cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An economic comparison of alternative and traditional cropping systems in the northern Great Plains, USA

Current production practices in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota involve use of extensive tillage and/or herbicides to control weeds. Given the erosion potential, environmental concerns associated with herbicides, and herbicide-resistant weeds, alternative cropping systems that mitigate these problems need to be assessed economically. Furthermore, the role that government commodity programs play in the adoption of more ecologically friendly cropping systems needs to be determined. We evaluated 8 years of yield data (1994–2001) from field plots near Fargo, North Dakota, to compare the economics of two alternative cropping systems, reduced-input (RI) and no-till (NT), to a conventional tillage (CT) cropping system. The RI system relies on a more diverse rotation of soybean (SB), spring wheat (SW), sweet clover (SC) and rye, and uses fewer herbicide and fertilizer inputs than CT or NT. Both NT and CT systems rotate SB and SW. We found that CT returns averaged over $18 ha−1 and break-even yields by 0.44 and 0.52 MT ha−1 for RI to compare with NT and CT, respectively. These results indicate that CT management offers greater economic return than either RI or NT and that government program payments impede adoption of more environmentally friendly cropping systems in the northern Great Plains.
Aggression, containment, and treatment enactments in the psychodynamics of limit setting.

Abstract Limit setting has an important role in psychotherapeutic treatment. Despite this, the psychodynamics of limit setting have been a largely neglected topic in the literature. This article will present a theoretical discussion on the psychodynamics of limit setting particularly as it relates to the parent-child and the therapist-patient relationship. The central roles of aggression and impulse containment will be reviewed along with an overview of the relationship between limit setting and projective identification. Potential enactments that occur during the treatment of limit testing patients will be examined. Case material of the treatment of a child with a disruptive behavior disorder will be used to elaborate the discussion.
Morphometry of equine neutrophils isolated at different temperatures.

Equine neutrophils were evaluated ultrastructurally and by morphometric analysis. Homogeneous populations of neutrophils were isolated from peripheral blood at 4° and 22°C by centrifugation on two sequential Ficoll-Hypaque density gradients. Isolation procedures at both temperatures resulted in neutrophil degranulation but not cell swelling. Degranulation was more extensive in cells isolated at 22°C. Isolation temperature affected the neutrophil content of secondary granules more than primary granules. A granule similar to immature specific granules of human neutrophils was observed. Granules with a flocculent matrix were more frequent in cells processed at 22°C. These granules were considered to be involved in the degranulation process.
Scientific Management, Systematic Management, and Labor, 1880–1915

Offering a significant revision of prevailing views, Professor Nelson examines the actual implementation of scientific management in industry and finds that it bore only a superficial resemblance to the system described by Taylor and his disciples. Rather than a “partial solution of the labor problem,” the Taylor system was a comprehensive answer to the problems of factory coordination, a refinement and extension of the earlier ideas known as systematic management.
Mr Wang Gen's "Learn Principles" and Their Practical Significance

This thesis makes some comments on the "Learning Principles" of Mr. Wang Gen from five respects and unveils its modern meanings.
Cross-Sectional Study on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Control and Influencing Factors in Community Management in a District of Shanghai

[Objective] To evaluate the level of diabetic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in a community management system, and to identify potential influencing factors. [Methods] A cross-sectional study was conducted among 735 registered patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus from 10 communities of a district through a systematic sampling method. Questionnaires, physical examinations, and biochemical tests were performed to evaluate overall management level and glycemic control. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify potential influencing factors of glycemic control. [Results] The percentages of patients achieving ideal control were 23.7% for HbA1c(6.5%), 18.0% for blood pressure(130/80 mmHg), 34.0% for total cholesterol(TC), 57.1% for triglyceride(TC), 42.3% for high density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C), 25.0% for low density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C), 40.5% for body mass index(BMI), and 37.3% for waist-to-hip ratio(WHR). The results of K-W test showed that diabetes duration(H=27.976, P 0.05) and insulin use(H=10.953, P 0.05) were associated with glycemic control. Adjusted for confounders such as gender, age, duration, and drug use, the results of multivariate analysis showed BMI(aOR=1.437, 95%CI: 1.002-2.060), WHR(aOR=1.417, 95%CI: 1.031-1.948), the time length of follow-up(aOR=1.016, 95%CI: 1.007-1.025), and the normalization of follow-up(aOR=0.107, 95%CI: 0.074-0.153) were the potential influencing factors. [Conclusion] Among the patients with type 2 diabetes in the community management system, the control levels of hyperglycaemia, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia are not satisfactory. Factors that may influence glycemic control include duration, insulin use, BMI, WHR, and normalization of follow-up.
African American race associated with body image dissatisfaction among patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objectives Studies have shown a high degree of body image dissatisfaction among patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). We aimed to identify demographic and phenotypic characteristics that correlate with body image dissatisfaction. Methods Ninety-eight patients with SSc were recruited from Georgetown University Medical Center 2003-2004. Anonymous surveys collected demographic information (age, race, gender, duration/type of SSc) and assessed degree of body image dissatisfaction on a scale of 0-3 in relation to phenotypic features of SSc (hand contractures, finger ulcers, pigmentation changes, lip wrinkling/thinning, telangiectasias). A composite total distress score was derived. Parametric and nonparametric T tests were used to compare groups. Results Of 98 patients, 86 were female and 12 male. The majority of patients were 30-60 years old. The sample was 62% Caucasian, 27% African American, and the rest identified as "other". Twenty-seven percent had limited SSc, 48% diffuse, and 25% "other". African American patients had greater total body image dissatisfaction (p=0.002), specifically with respect to digital ulcers, pruritus, and pigmentation changes, than Caucasian participants. Patients with diffuse SSc had greater body image dissatisfaction than those with limited disease (p=0.002). Conclusions Our results suggest that African American patients with SSc and those with diffuse subtype suffer a higher degree of body image dissatisfaction. Screening for and addressing this issue in SSc patients is prudent. Further study is needed to understand racial differences in body image dissatisfaction among patients with SSc.
Tempo e performance

O ensaio trata das relacoes horizontais, dinâmicas e ambiguas entre tempo, performance e educacao. Investiga a relacao entre o tempo e o uso performativo da linguagem como referencia normativa para pensar o sentido do trabalho docente, chegando a ressignificacao de que um dos papeis promissores do professor e saber mediar linguisticamente o tempo. Dai que o uso performativo das palavras (Jurgen Habermas) e a reflexao dialogica (Paulo Freire) sao indispensaveis a justificacao normativa da acao docente, uma atitude provocativa e contraria a performance como producao e a propria didatizacao da performance. As perspectivas sinalizam que a performance como horizonte dialogico e aberto as potencialidades dos sujeitos nao deve ser tomada de forma tecnica e mercadologica, sob pena de sofrer o esvaziamento de sentido e da tensao constitutiva da comunicacao com a alteridade.
Intravenous Poison Hemlock Injection Resulting in Prolonged Respiratory Failure and Encephalopathy.

Background Poison hemlock (Conium maculatum) is a common plant with a significant toxicity. Data on this toxicity is sparse as there have been few case reports and never a documented poisoning after intravenous injection.
Trace element partitioning between plagioclase and silicate melt: The importance of temperature and plagioclase composition, with implications for terrestrial and lunar magmatism

Abstract Trace element partition coefficients between anorthitic plagioclase and basaltic melts ( D ) have been determined experimentally at 0.6 GPa and 1350–1400 °C in a lunar high-Ti picritic glass and a mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB). Plagioclases with 98 mol% and 86 mol% anorthite were produced in the lunar picritic melt and MORB melt, respectively. Based on the new experimental partitioning data and those selected from the literature, we developed parameterized lattice strain models for the partitioning of monovalent (Na, K, Li), divalent (Ca, Mg, Ba, Sr, Ra) and trivalent (REE and Y) cations between plagioclase and silicate melt. Through the new models we showed that the partitioning of these trace elements in plagioclase depends on temperature, pressure, and the abundances of Ca and Na in plagioclase. Particularly, Na content in plagioclase primarily controls divalent element partitioning, while temperature and Ca content in plagioclase are the dominant factors for REE partitioning in plagioclase. From these models, we also derived a new expression for D Ra / D Ba that can be used for Ra-Th dating on volcanic plagioclase phenocrysts, and a new model for plagioclase-melt noble gas partitioning. Applications of these partitioning models to fractional crystallization of MORB and lunar magma ocean (LMO) indicate that (1) the competing effect of temperature and plagioclase composition leads to small variations of plagioclase-melt D REE during MORB differentiation, but (2) the temperature effect is especially significant and can vary anorthite-melt D REE by over one order of magnitude during LMO solidification. Temperature and plagioclase composition have to be considered when modeling the chemical differentiation of mafic to felsic magmas involving plagioclase.
DNA sequence-dependent epigenetic inheritance of gene silencing and histone H3K9 methylation.

Epigenetic inheritance mechanisms play fundamental roles in maintaining cellular memory of gene expression states. In fission yeast, histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) is methylated (H3K9me) at heterochromatic domains. These domains can be epigenetically inherited when epe1+, encoding an enzyme that promotes H3K9 demethylation, is deleted. How native epigenetic states are stably maintained in epe1+ cells remains unknown. Here, we developed a system to examine the role of DNA sequence and genomic context in propagation of a cis-heritable H3K9me-dependent silenced state. We show that in epe1+ cells, in addition to sequence-independent mechanisms that propagate H3K9me, epigenetic inheritance of silencing requires binding sites for sequence-dependent activating transcription factor (ATF)–adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) response element–binding protein (CREB) family transcription factors within their native chromosomal context. Thus, specific DNA sequences contribute to cis inheritance of H3K9me and silent epigenetic states.
Unpacking the Ontogeny of Gesture Understanding: How Movement Becomes Meaningful Across Development.

Gestures, hand movements that accompany speech, affect children's learning, memory, and thinking (e.g., Goldin-Meadow, 2003). However, it remains unknown how children distinguish gestures from other kinds of actions. In this study, 4- to 9-year-olds (n = 339) and adults (n = 50) described one of three scenes: (a) an actor moving objects, (b) an actor moving her hands in the presence of objects (but not touching them), or (c) an actor moving her hands in the absence of objects. Participants across all ages were equally able to identify actions on objects as goal directed, but the ability to identify empty-handed movements as representational actions (i.e., as gestures) increased with age and was influenced by the presence of objects, especially in older children.
Patient life satisfaction and conscientiousness are associated with patient-reported physician satisfaction

Rationale, aims and objectives: The main purpose of our study was to determine whether patient personality and life satisfaction are associated with patient-reported physician satisfaction (PRPS). PRPS ratings are becoming increasingly important in public reporting and in healthcare policy relating to choice, quality and cost. Although some PRPS ratings adjust for patient sociodemographic characteristics and health status, most have not yet accounted for patient psychosocial factors. If psychosocial characteristics are associated with physician ratings, then websites, reports and payers that evaluate, rank, or pay physicians on the basis of PRPS can be misleading. Method: The Medicare Primary and Consumer-Directed Care Demonstration (1998-2000) included 19 counties in three U.S. states from which community-dwelling Medicare patients with disabilities and recent significant healthcare use were recruited. Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on data provided by 376 patients of 24 primary care physicians with at least 10 patients enrolled in the Medicare Demonstration. The mean patient age was 79.4 years and 71% were female. The key psychosocial analytic variables were 5 patient personality traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness) and patient-reported life satisfaction. The mean T-scores for 4 of the Big Five personality traits were similar to national norms. The outcome variable was a 5-item PRPS scale. A zero-inflated negative binomial regression model was employed. Results: Higher Conscientiousness (p=0.026) and greater (excellent-very good) life satisfaction (p=0.026) were associated with higher PRPS. Conclusions: Two patient factors not typically considered reflective of physician quality - life satisfaction and Conscientiousness - were associated with patients’ satisfaction with their physicians. Further research is needed to replicate and extend these findings and to explore how and why Conscientiousness and life satisfaction are related to PRPS ratings. Policymakers and payers should consider whether patient psychosocial characteristics should be used to adjust PRPS.
THz silicon systems on chip: EM-Circuits-Systems codesign approach

Silicon-based integrated circuit technology provides a great platform for enabling compact, efficient, low-power, chip-scale THz systems for new applications in sensing, imaging and communication beyond the niche scientific applications that the spectrum is currently known for. While this is partially facilitated by scaling that has pushed device cut-off frequencies (f t , f max ) up into the sub-THz and THz frequency range, the true paradigm shift in silicon integration is that it provides a unique opportunity to enable a new class of active THz electromagnetics realizable through a circuits-EM-systems co-design approach. At these frequencies, the chip dimension is several times larger than the THz wavelengths. This allows novel scattering and radiating surfaces that can be realized in a substrate that simultaneously supports a billion high-frequency transistors with the ability to generate, process and sense these signals. The ability to actively synthesize, manipulate and sense THz EM fields at deep subwavelength scales with circuits opens up a new design space for THz electronics. THz architectures emerging from this space are often multi-functional, reconfigurable and break many of the classical trade-offs in a partitioned design approach. This paper provides examples to illustrate this design methodology on THz spectrum sensing and synthesis and radiation of THz waveforms on-chip.
Autophagy: Suicide Prevention Hotline for the Gut Epithelium.

Autophagy is genetically associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, its role remains unclear in disease pathogenesis. Three recent studies reveal a novel cytoprotective role of autophagy during viral, bacterial, and protozoan-triggered IBD (Burger et al., 2018; Matsuzawa-Ishimoto et al., 2017; Pott et al., 2018).
Ecological Zonation in Lakes

Limnologists have divided lakes into zones that correspond to distinctive combinations of physical, chemical, and biotic characteristics. Although many zonation systems, including some that are complex, have been proposed over the history of limnology, only four relatively simple zonation systems are now in common use. The first is a horizontal zonation system that separates the nearshore environment (the littoral zone) from the offshore environment (the pelagic zone). The pelagic zone has phytoplankton, which are adapted to live suspended in the water column. The littoral zone also has phytoplankton, but in addition has aquatic vascular plants (macrophytes), which typically are rooted on the substrate, and films of attached algae (periphyton), which grow on the macrophyte surfaces or on the bottom of the littoral zone. A second zonation system has three vertical components: the water column, the lacustrine sediments, and the benthic zone, which occupies a few centimeters above and below the interface between the water column and the bottom of the lake. A third type of zonation recognizes the existence of three density-based layers in lakes during the warmest season of the year: epilimnion (warm), metalimnion (transitional), and hypolimnion (cool). This zonation disappears and reforms with the alternation between cool and warm seasons. The epilimnion and in some cases the metalimnion support photosynthesis, whereas the hypolimnion does not. Another vertical zonation system separates a water column into a euphotic zone, where light is sufficient for photosynthesis, and an aphotic zone, where it is not. The boundary between the two zones may fall within the epilimnion, at the bottom of the epilimnion, or even extend into the metalimnion, depending on the transparency of the lake. The four zonation systems allow limnologists to predict the distribution of ecosystem functions and community composition within lakes. Differences in relative sizes of individual zones in lakes correspond to functional differences among lakes.
Enacting Diversity in American Higher Education

This chapter examines the extent to which commitment to diversity is prevalent in contemporary American higher education. In human capital and social mobility theories, higher education plays a key role in empowering individuals, which in turn has led to the celebration of an expanded and inclusive higher education system. Accordingly, universities have changed their formal structures to promote diversity on campus. This study analyzes such change reflected in (1) the establishment of a diversity office and (2) the appointment of a senior-level diversity officer for a nationally representative sample of 236 universities, together with 28 elite universities. The findings provide little evidence of sectorial or regional difference. The highly elite institutions in the United States, however, have adopted these organizational features to a greater extent. (125 words)
Hope as a Democratic Civic Virtue

AbstractAgainst the backdrop of the recent emergence of disturbing currents of populism in several countries, including the United States, this article argues for a conception of hope as a democratic civic virtue. In section 1, it offers a general overview of hope and sketches an initial conception of hope as a democratic civic virtue. In section 2, the stage is set for further theorizing of this conception in the present American context. Drawing on the work of Ghassan Hage, the article makes the point that the United States is in the process of becoming a nation of worriers in part because of the failure of the government to distribute social hope. Section 3 fleshes out what hope as a democratic civic virtue could look like in the United States today. Section 4 concludes with brief comments about theorizing civic hope in the context of a modified pragmatism.
Correlation between current-voltage characteristics and DC field grading for dielectric liquid used in wet-mate DC connector

Subsea DC transmission and distribution system is a promising technology for powering subsea oil and gas fields with high power, long distance and ultra-deepwater depth. In subsea DC transmission and distribution, wet-mate (WM) connectors are considered as a challenging component due to the complicated electrical field distribution in the insulation system and harsh undersea wet-mating environmental conditions. In order to design reliable liquid insulation systems for subsea connectors, it is essential that the behavior of the DC-stressed liquid insulation be fully characterized for thorough understanding. In this paper, liquid conduction phenomena in synthetic ester oil are studied using the current-voltage characteristics and electric field distribution mapping based on the Kerr electro-optic effect. The correlations between the current-voltage characteristics and DC field grading among different electrode gaps and oil types were analyzed. The experimental results suggest that for applied voltage less than the saturation voltage (V s ), the conduction is dominated by ion dissociation in the bulk oil. Correspondingly, the liquid conduction is ohmic and with formation of heterocharges around the contacts giving symmetrical field distribution. At applied voltage higher than saturation voltage (V s ), this bulk conduction will transit to extrinsic dominated conduction with carriers injected through liquid-electrode interfaces. Under such carrier injection, the corresponding field distribution becomes asymmetrical. In addition to the laboratory experiments, computer simulations with an ion drift-diffusion conduction model taking into account electrode injection were carried out to validate the experimental field distribution at different electrode gaps. The effect of electrode material on the electric field distribution in the oil is investigated and implications for wet-mate connector design principles are presented.
Bacterial Growth in Saturated and Eutectic Solutions of Magnesium Sulphate and Potassium Chlorate with Relevance to Mars and the Ocean Worlds.

Liquid water on Mars might be created by deliquescence of hygroscopic salts or by permafrost melts, both potentially forming saturated brines. Freezing point depression allows these heavy brines to remain liquid in the near-surface environment for extended periods, perhaps as eutectic solutions, at the lowest temperatures and highest salt concentrations where ices and precipitates do not form. Perchlorate and chlorate salts and iron sulphate form brines with low eutectic temperatures and may persist under Mars near-surface conditions, but are chemically harsh at high concentrations and were expected to be incompatible with life, while brines of common sulphate salts on Mars may be more suitable for microbial growth. Microbial growth in saturated brines also may be relevant beyond Mars, to the oceans of Ceres, Enceladus, Europa and Pluto. We have previously shown strong growth of salinotolerant bacteria in media containing 2M MgSO4 heptahydrate (~50% w/v) at 25°C. Here we extend those observations to bacterial isolates from Basque Lake, BC and Hot Lake, WA, that grow well in saturated MgSO4 medium (67%) at 25°C and in 50% MgSO4 medium at 4°C (56% would be saturated). Psychrotolerant, salinotolerant microbes isolated from Basque Lake soils included Halomonas and Marinococcus, which were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and characterized phenetically. Eutectic liquid medium constituted by 43% MgSO4 at −4°C supported copious growth of these psychrotolerant Halomonas isolates, among others. Bacterial isolates also grew well at the eutectic for K chlorate (3% at −3°C). Survival and growth in eutectic solutions increases the possibility that microbes contaminating spacecraft pose a contamination risk to Mars. The cold brines of sulphate and (per)chlorate salts that may form at times on Mars through deliquescence or permafrost melt have now been demonstrated to be suitable microbial habitats, should appropriate nutrients be available and dormant cells become vegetative.
Estimating the sex buying behavior of adult males in the United States: List experiment and direct question estimates

Abstract Purpose Estimating the size of the sex buyer market in the United States has been stymied by methodological and sampling challenges. Given known methodological issues in self-reporting and the sensitive nature of purchasing sex, current research faces challenges in providing estimates of demand for purchasing sex. This study used a unique approach to estimate the prevalence of sex buying by men over the age of 18 in the United States. Methods This study employed a double list experiment and a direct ask question to a nationally representative sample of 2525 adult males to estimate the size of the sex buyer market in the United States. Results The double list experiment found the prevalence of sex purchasing is roughly 1 of every 50 adult males in the U.S. (2%) over the 3 years. The direct ask questions found that roughly 1 of every 25 males in the U.S. (4%) had purchased sex in the past 3 years. How they purchased and who they purchased sex from was also explored. A total of 80 respondents reported buying sex during the past 3 years. They spent an average of $120 for their most recent sex-buying encounter. Most sex buyers reported buying sex from an offline venue (street, bar, or massage parlor) and 81% purchased sex from a female. Applying the estimate of sex buying behavior to the general male population in the U.S. results in approximately 4 million men over the age of 18 purchasing sex the past 3 years. Conclusions The findings from both the double list experiment and the direct ask question indicate that buying sex is a relatively rare phenomenon among adult males, however, when accounting for multiple purchases and extrapolating to the entire population the estimated purchases is in the millions. Applying the double list experiment and a direct ask question to a nationally representative sample provides a new way to capture estimates while addressing some of the limitations of previous methods. Such findings have implications for both the criminal justice and public health sectors.
Rice performance following exposure to a sublethal concentration of paraquat applied alone or in mixture with common residual herbicides

In glyphosate-resistant (GR) cropping systems, paraquat applied in mixtures with residual herbicides prior to crop emergence offers an alternative herbicide mode of action (MOA) to aid in GR weed management. Rice is sensitive to off-target herbicide movement; however, severity of injury can vary with herbicide, rate, and formulation. Therefore, research was conducted from 2015 to 2017 in Stoneville, MS, to characterize rice response to a sublethal concentration of paraquat applied at 84 g ai ha–1 in combination with common residual herbicides. Paraquat plus metribuzin injured rice 68% to 69% 14 and 28 d after treatment (DAT), which was 10% to 13% greater than injury following paraquat alone or paraquat plus fomesafen. Pooled across metribuzin and fomesafen treatments, paraquat reduced rough rice yields 23%. Paraquat plus 10 different residual herbicides injured rice ≥51% 28 DAT and reduced rough rice yields ≥21%. These studies indicate a severe negative impact on rice growth and development following exposure to a sublethal concentration of paraquat alone or in mixture with common residual herbicides. Therefore, applications of paraquat plus residual herbicides to fields in proximity to rice should be avoided if conditions are conducive for off-target movement.
Toward a better understanding: An exploration of provider perceptions in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant adherence.

Pediatric HSCT patients endure complicated treatment regimens, lifestyle modifications, and a lifetime of long-term follow-up. Treatment adherence in this population is understudied and prevalence unknown. Providers (physicians and advanced practice nurses) in this study completed an online-structured questionnaire about definition, assessment, and perceived rates of adherence. Researchers' extracted 187 statements from participants' responses. The majority (n = 12, 71%) of providers reported adherence as a primary concern in outpatient HSCT. The major concern for providers was the potential of non-adherence to negatively affect outcomes. Providers also shared clinical examples of non-adherence. This study contributes to a better understanding of providers' perceptions of adherence within pediatric HSCT. Additional research is needed to describe, define, and improve adherence in pediatric HSCT to ultimately improve outcomes and quality of life for this vulnerable population.
A Neonatal Murine Escherichia coli Sepsis Model Demonstrates That Adjunctive Pentoxifylline Enhances the Ratio of Anti- vs. Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in Blood and Organ Tissues

Introduction: Neonatal sepsis triggers an inflammatory response that contributes to mortality and multiple organ injury. Pentoxifylline (PTX), a phosphodiesterase inhibitor which suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines, is a candidate adjunctive therapy for newborn sepsis. We hypothesized that administration of PTX in addition to antibiotics decreases live bacteria-induced pro-inflammatory and/or enhances anti-inflammatory cytokine production in septic neonatal mice without augmenting bacterial growth. Methods: Newborn C57BL/6J mice (< 24 h old) were injected intravenously with 105 colony forming units (CFUs)/g weight of a bioluminescent derivative of the encapsulated clinical isolate Escherichia coli O18:K1. Adequacy of intravenous injections was validated using in vivo bioluminescence imaging and Evans blue. Pups were treated with gentamicin (GENT), PTX, (GENT + PTX) or saline at 0, 1.5, or 4 h after sepsis initiation, and euthanized after an additional 4 h. CFUs and cytokines were measured from blood and homogenized organ tissues. Results: GENT alone inhibited bacterial growth, IL-1β, and IL-6 production in blood and organs. Addition of PTX to GENT profoundly inhibited E. coli-induced TNF and enhanced IL-10 in blood of newborn mice at all timepoints, whereas it primarily upregulated IL-10 production in peripheral organs (lung, spleen, brain). PTX, whether alone or adjunctive to GENT, did not increase microbial colony counts in blood and organs. Conclusion: Addition of PTX to antibiotics in murine neonatal E. coli sepsis promoted an anti-inflammatory milieu through inhibition of plasma TNF and enhancement of IL-10 production in plasma and organs without increasing bacterial growth, supporting its utility as a potential adjunctive agent for newborn sepsis.
The public administration imperative of applying an atrocity prevention lens to COVID-19 responses: Leveraging the global pandemic for positive structural change and greater social equity

The pandemic is already forcing many individuals, businesses, and governments to rethink much of what they do and how they do it. As such, it presents an opportunity for public administrators to re...
Spatiotemporal Contrast Sensitivity of Brown-Norway Rats under Scotopic and Photopic Illumination.

Abstract Rats are a popular animal model for vision research and for investigating disorders of the visual system. The study aimed to quantify the spatiotemporal contrast sensitivity function (CSF) of healthy adult Brown-Norway rats under scotopic and photopic illumination. Animals were trained to jump onto the one of two adjacent platforms behind which was displayed a sinewave grating pattern. Contrast thresholds of light- and dark-adapted rats were determined using a staircase method of adjustment for gratings that varied in spatial frequency (sf) and temporal frequency (tf) and ranged several log-units in mean luminance. Photopic CSFs showed strong bandpass spatial tuning, consistent with prior measurements, and weak bandpass temporal tuning. CSFs were parameterized by a truncated log-parabola model, yielding a peak contrast sensitivity of 52 ± 9, peak sf of 0.17 ± 0.05 cycles/degree, sf limit of 1.6 ± 0.3 cycles/degree, low sf attenuation of 85 ± 9%, peak tf of 1.7 ± 1.1 Hz, extrapolated tf limit of 166 ± 44 Hz, and low tf attenuation of 55 ± 12%. CSFs became more lowpass and decreased systematically in contrast sensitivity and spatiotemporal acuity as mean luminance was reduced. CSFs were also measured via the visual head-tracking reflex. Photopic contrast sensitivity, spatial acuity, and temporal acuity were all markedly below that of the grating detection task and optomotor findings for other rat strains. The CSF data provide a comprehensive and quantitative description of rat spatial and temporal vision and a benchmark for evaluating effects of ocular diseases on their ability to see.
Neuroendocrine effects of interferon-alpha in the rat.

We have previously found that recombinant human interferon-α2A (rHu-IFN- α2A) inhibits hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity following both peripheral and central administration. This effect is antagonized by µ-opioid receptor antagonists, suggesting transduction by this subtype of opioid receptors. We have now demonstrated that this effect is also observed with hybrid rHu-IFN-αA/D, rat kidney fibroblast-derived IFN-α, and recombinant rat IFN-α preparations. The inhibitory effects on HPA activity were observed after intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of rHu-IFN- α2A (103 U), rHu-IFN- αA/D (104 U), and of Rat-IFN-α (1-10 U). Similar effects were observed with intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) admini­stration of all four IFN-α preparations. No increases in plasma corticosterone concentrations were observed with doses of rHu-IFN-α A/D up to 106 U (i.p.) or 7X1 05 U (i.c.v.), but increases were found following i c v. administration of high doses of Rat-IFN-α (103 and 5X103 U). The inhibitory effects of all of the IFN-α preparations tested were antagonized by naloxone, but the stimulatory effects of 5X1 03 U Rat-IFN- α were not. Injections of rHu-IFN- α2A (104 U, i.p.) to urethane-anesthetized rats decreased the electrical activity of the majority of hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) neurons tested, including putative corticotropin-releasing fac­tor- (CRF)-secreting neurons antidromically identified as projecting to the median eminence. Similarly, iontophoretic application of rHu-IFN-α2A decreased the electrical activity of such cells. These electrophysiological data suggest that the decreases in HPA activity evoked by IFN-α are mediated, at least in part, by a rapid inhibitory effect at the level of the corticotropin­releasing factor-secreting neurons.
Readiness of Graduating General Surgery Residents to Perform Colorectal Procedures.

Objective In the United States, the majority of colorectal procedures are performed primarily by nonfellowship trained general surgeons. Given that surgical technique and experience affect patient outcomes, it is important that general surgeons are well-trained to perform colorectal surgery operations. In this study, we evaluated how prepared general surgery residents were to perform colorectal procedures upon graduating residency. Design This was a retrospective observational cohort study. Attending ratings of residents’ intraoperative performance were collected with the System for Improving and Measuring Procedural Learning application from 9/2015 to 9/2018. Descriptive analyses and Bayesian mixed models were used to determine a resident's probability of being deemed competent upon graduating residency, controlling for core vs. advanced procedure, case complexity, and rater and resident effects. Setting Faculty and residents within 30 teaching institutions within the Procedural Learning and Safety Collaborative (PLSC). Patients We sampled colorectal procedures and categorized them as core or advanced based on American Board of Surgery designations. Results A total of 564 residents were rated after 2102 operations (82% core, 18% advanced). A resident in their fifth year of clinical training had a 93% (95% CI 85-97%) adjusted probability of competent performance after a core procedure and 75% (95% CI 55-89%) after an advanced procedure. Conclusions General surgery residents were not universally deemed competent to perform colorectal procedures even at the end of residency. These gaps were more pronounced for advanced colorectal procedures. Current graduation requirements should be carefully reviewed to ensure residents are appropriately trained to meet the needs of their communities. Additionally, advanced training remains a critical resource for surgeons who will perform complex colorectal procedures in practice.
B-flow/spatiotemporal image correlation M-mode: a novel ultrasound method that detects a decrease in spiral artery luminal diameter in the first trimester in a primate model of impaired spiral artery remodeling

OBJECTIVE To determine if B-flow/spatio-temporal image correlation (STIC) M-mode ultrasonography detects a decrease in spiral artery luminal diameter and volume flow during the first trimester in a nonhuman primate model of impaired spiral artery remodeling (SAR). METHODS Baboons were treated with estradiol on days 25-59 of the first trimester of pregnancy (term = 184 days). Spiral artery luminal diameter and volume flow were quantified by B-flow/STIC M-mode ultrasonography on day 60 of gestation and results compared with the percentage of spiral arteries remodeled by extravillous trophoblasts as quantified ex vivo by immunohistochemical image analysis on placental basal plate tissue collected via cesarean section on day 60. RESULTS The percentage of spiral arteries greater than 50 μm in diameter remodeled by extravillous trophoblasts was 70% lower (P = 0.000001) in estradiol-treated baboons than in untreated animals. Spiral artery luminal diameter at systole and diastole, as quantified by B-flow/STIC M-mode in the first trimester of pregnancy, was 32% (P = 0.014) and 50% (P = 0.005) lower, respectively, and volume flow 85% lower (P = 0.014) in SAR suppressed baboons than in untreated animals. There was a significant (P < 0.05) correlation between the level of spiral artery luminal diameter as quantified by B-flow/STIC M-mode ultrasonography and level of SAR. CONCLUSION B-flow/STIC M-mode ultrasonography provides a novel real-time noninvasive method to detect a decrease in uterine spiral artery luminal diameter and volume flow during the cardiac cycle in the first trimester in a nonhuman primate model of defective SAR. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Diminished neuromuscular system adaptability following anterior cruciate ligament injury: Examination of knee muscle force variability and complexity.

Abstract Background Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries impair knee extensor and flexor force generation and may alter force variability. Fractal scaling exponents quantify signal complexity and reflect neuromuscular system adaptability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate force variability magnitudes and fractal scaling exponents in persons with ACL injuries. Methods Twenty-four individuals with ACL injury (time from injury: 55 ± 66 days) and 25 uninjured controls completed 10-s isometric knee extension and flexion contractions on a dynamometer at 10%, 25%, 35%, and 50% of peak force. The middle 8-s of data were used to calculate coefficients of variation and fractal exponents. Injured and non-injured limbs as well as dominant and non-dominant limbs in the control group were compared with ANOVA (P Findings Peak knee extensor and flexor forces were 19% and 10% lower in the injured limb of ACL-deficient participants (P = 0.014 and P = 0.036, respectively). Fractal scaling exponents of knee extensor force signals at 25% and 35% peak force in injured limbs were higher than in non-injured limbs (P = 0.008 and P = 0.027, respectively). The fractal scaling exponent of knee extensor force signals was greater in injured limbs of ACL-deficient participants than in dominant limbs of the control group at 35% peak force (P = 0.046). The magnitude of variability did not differ between limbs in ACL-deficient participants or between the injured and control groups. Interpretation Altered fractal exponents in knee extensor force signals represent sensorimotor and neuromuscular system deficits in individuals with ACL injury. Overall, fractal analysis identified both between-limb and between-group differences.
Selection of an Effective Architecture for a Precursor Mission to Callisto

SAE 2003-01-2430This paper delineates an efficient and effective potential precursor mission architecture for making critical science measurements, and establishing sufficient infrastructure to facilitate human landing on Callisto. For orbiting, landing, and exploring the Callisto surface, the study addresses the problem of determining the tradeoff space in terms of hardware choices: monolithic, a large number of small, dexterous robotic, and their judicious combinations.
Efficient outcomes in repeated games with limited monitoring

The folk theorem for infinitely repeated games with imperfect public monitoring implies that for a general class of games, nearly efficient payoffs can be supported in perfect public equilibrium (PPE), provided the monitoring structure is sufficiently rich and players are arbitrarily patient. This paper shows that for stage games in which actions of players interfere strongly with each other, exactly efficient payoffs can be supported in PPE even when the monitoring structure is not rich and players are not arbitrarily patient. The class of stage games we study abstracts many environments including resource sharing.
A multiagent Turing test based on a prediction market

In a Turing test, a single agent (the judge, generally a human) chats with two mysterious conversation partners [1]. One of the two mystery conversationalists is a human, while the other is a computer program (a chat bot, or just bot). The bot is the entity who is actually taking the test: If the judge cannot (accurately) tell which mystery conversation partner is the human and which is the bot, then the bot passes the test (and otherwise it fails). It is easy to see that a Turing test can also be run with only a single mysterious conversation partner (whom we will call the target). To do so, the test organizer chooses a human target with probability 50% and a computer target with probability 50%. Then, after a conversation with the target, the judge is asked to report how probable she thinks it is that the target is a human--if she reports 50% or higher when talking to a bot, then that bot passes the test.
Physiological studies of beta -galactosidase induction in Kluyveromyces lactis.

We examined the kinetics of β-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) induction in the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis. Enzyme activity began to increase 10 to 15 min, about 1/10 of a cell generation, after the addition of inducer and continued to increase linearly for from 7 to 9 cell generations before reaching a maximum, some 125- to 150-fold above the basal level of uninduced cells. Thereafter, as long as logarithmic growth was maintained, enzyme levels remained high, but enzyme levels dropped to a value only 5- to 10-fold above the basal level if cells entered stationary phase. Enzyme induction required the constant presence of inducer, since removal of inducer caused a reduction in enzyme level. Three nongratuitous inducers of β-galactosidase activity, lactose, galactose, and lactobionic acid, were identified. Several inducers of the lac operon of Escherichia coli, including methyl-, isopropyl- and phenyl-1-thio-β-d-galactoside, and thioallolactose did not induce β-galactosidase in K. lactis even though they entered the cell. The maximum rate of enzyme induction was only achieved with lactose concentrations of greater than 1 to 2 mM. The initial differential rate of β-galactosidase appearance after induction was reduced in medium containing glucose, indicating transient carbon catabolite repression. However, glucose did not exclude lactose from K. lactis, it did not cause permanent carbon catabolite repression of β-galactosidase synthesis, and it did not prevent lactose utilization. These three results are in direct contrast to those observed for lactose utilization in E. coli. Furthermore, these results, along with our observation that K. lactis grew slightly faster on lactose than on glucose, indicate that this organism has evolved an efficient system for utilizing lactose.
The Initiation of Heroism Science

In this article I describe the nascent field of heroism science, as part of a broader movement for the promotion of heroism in 21 century societies. I identify several markers of its emergence and offer reasons why the science is now coalescing into an established and autonomous field of inquiry. Moreover, I discuss the importance of maintaining a dynamic symbiotic relationship between the research and activist wings of the heroism movement. The aims and scope of heroism science are discussed, and reasons are offered for producing a science that is inclusive, transdisciplinary, and risktaking. I examine all these issues within the metaphorical framework of initiation.
Proceedings of the 1st ACM workshop on Story representation, mechanism and context

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the 1st ACM Workshop on Story Representation, Mechanism and Context. This workshop initiates what we hope will be a tradition of being the premier forum for presentation of research results and experience reports on leading edge issues of generative story systems, including models, applications, and theory. The mission of the workshop is to have traditional and multimedia narrative researchers and practitioners share novel approaches to story making that inform, inspire, and identify new directions for future research and development. The SRMC Workshop gives multimedia story researchers and practitioners a unique opportunity to share their perspectives with others interested in the various aspects of digital and traditional narrative arts. The call for papers attracted 20 submissions from Europe and the United States. The program committee accepted 15 papers that cover a variety of topics, including dramatic representation methods, tools for expressive story writing and reflection, and understanding the aesthetics of narrative. In addition, the program includes oral story exercises designed to illustrate the depth and facility we have as human beings to create story from little starting material and a natural wealth of context. We hope that these proceedings will serve as a valuable reference for narrative researchers and developers.
Overview of the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument (DDMI) for the cyclone global navigation satellite systems mission (CYGNSS)

The CYGNSS satellite constellation consists of eight satellites equipped with GNSS bi-static radar receivers which map the ocean surface scattered signal power in the vicinity of the specular reflection point using time domain and Doppler frequency filters. The satellites orbit in the same plane at an altitude of 500 km and at a orbit inclination of 35 degrees. CYGNSS will act as a GNSS bi-static scatterometer capable of sensing sea level winds in tropical cyclones, including in high precipitation conditions. An overview of the GNSS remote sensing concept is included in this paper. Subsequently, an overview of the Delay Doppler Mapping Instrument (DDMI) carried by all of the CYGNSS observatories will be presented. The DDMI uses GPS forward scattered signals of opportunity to produce delay Doppler maps (DDMs) of the scattered signal delay and frequency spreading over the surface. This paper will conclude with results from preliminary laboratory testing of the CYGNSS instrument engineering models.