cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Competition in phenotypically variable and uniform populations of the tadpole shrimp Triops longicaudatus (Notostraca: Triopsidae)

Life-history parameters (growth, reproduction, and survival) were measured from one genetically heterogeneous and three homogeneous populations of tadpole shrimp (Triops longicaudatus) raised under three competitive levels: 5, 10, and 16 shrimp per 38-1 aquarium. Comparisons were made between the homogeneous populations (three monomorphic selfing lines) and a heterogeneous population (a mixture of the three lines) to test for increased productivity in genetically variable populations, a prediction of the tangled bank hypothesis for a short-term advantage to sexual reproduction. In most comparisons, the mixture of inbred lines performed better than expected from their individual performances in pure cultures but did not outperform the best performing line in any comparison. Decomposition of the mixed culture's performance into performances of the component inbred lines showed that not all lines experienced release from competition in the mixed culture. No genotype X environment interaction was found for any of the three fitness correlates, indicating that all three lines performed similarly under the three competitive conditions. These results provide little support for the tangled bank hypothesis and suggest that the levels of heterogeneity necessary for detectable resource partitioning in these shrimp may involve factors not considered in this study.
Testicular blood flow and a study of the testicular venous to arterial transfer of radioactive krypton and testosterone in the rhesus monkey.

1. Testicular blood flow (ml. 100 g(-1).min(-1); mean +/- S.E. of the mean) measured in monkeys by (133)Xe clearance was 15.9 +/- 1.2 (twenty-six estimations on three monkeys; six testes) within 15 min of anaesthesia and 7.5 +/- 0.8 (twelve estimates; four monkeys, eight testes), after 1-2 hr of anaesthesia; and, when measured by (85)Kr clearance in the second hour of anaesthesia was 9.1 +/- 3.7 (seven estimates; four monkeys, four testes). Testicular temperature was 32.9 +/- 0.2 degrees C (mean +/- S.E. of mean) when deep body temperature was 37.2 +/- 0.2 degrees C.2. Blood flow in the caput epididymidis was 27.4 +/- 2.1 ml. 100 g(-1).min(-1) (mean +/- S.E. of mean; four estimates).3. Radioactivity accumulated in the ipsilateral testis and epididymis but not in the contralateral tissues, during the infusion of (85)Kr saline into the testicular veins.4. During [(3)H]testosterone infusions into the testicular veins, radioactivity was consistently higher in ipsilateral testicular arterial plasma than in plasma withdrawn simultaneously from the aorta in four of five experiments with no difference in one. After two such infusions, the radioactivity was up to 5 times greater in the ipsilateral testis and epididymis than in the contralateral tissues.5. During one infusion of [(125)I]bovine serum albumin into the testicular veins, there was no accumulation of radioactivity in the ipsilateral tissues.6. Testosterone concentrations (ng.ml(-1); mean +/- S.E. of mean) in plasma from seven anaesthetized monkeys which were sexually experienced were: testicular vein 53.22 +/- 8.03 (eight estimates); testicular artery, 4.58 +/- 0.94 (14); saphenous vein, 3.81 +/- 0.68 (14). The corresponding values from four sexually inexperienced monkeys were 25.27 +/- 2.11 (12); 2.89 +/- 1.99 (12); aorta 2.76 +/- 0.57 (12).7. The results are discussed as evidence for vascular exchange of molecules between the testicular veins and artery in the spermatic cord.
Listening to the patient: potential medical battery in oral intubation

Institute of Health Law Studies, California Western School of Law, San Diego, CA 92161, USA University of California San Diego School of Medicine, San Diego, CA 92161, USA San Diego Center for Patient Safety, San Diego, CA 92161, USA Department of Anesthesiology, Montefiore Medical Center-Weiler Division, Bronx, NY 10461, USA Department of Anesthesiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
Verifying programs that use causally-ordered message-passing

We give an operational model of causally-ordered message-passing primitives. Based on this model, we formulate a Hoare-style proof system for causally-ordered delivery. To illustrate the use of this proof system and to demonstrate the feasibility of applying invariant-based verification techniques to algorithms that depend on causally-ordered delivery, we verify an asynchronous variant of the distributed termination detection algorithm of Dijkstra, Feijen, and van Gasteren.
Matched false-belief performance during verbal and nonverbal interference.

Language has been shown to play a key role in the development of a child’s theory of mind, but its role in adult belief reasoning remains unclear. One recent study used verbal and nonverbal interference during a false-belief task to show that accurate belief reasoning in adults necessarily requires language (Newton & de Villiers, 2007). The strength of this inference depends on the cognitive processes that are matched between the verbal and nonverbal inference tasks. Here, we matched the two interference tasks in terms of their effects on spatial working memory. We found equal success on false-belief reasoning during both verbal and nonverbal interference, suggesting that language is not specifically necessary for adult theory of mind.
Observing Foreign Language Teaching: A New Method for Teachers, Researchers, and Supervisors

Numerous methods of evaluating language teaching and learning are in common use. One accurate method is direct classroom observation, the most widely used form of which is interaction analysis. Since interaction analysis and FLint have been found wanting (lack of reliability, observer bias, multiplicity of categories, cumbersome recording system), the time-interval recording system (a method employed in social science studies) is offered as a practical and reliable alternative. Features of this system include: describing behaviors to be observed, recording occurrences of behavior in a time interval (usually ten seconds), drawing up an observational code, assessing accuracy by deriving inter-observer reliabilities, plotting data collected on a progress chart, and interpreting findings. Teachers, supervisors, and researchers may then effect changes in teaching procedures and programs based on their analysis of classroom observations.
Shotgun Analysis of Rough-Type Lipopolysaccharides Using Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry.

Detailed structural characterization of intact rough-type lipopolysaccharides (R-LPS) was accomplished using a multi-stage mass spectrometry (MS3) strategy consisting of collision-induced dissociation (CID) followed by 193 ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) implemented on an Orbitrap Fusion mass spectrometer. Complex mixtures of R-LPS from either Escherichia coli or Salmonella enterica were directly infused into the mass spectrometer using static source nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI). An initial CID event performed on an R-LPS precursor produced spectra with abundant ions corresponding to the lipid A and core oligosaccharide (OS) substructures. Comparison of CID spectra of R-LPS ions with varying lipid A and core OS structures verifies that lipid A and core OS ions are consistently produced in high abundance. The resulting lipid A and core OS ions were subsequently activated by CID, high-energy collision-induced dissociation (HCD), or UVPD. For both the lipid A and core OS substructures, HCD and ...
Image Guidance in Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery

Surgeons deal with an unavoidable conflict on a daily basis. As physicians, they are bound by the Hippocratic oath to first avoid doing any harm to their patients. However, the very act of surgery implies an exposure of the internal anatomy of the patient and cannot be performed without inflicting harm to tissues superficial to the surgical target. To justify inflicting such harm, a surgeon must balance damage done by the possible good done for the patient and proceed only if the benefit exceeds the damage done. In effect, a surgeon can remain true to the oath if the patient experiences no net harm after the procedure has been performed. Viewed in this fashion, the external tissues are not only a barrier to exposure but also present the rate-limiting step for many interventions, as the harm done to these tissues during exposure may rule out the marginal benefit of many procedures.
A continuously tunable 95–138 MHz bandpass resonator with 40 dBm IIP3

This paper reports on the design of a frequency-tunable lumped-element bandpass resonator with wide tuning range (1.45∶1) and high third-order input intercept point (IIP3 > 40 dBm). The filter tuning is realized by means of a continuously variable capacitance that is formed by a hybrid combination of a back-to-back varactor pair—operated in the high DC bias region—and a switched network of static capacitors. An experimental prototype was designed, built and measured for proof-of-concept demonstration purposes. It exhibited a tunable frequency between 95 and 138 MHz (1.45∶1) and insertion loss between 1.83 and 2.25 dB. Within this frequency range, the in-band IIP3 was measured above 40 dBm.
Fringe Candidates in Electoral Competition

I study a one-dimensional Hotelling-Downs model of electoral competition in which unelectable fringe candidates with extreme policy platforms are an integral part of the political process. When the preferences of voters change over time, and there are restrictions on political parties changing their platforms, the main parties will not respond to changes in voter preferences unless threatened by fringe candidates. It is rational for fringe candidates to run once and increase the victory chances of the party furthest from them, in order to move party platforms and the subsequent laws towards the fringe candidate's preferences in the long term.
Effective Research Assistance and Scholarly Production in Legal Writing

Professors who teach legal research and writing (LRW) can face unique challenges in producing scholarship, and some of those challenges relate to research assistants (RAs). Unlike many casebook professors, we use research assistants both for help with our scholarship and for designing writing assignments and research exercises. Balancing these different demands can be difficult for students and professors. In addition, given the status inequities that have existed in the past, some LRW professors came of age without the benefit of research assistants. After years of doing everything themselves, they may struggle to find effective ways for research assistants to help. At the beginning of the summer of 2005, I arranged a roundtable discussion for faculty to share ideas about effective use of research assistants. Participants included LRW faculty and casebook faculty. Throughout the summer, I implemented a number of the suggestions shared in the roundtable. This essay reports on that experience and makes recommendations for others who need more effective ways to work with research assistants.
Cytogenetics of microbe-associated parthenogenesis and its consequences for gene flow in Trichogramma wasps.

Cytogenetics of microbe-associated parthenogenesis and its consequences for gene flow in Trichogramma wasps
Spectroscopy of Ga 6 5 , 6 7 , 6 9 by ( d , n ) Reaction

The $^{64,66,68}\mathrm{Zn} (d,n) ^{65,67,69}\mathrm{Ga}$ reactions have been studied by the neutron time-of-flight method. Absolute differential cross sections have been measured and have been analyzed in terms of the distorted-wave Born approximation. Spin and parity assignments for several levels are proposed on the basis of $l$ values and transition strengths. The experimental results for $^{67,69}\mathrm{Ga}$ are compared with existing theoretical calculations. Only limited agreement is found.
Intergovernmental Bargaining and Implementation of the Affordable Care Act: The Sources and Extent of State and Federal Government Leverage

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act offers an opportunity to analyze the sources and extent of state and federal government leverage in bargaining over the rollout of a federal program, in this case regarding the law’s insurance-exchange and Medicaid-expansion provisions. What stands out from this study is state officials’ ability to leverage their administrative capacity and policy expertise as well as their power to declined participation in federal programs in order to influence implementation of a major federal program, especially when the program depends on state participation to achieve key federal objectives, when state threats to decline participation are meaningful, and when state non-participation threatens the success of a signature item on a president’s policy agenda.
Change in strain types and drug-susceptibility of Shigella from 2004 to 2009 in Shenyang

Objective:To have a better understanding of the predominant strains of Shigella causing dysentery and their sensitivity to different drugs in Shenyang.So as to provide suggestion for shigellosis prevention and rational prescriptions.Methods: Detection according to theNation Project for Surveillance on Bacterial Dysentery was made.Results:During the 2004-2009 detect Shigellae infection,87 strains of Shigella infection was divided two groups,group B46 strains(52.87%),group D 41 strains(47.13%).Sh.Flexneri 1a and 2a were 65.22%.Drug sensitivity tests realed that Shigella were sensitive to ciprofloxacin(95.40%),cefotaxime(87.26%),gentamicin(69.00%) and l were resistant to ampicillin(90.80%),nalidixic acid(94.55%),tetracycline(96.55%),rifampicin(94.55%),compound Liguorice(89.65%).Conclusion: The prevailing pathogenic bacteria of bacterial dysentery were Sh.Flexneri and Sh.Sonne in Shenyang from 2004 to 2009,Sh.Sonne were ascendant trend,all of them showed resistant to commonly used antibiotics.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Heart Failure Readmissions and Mortality in a Large Municipal Healthcare System.

Abstract Objectives This study sought to determine whether racial and ethnic differences exist among patients with similar access to care. We examined outcomes after heart failure hospitalization within a large municipal health system. Background Racial and ethnic disparities in heart failure outcomes are present in administrative data, and one explanation is differential access to care. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of 8,532 hospitalizations of adults with heart failure at 11 hospitals in New York City from 2007 to 2010. Primary exposure was ethnicity and race, and outcomes were 30- and 90-day readmission and 30-day and 1-year mortality rates. Generalized estimating equations were used to test for associations between ethnicity and race and outcomes with covariate adjustment. Results Of the number of hospitalizations included, 4,305 (51%) were for blacks, 2,449 (29%) were for Hispanics, 1,494 (18%) were for whites, and 284 (3%) were for Asians. Compared to whites, blacks and Asians had lower 1-year mortality, with adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of 0.75 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.59 to 0.94) and 0.57 (95% CI: 0.38 to 0.85), respectively, and rates for Hispanics were not significantly different (aOR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.64 to 1.03). Hispanics had higher odds of readmission than whites (aOR: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.57) at 30 (aOR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.70) and 90 days. Blacks had higher odds of readmission than whites at 90 days (aOR:1.21; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.47). Conclusions Racial and ethnic differences in outcomes after heart failure hospitalization were present within a large municipal health system. Access to a municipal health system may not be sufficient to eliminate disparities in heart failure outcomes.
Role of Transferrin in Determining Internal Iron Distribution

The behavior in vivo of transferrin in loading and unloading iron from its two sites was examined in rats. Radioiron entering the plasma from the gastrointestinal tract in iron-deficient, normal and iron-loaded rats did not differ in its subsequent tissue distribution between erythroid marrow and liver of normal recipients from a second isotope added to the same plasma in vitro. Loading studies in vitro were then carried out employing a reticulocyte incubation model designed to place one isotope predominantly on one site of transferrin, more available to the erythron, and the second isotope on the other site, more available to the liver. In 15 groups of animals in which 3 different iron salts were employed to load transferrin with iron, the mean isotope ratio in the erythron was 1.03 (+/-0.06 SD) and the mean liver ratio was 0.75 (+/-0.21 SD). It was found that the incubation of plasma with reticulocytes resulted in contamination of the plasma by radioactive hemoglobin. After allowance was made for hepatic uptake of radiohemoglobin in the 13 groups in which proper correction could be made, the isotope ratio in the liver became 0.97 (+/-0.17 SD). It is concluded that iron atoms from the two sites of transferrin have similar tissue distributions in vivo in the experimental situations examined.
Tunable graphene-based mode converters and optical diodes

We introduce compact tunable spatial mode converters for parallel-plate waveguides consisting of two graphene monolayers operating in the mid-infrared wavelength range. We show that such structures can also be used to design graphene-based optical diodes.
Recognition memory is selectively impaired in adult rats exposed to binge-like doses of ethanol during early postnatal life

Abstract Exposure to alcohol in utero can induce a variety of physical and mental impairments, collectively known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). This study explores the persistent cognitive consequences of ethanol administration in rat pups over postnatal days (PD) 4–9, modeling human third trimester consumption. Between PD65-70, ethanol-exposed (5E) and control rats were evaluated in two variants of recognition memory, the spontaneous novel object recognition (NOR) task, using 20 and 240 min sample-to-test delays, and the associative object-in-context (OIC) task, using a 20 min delay. No treatment group differences were observed in object exploration during the sample session for any task. In the 20 min NOR test session the 5E rats explored the novel object significantly less than controls, relative to the total time exploring both objects. Postnatal ethanol exposure is hypothesized to impede object memory consolidation in the perirhinal cortex of 5E rats, hindering their ability to discriminate between familiar and novel objects at short delays. The 5E rats performed as well or better than control rats in the 240 min NOR and the 20 min OIC tasks, indicating developmental ethanol exposure selectively impairs the retention and expression of recognition memories in young adult rats.
What to do about Religion in Emerson’s Political Vision?

When our interpretations of Emerson's political thought include rather than dodge or defuse his religion, our accounts of his work are enhanced. Among other things, we stand to learn much about his contributions to the democracy theory of his day and of our own, and new and bright light is cast on Dewey's claim that 'Emerson is not only a philosopher, but that he is the Philosopher of Democracy.' I will highlight Emerson's early and late religiosity, mainly focusing on the Divinity School Address (1838) and Worship (1860). In these essays, we see an evolving, normative conception of religion in relation to democracy, or what I will call Emerson's spiritual democracy. I will identify two central and interrelated components of this Emersonian spiritual democracy, namely, self-reliance and work. These virtues belong to his conception of a democratic character and culture that is, to the identity of a democratic nation and its citizens. In particular, I will highlight what he called the democratic practice, 'work' - Emerson's an attempt to address the anomie and hardship that was brought on by rapid economic change.
How the Number of Layers and Relative Position Modulate the Interlayer Electron Transfer in π-Stacked 2D Materials

Understanding the interfacial electron transfer (IET) between 2D layers is central to technological applications. We present a first-principles study of the IET between a zinc phthalocyanine film and few-layer graphene by using our recent method for the calculation of electronic coupling in periodic systems. The ultimate goal is the development of a predictive in silico approach for designing new 2D materials. We find IET to be critically dependent on the number of layers and their stacking orientation. In agreement with experiment, IET to single-layer graphene is shown to be faster than that to double-layer graphene due to interference effects between layers. We predict that additional graphene layers increase the number of IET pathways, eventually leading to a faster rate. These results shed new light on the subtle interplay between structure and IET, which may lead to more effective “bottom up” design strategies for these materials.
Converging evidence for [coronal] underspecification in English-speaking adults.

Abstract The goal of this study was to test the predictions of the Featurally Underspecified Lexicon (FUL) theory by examining event-related potential (ERP) indices of phonological representation. Two English consonants differing in place of articulation were selected: [labial]/b/and [coronal]/d/. It was assumed that the phonological representation of/d/contained less distinctive feature information due to its [coronal] place of articulation, as compared to/b/. English-speaking adults were presented with two syllables,/bɑ/and/dɑ/, in an ERP oddball paradigm where both syllables served as the standard and deviant stimulus in opposite stimulus sets. Three types of analyses were conducted: traditional mean amplitude measurements, cluster-based permutation tests, and single-trial general linear model (GLM) analyses of group-level and single-subject data. The less specified/dɑ/deviant elicited a large MMN while no MMN was elicited by the more specified deviant/bɑ/. Additionally, the/dɑ/standard syllable elicited larger responses than did the/bɑ/standard, while deviant syllables did not differ. This implies that the MMN was driven by responses elicited by the standards rather than the deviants. At the single-subject level, not all participants demonstrated significant MMN responses, though all had measurable differences between the standard syllables. Thus, to continue to propose that [coronal] underspecification is a language universal phenomenon, ERP indices other than the MMN should be examined.
Skin-infiltrating, interleukin-22–producing T cells differentiate pediatric psoriasis from adult psoriasis

Background Evidence from adult psoriasis studies implicates an imbalance between regulatory and effector T cells, particularly T H -17–producing T cells, in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Little is known about the immunopathology of psoriasis in children. Objective We sought to functionally characterize the inflammatory cell profiles of psoriatic plaques from pediatric patients and compare them with healthy, age-matched controls and adult psoriasis patients. Methods Skin samples from pediatric psoriasis patients and healthy controls were analyzed by multiparameter flow cytometry to determine the dominant immune cell subsets present and cytokines produced. Results Lesional tissue from pediatric psoriasis patients had significantly increased interleukin (IL) 22 derived from CD4 + and CD8 + cells compared with the tissues from healthy pediatric controls and adult psoriasis patients. Tissue from pediatric psoriasis patients had significantly less elevation of IL-17 derived from CD4 + and CD8 + cells compared with the tissue from adult psoriasis patients. In contrast with the lesions from adult patients, lesional skin in pediatric patients with psoriasis did not have increases in regulatory T cells. Limitations This is a pilot study, thus the sample size is small. Conclusion Significant differences in IL-17 and IL-22 expression were observed in the pediatric psoriasis patients compared with pediatric healthy controls and adult psoriasis patients. IL-22 might be relevant in the pathogenesis of pediatric psoriasis and represents a potential treatment target unique to pediatric psoriasis.
Chapter 126 - Voltage-gated Ca 2+ Channels

Voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels are essential signal transducers, converting cell surface electrical signals to intracellular Ca 2+ transients that initiate many physiological and biochemical events. Recent research has defined their molecular properties, identified many genes that encode their subunits and provide diversity of function, and revealed their complex interaction with cellular regulatory pathways. Voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels mediate calcium entry into cells in response to membrane depolarization. Electrophysiological studies reveal different Ca 2+ currents designated L-, N-, P-, Q-, R-, and T-type. The high-voltage-activated Ca 2+ channels that have been characterized biochemically are complexes of a pore-forming α1 subunit of about 190 to 250 kDa, a transmembrane, disulfide-linked complex of α2 and δ subunits, an intracellular β subunit, and in some cases a transmembrane γ subunit. The distinct structures and patterns of regulation of three families of Ca 2+ channels provides a flexible array of Ca 2+ entry pathways in response to changes in membrane potential and a range of possibilities for regulation, of Ca 2+ entry by second messenger pathways and interacting proteins. Further work on this protein family will give essential insights into cellular signaling and its dysfunction in diseases as diverse as epilepsy, migraine, cardiac arrhythmia, hypertension, and diabetes.
Adjusting for Credit and Debt Value: CVA and DVA

Chapter 4 presents the CVA and DVA adjustments reflecting in the market value of a derivative or a portfolio of derivatives the expected cost of the counterparty’s default (CVA) and, symmetrically, the expected benefit of one’s own default (DVA). The Chapter presents formulae for the CVA and DVA metrics, with or without collateral posting, with or without credit risk on collateral posted. The Chapter presents formulae that relate the CVA and DVA to the credit spreads of the two counterparties to a portfolio of derivatives. The last section provides a proof of these formulae in a canonic continuous-time, risk neutral derivative market framework.
A Behavioral Approach to the Hospital Treatment of Adolescents

The presenting problems of adolescence may be considered in three categories: behavior against the community (crime), behavior against the self (drug abuse, suicide), and withdrawal from the community (schizophrenic decompensation). Many of these problems reflect patterns of behavioral excesses or deficit, and are amenable to behavioral techniques which can be implemented in the context of individual, group, and family therapy in the hospital setting.
Benefits and Challenges from Parallel Processing: The View from NCAR

In the 1990s, supercomputing and parallel processing are expected to be synonymous. Consequently, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is taking steps to encourage scientists to experiment with and use parallel processing in both shared- and distributed-memory systems. This exercise has already yielded significant new capability in global ocean modeling. Probably the area of greatest challenge in parallel processing is to formulate models and devise algorithms such that they contain a high degree of concurrency.
Dethiolation of protein mixed-disulfides

13 INTRODUCTION 14 MATERIALS AND METHODS 15 RESULTS 19 DISCUSSION 23 REFERENCES 26 2. DETfflOLATION OF S-GLUTATfflOLATED PROTEINS BY GLUTATfflONE (GSH) ABSTRACT 46 INTRODUCTION 4746 INTRODUCTION 47 MATERIALS AND METHODS 48 RESULTS 50 DISCUSSION 53
Respiratory issues in aeromedical patient transport

Respiratory considerations in aeromedically evacuated patients are the cornerstone of safe, successful transport. Maintenance of the ABCs and ongoing resuscitation including pulmonary/ventilator stabilization and management en route are paramount. All of these goals are predicated on a well-developed understanding of hypobaric pulmonary physiology and hypobaric effects on medical devices, a solid grasp of the inherent limits of an aeromedical environment, and the resolute accomplishment of both initial and follow-up team member training.
Statistical Intervals for a Normal Population, Part II. Formulas, Assumptions, Some Derivations

The first part of this article, which was published in the July 1970 issue of the Journal of Quality Technology, described different types of confidence intervals, tolerance intervals, and prediction intervals; provided factors for constructing such int..
A High Definition Noninvasive Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation System for Cortical Control of Combinatorial Rotary Hand Movements in a Human With Tetraplegia

Objective : Paralysis resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI) can have a devastating effect on multiple arm and hand motor functions. Rotary hand movements, such as supination and pronation, are commonly impaired by upper extremity paralysis, and are essential for many activities of daily living. In this proof-of-concept study, we utilize a neural bypass system (NBS) to decode motor intention from motor cortex to control combinatorial rotary hand movements elicited through stimulation of the arm muscles, effectively bypassing the SCI of the study participant. We describe the NBS system architecture and design that enabled this functionality. Methods : The NBS consists of three main functional components: 1) implanted intracortical microelectrode array, 2) neural data processing using a computer, and, 3) a noninvasive neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) system. Results : We address previous limitations of the NBS, and confirm the enhanced capability of the NBS to enable, in real-time, combinatorial hand rotary motor functions during a functionally relevant object manipulation task. Conclusion : This enhanced capability was enabled by accurate decoding of multiple movement intentions from the participant's motor cortex, interleaving NMES patterns to combine hand movements, and dynamically switching between NMES patterns to adjust for hand position changes during movement. Significance : These results have implications for enabling complex rotary hand functions in sequence with other functionally relevant movements for patients suffering from SCI, stroke, and other sensorimotor dysfunctions.
Zero-shot Learning of Classifiers from Natural Language Quantification

Humans can efficiently learn new concepts using language. We present a framework through which a set of explanations of a concept can be used to learn a classifier without access to any labeled examples. We use semantic parsing to map explanations to probabilistic assertions grounded in latent class labels and observed attributes of unlabeled data, and leverage the differential semantics of linguistic quantifiers (e.g., ‘usually’ vs ‘always’) to drive model training. Experiments on three domains show that the learned classifiers outperform previous approaches for learning with limited data, and are comparable with fully supervised classifiers trained from a small number of labeled examples.
Molecular identification of Botryosphaeria dothidea as a fungal associate of the gall midge Asphondylia prosopidis on mesquite in the United States

The gall midge, Asphondylia prosopidis Cockerell, is considered a potential biological control agent for invasive mesquite (Prosopis species) populations in South Africa. Asphondylia species induce galls on mesquite plants by inserting an egg into a bud, and also carry conidia of specific fungal associates in their mycangia that are transferred into the galls. However, fungal associates have not been characterized in flower bud galls formed by A. prosopidis on mesquite. It is essential to identify the fungal associates in the galls formed on natural populations of mesquite prior to host specificity testing. In this study, we showed that Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug. ex Fr.) Ces. & De Not. is the fungal associate in the flower bud galls on mesquite induced by A. prosopidis in New Mexico by characterization of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Further, isolates of B. dothidea in A. prosopidis galls formed on mesquite were genetically identical to isolates of B. dothidea carried by other Asphondylia species, particularly on the confamilial Acacia species in South Africa. Our result suggests that A. prosopidis is safe to utilize as a biological control agent for mesquite, if A. prosopidis shows a narrow host range in the pre-release risk assessment, since B. dothidea appears to be ubiquitous. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the association between Asphondylia species and B. dothidea in the United States. We anticipate that A. prosopidis will associate with indigenous B. dothidea in South Africa.
Non-equilibrium thermal transport and entropy analyses in rarefied cavity flows

Thermal transport in rarefied flows far removed from thermodynamic equilibrium is investigated using kinetic-theory-based numerical simulations. Two numerical schemes – unified gas kinetic scheme (UGKS) and direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) – are employed to simulate transport at different degrees of rarefaction. Lid-driven cavity flow simulations of argon gas are performed over a range of Knudsen numbers, Mach numbers and cavity shapes. Thermal transport is then characterized as a function of lid Mach number and Knudsen number for different cavity shapes. Vast deviations from the Fourier law – including thermal transport aligned along the direction of temperature gradient – are observed. Entropy implications are examined using Sackur–Tetrode and Boltzmann -theorem formulations. At low Knudsen and Mach numbers, thermal transport is shown to be amenable to both entropy formulations. However, beyond moderate Knudsen and Mach numbers, thermal transport complies only with the Boltzmann -theorem entropy statement. Two extended thermodynamic models are compared against simulation data and found to account for some of the observed non-equilibrium behaviour.
How Should Mechanical Circulatory Support Be Deactivated for Patients With Depression at the End of Life

Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) is an increasingly frequent treatment option for managing end-stage heart failure. Devices are implanted either as destination therapy or as bridge to transplant. Patients undergoing this treatment can experience significant symptoms of depression in addition to stresses associated with chronic illness. After implantation
Combined effect of shear stress and moderate electric field on the inactivation of Escherichia coli K12 in apple juice

Abstract The effectiveness of combined shear stress (SS) and moderate electric field (MEF) on the inactivation of Escherichia coli K12 in apple juice was investigated. Inoculated samples were treated at two temperatures (40 °C and 50 °C) for various times (up to 30 min) by this combined treatment (shear rate: 151.5–2879 s-1; electric field strength: 0–120 V/cm). Bacterial reduction resulting from shear and MEF combination was significantly different (p
Machine Learning in PET: From Photon Detection to Quantitative Image Reconstruction

Machine learning has found unique applications in nuclear medicine from photon detection to quantitative image reconstruction. Although there have been impressive strides in detector development for time-of-flight positron emission tomography (PET), most detectors still make use of simple signal processing methods to extract the time and position information from the detector signals. Now, with the availability of fast waveform digitizers, machine learning techniques have been applied to estimate the position and arrival time of high-energy photons. In quantitative image reconstruction, machine learning has been used to estimate various corrections factors, including scattered events and attenuation images, as well as to reduce statistical noise in reconstructed images. Here, machine learning either provides a faster alternative to an existing time-consuming computation, such as in the case of scatter estimation, or creates a data-driven approach to map an implicitly defined function, such as in the case of estimating the attenuation map for PET/MR scans. In this article, we will review the above-mentioned applications of machine learning in nuclear medicine.
Granulocyte-Derived Cationic Peptides (GDCPs) Present in Leucophoresis Products Enhance Homing of Hematopoietic Stem Cells (HSCs) to SDF-1 Gradient; Potential Implications for Accelerated Recovery of Hematopoiesis After Transplantation of Mobilized Peripheral Blood Stem Cells (PBSC).

Abstract 371 Current strategies to accelerate hematopoietic reconstitution after transplantation, include transplantation of greater numbers of HSC or ex vivo expansion of harvested HSC before transplant. However, the number of HSC availabel for allogeneic or autologous transplantation can be low (e.g., umbilical cord blood, poor mobilizers) and strategies to expand HSC and maintain equivalent engraftment capability ex vivo are limited. We reported that some compounds present in leucopheresis products [(e.g., platelet-derived microparticles ( Blood 2001, 98: 3143)] and some complement cascade cleavage fragments, e.g., anaphylatoxin C3a ( Blood 2005, 101, 3784), enhance the homing responses of HSC to SDF-1 gradient. We recently noted that small cationic peptides released from activated granulocytes (beta2-defensin and cathelicidin) positively prime responsiveness of murine and human HSC to SDF-1 gradient ( Leukemia 2009; in press ). Accordingly, both compounds enhanced transwell migration of HSC to low threshold doses of SDF-1. This phenomenon was not receptor-dependent, as agonists of membrane receptors that may bind beta2-defensin (FPRL-1), cathelicidin (CCR6) - FPRL-1 agonist, and MIP-3alpha, respectively, did not show similar priming effects. This could be explained by affected distribution of membrane lipids by cationic peptides. In support of this notion, an inhibitor of cell membrane raft formation (methyl-b-cyclodextran) inhibited the priming effect of both compounds, indicating this effect is dependent on CXCR4 incorporation into lipid rafts. Direct confocal analysis of CXCR4 and lipid raft colocalization in the presence or absence of cationic peptides confirmed these findings. Because leucopheresis products are enriched in activated granulocytes that release beta2-defensin and cathelicidin, we tested whether this may explain why mobilized peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) engraft faster compared to HSC isolated directly from bone marrow (BM) in a murine BM transplant model. Accordingly, syngeneic BMMNCs were exposed ex vivo to beta2-defensin or cathelicidin for 30 minutes and subsequently transplanted into lethally irradiated recipients. We noted that animals transplanted with BM cells primed by those cationic peptides showed accelerated recovery of platelets and neutrophils by ∼3-5 days compared to unprimed control cells. We envision that small cationic peptides, which primarily possess antimicrobial functions and are harmless to mammalian cells, could be clinically applied to prime human HSC before transplantation. This novel approach would be particularly important in cord blood transplantation, where the number of HSC availabel for transplantation is usually limited. We postulate that this promising strategy warrants further investigations. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Augmented Reality und Virtual Reality im Premium- und Luxus-Retail

Angetrieben durch Fortschritte im Bereich von Hard- und Software hat auch der Einsatz von Augmented Reality (AR) und Virtual Reality (VR) in den letzten Jahren stark zugenommen. Insbesondere in Marketing und Vertrieb ergeben sich interessante Einsatzfelder dieser Technologien. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht Einsatzfelder, aber auch Kundenerwartungen am Beispiel des Premium- und Luxus-Retail durch Experteninterviews und durch eine Online-Befragung von 399 Kunden. Es wird deutlich, dass der Kundennutzen eine wesentliche Rolle fur die Akzeptanz von AR und VR spielt, und dass die Unterstutzung der Vorstellungskraft und die Interaktion wesentliche Nutzenerwartungen sind. Diese unterscheiden sich vor allem im Hinblick auf personliche Interessen und weniger im Hinblick auf soziodemografische Kriterien. Personliche Interessen sind also eine relevante Grundlage zur Zielgruppendefinition. Vielversprechende Anwendungen sind insbesondere die virtuelle Darstellung von Produkten zuhause und Erlebnis-Apps. Anbieter sollten aber den Return on Investment (ROI) im Auge behalten und uber den Kundennuten langfristige Wettbewerbsvorteile aufbauen, anstatt in Aktionismus zu verfallen.
Evaluating Peat Substrates Amended with Pine Wood Fiber for Nitrogen Immobilization and Effects on Plant Performance with Container-grown Petunia

Pine (Pinus sp.) wood products have potential to immobilize fertilizer nitrogen (N) and influence plant growth when used in soilless substrates for the production of containerized floriculture crops. Peat substrate was amended with (by volume) 30% pine wood fiber (peat:fiber) during a production phase with fertigation and a simulated consumer retail phase with clear-water irrigation using container-grown ‘Supertunia Vista Bubblegum’ petunia (Petunia ×hybrida). The objective was to evaluate substrate effects on substrate and plant tissue nutrient level and plant growth, with an emphasis on evaluating N immobilization from wood product amendments. Substrates consisting of peat amended with hammer-milled pine wood (peat:wood) or coconut (Cocos nucifera) coir (peat:coir) were used for comparison, and a 100% peat substrate (peat) served as a control. In Expt. 1, amending peat with pine wood fiber had no effect on leaf SPAD chlorophyll index, shoot growth, plant height and width, substrate N, or percent shoot tissue N at the end-of-production. In Expt. 2, plants grown in peat:fiber had reduced flower number, plant height and width, and shoot growth compared with plants grown in the 100% peat control. However, petunia grown in peat:fiber substrates maintained dark-green foliage with high leaf SPAD chlorophyll index values (≥44.4) and ≥45 flowers/plant, and therefore were considered marketable plants. During the production phase in both Expts. 1 and 2, N concentrations remained within the target range for petunia in both the shoot tissue and root-zone for all substrates. In addition, there was no statistical evidence of N immobilization for any substrate blend for either of the N drawdown procedures. In both Expts. 1 and 2, root-zone nutrients became depleted during the consumer phase when irrigation was with clear water (no fertilizer), and petunia developed uniform symptoms of leaf chlorosis and N deficiency. Results of this study indicate that peat amended with 30% pine wood fiber, hammer-milled pine wood, and coconut can be used for production of containerized petunia with minimal effects on plant growth or need to adjust the fertilizer program. However, increasing pine wood to >30% of the substrate volume may require growers to increase fertilization and adjust irrigation practices to compensate for greater risk of N immobilization and changes in substrate physical properties.
Visual Agnosia in Nabokov: When One of the Senses Can’t Make Sense

Nabokov’s fiction often elicits in readers a vicarious experience of visual agnosia, a neurological disorder in which one does not recognize objects as familiar or coherent visual shapes. People with the disorder cannot perceive what they are looking at; although their eyes see the image, their brains misinterpret it. Because visual agnosia results from injury to different areas of the brain, it manifests in different ways, including difficulties with comprehending faces (prosopagnosia); colors (color agnosia); relationships among objects (simultagnosia); objects that are partly obscured (visual object agnosia); and words as objects (alexia). Nabokov duplicates the effects of these distorted perceptions in his novels, especially in Laughter in the Dark, The Enchanter, and Lolita. Presumably, none of his characters has suffered the neurological damage that would produce such symptoms. Instead, each instance of visual agnosia, cunningly evoked by the novel’s narration, exemplifies the protagonist’s flawed thinking and mistaken conceptions of others.
Are Some Crops Synergistic to Following Crops

Because of improved water management, producers in the Great Plains are diversifying their crop rotations. A benefit of crop diversity is that some crop sequences can increase grain yields. Along with yield benefits, we also have noted that water use efficiency (WUE) of some crops can be improved by preceding crops. For example, WUE of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is improved if corn (Zea mays L.) is included in the rotation. If crops respond favorably to rotation, they either increase plant capacity and resource use or improve resource use efficiency (synergism). We suggest that the soil environment remaining after some crops, such as corn or legumes, synergistically improves growth efficiency of following crops. However, synergism appears to be specific between crops. We also suggest that synergism among crops would be assessed most accurately in long-term cropping systems studies.
Repurposing TREC-COVID Annotations to Answer the Key Questions of CORD-19

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and to date has infected over 14M people worldwide, resulting in over 750,000 deaths. On March 10, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global pandemic. Many academics and researchers, not restricted to the medical domain, began publishing papers describing new discoveries. However, with the large influx of publications, it was hard for these individuals to sift through the large amount of data and make sense of the findings. The White House and a group of industry research labs, lead by the Allen Institute for AI, aggregated over 200,000 journal articles related to a variety of coronaviruses and tasked the community with answering key questions related to the corpus, releasing the dataset as CORD-19. The information retrieval (IR) community repurposed the journal articles within CORD-19 to more closely resemble a classic TREC-style competition, dubbed TREC-COVID, with human annotators providing relevancy judgements at the end of each round of competition. Seeing the related endeavors, we set out to repurpose the relevancy annotations for TREC-COVID tasks to identify journal articles in CORD-19 which are relevant to the key questions posed by CORD-19. A BioBERT model trained on this repurposed dataset prescribes relevancy annotations for CORD-19 tasks that have an overall agreement of 0.4430 with majority human annotations in terms of Cohen's kappa. We present the methodology used to construct the new dataset and describe the decision process used throughout.
Managerial Ownership, Method of Payment for Acquisitions, and Executive Job Retention

I hypothesize that corporate control considerations determine the choice of financing over a middle range of ownership that excludes very high and very low levels ownership. Target managers who value control and wish to maintain control prefer stocks which increase their chances of retaining control after the merger, while acquiring managers who value control prefer cash rather than stocks which dilute their ownership and increase the risk of losing control. I find that increases in ownership of target managers and decreases in ownership of acquiring managers lead to an increase in the likelihood of stock financing over a middle range of ownership only. Market evidence suggests that shareholders benefit most when acquiring managers with high ownership use cash or a mix of cash and stocks to acquire targets with low managerial ownership. Acquiring shareholders lose when stocks are used to finance mergers, irrespective of ownership levels.