cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Amblygonite-montebrasite solid solutions as monitors of fluorine in evolved granitic and pegmatitic melts

The distribution of F between amblygonite (Amb, LiAlPO4F)–montebrasite (Mbr, LiAlPO4OH) solid solutions and metaluminous haplogranitic melt has been calibrated at 585 °C and 200 MPa H2O. The partition coefficient for F between the crystalline phase and melt, D FMbr/melt, is linear between 0 to ~10 wt% F in amblygonite, which contains 13 wt% F at the end-member: ![Formula][1] Values of D FAmb/melt decrease sharply above 10 wt% F in amblygonite as the amblygonite reaches saturation in F at 200 MPa H2O. In natural occurrences, however, the vast majority of primary amblygonite-montebrasite solid solutions contain ~4–7 wt% F, well within the linear range of the calibrated exchange reaction, and the montebrasite-bearing assemblages are among the last to crystallize. If the F contents of the montebrasite are magmatic, then these most-fractionated residual melts of the LCT (Li-Cs-Ta, and mostly peraluminous S-types) rare-element class generally contained up to ~1.0–1.8 wt% F near the end of their crystallization. The modest F contents of pegmatites are consistent with the common association of Li aluminosilicates and with the general paucity of topaz in these occurrences. In topaz-bearing granites of Western Europe, however, high-F amblygonite (~10–11 wt% F) reflects >3 wt% F in melt during crystallization of these magmatic phases. [1]: /embed/tex-math-1.gif
Infrared and Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Jet-Cooled ortho-, meta-, and para-Diethynylbenzene†

The vibronic spectroscopy of ortho-, meta-, and para-diethynylbenzene (oDEB, mDEB, and pDEB) was studied by two-color resonant two photon ionization (R2PI). The symmetry allowed S0−S1 origins of oDEB, mDEB, and pDEB were located at 33 515, 33 806, and 34 255 cm-1, respectively, with the vibronic structure extending about 2000 cm-1 above the origin in oDEB and mDEB, but more than 3000 cm-1 in pDEB. Major peaks in each spectrum were attributed to vibronically induced bands, indicating strong coupling of the S1 state to the S2 state. Ground-state infrared spectra in the C−H stretch region (3000−3360 cm-1) were obtained using resonant ion-dip infrared spectroscopy (RIDIRS). In all three isomers, the acetylenic C−H stretch fundamental was split by Fermi resonance with a combination band composed of the C⋮C stretch and two quanta of the C⋮CH bend. This Fermi resonance was detuned in the overtone region of pDEB, which showed a single peak at 6556 cm-1. Infrared spectra were also recorded in the excited electroni...
Shale Gas and the Future of Energy: Framing the Sustainability Questions

Few energy issues in recent decades have proven as contentious as shale gas. Supporters and opponents often speak in such strikingly divergent terms that they seem to be describing different activities. Typically, supporters point to the economic and security impacts of shale gas, and minimize the adverse environmental and social effects. Opponents often point to negative environmental and social impacts, and downplay the economic and security effects. This chapter, from Shale Gas and the Future of Energy: Law and Policy for Sustainability (Edward Elgar 2016), explains sustainable development as an essential framework for providing a more complete understanding of whether shale gas contributes to overall human well-being. Key questions are whether shale gas development is sustainable and, if not, whether law and policy can actually make shale gas development sustainable. As this chapter also explains, it is not enough to make some progress toward sustainability. Key further questions are whether shale gas can help accelerate the transition to sustainability and, if so, how. These are the questions this book attempts to answer.
Motivation for Function and Shape Analysis

This textbook is dedicated to the study of functional data analysis and shape analysis of curves in Euclidean spaces. In the first item, one develops tools for statistical analysis of real-valued functional data on fixed intervals. While function data analysis is a broad topic area, worthy of a textbook in itself, we will focus heavily on a specific aspect that deals with alignment or registration of functional data. In the second item, one studies shapes formed by curves in 2D, 3D, and higher dimensions, with a goal of performing statistical inferences. Since these curves are also functions, albeit vector valued, and the issue of registration is of prime importance in their shape analysis, we will cover these topics under a broad umbrella of elastic functional and shape data analysis!
Laser Augmented Diamond Drilling: A New Technique to Drill Hard and Brittle Materials

Abstract Laser Augmented Diamond Drilling (LADD) is a new technique to drill hard and brittle materials. It utilizes a laser that is focused through an optically transparent diamond bit to drill the workpiece. The laser decreases the hardness and brittleness of the material by heating and thermally softening, and also increases the tool life. Single crystal silicon (100) has been used as the working material in this research. It has been demonstrated that using the LADD process can improve the quality of entrance edge of the drilled holes as well as their inner surface finish. Resulting surfaces and chips (machining debris) show evidences of ductile mode cut.
The Limits of Market Organization

(2007). The Limits of Market Organization. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 41, No. 1, pp. 295-297.
Closer than ever to an Ebola virus vaccine

Forty years ago, in 1976, hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in former Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and Sudan devastated the local communities [1]. In Zaire, an international response ...
Forecasting house prices in OECD economies

In this paper, we forecast real house price growth of 16 OECD countries using information from domestic macroeconomic indicators and global measures of the housing market. Consistent with the findings for the US housing market, we find that the forecasts from an autoregressive model dominate the forecasts from the random walk model for most of the countries in our sample. More importantly, we find that the forecasts from a bivariate model that includes economically important domestic macroeconomic variables and two global indicators of the housing market significantly improve upon the univariate autoregressive model forecasts. Among all the variables, the mean square forecast error from the model with the country's domestic interest rates has the best performance for most of the countries. The country's income, industrial production, and stock markets are also found to have valuable information about the future movements in real house price growth. There is also some evidence supporting the influence of the global housing price growth in out-of-sample forecasting of real house price growth in these OECD countries.
Job scheduling for data-parallel frameworks with hybrid electrical/optical datacenter networks

In spite of many advantages of hybrid electrical/optical datacenter networks (Hybrid-DCN), current job schedulers for data-parallel frameworks are not suitable for Hybrid-DCN, since the schedulers do not aggregate data traffic to facilitate using optical circuit switch (OCS). We propose SchedOCS, a job scheduler for data-parallel frameworks in Hybrid-DCN that aims to take full advantage of the OCS to improve the job performance.
Silicon carbide grain boundary distributions, irradiation conditions, and silver retention in irradiated AGR-1 TRISO fuel particles

Abstract Distributions of silicon carbide grain boundary types (random high angle, low angle, and coincident site lattice-related boundaries), were compared in irradiated tristructural isotropic-coated fuel particles from the Advanced Gas Reactor-1 experiment exhibiting high (>80%) and low (
The ultra-wideband software defined microwave radiometer (UWBRAD) for ice sheet subsurface temperature sensing: RFI algorithms and performance

The Ultra-Wideband Microwave Radiometer observes scene brightness temperatures over the frequency range 0.5–2 GHz, which primarily includes frequency bands that are not protected for passive microwave observations. This document presents UWBRAD's RFI mitigation algorithms and examples of the RFI environment encountered during a September 2016 flight campaign that included flights in Canada and Greenland.
Ultrasonographic and computed tomographic features of rice bodies in an Arabian horse with atlantal bursitis

A 19-year-old castrated Arabian male horse presented for evaluation of a firm mass at the dorsal cervical region. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed multiple well defined fusiform structures within the atlantal bursa. Multiple glossy smooth, white to yellowish, flattened fusiform structures were removed surgically. These structures were composed of dense fibrin with some leukocytes and red blood cells. The imaging and histopathological features of these structures were similar to chronic 'rice bodies' reported in humans with bursitis or tenosynovitis. This is the first veterinary report describing the imaging features of 'rice bodies' in a horse with atlantal bursitis.
Etiology of Fever in Neonates: Is It Just Due to Infection?

Objectives Fever is an abnormal elevation of body temperature that occurs as part of a specific biologic response that is mediated and controlled by the central nervous system. In neonates, it may indicate a serious underlying disease. With this study, we aimed to investigate the causes of fever in neonates. Methods Medical charts were reviewed retrospectively for all term newborn infants treated at the Behcet Uz Children's Hospital between 31 December 2007 and 31 December 2009 who subsequently developed fever during their first 28 days. The history of the newborn included type of feeding (formula or breast); weight loss, environmental temperature, and symptoms of infection (lethargy-poor suck, irritability, vomiting, abdominal distention, respiratory distress, and diarrhea) were noted; and physical examination also established. The standard laboratory workup for febrile infants included blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine and stool cultures, blood count, C-reactive protein, and analysis of serum electrolytes. Results It was determined that the most admissions were made in summer and most frequently in July. The most frequent cause of fever was infection, followed by unexplained fever and dehydration. Clinical sepsis was more frequent than proven sepsis. Risk for neonatal infection was increased by normal spontaneous vaginal birth, whereas the risk for dehydration was increased by cesarean section. Conclusions Environmental factors and dehydration may also be a factor in the newborn who is admitted for fever. But given our results, a newborn with a complaint of fever should be managed as an infection until proven otherwise.
Defined apolipoprotein A-I conformations in reconstituted high density lipoprotein discs.

Abstract We prepared and isolated defined, reconstituted high density lipoprotein (r-HDL) particles containing apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylcholine, and cholesterol. The initial r-HDL were prepared by the sodium cholate method, then part of the preparation was depleted of phospholipid by exposure to LDL, and the resulting, stable r-HDL species were isolated by gel filtration. The isolated r-HDL were characterized in terms of their size, alpha-helix content, and the conformation of apoA-I as reported by the fluorescence properties of the tryptophan residues. Then the relative reactivity of the r-HDL with lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase was assessed. The isolated, discoidal r-HDL contained 2 and 3 apoA-I molecules/particle, and had 77 and 109 A diameters, respectively. Their spectral properties were essentially identical and were distinct from the larger particles in the class of r-HDL with 2 apoA-I molecules/particle (particles with diameters of 86 and 96 A). In addition, the reactivity of the 77 and 109 A particles with pure lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase was similar and about 10-fold lower than for the 86 and 96 A particles. We conclude that the stable, limiting r-HDL particles in each class (77 and 109 A) can arise from the larger particles of the same class by depletion of phospholipids. These limiting particles have very similar apoA-I conformations, with decreased alpha-helix contents and compact protein regions, that are very poor in activating lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase. Based on these results, we propose a model to explain the origin of the different classes and subclasses of the discoidal r-HDL particles.
Struktureller und inhaltlicher Ich-Bezug

In der alteren und neueren psychiatrischen Literatur wird immer wieder vom Ich-Bezug des Wahns gesprochen, womit in der Regel gemeint ist, das der Wahninhalt in irgendeiner Beziehung zu der Person des Wahnkranken steht: Verfolgt wird der Kranke, eifersuchtig ist der Kranke etc. Nur gelegentlich klingt an, das mit dem Ausdruck “Ich-Bezug” noch etwas anderes, namlich eine strukturelle Eigenschaft des Wahns, gemeint ist, beispielsweise dann, wenn von Beziehungswahn, von Bedeutungswahn oder von der Wahnstimmung die Rede ist. Meist wird der Ich-Bezug des Wahns jedoch als akzidentiell betrachtet, d.h. nicht als zum “Wesen” bzw. zur Definition des Wahns gehorig. Weiterhin fallt auf, das der Begriff “Ich” in diesen Aussagen relativ vage gehandhabt wird: Manchmal ist die Person des Patienten gemeint, manchmal eine postulierte intrapsychische Struktur in ihr, manchmal eine bestimmte Klasse von Fahigkeiten oder Eigenschaften des Patienten.
Aftereffects of Exercise upon Resting Metabolic Rate

Abstract Resting metabolic rates of two healthy middle-aged male subjects were tested twice a week during a six-week exercise program. On one day each week observations were made at 2–4–6–8–hr. intervals following the exercise bout; on the other day observations were made at corresponding times, but without exercise. The results of a total of 38 pairs of observations indicated a statistically significant increase in metabolic rate for a period of 6 hr., returning to approximately the pre-exercise level in 8 hr. The mean increase for the two subjects for the first 6 hr. following exercise was 4.39 kcal/m2/hr. or a total cost of 53 kcal. per day over and above the metabolic cost of the activity itself. The implications of the metabolic aftereffects of exercise making a contribution in a weight reduction program are discussed.
Economic analysis of a field monitored residential wood pellet boiler heating system in New York State

Abstract An economic and environmental benefit analysis have been performed using data from the field monitoring of a 25-kW wood pellet boiler heating system with thermal energy storage (TES) tanks installed in a home using a low temperature heat distribution system and radiant heat emitters in northern New York State (NYS). Pellet fuel demand was a linear function of daily average ambient temperature. It was used to predict total seasonal fuel and heat demand from the beginning of October to the end of April. A cost of heat (COH) analysis was performed considering all costs associated with the system including capital cost, operation, maintenance, other costs, and final system disposal (or salvation) cost. Sensitivity analysis showed that initial capital cost, wood pellet fuel price, and boiler heating system seasonal efficiency were the top three key factors determining the final COH with seasonal efficiency becomes more significant when pellet price increases. A life cycle annualized cost method was used to determine and compare the costs of heat using natural gas, No. 2 fuel oil, and propane. The study found that at the current seasonal efficiency of 75.8% (based on gross heating value), pellet fuel price of 240 $/ton, and maximum government incentives of $10,000, wood pellet boiler heating is able to replace intermediate efficiency (83%) propane heating systems in NYS at current fuel price of 2.48 $/gal. With a 3.6% fuel price increase to 2.57 $/gal, wood pellet heating is comparable with high efficiency (95%) propane heating systems. In addition, a heating oil price above 3.22 $/gal would make it economically possible to switch from oil heating to wood pellet heating in NYS. It was found that major emissions reductions can be achieved by switching from inefficient wood heating technology to wood pellet heating in terms of reductions in CO2, particulate matter (PM), and CO emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions reductions are also achieved when switching from fossil fuels to wood pellets, but PM and CO emissions increased significantly.
Predicting the Efficiency of the Silicon Bottom Cell in a Two-Terminal Tandem Solar Cell

In two-terminal top-cell/silicon tandem solar cells, such as perovskite/silicon tandems, the efficiency of the silicon bottom cell is unknown, as individual sub-cell characterization is inaccessible after tandem formation. Here, using the “spectral efficiency” concept, we propose a simple model that determines the silicon bottom cell efficiency in a tandem device, as well as predicts the efficiency potential of a silicon bottom cell before completing a tandem device. The model relies on the characterization of a silicon cell before tandem formation, and specifically takes as input data from external quantum efficiency, reflectance, and Suns. $-V_{oc}$ measurements, as well as the absorption coefficient of the top cell. By applying this model, we find that the silicon bottom cell contributes 10.2% efficiency to the recent 23.6%-efficient, record monolithic perovskite/silicon tandem.
Topology and Physics of Circular DNA

Topology and Physics of Circular DNA presents comprehensive coverage of the physical properties of circular DNA. The author examines how topological constraints arising from cyclization of DNA lead to distinctive properties that make closed molecules radically different from linear DNA. The phenomenon of supercoiling, its geometric and topological analysis, and the formation of noncanonical structures in circular DNA under the influence of supercoiling are emphasized. The combination of consistent theoretical analysis and detailed treatment of major experimental approaches make Topology and Physics of Circular DNA an important reference volume for biophysicists, biochemists, molecular biologists, and researchers and students who want to expand their understanding of circular DNA.
Provable Bregman-divergence based Methods for Nonconvex and Non-Lipschitz Problems.

The (global) Lipschitz smoothness condition is crucial in establishing the convergence theory for most optimization methods. Unfortunately, most machine learning and signal processing problems are not Lipschitz smooth. This motivates us to generalize the concept of Lipschitz smoothness condition to the relative smoothness condition, which is satisfied by any finite-order polynomial objective function. Further, this work develops new Bregman-divergence based algorithms that are guaranteed to converge to a second-order stationary point for any relatively smooth problem. In addition, the proposed optimization methods cover both the proximal alternating minimization and the proximal alternating linearized minimization when we specialize the Bregman divergence to the Euclidian distance. Therefore, this work not only develops guaranteed optimization methods for non-Lipschitz smooth problems but also solves an open problem of showing the second-order convergence guarantees for these alternating minimization methods.
Differentially Expressed MiRNAs and tRNA Genes Affect Host Homeostasis During Highly Pathogenic Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Infections in Young Pigs.

Background: Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a single stranded RNA virus member that infects pigs and causes losses to the commercial industry reaching upwards of a billion dollars annually in combined direct and indirect costs. The virus can be separated into etiologies that contain multiple heterologous low and highly pathogenic strains. Recently the United States has begun to see an increase in heterologous type 2 PRRSV strains of higher virulence (HP-PRRSV). The high pathogenicity of these strains can drastically alter host immune responses and the ability of the animal to maintain homeostasis. Because the loss of host homeostasis can denote underlying changes in gene and regulatory element expression profiles, the study aimed to examine the effect PRRSV infections has on miRNA and tRNA expression and the roles they play in host tolerance or susceptibility. Results: Using transcriptomic analysis of whole blood taken from control and infected pigs at several time points (1, 3, 8 dpi), the analysis returned a total of 149 statistically significant (FDR ⫹ 0.15) miRNAs (n=89) and tRNAs (n=60) that were evaluated for possible pro and anti-viral effects. The tRNA differential expression increased in both magnitude and count as dpi increased, with no statistically significant expression at 1 dpi, but increases at 3 and 8 dpi. The most abundant tRNA amino acid at 3 dpi was alanine, while glycine was the most abundant at 8 dpi. For the miRNAs, focus was put on upregulation that can inhibit gene expression. These results yielded candidates with potential anti and pro-viral actions such as Ssc-miR-125b, which is predicted to limit PRRSV viral levels, and Ssc-miR-145-5p shown to cause alternative macrophage priming. The results also showed that both the tRNAs and miRNAs displayed expression patterns. Conclusions: The results indicated that the HP-PRRSV infection affects host homeostasis through changes in miRNA and tRNA expression and their subsequent gene interactions that target and influence the function of host immune, metabolic, and structural pathways.
Effects of robot-human versus robot-robot behavior and entitativity on anthropomorphism and willingness to interact

Abstract As robots become prevalent, people are increasingly interacting with multiple robots at once. Thus, it is important to not only examine how robot behavior toward humans affects interaction, but how robot behavior toward other robots affects interaction. We examine this in two studies. In Study 1, 630 participants from the USA and Japan viewed a video of one or more minimally social robots interacting differently towards humans (functionally/socially) and towards robots (single robot/functionally/socially). In Study 2, 71 participants from the USA completed two box-sorting tasks on a team with two robots that behaved differently toward humans (functionally/socially) and toward robots (functionally/socially). Results from the two studies indicate that robot behavior toward robots that was social, compared to functional, increased anthropomorphism of robots. Robot behavior toward humans that was social, compared to functional, increased positive emotions and willingness to interact with them. Finally, in these cooperative contexts between humans and robots, perceptions of robot group cohesiveness or “entitativity” increased positive perceptions or willingness to interact with robots. When robots are designed for positive human interaction (e.g., computer), they should behave socially toward humans; when robots should be considered intelligent (e.g., tutor robots), they may best be designed as social toward robots as well.
DESK: A Robotic Activity Dataset for Dexterous Surgical Skills Transfer to Medical Robots

Datasets are an essential component for training effective machine learning models. In particular, surgical robotic datasets have been key to many advances in semi-autonomous surgeries, skill assessment, and training. Simulated surgical environments can enhance the data collection process by making it faster, simpler and cheaper than real systems. In addition, combining data from multiple robotic domains can provide rich and diverse training data for transfer learning algorithms. In this paper, we present the DESK (DExterous Surgical SKills) dataset. It comprises a set of surgical robotic skills collected during a surgical training task using three robotic platforms: the Taurus II robot, Taurus II simulated robot, and the YuMi robot. This dataset was used to test the idea of transferring knowledge across different domains (e.g. from Taurus to YuMi robot) for a surgical gesture classification task with seven gestures/surgemes. We explored two different scenarios: 1) No transfer and 2) Domain transfer (simulated Taurus to real Taurus and YuMi robots). We conducted extensive experiments with three supervised learning models and provided baselines in each of these scenarios. Results show that using simulation data during training enhances the performance on the real robots, where limited real data is available. In particular, we obtained an accuracy of 55% on the real Taurus data using a model that is trained only on the simulator data, but that accuracy improved to 82% when the ratio of real to simulated data was increased to 0.18 in the training set.
MCM-41/ZSM-5 composite particles for the catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass

Abstract ZSM-5 is a promising catalyst for the catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP) of biomass due to its high selectivity to light hydrocarbons. However, rapid deactivation of catalyst has been a major challenge towards the commercialization of CFP. The objective of our study is to evaluate the performance of MCM-41/ZSM-5 composites during the CFP of biomass. Here, for the first time, we report the synthesis of a unique MCM-41/ZSM-5 composite via a one-step, facile aerosol-based method. The composition of ZSM-5 in the composites was varied and the prepared composites were used as catalysts for the in-situ and ex-situ CFP of miscanthus × gigantus. The prepared composites were characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption, XRD, SEM, TEM and DRIFTS-pyridine adsorption. The results of CFP experiments demonstrated that ZSM-5 in the composites was fully accessible. Most importantly, MCM-41 acted as a sacrificial layer for coke deposition and decreased the deactivation rate of the ZSM-5.
SHAPE Profiling to Probe Group II Intron Conformational Dynamics During Splicing

Selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation analyzed by primer extension (SHAPE) is a widely used technique for studying the structure and function of RNA molecules. It characterizes the flexibility of single nucleotides in the context of the local RNA structure. Here we describe the application of SHAPE-MaP (mutational profiling) to study different conformational states of the group II intron during the self-splicing reaction.
Arenophile-Mediated Photochemical Dearomatization of Nonactivated Arenes

Aromatic compounds are one of the most abundant classes of organic molecules and find utility as precursors for alicyclic hydrocarbon building blocks. While many established dearomatization reactions are exceptionally powerful, dearomatization with concurrent introduction of functionality, i.e. dearomative functionalization, is still a largely underdeveloped field. This review aims to provide an overview of our recent efforts and progress in the development of dearomative functionalization of simple and nonactivated arenes using arenophile-arene cycloaddition platform. These cycloadducts, formed via a visible-light-mediated [4+2]-photocycloaddition, can be elaborated in situ through olefin chemistry or transition-metal-catalyzed ring-opening with carbon-, nitrogen-, and oxygen-based nucleophiles, providing access to diverse structures with functional and stereochemical complexity. Moreover, the dearomatized products are amenable to further elaborations, which effectively install other functionalities onto the resulting alicyclic carbocycles. The utility of the arenophile-mediated dearomatization methods are also highlighted by the facile syntheses of natural products and bioactive compounds through novel disconnections.
The Importance Of Security In Cyber-Physical System

There is a term more common and used on the full range between industries and authors, which is a cyber-physical system(CPS). It is a system that applied to smart grid, medical devices, and manufactory and civil infrastructure. CPS consists of three main components, which are sensors, actuators that connected by a network. Recently, we have seen there is a vast increase by using cyber-physical system, so the security of this system is critical at design more than any policy. The security of this sort of operation must be vital and reaching a high level of protection [2],[3],[13]. The security of this system includes some techniques to be used, such as attack detection attack design and secure estimation. As a result of that, the necessitate of security in this system is required. Hence, we address and collected issues and solutions. This paper analyzes and shows how we can prevent this system from unauthorized access or damages that would happen during the process. Also, it shows some examples and how some solutions are useful and valuable [21].
Controlled comparison of a flipped classroom evidence-based practice course delivered online or on-campus.

The flipped classroom model is a well-known evidence-based educational approach for student-centred learning. In a flipped classroom, students receive instructional content before class, and use classroom time to engage in assignments and discussions. Studies have shown the flipped model to result in comparable1 2 or better3 4 outcomes compared with a traditional lecture-based model. A meta-analysis in 2018 found a significant effect favouring the use of a flipped classroom model with videorecorded lectures as part of preclass materials, for graduate-level healthcare education compared with traditional instructional models4. The flipped class model is in line with educational theory for adult learners, or androgogy,5 which posits that effective educational experiences are those that actively incorporate the learner. The flipped classroom promotes self-directed learning during knowledge acquisition followed by interactive problem-based assignments in which the learner applies knowledge acquired during self-study.6 In most of the recent studies on the flipped classroom, the preclass materials were accessed via online learning management systems or websites, and the class meetings were typically completed in a physical classroom setting. However, healthcare programmes are beginning to move toward online/distance learning models, in which most—if not all—interactions occur online. As universities continue to expand the availability of online healthcare degree programmes, educators of evidence-based practice (EBP) courses may soon face the task of redesigning their courses for an exclusively online experience. It is important to address the question of whether online learning experiences in EBP education can produce equivalent results to those seen in long-established on-campus teaching models. In 2017, the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, California, USA) Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy initiated a hybrid (online/on-campus) pathway of their long-standing on-campus Doctor of Physical Therapy programme. Thus, each course in the programme was translated to accommodate students in the hybrid …
Root responses to neighbors depend on neighbor identity and resource distribution

In a complex soil environment, competitive and environmental factors interact with individual traits to influence a plant’s root growth patterns and ability to compete for resources. Here, we examine how root growth of a focal plant, Plantago lanceolata L., responds to resource heterogeneity and to presence of two neighbor species, Centaurea jacea L.and Poa pratensis L. A full factorial experiment tested the effects of nutrient heterogeneity, neighbors, and their interaction on root responses of Plantago. Roots in shared quadrants of a pot were harvested and quantified by qPCR for plants grown alone or with a neighbor, in patchy or even soil. The effects of experimental treatments on Plantago root mass distribution were tested with two-way ANOVA. When soil resources were evenly distributed, Plantago individuals increased root allocation to soil shared with a Centaurea neighbor but not a Poa neighbor. When soil resources were patchy, Plantago responded more strongly to Poa than to Centaurea, and placed more roots in the high-resource patch. These results demonstrate that plants can respond differently to neighbors depending on species and that integrating multiple cues results in non-additive effects on root behavior.
Seeking Shelter: How Housing and Urban Exclusion Shape Exurban Disaster

From extreme weather to infectious disease, disasters now arrive in ever more rapid succession, combining with and compounding one another with increasing complexity and potential for crisis. In this context I suggest a particularly important site for analysis and intervention: the chronic lack of affordable housing and broader processes of exclusion now prevalent in cities around the world. These dynamics, I argue, help drive increasing movement to and development in interface zones between urban, rural, and undeveloped areas. In so doing, they also are implicated in a range of “exurban disasters”, including wildfires and infectious disease, and in the broader crises these disasters generate for vulnerable populations. The article develops this relational argument across three moments. First, I posit contemporary dynamics of housing crisis and urban exclusion, which prevent people from finding adequate shelter in cities, as key drivers of displacement and settlement across various framings of urban interface zones — from the Wildlands Urban Interface [WUI] to the peri-urban fringe. I then explore how the increasingly forced settlement in these zones — themselves destabilized by prior processes of settler colonialism, neoliberal land-use planning, and climate change — contribute to both environmental and health related disasters. Here I focus on two contemporary cases: catastrophic wildfire in the WUI of California, and the emergence of zoonotic diseases in peri-urban regions around the world. Finally, with a focus on California, I explore how, once health and environmental disasters land and combine within a single location, inadequate housing increases the likelihood of multiple forms of exposure and susceptibility — e.g. to toxic smoke, respiratory ailments, and COVID. In conclusion, I argue for increased scholarly and political focus on the role of housing crises and urban exclusion in both the origins and outcomes of disaster. More scholarly and political work is needed that bridges city and hinterland, linking disaster research to critical approaches in housing studies and urban political ecology, together with wildfire ecology, epidemiology, and environmental stewardship.
Constraining and Characterizing the size of Atmospheric Rivers: A perspective independent from the detection algorithm.

Author(s): Inda-Diaz, HA; O'Brien, TA; Zhou, Y; Collins, WD | Abstract: Atmospheric rivers (AR) are large and narrow filaments of poleward horizontal water vapor transport. Because of its direct relationship with horizontal vapor transport, extreme precipitation, and overall AR impacts over land, the AR size is an important characteristic that needs to be better understood. Current AR detection and tracking algorithms have resulted in large uncertainty in estimating AR sizes, with areas varying over several orders of magnitude among different detection methods. We develop and implement five independent size estimation methods to characterize the size of ARs that make landfall over the west coast of North America in the 1980–2017 period and reduce the range of size estimation from ARTMIP. ARs that originate in the Northwest Pacific (WP) (100°−180°E) have larger sizes and are more zonally oriented than those from the Northeast Pacific (EP) (180°−240°E). ARs become smaller through their life cycle, mainly due to reductions in their width. They also become more meridionally oriented toward the end of their life cycle. Overall, the size estimation methods proposed in this study provide a range of AR areas (between 7n×n1011 and 1013nm2), that is, several orders of magnitude narrower than current methods estimation. This methodology can provide statistical constraints in size and geometry for the AR detection and tracking algorithms, and an objective insight for future studies about AR size changes under different climate scenarios.
An investigation of museum educators' questioning during field trips

Abstract Questioning as one of the most important pedagogical tools has been extensively attended to in formal teaching environments, but few studies have shed light on questioning in more informal contexts such as museums. This study sought to understand how museum educators' questioning may open up spaces for students to engage and participate in instructional discourses. To this end, we analyzed the questions museum educators asked during field trips to an industrial history museum, noting their number, type, and the extent to which they may invite student participation. The findings showed that the museum educators employed a majority of closed questions, which mainly allowed for one-word answers from a small number of students, and used few open questions to provide opportunities for extended participation by a larger number of students. The findings have implications for museum curriculum design and museum educator training, in which the ramifications of question asking should be taken into account.
An architecture for rapid distributed fault tolerance

Embedded high performance computing is being called upon to provide critical computing resources with increasing frequency. The ability to tolerate faults during operation, both maintaining operational capability and ensuring that correct results continue to be produced, is an important ingredient in mission-critical systems. An architecture for such a system is proposed, providing the ability to withstand faults with graceful degradation in performance and complete transparency to the applications programmer. The final system will be able to offer fault-tolerant computing transparently to MPI applications and draws heavily on existing, demonstrated successes.
CIM/CORBA-basiertes Management verteilter kooperierender Managementsysteme

Web-basierte Technologien wie Portale und e-business Applikationen ermoglichen Unternehmen in zunehmendem Umfang das Outsourcing von IT-Diensten an sog. Application Service Provider (ASP), die ihrerseits Netzdienste von Internet Service Providern (ISP) in Anspruch nehmen. Die daraus resultierende Schichtung von Diensterbringer/Dienstnutzer-Beziehungen bei der Bereitstellung komplexer Anwendungsdienste erschwert jedoch die Lokalisierung und Identifikation der Ursache beim Auftreten von Fehlern. Dies liegt nicht zuletzt daran, das der Austausch von Managementinformation zwischen den Managementsystemen der Diensterbringer gegenwartig nur unzureichend funktioniert. Der Kern dieses Problems ist, das derzeit keine offengelegten Schnittstellen existieren, die einem Dienstnutzer Zugriff auf die Managementsysteme eines Diensterbringers gestatten. Naturgemas handelt es sich bei solchen kooperierenden Managementsystemenum verteilte Anwendungen, die wiederum ihrerseits administriert werden mussen. Es ist daher notwendig, geeignete Managementinformation und -dienste zu definieren, um Managementsysteme in heterogener Umgebung uberwachen und steuern zu konnen.
Strategic user research at home and abroad

Much of the international focus at companies tends to be on localization. Localization is critical to helping a company be a player in international markets, but strategic user research can play a significant role in driving the company's international strategy, identifying and defining key opportunities. The methods used in strategic research also need to go beyond localization in order to realize their full potential. Properly "culturalized" research efforts can help a company reach beyond localization in several ways. This paper will explore how Adobe Systems has engaged in research to extend its offerings in geographies outside of the United States, and in particular it will draw from examples of activities and solutions for the Japanese market.
And-Or graphs applied to RUE resolution

In equality-based binary resolution, the viability test is used as a decision mechanism to select disagreement sets and also to define the RUE unifier. In this paper we solve the problem of nontermination of the viability test by applying the theory of And-Or graphs.
Security infrastructure for software agent society

If you are going to design and develop a software agent-based real application system for electronic commerce, you would immediately learn that there exists no such secure communication between agents, which is assumed by most agent model designers. In fact, software agents, as primarily human-delegated software entities, would face almost all the risk and security threats, which human being have to face (Schneier, 1996), especially in commercial activities.
Characterization of TetD as a transcriptional activator of a subset of genes of the Escherichia coli SoxS/MarA/Rob regulon

In Escherichia coli, SoxS, MarA and Rob form a closely related subset of the AraC/XylS family of positive regulators, sharing approximately 42% amino acid sequence identity over the length of SoxS and the ability to activate transcription of a common set of target genes that provide resistance to redox-cycling compounds and antibiotics. On the basis of its approximately 43% amino acid sequence identity with SoxS, MarA and Rob, TetD, encoded by transposon Tn10, appears to be a fourth member of the subset. However, although its expression has been shown to be negatively regulated by TetC and not inducible by tetracycline, the physiological function of TetD is unknown. Accordingly, in the work presented here, we initiate a molecular characterization of TetD. We show that expression of TetD activates transcription of a subset of the SoxS/MarA/Rob regulon genes and confers resistance to redox-cycling compounds and antibiotics. We show that mutations in the putative TetD binding site of a TetD-activatable promoter and a mutation in the protein's N-terminal DNA recognition helix interfere with transcription activation, thereby indicating that TetD directly activates target gene transcription. Finally, we show that TetD, like SoxS and MarA, is intrinsically unstable; however, unlike SoxS and MarA, TetD is not degraded by Lon or any of the cell's known cytoplasmic ATP-dependent proteases. Thus, we conclude that TetD is a bona fide member of the SoxS/MarA/Rob subfamily of positive regulators.
Chromatographic separation of n-butyl N-trifluoroacetyl esters of amino acids☆

Abstract A number of commercially available polar stationary phases were investigated to find suitable column substrates that would completely separate the n-butyl N-trifluoroacetyl ester derivatives of the 20 natural protein amino acids. Columns of two mixed stationary phases were investigated, as well as columns packed with two liquid phases in series. Information is also given on different column lengths and concentrations of two stationary phases and use of temperature programing. Complete resolution of a 20-component mixture of the n-butyl N-trifluoroacetyl ester derivatives was obtained with a mixed stationary phase column of 0.75 0.25 w w % of DEGS EGSS-X . The method has been applied to hydrolyzates of proteins and good chromatograms were obtained for bovine serum albumin and κ-casein.
The influence of colchicine on ovulation in vitro in the frog, Rana pipiens

Abstract Colchicine (10 −5 M ) potentiates pituitary-induced ovulation in vitro by a factor of about 3, a phenomenon noted previously by other workers. Colchiceine, lacking one of the colchicine methoxy radicals, had a much reduced potentiating activity on pituitary-induced ovulation. Colchicine augmented ovulation induced by progesterone by a factor of about 3, increased ovulatory activity of testosterone by a factor of only 1.25, and did not potentiate ovulation induced by cortisone and hydrocortisone at all. Testosterone further augmented ovulation induced by mixtures of pituitary extract and colchicine, but progesterone, cortisone, corticosterone, hydrocortisone, and pregnenolone did not. Colchicine reversed a part of the inhibition imposed by dicumarol on pituitary-induced ovulation, but was ineffective against inhibition by nicotinic acid analogs. A possible explanation for the action of colchicine is discussed.
Detection of the large meteoroid/NEO flux using infrasound: Recent detection of the November 21, 1995 Colorado fireball

During the early morning of November 21, 1995, a fireball as bright as the full moon entered the atmosphere over southeastern Colorado and initially produced audible sonic boom reports from Texas to Wyoming. The event was detected locally by a security video camera which showed the reflection of the fireball event on the hood of a truck. The camera also recorded tree shadows cast by the light of the fireball. This recording includes the audio signal of a strong double boom as well. Subsequent investigation of the array near Los Alamos, New Mexico operated by the Los Alamos National Laboratory as part of its commitment to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty negotiations, showed the presence of an infrasonic signal from the proper direction at about the correct time for this fireball. The Los Alamos array is a four-element infrasonic system in near-continuous operation on the laboratory property. The nominal spacing between the array elements is 212 m. The basic sensor is a Globe Universal Sciences Model 100C microphone whose response is flat from about 0.1 to 300 Hz (which we filter at the high frequency end to be limited to 20 Hz). Each low frequency microphone is connected to a set of twelve porous hoses to reduce wind noise. The characteristics of the observed signal include the onset arrival time of 0939:20 UT (0239:20 MST), with a maximum timing uncertainty of plus or minus 2 minutes, the signal onset time delay from the appearance of the fireball of 21 minutes, 20 seconds, total signal duration of 2 minutes 10 seconds, the source location determined to be toward 31 degrees from true north, the horizontal trace velocity of 429 m/sec, the signal velocity of 0.29 plus or minus 0.03 km/sec, assuming a 375 km horizontal range to the fireball, the dominant signal frequency content of 0.25 to 0.84 Hz (analyzed in the frequency interval from 0.2 to 2.0 Hz), the maximum signal cross-correlation of 0.97 and the maximum signal amplitude of 2.0 plus or minus 0.1 microbars. Also, on the basis of the signal period at maximum amplitude, we estimate a probable source energy for this event of between 10 to 100 tons of TNT (53.0 tons nominal).© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.