cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Has coal use peaked in China: Near-term trends in China's coal consumption

Abstract Coal combustion to power China's factories, generate electricity, and heat buildings has increased continually since Chinese energy use statistics were first published in 1981. From 2013 until 2015, however, this trend reversed and coal use declined from 2810 million metric tons of coal equivalent (Mtce) to 2752 Mtce, leading to a levelling off of China's overall CO2 emissions. Some analysts have declared that China's coal consumption may have peaked. Preliminary data, however, indicate that coal consumption increased in 2017. To understand future near-term trends in China's coal consumption, we analyze a number of important drivers of coal use and find projected increases in electricity demand that cannot be met by other fossil-fuel or non-fossil-fuel electricity sources, as well as projected increases in coal use in light manufacturing, other non-industrial sectors, and for transformation. We find that these projected increases will lead to near-term growth in China's coal use to levels of approximately 2900 Mtce to 3050 Mtce in 2020, with associated increases in energy-related CO2 emissions.
Embracing the Power of Digital in Literacy Education: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Digital Activities

This mixed methods program evaluation explores the perceptions of students and teachers who participated in digital activities at a university-sponsored literacy festival. The goal of the digital activities was to introduce a diverse student population to digital tools that may be used to assist in understanding, evaluating, and creating literature. Thoughtfully planned and executed digital activities have the potential to increase student motivation, collaboration, and creativity, which may lead to an improvement in student achievement. Incorporating technology in instruction empowers students and promotes opportunities for authentic learning. The purpose of this evaluation was to examine the efficacy of the digital activities to provide formative feedback to guide enhancements of the digital workshop at future annual literacy festivals and contribute to the discussion of digital learning activities on student literacy achievement.
Recycling common materials: Effectiveness, optimal decisions, and coordination mechanisms

Abstract A growing amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated worldwide, and common materials (paper, plastic, metals, and glass), which account for more than half of MSW, exhibit low recovery rates. In this paper, we aim to investigate some key questions about recycling across three dimensions: greenhouse gas emissions, operational costs, and aggregate costs (social costs of emissions plus operational costs.) First, we build supply chain models for cradle-to-grave and cradle-to-cradle supply chains to derive an analytical condition for recycling effectiveness, and use US emissions and cost data to empirically validate that recycling is effective in reducing emissions for all the abovementioned materials. Furthermore, our analysis shows that recycling is effective for all materials, with the exception of glass, with respect to both operational and aggregate costs. Second, we study optimal recycling decisions in terms of collection and yield rates in a socially optimal case, as well as in scenarios in which recycling decisions are made by a local government, a product manufacturer, and an independent recycling firm. Unlike some of existing findings, we show that there are instances in which a product manufacturer or an independent firm might be the best choice for organizing recycling operations. Finally, we discuss and analyze incentives that a social planner should offer to recyclers to bring their efforts closer to the socially optimal choice. We obtain a novel result, which shows that a deposit/refund scheme implemented by a social planner with a refund to local governments might lead to a socially optimal collection rate.
A Study of Performance and Power Consumption Differences Among Different ISAs

Recent advances in different instruction set architectures (ISAs) and their implementations have revived the argument on the role of ISAs in the overall performance and energy efficiency of a processor. Many computer architects believe that with current compiler and microarchitecture developments, the choice of ISA is not a decisive matter anymore. On the other hand, some believe that ISAs can still play an important role in the overall performance and energy efficiency of a computer system. Our objective is to compare and contrast ISAs by finding the differences in performance and energy consumption across ISAs and the reasons behind those differences. Our work shows that ISAs affect the performance and energy efficiency of applications differently based on their inherent characteristics.
Individual nurse empowerment: A concept analysis.

Aim This concept analysis aims to distinguish the concept of nurse empowerment as an individual professional process rather than a job-related process and to identify ways in which a clarified understanding of individual empowerment can impact the discipline. Background The history of nursing as a gendered role has led to oppression in the profession as evidenced by lateral violence and attrition. Empowerment initiatives that focus on a nurse within an organization often provide false power. Design Walker and Avant's method was used for this concept analysis. Data source Published literature from 1990 to 2019 was identified from electronic health profession-related databases, and current definitions and uses of empowerment were pulled from empirical works and electronic databases. Review methods A review of abstracts and full text from articles relating to nurse empowerment was performed, and empirical studies used to provide an understanding of the concept as used today. Results True empowerment entails a nurse controlling her practice and career. Elements of individual empowerment can be pulled from existing work on structural and psychological empowerment. Conclusions Analyzing nurse empowerment from an individual perspective allows us to move beyond the oppressive history of nursing and move the profession forward to impact our communities.
Effects of Infusing Interactive and Collaborative Learning to Teach an Introductory Programming Course

This Innovate Practice Full Paper presents positive effects in teaching an introductory programming course in Python by infusing both interactive and collaborative learning. For a dynamic classroom, we used an interactive computer programming environment, Repl.it, as a top-level shell and created several in-class exercises, assignments, small lab-based projects. In addition, we used an eBook, which offers an animation and software visualization tool where students can step through code line-by-line and a program editing and execution area where students can execute examples, change them, and execute the updated code. We also introduced collaborative learning at the beginning of this introductory programming course in the form of doing team projects submitted at the end of the semester. The students were instructed to commit code to GitHub which ensures that their work will not be lost as well as, provide them basic task management tools to collaborate. The proposed pedagogical approaches were applied in the Fall’2017 semester to teach an introductory CS course in Python. The traditional course instruction that has historically been used in the department are used as the control group. For evaluation and result analysis, thirteen sections of COSC 111 were included in this study over three semesters: Fall 2014, Fall 2016 and Fall 2017. The initial evaluation of summative assessment and analysis of the survey results enable us to conclude that the proposed instructional approach increased student motivation and engagement, facilitated learning, and contributed to the progress of students in this course as well as reduced the failure rates.
The Effects of Three Percussive Devices on Mucus Clearance in a Cystic Fibrosis Simulated Lung

Background: For patients with cystic fibrosis, thick secretions cause a need for bronchial hygiene therapy. We tested three percussive devices that are designed for secretion mobilization to determine the most efficient product: The IPV (Model IPV-1C, Percussionaire, Sandpoint, ID), MetaNeb (Hill-Rom, St. Paul, MN), and Vortran PercussiveNEB (Model 2.0, Vortran Medical Technology, Sacramento, CA). Our null hypothesis is that the three devices will show no significant difference in rate of mucus velocity when compared. Methods: An ASL 5000 lung simulator (Ingmar Medical, Pittsburgh, PA) was set to simulate a cystic fibrosis patient with a Cstat of 45 cm H2O, Raw of 17 cm H2O/L/s, VT 800 mL, f 15, and I:E ratio 1:2. To create the airway, a 10 mm I.D. x 30 cm clear plexiglass tube was attached to the ASL 5000 and each device was attached to the distal end of the tube. A hole was drilled in the center of the tube to accommodate a 10 mL syringe. For the mucus simulant, two parts of Aquasonic 100 Ultrasound Transmission Gel (Parker Laboratories Inc., USA) was mixed with three parts of water. This mixture’s viscosity has been documented to be in the same range of human sputum. For each run, 1 mL of mucus simulant was injected into the center of the leveled plexiglass tube and allowed to settle for one minute. Each device was set to run for 30 seconds at the highest and lowest frequency setting for 5 trials. The best three out of the five trials were used in the mean for the conclusion. A photograph was taken at the end of each trial using a 12 megapixel camera. We set the starting point for the measurement at the distal leading edge of mucus once settled and measured the amount of forward or backward movement after the trial was completed in centimeters via ruler and pixel measurement. Results: The IPV produced forward movement of +10.67 cm on the high frequency setting and +6.12 cm on its low frequency setting. The MetaNeb’s average was - 0.02 cm on low frequency and - 0.14 cm on high frequency. The Vortran PercussiveNEB’s average on the low frequency setting was - 0.79 cm and - 16.76 cm on the high setting. Conclusions: We rejected our null hypothesis because there were significant differences between the three devices. The MetaNeb and Vortran PercussiveNEB both produced negative caudad movement on both high and low frequency settings. The IPV produced forward cephalad movement on both high and low frequency settings. During use of the IPV, secretion movement is best when set at its highest frequency.
Implications of Left Ventricular Dysfunction at Presentation for Infants with Coarctation of the Aorta.

Infants with aortic coarctation may present with left ventricular (LV) dysfunction which may complicate the postoperative course and lead to increased healthcare costs. We aimed to define the prevalence of moderate to severe left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction, evaluate time to recovery, and compare health care costs. Single-center retrospective cohort study at a tertiary care hospital was conducted. Infants 10% of infants with coarctation present with moderate to severe LV dysfunction that typically recovers. Those with moderate to severe dysfunction had longer duration of mechanical ventilation and postoperative cardiac ICU stays, likely driving higher costs of index hospitalization.
Cosmological SUSY breaking and the pyramid scheme

I review the ideas of holographic spacetime (HST), cosmological SUSY breaking (CSB), and the Pyramid Schemes, which are the only known models of Tera-scale physics consistent with CSB, current particle data, and gauge coupling unification. There is considerable uncertainty in the estimate of the masses of supersymmetric partners of the Standard Model particles, but the model predicts that the gluino is probably out of reach of the LHC, squarks may be in reach, and the NLSP is a right-handed slepton, which should be discovered soon.
IL-23/IL-17 Axis in Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases

In inflammatory rheumatic disorders, the immune system attacks and damages the connective tissues and invariably internal organs. During the past decade, remarkable advances having been made towards our understanding on the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in rheumatic diseases. The discovery of IL-23/IL-17 axis and the delineation of its important role in the inflammation led to the introduction of many needed new therapeutic tools. We will present an overview of the rationale for targeting therapeutically the IL-23/IL-17 axis in rheumatic diseases and the clinical benefit which has been realized so far. Finally, we will discuss the complex interrelationship between IL-23 and IL-17 and the possible uncoupling in certain disease settings.
Cost Effectiveness of the Tips From Former Smokers® Campaign-U.S., 2012-2018.

Introduction Since 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has conducted the national Tips From Former Smokers® public education campaign, which motivates smokers to quit by featuring people living with the real-life health consequences of smoking. Cost effectiveness, from the healthcare sector perspective, of the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign was compared over 2012–2018 with that of no campaign. Methods A combination of survey data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults that includes cigarette smokers and literature-based lifetime relapse rates were used to calculate the cumulative number of Tips From Former Smokers® campaign‒associated lifetime quits during 2012–2018. Then, lifetime health benefits (premature deaths averted, life years saved, and quality-adjusted life years gained) and healthcare sector cost savings associated with these quits were assessed. All the costs were adjusted for inflation in 2018 U.S. dollars. The Tips From Former Smokers® campaign was conducted and the survey data were collected during 2012–2018. Analyses were conducted in 2019. Results During 2012–2018, the Tips From Former Smokers® campaign was associated with an estimated 129,100 premature deaths avoided, 803,800 life years gained, 1.38 million quality-adjusted life years gained, and $7.3 billion in healthcare sector cost savings on the basis of an estimated 642,200 campaign-associated lifetime quits. The Tips From Former Smokers® campaign was associated with cost savings per lifetime quit of $11,400, per life year gained of $9,100, per premature deaths avoided of $56,800, and per quality-adjusted life year gained of $5,300. Conclusions Mass-reach health education campaigns, such as Tips From Former Smokers®, can help smokers quit, improve health outcomes, and potentially reduce healthcare sector costs.
The dynamics of parallel-plate and cone–plate flows

Rotational rheometers are the most commonly used devices to investigate the rheological behavior of liquids in shear flows. These devices are used to measure rheological properties of both Newtonian and non-Newtonian, or complex, fluids. Two of the most widely used geometries are flow between parallel plates and flow between a cone and a plate. A time-dependent rotation of the plate or cone is often used to study the time-dependent response of the fluid. In practice, the time dependence of the flow field is ignored, that is, a steady-state velocity field is assumed to exist throughout the measurement. In this study, we examine the dynamics of the velocity field for parallel-plate and cone–plate flows of Newtonian fluids by finding analytical solutions of the Navier–Stokes equation in the creeping flow limit. The time-dependent solution for parallel-plate flow is relatively simple as it requires the velocity to have a linear dependence on radial position. Interestingly, the time-dependent solution for cone–plate flow does not allow the velocity to have a linear dependence on radial position, which it must have at the steady state. Here, we examine the time-dependent velocity fields for these two flows, and we present results showing the time dependence of the torque exerted on both the stationary and rotating fixtures. We also examine the time dependence of spatial non-homogeneities of the strain rate. Finally, we speculate on the possible implications of our results in the context of shear banding, which is often observed in parallel-plate and cone–plate flows of complex fluids.
Spatio-temporal dynamics of hydrologic changes in the Himalayan river basins of Nepal using high-resolution hydrological-hydrodynamic modeling

Abstract The hydrology of the Himalayan region, known as the water tower of Asia, is undergoing rapid transformations due to climate change and growing human influences, and it is known that this region is one of those most vulnerable to climate change. Numerous studies have examined the changes in the hydrology of Nepal, which includes a significant upstream portion of the Himalayas. However, there is a lack of holistic studies on the spatial–temporal evolution of hydrologic dynamics over the entire nation and over long periods. In this study, we present a comprehensive assessment of the changes in river discharge, flood occurrence, and terrestrial water storage (TWS) across all river basins in Nepal using hydrological-hydrodynamic simulations spanning for 40 years (1979–2018) at ~ 5 km spatial resolution, and downscaled flood attributes at ~ 90 m resolution. The spatio-temporal variations in river discharge and inundation extent are examined through mapping of decadal trends using a quantile analysis method. The results indicate that the dynamics of river discharge has evolved varyingly across different river basins. The evolution pattern within a basin generally agrees with that at the basin outlet, but notable exceptions are found, indicating high hydro-climatic heterogeneity within the basins. The decadal evaluation of flood dynamics over major flooded areas suggests that inundation dynamics is strongly influenced by various flow characteristics, including the timing, duration, and magnitude, and that the evolution of flood dynamics is more complex than that of river discharge. Results indicate that the TWS dynamics over entire Nepal is strongly modulated by the variations in subsurface water storage, and groundwater storage has been in continuous decline (-1.74 cm/year) in the recent decades (2002–2016). This study provides a basis to advance the understanding of long-term hydrologic changes in the Himalayan region with important implications for improved water resources management.
Pearls & Oy-sters: Primary Pineal Melanoma With Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis.

Pineal masses commonly present with Parinaud syndrome, a triad consisting of upgaze restriction, convergence-retraction nystagmus, and pupillary light-near dissociation from compression of the quadrigeminal plate.
Analysis of Risks in Financing Agriculture a Case of Agricultural Cooperatives in Benue State, Nigeria

The study analyzed risks in financing agriculture by agricultural cooperatives in Benue State, Nigeria and use research questionnaires for data collection. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the sample of 210 respondents from 21 agricultural cooperatives. Descriptive and inferential statistics were employed in data analysis. Loan defaulting (66.7%) and reduction in savings by members (51.4%) were the major causes of risks faced by agricultural cooperatives in the study area. Other were: adverse changes in commodity prices (48.6%), disaster (45.7%) among others. Risks adversely influence the profitability and competition of agricultural cooperatives (82.9%). Multiple regression analysis results showed that the coefficient of multiple determinations was 0.67 implying that the explanatory variables included in the model accounted for 67% of the variation in the level of profitability of agricultural cooperatives. The number of loans, average amount of loan and the interest rate were significant and important determinants of profitability of the cooperatives. Majority of the respondents (88.6%) made use of loan guarantors as a strategy of managing loan default/ repayment. It was found that majority (70%) of the respondents faced the challenge of lack of insurance cover. The study recommend that Agricultural cooperative officials should be encouraged to undergo formal training and education so as to easily acquire administrative skills in the management of agricultural loans, Farmers loan size should be increased and released on time to enable them use it effectively. Policies that enhance insuring farm activities should be put in place so as to discourage farmers risk aversion.
When Does a Brand-Influencer Matching AI Backfire?

We consider a social media platform that offers a matching service to match marketers with influencers through Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. We find that, even if the implementation cost is negligible, it is not always in a platform’s best interest to adopt such AI technology or to perfect its AI accuracy. The results arise from two countervailing effects on the participation incentives of influencers, which in turn affects the platform's profit. On the one hand, influencer marketing generates higher sales from a better influencer-marketer match, which benefits both influencers and the platform as they share a commission proportional to sales. On the other hand, if sales is high via an influencer's recommendation channel, more users may stop following the influencer if they bought a low-quality product. The former "sales effect" induces the influencer to participate in a marketing campaign, whereas the latter "quality concern effect" deters one from doing so. Furthermore, the proportional size of loyal followers moderates the trade-off between these two effects. We derive conditions under which adopting such AI technology is profitable for a platform. We also extend our baseline model to study when and how a platform should integrate its AI strategy with its communication strategy for product quality assurance.
Unifying Sustainable Development Goals: How Cultural and Creative Engagement are the Missing Links to Advancement

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) named 2021 as the Year of the Creative Economy. While symbolically significant, the designation does a disservice to Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) by dismissing their intrinsic and societal value. It also perpetuates a myth that these industries have economic viability as their sole contribution for advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). By triangulating psychological underpinnings, established methodologies, and recommendations from leading organizations this paper challenges the contemporary siloed assumption of CCIs advancement through commodification alone. It has been shown that exposure to culture and creativity is vital for psychological well-being in individuals and society, while simultaneously eliciting abilities to garner new perspectives towards issues such as the climate crisis. These characteristics are fundamental for advancing sustainable development at broader levels and there are numerous underpinnings within the UN SDGs that corroborate the need to move beyond antiquated ways of doing and thinking. By looking at recommendations through the lenses of well-being and new perspectives, it is possible to create a roadmap that strengthens the 2030 Agenda by utilizing intrinsic values and practices from the CCIs.
Essentially C-indecomposable pω+n-Projective p-Groups

In Cutler and Missel1, a class of examples of pω+2-projective p-groups is constructed having the property (1) every summand that is a direct sum of cyclic groups must be bounded.
Progress in research related to genetic engineering and life synthesis.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the advancements in research related to genetic engineering and life synthesis. Abiotic synthesis of biologically important molecules has produced many amino acids, sugars, bases, nucleosides, and nucleotides, and it is possible that a DNA double-helix analog has been produced abiotically. Several interesting hybrid enzymes have been made through in vitro assembly of subunits derived from related enzymes in different species. The regulatory and catalytic subunits of aspartate transcarbamylase from Escherichia coli each formed active hybrids with the appropriate counterpart subunit derived from the Salmonella typhimurium enzyme. Closed vesicles which exhibit respiration-dependent ATP syntheses have been assembled from solubilized membrane lipids and proteins derived from bovine heart inner mitochondrial membrane. Functional vesicles are also obtained with soybean and other lipids in place of the native ones. Apparently, conditions of assembly rather than damage in preparation of components have blocked several previous attempts to assemble phosphorylating entities.
Techniques for the detection of photodesorbed negative ions

The negative ion channel in stimulated desorption has been the subject of very few studies. The existing experimental data, consisting entirely of electron-stimulated desorption (ESD) experiments, have been summarized in a recent review by KNOTEK [1]. Systems studied have included H− from H/W [2], O− from CO/W [3], O− from O/W [4,5], O− from O/Mo [5], and O− from Mo(100) [6] (the other substrates being polycrystalline). For the surfaces investigated above, the ion yield for negatives was one to two orders of magnitude smaller than that for positives. In some cases, both positive and negative ions could be assigned to the same chemical state on the surface through coverage dependence of the signal, for example [2]. There is also a report of ESD of H− from potassium-dosed polycrystalline Mo in an investigation relating to the conversion of proton beams to negative ions at surfaces [7]. The associated application is in the production of intense neutral beams for fusion experiments. It is also noteworthy that negative ions could have deleterious effects on the performance of forthcoming synchrotron radiation sources utilizing positron beams because of trapping and scattering effects.
The Strong Meat of the Gospel: "Lacouturisme" and the Revival of Asceticism in North America

This paper investigates the history of the retreat movement founded by Onesime Lacouture, SJ, in Quebec during the 1930s, which subsequently migrated to the United States, primarily under the stewardship of Father John Hugo, of Pittsburgh. The Lacouture retreat emerged out of a climate of cultural revivalism that swept over turn-of-the-century Quebec as a contemplative response to the nationalist social Catholicism that was then ascendant. It was unrelentingly critical of mainstream, "respectable" Catholicism which, Lacouture believed, had forfeited its supernatural mandate in favor of secular "paganism." In both Canada and the United States, the retreat was controversial, and as its primary apologists, Lacouture and Hugo drew public fire from critics. Its most celebrated participant, Dorothy Day, was an avid supporter of the retreat and promoted it heavily within the Catholic Worker community. Although there was some disagreement within the Worker about the merits of "Lacouturite" theology, Day testified to its critical role in her own spiritual formation. During the course of its maturation, the retreat morphed from an apolitical insular program of maximalist Christianity into a generator for the Worker's heroic spiritual activism.
Effect of ethanol on maternal and fetal acid-base balance

Abstract Ten per cent ethanol in 5 per cent dextrose and water was given intravenously to 20 pregnant ewes under either spinal or pentobarbital anesthesia at a rate of 0.125 ml. per kilogram per minute for 2 hours (15 ml. per kilogram per 2 hours). Blood gases, pH, and base excess were determined in both mother and fetus. When alcohol was infused at this rate, no ill effects on either maternal or fetal pCO 2 , pH, or base excess could be demonstrated.
Reply to Burch and Nash.

E.D. Driver is the author of a piece entitled Essays on Population Policy which was negatively reviewed by 2 persons Burch and Nash. Driver responds to the criticism of each writer. The field of population policy will develop through critical assessment of publications and through the collection of empirical data for testing theses. The criticisms of Burch and ?nash perform neither function.
Performance of low density parity check (LDPC) codes on high-density magnetic tape recording signals

In this paper investigated the performance of LDPC codes with real high-density magnetic tape recording signals from metal particle media. It is believed that Low Density Parity Check (LDFC) codes may be more appropriate for tape recording systems where the per-channel data rate requirement is significantly lower than that of hard disk drives.
Damping of waves on monolayer-covered surfaces

Abstract A modified treatment of the stress tensor boundary conditions of the capillary ripple problem is presented for the case of negligible dilational viscosity. This implies that diffusional interchange between surface and bulk is negligible and that the equilibrium between surface tension and surface concentration is established immediately. The damping coefficient passes through a maximum as the surface compression modulus increases; the maximum value is very nearly twice the high compression modulus limiting value. Formulas for calculation of surface tension and compression modulus from observed ripple wavelength and damping coefficient are given. A surface equation of state is unnecessary for the use of these formulas, and they provide a very convenient comparison of theory and experiment. Ripple wavelengths and damping coefficients were measured for a series of soluble and insoluble monolayers at fixed frequency but varying surface concentration. For the spread monolayers reported here results were in excellent agreement with the zero dilational viscosity theory, whereas the soluble monolayers showed deviations due to diffusion at high concentrations only. The results are therefore consistent with a model in which it is assumed that bulk viscosity and density are constant right up to the surface, that during ripple propagation the surface tension is adjusted immediately to the varying surface concentration, and that diffusional interchange is negligible even for monolayers considered soluble by ordinary standards.
ECU Technologies from Components to ECU Configuration

This chapter describes electronic control units (ECUs), focusing on their installation environment, operation conditions, common structures, component parts, and circuit parts, using the engine ECU as a typical example. ECUs contain sensor and switch input processing circuits, analog-digital (AD) conversion circuits, microcomputers, a power supply, output processing circuits, and a communication circuit for interacting with other ECUs. This chapter details the parts provided on the circuit boards of ECUs, categorized in accordance with function and shape. It also includes a brief outline of ECU trends. Keywords: ECU ; engine ECU ; microcomputer; case; EDU ; connector; ECU installation
Effects of Elevated Solvent Viscosity on Calcium Dependence of Cardiac Myofilament Contractility

We have previously shown with skinned skeletal muscle fibers at maximum Ca2+ activation and unregulated in vitro motility assays that solvent viscosity modulates actomyosin function in a manner consistent with diffusional limitation of a kinetic process. To determine whether viscosity influences thin filament regulatory protein dynamics, we performed experiments in cardiac muscle preparations with varying [Ca2+]. First, in vitro motility assays were conducted using thin filaments reconstituted with recombinant human cardiac troponin and tropomyosin, and rabbit skeletal HMM and actin; solution viscosity was varied by addition of sucrose. At maximum [Ca2+], we observed that thin filament sliding speed was inversely proportional to the solution viscosity. In addition, Ca2+-sensitivity (pCa50) of thin filament sliding speed decreased significantly with elevated viscosity (η/η0 ≥ ∼ 1.6). For comparison with results from unloaded motility assays, single skinned porcine cardiomyocytes were used to measure steady-state isometric force and the kinetics of isometric tension redevelopment (kTR) when viscosity within the myofilament lattice was elevated. Maximum Ca2+ activated force changed very little for sucrose ≤ 0.3 M (η/η0 ∼ 1.4) or glucose ≤ 0.875 M (η/η0 ∼ 1.66), but decreased at higher concentrations. Maximum kTR decreased steeply and monotonically with increased sucrose or glucose. Ca2+-sensitivity of isometric force also decreased in accord with the in vitro motility assay results. While either 0.3 M sucrose or 0.875 M glucose lowered kTR at high [Ca2+], there was little or no effect at low [Ca2+]. Taken together, these results suggest that cross-bridge cycling is more affected by elevated viscosity than thin filament dynamics in cardiac muscle; changes in Ca2+-sensitivity are therefore consistent with the hypothesis that cross-bridges play a key role in cardiac thin filament activation. Supported by: NIH HL63974, GM07592, AHA 0615164B.
Weather Impact on Outdoor Terahertz Wireless Links

In order to analyze the impairments of Terahertz (THz) and infrared (IR) links caused by attenuation through emulated weather conditions of rain, fog, dust, and air turbulence, THz and IR free-space communication channels at 625 GHz and 1550 nm, respectively, with a maximum data rate of 2.5 Gb/s have been developed in our lab. These two links are spatially superimposed and propagate through exactly the same weather conditions. Various weather emulating chambers were designed that can generate controllable weather conditions. The performance of both channels is analyzed by measuring the power and bit-error-rates (BERs) in each link. Numerical simulations of THz and IR attenuation and link performance under different weather conditions are conducted and compared with experimental results. Under the same weather conditions, the impact of dust, fog, and air turbulence is significantly less on THz links compared to free-space optical links. Under identical rain conditions, the performance of THz and free-space optical links are comparable.
Prediction of outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention for the acute coronary syndrome.

Abstract Background The seven-component Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score has been used to risk stratify, and to guide the medical management of, patients with unstable angina or non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction. We assessed the usefulness of the risk score in predicting in-hospital and 30-day outcomes in such patients who were undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods Using the TIMI score, 2501 patients with unstable angina or non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction were divided into low-risk (zero to two risk factors; n=974), intermediate-risk (three to four risk factors; n=1339), and high-risk (five to seven risk factors; n=188) groups, and outcomes were compared. Results Angiographic/clinical success and the rate of minor procedural events were similar among the three groups. A higher TIMI risk score was associated with more cardiac comorbid conditions and more complicated angiographic lesions: longer lesions ( P = 0.0009), more thrombotic lesions ( P = 0.03), more multivessel disease ( P P = 0.05). Although the risk score did not predict interventional technical success or intraprocedural complications, a high score was associated with prolonged hospital stay, higher postprocedural peak troponin levels, and 30-day major adverse cardiac events. Stepwise logistic regression showed that in conjunction with lesion length and patient sex, a high score was an independent predictor of 30-day major adverse cardiac events (odds ratio=2.3; 95% confidence interval: 1.1 to 4.1; C statistic=0.62). Conclusion Although a higher TIMI risk score in patients with unstable angina or non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction who were undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention correlated with adverse clinical outcome, the score alone cannot be used to guide diagnostic or therapeutic strategies.
A direct approach to time-varying modelling

We consider the on-line identification of continuously adaptive autoregressive (AR) models for observed data records which are realizations of non-stationary stochastic processes. Emphasis is placed on the treatment of arbitrary non-stationarities and the use of realistic assumptions in this operation. Because of these two objectives, usual adaptation procedures or description techniques are not well suited to the problem, which motivates the investigation of a new (direct) approach to time-varying parameter estimation. The cost criterion considered is a constrained least squares cost functional which incorporates with equal weight all instantaneous errors up to the current time of observation. The constraint is specified from limited a priori knowledge about the nature of the non-stationarity, namely the expected maximum rate of change (MRC) of the model parameters.
Adaptive control of a continuous-time portfolio and consumption model

An economic application of adaptive control is presented using three continuous time portfolio and consumption models that are natural generalizations of a model of Merton. In these models of the wealth of an individual investor, it is assumed that the various parameters are deterministic functions of time or stochastic processes. An adaptive control problem arises for each of these models when it is assumed that the average return rate of the risky asset, which is either a deterministic function or a stochastic process, is not observed. For these models, a recursive family of estimators of the average return rate of the risky asset is given based on the observations of the wealth. These estimates are used in the control of the wealth equation.
Neuropeptide Y is a mediator of chronic vascular and metabolic maladaptations to stress and hypernutrition

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a central neuromodulator and peripheral sympathetic neurotransmitter that also has important regulatory roles in cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, immune and metabolic functions during stress. Focusing on the peripheral actions of the peptide in rodent models, we summarize recent studies from our laboratory demonstrating that stress-induced release of NPY mediates accelerated atherosclerosis/restenosis, obesity and metabolic-like syndrome, particularly when combined with a high fat, high sugar diet. In this review, we propose mechanisms of NPY's actions, its receptors and cellular substrates that increase the risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases when chronic stress is associated with pre-existing vascular injury and/or states of hypernutrition.
Employee Turnover and Organizational Performance: Testing a Hypothesis from Classical Public Administration

Empirical studies of public employee turnover, particularly using turnover as an independent variable, are rare; and most of the literature assumes turnover to have a negative impact on organizations. This study examines a provocative but little supported hypothesis that has recently emerged in the private sector literature that turnover may provide positive benefits to the organization, at least up to a point. Using data from several hundred public organizations over a nine-year period, we test the proposition that moderate levels of turnover may positively affect organizational performance. We find that while turnover is indeed negatively related to performance for the organization's primary goal, it does have the hypothesized nonlinear relationship for a secondary output that is characterized by greater task difficulty.
Mechanistic Analysis of Human Mitotic Kinesin CENP-E

Centromere protein CENP-E is a dimeric kinesin (Kinesin-7 family) with critical roles in mitosis including establishment of microtubule (MT)-chromosome linkage and processive movement of monooriented chromosomes on MTs for proper alignment at metaphase. A single molecule of CENP-E has two motor head domains containing an ATP and a microtubule binding site. The motor heads are dimerized through an extended α-helical coiled-coil stalk (∼200 nm in length) followed by C-terminal globular domains involved in cargo or kinetochore binding. Mechanistic studies were peformed using a dimeric CENP-E-6His motor. Presteady-state and steady-state kinetics were performed to determine the rate constants of the individual steps of ATP binding, ATP hydrolysis, phosphate release, CENP-E dissociation from the MT, and its reassociation to the MT with ADP release. Preliminary studies with pulse chase experiments reveal that MgATP binding to MT•CENP-E follows a two-step process, formation of a collision complex and a fast (47.5 s-1) nucleotide isomerization step. Acid quench studies indicate that the ATP hydrolysis occurs at 24.6 s-1. MT dissociation studies show that the motor detachment from MT is slow at 1.35 s-1. The steady state kcat determined was 0.9 s-1, K1/2,MT = 1.5 μM, and Km,ATP = 18.3 μM. These studies are directed to define the distinctive mechanochemistry for CENP-E processive movement associated with chromosome congression and MT plus-end elongation. Supported by NIH GM54141 to Susan P. Gilbert.
The Discovery of the Tau Lepton and the Changes in Elementary-Particle Physics in Forty Years

I describe the discovery of the tau lepton in the 1970s using the SPEAR electron-positron collider and the SLAC-LBL detector of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. I also describe the subsequent verification of the existence of the tau lepton and its leptonic nature by experiments at SPEAR and at the DORIS electron-positron collider at DESY. As a preliminary to the tau discovery I discuss how I became a physicist and became interested in leptons. This history of the discovery of the tau allows me to give a general picture of the high-energy physics world of forty years ago and to discuss the changes that have occurred in the practice of high-energy physics over these forty years.
The effect of hydroxylamine on the morphology of the rat mammary gland and on the induction of mammary tumors by 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene

Abstract The effect of hydroxylamine (HA) on the morphology of the rat mammary gland and on the formation of mammory tumors induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) was studied. Hydroxylamine caused excessive growth and secretory activity in the mammary gland. When it was given after DMBA administration it decreased the number and size of tumors per tumor bearing animal, but increased the median latency period. When HA was given before carcinogen administration it did not affect the incidence of tumors or the number or weight of tumors per tumor bearing animal, but it protected to some extent the normal lobular structure of the gland against the DMBA induced destruction which was evident a few weeks after carcinogen administration. A delayed effect of DMBA treatment was the formation of dark-staining irregular structures which originated either from the larger ducts or from the duct terminals. These formations were morphologically different from the hyperplastic alveolar nodules (HAN) which showed distended ductules of regular shapes and were common in animals treated with HA before DMBA administration.
MIMO-OFDM spatial multiplexing technique implementation for GNU radio

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) is a wireless technology allowing a significant increasing of the throughput without the extension of the bandwidth but by means of the use of multiple antennas both in transmission and reception. Currently, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is used in conjuction with MIMO to achieve better performance. With OFDM, instead of a single carrier, the main signal is split in a sub-set of independently modulated signals on orthogonal sub-carriers.In this paper, we provide a description of our MIMONet SDR platform for network-level exploitation of MIMO technology. We present the implementation of our OFDM transceiver, developed following the structure of IEEE 802.11n standard and implementing one of the most powerful MIMO technique: spatial multiplexing. In this technique, two (or more) different data streams are simultaneously transmitted over two (or more) antennas. Starting from the original GNU Radio code, we modified and added blocks to achieve a complete implementation of MIMO-OFDM spatial multiplexing. We added some features, such as the concatenation of Forward Error Correction (FEC) in the packet construction, and the use of pilot sub-carriers for channel estimation. We also developed a new synchronization algorithm derived by extending the Van de Beek algorithm to the MIMO setting. We build the framework of the standard IEEE 802.11n. In particular, we put all the preambles needed for synchronization and channel estimation. We have also designed and implemented a fine grained signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimation, bit error rate (BER) and packet error rate (PER) computations, that allow us to evaluate the channel conditions and validate performance of the software implementation.
Laser revascularization, 1985: State of the art

Progress in the young field of laser recanalization of occluded arteries and applications in cardiovascular disease to which many investigators have contributed is briefly summarized. Specific problems remaining to be solved are set forth. In conclusion, the author makes a cautious prediction of success for the percutaneous laser catheter within the next 5 years.
Aspect-oriented design of sensor networks

The rapid technology development in wireless communication and embedded micro-sensing devices has made the distributed sensor networks (DSN) an area of national importance. Wireless sensor networks are an important military technology with civil and scientific applications. More importantly, the design and analysis of sensor networks can be quite complicated, since each node must simultaneously interact with many other nodes to achieve multiple goals. In this paper, we show how this problem can be made tractable by designing separate protocols for each aspect of a node's behavior. We model this discrete event system by Petri Nets and then formulate three aspect hierarchies: sensing, communications, and command. Within each aspect hierarchy, a node is dynamically assigned roles. To combine the hierarchies, control specifications are derived that enforce consistency across the aspects. Controllers are created using three discrete event methodologies to show how computationally independent aspect-oriented designs can be integrated to form a unified distributed system. The controller methodologies used are: (i) Petri Nets, (ii) finite state automata (FSA) using the Ramadge and Wonham approach, and (iii) vector addition control using the Wonham and Li approach. Finally, we contrast the controller design methodologies by presenting the advantages and disadvantages for each method. In conclusion, for our Petri Nets modeled DSN system with n places and m transitions, constructing Petri Nets controller is computationally efficient but with controller execution time complexity of O(n × m2). On the other hand, FSA controller provides prompt response with time complexity of O(n × m) at the cost of manual offline state space search and encoding. Thus this method is only applicable to medium and small size system.