype-specific neuropeptide FF receptor antagonist attenuates morphine and nicotine withdrawal syndrome in the rat

Abstract Considerable evidence suggests the Neuropeptide FF (NPFF) and related peptides exert pro-nociceptive and anti-opiate actions, particularly at the supra-spinal level, which may contribute to opiate dependence. The FF1 receptor subtype appears to be primarily responsible for anti-opiate effects. In contrast, stimulation of the FF2 receptor primarily induces pro-opiate effects. AC-262620 is a small molecule, systemically active, selective FF1 receptor antagonist. An initial experiment showed that 10 mg/kg i.p. AC-262620 significantly reduced subsequent naloxone-precipitated somatically expressed withdrawal signs in rats infused s.c. for seven days with 0.3 mg/kg/hr morphine sulfate. A second experiment showed that the same dose of AC-262620 significantly reduced subsequent spontaneous withdrawal signs 23.75 h after termination of seven days s.c. infusion of 0.6 mg/kg/hr morphine sulfate. Chronic nicotine intake may contribute to dependence by overstimulating opiate receptors through release of opiate peptides. By analogy to opiate dependence, it was hypothesized that FF1 receptor activation contributes to nicotine dependence and withdrawal syndrome. AC-262620 significantly reduced somatically expressed withdrawal signs precipitated by the nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine in rats infused for seven days with nicotine bitartrate. Taken together, these findings suggest that NPFF or related neuropeptides contribute to opiate, as well as nicotine, dependence and withdrawal syndrome through the FF1 receptor.
The Optimization of Spinal Arthrodesis

Spinal arthrodesis is currently the most widely used surgical means of stabilizing the deformed and mechanically insufficient spine. It may be accompanied by direct or indirect decompression and/or realignment by positioning, mechanical, or destabilization methods. Very often, arthrodesis is supplemented by internal fixation that may be utilized in the realignment as well as the immobilization of the spine.
When Queerness Meets Intersectional Thinking: Revolutionizing Parallels, Histories, and Contestations.

Intuitively distinguishing the myriad of critically informed paradigms requires an in-depth analysis of genealogies, histories, and philosophical underpinnings grounding each paradigm. Despite sign...
One-dimensional normal compression laws for resedimented mudrocks

Abstract Four different empirical models used to describe the one-dimensional normal compression behavior of mudrocks have been evaluated by investigating the behavior of 15 different resedimented mudrocks. These mudrocks originate from a wide variety of geologic origins and were tested in the laboratory over an effective stress range of 0.1–100 MPa. The normal compression of silt-rich, low liquid limit mudrocks is best described by assuming a log-linear relationship between vertical effective stress, σ′v and void ratio. For smectite-rich, higher liquid limit mudrocks their behavior is better described by assuming a log-linear relationship between σ′v and porosity. The assumption of a log-log relationship between (1 + void ratio) and σ′v is not the most appropriate for any particular mudrock type, but gives a reasonably good description of compression behavior for all mudrocks, and is therefore ideal for situations in which the general composition of a sediment is unknown. For all mudrocks, the assumption of an exponential relationship between porosity and σ′v gives a very poor fit to the experimental data. As mudrocks undergo compression to high effective stresses, high liquid limit mudrocks display a much greater compressibility and a corresponding larger loss in porosity compared to more silt-rich mudrocks. The porosities of all materials tend to converge into a much narrower range above about 10 MPa, where all mudrocks display a similar compression behavior and a constant value of compression index of 0.21 regardless of their composition. At low effective stresses though, their compression behavior is strongly controlled by composition.
Influence of dietary total sulfur amino acids and methionine on growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing gilts

We conducted three experiments to determine the sulfur amino acid (SAA) and methionine requirements of finishing gilts. Gilts (PIC Line 326 x C-15, Exp. 1; Line 326 x C-22, Exp. 2 and 3) were blocked by initial weight in randomized complete block designs. In Exp. 1, 64 gilts (initially 54 kg) were fed diets containing either .56 or .44% apparent digestible lysine with increasing SAA levels (63, 70, and 77% of apparent digestible lysine) in a 2 x 3 factorial. A lysine x SAA interaction (P < .10) was observed for ADG and ADFI. Increasing SAA:lysine ratios from 63 to 70% in diets containing .56% apparent digestible lysine increased ADG and ADFI; however, increasing the SAA:lysine ratio in diets containing .44% apparent digestible lysine decreased ADG and ADFI. Pigs fed .56% apparent digestible lysine had higher (P < .05) ADG and gain:feed ratio (G/F) and lower 10th rib fat depth than pigs fed .44% apparent digestible lysine. Increasing the SAA:lysine ratio had no effect on G/F or carcass characteristics. In Exp. 2, 80 gilts (initially 74 kg) were fed diets containing .225, .25, .275, .30, or .325% apparent digestible SAA (45, 50, 55, 60, or 65% of .50% apparent digestible lysine, respectively). Increasing SAA concentrations decreased ADG and G/F (linear, P < .06). In Exp. 3, 105 gilts (initially 72 kg) were fed diets containing .20% apparent digestible cystine and .10, .125, or .15% apparent digestible methionine (20, 25, or 30% of .50% apparent digestible lysine). Increasing digestible methionine increased ADG, ADFI, plasma methionine concentrations (linear, P < .01), and G/F (quadratic, P < .03). The greatest increases in ADG and G/F were observed when apparent digestible methionine was increased from .10 to .125%. Based on these results, the apparent digestible methionine requirement is no greater than 25% of apparent digestible lysine, in diets containing excess cystine. This equates to an apparent digestible SAA:lysine ratio that is no greater than 50%.
Recalling the Refugee: Cultura Clash and Melancholic Racial Formation in Daughter from Danang

The recipient of the 2012-2013 Lucie Cheng Prize for outstanding graduate student research, this essay offers a critical reading of the documentary film, by interrogating the film's subject, a transnational/multiracial adoptee named Heidi Bub, through the paradigm of the “refugee.” The essay's interpretation of Daughter from Danang complicates the tendency to frame the documentary as a representation of “culture clash.” Through a discussion of American involvement in Southeast Asia and its aftermath, the article demonstrates how the place of Asian Americans in U.S. racial formations must be viewed in both national and global contexts.
“Resistance is fertile”: Revisiting maternalist frames across cases of women’s mobilization

Synopsis Historically, governments and social movements have evoked images of mothers as nurturing, moral, peaceful, or combative agents. But how is a maternalist frame deployed in different contexts? Who deploys this frame, for what purposes and to what ends? In this article, we present a classification scheme to elucidate the diversity and versatility of maternalist frames through the examination of four distinct categories of cases of women's mobilization from the global South as well as North. Drawing on secondary literature and our own ongoing research, we construct a typology of maternalism-from-above and maternalism-from-below to demonstrate how maternalist frames may serve patriarchal or emancipatory purposes with implications for gender justice and the expansion of citizenship rights.
Defibrillator Malfunction: It’s Electric! Boogie, Woogie, Woogie!

Indications for AICD implantation include previous history of monomorphic or polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) resulting in cardiac arrest or syncope and sustained VT with structural heart disease and cardiomyopathy with low ejection fraction, as this is a significant risk factor for developing VT (Epstein et al., Circulation. 117:e350–408, 2008). Approximately 50–75% of AICD discharges result from an appropriate device response to a malignant ventricular arrhythmia, either VT of VF. More than 30% of patients with a history of VT or VF experience an appropriate AICD discharge for a malignant ventricular dysrhythmia within the initial 2 years of AICD implantation.
Purification of DNA From Chicken Embryos to Characterize Genetic Sequences

Riboflavin (Rf), Vitamin B2, is one of several antioxidant B vitamins that organisms need for survival. It is significant in fat, protein and energy metabolism, and plays a key role in maintenance ...
8fJ/Step Bandpass ADC With Digitally Assisted NTF Re-Configuration

In this work we propose a single channel band-pass (BP) SAR ADC with dynamic noise transfer function (NTF) re-configuration. The proposed ADC employs a low-power two-stage architecture. After the SAR finishes quantization, the residue is extracted by firing the comparator multiple times. An estimate of the residue is obtained by employing a maximum likelihood based estimator (MLE). The output of the ADC is obtained by subtracting a delayed version of the estimated residue from the SAR output thus generating a complex NTF with multiple notches in the spectrum. A 65nm ADC prototype achieves 74.1/78dB SNDR/DR over a 101.2kHz bandwidth while consuming $17~\mu \text{W}$ from a 1V supply at 2.43MS/s. The ADC core occupies an area of 0.12mm2. The ADC achieves 8fJ/c-step bandpass FoM which is $85\times $ better than state-of-the-art BP ADCs with similar bandwidth and $8.7\times $ better than all reported state-of-the-art BP ADCs.
Effects of experimental parameters on the growth of GaN nanowires on Ti-film/Si(1 0 0) and Ti-foil by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract Gallium nitride (GaN) nanostructures are used in optoelectronic applications due to their unique optical and electronic properties. For some optoelectronic applications and potential photocatalytic systems, the growth of GaN nanowires on metallic substrates instead of expensive single crystalline semiconductors can be beneficial due to specific properties of metals. In this study, GaN nanowire systems were grown on 300 nm Ti-film/Si(1 0 0) and Ti-foil by plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PA-MBE) and characterized in situ by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and ex situ by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Effects of (i) the nature of substrate surface, (ii) Ga flux, and (iii) substrate temperature on the growth of GaN nanowires were investigated. Nearly vertical nanowires can be grown on Ti-films covered with amorphous TiOx or TiOxNy, which is formed during the nitridation process. To grow nearly vertical nanowires on Ti-foils, pre-nitridation of the substrate surface was found to be important. The orientation of GaN nanowires grown on nitridated Ti-foil is determined by the grain alignment of the original Ti-foil, however, GaN nanowires grown on nitridated Ti-foils are uniformly oriented to one direction within an individual grain, which is most likely due to the epitaxial relation between the nanowires and the underneath grains of the polycrystalline Ti-foils. Both the orientation and nanowire density vary on different grains.
Behavioral pathways in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes: From contributing factors, pre-crash actions, to injury severities.

Abstract Introduction: This study performed a path analysis to uncover the behavioral pathways (from contributing factors, pre-crash actions to injury severities) in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes. Method: The analysis investigated more than 7,000 bicycle-motor vehicle crashes in North Carolina between 2007 and 2014. Pre-crash actions discussed in this study are actions of cyclists and motorists prior to the event of a crash, including “bicyclist failed to yield,” “motorist failed to yield,” “bicyclist overtaking motorist,” and “motorist overtaking bicyclist.” Results: Model results show significant correlates of pre-crash actions and bicyclist injury severity. For example, young bicyclists (18 years old or younger) are 23.5% more likely to fail to yield to motor traffic prior to the event of a crash than elder bicyclists. The “bicyclist failed to yield” action is associated with increased bicyclist injury severity than other actions, as this behavior is associated with an increase of 5.88 percentage points in probability of a bicyclist being at least evidently injured. The path analysis can highlight contributing factors related to risky pre-crash actions that lead to severe injuries. For example, bicyclists traveling on regular vehicle travel lanes are found to be more likely to involve the “bicyclist failed to yield” action, which resulted in a total 44.38% (7.04% direct effect + 37.34% indirect effect) higher likelihood of evident or severe injuries. The path analysis can also identify factors (e.g., intersection) that are not directly but indirectly correlated with injury severity through pre-crash actions. Practical Applications: This study offers a methodological framework to quantify the behavioral pathways in bicycle-motor vehicle crashes. The findings are useful for cycling safety improvements from the perspective of bicyclist behavior, such as the educational program for cyclists.
Beneficial Interactions of Weeds and Pollinators to Improve Crop Production

Weeds are widely seen in a negative light, as being unsightly and possibly pulling resources away from crop plants. Traditional farming practices use selected beneficial "weeds", however, to provide floral resources to beneficial insects and support them through added biodiversity within farms. The global annual economic value of insect pollination is enormous, with more than a third of all crops dependent on pollinators worldwide. This free ecosystem service is steadily declining as we face a global pollinator decline crisis in areas of intensive agriculture. The loss of natural resources through land conversion has decimated insect populations; therefore, there has been interest in enhancing pollinator populations by providing alternative non-crop resources to increase food production. Weeds may be useful in this goal, as they provide resources that attract and may maintain populations of pollinators. In this review, the possibility of using weeds in agriculture to increase floral resources for pollinators and crop yield will be examined. Weeds can provide extensive, free resources to insects, and understanding their interactions in agriculture needs more focus now than ever in changing environments. Fallow lands have always been used by insects and are an important part of their diets in fragmented ecosystems. Understanding their utility could help shape agricultural practices and ameliorate global pollinator decline.
Immature Follicular Origins and Disrupted Oocyte Growth Pathways Contribute to Decreased Gamete Quality During Reproductive Juvenescence in Mice

Egg quality dictates fertility outcomes, and although there is a well-documented decline with advanced reproductive age, how it changes during puberty is less understood. Such knowledge is critical, since advances in Assisted Reproductive Technologies are enabling pre- and peri-pubertal patients to preserve fertility in the medical setting. Therefore, we investigated egg quality parameters in a mouse model of the pubertal transition or juvenescence (postnatal day; PND 11-40). Animal weight, vaginal opening, serum inhibin B levels, oocyte yield, oocyte diameter, and zona pellucida thickness increased with age. After PND 15, there was an age-associated ability of oocytes to resume meiosis and reach metaphase of meiosis II (MII) following in vitro maturation (IVM). However, eggs from the younger cohort (PND 16-20) had significantly more chromosome configuration abnormalities relative to the older cohorts and many were at telophase I instead of MII, indicative of a cell cycle delay. Oocytes from the youngest mouse cohorts originated from the smallest antral follicles with the fewest cumulus layers per oocyte, suggesting a more developmentally immature state. RNA Seq analysis of oocytes from mice at distinct ages revealed that the genes involved in cellular growth signaling pathways (PI3K, mTOR, and Hippo) were consistently repressed with meiotic competence, whereas genes involved in cellular communication were upregulated in oocytes with age. Taken together, these data demonstrate that gametes harvested during the pubertal transition have low meiotic maturation potential and derive from immature follicular origins.
Late preterm births: neonatal mortality and morbidity in twins vs. singletons.

To examine the outcomes of twins and singletons in the late preterm period.This is a retrospective cohort study of data obtained for 165,894 births in California who delivered between 34 + 0 and 36...
International Antitrust Approaches and Developing Countries

In this article, international antitrust enforcement will mainly refer to anticompetitive conducts with cross-border effects. Multilateral frameworks to antitrust enforcement, like the EU system, could be seen as a model of it, although a better example comes from the US federal antitrust system and its relation to the different states. The issues arising from cross-border problems may demand an integrated system of enforcement and harmonization, as advocated by some scholars and politicians, but a multilateral framework can be a good solution for developing countries.
[Factors Related to Successful Ventilator Weaning in Respiratory Care Center Patients: A Retrospective Chart Review Study].

BACKGROUND The subacute respiratory care unit is an important relay station where respirator-dependent patients may access subsequent chronic respiratory care. Although there is relatively little information in the literature regarding respirator disconnections in subacute respiratory care units, assisting patients to disconnect successfully from respirators is a primary challenge for care teams. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to understand respirator disconnections and the factors affecting these events in subacute respiratory care units to improve the effectiveness of ventilator weaning and reduce the burden on families and medical care providers. METHODS This was a retrospective chart review study. Patients admitted to the subacute respiratory care unit for respiratory training during the study period from January 2016 to December 2019 were recruited as subjects and the data were collected from the Chang Gung Medical Research Database`s health insurance secondary data using a self-made transcription form. RESULTS The ventilator weaning success rate of the subjects in this study was 78.5%. A bivariate analysis revealed that consciousness status; disease severity; rapid shallow breathing index; days of hospitalization in a respiratory care center; days of ventilator use; blood urea nitrogen, white blood cell, hemoglobin, and blood albumin levels; and mean caloric intake were each significantly associated with successful ventilator withdrawal. The predictors of ventilator weaning in respiratory care center patients were identified as disease severity, rapid shallow breathing index, days of ventilator use, white blood cell level, and hemoglobin level. CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Respirator-dependent patients should be evaluated and monitored as early as possible. Moreover, a ventilator weaning plan should be included as a regular testing and monitoring item. Also, a respirator removal program should be provided on a case-by-case basis. Individualized ventilator weaning programs may reduce the burden on families and medical care providers.
In Vivo Multi-Day Calcium Imaging of CA1 Hippocampus in Freely Moving Rats Reveals a High Preponderance of Place Cells with Consistent Place Fields

Calcium imaging using GCaMP indicators and miniature microscopes has been used to image cellular populations during long timescales and in different task phases, as well as to determine neuronal circuit topology and organization. Because the hippocampus (HPC) is essential for tasks of memory, spatial navigation, and learning, calcium imaging of large populations of HPC neurons can provide new insight on cell changes over time during these tasks. All reported HPC in vivo calcium imaging experiments have been done in mouse. However, rats have many behavioral and physiological experimental advantages over mice. In this paper, we present the first in vivo calcium imaging from CA1 hippocampus in freely moving rats. Using the UCLA Miniscope, we demonstrate that hundreds of cells can be visualized and held across weeks, and that calcium events in these cells are highly correlated with periods of movement. We show that an extremely large percent of cells recorded during recorded on a navigational task are place cells (77.3+-5.0%, surpassing the percent seen during mouse calcium imaging), and that these cells enable accurate decoding of animal position and can be held over days in a consistent spatial map. A detailed protocol, including notes on the numerous parameter changes needed to use calcium imaging in rats, is included, and implications of these advancements are discussed.
Geospatial Science and Technology for Understanding the Complexities of the Critical Zone

Abstract The Critical Zone is undergoing constant change due to climatic, lithospheric, and anthropogenic forcing factors. It is widely recognized that an integrated multidisciplinary approach to studying the Critical Zone is required to identify key variables, characterize process mechanics, study scale dependencies, and model various system dynamics. Geospatial technologies that include the fields of remote sensing, geomorphometry, and geocomputation will play an ever increasing role in studying the highly coupled complex systems of the Critical Zone. We provide fundamental background information on the role of geospatial technology for data collection, information extraction, and numerical modeling of landscape conditions; present a new spatio-temporal surface irradiance model, and highlight the use of a geocomputational approach that represents expert knowledge; integrates surface biophysical and topographic information, and provides a framework for studying landscape–subsurface relationships. Our results demonstrate the significance of geospatial technologies for the study and prediction of parameters and concepts that characterize the complexities of the Critical Zone.
Conformal Invariance, Unitarity and Two-Dimensional Critical Exponents

We show that conformai invariance and unitarity severely limit the possible values of critical exponents in two dimensional systems by finding the discrete series of unitarisable representations of the Virasoro algebra. The realization of conformai symmetry in a given system is parametrized by a real number c, the coefficient of the trace anomaly. For c<1 the only values allowed by unitarity are c=1–6/m(m+1), m=2,3,4 ⋯ . For each of these values of c unitarity determines a finite set of rational numbers that must contain all possible critical exponents. These finite sets account for the known critical exponents of the following two dimensional models: Ising(m=3), tricritical Ising(m=4), 3-state Potts(m=5), and tricritical 3-state Potts(m=6).
Extreme Poverty and Human Rights - A Mission Report on the United States

As the Independent Expert on the question of Human Rights and Extreme Poverty, for the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, I visited the United States of America from 24th October to 4th November 2005 and held meetings with people living in poverty, civil society organizations working for and with people living in poverty, as well as government officials in New York City; Immokalee in Florida; New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana; Jackson and the Delta region in Mississippi; Appalachia in Kentucky; and Washington, D.C. On the basis of these discussions and the materials submitted to me by all the participants and many studies on the subject of poverty in the U.S., I submitted a report to the Human Rights Commission on 17th March, 2006. After that, I was invited to the National Truth Commission, organised by Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, where a large number of activist organizations from different parts of the United States, presented the current status of living conditions and the nature of abject poverty of the various sections of the poor, living in America. Later another group, actively engaged in research on poverty in the U.S. met me in New York. All this enables me to update my earlier report, which was considered at a session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 27th and attended by all governments, a large number of NGO's and many international institutions, who participated vigorously in the discussion, calling for follow-up actions. As the international human rights community is increasingly engaged in discussions on issues of extreme poverty, centering around poverty in the US, it may be useful to put the arguments I raised in my earlier reports, up for wider consideration.
Bias/variance analysis for relational domains

Bias/variance analysis [1] is a useful tool for investigating the performance of machine learning algorithms. Conventional analysis decomposes loss into errors due to aspects of the learning process with an underlying assumption that there is no variation in model predictions due to the inference process used for prediction. This assumption is often violated when collective inference models are used for classification of relational data. In relational data, when there are dependencies among the class labels of related instances, the inferences about one object can be used to improve the inferences about other related objects. Collective inference techniques exploit these dependencies by jointly inferring the class labels in a test set. This approach can produce more accurate predictions than conditional inference for each instance independently, but it also introduces an additional source of error, both through the use of approximate inference algorithms and through variation in the availability of test set information. To date, the impact of inference error on relational model performance has not been investigated.
Solvation structure and transport properties of alkali cations in dimethyl sulfoxide under exogenous static electric fields

A combination of molecular dynamics simulations and pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is used to investigate the role of exogenous electric fields on the solvation structure and dynamics of alkali ions in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and as a function of temperature. Good agreement was obtained, for select alkali ions in the absence of an electric field, between calculated and experimentally determined diffusion coefficients normalized to that of pure DMSO. Our results indicate that temperatures of up to 400 K and external electric fields of up to 1 V nm−1 have minimal effects on the solvation structure of the smaller alkali cations (Li+ and Na+) due to their relatively strong ion-solvent interactions, whereas the solvation structures of the larger alkali cations (K+, Rb+, and Cs+) are significantly affected. In addition, although the DMSO exchange dynamics in the first solvation shell differ markedly for the two groups, the drift velocities and mobilities are not significantly affected by the nature of the alkali ion. Overall, although exogenous electric fields induce a drift displacement, their presence does not significantly affect the random diffusive displacement of the alkali ions in DMSO. System temperature is found to have generally a stronger influence on dynamical properties, such as the DMSO exchange dynamics and the ion mobilities, than the presence of electric fields.
Does Autism Diagnosis Age or Symptom Severity Differ Among Children According to Whether Assisted Reproductive Technology was Used to Achieve Pregnancy

Previous studies report associations between conception with assisted reproductive technology (ART) and autism. Whether these associations reflect an ascertainment or biologic effect is undetermined. We assessed diagnosis age and initial autism symptom severity among >30,000 children with autism from a linkage study of California Department of Developmental Services records, birth records, and the National ART Surveillance System. Median diagnosis age and symptom severity levels were significantly lower for ART-conceived than non-ART-conceived children. After adjustment for differences in the socio-demographic profiles of the two groups, the diagnosis age differentials were greatly attenuated and there were no differences in autism symptomatology. Thus, ascertainment issues related to SES, not ART per se, are likely the driving influence of the differences we initially observed.
Concept Mapping for Digital Forensic Investigations

Research in digital forensics has yet to focus on modeling case domain information involved in investigations. This paper shows how concept mapping can be used to create an excellent alternative to the popular checklist approach used in digital forensic investigations. Concept mapping offers several benefits, including creating replicable, reusable techniques, simplifying and guiding the investigative process, capturing and reusing specialized forensic knowledge, and supporting training and knowledge management activities. The paper also discusses how concept mapping can be used to integrate case-specific details throughout the investigative process.
Firm Characteristics Influencing Export Propensity: an Empirical Investigation By Industry Type

Abstract This study examines 20,204 manufacturers in a midwestern state to determine whether firm characteristics significantly influence the propensity to export. By examining census data, the researchers seek to address the speculation that the lack of representativeness of previous studies has skewed the interpretation of the influence of firm characteristics on export propensity. The variables examined are number of employees, total sales, years in business, international trade activity (exporter/nonexporter), primary industrial classification, and firm ownership. The results of the study indicate that the value of using firm characteristics to predict export behavior varies by industry.
How to Strum a Nanobar

A method for vibrating a nanocantilever may yield much more sensitive measurement tools and computers based on mechanical logic devices.
Characterization of Pyoverdin(pss), the Fluorescent Siderophore Produced by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae B301D produces a yellow-green, fluorescent siderophore, pyoverdinpss, in large quantities under iron-limited growth conditions. Maximum yields of pyoverdinpss of approximately 50 μg/ml occurred after 24 h of incubation in a deferrated synthetic medium. Increasing increments of Fe(III) coordinately repressed siderophore production until repression was complete at concentrations of ≥ 10 μM. Pyoverdinpss was isolated, chemically characterized, and found to resemble previously characterized pyoverdins in spectral traits (absorbance maxima of 365 and 410 nm for pyoverdinpss and its ferric chelate, respectively), size (1,175 molecular weight), and amino acid composition. Nevertheless, pyoverdinpss was structurally unique since amino acid analysis of reductive hydrolysates yielded β-hydroxyaspartic acid, serine, threonine, and lysine in a 2:2:2:1 ratio. Pyoverdinpss exhibited a relatively high affinity constant for Fe(III), with values of 1025 at pH 7.0 and 1032 at pH 10.0. Iron uptake assays with [55Fe]pyoverdinpss demonstrated rapid active uptake of 55Fe(III) by P. syringae pv. syringae B301D, while no uptake was observed for a mutant strain unable to acquire Fe(III) from ferric pyoverdinpss. The chemical and biological properties of pyoverdinpss are discussed in relation to virulence and iron uptake during plant pathogenesis.