cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disparities in Service Use and Expenditures for People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in California in 2005 and 2013

This study examined service use and expenditures for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) living at home and in the community in California in 2005 and 2013. The number of people assessed for IDD services increased, along with the percentage of individuals who did not receive any services between 2005 and 2013. Controlling for client needs, children age 3-21 were less likely than other age groups to receive any services using logistic regressions. All racial and ethnic minority groups were less likely to receive any services than were white populations. Females, younger people, and all racial and ethnic minority groups who received services had significantly lower expenditures, with wide geographic variations. The disparities by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and geography have persisted over time in California.
Health Care Reform this Spring: The Good, the Bad and the Obscure

The lack of growth in health care spending over recent years stands in stark contrast to the onslaught of health care regulations released by the Federal Government this Spring. Due to the volume of such changes, pouring through this new iteration of codified health care reform can seem as Sisyphean as achieving actual compliance. The vigor and enthusiasm with which the Federal Government continues to add dimension to the 2010 Affordable Care Act leads many to believe that health care reform is here to stay, regardless of the Supreme Court decision due in June.
Teledemocratic innovations that public officials ignore: at our great peril

In this chapter, the author tackles the major problems plaguing representative democracies around the world. Importantly, these problems originate from the alienation of citizens. The problems manifest themselves, for example, in the dramatic decrease of voting turnouts particularly in the United States. There is a disconnect between the citizenry and political power in the field of public administration. Becker maintains that despite much talk about the needs to develop citizen-centered public administration, little practical change can be seen in this respect and by and large, the attempts to make governmental services more accessible by ICT have not lessened citizen's feelings of estrangement and apathy. Having diagnosed the ills of representative democracy and public administration, Becker discusses new methods to bridge the gap between government and citizens and to fight political apathy. One of the methods of empowering citizens is scientific deliberative polling which has been experimented with successfully since the 1970s. The author also reviews the experiences of electronic town meetings, for example, AmericaSpeaks which was organized in New York in July 2002 to discuss how to rebuild the World Trade Center.
High-resolution Chromosome Analysis in Lepidoptera

Improved methods for obtaining good cytological preparations from testicular tissues of Lepidoptera are described. Testes were pretreated with various hypotonic solutions, fixed in Carnoy's, and slides prepared using air dry-squash and cell suspension-air dry techniques. Air-dried slides were stained directly with Giemsa or treated with the C-band technique prior to staining. Well-spread chromosomes with good morphological characteristics were found in spermatogonial cells and spermatocytes of all stages. A detailed characterization of the mitotic chromosome complement and 1st meiotic division in males of the hesperiids Pyrgus oileus (L.), P. albescens (Plotz), and Lerema accius (Smith and Abbot) and the noctuids Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), Argyrogramma veruca (Fab.), and Prodenia ornithogalli Guenee are described.
Adventures in Socialism: Research and Life in Yugoslavia and Hungary

Fieldwork studies in Yugoslavia and Hungary revealed different forms and limitations of "market socialism" in the 1980s.
Aqueous systems at high temperature—XI

Abstract By making use of a visual method, the effect of hydrostatic pressures up to 320 bars in raising the temperature, in the vicinity of 300°C at saturation vapour-pressure, of second-liquid phase formation in the system UO2SO4H2O for solutions varying from 0·14 to 4·5 molal in UO2SO4 was found to be +0·082° per bar. One exploratory run each on a solution of UO2F2 and H2O, and of CuSO4, H2SO4 and H2O, both of which show liquid-liquid immiscibility near 320° gave values of ( ∂t ∂p ) at constant composition of ∼+0·10 and +0·11, respectively. Since ( ∂t ∂p ) at a constant density of 0·712 for liquid H2O at 300° is +0·093° per bar, the temperature of liquid-liquid immiscibility appears to show a strong dependency on solvent density. The effect of pressures up to 330 bars on the temperature of second-liquid phase formation from the supercritical fluid UO3SO3H2O near 400° was found also to correspond approximately to ( ∂t ∂p ) at constant density for H2O at the same initial pressure, the value being in the vicinity of +0·4° per bar. In some additional experiments the vapour-pressures for the deliquescence of solid UO2SO4 hydrate were found to vary from 120 bars at 345° to 305 bars at 425°.
Ring-Opening Polymerization of Cyclic Esters and Trimethylene Carbonate Catalyzed by Aluminum Half-Salen Complexes

A series of ONO-tridentate Schiff base ligands derived from chiral and achiral amino alcohols and amino acids were synthesized and reacted with AlEt(3) to provide dimeric aluminum complexes. These complexes were tested for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of rac-lactide at 70 °C in toluene, producing poly(lactide) with up to 82% isotacticity. The most active of these aluminum complexes was chosen to perform ring-opening homopolymerizations of rac-lactide, trimethylene carbonate (TMC), rac-β-butyrolactone (rac-β-BL), δ-valerolactone (δ-VL), and e-caprolactone (e-CL). Kinetic parameters were investigated, and each polymerization was found to be first order with respect to monomer concentration. Fractional orders were observed with respect to catalyst concentration, indicating catalyst aggregation during the polymerization processes. Activation parameters were determined for all monomers, with their ΔG(‡) values at 90 °C being in the order rac-lactide ≈ rac-β-BL > δ-VL > TMC ≈ e-CL. Fineman-Ross and kinetic studies of the copolymerization of rac-lactide and δ-VL both indicate that the rate of rac-lactide enchainment is higher than that of δ-VL, resulting in a tapered copolymer. In addition, single crystals of one of these aluminum complexes were grown in the presence of rac-lactide and characterized using X-ray crystallography. The unit cell contains two lactide monomers, one D- and one L-lactide, adding further proof that polymerization takes place via an enantiomorphic site control mechanism.
The arthrogrypotic foot plan of management and results of treatment

Fifty-one arthrogrypotic feet have been treated and followed by the Pediatric Orthopaedic Unit, Tufts New England Medical Center, (1970-1980). Forty of the 51 feet presented as equinovarus with the residual divided among metatarsus adductus, vertical tali, and calcaneovalgus. Equinovarus deformities are the most resistant in all cases. Corrective casts are applied for at least the first 3 months of life. Surgical procedures were then initiated with any evidence of lack of progression of treatment. Varus and equinus were treated by an extensive posterior and medial release. Lateral soft tissue releases in addition to calcaneocuboid fusion or cuboid osteotomy were necessary in 24 of the 70 operations. Recurrence rate has been a problem in the simple type of posterior release including only an Achilles tendon lengthening, and posterior capsulotomy of the ankle and subtalar joint. Talectomy has been carried out in four feet and appears to be one type of reasonable salvage procedure in smaller children with recurrent varus. Treatment is difficult in these patients but a plantigrade foot should be achieved in all cases.
Introducing the association of psychology training clinics' collaborative research network: A study on client expectancies

A nationwide collaborative research network has been developed by the Association of Psychology Training Clinics (APTC) to carry out research with the potential to improve services provided in training clinic settings. Six APTC member clinics participated in this inaugural study. In addition to demonstrating that the APTC research network can recruit clients for participation in multisite research and randomize enrolled participants to conditions effectively across the network, findings from this study also contribute to our growing understanding of the problem of premature termination within psychology training clinics. More specifically, the results confirm earlier single-site reports in the literature that a high rate of premature termination is a common problem within psychology training clinics (multisite M 69.4%) and that the most typical client outcome at the end of treatment is no reliable change in symptomatic distress. Findings indicate that clients’ pretreatment expectations of treatment duration are positively correlated with the number of treatment sessions subsequently attended and are predictive of clients’ symptom severity at termination. However, expectancy education was not associated with a reduction in premature termination. Notably, there is a positive correlation between prior treatment exposure and current, prospective treatment expectations. Implications for training and policy are discussed with future directions for research suggested.
Challenges of Wafer Surface Preparation in Advanced Technologies

Advanced technology nodes introduce new module processes, materials and integrated flow scheme to drive device performance, such as epitaxial SiGe, high-k metal gate (HKMG) or III-V substrate materials [1]. Conventional wet cleaning technologies can not fulfill requirements of new generational devices competently in such novel fields [2]. A case is SiGe epitaxial process prefers to grow on hydrogen-terminated surface of silicon wafer, and oxygen control in deionic water and cleaning aqueous solutions are most addressed and studied. In this presentation, the focuses are on wafer surface preparation for SiGe and HKMG applications and challenges of physcial force cleaning for nano devices.
Toward a Proposed Ontology for Nanoscience

As is typical for other emerging fields of science, there are no readily available databases or detailed classification schemes for nanoscience. I propose analyzing the controlled index terms and classifications used in articles in the premier nanoscience journals indexed in INSPEC, and generate a meta-level ontology for nanoscience. Comme il est typique dans certains domaines emergents de la science, il n’existe aucune base de donnees deja disponible ou de schemas de classification pour la nanoscience. Je propose d’analyser les termes d’indexation controles et les classifications utilisees dans les articles des premiers journaux traitant de nanoscience indexes dans INSPEC et de creer une ontologie de meta niveau pour la nanoscience.
Radiofrequency ablation alone or in combination with cementoplasty for local control and pain palliation of sacral metastases: preliminary results in 11 patients.

Purpose To determine the safety and effectiveness of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to treat sacral metastases for pain palliation and local tumor control (LTC).
Gene signatures associated with adaptive humoral immunity following seasonal influenza A/H1N1 vaccination

This study aimed to identify gene expression markers shared between both influenza hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) and virus-neutralization antibody (VNA) responses. We enrolled 158 older subjects who received the 2010-2011 trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine. Influenza-specific HAI and VNA titers and mRNA-sequencing were performed using blood samples obtained at Days 0, 3 and 28 post vaccination. For antibody response at Day 28 versus Day 0, several gene sets were identified as significant in predictive models for HAI (n=7) and VNA (n=35) responses. Five gene sets (comprising the genes MAZ, TTF, GSTM, RABGGTA, SMS, CA, IFNG and DOPEY) were in common for both HAI and VNA. For response at Day 28 versus Day 3, many gene sets were identified in predictive models for HAI (n=13) and VNA (n=41). Ten gene sets (comprising biologically related genes, such as MAN1B1, POLL, CEBPG, FOXP3, IL12A, TLR3, TLR7 and others) were shared between HAI and VNA. These identified gene sets demonstrated a high degree of network interactions and likelihood for functional relationships. Influenza-specific HAI and VNA responses demonstrated a remarkable degree of similarity. Although unique gene set signatures were identified for each humoral outcome, several gene sets were determined to be in common with both HAI and VNA response to influenza vaccine.
Portrayal of Brain Death in Film and Television

We sought to evaluate whether television and cinematic coverage of brain death is educational or misleading. We identified 24 accessible productions that addressed brain death using the archives of the Paley Center for Media (160 000 titles) and the Internet Movie Database (3.7 million titles). Productions were reviewed by two board-certified neurologists. Although 19 characters were pronounced brain dead, no productions demonstrated a complete examination to assess for brain death (6 included an assessment for coma, 9 included an evaluation of at least 1 brainstem reflex, but none included an assessment of every brainstem reflex, and 2 included an apnea test). Subjectively, both authors believed only a small fraction of productions (13% A.L., 13% J.W.) provided the public a complete and accurate understanding of brain death. Organ donation was addressed in 17 productions (71%), but both reviewers felt that the discussions about organ donation were professional in a paucity of productions (9% for A.L., 27% for J.W.). Because television and movies serve as a key source for public education, the quality of productions that feature brain death must be improved.
The Benefits of Peer Review and a Multisemester Capstone Writing Series on Inquiry and Analysis Skills in an Undergraduate Thesis

This study examines the relationship between the introduction of a four-course writing-intensive capstone series and improvement in inquiry and analysis skills of biology senior undergraduates. To measure the impact of the multicourse write-to-learn and peer-review pedagogy on student performance, we used a modified Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education rubric for Inquiry and Analysis and Written Communication to score senior research theses from 2006 to 2008 (pretreatment) and 2009 to 2013 (intervention). A Fisher-Freeman-Halton test and a two-sample Student's t test were used to evaluate individual rubric dimensions and composite rubric scores, respectively, and a randomized complete block design analysis of variance was carried out on composite scores to examine the impact of the intervention across ethnicity, legacy (e.g., first-generation status), and research laboratory. The results show an increase in student performance in rubric scoring categories most closely associated with science literacy and critical-thinking skills, in addition to gains in students' writing abilities.
Receptor Tyrosine Kinases as Targets for Enhancing Tumor Radiosensitivity

The advent of the modern era of molecularly targeted therapies in oncology has generated considerable excitement in the field of oncology. While there have been successes with molecularly targeted agents as monotherapies, most solid tumors display only a transient and modest response to single-targeted agents. As such, there has been significant effort in combining molecularly targeted agents with radiotherapy. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) play central roles in oncogenesis, stress sensitivity, tumor maintenance/progression, and clinical prognosis. Secondary to these roles, receptor tyrosine kinases are attractive targets for cancer therapy and specifically in combination with radiation therapy to enhance tumor radiosensitivity. Significant preclinical and clinical investigations have been performed to understand their roles in regulating the cellular response to radiation. A number of RTKs with relevance to radiation oncology have been identified including EGFR, VEGFR, IGF-1R, c-MET, and HER2. This chapter will highlight the preclinical and clinical findings associated with the combination of radiotherapy and inhibitors of the aforementioned receptors.
New material platforms and metasurface designs for nano- and quantum photonics (Conference Presentation)

We outline the recent progress in developing new plasmonic materials that will form the basis for future low-loss, CMOS-compatible devices, enabling full-scale development of the metamaterial and nanophotonic technologies. Novel metasurface designs as a basis for a chip-compatible platform for nanophotonics and quantum photonics applications will be also discussed.
Connecting regulators with researchers

“The shared goal of the Illinois plan is the development of practical and effective nutrient standards based on identified causes and thresholds of water body use impairment due to nutrient enrichment.” In 2000, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published ambient water quality criteria recommendations for rivers and streams, and directed states to set water quality standards “to protect the physical, biological and chemical integrity of their waters. “The recommended criteria were developed for different ecoregions, and reference conditions were proposed for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chlorophyll a and turbidity. Since the reference conditions were based on the 25th percentile for all nutrient data, they did not account for local site conditions that may have significant impacts on water quality. For example, the Middle Fork of the Vermillion River is a high quality stream in Illinois, and is the only stream designated as a national wild and scenic river in the state. Although it supports a rich diversity of aquatic species, it would exceed the proposed nutrient criteria for phosphorus by 25 percent. As a result, developing water quality standards for nutrients is a challenge facing Illinois and many other states. The USEPA did allow …
Development of an Inoculation Technique and the Evaluation of Soybean Genotypes for Resistance to Coniothyrium glycines

Red leaf blotch, caused by Coniothyrium glycines, is a serious disease affecting soybean in several African countries but has not yet appeared in the United States. The fungal pathogen is listed as a Select Agent by the Federal Select Agent Program because of potential consequence to U.S. agriculture if introduced. Sources of resistance to red leaf blotch have not yet been identified in spite of extensive field testing in Zambia and Zimbabwe. A seedling inoculation protocol was used to investigate the effects of inoculum density, temperature (20 and 25°C), and dew chamber incubation period (2 to 5 days) on disease development in 'Williams 82' soybean. Inoculum density and incubation period had significant effects on disease severity but no significant difference was observed at 20 and 25°C. Highest levels of disease were obtained using 1.94 cm3 of mycelial inoculum per 10 ml of water and incubating plants for 5 days at 100% relative humidity. Significant differences were not observed between isolates from Zambia and Zimbabwe at 25°C. In total, 23 soybean genotypes that represent nearly 90% of the genes present in U.S. soybean were evaluated and found to be susceptible, which is consistent with previous field evaluations. This method could be useful in identifying new sources of resistance to red leaf blotch.
Postoperative coma in a patient with complete basilar syndrome after anterior cervical discectomy.

Purpose: Ischemic brainstem stroke resulting from occlusion of the basilar artery during cervical spine surgery in a previously asymptomatic patient is a rare event. We report the development of a large ischemic brainstem stroke, resulting from occlusion of the basilar artery during anterior cervical discectomy, in a patient without previous neurological deficit, or signs of vertebrobasilar insufficiency. Clinical features: A 55-yr-old, diabetic and hypertensive male who developed a cervical spine infection, underwent surgery for anterior discectomy at C 5 –C 6 . During the 2.5-hr long procedure the patient was lying supine with his neck hyperextended. Except for a temporary reduction in systolic blood pressure, the intraoperative course was uneventful. At the end of surgery the patient remained unconscious with flaccid paralysis in all extremities, fixed pinpoint pupils, low respiratory rate, and no response to painful stimuli. Naloxone administration did not improve the clinical picture, while brain computed tomography showed a large brainstem and cerebellar stroke, implicating basilar artery occlusion. The patient died five days later from stroke complications. Intraoperative surgical manipulation with a severely inflamed vertebral system, as well as prolonged neck hyperextension occluding the blood flow of vertebrobasilar arteries might have contributed to fatal brainstem stroke in this
Visual Threat Assessment and Reticulospinal Encoding of Calibrated Responses in Larval Zebrafish

All visual animals must decide whether approaching objects are a threat. Our current understanding of this process has identified a proximity-based mechanism where an evasive maneuver is triggered when a looming stimulus passes a subtended visual angle threshold. However, some escape strategies are more costly than others, and so it would be beneficial to additionally encode the level of threat conveyed by the predator's approach rate to select the most appropriate response. Here, using naturalistic rates of looming visual stimuli while simultaneously monitoring escape behavior and the recruitment of multiple reticulospinal neurons, we find that larval zebrafish do indeed perform a calibrated assessment of threat. While all fish generate evasive maneuvers at the same subtended visual angle, lower approach rates evoke slower, more kinematically variable escape responses with relatively long latencies as well as the unilateral recruitment of ventral spinal projecting nuclei (vSPNs) implicated in turning. In contrast, higher approach rates evoke faster, more kinematically stereotyped responses with relatively short latencies, as well as bilateral recruitment of vSPNs and unilateral recruitment of giant fiber neurons in fish and amphibians called Mauthner cells. In addition to the higher proportion of more costly, shorter-latency Mauthner-active responses to greater perceived threats, we observe a higher incidence of freezing behavior at higher approach rates. Our results provide a new framework to understand how behavioral flexibility is grounded in the appropriate balancing of trade-offs between fast and slow movements when deciding to respond to a visually perceived threat.
A dual-DSP controlled SiC MOSFET based 96%-efficiency 20kW EV on-board battery charger using LLC resonance technology

Present electric vehicles usually use 3.3kW or 6.6kW chargers. With three-phase 380VAC∼480VAC available, it is possible for the charger to deliver much higher power, e.g., 20kW, which will expedite the battery charging speed. Meanwhile, wide-bandgap devices (WBG) like silicon carbide MOSFETs and gallium nitride HEMTs provide higher efficiency than Si devices, which potentially will increase the power density thereby fitting such a fast charger on board. This paper uses the conventional LLC topology to realize a 20kW all-SiC EV onboard charger. Two half-bridge LLC converters are series connected on the primary side and parallel connected on the secondary side to provide 20kW together. Matrix transformers are utilized to facilitate the system assembly. Experimental results validated that such design approach could realize 20kW and reach ∼96% wall-to-battery efficiency.
An Analysis of Teachers Who Teach Struggling Students

An Analysis of Teachers Who Teach Struggling Students by Brett Rankin MA, Walden University, 2004 BS, University of the District of Columbia, 1997 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education
The Nature of Similarity

Similarity is perhaps the most frequently used, most difficult to quantify, and the most universally employed type of compatibility measure. Because of the widespread applications, we begin with an examination of previous efforts to develop mathematical techniques for similarity assessment.
Stress and Drug Craving

Anecdotal and scientific evidence suggest a significant relationship between substance abuse and stress. One behavioral explanation for the high concordance between stress-related disorders and drug addiction is the self-medication hypothesis, which suggests that some people engage in substance abuse to cope with tension associated with life stressors or to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression resulting from a traumatic event. However, increasing evidence suggests that there may also be a biological explanation for an addict’s belief that his or her drug of choice provides relief from stress or control over life’s stressors. This article reviews the evidence for a physiological basis underlying the role of stress and the subsequent activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in drug craving and relapse.
Special Education Teacher Preparation for Family–Professional Partnerships: Results From a National Survey of Teacher Educators:

Family–professional partnerships (FPPs) are an important, federally mandated part of the American education system that benefit all students, but especially students with disabilities. Although spe...
Adrenal βarrestin1 targeting for tobacco–associated cardiac dysfunction treatment: Aldosterone production as the mechanistic link

Tobacco kills 6 million people annually and its global health costs are continuously rising. The main addictive component of every tobacco product is nicotine. Among the mechanisms by which nicotine, and its major metabolite, cotinine, contribute to heart disease is the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) activation. This increases aldosterone production from the adrenals and circulating aldosterone levels. Aldosterone is a mineralocorticoid hormone with various direct harmful effects on the myocardium, including increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, which contributes significantly to cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction and cardiac aging. Aldosterone is produced in the adrenocortical zona glomerulosa (AZG) cells in response to angiotensin II (AngII), activating its type 1 receptor (AT1R). The AT1R is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that leads to aldosterone biosynthesis and secretion, via signaling from both Gq/11 proteins and the GPCR adapter protein βarrestin1, in AZG cells. Adrenal βarrestin1 is essential for AngII-dependent adrenal aldosterone production, which aggravates heart disease. Since adrenal βarrestin1 is essential for raising circulating aldosterone in the body and tobacco compounds are also known to elevate aldosterone levels in smokers, accelerating heart disease progression, our central hypothesis is that nicotine and cotinine increase aldosterone levels to induce cardiac injury by stimulating adrenal βarrestin1. In the present review, we provide an overview of the current literature of the physiology and pharmacology of adrenal aldosterone production regulation, of the effects of tobacco on this process and, finally, of the effects of tobacco and aldosterone on cardiac structure and function, with a particular focus on cardiac mitochondrial function. We conclude our literature account with a brief experimental outline, as well as with some therapeutic perspectives of our pharmacological hypothesis, that is that adrenal βarrestin1 is a novel molecular target for preventing tobacco-induced hyperaldosteronism, thereby also ameliorating tobacco-related heart disease development.
Low Torque Ripple Spoke-Type Permanent Magnet Motor for Electric Vehicle

We have designed a rotor for a spoke-type interior permanent magnet synchronous machine (IPMSM) with rare-earth-free permanent magnets (RE-free PM) to lower torque ripple while maintaining reasonable torque. Three kinds of RE-free PMs, $\text{SrFe}_{12}\mathrm{O}_{19}$ (SrM ferrite), $\text{Nd}_{2}\text{Fe}_{14}\mathrm{B}$ (NdFeB), and low-temperature phase (LTP)-MnBi, were used for the designed rotor to evaluate motor performance at 20°C and 125°C. The proposed motor with LTP-MnBi for the rotor-core magnet and SrM for the flux-directing magnet shows the increased torque by 7.1 % and 12.5 % at 20°C and 125°C, respectively, and decreased torque ripple by 50 % and 62.9 % at 20°C and 125°C, respectively, as compared to the conventional rotor. According to the demagnetization analysis, the proposed motor is far less vulnerable to irreversible demagnetization than the conventional motor. This work opens a new avenue in the design of rare-earth-free permanent magnet synchronous motor for electric vehicle applications.
Integrating new digital technology into the humanities: 3D modeling for archaeology, art history and urban planning

As the computing revolution moves on, more and more disciplines outside of science and engineering are turning to digital methods of research and teaching. This is especially true in Art History, Archaeology, and Urban Planning where new 3D scanning technology is being used to create large-scale site models that can be used for preservation, documentation, visualization and research.
Electrical impedance of carbon nanofiber aggregates

Abstract Concrete structure should be safe, durable, serviceable and sustainable during its lifetime service. During the service period, it may be subjected to various loading conditions and the worst cases of earthquakes and strong winds. These loads either reduce the performance of the structure or severely damage or completely collapse it. The University of Houston has successfully demonstrated strain sensing abilities of that self-consolidating carbon nanofiber concrete (SCCNFC). However, the expenses of this SCCNFC are almost 20 times as much as regular concrete. The development of carbon nanofiber aggregate (CNFA) made it is possible to utilize the strain sensing abilities of SCCNFC with a reduced cost since only the CNFAs placed in the structure would contain carbon nanofibers (CNFs) instead of whole structure. This chapter describes the optimization of both the CNFA configuration and the mortar design with the electrical response of CNFAs in different stress levels. The data from DC circuit tests showed the unstable resistance variation resulting in unreliable data acquisition for stress/strain monitoring. Whereas, the development of two probe CNFA in AC circuit was capable of sensing load/stresses with stable impedance measurements.
Evaluation of smart charging for electric vehicle-to-building integration: A case study

Abstract Higher electric vehicle (EV) adoption will stress the importance of demand flexibility to achieve more economic, efficient, and reliable grid operation. Charging technologies will be paramount in shifting temporally to better fit the variable generation of wind and solar. Therefore, analysis is warranted on the benefits of EV charge scheduling with respect to installation cost, operation cost, difficulty of implementation, and grid flexibility. We tackle this by analyzing the cost savings of implementing an EV charge scheduling infrastructure to reduce demand charges and installation costs. In this paper, we analyze a case study for operation of 16 level 2 chargers and 1 fast charger for two different building types. We then evaluate various test phases for controlling building and charging loads using an adaptive charging network (ACN) algorithm to characterize the ACN’s potential to reduce overall project cost.
Systematic Review: Is Intradiscal Injection of Bone Marrow Concentrate for Lumbar Disc Degeneration Effective?

Current studies evaluating the outcomes of an intradiscal injection of bone marrow concentrate (BMC) for lumbar disc degeneration are limited. The purpose of this review was to determine if an intradiscal injection of BMC for lumbar disc degeneration results in a statistically significant improvement in clinical outcomes. A systematic review was performed using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Levels I-IV investigations of intradiscal BMC injections in symptomatic lumbar disc degeneration were included in the analysis. Modified Coleman Methodology Scores (MCMS) were used to analyze study methodological quality. Only outcome measurements used by more than 50% of included studies, with a minimum follow-up of 12 months, were eligible for final data analysis. Pre-injection and post-injection visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were compared using two-sample Z-tests. Seven articles (97 subjects (47 males, 38 females, 12 unspecified), mean age 33.9 ± 14.3 years, mean follow-up 44.4 ± 25.4 months) were analyzed. Six articles were level IV evidence and one article was level II. Mean MCMS was 56.6 ± 9.1. All subjects received single injections into the nucleus pulposus of one or more affected discs. VAS (66.0 mm to 20.9 mm; p<0.001) and ODI (44.4 to 19.1; p<0.001) significantly improved following the intradiscal BMC injection. One patient (1.0%) experienced herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) following treatment. No other complications or re-injections were reported. In conclusion, despite our skepticism regarding the efficacy of the procedure, intradiscal injection of BMC for lumbar disc degeneration resulted in statistically significant improvement in VAS and ODI with low re-injection and complication rates in the studies assessed. Given that this study is limited to level IV evidence, the findings suggest that further randomized controlled studies may be worthwhile to evaluate the true efficacy of this treatment.
Sharp estimates for finite element approximations to parabolic problems with Neumann boundary data of low regularity

Consider a homogeneous parabolic problem on a smooth bounded domain in ℝ N but with initial data and Neumann boundary data of low regularity. Sharp interior maximum norm error estimates are given for a semidiscrete C 0 finite element approximation to this problem. These estimates are obtained by first establishing a new localized L ∞ estimate for semidiscrete finite element approximations on interior subdomains. Numerical examples illustrate the findings.
Analyzing the impact of CryoSat-2 ice thickness initialization on seasonal Arctic Sea Ice prediction

Twin 5-month seasonal forecast experiments are performed to predict the September 2018 mean and minimum ice extent using the fully coupled Navy Earth System Prediction Capability (ESPC). In the control run, ensemble forecasts are initialized from the operational US Navy Global Ocean Forecasting System (GOFS) 3.1 but do not assimilate ice thickness data. Another set of forecasts are initialized from the same GOFS 3.1 fields but with sea ice thickness derived from CryoSat-2 (CS2). The Navy ESPC ensemble mean September 2018 minimum sea ice extent initialized with GOFS 3.1 ice thickness was over-predicted by 0.68 M km2 (5.27 M km2) vs the ensemble forecasts initialized with CS2 ice thickness that had an error of 0.40 M km2 (4.99 M km2), a 43% reduction in error. The September mean integrated ice edge error shows a 18% improvement for the Pan-Arctic with the CS2 data vs the control forecasts. Comparison against upward looking sonar ice thickness in the Beaufort Sea reveals a lower bias and RMSE with the CS2 forecasts at all three moorings. Ice concentration at these locations is also improved, but neither set of forecasts show ice free conditions as observed at moorings A and D.
Artificial Tikkun Olam: AI Can Be Our Best Friend in Building an Open Human-Computer Society.

Technological advances of virtually every kind pose risks to society including fairness and bias. We review a long-standing wisdom that a widespread practical deployment of any technology may produce adverse side effects misusing the knowhow. This includes AI but AI systems are not solely responsible for societal risks. We describe some of the common and AI specific risks in health industries and other sectors and propose both broad and specific solutions. Each technology requires very specialized and informed tracking, monitoring and creative solutions. We postulate that AI systems are uniquely poised to produce conceptual and methodological solutions to both fairness and bias in automated decision-making systems. We propose a simple intelligent system quotient that may correspond to their adverse societal impact and outline a multi-tier architecture for producing solutions of increasing complexity to these risks. We also propose that universities may consider forming interdisciplinary Study of Future Technology Centers to investigate and predict the fuller range of risks posed by technology and seek both common and AI specific solutions using computational, technical, conceptual and ethical analysis
Integrating cellular dimensions with cell differentiation during early development.

Abstract Early embryo development is characterized by alteration of cellular dimensions and fating of blastomeres. An emerging concept is that cell size and shape drive cellular differentiation during early embryogenesis in a variety of model organisms. In this review, we summarize recent advances that elucidate the contribution of the physical dimensions of a cell to major embryonic transitions and cell fate specification in vivo. We also highlight techniques and newly evolving methods for manipulating the sizes and shapes of cells and whole embryos in situ and ex vivo. Finally, we provide an outlook for addressing fundamental questions in the field and more broadly uncovering how changes to cell size control decision making in a variety of biological contexts.
Attention based Writer Independent Verification

The task of writer verification is to provide a likelihood score for whether the queried and known handwritten image samples belong to the same writer or not. Such a task calls for the neural network to make it's outcome interpretable, i.e. provide a view into the network's decision making process. We implement and integrate cross-attention and soft-attention mechanisms to capture the highly correlated and salient points in feature space of 2D inputs. The attention maps serve as an explanation premise for the network's output likelihood score. The attention mechanism also allows the network to focus more on relevant areas of the input, thus improving the classification performance. Our proposed approach achieves a precision of 86% for detecting intra-writer cases in CEDAR cursive “AND” dataset. Furthermore, we generate meaningful explanations for the provided decision by extracting attention maps from multiple levels of the network.
Microbial Corrosion of Metals and Deterioration of Polymeric Materials

Microorganisms including bacteria and fungi play an important role in the corrosion of metals and deterioration of polymeric materials Under natural conditions, a thin layer of microorganisms may adhere on surfaces forming the socalled biofilm Microbial colonization on surfaces influences the localized electrochemical characteristics of the metals, resulting in corrosion Other microbial processes inducing corrosion include microbial exopolymeric materials, microbial hydrogen and organic acids produced by the fungi Heterotrophic microorganisms utilize polymers either directly or indirectly as a source of carbon and energy, and the consequences are weakening of the polymer structure Both autotrophic and heterotrophic microorganisms are capable of deteriorating concrete and stone through production of inorganic acids and sulfur transformation respectively Prevention of biodeterioration is largely done by incorporation of biocides, but bacteria develop resistance quickly by mutation after exposure
Menstrual Knowledge and Understandings of Normal and Extreme Bleeding: College Students’ Overestimation of the Typical Amount of Menstrual Blood

Accurate biological information about menstruation is crucial for menstrual health literacy. A diverse group of students (N = 125) at a large southwestern US university estimated—by pouring liquid ...
Help Me Understand: Providing Palliative Care to Individuals With Serious Mental Illness:

Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) have shortened life expectancy with increased risk of developing comorbid medical illnesses. They might have difficulty accessing care and can be lost to follow-up due to complex socioeconomic factors, placing them at greater risk of dying from chronic or undiagnosed conditions. This, in combination with stigma associated with SMI, can result in lower quality end-of-life care. Interdisciplinary palliative care teams are in a unique position to lend assistance to those with SMI given their expertise in serious illness communication, values-based care, and psychosocial support. However, palliative care teams might be unfamiliar with the hallmark features of the various SMI diagnoses. Consequently, recognizing and managing exacerbations of SMI while delivering concurrent palliative or end-of-life care can feel challenging. The goal of this narrative review is to describe the benefits of providing palliative care to individuals with SMI with concrete suggestions for communication and use of recovery-oriented language in the treatment of individuals with SMI. The salient features of 3 SMI diagnoses-Bipolar Disorders, Major Depressive Disorder, and Schizophrenia-are outlined through case examples. Recommendations for working with individuals who have SMI and other life-limiting illness are provided, including strategies to effectively manage SMI exacerbations.
Small-Scale Geochemical Heterogeneities and Seasonal Variation of Iron and Sulfide in Salt Marshes Revealed by Two-Dimensional Sensors

Loss of tidal wetlands is a world-wide phenomenon. Many factors may contribute to such loss, but among them are geochemical stressors such as exposure of the marsh plants to elevated levels on hydrogen sulfide in the pore water of the marsh peat. Here we report the results of a study of the geochemistry of iron and sulfide at different seasons in unrestored (JoCo) and partially restored (Big Egg) salt marshes in Jamaica Bay, a highly urbanized estuary in New York City where the loss of salt marsh area has accelerated in recent years. The spatial and temporal 2-dimensional distribution patterns of dissolved Fe2+ and H2S in salt marshes were in-situ mapped with high resolution planar sensors for the first time. The vertical profiles of Fe2+ and hydrogen sulfide, as well as related solutes and redox potentials in marsh were also evaluated by sampling the pore water at discrete depths. Sediment cores were collected at various seasons and the solid phase Fe, S, N, C and chromium reducible sulfide in marsh peat at discrete depths were further investigated in order to study Fe and S cycles, and their relationship to the organic matter cycling at different seasons. Our results revealed that the redox sensitive elements Fe2+ and S2- showed significantly heterogeneous and complex three dimensional distribution patterns in salt marsh, over mm to cm scales, directly associated with the plant roots due to the redox diagenetic reactions. The overall concentrations of Fe2+ and H2S and distribution patterns also seasonally varied with temperature change. H2S level in JoCo sampling site could change from 5 mM in fall season, reflecting significantly seasonal variation in the rates of bacterial oxidation of organic matter at this marsh site. Solid phase Fe and S showed that very high fractions of the diagenetically reactive iron at JoCo and Big Egg were associated with pyrite that can persist for long periods in anoxic sediments. This implies that there is insufficient diagenetically reactive iron to buffer the pore water hydrogen sulfide through formation of iron sulfides at JoCo and Big Egg.
Management of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) associated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy using anti-cytokine therapy: an illustrative case and review of the literature.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy has significantly improved survival for adult patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). However, there are novel toxicitie...
Methods of Temperature Monitoring in Low Voltage Electrical Cables using Composite Materials

The article presents the most important methods and technologies used to monitor the temperature of low voltage power supply cables, which supply 400V in three-phase mode, trying to highlight the method of using composite materials, materials that are included in the material constructive of the cables, these having the role of temperature sensor. Temperature monitoring is performed along the electrical cables, to transmit in real time information on the evolution of temperatures along the entire length of the cable, at any point, during their entire life. The article will focus on the method of inserting optical fibres inside the power supply cables, which will be used as a temperature measuring instrument. Using the Reman effect, a method of reflecting the injected light at one end of the optical fibre, by processing the received signals, the evolution of the temperature inside the electric cable can be detected with great precision, over long distances and with great accuracy. the evolution of the temperature inside the electric.
The Role of Peripheral Nociceptive Neurons in the Pathophysiology of Osteoarthritis Pain

Knee osteoarthritis is characterized by progressive damage and remodeling of all tissues in the knee joint. Pain is the main symptom associated with knee osteoarthritis. Recent clinical and pre-clinical studies have provided novel insights into the mechanisms that drive the pain associated with joint destruction. In this narrative review, we describe current knowledge regarding the changes in the peripheral and central nervous systems that occur during the progression of osteoarthritis and discuss how therapeutic interventions may provide pain relief.
Body Weight & Contraceptives

Recent studies have identified that weight might make a difference when it comes to prescribing contraceptives. Women who are overweight should be encouraged to attain and maintain a normal BMI to maximize health and minimize long-term untoward health consequences. If associations between weight and contraceptive methods are proven to be true, research is needed to investiage different dosages.
Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity

Spacetime and Geometry is an introductory textbook on general relativity, specifically aimed at students. Using a lucid style, Carroll first covers the foundations of the theory and mathematical formalism, providing an approachable introduction to what can often be an intimidating subject. Three major applications of general relativity are then discussed: black holes, perturbation theory and gravitational waves, and cosmology. Students will learn the origin of how spacetime curves (the Einstein equation) and how matter moves through it (the geodesic equation). They will learn what black holes really are, how gravitational waves are generated and detected, and the modern view of the expansion of the universe. A brief introduction to quantum field theory in curved spacetime is also included. A student familiar with this book will be ready to tackle research-level problems in gravitational physics.