cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Direct Laser Isolation For Interdigitated Back Contact Heterojunction Solar Cells

To achieve high-efficiency and low-cost c-Si solar cells, laser-based isolation and patterning of interdigitated back contact heterojunction (IBC-HJ) solar cells have attracted increasing attention due to simplification of the complex and ratelimiting fabrication processes. Our direct laser patterning approach successfully achieved excellent isolation and minimal induced passivation and crystalline damage on both Ni-coated and Ti/Sb/Ni devices. We achieved isolation resistance as high as 2 $\times$108 ohms and the effective surface recombination velocity (SRV) as low as 5 cm/s at the optimum conditions. The SEM, optical microscope, Zygo profilomitry, and photoluminescence data confirmed the negligible loss of passivation. We also demonstrate three promising alternative approaches which combine laser processing with chemical etching or sacrificial layers.
Child and adolescent predictors of smoking involvement in emerging adulthood.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the differential relationship of externalizing behavior, internalizing behavior, social context, and their interactions to three developmental indicators of smoking involvement: onset (age), amount of smoking, and dependence symptomatology. METHOD Participants (n = 504, 73% male) from a high-risk community-based longitudinal study were followed from age 12-14 to young adulthood (18-20). Smoking involvement was conceptualized as a process involving differences in (a) age of onset of smoking, (b) amount of smoking at age 18-20, and (c) level of nicotine dependence symptomatology at age 18-20. Survival analysis was used to predict onset of smoking, regression for smoking level, and zero-inflated Poisson regression for nicotine dependence. RESULTS Externalizing (teacher report) and internalizing behavior (youth self-report), prior to the onset of smoking, predicted different components of smoking and nicotine dependence in young adulthood. Parental smoking predicted all levels of smoking involvement. Peer smoking was related to early onset of smoking, but not higher levels of smoking involvement. Externalizing and internalizing behavior interacted to predict nicotine dependence level, with higher levels of internalizing behavior predicting higher levels of dependence symptoms, even at low levels of externalizing behavior. CONCLUSIONS Externalizing and internalizing behavior and social context are independent and interacting risk factors that come into play at different points in the developmental process occurring between smoking onset and dependence. This study provides important information for theoretical models of smoking progression and shows that different types of risk should be targeted for prevention at different points in smoking progression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Declared impact of the US President’s statements and campaign statements on Latino populations’ perceptions of safety and emergency care access

Statements about building walls, deportation and denying services to undocumented immigrants made during President Trump's presidential campaign and presidency may induce fear in Latino populations and create barriers to their health care access. To assess how these statements relate to undocumented Latino immigrants' (UDLI) and Latino legal residents/citizens' (LLRC) perceptions of safety and their presentations for emergency care, we conducted surveys of adult patients at three county emergency departments (EDs) in California from June 2017 to December 2018. Of 1,684 patients approached, 1,337 (79.4%) agreed to participate: 34.3% UDLI, 36.9% LLRC, and 29.8% non-Latino legal residents/citizens (NLRC). The vast majority of UDLI (95%), LLRC (94%) and NLRC (85%) had heard statements about immigrants. Most UDLI (89%), LLRC (88%) and NLRC (87%) either thought that these measures were being enacted now or will be enacted in the future. Most UDLI and half of LLRC reported that these statements made them feel unsafe living in the US, 75% (95% CI 70-80%) and 51% (95% CI 47-56%), respectively. More UDLI reported that these statements made them afraid to come to the ED (24%, 95% CI 20-28%) vs LLRC (4.4%, 95% CI 3-7%) and NLRC (3.5%, 95% CI 2-6%); 55% of UDLI with this fear stated it caused them to delay coming to the ED (median delay 2-3 days). The vast majority of patients in our California EDs have heard statements during the 2016 presidential campaign or from President Trump about measures against undocumented immigrants, which have induced worry and safety concerns in both UDLI and LLRC patients. Exposure to these statements was also associated with fear of accessing emergency care in some UDLIs. Given California's sanctuary state status, these safety concerns and ED access fears may be greater in a nationwide population of Latinos.
Modulation of in vitro Brain Endothelium by Mechanical Trauma: Structural and Functional Restoration by Poloxamer 188

Brain injuries caused by an explosive blast or blunt force is typically presumed to associate with mechanical trauma to the brain tissue. Recent findings from our laboratory suggest that shockwaves produced by a blast can generate micron-sized bubbles in the tissue. The collapse of microbubbles (i.e., microcavitation) may induce a mechanical trauma and compromise the integrity of the blood-brain endothelium (BBE). To test our hypothesis, we engineered a BBE model to determine the effect of microbubbles on the structural and functional changes in the BBE. Using monolayers of mouse primary brain microvascular endothelial cells, the permeability coefficient was measured following simulated blast-induced microcavitation. This event down-regulated the expression of tight junction markers, disorganized the cell-cell junction, and increased permeability. Since poloxamers have been shown to rescue damaged cells, the cells were treated with the FDA-approved poloxamer 188 (P188). The results indicate P188 recovered the permeability, restored the tight junctions, and suppressed the expressions of matrix metalloproteinases. The biomimetic interface we developed appears to provide a systematic approach to replicate the structure and function of BBE, determine its alteration in response to traumatic brain injury, and test potential therapeutic treatments to repair the damaged brain endothelium.
Maternal Methadone Use and White Race are Associated with Increased Risk of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Purpose: Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a drug withdrawal syndrome experienced after birth by infants who were exposed to opioids in utero. Opioid use during pregnancy is increasing, resulting in an increase in NAS. Between 2000 and 2013, the prevalence of NAS increased from 0.9 to 3.9 per 1000 births in South Carolina. We aimed to identify factors that predict an opioid-exposed infant’s need for NAS treatment at a regional perinatal center in South Carolina. We hypothesized that the degree of maternal polysubstance drug …
A Novel Integration Platform to Reduce Flight Delays in the National Airspace System

Flight delays in the U. S. National Airspace System (NAS) present a fundamental challenge to capacity growth under ever-increasing traffic volumes, and lead to significant financial burdens that reverberate across a multitude of aviation industry stakeholders. Roughly 20% of passengers’ total travel time is due to such delays, causing $35 billion annually in lost revenue and impacting not only the airline industry, but the retail, lodging, restaurant, and tourism industries, as well. The Federal Aviation Administration’s effort in aiding decision-making at airports is readily apparent in the Next Generation Air Traffic Control (NextGen) System’s System-Wide Information Management (SWIM) program, and in-flight delay information from the FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC). Academic researchers are concurrently developing various algorithms to predict flight delays that include advanced statistics, machine learning, and graph theory using various network topologies. Other stakeholders have initiated delay prediction methods to adjust their operational schedules. This suggests an opportunity to centralize, validate, and integrate the various delay prediction methods under development; furthermore, these methods are limited in scope with regard to geography, operators, and efficacy.The authors propose here a platform supporting the FAA’s Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM) process with the intent of reducing flight delays in the NAS. Building upon existing deep learning algorithms and utilizing the NextGen SWIM program, this research suggests a central delay prediction platform suited to the complex and dynamic needs of America’s airport infrastructure. assessments of risks and sustainability of the proposed platform are presented. The authors interviewed experts in industry and academic fields related to aviation and information technology, and used the information obtained to refine the model. It is anticipated that this model will accurately produce location-specific departure and arrival delay forecasts that can further be integrated into the CDM and Ground Delay Program (GDP) initiatives.
Knowing Kids Makes a Huge Difference, Part II: Advancing a Conceptual Framework for Positive Principal-Student Relationships:

The majority of the scholarly work on school leadership over the past several decades has centered on issues of academic press, while matters involving the social development and support of student...
Sleep Problems and Drinking Frequency among Urban Multiracial and Monoracial Adolescents: Role of Discrimination Experiences and Negative Mood

Mounting evidence suggests that multiracial adolescents may be at greater risk than their monoracial peers for both sleep problems and alcohol use. However, mechanisms underlying these uniquely-heightened risky health behaviors among multiracial adolescents remain a gap in the literature. This cross-sectional study examined a risk pathway involving discrimination experiences and negative mood underlying racial disparities in concurrent sleep problems and drinking frequency. Students at an urban, socioeconomically-disadvantaged high school (N = 414; grades 9–11, Mage = 16.00 [SD = 1.08]; 57% female; 17% multiracial, 41% Black, 22% White, 18% Asian, 2% Other; 12% Hispanic/Latinx) completed a survey. Path analysis demonstrated that associations of multiracial status with sleep problems (insomnia symptom severity and insufficient weekday sleep duration), but not drinking frequencies (past-year drinking or past-2-week binge-drinking frequencies), were explained by discrimination experiences and, in turn, negative mood. In ancillary analysis excluding White students, the serial indirect risk pathway was significant for both insomnia symptom severity and past-year drinking frequency outcomes. Discrimination experiences and negative mood may function as intermediate factors contributing to racial disparities in adolescent sleep problems, although longitudinal replication is needed.
Bidirectional information sharing between Nagoya Memorial Hospital and health insurance pharmacies using a communication sheet for pharmaceutical cooperation

We collaborated with the regional pharmaceutical associations near Nagoya Memorial Hospital and created a communication sheet for pharmaceutical cooperation between the hospital and health insurance pharmacies. The communication sheet for pharmaceutical cooperation was issued in October 2014. We conducted a questionnaire survey of both cancer patients and community pharmacists 1 year after the implementation of the use of this sheet. Based on the results of the survey, we modified our communication sheet and added a unified reply form in October 2016. We examined the number of replies from community pharmacists from October 2014 to April 2019. We then analyzed how community pharmacists instructed and communicated with cancer patients using the results of both the questionnaire survey and the reply form, which were compared before and after introducing the modified version of the communication sheet. During the 5 years of observation, 743 communication sheets were sent from Nagoya Memorial Hospital to community pharmacists. As a result of pharmaceutical cooperation in using the communication sheet, 96.4% of prescribed medication were immediately prepared in health insurance pharmacies on that day. The communication sheet also enhanced the conversations between cancer patients and pharmacists. The introduction of the unified reply form increased the response rate of community pharmacists from 1.7 to 69.5% (p < 0.001). The communication between community pharmacists and cancer patients was significantly hindered by prescriptions without an oral cancer drug and patient age < 65 years old (p < 0.05). However, this hindrance was reduced by the use of the modified form. The communication sheet for pharmaceutical cooperation is useful for bidirectional information sharing between hospitals and health insurance pharmacies, which may enable pharmacists to provide cancer patients with medication instructions in coordination with hospitals and increase the quality of outpatient pharmacy services.
Bovine Liver Supplement Labeling Practices and Compliance With U.S. Regulations

Bovine liver supplements are sought after by consumers due to their nutrient-dense profile and high protein content. However, there is a lack of information regarding bovine liver supplement labeli...
Fray Francisco de la Cruz and translatio imperii

On 13 April 1578, the Dominican friar Francisco de la Cruz (b. 1529) was burned at the stake by the Inquisition in Peru. He had been declared a ‘hereje pertinaz, heresiarca, dogmatizador y ensenado...
Values intervention as an establishing operation for approach in the presence of aversive stimuli

Abstract When individuals are engaging in behavior that is under aversive control, the behavior becomes relatively insensitive to changes in the environment except for escape or avoidance contingencies. Teaching individuals to increase behavioral and psychological flexibility in the presence of potentially aversive stimuli is a goal of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT therapists use personal values to motivate clients to engage in meaningful behaviors despite ever-changing, and often aversive, contexts. The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of a values intervention on participant's willingness to approach established aversive stimuli. College students (n = 200) completed questionnaires and participated in behavioral approach tasks with aversive stimuli. Individuals were more likely to approach if approach was related to a personal value versus a relatively arbitrary reward (i.e. tickets) or without any specified consequence. Psychological inflexibility did not moderate the relationship between condition and approach. However, the values intervention condition did produce greater levels of approach than the control conditions. Previous studies have examined the impact of combined values and acceptance interventions. The evidence from this study suggests that values interventions alone may influence behavior.
(Still) Not Fit to Be Named: Moving Beyond Race to Explain Why 'Separate' Nomenclature for Gay and Straight Relationships Will Never Be 'Equal'

This Article provides a novel approach to an issue that has recently assumed national prominence: Whether it is constitutional to extend same-sex couples the substance of marriage but only under a different name, like civil union. While legal actors have challenged the constitutionality of nominal difference by comparing it to the discredited legal doctrine of separate-but-equal, this Article moves beyond race to show why 'separate' names for gay and straight relationships will never be 'equal,' namely, because they reflect and perpetuate something that has applied to same-sex intimacy for centuries: a speech or a name taboo. In supplementing an analogy grounded in race with a history that is unique to homosexuality, this Article provides a model for advocates and courts when challenging and considering, respectively, the constitutionality of nominal difference moving forward, a model that does not rely solely on an analogy (race/sexual orientation) that has invited widespread and increasingly vocal criticism. Beyond its strategic aims, however, this Article uses the recent "name" issue as an occasion to revisit a phenomenon with which legal historians are well familiar but that the legal community more generally tends to ignore, namely, the influence that the past continues to have on an ostensibly more enlightened present.
A novel use of biomechanical model-based deformable image registration (DIR) for assessing colorectal liver metastases ablation outcomes.

PURPOSE Colorectal cancer is the third most common form of cancer in the United States, and up to 60% of these patients develop liver metastasis. While hepatic resection is the curative treatment of choice, only 20% of patients are candidates at the time of diagnosis. While percutaneous thermal ablation (PTA) has demonstrated 24%-51% overall 5-year survival rates, assurance of sufficient ablation margin delivery (5 mm) can be challenging, with current methods of 2D distance measurement not ensuring 3D minimum margin. We hypothesized that biomechanical model-based deformable image registration (DIR) can reduce spatial uncertainties and differentiate local tumor progression (LTP) patients from LTP-free patients. METHODS We retrospectively acquired 30 patients (16 LTP and 14 LTP-free) at our institution who had undergone PTA and had a contrast-enhanced pre-treatment and post-ablation CT scan. Liver, disease, and ablation zone were manually segmented. Biomechanical model-based DIR between the pre-treatment and post-ablation CT mapped the gross tumor volume onto the ablation zone and measured 3D minimum delivered margin (MDM). An in-house cone-tracing algorithm determined if progression qualitatively collocated with insufficient 5 mm margin achieved. RESULTS Mann-Whitney U test showed a significant difference (p < 0.01) in MDM from the LTP and LTP-free groups. A total of 93% (13/14) of patients with LTP had a correlation between progression and missing 5 mm of margin volume. CONCLUSIONS Biomechanical DIR is able to reduce spatial uncertainty and allow measurement of delivered 3D MDM. This minimum margin can help ensure sufficient ablation delivery, and our workflow can provide valuable information in a clinically useful timeframe.
Continued radicals

If a1,a2,…,an are nonnegative real numbers and \(f_{j}(x)=\sqrt{a_{j}+x}\) , then f1○f2○⋅⋅⋅○fn(0) is a nested radical with terms a1,…,an. If it exists, the limit as n→∞ of such an expression is a continued radical. We consider the set of real numbers S(M) representable as a continued radical whose terms a1,a2,… are all from a finite set M. We give conditions on the set M for S(M) to be (a) an interval, and (b) homeomorphic to the Cantor set.
Perioperative use of tamsulosin significantly decreases rates of urinary retention in men undergoing pelvic surgery

Urinary retention is a common complication of pelvic surgery, leading to urinary tract infection and prolonged hospital stays. Tamsulosin is an alpha blocker that works by relaxing bladder neck muscles. It is used to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy and retention. We aim to investigate the potential benefits of preemptive tamsulosin use on rates of urinary retention in men undergoing pelvic surgery. This is a retrospective review of an institutional colorectal database. All men undergoing pelvic surgery between 2004 and 2013 were included. Patients given 0.4 mg of tamsulosin 3 days prior and after surgery at discretion of surgeon starting in 2007 were compared with patients receiving expectant postoperative management. One hundred eighty-five patients were included in the study (study group: N = 30; control group: N = 155). Study group patients were older (56.8 vs. 50.1 years). Overall urinary retention rate was 22 % with significantly lower rates in the study group compared with control (6.7 vs. 25 %; p = 0.029). Study group had higher rates of minimally invasive surgery (61 vs. 29.7 %); however, this did not impact urinary retention rate (20.6 vs. 22.7 % for minimally invasive surgery vs. open surgery; p = 0.85). Independent predictors of urinary retention included lack of preemptive tamsulosin (odds ratio (OR), 7.67; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.4–41.7) and cancer location in the distal third of the rectum (OR, 18.8; 95 % CI, 2.1–172.8). Preemptive perioperative use of tamsulosin may significantly decrease the incidence of urinary retention in men undergoing pelvic surgery. This may play a role in avoidance of urinary retention, particularly in patients with distal rectal cancer.
Irritant-Induced Paradoxical Vocal Fold Motion Disorder: Diagnosis and Management

ObjectivesTo review our experience with the diagnosis and treatment of irritant-induced paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder (IPVFMD).Study DesignRetrospective chart review.SettingTertiary academic referral center.Subjects and MethodsThirty-four cases that met IPVFMD criteria and 76 cases of non-IPVFMD were selected from a database of patients with paradoxical vocal fold motion disorder—the diagnosis of which was made on the basis of flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy and augmented by an odor challenge. Clinical charts were reviewed to document history of environmental allergies, pulmonary disease, gastroesophageal reflux, psychiatric disorder, fibromyalgia, tobacco use, alcohol use, dysphonia, cough, dysphagia, and treatment outcomes.ResultsThere were no statistical differences between the IPVFMD and non-IPVFMD groups. Of the patients who were assigned and attended laryngeal control therapy, 13 (65%) reported improvement of symptoms. Symptom improvement increased to 100% in those patients who attended at...
A Review of “A Jesuit in the Forbidden City: Matteo Ricci 1552–1610”

R. Po-chia Hsia is the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of History, Religious Studies, and Asian Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. As a well-published and respected scholar of early modern E...
Properties of Hair Fat From Adult Males According to Race and Hair Condition1

The cholesterol and squalene contents of scalp fat from children and adult males and females have been reported by Nicolaides and Rothman (1). Squalene occurred in comparable amounts in both adult male and female sebum samples. Also, the cholesterol level of children's scalp fat was somewhat elevated in corroboration of the findings of Eckstein (2). In a second report by Nicolaides and Rothman (3), the yields of scalp lipid in adult Negroes were shown to range 60-70% higher than those for white persons. A computed average composition was also advanced for fresh and stored scalp fat as well as forearm sebum, the latter having been studied by MacKenna, Wheatley and Wormall (4). Essentially no differences in composition were observed by Bloom, Woods and Nicolaides (5) for sebum removed directly from the scalps of adult males with early pattern alopecia and full-headed conditions. However, only six subjects were employed per group.
Wilderness and the Judiciary

This Article examines how the decisions of four land management agencies governing wilderness areas under the Wilderness Act fare in the federal courts. Agencies normally prevail in the majority of their cases before the federal courts because courts employ doctrines of deference to agencies' decisions. In the context of wilderness management, however, the success rates of the agencies varies drastically depending on the type of challenge brought. The Article provides a historical overview of different schemes for wilderness protection, from administrative regulatory schemes to the adoption of the 1964 Wilderness Act and subsequent enactments. It then examines specific case studies and numeric information from all of the cases decided under the 1964 Wilderness Act. The numbers reveal three striking facts. First, a two-fold gap exists between agency success rates in litigation depending on who brings the challenge and the type of challenge it is. Second, the agencies tend to lose in challenges brought by environmentalists more often than not. Third, the party of appointment for the judges does not appear to affect overall distribution of their votes as measured on a simple "pro-wilderness"/ "anti-wilderness" axis. After providing some possible explanations for this apparent one-way judicial ratchet favoring wilderness protection - some of which will be examined more thoroughly in future work - the Article offer some observations about whether such a one-way ratchet will always benefit wilderness restoration and protection.
Oldest Atlantic seafloor

Basalt recovered beneath Jurassic sediments in the western Atlantic at Deep Sea Drilling Project sites 100 and 105 of leg 11 has petrographic features characteristic of water-quenched basalt extruded along modern ocean ridges. Site 100 basalt appears to represent two or three massive cooling units, and an extrusive emplacement is probable. Site 105 basalt is less altered and appears to be a compositionally homogeneous pillow lava sequence related to a single eruptive episode. Although the leg 11 basalts are much more closely related in time to the Triassic lavas and intrusives of eastern continental North America, their geochemical features are closely comparable to those of modern Mid-Atlantic Ridge basalts unrelated to postulated “mantle plume” activity. Projection of leg 11 sites back along accepted spreading “flow lines” to their presumed points of origin shows that these origins are also outside the influence of modern “plume” activity. Thus, these oldest Atlantic seafloor basalts provide no information on the time of initiation of these “plumes”. The Triassic continental diabases show north to south compositional variations in Rb, Ba, La, and Sr which lie within the range of “plume”-related basalt on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (20 °–40 °N). This suggests that these diabases had mantle sources similar in composition to those beneath the present Mid-Atlantic Ridge. “Plumes” related to deep mantle sources may have contributed to the LIL-element enrichment in the Triassic diabase and may alos have been instrumental in initiating the rifting of the North Atlantic. Systematically high values for K and Sr87/Sr86 in the Triassic diabases may reflect superimposed effects of crustal contamination in the Triassic magmas.
Molecular and phenotypic characterization of Als1 and Als2 mutations conferring tolerance to acetolactate synthase herbicides in soybean

BACKGROUND Sulfonylurea (SU) herbicides are effective because they inhibit acetolactate synthase (ALS), a key enzyme in branched-chain amino acid synthesis required for plant growth. A soybean line known as W4-4 was developed through rounds of seed mutagenesis and was demonstrated to have a high degree of ALS-based resistance to both post-emergence and pre-emergence applications of a variety of SU herbicides. This report describes the molecular and phenotypic characterization of the Als1 and Als2 mutations that confer herbicide resistance to SUs and other ALS inhibitors. RESULTS The mutations are shown to occur in two different ALS genes that reside on different chromosomes: Als1 (P178S) on chromosome 4 and Als2 (W560L) on chromosome 6 (P197S and W574L in Arabidopsis thaliana). CONCLUSION Although the Als1 and Als2 genes are unlinked, the combination of these two mutations is synergistic for improved tolerance of soybeans to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. © 2014 DuPont Pioneer. Pest Management Science published by JohnWiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Estimating an Sku-Level Brand Choice Model Combining Household Panel Data and Store Data

The extant literature using household scanner data to estimate consumer choice models has identified two key sources of bias in estimated mean responses to marketing variables. Omitted heterogeneity may bias mean responses towards zero. At the same time, omitted time-varying characteristics of alternatives that influence consumer choices may also bias mean responses towards zero if these characteristics are correlated with observed factors such as price - the endogeneity bias. Both these issues have been well recognized, and methods have been proposed to address them using household scanner panel data. However, when estimating a choice model with these data at the SKU or the UPC level, one may not observe choices for each item in each of the time periods under consideration. Without such information, one cannot control for item and time period specific unmeasured characteristics, as there is no information on alternatives during those periods in which they are not purchased by any of the panelists. In general, when a product category has many alternatives, each with fairly small shares, the household sample may not contain sufficient choices for each alternative, negatively impacting the ability to control for endogeneity with household data. In contrast, as aggregate store-level data are the true aggregation of purchases by all households visiting the store, they contain the time-period specific item level information required to account for endogeneity as long as each item has some sales in each time period. Given the relative merits of household data to estimate the distribution of heterogeneity and store-level data to address the endogeneity problem, we propose an integrated estimation procedure that uses the information in both sources. Our approach provides consistent estimates of the mean responses to marketing variables and the heterogeneity distribution and also controls for potential endogeneity due to correlation between unmeasured item-level characteristics and prices.
Arm signature identification

The positioning accuracy of commercially-available industrial robotic manipulators depends upon a kinematic model which describes the robot geometry in a parametric form. Manufacturing errors in machining and assembly of manipulators lead to discrepancies between the design parameters and the physical structure. Improving the kinematic performance thus requires identification of the actual kinematic parameters of each individual robot. This identification of the individual kinematic parameters is called the arm signature which is then incorporated into the manipulator's controller to improve positional accuracy. In this paper, an approach, based on a new parametric model of the kinematics, is introduced for arm signature identification. The S-Model utilizes 6.n parameters to describe the robot geometry and offers advantages for identification by decomposing the parameters into individually identified subsets. The S-Model parameters are then mapped into the equivalent Denavit-Hartenberg parameters for implementation into the controller. The S-Model arm signature identification algorithm can be implemented with relatively simple sensors and improves accuracy through statistical averaging. This algorithm has been implemented with an external ultrasonic range sensor to measure robot end-effector positions. Experimental results of arm signature identification of seven Unimation/Westinghouse Puma 560 robots demonstrated an average reduction in positioning error by a factor of 5-10 for a spectrum of representative test tasks.
Verification of dynamic properties of rule-based expert systems

A framework for the study of the dynamic properties of a class of rule-based expert systems is introduced. This is done by showing how the interconnection of a knowledge base with an inference mechanism can be viewed as a closed-loop control system. In this analogy the plant is the knowledge base and the controller is the inference mechanism. A discrete event system model is introduced and it is shown to be capable of modeling a wide class of knowledge bases and inference engines. The verification of reachability (achieving a chain of inferences) and cyclic behavior (e.g. circular reasoning) is discussed. A simple example is used to illustrate the approach and to point out the difficulties in performing formal verification. >
Correlations Between Tree Thinking and Acceptance of Evolution in Introductory Biology Students

Tree thinking refers to an approach to evolution education that emphasizes reading and interpreting phylogenetic trees. We studied the relationship between introductory biology students’ tree-thinking ability and their acceptance of evolutionary theory. Comparisons between a semester in which interpretation of phylogenetic trees and related concepts were taught as stand-alone topics versus one in which tree thinking was used as an organizing framework for the course curriculum found significant increases in students’ ability to read and interpret trees in both semesters, but only in the tree thinking semester was there a significant increase in students’ scores on the Measure of the Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument. Over four additional semesters, the Tree Thinking Concept Inventory (TTCI) was used to assess students’ tree-thinking abilities before and after the course. We found that MATE posttest scores correlated with gains in tree-thinking ability. These increases in MATE posttest scores were predominantly due to students’ reporting greater acceptance of the scientific evidence supporting evolutionary theory. Increased acceptance of evolution in a tree-thinking versus non-tree-thinking semester and significant positive correlations between TTCI and MATE scores indicate there is a relationship between tree-thinking ability and acceptance of evolution. This result suggests that, as a framework to connect different forms of data and investigate a variety of biological phenomena, tree thinking can promote greater acceptance of the evidence and scientific validity of evolutionary theory in introductory biology students.
Perpetual pavement temperature prediction model

Structural capacities of flexible pavements are determined from surface deflection measurements. These deflections must be corrected to a standard load and/or a reference pavement temperature. A number of models are available to predict pavement temperature, but they may not be applicable to perpetual (thicker) asphalt pavements. Mid-depth pavement temperature was measured in six sessions on four perpetual pavement sections in Kansas. Data from five sessions were used to develop the prediction model based on four independent variables. Data from the last session were used to validate it. Predicted mid-depth pavement temperatures from the new model and three other models were compared with the measured mid-depth pavement temperature. Sensitivity of the model to changes in all independent variables was also investigated. The effect of mid-depth pavement temperature on the centre deflection of the falling weight deflectometer was also studied. The prediction model developed in this study yields mid-depth pav...
English in China.

ABSTRACT: China has the largest number of English users in the Expanding Circle, but little information is available about the exact number of users and their English proficiency. This paper presents a demographic profile of the users of English in China and the distribution of proficiency among the millions of English users. Also presented in the article is a sociolinguistic profile of the different uses of English in Chinese society. The authors contend that the primary function of English in China is not one of international communication, as has been believed in the literature, but one of social and economic mobility.
The use of a water sensitive dye for the detection and assessment of small spray droplets

Abstract A method is described for the sampling and assessing of aqueous spray droplets on dyed, glazed, fixed photographic paper. A calibration was obtained for water covering a wide range of droplet size which gave a linear relation between droplet and stain diameter on log-log graph paper.
Postganglionic connections between sympathetic ganglia in the solar plexus of the cat demonstrated autoradiographically

Abstract The anatomic substrate for postganglionic interaction between sympathetic ganglia was examined by autoradiography. In anesthetized cats, the left celiac ganglion was surgically isolated using a retroperitoneal approach and injected either hydraulically or electrophoretically with concentrated tritiated proline. Two to twenty-seven days after injection, the celiac and superior mesenteric ganglia, interganglionic connections, adrenal glands, nearby arteries, and splanchnic nerves were removed and prepared for autoradiography. Principal cell bodies in each injection site showed heavy incorporation of radiochemical with little, if any, spread to other regions of the ganglion. Occasionally, labeled processes resembling dendrites or axons were observed emerging from these cells. Small, radioactively labeled fibers streamed from the injected ganglion into the intermediate region between the celiac ganglia. Some of these elements entered “satellite ganglia” in the intermediate zone, and others could be traced to the contralateral celiac ganglion. In both types of ganglia, small fibers formed basket-like structures around the somata of principal cells. Labeled fibers also were observed entering the ipsilateral adrenal gland and terminating on, and around, blood vessels in the adrenal medulla.
Electrons scattered from helium below 5.0 eV

Abstract An observation of a low-energy helium scattering peak from the scattering of electrons is made by using three identical 127 deg cylindrical electrostatic spectrometers. A sharp peak is observed after electron impact on helium gas as the nominal incident electron energy is varied from 0.0 to 5.10 eV, and is seen in the scattering-angle range of 10 to 45 deg. The maximum scattering peak occurs at about 1.6 eV incident energy. The properties of the helium peak investigated and evidence for its reality are given.
The C-Terminus of Troponin T Is Essential for Maintaining the Inactive State of Regulated Actin

Striated muscle contraction is regulated by the actin binding proteins tropomyosin and troponin. Defects in these proteins lead to myopathies and cardiomyopathies. Deletion of the 14 C-terminal residues of cardiac troponin T leads to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We showed earlier that regulated actin containing Δ14 TnT was more readily activated than wild-type regulated actin. We suggested that the equilibria among the inactive (blocked), intermediate (closed or calcium), and active (open or myosin) states was shifted to the active state. We now show that, in addition, such regulated actin filaments cannot enter the inactive or blocked state. Regulated actin containing Δ14 TnT had ATPase activities in the absence of Ca2+ that were higher than wild-type filaments but far below the fully active rate. The rapid dissociation of S1-ATP from regulated actin filaments containing Δ14 TnT and acrylodan-labeled tropomyosin did not show the fluorescence increase characteristic of moving to the inactive state. Replacing wild-type TnI with S45E TnI, that favors the inactive state, did not restore the fluorescence change. We conclude that TnT has a previously unrecognized role in forming the inactive state of regulated actin.
A New Class of Luminescent Polypyridine Complexes of Rhenium(I) Containing cis-Carbonyl Ligands.

A new class of long-lived luminescent complexes of the type cis-ReI(CO)2(N-N)(P-P)+ (where N-N is a chelate polypyridine ligand and P-P is a chelate phosphine) has been prepared. The new Re excited states are of extraordinary stability and exhibit red-shifted spectral responses relative to the well-studied fac-Re(bpy)(CO)3L(+/0) series (L is a variety of neutral and anionic ligands). Of primary interest are their extremely long lifetimes in CH2Cl2 solution, which could be a consequence of an energy gap law different from that of the tricarbonyl complexes.
Professional personhood: Training, territoriality and tolerance

Interprofessional and interdisciplinary relations in health care cannot be addressed without taking into account issues of personhood. Professional and disciplinary differences are articulated as conceptual paradigms. However, they are manifested in terms of who professional persons consider themselves to be in relation to what is expected of them. Territorial issues arise out of concerns for personal integrity in doing one's work. Successful collaboration is enhanced by a process of cultural sensitization to other professional groups.
Late Lower Extremity Ischemia due to Thrombi in an Occluded Graft after Axillary-Femoral Artery Bypass

We experienced a rare case of acute ischemia of the lower extremity due to embolism caused by an occluded prosthetic graft late after axillary-femoral artery bypass. A 67-year-old woman developed acute right lower extremity ischemia 7 years after axillary-femoral artery bypass, which had been performed for lower limb ischemia as a complication of acute aortic dissection (Stanford B). The graft was occluded, and the native vessel had re-canalized by the time of the present admission. She was successfully treated by disconnection of the graft followed by revascularization.
Reliable gastric closure after natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) using a novel automated flexible stapling device.

Reliable closure of the translumenal incision is one of the main challenges facing natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES). This study aimed to evaluate the use of an automated flexible stapling device (SurgASSIST) for closure of the gastrotomy incision in a porcine model. A double-channel gastroscope was advanced into the stomach. A gastric wall incision was made, and the endoscope was advanced into the peritoneal cavity. After peritoneoscopy, the endoscope was withdrawn into the stomach. The SurgASSIST stapler was advanced orally into the stomach. The gastrotomy edges were positioned between the opened stapler arms using two endoscopic grasping forceps. Stapler loads with and without a cutting blade were used for gastric closure. After firing of the stapler to close the gastric wall incision, x-ray with contrast was performed to assess for gastric leakage. At the end of the procedure, the animals were killed for a study of closure adequacy. Four acute animal experiments were performed. The delivery and positioning of the stapler were achieved, with technical difficulties mostly due to a short working length (60 cm) of the device. Firing of the staple delivered four rows of staples. Postmortem examination of pig 1 (when a cutting blade was used) demonstrated full-thickness closure of the gastric wall incision, but the cutting blade caused a transmural hole right at the end of the staple line. For this reason, we stopped using stapler loads with a cutting blade. In the three remaining animals (pigs 2–4), we were able to achieve a full-thickness closure of the gastric wall incision without any complications. The flexible stapling device may provide a simple and reliable technique for lumenal closure after NOTES procedures. Further survival studies are currently under way to evaluate the long-term efficacy of gastric closure with the stapler after intraperitoneal interventions.
The effect of ultimate-to-yield ratio on the bearing strength of bolted connections

Abstract An experimental study on the effect of end distance on the bearing strength of one-bolt and two-bolt lap connections was undertaken. Two different steels, one with high ultimate-to-yield stress ratio and the other with low ultimate-to-yield stress ratio, were used in the test program to determine the effect of steel strength on bearing capacity for various end distances and spacing. It was found that ultimate-to-yield stress ratios greater than 1.13 do not affect the strength at 6.35 mm displacement, and it is reconfirmed that the bearing strength is proportional to the ultimate stress of the material. The results are compared with the strength predicted by the current American Institute of Steel Construction Load and Resistance Factor Design (AISC-LRFD) Specifications and Eurocode 3.
A Compliant Hybrid Zero Dynamics Controller for Stable, Efficient and Fast Bipedal Walking on MABEL

The planar bipedal testbed MABEL contains springs in its drivetrain for the purpose of enhancing both energy efficiency and agility of dynamic locomotion. While the potential energetic benefits of springs are well documented in the literature, feedback control designs that effectively realize this potential are lacking. In this paper, we extend and apply the methods of virtual constraints and hybrid zero dynamics, originally developed for rigid robots with a single degree of underactuation, to MABEL, a bipedal walker with a novel compliant transmission and multiple degrees of underactuation. A time-invariant feedback controller is designed such that the closed-loop system respects the natural compliance of the open-loop system and realizes exponentially stable walking gaits. Five experiments are presented that highlight different aspects of MABEL and the feedback design method, ranging from basic elements such as stable walking and robustness under perturbations, to energy efficiency and a walking speed of 1.5âmâsâ1 (3.4âmph). The experiments also compare two feedback implementations of the virtual constraints, one based on PD control of Westervelt et al., and a second that implements a full hybrid zero dynamics controller. On MABEL, the full hybrid zero dynamics controller yields a much more faithful realization of the desired virtual constraints and was instrumental in achieving more rapid walking.
A Comparison of Spectral Parameter Kappa from Small and Moderate Earthquakes Using Southern California ANZA Seismic Network Data

Kappa is a one-parameter estimator of the spectral amplitude decay with frequency of a seismogram. Low values (∼5 ms) indicate limited attenuation of high- frequency energy whereas higher values (∼40 ms) indicate high-frequency energy has been removed. Kappa is often assumed to be a site term and used in seismic designs. We address two key questions about kappa: (1) how to identify source, path, and site contributions to kappa; and (2) can kappa estimates from smaller earthquakes, and more readily accessible weak-motion recordings, be reasonably extrapolated to esti- mate kappa of larger earthquakes? The use of small earthquakes (ML 3:5 earthquakes inside the network. We find kappa from small earthquakes predicts the relative values of kappa for larger earthquakes (e.g., measurements at stations PFO and KNW are small compared with those at stations TRO and SND). For the SND and TRO data, however, kappa values from small earth- quakes overpredict those from moderate and large earthquakes. Site effects are the most important contributor to kappa estimates, but the scatter within kappa measure- ments at a given station is likely caused by a significant contribution from near the source, perhaps related to near-source scattering. Because of this source-side varia- bility, care is recommended in using individual small events as Green's functions to study source-time effects of moderate and large events.
Feasibility of Fluorescence Detection of Tetracycline in Media Mixtures Employing A Fiber Optic Probe

Abstract This work assesses the feasibility of fluorescence detection of tetracycline in very optically dense mixtures of highly fluorescent media ingredients used in tetracycline production by fermentation. The fluorescence measurements are accomplished with a fiber optic probe. Seven different mixtures were examined in this study. Each one contained a nonfluorescent base of nutrients and salts along with one of the following media ingredients at 5 g/100 mL: cottonseed flour, corn gluten meal, soybean flour, distiller 's grains and solubles, corn steep liquor, brewer's yeast, and molasses. The concentration of tetracycline was varied in each mixture and fluorescence measurements were made at every concentration step. Excitation light of 390 nm was used to probe the samples, and emission spectra were obtained over the wavelength range from 400 to 600 nm. In most of the samples studied, the fluorescence intensity in the wavelength range corresponding to background media fluorescence (420–480 nm) decreased ...