cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of neuroinflammation in the release of aversive odor cues from footshock-stressed rats: Implications for the neural mechanism of alarm pheromone

Summary Stressed animals have been known to release aversive chemosignals toward which conspecifics show avoidance-like responses. The present studies assessed whether inflammatory cytokine responses provoked by footshock stress modulate odor signals released from male rats. Male rats were exposed to 30 min of intermittent footshock (60 shocks, 1.0 mA, 100 ms each, variable ITI of 30 s) or remained in their home cages as non-stressed controls. Real time RT-PCR analysis of brain tissues indicated that footshock increased the pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-1b and hnCRH as well as c-fos mRNA expressions in the paraventricular nucleus, and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and increased plasma corticosterone levels. Soiled bedding collected from rats exposed to 30-min, but not 5-min, of footshock elicited a differential response, as expressed by decreased sniffing and increased avoidance in male test subjects. Soiled bedding from rats given corticosterone injection (s.c. 1.25 or 3.75 mg/ml) 3 h before bedding collection evoked no avoidance response in odor-recipients. Furthermore, ICV infusion of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 (20 or 200 ng) into the stimulus animals 30-min before a 30-min footshock session, had no effect on plasma corticosterone levels in the stimulus animals, but attenuated the release of aversive odor as indicated by dose-dependently diminished avoidance in odor-recipient rats. These results demonstrated that stressed rats release odorant cues that cause other rats to move away from the source of the signal. Such stress-induced chemosignals may be mediated by inflammatory cytokine responses in the brain.
Partnering to assist disabled veterans in transition

Severely injured military veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan who are completing rehabilitation at a military hospital and are ready to pursue postsecondary instruction are assisted by an academic advisor at the hospital and a mentor from a cooperating college or university.
Habitat Selection and Abundance of Young‐of‐Year Smallmouth Bass in North Temperate Lakes

Abstract Habitat use during early life history plays an important role in the ecology of smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu in north temperate lakes. The highest levels of mortality occur during the first year of life, and the habitat selected probably affects mortality. We used resource selection functions and abundance data from two northern Wisconsin lakes to determine the habitats that influence the survival of smallmouth bass. Coarse substrates were consistently important to both nesting locations and young-of-year smallmouth bass. Young smallmouth bass used woody structure after swimming from their nests but disassociated themselves from habitats with more complex woody structure by August. Nonwoody cobble areas offer protection for young-of-year smallmouth bass without attracting predators, as woody habitats do. The decline in the abundance of young-of-year smallmouth bass was best fit to an exponential decay function in woody habitats, but in rock habitats it was linear. Habitat selection by you...
Origin of the Half-Wavelength Errors in Microwave Measurements Using Through–Line Calibrations

The through-line calibration family uses measurements of a through connection and an inserted line to determine the propagation constant of the line. This is typically used with measurements of a reflect standard to characterize fixturing errors. Subsequently, the S-parameters of a device under test are de-embedded. Measurement uncertainties occur at frequencies where the length of the line standard is an odd multiple of a half-wavelength. The origin of these errors is identified as fixture inconsistencies between the through and the line measurements. Error formulations are developed, and it is shown that a small fixturing error can be accounted for as a multiplicative transmission error. An error sensitivity function is developed and highlights the importance of fixture repeatability.
Familial transmission rather than defective innate immunity shapes the distinct intestinal microbiota of TLR-deficient mice

The intestinal microbiota contributes to the development of the immune system, and conversely, the immune system influences the composition of the microbiota. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) in the gut recognize bacterial ligands. Although TLR signaling represents a major arm of the innate immune system, the extent to which TLRs influence the composition of the intestinal microbiota remains unclear. We performed deep 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing to characterize the complex bacterial populations inhabiting the ileum and cecum of TLR- and MyD88-deficient mice. The microbiota of MyD88- and TLR-deficient mouse colonies differed markedly, with each colony harboring distinct and distinguishable bacterial populations in the small and large intestine. Comparison of MyD88-, TLR2-, TLR4-, TLR5-, and TLR9-deficient mice and their respective wild-type (WT) littermates demonstrated that the impact of TLR deficiency on the composition of the intestinal microbiota is minimal under homeostatic conditions and after recovery from antibiotic treatment. Thus, differences between TLR-deficient mouse colonies reflected long-term divergence of the microbiota after extended husbandry in isolation from each other. Long-term breeding of isolated mouse colonies results in changes of the intestinal microbiota that are communicated to offspring by maternal transmission, which account for marked compositional differences between WT and mutant mouse strains.
How Quickly Do Markets Learn? Private Information Dissemination in a Natural Experiment I

Using data from a unique episode in which the SEC disseminated securities filings to a small group of private investors before releasing them to the public, we provide a direct test of the process through which private information is impounded into stock prices. Because the delay between the time when the filings were privately distributed and when the filings were made public was randomly distributed, our setting provides a rare natural experiment for examining how markets process new private information. We find that it takes minutes — not seconds — for informed traders to incorporate fundamental information into stock prices. We also show that the private investors who had early access to fundamental information profited more, and convey more information into stock prices, when the delay before the filings are released to the public is longer. More importantly, the rate at which information is impounded into stock prices is more correlated with the length of the predicted delay before public release than the actual delay, suggesting that informed investors trade strategically. Our study serves as the modern counterpart to Koudijs’s (2014a) study on insider trading on eighteenth-century stock exchanges — except, in our case, week-long sailing voyages have been replaced by modern electronic transmission as the conduit for information flows.
Theory Generalization Problem Reduction and the Unity of Science

Although doubtlessly aimed at later developments in physics, Einstein’s famous remark, if interpreted so as to include classical statistical mechanics, nicely captures the spirit of work on the early quantum theory by men like Bohr and Ehrenfest, who, despite their conviction that the classical theories failed, nevertheless mined their riches to the fullest in the development of the new theory. In this paper I try to exhibit and characterize the patterns of reasoning involved in Ehrenfest’s attempts to generalize Planck’s early theory of the linear harmonic oscillator, and I then employ the same historical case as a basis for arguing that the reduction of problems to problems is an important phenomenon which cannot be fully understood in terms of the reduction of theories. Before turning to Ehrenfest, let me point out the central relevance of these issues to the problem of the unity of science.
A Yeast-Based Genetic System for Functional Analysis of Viral mRNA Capping Enzymes

Virus-encoded mRNA capping enzymes are attractive targets for antiviral therapy, but functional studies have been limited by the lack of genetically tractable in vivo systems that focus exclusively on the RNA-processing activities of the viral proteins. Here we have developed such a system by engineering a viral capping enzyme-vaccinia virus D1(1-545)p, an RNA triphosphatase and RNA guanylyltransferase-to function in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in lieu of the endogenous fungal triphosphatase (Cet1p) and guanylyltransferase (Ceg1p). This was accomplished by fusion of D1(1-545)p to the C-terminal guanylyltransferase domain of mammalian capping enzyme, Mce1(211-597)p, which serves as a vehicle to target the viral capping enzyme to the RNA polymerase II elongation complex. An inactivating mutation (K294A) of the mammalian guanylyltransferase active site in the fusion protein had no impact on genetic complementation of cet1Deltaceg1Delta cells, thus proving that (i) the viral guanylyltransferase was active in vivo and (ii) the mammalian domain can serve purely as a chaperone to direct other proteins to the transcription complex. Alanine scanning had identified five amino acids of vaccinia virus capping enzyme-Glu37, Glu39, Arg77, Glu192, and Glu194-that are essential for gamma phosphate cleavage in vitro. Here we show that the introduction of mutation E37A, R77A, or E192A into the fusion protein abrogates RNA triphosphatase function in vivo. The essential residues are located within three motifs that define a family of viral and fungal metal-dependent phosphohydrolases with a distinctive capacity to hydrolyze nucleoside triphosphates to nucleoside diphosphates in the presence of manganese or cobalt. The acidic residues Glu37, Glu39, and Glu192 likely comprise the metal-binding site of vaccinia virus triphosphatase, insofar as their replacement by glutamine abolishes the RNA triphosphatase and ATPase activities.
Cell phone integration: SiP, SoC, and PoP

Engineers must make many cost-effective decisions during a product's design cycle. One challenge is deciding on the best packaging for their products. This article presents trade-offs among system-in-package, system-on-chip, and package-on-package integration for mobile phone applications
Growth Mixture Modeling for Sequential Growth Processes

We re-visit the issue of “compensatory growth hypothesis”. The main idea is that some infants who experience substandard growth due to nutrition deficiency may grow faster than other children at a later age, and eventually catch up. We test this hypothesis using the data from the Cebu longitudinal study that records two developmental phases for each individual: the first developmental phase includes 12 bi-monthly records from age zero to age two, and the second developmental phase includes three records measured around age 7, 10 and 14. To test the compensatory growth hypothesis is to identify a subgroup in the sample that grows slower than others from age 0-2, but catches up from age 7-14. Being able to simultaneously identify the optimal number of subgroups that has qualitatively different growth trajectories and the growth trajectory within each subgroup based on empirical data is the major strength of growth mixture modeling technique.
Cooperative selection of movements: The Optimal Selection model

How one selects a movement when faced with alternative ways of doing a task is a central problem in human motor control. Moving the fingertip a short distance can be achieved with any of an infinite number of combinations of knuckle, wrist, elbow, shoulder, and hip movements. The question therefore arises: how is a unique combination chosen? In our model, choice is achieved by consideration of the similarity between the task requirements and the optimal biomechanical performance of each limb segment. Two variants of the model account for the movements that are selected when subjects freely oscillate the fingertip and when they tap against an obstacle. An important feature of both is that the impulse of collision with an obstacle (as in drumming with the hand or tapping with the finger) is assumed to be controlled in part by aiming for a point beyond the surface being struck. Thus, a force-related control variable may be represented and controlled spatially.
An Assessment of the Balance Approximation in Hurricanes

The validity of the traditional balance approximation for the asymmetric flow above the boundary layer generally in hurricanes is examined here. Scaling considerations of the divergence equation show that the validity of the balance approximation hinges on the smallness of the nondimensional product / ) 3 (ny /h r). The first (d9 z9 nn term represents the ratio of asymmetric horizontal divergence to asymmetric vertical vorticity for azimuthal wavenumber n, while the second term represents a Rossby number based upon the azimuthal mean tangential wind and absolute vertical vorticity of the hurricane vortex. Wind observations of Hurricane Gloria (1985) indicate that this product is not at all small in the near-vortex region (several hundred kilometers beyond the radius of maximum tangential winds) where asymmetric convergence forced by surface friction and cumulus convection is typically large. Although the Gloria observations represent only a single case, there are dynamical reasons to expect this product to be O(1) just above the hurricane boundary layer in steadily translating hurricanes. The meteorological relevance of these results to the problem of balance dynamics in hurricanes is briefly discussed.
What Kind of Explanation is a Model

We describe modeling as a form of explanation that is particular to science and, based on a research program conducted over the last 15 years, identify the conceptual resources and practices that must be developed for school students to become initiated into this kind of reasoning. We point out that modeling is difficult for novices to grasp but is treated by school science as self-evident, which may account for the fact that it is widely misunderstood by learners and educators alike. We close by considering components of instruction, especially classroom norms and tasks, that best support the long-term development of modeling.
Telemedicine + OCT: toward design of optimized algorithms for high-quality compressed images

Telemedicine is an emerging technology that aims to provide clinical healthcare at a distance. Among its goals, the transfer of diagnostic images over telecommunication channels has been quite appealing to the medical community. When viewed as an adjunct to biomedical device hardware, one highly important consideration aside from the transfer rate and speed is the accuracy of the reconstructed image at the receiver end. Although optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an established imaging technique that is ripe for telemedicine, the effects of OCT data compression, which may be necessary on certain telemedicine platforms, have not received much attention in the literature. We investigate the performance and efficiency of several lossless and lossy compression techniques for OCT data and characterize their effectiveness with respect to achievable compression ratio, compression rate and preservation of image quality. We examine the effects of compression in the interferogram vs. A-scan domain as assessed with various objective and subjective metrics.
Histone H1 and HMG 14/17 are deposited nonrandomly in the nucleus

We have studied the assembly of histone H1 and the high mobility group nonhistones 14/17 by isopycnic analysis after crosslinking density labeled MSB cell nuclei or chromatin. Carbodiimide crosslinking produces dense poly-H1 and hybrid density H1-H2A histone dimers, indicating that new H1 is deposited nonrandomly, albeit nonconservatively relative to new core histones. Core histone-HMG crosslinking with succinimidyl propionate yields dense HMG 14 in uniformly dense particles and new HMG 17 crosslinked to both dense and light protein, implying that HMG 14 and 17 each deposit nonrandomly; but differently with respect to new core octamers. Propionimidate crosslinking yields dense H1-HMG 17 dimers, suggesting that the interactions of new 14/17 with H1 (new HMG 14-old H1, new HMG 17-new H1) are reciprocal to their interactions with the core histones.
Bird Part Localization Using Exemplar-Based Models with Enforced Pose and Subcategory Consistency

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for bird part localization, targeting fine-grained categories with wide variations in appearance due to different poses (including aspect and orientation) and subcategories. As it is challenging to represent such variations across a large set of diverse samples with tractable parametric models, we turn to individual exemplars. Specifically, we extend the exemplar-based models in [4] by enforcing pose and subcategory consistency at the parts. During training, we build pose-specific detectors scoring part poses across subcategories, and subcategory-specific detectors scoring part appearance across poses. At the testing stage, likely exemplars are matched to the image, suggesting part locations whose pose and subcategory consistency are well-supported by the image cues. From these hypotheses, part configuration can be predicted with very high accuracy. Experimental results demonstrate significant performance gains from our method on an extensive dataset: CUB-200-2011 [30], for both localization and classification tasks.
Pretreatment serum xanthophyll concentrations as predictors of head and neck cancer recurrence and survival

Background The purpose of this study was to examine associations of pretreatment serum carotenoids, tocopherols, and quercetin with prognosis in 154 patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Methods Pretreatment blood and health surveys were collected. Serum micronutrients were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Data on recurrence and death were collected annually. Cox proportional hazards models measured associations of serum nutrient concentrations with recurrence and overall survival. Results During a median follow-up time of 37 months, there were 32 recurrences and 27 deaths. After controlling for covariates, subjects with high versus low serum xanthophyll and total carotenoid concentrations had significantly longer recurrence-free time (p = .002 and p = .02, respectively). Overall survival time was significantly longer in patients with high versus low serum xanthophyll concentrations (p = .02). Conclusion Future research should evaluate the possible benefits of interventions to increase intakes of rich food sources of xanthophylls in this patient population. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2015
Arms Control and the Future of Nuclear Weapons

Arms control, to include both actual treaties and the arms-control process, has had a notable impact on U.S. nuclear weapons over the past twenty-five years or more. The influence of arms control is likely to continue and, in combination with other factors, to contribute to a substantial reorientation of future U.S. military strategy with narrower, though still crucial, roles for nuclear weapons. In particular:
Evaluating Supernatural Law: An Inquiry into the Health of Nations (The Restatement of the Obvious, Part II)

This Article provides a working definition of supernatural law and describes a pressing problem with it: some say morality is essential to good government and that supernatural law is essential to morality, while others deny one or both of these propositions. As used herein, supernatural law refers to any rule or command given to subjects (believers) by an incorporeal sovereign and which includes at least one precept, rule, or command that is not necessarily determinable by reason. The term supernatural law is intended to be sufficiently general to apply to any such law whether proposed according to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, or any other religion; it also applies to nonreligious supernatural rules. Supernatural law is, has been, and probably will remain intertwined with conventional legal systems not only in the United States but globally and transnationally. This Article proposes that the claims of supernatural law be subjected to rational evaluation against specified criteria. Those criteria relate to: (1) the rule of law; (2) the nonimposition principle; and (3) the ability of any system of supernatural law to provide adequate assurances of performance. Adequate assurances signify some reason to believe that their undertakings to observe the rule of law and the nonimposition principle will be honestly and faithfully performed if and when the adherents of a supernatural law become politically dominant and powerful enough to make legally binding rules for the rest of the polity. If, in fact, morality is important to the health of nations, and if supernatural law is important to morality, then the state of supernatural law is a leading indicator of the health of any nation. Surprisingly little systematic thought has been given to the general question how to evaluate the claims of any given system of supernatural law (a supernatural jurisprudence) against any specified criteria for rational judgment about those claims. This Article does just that. It asserts that if and to the extent any supernatural law positively supports the rule of law and respects the nonimposition principle, it is a great good which can contribute to the health of any nation. It also asserts the converse. Any system of supernatural law that cannot be trusted to be consistent with the rule of law and the nonimposition principle can be toxic to the health of a nation.
Phase I chemotherapy study of biochemical modulation of folinic acid and fluorouracil by gemcitabine in patients with solid tumor malignancies.

PURPOSE: This phase I biochemical modulation study evaluated the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), toxicity, and effectiveness of the combination of folinic acid (FA)/fluorouracil (5-FU) followed by escalated dose levels of gemcitabine (FFG) in patients with advanced solid tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients were refractory to primary treatment and/or without effective treatment options. Twenty-eight patients received an intravenous (IV) infusion of FA 100 mg/m2 over 1 hour and a 5-FU 450 mg/m2 IV bolus in the middle of the FA infusion. After the FA infusion, gemcitabine was administered at a steady rate of infusion of 10 mg/m2/min over initially 30 minutes and with increases of an additional 15 minutes at each given level. One cycle consisted of six weekly treatments followed by a 2-week rest. RESULTS: The MTD of gemcitabine was established at 900 mg/m2 given over 90 minutes. Eight patients of 21 with metastatic colorectal cancer achieved responses (one complete response; seven partial responses), for a r...
MFSFET two-bit 1T1C DRAM memory design and empirical data

Operation of the 1-transistor, 1-capacitor dynamic random access memory cell that allows for two-bit operation, double the typical storage capacity, is explored. By using a metal-ferroelectric-semiconductor field-effect transistor, a second bit is captured in the ferroelectric layer polarisation resulting from negative and positive polarisation states. As a result, new modes of operation are created giving non-volatile, long-term storage as well as decreased power consumption and radiation hardening. A typical write and read operating cycle is outlined in-depth and used to verify operation indicating four distinct states representing the two bits. The resulting empirical data gives a comprehensive presentation of the read cycle of the memory cell. Methods for determining the polarisation state of the transistor are also explored and used to determine the average value for measured channel resistance using three types of transistors, each having different channel width and length.
Renal sympathetic denervation using MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound in a porcine model

Initial catheter-based renal sympathetic denervation (RSD) studies demonstrated promising results in showing a significant reduction of blood pressure, while recent data were less successful. As an alternative approach, the objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using magnetic resonance-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU) to perform RSD in a porcine model. An intravascular fiber optic temperature probe was used to confirm energy delivery during MRgHIFU. This technique was evaluated both in a vascular phantom and in a normotensive pig model. Five animals underwent unilateral RSD using MRgHIFU, and both safety and efficacy were assessed. MRI was used to evaluate the acoustic window, target sonications, monitor the near-field treatment region using MR thermometry imaging, and assess the status of tissues post-procedure. An intravascular fiber optic temperature probe verified energy delivery. Animals were sacrificed 6 to 9 days post-treatment, and pathological analysis was performed. The norepinephrine present in the kidney medulla was assessed post-mortem. All animals tolerated the procedure well with no observed complications. The fiber optic temperature probe placed in the target renal artery confirmed energy delivery during MRgHIFU, measuring larger temperature rises when the MRgHIFU beam location was focused closer to the tip of the probe. Following ablation, a significant reduction (p = 0.04) of cross-sectional area of nerve bundles between the treated and untreated renal arteries was observed in all of the animals with treated nerves presenting increased cellular infiltrate and fibrosis. A reduction of norepinephrine (p = 0.14) in the kidney medulla tissue was also observed. There was no indication of tissue damage in arterial walls. Performing renal denervation non-invasively with MRgHIFU was shown to be both safe and effective as determined by norepinephrine levels in a porcine model. This approach may be a promising alternative to catheter-based strategies.
Biofuel supply chain, market, and policy analysis

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix CHAPTER
Characterization of Ti:LiNbo3 Optical Channel Waveguides Fabricated using Rapid Thermal Annealing

Rapid thermal annealing has been used to initiate diffusion of Ti in LiNbO3 for the fabrication of optical waveguides. The sample with the most rapid initial ramp of temperature to 875 C was found to have the lowest propagation loss of 1 dB/cm. In order to more fully understand these channel waveguides, we have utilized Raman microprobe spectroscopy. Preliminary results suggest that the presence of the Ti in the LiNbO3 lattice dramatically alters the Raman response.
Screening photoswitching properties of synthesized BODIPY-based fluorophores for multispectral superresolution microscopy (MSSRM)(Conference Presentation)

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) utilizes photoswitchable fluorophores to detect biological entities with 10-20 nm resolution. Multispectral superresolution microscopy (MSSRM) extends SMLM functionality by improving its spectral resolution up to 5 fold facilitating imaging of multicomponent cellular structures or signaling pathways. Current commercial fluorophores are not ideal for MSSRM as they are not designed to photoswitch and do not adequately cover the visible and far-red spectral regions required for MSSRM imaging. To obtain optimal MSSRM spatial and spectral resolution, fluorophores with narrow emission spectra and controllable photoswitching properties are necessary. Herein, a library of BODIPY-based fluorophores was synthesized and characterized to create optimal photoswitchable fluorophores for MSSRM. BODIPY was chosen as the core structure as it is photostable, has high quantum yield, and controllable photoswitching. The BODIPY core was modified through the addition of various aromatic moieties, resulting in a spectrally diverse library. Photoswitching properties were characterized using a novel polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based film methodology to isolate single molecules. The PVA film methodology enabled photoswitching assessment without the need for protein conjugation, greatly improving screening efficiency of the BODIPY library. Additionally, image buffer conditions were optimized for the BODIPY-based fluorophores through systematic testing of oxygen scavenger systems, redox components, and additives. Through screening the photoswitching properties of BODIPY-based compounds in PVA films with optimized imaging buffer we identified novel fluorophores well suited for SMLM and MSSRM.
Evaluation of the Effect of Bilingual Teaching in the Course of Medical Epidemiology for the 7-year Clinical Medical Undergraduates

Objective: To understand the effect of bilingual teaching in the course of clinical epidemiology for the 7-year clinical medical undergraduates.Method: There were totally 45 clinical medical undergraduates selected to respond the questionnaire.The method of Focus Group Discussion had been used in the study.Results:91.11% of the students thought bilingual teaching was necessary for them and 73.33% thought the proportion of English teaching was reasonable,but 68.89% of them were not satisfied with the text book.80% said they could understand the teaching on the whole,but not clearly and deeply enough.86.67% of the students were content with the course.Conclusion:Bilingual teaching could help students to improve their professional English capability and English listening level.The key to the interest of bilingual teaching is teacher.The mode of teaching and text book should be improved.
APPROXIMATE SOLUTION OF MOVING-BOUNDA-RY PROBLEM UNDER THE ACIDIFYING

In this paper, a moving-boundary problem occurring under the acidifying was discussed, which was transformed into a coupled problem of an initial-boundary value problem of nonlinear parabolic equation and an initial value problem of differential equation. Then, the full discrete scheme was given.
3D Printed Micro Free-Flow Electrophoresis Device

The cost, time, and restrictions on creative flexibility associated with current fabrication methods present significant challenges in the development and application of microfluidic devices. Additive manufacturing, also referred to as three-dimensional (3D) printing, provides many advantages over existing methods. With 3D printing, devices can be made in a cost-effective manner with the ability to rapidly prototype new designs. We have fabricated a micro free-flow electrophoresis (μFFE) device using a low-cost, consumer-grade 3D printer. Test prints were performed to determine the minimum feature sizes that could be reproducibly produced using 3D printing fabrication. Microfluidic ridges could be fabricated with dimensions as small as 20 μm high × 640 μm wide. Minimum valley dimensions were 30 μm wide × 130 μm wide. An acetone vapor bath was used to smooth acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) surfaces and facilitate bonding of fully enclosed channels. The surfaces of the 3D-printed features were profile...
Cache Attacks Enable Bulk Key Recovery on the Cloud

Cloud services keep gaining popularity despite the security concerns. While non-sensitive data is easily trusted to cloud, security critical data and applications are not. The main concern with the cloud is the shared resources like the CPU, memory and even the network adapter that provide subtle side-channels to malicious parties. We argue that these side-channels indeed leak fine grained, sensitive information and enable key recovery attacks on the cloud. Even further, as a quick scan in one of the Amazon EC2 regions shows, high percentage – 55 % – of users run outdated, leakage prone libraries leaving them vulnerable to mass surveillance.
Critical reflection on the ESL teacher’s subjectivity

AbstractThis study explores the possibility of raising the author’s own critical awareness as an ESL teacher by reflecting critically on his subjectivity involved in the implementation of critical literacy in the reading classroom, especially examining not just his thoughts and feelings but also his teaching practices. It highlights discrepancies between his expectations and realities, and conflicts between his own beliefs. It also highlights not just effective aspects of his teaching, which show his contribution to enhancing dialogue among students and their engagement with critical social practices, but also less-effective aspects of his teaching, which show his failure to push participants for more information and his distortions of participants’ statements. Further, the study demonstrates the need for encouraging teachers to reflect critically on themselves as transformative beings.
Phase-selectively soluble polynorbornene as a catalyst support

This contribution describes our efforts toward developing a new, phase-selective polynorbornene catalyst support that can be recovered and recycled using liquid/liquid techniques. This novel system is advantageous over other supports that require solvent precipitations for catalyst recycling, because it requires much less solvent and generates less solvent waste. This, consequently, represents a “greener” alternative to traditional polymer supports.
Language for Actionable Recommendations in Clinical Guidelines: Avoiding Hedging and Equivocation.

A marked discrepancy exists between the nature of the guidance that physicians provide as individuals and the guidance provided by professional societies. Guidance between individual physicians—for example, during patient handoffs—often tends to be brief and directive, often communicated in the form of to-do lists. Guidance from societies, predominantly in the large body of intermediate-grade recommendations from practice guidelines (eg, class IIA and class IIB in the American Heart Association classification), is often couched in equivocation that runs counter to the Institute of Medicine’s charge that “Practice guidelines should use unambiguous language.…”1 This admonition is more than an element of style, as data suggest that there are limitations in physicians’ understanding of practice guideline recommendations.2
Adjusting reliability predictions for risk

The approach described in this paper provides a method to adjust a predicted reliability to account for risks. The benefit of the method is to increase customer confidence in the adjustment while reducing the adverse effect on the reliability prediction. The method reduces the potential for a false positive adjustment to reliability predictions, which may cause costly failure investigations or rework. Typically when a risk is identified the easiest method to adjust the reliability prediction is to multiply the reliability prediction with a discrete probability. The discrete probability is the result of dividing the number of successes over the number of trials. The discrete adjustment is shown in Equation Number 1. Adjusted Reliability= Predicted Reliability×Successes/Trails (1) Although the adjustment is easy, it is a conservative adjustment that does not account for all information that results would cause a critical failure. The goal of the method is to inform the adjustment much like a Bayesian assessment to ensure all information and consequences are included in the assessment. Although the method includes more information and terms, it will ultimately reduce reliability predictions less than the simplified easy discrete model. The method, much like a risk assessment is broken into two parts; assess the risk consequence and assess the risk likelihood. When assessing the consequence, the risk is broken into an Event Trees (ET) and fault tree used to define the calculation model used to calculate the total risk likelihood of a critical failure. The likelihood is then used to adjust reliability predictions. The ultimate goal of the assessment method is to break the risk into as many AND conditions using non-discrete probability models to reduce the total risk likelihood with limited data.
Prediction of Maximum Scour Depth Using Scaled Down Bridge Model in Laboratory

Recently, United States faced catastrophic flooding in West Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and the flooding resulted in several bridge failures. Among them, bridge scour is one of the main causes behind many bridge failures and financial losses as well as loss of life. Since 1960, a lot of scour research have been done and the several estimation methods were already in the hand of hydraulic engineers. Currently, the issues of scour are once again rising topic because the occurrence of extreme weather events are expected to worsen in frequency. Furthermore, current practice of scour estimation shows over-prediction and sometimes, under-prediction. One possible reason is adding separate estimates of contraction and local scour when in fact these processes occur simultaneously. Another possible reason is these equations are based on the experiments using free-surface flow in idealized-rectangular flumes even though extreme flood event can cause bridge overtopping flow in combination with submerged orifice flow. In this study, experiments were carried out in a compound shape channel using scaled down bridge model in different flow conditions (free, submerged orifice and overtopping flow). Based on the findings from laboratory experiments coupled with widely used empirical scour estimation methods, such as CSU pier scour equation, Melville-Sheppard equation and Ambient pier scour method, we will present a comprehensive way of predicting design scour depth which overcomes problem regarding separate estimation of different scour depths. In addition to develop a procedure for estimating of design scour depth, the mechanism and characteristics of scour process will be investigated and a comparison of these equations will be presented.
Acceleration of energetic particles by compressible plasma waves of arbitrary scale sizes

This paper presents a calculation of energetic particle acceleration by a train of compressible plasma waves of arbitrary scale sizes. It is an extension of the work by Zhang (1). The compressible plasma waves can broaden the momentum distribution of particles significantly only when the particle diffusion scale κ/V is greater than the size of each compression zone but is smaller than the spatial extent of wave presence. The accelerated particles downstream of the compressible waves will typically have a power-law distribution at momenta far away from the source injection momentum with a slope only slightly steeper than the diffusive shock acceleration with the same plasma compression ratio. If the source particles are continuously injected in the entire wave span, after enough wave cycles, the summed distribution of accelerated particles can approach to an asymptotic p −3 distribution which does not seem to depend on any model parameters. This distribution of particles contains divergent amount of pressure. A nonlinear interaction between the wave and accelerated particles must be considered in order to produce a p −5 distribution.
Practical methods for generating alternating magnetic fields for biomedical research

Alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) cause magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to dissipate heat while leaving surrounding tissue unharmed, a mechanism that serves as the basis for a variety of emerging biomedical technologies. Unfortunately, the challenges and costs of developing experimental setups commonly used to produce AMFs with suitable field amplitudes and frequencies present a barrier to researchers. This paper first presents a simple, cost-effective, and robust alternative for small AMF working volumes that uses soft ferromagnetic cores to focus the flux into a gap. As the experimental length scale increases to accommodate animal models (working volumes of 100s of cm3 or greater), poor thermal conductivity and volumetrically scaled core losses render that strategy ineffective. Comparatively feasible strategies for these larger volumes instead use low loss resonant tank circuits to generate circulating currents of 1 kA or greater in order to produce the comparable field amplitudes. These principles can be extended to the problem of identifying practical routes for scaling AMF setups to humans, an infrequently acknowledged challenge that influences the extent to which many applications of MNPs may ever become clinically relevant.
CO2 angiography: Colorless, odorless, but definitely not useless!

Contemporary approaches to minimize the risk of acute kidney injury from radiographic contrast (AKI-RC) rely on preferential use of low- or non-ionic contrast; pre-hydration; and limiting contrast volume. This study utilized a meta-analysis of 677 patients to compare the risk of AKI-RC after CO2 peripheral angiography versus iodinated contrast (4.3% vs. 11.1%, odds ratio [OR] 0.465, P = 0.048). There was no difference in AKI-RC in patients with CKD. This study has many limitations. CO2 angiography is an important technique; proper understanding of its strengths and limitations is essential.
The role of non-physicians in rheumatic fever prevention programs

There are not enough physicians in most underdeveloped areas to do all the work needed to prevent rheumatic fever; nor is the complex training of a physician truly necessary for many of the tasks. Therefore success depends on the cooperation, effectiveness and dedication of persons other than physicians: paramedics, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, health program administrators, health educators, teachers, nurses, midwives, house health visitors, school nurses, and village health workers. Most important of all, the potential patients themselves and their parents must be reached and become involved. A physician, however, should motivate, educate, and co-ordinate the others.
Inseparation of powers: DC Comics, Flex Mentallo, and the necessity of adolescence

This article contends that the cultural experience of American adolescence is an essential component in the creation and success of superhero comics published by DC Comics. It traces traits which h...
Radiation Fibrosis Syndrome

Cancer has recently surpassed heart disease as the number one killer of Americans younger than 85 (1). Although prostate and breast cancers are the most common, lung cancer continues as the top killer among cancers because of its relatively poor prognosis (2). Improved survival across most cancer types is the result of progress in cancer prevention, early detection, and better treatment (3).
Should We Wait for Superman? Evaluating the Performance of Charter Schools in Greater Los Angeles

In this paper, we examine the performance of charter schools in the Greater Los Angeles area.
Variational Methods for Eigenvalue Problems in Composites

ABSTRACT Eigenvalue problems with discontinuous coefficients occur naturally in many areas of composite material mechanics. In previous work, based on mixed variational schemes, an approximation technique of Rayleigh-Ritz type applied to a modified “new quotient” has been developed by Nemat-Nasser and coworkers and applied in estimating eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for such problems in a wide variety of contexts. Alternative approaches, resulting from modification of classical Sturm-Liouville theory, have been established recently by the present authors. The central idea is to transform the one-dimensional Sturm-Liouville problems of concern to Liouville normal form. This leads to a problem with a single discontinuous coefficient which moreover occurs in an undifferentiated term. Eigenvalue estimates based on the transformed problem are established. This paper provides a survey of these various methods for effective estimation of the eigenvalues of such problems. Related issues arising in the area of eigenvalue optimization are briefly discussed.
Therapeutic targets for inflammation-mediated airway remodeling in chronic lung disease.

Introduction: Acute exacerbations of chronic lung disease account for substantial morbidity and health costs. Repeated inflammatory episodes and attendant bronchoconstriction cause structural remod...
A Comprehensive Evaluation of Weak and Strong Mutation Mechanisms in Evolutionary Algorithms for Truck Scheduling at Cross-Docking Terminals

Freight transportation is important for the national economy in many countries. An efficient distribution of products within supply chains may lower the associated costs and allow setting competitive prices to increase the number of sales. Many supply chain players use the cross-docking terminals to facilitate the cargo distribution process. An effective scheduling of the arriving trucks at the cross-docking terminals is critical to ensure their timely service. A number of Evolutionary Algorithms have been developed to solve the truck scheduling problem, some of which apply strong mutation for altering solutions throughout the search process, while the rest rely on weak mutation without providing any justification for applying a specific mutation mechanism. This study performs a comprehensive comparative analysis of the strong and weak mutation mechanisms. Furthermore, a novel heuristic algorithm, which accounts for the truck service priority and the truck service order restrictions, is proposed for initializing the chromosomes and population. The truck scheduling problem at a cross-docking terminal is formulated as a mixed integer programming model, minimizing the total weighted truck service cost. An Evolutionary Algorithm is designed to solve the problem. Two categories of the Evolutionary Algorithm, one of which applies strong mutation, while the other one relies on weak mutation, are evaluated based on various performance indicators. Results demonstrate that deployment of weak mutation improves the objective function value at termination on average by 10.8% as compared with strong mutation without affecting the computational time substantially. The analysis also shows that weak mutation yields more diverse population. Moreover, the proposed heuristic for initializing the chromosomes and population outperforms the initialization mechanisms that are commonly used in the literature.
Increasing Transparency in the U.S. Tax Court

Transparency is a widely accepted judicial norm because it increases accountability. Access to U.S. Tax Court documents has long differed from access to the documents of other courts. For example, the Tax Court does not participate in PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records). This essay discusses some of the ways in which access to Tax Court documents has been restricted; areas in which the Tax Court has increased transparency over the years; upcoming changes; and where increased transparency is still needed, such as with respect to case statistics.