cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A quantitative human mixed lymphocyte culture using suspension cultures.

SummaryA new quantitative method of mixed lymphocyte culture using suspension cultures of human lymphocytes is described. Compared to methods using settled cells, the new method increased the MLC response on the average 6 times permitting determination of a wider spectrum of MLC differences and a clearer discrimination between MLC responses of different magnitude.The author wishes to thank Mrs. M. Bangerskis for invaluable technical assistance.
Power of magic hands: parent-driven application of habit reversal to treat complex stereotypy in a 3-year-old.

Objective The authors assessed the effectiveness of habit reversal training (HRT) to treat a complex motor stereotypy in a healthy 3-year-old female. Method This data-based case study involved training parents in HRT to deliver the parent-driven intervention to the child. The frequency of the child's behaviors was estimated daily in 30-min intervals by her parents. Results Outcomes supported the effectiveness of the intervention, with the estimated frequency of the stereotypy decreasing from occurring during approximately 85% of recorded intervals to less than 2% over a period of 4 weeks. Further record keeping over 19 weeks suggested treatment gains were generally maintained over time. Conclusions The current case study provides preliminary evidence supporting the effectiveness of modified HRT to reduce stereotypies in young children. Further, data suggest that the intervention may be extended to younger ages by teaching parents how to facilitate treatment delivery.
Effect evaluation of community health education for residents

Objective To evaluate the effect of community health education with health lectures as a means and community residents as objects,and to discuss the ways of health education.Methods Using completely random sampling method,we randomly selected 10health lectures and audience residents as the research objects from 54communities of 6residential neighborhoods in Shangcheng district of Hangzhou,and evaluated the effectiveness of lectures by comparing the conditions before the lecture and after the lecture.Results A total of 253residents attended the 10health lectures,the contents of which were different and the numbers of the participants were also different.The knowledge of all of those residents increased compared with that before the lectures(P0.05).The difference was statistically significant.Conclusions To carry out health education in the community with health lectures as the main form can achieve a good effect.
Seeding of chondrocytes encapsulated in collagen gel into CPPf/PLLA scaffolds to construct tissue engineered cartilage in vitro

Objective:To explore seeding cell methods of seeding chondrocytes into 3D scaffolds uniformly and efficiently Method:Mixture chondrocytes with collagen solution was incorporated into a CPPf/PLLA 3D scaffold,and made into gel in the scaffold,then cultured in vitro Attachment of chondrocytes were evaluated by cell count;Even distribution of chondrocytes into 3D scaffolds was observed by phase microscope;Forming cartilage tissue of cell gel scaffold complex was examined by histological morphology Result:More than 90 percent of seeding chondrocytes were able to incorporated into CPPf/PLLA 3D scaffolds efficiently and uniformly,and cell gel scaffold complex was able to form mature tissue engineered cartilage more quickly Conclusion:The constructed quality of tissue engineered cartilage can be improved by the method of 3D seeding of chondrocytes encapsulated in collagen gel into 3D scaffold,also simultaneously having the advantages of both materials
Introduction to Bilingual Research Methods

The current chapter introduces the reader to the vision and the contents of the present volume—Methods in Bilingual Reading Comprehension Research. The focus is on traditional as well as newly developed methodological approaches to the study of bilingual reading. Findings are critically reviewed stemming from the well-known behavioral approaches to those that are neuropsycholinguistic in nature. The ways in which reading comprehension is measured are critically important to the eventual outcomes of empirical work and to their theoretical significance. An emphasis is placed on the advantages and the challenges of using particular methods to examine language representation and cognition with caveats where necessary to inform the researcher as to the limitations or benefits of employing a particular technique. Overall, methods are used to understand how cognitive processes operate and how the mind interprets stimuli, regardless of the particular language that is known or spoken. This compendium is meant to provide a comprehensive overview of the methodology and empirical techniques that can be used to accurately assess reading behavior in bilingual readers and to stimulate new research directions regarding bilingual reading comprehension.
Developments and breakthroughs in radars and phased-arrays

Latest upgrades, progress, promising developments and breakthroughs are covered: PATRIOT has a GaN active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) which gives it a 360° coverage without mechanical rotation. AMDR handles 30 times more targets and has more than 30 times sensitivity of SPY-1D(V). Can now put a whole 32 element 60 GHz T/R array on a chip. All the RF circuitry for mm-wave radars are being put on a chip. Some believe such radars and phased arrays will soon be produced for just a few dollars. Major advances in printed flexible electronic circuits with diodes operating at 1.6 GHz and the potential for operation at 2.4GHz, the Wi-Fi band. A low profile dual polarized tightly coupled dipole antenna (TCDA) has been developed which provides a 1:20 bandwidth and has λ/40 thickness. The Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi MD has funded the development of a low profile metamaterial 250–505 MHZ antenna with a λ/20 thickness. Kymeta had demonstrated December 2013 the transmission to satellites and back using laptop size 20 and 30 GHz antennas which use metamaterial resonators to effect the phase shifting. For the first time a clear explanation of how this antenna works is given. There is the potential continuation of Moore's Law via: 1. Spintronics — which could revolutionize computer architecture away from John von Neumann model, 2. Memristors — which potentially allows one to do what human brain does in a shoe box instead of a computer the size of a city requiring a nuclear power plant, 3. Graphene which has potential for Thz clock speed transistors, or 4. Quantum Computing — which has the potential of orders of magnitude advance in computation power per 2 years. The latest type of phased array is the MIMO radar phased array which has been shown to provide orders of magnitude better accuracy and resolution as well as better GMTI performance than conventional arrays. However, as summarized here, more recently this author has shown that conventional arrays can do just as well if properly used without suffering MIMO's signal processing load and waveform design problems. Lincoln Laboratory increases spurious free dynamic range of receiver plus A/D by 40 dB. Quantum Radar could allow us to see stealth targets and low cross section cancer cells. We live in exciting times.
Drell, Sidney D., and George P. Shultz, eds. Andrei Sakharov: The Conscience of Humanity Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press 184 pp., $19.95, ISBN 978-0817918958 Publication Date: October 2015

Andrei Sakharov: The Conscience of Humanity contains papers from a conference at Stanford University's Hoover Institution in December 2014. The proclaimed purpose is a deeper understanding of today...
Measurement and modeling of lift enhancement on plunging airfoils: A frequency response approach

Abstract A frequency response approach is taken to model unsteady aerodynamics resulting from plunging oscillations of an airfoil. The oscillations range covers high angles of attack (up to 65°) and reduced frequencies (up to 0.95) with particular attention to the range of flow nonlinearities over which lift enhancement is observed. Experiments were performed in a wind tunnel on an airfoil section at a Reynolds number of 80,000. Airfoil acceleration and lift force data were used to determine the frequency response functions between the measured unsteady lift and the quasi-steady lift. The results show enhanced lift amplitude over the stall regime at a reduced frequency of 0.7. The flow dynamics associated with this observation were identified from water tunnel experiments. Particular attention is paid to the flow separation and consequent formation and convection of the leading edge vortex. An optimization-based system identification approach is performed to represent the unsteady lift by a fourth-order dynamical system. This representation is suitable for sensitivity, dynamics and control analyses especially for applications where unsteady aerodynamics can be exploited for the purpose of lift enhancement.
Interventions to Improve Rate of Diabetes Testing Postpartum in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy. In the USA, four million women are screened annually for GDM in pregnancy in part to improve pregnancy outcomes but also because diagnosis predicts a high risk of future type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, among women with GDM, postpartum care should be focused on T2DM prevention. This review describes the current literature aimed to increase postpartum diabetes testing among women with GDM. Data suggest that proactive patient contact via a health educator, a phone call, or even postal mail is associated with higher rates of postpartum diabetes testing. There may also be utility to changing the timing of postpartum diabetes testing. Despite the widespread knowledge regarding the importance of postpartum testing for women with GDM, testing rates remain low. Alternative testing strategies and large randomized trials addressing postpartum testing are warranted.
Negative wealth shock and short-term changes in depressive symptoms and medication adherence among late middle-aged adults

Background Experiencing a negative wealth shock in late middle age may cause high levels of stress and induce reductions in health-related consumption. Methods We used data on late middle age individuals (51–64 years) from the longitudinal US-based Health and Retirement Study (N=19 281) to examine the relationship between negative wealth shock and short-term outcomes that serve as markers of the pathways from wealth shock to health: elevated depressive symptoms, as a marker of the stress pathway and cost-related medication non-adherence (CRN), as a marker of the consumption pathway. Negative wealth shock was considered to be a loss of total net worth of 75% or more. Results Using a nested cross-over approach—a within-person design among exposed individuals only that adjusts by design for all time-invariant individual characteristics—we found that negative wealth shock was significantly associated with increased odds of elevated depressive symptoms (OR=1.50, CI 1.10 to 2.05), but was not significantly associated with higher odds of CRN (OR=1.18, CI 0.76 to 1.82), even after further adjustment for time-varying sociodemographic and health covariates. Conclusions Negative wealth shock during late middle age confers an increased risk of elevated depressive symptoms, but does not change levels of CRN. Personal and policy factors that may buffer the mental health risks of negative wealth shock, such as social support and social welfare policy, should be considered.
Tai Chi and Feldenkrais: Therapeutic Movement-Based Mind-Body Practices

Extensive research studies have been done on the unique application of Tai Chi for multiple clinical conditions. Evidence to date suggests that Tai Chi is a promising safe nonpharmacological and lifestyle intervention in the studied areas, including osteoporosis. Our overview aims to raise awareness that there are inherent challenges and limitations to Tai Chi research due to the nature of Tai Chi as a complex, multicomponent mind-body intervention. Despite the lack of vigorous evidence in the literature, Tai Chi continues to be widely practiced as a form of exercise for health and fitness, especially due to its multidimensional benefits in physical, psychological well-being, and cognitive functions. When prescribed, embraced, and practiced properly, Tai Chi can be an effective option for helping people with osteoporosis and can be an ideal lifelong skill for long-term health benefits and wellness.
Establishing Best Practices for Photogrammetric Recording During Archaeological Fieldwork

ABSTRACTArchaeologists have recently embraced photogrammetry as a low-cost, efficient tool for recording archaeological artifacts, active excavation contexts, and architectural remains. However, no consensus has yet been reached about standard procedures for reliable and metrically accurate photogrammetric recording. The archaeological literature describes diverse equipment and approaches to photogrammetry. The purpose of this article is to open a discussion about when and how photogrammetry should be employed in archaeology in an effort to establish “best practices” for this new method. We focus on the integration of photogrammetry within a comprehensible research plan, the selection of equipment, the appropriate apportionment of labor and time on site, and a rubric for site photography that is conducive to successful and efficient modeling. We conclude that photogrammetric modeling will soon become an indispensable tool in most archaeological applications but should always be implemented in ways that do...
iCrawl: A Visual High Interaction Web Crawler

This paper presents “iCrawl”, a visual high interaction client honeypot system. Web-based cyber-attacks have increased exponentially along with the growth of cloud-based web application technologies. Web browsers provide users with an entry point to these web applications. The iCrawl system is designed to deliver a high interaction honey client that is virtually indistinguishable from a real human-driven client. The system operates by driving an actual web browser in a fashion closely resembling a genuine user’s actions. Unlike most crawlers iCrawl attempts to operate over visual elements on the web page, not code elements. The honeypot system consists of pre-configured decoy virtual machines. Each virtual machine includes spider program, which upon execution automates the process of driving the web browser and crawling the targeted website. It performs browsing by observing the page and simulating human user input through mouse and keyboard activity. The data collected from the crawling is stored in a graph database in the form of nodes and relations. This data captures the context and the changes in system behavior due to interaction with the crawled website. The graph data can be queried and monitored online for structural patterns and anomalies.
Just a Theory: The Atomic Theory Debate and High School Chemistry, 1905–1917

This paper considers educators’ debates over the proper place of the atomic theory in American and Ontario high schools during the first decade of the twentieth century, in the context of emerging, historic research on the nature of matter. In 1905, University of Toronto chemist William Lash Miller distributed a booklet instructing Ontario teachers how to teach chemistry without the atomic theory. According to Lash Miller and his Toronto colleagues, who edited a new textbook in 1906, teaching the atomic theory to beginners bred flawed and fuzzy reasoning. Lash Miller was a student of Wilhelm Ostwald, who famously doubted the reality of atoms until convinced by Jean Perrin’s 1908 experiments on Brownian motion. This paper shows that limiting the role of the atomic theory was part of an effort, both in Ontario and in the United States, to reorient the high school curriculum toward the expanding discipline of physical chemistry, specifically, a vision of physical chemistry indebted to Ostwald. Like the Toronto chemists, Chicago physical chemist Alexander Smith lamented high school textbooks’ overreliance on the atomic theory and promoted the use of laboratory terms. Both Lash Miller and Smith met with resistance from high school teachers, who defended the teaching of the atomic theory and advocated a competing view of beginners’ pedagogy. These debates were not settled primarily by appeals to evidence, but instead revolved around differing views of the needs and abilities of high school students.
Spatial and temporal analysis of natural hazard mortality in Nepal

ABSTRACTThe impacts of natural hazards are typically measured in terms of loss of human lives and economic damage, and recent studies demonstrate that deaths attributed to natural hazards have increased. Using the publicly available DesInventar database, we examined spatial and temporal patterns of natural hazard mortality from 1971 to 2011 at the district and village levels of Nepal and identified natural hazards that contributed most to mortality. Spatial clusters of mortality at the district and village levels were detected using local and global spatial autocorrelation measures (Moran's I). Landslides (41.91%) and floods (32.52%) accounted for approximately three quarters of natural hazard mortalities over the study period. A Global Moran's I test positively confirmed clustering at both the district (0.199, p < .001) and village (0.256, p < .001) levels, whereas a Local Moran's I test further detected clustering in the central and terai regions, where dynamic geologic and geomorphic processes combined...
In Vitro and In Vivo Animal Models: The Engineering Towards Understanding Human Diseases and Therapeutic Interventions

Abstract Animal models are extensively utilized in scientific research particularly biomedical research. Use of animal models for biomedical research has become imperative not only to enhance our understanding of current health issues but also to make progress in this vast field. In vitro and in vivo animal models have unraveled disease pathologies of numerous diseases. These models have served in disease diagnostics, pharmacological and toxicological testing of drugs, and surgical research, to name a few. This chapter aims to discuss the significance and relevance of in vivo and in vitro animal models for biomedical research.
Postoperative Positioning in the Neurointensive Care Unit

Positioning of patients in the intensive care unit is extremely important to the outcome of critically ill neurosurgical patients. Positioning varies based on comorbidities, type of pathology, timing of injury, and type of surgical intervention. Proper positioning is rooted in an understanding of the interaction of neurosurgical pathology with basic principles of neurophysiology, cardiovascular hemodynamics, and respiratory physiology. Positioning can minimize postoperative pain, prevent delayed operative complications, and mitigate intraoperative complications. In addition, positioning should optimize the postoperative physiologic conditions for liberation from mechanical ventilation and invasive monitors to shorten the overall ICU length of stay. This chapter will provide a review on basic concepts of ICU positioning with a specific review of postoperative positioning considerations in the neurocritical care unit using a framework based on type of neurosurgical procedure performed.
Pre-screener for automatic detection of road damage in SAR imagery via advanced image processing techniques

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) benefits from persistent imaging capabilities that are not reliant on factors such as weather or time of day. One area that may benefit from readily available imaging capabilities is road damage detection and assessment occurring from disasters such as earthquakes, sinkholes, or mudslides. This work investigates the performance of a pre-screener for an automatic detection system used to identify locations and quantify the severity of road damage present in SAR imagery. The proposed pre-screener is comprised of two components: advanced image processing and classification. Image processing is used to condition the data, removing non-pertinent information from the imagery which helps the classifier achieve better performance. Specifically, we utilize shearlets; these are powerful filters that capture anisotropic features with good localization and high directional sensitivity. Classification is achieved through the use of a convolutional neural network, and performance is reported as classification accuracy. Experiments are conducted on satellite SAR imagery. Specifically, we investigate Sentinel-1 imagery containing both damaged and non-damaged roads.
Russell, R.V. (1996). Pastimes: The context of contemporary leisure

(1997). Russell, R.V. (1996). Pastimes: The context of contemporary leisure. SCHOLE: A Journal of Leisure Studies and Recreation Education: Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 147-150.
Time-series analysis of long-term cardiovascular response.

The purpose of this study was to illustrate the use of time-series analysis with long-term cardiovascular responding. Analyses of two successive 1000-minute mean blood pressure and heart-rate series in five chronically instrumented dogs showed that the autocorrelation function of the original series appeared highly nonstationary and that differencing the data produced a simple autocorrelation pattern which could be successfully modeled with stepwise autoregression. Evidence for reliable individual differences as well as change over sessions is presented and discussed.
Effect of CaCl2 and Various Wild Yeasts From Plant Origin on Controlling Penicillium expansum Postharvest Decays in Golden Delicious Apples.

The biocontrol potential of four wild yeast strains (Meyerozyma guilliermondii – strain YS-1, Meyerozyma caribbica – strain YS-3, Cryptococcus albidus – strain YS-4, and Cryptococcus sp. – strain Y...
Latent Network Features and Overlapping Community Discovery via Boolean Intersection Representations

We propose a new latent Boolean feature model for complex networks that capture different types of node interactions and network communities. The model is based on a new concept in graph theory, termed the Boolean intersection representation of a graph, which generalizes the notion of an intersection representation. We mostly focus on one form of Boolean intersection, termed cointersection , and describe how to use this representation to deduce node feature sets and their communities. We derive several general bounds on the minimum number of features used in cointersection representations and discuss graph families for which exact cointersection characterizations are possible. Our results also include algorithms for finding optimal and approximate cointersection representations of a graph.
Mobile App Introduction and Online and Offline Purchases and Product Returns

This paper models the relationship between a retailer’s mobile app launch and product purchases and returns in its online and offline channels.
MODE OF DEATH IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE AND LEFT VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION≥45%: INSIGHTS FROM PARAGON-HF

Patients with heart failure and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (HFpEF) comprise a heterogeneous group including some with mildly reduced EF. We hypothesized that mode of death differs by EF in HFpEF. PARAGON-HF compared clinical outcomes with sacubitril/valsartan and valsartan in 4,
Facile Approach for Ecofriendly, Low-Cost, and Water-Resistant Paper Coatings via Palm Kernel Oil

Paper-based packaging is widely employed in industries ranging from food to beverages to pharmaceuticals because of its attractive advantages of biodegradability, recyclability, good strength, low cost, and lightweight. However, paper products usually have poor water barrier resistance properties because of paper and fibers porous microstructure. In this study, an ecofriendly water-resistant (hydrophobic) oil from biological origin, namely, palm kernel oil (PKO) was used to coat paper by using a facile and cost-effective dip-casting approach. PKO formulation was prepared by mixing with a solvent and furfuryl alcohol (FA). The water resistance, structural properties, and thermal and mechanical properties of the coated papers obtained under different processing conditions were reported and compared to understand the performance of coated paper. Contact angle (CA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and thermal gravimetry (TGA) were used for analysis and characterization of coated papers. Data from contact angle measurements showed that the PKO formulation could considerably improve the liquid water barrier property of the paper, with a measured water contact angle (CA) of ∼120° and reduce the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) by 22%. This novel, green, low-cost, and water-resistant paper coating made with biological and biodegradable oil is a potential candidate for replacing petroleum-based coatings used in a broad range of applications and will also be able to make an additional full use of the palm kernel oil.
Abstract 3344: The human commensal lactobacillus rhamnosus GG orchestrates an anti-tumor immune response

Only 10% of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) are approved for immunotherapy and only 50% of approved patients are responsive to this treatment. The 95% of CRC patients that are refractory to immunotherapy are so because of low anti-tumor immune responses in the gut mucosa. Mucosal immunity is sensitive to changes in the microbiome community structure, and to dietary supplementation with beneficial bacteria, known as ‘probiotics9 which are known to augment mucosal immunity. Therefore, we supplemented the murine microbiome by daily oral gavage with the human commensal bacteria, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG). We discovered that LGG increases colonic CD8 T cell responses by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence analysis. We did not believe that LGG was having a direct effect on CD8 T-cell function but was being augmented through an innate cell population. Using BATF3-null mice which lack conventional dendritic cells, we did not detect LGG-induced CD8 T-cell changes determining that this response is dendritic cell dependent. In addition, we sought to determine how LGG was being sensed by dendritic cells. Based off preliminary data and published reports, we utilized Toll like Receptor 2 (TLR2)-null mice and found that LGG-induced CD8 T cell induction also required TLR2 signaling. These data describe a novel mechanism whereby LGG induces colonic CD8 T cells activation through a dendritic cell and TLR2-dependent manner. As CD8 T-cells are critical in the anti-tumor response, we induced colonic tumors in mice by performing the DSS-AOM model. After tumors were established, we administered LGG daily by oral gavage. LGG supplementation resulted in significantly reduced tumor burden compared to control mice fed vehicle or a non-probiotic bacterium. Furthermore, this reduction in tumor burden was CD8 T cell dependent, as depletion of CD8 T cells abrogated this effect. In summary, oral supplementation with LGG may hold clinical promise in augmenting colonic anti-tumor immune responses and may increase immunotherapy response rates in patients. Citation Format: Josh Owens, Bejan Saeedi, Crystal Naudin, Sarah Hunter-Chang, Trevor Darby, Brian Robinson, Rheinallt Jones. The human commensal lactobacillus rhamnosus GG orchestrates an anti-tumor immune response [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 3344.
Opposing, Polarity-Driven Nuclear Migrations Underpin Asymmetric Divisions to Pattern Arabidopsis Stomata

Multicellular development depends on generating and precisely positioning distinct cell types within tissues. During leaf development, pores in the epidermis called stomata are spaced at least one cell apart for optimal gas exchange. This pattern is primarily driven by iterative asymmetric cell divisions (ACDs) in stomatal progenitors, which generate most of the cells in the tissue. A plasma membrane-associated polarity crescent defined by BREAKING OF ASYMMETRY IN THE STOMATAL LINEAGE (BASL) and BREVIS RADIX family (BRXf) proteins is required for asymmetric divisions and proper stomatal pattern, but the cellular mechanisms that orient ACDs remain unclear. Here, utilizing long-term, quantitative time-lapse microscopy, we identified two oppositely oriented nuclear migrations that precede and succeed ACD during epidermal patterning. The pre- and post-division migrations are dependent on microtubules and actin, respectively, and the polarity crescent is the unifying landmark that is both necessary and sufficient to orient both nuclear migrations. We identified a specific and essential role for MYOXI-I in controlling post-ACD nuclear migration. Loss of MYOXI-I decreases stomatal density, owing to an inability to accurately orient a specific subset of ACDs. Taken together, our analyses revealed successive and polarity-driven nuclear migrations that regulate ACD orientation in the Arabidopsis stomatal lineage.
Forecasting Ratio of Low Bid to Owner’s Estimate for Highway Construction

AbstractSeveral state departments of transportation (state DOTs) have encountered significant challenges to accurately estimate costs of their highway projects. It is not uncommon that states’ DOT ...
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients Perceptions of Safety and Need for Elective Foot and Ankle Surgery in the United States

Background:With the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, elective foot and ankle surgeries were delayed throughout the United States to divert health care resources and limit exposure. Little is k...
Processing and device issues in GaN and related compounds

In this talk, we describe our work on photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching of GaN as a tool for material characterization and device fabrication. Revelations of defect structures especially edge and screw dislocations in n-GaN were discussed. We also describe our work on developing thermally stable ohmic and Schottky contacts, inductively-coupled-plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) for device fabrication. Lastly, results on DC, RF, CW power and microwave noise for AlGaN/GaN HFETs were presented and discussed in the context of GaN material quality
Incorporation is Not Enough: The Agenda Influence of Black Lawmakers in Congressional Committees

Traditionally, scholars argue that the committee structure is central to the policymaking process in congress, and that those that wield the gavel in committees enjoy a great deal of influence over the legislative agenda. The most recent iterations of Congress are more diverse than ever before. With 55 members—of whom, five chair full committees and 28 sit atop subcommittees—the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is in a place to wield a significant leverage over the legislative agenda in the 116th Congress. However, noticeable proportional gains in minority membership in Congress have yet to produce sizable policy gains for the communities they represent. An examination of bill sponsorship from the 103rd–112th congresses reveals underlying institutional forces—i.e., marginalization and negative agenda setting—leave Black lawmakers at a distinct disadvantage compared to their non-black counterparts. Bills in policy areas targeted by the CBC are subject to disproportionate winnowing in congressional committees. Unfortunately, a number of institutional resources often found to increase a bill's prospects—including placements and leadership on committees with jurisdiction over policy areas of interest—are relatively ineffective for CBC members looking to forward those key issues onto the legislative agenda.
Functional Neuroimaging During Asleep DBS Surgery: A Proof of Concept Study.

Object A real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) feedback during ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) deep brain stimulation (DBS) under general anesthesia (or ‘asleep’ DBS) does not exist. We hypothesized that it was feasible to acquire a reliable and responsive fMRI during asleep VIM DBS surgery. Methods We prospectively enrolled ten consecutive patients who underwent asleep DBS for the treatment of medication-refractory essential tremor. Under general anesthesia, we acquired resting-state functional MRI immediately before and after the cannula insertion. Reliability was determined by a temporal signal-to-noise-ratio greater than 100. Responsiveness was determined based on the fMRI signal change upon insertion of the cannula to the VIM. Results It was feasible to acquire reliable fMRI during asleep DBS surgery. The fMRI signal was responsive to the brain cannula insertion, revealing a reduction in the tremor network's functional connectivity, which did not reach statistical significance in the group analysis. Conclusions It is feasible to acquire a reliable and responsive fMRI signal during asleep DBS. The acquisition steps and the preprocessing pipeline developed in these experiments will be useful for future investigations to develop fMRI-based feedback for asleep DBS surgery.
Designing a Smart Virtual Environment for Autism Spectrum Disorder Detection

Emotional intelligence is not only a social skill for human beings, but also a challenging research topic in human-computer interaction related to the ability to recognize particular emotional patterns of humans by machines. Studies have shown that virtual reality (VR) can trigger stronger and more specific emotional reactivity in users than other visual/audio media. Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) usually suffer from social impairments, such as challenges in emotion perception and emotion expression. A smart VR eHealth system that carefully triggers specific emotional reactions and detects the patterns in children with ASD can help with early screening, intervention, and emotional regulation. This paper proposes a VR gaming system that makes use of psychophysiological sensor signals, in-game performance and responses, stressor mini-games to detect different emotional reactivity patterns, and dynamically changes the game scene according to the current emotional status. This is a framework of a long-term study, where the ultimate goal is to develop a VR system with real-time feedback to assist early screening and diagnosis of ASD.
Clinical Assessment of Cognitive Decline in Normal Aging and Primary Degenerative Dementia: Concordant Ordinal Measures

Primary degenerative dementia (PDD), assumed to be equivalent to neuropathologically defined Alzheimer’s disease, is now recognized to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in our elderly population. Increasing recognition and study of this illness and attempts to ameliorate the symptomatology with pharmacologic agents, have necessitated the development of clinical instruments for the assessment and staging of the disorder. One such instrument, the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) for PDD, has recently been described.1 The GDS is based upon our increasing understanding of the characteristic clinical symptomatology and course of age-associated cognitive decline and PDD.1–3
Sensitivity of Calculated Wave Numbers of a Normal Coordinate Treatment to Assumed Molecular Geometry

Normal coordinate treatments rarely include a consideration of the effect on the treatment of experimental uncertainties in bond lengths and interbond angles. At the same time, the agreement between calculated and observed wave numbers is taken as the major criterion of the validities of the potential-energy constants obtained, of the form of internuclear potential-energy function assumed, and of such band assignments as may have been based on the treatment. To help understand this effect, numerical results were obtained for the changes of calculated wave numbers resulting from small alterations in bond lengths and interbond angles. The molecules used were thirteen types of substituted methanes, for which potential-energy constants had previously been obtained in this laboratory. The use of such molecules also helps in understanding how seriously the common assumption of tetrahedral structure for substituted methanes affects the many normal coordinate treatments of them that have appeared in the literature. The significance of the unexpectedly large changes obtained for normal coordinate treatments of more complex and structurally less well-determined molecules is discussed.
Chapter 17 – Nuclear Fusion

Publisher Summary Nuclear fusion, the joining of light nuclei of hydrogen into heavier nuclei of helium, has potential environmental, safety and proliferation characteristics as an energy source, as well as adequate fuel to power civilization for times long compared to human history. It is, however, more challenging to convert to an energy source than nuclear fission. This chapter introduces the physics, advantages, difficulties, progress, economics and prospects for fusion energy power plants. Nuclear fusion is the process, in which light nuclei can release large amounts of energy if they combine, or fuse, into heavier nuclei. The principal nuclear reactions which have been considered for reactor concepts involve reactions of isotopes of the two lightest elements: hydrogen and helium. The fuel costs for fusion reactors will be negligible in comparison with the value of the electricity produced. It is difficult to precisely assess the cost of fusion-generated electricity until there is experience with an operating power plant, since the cost will be dependent upon the reliability and the frequency and expense of maintenance, both of which are likely to improve with the hindsight of experience. A fusion reactor does not directly emit CO2 or other greenhouse gases, or any combustion products that contribute to acid rain, and the indirect emissions due to factors like fuel gathering and transport, plant construction and maintenance, and activated parts storage would be small. Thus, fusion power would not have appreciable adverse effects upon global warming, atmospheric quality or acidification of the oceans, lakes and streams.
The Knowledge Context Kzt

Perhaps the central concept of any theory of knowledge is that of a knowledge context Kzt, understood as the set of beliefs (or propositions). B which a particular person zhappens to know at a specific time t, where that same person z at different times t1, t2,…, and different persons zl,z2,…, at that same time t may perfectly properly “happen to know” different sets of propositions (or beliefs). The most important feature distinguishing one theory of knowledge from another, therefore, concerns the conditions under which beliefs are properly accepted into or rejected from such a knowledge context Kzt, where the members of these belief sets are supposed to satisfy certain additional relations among themselves as well. For convenience of reference, we may refer to these as “external” and as “internal” requirements, respectively. The exact significance of the conditions thereby imposed, however, tends to depend upon the general character of the conception under consideration, i.e., whether the notion of knowledge in question should be construed as descriptive of actual persons or as normative of ideal persons, since they may be intended as specifying requirements that should be fulfilled, rather than as a description of those that actually are satisfied, by ordinary human beings.
PVM Grids to Self-assembling Virtual Machines

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) leads two of the five big Genomes-to-Life projects funded in the USA. As a part of these projects researchers at ORNL have been using PVM to build a computational biology grid that spans the USA. This talk will describe this effort, how it is built, and the unique features in PVM that led the researchers to choose PVM as their framework. The computations such as parallel BLAST are run on individual supercomputers or clusters within this P2P grid and are themselves written in PVM to exploit PVM’s fault tolerant capabilities.
Nonstructural Carbohydrates in Tall Fescue Cultivars: Relationship to Animal Preference

Grazing animals prefer some plants to others. These choices are likely related to physical and chemical factors such as energy-dense carbohydrates contained in plants. This study quantified the nonstructural carbohydrate fractions in each of eight vegetatively growing, endophyte-free, tall fescue cultivars (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) and relates their sugar concentrations to cattle grazing preferences. The experimental area consisted of eight cultivar plots replicated three times in each of three pastures. Within each pasture, forage was sampled between 0830 and 1000 h mountain daylight time (MDT) during each of four seasons and 2 yr. Freeze-dried forage samples were extracted with hot water and an amylase (Clarase) solution. Sugars were quantified colorimetrically using potassium-ferricyanide and glucose-oxidase methods. Cattle grazing preferences among these tall fescue cultivars were related to the concentrations of total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC) (r 2 = 0.49, P < 0.05). Other sugar fractions were not significantly related to grazing preference in this study. The nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations averaged over the entire study were glucose, 14; fructose, 5; sucrose, 40; fructan, 23; insoluble starch, 24; and TNC, 129 g kg 1 , A forage selection criterion should include measures of the TNC because of their close relationship to animal grazing preference.
Synthesis of methanesulfonic acid and acetic acid by the direct sulfonation or carboxylation of methane

Methane can be converted with high selectivity to either methanesulfonic acid or acetic acid by sulfonation or carboxylation of methane using a peroxide initiator at relatively low temperatures.
African American Music: An Introduction

Reviewed Medium: book Year: 2006 Pages: 736 Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 9780415941389 (soft cover). Prices: 35.00 USD(soft cover).
Action-based representation discovery in markov decision processes

This dissertation investigates the problem of representation discovery in discrete Markov decision processes, namely how agents can simultaneously learn representation and optimal control. Previous work on function approximation techniques for MDPs largely employed hand-engineered basis functions. In this dissertation, we explore approaches to automatically construct these basis functions and demonstrate that automatically constructed basis functions significantly outperform more traditional, hand-engineered approaches. We specifically examine two problems: how to automatically build representations for action-value functions by explicitly incorporating actions into a representation, and how representations can be automatically constructed by exploiting a pre-specified task hierarchy. We first introduce a technique for learning basis functions directly in state-action space. The approach constructs basis functions using spectral analysis of a state-action graph which captures the underlying structure of the state-action space of the MDP. We describe two approaches to constructing these graphs and evaluate the approach on MDPs with discrete state and action spaces. We show how our approach can be used to approximate state-action value functions when the agent has access to macro-actions: actions that take more than one time step and have predefined policies. We describe how the state-action graphs can be modified to incorporate information about the macro-actions and experimentally evaluate this approach for SMDPs with discrete state and action spaces. Finally, we describe how hierarchical reinforcement learning can be used to scale up automatic basis function construction. We extend automatic basis function construction techniques to multi-level task hierarchies and describe how basis function construction can exploit the value function decomposition given by a fixed task hierarchy. We demonstrate that combining task hierarchies with automatic basis function construction allows basis function techniques to scale to larger problems and leads to a significant speed-up in learning.
Surgical Correction of Persistent Peyronie's Disease Following Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum Treatment

Abstract Introduction Collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) is an Food and Drug Administration‐approved intralesional injection for treatment of Peyronie's disease (PD) that has been shown to reduce penile curvature deformity and PD symptom bother in phase 2b and phase 3 placebo‐controlled clinical trials. For some patients, nonsurgical treatment with CCH may not sufficiently improve penile curvature, and surgical correction may be pursued following CCH therapy. Aim This study aims to examine intraoperative and postsurgical outcomes of surgical correction of persistent penile curvature in patients with PD who had previously received CCH. Methods Retrospective chart review was used to identify patients with PD who had received CCH intralesional injection within either the phase 2b or phase 3 CCH clinical trials and then underwent surgical correction due to remaining penile curvature. Surgical techniques used were partial plaque excision and grafting (PEG) and/or tunica albuginea plication (TAP). Main Outcome Measures Primary assessments included pre‐ and postsurgery penile curvature, erectile rigidity, stretched penile length, intraoperative time, and occurrence of adverse events. Results Seven men were identified who underwent surgical straightening with TAP or PEG following CCH treatment. Mean number of days from the final CCH injection to surgery was 182 (standard deviation 118; median 127 days). Average penile curvature prior to surgical straightening was 58°. No anatomical difficulties or complications secondary to the effects of prior CCH treatment occurred during surgery. Intraoperative time was representative of standard TAP and PEG surgeries (range 88–146 minutes). All men reported penile curvature Conclusion This initial case series supports the hypothesis that prior CCH treatment is not a contraindication to PEG or TAP surgery in the treatment of penile curvature in patients with PD. Levine LA and Larsen SM. Surgical correction of persistent Peyronie's disease following collagenase clostridium histolyticum treatment. J Sex Med 2015;12:259–264.
The Gilgamesh MIND Processor-in-Memory Architecture for Petaflops-Scale Computing

Implicit in the evolution of current technology and high-end system evolution is the anticipated achievement of the implementation of computers capable of a peak performance of 1 Petaflops by the year 2010. This is consistent with both the semiconductor industry's roadmap of basic device technology development and an extrapolation of the TOP-500 list of the world's fastest computers according to the Linpack benchmark. But if contemporary experiences with today's largest systems hold true for their descendents at the end of the decade, then they will be very expensive (> $100M), consume too much power (> 3 Mwatts), take up too much floor space (> 10,000 square feet), deliver very low efficiency (< 10%), and are too difficult to program. Also important is the likely degradation of reliability due to the multiplicative factors of MTBF and scale of components. Even if these systems do manage to drag the community to the edge of Petaflops, there is no basis of confidence to assume that they will provide the foundation for systems across the next decade that will transition across the trans-Petaflops performance regime. It has become increasingly clear that an alternative model of system architecture may be required for future generation high-end computers.
Managing persistent data with Mneme: Designing a reliable, shared object interface

We investigate issues that arise when attempting to integrate object-oriented languages and database features. We provide criteria for database/language support in the context of design applications, and consider the advantages of integration over more traditional database systems. We then discuss the design of Mneme, a system that narrows the gap between object-oriented databases and programming languages, both traditional and object-oriented. Mneme includes facilities for sharing, reliability, and clustering of objects, as well as a high degree of flexibility. We compare Mneme with other current and recent research efforts, and describe Mneme's particular contributions.