cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Model of Transient Oscillatory Synchronization in the Locust Antennal Lobe

Summary were usually phase-locked with the field potential for epochs of 1‐5 cycles of network oscillations (50‐250 Transient pairwise synchronization of locust antennal lobe (AL) projection neurons (PNs) occurs during odor ms), followed or preceded by epochs of desynchronized firing or silence. This structure appeared to be indepenresponses. In a Hodgkin-Huxley-type model of the AL, interactions between excitatory PNs and inhibitory lo- dent of slow temporal patterns; epochs with or without spike synchronization could alternate while a neuron cal neurons (LNs) created coherent network oscillations during odor stimulation. GABAergic interconnec- fired continuously (Wehr and Laurent, 1996; Laurent, 1996). This fine structure could be eliminated by picrotions between LNs led to competition among them such that different groups of LNs oscillated with peri- toxin application, while the slow temporal patterns were not affected (MacLeod and Laurent, 1996). odic Ca21 spikes during different 50‐250 ms temporal epochs, similar to those recorded in vivo. During these In this paper, we investigate the mechanisms underlying these transient spatiotemporal patterns of synchroepochs, LN-evoked IPSPs caused phase-locked, population oscillations in sets of postsynaptic PNs. The nization with a realistic computational model of the antennal lobe network. We explore whether oscillatory
An ultra-bright polarized head-mounted projective display

The image brightness of head-mounted projective displays (HMPD) is challenged due to the multiple passes of light through a beamsplitter. The design of an ultra-bright polarized HMPD, theoretically four-times brighter, will be presented.
Comment on Reed

Ecological epistemology has a strong affinity to phenomenology, particularly the version of Merleau-Ponty (as Reed, 1983, points out). There is a common emphasis upon the richness of experience, the irreducibility of perception to sensation, the importance of proprioception, and the inseparability of valuations from presentations. Ecological epistemology, however, is more dedicated than phenomenology to a controlled, experimental study of perception, and pays closer attention to the physics of the interplay between the perceiving subject and the environment. James Gibson’s demonstration of the intricacy of this interplay constitutes a permanent contribution to experimental psychology, even if he was not as successful and as revolutionary in solving traditional epistemological problems as Reed has claimed.
Interferon‐γ as an Antifungal

I (D.A.S.) am honored to be able to make this contribution. Although other presenters have dwelled on Tom Merigan's many contributions to both AIDS studies and antiviral chemotherapy generally, I can emphasize another role for him, that of helping to bring interferon (IFN) to the fore of our consciousness [1]. I have the pleasant, unique role of being the only contributor not now identified with virology, and I will address the discipline to which I transitioned after fellowship with Tom-a place where, it turns out, IFN has an important host role [2]. Charles Prober, of the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford, recently made me aware that I have been, with my colleagues, publishing on IFN in 5 different decades now.
A model for integrating first-year composition courses with engineering curriculum

This paper describes the development, pilot offering and initial assessment of a first year composition course, Essentials of College Rhetoric, specifically designed to provide students entering engineering programs at Texas Tech University (USA) with the critical reading and writing skills and rhetorical strategies traditionally taught in first year composition. However, this course differs from traditional composition courses in that it shares curriculum and assignments with the introductory electrical engineering course, Introduction to Engineering and Computer Programming, and not only underscores the role of engineers as writers in the workplace by teaching documentation conventions common to engineering practice, but also requires students to think and write critically about ethical, political, and other issues that shape the role of engineering in our culture.
Dioxin/furan detection and analysis using a SAW based electronic nose

The rise in birth defects in Japan and other countries throughout the world has been traced to high concentrations of dioxins and furans in the environment resulting from widespread incineration of waste. There is a need for real time instruments to test for the presence of these toxic compounds in air, water, and soil. To meet this need a new Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) based electronic nose was evaluated and the technical results of this investigation are presented in this paper.
The structure of pattern languages

Pattern languages help us to tackle the complexity of a wide variety of systems ranging from computer software, to buildings and cities. Each "pattern" represents a rule governing one working piece of a complex system, and the application of pattern languages can be done systematically. Design that wishes to connect to human beings needs the information contained in a pattern language. This paper describes how to validate existing pattern languages, how to develop them, and how they evolve. The connective geometry of urban interfaces is derived from the architectural patterns of Christopher Alexander.
Assessment of Rainfall Measurement That Uses Specific Differential Phase

Abstract This paper examines some effects of drop size distribution and shape on the rainfall-rate estimates obtained from the specific differential phase. An algorithm that uses exclusively the specific differential phase is presented, and performance of this algorithm is examined by applying it to 15 storm events in Oklahoma that include heavy and light rainfalls. Radar-derived cumulative rainfall is compared to total rain measured by gauges in a dense gauge network in Oklahoma for each of the events.
Physics of Noise Performance of Nanoscale Bulk MOS Transistors

Detailed physical understanding of the noise mechanisms that exist in bulk MOS transistors is developed. These sources of noise consist of the intrinsic fluctuations which are inherent in the device structure and extrinsic fluctuations that are subject to optimization and elimination. While most noise sources are well understood, excess channel noise and 1/f noise continue to be areas of active research.
Overloading Operators in C

This chapter contains sections titled: Operator Tokens and Operator Functions Global Overload Definitions for Operators Member-Function Overload Definitions for Operators Global Overload Definitions for Unary Operators Member-Function Overload Definitions for Unary Operators A Case Study in Operator Overloading Smart Pointers: Overloading of Dereferencing Operators Overloading Increment and Decrement Operators User-Defined Conversions Overloading of the ?>() ?> Operator Sorting Class-Type Objects by Overloading the ?> ?> Operator Credits and Suggestions for Further Reading Homework
A Model of Countercurrent Steam-Water Flow in Large Horizontal Pipes

AbstractA numerical study was performed to derive a model of countercurrent steam-water flow in large horizontal pipes, with application to the emergency core cooling (ECC) system of a pressurized water reactor. The purpose of the study was to provide data from which simple correlations could be obtained to describe mass, momentum, and energy exchange between the phases during hot leg ECC injection. It was assumed that steam, driven by a pressure drop from the upper plenum to the ECC injection port, flows counter to the subcooled ECC water. Several series of calculations were performed to determine the sensitivity of the ECC flow velocity at the entrance to the reactor vessel to the pressure drop, for several values of the mass and momentum exchange coefficients used in the numerical method. The results were consistent with those obtained from solution of the mixture equation, which did not involve interfacial drag or condensation.
Poetycki projekt Róžy Domašcyny między folklorem i nowoczesnością

Poetical project by Sorbian poet Roža Domascyna fits into the category of „minor literature”, coined by F. Guattari and G. Deleuze in 1975. Despite its inevitably political, ecological and ideological local connotations, it is rooted in the experience of modernity, still unpopular among the contemporary Sorbian writers. Its main topics are: the devastation of Lusatian environment, erotic and cultural hybridity. Domascyna uses the hybrid nature of Sorbian identity to create an post-modern subject, conscious of the non-transparent nature of language. The result is an original poetry, which suits the current comparative and postcolonial categories of interpretation.
After the Big Bang: Estimating the effects of decentralization on educational outcomes in Indonesia through a difference-in-differences analysis

Abstract Proponents of decentralization argue that bringing decisions closer to the people improves school quality and efficiency by ensuring that schools are more responsive to local educational needs. In practice, the effects of decentralization vary substantially, given that the implementation of these reforms relies on local resources and management capacity. In this paper, I estimate the effects of decentralization on educational outcomes in Indonesia using a difference-in-differences model. I find no overall effect on achievement, but a negative effect on teacher effort, particularly in rural areas and among schools with inactive school committees.
Child Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: Revisiting the Rotten Apples Explanation

The Catholic Church response to its sexual abuse crisis and how the problem should be addressed parallels the “rotten apple” assertions of police deviance. The rotten apple theory, however, does no...
A CASE OF LYMPHANGIOMA OF THE JEJUNUM

We experienced a case of lymphangioma of the jejunum in which the location of tumor was able to be diagnosed preoperatively. A 52-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of left abdominal pain and nausea. Plain abdominal roentgenogram showed a little gas shadow of the small intestine. Neither endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal tract nor abdominal ultrasonography disclosed any abnormalities. X-ray examination of the small intestine revealed a lobulated filling defect in the jejunum, measuring 2 cm in size. Partial resection of the jejunum was performed. The tumor was located at 130 cm apart from the Treitz's ligament, measuring 15×20 mm in size and yellowish white in color. Histopathologically it was diagnosed as cavernous lymphangioma. Lymphangioma of the small intestine is so rare that only 26 cases have been reported in Japan.
Should Intermittent Mandatory Ventilation Be Abolished

Intermittent mandatory ventilation (IMV) was introduced nearly 50 years ago. Despite the initial fanfare and early adoption by many, the role of IMV continues to be questioned. The use of small tidal volumes complicates the application of IMV, and issues with work of breathing, weaning and lack of clear advantages have many calling for a moratorium on its use. Spontaneous breathing, however, has a number of salutatory effects on gas exchange, the distribution of ventilation, and hemodynamics. These issues will be explored in light of a growing body of evidence.
Characterization of Nonideal Solutions

Criteria are provided to characterize nonideal gas mixtures and liquid solutions and to establish equilibrium constants for a variety of chemical reactions that deviate from ideality. Methods are displayed for experimentally determining activity coefficients needed in the thermodynamic study of materials properties, such as heat of reactions. Examples of chemical reactions are analyzed in terms of the relevant equilibrium constants. Higher order phase transitions are characterized in terms of an order parameter. Elements of order–disorder theory are introduced and used to analyze many different physical phenomena; this approach is not discussed in standard treatments of thermodynamics. Also, a systematic discussion is provided on the origin of phase diagrams—a topic that is not generally taken up in standard treatises. The interpretation of phase diagrams is also carefully explored.
Invasive Lobular Carcinoma

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common invasive breast carcinoma (IBC), comprising approximately 10 % of all IBC. Classical ILC is more likely to be clinically and mammographically occult than IDC and therefore, may present at a later stage. Classical ILC is hormone receptor (HR) positive and HER2 negative. As in IDC, histologic grading of ILC should be performed. High grade ILC is uncommon and may be HR negative and HER2 positive. E-cadherin can aid in diagnosing ILC; however, aberrant staining can occur. Classical ILC exhibits behavior similar to other ER positive tumors, showing late rather than early recurrence, and better response to hormonal therapy compared to chemotherapy. ILC shows a different pattern of metastasis than IDC, involving unusual sites such as the gynecologic and gastrointestinal tracts, and peritoneum.
A modular approach for key-frame selection in wide area surveillance video analysis

This paper presents an efficient preprocessing algorithm for big data analysis. Our proposed key-frame selection method utilizes the statistical differences among subsequent frames to automatically select only the frames that contain the desired contextual information and discard the rest of the insignificant frames. We anticipate that such key frame selection technique will have significant impact on wide area surveillance applications such as automatic object detection and recognition in aerial imagery. Three real-world datasets are used for evaluation and testing and the observed results are encouraging.
Excretion of ammonia and urea during development in the oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau

The oyster toadfish is one of several teleosts that has been found to produce and excrete large amounts of nitrogenous waste as urea. To clarify the role of urea in the oyster toadfish, urea and ammonia excretion rates were examined in developing fish. Ammonia and urea excretion rates were measured for groups of developing toadfish for three days a week over eight weeks of development. A distinct and significant increase in the excretion rate of urea occurred between the first three weeks (mean = 0.38 mg N/kg‐h) and the fourth through sixth and eighth week of development (mean = 4.68 mg N/kg‐h). This increase of urea excretion occurs at the time of hatching and may be important during development. Preliminary analysis (temperature, pH and salinity) was conducted on water at one toadfish nesting site to provide insight into conditions to which toadfish are exposed.
Body Image and Cosmetic Surgery: The Psychology of Physical Appearance:

The sole purpose of cosmetic surgery is the improvement of patients' body images (their attitudes about their physical appearance). This article offers an overview of contemporary theory and resear...
Elsevier Buys SSRN.com: What It Means for Scholarly Publication

An open source alternative in law, economics and the social sciences has been the Social Science Research Network, or SSRN (www.ssrn.com). SSRN, a for-profit company, provides a venue for scholars to publish pre-print and other editions of their scholarly works for free, and allows users to similarly access their content for free. (Disclosure: I am an SSRN “author.” My content can be found at http://ssrn.com/abstract=338251.) SSRN has more than 2 million registered members with over 670,000 paper abstracts from over 300,000 authors. SSRN earns revenue by selling subscriptions to pre-packaged journals containing current and back-issued articles on different topics or themes. Within law and many other disciplines, it has become a favorite venue for pre-print publication and its download and citation counts are often used as a measure of the value of the scholarship–and at least to some tenure and promotion committees–of the scholar. In what some are describing as a shocking, but not necessarily unexpected move, in May 2016 Elsevier, the multi-national publishing conglomerate based in the Netherlands, purchased SSRN for an undisclosed price. Compared to recent mergers and consolidations in the publishing industry the scale of the transaction is comparatively small, but the impact could be considerable.
Evolutionary design of engagement strategies for turn-constrained agents

We examine the use of an evolutionary algorithm to design a feedback controller for a dual pursuit-evasion problem. In this problem, two players, Player A and Player B, move about an obstacle-free, two-dimensional plane with constant speeds and bounded turn rates. Player A strives to capture Player B by maneuvering behind and closing within a defined capture distance. Simultaneously, Player B is attempting to capture Player A while avoiding being captured itself. Although the general form of this problem is two-sided, we examine the design of strategies for Player A against a collection of possible adversarial strategies implemented by Player B. We pose a nearest neighbor switching control structure that is represented using a parameterized matrix. An evolutionary algorithm is utilized to evolve these parameters in order to develop a feedback controller for Player A to efficiently capture Player B while evading capture itself.
Principles of Material Structural Change Informatics to Characterize and Evaluate Damage of Materials in Service

We present the principles and fundamentals of material structural change (MSC) informatics in this paper. MSC informatics involves data-enabled endeavors to make decisions of material behavior based on the past and present MSC event data. The data are the acquired events of material structural changes, which are measurable using a multitude of techniques, one of which is acoustic emission. The informatics of material structural changes are invaluable and serve as a practical tool to monitor the structural health in both civil and mechanical infrastructures and for prediction of remaining service life. To obtain MSC informatics, there are two major phases involved: acquisition of material structural change events and implementation of informatics. Active and passive means are the two primary techniques to acquire MSC events of materials in service. The fundamentals of MSC informatics include (1) the 3S principle, (2) establishment of a digital multivariate D matrix to represent MSC and its properties, and (3) the basic operations of MSC informatics. Using MSC events acquired by acoustic emission as examples, we show that the digital multivariate D is indeed capable of categorizing MSC event mechanisms when correlation analysis and principal component analysis were conducted. Further, we were able to utilize statistical ensembles to describe the material damage state in terms of information entropy as the evolution of MSC occurred. Information entropy is a scalar quantity and is a promising indicator of damage event ensemble advancement and as such, an important part of MSC informatics. We have also illustrated that the principle of maximum entropy and analysis of time series are promising areas for advancement of MSC informatics.
High-Content Biopsies Facilitate Molecular Analyses and Do Not Increase Complication Rates in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors

PurposePrecision oncology relies on frequent pathologic, molecular, and genomic assessments of tumor tissue to guide treatment selection, evaluate pharmacodynamic effects of novel agents, and determine drug resistance mechanisms. Newer forms of analyses such as drug screens in cell lines and patient-derived xenografts demand increasing amounts of tissue material. It remains unknown how the need for serial biopsies with large numbers of tumor cores relates to tissue yields and biopsy complication rates.Materials and MethodsIn this study, we performed a retrospective analysis of 199 focal liver biopsies performed in 143 patients in the setting of oncologic research protocols (research biopsy group) over a 4-year period at a single-intervention oncology service. Practice patterns and complication rates were compared with those related to 1,522 consecutive biopsies performed in 1,154 patients in whom two cores were obtained for standard clinical management of patients (standard biopsy).ResultsIn the research ...
Cultural group selection and the design of REDD+: insights from Pemba

Evolutionary analyses of the ways humans manage natural resources have until recently focused on the costs and benefits of prudent resource use to the individual. In contrast, the fields of environmental resource management and sustainability focus on institutions whereby successful practices can be established and maintained, and the extent to which these fit specific environmental conditions. Furthermore, recent theoretical work explores how resource conservation practices and institutions can emerge through co-evolutionary processes if there are substantial group-level benefits. Here we examine the design of a prominent yet controversial institutional intervention for reducing deforestation and land degradation in the developing world (REDD+), and its ongoing implementation on Pemba Island (Zanzibar, Tanzania) to determine the extent to which the features of REDD+ might allow for the endogenous adoption of sustainable forest management institutions. Additionally, we consider factors that might impede such outcomes, such as leakage, elite capture, and marginal community participation. By focusing on prospective features of REDD+ design that could facilitate the spread of environmentally sustainable behavior within and between communities, we identify distinct dynamics whereby institutional practices might coevolve with resource conservation practices. These insights should contribute to the design of more effective forest management institution in the future.
An Inequality for the Volume of a Tetrahedron

In this note we prove a curious inequality involving the sides and volume of a tetrahedron.
Intersectionality and Educational Leadership: A Critical Review

In this review of research, we explore intersectionality in the literature on K–12 educational leadership. We seek to understand how researchers have used intersectionality and what their findings ...
Vertigo and Dizziness: Understanding and Managing Fall Risk

Vertigo and dizziness are common conditions among older adults. They are closely associated with fall risk and portend major implications for geriatric injury and disability. Management can be particularly challenging, because symptoms are often nonspecific and may reflect multiple etiologies. Chronic dizziness can reflect dysfunction in the vestibular, somatosensory, or visual systems or in their central integration. Systemic processes, such as postural hypotension, arrhythmias, heart failure, medication use, and lower extremity weakness or frailty, also contribute. Management of acute vestibular syndrome requires ruling out dangerous causes, such as stroke. This article reviews relevant definitions, epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and clinical management.
How Posting Purchases on Social Media Influences Happiness: The Role of Self-Esteem

The purpose of this article is to investigate the influences of posting one’s purchases on the content creator’s happiness attained from the purchases. A survey (n=207) was conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Multiple regression and floodlight analysis were utilized to examine the data, which show that posting purchases on social media as a new way of self-presentation interplays with self-esteem in influencing consumers’ happiness obtained from the posted purchases. Specifically, posting behavior increases the happiness among consumers with higher self-esteem, but has no effects on consumers with lower self-esteem. This article fills the gap among literature about the influences of the different self-presentation styles caused by self- esteem, and advances our understanding of how social media usage differently influences consumers with higher and lower self-esteem. This research also provides novel insights into the role of self-presentation in consumers’ happiness from purchases and the affective benefits of creating user-generated content. This article is pioneering in investigating the behavior of posting purchases on social media. It is the first research revealing the complicated interaction between the behavior and the content creators’ self-esteem in influencing happiness obtained from the purchases.
Regulation of Amino Acid Transport at the Blood-Brain Barrier

Amino acids that are not synthesized in brain but are required for cerebral metabolism must be obtained from plasma by transport across the blood-brain barrier. Morphological evidence has established that the barrier is located at the cerebral capillaries and is formed by a continuous layer of endothelial cells that are joined by tight junctions (Fig. 1).
CRISPR/Cas9 F0 Screening of Congenital Heart Disease Genes in Xenopus tropicalis

In the US and Europe, birth defects are the leading cause of infant mortality. Among birth defects, Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) occurs in approximately 8 out of 1000 live births, affects 1.3 million newborns per year worldwide, and has the highest mortality rate. While there is evidence to indicate that CHD does have a genetic basis, most of the CHD burden remains unexplained genetically. Fortunately, new genomics technologies are enabling genetic analyses of CHD patients. Whole exome sequencing of trios as well as copy number variations assayed by high-density SNP arrays can now be obtained at high efficiency and relatively low cost. These efforts are identifying a number of sequence variations in patients with CHD, but only a small percentage have second unrelated alleles to validate them as disease causing. Importantly, most of these candidate genes do not have an identified molecular mechanism implicating them in cardiac development. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop rapid functional assays to evaluate candidate genes for a role in cardiac development, and then to investigate the underlying developmental mechanisms. Most recently, the advent of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology has greatly enhanced the ability to manipulate and observe the function of the genome in model systems and cell culture. Incorporating the power of a developmental system such as Xenopus tropicalis with the CRISPR/Cas9 system and the microscale imaging modality optical coherence tomography (OCT), the analysis of thousands of different genes in cardiac development becomes possible.
Goal Directed Dynamics

We develop a general control framework where a low-level optimizer is built into the robot dynamics. This optimizer together with the robot constitute a goal directed dynamical system, controlled on a higher level. The high level command is a cost function. It can encode desired accelerations, end-effector poses, center of pressure, and other intuitive features that have been studied before. Unlike the currently popular quadratic programming framework, which comes with performance guarantees at the expense of modeling flexibility, the optimization problem we solve at each time step is non-convex and non-smooth. Nevertheless, by exploiting the unique properties of the soft-constraint physics model we have recently developed, we are able to design an efficient solver for goal directed dynamics. It is only two times slower than the forward dynamics solver, and is much faster than real time. The simulation results reveal that complex movements can be generated via greedy optimization of simple costs. This new computational infrastructure can facilitate teleoperation, feature-based control, deep learning of control policies, and trajectory optimization. It will become a standard feature in future releases of the MuJoCo simulator.
Surface X-Ray Diffraction

Surface x-ray diffraction allows the determination of atomic structures of ordered crystal surfaces in an analogous way to x-ray crystallography for the determination of three-dimensional crystal structures. In doing this, crystallographic parameters such as lattice constants and Debye-Waller factors (thermal vibration amplitudes) are also accessed, so surface x-ray diffraction should be considered as a valid method for measuring these quantities too. Surface x-ray diffraction also probes surface morphological properties, such as roughness and facet formation, and allows the investigation of their thermodynamic and kinetic aspects, such as the study of phase transitions in surfaces. Because x rays probe deep inside matter, buried interfaces can be treated in exactly the same manner as surfaces, so throughout this unit the words surface and interface are used synonymously. In fact, some of the best applications of the method are for buried interfaces, where complementary electron-based probes such as low-energy electron diffraction and reflection high-energy electron diffraction cannot reach. Surface x-ray diffraction is not a laboratory technique. While there are one or two exceptions of installations in individual laboratories, the majority are associated with national or international facilities. Even the very early experiments used synchrotron radiation. By now, facility-based science is already rather common and will become more so in the future, as it has considerable economies of scale and advantages of centralized operational safety. The practice of surface x-ray diffraction should necessarily be considered as a facility-based operation, and it will be assumed that the reader will have access as a “user” to one of these facilities. This is usually handled by the submission of a proposal to be judged on the importance of the science to be carried out. Access is then usually free of charge. Because surface x-ray diffraction is facility based, it is not a technique for which one can purchase the equipment piecemeal from a vendor. Every surface x-ray diffraction installation is slightly different, but most were derived from and are based on the description that follows, which is the X16A facility of the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS).Others use basically the same control and analysis programs and procedures as those described here. Keywords: surface x-ray diffraction; competitive techniques; related techniques; principles; surfaces; crystallographic measurements; grazing incidence; practical aspects; diffractometer; data analysis; initial interpretation; lattice mapping; si(111) surface; problems; detailed protocols; vaccum procedure; data analysis programs; super command format
Free volume and internal structural evolution during creep in model amorphous polyethylene by Molecular Dynamics simulations

Abstract All-atom Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to investigate the structural and free volume evolution (correlated with damage) during creep of model amorphous polyethylene (PE) at various applied stress states (tension, shear, compression), stress levels (10–200 MPa), and temperatures (175–325 K). The Modified Embedded-Atom Method for saturated hydrocarbons is applied to show that the phenomenological macroscale creep response of PE can be captured through MD simulations. The model adequately predicts the three classical stages of creep (primary, secondary, and tertiary) and provides detailed insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms. The calculated glass transition temperature (Tg) was found to be very close to the experimental Tg. Simulations were performed at temperatures below Tg (175 K) to above Tg (325 K) and demonstrate that the transition from glassy to rubbery state is reflected in the chain dynamics and damage evolution. Under all the stress states and temperatures simulated, the evolution of void volume, nucleation, growth, and coalescence are shown to directly correlate with specific stages of the creep response and the underlying chain dynamics within each stage. A correlation between the steady-state creep rate and steady-state void nucleation rate is found, suggesting that secondary creep is heavily driven by void nucleation, while tertiary creep is driven by void growth and coalescence.
Mechanobiology of bone and suture - Results from a pig model.

OBJECTIVE To compare the morphology and mechanical function of sutures in normal pigs and minipigs to those of Yucatan minipigs, a natural model for midfacial hypoplasia. SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION Research took place at the Department of Orthodontics at the University of Washington and used varying sample sizes of normal-snouted pigs and Yucatan minipigs. MATERIAL AND METHODS Skulls and heads were examined for morphology of the nasofrontal suture using computed tomography and histology. Strain gauge recordings were made of sutural strain during mastication and during cyclic tensile loading of the nasofrontal suture. RESULTS Sutures in Yucatans had narrower gaps than same-age normal pigs. The nasofrontal suture was simpler in construction and had more active osteoblasts on the bone fronts in Yucatans. The sutural ligament was less well organized, and based on a small sample, masticatory strain appeared to be lower than in normal minipigs. However, sutures were not fused and showed similar strains in response to the cyclic loading procedure. CONCLUSION Midfacial hypoplasia in Yucatan pigs has the likely proximate cause of hyperossification. Yet prior to fusion, the sutures appear to be amenable to treatment that would promote their growth rate.
Use of Neonatal Lung Ultrasound for the Early Detection of Pneumothorax.

Objective Pneumothorax (PTX) can be diagnosed using lung ultrasonography (LUS) in adult patients, but there are only a few reports of LUS in PTX diagnosis in neonates. The aim of the study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy for PTX. Study Design This was a retrospective review study performed in our neonatal intensive care unit (level III) between June 2015 and June 2018. All eligible patients underwent an LUS scan before undergoing a chest X-ray (CXR), which was considered the reference standard. When a diagnosis of PTX was inconsistent between LUS and CXR, a chest computed tomography (CT) scan or chest drain was considered the gold standard. Results Among 86 infants included in the study, 30 (34.9%) were diagnosed with PTX. In these 30 infants, 35 PTXs were detected by bedside LUS (five bilateral PTXs). Moreover, 11 infants with 14 PTXs were diagnosed only by LUS and were missed by CXR. Out of these 11 infants, 7 underwent a CT scan, whereas the remaining 4 underwent thoracentesis that confirmed PTX diagnosis. Conclusion In neonates with PTX, LUS was more sensitive and specific for the early detection of PTX compared with CXR.
PROMIS Function Scores Are Lower in Patients Who Underwent More Aggressive Local Treatment for Desmoid Tumors

AbstractBackgroundDesmoid tumors of the extremities often present with pain and functional limitation, but treatment can lead to morbidity and recurrence is common. The impact of treatment with respect to traditional “oncologic” metrics (such as recurrence rate) has been studied extensively, with a
Highly efficient and durable III–V semiconductor-catalyst photocathodes via a transparent protection layer

Durable performance and high efficiency in solar-driven water splitting are great challenges not yet co-achieved in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. Although photovoltaic cells made from III–V semiconductors can achieve high optical–electrical conversion efficiency, their functional integration with electrocatalysts and operational lifetime remain great challenges. Herein, an ultra-thin TiN layer was used as a diffusion barrier on a buried junction n+p-GaInP2 photocathode, to enable elevated temperatures for subsequent catalyst growth of Ni5P4 as nano-islands without damaging the GaInP2 junction. The resulting PEC half-cell showed negligible absorption loss, with saturated photocurrent density and H2 evolution equivalent to the benchmark photocathode decorated with PtRu catalysts. High corrosion-resistant Ni5P4/TiN layers showed undiminished photocathode operation over 120 h, exceeding previous benchmarks. Etching to remove electrodeposited copper, an introduced contaminant, restored full performance, demonstrating operational ruggedness. The TiN layer expands the synthesis conditions and protects against corrosion for stable operation of III–V PEC devices, while the Ni5P4 catalyst replaces costly and scarce noble metal catalysts.
Analytical Techniques for Describing User Preferences: 80/20 Rule Partially Explains 7 Plus Minus 2 Law: General System-Based Analysis

In analyzing user preferences, we need to take into account that these preferences are usually not very detailed—and thus, because of their approximate nature, we should not waste time trying to fit them optimally. This approximate nature is usually captured by the empirical 7 plus minus 2 law, according to which, in the first approximation, instead of sorting all the alternatives, a user usually divides them into 7 plus minus 2 groups. This law is purely empirical—and thus, its use is not as reliable as we would like it to be. To make this law more reliable, in this chapter, we provide a partial theoretical explanation of this law.
Deep Learning of Cortical Surface Features Using Graph-Convolution Predicts Neonatal Brain Age and Neurodevelopmental Outcome

We investigated the ability of graph convolutional network (GCN) that takes into account the mesh topology as a sparse graph to predict brain age for preterm neonates using cortical surface morphometrics, i.e. cortical thickness and sulcal depth. Compared to machine learning and deep learning methods that did not use the surface topological information, the GCN better predicted the ages for preterm neonates with none/mild perinatal brain injuries (NMI). We then tested the GCN trained using NMI brains to predict the age of neonates with severe brain injuries (SI). Results also displayed good accuracy ( $\text{MAE}=1.43$ weeks), while the analysis of the interaction term (true age × group) showed that the slope of the predicted brain age relative to the true age for the SI group was significantly less steep than the NMI group ( $\mathrm{p} ), indicating that SI can decelerate early postnatal growth. To understand regional contributions to age prediction, we applied GCNs separately to the vertices within each cortical parcellation. The middle cingulate cortex that is known to be one of the thickest cortical regions in the neonatal period showed the best accuracy in age prediction ( $\text{MAE}=1.24$ weeks). Furthermore, we found that the regional brain ages computed using GCN models in several frontal cortices significantly correlated with cognitive abilities at 3 years of age. Furthermore, the brain predicted age in part of the superior temporal cortex, which is the auditory and language processing locus, was related to language functional scores at 3 years. Our results demonstrate the potential of the GCN models for predicting brain age as well as localizing brain regions contributing to the prediction of age and future cognitive outcome.
Compositional Analysis of Drugs and Injectable Biological Products by Thermogravimetry

Thermogravimetry (TG) is specified in the U.S. Pharmacopeia for the compositional analysis of certain drugs. It is specified for use in determining the percentage of volatile substances in drugs such as vincristine sulfate and vinblastine sulfate. TG reveals interactions between a controlled atmosphere and a drug and between an active substance and excipients. TG is used in the compositional analysis of injectable biological products in various ways. For pneumococcal, Haemophilus b, and meningococcal bulk polysaccharides that are used in vaccine production, TG is used to determine the moisture content (approximately 5 to 25 percent) so that the content of protein, nucleic acid, phosphorus, and other constituents may be accurately determined on a dry weight basis to demonstrate that a sample meets the specifications for the product. TG is also used to determine residual moisture in freeze-dried final container biological products such as Blood Grouping Sera and Antibody to Hepatitis B Surface Antigen. TG is used to confirm or supplement information obtained from Karl Fischer or gravimetric (loss on drying) moisture analysis techniques. TG has been combined with mass spectrometry to verify moisture data for group Y meningococcal polysaccharide and freeze-dried antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen and to identify an impurity in a Haemophilus b polysaccharide.
Market Affect and the Rhetoric of Political Economic Debates

As I compose this book review, the 2020 presidential primary field is shrinking as fundraising targets are hit and missed and candidates who remain are promising to make medical care affordable for...
Cattle Grub Management

Immature warble flies, or cattle grubs, infest and harm livestock throughout the world. Warble flies also are known as “heel flies” because they cause cattle to kick at themselves, and “gad flies” because they cause cattle to “gad about” in an attempt to evade the flies. Two species of cattle grubs occur in the U.S.A., the common cattle grub, and the northern cattle grub. This 6-page fact sheet was written by P. E. Kaufman and E. N. I. Weeks and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, March 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in979
Subway Station Closures and Robbery Hot Spots in New York City—Understanding Mobility Factors and Crime Reduction

This paper takes advantage of a natural experiment involving subway station closures to examine how subway ridership is associated with the impact of robbery victimization within spatial network buffers immediately surrounding subway stations in Bronx (County), New York. The New York City subway system is the busiest in the USA, with an annual ridership estimated at 1.8 billion people. Key findings of this research include noteworthy relationships between robbery hot spots and subway stations, as well as substantial reductions in robbery frequency during temporary subway station closures, with larger reductions occurring in closer proximities to the subway stations. There was also a significant robbery pattern “normalization process” that occurred after the closed subway stations were reopened where robbery frequency returned to historically “normal” pre-closure levels. These notable decreases of crime in and around subway stations during the station closure time periods, as well as the prominent increases in robbery when subway stations reopened, should be taken into consideration when planning transit maintenance, conducting crime prevention initiatives, and scheduling crime control strategies.
Two Confucius Institutes and a Cross-Border University as Sites of China’s Cultural Diplomacy in Malaysia: The Limitations of ‘Domestic Structures’

This chapter aims to analyze the role of two Confucius Institutes (CI) and an overseas campus of a top Chinese university in Malaysia as primary transnational sites of China’s cultural diplomacy (CCD) in this Southeast Asian nation. The text specifically looks at the motifs, developments, and activities of major Chinese educational institutions in Malaysia during the latter part of the premiership of Najib Razak, when the relationship between these countries reached its historic peak. The reason why it is important to inquire about the operations of the two CIs and a satellite campus in Malaysia is twofold: (a) these institutions are among the most visible and most focused projections of China’s cultural diplomacy in the country during the studied time frame; (b) the educational sector as a target of CCD in Malaysia has proven to be a fertile field for such activities. On the other hand, other sectors usually targeted by cultural diplomacy in other countries, such as film or traditional arts festivals, are less dominant and the prevalent focus of CCD is rather on ‘shared histories.’ This is due to specific domestic political, social, and ethno-religious structures—most particularly the existence of the large and economically strong Chinese community, which welcomes growing opportunities to do business with China but, at the same time, is increasingly patriotic and comprised of individuals who see themselves as multicultural citizens of Malaysia.
Increased m6A-RNA methylation and FTO suppression is associated with myocardial inflammation and dysfunction during endotoxemia in mice

Endotoxemia triggers life-threatening immune and cardiovascular response that leads to tissue damage, multi-organ failure, and death. The understanding of underlying molecular mechanisms is still evolving. N6-methyladenosine (m6A)-RNA modification plays key regulatory role in numerous biological processes. However, it remains unclear whether endotoxemia alters RNA methylation in the myocardium. In the current study, we investigated the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia on m6A-RNA methylation and its implications on myocardial inflammation and left ventricular (LV) function. Following LPS administration, mice showed increases in m6A-RNA methylation in the myocardium with a corresponding decrease in the expression of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO, an m6A eraser/demethylase). The changes were associated with a significant increase in expression of myocardial inflammatory cytokine genes, such as IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1β, and reduced LV function. Moreover, rat cardiomyoblasts (H9c2) exposed to LPS showed similar changes (with increase in m6A-RNA methylation and inflammatory cytokine genes, whereas downregulation of FTO). Furthermore, methylated RNA immunoprecipitation assay showed hypermethylation and increase in the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α genes in LPS-treated H9c2 cells as compared to untreated cells. Interestingly, FTO knockdown in cardiomyocytes mimicked the above effects. Taken together, these data suggest that endotoxemia-induced m6A methylation might play a critical role in expression of cardiac proinflammatory cytokines, and modulation of m6A methylation might limit myocardial inflammation and dysfunction during endotoxemia.
Career-changers’ ideal teacher images and grounded classroom perspectives

Abstract Seeking to understand whether career-changers experience the idealism referenced in new teacher literature, two teacher educators conducted a qualitative inquiry employing interview, descriptive writing, and focus group methods. Findings from 13 participants indicate their ideal teachers are caring and student-centered in a grounded, not romanticized, way, are knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and organized yet flexible. Participants found actual teaching more time-consuming, demanding, and complex than anticipated and students' unexpected needs and misbehavior challenging. Past teachers influenced their ideal teacher images and becoming a teacher expanded them. The researchers discuss the findings in light of literature and implications for future practice.
A Comparative Model for Continuous and Categorical Data

In Chap. 5, we provided statistical tools for assessing the intra-, inter-, and total-rater agreement among all raters. In this chapter, we provide statistical tools for comparing total-rater agreement to intrarater precision, and intrarater precision among selected raters.
Semidiones—XVII : Formation of semidione radical anions from ketones and reducing agents with and without involvement of solvent

Abstract Mechanisms for the conversion of acetophenone (or benzaldehyde) to 1-phenylpropane-1,2-semidione (or phenylglyoxal radical anions) by electrolytic reduction in dimethylformamide are considered. The intermediate C 6 H 5 C(O − )(CH 3 )CH(O − )X with X = (CH 3 ) 2 N is implicated. The free α-hydroxy aldehyde is apparently not a precursor of the semidione. Other examples of this rearrangement with X = alkoxy groups are suggested. 2,2,4,4-Tetramethylcyclobutanone ketyl at −50° rapidly decomposes to yield 3,3,5,5-tetramethylcyclopentane-1,2-semidione in tetrahydrofuran solution. This novel carbonylation reaction is presumed to involve carbon monoxide reacting with the ketyl, or K + [CO] − reacting with the ketone. Decomposition of ketyls to yield semidiones in tetrahydrofuran solution apparently occurs only in the case of highly strained ketones.