cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Probabilistic Q-margin Calculations Considering Dependency of Uncertain Load and Wind Generation

This paper presents a novel probabilistic approach for computation of the reactive power margin (or Q-margin) of a power system with large-scale uncertain wind generation. Conventionally, Q-margin has been used as an index for indicating the system voltage stability level on system operation and planning. The conventional Q-margin method needs to be modified to fully accommodate uncertainties due to wind generation. This paper proposes a new Q-margin computation method using Q-matrix and the expected Q-margin (EQM). Q-matrix is a generic uncertainty matrix representing a discrete joint distribution of load and wind generation and the EQM, calculated from the Q-matrix, is a specific probabilistic variable that supersedes the conventional Q-margin. The proposed method is verified with the IEEE 39-bus test system including wind generation.
The Seismogenic Thickness of the Southern California Crust

The average seismogenic thickness, measured from the surface down to maximum depth of earthquake rupture, for the southern California crust is 15.0 km (+1.2/–1.1 km). We determine the seismogenic thickness using the depth distribution of the seismic moment release of ∼19 years of seismicity. We calibrate the depth distribution of moment release from background seismicity by comparing the maximum depth of rupture during moderate- to large-magnitude earthquakes to the premainshock background seismicity of the respective mainshock region. The calibration shows that the depth above which 99.9% of the moment release of background seismicity occurs reliably estimates the maximum depth of rupture during moderate to large earthquakes. Locally, the seismogenic thickness is highly variable, ranging from less than 10 km in the Salton Trough to greater than 25 km at the southwestern edge of the San Joaquin Valley. Similarly, the seismogenic thickness along the major strike-slip faults can vary significantly along strike. Changes in seismogenic thickness along strike do not correspond to the mapped surface segmentation of the major southern California strike-slip fault systems. In the future, such estimates of the seismogenic thickness can be used to refine existing seismic-hazard estimates for southern California.
Development and Operation of a Micro-satellite Dynamic Test Facility for Distributed Flight Operations

The Microsatellite Dynamic Test Facility is a joint venture by the University of Southern California's Information Science Institute and the Space Engineering Research Center. Located in Southern CA, the Facility allows multiple variable-scale satellites to practice complex spacecraft missions while floating on air bearings in a near-frictionless environment. Several prototype vehicles were developed to provide a research platform to users. The vehicles can levitate for hours and carry up to 50kg of external payload. They are guided by a suite of both inertial and relative navigation sensors, and include an application programming interface (API) through which users can develop and test software. Each prototype communicates wirelessly with the others and with a local ground station, and has micro-thrusters to provide motion with 3 degrees of freedom. The facility and prototype vehicles together allow for research on nearly all aspects of formation flight, autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations in space in a very low cost environment.
Right atrial tumor arising on an atrial septal aneurysm assessment by MR imaging

An elderly women presenting with transient ischemic events underwent transesophageal echocardiography, which detected an aneurysm of the interatrial septum. A tumor protruding from the right atrial aspect of the aneurysm also was found incidentally. Not only was magnetic resonance (MRI) imaging helpful in better characterizing the aneurysm, but also the use of gadolinium diethylaminetriamine pentaacetic acid permitted differentiation between the tumor and adherent thrombus. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first report of a tumor arising from an atrial septal aneurysm.
1,1′-Dimesityluranocene and its unusual dynamic NMR phenomena

Abstract 1,1′-Dimesityluranocene gives a 1 H NMR spectrum showing the mesityl groups in a locked position as expected with exo - and endo-ortho -methyl groups. The [8]annulene ring protons give four resonances at room temperature in a 2:2:2:1 ratio, but at low temperatures three of these resonances coalesce and reappear as six resonances at still lower temperatures. These results are interpreted in terms of two lowest energy enantiomeric structures in which the two mesityl groups are oriented close to each other, presumably held by van der Waals attraction. Separation with interconversion of the enantiomers involves a barrier of about 10 kcal mol −1 but is rapid on the NMR time-scale at room temperature.
The Impacts on Air Traffic of Volcanic Ash from the Okmok and Kasatochi Eruptions During the Summer of 2008

During the summer of 2008, two major volcanoes, Okmok and Kasatochi, erupted in the Aleutian Islands. Volcanic ash and SO2 from these eruptions dispersed through the atmosphere which created the potential for major problems for air traffic en route near the ash dispersions. To verify any impacts on aviation from the eruptions, synoptic weather patterns were analyzed to estimate the altitude of the ash cloud as it dispersed after each eruption. Volcanic ash advisories (VAAs) issued by the Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) were also assessed, and information from the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) database and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) was investigated to identify the number of direct impacts and to examine the efficiency of in-flight communications to pilots regarding direct volcanic ash encounters.
Cooperative OFDM-based multi-user visible light communication systems with limited information

In this paper, we consider a cooperative visible light communication (VLC) system in which multiple access points (APs) cooperate while transmitting data to a number of associated mobile terminals (MTs). The optimal transmission power control requires information about the exact locations of the MTs and hence a large amount of information needs to be processed at the controller and needs to be transferred from the APs to the controller. In this paper, we consider the system performance in the cases where the controller employs limited available information about the MTs. We consider a system in which the APs employ optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OOFDM) with power control. A centralized controller determines the data electrical power based on the available information about the MTs. We consider three levels of information which are (i) the exact locations of the MTs, (ii) the exact numbers of MTs associated with the APs, and (iii) the average numbers of MTs possibly connected to the APs. Moreover, we consider the cases in which the controller optimizes the transmission powers based on various utility functions including maximizing the summation of the achieved rates of the MTs and maximizing the minimum achieved rate of any of the MTs. The numerical results show the effect of various system parameters on the achieved utility function including the average number of MTs, the APs and MTs locations, and the required illumination powers of the APs.
Notes on Newton-Krylov based Incompressible Flow Projection Solver

The purpose of the present document is to formulate Jacobian-free Newton-Krylov algorithm for approximate projection method used in Hydra-TH code. Hydra-TH is developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) under the auspices of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light-Water Reactors (CASL) for thermal-hydraulics applications ranging from grid-to-rod fretting (GTRF) to multiphase flow subcooled boiling. Currently, Hydra-TH is based on the semi-implicit projection method, which provides an excellent platform for simulation of transient single-phase thermalhydraulics problems. This algorithm however is not efficient when applied for very slow or steady-state problems, as well as for highly nonlinear multiphase problems relevant to nuclear reactor thermalhydraulics with boiling and condensation. These applications require fully-implicit tightly-coupling algorithms. The major technical contribution of the present report is the formulation of fully-implicit projection algorithm which will fulfill this purpose. This includes the definition of non-linear residuals used for GMRES-based linear iterations, as well as physics-based preconditioning techniques.
Hepatic glucose production and insulin sensitivity preceding diabetes in monkeys

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between basal hepatic glucose production (HGP) and peripheral insulin sensitivity as assessed by the hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp prior to and during the development of non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes mellitus in rhesus monkeys. Twenty-six male monkeys (Macaca mulatta), including normal animals and monkeys in various phases of the development of spontaneous obesity-associated type 2 diabetes were studied. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and insulin (FIRI), basal HGP using a [3H]glucose infusion, and peripheral insulin sensitivity (as determined by the euglycemic clamp technique) were examined. The earliest change that could be detected was a significant reduction in peripheral insulin sensitivity accompanied by increased FIRI. These changes preceded a significant deterioration of glucose tolerance. Basal HGP changed in parallel with FPG (r = 0.90, P less than 0.001), becoming significantly elevated only when FPG rose to levels diagnostic of diabetes (greater than 140 mg/dl). Thus basal HGP and fasting glucose levels showed no significant changes early in the development of type 2 diabetes. We conclude that the early serial decreases in insulin sensitivity and progressive increases in FIRI, with or without decreased glucose tolerance, are prognostic of the future development of diabetes in obese monkeys, a longitudinal process that is also likely to be observed in most if not all obese humans progressing to diabetes.
Accessing Anti-cancer Natural Products by Plant Cell Culture

Natural products are a valuable part of drug discovery and represent key products in the marketplace. High-throughput screening of large, synthetic libraries has become a commonplace method in industrial drug development, partially due to past difficulties in sourcing large quantities of natural products. Plants have historically been key sources of blockbuster anti-cancer drugs, and new approaches to drug discovery and large-scale manufacturing are making innovative plant-derived natural products more available commercially and clinically. This chapter explores the growing capabilities of combinatorial biosynthesis in plants as well as technological developments in industrial plant cell culture, highlighting the stories of the plant anti-cancer agents paclitaxel and cyclopamine.
The English Warning

This article proposes that the warning given to English criminal suspects prior to interrogation, in addition to the Miranda-type warnings - that your silence may be used against you if it is inconsistent with a defense raised at trial - is desirable to derail spurious defenses raised by defendants at trial and is supported by ordinary evidence law. The constitutional unfairness bar to using post-warning silence imposed by Doyle v. Ohio is obviated when the suspect is warned of possible use. Subsequent Supreme Court cases, such as South Dakota v. Neville suggest that such a system would meet with Supreme Court approval.
Discovering Symmetry in Everyday Environments: A Creative Approach to Teaching Symmetry and Point Groups

A hands-on symmetry project is proposed as an innovative way of teaching point groups to undergraduate chemistry students. Traditionally, courses teaching symmetry require students to identify the point group of a given object. This project asks the reverse: students are instructed to identify an object that matches each point group. Doing so requires students to think about symmetry in their everyday environment and aids in the development of a more intrinsic understanding of the assignment of symmetry classifications.
Thermally Induced Stresses and Strains in Laser Processing of Thin Films

The stresses and strains induced in thermal laser processing of substrates and thin films on substrates, are obtained in terms of single integrals by solving the thermoelastic equations using a Gaussian profile laser as the heating source. This analysis is applied to silicon thin films on fused silica and sapphire substrates. In part, this study shows that defects can form in the films because the stresses induced during high temperature laser processing of silicon and similar materials can exceed the yield stress under certain experimental conditions.
Numerical simulation of colloid thrusters and Taylor cone-jets

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to model an electrospray thruster for the ionic liquid (IL) EMIM−BF 4 using two coarse-grained (CG) potentials. The MD simulations provide insight into the atomistic modeling of a capillary-tip-extractor system, the basic elements of an electrospray thruster. A one-dimensional electric field showed an improvement in a model when compared to the use of a constant electric field. Then, the MD software was coupled to a Poisson solver derived from a Particle-In-Cell (PIC) code. A transient three-dimensional electric field was used at each timestep, taking into account the induced electric field due to space charge repulsion. It was found that the role of inhomogeneities in the electric field as well as that of the IL space-charge improved agreement between modeling and experiment. The model was found to predict the formation of the Taylor cone, the cone-jet, and other extrusion modes for similar electric fields and mass flow rates observed in experiments of a IL fed capillary-tip-extractor system. The influence of parameters such as grid size, diameter of the extraction ring, extraction potential and applied mass flow was studied.
Lease it or lose it? The implications of New York’s Land Lease Initiative for public housing preservation:

Urban scholars frequently call for equitable and inclusive growth to create more just cities but this vision has proven elusive in urban development – especially involving low-income communities an...
ViPS - An Intelligent Tutoring System for Exploring and Learning Physics through Simple Machines

Students tend to retain naive understandings of concepts such as energy and force even after completing physics lessons in science classes. We developed a learning environment called the Virtual Physics System (ViPS) to help students master these concepts in the context of pulleys, a class of simple machines that are difficult to construct and experiment with in the real world. Several features make ViPS unique: it combines simulation and tutoring, it customizes tutoring to address common misconceptions and it employs a pedagogical strategy that identifies student misconceptions and guides students in solving problems through virtual experimentation. This paper describes the ViPS system and studies in which we evaluated its efficacy. Our results indicate that ViPS is effective in helping students learn and overcome their misconceptions.
Recurrent Urethritis in the Female

The female urethra is a short tube of relative anatomical simplicity (Fig. 1). Most urological textbooks, and even gynecological textbooks, treat this subject in a cursory manner. A search of the literature of the preantibiotic era produces a reasonable number of articles mainly dealing with that aspect of venereal disease affecting the female urethra. Nowadays, one sees a considerable amount written about pyelonephritis, the misuse of the catheter, and urinary tract bacteriology directed toward treatment with various drugs. There seems to be a lack of attention to anatomical pathology with respect to the epidemiology of urinary tract infections.
Personalized Medicine for Nervous System Manifestations of von Hippel–Lindau Disease

von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) is a familial neoplasia syndrome associated with multisystem tumor development. Depending on tumor type and location, current treatments for VHL-associated tumors can include a combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and/or surgery. Central nervous system (CNS) manifestations of VHL include craniospinal hemangioblastomas and endolymphatic sac tumors (ELSTs). While the first-line treatment for both types of VHL-associated CNS tumors is surgery, the indications for treatment are patient specific and different for each tumor type. Although early sign/symptom formation is the primary indication for resection of craniospinal hemangioblastomas, radiographic discovery (asymptomatic and symptomatic) of ELSTs can be an indication for resection of ELSTs in VHL patients. Recently, research has revealed that specific VHL germline mutations may permit targeted medical treatments of not only CNS manifestations of VHL-associated tumors but also visceral tumors. Specifically, missense mutations can result in the translation of functional VHL protein (pVHL) that is rapidly degraded resulting in functional loss of the pVHL, and inhibitors of pVHL degradation may slow protein degradation and restore pVHL function. Emerging research will investigate the safety and practicality of using potential targeted therapies.
Takings as a Sociolegal Concept: An Interdisciplinary Examination of Involuntary Property Loss

This review seeks to establish takings as a respected field of sociolegal inquiry. In the legal academy, the term takings has become synonymous with constitutional takings. When defined more broadly, however, a taking is when a person, entity, or state confiscates, destroys, or diminishes rights to property without the informed consent of rights holders. Adopting a more expansive conception of takings lays the groundwork for a robust interdisciplinary conversation about the diverse manifestations and impacts of involuntary property loss, where some of the most valuable contributions are made by people who do not consider themselves property scholars. This review starts the conversation by bringing together the empirical literature on takings published between 2000 and 2015 and scattered in the fields of law, economics, political science, sociology, psychology, geography, and anthropology. Most importantly, a robust understanding of property's multiple values is required to fully comprehend the magnitude o...
Advancing pharmaceutical quality: An overview of science and research in the U.S. FDA's Office of Pharmaceutical Quality

Failures surrounding pharmaceutical quality, particularly with respect to product manufacturing issues and facility remediation, account for the majority of drug shortages and product recalls in the United States. Major scientific advancements pressure established regulatory paradigms, especially in the areas of biosimilars, precision medicine, combination products, emerging manufacturing technologies, and the use of real-world data. Pharmaceutical manufacturing is increasingly globalized, prompting the need for more efficient surveillance systems for monitoring product quality. Furthermore, increasing scrutiny and accelerated approval pathways provide a driving force to be even more efficient with limited regulatory resources. To address these regulatory challenges, the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ) in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) harbors a rigorous science and research program in core areas that support drug quality review, inspection, surveillance, standards, and policy development. Science and research is the foundation of risk-based quality assessment of new drugs, generic drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and biotechnology products including biosimilars. This is an overview of the science and research activities in OPQ that support the mission of ensuring that safe, effective, and high-quality drugs are available to the American public.
Why We Teach

This chapter discusses the notion that teaching is all about facilitating the development of “real knowledge” in students. This is defined as “wisdom” or conceiving the truth of a subject. Lectures and textbooks are not effective vehicles for facilitating real knowledge. Classical texts and the figure of Socrates are more helpful in that regard.
Multi-Fidelity Calibration of Input-Dependent Model Parameters

The aim of this research is to investigate the use of non-linear structural dynamics computational models with multiple levels of fidelity for the calibration of input dependent system parameters. Non-linear materials often lead to system parameters that are input dependent (function of time, temperature, loading, etc.). Different types of models may also be available for the estimation of unmeasured system properties, with different levels of physics fidelity, mesh resolution and boundary condition assumptions. In order to infer these system properties, Bayesian calibration uses information from multiple sources (including experimental data and prior knowledge), and comprehensively quantifies the uncertainty in the calibration parameters. Estimating the posteriors is done using Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling, which requires a large number of computations, thus making the use of a high-fidelity model for calibration prohibitively expensive. On the other hand, use of a low-fidelity model could lead to significant error in calibration and prediction. Therefore, this paper develops an approach for input-dependent model parameter calibration with a low-fidelity model corrected using higher fidelity simulation data.
Effects of shade level and fertilizer rate on yield and vase life of Aspidistra elatior 'Variegata' leaves

Abstract Aspidistra elatior ‘Variegata’ plants were grown for 3.75 years in containers under 63% or 73% shade and fertilized with controlled release fertilizer at rates equivalent to 448, 896, 1344 or 1792 kg N/ha (400, 800, 1200 or 1600 lb N/A) per year. Yield of variegated, but not all-green, leaves was greater under 63% than under 73% shade. Combined yield of green and variegated leaves produced under 63% shade was 42% greater by weight and 47% greater by number than under 73% shade. Fertilizer rate did not affect total yield and neither fertilizer rate nor shade level affected the percent of total leaf production that was green. Leaves were harvested August 1990, January 1991, November 1991 and March 1993 for vase life determinations. Harvested leaves were stored for one week at 4C (40F) and evaluated under indoor conditions of 23 ± 2C. (74 ± 4F), 60 ± 16% relative humidity and 12-hour photoperiod at 17 μmol·m−2·S−2 (107 ft-candles). Treatments did not affect vase life except at a winter harvest when ...
CULTIVATING COMIDA: Farmworker Gardens and Food Sovereignty in the Northern Borderlands

First paragraph: For Maria, the small kitchen garden that she tends behind her house brings a sense of balance to her family and a sense of agency over the food that sustains them. As she explained to me, “The garden balances us. What we harvest from the garden is healthier for me and my kids and my family because it is fresher. My kids also help in the garden with preparing the soil, learning how to plant. And maybe in the future, they will continue doing it.” A mother of five from the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, Maria has lived in the United States for the past 13 years, supporting her husband who has worked on industrial dairy farms, first in New York and now in Vermont. While she raises her children and tends to her garden and free-range chickens, she acts as the primary caretaker and cook for their household during the long hours that her husband spends in the milking barn. Maria has some serious skills in the kitchen, and she loves to share dishes that remind her of Mexico with her children, whose only memories are of rural Vermont. And yet, despite having a relatively stable household income, Maria’s family still struggles with severe food insecurity. The vegetables and eggs that Maria harvests from her garden and chicken coop, along with support in the form of WIC benefits and free school meals, have been essential in keeping her children fed.
Logarithmic Sobolev inequalities for gibbs states

(1.1) e-U ( 2: ) ,U(dx) = -zA(dx), where the constant Z is determined by the requirement that ,U(M) = 1. The naive physical principle underlying this terminology is that a dynamical system which when free (i.e. U == 0) has A as its equilibrium distribution will in the presence of the force field determined by the potential U have ,U as its equilibrium distribution. For example, let denote the LAPLACE-BELTRAMI operator associated with "il, and consider the free heat flow semigroup {P, : t > O} on M. That is, {Pt : t > O} is the (unique) MARKOV semigroup of operators on C(M) which is determined by the equation
On the Quality of Test Statistics in Covariance Structure Analysis: Caveat Emptor

Structural equation modeling, and its important special cases of covariance structure analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, has become an important tool for testing theories with nonexperimental data (see Bentler, 1986; Bollen, 1989a; Loehlin, 1987). Some of the useful properties of structural modeling methods in theory testing are: the requirement for explicitness of a theory, so that it can be represented in path diagram form; the emphasis on a distinction between the variables of true interest, typically constructs or latent variables, and particular operationalizations of these; the capability to distinguish between direct, indirect, and total effects of certain variables on others; the ability to provide a statistical evaluation of the adequacy of the theory as a whole; the availability of tests to compare competing, nested models for their relative adequacy; the possibility of isolating potential problems with a theory via tests on missing parameters; and so on. Clearly, structural modeling has provided a useful methodology for theory testing in situations where more traditional or alternative methods may not work.
An agricultural policy and trade model for Morocco

The properties of duality were exploited in developing an integrated system consistent with endogenous behavior of producers, consumers, and government for Moroccan agriculture. A multi-output, multi-input normalized quadratic profit function was used to derive product supply equations for crops and livestock products and variable input demand equations for fertilizer, grain feed, and other feed products. For domestic demand and import share equations, an AIDS framework was applied to derive demand elasticities. As an alternative to the traditional excess demand approach, and to represent the outcomes of a reformed and open cereal sub-sector in Morocco, the study introduces a module that endogenizes government behavior of cereal imports. The study took a bold first step toward incorporating a policy structure in a theoretically sound framework for soft wheat price determination. The results of statistical tests show that convexity of profit function is rejected, cereal production is integrated with that of livestock, and the Armington trade model is not suitable for Moroccan cereal imports. Furthermore, policy analysis indicates that the abandonment of government policy in soft wheat market results in a decrease in producer price and an increase in consumer price. In addition, an elimination of concessional U.S. exports and food assistance to Morocco appears to increase commercial imports of soft wheat. The U.S. export share decreases while the EU seems to gain from this policy with increased export share.
Carboxyl Ester Lipase May Not Mediate Lipotoxic Injury during Severe Acute Pancreatitis.

Acute lipolysis of visceral fat or circulating triglycerides may worsen acute pancreatitis (AP)–associated local and systemic injury. The pancreas expresses pancreatic triacylglycerol lipase (PNLIP), pancreatic lipase-related protein 2 (PNLIPRP2), and carboxyl ester lipase (CEL), which may leak into the visceral fat or systemic circulation during pancreatitis. We, thus, aimed to determine the pancreatic lipase(s) regulating lipotoxicity during AP. For this AP, associated fat necrosis was analyzed using Western blot analysis. Bile acid (using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry) and fatty acid (using gas chromatography) concentrations were measured in human fat necrosis. The fat necrosis milieu was simulated in vitro using glyceryl trilinoleate because linoleic acid is increased in fat necrosis. Bile acid requirements to effectively hydrolyze glyceryl trilinoleate were studied using exogenous or overexpressed lipases. The renal cell line (HEK 293) was used to study lipotoxic injury. Because dual pancreatic lipase knockouts are lethal, exocrine parotid acini lacking lipases were used to verify the results. PNLIP, PNLIPRP2, and CEL were increased in fat necrosis. Although PNLIP and PNLIPRP2 were equipotent in inducing lipolysis and lipotoxic injury, CEL required bile acid concentrations higher than in human fat necrosis. The high bile acid requirements for effective lipolysis make CEL an unlikely mediator of lipotoxic injury in AP. It remains to be explored whether PNLIP or PNLIPRP2 worsens AP severity in vivo.
Esophageal Cancer: Surgical Treatment

Treatment approaches varies according to the stage of esophageal cancer and the majority of patients present with advanced disease. Despite being a challenging surgical procedure, historically associated with high morbidity and mortality, esophagectomy remains a central treatment component in patients with early-stage and loco regional esophageal cancer. This chapter describes the indications for esophagectomy, with an emphasis of the technical aspects of the surgical approaches available, common post-operative complications and outcomes following esophagectomy.
De novo design of symmetric ferredoxins that shuttle electrons in vivo

A symmetric origin for bacterial ferredoxins was first proposed over 50 y ago, yet, to date, no functional symmetric molecule has been constructed. It is hypothesized that extant proteins have drifted from their symmetric roots via gene duplication followed by mutations. Phylogenetic analyses of extant ferredoxins support the independent evolution of N- and C-terminal sequences, thereby allowing consensus-based design of symmetric 4Fe-4S molecules. All designs bind two [4Fe-4S] clusters and exhibit strongly reducing midpoint potentials ranging from -405 to -515 mV. One of these constructs efficiently shuttles electrons through a designed metabolic pathway in Escherichia coli These finding establish that ferredoxins consisting of a symmetric core can be used as a platform to design novel electron transfer carriers for in vivo applications. Outer-shell asymmetry increases sequence space without compromising electron transfer functionality.
The Long-Term Associations Between Direct and Threatened Physical Violence in Adolescence and Symptoms of Substance Use Disorders During the Mid-30s.

Objective:Most studies linking physical victimization and substance use have focused on concurrent or temporally proximal associations, making it unclear whether physical victimization has a sustai...
Legal Control of the Police

This encyclopedia entry provides an overview of law governing the police. As it notes, police ofﬁcers are granted immense authority by the state to impose harm. The problem of policing the police is how to regulate police ofﬁcers and departments to protect individual liberty and minimize the social costs the police impose while allowing them to do what is necessary to achieve the ends of policing: reducing fear, promoting civil order, and pursuing criminal justice. Constitutional law provides the most well-known check on police conduct. In addition, many other federal, state, and local statutes, constitutional provisions, court decisions, and administrative regulations also govern the police. Since federal constitutional law cannot alone ensure that the beneﬁts of policing are worth the harms it imposes, this participation by other government actors is essential to ensure adequate regulation of the police. However, the laws that presently govern the police are not tailored to balance the individual and societal interests at stake when police ofﬁcers act, they lack coordination, and responsibility for regulating the police is haphazardly allocated. As a result, the present array of laws that polices American policing does not promote law enforcement that is maximally effective and protective of civil rights.
Challenges and Approaches to Measuring Repeat Fecal Immunochemical Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Background: Colorectal cancer screening with fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) can reduce colorectal cancer–related mortality. Effectiveness of FIT may be compromised when patients do not adhere to a regular schedule. However, having no standard measure of repeat FIT presents challenges for assessing effectiveness across populations and settings. We compared three measures of repeat FIT in a large, integrated health care system in Dallas, Texas. Methods: We identified 18,257 patients age-eligible (50–60 years) for FIT in January 1–December 31, 2010 and followed over four rounds of screening. Measures included: (i) repeat FIT in prior screeners, or completion of FIT within 9–15 months of the previous; (ii) yes–no patterns, whereby patients were assigned yes or no in 9–15 month windows; and 3) proportion of time covered (PTC), or the amount of time patients were up-to-date with screening relative to time eligible. Results: Repeat FIT varied by measure. Using a prior screeners measure, 15.8% of patients with a normal FIT in round 1 completed repeat FIT in round 2. Repeat FIT was notably higher (52.3%) using PTC. The most common yes–no pattern was YNNN or “one-and-done,” and only 9.4% of patients completed two consecutive FITs across all rounds (YYNN). Conclusions: Different measures of repeat FIT yielded a range of estimates, making comparison across studies difficult. Researchers should weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each measure and select the most appropriate to their research question. Impact: Our study highlights the need for future research of repeat FIT measures that best approximate screening effectiveness.
Children’s comprehension and repair of garden-path wh-questions

Children’s sentence interpretations often lack flexibility. For example, when French-speaking adults and children hear ambiguous wh-questions like Where did Annie explain that she rode her horse?, ...
Evaluating the Data Quality of a National Sample of Young Sexual and Gender Minorities Recruited Using Social Media: The Influence of Different Design Formats

Social media recruitment is no longer an uncharted avenue for survey research. The results thus far provide evidence of an engaging means of recruiting hard-to-reach populations. Questions remain, ...
Neurocognitive effects of Moyamoya disease and concomitant epilepsy

Abstract Objective Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare degenerative cerebrovascular disorder that leads to recurrent strokes and cerebral hypoperfusion. Seizures are not uncommon in MMD especially following surgical treatment for the disease. Cognitive changes that are largely executive in nature have been documented following MMD and surgical treatment, although research is limited in adults. Methods The present case report details the comprehensive neurocognitive evaluation of a patient with MMD and concomitant epilepsy. Results Neurocognitive findings revealed a prominent dysexecutive pattern and atypically poor performance in areas such as visual and verbal memory. The patient reported significant affective symptoms and functional decline. Conclusions This case offers insight into unique neurocognitive results that may present in adult MMD cases and underscores the importance of interpreting results in the context of neurological comorbidities in this rare disease.
Remote quantum optics labs

When situations make it difficult for students to be physically present in the laboratory, there is a need to provide remote instructional offerings. This is a particularly acute problem in upper-level physics laboratories because they involve the use of sophisticated equipment for the investigation of advanced topics. The possibility of automating such experiences presents itself as a possible solution. In this article I present the offering of an automated quantum optics lab for advanced physics students. I do so by automating the laboratory components via actuators and sensors controlled through serial connections. Live images of the laboratory provide visual inspection of the apparatus and sensors. All of these components are connected to a personal computer that students can control by remote access. The experience provides a new paradigm for experimentation, giving students experience on laboratory work with a remote apparatus at flexible times, making the experiment a form of homework assignment.
Race/ethnicity, maternal educational attainment, and infant mortality in the United States.

This study examines patterns of and explanations for racial/ethnic-education disparities in infant mortality in the United States. Using linked birth and death data (2007–2010), we find that while ...
Spatial Pyramid Attention for Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

Attention mechanisms have shown great success in computer vision. However, the commonly used global average pooling in some implementations aggregates a three-dimensional feature map to a one-dimensional attention map, leading a significant loss of structural information in the attention learning. In this article, we present a novel Spatial Pyramid Attention Network (SPANet), which exploits the structural information and channel relationships for better feature representation. SPANet enhances a base network by adding Spatial Pyramid Attention (SPA) blocks laterally. By rethinking the self-attention mechanism design, we further present three topology structures of attention path connection for our SPANet. They can be flexibly applied to various CNN architectures. SPANet is conceptually simple but practically powerful. It uses both structural regularization and structural information to achieve better learning capability. We have comprehensively evaluated the performance of SPANet on four benchmark datasets for different visual tasks. The experimental results show that SPANet significantly improves the recognition accuracy without adding much computation overhead. Using SPANet, we achieve an improvement of 1.6% top-1 classification accuracy on the ImageNet 2012 benchmark based on ResNet50, and SPANet outperforms SENet and other attention methods. SPANet also significantly improves the object detection performance by a clear margin with negligible additional computation overhead. When applying SPANet to RetinaNet based on the ResNet50 backbone, we improve the performance of the baseline model by 2.3 mAP and the enhanced model outperforms SENet and GCNet by 1.1 mAP and 1.7 mAP respectively. The code of SPANet is made publicly available. 1 1 [Online]. Available: https://github.com/13952522076/SPANet_TMM
Controlling gene expression timing through gene regulatory architecture

Abstract Gene networks typically involve the regulatory control of multiple genes with related function. This connectivity enables correlated control of the levels and timing of gene expression. Here we study how the timing of gene expression in networks can be encoded in the regulatory DNA of a gene. Using stochastic simulations, we examine the role of binding affinity, TF regulatory function and network size in controlling the mean first-passage time to reach a fixed fraction of steady-state expression for both an auto-regulated TF gene and a target gene. We also examine how the variability in first-passage time depends on these factors. We find that both network size and binding affinity can dramatically speed up or slow down the response time of network genes, in some cases predicting more than a 100-fold change compared to constitutive expression. Furthermore, these factors can also significantly impact the fidelity of this response. Importantly, these effects do not occur at “extremes” of network size or binding affinity, but rather in an intermediate window of either quantity.
Establishing first order correlations between pitting corrosion initiation and local microstructure in AA5083 using automated image analysis

Abstract A rapid image segmentation and correlation-based approach to investigating the local microstructural effects on pitting corrosion susceptibility is introduced. The impact of four different microstructural features, consisting of grain orientation, proximity to grain boundaries, proximity to intermetallic particles, and local geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density, on pitting initiation in the 5083 aluminum alloy was directly investigated using automated pit detection processing in combination with electron microscopy-based characterization. Three different thermomechanical treatments were used to vary the system microstructure and samples were immersed in 3.5 wt% NaCl aqueous solution for 24 h to induce pitting. GND density and proximity to intermetallic particle both showed positive correlations, while grain orientation and proximity to grain boundary showed no correlation with pit initiation sites.
The code of non-coding RNAs in lung fibrosis

The pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis is a complicated and complex process that involves phenotypic abnormalities of a variety of cell types and dysregulations of multiple signaling pathways. There are numerous genetic, epigenetic and post-transcriptional mechanisms that have been identified to participate in the pathogenesis of this disease. However, efficacious therapeutics developed from these studies have been disappointingly limited. In the past several years, a group of new molecules, i.e., non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), has been increasingly appreciated to have critical roles in the pathological progression of lung fibrosis. In this review, we summarize the recent findings on the roles of ncRNAs in the pathogenesis of this disorder. We analyze the translational potential of this group of molecules in treating lung fibrosis. We also discuss challenges and future opportunities of studying and utilizing ncRNAs in lung fibrosis.
PVD: A Stable Implementation for Computing Voronoi Diagrams of Polygonal Pockets

Voronoi diagrams of pockets, i.e. polygons with holes, have a variety of important applications but are particularly challenging to compute robustly. We report on an implementation of a simple algorithm which does not rely on exact arithmetic to achieve robustness; rather, it achieves its robustness through carefully engineered handling of geometric predicates. Although we do not give theoretical guarantees for robustness or accuracy, the software has sustained extensive experimentation (on real and simulated data) and day-to-day usage on real-world data. The algorithm is shown experimentally to compare favorably in running time with prior methods.
Extracellular secretion of pectate lyase by the Erwinia chrysanthemi out pathway is dependent upon Sec-mediated export across the inner membrane.

Abstract The plant pathogenic enterobacterium Erwinia chrysanthemi EC16 secretes several extracellular, plant cell wall-degrading enzymes, including pectate lyase isozyme PelE. Secretion kinetics of 35S-labeled PelE indicated that the precursor of PelE was rapidly processed by the removal of the amino-terminal signal peptide and that the resulting mature PelE remained cell bound for less than 60 s before being secreted to the bacterial medium. PelE-PhoA (alkaline phosphatase) hybrid proteins generated in vivo by TnphoA insertions were mostly localized in the periplasm of E. chrysanthemi, and one hybrid protein was observed to be associated with the outer membrane of E. chrysanthemi in an out gene-dependent manner. A gene fusion resulting in the substitution of the beta-lactamase signal peptide for the first six amino acids of the PelE signal peptide did not prevent processing or secretion of PelE in E. chrysanthemi. When pelE was overexpressed, mature PelE protein accumulated in the periplasm rather than the cytoplasm in cells of E. chrysanthemi and Escherichia coli MC4100 (pCPP2006), which harbors a functional cluster of E. chrysanthemi out genes. Removal of the signal peptide from pre-PelE was SecA dependent in E. coli MM52 even in the presence of the out gene cluster. These data indicate that the extracellular secretion of pectic enzymes by E. chrysanthemi is an extension of the Sec-dependent pathway for general export of proteins across the bacterial inner membrane.
A Convergence Theorem for Non Negative Almost Supermartingales and Some Applications

The purpose of this paper is to give a unified treatment of a number of almost sure convergence theorems by exploiting the fact that the processes involved possess a common “almost supermartingale” properties To be precise, let (Ω,F,P) be a probability space and F1 ⊂ F2 ⊂ … a sequence of sub-σ-algebras of F. For each n= 1,2, … let zn, βn, ξn, and ζn be non-negative Fn -measurable random variables such that $$E({z_{n + 1}}|{F_n}) \leqslant {z_n}(1 + {\beta _n}) + {\xi _n} - {\zeta _n}.$$ (1) .
Synthesis and degradation of microtubule protein in synchronized Chinese hamster cells.

Abstract Synthesis, degradation, and colchicine-binding characteristics of the microtubule protein were assayed in the cell cycle of two Chinese hamster lines. Levels of microtubule protein in the cell cycle were determined by electrophoresis of purified iodinated microtubule protein together with tritium-labeled whole cell lysates. Synthesis occurred almost exclusively in the G2 phase of the cloned aneuploid V79 line, whereas in the diploid Don line, considerable microtubule protein was synthesized in mid S phase as well as G2. In both Don and V79 cells, colchicine-binding activity displayed a pattern which was in agreement with the changing levels of microtubule protein determined with polyacrylamide gels. Degradation of the protein appeared to be intermittent. Microtubule protein synthesized in G2 phase survived into the ensuing G1 phase but was catabolized rapidly and concomitantly with initiation of DNA replication. The results show an intracyclic rhythm in microtubule synthesis and colchicine-binding activity and give support to the idea that oscillatory behavior of proteins is a common characteristic of the mammalian cell cycle.
The RAD52 Recombinational Repair Pathway is Essential in pol30 (PCNA) Mutants That Accumulate Small Single-Stranded DNA Fragments During DNA Synthesis

To identify in vivo pathways that compensate for impaired proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA or Pol30p in yeast) activity, we performed a synthetic lethal screen with the yeast pol30-104 mutation. We identified nine mutations that display synthetic lethality with pol30-104 ; three mutations affected the structural gene for the large subunit of replication factor C ( rfc1 ), which loads PCNA onto DNA, and six mutations affected three members of the RAD52 epistasis group for DNA recombinational repair ( rad50, rad52 , and rad57 ). We also found that pol30-104 displayed synthetic lethality with mutations in other members of the RAD52 epistasis group ( rad51 and rad54 ), but not with mutations in members of the RAD3 nor the RAD6 epistasis group. Analysis of nine different pol30 mutations shows that the requirement for the RAD52 pathway is correlated with a DNA replication defect but not with the relative DNA repair defect caused by pol30 mutations. In addition, mutants that require RAD52 for viability ( pol30-100, pol30-104, rfc1-1 and rth1 Δ) accumulate small single-stranded DNA fragments during DNA replication in vivo. Taken together, these data suggest that the RAD52 pathway is required when there are defects in the maturation of Okazaki fragments.