cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
3D discrete skeleton generation by wave propagation on PR-octree for finite element mesh sizing

This paper proposes a new algorithm to generate a disconnected, three-dimensional (3D) skeleton and an application of such a skeleton to generate a finite element (FE) mesh sizing function of a solid. The mesh sizing function controls the element size and the gradient, and it is crucial in generating a desired FE mesh. Here, a geometry-based mesh sizing function is generated using a skeleton. A discrete skeleton is generated by propagating a wave from the boundary towards the interior on an octree lattice of an input solid model. As the wave propagates, the distance from the boundary and direction of the wave front are calculated at the lattice-nodes (vertices) of the new front. An approximate Euclidean distance metric is used to calculate the distance traveled by the wave. Skeleton points are generated at the region where the opposing fronts meet. The distance at these skeleton points is used to measure both proximity between geometric entities and feature size, and is utilized to generate the mesh size at the lattice-nodes. The proposed octree-based skeleton is more accurate and efficient than traditional voxel-based skeleton and proves to be great tool for mesh sizing function generation.
Substrate-inhibited kinetics with catalyst deactivation in an isothermal CSTR

Analytical expressions are developed for the time-dependent reactant concentration and catalyst activity in an isothermal CSTR with Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics of deactivation and reaction. Several parallel and series posioning mechanisms are considered for a reactor which, without poisoning, would operate at a unique steady state. The use of matched asymptotic expansions and abandonment of the usual initial-steady-state assumption give results, valid from startup to final loss of activity, whose accuracy can be improved systematically.
Chloroplast DNA variation of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) in Indiana

Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) variation was examined in 48 northern red oaks at 14 sites representing contrasting glacial histories and age structures within the state of Indiana in the United States. PCR-RFLP of three intergenic regions revealed five haplotypes. Haplotype I was common to seven sites and was the most frequent (17 trees). Haplotype II was common to five sites and was nearly as frequent as haplotype I (16 trees). Haplotypes III, IV and V were equally infrequent and did not occur together. Genetic diversity resided among rather than within populations (GST = 0.73 ± 0.14). This preliminary survey shows that cpDNA diversity will be a useful tool for the investigation of ancient seed dispersal patterns in northern red oak.
Evaluation of Use of Lithium Nitrate in Controlling Alkali-Silica Reactivity in Existing Concrete Pavement

This study presents the findings from a 2-year field trial in which lithium nitrate was applied at a rate of 0.006 gal/ft2 twice a year on an existing concrete pavement in Norfolk, Nebraska, in an attempt to arrest ongoing alkali-silica reaction (ASR) distress. Various destructive and nondestructive means were used to measure the effectiveness of the treatments. Concrete cylinders were cored for petrographic examination and split tension testing. Powder samples were taken to determine the lithium content. Nondestructive evaluations used crack mapping, a Schmidt hammer, a velocity meter, and an impact echo apparatus. The amount of lithium that penetrated into the pavement by gravity soaking has been limited. The results to date have not shown a definitive benefit of application of the lithium material in controlling or mitigating the ASR process; presumably, the pavement has not reached the state of deterioration optimal for lithium penetration. The feasibility and effectiveness of other application techni...
Support Vector Machine Learning for Gesture Signal Estimation with a Piezo-Resistive Fabric Touch Surface.

The design of an unusually simple fabric-based touch andpressure sensor is introduced. An analysis of the raw sensor data is shown to have significant non-linearities and non-uniform noise. Using support vector machine learning and a state-dependent adaptive filter it is demonstratedt that these problems can be overcome. The method is evaluated quantitatively using a statistical estimate of the instantaneous rate of information transfer. The SVMregression alone is shown to improve the gesture signalinformation rate by up to 20% with zero added latency, andin combination with filtering by 40% subject to a constant latency bound of 10 milliseconds.
The Conundrum of Old Norse Umlaut: Sound Change versus Crisis Analogy

This paper pursues an “ingenerate” or phonetically based account of iumlaut as it unfolded in North Germanic. We focus on a famous problem relating to umlaut distributions in i-stem nouns: In the long stems of that class (gestr ‘guest’, from earlier *gastiz), where umlaut is arguably less motivated phonetically, it is generally reflected throughout the paradigms, but in short stems (sta∂r ‘place’, from earlier *sta∂ir), where it is more expected, umlaut is generally absent. A central feature of our understanding of these and other Norse facts is the interleaving of processes of sound change and analogy, the latter of which, by an assumption validated elsewhere, comes into play only under extraordinary circumstances. In contrast to previous work on the conundrum of umlaut in Old Norse, we situate this account in the context of umlaut as a general phenomenon, with parallels in development to that of its West Germanic sisters. * I vikingetiden har de aeldre nordboere sikkert ogsa syntes, at den fremtraengende i-omlyd (som blandt andet gjorde a til ae i mange ord) var haeslig og sprogforvraengende, at gastiR (= gaester) var langt smukkere end den nye form gaestiR. [‘In Viking times the old Scandinavians surely also
Optimal inventory policy when stockouts alter demand

An inventory model in which future demand is affected by stockouts has been considered recently by B. L. Schwartz. Some generalizations of Schwartz's model are presented in this paper and properties of the optimal policies are determined. In the case of deterministic demand, a set-up cost is included and a mixture of backlogged and nonbacklogged orders is allowed during stockout. It is proved that the optimal policy entails either no stockout or continual stockout, depending on the values of three parameters. For stochastic demand, the effect of stockouts on demand density is postulated, the resulting optimal inventory policy is discussed, and an example involving an exponential density function is then analyzed in detail.
An Open Environment CT-US Fusion for Tissue Segmentation during Interventional Guidance

Therapeutic ultrasound (US) can be noninvasively focused to activate drugs, ablate tumors and deliver drugs beyond the blood brain barrier. However, well-controlled guidance of US therapy requires fusion with a navigational modality, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or X-ray computed tomography (CT). Here, we developed and validated tissue characterization using a fusion between US and CT. The performance of the CT/US fusion was quantified by the calibration error, target registration error and fiducial registration error. Met-1 tumors in the fat pads of 12 female FVB mice provided a model of developing breast cancer with which to evaluate CT-based tissue segmentation. Hounsfield units (HU) within the tumor and surrounding fat pad were quantified, validated with histology and segmented for parametric analysis (fat: -300 to 0 HU, protein-rich: 1 to 300 HU, and bone: HU>300). Our open source CT/US fusion system differentiated soft tissue, bone and fat with a spatial accuracy of ∼1 mm. Region of interest (ROI) analysis of the tumor and surrounding fat pad using a 1 mm(2) ROI resulted in mean HU of 68±44 within the tumor and -97±52 within the fat pad adjacent to the tumor (p 150 mm(3), respectively. Further, CT mapped bone-soft tissue interfaces near the acoustic beam during real-time imaging. Combined CT/US is a feasible method for guiding interventions by tracking the acoustic focus within a pre-acquired CT image volume and characterizing tissues proximal to and surrounding the acoustic focus.
Basil of Caesarea on Proverbs 8:22 and the Sources of Pro-Nicene Theology

Recent scholarship has increasingly questioned the traditional assumption that Athanasius of Alexandria was a major influence on Basil of Caesarea. This study seeks to make a concrete contribution to this debate by demonstrating that Basil's exegesis of Prov. 8:22, a verse whose interpretation was hotly contested in the fourth-century Trinitarian debates, was influenced by Eusebius of Caesarea rather than by Athanasius. Basil's use of Eusebius of Caesarea here should prompt us to reassess more widely Eusebius' influence on Basil, thereby helping us gain a better understanding of the diverse sources of Pro-Nicene theology.
Health information, the Internet, and the digital divide

ABSTRACT: Through an analysis of recent data on adults' and children's computer use and experiences, this DataWatch shows that use of computers and the Internet is widespread and that significant p...
Recent progress in applications of CRLH structure for active microwave circuits

Over the last decade, the composite right/left-handed (CRLH) transmission line structures have received great interest in the microwave community due to their unique physical characteristics that have been exploited for a number of applications, mostly for antennas and passive components. CRLH structures can also be applied to active circuits. This paper reviews some of the examples of active circuit applications of the CRLH structures.
Detection of the dermis/epidermis boundary in reflectance confocal images using multi-scale classifier with adaptive texture features

Reflectance confocal microscopy is an emerging modality for dermatology applications, especially in-situ and bedside detection of skin cancers. Work to date has concentrated on hardware development and validation by clinicians in comparison with standard histological staining. As this technology gains acceptance, the development of automated processing methods becomes more important. We concentrate here on detection of the dominant internal feature of the skin, the epidermis/dermis boundary, a complex corrugated 3-dimensional layer marked by optically subtle changes and features. We adopt a machine learning approach to this segmentation problem, using a hierarchical multi-scale classifier with sophisticated on-line feature selection, to minimize the required expert labeling and maximize the range of potential features in the face of high inter- and intra-subject variability and low optical contrast. Initial results indicate the ability of our approach to recover the complex 3-D boundary surface.
The Electoral Relevance of Political Talk: Examining Disagreement and Expertise Effects in Social Networks on Political Participation

Although people with larger, more politicized social networks are more likely to participate in elections, we know very little about what drives this relationship. I argue that the electoral relevance of political talk depends heavily on the political expertise imbedded in discussion networks. Using data gathered during the 1996 presidential election, I demonstrate that the level of political sophistication in a person’s social network exerts a positive influence on participation. Importantly, this effect is greater than the impact of political preferences in the network, the factor that is implicitly considered to be the main link between networks and involvement. This evidence makes two contributions to research on networks and participation. First, it provides support for a theoretical model that better accounts for research on the relationship between political talk, political disagreement, and involvement. Second, it changes the normative implications associated with political talk by suggesting that networks can encourage both higher levels of involvement and increased consideration of differing viewpoints.
Resilience amid Academic Stress: The Moderating Impact of Social Support among Social Work Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between academic stress and perceived resilience among social work students, and to identify social support as a protective factor of resilience on this relationship. A conceptual model of moderation was used to test the role of social support as protective. Methods: The sample consisted of 314 social work students (BSW=144; MSW=170) from three accredited schools/programs in the southern United States. Voluntary survey data were collected on demographics and constructs of academic stress, family support, friend support, and resilience. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to show the composite impact of demographic and model factors on the resilience outcome. Moderation was tested using a traditional regression series as guidelines of moderation with continuous variables. Path analyses illustrated main effects and moderation in the study’s conceptual model. Results: The sample reported moderate levels of academic stress and social support, and a fairly high level of resilience. Academic stress negatively related to social support and resilience. Social support positively influenced resilience. Academic stress accounted for the most variation in resilience scores. Friend support significantly moderated the negative relationship between academic stress and resilience. Conclusion: The current study demonstrated the likelihood that friend support plays a protective role with resilience amid an environment of academic stress. Implications for social work faculty and internship agency practitioners are discussed.
Gender and post-conflict civil society

Abstract Women have historically participated in revolutionary/liberation movements. A consensus among scholars working in the field suggests that once the broader aims of the movement have been achieved, women's public role and the concern for gender differentiated interests diminish in the post-conflict society. The aim of this study is to apply this hypothesis using the case study of Eritrea. Eritrea offers an opportunity to study a modern, successful revolutionary movement that relied heavily upon women's contributions both as support personnel and as front-line soldiers. Preliminary evidence suggests that Eritrea is following the pattern of many other post-conflict societies. Several questions are addressed here: Does the hypothesis which suggests women's participation is welcomed during a revolutionary struggle, but discouraged in post-conflict society, hold true in the Eritrean case? What role did women play in Eritrean independence and what role do they currently play? Have the reforms enacted by ...
Exploring social interactions and attributes of casual multiplayer mobile gaming

We explored the social and gaming attributes of interactive casual gaming on mobile phones. To do so, we developed a game called MoMENTus, a multiplayer mobile brain teaser game, and deployed it to 43 participants, divided into various multiplayer and team configurations, over the course of one week. Participants generally liked the interactive and mobile aspects of our casual game, while the team concept was unexpectedly less compelling. Our results suggest that mobile multiplayer casual gaming is a promising new direction, with game play fostering a feeling of community among players. Team play was found to be counter to the casual nature of the game, but competition acted as an effective motivator. Additionally, since mobile phones are "always-on-person," casual mobile gaming was successful in filling interstitial time. Findings address aspects of multiplayer mobile casual gaming, such as the role of competition, manner in which these games are played, and the impact of the type of content on such games. Implications for the design of interactive casual games for mobile phones are discussed.
Proteomic and metabolomic strategies to investigate HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders

Diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases, monitoring their progression and assessing responses to treatments will all be aided by the identification of molecular markers of different stages of pathology. Protein biomarkers for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders that have been discovered using proteomics include complement C3, soluble superoxide dismutase and a prostaglandin synthase. Metabolomics has not yet been widely used for biomarker discovery, but early work shows that it has great potential.
Left ventricular assist device implantation in high risk destination therapy patients: an alternative surgical approach

Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) for Destination Therapy (DT) is an established therapy for end stage heart failure patients who are not transplant candidates. Many DT patients requiring LVADs have had prior open heart surgery, the majority of whom had prior sternotomy. In addition, DT patients tend to be older and more likely to have more significant co-morbidities than their Bridge-To-Transplant (BTT) counterparts. As such, placement of an implantable LVAD in DT patients can be technically hazardous and potentially prone to more perioperative complications. The purpose of this report is to describe an alternative implantation approach for the implantation of the Heartmate II™ LVAD in high risk DT patients.
Including special protection schemes and operational complexity within transmission planning

Reliability problems encountered within planning studies may typically be corrected either by building new transmission or by installing an SPS. SPS are almost always much less expensive ways to correct reliability problems, since they generally require only relays, communication equipment, computing and associated actuation logic, and tripping devices. However, SPS increase operational complexity due to reasons such as requirement of constant re-evaluation and co-ordination with other protection schemes, difficulty in maintenance scheduling, and serious consequences of mis-operations due to inadvertent interactions. Taking these into account, in this paper a SPS-aided transmission expansion plan is presented with the objective of minimizing production and investment costs, and simultaneously minimizing operational complexity. The proposed planning method uses multi-stage tree approach to enumerate the planning options and Analytical Hierarchical Process to evaluate and prioritize them.
Rural Area Development in A Growing Economy

THIS PAPER examines the prospects of the continuing Rural Development Program and the new Area Redevelopment Act in resolving the profound geographical differences in labor factor rewards, whether within or outside the agricultural sector. These substantial differences have persisted in the United States during all of the 20th Century, and it is in this long-run context that we approach the problem. We are concerned with the analytical aspects of rural development in an economy in which persistent full employment in urban centers has not been characteristic during the last 60 years, and in which underemployment in rural areas continues to be characteristic. We conceive that this occurs in a dynamic, mass-consumption, and-in the Rostovian sensetechnically mature economy. For our purposes, we define economic development as applied to an area or sector of an overall economy, such as that of the United States, to be the achievement of increased income per capita and, if incomes are presently relatively low, progress toward attainment of real returns for the economic use of comparable factors equivalent to those realized on the average in the economy as a whole. We take as the best indication of such achievement equivalent labor incomes to persons of comparable labor capacity. We examine (a) the appropriate size and distribution of local development areas, (b) the relevance of macro-variables in explaining the existing geographic differences in labor factor rewards, and (c) the need for a model that will deal adequately with local factor income in a situation of less than full employment, coupled with downward inflexibility of wage rates.
Thrombin-treated endothelium primes neutrophil functions: inhibition by platelet-activating factor receptor antagonists.

Abstract We have shown previously that fluid phase platelet-activating factor (PAF) can enhance or "prime" polymorphonuclear (PMN) responses to subsequent stimulation with agonists such as formyl-methionine-leucine-phenylalanine (FMLP). Since thrombin induces PAF production in endothelial cells, we tested whether this thrombin-provoked endothelial PAF primes responses of marginated PMNs. Monolayers of human umbilical vein endothelial cells were exposed to either thrombin (0.5-5.0 units/ml) or buffer for up to 5 min and then PMNs were layered on top of the endothelial cells. After a further 5 min incubation, the PMNs were stimulated with a suboptimal concentration of FMLP (10(-7) M), and their superoxide production, elastase release, adhesion to endothelium, and capacity to cause endothelial cell lysis and detachment were assessed. Thrombin pretreatment significantly enhanced each of these FMLP-stimulated neutrophil responses. The extent of this enhancement correlated with both the dose and duration of thrombin treatment of endothelial cells and also the duration of PMN incubation with thrombin-exposed endothelium. Evidence that the augmentation was due to endothelial-derived PAF was obtained as follows: (1) thrombin induced [3H]acetate incorporation into endothelial PAF (assayed in lipid extracts); (2) antithrombin III conjointly inhibited this [3H]acetate uptake and prevented the priming effect of thrombin-treated endothelium on PMN responses; and (3) the PAF receptor antagonist BN52021, when preincubated with PMNs, also effectively blocked the enhancement of PMN responses. We conclude that thrombin stimulation of endothelial cells initiates a sequence of events culminating in the production of PAF--a membrane phospholipid capable of priming marginated PMNs. We suggest that this coagulation-fostered endothelial/PMN interaction may underlie a paracrine response that may potentiate PMN-mediated endothelial injury during sepsis and other thrombin-generating disorders.
An Evaluation of Induced Failure Modes in the Belmont® Rapid Infuser.

BACKGROUND Rapid infusers are vital tools during massive hemorrhage and resuscitation. Sporadic reports of overheating and shutdown of the Belmont® Rapid Infuser, a commonly used system, have been attributed to 1-sided clot blockage of the fluid path. We investigated multiple causes of failure of this device. METHODS Packed red blood cells and thawed fresh frozen plasma with normal saline solution were used as base fluids for serial 10-minute trials using standard disposable sets in 2 Belmont devices. Possible contributors to device failure, including calcium-containing solutions and external leakage currents, were evaluated. Thermographic images of the heater and disposable cartridges were recorded. The effects of complete unilateral clotting were modeled by sealing half of the disposable cartridge with epoxy. RESULTS Clotting on the surface of the heat exchanger coil increased with calcium concentration and was only observed at calcium concentrations >12.0 mmol/L (P < 0.0001) in a 1:1 plasma:red blood cell mixture, resulting in high-pressure downstream occlusion alarms and interruption of flow. CONCLUSIONS Clot-based occlusion can be induced in the Belmont Rapid Infuser under unrealistic conditions. In the absence of complete unilateral flow blockage, we did not observe any significant overheating of the infuser under extreme operating conditions.
PIV in the Trisonic GasDynamics Facility

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) has been carried out in the Trisonic GasDynamics Facility (TGF), located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The TGF is a closed circuit tunnel with a test section measuring 24-inch by 24-inch and is capable of operating at a wide range of conditions. Data have been acquired for subsonic conditions (Mach 0.3, 0.5, and 0.8) using seed particles consisting of dry ice formed via expansion of liquid carbon dioxide in the stagnation region of the tunnel. The use of dry ice eliminates tunnel contamination, which is of utmost importance for this large, multi-use facility. Attaining high quality velocity data is challenging for several reasons inherent to the technique, including particle size control and distribution, and for other factors related to optical access and the size of the facility. The focus is on boundary layer characterization and includes comparisons to data acquired using a Pitot probe rake. In general, the mean velocity profiles acquired via PIV and the Pitot rake compared closely.
The Salt Appetite of Adrenalectomized Rats as Influenced by Deoxycorticosterone and Hydrochlorothiazide

SummarySubcutaneous administration of desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) to adrenalectomized rats at 50 and 100 μg/100 g of body weight/day reduced their spontaneous NaCl intake significantly. When hydrochlorothiazide (HCZ, 0.6 g/kg of food) was administered concurrently, the effect of DOCA was prevented and NaCl intake increased. The HCZ also increased the NaCl intake of untreated adrenalectomized rats. Hence, the presence of adrenal steroids is not required for this response. The results suggest that increased intake of NaCl solution by HCZ-treated, adrenalectomized rats may be related to increased urinary excretion of sodium. However, the mechanism by which increased sodium loss may mediate increased sodium intake requires elucidation.
Analog and Hybrid Computation: Dynamical Systems and Programming Languages

The purpose of this article is to serve as a light-weight introduction into the mysteries of analog and hybrid computing models from a dynamical systems and programming languages perspective. Hybrid systems are the dynamical systems that combine both models of computation, i.e., have interacting discrete and continuous dynamics. They have found widespread application as models for embedded computing in embedded systems as well as in cyber-physical systems. The primary role hybrid systems have played so far is to allow us to model how a (discrete) computer controller interacts with the (continuous) physical world and to analyze by means of formal proofs or reachability analyzes whether this interaction is safe or not. Without any doubt, such analyzes are of tremendous importance for our society, because they determine whether we can bet our lives on those systems. But this article argues that hybrid systems also have computational consequences that make them an interesting subject to study from a computability theory perspective. Hybrid systems are described by hybrid programs or hybrid automata, both hybrid generalizations of corresponding discrete computational models. The phenomenon of discrete and continuous interplay, which hybrid systems provide, is fundamental and raises interesting computability questions. For example: what is computable using the analogue computation capabilities of continuous dynamical systems? How do the discrete computation capabilities of discrete dynamical systems relate to classical models of computation a la Church–Turing? What happens in hybrid computation, where discrete and continuous computation interact? Are the two facets of computation, discrete and continuous, of fundamentally different character or are they two sides of the same computational coin? This article answers some of these questions using the rich theory that a logical characterization of hybrid systems in differential dynamic logic of hybrid programs provides. But the article is meant primarily as a manifesto for the significance and inherent beauty that these questions possess in the first place.
Correlations between corticomotoneuronal (CM) cell postspike effects and cell-target muscle covariation.

The presence of postspike facilitation (PSpF) in spike-triggered averages of electromyographic (EMG) activity provides a useful means of identifying cortical neurons with excitatory synaptic linkag...
Geminates and Weight in Amharic

Moraic Theory (Hayes 1989) predicts the existence of a language that classifies CVC syllables as light and syllables with a geminate coda (CVG) as heavy. Until now, no such language has been attested (Tranel 1991; Davis 2011). We propose that Amharic, a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia, fits this pattern. Using data collected through eight months of fieldwork with two Amharic speakers, we demonstrate that two independent processes of the language, stress and reduplication, serve as evidence that geminate codas but not other codas are moraic in Amharic.
Development and testing of a systemic lupus-specific risk adjustment index for in-hospital mortality.

Objective Valid comparison of patient outcomes among hospitals requires adjustment for differences in the severity of patients' illness. Disease-specific indexes of severity of illness may permit more accurate risk adjustment than generic indexes. The objective of this study was to develop a systemic lupus-specific risk adjustment index for in-hospital mortality, and to compare its performance to that of the generic Charlson index. Methods A systemic lupus-specific risk adjustment index was developed using discharge abstract data from a 50% random sample (n = 4994) of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) hospitalized on an emergent or urgent basis in California from 1991 to 1994 (n = 9989). The index was tested on the remaining members of the sample. Candidate variables for the index were the diagnoses included in the original Charlson index, and nephritis, chronic renal failure, pericarditis, pleuritis, psychosis, seizures, hemolytic anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the set of variables that best differentiated those patients who died in the hospital from those who survived, and to provide the weights for construction of the index. Results In the derivation set of patients, the SLE-specific index accurately predicted in-hospital mortality (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve c = 0.79). In the test set, the SLE-specific index (c = 0.72) was similar to the original Charlson index (c = 0.74) in its ability to predict in-hospital mortality (p = 0.32). However, the SLE-specific index accounted for substantially more variation in the risk of mortality among patients (R2 = 0.069) than did the Charlson index (R2 = 0.036). Use of the SLE-specific index rather than the Charlson index for risk adjustment did not alter the association between hospital experience and the probability of in-hospital mortality. Results were similar in the subgroups of patients with emergent hospitalizations and those with emergent hospitalizations due to SLE. Conclusion The SLE-specific risk adjustment index developed from diagnoses recorded in administrative discharge abstracts performed similarly to the generic Charlson index in correctly classifying mortality outcomes, but the SLE-specific index stratified patients by their level of risk of mortality better than the Charlson index. Adjustment for SLE-specific risks of mortality did not alter the association between hospital experience and the risk of in-hospital mortality.
End-of-Life Care for Hispanic Children: A Study of California Medicaid Beneficiaries

Introduction:More than 8,000 Hispanic children die annually in the United States; yet little is known about the end-of-life care utilized. The purpose of this study was to examine the children and ...
DSM-III-R cf DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD

Teacher-reported prevalence rates for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using DSM-IV and DSM-III-R criteria were compared in a middle Tennessee county during the 1993-94 academic year and analysed by subtypes at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
A Toolkit for Ecosystem Ecologists in the Time of Big Science

Ecosystem ecologists are being challenged to address the increasingly complex problems that comprise Big Science. These problems include multiple levels of biological organization that cross multiple interacting temporal and spatial scales, from individual plants, animals, and microbes to landscapes, continents, and the globe. As technology improves, the availability of data, derived data products, and information to address these complex problems are increasing at finer and coarser scales of resolution, and legacy, dark data are brought to light. Data analytics are improving as big data increase in importance in other fields that are improving access to these data. New data sources (crowdsourcing, social media) and ease of communication and collaboration among ecosystem ecologists and other disciplines are increasingly possible via the internet. It is increasingly important that ecosystem ecologists be able to communicate their findings, and to translate their concepts and findings into concrete bits of information that a general public can understand. Traditional approaches that portray ecosystem sciences as a dichotomy between empirical research and theoretical research will keep the field from fully contributing to the complexity of global change questions, and will keep ecosystem ecologists from taking full advantage of the data and technology available. Building on previous research, we describe a more forward-looking, integrated empirical–theoretical modeling approach that is iterative with learning to take advantage of the elements of Big Science. We suggest that training ecosystem ecologists in this integrated approach will be critical to addressing complex Earth system science questions, now and in the future.
Thermal Alteration of Silica Materials in Technological and Functional Perspective

This paper summarizes the characteristics, causes, and identification criteria of heat alteration in silica materials. The costs and benefits of alteration imply that only the production and functi...
Paradise Lost, Poem of the Restoration Period

John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667, 1674) is often classified as a Renaissance epic, along with the great narrative poems of Ariosto, Tasso, and Spenser. However, this generic designation tells us much less about the formal nature of the poem than we learn when we contextualize it among the long English narratives with which it was contemporary: Butler's Hudibras (1663, 1664, 1678), Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress (1678, 1684), Dryden's Absalom and Achitophel (1681), and Behn's Love-Letters between a Noble-Man and His Sister (1984, 1985, 1987). What Paradise Lost shares with these other texts is a parodic approach to literary form, one that combines the imitation of an authoritative form with an adaptive detachment from it. This approach shows the influence of several experimental, mixed forms that flourished during the Restoration period—some of traditional standing, some emergent, and some momentary and occasional.
Accelerating Digital Mental Health Research From Early Design and Creation to Successful Implementation and Sustainment

Mental health problems are common and pose a tremendous societal burden in terms of cost, morbidity, quality of life, and mortality. The great majority of people experience barriers that prevent access to treatment, aggravated by a lack of mental health specialists. Digital mental health is potentially useful in meeting the treatment needs of large numbers of people. A growing number of efficacy trials have shown strong outcomes for digital mental health treatments. Yet despite their positive findings, there are very few examples of successful implementations and many failures. Although the research-to-practice gap is not unique to digital mental health, the inclusion of technology poses unique challenges. We outline some of the reasons for this gap and propose a collection of methods that can result in sustainable digital mental health interventions. These methods draw from human-computer interaction and implementation science and are integrated into an Accelerated Creation-to-Sustainment (ACTS) model. The ACTS model uses an iterative process that includes 2 basic functions (design and evaluate) across 3 general phases (Create, Trial, and Sustain). The ultimate goal in using the ACTS model is to produce a functioning technology-enabled service (TES) that is sustainable in a real-world treatment setting. We emphasize the importance of the service component because evidence from both research and practice has suggested that human touch is a critical ingredient in the most efficacious and used digital mental health treatments. The Create phase results in at least a minimally viable TES and an implementation blueprint. The Trial phase requires evaluation of both effectiveness and implementation while allowing optimization and continuous quality improvement of the TES and implementation plan. Finally, the Sustainment phase involves the withdrawal of research or donor support, while leaving a functioning, continuously improving TES in place. The ACTS model is a step toward bringing implementation and sustainment into the design and evaluation of TESs, public health into clinical research, research into clinics, and treatment into the lives of our patients.
Tuning RNA folding and function through rational design of junction topology.

Structured RNAs such as ribozymes must fold into specific 3D structures to carry out their biological functions. While it is well-known that architectural features such as flexible junctions between helices help guide RNA tertiary folding, the mechanisms through which junctions influence folding remain poorly understood. We combine computational modeling with single molecule Forster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) and catalytic activity measurements to investigate the influence of junction design on the folding and function of the hairpin ribozyme. Coarse-grained simulations of a wide range of junction topologies indicate that differences in sterics and connectivity, independent of stacking, significantly affect tertiary folding and appear to largely explain previously observed variations in hairpin ribozyme stability. We further use our simulations to identify stabilizing modifications of non-optimal junction topologies, and experimentally validate that a three-way junction variant of the hairpin ribozyme can be stabilized by specific insertion of a short single-stranded linker. Combined, our multi-disciplinary study further reinforces that junction sterics and connectivity are important determinants of RNA folding, and demonstrates the potential of coarse-grained simulations as a tool for rationally tuning and optimizing RNA folding and function.
Pseudorange and multipath analysis of positioning with LTE secondary synchronization signals

The ranging precision of the long-term evolution (LTE) secondary synchronization signal (SSS) with noncoherent baseband discriminators is analyzed. The open-loop and closed-loop statistics of the code phase error with the dot-product and early-power-minus-late-power discriminator are derived. The effect of multipath on the code phase error is evaluated numerically. Experimental results demonstrating the efficacy of the derived statistics are presented, in which the total position root-mean squared error (RMSE) with SSS over a 560 m ground vehicle trajectory was reduced by 51%.
Client Evaluation of Counseling Services in a Methadone Maintenance Clinic

Although regulatory agencies set standards for counseling and counselors themselves have various conceptions of their job function, there is less information on how methadone clients view counseling. Therefore, this survey was conducted to provide counselors with feedback on how their efforts are received by clients, to provide clients with a way to express their views and feelings through a measurement device, and to give program directors a chance to examine their expectations of how counseling services are perceived by clients.
Functional brain imaging in schizophrenia: selected results and methods.

Functional brain imaging studies of patients with schizophrenia may be grouped into those that assume that the signs and symptoms of schizophrenia are due to disordered circuitry within a critical brain region and studies that assume that the signs and symptoms are due to disordered connections among brain regions. Studies have investigated the disordered functional brain anatomy of both the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Studies of spontaneous hallucinations find that although hallucinations are associated with abnormal brain activity in primary and secondary sensory areas, disordered brain activation associated with hallucinations is not limited to sensory systems. Disordered activation in non-sensory regions appear to contribute to the emotional strength and valence of hallucinations, to be a factor underlying an inability to distinguish ongoing mental processing from memories, and to reflect the brain’s attempt to modulate the intensity of hallucinations and resolve conflicts with other processing demands. Brain activation studies support the view that auditory/verbal hallucinations are associated with an impaired ability of internal speech plans to modulate neural activation in sensory language areas. In early studies, negative symptoms of schizophrenia were hypothesized to be associated with impaired function in frontal brain areas. In support of this hypothesis meta-analytical studies have found that resting blood flow or metabolism in frontal cortex is reduced in schizophrenia, though the magnitude of the effect is only small to moderate. Brain activation studies of working memory (WM) functioning are typically associated with large effect sizes in the frontal cortex, whereas studies of functions other than WM generally reveal smaller effects. Findings from some functional connectivity studies have supported the hypothesis that schizophrenia patients experience impaired functional connections between frontal and temporal cortex, although the nature of the disordered connectivity is complex. More recent studies have used functional brain imaging to study neural compensation in schizophrenia, to serve as endophenotypes in genetic studies and to provide biomarkers in drug development studies. These emerging trends in functional brain imaging research are likely to help stimulate the development of a general neurobiological theory of the complex symptoms of schizophrenia.
MalViz: an interactive visualization tool for tracing malware

This demonstration paper introduces MalViz, a visual analytic tool for analyzing malware behavioral patterns through process monitoring events. The goals of this tool are: 1) to investigate the relationship and dependencies among processes interacted with a running malware over a certain period of time, 2) to support professional security experts in detecting and recognizing unusual signature-based patterns exhibited by a running malware, and 3) to help users identify infected system and users' libraries that the malware has reached and possibly tampered. A case study is conducted in a virtual machine environment with a sample of four malware programs. The result of the case study shows that the visualization tool offers a great support for experts in software and system analysis and digital forensics to profile and observe malicious behavior and further identify the traces of affected software artifacts.
Andreev Reflection, Thermal Conductivity, Torque Magnetometry, and Hall Effect Studies on High-Tc Systems

We survey recent experiments which probe the interface between the high-T c oxides and Au (Andreev reflection, and proximity induced superconductivity). We also discuss experiments which measure the anisotropy of 123 (thermal conductivity, torque magnetometry) and the Hall effect in the Bi- and Tl-based superconductors.
Effect of textured surfaces created by modulation-assisted machining on the Stribeck curve and wear properties of steel-aluminum contact

Loss of machining efficiency, part repair, and replacement of mechanical components due to friction and wear is a recurring problem for performance industrial system applications. Recent studies on surface modification and micro-scale texturing have shown successful results in reducing friction and wear of lubricated surfaces. By acting as lubricant reservoirs and wear particle receptacles, micro-scale artificial surface textures positively influence lubrication regimes. In the present experimental study, a Stribeck curve is generated to compare the tribological properties of untextured and textured surfaces created by modulation-assisted machining. Aluminum 6061-T6 disks are mated with high-speed steel pins on a pin-on-disk tribometer configuration for varying speed and texture depth and density. The results suggest that the textured surfaces produced by modulation-assisted machining accelerate the appearance of the elasto-hydrodynamic regime, while also reducing friction by 56% and wear by almost 90%. The enhanced friction and wear reduction were obtained under the lower speeds studied. In general, the disk with shallower dimples presented lower values of friction under the conditions studied. No major differences were found for textures with different dimple densities.
A phase II study of pazopanib with oral topotecan in patients with metastatic and non-resectable soft tissue and bone sarcomas.

11550Background: Topotecan and pazopanib (PAZ) individually have clinical benefit in patients (pts) with sarcomas. PAZ is a multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor and topotecan affects endothelial cells, ...
Tetrabutylammonium Bromide-Promoted Metal-Free, Efficient,Rapid, and Scalable Synthesis of N-Aryl Amines

A rapid, transition metal-free, high-yielding, tetrabutylammonium bromide-promoted method of N-arylation is reported within. The optimized conditions tolerated a wide range of secondary amines and was equally effective with bromo- and chlorobenzene-including substituted aryl halides. The developed method is found to be effective for N-arylation when compared to earlier methods which involve harsh conditions, transition metals, lack of scalability, and long reaction times. Our method utilizes conventional heating only; it is readily scalable; and the products are facile to purify.
Influence of bio-immobilized lime stone powder on self-healing behaviour of cementitious composites

For preserving cementitious systems and inhibiting the ingress of chemicals via cracks and fissure, persistent repairs are inevitable. Thus, self-healing of harmful cracks and fissures, without external intervention and onerous labours emerged as a viable approach for enhancing concrete durability. Among all, bio-inspired self-healing secured imperative position in autonomous healing of cementitious system, latterly. Microbes are potentially efficient in intrinsic healing of cementitious systems due to their ability of calcite precipitation. Instigated calcite filled the void and restrained the ingress of deleterious chemicals. Bacillus subtilis was selected as self-healing microbe due to its relatively longer reported survival in high pH environment. Microbes are inducted directly through water and immobilized via immobilizer. In this study, viability of lime stone powder (LSP), as bacterial immobilizer, is explored. Self-healing ability of Bacillus subtilis was gauged in terms of mechanical strength after cracking at 3, 7 and 28 days. For inspecting the microstructure and characterization of healing field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were performed at 28 days. Hence, immobilized LSP enhanced the compressive strength of cementitious system and endorsed as a potential carrier for sustaining microbes for relatively extended periods. Furthermore, LSP is an economical locally available raw material, it eventually helped in formulating sustainable, cost-effective and proficient in crack repairing cementitious system.