cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Youth Participation in U.S. Contexts: Student Voice Without a National Mandate

Unlike the United Kingdom and other nations that mandate youth participation to some degree, U.S. policies instead tend to inhibit child participation rather than encourage it. Given these policy contexts, it can be challenging to locate spaces where robust opportunities for democratic participation and student voice exist. We use this article as an opportunity to examine the disciplinary, philosophical and methodological approaches that have framed youth participation in youth contexts. We conclude by identifying critical issues of citizenship and belonging that must be considered in participatory research.
Improving classification with pairwise constraints: a margin-based approach

In this paper, we address the semi-supervised learning problem when there is a small amount of labeled data augmented with pairwise constraints indicating whether a pair of examples belongs to a same class or different classes. We introduce a discriminative learning approach that incorporates pairwise constraints into the conventional margin-based learning framework. We also present an efficient algorithm, PCSVM, to solve the pairwise constraint learning problem. Experiments with 15 data sets show that pairwise constraint information significantly increases the performance of classification.
S-parameter characterization for EMI filters

MIL-STD-220 is one of the most common methods of EMI filter characterization. Unfortunately, it is based on a 50-ohm source and load impedance, and provides only a simple magnitude of the insertion loss. Most filtering situations involve source and/or load impedances that are different than 50-ohms. Thus MLT-STD-220 characterization data offers little value for system or subsystem analysis involving an EMI filter. This paper presents approaches for using scattering parameters (s-parameters) for EMI filter characterization and analysis. Examples of multi-port filter characterization are presented as well as using the S-parameter characterization data for both common mode and differential mode analysis in the time and frequency domains.
Molecular cloning, characterization, and distribution of the gerbil angiotensin II AT2 receptor.

We isolated a cDNA clone encoding the gerbil AT2 receptor (gAT2) gene from a gerbil adrenal gland cDNA library. The full-length cDNA contains a 1,089-bp open reading frame encoding 363 amino acid r...
Exhaled Nitric Oxide (NO), NO Synthase Activity, and Regulation of Nuclear Factor (NF)- κ B

Nitric oxide (NO) and related molecules are produced in the lung by virtually all cellular constituents, including the epithelium, the endothelium, neurons, neuroendocrine cells, resident inflammatory cells, and alveolar macrophages (1). An increase in respiratory NO production, as measured by exhaled NO levels, has been touted as a marker of lung inflammation: exhaled NO is increased in patients with asthmatic flares, bronchiectasis, and active tuberculosis (2‐4). In contrast, it is lowered in primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) (5). The precise role of NO in lung inflammation is still under debate. It may contribute to injury in some instances. Increasing evidence, however, points to salutary functions in general, and in particular to significant immunomodulatory roles. One of the mechanisms by which NO might modulate lung inflammation is through its interaction with the transcription factor NFk B, which is activated by diverse inflammatory stimuli and has been causally linked to respiratory cell inflammation and pulmonary disease (6‐8). In this issue, Raychaudhuri and colleagues (9), show an inverse correlation between exhaled levels of NO and NF- k B activity in alveolar macrophages obtained from patients with asthma or PPH. What conclusions can we draw from these new insights? NF- k B regulates many of the genes involved in the immune response, including tumor necrosis factor- a (TNF- a ), interleukin (IL)-8, intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and the cytokine-inducible NO-synthase (NOS 2) (10). The prototypic form of NF- k B is the p50-p65 heterodimer. (Although other dimeric forms exist [e.g., p50-p50, p65-cRel], their function in transcriptional regulation is less clear.) In its inactive state, NF- k B (p50-p65) is bound by an inhibitory protein, I- k B a and is sequestered in the cytoplasm. Upon stimulation by inflammatory mediators (e.g., TNF- a , lipopolysaccharide [LPS]), NF- k B is released from I- k B a and translocates to the nucleus where it can activate target gene transcription. NF- k B function is regulated by NO or related molecules. NO primarily inhibits NF- k B activation, but the effects are
The Counselor in Drug User Treatment

The counselor—the key staff member at therapeutic communities, outpatient drug-free treatment, and methadone maintenance—provides a wide range of services to clients. Crucial issues with respect to parity and other relationships between professional and ex-user counselors, counselor mobility, credentialing, role modeling, division of labor among counselors with different backgrounds, training, relations with alcoholism counselors, and changes linked to multiple drug use and funding shifts are discussed. [Translations are provided in the International Abstracts section of this issue.]
Bocavirus Infection Induces a DNA Damage Response That Facilitates Viral DNA Replication and Mediates Cell Death

Minute virus of canines (MVC) is an autonomous parvovirus that replicates efficiently without helper viruses in Walter Reed/3873D (WRD) canine cells. We previously showed that MVC infection induces mitochondrion-mediated apoptosis and G2/M-phase arrest in infected WRD cells. However, the mechanism responsible for these effects has not been established. Here, we report that MVC infection triggers a DNA damage response in infected cells, as evident from phosphorylation of H2AX and RPA32. We discovered that both ATM (ataxia telangiectasia-mutated kinase) and ATR (ATM- and Rad3-related kinase) were phosphorylated in MVC-infected WRD cells and confirmed that ATM activation was responsible for the phosphorylation of H2AX, whereas ATR activation was required for the phosphorylation of RPA32. Both pharmacological inhibition of ATM activation and knockdown of ATM in MVC-infected cells led to a significant reduction in cell death, a moderate correction of cell cycle arrest, and most importantly, a reduction in MVC DNA replication and progeny virus production. Parallel experiments with an ATR-targeted small interfering RNA (siRNA) had no effect. Moreover, we identified that this ATM-mediated cell death is p53 dependent. In addition, we localized the Mre11-Rad50-Nbs1 (MRN) complex, the major mediator as well as a substrate of the ATM-mediated DNA damage response pathway to MVC replication centers during infection, and show that Mre11 knockdown led to a reduction in MVC DNA replication. Our findings are the first to support the notion that an autonomous parvovirus is able to hijack the host DNA damage machinery for its own replication and for the induction of cell death.
Downlink transmission mode selection and switching algorithm for LTE

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is an emerging 4G wireless access technology. Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems are a primary enabler of the high data rate sought to be achieved by LTE. Closed-Loop-Spatial-Multiplexing and Open-Loop-Spatial-Multiplexing are the two primary MIMO transmission modes used in the LTE downlink. An LTE Base Station (eNodeB) is expected to select and switch transmission characteristics of these MIMO modes based on channel quality feedbacks: Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Precoding Matrix Indicator (PMI) and Rank Indicator (RI) reported by the mobile. In this paper, we show analytically as well as through simulations, that is it not optimal to make MIMO transmission mode selection at the eNodeB based solely on mobile feedback. Doing so can result in significant throughput loss. We then describe an algorithm that can prevent such throughput reduction. The algorithm works by enabling the eNodeB to selectively override the mobile's channel feedback and make a better choice of transmission mode. We provide simulation data to show that such an algorithm can improve the downlink throughput by 110% in some cases and by 20–50% on an average. We also show that an eNodeB equipped with this algorithm is able to match a benchmarked “best case” downlink throughput for a wide range of signal quality and channel models. Existing transmission mode selection algorithms described in literature involve the estimation of additional parameters such as mobile speed, channel diversity etc along with the mobile's channel feedback. The algorithm proposed in this paper is computationally much simpler. It does not involve estimation of any of these additional channel parameters. It is also at par or better in performance. This algorithm has been implemented in the Motorola LTE product.
Measurement of Carbon/Metal Ratio in a Single Grain of Nonstoichiometric Titanium Carbide

The carbon/metal ratio, x, was measured at several points in a single grain ofTiCx 1 μm in diameter in a nickel-bonded composite, TiC /Ni-Mo, by electron energy loss spectroscopy. Cross sections for inner-shell ionization of Ti and C were taken from elemental film values. A value of x=0.81 ±0.02 was obtained at the center of the grain. This result is significant for interpreting mechanical properties of the material, as they should depend on x.
Incorporating spectral subtraction and noise type for unvoiced speech segregation

Unvoiced speech poses a big challenge to current monaural speech segregation systems. It lacks harmonic structure and is highly susceptible to interference due to its relatively weak energy. This paper describes a new approach to segregate unvoiced speech from nonspeech interference. The system first estimates a voiced binary mask, and then performs unvoiced speech segregation in two stages: segmentation and grouping. In segmentation, time-frequency units labeled as 0 in the voiced binary mask are first used to estimate the noise energy and spectral subtraction is then performed to generate time-frequency segments in unvoiced intervals. Based on the type of noise, unvoiced segments are grouped either by selecting segments consistent with those generated by onset/offset analysis or by Bayesian classification of acoustic-phonetic features. Systematic evaluation and comparison show that the proposed approach improves the performance of unvoiced speech segregation considerably.
The Patient-Centered Medical Neighborhood: Transformation of Specialty Care.

The growing need for coordinated care of those with medically complex diseases is becoming more important in today’s health care system, wherein reimbursement changes are driving methods to improve quality and cost. This article discusses the 6 key processes that, according to the American College of Physicians, define an effective medical neighborhood; the evidence supporting the need for this coordinated system; and pilot medical neighborhood strategies being implemented.
The health consequences of peripheral neurological deficits in an elderly cohort: an Oklahoma Physicians Resource/Research Network Study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the belief that loss of deep tendon reflexes and vibratory sensation in the ankles in older patients is of no great consequence is valid. DESIGN: Four-year longitudinal cohort study. SETTING: Primary care practice–based research network. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred four noninstitutionalized individuals aged 65 and older with no self-reported medical conditions known to cause peripheral neuropathy (PN), recruited from the practices of 23 primary care physicians in central Oklahoma. MEASUREMENTS: Annual standardized peripheral neurological examination performed by two research nurses plus a questionnaire that included self-reported measures of health, health-related quality of life (HRQoL Quality of Well-Being—Self Administered (QWB-SA) and Health Utilities Index-3 (HUI-3), physical functioning—(Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36)), falls, and use of healthcare services. Deaths were determined from participant contacts, primary care physicians, and the Social Security death index. RESULTS: One hundred sixty of 604 participants had symmetrical peripheral neurological deficits (SPNDs). After controlling for age, sex, race, education, income, body mass index, HRQoL, physical functioning, self-rated health, cognitive test score, and a variety of medical conditions, SPNDs were associated with earlier hospitalization (P=.03); greater mortality (P<.001); and declines in HRQoL (QWB-SA, P<.001), self-rated health (P=.02) physical functioning (SF-36, P=.005), and bodily pain (SF-36, P=.001). CONCLUSION: SPNDs of undetermined cause, found in older patients on physical examination, appear to be associated with greater morbidity and mortality.
The 2002 Denali Fault and 2001 Kunlun Fault Earthquakes: Complex Rupture Processes of Two Large Strike-Slip Events

We studied the source processes of two large continental earthquakes, the 3 November 2002 Denali fault earthquake and the 14 November 2001 Kunlun fault earthquake, associated with strike-slip faulting along ancient sutures. We inverted teleseismic P waveforms using a pulse-stripping method for multiple time windows with different focal mechanisms and derived composite source models. According to our results, the 2002 Denali fault earthquake began with initial thrusting ( M w 7.3) along a 40-km-long segment of the north-northwest-dipping Susitna Glacier fault and later ruptured a 300-km-long segment along the Denali and Totschunda faults with a right-lateral strike-slip mechanism ( M w 7.7). In contrast, the 2001 Kunlun fault earthquake nucleated near an extensional step-over with a subevent pair consisting of 30-km-long strike-slip ( M w 6.9) event and 40-km-long normal ( M w 6.8) faulting event and later ruptured a 350-km-long segment along the Kunlun fault with a left-lateral strike-slip mechanism ( M w 7.7). Both earthquakes propagated primarily unilaterally to the east and released most of their energy along slip patches (asperities) far from the hypocenter locations. We find that both the Denali fault and Kunlun fault earthquakes had high-average rupture velocities of 3.2 km/sec and 3.4 km/sec, respectively. We also compared the source properties of these two earthquakes with other strike-slip earthquakes. For scaling purposes, large strike-slip earthquakes were classified as interplate, oceanic intraplate, or continental intraplate events. By using this classification the Denali fault and Kunlun fault earthquakes have an interplate signature that suggests overall weak faulting.
BADGE SIZE AND EXTRA-PAIR FERTILIZATIONS IN THE HOUSE SPARROW

Abstract For House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, it has been proposed that the size of a male's throat badge correlates with his success in avoiding cuckoldry as well as obtaining extra-pair copulations (EPCs), and that females gain indirect (genetic) benefits from EPCs with large-badged males. Alternatively, female House Sparrows may engage in EPCs as a guard against their social mate's infertility. We used multi-locus DNA fingerprinting to examine paternity and found that among 41 broods and 136 offspring, 20% of the offspring were attributable to extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs). Forty-one percent of the 34 males were cuckolded; however, large-badged males were as likely to be cuckolded as small-badged males. Moreover, we found no evidence that large-badged males were inherently superior to small-badged males in terms of survivorship. We compared the prevalence of unhatched eggs in broods with and without extra-pair offspring to determine whether EPFs are associated with hatching failure. Although we de...
Raman Spectroscopy of Titania (TiO2) Nanotubular Water-Splitting Catalysts

The phase composition of nanotubular TiO2 films was correlated with photoelectrochemical activity as a function of O2-annealing temperature. TiO2 nanotubes have been shown to be more efficient than polycrystalline TiO2 for the photocatalytic splitting of water. Raman spectroscopy was used to identify and quantify the amorphous and crystalline TiO2 phases. The amorphous TiO2 nanotubular array was found to consist of TiO6 8- octahedra having the same average structure as those present in the anatase and rutile phases of TiO2. Results show that the anatase-to-rutile transformation on Ti metal initiates at much lower temperatures compared to polycrystalline TiO2 and this is attributed to oxygen vacancies located at the metal/oxide interface and is likely responsible for increasing the photocurrent density.
The Conservation Reserve Program: A Solution to the Problem of Agricultural Overproduction?

American agriculture has long had a problem of overcapacity — the country is capable of producing far more food than it can sell at the prices its citizens and foreign customers are willing to pay. The reasons for this overcapacity are multiple and complex, including exceptionally favorable environment (in some areas), impressive technology (in some areas), families who undervalue their labor to gain a rural lifestyle (in some areas), government subsidies that encourage production (in some areas), and the ability to externalize major costs of nutrient management and sediment control (in some areas).
A potent smooth muscle relaxant found in Camu-Camu berries acts through NO-modified ascorbic acid.

Camu-camu berries (Myrciaria dubia) are famous for their health beneficial properties due to high antioxidant (AO) content, which includes high Ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds (anthocyanin, bioflavonoids), ellagic acid and rutin (1). We applied Camu berries (CC) extract to tracheal rings and observed airway smooth muscle relaxation. To identify Camu berry moiety possessing smooth muscle relaxation properties, we separated 4 fractions of CC juice by liquid chromatography and subjected it to reduction- chemiluminiscence assay. CC extract contained a nitrosonium donor (~2 μM) identified by Cu/Cys that was not nitrite or a classic S-nitrosothiol (not displaced by HgCl2 and only partially displaced by UV light). AES identified abundant iron, though MS also identified an ascorbate-nitrosonium adduct. Bronchial rings relaxed in a dose response fashion to Camu berries extract (IC50 ~ 30.4 nM, n = 19) and IsoP (IC50 ~22 nM, n = 6; p = 0.41 relative to CC). Relaxation to IsoP, but not CC juice, was inhibited by propranolol (100 nM). Camu berries extract contains an airway smooth muscle (ASM) relaxant - with potency comparable to isoproterenol - that acts independently of β1 or β2 adrenergic receptors. Our leading candidate is AO – ascorbate – NO.
O(6)-Alkylguanine DNA Alkyltransferase Repair Activity Towards Intrastrand Cross-Linked DNA is Influenced by the Internucleotide Linkage.

Oligonucleotides containing an alkylene intrastrand cross-link (IaCL) between the O(6) -atoms of two consecutive 2'-deoxyguanosines (dG) were prepared by solid-phase synthesis. UV thermal denaturation studies of duplexes containing butylene and heptylene IaCL revealed a 20 °C reduction in stability compared to the unmodified duplexes. Circular dichroism profiles of these IaCL DNA duplexes exhibited signatures consistent with B-form DNA. Human O(6) -alkylguanine DNA alkyltransferase (hAGT) was capable of repairing both IaCL containing duplexes with slightly greater efficiency towards the heptylene analog. Interestingly, repair efficiencies of hAGT towards these IaCL were lower compared to O(6) -alkylene linked IaCL lacking the 5'-3'-phosphodiester linkage between the connected 2'-deoxyguanosine residues. These results demonstrate that the proficiency of hAGT activity towards IaCL at the O(6) -atom of dG is influenced by the backbone phosphodiester linkage between the cross-linked residues.
Robust coordination control of a pneumatic deburring tool: Research Articles

An efficient robotic deburring method was developed based on an active pneumatic tool. The developed method considers the interaction among the tool, the manipulator, and the workpiece and couples the tool dynamics and a control design that considers deburring process information. The active pneumatic tool was developed based on a single pneumatic actuator, with a passive chamber to provide compliance and reduce chattering caused by air compressibility. A coordination control method was developed for the efficient control of the system, which adopts two-level hierarchical control structure based on a coordination scheme. Robust feedback linearization was utilized to minimize the undesirable effect of the disturbances, such as static and Coulomb frictions and the nonlinear compliance of the pneumatic cylinder stemming from air compressibility. The developed coordination control method demonstrated its efficacy in terms of deburring accuracy and speed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Bioavailability of nasally administered progesterone

8 healthy women volunteers between the ages of 22-38 participated in a study designed to explore the relationship between endogenous estradiol (E2) levels and progesterone (P) absorption. Physical and pelvic examinations and laboratory screening tests revealed no abnormalities. All women had regular menstrual cycles at 24-32-day intervals and all were free of a significant menstrual cycle symptoms. 2 studies were performed at least 72 hours apart in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. The following medications were administered in random order: nasal P (Pronasone) 20 mg and nasal P (Pronasone) 30 mg. Serum P levels were drawn at the following times: 0 3 6 10 20 30 60 120 180 240 360 and 480 minutes. Serum for E2 assay was taken from the 0 time sample. The women were examined with a nasal speculum after each nasal absorption study. Serum was separated and frozen for subsequent assay. The data were analyzed using the CLINFO system from the National Institutes of Health. All of the women complained of a mildly unpleasant taste within several minutes following Pronasone administration. No evidence of nasal irritation was observed in any woman. The similar absorption curves obtained with Pronasone 20 mg and 30 mg doses and the aberrantly high values and delayed peaks ob tained in 2 subjects with the 30 mg dose imply that further work on dosage range ointment formulation and the method of application may be necessary before dependable clinical utility can be demonstrated. The peak levels of P that were reached compare favorably with results using similar doses (25 mg) in cocoa butter rectal or vaginal suppositories but are somewhat lower than those seen with polyethylene glycol base suppositories. The apparent inverse relationship between serum E2 levels and P levels obtained with Pronasone in the 20-mg dose was not expected. Alterations of nasal vascularity interstitial hydration and mucous blanket production all might influence absorption. The study demonstrates that the intranasal route is a potentially useful approach for the administration of unmodified sex steroid medications and is likely to be clinically safe and acceptable to patients.
Robust prediction of the cumulative incidence function under non-proportional subdistribution hazards

Prediction of a cause-specific cumulative incidence function (CIF) for data containing competing risks is of primary interest to clinicians when making treatment decisions for patients given their prognostic characteristics. The Fine–Gray regression model is widely used to incorporate multiple prognostic factors, yet it is not applicable when the assumption of proportional subdistribution hazards (PSH) does not hold. In this study we investigate the properties of the partial-likelihood estimator from the Fine–Gray model under non-proportionality and propose a robust risk prediction procedure that is not sensitive to the assumption and is more favourable in practice because it bypasses the complicated modelling of time-varying covariate effects. We evaluate the prediction performance of our procedure in simulations and demonstrate an application in predicting the absolute risk of locoregional recurrence for breast cancer patients, given a set of prognostic factors in which not all of them satisfy the PSH assumption. The Canadian Journal of Statistics xx: 1–15; 2016 © 2016 Statistical Society of Canada Resume L'estimation de la fonction d'incidence cumulative (FIC) pour des risques concurrents importe aux cliniciens lorsqu'ils prennent des decisions avec leurs patients selon les caracteristiques de leur pronostic. Le modele de regression de Fine-Gray est largement utilise pour tenir compte des facteurs pronostiques meme s'il devient inapplicable lorsque l'hypothese de proportionnalite des risques de chaque sous-distribution (PRSD) est inadequate. Les auteurs etudient les proprietes de l'estimateur au maximum de vraisemblance partielle du modele de Fine-Gray dans le cas de non-proportionalite et proposent une procedure de prevision des risques robuste qui est insensible aux problemes de PRSD et qui elimine l’etape de modelisation des covariables dynamiques sur le plan temporel. Ils evaluent la performance de leur procedure pour la prevision a l'aide de simulations et presentent une application ou le risque absolu de recurrence loco-regionale du cancer du sein est predit chez des patientes en tenant compte de leurs facteurs pronostiques qui ne satisfont pas tous l'hypothese de PRSD. La revue canadienne de statistique xx: 1–15; 2016 © 2016 Societe statistique du Canada
Surface of liquid water: three-body interactions and vibrational sum-frequency spectroscopy.

Phase-sensitive vibrational sum-frequency experiments on the water surface, using isotopic mixtures of water and heavy water, have recently been performed. The experiments show a positive feature a...
Science, Society and Action

This chapter traces the history of the National Coordination Center for Global Change in the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (NCCGC, now the Scientific Coordination Center for Global Change, SCCGC), highlighting its decade of existence. It presents a brief overview of the ensuing research projects, studies, books, publications and educational initiatives, which are the result of intensive and fruitful collaboration in the realm of climate change and sustainable development among the Pennsylvania State University, the US National Science Foundation (NSF), institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and Bulgarian universities. Significant achievements of this collaboration were establishment of the NCCGC by BAS in 1997 as well as the books “Global Change and Bulgaria”, and “Drought in Bulgaria: A Contemporary Analog of Climate Change”. Other outcomes are computer-based climate and hydro-economic models in a geographic information systems (GIS) framework for the Struma and Yantra River basins, which would assist decision makers with planning in Bulgaria to reduce negative impacts and vulnerability of the country in the face of climate change. Research results and lessons learned are viewed as road markers to assist decision makers and the public in the face of climate change and planning for sustainability. The chapter urges further contributions of the SCCGC to Bulgarian climate challenges.
Determinations on cornfield carabid populations in Northeastern North Carolina

Carabids in northeastern North Carolina cornfields were sampled by pitfall traps and insecticidal ground sprays. Over 45 species were collected per year, totaling over 60 species in a 2- year study. Seasonal activity, habitat preference, and density of important species were estimated. Pitfall traps and ground sprays produced different estimates of population composition. Ground sprays were assumed to provide a truer representation of species present and of density, because pitfalls are behaviorally sensitive instruments.
Ultrastructure of giant-cell lesions. A peripheral giant-cell reparative granuloma.

Abstract The morphologic features of the cells in a peripheral giant-cell granuloma of the mandible were examined with the electron microscope. The principal structural features of the multinucleated giant cells included extremely irregular nuclear and cytoplasmic membranes, very large and prominent nucleoli, and huge concentrations of mitochondria and vesicles within the cytoplasm. Dense bodies similar to those which are considered to represent lysosomes in other cells were seldom seen in the giant cells but were present in several mononuclear stromal cells. There was no evidence of phagocytosis of fragmented erythrocytes, granules of pigment, or foreign material by the giant cells, but mononuclear macrophages were active in this respect. The giant cells are not simply larger versions of the stromal cells which are thought to produce them. They are highly differentiated cells with an organelle content distinctly different from that of any of the stromal cells.
Interleukin-10-mediated inhibition of free radical generation in macrophages.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is a pleiotropic cytokine that controls inflammatory processes by suppressing the production of proinflammatory cytokines that are known to be transcriptionally regulated by ...
Neighbourhood income inequality and property crime

This paper examines the relationship between income inequality and property crime using Census block group data from three US cities: Nashville, TN, Portland, OR and Tucson, AZ. This paper is one o...
AN OVERVIEW OF THE PRESENT STATUS AND FUTURE POTENTIAL OF COMPUTERIZED ENERGY ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT This paper looks at the present state of energy analysis techniques in order to establish a frame of reference for the comparison of the different methods. In addition the future potential of powerful computer software is examined to understand its effect on building design.
Streams and Their Valleys

Stream ecology is the subject of this case study. Particularly, the chapter concerns itself with society’s current treatment of headwater streams: Despite their importance in river networks, first and second order streams are not appreciated, catalogued, or adequately protected. Also discussed is the concept of nutrient spiraling.
Electric Power Systems

This chapter contains sections titled: Electric Networks Traditional Transmission Systems Traditional Distribution Systems Intelligent Electrical Grids ]]>
Channel recessed 4H-SiC MESFETs with F/sub t/ of 14.5GHz and F/sub max/ of 40GHz

Channel recessed 4H-SiC MESFETs have demonstrated excellent small signal characteristics and the effect of Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ passivation on these devices has been studied in this work. A saturated current of 250-270 mA/mm and a maximum transconductance of 40-45 mS/mm were measured for these devices. The 3-terminal breakdown voltage V/sub ds/ ranges from 120 V to more than 150 V, depending on gate-drain spacing. 2/spl times/200 /spl mu/m devices with 0.45 /spl mu/m gate length show high F/sub t/ of 14.5 GHz and F/sub max/ of 40 GHz. After Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/ passivation, the output power and PAE were increased by 40% and 16%, respectively, for CW power measurement. Other measurements, such as, the change in surface potential and the dispersion of the drain current make it clear that the passivation of SiC MESFETs reduces the surface effects and enhances the RF power performance by suppressing the instability in DC characteristics.
Additional Fishes Inhabiting North Carolina's Estuarine and Marine Ocean Waters to 2,000+ m Depths

Abstract Improved sampling by otter trawls, ships that are capable of sampling deeper waters, submersible observations, visual observations and published studies reveal 244 additional fish species inhabit estuarine to 2,000+ m ocean water depths off North Carolina.
The Choices We Make: Game Design to Promote Second Language Acquisition

Prior research about games designed to promote Second Language Acquisition (SLA) typically involves one of two perspectives: 1. an overview of the gaming system and its architecture; or 2. an evaluation of the gameplay experience and its impact on students' SLA. Less is known about why certain game design decisions were made or how these decisions support or inhibit SLA. Thus, game designers and Second Language (L2) educators miss opportunities to learn from each other and to collaborate effectively in the game design process. This case study outlines the design process of a mobile game that promotes Spanish proficiency and reflects on this experience to understand how specific game design decisions influence certain aspects of SLA. Results reveal the correlation between design specifications and SLA.
CD4+CD26- lymphocytes are useful to assess blood involvement and define B ratings in cutaneous T cell lymphoma.

Bernengo et al. reported that >30% CD4+CD26- lymphocytes detect blood involvement in patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sezary syndrome. In addition, the ISCL/EORTC suggested that this threshold might serve as a criterion for the B2 blood rating for staging. In this manuscript, we report our experience with measurement of CD4+CD26- and CD4+CD7- cells, Sezary cell counts, and aberrant T cells with diminished expression of CD2, CD3, or CD5 antigens. CD4+CD26- ≥30% occurred in 15 of 373 (4.0%) patients with MF, 33 of 47 (70%) patients with erythrodermic cutaneous T cell lymphoma (ECTCL) and 2 of 54 (4%) patients with inflammatory skin diseases. CD4+CD26- measurements provided a more reliable assessment of neoplastic cell numbers in the blood than Sezary cell or CD4+CD7- percentages. CD4+CD26- measurements may be used to define B ratings for staging with B2 defined as CD4+CD26- ≥ 1000/μL, plus clonality or phenotypically abnormal cells.
Landscape Restoration, Natural Regeneration, and the Forests of the Future

Reversing large-scale degradation and deforestation goes beyond what can be achieved by site-level ecological restoration. Forest and landscape restoration focuses on spatial scales beyond the “site” level, where multiple land uses and forms of land ownership coexist, and where management decisions are usually made by different sets of stakeholders. In this context, natural regeneration can be a cost-effective approach to expand buffer zones of protected areas or forest reserves, create new forest patches and riparian zones, and create biological corridors to link existing protected areas. Here, I describe different modalities of natural regeneration, describe their benefits and features, and present several case studies of large-scale natural regeneration. Regrowing forests are often ignored, and their ecological and economic value remains largely unrecognized. Effective incentives for landowners and local communities are needed to encourage and protect naturally regenerating forests on farms. Predicting and mapping areas with a high capacity for natural regeneration will lower the overall costs of implementing restoration at local, regional, and national levels and may permit larger areas to be restored. Regrowing tropical forests will play an increasingly important role in climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation in our future uncertain world.
Deliberate modification of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) during lithiation of magnetite, Fe3O4: impact on electrochemistry

Magnetite is a conversion anode material displaying multi-electron transfer during lithiation and delithiation. The solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on magnetite, Fe3O4, electrodes for lithium ion batteries was deliberately modified through the use of fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) electrolyte additive, improving both capacity retention and rate capability. Analysis showed reduction of FEC at higher voltage compared to non-fluorinated solvents with formation of a modified lithium flouride containing electrode surface.
Volumetric reconstruction of thermal-depth fused 3D models for occluded body posture estimation

Abstract Reliable and effective occluded skeletal posture estimation is a challenging problem for vision-based modalities that do not provide inter-surface imaging. These include both visible-light and depth-based devices that all existing pose estimation techniques are derived from. This fundamental limitation in skeletal tracking is due to the inability of these techniques to penetrate occluding surface materials to derive joint configurations that are not directly visible to the camera. In this work, we present a new method of estimating skeletal posture in occluded applications using both depth and thermal imaging through volumetric modeling and introduce a new occluded ground-truth tracking method inspired by modern motion capture solutions for tracking occluded joint positions. Using this integrated volumetric model, we utilize Convolutional Neural Networks to characterize and identify volumetric thermal distributions that match trained skeletal posture estimates which includes disconnected skeletal definitions and allows correct posture estimation in highly ambiguous cases. We demonstrate this approach by accurately identifying common sleep postures that present challenging cases for current skeletal joint estimation techniques and evaluate the use of volumetric thermal models for various sleep-study related applications.
HIV Incidence, Prevalence, and Undiagnosed Infections in U.S. Men Who Have Sex With Men

HIV infection is a persistent health concern in the United States. Data from the National HIV Surveillance System were used to estimate recent changes in HIV incidence and prevalence, as well as in...
Obesity-Associated Diseases Biomarkers Are Differently Modulated in Lean and Obese Individuals and Inversely Correlated to Plasma Polyphenolic Metabolites After 6 Weeks of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Consumption.

Scope Mangos are a rich source of gallotannin-derived polyphenols that may exert anti-inflammatory effects relevant to obesity-related chronic diseases. This randomized human clinical study investigated the influence of daily mango supplementation for 6 weeks on inflammation and metabolic functions in lean and obese individuals. Methods and results Lean (n = 12, body mass index [BMI] 18-26.2 kg m-2 ) and obese (n = 9, BMI >28.9 kg m-2 ) participants, aged 18-65 years received daily 400 g of mango pulp for 6 weeks. Inflammatory cytokines, metabolic hormones, and lipid profiles were examined in plasma before and after 6 weeks. In lean participants, systolic blood pressure was lowered by 4 mmHg after 6 weeks. In obese participants, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were reduced by 18% and 20%, respectively. Obese participants showed decreased plasma concentrations (area under the curve [AUC] 0-8h ) of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1). Correlation analysis indicates that the beneficial effects of mango supplementation on pro-inflammatory cytokines, PAI-1 and HbA1c, are associated with systemic exposure to polyphenolic metabolites. Conclusions Mango supplementation improves the plasma levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and metabolic hormones in obese participants. There is a crucial need to investigate the role of lowered polyphenolic absorption in obese individuals on their efficacy in reducing biomarkers for inflammation and other risk factors for chronic diseases.
Nuts and Cardiovascular Disease.

Abstract There is compelling evidence showing that nut intake confers protection against cardiovascular disease (CVD). We conducted a review of the literature with respect to observational studies and randomized trials completed in the past ≈25 years that examined nut intake and CVD endpoints. We included findings from major cohort studies, a large intervention trial, and numerous smaller nut trials. Collectively, data from observational and intervention studies indicate strong and significant association between nut intake and decreased risk of fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease , myocardial infarction, and sudden death; and somewhat weak association with stroke. The primary mechanism by which nuts protect against CVD is through the improvement of lipid and apolipoprotein profile. Increasing evidence also indicates that nut consumption may confer protection against CVD via lowering of oxidative stress, inflammation; and improvement in endothelial function. Nut components, such as unsaturated fatty acids, L-arginine, beneficial minerals, phenolic compounds and phytosterols, appear to be of paramount importance for their health effects.
The Role of Drug Abuse Treatment in the Prevention of HIV Infection

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic has had a profound impact on the community of injection drug users (IDUs) in the United States. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is believed to have been introduced into this risk group in the mid-1970s,1,2 and within two decades estimates suggest that over 300,000 IDUs had become infected. During this time over 100,000 IDUs are believed to have died of AIDS-related causes. Injection drug use has become the leading cause of infection among newly diagnosed AIDS cases.3
Detour Distance in Graphs

Abstract For vertices u and v in a connected graph G, the detour distance d* (u, v) between u and v is the length of a longest path P for which the subgraph induced by the vertices of P is P itself. A graph G is called a detour graph if d* (u, v) equals the standard distance between u and v in G for every pair u, v of vertices of G. Several results concerning detour distance and detour graphs are presented.
Collaborations Across and Within Systems That Provide Services to Families without Homes

Coordinated intervention from multiple service agencies is a necessity because of the complex set of issues facing families without homes. Barriers to interagency collaboration exist, but are not insurmountable. This chapter presents ten evidence-based principles that can guide successful collaborations that are based on the Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness. These principles are illustrated using real-life examples taken from several programs that help people without homes.
Microfluidic Systems for Marine Biotechnology

During the past decade, rapid progress in physics, electronics, and material sciences has facilitated the development of miniaturized microfluidic systems, also known as Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC ), that represent the next generation of analytical laboratories, miniaturized to be held in one’s hand. Microfluidics has appeared as a concrete alternative than can address problems and overcome limitation in various biological and chemical domains, including stem cell research, drug discovery, and food sciences just to name a few, and has proven to be more than state-of-the-art techniques. Microfluidic techniques provide accurate and fast results with small amounts of reagents and can bring various analytical tools for in situ studies. In this chapter, we describe some of the systems developed to overcome the limitations of conventional marine biotechnology processes.
Multidisciplinary Shape Optimization

Shape optimization is expanded here beyond the specific discipline of structural synthesis to consider the spectrum of design tasks which fall into the general multidisciplinary category. This logical extension of optimization is a fruitful area of research and applications.
Profiling and Predicting Application Performance on the Cloud

Cloud providers continue to expand and diversify their collection of leasable resources to meet the needs of an increasingly wide range of applications. While this flexibility is a key benefit of the cloud, it also creates a complex landscape in which users are faced with many resource choices for a given application. Suboptimal selections can both degrade performance and increase costs. Given the rapidly evolving pool of resources, it is infeasible for users alone to select instance types; instead, automated methods are needed to simplify and guide resource provisioning. Here we present a method for the automatic prediction of application performance on arbitrary cloud instances. We combine offline and online profiling approaches, using historical data gathered from non-cloud environments and targeted profiling runs on cloud environments to create a composite application model that can predict run times on a given cloud instance type for a given input data size. We demonstrate average error of 17.2% across nine applications used in production bioinformatics workflows. Finally, we evaluate an experiment design approach to explore the trade-off between the cost of profiling and the accuracy of our models. Using this approach, with no prior knowledge, we show that using 4 selectively chosen experiments we can achieve performance within 30% of a model trained using all instance types.
Feedback sessions as mediation spaces: empowering teacher candidates to deepen instructional knowledge and engage in the construction and transformation of theory in practice

The process of engaging in classroom research provides teacher candidates with opportunities to enter into the kind of deep, self-reflective work that we believe is an important capacity to build i...
Can the Morphology of Biconcave Metal Sulfide Nanoplatelets Be Preserved during Cation Exchange

Cation exchange (CE) has become a central strategy for preparing many previously unavailable semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs). However, general understanding of mechanisms governing morphology pres...
Lanelok: Detection Of Lane Boundaries And Vehicle Tracking Using Image-Processing Techniques -Part II: Template Matching Algorithms

Sensing lane boundaries is a core capability for advanced automotive functions such as collision warning, collision avoidance and automatic vehicle-guidance. Part I of this study described special image-processing algorithms for the detection of lane boundaries and vehicle tracking, using images from a video camera. Part II of this study describes a new algorithm for detecting lane boundaries using template matching. This technique was selected because of its speed and its ability to include additional knowledge--two characteristics which are required for real-time, on-board vehicle applications. The algorithm has been tested successfully on over 3000 frames of videotape from interstate highways I-75 and I-94.
Spinner Dolphins of Islands and Atolls

Spinner dolphins, Stenella longirostris, occur globally in tropical and subtropical waters and form island-associated populations in many parts of the world. These populations are closely tied to island resources, relying on enhanced aggregations of mesopelagic prey and nearshore habitats to conduct a highly stereotyped daily behavioral cycle. To exploit these resources, spinner dolphins have adapted their social structure, foraging ecology, reproductive patterns, predator avoidance behavior, and communication in unique ways. Spinner dolphins are a gregarious species with individuals relying on the dynamics of the pod for nearly every aspect of their lives. Because of a daily tendency to visit the same coastal waters and engage in acrobatic displays, many populations have seen a steady rise in popular and commercial dolphin-watching by humans. This has led to management concerns about the potential impacts that chronic interactions may have on the dolphins’ ability to conduct normal daily behaviors.
Meaning-based leadership:

The core role of leadership in organizations is to motivate the pursuit of the organization’s purpose (i.e., the reason the organization exists and does what it does). Yet, there currently is no le...