cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Mobility Two-Dimensional Electron Gas in Modulation-Doped Si/SiGe Heterostructures

We report record-high electron mobilities obtained in the Si/SiGe alloy system via single-junction n-type modulation-doped Si/Si0.7Ge0.9 heterostructurcs grown by the ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition technique. Peak electron mobilities as high as 1,800 cm2/Vs, 9,000 cm2/Vs and 19,000 cm2/Vs were measured at room temperature, 77K and 1.4K, respectively. These high mobilities resulted from excellent Si/SiGe interfacial properties by employing a compositional graded Si/SiGe superlattice prior to the growth of a thick S0.7Ge0.3 buffer, which brought about a dramatic reduction of the threading dislocation density in the active Si channel. Two thin phosphorous-doped layers were incorporated in the SiGe barrier and at its surface to supply electrons to the Si channel and to suppress the surface depletion, respectively. The transport properties of these heterostructurcs were determined to be those of a two dimensional electron gas at Si/SiGe heterointerfaces at low temperatures.
BGP routing changes: merging views from two ISPs

Large ISPs experience millions of BGP routing changes a day. In this paper, we discuss the impact of BGP routing changes on the flow of trafffic, summarizing and reconciling the results from six measurement studies of the Sprint and AT&T backbone networks.
Seismic Design Criteria for Slab-Column Connections

Two-way slabs without beams are popular floor systems because of their relatively simple formwork and the potential for shorter story heights. Earthquakes, however, have demonstrated that slab-column frames are vulnerable to brittle punching shear failures in the slab-column connection region and dropping of the slab, which are costly to repair. This paper focuses on the behavior and design of slab-column connections under combined gravity and lateral loading and reviews current design procedures, performance-based design approaches, and relevant experimental data. An equation relating the gravity shear ratio at a slab-column connection to drift capacity is presented. Finally, practical recommendations are provided for defining specific performance objectives.
Effects of temperature on biology and life table parameters of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Homoptera: Psyllidae)

Summary The development, survivorship, longevity, reproduction, and life table parameters of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama were evaluated at 10°C, 15°C, 20°C, 25°C, 28°C, 30°C and 33°C. The populations reared at 10°C and 33°C failed to develop. Between 15°C and 30°C, mean developmental period from egg to adult varied from 49.3 days at 15°C to 14.1 days at 28°C. The low-temperature developmental thresholds for 1st through 5th instars were estimated at 11.7°C, 10.7°C, 10.1°C, 10.5°C and 10.9°C, respectively. A modified Logan model was used to describe the relationship between developmental rate and temperature. The survival of the 3rd through 5th nymphal instars at 15–28°C was essentially the same. The mean longevity of females increased with decreasing temperature within 15–30°C. The maximal longevity of individual females was recorded 117, 60, 56, 52 and 51 days at 15°C, 20°C, 25°C, 28°C and 30°C, respectively. The average number of eggs produced per female significantly increased with increasing temperature and reached a maximum of 748.3 eggs at 28°C (P<0.001). The population reared at 28°C had the highest intrinsic rate of increased (0.199) and net reproductive rate (292.2); and the shortest population doubling time (3.5 days) and mean generation time (28.6 days) compared with populations reared at 15–25°C. The optimum range of temperatures for D. citri population growth was 25–28°C.
The Ghettoization of Quebec: Interprovincial Migration and Its Demographic Effects

Drawing upon the 1991 Statistics Canada Public Use Micro File (PUMF) this paper describes the nature of the interprovincial migration flows originating within Quebec and arriving in Quebec between 1986 and 1991. Both the overall population and specific personal attributes such as level of education mother tongue and age are considered in order to determine the demographic impacts of migration on the province of Quebec. Results suggest that migration flows into and out of the province continue a trend observed between 1976-81 and 1981-86 with an overall loss of population through migration. English speaking migrants represented a large proportion of the outmigrants and a small proportion of the inmigrants to Quebec. Quebec must rely upon return migrants as a source of population growth. (SUMMARY IN FRE) (EXCERPT)
In vivo bite and grip forces, morphology and prey-killing behavior of North American accipiters (Accipitridae) and falcons (Falconidae)

Raptors exhibit a diversity of strategies to procure their prey but ultimately kill using their beaks and/or talons. Thus, bite and grip forces are ecologically important variables that have direct survival implications. Whereas hawks rely primarily on their feet for killing prey, falcons tend to employ their beaks. Consequently, falcons are expected to achieve relatively greater bite forces, and hawks are expected to generate relatively greater grip forces. Force estimates predicted from musculoskeletal morphology in a previous study indicated that falcons (Falco spp.) possess greater jaw force capabilities than accipiters (Accipiter spp.) but there were no clear differences in predicted grip-force capacity outside of differences in scaling. The objective of this study was to complement those results with measurements of in vivo forces by inducing captive and wild accipiters and falcons to bite and grasp force transducers. Bite force increased isometrically in both groups whereas grip force tended toward positive allometry. After adjusting for body mass, falcons produced greater bite forces, and accipiters produced greater grip forces. Thus, previous anatomical estimates of forces predicted the expected direction and magnitude of differences in bite forces but the overall greater in vivo grip forces of accipiters deviated from the pattern obtained from biomechanical estimates. Although the scaling relationships were similar between data sets, forces generated by live birds were consistently lower than those predicted from biomechanics. Estimated and in vivo jaw and digital forces were nevertheless correlated, and therefore provide an important link between morphology and killing behavior in these raptors.
Global Origins of World War One. Part Two: A Chain of Revolutionary Events Across the World Island

El camino a la Gran Guerra se inicio con los alineamientos formados a causa de la contienda por las concesiones en el Oriente Lejano. La crisis mundial de 1904-1905 encuadro los alineamientos. Solo cambio el lugar de la confrontacion, que por una cadena de hechos extraordinarios, cruzo la isla-mundo hasta Europa. Despues de la derrota de Rusia ante Japon, tanto ella como su adversaria tenian pocas dificultades a la hora de dividir sus esferas de influencias en Asia. Japon hizo un acuerdo similar con Francia. Japon desde ese momento era un miembro efectivo de la Triple Entente. Tambien intento llegar a pactos similares con los Estados Unidos.
Behavioural fitness component effects of the alba polymorphism of Colias (Lepidoptera, Pieridae): resource and time budget analysis

1. Alba, a white wing colour morph of butterflies of the genus Colias, makes fitness-related changes at several levels of phenotypic organization: physiology, development and behaviour. Two sympatric species of Colias are studied, which differ greatly in their frequency of alba vs its sister yellow/orange morph. How resource and time constraints on Colias interact with the morphs’ different patterns of pupal resource allocation to alter the balance of the morphs’ fitness components in the two species is discussed. 2. These species, C. alexandra and C. scudderi, differ in melanin-based solar energy absorption, in larval dietary richness and in local adult nectar resources. The two female morphs determine alternate thermal balance, internal resource allocation and behavioural effects in each species, thus changing the morphs’ time budgets and fitness-component impacts between the species. In particular, female egg output differences between the morphs appears to reverse between species: alba fecundity is greater than yellow fecundity in C. scudderi, but alba is less than yellow in C. alexandra. 3. These differences are consistent with the large observed differences in alba frequency between the species. Some important questions about the selective regime maintaining a polymorphism here, rather than an alternation of monomorphisms, remain.
Toward a theory of rank one attractors

Introduction 1 Statement of results PART I PREPARATION 2 Relevant results from one dimension 3 Tools for analyzing rank one maps PART II PHASE-SPACE DYNAMICS 4 Critical structure and orbits 5 Properties of orbits controlled by critical set 6 Identification of hyperbolic behavior: formal inductive procedure 7 Global geometry via monotone branches 8 Completion of induction 9 Construction of SRB measures PART III PARAMETER ISSUES 10 Dependence of dynamical structures on parameter 11 Dynamics of curves of critical points 12 Derivative growth via statistics 13 Positive measure sets of good parameters APPENDICES
Dithiolopyranthione Synthesis, Spectroscopy and an Unusual Reactivity with DDQ.

The bicyclic pyran thiolone tetrahydro-3αH-[1,3]dithiolo[4,5-β]pyran-2-thione (3a) engages in a highly unusual fragmentation in the presence of DDQ. The pyran thiolone, 3a, was synthesized by chlorination of 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran (1), followed by condensing with CS2 and NaSH. Reaction of 3a with DDQ generates the isomerized pyran thiolone tetrahydro-3αH-[1,3]dithiolo[4,5-β]pyran-2-thione (3b) and 4-benzyl-5-(3-hydroxypropyl)-1,3-dithiole-2-thione (4) via a deep-seated rearrangement. The identity of 3b was confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis: P21/c, a=5.807(9) A, b = 12.99(2) A, c = 11.445(15), β=113.23(6)°. Mechanistic experiments and computational insight is used to explain the likely sequence of events in the highly unusual formation of 4. Collectively, these results establish fundamental reactivity patterns for further research in this area.
Influencing Trust for Human–Automation Collaborative Scheduling of Multiple Unmanned Vehicles:

Objective:We examined the impact of priming on operator trust and system performance when supervising a decentralized network of heterogeneous unmanned vehicles (UVs).Background:Advances in autonom...
On Unique Factorization

In this book, we have been studying fields, such as ℚ, ℝ, ℤ p , and simple extensions of these, and commutative rings such as ℤ, F[x], or, in the last chapter, G.
Learning score function parameters for improved spectrum identification in tandem mass spectrometry experiments.

The identification of proteins from spectra derived from a tandem mass spectrometry experiment involves several challenges: matching each observed spectrum to a peptide sequence, ranking the resulting collection of peptide-spectrum matches, assigning statistical confidence estimates to the matches, and identifying the proteins. The present work addresses algorithms to rank peptide–spectrum matches. Many of these algorithms, such as PeptideProphet, IDPicker, or Q-ranker, follow a similar methodology that includes representing peptide-spectrum matches as feature vectors and using optimization techniques to rank them. We propose a richer and more flexible feature set representation that is based on the parametrization of the SEQUEST XCorr score and that can be used by all of these algorithms. This extended feature set allows a more effective ranking of the peptide-spectrum matches based on the target-decoy strategy, in comparison to a baseline feature set devoid of these XCorr-based features. Ranking using t...
Lung Region and Racing Affect Mechanical Properties of Equine Pulmonary Microvasculature

Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage is a performance-limiting condition of racehorses associated with severe pathology, including small pulmonary vein remodeling. Pathology is limited to caudodor...
A fluorescent micro-plaque assay for hog cholera virus. Localization of infection with homologous antiserum.

A plaque assay system was investigated for the purpose of enumerating infective units of the noncytopathogenic Ames strain of hog cholera virus. In the absence of apparent cytologic changes, discrete foci of infection were made evident by fluorescent antibody staining. The localization of primary plaques was accomplished by the incorporation of anti-hog cholera serum into the nutrient medium of infected cell cultures. Plaque size was directly related to incubation time and inversely related to the concentration of antiserum. It was concluded that the primary mechanism for the spread of infection in cell culture is through the dissemination of extracellular hog cholera virus. However, it was also noted that a concentration of antiserum in excess of that required to prevent the formation of secondary plaques still allowed contiguous peripheral extension of primary plaques; thus the possibility of direct cell-to-cell transfer of infectious virus was suggested.
Calcium in smooth muscle from the opossum esophagus.

SummaryTransverse muscle strips were cut from four segments of the opossum esophagus. Segment I was the segment of smooth muscle bordering on the striated muscle proximally and Segment IV was the distal segment which includes the lower esophageal sphincter. Segments II and III were the two central fourths of the smooth muscle esophagus. The tissue calcium content was determined in strips coming from the four segments after ashing and extraction of strips in concentrated HCl-HNO3. The calcium content (in mmole/kg wet muscle ± 1 SE) was 2.70 ± 0.1 in Segment I, 2.8 ± 0.3 in Segment II, 2.6 ± 0.3 in Segment III, and 2.6 ± 0.3 in Segment IV after 2 hr of incubation.After incubation of strips coming from the four segments, efflux of 45Ca was measured during 15 two-min periods. Efflux was rapid at first with a halftime of 5 min and slowed after three periods to a halftime of 29 min. In all nine animals tested, efflux from the lower esophageal sphincter was slower than that from muscle of the esophageal body. Th...
Large-Scale Production of Yellow Perch, Walleye, and Hybrid Walleye in Ponds

Since the 1980s, angler interest in recreational fisheries has increased the demand for pond production of North American and European percids for stocking to enhance wild populations or to establish new populations. In this paper, we analyze the fish and plankton ecology in the production ponds to provide a better understanding of the ecological and biological factors involved in optimal pond production of percid fingerlings for stocking. Much of the literature uses a “black-box method” for optimizing pond management, reporting on the survival, growth, and size at harvest of fish from ponds as a function of various fertilization and pond stocking regimens. In contrast, our research since 1987 has focused on the seasonal variation in the ecological interactions among fertilizers, algae, zooplankton, benthos, and larval fish in ponds. Accordingly, in this paper we examine management of large-scale production of percid fingerlings from an ecological perspective, concentrating primarily on our research through 2012 in three Ohio state fish hatcheries, incorporating other information from the literature as appropriate. We find that despite differences in walleye, saugeye, and yellow perch growth and development, rearing ponds can be managed similarly to produce desired size and harvest yields of fingerling fish by providing adequate food resources. Management protocol for fertilization, stocking schedules, and stocking density should be site specific considering the source water quality. Further, sequential culture of ponds may boost overall hatchery production, but we show reduced springtime percid yield due to carryover effects of chemicals added during summertime catfish culture.
Semiparametric additive risks model for interval-censored data

Interval-censored event time data often arise in medical and public health studies. In such a setting, the exact time of the event of interest cannot be observed and is only known to fall between two monitoring times. Our interest focuses on the estimation of the eect of risk factors on interval-censored data under the semiparametric additive hazards model. A nonparametric step-function is used to characterize the baseline hazard function. The covariate coecien ts are estimated by maximizing the observed likelihood function, and their variances are obtained using the prole likelihood approach. We show that the proposed estimates are con- sistent and have asymptotic normal distributions. We also show that the estimator obtained for the covariate coecien t is the most ecien t estimator. Simulation studies are conducted to assess the performance of the estimate. The method is illustrated through application to a data set from an HIV study.
Spinal anesthesia and electroerection in dogs and monkeys.

Abstract We studied the penile erectile response to cavernous nerve electrostimulation in five monkeys and eight dogs before and during spinal anesthesia. Anesthesia was obtained by intradural injection (at L4-L5 level) of either xylocaine (two mg./kg. body weight) or tetracaine (0.2 mg./kg.). In monkeys, systolic blood pressure reduction (average 17.2%), slight elongation and tumescence of the penis, and increase of intracavernous pressure were noted after spinal anesthesia. Electrostimulation of the cavernous nerves resulted in longer erection and detumescence phases than obtained before anesthesia. In dogs, a similar blood pressure decrease (16.6% average) was noted after anesthesia. The response during anesthesia to electrostimulation of the erectile nerves was, however, variable. Changing the animal’s position abolished the erectile response in three of four dogs while no change of erectile response due to anesthesia could be demonstrated in the remaining four dogs. We conclude that spinal anesthesia seems to enhance simian, but not canine, erectile response to electrostimulation of the erectile nerves, possibly via interference of the autonomic regulatory mechanism.
Audience reaction to commercial advertising in China in the 1980s

This article reports findings from two surveys conducted in 1987: the first involved over 25,000 television viewers throughout China and the second interviewed more than 1,100 urban residents of Be...
Modeling the thermodynamic properties and phase behaviour of organic sulfur molecules with a group contribution based statistical associating fluid theory approach (GC-SAFT-VR)

Abstract Leveraging the demonstrated accuracy of the group contribution statistical associating fluid theory for potentials of variable range (GC-SAFT-VR) equation of state to predict the phase equilibrium and thermodynamic properties of fluids, we use this approach to study organic sulfur molecules and their mixtures. Knowledge of the phase equilibria and thermodynamic properties of sulfur containing compounds, while of interest in a number of fields, is important to the development of petroleum products with lower sulfur content. In this work the CH (thiophene) and –S- functional groups are characterized by fitting to experimental data for pure thiophene and cross interactions determined in order to extend the GC-SAFT-VR equation of state to the study of organic sulfur molecules. Theoretical predictions are compared with experimental results for the phase behavior of 3-methylthiophene, 2-methylthiophene, and benzothiophene, as well as their binary mixtures with alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, carbon dioxide, and alcohols. As far as we are aware, this work is the first SAFT-based study of mixtures containing thiophene molecules with aromatics, alcohols, and hydrocarbon molecules. The GC-SAFT-VR approach is found to accurately predict the phase behavior of the sulfur organic compounds studied, providing a method to determine the phase behavior of these compounds without heavy reliance on experimental data.
Asymmetric Positron Interactions with Chiral Quartz Crystals

We have studied the interaction of the positron with chiral left-or right-handed quartz crystals. In Doppler-broadening experiments, using a mono-energetic positron beam there is a differential depth profile for positrons implanted in LH or RH z-cut quartz as identified by a shape parameter (S). Further, in bulk positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) experiments, the lifetime (τ 2) attributed to free annihilation of the positron interacting with the chiral lattice exhibits a larger value for the LH quartz, and the associated intensity (I2) is also significantly different—RH quartz is consistently 10% greater than the LH crystal. The τ 3 lifetime and its intensity, I3, attributed to positronium interacting with defects in the quartz, also appears to exhibit differences between the enantiomeric sets of crystals. These observations may demonstrate chiral recognition using a positron annihilation technique, pave the way for a broad range of positron experiments, and may help inform hypotheses of chirality recognition, selection, or induction by beta radiation.
African Grounding of Philosophy

And there was Osiris—the restorer and sustainer of life. And there is Osiris—the restorer and sustainer of life. And there will be Osiris—the restorer and sustainer of life. Osiris—the holder of the key of life and the key of death. Osiris—the bearer of our ancestral history—the bearer of our current history and the bearer and sustainer of our future history—that without whom there would be no time and no history. Time—the illuminator without which nothing could come to be or cease to be and without whom nothing would be understood. Time—Osiris’s nickname. Source of poesy—poesy that gave birth to Kofi Awoonor and to which he has returned after being claimed by Osiris. By being claimed by her, he too has become the restorer and the sustainer of African life. Moon, moon shine on our way Shine bright for us to go home The return is tedious And the exiled souls gather on the beach Arguing and deciding their Future Should the return home And face the fences the termites had eaten And see the dunghill that has mounted their Birth place But their journey homeward done the sea scapes birth place But their journey homeward done on the sea scapes roar Their final stokes will lead them on Forgotten shores They committed the impiety of self-deceit lashed cut and wounded their souls And left manacles Before the Sacred cock Whose crow woke the night sleepers at dawn The moon, the moon is our father’s spirit All the stars entrance night Revelers gather To sell their carter and inhuman seat to the gateman And shuffle their feet in agonies of birth Lost soul, lost souls, lost souls that re still at the gate 11 -Kofi Awanoor, a Ghanian poet
Autonomous Fruit Harvester with Machine Vision

This study presents an autonomous fruit harvester with a machine vision capable of detecting and picking or cutting an orange fruit from a tree. The system of is composed of a six-degrees of freedom (6-DOF) robotic arm mounted on a four-wheeled electric kart. The kart uses ZED stereo camera for depth estimation of a target. It can also be used to detect trees using the green detection algorithm. Image processing is done using Microsoft Visual Studio and OpenCV library. The x & y coordinates and distance of the tree are passed on to Arduino microcontroller as inputs to motor control of the wheels. When the kart is less than 65cm to the tree, the kart stops and the robotic arm system takes over to search and harvest orange fruits. The robotic arm has a webcam and ultrasonic sensor attached at its end-effector. The webcam is used for orange fruit detection while ultrasonic sensor is used to provide feedback on the distance of the orange fruit to end-effector. Multiple fruit harvesting is successfully done. The success rate of harvesting and putting fruit into the basket is 80% and 85% for the gripper end-effector and cutter end-effector respectively.
HAUNTED: ON THE NEW ARABIC TRANSLATION OF SARTRE'S ANTI-SEMITE AND JEW

Two years ago, without any apparent explanation, a little-known Egyptian scholar translated Jean-Paul Sartre's Anti-Semite and Jew (originally published as Reflexions sur la Question Juive, 1946) into Arabic. Widely acknowledged as an experimental and highly influential theory of anti-Semitism in the 1960s, Sartre's text had already had a profound, yet indirect, influence on an entire class of left-wing Arab intellectuals who used it in order to figure out their relationship with the colonizer; that is, with their Otherness. Though these intellectuals read Anti-Semite and Jew in French, it still remained one of Sartre's very few works that had never been translated into Arabic. How so? Addressing this question, this article offers a genealogy of non-translation that revisits the accumulative process by which Sartre's text acquired the status of a haunted and, hence, untranslatable text. Situated at the juncture where anti-Semitism, Zionism, and revolutionary Arab politics intersect, the text became entangled in the ethical politics of the conflict and, after the 1967 war, became associated with the collapse of the Arab revolutionary project and with Sartre's betrayal of the Arab cause. Thereafter, the work of leftist intellectuals who had drawn on Sartre to reject anti-Semitism was forgotten, and an anti-Semitic sentiment that rejects the original message of Anti-Semite and Jew slowly settled in. Beyond dissecting the process by which a text becomes haunted, this article also states the need for an original theorization of anti-Semitism that is culturally specific to the Arab world rather than derivative of European experience.
A Trove of New Works by Thomas Pynchon? Bomarc Service News Rediscovered

Early in 1960, after having graduated from Cornell and while writing V., Thomas Pynchon moved to Seattle and began working for the Boeing Airplane Company. What Pynchon did while working at Boeing has puzzled scholars almost from the moment of the very private author's literary debut. When we try to delve into his stint at Boeing–first mentioned by Lewis Nichols and Dick Schaap–we reach dead ends or find conflicting information. Yet Pynchon's time at Boeing is perhaps the most documented period of his life, and over the years a number of interesting (though not always accurate) bits of information have emerged.
Primate rod and cone photoreceptors may differ in glucose accessibility.

Purpose. Glucose is crucial for the function of retinal photoreceptors, other retinal neurons, and glial cells. Exogenous glucose can be extracted from the retinal and choroidal circulation, and endogenous glucose may be generated from breakdown of intracellular glycogen stores. Because glucose deprivation is a critical component of retinal ischemia, the authors sought to determine the sites of glucose entry into and generation within the retina. Methods. The localization of the glucose transporter, GluT-1, and the brain and muscle isozymes of glycogen phosphorylase, GlyP, was studied by immunohistochemistry of adult human and monkey retinas. Results. Brain glycogen phosphorylase (B-GlyP) immunoreactivity was found in cone, but not rod, photoreceptors. There was immunostaining of foveal and peripheral cones throughout the cytoplasm from the outer segment to the synaptic pedicle. Short wavelength (blue) cones were positive for B-GlyP. Diffuse staining of the inner and outer plexiform and the nerve fiber layers did not resemble the distinct morphology of Muller cells. Immunoreactivity to muscle GlyP (M-GlyP) was confined to selected synaptic layers of the inner plexiform layer in monkey retina. Staining with antibody to GluT-1 demonstrated diffuse reactivity throughout the retina, including the blood-retinal barrier cells, retinal pigment epithelium, and vascular endothelium. Ultrastructural immunohistochemistry showed staining of rod and cone inner and outer segments. Conclusions. These immunohistochemical studies indicate that rod and cone photoreceptors have the biochemical capability to transport exogenous glucose from the circulation. Only cones appear capable of using endogenous glycogen stores. These findings imply that cones could be more resistant to acute reductions in circulating glucose during hypoglycemia. However, during hypoxic insult, glycogenolysis and anaerobic glycolysis could result in increased production of intracellular lactic acid, potentially predisposing the cone to acidotic damage.
Effects of individual Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal crystal proteins on adult Heliothis virescens (F.) and Spodoptera exigua (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a grampositive, spore forming bacterium, which is principally distinguishedfrom other bacilli by the production of large, insecticidal,protein crystals (Insecticidal Crystal Proteins, or ICPs). Theseproteins are usually thought to act only on the actively feedinglarvae of susceptible species by a mechanism which involvesconsumption and proteolytic processing of the protein followed bybinding to, and lysis of, midgut epithelial cells. However, few authorshave reported Bt toxicity to adult insects. In the followingpaper, we expand on previous reports of toxicity to adult insects andpresent data which demonstrate that: (1) proteolytically activated ICPssignificantly reduce the lifespans of adult Heliothis virescensand Spodoptera exigua at concentrations of 500 μg/ml, butnot 167 or 25 μg/ml, (2) individual activated ICPs are differentiallytoxic to adult H. virescens and S. exigua, and (3)adult S. exigua are sensitive to Cry1C protoxin at aconcentration of 1 mg/ml.
Nanopore sequencing: An enrichment‐free alternative to mitochondrial DNA sequencing

Mitochondrial DNA sequence data are often utilized in disease studies, conservation genetics and forensic identification. The current approaches for sequencing the full mtGenome typically require several rounds of PCR enrichment during Sanger or MPS protocols followed by fairly tedious assembly and analysis. Here we describe an efficient approach to sequencing directly from genomic DNA samples without prior enrichment or extensive library preparation steps. A comparison is made between libraries sequenced directly from native DNA and the same samples sequenced from libraries generated with nine overlapping mtDNA amplicons on the Oxford Nanopore MinION™ device. The native and amplicon library preparation methods and alternative base calling strategies were assessed to establish error rates and identify trends of discordance between the two library preparation approaches. For the complete mtGenome, 16 569 nucleotides, an overall error rate of approximately 1.00% was observed. As expected with mtDNA, the majority of error was detected in homopolymeric regions. The use of a modified basecaller that corrects for ambiguous signal in homopolymeric stretches reduced the error rate for both library preparation methods to approximately 0.30%. Our study indicates that direct mtDNA sequencing from native DNA on the MinION™ device provides comparable results to those obtained from common mtDNA sequencing methods and is a reliable alternative to approaches using PCR-enriched libraries.
Latino City: Immigration and Urban Crisis in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1945–2000

In Latino City: Immigration and Urban Crisis in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1945–2000, Llana Barber carefully uncovers the incredible story of the small working-class Massachusetts city which by the y...
Lack of Association between Opioid-Receptor Genotypes and Smoking Cessation Outcomes in a Randomized, Controlled Naltrexone Trial

AIMS The present study examined how variation in mu- (OPRM1), kappa- (OPRK), and delta- (OPRD) opioid receptor genes may influence the efficacy of naltrexone in the context of a smoking cessation trial. METHODS The study's primary objective was to examine the association of the Asn40Asp OPRM1 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with naltrexone's effects on smoking quit rate, weight gain, and heavy drinking behavior during a double-blind, randomized clinical trial in 280 adult DSM-IV nicotine-dependent participants. The secondary goal of the study was to examine the relationship of 20 additional SNPs of OPRM1, OPRK, and OPRD with the aforementioned outcomes. RESULTS Results indicated a null association between any opioid-receptor gene SNP and naltrexone's effects on smoking quit rate, weight gain, and heavy drinking behavior in this sample of nicotine dependent participants. CONCLUSIONS In sum, these results do not suggest that genetic variation in opioid-receptors is related to treatment responses to naltrexone in a smoking cessation trial.
Using gnotobiotic mice to discover and validate therapeutically active microbiota to maintain mucosal homeostasis and treat intestinal inflammation

Studies in gnotobiotic mice have dramatically expanded our understanding of the functional importance of microbiota in the pathogenesis of chronic intestinal inflammation. This brief review describes several strategies by which gnotobiotic mice models can be used to efficiently discover and validate protective components from the resident microbiota for potential therapeutic applications. We provide highly targeted examples of studies that use each of the various strategies to illustrate effective approaches, discuss challenges to implementing these approaches and suggest future directions to accelerate this increasingly important line of research and improve the clinical applications of results.
Chapter 10 – Intraocular Fluid Flow

In this chapter, the flow of fluid within the eye is discussed. To begin this chapter, the physiology of the eye is described, with a special emphasis on the regions of the eye that are filled with water. The mechanisms for light sensing are described briefly. The formation of aqueous humor is discussed. The relationship between intraocular pressure and the formation rate of aqueous humor and the flow rate of aqueous humor through the eye are described. Aquaporin channels and their functions are described in detail. Methods to model the time-dependent changes in intraocular pressure, as related to the compliance of the eye, are detailed. Common methods to quantify intraocular pressure and diseases of the eye are discussed.
Divestment response to host-country terrorist attacks: Inter-firm influence and the role of temporal consistency

Host-country terrorism poses extreme uncertainty to MNEs’ foreign operations. However, little is known about how MNEs respond to host-country terrorist attacks and how they make the related decisions. Drawing on the research on MNEs’ responses to exogenous shocks and the inter-firm imitation literature, we argue that MNEs obtain relevant information from peers’ actions under terrorist attacks to inform their own responses. Thus, MNEs are more likely to divest under host-country terrorist attacks when peers also divest. Furthermore, the impact of peers’ divestments on focal MNEs’ divestments is magnified by the temporal consistency in peers’ behavioral pattern under terrorist attacks, as temporal consistency reduces inferential difficulties. Empirical evidence based on 93 Fortune US companies and their 8698 foreign subsidiaries over 2005–2015 support our hypotheses. Our study extends the literature on MNEs’ responses to host-country exogenous shocks and on inter-firm imitation by demonstrating the social amplification of terrorism threat and the role of temporal consistency in inter-firm imitation under extreme uncertainty. Practically, we stress that MNE executives should always consider their firms’ idiosyncratic situations when modeling peer MNEs’ actions, and be mindful that they are especially likely to imitate peers’ temporally consistent behaviors under extreme uncertainty.
A Retrospective Cohort Study Evaluating Surgical Aptitude Over Time in a New Male-To-Female Penoscrotal Vaginoplasty Program.

Abstract Background Given the burgeoning demand for gender affirmation surgery, there are few studies examining both surgical process variables and patient outcome variables. Knowing the learning curve for surgical teams who are beginning to perform this procedure will be important for patient safety and presurgical patient counseling as more institutions open transgender surgical programs. Aim The purpose of this study was to determine the demographics of patients pursuing penoscrotal vaginoplasty, to determine their postoperative course, and to determine a learning curve for the surgical team performing penoscrotal vaginoplasty. Methods We retrospectively reviewed charts of all 43 patients who underwent penoscrotal vaginoplasty from the commencement of a new male-to-female penoscrotal vaginoplasty program in March 2018 through July 2019. Outcomes Primary outcomes included mean hemoglobin decrease from surgery and operative time. Mean time to neoclitoral sensation, length of hospital admission, complication rates, reoperation rates, length of narcotic use after surgery, and demographics were also evaluated. Associations between surgical team experience and outcomes were assessed with Spearman's rho and Cox regression, and curve-fitting procedures were applied to determine the relationship. Results The mean operative time from initial incision to procedure finish was 225 minutes, and the mean decrease in hemoglobin was 3.3 g/dL. The mean time to neoclitoral sensation was 0.72 months. The time until neoclitoral sensation decreased as the surgical cases performed increased (Spearman's rho, −0.577 [P Clinical Implications A learning curve can be demonstrated in penoscrotal vaginoplasty for time to neoclitoral sensation and overall time in the operating room, plateauing between 30 and 40 cases. Strengths and Limitations Strengths include assessing a learning curve for time to neoclitoral sensation, length of hospital stay, and length of postoperative narcotic use after penoscrotal vaginoplasty, which, to our knowledge, has not been reported elsewhere. Limitations include our overall low number of patients. Conclusion Despite a low number of cases, length of hospital stay was short and the postoperative complication rate was similar to that of long-standing penoscrotal vaginoplasty programs. Whynott RM, Summers K, Mickelsen R, et al. A Retrospective Cohort Study Evaluating Surgical Aptitude Over Time in a New Male-To-Female Penoscrotal Vaginoplasty Program. J Sex Med 2020;17:1787–1794.
Allele-specific proximal promoter hypomethylation of the telomerase reverse transcriptase gene (TERT) associates with TERT expression in multiple cancers

Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is pathologically expressed in the vast majority of human cancers, but the epigenetic regulation of its expression is only beginning to be understood. In particular, the active TERT gene in cancer cells has been characterized as having a hypermethylated CpG island, opposite to the general association of DNA methylation with gene repression. Here, we analyzed TERT promoter CpG methylation in 833 human cancer cell lines representing 23 different tissue types and found hypermethylation of the upstream portion of the CpG island and more conserved hypomethylation of a region including the proximal TERT promoter and exon 1. In cell lines with monoallelic expression of TERT, we found allelic methylation of the proximal TERT promoter. This included cell lines with the -124 or -146 activating promoter mutation as well as wild-type TERT cancer lines. In these cell line types, decreased proximal promoter methylation is associated with the active allele. Compared to cells with monoallelic expression of TERT, lines with biallelic expression of TERT had even lower methylation in the proximal TERT promoter. Thus, in cell lines from cancers of many different tissues, the TERT proximal promoter has canonical DNA methylation, with low methylation correlating with increased TERT expression.
An impostor “among us”: Teaching group development and cohesion online

Small Group Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Relational Communication, Communication Theory, Introduction to Communication, or any course with a unit on teamwork or a group project.This ...
Pearls and pitfalls in postsurgical imaging of the chest

A variety of surgical procedures are utilized to treat a spectrum of cardiopulmonary diseases. In the imaging of patients in the post-operative period, it is important to have an understanding of surgical techniques including invasive and minimally invasive procedures and the expected postsurgical findings. Knowledge of certain patient risk factors, various complications associated with specific surgical procedures, and a keen attention to detail are essential to avoid misinterpretation and delay diagnosis. Prompt detection of potential complications allows timely intervention, thereby, optimizing patient outcomes in the post-operative period.
Changes in Personal Bankruptcy Protection Laws: The Impact to Home Mortgage Lending

In the U.S., individuals who file for bankruptcy can protect a certain amount of property from creditor liquidation during the debt settlement process. Our analysis exploits changes in these laws to determine the impact on home mortgage lending. We find that the additional debtor protection reduces the likelihood of denial for home purchases and loan applications that are secured by a first lien. However, the denial rate of non-first lien purchases and home improvement loans increases as a result of higher exemption limits. We also find that applications in each affected census tract increase, leading to more approvals, loan issuance, and denials as a result of each change.
Banks’ Balance Sheets and Liquidation Values: Evidence from Real Estate Collateral

This paper finds that declining bank equity or liquidity reduces liquidation values of bank-owned real estate and accelerates the pace of asset sales. Buyers of these assets earn significant returns for providing liquidity to banks, as prices tend to rebound sharply after sales by illiquid banks. Lower liquidation values also depress the prices of nearby real estate transactions. Policy interventions, such as equity injections and central bank asset purchases, increase liquidation values by providing institutions with the balance sheet capacity to slow asset sales. This evidence suggests that balance sheet adjustments at financial institutions can explain real asset price dynamics.Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix, which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online.
Renewing the Call for Reforms to Medical Device Safety-The Case of Penumbra.

Importance Strengthening premarket and postmarket surveillance of medical devices has long been an area of focus for health policy makers. The recent class I recall (the most serious of the US Food and Drug Administration [FDA] recalls) of reperfusion catheters manufactured by Penumbra, a US-based medical device company, illustrates issues of device safety and oversight that mandate attention. Objectives To review the regulatory history and clinical evidence of the Penumbra JET 7 Reperfusion Catheter with Xtra Flex Technology (JET 7) and use the device recall as a case study of the challenges associated with clinical evaluation, transparency, and oversight of medical devices in the US. Evidence Regulatory history and clinical evidence for the Penumbra medical devices were analyzed through a qualitative review of decision letters in the Access FDA database for medical devices and medical device reports in the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database and a review of market data (eg, earnings calls, company communications) and clinical literature. Findings The JET 7 device was subjected to a class I recall following more than 200 adverse event reports, 14 of which involved patient deaths. Regulatory analysis indicated that each of the Penumbra reperfusion catheters was cleared under the 510(k) pathway (which allows devices to be authorized with limited to no clinical evidence), with limited submission of either new clinical or animal data. Clinical evidence for Penumbra devices was generated from nonrandomized, single-arm trials with small sample sizes. The regulatory issues raised by JET 7 are reflective of broader challenges for medical device regulation. Opportunities for reform include strengthening premarket evidence requirements, requiring safety reporting with unique device identifiers, and mandating active methods of postmarket surveillance. Conclusions and relevance The case study of JET 7 highlights the long-standing gaps in medical device oversight and renews the impetus to build on the Institute of Medicine recommendations and reform FDA medical device regulation to protect public health.
Intracellular Single Chain Antibodies — Methods for Derivation and Employment

The delineation of the molecular basis of cancer in general, allows for the possibility of specific intervention at the molecular level for therapeutic purposes. To this end, three main approaches have been developed: mutation compensation, molecular chemotherapy and genetic immunopotentiation. The strategy of mutation compensation aims at correcting the specific genetic defects in cancer cells. Such correction is accomplished by either ablation of oncogenic products, replacement of cellular tumor suppressor genes, or interference with dysregulated signal transduction pathways. A second strategy is molecular chemotherapy, which aims at increasing the specificity of drug delivery or to increase tolerance to standard chemotherapeutic regimens. A third strategy, genetic immunotherapy, aims at augmenting the specificity and/or the magnitude of the normal immune response to tumors. For each of these conceptual approaches, human clinical protocols have entered Phase I clinical trials to assess dose escalation, safety, and toxicity issues.
Implementing QoS Mechanisms on the Motorola C-Port C-5e Network Processor

Publisher Summary The primary objectives of any quality-of-service (QoS) system in a packet network are to curb congestion arising out of short-term packet bursts, minimize the latency through the network, and improve network utilization by minimizing packet loss. ATM approaches QoS from the perspective of strict bandwidth apportioning to avoid congestion build-up, even at the cost of some loss in utilization. This chapter analyzes the design criteria for popular QoS mechanisms in software on a network processor, including the ability to provide resilient service guarantees in the event of severe congestion and even in the event of oversubscription. The design and implementation of a QoS mechanism involves several trade-offs in the amount of available buffer space, number and depth of available queues, processor speed, and egress interface line rate. All of these trade-offs are explained and analyzed. Programming the Motorola C-5e network processor for ATM traffic management and diffserv is used as a practical example of the concepts involved in implementing per-hop QoS mechanisms.
The 26/11 Network-Archive: Public Memory, History, and the Global in an Age of Terror

This article examines the online discourses of public memory of the November 2008 or “26/11” terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. The thesis of the article is that the 26/11 attacks were memorialized online in a hybrid “network-archive” of old and new media content generated by both media organizations and lay users, and that this network-archive is informed by a distinct mode of public memorialization in which historical responsibility is the criterion for bearing witness to terror. This mode of remembering may reflect a new kind of compact between memory and history. By analyzing the theme of 26/11 as “India’s 9/11,” the article shows how the relationship between memory and history in the 26/11 network-archive complicates understanding of the local and global meanings of acts of terror. In the online memory discourse of 26/11, the experience of terror appears to work as a bridge between local suffering and global belonging.