cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Ecological Model for Intervention for Juvenile Justice-Involved Girls: Development and Preliminary Prospective Evaluation

Despite increased attention on girls’ delinquency, evidence-based interventions have been largely lacking. We aim to (a) describe the design and implementation of a genderspecific program for juvenile justice-involved girls and (b) present prospective data on three cohorts of participants. Fifty-two girls were enrolled in the program called the Girls Advocacy Project (GAP). Key risk and protective factors were identified based on existing literature and assessed. Over time, youth reported greater resilience and self-efficacy; fewer risk behaviors, including violence, crime, and substance use; and decreased distress (e.g., depression, anxiety, and anger). Hypothesized program mechanisms and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Experimental Investigation of Coolant-to-Mainstream Scaling Parameters With Cylindrical and Shaped Film Cooling Holes

The performance of film cooling designs is typically quantified by the adiabatic effectiveness, with results presented in terms of non-dimensional parameters such as the blowing ratio, momentum flux ratio, or velocity ratio of the coolant to the overflowing mainstream gas. In order to appropriately model experimental film cooling designs, the correct coolant flow parameter should be selected. In this work, a single row of axial round holes and shaped holes were placed in a flat plate and tested within a recirculating wind tunnel at low speeds and temperatures. Mainstream turbulence intensity and boundary layer thickness were set similar to expected engine conditions. The density ratio of the coolant was varied from 1.2 to 1.6 in order to independently vary the parameters listed above, which were tested at six different conditions for each density ratio. High-resolution IR thermography was used to measure adiabatic effectiveness downstream of the single row of cooling holes. The results indicate that adiabatic effectiveness performance of cylindrical and shaped holes are scaled most effectively using velocity ratio, providing much more accurate results then when the blowing ratio is used.© 2015 ASME
Are They Ready to Teach with Technology? An Investigation of Technology Instruction in Music Teacher Education Programs.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the type, quantity, and effects of technology instruction currently being provided to undergraduate music education majors. Undergraduate participant...
GRADE VALUE ON ROCK DRILLABILITY OF STRATUM IN XUJIAWEIZI REGION

In view of many problems faced by drilling in the lower stratum in Xujiaweizi region, such as complex geologic structures, high grade value of rock drillability, low drilling rate, slow footage, and long drilling cycle, it is urgent to correctly predict the grade value of rock drillability which will provide powerful references for a better drilling plan in reasonable way. So, the rule of drillability grade value of lower stratum in Xujiaweizi region is obtained after statistics, analysis and computations of actual drilling data by using the general equation of drilling rate. Based upon these, the drillability grade value is analyzed, the profile of relationship between drillability grade value and stratum depth is drawn and then, the relationship expression of drillability grade value and stratum is matched.
Estimating Waveforms of Ocean Waves to Enhance the Efficiency of Ocean Energy Conversion

Advances in the area of active controls for wave energy converter (WEC) devices have uncovered a need for accurate estimates of the actual waves that will arrive at the WEC devices in the near future, typically several seconds ahead. This paper considers the parametric estimation of these impending waves by employing a network of spatially distributed ocean sensors, possibly of different types, whose measurements are noisy. We provide general expressions for the Fisher information matrix and the Cramer–Rao Bound (CRB) under white Gaussian noise. The CRB is a lower bound on the smallest mean-square estimation error, which is nearly achievable for a sufficient number of observations. The expressions are general in the sense that the sensor network could be made up of a single or multiple types of sensors. We present a low-complexity estimation method that employs linear optimizations coupled with periodograms and phase unwrapping. Numerical results demonstrating the accuracy of the presented estimation method relative to the CRB are provided.
Communication: Empirically Testing Behavioral Integrity and Credibility as Antecedents for the Effective Implementation of Motivating Language

Motivating language theory (Sullivan, 1988) is a leadership communication theory focused on the strategic use of leader oral language. Walk and talk alignment is a main pillar of motivating languag...
Biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen in cool-season turfgrass systems

Abstract Managed turf areas are both a source and a sink for greenhouse gases (GHGs). Management practices, including turfgrass selection and mowing, influence the amount of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stored in the soil, as well as the associated GHG emissions. The objective of this research was to determine the net C and N balance (i.e. the amount of C and N stored less the amount emitted) of managed turfgrass systems with different grasses (species and cultivars) and management practices (mowing frequency and grass clippings management). Data explicitly quantified in this experiment include annual mowing requirements and accompanying GHG emissions, annual dry matter yield, soil C and N accumulation, and GHG flux of tall fescue ( Schedonorus arundinaceus ) and Kentucky bluegrass ( Poa pratensis ) cultivars with varying growth rates. Leaf, verdure, and root tissue C and N were also determined, along with the corresponding biomass. Estimations of emissions from fertilization, irrigation, and pesticide applications were also included in the net balance calculations. All of the turfgrasses and management practices in this experiment resulted in a system-wide net C sink, though the magnitude of the sink varied by turfgrass selection and management strategy. In general, higher-yielding grasses and management practices increased soil C but also increased mowing requirements and thus emissions. Returning grass clippings was found to increase yield, soil and leaf tissue N, and soil C, but it also marginally increased mowing requirements. The results of this experiment support the assertion that managed turfgrass areas can act as a net C sink to help curb the increasing atmospheric GHG concentrations. The C sequestration potential of managed turfgrass is another of the numerous functional benefits of urban grasslands.
Wage Stagnation and the Rise of Merchant Capitalism

This paper examines the link between stagnant wages and the increasingly concentrated power of large corporate buyers. With the rise of big-box retailers and other large intermediary purchasers, su...
Neural control of choroidal blood flow

The choroid is richly innervated by parasympathetic, sympathetic and trigeminal sensory nerve fibers that regulate choroidal blood flow in birds and mammals, and presumably other vertebrate classes as well. The parasympathetic innervation has been shown to vasodilate and increase choroidal blood flow, the sympathetic input has been shown to vasoconstrict and decrease choroidal blood flow, and the sensory input has been shown to both convey pain and thermal information centrally and act locally to vasodilate and increase choroidal blood flow. As the choroid lies behind the retina and cannot respond readily to retinal metabolic signals, its innervation is important for adjustments in flow required by either retinal activity, by fluctuations in the systemic blood pressure driving choroidal perfusion, and possibly by retinal temperature. The former two appear to be mediated by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, via central circuits responsive to retinal activity and systemic blood pressure, but adjustments for ocular perfusion pressure also appear to be influenced by local autoregulatory myogenic mechanisms. Adaptive choroidal responses to temperature may be mediated by trigeminal sensory fibers. Impairments in the neural control of choroidal blood flow occur with aging, and various ocular or systemic diseases such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), hypertension, and diabetes, and may contribute to retinal pathology and dysfunction in these conditions, or in the case of AMD be a precondition. The present manuscript reviews findings in birds and mammals that contribute to the above-summarized understanding of the roles of the autonomic and sensory innervation of the choroid in controlling choroidal blood flow, and in the importance of such regulation for maintaining retinal health.
Paediatric abstract publication rates for the American Society of Echocardiography Meeting.

BACKGROUND Abstract presentations of scientific information at meetings are important for broadcasting new information. Publication of these studies should be the final goal, but minimal data exist documenting publication rates, especially for paediatric sub-speciality meetings. The goal of this study was to document the manuscript publication rate for paediatric cardiac echocardiography abstracts and to determine whether there were differences between abstracts that were published versus not published. METHODS Paediatric cardiac echocardiography abstracts presented from 2007 to 2011 at the American Society of Echocardiography Meetings were reviewed. Characteristics of the abstracts were noted. A Medline/Pubmed search was performed using keywords, first author, and senior author criteria to determine publication. Fisher's exact tests or χ2 tests were used for analysis. RESULTS A total of 194 abstracts were reviewed. In all, 27 abstracts were oral presentations and 167 were poster presentations. A total of 124 abstracts were prospective studies and 70 were retrospective studies; 11 abstracts were basic science studies and 183 were clinical studies. Altogether, 25 abstracts dealt with three-dimensional echocardiography, 15 with fetal echocardiography, 56 with deformation analysis, 79 with standard transthoracic echocardiography, and 19 were in the other category. A total of 73 abstracts were subsequently published - with a 37.6% publication rate - 2.1±1.7 years after initial presentation. There were no significant differences in publication rates based on the above-noted variables. CONCLUSION A paediatric cardiac echocardiography abstract publication rate of 37.6% is comparable to previous published publication rates for other meetings. No differences in variables analysed were noted between published versus unpublished abstracts.
Performance of structures with passive dampers subject to near-fault earthquakes

Publisher Summary This chapter investigates the performance of passive viscous and friction dampers subject to near-fault ground motion velocity pulses for elastic and inelastic structures through numerical simulations. It examines a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) elastic-perfectly-plastic structure with inherent viscous damping ratio of 5% and the natural period of the elastic structure varying from 0.05 to 5 s subject to the velocity pulse. The input energy of SDOF inelastic systems is approximately independent of the strength of the structure in short and long period ranges, since the plots for structures with different ductilities almost coincide. The input energy is completely dissipated by viscous damping at the end of the ground motion in an elastic structure. The total input energy is partly dissipated by viscous damping mechanism and partly through hysteretic damage to the structure during inelastic deformation. The SDOF structures with displacement ductilities 1 and 4 are assumed to be equipped with supplemental passive viscous damper. Two cases of supplemental dampers are designed such that the total damping ratios of the structure are 15% and 30%. Such design of dampers is practical using commercially available passive dampers.
SURFACE OXIDES ON GRAPHITE SINGLE CRYSTALS

Microscope surveys of single crystals have shown that below 800°C the oxidation rate of carbon atoms at edges of layer planes is at least 20 times higher than at the cleavage surfaces. The rate is proportional to the square root or lower powers of the oxygen pressure. The reactive (edge) atoms are nevertheless completely covered with surface oxides at pressures exceeding 0.1 mm and temperatures below 700°C. Above 700°C, the surface oxides cover only part of the active surfaces. It seems possible to attribute the observed reactions order of one half to a competition between two possible types of surface oxide.
Dissecting Dynamic and Heterogeneous Proteasome Complexes Using In Vivo Cross-Linking-Assisted Affinity Purification and Mass Spectrometry

Protein-protein interactions are essential for protein complex formation and function. Affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry (AP-MS) is the method of choice for studying protein-protein interactions at the systems level under different physiological conditions. Although effective in capturing stable protein interactions, transient, weak, and/or dynamic interactors are often lost due to extended procedures during conventional AP-MS experiments. To circumvent this problem, we have recently developed XAP (in vivo cross-linking (X)-assisted affinity purification)-MS strategy to better preserve dynamic protein complexes under native lysis conditions. In addition, we have developed XBAP (in vivo cross-linking (X)-assisted bimolecular tandem affinity purification)-MS method by incorporating XAP with bimolecular affinity purification to define dynamic and heterogeneous protein subcomplexes. Here we describe general experimental protocols of XAP- and XBAP-MS to study dynamic protein complexes and their subcomplexes, respectively. Specifically, we present their applications in capturing and identifying proteasome dynamic interactors and ubiquitin receptor (UbR)-proteasome subcomplexes.
Early emergence of discrepancy in adaptive behavior and cognitive skills in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder and average IQ exhibit a widening discrepancy between lagging adaptive skills relative to their cognitive potential, but it is unknown when this discrepanc...
Genetic Variants And Risk Of Disease

Abstract Background Different types of genetic variants are associated with risk to develop neuropsychiatric disorders, from CNVs and mutations causing pervasive effect by direct gene disruption to common variants providing modest effect sizes but contributing to polygenic risk in the general population. This educational talk will focus on different methods of analysis and how the risk for some diseases can be calculated using available knowledge. Methods Risk for disease can be calculated using Bayesian approaches for CNVs and SNPs associated with ASD, Bipolar and Schizophrenia. This is used to illustrate the risks conferred by different types of variants. Results CNVs are rare events, but carry the largest effect size associated with mental disorders. Mutations in regions like Chromosome 22q11 are associated with a high pleiotropic risk for ASD, SZ or BD, whereas polygenic risk from multiple common variants account for a smaller but widespread risk in the overall population. Conclusions Usability of these concepts for genetic counseling, genetic tests that are becoming available, including direct-to-consumer tests, and how to take leverage on these resources to plan further studies on different populations will be focused on the discussion.
Selective recovery of lithium from the Great Salt Lake using lithium manganese oxide-diatomaceous earth composite

Abstract Lithium is an important metal for energy storage applications. With the increase in demand for lithium in the near future it is important to explore low-grade brine resources, which contain the majority of known lithium resources. In this work, a λ-MnO2 diatomaceous earth composite adsorbent was synthesized by using a combination of hydrothermal treatment and solid-state calcination. The synthesized adsorbent was tested with LiCl buffered solution for various batch adsorption parameters. Loading of 28–29% λ-MnO2 on diatomaceous earth showed the best performance for lithium adsorption. The adsorption was found to follow the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo second order kinetic model. The increase in adsorption capacity with higher temperatures indicates that lithium adsorption is endothermic in nature. It was also observed that there is a 30% loss in adsorption capacity after five adsorption-desorption cycles when hydrochloric acid was used as an eluent due to loss of Mn2+. Replacing hydrochloric acid with (NH4)2S2O8 as an eluent at 80 °C, increased the recycling stability of the adsorbent by decreasing manganese loss. The adsorbent was tested with Great Salt Lake water and 95% of lithium was extracted with high selectivity from the brine over alkali and alkaline earth metals.
Identification of a Locus in Mice that Regulates the Collateral Damage and Lethality of Virus Infection.

Summary Arenaviruses can cause severe hemorrhagic disease in humans, which can progress to organ failure and death. The underlying mechanisms causing lethality and person-to-person variation in outcome remain incompletely explained. Herein, we characterize a mouse model that recapitulates many features of pathogenesis observed in humans with arenavirus-induced hemorrhagic disease, including thrombocytopenia, severe vascular leakage, lung edema, and lethality. The susceptibility of congenic B6.PL mice to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection is associated with increased antiviral T cell responses in B6.PL mice compared with C57BL/6 mice and is T cell dependent. Pathogenesis imparted by the causative locus is inherited in a semi-dominant manner in F1 crosses. The locus includes PL-derived sequence variants in both poorly annotated genes and genes known to contribute to immune responses. This model can be used to further interrogate how limited genetic differences in the host can remarkably alter the disease course of viral infection.
Yersinia kristensenii subsp. rochesterensis subsp. nov., isolated from human feces.

A single bacterial isolate, EPLC-04T, was isolated from human feces and identified as representing a member of the genus Yersinia on the basis of phenotypic characteristics, matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The isolate’s phenotypic profile differed from that described for the most closely related species, Yersinia kristensenii , by exhibiting lipase production and lacking pyrazinamidase activity. Multiple genetic targets, including the complete (1465 bp) 16S rRNA gene sequence and partial sequences of groEL (539 bp), gyrB (935 bp), glnA (525 bp) and recA (535 bp) indicated that the isolate exhibited 98.91, 92.16, 90.81, 92.78 and 89.01 % identity with Yersinia aldovae , 98.98, 91.99, 90.17, 89.77 and 89.55 % identity with Yersinia intermedia , and 99.66, 98.11, 98.50, 98.49 and 98.51 % identity with Y. kristensenii , respectively. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on the combination of the four housekeeping genes indicated that the isolate formed a unique branch, supported by a bootstrap value of 100 %. Digital DNA–DNA homology and 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified EPLC-04T as representing Y. kristensenii . However, the unique phenotypic traits and results of phylogenetic analysis indicate that it represents a novel subspecies of Y. kristensenii . The name Yersinia kristensenii subsp. rochesterensis subsp. nov. is proposed for this novel taxon (type strain EPLC-04T=ATCC BAA-2637T, DSMZ 28595T).
A Review of Hot Beverage Temperatures—Satisfying Consumer Preference and Safety

Hot beverages are served ubiquitously in the food-service industry as well as at residences and other venues. Coffee and tea beverages, in particular, are brewed at temperatures that are sufficiently high to cause immediate and serious risk for scald injuries. On the other hand, numerous research studies have been performed to identify the preferred consumption temperatures for hot beverages. The outcome of these mutually reinforcing studies is that the preferred drinking temperatures are significantly below the often-encountered brewing temperatures (∼200 °F). Consequently, there is great need to distinguish brewing temperatures from serving temperatures. Serving consumers beverages at very high temperatures is not only unnecessary (from a preference standpoint) but also unsafe. An appropriate range for service temperatures is (130 to 160 °F). PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Often times, hot beverages are served at temperatures near their brewing temperature; far hotter than preferred by consumers. This practice creates unnecessary risk to the consumer. A more rationale recommended range of service temperatures is 130 to 160 °F. This recommendation balances a range of consumer preferences and safety.
Genetic diversity and demographic history of introduced sika deer on the Delmarva Peninsula.

The introduction of non-native species can have long-term effects on native plant and animal communities. Introduced populations are occasionally not well understood and offer opportunities to evaluate changes in genetic structure through time and major population changes such as bottleneck and or founder events. Invasive species can often evolve rapidly in new and novel environments, which could be essential to their long-term success. Sika deer are native to East Asia, and their introduction and establishment to the Delmarva Peninsula, USA, is poorly documented, but probably involved ≥1 founder and/or bottleneck events. We quantified neutral genetic diversity in the introduced population and compared genetic differentiation and diversity to the presumed source population from Yakushima Island, Japan, and a captive population of sika deer in Harrington, Delaware, USA. Based on the data from 10 microsatellite DNA loci, we observed reduced genetic variation attributable to founder events, support for historic hybridization events, and evidence that the population did originate from Yakushima Island stocks. Estimates of population structure through Bayesian clustering and demographic history derived from approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), were consistent with the hypothesized founder history of the introduced population in both timing and effective population size (approximately five effective breeding individuals, an estimated 36 generations ago). Our ABC results further supported a single introduction into the wild happening before sika deer spread throughout the Delmarva. We conclude that free-ranging sika deer on Delmarva are descended from ca. five individuals introduced about 100 years ago from captive stocks of deer maintained in the United Kingdom. Free-ranging sika deer on Delmarva have lost neutral diversity due to founder and bottleneck events, yet populations have expanded in recent decades and show no evidence of abnormalities associated with inbreeding. We suggest management practices including increasing harvest areas and specifically managing sika deer outside of Maryland.
Current trends in the acute treatment of ischemic stroke: analysis from the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program.

Background The intra-arterial treatment (IAT) of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is now evidence-based and given the highest level of recommendation among eligible patients. Using a multi-state stroke registry, we studied the trend in IAT among patients with AIS over 11 years and its impact on the utilization of intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) within the same 11 years. Methods Using data from the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program (PCNASP), we studied trends in IVT and IAT for patients with AIS between 2008 and 2018. Trends over time were examined for rates of IVT only, IAT only, or a combination of IVT and IAT (IVT+IAT). Favorable outcome was defined as discharge to home. Results During the study period there were 595 677 patients (mean age 70.4 years, 50.4% women) from 646 participating hospitals with a clinical diagnosis of AIS in the PCNASP. Trends for IVT only, IAT only, and IVT+IAT all significantly increased over time (P Conclusion In our large registry-based analysis, we observed a significant increase in the use of IAT for the treatment of AIS, with continued increases in the use of IVT. Concurrently, the percent of patients with favorable outcomes continued to increase.
Predicting Outcomes in Limited-Overs Cricket Matches

Cricket is a popular sport in the commonwealth countries, particularly the limited over formats. As with any sport, predicting the outcome of the game of cricket is of popular interest. For the first innings, the task is to predict the eventual score that the team batting first will reach. For the second innings, the task is to predict the match result. Existing algorithms for predicting the outcome of limited over cricket matches are simplistic and their performance leaves room for improvement. In this paper, we provide novel features including team strength indicators that capture the situation of the match more comprehensively and accurately. We use a collection of state-of-the-art supervised Machine Learning (ML) approaches for the prediction tasks. Further, we also present an approach based on Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) Networks to incorporate the oft-mentioned concept of 'momentum' for predicting the outcomes. We show with real data that the mentioned ML models outperform the current state of art (WASP) in outcome prediction for cricket. Further, we show that incorporating the proposed features improves prediction accuracy. Finally, the LSTM model outperforms all other models with the same set of features, thereby confirming that 'momentum' indeed helps us in better prediction of outcomes.
Frontal Polymerization of a Thin Film on a Wood Substrate

Frontal polymerization has been explored as a technique to form two-dimensional thin films (<0.5 mm) on wood. We used trimethylolpropane triacrylate with a thermal free-radical initiator. The visco...
Metabolic and evolutionary responses of Clostridium thermocellum to genetic interventions aimed at improving ethanol production

Engineering efforts targeted at increasing ethanol by modifying the central fermentative metabolism of Clostridium thermocellum have been variably successful. Here, we aim to understand this variation by a multifaceted approach including genomic and transcriptomic analysis combined with chemostat cultivation and high solids cellulose fermentation. Three strain lineages comprising 16 strains total were examined. Two strain lineages in which genes involved in pathways leading to organic acids and/or sporulation had been knocked out resulted in four end-strains after adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE). A third strain lineage recapitulated mutations involving adhE that occurred spontaneously in some of the engineered strains. Contrary to lactate dehydrogenase, deleting phosphotransacetylase (pta, acetate) negatively affected steady-state biomass concentration and caused increased extracellular levels of free amino acids and pyruvate, while no increase in ethanol was detected. Adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) improved growth and shifted elevated levels of amino acids and pyruvate towards ethanol, but not for all strain lineages. Three out of four end-strains produced ethanol at higher yield, and one did not. The occurrence of a mutation in the adhE gene, expanding its nicotinamide-cofactor compatibility, enabled two end-strains to produce more ethanol. A disruption in the hfsB hydrogenase is likely the reason why a third end-strain was able to make more ethanol. RNAseq analysis showed that the distribution of fermentation products was generally not regulated at the transcript level. At 120 g/L cellulose loadings, deletions of spo0A, ldh and pta and adaptive evolution did not negatively influence cellulose solubilization and utilization capabilities. Strains with a disruption in hfsB or a mutation in adhE produced more ethanol, isobutanol and 2,3-butanediol under these conditions and the highest isobutanol and ethanol titers reached were 5.1 and 29.9 g/L, respectively. Modifications in the organic acid fermentative pathways in Clostridium thermocellum caused an increase in extracellular pyruvate and free amino acids. Adaptive laboratory evolution led to improved growth, and an increase in ethanol yield and production due a mutation in adhE or a disruption in hfsB. Strains with deletions in ldh and pta pathways and subjected to ALE demonstrated undiminished cellulolytic capabilities when cultured on high cellulose loadings.
The Crab Nebula ancient history and recent discoveries

Crab Nebula as thin plasma cloud containing weak magnetic field with strongly magnetized neutron star
Impacts of thinning treatments on dynamics of needle disease caused by Elytroderma deformans (Weir) Darker and interactions with bark beetle-attacks in the northern Rocky Mountains

Abstract The fungus Elytroderma deformans causes a serious needle disease of pines in western North America and is considered the most important needle disease of ponderosa pine in Montana. While important, there has been limited evaluation of pre-commercial thinning or other treatments on disease incidence. Our study assessed the efficacy of various silvicultural treatments to reduce impacts from Elytroderma disease within monitoring plots that were established in 2004 and surveyed until 2014. Treatments were randomly assigned through incomplete block design to: (1) thin to 3.7 × 3.7 m spacing; (2) thin to 5.5 × 5.5 m spacing; (3) thin to 3.7 × 3.7 m spacing plus pruning; and (4) control with no thinning or pruning. For assessment, a statistic was developed to represent the average change in Elytroderma presence that occurred from 2006 to 2014 for each plot. This statistic was utilized as the response variable in a model that controlled for initial Elytroderma occurrence within plots to test for treatment effects. Overall, Elytroderma intensified across all plots during the study period and treatments were not effective at preventing new infections. Plots that received the 3.7 m × 3.7 m residual spacing exhibited slightly reduced progression of disease incidence relative to the other treatments. A mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, MPB) eruption occurred during this study. Tree-level MPB and Elytroderma interactions were assessed and no evidence was found to indicate trees infected with Elytroderma had a different likelihood of being attacked by MPB relative to uninfected trees. However, the trees located in plots with high levels of initial Elytroderma disease presence had greater chances of having tree mortality in general, caused by MPB or other factors. MPB did not attack any trees in plots that had the 5.5 × 5.5 m spaced treatment, even where adjacent plots were attacked. Results of this study are presented to inform management of young ponderosa pine forests on impacts of the silvicultural techniques tested on post-treatment Elytroderma dynamics and interactions with MPB-attack.
Quantum reference beacon–guided superresolution optical focusing in complex media

Optical scattering is generally considered to be a nuisance of microscopy that limits imaging depth and spatial resolution. Wavefront shaping techniques enable optical imaging at unprecedented depth, but attaining superresolution within complex media remains a challenge. We used a quantum reference beacon (QRB), consisting of solid-state quantum emitters with spin-dependent fluorescence, to provide subwavelength guidestar feedback for wavefront shaping to achieve a superresolution optical focus. We implemented the QRB-guided imaging with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond nanocrystals, which enable optical focusing with a subdiffraction resolution below 186 nanometers (less than half the wavelength). QRB-assisted wavefront-shaping should find use in a range of applications, including deep-tissue quantum enhanced sensing and individual optical excitation of magnetically coupled spin ensembles for applications in quantum information processing.
Video-Based Coaching as an Educational Platform for Urological Residency Training: A Pilot Study

AbstractIntroduction:Surgical experience requires skills traditionally taught through real-time operating room education and a variety of supplemental educational strategies. Video-based coaching i...
Connecting changes in Euphrates River flow to hydropattern of the Western Mesopotamian Marshes.

Abstract The Mesopotamian Marshlands are the largest wetland system in the Middle East. Historically, these marshes served as the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and they are currently connected to these rivers via surface water feeder canals. Historically, the Mesopotamian marshes received consistent flood pulses during the spring season from March to May. In recent decades, however, several large dams have been constructed in the Tigris and Euphrates basins for irrigation purposes and power generation, severely altering the flow regime, which along with other direct anthropogenic activities, has severely degraded the marsh ecosystem. This work quantifies changes in the riverine flow regime and how they have affected the hydro-pattern of the western Mesopotamian marshes (focusing on the western Al-Hammar marsh) and describes the role of hydrological drivers that are important for marsh restoration. The total area of the Al-Hammar marshes has been reduced from an average of 2800 km2 before 1970 to a minimum of 240 km2 in recent decades, concomitant with reductions in annual average Euphrates River flow (at Hit) from 967 to 602 m3/s and marked flow regime alteration. While climate warming and reduced precipitation were observed in the basin, changes in the fundamental precipitation-flow relationship implicate infrastructural changes (upstream dams) as the primary reason for these changes. This analysis quantified how flow variability under historic and contemporary conditions have affected wetland area and other hydro-pattern characteristics and suggests that at an annual average of least 70 m3/s of water deliveries to the western Mesopotamian marsh are required to restore 1000 km2 of wetland area. Our hope is that this focus on the river-marsh connection will help inform predictive models and scenario analysis for restoration of this unique social-ecological system.
Anthropology Development vs. Development Anthropology: Mediating the Forester-Farmer Relationship in Pakistan

The Forest Service of Pakistan has concerned itself since colonial times largely with the production, protection, and extraction of trees in the nation's state forests. The only contact that its officers had with most farmers (except large landowners, with whom they had traditional patron-client relations) was to levy punishments for violations of forest laws or gather fees for the use of forest resources. In recent years, the state forests have declined in area and importance, and the need to increase on-farm supplies of tree products and halt resource degradation has increased. As a result, the Government of Pakistan, with the assistance of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), decided to change the basic direction of the Forest Service—away from state lands to private lands, away from commercial to subsistence or mixed subsistence/commercial production, and thus away from the rural elite to the small farmer. The vehicle chosen to accomplish this was the bilaterally funded Forestry Plan...
A Heatsink Integrated Antenna with Controllable Electromagnetic and Thermal Performance

This paper presents the design and implementation of an antenna with integrated heatsink. The heatsink is connected with antenna through Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) cantilever switches for controllable and optimum electromagnetic (EM) and thermal dissipation performance. The integrated heatsink codesigned antenna can achieve 14 °C and 27°C temperature reduction and controllable reflection coefficient of −23 dB and −15 dB when the switches are OFF and ON, respectively. In addition, the EM performance of antenna is improved with optimized heatsink having an increased gain of 8.1 dB from 5.9 dB.
How long do population level field experiments need to be? Utilising data from the 40-year-old LTER network

We utilise the wealth of data accessible through the 40-year-old Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network to ask if aspects of the study environment or taxa alter the duration of research necessary to detect consistent results. To do this, we use a moving-window algorithm. We limit our analysis to long-term (> 10 year) press experiments recording organismal abundance. We find that studies conducted in dynamic abiotic environments need longer periods of study to reach consistent results, as compared to those conducted in more moderated environments. Studies of plants were more often characterised by spurious results than those on animals. Nearly half of the studies we investigated required 10 years or longer to become consistent, where all significant trends agreed in direction, and four studies (of 100) required longer than 20 years. Here, we champion the importance of long-term data and bolster the value of multi-decadal experiments in understanding, explaining and predicting long-term trends.
Nanomaterials Causing Cellular Toxicity and Genotoxicity

Nanotechnology has become one of the fastest developing fields of science and engineering in the World. Nanomaterials that play a crucial role in nanotechnology are increasingly used in a broad range of areas including automotive, biomedical, cosmetics, defense, energy, and electronics. Nanomaterials are used in a wide variety of products due to their unique chemical, biological and physical properties. The increase in the production and use of nanomaterials could lead in further exposure to humans, animals, and the environment. Therefore, understanding the toxicity of nanomaterials and their potential risks is urgently needed. Nanomaterial toxicity has been evaluated in various studies, but the adverse poisoning effects on target organs are still very limited. This chapter presents an overview of the applications of nanomaterials, including both metal-based and non-metal-based. Furthermore, it provides an overview of the mechanisms of cell toxicity and genotoxicity. Finally, the potential cell toxicity and genotoxicity associated with different types of nanomaterials are presented in detail.
The Value of Data and Its Impact on Competition

Common regulatory perspective on the relationship between data, value, and competition in online platforms has increasingly centered on the volume of data accumulated by incumbent firms. This view posits the existence of "data network effects," where more data leads to product improvements, which in turn leads to additional users and more data. In particular, this has raised concerns around incumbent data advantage creating an insurmountable barrier to entry and leading to winner-take-all outcomes in online platforms. However, this perspective generally does not reflect the value of data in practical settings. More recent work across economics, management science, and engineering shows that there are a variety of factors that impact the value of data and that implications for competition are much more complex and subtle. The framework in this paper presents four key factors – data quality, scale and scope of data, and data uniqueness – that can influence the value that firms can derive from data. Applying the framework to Netflix, Waymo, and the online advertising industry provides compelling evidence that incumbent data advantage, while generating value for innovation and for the consumer experience, does not necessarily lock out competitors and is not determinative of success. These examples illustrate that data can often serve as a catalyst for innovation that benefits both consumers and the broader ecosystem. The extent to which data accumulation can provide actual incremental value, and whether this is a cause for concern in enabling healthy competition, requires a case-by-case evaluation using the framework, as these factors depend significantly on the domain and context.
Seeing Is Believing? How Including a Video in Fake News Influences Users’ Reporting of the Fake News to Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, are combating the spread of fake news by developing systems that allow their users to report fake news. However, it remains unclear whether these reporting systems that harness the “wisdom of the crowd” are effective. Notably, concerns have been raised that the popularity of videos may hamper users’ reporting of fake news. The persuasive power of videos may render fake news more deceiving and less likely to be reported in practice. However, this is neither theoretically nor empirically straightforward, as videos not only affect users’ ability to detect fake news, but also impact their willingness to report and their engagement (viz., likes, shares, and comments) which would further spread the fake news. Using a unique dataset from a leading social media platform, we empirically examine how including a video in a fake news post affects the number of users reporting the post to the platform. Our results indicate that including a video significantly increases the number of users reporting the fake news post to the social media platform. Additionally, we find that sentiment intensity, especially when the sentiment is positive, of the fake news text content attenuates the effect of including a video. Randomized experiments and a set of mediation analyses are included to uncover the underlying mechanisms. We contribute to the information systems literature by examining how social media platforms can leverage their users to report fake news, and how different formats (e.g., videos and text) of fake news interact to influence users’ reporting behavior. Social media platforms that seek to leverage the “wisdom of the crowd” to combat the proliferation of fake news should consider both the popularity of videos and the role of text sentiment in fake news to adjust their strategies.
Preliminary Examination of Ethanol Fuel Effects on EPA’s R-factor for Vehicle Fuel Economy

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supported a test program from 2007 through 2012 to evaluate the potential impacts of intermediate ethanol blends (also known as mid-level blends) on legacy vehicles and other engines. The catalyst durability program involved aging and emissions testing vehicles on a range of ethanol blends. This report describes a preliminary analysis of the fuel economy data from the catalyst durability study, to determine the proper value for the scaling factor (R factor) which is called out in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for computing vehicle fuel economy on the certification cycle. The R factor was defined to be 0.6 based on tests using 1980s vehicles. Since that time, the Auto/Oil test program has established that the R factor for 1990s vehicles is higher (about 0.93). More recently the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) analyzed the EPAct/V2/E-89 dataset to compute the R factor, resulting in an average of 0.82 to 0.86. Calculating modern vehicle fuel economy with the existing CFR equation with an R factor of 0.6 when ethanol blends are used produces significant errors. For the catalyst durability program, a straightforward carbon mass balance (CMB) approach was used to compute fuel economy, thereby allowing a straightforward evaluation of the impact of ethanol content on fuel economy.
Newborn exstrophy closure without osteotomy: Is there a role?

Summary Introduction Recent articles document successful classic bladder exstrophy (CBE) closure without osteotomy. Still, many patients require osteotomy if they have a large bladder template and pubic diastasis, or non-malleable pelvis. Objective To understand the indications and outcomes of bladder closure with and without pelvic osteotomy in patients younger than 1 month of age. Methods An institutional database of 1217 exstrophy-epispadias patients was reviewed for CBE patients closed at the authors' institution within the first month of life. Patient demographics, closure history, pubic diastasis distance, bladder capacity, and outcomes were recorded and compared using chi-square tests between osteotomy and non-osteotomy patients. Failure was defined as bladder dehiscence, prolapse, vesicocutaneous fistula, or bladder outlet obstruction requiring reoperation. Bladder capacity >100 mL was deemed sufficient for bladder neck reconstruction (BNR). Results One hundred CBE patients were included for analysis: 38 closed with osteotomy (26 male, 12 female), and 62 closed without osteotomy (42 male, 20 female). There were four failed closures in the osteotomy group (2 dehiscence, 2 prolapse) and four failed closures in the non-osteotomy group (2 dehiscence, 2 prolapse). This corresponded to statistically equivalent rates of failure between the osteotomy and non-osteotomy groups (10.5% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.466). There was no statistically significant difference between the groups' ability to achieve bladder capacity sufficient for BNR (82% vs. 71%, p = 0.234). Discussion A successful primary bladder closure, regardless of the use of osteotomy, has been shown to be the single most important predictor of eventual continence. Because of the complexity of exstrophy manifestations, a multidisciplinary team approach is of the utmost importance. Based on our institutional experience, closure without osteotomy is considered when patients are Conclusions Regardless of the type of closure undertaken, there clearly is a role for newborn CBE closure without pelvic osteotomy in patients considered suitable for closure by both the pediatric urologist and orthopedic consultant. However, if there is any doubt concerning pubic diastasis width, pelvic malleability, or ease of pubic apposition, an osteotomy is highly recommended.
Expression of the globin genes and hematopoiesis in beta-thalassemic mice.

Mice homozygous for a deletion of the beta-dmajor globin gene exhibit clinical symptoms of human beta-thalassemia and are good experimental animals for investigating the regulation of globin gene expression, perturbation of hematopoiesis, and potential methods for treating patients with beta-thalassemia. Homozygous beta-thalassemic mice have a microcytic anemia, their red blood cells display anisocytosis, poikilocytosis and a shortened life span, and iron overloading occurs in several tissues in response to increased erythropoiesis2,3. Mice heterozygous for the beta-thalassemia1,2 mutation are clinically normal.
Liquid chromatographic determination of nicarbazin in feeds.

A new liquid chromatographic method has been developed for determination of nicarbazin in feeds. Approximately 40 g feed is extracted with 200 mL acetonitrile-water (80 + 20, v/v). An aliquot of the extract is filtered and assayed using a reversed-phase isocratic method that measures the 4,4'-dinitrocarbanilide moiety of nicarbazin at a wavelength of 340 nm. For medicated feeds, the method uses a standard linear range of 5 to 100 microg/mL. For lower levels, a linear range of 50 to 150 ng/mL can be used. The method has a limit of detection of 250 ng/g and a limit of quantitation of 500 ng/g in a 40 g feed sample. Recovery was 99.1%, with a range of 95.2 to 101.8%. In the typical U.S. dosing range of 27 to 113.5 g/ton, the precision of the method based on one analyst, one day, and 2 weighings ranged from 2.8% (113.5 g/ton) to 4.7% (27 g/ton).