cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Grassroots: Supporting the Knowledge Work of Everyday Life

This article introduces a simple mapping tool called Grassroots, a software product from a longitudinal study examining the use of information communication technologies and knowledge work in communities. Grassroots is an asset-based mapping tool made possible by the Web 2.0 movement, a movement which allows for the creation of more adaptable interfaces by making data and underlying database structures more openly available via syndication and open source software. This article forwards three arguments. First is an argument about the nature of the knowledge work of everyday life, or an argument about the complex technological and rhetorical tasks necessary to solve commonplace problems through writing. Second is an argument about specific technologies and genres of community-based knowledge work, about why making maps is such an essential genre, and about why making asset maps is potentially transformative. Third is an argument about the making of Grassroots itself; a statement about how we should best ex...
Observation of pollution plume capping by a tropopause fold

Airborne lidar measurements reveal a case in which a layer of high-ozone air extruding from a tropopause fold appears to cap a pollution plume and force it to spread out in the lower troposphere. The morphology of the high-ozone layer resembles a three-dimensional model of tropopause fold evolution that produces a low-altitude potential vorticity tube. This is a mechanism that can complete the irreversible transfer of air from the stratosphere, and can also affect pollution levels at the surface if the capping layer reaches the top of the boundary layer.
Time course study on the mobility and pattern of distribution of foliar-applied boron in peaches

Abstract One‐year‐old Red Haven’ peach (Prunus Persica) trees grown in pots in the greenhouse were used to study the time course mobility and pattern of distribution of boron (B). Enriched‐10B boric acid solution was evenly spread onto the abaxial side of the fifth leaf (numbered acropetally). After harvesting at different time intervals, selected plant parts were analyzed for 10B using an ICP‐MASS spectrometer. The results showed that within 4 hours, B could be taken up and translocated bidirectionally to all plant parts, except for the fine roots. Treated leaf, green stem, and fine root were the tissues having high 10B concentrations in comparison to the other tissues. The highest 10B concentrations in the fed leaf, green stem, and fine root were reached in 12 hours, at the 4th week, and in 72 hours, respectively. The total 10B absorbed averaged 0.3% of the total 10B applied, with the highest total percent recovery of 0.43%, which was reached in 72 hours. The total amount of 10B exported from the fed le...
Periodontitis in Humans and Non-Human Primates: Oral-Systemic Linkage Inducing Acute Phase Proteins

Background: The acute phase response (APR) represents a systemic counterpart to the localized inflammatory response. This report describes patient-oriented and non-human primate model studies to determine the effect of periodontal disease on systemic acute phase proteins (APP). Methods: Patient-oriented studies included comparison of the levels of APP, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), with the presence and severity of periodontitis in localized chronic periodontitis (LCP), generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAP), and Sjogren’s syndrome (SS) patients. The non-human primate experiments evaluated the serum level of APPs under natural conditions, following mechanical hygiene, experimental gingivitis, and during ligature-induced periodontitis. Results: Analysis of the LCP population showed what appeared to be a threshold of periodontal disease severity required for elevating the C-reactive protein (CRP) and haptoglobin (HG). The results demonstrated a significant elevation in CRP in the GAP ...
Deterministic model of multipath fading for circular and parabolic reflector patterns

Traditionally, a probabilistic model has been used to analyze a wireless communication system's susceptibility to multipath fading. However, the characteristics of fading in an actual wireless communication link depend on the particular deterministic geometry of reflectors that the signal encounters. In this paper, we present a deterministic model of multipath propagation, and we apply the model to two reflector geometries: a circular pattern of reflectors and a parabolic pattern of reflectors. Numerical results for each case are included, and it is shown that the geometry of the reflectors that the signal encounters has a substantial effect on the rate of change in signal strength observed by a mobile receiver.
Building Your Own Classes

All nonvalue type objects inherit from the Object class, which provides four basic functions. Therefore, all objects have the following four methods: GetHashCode, ReferenceEquals, Equals (==), and ToString.
Ge-blade damascene process for post-CMOS integration of nano-mechanical resonators

A process is demonstrated for fabrication of high-frequency mechanical resonators applicable for on-chip radio-frequency communication. This Ge-blade damascene process (GBDP) provides ultranarrow lateral gaps using lithographically defined sacrificial Ge blades (high-aspect-ratio Ge features). The use of Ge as the sacrificial material eliminates the need for a hydrogen fluoride etch process to release the mechanical structures, and, hence, simplifies the integration of microelectromechanical (MEMS) with CMOS circuitry. Polycrystalline silicon-germanium (poly-SiGe) is used as the structural material in order to keep the thermal budget low (maximum temperature 425 /spl deg/C), so as to be compatible with CMOS metallization stacks. A 24-MHz double-ended tuning fork resonator was successfully fabricated using the GBDP.
Pneumatic antisnock garment: state of the art at the turn of the century:

The pneumatic antishock garment (PASG) accomplishes in 1999 exactly what Crile postulated that it did in 1901. It increases blood pressure by increasing systemic vascular resistance. No published article counters this fact. The weakness that has become apparent is that this increase in blood pressure can also increase haemorrhage and therefore does not necessarily improve outcome in every patient. Patients in profound shock benefit from the reduction in the vascular space and increased systemic vascular resistance, without excessive additional blood loss. Patients without ongoing haemorrhage benefit from increased blood pressure. Patients with ongoing haemorrhage in the abdomen, retroperitoneal area and pelvis benefit as the rate of blood loss is reduced. The controversy that has been sparked by the device is `what is the end point for resuscitation?'. Two randomized studies using the same method for PASG application and large volume replacement of intravenous (iv) fluids has produced the same outcome. On...
Influence of Trap Colour on the Capture of Codling Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Honeybees, and Non-target Flies

Studies were conducted to evaluate the influence of trap colour on the captures of honeybees, Apis mellifera L., codling moth, Cydia pomonella L., and non target muscoid flies in sticky delta traps. Traps varied widely in their spectral reflectance. The unpainted white and the painted white and cream traps had the highest reflectance. The painted green trap had the lowest total reflectance. The green, orange, and red traps had low reflectance at wavelengths < 560 nm. Red and green painted traps consistently caught the fewest honeybees, while the unpainted white trap caught the most. Red painted traps caught the greatest number of flies. Significantly more codling moths were caught in green and orange versus the unpainted white traps. In a later experiment, painted green traps caught more codling moths than unpainted white traps.
Computational Studies of the Ground and Excited State Potentials of DMSO and H2SO: Relevance to Photostereomutation

A computational study on ground and excited states of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and the hypothetical molecule H2SO is reported. Full valence CASSCF/6-311+G(3df,2p) with a multireference perturbation theory correction was used for the latter, while DMSO was examined with an active space that neglected only the CH bonds and an analogous basis set that neglected polarization functions on H. A realistic value of 41.5 kcal/mol was obtained for the ground state pyramidal inversion of sulfur for DMSO, though no directly comparable experimental value is available. Calculations were also carried out on singlet and triplet excited state surfaces of both A‘ and A‘ ‘ symmetry. Relaxed excited state geometries fairly near the ground state geometry were found, but perhaps more importantly, excited state stationary points were also found in C2v symmetry. These were the lowest energy of any geometry on their respective surfaces. This leads to the speculation that photochemical stereomutation of alkyl sulfoxides may occur...
Comparison of Otolith and Scale Age Characteristics for Black Crappies Collected from South Dakota Waters

Abstract Scales and otoliths (sagittae) were collected from black crappies Pomoxis nigromaculatus sampled during the spring of 1991 in Red Plum Reservoir and Roy Lake, South Dakota. Red Plum Reservoir contained a slow-growing black crappie population, whereas Roy Lake had a fast-growing population. Annuli in scales and otoliths were identified independently by three readers. Within-structure (i.e., among-reader) and between-structure agreements in both population samples were 94% or greater for both scales and otoliths from fish of all ages. Our results indicated that for black crappies from South Dakota waters, precision of ages determined from scales and otoliths was similar.
Association Between Obesity and Psychiatric Disorders in the US Adult Population

Background: Epidemiologic data suggest an association between obesity and depression, but findings vary across studies and suggest a stronger relationship in women than men. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between obesity and a range of mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders in the US general population. Design: Cross-sectional epidemiologic survey. Setting: Nationally representative sample of US adults. Participants: A total of 9125 respondents who provided complete data on psychiatric disorder, height, and weight. Response rate was 70.9%. Main Outcome Measures: Participants completed an in-person interview, including assessment of a range of mental disorders (assessed using the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview) and height and weight (by selfreport). Results:Obesity(definedasbodymassindex[calculated asweightinkilogramsdividedbythesquareofheightin meters]of30)wasassociatedwithsignificantincreases inlifetimediagnosisofmajordepression(oddsratio[OR], 1.21;95%confidenceinterval[CI],1.09-1.35),bipolardisorder (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.12-1.93), and panic disorder oragoraphobia(OR,1.27;95%CI,1.01-1.60).Obesitywas associatedwithsignificantlylowerlifetimeriskofsubstance usedisorder(OR,0.78;95%CI,0.65-0.93).Subgroupanalysesfoundnodifferenceintheseassociationsbetweenmen andwomen,buttheassociationbetweenobesityandmood disorderwasstrongestinnon-Hispanicwhites(OR,1.38; 95%CI,1.20-1.59)andcollegegraduates(OR,1.44;95% CI, 1.14-1.81). Conclusions: Obesity is associated with an approximately 25% increase in odds of mood and anxiety disorders and an approximately 25% decrease in odds of substance use disorders. Variation across demographic groups suggests that social or cultural factors may moderate or mediate the association between obesity and mood disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006;63:824-830
Phonetic Speaker Recognition with Support Vector Machines

A recent area of significant progress in speaker recognition is the use of high level features—idiolect, phonetic relations, prosody, discourse structure, etc. A speaker not only has a distinctive acoustic sound but uses language in a characteristic manner. Large corpora of speech data available in recent years allow experimentation with long term statistics of phone patterns, word patterns, etc. of an individual. We propose the use of support vector machines and term frequency analysis of phone sequences to model a given speaker. To this end, we explore techniques for text categorization applied to the problem. We derive a new kernel based upon a linearization of likelihood ratio scoring. We introduce a new phone-based SVM speaker recognition approach that halves the error rate of conventional phone-based approaches.
Design of Efficient Slot Antenna for On-Chip Wireless Systems

In this paper, a new method for reducing the dimensions of cavity backed slot antennas is proposed. This method involves replacing the metallic ground plane around the slot antenna with a series of parallel strip lines and designing them in a compact fashion. Using this new technique, the overall dimensions of the cavity backed slot antenna can be reduced by over 65%. Ultimately, this method is going to be used in the design of miniaturized on-chip antennas at mm-wave frequencies. As a proof of concept, sample miniaturized cavity back slot antennas at a lower frequency are fabricated and measurement results indicate that they show a very low input VSWR, low cross polarization levels, and front-to-back ratios in the 6-7 dB range despite their small ground plane size
A planar electrode array in standard CMOS technology

The development of a cheap, useful electrode array chip for scientific and medical applications is discussed. The chip is targeted for an experimental situation in which the neurological structure being studied could lie on or against the chip surface. The authors report on the minimum-sized electrode array which can reliably be built using standard CMOS fabrication techniques. The data suggest that the minimum-sized electrode array may be constructed using two-lambda glass cuts centered over six-lambda metal 2 regions separated by at least two lambda. A 64-electrode, multiplexed, recording-array chip, which is currently in fabrication, is also shown. >
MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS OF ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CLEARWING MOTHS (LEPIDOPTERA: SESIIDAE)

Abstract Larvae of many species of Sesiidae, the clearwing moths, are important pests in commercial nurseries, urban landscapes, timber stands, vineyards, and orchards. They cause economic loss by larval boring in stems and roots of herbaceous and woody plants. Researchers and growers often monitor for the presence of economically important sesiid adults with pheromone traps. These traps often attract more than one species of Sesiidae and specimens often degrade making identification difficult or impossible. This can cause problems in monitoring programs where species-specific control programs are used. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify a 606-bp region of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI), tRNA leucine, and COII gene. This region exhibited 7.7-19.5% genetic variability among 8 species of Sesiidae. Samples were sequenced and restriction sites identified. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis was conducted on 8 species of Sesiidae, Melittia satyrin...
Proteomics Analysis of Melanoma Cell Lines and Cultured Melanocytes

Biochemical, molecular biological, and genetic studies suggest carcinogenesis results in progressive release from growth regulation and apoptosis surveillance, and increasing likelihood of metastasis. In melanoma, this progression is reflected in histopathological stages, including radial growth phase, vertical growth phase, and metastasis. Understanding melanoma progression is complicated by the difficulty of distinguishing these stages at a molecular level. In addition, the complexity of cancer cell behavior involving altered stromal interactions, angiogenesis, resistance to drugs and immune surveillance, and metastasis to various tissues, makes it difficult to directly or quantitatively connect functional responses to mutations or regulatory events. More precise ways are needed to delineate molecular phenotypes in a manner that is quantifiable and directly related to mutation or underlying signaling status. One approach that shows great promise is proteomic profiling, in which new methods for sensitive and reproducible identification and quantification of thousands of different proteins in cells are being applied to analyze molecular changes in melanoma.
Ideological influence on higher education: Progressivism versus conservatism

IDEOLOGICAL INFLUENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION: PROGRESSIVISM VERSUS CONSERVATISM Anthony Ward Robinson June 16, 2008 This thesis is a historical analysis of the role the federal government has had in the in development student aid funding in the modern public four-year higher education system. It begins with a historical overview of the rise of progressivism as a significant animator of the federal government in the twentieth century. It focuses on the creation of the Pell Grant and Stafford Loan student aid vehicles and the effect that had on the creation of the modern middle-class. It then provides a discussion of the political and cultural backlash that was created by the ascendency of conservatism in the United States and its effects on student aid funding. The thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter One provides the thesis of the paper as well as an overview of the structure of the proceeding chapters. Chapter Two provides an overview twentieth century progressivism and
Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Arteriovenous Malformations: The Effect of Treatment Period on Patient Outcomes.

BACKGROUND Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has been performed on patients with cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) for over 40 years. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of treatment period on obliteration, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and radiation-induced complications (RICs). METHODS Retrospective comparison of 381 AVM patients having SRS during a 20-year period (group 1, January 1990 through March 1997, n = 160; group 2, April 1997 through December 2009, n = 221). The median radiological and clinical follow-up after initial SRS was 77 months and 93 months, respectively. RESULTS Obliteration was 59.1% at 4 years and 85.1% at 8 years. Obliteration was more common in patients with hemispheric or cerebellar AVMs (P = .001), smaller prescription isodose volume (PIV) (P < .001), and group 1 patients (P < .001). The ICH rate was 7.7% at 4 years and 10.6% at 8 years. ICH was more common in older patients (P = .02), patients with deep AVM (P = .01), and larger PIV (P < .001). There was no difference in the ICH rate between the treatment groups (P = .18). The rate of permanent RICs was 4.4% at 4 years and 8.6% at 8 years. RICs were more common with larger PIVs (P < .001) and group 1 patients (P = .02). There was no difference in the number of patients having obliteration without new deficits between the 2 treatment periods (68.8% vs 73.3%, P = .33). CONCLUSION Advances in SRS procedures over the past 20 years have resulted in a lower risk of RIC, but fewer patients had AVM obliteration. Increasing the prescription dose for patients with medium- and large-volume AVMs by using current conformal dose-planning techniques may improve the obliteration rate while maintaining a low risk of RICs.
Bioelectrical impedance self-measurement protocol development and daily variation between healthy volunteers and breast cancer survivors with lymphedema.

Background: A significant percentage of breast cancer survivors are at risk for lymphedema for which lifelong self-care is required. Previous studies suggest that less than 50% of breast cancer survivors with lymphedema (BCS-LE) perform prescribed self-care tasks and that even wearing a compression sleeve, the most commonly reported self-care activity, is done irregularly. Reasons for poor self-care adherence include perceived lack of results from self-care (no available arm volume data) and perceived inability to manage the condition. Methods and Results: A two-part pilot study was conducted to: 1) develop and determine the feasibility of a self-measurement protocol using a single frequency bioelectrical impedance device; and 2) examine daily variation in extracellular volume in healthy and lymphedematous limbs. Healthy and BCS-LE volunteers were recruited to refine and test a self-measurement protocol. Volunteers were trained in the use of the device and measured for 5 consecutive days in a laboratory setting. They were then given the device to use at home for an additional 5 consecutive days of self-measurement. All volunteers completed each scheduled home measurement. Daily variability in both groups was noted. Conclusions: Home self-measurement using bioelectrical impedance is feasible, acceptable, and captures change. This has implications for both self-care support and for the possibility of incorporating self-measurement using bioelectrical impedance in future clinical trials examining effectiveness of lymphedema treatment.
A multi-perspective virtual reality visualization of unmanned aerial systems in the U.S. national airspace

Large scale distributed visualizations are routinely used by organizations in both the commercial and government sectors for training and simulation. These simulations are of particular importance in the research associated with the United States Federal Aviation Administration's current work on updating the National Airspace System to the Next Generation Air Transportation System. This new system will include the integration of unmanned aerial systems into civil airspace for routine flights. In this paper we propose a system for integrating unmanned aerial system visual observers into the distributed simulation capability of the Federal Aviation Administration using large-scale virtual reality systems. We demonstrate the replication of terrain surrounding flight tests in virtual environments and the generation of the observer's views from both ground-based and airborne scenarios.
Coherence stalls or latency tolerance: informed CPU scheduling for socket and core sharing

The efficiency of modern multiprogrammed multicore machines is heavily impacted by traffic due to data sharing and contention due to competition for shared resources. In this paper, we demonstrate the importance of identifying latency tolerance coupled with instruction-level parallelism on the benefits of colocating threads on the same socket or physical core for parallel efficiency. By adding hardware counted CPU stall cycles due to cache misses to the measured statistics, we show that it is possible to infer latency tolerance at low cost. We develop and evaluate SAM-MPH, a multicore CPU scheduler that combines information on sources of traffic with tolerance for latency and need for computational resources. We also show the benefits of using a history of past intervals to introduce hysteresis when making mapping decisions, thereby avoiding oscillatory mappings and transient migrations that would impact performance. Experiments with a broad range of multiprogrammed parallel, graph processing, and data management workloads on 40-CPU and 80-CPU machines show that SAMMPH obtains ideal performance for standalone applications and improves performance by up to 61% over the default Linux scheduler for mixed workloads.
Zika in the Brain: New Models Shed Light on Viral Infection

The current Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak is associated with high numbers of human congenital birth defects, yet it has been unclear how ZIKV infection during pregnancy causes these abnormalities. Three new mouse models now show that ZIKV crosses the placenta and replicates in the brains of fetal mice.
Early Childhood Perezhivaniya

Our overarching response to this collection of articles on perezhivanie is that the great range of topics across the articles makes necessary more specific conference discussions and papers: those ...
Patterns and Predictors of Compliance in a Prospective Diary Study of Substance Use and Sexual Behavior in a Sample of Young Men Who Have Sex With Men

Behavioral diaries are used for observing health-related behaviors prospectively. Little is known about patterns and predictors of diary compliance to better understand differential attrition. An analytic sample of 241 young men who have sex with men (YMSM) from a 2-month diary study of substance use and sexual behavior were randomized to complete daily or weekly timeline followback diaries. Latent class growth analyses were used to analyze data. Weekly and daily diary groups produced similar compliance patterns: high, low, and declining compliance groups. Black YMSM were more likely to be in the declining compared with the high compliance group. YMSM who were randomly assigned to receive automated feedback about risk behaviors did not differ in compliance rate compared with those who did not. Risk behavior engagement did not predict compliance in the daily condition, but some substances predicted compliance in the weekly condition. Implications for observational and behavior change methods are discussed.
Modified mRNA as a therapeutic tool to induce cardiac regeneration in ischemic heart disease

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Current pharmacological and interventional therapies provide significant improvement in the life quality of patient; however, they are mostly symptom-oriented and not curative. A high disease and economic burden of IHD requires the search for new therapeutic strategies to significantly improve patients' prognosis and quality of life. One of the main challenges during IHD is the massive loss of cardiomyocytes that possess minimal regenerative capacity. Recent understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying IHD, as well as new therapeutic approaches provide new hope for patients suffering from IHD. Synthetic modified mRNA (modRNA) is a new gene delivery vector that is increasingly used in in vivo applications. modRNA is a relatively stable, non-immunogenic, highly-expressed molecule that has been shown to mediate high and transient expression of proteins in different type of cells and tissues including cardiomyocytes. modRNA properties, together with its expression kinetics in the heart make it an attractive option for the treatment of IHD, especially after myocardial infarction. In this review we discuss the role of gene therapy in cardiac regeneration as an approach to treat IHD; traditional and innovative gene delivery methods; and focus specifically on modRNA structure, mode of delivery, and its use for the induction of endogenous regenerative capacity, mainly in the context of IHD. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2017, 9:e1367. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1367 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Islamists and the politics of democratization: evidence from Turkey

This article offers a regime transition perspective on the complex relationship between Islamism and democratization in Turkey. By using Dankwart Rustow’s four-stage model of democratization, the article traces Islamist strategies of survival, nonconfrontation, offense, and hegemony back to the background condition of national unity, conflict of interest during the preparatory phase, and the requirements of the decision phase to complete a democratic transition. The evidence from Turkey demonstrates that democratization is not a linear process and Islamic actors may use politics of reform to ensure their survival, access to power, and domination.
CBF–Metabolism Coupling

Abstract The brain requires continuous cerebral blood flow (CBF) to meet its metabolic and energy requirements. There is a tight coupling between neuronal activity, CBF, and metabolism; hence, neuronal activation that raises energy demands is met by an increase in CBF via vasodilation of arteries. Neuroimaging techniques capitalize on the regional increase in CBF in response to neuronal activation. Several mediators that relay information and maintain the coupling between CBF and metabolism have been studied including nitric oxide, astrocytes, and ion channels. The neurovascular unit is a conceptual model encompassing the anatomical and metabolic interactions between the neurons, vascular components, and glial cells in the brain. Under pathological conditions such as ischemic stroke, diabetes, hypertension, dementias, and with aging, the neurovascular unit is compromised and a cascade of inflammatory responses is triggered that exacerbate brain damage. Hence, tight regulation and maintenance of neurovascular coupling is central for brain homeostasis.
Double danger in the double wide: Dimensions of poverty, housing quality and tornado impacts

Abstract Tornadoes are the most frequent of the natural hazards in the United States, causing significant yearly human and economic losses. Given the potential destructive power of tornado events and their largely unpredictable nature, it is important to identify the major determinants of vulnerability. To date, only a limited number of studies have empirically investigated the determinants of tornado-induced deaths. Based on a conceptual framework where risk is considered to be a function of physically defined natural hazards and socially constructed vulnerability, we extend previous empirical studies by examining a wider range of potential socio-economic, governmental, and housing factors that determine tornado-induced fatalities. Using detailed county-level data for years 1980–2014, we find that counties with higher per capita income and per capita government spending on public safety and welfare have fewer deaths, whereas counties with greater income disparity are more vulnerable to tornadoes. We explore which aspects of poverty seem most associated with fatalities. Housing quality (measured by mobile homes as a proportion of housing units) is a critical factor in explaining tornado-induced fatalities.
Design of balanced dual-band filter with reconfigurable center frequencies

A balanced two-pole dual-band filter with reconfigurable center frequencies is constructed in this letter for the first time. By incorporating varactor diodes into the doubly short-ended resonator loaded with two short-ended stubs, flexible tuning capabilities are thus enabled. According to stub-loaded theory, by properly selecting positions of two short-ended stubs on the doubly short-ended resonator, the first differential-mode passband center frequency could be independently manipulated, without affecting the other passband. Besides, source-load coupling is introduced to improve the differential-mode frequency selectivity by creating two finite transmission zeros close to each passband. For validation, a tunable balanced dual-band filter is implemented and good agreement between simulation and measurement results indicates the feasibility of proposed design methodology.
Differential Relationships among Circulating Inflammatory and Immune Activation Biomediators and Impact of Aging and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in a Cohort of Injection Drug Users

As individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection live longer, aging and age-related chronic conditions have become major health concerns for this vulnerable population. Substantial evidence suggests that chronic inflammation and immune activation contribute significantly to chronic conditions in people aging with or without HIV infection. As a result, increasing numbers of inflammation and immune activation biomediators have been measured. While very few studies describe their in vivo relationships, such studies can serve as an important and necessary initial step towards delineating the complex network of chronic inflammation and immune activation. In this study, we evaluated in vivo relationships between serum levels of neopterin, a biomediator of immune activation, and 4 commonly described inflammatory biomediators: soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha receptor (sTNFR)-1, sTNFR-2, interleukin (IL)-6, and C-reactive protein (CRP), as well as the impact of HIV infection and aging in the AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience (ALIVE) study, a community-recruited observational study of former and current injection drug users (IDUs) with or at high risk for HIV infection in Baltimore, MD. The study included 1178 participants in total with 316 HIV-infected (HV+) and 862 HIV-uninfected (HIV-) IDUs. Multivariate regression analyses were employed, adjusting for age, sex, BMI, smoking, hepatitis C virus co-infection, injection drug use, comorbidities, and HIV status (for all participants), and HIV viral load, CD4+ T-cell counts, and anti-retroviral therapy (for HIV+ participants). The results showed significant impact of aging on all five biomediators and that of HIV infection on all but sTNFR-1. In the adjusted model, neopterin had positive associations with sTNFR-1 and sTNFR-2 (partial correlation coefficients: 0.269 and 0.422 respectively for all participants; 0.292 and 0.354 for HIV+; and 0.262 and 0.435 for HIV-, all p< .0001). No significant associations between neopterin and IL-6 or CRP were identified. Such differential relationships between circulating neopterin and sTNFR-1, sTNFR-2, IL-6, and CRP may help inform their selection in future studies. These findings may also facilitate elucidation of underlying inflammatory and immune activation pathways that contribute to age-related chronic conditions, potentially leading to identification of key biomediators, particularly those upstream of CRP, as novel targets for intervention.
Nitric oxide signaling molecules in acupoints: Toward mechanisms of acupuncture

Recent clinical trial studies have demonstrated that the effects of acupuncture on pain improvement are small and no difference between acupoints and non-points. Whether acupuncture needles must be inserted in specific points depends on whether acupoint specificity exists that is still not resolved, and is now urgent. Previous anatomical studies have demonstrated that acupoints exist higher number of nerve fibers/trunks, blood vessels, hair follicles, and sweat glands as well as density of the gap junction. Recent evidence shows that nitric oxide (NO) level is elevated in the acupoints/ meridians and is associated with an enhanced expression of NO synthase endowed with transient receptor potential vanilloid type-1. There is growing evidence from international groups showing that acupuncture induces NO-mediated vasodilatation, which increases local blood flow and allows for a flush of algesic or sensitizing substances, leading to pain relief. Previous studies, using a novel biocapture system, have demonstrated that NOx- (total nitrite and nitrate) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) concentrations are consistently increased over skin acupoints compared to non-meridian control regions (NMCR) in humans. Dermal microdialysis in humans showed that NO-cGMP releases in the subcutaneous tissue of acupoint are higher than those in NMCR and increased by electroacupuncture (EA). Recent studies have demonstrated that low-frequency electrical stimulation and manual acupuncture with low stimulating force and rate produce an elevation of NO release predominantly over acupoints. In contrast, NO levels over the areas of the skin regions are moderately reduced by high-frequency EA stimulation. The results from anatomical and biochemical studies consistently show that acupoints exist higher levels of NO signaling molecules, and stimulus-evoked NO release is also with a higher level at acupoints. Results suggest that NO signaling molecules contribute to the specificity of acupoints, and selecting well-trained acupuncturetists for using correct acupoints and appropriate parameters should improve acupuncture clinical trial studies.
Minimum sensitivity analysis for accurate open-loop controllers in linear systems using weighted gramians

The objective is to find accurate open-loop controls for linear systems, which bring the state to the exact desired target in the absence of the disturbance (accurate), and minimize the worst case error at the final state (minimally sensitive) when disturbed. In particular, a suboptimal open-loop control is proposed for the multiplicative disturbance case. The proposed suboptimal control has a structural analogy to the Gramian based minimum energy controller but differs by using a weighted Gramian. Further analysis on this unconventional weighted Gramian shows that its inverse relates to the upper bound of the worst perturbation at the final state. A two dimensional heat exchanger example shows the effectiveness of the proposed control.
Elementary ELA/Social Studies Integration: Challenges and Limitations.

Adding instructional time and holding teachers accountable for teaching social studies are touted as practical, logical steps toward reforming the age-old tradition of marginalization. This qualita...
Want to Play? Peer-Mediated Intervention for Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Peer-mediated interventions (PMI) are strategies to promote positive social interactions between children with ASD and their peers. In PMI peers are taught to initiate interactions with children with ASD, to respond to children with ASD, or to model age-appropriate social, communicative, and play skills. This chapter provides an introduction to peer-mediated intervention and step-by-step procedures and guidelines for implementing PMI.
Coordination, symmetry, and grouping parameters for redundant movement strategies for articulated platforms

A method is presented for generating multiple trajectories through configuration space between an initial and a final pose. This method is based on a concept from La-ban/Bartenieff Movement Studies (LBMS), which describes large, body-level coordinated movement strategies. As a part of this implementation, a set of axes is defined on an articulated robot and in between these axes, the degrees of freedom are grouped together. Then, starting from an initial pose, a range of intermediate poses can be selected using a parametrization scheme leveraging the defined axes. A motion plan then consists of the configuration space trajectories leading from the initial pose to the intermediate pose and then to the final pose following the group sequence. This idea has been implemented on a simulated robot with four serial link chains. Also, the different movements thus generated have been quantified by associating a physical quantity for each movement which may be used for making such motion plans autonomous.
Solid-state electrical applications of protein and peptide based nanomaterials

The field of organic electronics continues to be driven by new charge-transporting materials that are typically processed from toxic organic solvents incompatible with biological environments. Over the past few decades, powerful examples of electrical transport as mediated through protein-based macromolecules have fueled the emerging area of organic bioelectronics. These attractive bioinspired architectures have enabled several important applications that draw on their functional electrical properties, ranging from field-effect transistors to piezoelectrics. In addition to naturally occurring protein biomacromolecules, unnatural oligopeptide self-assemblies and peptide–π conjugates also exhibit interesting electrical applications. This review provides an overview of electrical transport and electrical polarization in specialized biomaterials as manifested in solid-state device architectures.
Numerical methods for H∞ control of distributed parameter systems

We present a method for computing the optimal level of performance for the H ∞ optimal mixed sensitivity problem for systems described by irrational transfer functions when the plant is a stable transfer function (an H ∞ function), and an explicit inner/outer factorization of the plant is not available. This technique is applicable to plants for which the only available frequency response information consists of test data. We discuss some numerical issues and illustrate with an application.
SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY AND THE STABILITY OF PREDATOR-PREY SYSTEMS: POPULATION CYCLES

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the spatial heterogeneity and the stability of predator–prey systems. It discusses the role of spatial heterogeneity by highlighting the existence and stability of periodic solutions to the equations describing the population dynamics of a one predator one prey system, in an environment consisting of a large number of discrete, identical patches. The chapter highlights the work of Gurney and Nisbet regarding the possibility of oscillations in a deterministic model. The rationale behind using patch type models is discussed in Hastings (1977, 1978), Caswell (1978) and Levin (1976a,b). These models will be more useful than reaction diffusion systems in cases where dispersal is long range, as, for example, in intertidal organisms that have pelagic larvae. The chapter presents the simplest model and discusses its dynamics.
Nonlinear Control with Hierarchy for Coordinated Operation of Robots

The coordinated operation of several robots is a challenging control problem of high practical interest where relatively little work has been done so far. In the paper, a hierarchical overall system is developed for the coordinated operation including the dynamics of the robots involved. The resulting equations are given in general form as well as in application of the nonlinear control and decoupling method. The new approach is applied to two robots (AIT Robot 1 and Volkswagen Robot G60) working on a conveyor belt with a common collision space.
Principles and Procedures Employed in Design and Interpretation of Atmospheric Corrosion Tests

Abstract Principles under which atmospheric corrosion tests are made are much the same as those applicable to other types of testing. Considered, among other things are, uses of accelerated tests, specimen size, location of test sites, differences in atmospheres, differences in metals and influence of alloying constituents. Mounting procedures, shape of specimens, drainage, influence of rainfall, influence of climatic variations, uses of shelters, reproducibility, test duration, evaluation of results. 2.2.2
Coronary Plaque Characteristics in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Who Presented With Acute Coronary Syndromes.

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular events. We aimed to investigate the coronary plaque phenotype of diabetic patients who presented with acute coronary synd...
Hungry for Equality: A Longitudinal Analysis of Women’s Legal Rights and Food Security in Developing Countries

Access to food is one of the most basic human needs, yet undernourishment remains one of the greatest barriers to health and development in the Global South. The entitlement approach to hunger main...
Palatability Characterization of Fresh and Dry-Aged Ground Beef Patties

Descriptive trained sensory attributes, fatty acids, and volatile compounds were determined to characterize the effects of dry-aging on ground beef. Beef shoulder clods were ground to include 100% fresh beef, 100% dry-aged beef, and a 50% fresh and 50% dry-aged ground beef blend. Samples comprised of 100% dry-aged beef were rated greatest (P < 0.001) for browned/grilled, earthy/mushroom, and nutty/roasted-nut flavors; however, panelists also detected greater (P ≤ 0.011) incidences of sour/acidic and bitter flavors. The addition of dry-aged beef increased (P < 0.001) hardness and reduced (P < 0.001) tenderness. Dry-aging also caused a shift in saturated fatty acids, where shorter chain saturated fatty acids (≤ 16:0) were reduced (P ≤ 0.034) compared to stearic acid (18:0). Meanwhile, increases of trans-octadecenoic acid (18:1 trans) and decreases of cis monounsaturated fatty acids were present in dry-aged beef. Concentrations of 18:2 conjugated linoleic isomers were greatest (P < 0.001) in fresh beef and decreased with the incorporation of dry-aged beef. Several lipid-derived volatile compounds were greater (P < 0.05) in dry-aged beef compared with fresh beef, implying a greater degree of lipid degradation among dry-aged beef. Increases (P ≤ 0.031) were determined for 3- and 2-methyl butanal with the addition of dry-aged beef. Intermediates of the Maillard reaction, 2,3-butanedione and acetoin, were determined to be greatest (P ≤ 0.046) from dry-aged beef. Alterations of fatty acids and volatile compounds with dry-aging were determined to be related with intensity of individual flavor attributes. Overall, it may be concluded that inclusion of dry-aged beef impacts flavor profile through altered fatty acid profiles and flavor related compounds. These results support the idea that dry-aging may be utilized to impart an altered ground beef flavor experience.
My Skin Is Unqualified: An Autoethnography of Black Scholar-Activism for Predominantly White Education.

This research addresses the guiding autoethnographic question: “What three key institutional incidents/conditions inform my Black scholar-activism for predominantly White education in this historic...
QTL Mapping of Intestinal Neutrophil Variation in Threespine Stickleback Reveals Possible Gene Targets Connecting Intestinal Inflammation and Systemic Health.

Selection, via host immunity, is often required to foster beneficial microbial symbionts and suppress deleterious pathogens. In animals, the host immune system is at the center of this relationship. Failed host immune system-microbial interactions can result in a persistent inflammatory response in which the immune system indiscriminately attacks resident microbes, and at times the host cells themselves, leading to diseases such as Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, and Psoriasis. Host genetic variation has been linked to both microbiome diversity and to severity of such inflammatory disease states in humans. However, the microbiome and inflammatory states manifest as quantitative traits, which encompass many genes interacting with one another and the environment. The mechanistic relationships among all of these interacting components are still not clear. Developing natural genetic models of host-microbe interactions is therefore fundamental to understanding the complex genetics of these and other diseases. Threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) fish are a tractable model for attacking this problem because of abundant population-level genetic and phenotypic variation in the gut inflammatory response. Previous work in our laboratory identified genetically divergent stickleback populations exhibiting differences in intestinal neutrophil activity. We took advantage of this diversity to genetically map variation in an emblematic element of gut inflammation - intestinal neutrophil recruitment - using an F2-intercross mapping framework. We identified two regions of the genome associated with increased intestinal inflammation containing several promising candidate genes. Within these regions we found candidates in the Coagulation/Complement System, NFkB and MAPK pathways along with several genes associated with intestinal diseases and neurological diseases commonly accompanying intestinal inflammation as a secondary symptom. These findings highlight the utility of using naturally genetically diverse ‘evolutionary mutant models’ such as threespine stickleback to better understand interactions among host genetic diversity and microbiome variation in health and disease states.
HIROSHIMA, THE VIETNAM VETERAN'S MEMORIAL, AND THE GULF WAR: POST-NATIONAL SPECTACLES

In the context of changing structures of global power, this essay offers a theoretical and historical analysis of prevailing U.S. representations of itself and its Others. Taking as its point of departure the Gulf War, it examines the national narratives of impending nuclear desaster, the Vietnam syndrome, and the erection of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It concludes by interpreting the Rodney King incident as the activation of an alternative memory that cannot be subsumed by the image of a New World Order.