cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Observed variations of earthquake motion across a sediment-filled valley

The response to earthquake motion of a site in one sediment-filled valley was observed to depend strongly on frequency and the position of the site within the valley and weakly on the input signal's azimuth and incidence angles. The observed input motion was weak, varying between 10−5 and 10−3 g . Measurements of ground velocity were made on profiles across and along the valley and simultaneously on two nearby rock sites. The valley was 400 m wide and 700 m long, with a maximum sediment thickness of 60 m. The average seismic impedance contrast between the sediments and underlying basement rock was about 6:1. Ratios of Fourier spectra from soil sites to spectra from nearby rock sites showed apparent site amplifications of as much as a factor of ten, depending strongly on frequency and the distance of the site from the valley edge. The scatter in spectral ratios for earthquakes with different azimuths and angles of incidence was about a factor of two; thus local site effects that changed the amplitude of incident motion by a factor of two or more could be identified in the records of most earthquakes. Ground motion at valley-edge and mid-valley sites, separated by less than 100 m, differed by as much as a factor of five. This difference could cause large differential motion in structures spanning these sites. A theoretical, flat layer model of sediment response predicts the average behavior of the middle of the valley but not that of the valley edge. The lowest frequency responance apparently involves the sediments across the width of the valley, not just the vertical column of soil beneath each site.
Sequence-Specific Sensing of Nucleic Acids.

Innate immune cells are endowed with many nucleic acid receptors, but the role of sequence in the detection of foreign organisms remains unclear. Can sequence patterns influence recognition? In addition, how can we infer those patterns from sequence data? Here, we detail recent computational and experimental evidence associated with sequence-specific sensing. We review the mechanisms underlying the detection and discrimination of foreign sequences from self. We also describe quantitative approaches used to infer the stimulatory capacity of a given pathogen nucleic acid species, and the influence of sequence-specific sensing on host–pathogen coevolution, including endogenous sequences of foreign origin. Finally, we speculate how further studies of sequence-specific sensing will be useful to improve vaccine design, gene therapy and cancer treatment.
An on-road evaluation of connected motorcycle crash warning interface with different motorcycle types

Abstract Crash warning systems have been deployed in the high-end vehicle market segment for some time and are trickling down to additional motor vehicle industry segments each year. The motorcycle segment, however, has no deployed crash warning system to date. With the active development of next generation crash warning systems based on connected vehicle technologies, this study explored possible interface designs for motorcycle crash warning systems and evaluated their rider acceptance and effectiveness in a connected vehicle context. Four prototype warning interface displays covering three warning mode alternatives (auditory, visual, and haptic) were designed and developed for motorcycles. They were tested on-road with three connected vehicle safety applications - intersection movement assist, forward collision warning, and lane departure warning - which were selected according to the most impactful crash types identified for motorcycles. Combined auditory and haptic displays showed considerable promise for implementation. Auditory display is easily implemented given the adoption rate of in-helmet auditory systems. Its weakness of presenting directional information in this study may be remedied by using simple speech or with the help of haptic design, which performed well at providing such information and was also found to be attractive to riders. The findings revealed both opportunities and challenges of visual displays for motorcycle crash warning systems. More importantly, differences among riders of three major motorcycle types (cruiser, sport, and touring) in terms of rider acceptance of a motorcycle crash warning system were revealed. Based on the results, recommendations were provided for an appropriate crash warning interface design for motorcycles and riders in a connected vehicle environment.
Weather Prediction Models

Awareness of weather and concern about weather in the proximate future certainly must have accompanied the emergence of human self-consciousness. Although weather is a basic idea in human existence, it is difficult to define precisely.
The committed female fighter: the political identities of Tamil women in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

This study examines the role of recruitment in explaining variation in participation for female combatants in rebel movements. I argue that recruitment has little impact on the nature of women’s pa...
The Expanded Access Cure: A Twenty-First Century Framework for Companies

Through expanded access protocols, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows patients with serious or immediately life-threatening diseases access to experimental drugs outside the clinical trial setting when no satisfactory alternative treatment is available. While the FDA has established a mechanism for providing patients with unapproved drug access, the regulations do not require the pharmaceutical company to provide the drug. The drug company’s permission to use its experimental drug is a necessary prerequisite to using the FDA’s expanded access mechanism. Increasingly, drug companies are coming under scrutiny regarding the programs governing that decision-making power. Historically, disclosing whether a company has an expanded access program, and whether or how it would respond to an expanded access request, has been left to discretion of the drug companies themselves. Few manufacturers publish adequate expanded access protocols. As a result, patients were provided with little insight into how companies evaluate expanded access requests and are naturally skeptical as to the ethical integrity of the process. The recently passed 21st Century Cures Act changes that practice by requiring drug companies to have, and make publically available, their expanded access procedures including criteria for evaluating and responding to patient requests. In this article, we contend that complying with the new transparency provisions will require drug companies to respond to several unresolved expanded access issues. Namely, how to reconcile a patient’s desire to access lifesaving experimental therapies alongside the company and society’s interest in the efficient development of new drugs. Even more challenging, how can companies devise practices for evaluating and processing expanded access requests that also fairly and equitably acknowledge those concerns? In addressing these questions, this article explores the legal, regulatory, business, and societal influences that have shaped expanded access policies and practices. From there, we provide companies a framework that balances appropriately the desires of individuals and gaining the requisite approvals ensure access not just for one person but for society.
Use of Biomarkers and Multigene Assays in Breast Cancer

All patients with early breast cancer should be classified by subgroup through testing estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2 status, with or without Ki-67 proliferation percentage. Genomic expression profiling aids clinical decision-making in most patients, because most are estrogen receptor-positive. The commercially available classifiers are prognostic for distant recurrence in node-negative and also node-positive patients. Patients at genomically low risk have excellent 5-year outcomes with endocrine therapy alone. Some assays also predict for benefit from adjuvant endocrine therapy and chemotherapy in node-negative and node-positive patients, but with varying levels of evidence. Genomic classifiers are also prognostic of late relapse and may predict benefit from extended adjuvant endocrine therapy.
Using AI to Teach AI: Lessons from an Online AI Class

In fall 2014, we launched a foundational course in artificial intelligence (CS7637: Knowledge-Based AI) as part of the Georgia Institute of Technology's Online Master of Science in Computer Science program. We incorporated principles and practices from the cognitive and learning sciences into the development of the online AI course. We also integrated AI techniques into the instruction of the course, including embedding 100 highly focused intelligent tutoring agents in the video lessons. By now, more than 2000 students have taken the course. Evaluations have indicated that OMSCS students enjoy the course compared to traditional courses, and more importantly, that online students have matched residential students' performance on the same assessments. In this article, we present the design, delivery, and evaluation of the course, focusing on the use of AI for teaching AI. We also discuss lessons we learned for scaling the teaching and learning of AI.
Non-destructive two-photon excited fluorescence imaging identifies early nodules in calcific aortic-valve disease

Calcifications occur during the development of healthy bone, and at the onset of calcific aortic-valve disease (CAVD) and many other pathologies. Although the mechanisms regulating early calcium deposition are not fully understood, they may provide targets for new treatments and for early interventions. Here, we show that two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) can provide quantitative and sensitive readouts of calcific nodule formation, in particular in the context of CAVD. Specifically, by means of the decomposition of TPEF spectral images from excised human CAVD valves and from rat bone prior to and following demineralization, as well as from calcific nodules formed within engineered gels, we identified an endogenous fluorophore that correlates with the level of mineralization in the samples. We then developed a ratiometric imaging approach that provides a quantitative readout of the presence of mineral deposits in early calcifications. TPEF should enable non-destructive, high-resolution imaging of three-dimensional tissue specimens for the assessment of the presence of calcification.
New skin in the game

Transplantation of autologous transgenic stem cells resulted in near complete skin regeneration in a 7-year-old patient with severe junctional epidermolysis bullosa.
Dye-Independent Methods Reveal Elevated Mitochondrial Mass in Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) produce most cellular energy through glycolysis rather than through mitochondrial respiration. Consistent with this notion, mitochondrial mass has been reported to be low in HSCs. However, we found that staining with MitoTracker Green, a commonly used dye to measure mitochondrial content, leads to artefactually low fluorescence specifically in HSCs because of dye efflux. Using mtDNA quantification, enumeration of mitochondrial nucleoids, and fluorescence intensity of a genetically encoded mitochondrial reporter, we unequivocally show here that HSCs and multipotential progenitors (MPPs) have higher mitochondrial mass than lineage-committed progenitors and mature cells. Despite similar mitochondrial mass, respiratory capacity of MPPs exceeds that of HSCs. Furthermore, although elevated mitophagy has been invoked to explain low mitochondrial mass in HSCs, we observed that mitochondrial turnover capacity is comparatively low in HSCs. We propose that the role of mitochondria in HSC biology may have to be revisited in light of these findings.
Chemical imaging of biological systems with nonlinear optical microscopy

Abstract: Optical microscopy is a noninvasive tool for the visualization and identification of molecular and nanoscopic compounds in tissues. Nonlinear optical microscopy, in particular, is capable of imaging selected targets in live tissues in real time and with sub-micrometer resolution. These attributes make nonlinear optical microscopy a prime candidate for mapping engineered nanomaterials in a wide variety of tissues. This chapter reviews the basics of various forms of nonlinear optical microscopy that are poised to play an important role in photomedicine.
Sign o’ the Times: Does Francis’ Papacy Represent a New Era for Western Europe?

This chapter argues that while Francis maintains consistency with core Catholic social teachings, his principal ideas for Western Europe represent a change from previous popes. The words, actions, and priorities of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis reflect the Europe they find themselves in as well as their direct experiences with political oppression, economic exclusion, and the human consequences of sociopolitical economic ideologies. The Cold War is over, and the initial optimism from global economic and political integration has dissipated. Today we find a Europe struggling to cope with unprecedented migration flows and a populist far-right backlash. Pope Francis’s direct economic and political experiences of poverty under a liberal capitalist order in Argentina contrast against the Central and Eastern European experience of poverty in Marxist socialism—an ideological experiment witnessed firsthand by Karol Wojtyla (later known as Pope John Paul II). Pope Francis’s explicit emphasis on the poor, the excluded, and the marginalized indicates a change in tenor from past popes and results from both Europe’s current crises and Francis’s direct experience living and working with the poor and marginalized in Buenos Aires.
Fine-Needle Aspiration of Soft-Tissue Masses in Prostatic Cancer Patients

Fine-needle aspiration cytology of soft-tissue masses can play a major role in both staging and monitoring of therapy for patients with prostatic cancer. The procedure is safe, inexpensive and easy to perform in outpatients. Since the lesion itself is not removed, it serves as an indicator to gauge the response of either local or systemic therapy. An interested and skilled cytopathologist and cytotechnologist are essential for this technique to be useful.
The Effect of Endorectal Ultrasound Scanning on the Preoperative Staging of Rectal Cancer

From this article, the reader should gain an appreciation for the abilities and deficiencies of endorectal ultrasonography to evaluate the lower rectum and rectal carcinoma. Information regarding instrumentation and techniques needed to perform this study is provided. Ultrasound staging is discussed and examples are included.
On enhancing serial fusion based multi-biometric verification system

Design of a serial fusion based multi-biometric verification system requires fixing several parameters, such as reject thresholds at each stage of the architecture and the order in which each individual verifier is placed within the multi-stage system. Selecting the order of verifier is a crucial parameter to fix because of its high impact on verification errors. A wrong choice of verifier order might lead to tremendous user inconvenience by denying a large number of genuine users and might cause severe security breach by accepting impostors frequently. Unfortunately, this design issue has been poorly investigated in multi-biometric literature. In this paper, we address this design issue by performing experiments using three different serial fusion based multi-biometric verification schemes. We did our experiments on publicly available NIST multi-modal dataset. We tested 24 orders—all possible orders originated from four individual verifiers—on a four-stage biometric verification system. Our experimental results show that the verifier order “best-to-worst”, where the best performing individual verifier is placed in the first stage, the next best performing individual verifier is placed in the second stage, and so on, is the top performing order. In addition, we have proposed a modification to the traditional architecture of serial fusion based multi-biometric verification systems. With rigorous experiments on the NIST multi-modal dataset and using three serial fusion based multi-biometric verification schemes, we demonstrated that our proposed architecture significantly improves the performance of serial fusion based multi-biometric verification systems.
An AR-Guided System for Fast Image-Based Modeling of Indoor Scenes

We present a system that enables a novice user to acquire a large indoor scene in minutes as a collection of images that are sufficient for five degrees-of-freedom virtual navigation by image morphing. The user walks through the scene wearing an augmented reality head-mounted display (AR HMD) enhanced with a panoramic video camera. The AR HMD visualizes a 2D grid partitioning of a dynamically generated floor plan, which guides the user to acquire a panorama from each grid cell. The panoramas are registered offline using both AR HMD tracking data and structure-from - motion tools. Feature correspondences are established between neighboring panoramas. The resulting panoramas and correspondences support interactive rendering via image morphing with any view direction and from any viewpoint on the acquisition plane.
Diffusionless charge transfer

In contrast to lithium-ion batteries where lithium ions carry the charge, a proton battery, making use of a hydrated Prussian blue analogue electrode, is shown to be able to transmit charges in the fashion of the Grotthuss mechanism, displaying ultrafast-rate and ultralong-life properties.
Role of phonon coupling and non-equilibrium near the interface to interfacial thermal resistance: The multi-temperature model and thermal circuit

Interfacial thermal transport between two semi-infinite leads has been widely assumed to be independent from bulk transport in the two leads. However, here we show that due to the mismatch of phonon modal interfacial conductance and modal thermal conductivity, thermal interfacial transport is affected by the bulk thermal transport, and phonons near the interface can be driven into strong non-equilibrium, causing an additional resistance that is lumped into the interfacial resistance. This is captured using a multi-temperature model (MTM) that we introduce. Using thermal properties predicted from first-principles calculations and interfacial transmission coefficients predicted from the acoustic mismatch model, we present a case study of thermal transport across the Si-Ge interfaces using our MTM. The results show that phonon branches are in non-equilibrium near the interface due to energy re-distribution caused by different thermal properties of the materials and the corresponding transmission coefficients, and the overall interfacial thermal conductance is 5.4% smaller than the conventional prediction, due to the phonon non-equilibrium resistance. We present a thermal circuit to include this new resistance due to phonon-phonon coupling and non-equilibrium near the interfaces. The thermal circuit also shows that increasing the phonon-phonon coupling factor Gpp can reduce this resistance. Our MTM is a general and simple analytical approach expected to be useful for investigating the coupling between thermal transport across interfaces and in the bulk leads.
Some Parameters of Respiratory Function in Normal and Abnormal Newborn Foals with Special Reference to Levels of paO2 during Air and Oxygen Inhalation

Two groups of foals, comprising normal and abnormal subjects were studied during the first week of life. The abnormal foals were selected from cases exhibiting clinical signs of somatic instability unassociated with bacterial infection. Measurements of respiratory rates, tidal and minute volumes and levels of pH, pCO 2 and pO 2 in arterial blood, were performed; a significantly increased respiratory rate and minute volume (p a O 2 (p a O 2 was significantly lower in the abnormal group after oxygen inhalation. It is suggested that a right to left shunt is present in foals which have difficulty in adapting to the extra-uterine environment. Further work is required to determine the size and position of the shunts and to assess their significance in the differential diagnosis of diseases affecting newborn foals.
Status of Dismantlement of Nuclear Weapons

During the past five years, the U.S. has safely dismantled over 8,500 nuclear weapons. This effort is accomplished by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) which manages a research and industrial complex consisting of three national laboratories and four plants, with over 30,000 people employed. This Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC) is responsible for executing the safe and secure dismantlement of nuclear weapons consistent with U.S. national security and arms control policy objectives.
Medical calculators: Prevalence, and barriers to use.

Abstract Background and objectives Medical calculators synthesize measurable evidence and help introduce new medical guidelines and standards. Some medical calculators can fulfill the role of CDS for Meaningful Use purposes. However, there are barriers for clinicians to use medical calculators in practice. Objectives of this study were to determine whether lack of EHR integration would be a barrier to use of medical calculators, and understand factors that may limit use and perceived usefulness of calculators Methods A survey about medical calculators as they relate to clinical efficiency, perceived usefulness, and barriers to effective use was conducted at a medium-sized academic medical center. 819 physicians were invited to participate in an online survey with a 13% response rate. Results were statistically analyzed to highlight factors related to use or non-use of medical calculators. Results We found a negative correlation between use of medical calculators and years of experience (p Conclusion The results highlight that medical calculators are important for care delivery by both users and non-users. For non-users, they are seen as having a potentially positive impact on patient care, but unnecessary as part of clinical practice. For medical calculator users, calculators are an important part of regular workflow for efficiency improvement. Clinicians with fewer years of experience show an eagerness to consume newly published calculators, making these kinds of CDS a potentially useful way to disseminate new medical evidence. The survey results suggest that when medical calculators can be automated and integrated into the EHR as part of everyday workflow then efficiency and adoption may increase.
2D Standard/Reverse Lattice Digital Filters

In this paper state space and circuit realizations are presented for 2D standard/reverse digital lattice based filters. The proposed state space realizations are based on the corresponding circuit implementation. For the state space realization the 2D cyclic model, having minimal dimension and delay element, is used. Low–order representative examples are presented to illustrate the proposed results using 2D all–pass and all–pole, with a scale factor, realization structures. A comparison is given for the standard, reversed and mixed 2D digital filters with respect to their transfer function and state–space.
Analysis of Laminar Slip-Flow Thermal Transport in Microchannels With Transverse Rib and Cavity Structured Superhydrophobic Walls at Constant Heat Flux

This paper presents an analytical investigation of the thermally developing and periodically fully-developed flow in a parallel-plate channel comprised of superhydrophobic walls. The superhydrophobic walls considered in this paper exhibit alternating micro-ribs and cavities positioned perpendicular to the flow direction and the transport scenario analyzed is that of constant wall heat flux through the rib surfaces with negligible thermal transport through the vapor cavity interface. Axial conduction is neglected in the analysis and the problem is one of Graetz flow with apparent slip-flow and periodicity of constant heating. Closed form solutions for the local Nusselt number and wall temperature are presented and are in the form of infinite series expansions. Previously it has been shown that significant reductions in the overall frictional pressure drop can be expected relative to the classical smooth channel laminar flow. The present results reveal that the overall thermal transport is markedly influenced by the relative cavity region (cavity fraction), the relative rib/cavity module width, and the flow Peclet number. The following conclusions can be made regarding thermal transport for a constant heat flux channel exhibiting the superhydrophobic surfaces considered: 1) Increases in the cavity fraction lead to decreases in the average Nusselt number; 2) Increasing the relative rib/cavity module length yields a decrease in the average Nusselt number; and 3) as the Peclet number increases the average Nusselt number increases. For all parameters explored, the limiting upper bound on the fully-developed average Nusselt number corresponds to the limiting case scenario of classical laminar flow through a smooth-walled channel with constant heat flux.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Epigenetics in Asthma

Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases linked with increased morbidity and healthcare utilization. The underlying pathophysiological processes and causal relationships of asthma with epigenetic mechanisms are partially understood. Here we review human studies of epigenetic mechanisms in asthma, with a special focus on DNA methylation. Epigenetic studies of childhood asthma have identified specific methylation signatures associated with allergic inflammation in the airway and immune cells, demonstrating a regulatory role for methylation in asthma pathogenesis. Despite these novel findings, additional research in the role of epigenetic mechanisms underlying asthma endotypes is needed. Similarly, studies of histone modifications are also lacking in asthma. Future studies of epigenetic mechanisms in asthma will benefit from data integration in well phenotyped cohorts. This review provides an overview of the current literature on epigenetic studies in human asthma, with special emphasis on methylation and childhood asthma.
Hydrogel mechanical properties are more important than osteoinductive growth factors for bone formation with MSC spheroids

ABSTRACT Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) can promote tissue repair in regenerative medicine, and their therapeutic potential is further enhanced via spheroid formation. We demonstrated that intraspheroidal presentation of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (BMP-2) on hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles resulted in more spatially uniform MSC osteodifferentiation, providing a method to internally influence spheroid phenotype. Stress relaxation of hydrogels has emerged as a potent stimulus to enhance monodispersed MSC spreading and osteogenic differentiation, but the effect of hydrogel viscoelasticity on MSC spheroids has not been reported. Herein, we describe a materials-based approach to augment the osteogenic potential of entrapped MSC spheroids by leveraging the mechanical properties of alginate hydrogels. Compared to spheroids entrapped in covalently crosslinked, elastic alginate, calcium deposition of MSC spheroids was consistently increased in ionically crosslinked, viscoelastic alginate. We observed significant increases in calcium deposition by MSC spheroids loaded with BMP-2-HA in viscoelastic gels compared to soluble BMP-2, which was higher than all elastic alginate gels. Upon implantation in critically sized calvarial bone defects, we observed enhanced bone formation in all animals treated with viscoelastic hydrogels. Increases in bone formation were evident in viscoelastic gels, regardless of the mode of presentation of BMP-2 (i.e., soluble delivery or HA nanoparticles). These studies demonstrate that the dynamic mechanical properties of viscoelastic alginate are an effective strategy to enhance the therapeutic potential of MSC spheroids for bone formation and repair.
Widespread production of silica- and alkali-rich melts at the onset of planetesimal melting

Abstract We present the results of melting experiments on a suite of carbonaceous and ordinary chondritic compositions (CV, CM, CI, H and LL) performed at low pressure (0.1–13.1 MPa) and over a range of oxygen fugacity (log fO2 − (log fO2)IW = −2.5 to −1 and +0.8, IW being the iron-wustite buffer). These experiments constrain the composition of partial melts (F = 5–25 wt.%) of chondritic planetesimals. Most experiments (IW −2.5 to −1) were conducted in Molybdenum-Hafnium Carbide pressure vessels, which prevented the loss of alkali elements from the melt. The results show that all planetesimals not significantly depleted in moderately volatile elements relative to the sun’s photosphere (e.g. CI, H and LL compositions) produced low-degree melts (
Empeiría*: Powering Future Education Training Systems with Device Agnostic Web-VR Apps

This paper presents Empeiria, which uses cutting-edge technologies and novel virtual reality systems to enhance future in-class education training. Empeiria incorporates JavaScript, WebGL, WebVR, and powerful web graphics engines like Babylon.js to create immersive training experiences. It demonstrates a useful application of computer science concepts and increases the dissemination of edge technologies across academic disciplines. Most importantly, Empeiria improves education technology and professional training through the creation of two major software products; an immersive experience editing system (Empeiria-E) and an immersive experience viewing system (Empeiria-V). We show how these virtual reality systems can lead to more effective training and improve our understanding of trainees.
Multiplexed bioluminescence microscopy via phasor analysis

ABSTRACT Microscopic bioluminescence imaging has been historically challenging due to a lack of detection methods and easily resolved probes. Here we combine bioluminescence with phasor analysis, an optical method commonly used to distinguish spectrally similar fluorophores. Bioluminescent phasor enabled rapid differentiation of multiple luciferase reporters and resonance energy transfer processes. The merger of bioluminescence and phasor analysis provides a platform for routine, time-lapse imaging of collections of cellular features.
Manipulation of solute partitioning mechanisms for nanocrystalline stability

Abstract We describe an approach that enables the activation of two distinct nanocrystalline stability mechanisms in the same Ni(P) alloy by controlling the annealing temperature and chemical composition. Using a two-step heating process, it is shown that a low temperature first stage anneal (350 °C/1 h) drives the solute in a Ni-1at%P alloy to decorate the grain boundaries (GBs) in achieving thermodynamic stabilization at higher temperatures (550 °C). Atom probe tomography reveals a very low contamination level of species (
Laboratory Study of Physical Barrier Efficiency for Worker Protection against SARS-CoV-2 while Standing or Sitting

Transparent barriers were installed as a response to the SARS-COV-2 pandemic in many customer-facing industries. Transparent barriers are an engineering control that are utilized to intercept air traveling between customers to workers. Information on the effectiveness of these barriers against aerosols is limited. In this study, a cough simulator was used to represent a cough from a customer. Two optical particle counters were used (one on each side of the barrier, labeled reference and worker) to determine the number of particles that migrated around a transparent barrier. Nine barrier sizes and a no barrier configuration were tested with six replicates each. Tests of these 10 configurations were conducted for both sitting and standing scenarios to represent configurations common to nail salons and grocery stores, respectively. Barrier efficiency was calculated using a ratio of the particle count results (reference/worker). Barriers had better efficiency when they were 9 to 39 cm (3.5 to 15.5") above cough height and at least 91 cm (36") wide, 92% and 93% respectively. Barriers that were 91 cm (36") above table height for both scenarios blocked 71% or more of the particles between 0.35-0.725 {micro}m and 68% for particles between 1 to 3 {micro}m. A barrier that blocked an initial cough was effective at reducing particle counts. While the width of barriers was not as significant as height in determining barrier efficiency it was important that a barrier be placed where interactions between customers and workers are most frequent.
Abolition: A History of Slavery and Antislavery

In one form or another, slavery has existed throughout the world for millennia. It helped to change the world, and the world transformed the institution. In the 1450s, when Europeans from the small corner of the globe least enmeshed in the institution first interacted with peoples of other continents, they created, in the Americas, the most dynamic, productive, and exploitative system of coerced labor in human history. Three centuries later these same intercontinental actions produced a movement that successfully challenged the institution at the peak of its dynamism. Within another century a new surge of European expansion constructed Old World empires under the banner of antislavery. However, twentieth-century Europe itself was inundated by a new system of slavery, larger and more deadly than its earlier system of New World slavery. This book examines these dramatic expansions and contractions of the institution of slavery and the impact of violence, economics, and civil society in the ebb and flow of slavery and antislavery during the last five centuries.
Examining Caregiver Appraisal of Functional Capacity in Family Members with Dementia

vii Chapter I: Introduction 1 Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia 1 The Role of Families in the Care of People with Dementia 3 Caregiver Appraisal of Functional Capacity in People with Dementia 4 Proposed Papers using Secondary Data Analysis 6 Psychometric evaluation of the Functional Capacity Card Sort... 7 Factors associated with caregiver appraisal of functional capacity in people with dementia. 7 Home environmental conditions and caregiver appraisal of functional capacity in people with dementia. 8 Summary 8 Chapter II: Psychometric Evaluation of the Functional Capacity Card Sort: Measuring Caregiver Appraisal of Functional Capacity in Persons with Dementia 10 Cognitive Disabilities Model 12 Study Purpose and Research Questions 15 Literature Review 16 Content Development of the Functional Capacity Card Sort 22 Development 22 Field testing 24 Refinement 25 Confirmation 25 Methods 26 Description of data set 26 Participants 27 Measures 27 Caregiver Appraisal of Function and Upset (CAFU) 27 Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) 28 Content Validity Questionnaire 28 Data Analysis 29 Results 30 Sample characteristics 30 Construct validity 31 Interrater reliability 33
Second Language Learning: Cultural Adaptation Processes in International Graduate Students in U.S. Universities

The impact of globalization, the rapid technical advancements, and the access to educational opportunities have attracted large numbers of bright international students to study in the United States. Graduate and undergraduate international students as well as foreign-born faculty are now visible in American higher education institutions
Bacterial Resistance to Antibody-Dependent Defenses

Bacterial disease results from a dynamic interaction between pathogen and host. Antibody protects against bacterial infection in numerous ways. Agglutination (or clumping) and immobilization of motile organisms are among the conceptually simplest defense mechanisms. Gene cloning and sequencing revealed that leukotoxin (LKT) is part of a family of RTX toxins. Gene cloning and sequencing revealed that LKT is part of a family of RTX toxins. Other members of the family contribute to evasion of antibody defenses as well. Several gram-negative bacteria block the antibody activation of the C cascade, resulting in escape from C-mediated killing. Bacteria lacking a protective coat such as a capsule may avoid antibody-mediated defenses by shedding antigen into the external milieu. Antigenic variation is a mechanism of evading a vigorous antibody response. Some years ago, it was noted that the lipooligosaccharide (LOS) of Haemophilus somnus isolated from calf lungs in a chronic pneumonia study had LOS with different migration patterns in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) than the LOS of the infecting strain. Microbes divert immune responses away from productive, protective immunity in several ways. Motifs discovered in the sequence analysis provided a basis for functional studies of the protein to aid in understanding its relevance to evasion of antibody-mediated defense. These should help to explain the persistence of H. somnus infection in calf lungs for at least 10 weeks in the presence of specific antibody.
Comics and narration, by Thierry Groensteen

In an era when seriality has become both problematic and ubiquitous, it should come as no surprise that Thierry Groensteen’s Comics and Narration, a sequel of sorts to his landmark System of Comics...
Chapter 14: Presentism and Quantum Gravity

Abstract There is a philosophical tradition of arguing against presentism, the thesis that only presently existing things exist, on the basis of its incompatibility with fundamental physics. I grant that presentism is incompatible with special and general relativity, but argue that presentism is not incompatible with quantum gravity, because there are some theories of quantum gravity that utilize a fixed foliation of spacetime. I reply to various objections to this defense of presentism, and point out a flaw in Godel's modal argument for the ideality of time. This paper provides an interesting case study of the interplay between physics and philosophy.
Why diabetic wounds do not heal.

Bacteria live in a wound and cause infection through a highly complex process. Our ability to detect these organisms and to devise a treatment plan is archaic, hampered by a culture process that dates back to the early 1900s. The evaluation of bacteria started with Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), who observed in detail the microorganisms from his own dental plaque. He labeled these invisible creatures “animalcules”—a microbial community. Robert Koch (1843–1910) is considered the father of our current bacterial culture and identification process. He developed ways to isolate individual species and to suspend them in solution, so that they resembled ocean plankton—thus the term planktonic bacteria. Koch devised our current culture process that streaks bacteria on the surface of standardized agars or embeds them below the surface. His description of microbial behavior held for most of the 20th century: although the bacteria are many in number, each works independently to attack the host through replication and the secretion of exotoxins. The time from bacterium sampling to identification averaged 48 to 72 hours in Koch's time and still holds true today.1
Identification of the Immediate-Early Transcripts of Kaposi’s Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus

In the immediate-early phase of reactivation or primary infection, herpesviruses express a small number of genes without requiring prior viral protein synthesis. Immediate-early genes usually encode regulatory proteins critical for the viral life cycle. Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) gene transcription in the immediate-early stage of viral reactivation was examined by using a chemical induction combined with a gene expression screening method. RNA transcripts from at least four KSHV genomic loci accumulate when latently infected B-lymphoma cells are induced for reactivation in the presence of an inhibitor of protein synthesis (cycloheximide) and thus represent immediate-early class transcripts. Among them, a 3.6-kb mRNA encodes three putative open reading frames (ORFs), namely, ORF50, K8, and K8.2. ORF50 is a homologue of Rta, a transcription activator encoded by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The K8 gene codes for a 237-amino-acid protein with a basic-leucine zipper domain near its C terminus and an acidic domain near its N terminus and which closely resembles the ZEBRA protein of EBV and Jun/Fos family proteins. Other immediate-early mRNAs of KSHV include a 1.7-kb mRNA encoding ORF45, a 2.0-kb mRNA encoding ORF K4.2, and a 4.5-kb mRNA. Functional roles of products of these KSHV immediate-early transcripts remain to be studied.
Dietary effects on exercising muscle metabolism and performance by 31P-MRS.

To determine how diet modulates short-term exercise capacity, skeletal muscle pH and bioenergetic state were examined by 31P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy in nine healthy volunteers. Subjects performed incremental quadriceps exercise to exhaustion after 5 days of high-carbohydrate (HCHO) or high-fat (HFAT) diet randomly assigned in crossover fashion and separated by a 2.5-day period of ad libitum mixed diet. Simultaneous measurements were made of pulmonary gas exchange, minute ventilation, and quadriceps muscle pH and phosphorylation potential. At rest and peak exercise, respiratory exchange ratio and minute ventilation were higher after HCHO than after HFAT (P 0.05), but exercise duration was (339 +/- 34 s for HCHO vs. 308 +/- 25 s for HFAT; P < 0.05). HCHO was associated with a blunted early fall of phosphocreatine (PCr)/Pi vs. VO2 (-4.1 +/- 0.7 x 10(-2) min/ml for HCHO vs. -5.6 +/- 1.2 x 10(-2) min/ml for HFAT; P < 0.05). On both study days, the slope of PCr/Pi vs. VO2, before and after the PCr threshold, was correlated with exercise time. The results suggest that a diet rich in CHO improves exercise efficiency through beneficial effects on intracellular phosphorylation potential.
Sexual dysfunction, Part I: Classification, etiology, and pathogenesis.

Background: The sexual dysfunctions are extremely common but are rarely recognized by primary care physicians. They represent inhibitions in the appetitive or psychophysiologic changes that characterize the complete adult sexual response and are classified into four major categories: (1) sexual desire disorders (hypoactive sexual desire, sexual aversion disorder), (2) sexual arousal disorders (female sexual arousal disorder, male erectile dysfunction), (3) orgasmic disorders (inhibited male or female orgasm, premature ejaculation), and (4) sexual pain disorders (dyspareunia, vaginismus). Methods: Articles about the sexual dysfunctions were obtained from a search of MEDLINE files from 1966 to the present using the categories as key words, along with the general key word “sexual dysfunction.” Additional articles came from the reference lists of dysfunction-specific reviews. Results and Conclusions: Cause and pathogenesis span a continuum from organic to psychogenic and most often include a mosaic of factors. Organic factors include chronic illness, pregnancy, pharmacologic agents, endocrine alterations, and a host of other medical, surgical, and traumatic factors. Psychogenic factors include an array of individual factors (e.g., depression, anxiety, fear, frustration, guilt, hypochondria, intrapsychic conflict), interpersonal and relationship factors (e.g., poor communication, relationship conflict, diminished trust, fear of intimacy, poor relationship models, family system conflict), psychosexual factors (e.g., negative learning and attitudes, performance anxiety, prior sexual trauma, restrictive religiosity, intellectual defenses), and sexual enactment factors (e.g., skill and knowledge deficits, unrealistic performance expectations). Understanding the cause and pathophysiology of sexual disorders will help primary care physicians diagnose these problems accurately and manage them effectively.
Contingents of Southern Flounder from Subtropical Estuaries Revealed by Otolith Chemistry

AbstractThe identification of contingents within populations that exhibit distinct migratory behaviors and patterns of habitat use can lead to the understanding of the fitness consequences of individual variability in a population and an increased understanding of population dynamics. This study examines the variation in migratory behavior and habitat use patterns in Southern Flounder Paralichthys lethostigma in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, whose populations have declined rapidly over the last 25–30 years. The putative life history for this species includes short postsettlement movements into low-salinity habitats, followed by estuarine and marine residency for the remainder of life. However, using otolith Ba:Ca in wild-captured fish, two primary contingents were observed: (1) 54% of fish showed marine–estuarine residency for their entire lifetimes, and (2) 46% showed residence in oligohaline habitats for some portion of their lifetimes. For the second group, oligohaline residence varied widely with l...
NOx emission and performance data for a hydrogen fueled internal combustion engine at 1500 rpm using exhaust gas recirculation

Abstract This paper describes six experiments conducted on a 2-liter, 4-cylinder Ford ZETEC internal combustion engine developed to operate on hydrogen fuel. The experiments were conducted to ascertain the effect exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and a standard 3-way catalytic converter had on NOx emissions and engine performance. All the experiments were conducted at a constant engine speed of 1500 rpm and each experiment used a different fuel flow rate, ranging from 0.78 to 1.63 kg / h . These fuel flow rates correspond to a fuel equivalence ratio, Φ, ranging from 0.35 to 1.02 when the engine is operated without using EGR (i.e. using excess air for dilution). The experiments initially started with the engine operating using excess air. As the experiments proceed, the excess air was replaced with exhaust gas until the engine was operating at a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio. The results of these experiments demonstrated that using EGR is an effective means to lowering NOx emissions to less than 1 ppm while also increasing engine output torque.
Genetic influences on brain developmental trajectories on neuroimaging studies: from infancy to young adulthood

Human brain development has been studied intensively with neuroimaging. However, little is known about how genes influence developmental brain trajectories, even though a significant number of genes (about 10,000, or approximately one-third) in the human genome are expressed primarily in the brain and during brain development. Interestingly, in addition to showing differential expression among tissues, many genes are differentially expressed across the ages (e.g., antagonistic pleiotropy). Age-specific gene expression plays an important role in several critical events in brain development, including neuronal cell migration, synaptogenesis and neurotransmitter receptor specificity, as well as in aging and neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). In addition, the majority of psychiatric and mental disorders are polygenic, and many have onsets during childhood and adolescence. In this review, we summarize the major findings from neuroimaging studies that link genetics with brain development, from infancy to young adulthood. Specifically, we focus on the heritability of brain structures across the ages, age-related genetic influences on brain development and sex-specific developmental trajectories.
Hemodynamic, electrocardiographic, and cellular effects of diltiazem treatment after cardiac arrest and resuscitation

Abstract Thirty-one large dogs were treated with diltiazem or placebo after a 15-minute period of cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation to examine the influence of diltiazem treatment on the resulting ECG rhythm, hemodynamics, and extent of myocardial and cerebral injury after cardiac resuscitation. Diltiazem had no adverse effects on resuscitation or the rhythm and blood pressure immediately after defibrillation. There were no differences in the total number of shocks required to obtain pulse, the type of rhythm achieved, the occurrence of heart block, or resuscitation rates between treatment groups. By 30 minutes after resuscitation, cardiac output was higher in the dogs that received diltiazem: 4.1 ± 1.4 L/min at one hour in the diltiazem group v 2.4 ± 1.5 L/min in the placebo group (P