cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On Being Difficult: The Pursuit of Wonder

Is discomfort intrinsic to wonder? The author pursues this question by showing how early visitors to the Niagara Falls found that efforts to improve the view eliminated the difficulty that made viewing the falls rewarding in the first place. Visitors’ experiences accord with eighteenth-century accounts that suggest that wonder thrives on difficulty and desire thrives on inaccessibility. This aesthetic effect finds expression in The Arabian Nights and other texts that both represent and enact narrative withholding, and also in the visual form of the arabesque, which beguiles the eye with movement but does not go anywhere. The essay concludes by connecting these insights into aesthetic difficulty to present-day concerns that attempts to bring the humanities to a broader audience may “dumb down” art. I conclude that such concerns miss the point that aesthetic experiences depend upon a tension between legibility and illegibility that artworks continue to generate in new and unforeseen ways.
Disparities in Shared Decision Making and Service Receipt Among Children With Special Health Care Needs and Developmental Delay: A National Survey Analysis:

Shared decision making (SDM) is associated with increased service satisfaction among pediatric patients. Our objective was to examine the association between SDM and service use experiences across racial/ethnic child groups. This secondary data analysis used the 2009-2010 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) and 2011 Pathways to Diagnosis and Services Survey. We used a rank-and-replace matching approach consistent with Institute of Medicine recommendations for health disparities research. We included CSHCN aged 6 to 17 years. The exposure of interest was parents of CSHCN reporting engagement in SDM with clinicians. There were 4032 CSHCN included in analysis. CSHCNs experiencing SDM had a 16% higher probability of reporting service use compared to those not experiencing it (95% CI, 14.24-19.42). Black children experiencing SDM reported seeing all needed care providers at a lower rate than whites (79% and 87.6% respectively; 95% CI, -14.05-3.27). The benefit of SDM over not experiencing it for blacks was 12.2% less than for whites for the outcome of seeing all needed care providers. For the outcome of receiving all needed treatments and services, the SDM benefit was 9.1% lower for Hispanics compared with whites. SDM can improve service experiences but implementation flexibility may be needed.
Delayed initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy in older women with breast cancer

BACKGROUND Adjuvant chemotherapy benefits early-stage breast cancer (BC) patients. Older women receive guideline-adherent treatment less frequently and experience treatment delays more frequently. We evaluated factors associated with delaying adjuvant chemotherapy and the delays' survival impact in a large population-based cohort of elderly BC patients. METHODS Patients age >66 years diagnosed 2001-2015 with localized or regional BC were identified in the SEER-Medicare and Texas Cancer Registry-Medicare databases. Time from surgery to chemotherapy (TTC) was categorized into four groups: 0-30, 31-60, 61-90, and >90 days. We identified predictors of delays, estimated overall (OS) and BC-specific (BCSS) survival, and determined the association between TTC and outcome adjusting for other variables. RESULTS Among 28,968 women (median age 71 years), median TTC was 43 days. 10.7% of patients experienced TTC >90 days. Older age, Black or Hispanic race/ethnicity, unmarried status, more comorbidities, hormone receptor-positivity, mastectomy, Oncotype DX testing, and full state buy-in were associated with increased risk of delay. Five-year OS estimates by TTC group were 0.82, 0.81, 0.80, and 0.74, respectively (p<.001). BCSS demonstrated a similar trend (p<.001). Chemotherapy delay was associated with worse OS (HR=1.33, 95%CI 1.25-1.40) and BCSS (HR=1.39, 95%CI 1.27-1.53). In subgroup analysis, delayed chemotherapy was associated with worse OS and BCSS among patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR=1.56, 95%CI 0.97-2.51), HER2-positive (HR=1.99, 95%CI 1.04-3.79), and triple-negative (HR=2.15, 95%CI 1.38-3.36) tumors. CONCLUSION Chemotherapy delays are associated with worse survival in older BC patients. Providers should avoid delays and initiate chemotherapy ≤90 days after surgery regardless of patients' BC subtype or age.
Walnut consumption and cardiac phenotypes: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study.

Abstract Background and Aims Observational studies and clinical trials have shown cardiovascular benefits of nut consumption, including walnuts. However, the relations of walnut consumption with systolic and diastolic function, risk factors for heart failure, are unknown. We examined the associations of walnut consumption with cardiac structure and function parameters in black and white adults enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Methods and Results After exclusions, the study population included 3,341 participants. Dietary intake was assessed using the CARDIA Diet History questionnaire at baseline, year 7 and year 20 exams. Cardiac structure and function were measured by echocardiography at year 25. Multivariable linear regression evaluated the associations of walnut consumption with blood pressure (BP), heart rate, and cardiac phenotypes, adjusting for age, sex, race, lifestyle habits, and clinical characteristics. We found the majority of walnut consumers compared to non-consumers were females, whites, and more highly educated, and had lower waist circumference, diastolic BP, and heart rate, and higher diet quality score. Even though cardiac structure and function measures were generally within normal ranges among participants, walnut consumers had significantly better values for diastolic function parameters A wave, E/A ratio, septal and lateral e’ than non-consumers. Further adjustment for body mass index and diabetes status did not materially change the significance between walnut consumer groups. Systolic function parameters did not differ by walnut group. Conclusion Compared to non-consumers, walnut consumption is associated with better diastolic dysfunction in young to middle-aged adults.
Unmanned Systems Health Analysis through Evidential Reasoning Networks

Evidential reasoning, developed by Glenn Shafer and Arthur Dempster in the 1960s and 1970s, has been extensively applied to risk analysis, sensor fusion, and system failure analysis. Use in real-time systems for health analysis has been more limited due to computational complexity requiring less either comprehensive analysis or significant computing power. Evidential reasoning networks, also known as valuation networks, reduce computational requirements by eliminating hypothesis combinations which are infeasible. Recent extensions enable these networks to learn the relationships between nodes based on evidence inputs, enabling these networks to adapt without the need of subject matter experts defining each relationship update. This system is applied to unmanned system health analysis, demonstrating the capability to run complex belief analyses in real-time on autopilot systems with low computational power using the GUST autopilot system developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Comparisons are made between the evidential combination approach and more traditional contingency management that uses time delays and worst-case scenario assumptions for contingency responses. Simulation training is used as a surrogate for high volumes of flight testing, and operational results are primarily tested through GUST simulation of a representative mission. Results show that evidential reasoning networks are an effective approach to real-time health analysis of unmanned systems, using the novel update rules to understand relationships based on operational outcomes. Flight demonstration is included to show the capability to run this system in real operations. This work has implications on integration of unmanned systems into the national airspace as well as on Urban Air Mobility. Results from the network are explainable, enabling human oversight of operational decisions. Real-time implementation enables integration into avionics systems. Further, the data-driven approach to learning relationships enables this system to adapt as information concerning unmanned systems steadily changes.
The ZSWIM8 ubiquitin ligase mediates target-directed microRNA degradation.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) associate with Argonaute (AGO) proteins to direct widespread post-transcriptional gene repression. Although association with AGO typically protects miRNAs from nucleases, extensive pairing to some unusual target RNAs can trigger miRNA degradation. Here we found that this target-directed miRNA degradation (TDMD) required the ZSWIM8 Cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase. This and other findings suggested and supported a mechanistic model of TDMD in which target-directed proteolysis of AGO by the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway exposes the miRNA for degradation. Moreover, loss-of-function studies indicated that the ZSWIM8 Cullin-RING ligase accelerates degradation of numerous miRNAs in cells of mammals, flies, and nematodes, thereby specifying the half-lives of most short-lived miRNAs. These results elucidate the mechanism of TDMD and expand its inferred role in shaping miRNA levels in bilaterian animals.
Flexible reusable hierarchical hybrid catalyst for rapid and complete degradation of triclosan in water.

Abstract A flexible, durable, and reusable nanocatalyst system was fabricated by anchoring palladium nanoparticles on carbon nanotube (CNT) carpets covalently attached to carbon cloth. These hierarchical hybrid materials were tested for catalytic degradation of triclosan (TCS), an emerging contaminant. Materials were characterized using scanning & transmission electron microscopy techniques (SEM and TEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The reaction kinetics was studied using HPLC and reaction pathways proposed based on LC-MS/GC-MS analyses. In the presence of hydrogen, complete step-wise chlorine removal was seen until complete dechlorination was accomplished. The pseudo-first-order rate constant was measured to be orders of magnitude higher than earlier reported values. Moreover, the same material was usable for multiple cycles in flowing water. This study demonstrates that robustness and reusability of larger structural materials can be combined with the ultra-high surface activity of nanocatalysts to provide practical and eco-friendly solutions for water sustainability.
Fractional orbital angular momentum conversion in second-harmonic generation with an asymmetric perfect vortex beam

This Letter demonstrates the nonlinear conversion of asymmetric perfect vortex (APV) beams with fractional orbital angular momentum (OAM). By controlling the amplitude and phase of the fundamental light field, we create APVs whose global OAM demonstrates a one-to-one correspondence of the charge numbers for fractional OAM values. The results show that the OAM of the second-harmonic generation fields follow the OAM conservation law. The nonlinear interactions of multiple OAM beams with the APVs are also investigated as they relate to the nonlinear frequency conversion and are shown to exhibit unique frequencies as a result of the Doppler frequency tagged OAM values.
Reliability of Handheld Dynamometry to Measure Focal Muscle Weakness in Neurofibromatosis Types 1 and 2.

Objective To determine a suitable outcome measure for assessing muscle strength in neurofibromatosis (NF) type 1 and NF2 clinical trials, we evaluated the intraobserver reliability of handheld dynamometry (HHD) and developed consensus recommendations for its use in NF clinical trials. Methods Patients ≥5 years of age with weakness in at least 1 muscle group by manual muscle testing (MMT) were eligible. Maximal isometric muscle strength of a weak muscle group and the biceps of the dominant arm was measured by HHD. An average of 3 repetitions per session was used as an observation, and 3 sessions with rest period between each were performed on the same day by a single observer. Intrasession and intersession intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficients of variation (CVs) were calculated to assess reliability and measurement error. Results Twenty patients with NF1 and 13 with NF2 were enrolled; median age was 12 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9–17 years) and 29 years (IQR 22–38 years), respectively. By MMT, weak muscle strength ranged from 2−/5 to 4+/5. Biceps strength was 5/5 in all patients. Intersession ICCs for the weak muscles were 0.98 and 0.99 in the NF1 and NF2 cohorts, respectively, and for biceps were 0.97 and 0.97, respectively. The median CVs for average session strength were 5.4% (IQR 2.6%–7.3%) and 2.9% (IQR 2.0%–6.2%) for weak muscles and biceps, respectively. Conclusion HHD performed by a trained examiner with a well-defined protocol is a reliable technique to measure muscle strength in NF1 and NF2. Recommendations for strength testing in NF1 and NF2 trials are provided.
Overlapping single-level lumbar fusion and adverse short-term outcomes.

OBJECTIVE There is a paucity of research on the safety of overlapping surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of overlapping surgery on a homogenous population of exactly matched patients undergoing single-level, posterior-only lumbar fusion. METHODS The authors retrospectively analyzed case data of 3799 consecutive adult patients who underwent single-level, posterior-only lumbar fusion during a 6-year period (June 7, 2013, to April 29, 2019) at a multihospital university health system. Outcomes included 30-day emergency department (ED) visit, readmission, reoperation, and morbidity and mortality following surgery. Thereafter, coarsened exact matching was used to match patients with and without overlap on key demographic factors, including American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) class, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score, sex, and body mass index (BMI), among others. Patients were subsequently matched by both demographic data and by the specific surgeon performing the operation. Univariate analysis was carried out on the whole population, the demographically matched cohort, and the surgeon-matched cohort, with significance set at a p value < 0.05. RESULTS There was no significant difference in morbidity or any short-term outcome, including readmission, reoperation, ED evaluation, and mortality. Among the demographically matched cohort and surgeon-matched cohort, there was no significant difference in age, sex, history of prior surgery, ASA class, or CCI score. Overlapping surgery patients in both the demographically matched cohort and the matched cohort limited by surgeon had longer durations of surgery (p < 0.01), but no increased morbidity or mortality was noted. Patients selected for overlap had fewer prior surgeries and lower ASA class and CCI score (p < 0.01). Patients with overlap also had a longer duration of surgery (p < 0.01) but not duration of closure. CONCLUSIONS Exactly matched patients undergoing overlapping single-level lumbar fusion procedures had no increased short-term morbidity or mortality; however, duration of surgery was 20 minutes longer on average for overlapping operations. Further studies should assess long-term patient outcomes and the impact of overlap in this and other surgical procedures.
Determination of hydrogen peroxide on N95 masks after sanitization using a colorimetric method

Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a sterilizing agent for medical devices and its use has recently been extended to N95 masks during PPE shortages as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hydrogen peroxide remaining on the masks after sterilization could potentially pose a health hazard to the mask users. In the present study a colorimetric method was optimized for the determination of hydrogen peroxide on N95 masks following chemical sanitizations. The developed analytical method demonstrated an overall recovery of 98% ± 7%. The limit of detection ranged from 0.16 to 0.25 mg/mask, depending on the type of mask. The expanded measurement uncertainty was 13% (at a 95% confidence interval). The sanitization process itself introduced a significant variation in hydrogen peroxide load between masks. The ozone used in the sanitization process had no significant impact on analytical performance. Stamped and printed marks on the mask surfaces could induce biased readings. Hydrogen peroxide decomposes quickly on the mask surfaces so timing of analysis is an important factor in method standardization.•The validation data demonstrated that the in-house method is reliable and fit for the intended purpose, offering a sensitive, simple, rapid, and inexpensive method of residue monitoring.
Culture of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Nursing Research Training.

Background Establishing and maintaining collaborative scientific environments that can cultivate and benefit from a full range of talents is essential for the quality and influence of science. Inclusion of research training and career development interventions to expose nursing PhD students, postdocs, and junior faculty to team science stands to prepare graduates to effectively engage with interdisciplinary colleagues to conduct cutting-edge nursing research and compete successfully for precious research resources. To be effective, nursing research workforce development programs need to recognize and share a culture of interdisciplinarity. Objectives This project aims to develop, validate, and disseminate a theoretically grounded and methodologically rigorous tool for cultural consensus analysis of the culture of interdisciplinary collaboration in nursing research. Methods Culture can be defined as shared cognitive structures and consensus around culturally correct values, attitudes, and normative behaviors. This mixed-methods study employs cultural consensus analysis (CCA) to assess construct validity and empirically determine a set of underlying socially learned and shared notions about the cultural domain of interdisciplinary collaboration in nursing research. The study will include three phases: (a) qualitative data collection and analysis to define the cultural domain of interdisciplinary collaborations in nursing research; (b) validation of the CCA tool with the use the cultural knowledge statements; and (c) application of the CCA tool to assess cultural differences among nursing trainees, junior faculty, and training directors. The study participant pool consists of NIH-NINR awardees, including training directors of institutional training grants, pre- and postdoctoral trainees with individual fellowship training grants, and junior faculty with career development awards. Qualitative data will be analyzed to formulate cultural statements about the values and behaviors that promote interdisciplinary collaboration in nursing research. Subsequent survey data will be assessed using matrix algebra, principal component analysis, and the Stuart-Maxwell Marginal Homogeneity test. Discussion The development and validation of a CCA tool is a novel approach to assess, support, and systematically examine interdisciplinary collaboration and team science in nursing research and training. Yet, the investigation of culture needs to remain value neutral, refrain from being prescriptive, and be sensitive to the emergence and dominance of one "right" culture.
Exploring the Impact of School Factors on Expectations to Complete Post Secondary Education Among Black Girls

Obtaining a college degree can enhance many aspects of one’s life including health outcomes and lifetime earnings. Given the racial opportunity gap that remains prevalent in the education system, a...
Establishing a Student Health All-Appointment System: Making the Transition from a Walk-in Approach

The authors offer a process for critically evaluating a walk-in system for patient and care provider satisfaction, for developing goals for a new patient flow system, and for designing and implementing an appointment system at a student health center. Their suggestions are based on their recent experience in making the transition from a walk-in approach to an all-appointment system in the general medicine division of the university's student health service. They give specifics of the appointment system established at their facility, including an explanation of the weekly appointment schedule, the monthly duty schedule, and a strong triage system. Key areas for consideration in converting to an all-appointment system, such as reeducational techniques for various staffing responsibilities and strategies for marketing a new system to patients, are outlined in detail.
Lack of a sex difference in leptin-mediated regulation of appetite, cardiovascular function and glucose homeostasis (1083.5)

Previous studies using male rodents have shown that the adipocyte-derived hormone leptin acts in the brain to regulate cardiovascular function and energy homeostasis noted by modulation of appetite and energy expenditure and normalization of diabetes-induced elevations in glucose levels. Because it is uncertain if leptin acts similarly in females, the aim of our study was to examine sex differences in leptin’s actions on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), appetite, and glucose homeostasis. Female Sprague-Dawley rats (n=6) and male controls (n=5) were instrumented with intracerebroventricular (ICV) cannulas in the lateral ventricle for continuous 7-day infusion of leptin (15 μg/day) and telemetry probes for measurement of BP and HR 24-hr/day. At baseline, female rats had significantly lower MAP (96±3 vs. 104±4 mmHg, p<0.05) but higher HR (375±5 vs. 335±5 bpm, p<0.05) compared to males but, following leptin treatment, we observed similar rises in BP (~3 mmHg) and HR (~25 bpm) in both sexes. Females had s...
Comprehensive design and modeling of a super high-speed permanent magnet motor

This paper proposed a 3kW radial PMSM designed for operation up to 150,000 r/min. The design procedure of the machine is discussed, with modeling and simulation results. Thanks to the super high speed, the designed motor can achieve high energy density at 2.5 kW/kg(housing weight included) and efficiency is over 97%. The super high speed brings challenges on electrical, mechanical and thermal design. Proper design of the stator lamination, including bore diameter, outer diameter, slot, yoke thickness and airgap is explained. At high frequency, proximity effect and skin effect becomes significant, the effects have been analyzed and multi-strand Litz wires are chosen for this design. Double-layer distributed winding is used instead of concentric winding to reduce the harmonic EMF. The rotor structure is designed to endure the mechanical stress at high RPM. Thermal analysis is conducted, and a housing with water cooling is designed. The design is optimized in ANSYS Maxwell and simulation results verified the performance of the motor. A controller for the high speed drive has been developed for the motor.
Emerging Evidence of Addiction in Problematic Eating Behavior

Obesity continues to be a pressing global health crisis with few nonsurgical means of long-term successful treatment. In addition, in the last year, binge eating disorder (BED), which shares several behavioral characteristics with traditional substance use disorders, has been recognized in the DSM-V as a distinct eating disorder diagnosis. In light of such trends, an emerging and controversial hypothesis is that an addictive response to certain types of foods may be contributing to eating-related problems. If certain individuals are experiencing an addiction to highly palatable foods, the treatment and prevention of problematic eating may need to be altered in such circumstances. Further, if certain food (or ingredients in food) are identified as having an addictive potential, policy approaches employed to reduce the public health impact of other types of addictive substances (e.g., reducing advertising to minors, taxation) may be of use in the obesity epidemic. In the following piece, we will review the research linking addiction and eating, but most importantly, we will identify directions for future research in this relatively new field of study. Keywords: obesity; eating behavior; addiction; global health; binge eating; food addiction; addictive substances; addiction research; drug abuse
Scrutinizing the Cybersell: Teen-Targeted Web Sites as Texts

Darren Crovitz explains that the explosive growth of Web-based content and communication in recent years compels us to teach students how to examine the "rhetorical nature and ethical dimensions of the online world." He demonstrates successful approaches to accomplish this goal through his analysis of the selling techniques of two Web sites targeted to a teen audience and his description of a project in which team members devise ways to teach students to consider the language and design elements of a selected site.
Fifteen ways to meet your user: public relations and outreach suggestions for bibliographic instruction

Current reports and publications from government agencies and professional organizations emphasize the changing populations entering higher education programs. Predictions indicate the current majority of traditional college students - those students entering immediately after high school, attending full time, and being between the ages of 17 and 22 - will be in the minority by the year 2000. In addition, college and university programs are becoming more diverse and new programs are continually developing. This is most evident in the numbers of new specialized journals that appear each year. As libraries are developing and maintaining bibliographic instruction programs, the balance of meeting the needs of newly identified user groups as well as newly developing programs becomes more of a challenge. In this brief article, I suggest fifteen alternatives that can be used to assist some our new users and new disciplines. This list is to be considered a beginning point, and needs to be adapted to the unique an...
Methods for assessing bone quality: a review.

Background Bone mass, geometry, and tissue material properties contribute to bone structural integrity. Thus, bone strength arises from both bone quantity and quality. Bone quality encompasses the geometric and material factors that contribute to fracture resistance.
Entanglement preservation: The Sleeping Beauty approach

Two-qubit entanglement can be preserved by partially measuring the qubits to leave them in a 'lethargic' state. The original state is restored using quantum measurement reversal after the qubits have travelled through a decoherence channel.
Computation of complete waveforms in general anisotropic media—results from an explosion source in an anisotropic medium

SUMMARY An algorithm of generating complete waveforms in general anisotropic media (21 constants) is presented. Complete waveforms have been computed including a point-source in the anisotropic medium and the reflection and transmission properties of individual interfaces. A recursive scheme of scatterer operators and the numerical wavenumber integration technique are used. The 6 X 6 system matrix A of each layer is derived. Each element of A is expressed in such a manner that the wavenumber could be used as an inner loop (vectorizing loop). A numerical algorithm is used to compute simultaneously the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of A. The upgoing and downgoing eigenvalues are separated according to a radiation condition and the properties of the z-component Poynting vector. Filon integration is applied to evaluate the integrals over horizontal wavenumbers. Since wave propagation in an anisotropic medium is a 3-D problem, it requires an enormous number of computations. To reduce the computation time, the wavenumber is used as the deepest loop. An efficient computer code has been developed for vectorization in the super computer. Both source and receivers can be placed at arbitrary depths. Three-component synthetic seismograms are computed from an explosion in the anisotropic medium. Examples are calculated for half-space multilayered anisotropic media. Theoretical seismograms show that radiation patterns are strongly affected by the anisotropy. For example, an explosion in an anisotropic medium with horizontal axes of symmetry generates P-, SV-, and Rayleigh waves, all whose amplitudes are varying with azimuth, and significant transverse (SH) waves at certain azimuths. These effects could be explained by the non-spherical behaviour of the source due to the directional dependence of elastic moduli. The waveforms are further complicated by the reflection and conversion phenomena of waves propagating in anisotropic media.
Revising Social Contracts: Social Spending in Latin America, East Asia, and the Former Socialist Countries, 1980-2000

Este trabajo examina los determinantes del gasto social en America Latina, Europa Oriental y el Este Asiatico durante los anos 80 y los 90. Presumimos que las diferencias duraderas y significativas en las herencias del estado de bienestar y las restricciones fiscales afectaron la manera en la cual los paises en las tres regiones respondieron a los desafios de las crisis economicas mas contemporaneos, la integracion en los mercados globales y las transiciones a la democracia. Los paises latinoamericanos, que heredaron las restricciones fiscales mas severas, fueron los que menos pudieron proteger el gasto social durante momentos de apremio economico. Los paises del Este Asiatico, y en un grado menor, los de Europa Oriental, fueron menos proclives a reducir el gasto social en vistas a los apremios economicos e inclusive se vieron mas inclinados a aumentarlo durante las transiciones democraticas
A Disaggregated Analysis of Employment Growth Fluctuations in Canada

This paper studies the sources of fluctuations in Canadian employment growth disaggregated by province and, within each province, by one-digit industry. Using an error components decomposition, industry-specific shocks are found to be relatively more important in explaining fluctuations in employment growth. Aggregate and province-specific shocks also play an important role, with the latter contributing about 30 percent of the explained variance in employment growth. Using a set of additional identifying assumptions, the decomposition technique is then extended to construct time series on the underlying shocks and to examine their properties.
All-optical regeneration of multi-wavelength signals

We discuss our experimental results on 8×10 Gb/s all-optical 2R regeneration, enabled by the innovative dispersion management scheme in Mamyshev regenerator based on off-center filtering of self-phase-modulation-broadened signal spectrum.
Aeroservoelastic and Structural Dynamics Research on Smart Structures Conducted at NASA Langley Research Center

An Overview of smart structures research currently underway at the NASA Langley Research Center in the areas of aeroservoelasticity and structural dynamics is presented. Analytical and experimental results, plans, potential technology pay-offs, and challenges are discussed. The goal of this research is to develop the enabling technologies to actively and passively control aircraft and rotorcraft vibration and loads using smart devices. These enabling technolgies and related research efforts include developing experimentally-validated finite element and aeroservoelastic modeling techniques; conducting bench experimental tests to assess feasibility and understand system trade-offs; and conducting large-scale wind-tunnel tests to demonstrate system performance. The key aeroservoelastic applications of this research include: active twist control of rotor blades using interdigitated electrode piezoelectric composites and active control of flutter, and gust and buffeting responses using discrete piezoelectric patches. In addition, NASA Langley is an active participant in the DARPA/Air Force Research Laboratory/NASA/Northrop Grumman Smart Wing program which is assessing aerodynamic performance benefits using smart materials.
A Mosaic of Software

In this paper we describe a Software Server, a background process that in conjunction with a central repository of lightweight wrapper scripts allows functionality within heterogeneous software to be called in a simple and consistent manner. The key role of the Software Server is to provide a common interface to software functionality in a manner that can be programmed against, in essence re-introducing an API to compiled code. Using the Java rest let framework, we provide a Restful interface consisting of URL endpoints allowing any programming/scripting language capable of accessing URLs to utilize software functionality as a black box. In addition to being widely accessible the Restful interface allows for a secondary role from Software Servers by giving them the ability to turn any traditional desktop software into a cloud based web service. In this paper we describe these Software Servers, the scripts we use to wrap primarily GUI based software, and show how these servers allow software to be called and interconnected into workflows across distributed machines. Finally, quantitative experiments showing the feasibility of the described Software Servers on a number of applications are presented.
A 3D microfluidic tumor construct to determine transport and photothermal properties of single walled nanohorns

Photothermal therapy is a cancer treatment that utilizes light energy to deposit specific amounts of heat to effectively kill cells in a specified tumor region. While Hyperthermia has been widely used for centuries as a treatment option for a variety of diseases, Localized Hyperthermia, as seen in photothermal therapies, has seen a rapid increase in use as a cancer treatment due to its non-invasive nature, low cost, simplicity, and reduced complications as compared to other currently available resection options [1]. The inclusion of nanoparticles that are capable of intense absorption in a specific wavelength band allows for higher selectivity of this thermal dose based upon the location of the delivered nanoparticles through both the additional absorption of laser energy, which gets deposited as heat, in the desired location containing the photoabsorbers and by lowering the amount of energy or power of the laser necessary to affect the region of interest, thus lowering the energy applied to the non-desired thermal damage region.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
WHAT'S MORE DEMOCRATIC THAN A SECRET BALLOT? THE CASE FOR MAJORITY SIGN-UP

The election procedures of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) fall dramatically short of American standards defining “free and fair” elections, and indeed embody practices that our government would reject in any other country. This article examines the ways in which the Employee Free Choice Act, mandating union recognition based on signed statements from a majority of employees, redresses some of the most undemocratic aspects of current NLRB practice. Finally, the article argue that the analogy between unionization and elections to public office is fundamentally misplaced. When the act of union formation is correctly understood, the logic of creating a union through signed statements is even clearer. Ultimately it is unionization itself—not the process through which employees choose to form a union—that creates lasting democratic practices within the workplace.
Diabetes increases collagenase activity in extracts of rat gingiva and skin.

The connective tissues of diabetic humans and experimental animals exhibit abnormalities in collagen metabolism including an increased production of collagenolytic enzymes by gingival explants in tissue culture. In the current study, gingival tissue and skin were obtained from control and diabetic rats, the latter on the 5th, 10th, 15th, and 22nd day after inducing the disease with streptozotocin. Extracts of the tissues were assessed for collagenase activity using either 14C-labeled collagen fibrils or Peptide-P as substrate and by detecting collagenase digestion products by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Elastase was measured using the specific substrate, succinyl-(L-Alanyl)3-p-nitroanilide. Diabetes increased the activity of collagenase in extracts of gingiva and skin; elastase, however, was increased dramatically only in the latter tissue. These findings (1) indicate that diabetes-induced enhanced gingival collagenase activity occurs in vivo as well as in vitro and (2) explain, at least in part, the greater loss of collagen in skin than in gingiva of the diabetic rat and other complications such as unusually severe periodontal breakdown.
Paresis and the alleged asymmetry between explanation and prediction

PROFESSOR Michael Scriven has recently suggested that the relation between syphilis and paresis offers material for a counter-example to the thesis that there exists a logical symmetry between explanation and prediction?. Professors Carl G. Hempel and Adolf Griinbaum have given independent arguments against the efficacy of the example. I wish to suggest in this note that the example does not show what it is intended to show but that the reasons Hempel and Grfinbaum have given show a misunderstanding of the example rather than its impotence.
Delayed abdominal closure in the management of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Background Resuscitative measures associated with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) repair may result in massive edema of the bowel, retroperitoneum and abdominal wall. The resulting “abdominal compartment syndrome” may compromise abdominal closure and may be associated with respiratory, renal and cardiovascular deterioration. Methods The medical records of 23 patients surviving initial operative repair of a rAAA were retrospectively reviewed. Eight underwent delayed abdominal closure after early approximation with silastic sheets (n = 6) or of the skin only (n - 2). Ultimate outcome, as well as several pulmonary and cardiovascular parameters, were compared with patients undergoing standard primary fascial closure (n = 15). Results A trend toward improved survival was apparent in the group undergoing delayed abdominal wall closure. Significant improvements in oxygenation and mixed venous oxygen saturation were observed in these patients, and there were fewer late deaths due to multiple organ failure. No patient undergoing delayed abdominal closure developed a graft infection. Conclusions As in massively resuscitated trauma victims, delayed laparotomy closure in rAAA patients may confer a physiologic and survival benefit.
Non-local modeling of epoxy using an atomistically-informed kernel

Abstract An integral type non-local continuum model for epoxy, used as the matrix material in aerospace structural composites, is developed from phonon dispersion data. Non-local continuum models can be used to regularize the stress fields at crack tips and molecular defect cores (e.g. disclinations in epoxies) where local (classical) elasticity theories fail to give bounded solutions. Integral type non-local elastic models phenomenologically incorporate microstructure information through a weighting function known as a kernel function. The kernel functions are typically obtained by matching dispersion curves computed using lattice dynamics. However, the use of lattice dynamics for amorphous polymers that do not have an underlying lattice structure is computationally prohibitive. In this paper, a molecular dynamics based approach is used for the computation of the non-local kernel, for amorphous epoxy. Dispersion relations calculated from the reciprocal-space velocity–velocity autocorrelation function are used to build the kernels. The computed atomistic kernel is used to predict stress solutions for some example problems where classical elasticity predicts singularities.
Observations of Arctic sea ice and river discharge with multiple satellite sensors

Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly. A record low of sea ice extent occurred in summer 2012 as observed over three decades of satellite data. The regime of the Arctic ice cover has shifted to a new state dominated by seasonal sea ice, as perennial sea ice has diminished drastically. Changes in the distribution of sea ice classes can precondition summer melt, alter the surface albedo, upset the Bowen ratio, and impact atmospheric photochemical processes. To investigate Arctic sea ice, environmental, and chemical changes, we conducted the Bromine, Ozone, and Mercury Experiment (BROMEX) around Barrow, Alaska, in March-April 2012, together with continuous measurements through the present. We used satellite active microwave scatterometer (AMS) and passive microwave radiometer (PMR) to observe the change in sea ice extent (SIE). A problem for sea ice observations in summer is that surface melt can impact PMR signatures of sea ice, causing large uncertainties in the measurement of SIE. We developed an AMS algorithm to determine SIE, primarily based on a quadruplet combination of relative AMS values rather than the absolute magnitudes of the signature and thus improving SIE accuracy. Then we took the SIE product from AMS in 2000–2009 to calibrate PMR results and reconstruct a SIE time series over three decades (1979–2013). To monitor sea surface temperature change caused by river discharge, we obtain results from two different algorithms using data acquired from the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments that are currently in orbit on both the Terra and Aqua satellites, launched in 1999 and 2002, respectively. We present results from spring-summer 2012 over the Beaufort Sea where warm waters from the Mackenzie River surged onto the sea surface layer thereby accelerating sea ice melt. Additionally, we estimated the total annual heating power carried by 72 rivers into the Arctic Ocean. We found that Arctic rivers could provide an enormous amount of energy to melt sea ice. With their immense watersheds (several million square kilometers), the Arctic rivers are effective conduits that transport heat from the warm continents in summer to the Arctic Ocean, thus contributing to sea ice melt, and enhancing the sensitivity of Arctic sea ice to climate change. In stark contrast, Antarctica is a frozen continent without any warm rivers to affect sea ice in the Southern Ocean. Using satellite observations, we directly address the question: Why has Arctic sea ice decreased precipitously while Antarctic sea ice has been relatively stable? This topic draws tremendous attention from the cryospheric science community, and has been a challenging riddle in climate change research. The influence of river discharge into the Arctic Ocean helps to answer that puzzle.
Ribose infusion accelerates thallium redistribution with early imaging compared with late 24-hour imaging without ribose

Abstract To determine if early (4-h) thallium-201 imaging with ribose infusion would enhance detection of thallium redistribution better than late (24-h) imaging without ribose infusion, 15 patients with coronary artery disease underwent thallium stress tests by both methods within 2 weeks. All 15 patients had quantitative coronary angiography. After immediate postexercise planar imaging during the first of two exercise tests, patients were randomized to receive either intravenous ribose (3.3 mg/kg per min) or a control infusion of saline solution for 30 min. Images performed at 4 h for the ribose study were compared with those at 24 h for the saline control study. During the second test, exercise was carried to the same rate-pressure product and each patient received the opposite infusion. Four-hour postexercise images after ribose infusion identified 21 reversible defects not seen in the 24-h saline study. Three reversible defects were seen only in saline studies, but not with ribose at 4 h (p 50% stenosis, 8 territories had reversible defects present in the ribose but not the saline study and the saline study did not demonstrate reversible defects in territories that were seen in the ribose study (p It is concluded that ribose enhances the detection of thallium redistribution at 4 h compared with 24-h control images in patients with coronary artery disease and, therefore, substantially improves the identification of viable ischemic myocardium.
INFLUENCE OF DEGREE OF INTENTIONAL LEARNING UPON THE PERFORMANCE OF AN INCIDENTAL TASK.

Incidental learning was measured at various stages of intentional learning. Results indicated the best performance on the incidental learning task took place at the initial and terminal stages of intentional learning. It was hypothesized that Ss respond to a number of irrelevant stimuli at the onset of a problem, thereby experiencing more of the problem's incidental aspects. As behavior becomes increasingly dependent upon relevant cues, sampling of the irrelevant (incidental) cues is minimized. Incidental learning decreases, therefore, Ss training increases. This process occurs to a point, then reverses. When the task set by E is seen as mastered, S begins seeking additional information from the stimuli present, resulting again in considerable incidental learning. The results and proposed explanations were believed to be in accordance with an earlier study by Bahrick (1957).
Stability of Cyanuric Acid to Photocatalytic Degradation

Cyanuric acid is unique among organic molecules in being resistant to photocatalytic degradative conditions by TiO2 in oxygenated water. Trimethyl cyanurate shows an isotope effect of 3.1−3.3 on de...
External stimulation by nanosecond pulsed electric fields to enhance cellular uptake of nanoparticles

As an increasing number of studies use gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for potential medicinal, biosensing and therapeutic applications, the synthesis and use of readily functional, bio-compatible nanoparticles is receiving much interest. For these efforts, the particles are often taken up by the cells to allow for optimum sensing or therapeutic measures. This process typically requires incubation of the particles with the cells for an extended period. In an attempt to shorten and control this incubation, we investigated whether nanosecond pulsed electric field (nsPEF) exposure of cells will cause a controlled uptake of the particles. NsPEF are known to induce the formation of nanopores in the plasma membrane, so we hypothesized that by controlling the number, amplitude or duration of the nsPEF exposure, we could control the size of the nanopores, and thus control the particle uptake. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells were incubated sub-10 nm AuNPs with and without exposure to 600-ns electrical pulses. Contrary to our hypothesis, the nsPEF exposure was found to actually decrease the particle uptake in the exposed cells. This result suggests that the nsPEF exposure may be affecting the endocytotic pathway and processes due to membrane disruption.
Pharmacologic management of bone pain in the cancer patient.

Cancer patients may experience acute or chronic pain caused by tumor infiltration of pain-sensitive structures or related to surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Acute bone pain, with or without associated neurologic deficits resulting from tumor metastasis to bone and contiguous neural structures (e.g., large peripheral nerve trunks or the spinal cord), is a common cause of intractable pain in cancer patients. Most often, treatment of bone pain involves the concomitant use of focal radiation therapy and analgesic drugs, especially steroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (usually in combination with opioids), and adjuvant analgesic agents such as levodopa and calcitonin. However, pharmacologic therapy is not always efficacious and may have significant side effects. Less commonly, invasive therapies, such as resection of vertebral body tumor with spinal reconstruction or pituitary ablation and intraventricular opioid administration (for diffuse bone pain), are offered. In this article I discuss current approaches to the management of pain in cancer patients, emphasizing current hypotheses on the pathogenesis of bone pain and the rationale for its pharmacologic treatment.