cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hazard Management: Integrated Framework for Engineering and Public Policy

Hazard management is not only associated with engineering and economic constraints, it is intricately tied to public policy and institutional control considerations. This paper shows how the authors have tied an ongoing research project for developing and optimizing tornadic risks in Mississippi with an integrated public policy educational plan at Mississippi State University that provide both university-based and societal-wide education. To this end, this paper discusses considerations for shaping public activity for natural hazards and man-made hazards through defining the basis for public intervention and the principles for public policy responses. The authors suggest public actions tailored to the unique properties of hazards, study public policy analysis for principles that might be useful in doing so, and explore implications of these circumstances for future education of professionals in public planning, engineering, and management. Such integrated approach is essential to develop effective, efficient, and equitable hazard mitigation measures.
Watching the Wind: Seismic Data Contamination at Long Periods due to Atmospheric Pressure‐Field‐Induced Tilting

Abstract Following the installation of a new broadband seismic station near the Pacific coast of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network recorded elevated background seismic noise at periods exceeding 30 s. We observed power spectral density variations of about 15–20 dB in the horizontal‐component seismograms between times of high and low noise, and differences of up to about 25 dB between the horizontal and vertical components during noisy intervals. The amplitude of the signal at long periods exhibited clear correlations with cyclic daytime fluctuations of air temperature and wind speed. Our observations provided measurable evidence that the variations of the local atmospheric pressure field associated with local wind systems represents an effective source of ground displacements and rotations. The rotational component of the pressure‐field‐induced motion is recorded by horizontal‐component seismometers that, below their low‐frequency corner, are sensitive to surface tilts. The response of seismometers to ground rotations is characterized by a transfer function, which we use to estimate the amplitude of tilt. We measured a pressure‐field‐induced surface tilt of the order of several tenths of μ rad. Based on simple modeling, tilt contamination is expected to attenuate rapidly with depth and to become negligible just a few hundreds of meters below the surface. Removal of this unwanted effect from seismograms remains a challenging task as the details of tilting depend on the nonstationary character of the pressure field, the compliance of the near surface to pressure variations, and the design and construction of the seismic station. Online Material: Animated time‐sequenced plots of daily seismic noise PDFs.
Rethinking Optical Fiber: New Demands, Old Glasses

From a materials perspective optical fibers are victims of their own success. The advent of the laser, 50 yr ago, coupled with an insatiable demand for information enabled by light-based communications, ushered in a golden age of glass science and engineering. It is somewhat ironic that the staggering ubiquity of information today, which is carried globally and almost instantaneously via optical fibers, is enabled largely by one material—silica—into which only a few components are added. The richness of the Periodic Table has largely been forgotten. The purpose of this study was to rethink the materials that can be used to make commercially relevant optical fibers and describe the extraordinary properties, with stimulated Brillouin scattering being the primary exemplar, of fibers made from otherwise ordinary materials. In particular, this study focuses on the use of the molten core approach to optical fiber fabrication and the novel yet practical fibers that can be produced. This study is purposely provocative and aims to reassert the centrality (and simplicity and beauty) of glass science as the best approach to meet future challenges for high-performance optical fibers.
A Loosely Coupled Planar Wireless Power System for Multiple Receivers

Wireless power transfer is demonstrated mathematically and experimentally for M primary coils coupled to N secondary coils. Using multiple primary coils in parallel has advantages over a single primary coil. First, the reduced inductance of the transmitting coils makes the amplifier less sensitive to component variations. Second, with multiple receiving coils, the power delivery to an individual receiver is less sensitive to changes in the loads attached to other coils. By using a 16 cm by 18 cm primary and a 6 cm by 8 cm secondary coil, going from a 1:2 coupling to a 2:2 coupling, we show an increase in received power from 1.8 to 9.5 W, with only a small change in coupling efficiency. The advantages of the multiple primary coil topology increase the feasibility of charging multiple wireless portable devices simultaneously.
Logic synthesis for manufacturability

Design optimization during synthesis is for area and/or performance while optimization for yield occurs at the layout level. To obtain abstraction level for yield optimization by introducing an interesting approach to yield-driven logic synthesis. Design for manufacturability denotes all techniques designers use to estimate and control yield and robustness during the design phase, prior to manufacturing.
No Aging in India: Alzheimer's, the Bad Family, and Other Modern Things

No Aging in India: Alzheimer's, the Bad Family, and Other Modern Things. Lawrence Cohen. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. xxv. 367 pp.
THE ATTITUDES OF WOMEN AND MEN IN POLICING: TESTING CONVENTIONAL AND CONTEMPORARY WISDOM*

Historically, women were excluded from policing because they were thought to be physically as well as temperamentally unsuited for the rigors of police work Despite the fact that most evaluations of behavior on the street reveal few differences in the way men and women perform most tasks, many police officers, as well as academicians and observers, believe that women bring a different set of attitudes and values to policing. However, there has been little research that either confirms or casts doubt upon these attitudinal differences. This study examines the conflicting predictions about gender and attitudes derived from theory about gender differences and sociological theory about occupational socialization, drawing upon the former to develop hypotheses about four dimensions of police attitudes: perspectives on the police role, attitudes toward citizens, evaluations of departments and coworkers, and occupational integration. These hypotheses are tested with data from the Police Services Study, which surveyed police officers in 24 departments. The results suggest that although men and women may not be equally integrated into their jobs as police officers, there are few differences in the ways men and women see their role, their clientele, or their departments.
Separation by Cell Size Enriches for Mammary Stem Cell Repopulation Activity

Mammary gland reconstitution experiments, as well as lineage tracing experiments, have provided evidence for the existence of adult mammary stem cells (MaSCs). In addition, cell sorting techniques for specific cell surface markers (CD24+CD29HCD49fHSca1−) have been used to prospectively isolate MaSC-enriched populations. Although these markers enrich for cell subpopulations that harbor MaSCs, they do not identify regenerative stem cells uniquely. Here, we report that MaSCs can be further defined by the property of cell size. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting was used to analyze sizing beads and further separate populations of cells with varying degrees of forward scatter (FSC). Cells with a low FSC that were approximately 10 μm in size with a higher FSC had increased outgrowth potential as compared with lineage-negative (LIN−) control cells. Limiting dilution transplantation assays indicated that the repopulating ability of LIN−CD24+CD29H cells that were >10 μm in size was significantly increased as compared with cells marked by CD24 and CD29 alone. These results suggest that MaSCs can be further isolated by sorting based on size/FSC. These findings have critical implications for understanding mammary gland stem cell biology, an important requisite step for understanding the etiology of breast cancer.
The usefulness of EPR spectroscopy in the study of compounds with metal–metal multiple bonds

This Perspective reviews some of the contributions that EPR spectroscopy has made for the understanding of the bonding and electronic structure of molecular species with metal-to-metal multiple bonds. The goal is to show how useful this technique can be in (a) elucidating whether unpaired electrons reside in metal-based or ligand-based molecular orbitals, (b) providing information on the metal center's total electronic spin, an aspect that offers support to its oxidation state, (c) informing about the distribution of the unpaired electrons between the metals and the organic ligand, (d) detecting molecular dynamics and phase transitions to complement X-ray studies and (e) using high-frequency, high-field EPR for studying compounds that might be EPR-silent when only commonly available spectrometers are used. A brief comparison with NMR is provided in the ESI where it is noted that for typical laboratory magnetic fields, the energy gap between resonant states in EPR is in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum (GHz) while for NMR it is in the radiofrequency range (MHz). Our aim is to encourage the inorganic chemistry community and more broadly other chemists and physicists to collaborate while characterizing new paramagnetic inorganic complexes. Enough basic background is provided as ESI to allow senior-level undergraduate and graduate students to understand the simplicity as well as the power of EPR spectroscopy with a view to encourage them to use this technique in their own research activities. Finally, it should be noted that this report commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the description in Science of the first species with a quadruple bond.
Magnitude and variability of sequential estradiol and progesterone concentrations in women using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate for contraception

Abstract Objective: To describe the magnitude and variability of sequential serum estradiol and progesterone concentrations throughout one depot medroxyprogesterone (DMPA) injection interval. Design: Prospective study. Setting: Family planning and women's health clinics. Patient(s): Thirty-one women, ages 19 to 46, using DMPA for contraception. Intervention(s): Serum for estrogen and progesterone was collected weekly throughout one DMPA injection interval. Main Outcome Measure(s): Serum estradiol and progesterone concentrations; estradiol patterns produced from data plotted across the entire DMPA injection interval. Result(s): The average daily estradiol concentrations ranged from 7.9 to 69.1 pg/mL, with a mean of 18.9 ± 12.9 and a median of 15.4 pg/mL. Average daily progesterone concentrations ranged from 0.14 to 1.1 ng/mL, with a mean of 0.40 ± 0.19 ng/mL and a median of 0.36 ng/mL. Two general patterns of estradiol concentrations were identified. One pattern, observed in approximately one third of the participants, reflected estradiol concentrations that were extremely low (mean, 12.7 ± 3.6 pg/mL; median, 13.4 pg/mL) and consistently flat across the DMPA injection interval. The second pattern, seen in the remaining participants, reflected estradiol concentrations that were higher (mean, 22.2 ± 14.9 pg/mL; median, 17.3 pg/mL) and quite variable. Conclusion(s): This study demonstrated that estradiol concentrations were lower than the 40 to 50 pg/mL reported in most studies and, for the majority of women, varied substantially across the DMPA injection interval.
On discussion of switching frequency impacts on DC-fed motor drive EMI filter design

This paper initiated a discussion on the motor drive switching frequency and its impact on EMI filter design for power density point of view. The paper analyses EMI noise characteristics with increasing switching frequency in DC-fed three-phase motor drive systems, which result in different filter parameters. Nevertheless increasing switching frequency also brings in differences on volt-second across the magnetic and high frequency loss in the magnetic components and interconnections. This change also influence on the filter size and weight. Several EMI filter designs at different switching frequency are compared and efforts are made to give a picture of power density barriers for EMI filters for DC-fed motor drive systems.
Correlation of prevalence and severity of aortic regurgitation detected by pulsed Doppler echocardiography with the murmur of aortic regurgitation in elderly patients in a long-term health care facility.

Abstract The sensitivity and specificity of pulsed Doppler echocardiography for the diagnosis of aortic regurgitation (AR) were 96 and 96%, respectively.1 They were 73 and 92%, respectively, for auscultation in 106 patients in whom the presence or absence of AR was demonstrated by supravalvular aortography.1 We performed a blinded prospective study to determine the prevalence and severity of AR detected by pulsed Doppler echocardiography correlated with the diastolic murmur of AR in unselected elderly patients in a long-term health care facility.
Plant Water Stress, Leaf Temperature, and Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) Outbreaks in California Vineyards

We evaluated the relationships between plant water status and leaf temperature, and between leaf temperature and spider mite (Acari: Tetranychidae) and predatory mite (Acari: Phytoseiidae) populations in eight vineyards in California in 2006 and 2007. Temperature of south-facing leaves increased significantly by 0.8°C for every 1.0°C increase in ambient air temperature, and by 5.3°C for every one MPa drop in leaf water potential. Peak population densities of Pacific spider mite, Tetranychus pacificus McGregor, increased significantly with increasing frequency of leaf temperatures above 31°C. In contrast, peak population densities of Willamette spider mite, Eotetranychus willamettei (McGregor), showed no relationship with the frequency of leaf temperatures above 31°C. This differential relationship between the two mite species and high leaf temperatures is consistent with their upper thresholds for development, which are 40°C for T. pacificus and 31°C for E. willamettei, as identified in a previous study. Predatory mite population densities showed no relationship with peak population densities of either spider mite species during the analysis period, but decreased with the frequency of leaf temperatures above 31°C. In addition, predatory mite population densities were significantly higher on south-facing than interior leaves after adjusting for the effect of leaf temperature. These results help to explain why outbreaks of T. pacificus occur in warmer or water-stressed vineyards, whereas E. willamettei develops higher populations in cooler or well-irrigated vineyards. In addition, these results suggest that regulated deficit irrigation should be implemented with caution, especially in those vineyards with a high risk of T. pacificus outbreaks.
Magnetoacoustic Oscillations and the Fermi Surface in Aluminum

Measurements of magnetoacoustic attenuation in very pure aluminum have been made with 10 to 100 Mc/sec longitudinal sound waves in magnetic fields up to 9200 oe. at a temperature of 4.2\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. The observed oscillations, or geometric resonances, for various crystal and field orientations may be interpreted utilizing the second zone of the nearly free electron Fermi surface model proposed by Harrison. The data suggest regions of high scattering near [100] portions of the surface that prevent the observation of periods for some orbit configurations.
The magnetic field structure in the heliosheath

The magnetic field observed in a fluctuating, dynamical heliosheath will differ considerably from that in a static heliosheath. In particular, the time between current-sheet crossings (sectors) is quite sensitive to the radial speed of the solar wind termination shock. If an inwardly moving termination shock moves past an observer on a slowly moving spacecraft, the time between current-sheet crossings in the heliosheath becomes larger, and can become very large, for reasonably expected inward shock speeds. This effect may help to explain recent observations of the magnetic field from the Voyager 1 spacecraft, where, in the heliosheath, the magnetic field has remained directed outward from the Sun for several months.
A not so typical pericardial effusion case

A 71-year-old woman with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and hypothyroidism on hormone replacement presented with a 3-month history of progressive exertional dyspnoea and decline in functional capacity. She was evaluated and found to have a moderate circumferential pericardial effusion on transthoracic echocardiography without 2D or Doppler signs of tamponade physiology. Laboratory test showed normal thyroid-stimulating hormone and C-reactive protein levels, and sedimentation rate. Tuberculosis testing was negative and rheumatological panel was unrevealing. She was started on colchicine for idiopathic pericarditis. Due to progressive symptoms, she was referred …
Confidence Following Choice

Two procedures for eliciting probability judgments are compared. In the choice method, subject answers a yes/no question and then states a probability that his/her answer is correct. In the no-choice method, subject states his/her probability that a given proposition is true. Previous experiments by Ronis and Yates (1987) and Fischhoff, Slovic, and Lichtenstein (1977) indicated that subjects are less confident (i.e. give less extreme probability judgments) in the choice than in the no-choice condition. The effect proves to be sensitive to methodolgical details. For questionniares embedded in a large packet which subjects complete rapidly, the reduction in confidence following choice found by earlier researchers is replicated and is extended to questions eliciting subjects ' willingness to bet. However, when the survey is completed at a more leisurely pace, in isolation from other studies and distractions, there is no difference in confidence between choice and no-choice subjects on average. For particular types of questions, however, confidence is enhanced following choice in an isolated setting, while for other questions confidence is reduced. A preliminary typology is suggested for predicting which effect will obtain, and initial tests tend to support it. Additional studies indicate that monetary valuation judgments and a Likert scale of attachment following choice do not exhibit the same pattern as confidence does, while evidential conflict does appear to affect confidence in a similar manner as the forced choice task. Results of Wallsten and Gonzalez-Vallejo (1994) and Tversky and Koehler (1994) are extended to show that the choice method biases yes/no answers toward "yes" but does not boost the judged probability of the focal proposition, i.e. binary complementarity holds for probability judgments using the choice method. The effects of choice on confidence appear to be orthogonal to these considerations. Results of all the studies point to the mutability and fragility of the effect of choice on subsequent confidence. The isolated-questionnaire studies suggest that the act of choice accentuates one's feeling of whether one knows enough to make a dichotomous choice in the available time, but other interpretations are also consistent with the data. This paper is a Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Psychology, Stanford University, 1995.
Split Ratings, Bond Yields, and Underwriter Spreads for Industrial Bonds

A split bond rating occurs when Moody's and Standard & Poors give different ratings to the same issue. We examine 1,277 public industrial bond issues, where 221 have split ratings, issued from 1980 through mid-1993. For split-rated industrial bonds, neither rating agency consistently gives higher ratings. Earlier studies find yields for split-rated bonds to be priced as either the higher or the lower of the ratings. We find the yields on split-rated bonds to be an average of the yields on the two ratings. Split ratings for industrial bonds appear to reflect random differences on the part of rating agencies. Our results differ from previous studies because we use a substantially larger sample and include high-yield bonds. As long as a bond has an investment-grade rating, the underwriter fees are found to be essentially the same for all categories. Below investment-grade, the rating substantially affects the underwriter fee. Thus split ratings for high-yield bonds have an important effect upon the underwriter spread paid.
Significance of incidental FDG thyroid uptake: An educational exhibit

1073 Learning Objectives 1. Literature review of incidental FDG thyroid uptake. 2. Identify the prevalence of thyroid malignancy in FDG positive lesions. 3. Review the current management of FDG positive thyroid nodules. The current widespread usage of whole-body 18F-FDG PET-CT studies in the evaluation of malignant tumors has resulted in an increase in the detection of incidentally found thyroid lesions termed incidentalomas, that may be found in up to 50% of patients. The risk of finding cancer in a thyroid nodule identified on physical examination alone is approximately 7.6%, and the frequency of cancer in the resulting surgically excised nodules ranges from 8% to 17%. The age-adjusted annual incidence rate of thyroid malignancy in the United States is 4.5 per 100,000. Adler and Bloom were the first to study thyroid nodules with 18F-FDG PET scans in 1993. Multiple studies have demonstrated that FDG avid focal thyroid incidentalomas have a high risk of malignancy and the wide prevalence range of these lesions will be discussed in depth. 18F-FDG avidity within the thyroid gland is mostly related to primary thyroid malignancies, and a very small percentage related to metastatic lesions to thyroid tissue. Diffuse thyroid uptake in most instances is considered benign. The role of SUV in determining malignancy is variable, since several benign thyroid lesions may present with elevated SUV, such as Hurthle cell adenomas; and primary thyroid tumors such as papillary carcinoma may present with lower SUV levels. There is a consensus amongst most investigators regarding the high clinical importance of histological analysis as the determining factor in establishing a true differentiation of benign versus malignant etiologies of thyroid incidentalomas. A true consensus regarding medical and/or surgical management of thyroid incidentalomas is necessary and is still under investigation
Observation of structural modulations and formation of H-carbides and ζ-silicides during α2 → γ transformation in fully lamellar γ-TiAl

The present paper illustrates the experimentally observed microstructures related to α2 → γ + Ti2AlC (H-carbide) and Ti5Si3 (ζ silicide) phase transformations in fully lamellar Ti-46Al-2Cr-3Nb-0.2W-0.2Si-0.1C alloy. These transformations were observed by in-situ heat treatments in the TEM at temperatures up to 800°C and by post heat treatment examination in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope. α2 dissolution was observed to start both inside the lath and at the α2/γ interface. H-type carbides were observed to nucleate inside the α2 lath, which explains the appearance of long arrays of well-aligned structures along prior α2 laths in creep-deformed samples. ζ silicide precipitates nucleate at the α2/γ interface, this growth occurs epitaxially along the pre-existing α2 direction. Modulated structures were observed during the α2 → H, newly formed γ and at the α2 / ζ interface. All these modulated structures consist of regular arrangement of stacking faults and dislocations.
Constraints on Ground Accelerations Inferred from Unfractured Hoodoos near the Garlock Fault, California

Abstract In the absence of long‐term instrumental data, the presence of fragile geologic features near active faults can provide physical limits on the level of ground shaking that could potentially have significant implications for seismic hazards. This paper introduces a multidisciplinary investigation that uses unfractured hoodoos in seismically active regions to constrain the level of ground accelerations at those locations. Although there is a large uncertainty associated with the age of the hoodoos because of their rapidly eroding nature, they can still be useful in providing physical limits on ground motions associated with recent large events. Here, we consider the fragilities of two hoodoos in the Red Rock Canyon region within a few kilometers of the Garlock fault, which is an active strike‐slip fault in a transtensional region with at least a few large earthquakes in the Holocene. The hoodoos at these sites could be evidence of median or relatively low ground motions associated with large transtensional strike‐slip earthquakes. Results of our field and laboratory tests on two hoodoos provide constraints on peak ground accelerations (PGAs) of and . Using the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) probabilistic seismic hazard (PSH) deaggregation, the dominant earthquake contributing to the hazard at the site of the hoodoos for the recurrence intervals of 475, 975, and 2475 years is located at a distance of 4.8 km and has a magnitude of 7.63, consistent with the observed paleoearthquake evidence on the Garlock fault. The PGAs corresponding to these three return periods are 0.26, 0.40, and , respectively. Therefore, the survival of the more fragile hoodoo during a presumably large event on the Garlock fault in the past 550 years would be consistent with the 2008 seismic hazard level if the ground motions during that event were below the median value.
High-spin S = 2 ground state aminyl tetraradicals.

Aminyl tetraradicals with planar tetraazanonacene backbones have quintet (S = 2) ground states and do not show any detectable thermal population of the low-spin excited states up to the highest temperature investigated (100 K) in the 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) matrix. This indicates that the nearest electronic excited state (triplet) is at least ∼0.3 kcal mol–1 higher in energy, that is, the triplet–quintet energy gap, ΔETQ > 0.3 kcal mol–1, which is consistent with the broken-symmetry-DFT-computed ΔETQ of about 5 kcal mol–1. In concentrated (ca. 1–10 mM) solutions of tetraradical 4 in 2-MeTHF at 133 K, a fraction of tetraradicals form a dimer (association constant, Kassoc ≈ 60 M–1), with a weak, antiferromagnetic exchange coupling, J/k ≈ −0.1 K ∼ 0.2 cal mol–1, between the S = 2 tetraradicals. This weak intradimer exchange coupling is expected for two tetraradicals at the distance of about 6 A. The most sterically shielded tetraradical 5 in 2-MeTHF has a half-life of 1 h at room temperature; the p...
Differential diagnosis of hypochromic anemias.

Hypochromic anemia is not synonymous with iron-deficiency anemia. Hypochromia usually occurs in patients with depleted body iron stores, but it may also occur in the presence of adequate iron stores. Factors other than iron deficiency must be considered in the differential diagnosis. Iron-deficiency anemia is the only hypochromic anemia associated with inadequate body iron and the only anemia that responds to iron therapy.
Surgical and Urologic Manpower in the United States, 1969 to 1978

AbstractBetween 1969 and 1978 the number of board-certified urologists increased by 71 per cent, while the population of the United States increased by 8.2 per cent. In 1978 the ratio of board-certified urologists to population was 1:32,416 and 326 of 370 first-year residency positions available in urology in the United States were filled. If we continue to produce urologists at the present rate the urologist to population ratio will be approximately 1:25,972 by year 2000. Thus, it appears that there are now too many urologists being trained yearly, which was indicated by 68 per cent of the academic program directors surveyed in 1979. In fact, to restore the ratio of urologist to population approximating 1:35,000 by year 2000 the number of urologists being trained yearly should be reduced to 156 or by approximately 50 per cent. The only reasonable chance of achieving a reduction in urologists being trained in the near future is by voluntary decreases in the size of training programs. There are many conseq...
A Case for Authoring Multi-Touch Interactive Open Educational Resources

As textbook prices continue to skyrocket, open educational resources (OER) offer a significant way to deliver high quality content to students in higher education. The pressing issue is whether these OER are engaging, relevant, and accurate. Authoring multi-touch interactive resources that are delivered to students as open-access may not only alleviate the financial burden many are faced with but also give teachers an opportunity to deepen their own content knowledge and efficacy through the act of authoring such resources. This analysis provides a rationale and means by which pre-service and novice in-service teachers can scaffold their own content knowledge and teaching practices by authoring open-access multi-touch interactive digital resources. However, multi-touch authoring solutions are limited both in scope and ability. Many multi-touch authoring solutions are cumbersome to use, difficult to publish for a universal readership, or both. Much more study is needed to study the efficacy of publishing multi-touch interactive OER and the specific effects this activity has on teacher content knowledge as well as on student receptivity and engagement with the multi-touch medium.
Microscale additive manufacturing and modeling of interdigitated capacitive touch sensors

Abstract Touch sensors have created a paradigm shift in the human-machine interaction in modern electronic devices. Several emerging applications require that the sensors conform to curved 3-D surfaces and provide an improved spatial resolution through miniaturized dimensions. The proliferation of sensor applications also requires that the environmental impact from their manufacturing be minimized. This paper demonstrates and characterizes interdigitated capacitive touch sensors manufactured using an Aerosol Jet based additive technique that reduces waste and minimizes the use of harmful chemicals. The sensors are manufactured with the capacitive elements at an in-plane length scale of about 50 μm by 1.5–5 mm, a thickness of 0.5 μm, and a native capacitance of a 1–5 pF. The sensor capacitance variation is within 8% over multiple samples, establishing the repeatability of the Aerosol Jet method. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy are used to characterize the sensor electrodes. 3-D electromagnetic simulations are carried out to predict the capacitance of the printed sensors and the electric field distribution. The simulations show a reasonable agreement with the experimental values of the sensors’ native capacitance (within 12.5%). The model shows the native capacitance to be relatively insensitive to the thickness of the sensor electrodes, allowing touch sensors to be fabricated with reduced material usage and cost. The model is further used to establish the important sensor dimensions governing its electrical performance. Lastly, electromagnetic field distribution predicted by the model is used to establish the physical range of the touch action to be about a millimeter out of the plane of the sensors for the geometries considered in the current work.
Foucault and the Archeology of Alienation

Foucault begins from a radical unwillingness to accept the present order of things. Asked towards the end of his life what militant action might be expected of an intellectual, he replied: The project, the tactics and goals to be adopted are a matter for those who do the fighting. What the intellectual can do is provide instruments of analysis, and at present this is the historian’s essential role. What is effectively needed is a ramified penetrative perception of the present, one that makes it possible to locate lines of weakness, strong points, positions where the instances of power have secured and implanted themselves in a system of organisation dating back over a hundred and fifty years. In other words, a topological and geological survey of the battlefield — that is the intellectual’s role’ (PK, 62).
Applied STEM Coursework, High School Dropout Rates, and Students With Learning Disabilities:

Applied science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) coursetaking is becoming more commonplace in traditional high school settings to help students reinforce their learning in academic STEM courses. Throughout U.S. educational history, vocational education has been a consistent focus for schools to keep students on the school-to-career pathway. However, very few studies have examined the role of applied STEM coursetaking in improving schooling outcomes for students with learning disabilities. This is a major missing link as students with learning disabilities tend to exhibit much higher dropout rates than students from the general population. This study examines mechanisms displayed through applied STEM courses and the role they play in helping students with learning disabilities complete high school and transition into college. Using a nationally representative data set of high school students and their full transcripts (i.e., Education Longitudinal Study of 2002), we found that students with learni...
GPS antennas for small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS)

The paper presents some of the current options in antenna designs for GPS on board small unmanned aerial systems. These include patch antennas, quadrifilar helix antennas, choke ring antennas, smart antennas, and synthetic aperture arrays. Of special interest is the measures in the antenna design to mitigate intentional jamming and other interference sources, whether intentional or unintentional. Optimal parameters in the antenna design are presented.
High-Throughput and Cost-Effective Characterization of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Reprogramming somatic cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) offers the possibility of studying the molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases in cell types difficult to extract from living patients, such as neurons and cardiomyocytes. To date, studies have been published that use small panels of iPSC-derived cell lines to study monogenic diseases. However, to study complex diseases, where the genetic variation underlying the disorder is unknown, a sizable number of patient-specific iPSC lines and controls need to be generated. Currently the methods for deriving and characterizing iPSCs are time consuming, expensive, and, in some cases, descriptive but not quantitative. Here we set out to develop a set of simple methods that reduce cost and increase throughput in the characterization of iPSC lines. Specifically, we outline methods for high-throughput quantification of surface markers, gene expression analysis of in vitro differentiation potential, and evaluation of karyotype with markedly reduced cost.
Muscle as a paracrine and endocrine organ

Skeletal muscle cells are highly abundant and metabolically active and are known to 'communicate' their energy demands to other organs through active secretion. Muscle-derived secretory proteins include a variety of cytokines and peptides collectively referred to as 'myokines' that exert autocrine, paracrine or endocrine effects. Analyses of the skeletal muscle secretome revealed that numerous myokines are secreted in response to contraction or strength training, and that these factors not only regulate energy demand but also contribute to the broad beneficial effects of exercise on cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental health. Herein we review recent studies on the myokines that regulate muscle function and those that mediate cross talk between skeletal muscle and other organs including adipose tissue, liver, pancreas, the cardiovascular system, brain, bones, and skin.
Mobile Health Technology Using a Wearable Sensorband for Female College Students With Problem Drinking: An Acceptability and Feasibility Study

Background: An increasing number of mobile app interventions have been developed for problem drinking among college students; however, few studies have examined the integration of a mobile app with continuous physiological monitoring and alerting of affective states related to drinking behaviors. Objective: The aim of this paper was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of Mind the Moment (MtM), a theoretically based intervention for female college students with problem drinking that combines brief, in-person counseling with ecological momentary intervention (EMI) on a mobile app integrated with a wearable sensorband. Methods: We recruited 10 non-treatment seeking, female undergraduates from a university health clinic who scored a 3 or higher on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption (AUDIT-C) to participate in this pilot study. Study activities involved an in-person baseline intake and 1 follow-up assessment, 2 in-person alcohol brief intervention counseling sessions, and use of MtM technology components (sensorband and EMI on a mobile app) for approximately 3-4 weeks. The intervention used motivational interviewing (MI) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies for reducing risks associated with drinking. We used both qualitative and quantitative assessments to measure acceptability of the intervention and feasibility of delivery. Use patterns of the sensorband and mobile app were also collected. Results: Quantitative and qualitative data indicated high levels of acceptability for the MtM intervention. Altogether, participants made reports on the app on 26.7% (78/292) the days the technology was available to them and completed a total of 325 reports with wide variation between participants. Qualitative findings indicated that sensorband-elicited alerts promoted an increase in awareness of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to current environmental stressors and drinking behaviors in theoretically meaningful ways. Specific challenges related to functionality and form of the sensorband were identified. Conclusions: Delivering intervention material “just-in-time,” at the moment participants need to use behavioral strategies has great potential to individualize behavioral interventions for reducing problem drinking and other health behaviors. These findings provide initial evidence for the promise of wearable sensors for increasing potency of theoretically grounded mobile health interventions and point to directions for future research and uptake of these technologies.
Negative selection based anomaly detector for multimodal health data

Early detection of emerging disease outbreaks is crucial to effective containment and response, yet initial outbreak signatures can be difficult to detect with automated methods. Outbreaks may be masked by noisy data, and signs of an outbreak may be hidden across multiple data feeds. Current biosurveillance methods often perform unimodal statistical analyses that are unable to intelligently leverage multiple correlated data of different types while still retaining quantitative sensitivity. In this paper, we propose and implement an anomaly detection system for health data based upon the human immune system. The adaptive immune system operates over a high-dimensional antigen space in a distributed manner, allowing it to efficiently scale without relying on a centralized controller. Our negative selection algorithm based on the immune system provides effective and scalable distributed anomaly detection for biosurveillance. It detects anomalies in the large, complex data from modern health monitoring data feeds with low false positive rates. Our bootstrap aggregation method improves performance on high-dimensional data sets, and we implement a parallelized version of the algorithm to demonstrate the potential to implement it on a scalable distributed architecture. Our negative selection algorithm is able to detect 90% of all outbreaks with a false positive rate of 11.8% in a publicly available multimodal synthetic health record data set. The scalability and performance of the negative selection algorithm demonstrate that immune computation can provide effective approaches for national and global scale biosurveillence.
Bill the Blogger

In this, the last of 27 essays in Arcs of Global Justice: Essays in Honour of William A. Schabas, (Oxford University Press 2018), author and volume co-editor Diane Marie Amann adapts the style of online publishing to locate blogging and other new-media developments within the frame of academic and international law teaching and scholarship. The essay shows how the volume’s honoree, Professor William A. Schabas, construct content in his PhD studies in human rights as a means to describe law in action in the many areas of interest to him, including the crime of aggression, capital punishment, culture, education, genocide, human rights, and international criminal law.
When do online education technologies enhance student engagement? A case of distance education at University of Nebraska at Omaha

Given online instruction in university programs is now commonplace, it is more vital to understand how key aspects of online courses influence student engagement. To build on the literature in this...
What Factors Facilitate Resilience in Developmental Dyslexia? Examining Protective and Compensatory Mechanisms Across the Neurodevelopmental Trajectory

Developmental dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterized by deficits reading single words. Dyslexia is heritable and has been associated with neural alterations in regions of the left hemisphere in the brain. Cognitive and neural atypicalities have been observed before children with familial risk for dyslexia begin reading, yet children who are at risk subsequently develop reading abilities on a continuum from good to poor. Of those children who develop good reading skills, what factors are associated with more successful outcomes? In this article, we review findings describing genetic, cognitive, neurobiological, and environmental factors that facilitate reading development and propose a model of neural pathways to support successful reading development in at-risk children. This research can inform educational and clinical strategies to support at-risk children. Investigating factors that contribute to the variance in behavioral outcomes among at-risk children may help us understand developmental disorders and associated etiological, compensatory, and protective factors.
A rule-based method for specifying and querying temporal abstractions

The Knowledge-Based Temporal Abstraction (KBTA) method is a well-established mechanism for representing and reasoning with temporal information. Implementations to date have been somewhat heavyweight, however, and custom tools are typically required to build abstraction knowledge and query the resulting abstractions. To address this shortcoming, we created a lightweight method that allows users to rapidly specify KBTA-based temporal knowledge and to immediately construct complex temporal queries with it. The approach is built on the Web Ontology Language (OWL), and its associated rule and query languages, SWRL and SQWRL. The method is reusable and can serve as the basis of a KBTA implementation in any OWL-based system.
Conditional gene-trap mutagenesis in zebrafish.

Zebrafish has become a widely used model for analysis of gene function. Several methods have been used to create mutations in this organism and thousands of mutant lines are available. However, all the conventional zebrafish mutations affect the gene in all cells at all time, making it difficult to determine tissue-specific functions. We have adopted a FlEx Trap approach to generate conditional mutations in zebrafish by gene trap mutagenesis. Combined with appropriate Cre or Flp lines, the insertional mutants not only allow spatial and temporal specific gene inactivation, but also permit spatial and temporal specific rescue of the disrupted gene. We provide experimental details on how to generate and use such mutations.
Use of computational fluid dynamics deposition modeling in respiratory drug delivery.

Introduction: Respiratory drug delivery is a surprisingly complex process with a number of physical and biological challenges. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a scientific simulation techniqu...
Effects of reproductive period duration and number of pregnancies on midlife ECG indices: a secondary analysis from the Women's Health Initiative Clinical Trial.

Objectives Pregnancy, menses and menopause are related to fluctuations in endogenous sex hormones in women, which cumulatively may alter cardiac electrical conduction. Therefore, we sought to study the association between number of pregnancies and reproductive period duration (RD, time from menarche to menopause) with ECG intervals in the Women’s Health Initiative Clinical Trials. Design Secondary analysis of multicentre clinical trial. Setting USA. Primary outcome measures ECGintervals: PR interval, P-wave duration, P-wave dispersion, QTc interval. Participants n=40 687 women (mean age=62 years) participating in the Women’s Health Initiative Clinical Trials. 82.5% were white, 9.3% black, 4% Hispanic and 2.7% Asian. Methods In primary analysis, we employed multivariable linear regression models relating number of pregnancies and RD with millisecond changes in intervals from enrolment ECG. We studied effect modification by hormone therapy use. Results Among participants, 5+ live births versus 0 prior pregnancies was associated with a 1.32 ms increase in PR interval (95% CI 0.25 to 2.38), with a graded association with longer QTc interval (ms) (none (prior pregnancy, no live births)=0.66 (–0.56 to 1.88), 1=0.15 (–0.71 to 1.02), 2–4=0.25 (–0.43 to 0.94) and 5+ live births=1.15 (0.33 to 1.98), p=0.008). RD was associated with longer PR interval and maximum P-wave duration (but not P-wave dispersion) among never users of hormone therapy: (PR (ms) per additional RD year: 0.10 (0.04 to 0.16); higher P-wave duration (ms): 0.09 (0.06 to 0.12)). For every year increase in reproductive period, QTc decreased by 0.04 ms (−0.07 to –0.01). Conclusions An increasing number of live births is related to increased and RD to decreased ventricular repolarisation time. Both grand multiparity and longer RD are related to increased atrial conduction time. Reproductive factors that alter midlife cardiac electrical conduction system remodelling in women may modestly influence cardiovascular disease risk in later life. Trial registration number NCT00000611; Post-results.