cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plant-induced weathering of Hawaiian basalts

ABSTRACT The rise of rooted upland vascular plants during the Devonian probably had a major effect on the rate of weathering of silicate rocks and consequently on levels of atmospheric CO2 at that time. In order to better understand the role of plants in rock weathering, an electron microscope/microprobe study of the root/rock interface has been done on several young (100-3000 year old) Hawaiian basalts. We observe the development of porosity due to dissolution of minerals by solutions secreted by symbiotic microbiota associated with plant roots. In nearby plant-free parts of the same basalt flows, similar porosity development is essentially absent. Also, in nearby areas covered by lichens the extent of rock dissolution is much less. In these early stages of weathering, dissolution is complete and voids are not infilled by fine-grained weathering products. Quantitative measurement of porosity around roots developed on flows of known age enables the calculation of a rate of basalt weathering that is in order-of-magnitude agreement with results based on the study of global volcanic weathering based on the chemistry of river water.
Gene therapy for B-cell lymphoma in a SCID mouse model using an immunoglobulin-regulated diphtheria toxin gene delivered by a novel adenovirus-polylysine conjugate

Despite advances in conventional therapy, many lives continue to be lost to common forms of B-cell cancers, including leukemias, lymphomas and multiple myeloma. We propose a novel approach to therapy of such cancers using controlled expression of a diphtheria toxin gene (DT-A) to kill malignant cells. We have previously demonstrated selective killing of various cell types, in vitro and in vivo, by cell-specific, transcriptionally controlled expression of this gene. Organ-specific ablation in otherwise healthy transgenic mice has convincingly demonstrated the exquisite specificity achievable by this technique. In the studies now described, DT-A was delivered in vitro and in vivo using a novel gene delivery system employing DNA physically attached to the exterior of adenovirus. After demonstrating the efficacy of gene delivery to Epstein-Barr virus transformed human B-cells in vitro, in vivo work was performed using a SCID mouse model for B-cell lymphoma, in which protection against tumor was observed. The concepts of tissue-regulated toxin gene therapy, and this novel adenovirus gene delivery system are discussed.
Measurements of ion-implantation damage in GaP

We have applied stress measurements using the cantilever beam technique and Raman spectroscopy to characterize the dose dependence of damage production for He/sup +/, C/sup +/, or Ar/sup +/ implants into GaP. Stress increases monotonically with dose until a species-dependent critical dose is reached. Above that dose, the material yields at an integrated lateral stress of approx. 2 x 10/sup 5/ dynes/cm, corresponding to an expansion of approx. 1% in the implanted volume. The dose dependence of stress scales well with the volume density of ion energy deposited into atomic collisions. Raman measurements indicate that the material is still crystalline when the yield stress is reached.
Double-Elimination Tournaments: Counting and Calculating

Abstract Tournaments are popularly used in sporting events to select a champion. They are also used in experiments where paired comparison procedures are needed. Knockout tournaments are most useful when the number of treatments is too large to use the more well-known round-robin tournament. The mathematical and statistical literature does not address questions such as how one should seed teams in a tournament or which tournament structures are appropriate. For double-elimination (DE) tournaments even basic questions such as how many structures there are remain unanswered. This article addresses some fundamental questions concerning DE tournaments, including the number of DE tournaments and the probabilities of teams winning a DE tournament. Edwards gives many results about single-elimination (SE) tournaments, such as the probability of winning an SE tournament and a notation for labeling and counting them. In this article I develop similar results for the DE tournaments. The results given apply to an arb...
VALIDITY AND STRUCTURE, COHERENCE, AND QUALITY MEASURES IN WRITING

The purpose of the present study was to investigate convergent and divergent validity of inferences from selected measures of struture, coherence, and quality for compositions. Thirty sixth-graders wrote two stories each. Each story was scored six times, for each of three constructs (structure, coherence, and quality), using two ways of measuring (reader- and text-based). Patterns in correlation matrices were examined for the extent to which they conformed to expectations which would support convergent and divergent validity. The major conclusions of the study were: (a) Overall, the findings strongly supported validity of inferences from the structure measures, called into serious question the validity of inferences from the coherence measures, and weakly supported it for inferences from the quality measures; (b) some evidence was provided for the distinctiveness of the three constructs, structure, coherence, and quality; and (c) some method/halo bias emerged in the reader-based method of assessment. The purpose of the present study was to investigate convergent and divergent validity of inferences from selected measures of structure, coherence, and quality in writing.
Treatment of diabetic rats with a peroxynitrite decomposition catalyst prevents induction of renal COX-2.

Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression is increased in the kidney of rats made diabetic with streptozotocin and associated with enhanced release of prostaglandins stimulated by arachidonic acid (AA). Tr...
Drive-by pharming

This paper describes an attack concept termed Drive-by Pharming where an attacker sets up a web page that, when simply viewed by the victim (on a JavaScript-enabled browser), attempts to change the DNS server settings on the victim's home broadband router. As a result, future DNS queries are resolved by a DNS server of the attacker's choice. The attacker can direct the victim's Internet traffic and point the victim to the attacker's own web sites regardless of what domain the victim thinks he is actually going to, potentially leading to the compromise of the victim's credentials. The same attack methodology can be used to make other changes to the router, like replacing its firmware. Routers could then host malicious web pages or engage in click fraud. Since the attack is mounted through viewing a web page, it does not require the attacker to have any physical proximity to the victim nor does it require the explicit download of traditional malicious software. The attack works under the reasonable assumption that the victim has not changed the default management password on their broadband router.
Self-Association and Raft Localization of Functional Luteinizing Hormone Receptors

Membrane motions of LH receptors following binding of hormone agonists are consistent with hormone-driven aggregation. It is increasingly apparent that G protein-coupled receptors, including the LH receptor, are engaged in dynamic interactions with one another and other membrane components. These interactions are governed, in part, by a number of factors including whether the receptor has bound ligand, whether the receptor is capable of transducing a hormone-mediated signal, and the nature of the membrane environment within which the receptor is found. Microscopic methods, including laser-optical techniques, are ideally suited to probe dynamic events on cell membranes and provide an opportunity to examine interactions between receptors and other membrane components on viable cells. We and others have used a variety of techniques, some of which are summarized below, to examine functional and nonfunctional LH receptors on viable cells and the membrane environment of these receptors during cell signaling events.
Measuring phytoremediation parameters for volatile organic compounds: Focus on MTBE

Experimental techniques are described for conducting greenhouse tests to examine the pathways for phytoremediation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), distinguishing between uptake of the VOC along with water transpired by living plants and the passive, physical process of volatilization. The experimental techniques were applied to assess the potential for phytoremediation of methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE). Experimental data indicate that MTBE was readily taken up from water by hybrid poplar saplings, yielding 25% reduction in aqueous MTBE concentration and 30% reduction in MTBE mass over a 1-week period. These reductions in plant systems were significantly greater than in controls, indicating great potential for MTBE phytoremediation in the field. Engineering parameters for phytoremediation were determined from the experiments, yielding an MTBE transpiration stream concentration factor of 1 and a root concentration factor of 0.7–1.4. Mass balance studies showed good closure on MTBE mass balance, in...
Chronic dementing conditions, genomics, and new opportunities for nursing interventions.

Purpose: To (a) provide an overview of chronic dementing conditions; (b) discuss the etiologic and clinical characteristics of Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD) within the framework of the family systems genetic illness model; and (c) to explore opportunities to enhance outcomes through the integration of genomics information and technologies into nursing practice. Design: An integrated review of the literature, including the organizing construct of the family systems genetic illness model. Findings: AD and PD are both influenced by genetic and environmental factors; in a small percentage of families, gene mutations are the primary etiologic factor. Genetic testing is an option for some families experiencing early-onset, familial disease. Presymptomatic and diagnostic genetic testing have limited clinical utility for the more common late-onset AD and PD. Conclusions: The current abilities of healthcare professionals to effectively intervene in people with AD and PD are limited by an incomplete understanding of the biologic basis of these diseases. Advances in genomics research and technology are providing the information and tools necessary to understand the molecular basis of these devastating disorders toward the goal of more specific and effective interventions.
Integrating through user interface: a flexible integration framework for third-party software

The current trend of constructing new systems from collections of pre-existing third-party software and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products presents serious challenges to existing integration technology. We present a flexible integration framework which has general applicability for pre-existing third-party and COTS software (often highly interactive, with graphical user interface, and without source code access), supports users by allowing them to easily change the way software interacts (thus supporting system evolution and component reusability), and is easily programmable by end-users. Specifically we describe the Tool Integration Language (TIL) and the Tool Integration Server System (TISS) which provide flexible integration mechanisms for our framework and show how they can be used to integrate a set of existing applications and COTS.
Dispersion of fine powder agglomerates under microgravity

Dispersion is a very important step in powder handling. Microgravity environments were applied to study the process of powder dispersion with an orifice for low transportation gas velocities and for widely sized particle agglomerates. Particle-size distributions were measured for particles after passing through the orifice, and the results were compared with the size distributions of primary particles. Data analysis showed that the main factor determining the dispersion efficiency is the inertial parameter. Two approaches are proposed for estimating the inertial parameter in a wide range of Reynolds numbers.
Analysis of Microwave Measurement Techniques by Means of Signal Flow Graphs

Microwave measurement techniques can be analyzed more simply by using signal flow graphs instead of the customary scattering matrices to describe the microwave networks used in the measuring system. This is because the flow graphs of individual networks are simply joined together when the networks are cascaded and the solution for the system can be written down by inspection of the over-all flow graph by application of the nontouching loop rule. This paper reviews the method of setting up flow graphs of microwave networks and the rule for their solution. A single directional-coupler reflectometer system for measuring the reflection coefficient of a load is then analyzed by this method. The analysis shows how auxiliary tuners can be used to cancel residual error terms in the measurement of the magnitude of the reflection coefficient at a particular frequency. The analysis also shows how an additional tuner can be used to measure the phase angle of the reflection coefficient. These reflectometer techniques are particularly useful in the measurement of very small reflections.
Optimal Portfolios For Different Holding Periods

This study uses a block bootstrap method to construct random samples of returns of six major financial assets and identifies optimal portfolios for three different objectives relating to risk and return for short, medium, and long holding periods. Optimal portfolios minimizing risk consist solely of Treasury Bills and small company stocks for all periods, with an increasing allocation to small company stocks as the investment horizon lengthens. Optimal portfolios minimizing risk relative to return, as well as those maximizing the risk premium relative to risk, contain intermediate-term government bonds and stocks for all horizons, and the proportions of stocks in these portfolios increase with the investment horizon, small company stocks becoming the major component of the optimal portfolios for 10 years. These results indicate that, for investors optimizing any of these three objectives, the optimal portfolios contain increasing allocations of riskier assets, and decreasing allocations of safer assets, as the holding period increases.
Glucose metabolism in overweight Hispanic adolescents with and without polycystic ovary syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: About one third of overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have either impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) by the age of 30. We sought to determine if overweight Hispanic adolescents with PCOS are more likely to be insulin resistant and glucose intolerant than those without PCOS. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 101 subjects with PCOS and 40 without PCOS was conducted. Homeostasis Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), Quantitative Insulin Sensitivity Check Index (QUICKI), and fasting glucose/insulin ratio (FGIR) values were calculated by using fasting glucose and insulin levels. Insulin resistance (IR) was defined as a fasting insulin level of >15 μU/mL, a 2-hour insulin level of >75 μU/mL, a HOMA-IR value of >3.16, a QUICKI value of RESULTS: Of the 101 overweight subjects with PCOS (BMI: 33.2 ± 5.9 kg/m2), 4 had IGT and 2 had DM versus none of the 40 subjects without PCOS (BMI: 32.4 ± 5.3 kg/m2). IR was more frequent in the overweight PCOS than in the overweight non-PCOS group (QUICKI: 68.4% vs 14.3%, P = .014) and FGIR (47.4% vs 0%, P = .024). Of the 6 subjects with glucose intolerance, only the QUICKI value was abnormal in all. CONCLUSIONS: This retrospective study demonstrated that overweight Hispanic adolescents with PCOS had more IR, IGT and DM than their non-PCOS counterparts. As the QUICKI Index was abnormal in all subjects with IGT and DM, we suggest its use as the first step in deciding which overweight Hispanic adolescents with PCOS should be further tested with an OGTT.
Optimal monetary policy in a Phillips-curve world

Abstract In this paper, we study optimal monetary policy in a model that integrates the modern theory of unemployment with a liquidity model of monetary transmission. Two policy environments are considered: period-by-period optimization (time consistency) and full commitment (Ramsey allocation). When the economy is subject to productivity shocks, the optimal policy is pro-cyclical. We also characterize the long-term properties of monetary policy and show that with commitment the optimal inflation rate is inversely related to the bargaining power of workers. Both results find empirical support in the data.
Magnitude and phase vs. frequency distortion compensation for an esophageal balloon pleural pressure measurement system

Methods of active filter design described by Kerwin (1970), Thomas (1971), and Tow (1971) were used in designing the second-order lead compensation. To compensate for possible high frequency instabilities, a first order Butterworth active lag filter was added to the head compensation. The result was that the electronically compensated esophageal balloon system was flat in magnitude (output/output) vs. frequency from 0 to 30 Hz and the phase shift over this frequency range was linear with frequency. >
Effects of weekly regrouping of prepartum dairy cows on metabolic, health, reproductive, and productive parameters

The objectives of the current experiment were to determine the effect of 2 prepartum grouping strategies on the health, metabolic, reproductive, and productive parameters of dairy cows. Jersey cows enrolled in the experiment at 253±3 d of gestation (d 0=calving) were balanced for parity and projected 305-d mature equivalent and assigned to 1 of 2 treatments. Cows assigned to the traditional (TRD; n=6 replicates with a total of 308 cows) treatment were moved to the study pen as a group of 44 cows and weekly thereafter groups of 2 to 15 cows were moved to the study pen to reestablish stocking density. Cows assigned to the all-in-all-out (AIAO; n=6 replicates with a total of 259 cows) treatment were moved to the study pen in groups of 44 cows, but no new cows entered the AIAO pen until the end of the replicate. At the end of each replicate, a new TRD and AIAO group started but pens were switched. Cows were milked thrice daily and monthly milk yield, fat and protein contents, and somatic cell count data were recorded up to 305 d postpartum. Plasma nonesterified fatty acid concentration was measured weekly from d -18±3 to 24±3 and plasma β-hydroxybutyrate was measured weekly from d 3±3 to 24±3. Cows were examined on d 1, 4±1, 7±1, 10±1, and 13±1 for diagnosis of uterine diseases and had their ovaries scanned by ultrasound on d 39±3 and 53±3 to determine resumption of ovarian cycles. Average stocking density was reduced for the AIAO (71.9%) treatment compared with the TRD (86.9%) treatment. Treatment did not affect the incidences of retained fetal membranes (TRD=10.9, AIAO=11.6%), metritis (TRD=16.7, AIAO=19.8%), and acute metritis (TRD=1.7, AIAO=3.6%). Concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (TRD=80.4±8.2, AIAO=62.9±8.5 µmol/L) and β-hydroxybutyrate (TRD=454.4±10.9, AIAO=446.1±11.1 µmol/L) were not different between treatments. Percentages of cows that resumed ovarian cycles by d 39±3 (TRD=70.8, AIAO=63.1%) and 53±3 (TRD=90.1, AIAO=90.2%) were not different between treatments. Similarly, treatment had no effect on rate of removal from the herd {TRD=referent, AIAO [(adjusted hazard ratio (95% confidence interval)]=0.85 (0.63, 1.15)} or rate of pregnancy [TRD=referent, AIAO=1.07 (0.88, 1.30)]. Finally, treatment did not affect energy-corrected milk yield (TRD=34.4±0.6, AIAO=34.3±0.7 kg/d). In conditions of adequate feed bunk space, the AIAO treatment did not improve health, metabolic, reproductive, or productive parameters compared with the TRD treatment.
pH heterogeneity at intracellular and extracellular plasma membrane sites in HT29-C1 cell monolayers

In the colonic mucosa, short-chain fatty acids change intracellular pH (pHi) and extracellular pH (pHe). In this report, confocal microscopy and dual-emission ratio imaging of carboxyseminaphthorho...
Gezici Festival: multiple identities of a traveling film festival in Turkey

AbstractThrough an analysis of Gezici Festival (‘Festival on Wheels’), which has been traveling across Anatolia to bring examples of world cinema to various cities in and around Turkey for 20 years, this study examines the dual role of film festivals in Turkey. The festival is considered both as an educational initiative that introduces audiences to types of filmmaking largely excluded from commercial screens and as an industry-oriented event that promotes recent Turkish films. The dependence on state funding, digitization, and the highly diverse audience demographics in different cities are analyzed in terms of their impact on programming decisions, the choice of cities to be visited, and the festival’s evolution over two decades. Focusing on a festival sometimes organized in cities without even a theater to speak of, this study aims to contribute to the literature on film festivals and mobile exhibition units by investigating an event reminiscent of a contemporary cinema troupe. Two interviews with the ...
Intermittent Conduction Disturbances

Scenario: This is a dual lead (leads V1 and V6) ECG strip of a 52-year-old man hospitalized on the cardiac telemetry unit for management of acute coronary syndromes. Upon comparison, the nurse concludes that this ECG strip is similar to the 12-lead ECG obtained after the patient’s admission to the emergency department. The patient denies having pain or symptoms, and his vital signs are stable. ECG PUZZLER A regular feature of the American Journal of Critical Care, the ECG Puzzler addresses ECG interpretation for clinical practice. We welcome letters to the Editors regarding this feature.
Design, fabrication and characterization of thin power inductors with multilayered ferromagnetic-polymer composite structures

This paper presents the design, fabrication and characterization of ultra-thin inductors using a new class of multilayered ferromagnetic-polymer composite structures as magnetic cores. The multilayered composite structures comprise of high-permeability, high saturation magnetization (Ms0.5T), low-coercivity magnetic layers stacked with ultrathin polymer adhesives. The adhesive acts as an insulating layer to reduce eddy current losses while also preventing degradation in permeabilities at higher operating frequencies. Toroid-based integrated inductors were designed with the composite structures to operate in the low MHz range for power conversion applications. The magnetic composite film synthesis and patterning was successfully combined with toroid coils in order to fabricate the inductors. The process of micro-patterning the composite structure and forming 3D coils around them to demonstrate ultra-thin inductors is described in detail. The fabricated inductors with the multilayered magnetic composite films showed stable inductance beyond 10MHz and 10× enhancement in inductance density over air-core inductors with the same designs.
Parental ratings of daily behavior and child cognitive test performance after pediatric mild traumatic brain injury

This study aimed to evaluate the degree to which the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) measure overlapping vs. distinct constructs in pediatric patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), and to examine the demographic and injury correlates of such constructs as well as those of cognitive test performance. A total of 100 parents completed the BRIEF and the CBCL within 1 to 12 months after the injury of their child. Groups were contrasted based on the presence vs. absence of impairment on, respectively, the BRIEF and the CBCL. Exploratory maximum likelihood factor analysis was used to evaluate latent constructs. Correlates of the various factor scores were evaluated through regression analysis and contrasted with those of a test of verbal learning and memory.The results revealed that the BRIEF and the CBCL disagree about the presence vs. absence of impairment in about one quarter of cases. A prior history of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was associated with an increased likelihood of impairment on both the BRIEF and the CBCL, whereas prior outpatient psychiatric treatment was associated with the increased likelihood of selective impairment on the CBCL. Latent constructs manifested themselves along cognitive regulation, emotional adjustment and behavioral regulation factors. Whereas premorbid characteristics were the exclusive correlates of these factors, performance on a test of verbal learning and memory was negatively affected by intracranial lesions on neuroimaging.It is concluded that the BRIEF and the CBCL offer complementary and non-redundant information about daily functioning after pediatric mild TBI. The correlates of cognitive test performance and parental behavior ratings after such injuries are different and reflect a divergence between premorbid and injury-related influences.
Decentralized Control of Multi-Agent Escort Formation via Morse Potential Function

This paper presents a decentralized control algorithm for the Entrapment/Escorting Mission based on the Morse potential function. The entrapment/escorting mission tasks a multi-agent system with creating a formation around a mobile target. Applications of the mission include security awareness and military situations where an autonomous object of value must be guarded. The simulation consists of N robots that are initially located in random positions on a flat terrain. Agents are provided with the information on coordinates of their peers by a supervisor, which are used to generate artificial potential energies between robots and the target. The simulation confirms that robot positions achieve the lowest calculated Morse potential energy in the arena, and the resulting formation is centered on the target. Differential drive “e-puck” robots are used to experimentally validate the control’s application to nonholonomic vehicles, and proximity sensors are incorporated into the algorithm to accommodate for obstacles in the experimental arena.© 2012 ASME
Heeding Nature's Call: Replacing MSE Wall with a Bridge

A wild forest fire that swept through the Catalina Mountains near Tucson, Arizona, burnt much of the vegetation along the General Hitchcock Highway and in the watershed above. This event was followed by several precipitation events which caused large amounts of sediment to reach and plug drainage-ditches and culverts along the roadway. Several months later an exceptional storm produced over 9 inches of rain in the watershed and caused the roadway drainage features to become overwhelmed with flowing water and debris. As a result, an approximately 60-foot segment of an existing MSE wall was overtopped and undermined, and subsequently collapsed. Evaluation after the wall failure indicated that the increased flows, bulked by debris, were too large to pass through the corrugated metal pipe culvert installed through the wall, and a larger opening was needed to prevent similar occurrences in the future. Several repair recommendations were evaluated for permanently repairing the failed roadway segment. The following factors were considered: 1) the presence of loose, easily eroded superficial materials, 2) steep slopes below the wall, 3) widely variable bedrock depths, 4) environmental restrictions, 5) maintenance of traffic, 6) hydraulic requirements, and 7) construction costs. This paper summarizes the causes of the failure, the alternatives considered, and a rationale for the selection of the preferred alternative of a bridge to be constructed between the remaining MSE wall sections.
Local-to-Global Signature Descriptor for 3D Object Recognition

In this paper, we present a novel 3D descriptor that bridges the gap between global and local approaches. While local descriptors proved to be a more attractive choice for object recognition within cluttered scenes, they remain less discriminating exactly due to the limited scope of the local neighborhood. On the other hand, global descriptors can better capture relationships between distant points, but are generally affected by occlusions and clutter. So, we propose the Local-to-Global Signature (LGS) descriptor, which relies on surface point classification together with signature-based features to overcome the drawbacks of both local and global approaches. As our tests demonstrate, the proposed LGS can capture more robustly the exact structure of the objects while remaining robust to clutter and occlusion and avoiding sensitive, low-level features, such as point normals. The tests performed on four different datasets demonstrate the robustness of the proposed LGS descriptor when compared to three of the SOTA descriptors today: SHOT, Spin Images and FPFH. In general, LGS outperformed all three descriptors and for some datasets with a 50–70% increase in Recall.
Translating Coping Theory into an Intervention

During the 1980s, the Berkeley Stress and Coping Project conducted a number of studies about the coping process based on a cognitive theory of stress and coping (Lazarus, 1966; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). These studies furthered understanding of the coping process, including its multidimensionality, the contextual person and environmental factors that influence it, and its relationship to emotions, psychological wellbeing, and physical health (e.g., Folkman & Lazarus, 1980, 1985, 1986; Folkman, Lazarus, Dunkel-Schetter, DeLongis, & Gruen, 1986).
NaSn2As2: An Exfoliatable Layered van der Waals Zintl Phase

The discovery of new families of exfoliatable 2D crystals that have diverse sets of electronic, optical, and spin–orbit coupling properties enables the realization of unique physical phenomena in these few-atom-thick building blocks and in proximity to other materials. Herein, using NaSn2As2 as a model system, we demonstrate that layered Zintl phases having the stoichiometry ATt2Pn2 (A = group 1 or 2 element, Tt = group 14 tetrel element, and Pn = group 15 pnictogen element) and feature networks separated by van der Waals gaps can be readily exfoliated with both mechanical and liquid-phase methods. We identified the symmetries of the Raman-active modes of the bulk crystals via polarized Raman spectroscopy. The bulk and mechanically exfoliated NaSn2As2 samples are resistant toward oxidation, with only the top surface oxidizing in ambient conditions over a couple of days, while the liquid-exfoliated samples oxidize much more quickly in ambient conditions. Employing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy,...
Locating Equivalent Cardiac Electrical Activity from ECG for Preliminary Diagnosis

A PC –based method is proposed to enhance the clinical usefulness of the standard 12-lead electrocardiograph of an individual by providing clinicians a fast, simulated, 3-D color image of possible broad locations of the QRS electrical cardiac activity, generating the electrode potentials. The approach consists of placing three rotating, equivalent electrical dipoles within a realistic finite-element model of a human torso: one in the bundle of hiss, and the other two at the center of the left and right ventricles. An optimization is performed of the temporal values of the dipole moments by minimizing the squared difference between an assumed linear function for the electrode potentials, and the precordial lead measurements. The values of the dipole moments are then placed within the FE torso model to generate color-coded potential intensities on the torso and on the pericardium for 3-D visualization. The QRS complex on the precordial leads was chosen because of its high SNR from electrical activity arising primarily from the septum, front, and back sides of the ventricles. The long term objective of this pilot study is to use a 128- electrode system to obtain mathematically-sufficient measurements to support the representation of equivalent, cardiac electrical activity with a much larger set of fixed, as well as, moving and rotating dipole sources, over the complete cardiac cycle. It is expected that the information thus obtained will have the capability of making available to the emergency clinician a non- invasive, inexpensive, and fast tool for preliminary assessments of cardiac anomalies. Tests on a database of 200, 12-lead, normal and arrhythmic ECGs are currently being performed, with expected results to be presented at the Conference.
SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEM OF MANAGERIAL MEDIOCRITY: Moving Up to Excellence (Part 2)

This second of two articles examines strategies for addressing managerial mediocrity. It finds that (1) strengthening expectations, (2) providing feedback and information, (3) aligning consequences for managers' performance with organizational goals, and (4) continuing professional development and training are effective strategies for increasing the commitment of managers to modern values and practices of public administration. Such commitment is, in turn, shown to be associated with improved outcomes. Cities in which most managers are perceived as having a mediocre strong commitment can make significant improvements by expanding these efforts. This article provides practical suggestions for doing so, and is based on a survey of local government officials.
Probability of Visual Crack Detection from Japanese Maintenance Data

The Federal Aviation Administration requires that transport aircraft be “damage tolerant.” That is, they must be: “evaluated to ensure that should serious fatigue, corrosion, or accidental damage occur within the operational life of the airplane, the remaining structure can withstand reasonable loads without failure or excessive structural deformation until the damage is detected. ” [1]
Building Practical Authority for Community Forestry in and through Networks: The role of community-based organisations in the U.S. West

Policy and economic changes in the late 20th century fundamentally reorganized the governance of public forestlands in the US West, throwing longstanding rural development trajectories into disarray. Place-based NGOs emerged across the West in the wake of this transformation to help rural communities gain access to the benefits of new restoration-oriented management paradigms. Here we analyse the practical efforts of two of these community-based organizations, Wallowa Resources and the Watershed Research and Training Center, as they attempt to implement community forestry practices in highly complex institutional environments. We focus on the ways in which these organizations access and utilize social networks at multiple scales in order to build the ‘practical authority’ necessary to lead institutional change efforts in and on behalf of rural communities. We consider both the strategic advantages and the practical challenges of working in multiple forums at multiple scales in pursuit of linked community and environmental benefits. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Simple Expression Domains Are Regulated by Discrete CRMs During Drosophila Oogenesis.

Eggshell patterning has been extensively studied in Drosophila melanogaster . However, the cis -regulatory modules (CRMs), which control spatiotemporal expression of these patterns, are vastly unexplored. The FlyLight collection contains >7000 intergenic and intronic DNA fragments that, if containing CRMs, can drive the transcription factor GAL4. We cross-listed the 84 genes known to be expressed during D. melanogaster oogenesis with the ∼1200 listed genes of the FlyLight collection, and found 22 common genes that are represented by 281 FlyLight fly lines. Of these lines, 54 show expression patterns during oogenesis when crossed to an UAS-GFP reporter. Of the 54 lines, 16 recapitulate the full or partial pattern of the associated gene pattern. Interestingly, while the average DNA fragment size is ∼3 kb in length, the vast majority of fragments show one type of spatiotemporal pattern in oogenesis. Mapping the distribution of all 54 lines, we found a significant enrichment of CRMs in the first intron of the associated genes’ model. In addition, we demonstrate the use of different anteriorly active FlyLight lines as tools to disrupt eggshell patterning in a targeted manner. Our screen provides further evidence that complex gene patterns are assembled combinatorially by different CRMs controlling the expression of genes in simple domains.
Transurethral Resection of the Prostate and Other Techniques in BPH

The introduction of lasers to urological surgical practice has resulted in significant improvements in patient care. This has been demonstrated in the management of stones and also in the treatment of prostatic disease. Urology is a rapidly evolving specialty and laser surgery is at the forefront. Laser surgery for bladder outflow obstruction can offer significant benefits to the patient and to the hospital whilst offering similar or superior outcomes to TURP or open prostatectomy.
Fault-tolerant designs for 256 Mb DRAM

Conventional redundancy architecture employs a repair region in each block, and therefore has disadvantages: (1) each block must have at least one (preferably two) redundant row and column, increasing design space; (2) grouped or clustered fails are difficult to repair; (3) a cross fail (WL/BL short-circuit) increases the stand-by current, causing a standby fail. Fault-tolerant designs were developed for a 256 Mb DRAM to overcome these problems by means of a redundancy block, interchangeable Master DQ's (MDQ's), and a current limiter.
Poster Abstract: Comparison of Classifiers for Prediction of Human Actions in a Smart Home

There is a strong interest in IoT-based systems that monitor and control smart home environments by accurately predicting the needs of the human occupants. Past research has focused on the accuracy of prediction of a user's future action. However, much of that work uses synthetic datasets which do not always reflect the real-world interactions that occur between an individual and the home environment. In addition, a focus on prediction accuracy often comes at the cost of slower processing time. This paper focuses on the prediction of future human actions in an intelligent environment with the goal of achieving both high accuracy and real-time performance. We performed experiments using the MavPad dataset, which was gathered from a fully-instrumented home environment, and compared several different machine learning algorithms that included both single and ensemble classifiers. The results show that using a Support Vector Machine approach achieved the best results when using a group of sensors within a local zone around the user and the Random Forest classifier achieved higher performance when using sensors that are distributed across the entire home environment.
Preparation of hydroxyapatite-granule-implanted superplastic titanium-alloy

In order to obtain a biomaterial that has both biological affinity and high mechanical strength, hydroxyapatite (HAp) granules were implanted into the surface of superplastic titanium-alloy. HAp granules (32–38 μm diameter) were spread over a superplastic titanium-alloy substrate and pressed to implant the granules into the substrate. This was achieved at 17 MPa, 750 °C for 10 min. Only the tops of the granules, which were surrounded by the alloy, remained exposed and they were firmly stuck in the substrate. The granules were enclosed in titanium-alloy and a reaction layer was formed at their interface. The HAp-implanted titanium-alloy composites are expected to be useful as biomaterials, such as artificial bones and dental roots. © 1998 Chapman & Hall
COPD: Biomarkers and Phenotypes

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a syndrome with deterioration in lung function and quality of life. It is also the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. The disease is characterized by airflow obstruction that is not reversible, which deteriorates over time. Through the course of the disease, there are acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) which cause decline in lung function, worsened quality of life, and adds considerable cost to the healthcare system. COPD classically has been characterized and treated based on the degree of airflow limitation. However, with recent advancements, it has been shown that COPD is indeed a heterogeneous disease with many different presentations, radiographic appearances, responses to treatment, and variable decline in lung function. With this heterogeneity, it is no longer realistic to base assessment and treatment of this disease solely on the degree of airflow limitation. Researchers and clinicians have proposed phenotyping to better characterize the heterogeneous nature of COPD. A phenotype has been defined as “a single or combination of disease attributes that describe differences between individuals with COPD as they relate to clinically meaningful outcomes (symptoms, exacerbations, response to therapy, rate of disease progression, or death)” [1]. With phenotyping, we are able to group patients into distinct groups with similar prognosis and therapeutic options.
Determining Conductivity and Thickness of Continuously Varying Layers on Metals Using Eddy Currents

Modifications to metal surfaces are important for many products; they can improve the interaction of the product with its environment, while retaining the structural properties of the bulk metal. Surface modifications provide properties such as good electrical contact as well as resistance to wear, corrosion and high temperatures. Consequently, it is desirable to develop nondestructive methods for characterizing near-surface properties, such as the electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability. In this paper we present an eddy current method to determine the structure of continuously changing surface layers.
Perinatal Sodium Chloride Intake Modifies the Fluid Intake of Adult Rats

Our interest is in determining whether differences in early salt intake produce long-term changes in intake in the rat. Perinatal salt consumption may influence long-term intake either through changes in taste sensitivity or through changes in the regulatory mechanisms mediating salt and water balance. Both taste and regulatory mechanisms only gradually acquire typical adult structural and functional characteristics over the course of development, providing a possible basis for plasticity in intake control mechanisms. With regard to taste, taste buds begin to appear during the last trimester of pregnancy and develop to their adult form by 14 days after birth1. Furthermore, electrophysiological studies of taste afferents suggest that salt taste sensitivity changes during development2,3,4,5. The regulatory mechanisms for maintaining salt and water balance are also in transition to their adult form during prenatal and early postnatal life6,7.
Diurnal Variation of Cloudiness Over the Subtropical Atlantic Ocean

Three-hourly means of the cloudiness through the day are formed for the subtropical Atlantic during summer. The periodic variation is then studied in relation to the aperiodic changes and two theories are tested that suggest explanations for the periodic variation of the cloudiness.
The cross-cultural expression of internet gaming distress in North America, Europe, and China.

Abstract We compare the forms online gaming-related distress takes cross-culturally, and examine how much such distress resembles the World Health Organization's (WHO) “Gaming disorder,” understood to be an “addiction.” Our preliminary exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in North America (n = 2025), Europe (n = 1198), and China (n = 841) revealed a constant four-factor structure across the three regions, with classic “addiction” symptoms always clustering together on the first and most important factor, though with some variability in regional factors' exact item composition. In the present study, we use second-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to further examine this factor structure and the cultural similarities and differences. Specifically, we focus on confirming the regional structure and composition of an ethnographically developed 21-item gaming distress scale, which contains a wider symptoms pool than typical gaming disorder scales, and thus allows us to better separate generalized gaming distress's “addictive” from other culturally-influenced “problem” experiences and behaviors in each regional case. We use propensity score matching to separate the impact on gaming-related distress of regional culture from demographic variables (North America/Europe: n = 1043 pairs; North America/China: n = 535 pairs). Although our results support current WHO formulations of gaming-related distress as an addictive disorder, we show how cultural forces can shape how “addictive” and “problem” gaming are experienced and thus psychiatrically presented in different parts of the world. In particular, generalized gaming distress's addictive and problematic dimensions seem to be shaped by culture-specific expressions of achievement motivations, social connection and disconnection, and unique psychosomatic experiences.
ZeroScatter: Zero-Added-Component Backscatter Communication Using Existing Digital I/O Pins

ZeroScatter is an ultra-low-cost, zero-added-component approach that enables backscatter wireless data uplink from billions of existing, commodity microcontrollers (MCUs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Existing MCU and FPGA based backscatter wireless sensors rely on external components such as RF FETs, PIN diodes, or varactors to perform the backscatter modulation function. We demonstrate that completely unmodified digital I/O pins on MCUs and FPGAs can be re-purposed as BPSK backscatter modulators in the UHF/microwave bands. The ZeroScatter temperature sensor tag prototype presented here uses only two components: a PIC12LF1552 8-bit MCU that costs less than $0.50 USD, and a 3 V lithium coin cell battery. A wire dipole serves as the antenna. We demonstrate BPSK backscatter modulation of an incident 915 MHz industrial, scientific, and medical (ISM) band carrier with 32-bit packets containing a tag unique-ID, an on-chip temperature reading, and a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) checksum. At a data rate of 9.4 kbps, with an externally supplied carrier power of +10 dBm, a range exceeding 3 m is demonstrated in an ordinary office environment. In active operation, the ZeroScatter tag consumes only 628 µA at 3.0 V or 473 µA at 1.8 V, including temperature sensing, processing, and backscatter functions.
Counting faces in the extended Shi arrangement

Abstract We define the level of a subset X of Euclidean space to be the dimension of the smallest subspace such that the distance between each element of X and the subspace is bounded. We prove that the number of faces in the n-dimensional extended Shi arrangement A ˆ n r having codimension k and level m is given by m ⋅ ( n k ) ⋅ Δ r k Δ m − 1 x n − 1 | x = r n − 1 , where Δ is the difference operator and Δ r is the difference operator of step r, that is, Δ r p ( x ) = p ( x ) − p ( x − r ) . This generalizes a result of Athanasiadis which counts the number of faces of different dimensions in the extended Shi arrangement A ˆ n r . The proof relies on a multi-variated Abel identity due to Francon.