cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Merging traffic to save energy in the enterprise

In typical enterprise networks, a large fraction of ports see utilization of less than 5% at peak times and close to zero utilization otherwise. Therefore, the normal architecture of one switch port per end-host is very wasteful because of the need for high port density switches to support numerous end users. In this paper we propose merging traffic from multiple end-hosts and feeding that to small port density switches that can replace the high port density switches. The energy savings from such a redesign are significant. The innovative part of this paper is the design of a low-power Merge network that is used to merge traffic from N incoming links to be fed to K switch ports and for sending traffic from the K-port switch to N links. Further, we present algorithms to enable network designers to re-architect their networks using the merge network, and a feasibility study using our College of Engineering network as a working example to illustrate how this approach would work and the resultant energy savings of almost 47%.
Endothelial Cell Proliferation is Enhanced by Low Dose Non-Thermal Plasma Through Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 Release

Non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma is being developed for a wide range of medical applications, including wound healing, blood coagulation, and malignant cell apoptosis. However, the effect of non-thermal plasma on the vasculature is unclear. Blood vessels are affected during plasma treatment of many tissues and may be an important potential target for clinical plasma therapy. Porcine aortic endothelial cells were treated in vitro with a custom non-thermal plasma device. Low dose plasma (up to 30 s or 4 J cm(-2)) was relatively non-toxic to endothelial cells while treatment at longer exposures (60 s and higher or 8 J cm(-2)) led to cell death. Endothelial cells treated with plasma for 30 s demonstrated twice as much proliferation as untreated cells five days after plasma treatment. Endothelial cell release of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) peaked 3 h after plasma treatment. The plasma proliferative effect was abrogated by an FGF2 neutralizing antibody, and FGF2 release was blocked by reactive oxygen species scavengers. These data suggest that low dose non-thermal plasma enhances endothelial cell proliferation due to reactive oxygen species mediated FGF2 release. Plasma may be a novel therapy for dose-dependent promotion or inhibition of endothelial cell mediated angiogenesis.
Age dependence of the development of ventricular arrhythmias in a canine model of sudden cardiac death

Objectives: The age-dependence of the development of ventricular arrhythmias was studied in German shepherd dogs with inherited ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death. Background: A colony of German shepherd dogs has been established that exhibit inherited ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death. The incidence of arrhythmias increases with age. Because ventricular tachycardia is associated with bradycardia, it was hypothesized that the increased incidence of arrhythmias was related to age-dependent slowing of heart rate. Methods: Arrhythmia counts and RR intervals were measured from serial ambulatory ECG recordings obtained in 71 dogs (1–48 weeks). In addition, 19 dogs were challenged with phenylephrine (10 μg/kg i.v.) at 15, 28, and 45 weeks of age, 10 dogs were challenged with epinephrine (1 μg/kg i.v.) at 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 18, and 28 weeks of age, and 10 dogs were challenged at 28 weeks with epinephrine (2.5 μg/kg i.v.), before and after propranolol (0.5 mg/kg i.v.). Results: The incidence and severity of ventricular arrhythmias increased between 7 and 28 weeks of age and decreased between 28 and 44 weeks of age. The age-dependent increase in the incidence of ventricular tachycardia was associated with age-dependent reductions in sinus rate. Baroreflex-mediated slowing of the heart rate unmasked arrhythmias in young animals that did not spontaneously display arrhythmias and exacerbated existing arrhythmias in older animals. However, the magnitude of baroreflex-induced bradycardia was similar from 7–18 weeks of age, yet the incidence of arrhythmias increased progressively. Moreover, the waning of ventricular arrhythmias in older animals was not associated with more rapid sinus rates. Conclusion: The risk for sudden death in dogs with inherited ventricular arrhythmias increases with age in part because of age-dependent slowing of heart rate and in part because of other heart-rate-independent factors. The correspondence between the development of ventricular tachycardia and sinus pauses is consistent with the hypothesis that ventricular arrhythmias are initiated by early afterdepolarization-induced triggered activity.
Assessing the ecology in ecotoxicology: a review and synthesis in freshwater systems

The field of ecotoxicology is experiencing a surge in attention among ecologists as we gain a deeper appreciation for how contaminants can impact natural ecosystems. This interest is particularly strong in aquatic systems where many non-target organisms experience pesticides. In this article, we assess how pesticides affect freshwater systems by applying the conceptual framework of density- and trait-mediated indirect effects from the field of basic ecology. We demonstrate the utility of this framework for understanding the conditions under which pesticides affect species interactions, communities and ecosystems. Through the integration of laboratory toxicity tests and this ecological framework, ecotoxicologists should be better able to identify the mechanisms through which pesticides affect communities and ecosystems. We also identify several areas of research that are in critical need of empirical attention including synergistic effects between pesticides and natural stressors, the importance of pesticides on community assembly via habitat preferences and oviposition effects, the timing and frequency of pesticide applications, pesticide effects on population dynamics, the evolution of pesticide resistance in non-target organisms and ecosystem recovery. With this knowledge, one can improve upon management decisions and help protect non-target species that are of conservation concern.
Capecitabine–Warfarin Interaction

OBJECTIVE:To report a case of concomitant warfarin therapy with consecutive cycles of capecitabine therapy, providing time of onset, magnitude, and assessment of the interaction.CASE SUMMARY:A 59-year-old man receiving chronic warfarin therapy for a mechanical mitral valve replacement was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic colon cancer. He was started on capecitabine/irinotecan after his cancer progressed with fluorouracil/leucovorin and the FOLFOX 6 regimen (oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and continuous fluorouracil infusion). He received 3 consecutive cycles of capecitabine/irinotecan with concomitant oral anticoagulation and, with each cycle, the warfarin dose was reduced. Over the course of these 3 cycles, the total weekly dose of warfarin was reduced by >85%.DISCUSSION:The capecitabine–warfarin interaction is clinically significant, requiring a black box warning in the package insert. The mechanism of action for the interaction is not clear, but may be related to down-regulation of CYP2C9 by capecitabine o...
Recombination in n-i-p (Substrate) a-Si:H Solar Cells with Silicon Carbide and Protocrystalline p-Layers

A study was carried out on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) n-i-p (substrate) solar cell structures with p-a-SiC:H and highly diluted p-Si:H layers grown with different dilution ratios R=[H2]/[SiH4]. The contributions of the recombination at the p/i interfaces to the forward bias dark current characteristics were identified and quantified for the different cell structures. In both cell structures the role of the p/i interfaces was identified and it is found that the lowest p/i interface recombination is obtained with protocrystalline p-Si:H layers having no microcrystalline component. The results with p-Si:H layers are attributed not only to their properties but also to the subsurface modification of the intrinsic layer. Evidence is also presented that points to the beneficial effects of the high hydrogen dilution and power used in the deposition of these p-layers in creating the p/i interface regions. The limitations on 1 sun open circuit voltage (VOC) imposed by the p/i recombination present in all the cell structures is consistent with the mechanisms proposed by Deng et al.[1]. The results presented here also point to why the 1 sun VOC in protocrystalline p-Si:H solar cells is higher than that in p-a-SiC:H cells.
The historical and extant flora of Great Gull Island, New York

Abstract Stalter, R. (Department of Biological Sciences, St. John's University, Jamaica, NY 11439) and E. E. Lamont (Honorary Research Associate, Institute of Systematic Botany, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458). The historical and extant flora of Great Gull Island, New York. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 132: 628–634. 2005.—Great Gull Island, Suffolk County, New York was surveyed for vascular plants in 2002. The island's past and present flora consists of 207 species, 148 genera, and 55 families; the largest families are the Asteraceae (35 spp.) and the Poaceae (34 spp.). Fifty seven percent (119 spp.) of the flora is not native. The greatest change in the flora since the 1970s has been the addition of 16 species of composites and 12 species of grasses. The island's long history of human impact is reviewed, especially the impacts upon the flora resulting from management of the island as a wildlife preserve for nesting birds. Significant changes in the island's flora and vegetation have occurred durin...
Parks and Stadiums Since 1960

The 1960s began in baseball with a New Frontier of its own: expansion franchises were awarded in 1961 to Los Angeles (the Angels) and Washington, DC (a new Senators team to replace the Minnesota-departed one) and in 1962 to New York (the Mets) and Houston (the Colt .45s, later the Astros). So there were four new teams, but only one was placed in a major-league-less city.
The unassigned distance geometry problem

Studies of distance geometry problems (DGP) have focused on cases where the vertices at the ends of all or most of the given distances are known or assigned, which we call assigned distance geometry problems (aDGPs). In this contribution we consider the unassigned distance geometry problem (uDGP) where the vertices associated with a given distance are unknown, so the graph structure has to be discovered. uDGPs arises when attempting to find the atomic structure of molecules and nanoparticles using X-ray or neutron diffraction data from non-crystalline materials. Rigidity theory provides a useful foundation for both aDGPs and uDGPs, though it is restricted to generic realizations of graphs, and key results are summarized. Conditions for unique realization are discussed for aDGP and uDGP cases, build-up algorithms for both cases are described and experimental results for uDGP are presented.
The Impact of Intergenerational Cultural Dissonance on Alcohol Use Among Vietnamese and Cambodian Adolescents in the United States.

Abstract Purpose Rates of alcohol use may be increasing among Asian-American adolescents. Among youth from Asian-immigrant families, intergenerational cultural dissonance (ICD), a difference in acculturation between children and caregivers, is associated with adverse childhood outcomes. This study investigates the longitudinal association of ICD and alcohol use among youth from immigrant Vietnamese and Cambodian families in the United States. Methods Two waves of annual data, wave 4 (baseline for this study) and wave 5 (follow-up), were obtained from the Cross-Cultural Families Project, a longitudinal study of 327 Vietnamese and Cambodian immigrant families in Washington State. The Asian-American Family Conflicts Scale was used to measure ICD. Adolescent alcohol use was measured as any drinking in the past 30 days. A multiple logistic regression model was estimated with the outcome, alcohol use, measured at the follow-up visit and all predictors, including ICD, measured at baseline. Sex, nationality, nativity, and acculturation were tested as modifiers of the ICD-alcohol use relationship. Results Nine percent of adolescents (age range 13–18 years) reported alcohol use at baseline and this increased significantly ( p p = .04). None of the interactions were statistically significant. Conclusions ICD is a significant predictor of alcohol use among Vietnamese and Cambodian adolescents. Interventions that should be targeted toward reducing ICD through enhancing parent-child communication and teaching bicultural competence skills may help prevent alcohol use problems among youth from immigrant families.
Stacked double-layer nanomembrane Fano modulators

We report a novel bi-layer photonic crystal slab (PCS) Fano modulator via a coupled double-layer Si nanomembrane (SiNM) capacitor like structure. Surface normal incident light intensity modulation near 1500nm was achieved by carrier accumulation induced resonance spectral shifting. Device performance simulation suggests the opportunity for high speed modulation exceeding GHz with 20μm × 20μm device size.
Hotel general managers’ perceptions of CSR culture: A research note

The lodging industry has recently placed a greater emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in an effort to present itself as a responsible global citizen. The objective of the study was t...
A novel defect detection technique based on automatic detection of potential background

Automated defect detection from optical images is an efficient non-destructive evaluation technique for surface and structure health inspection. Background subtraction is a widely-used technique for automated defect detection. In background subtraction, an image of the part with no defect, called background image, is generated and subtracted from the defective part image; the resulted large differences are then considered as defects. In this paper, a new background generation technique is proposed that allows for efficient defect detection at a low-computational load. In this technique, a defect-free region is generated by approximately locating defects and removing them from the original image. The resulted defect-free region is now used to generate the background. The procedure and performance of the algorithm is illustrated by an example.
Holosiro Acaroides, New Genus and Species,— the Only New World Representative of the Mite-like Phalangids of the Suborder Cyphophthalmi

During the spring of 1912 while collecting insects and mites in the foothills of the Coast Range Mountains in western Oregon a number of small mite-like arachnids were observed on the moist soil under a small log. When first seen they were taken for Gamasid mites, and not being particularly interested in the family Gamasidae, the writer picked up only two specimens. Later after reaching the laboratory, greatly to my surprise, I found that what I had taken for mites were not mites at all, but were mite-like phalangids, more mite-like apparently than any of the phalangids yet described.
The Origin and Spread of the Grid-Pattern Town

Originally published in 1946, this chapter is a classic diffusionist account of the origin and spread of the grid as an urban spatial form. The author examines a variety of arguments in favor and opposed to the use of the grid as an urban plan. The chapter then proceeds to trace a genealogy of the grid’s origin in the ancient Indus Valley settlement of Mohenjo-Daro as part of the author’s effort to support the claim that the grid plan was a one-time invention which subsequently spread from its source region to become a global urban phenomenon.
Quality of death among hospice decedents: Proxy observations from a survey of community-dwelling adults in the contiguous United States

This study examines hospice service experience and quality of death. A survey of 123 community-dwelling adults in the United States found that physical comfort, pain-free, and spiritual peace were more important to respondents reporting a personal experience with hospice. A "good death" was associated with older patients who died at home, and respondent satisfaction with hospice service. A "good death" was mapped as 29 nodes and 79 links using semantic network analysis. Three subjects (patient, family, hospice), three timeframes (end-of-life, moment of dying, death), and four central causes (home, peaceful, pain-free, and expected) were identified.
Abstract 352: HER2 protein isoform heterogeneity investigated by single-cell western blotting

Accounting for ∼20% of breast cancers, half of metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab plus chemotherapy will experience progression of disease within one year. Trastuzumab treatment, though associated with improvement in median overall survival, still sees drug resistance as an unmet challenge. Differential response to therapy may arise from tumor heterogeneity. Further complicating the situation is the fact that HER2/erbB2 biology is complex. HER2 is not simply one full-length protein (p185) overexpressed on tumor cell surfaces, but also includes truncated isoforms, t-erbB2 (e.g., 95 and 110 kDa isoforms) lacking the extracellular domain targeted by trastuzumab (and pertuzumab and T-DM1). The t-erbB2 isoforms are implicated in tumorigenesis, metastasis, and therapeutic response. Given existing pathology and life sciences tools, the high heterogeneity and need for single cell resolution presents a tremendous challenge. We introduce here a novel microfluidic device to quantitatively assess HER2 protein isoforms in heterogeneous tumor biopsies with single-cell resolution. The single-cell western blot (scWB) provides both the sensitivity and specificity needed to detect t-erbB2 isoforms owing to use of a single-cell electrophoretic protein separation followed by immunoprobing. The assay further provides enough sensitivity to obviate the need for cell pooling, which obscures cell-to-cell heterogeneity. We assay ∼10009s of single cells on one microscope slide in a 4-6 hr workflow. First, we validated that the scWB can separate full length (p185) from truncated (p95) HER2 in single p185- and p95-genetically engineered CHO cells. The p95 was resolved from p185 protein in a short ∼1 mm separation lane (resolution = 0.97±0.03, n>500 cells). Next, we assessed a HER2-positive breast cancer cell line (BT474) and found This first-in-kind study demonstrates a powerful single-cell resolution multiplexing capability including for phospho-proteins. We are now applying the novel scWB to measure t-erbB2 in HER2-positive and triple positive (ER/PR/HER2) breast tumor biopsies and will report our results at AACR. Taken together, the microfluidic single-cell resolution western provides a sensitive, quantitative, and multiplexed tool to assay clinically-relevant oncoprotein isoforms that are currently difficult or impossible to assay. Correlating isoform expression ratios with clinical outcomes may confer a more comprehensive understanding of drug resistance responses derived from oncoprotein isoform profiles within heterogeneous cancer cell populations. Citation Format: Ginny (Chi-Chih) Kang, Toby M. Ward, Jessica Bockhorn, Mark D. Pegram, Amy E. Herr. HER2 protein isoform heterogeneity investigated by single-cell western blotting. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 352.
Vedolizumab should be the next line agent for the treatment of refractory Crohn's disease

A critical appraisal and clinical application of Shelton E, Allegretti JR, Stevens B, et al. Efficacy of vedolizumab as induction therapy in refractory IBD patients: a multicenter cohort. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2015;21(12):2879-2885. doi:10.1097/MIB.0000000000000561
Tangled Roots: The Appalachian Trail and American Environmental Politics Sarah Mittlefehldt. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013.

Tangled Roots: The Appalachian Trail and American Environmental Politics Sarah Mittlefehldt. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013.Sarah Mittlefehldt's Tangled Roots is ostensibly a history of the Appalachian Trail as told through the various people, public organizations, and private groups that worked across nearly a one hundred years in order to secure, build, and maintain its nearly 2,200 miles. However, Mittlefehldt also uses the Trail's story as a way to argue the path for modern American environmentalism within the current political structure.In her introduction, she explains her goal is to show that "the tangled political roots of the Appalachian Trail were frustrating and difficult to navigate at times but were ultimately an essential part of the broader system they support" (4). The frustration of dealing with new partners, such as private companies and trusts, was worth the trouble because "the trail's diverse political structure provided the foundation for trail-building efforts and made the Appalachian Trail one of the most successful land stewardship projects of the twentieth century and a model for environmental protection in the twenty-first century" (4). Within her introduction, she lays the foundation for her argument, which comes in three parts: the environmental movement has evolved beyond simple conservatory; private partners have become invaluable to sustaining public works; and this complex navigation between public and private organizations has created a more robust and sustainable model for environmentalism that is more in line with the population.She traces the Trail development through three distinct phases, which began with Benton MacKaye's call to revitalize America's natural resources through civic engagements built around conservation, moved through the inevitable federalization of the ever-growing project and its negative impact in various communities along the Trail, and ended with the New Right's desire to reduce the government's role in management while incentivizing private corporate engagement. As both an accident of history and a deft narrative framing device, Mittlefehldt placed MacKay's original vision of environmentalism on the Appalachian Trail as a project that should be driven by smart, governmental science but managed by private citizens and organizations.The narrative then picks up the story through the work of Myron Avery, whose vision of the Trail involved building it first and then using that to recruit support for it later. …
Malignant Strictures of the Esophagus, Stomach, and Duodenum: Evaluation and Management

Malignant strictures of the esophagus and foregut are a significant cause of morbidity and are encountered quite frequently in a high-volume GI-Oncology practice. The most common etiologies for esophageal strictures are squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, the latter being typically in the setting of Barrett’s esophagus (BE). Most underlying causes for esophageal strictures are intrinsic (luminal) although some are extrinsic, related to intramural or mediastinal/thoracic pathology. Dysphagia and weight loss are the most common presenting symptoms. Malignant gastric and duodenal strictures can be secondary to primary adenocarcinoma of either organ, although pancreatic cancer, metastatic tumors from other organs, and lymphoma are commonly seen in the Western world. The most common presentation is nausea and vomiting due to gastric outlet or small bowel obstruction along with anemia, weight loss, and abdominal pain/distension. Radiologic and endoscopic evaluations are the appropriate investigations which help define the anatomic extent and stage of these lesions. Endoscopic evaluation has emerged as an invaluable diagnostic and staging tool, as well as an effective modality for palliation. Surgery remains the treatment of choice for definitive management, although in many cases it is not a viable option due to extent of disease or patient comorbidity. In this chapter, we will review the evaluation and management of malignant esophageal and foregut strictures.
Substantive Black Political Representation: Evidence from Matching Estimates in the United States House of Representatives

I seek to determine whether race is a factor in how black representatives vote in the United States House of Representatives; if so, this suggests electing more black representatives may improve the economic and political position of blacks if policy positions taken by black representatives on bills that fail to pass would provide tangible positive impacts to members of the black community if passed. Confounding the impact of legislator race, districts represented by blacks on average are quite different than those represented by whites. While past research on this topic uses linear regression techniques with undesirable properties, I improve on past research using matching techniques with more desirable properties. Utilizing a combination of Mahalanobis and propensity score matching, within-caliper matching, and exact matching using data from the 100th–113th Congress, I show black representatives are more likely to vote in agreement with the majority of the Congressional Black Caucus on all votes and on Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Americans for Democratic Action, and Congressional Quarterly key votes, indicating a substantive racial impact on roll-call voting.
Enumerative Induction and Semi-uniform Convergence to the Truth

I propose a new definition of identification in the limit, also called convergence to the truth, as a new success criterion that is meant to complement, but not replace, the classic definition due to Putnam (1963) and Gold (1967). The new definition is designed to explain how it is possible to have successful learning in a kind of scenario that the classic account ignores—the kind of scenario in which the entire infinite data stream to be presented incrementally to the learner is not presupposed to completely determine the correct learning target. For example, suppose that a scientists is interested in whether all ravens are black, and that she will never observe a counterexample in her entire life. This still leaves open whether all ravens (in the universe) are black. From a purely mathematical point of view, the proposed definition of convergence to the truth employs a convergence concept that generalizes net convergence and sits in between pointwise convergence and uniform convergence. Two results are proved to suggest that the proposed definition provides a success criterion that is by no means weak: (i) Between the proposed identification in the limit and the classic one, neither implies the other. (ii) If a learning method identifies the correct target in the limit in the proposed sense, any U-shaped learning involved therein has to be essentially redundant. I conclude that we should have (at least) two success criteria that correspond to two senses of identification in the limit: the classic one and the one proposed here. They are complementary: meeting any one of the two is good; meeting both at the same time, if possible, is even better.
C2 yield enhancement during oxidative coupling of methane in a nonpermselective porous membrane reactor

Abstract A systematic comparison between a packed bed membrane reactor (PBMR) and packed bed reactor (PBR) for oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) on Na2WO4-Mn/SiO2 catalyst reveals the utility of distributing the oxygen feed along the catalyst bed length. A sufficiently high transmembrane pressure difference is needed to realize a moderate C2+ yield enhancement (∼30%). The enhancement is attributed to a shift in selectivity towards the desired coupling reaction by maintaining a high methane to oxygen ratio along the bed length. The elevated transmembrane pressure is achieved by adjusting the shell and tube side parameters including catalyst particle size, inert dilution ratio, residence time, and temperature. Under identical reaction conditions, a C2+ yield of 23.6% is obtained for the PBMR compared to 18% for the PBR. The potential detrimental impact of an axial pressure drop in the catalyst bed is compensated by increasing the shell side pressure through an increase in the shell-side nitrogen dilution ratio. Experiments were conducted at lower nitrogen dilution by increasing the catalyst particle size and reducing the tube side pressure. At a dilution ratio of ∼38%, a C2+ yield of 20% compared to 17% in PBR was obtained, which is on the higher end of the C2+ yield reported in literature for a distributed feed membrane reactor at a low dilution. Ways to overcome bypassing of the catalyst bed by shell side O2 as well as back diffusion of methane were also investigated. The results emphasize the crucial role of transmembrane pressure in enhancing the distribution of oxygen feed along the reactor length for improved OCM catalyst performance.
Improving Energy Efficiency in Memory-constrained Applications Using Core-specific Power Control

Power is increasingly the limiting factor in High Performance Computing (HPC) at Exascale and will continue to influence future advancements in supercomputing. Recent processors equipped with on-board hardware counters allow real time monitoring of operating conditions such as energy and temperature, in addition to performance measures such as instructions retired and memory accesses. An experimental memory study presented on modern CPU architectures, Intel Sandybridge and Haswell, identifies a metric, TORo_core, that detects bandwidth saturation and increased latency.TORo-Core is used to construct a dynamic policy applied at coarse and fine-grained levels to modulate per-core power controls on Haswell machines. The coarse and fine-grained application of dynamic policy shows best energy savings of 32.1% and 19.5% with a 2% slowdown in both cases. On average for six MPI applications, the fine-grained dynamic policy speeds execution by 1% while the coarse-grained application results in a 3% slowdown. Energy savings through frequency reduction not only provide cost advantages, they also reduce resource contention and create additional thermal headroom for non-throttled cores improving performance.
Optimal economic and pollution-constrained management of a hybrid DC shipboard power system

The integrated topology of shipboard power system has been more and more adopted in All Electric Ship design to benefit from the economic, technical and environmental advantages that it offers. Though, the resulting integrated shipboard power system becomes more heterogeneous and complex; making power system management a challenging task. This study presents an innovative approach for shipboard power system management of a cruiseferry. The power management combines both power production minimization and air-pollution limitation. The study focuses on the determination of the optimal operating plan of controllable power sources in addition to an adaptive ship speed control to adjust total power load. The optimization problem was formulated and implemented in the General Algebraic Modeling System and it was solved using the Mixed Integer Non Linear Programming Solver.
An Analysis of the National Intended Geometry Curriculum

Geometrical concepts play a crucial role in developing spatial thinking and reasoning. Further, curricular materials play a key role in shaping student-learning experiences in the classroom. The or...
Nonlinear Programming Strategies for State Estimation and Model Predictive Control

Sensitivity-based strategies for on-line moving horizon estimation (MHE) and nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) are presented both from a stability and computational perspective. These strategies make use of full-space interior-point nonlinear programming (NLP) algorithms and NLP sensitivity concepts. In particular, NLP sensitivity allows us to partition the solution of the optimization problems into background and negligible on-line computations, thus avoiding the problem of computational delay even with large dynamic models. We demonstrate these developments through a distributed polymerization reactor model containing around 10,000 differential and algebraic equations (DAEs).
Control of Manipulators with some Unactuated Joints

Abstract A mobile-based robot, a robot with an actuator failure, a manipulator with structural flexibility, and robots grasping an articulated object are systems with unactuated or "passive" joints. The dynamics and control of these robot systems is more complex than fully-actuated systems because unactuated joints may lead to uncontrollability. Based on a recursive formulation of the inverse dynamics for manipulators with some unactuated joints, control laws are developed for joint space control and task space control. Important in the task space control law for underactuated systems is the inversion of the generalized Jacobian. Spatial operator algebra techniques are used to develop computationally efficient algorithms for the inverse generalized Jacobian and the control laws.
Young People, Rights and Place: Erasure, Neoliberal Politics and Postchild Ethics

Concern is growing about children’s rights and the curtailment of those rights through the excesses of neoliberal governance. This book discusses children’s spatial and citizenship rights, and the ways young people and their families push against diminished rights. Armed initially with theoretical concerns about the construction of children through the political status quo and the ways youth rights are spatially segregated, the book begins with a disarmingly simple supposition: Young people have the right to make and remake their spaces and, as a consequence, themselves. This book de-centers monadic ideas of children in favor of a post-humanist perspective, which embraces the radical relationality of children as more-than-children/more-than-human. Its empirical focus begins with the struggles of Slovenian Izbrisani (‘erased’) youth from 1992 to the present day and reaches out to child rights and youth activists elsewhere in the world with examples from South America, Eastern Europe and the USA. The author argues that universal child rights have not worked and pushes for a more radical, sustainable ethics, which dares to admit that children’s humanity is something more than we, as adults, can imagine. Chapters in this groundbreaking contribution will be of interest to students, researchers and practitioners in the social sciences, humanities and public policy.
Dynamic Output Feedback Control of the Liouville Equation for Discrete-Time SISO Linear Systems

In this paper, we address the so-called Liouville control problem for discrete-time SISO linear systems in the class of Gaussian distributions. In particular, we propose a systematic procedure for the characterization of a dynamic output feedback policy that will transfer the output of the system, which is a known Gaussian random variable, to a goal Gaussian distribution after a finite number of stages. In the proposed approach, the Liouville control problem is reduced to two decoupled (finite-dimensional) quadratic programs, one of which is subject to a single affine constraint, which is a convex program, whereas the other one is subject to a single quadratic equality constraint. Despite the fact that the second optimization problem is not convex, one can characterize its exact solution via a systematic procedure without resorting to convex relaxation techniques, which may yield suboptimal or even infeasible solutions to the original (nonconvex) optimization problem. Finally, we present numerical simulations that illustrate the key ideas of this paper.
Postcardiotomy Cardiogenic Shock: Initial Results of Oklahoma Hub-and-Spoke Model

Purpose Morbidity and mortality in postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock (PCCS) patients are still high. Recent data from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) shows an increased number of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in low-volume facilities. To address this, we established the Oklahoma Shock Network to deliver advanced therapy to these patients. We envisioned that transferring these patients to and managing them in hub centers, where highly-trained staff and advanced facilities are available, could improve their outcomes and help low-volume facilities better manage this sick cohort of patients. Methods Oklahoma Shock Network is a hub-and-spoke model that was initiated in September 2014 to manage patients with advanced cardiogenic shock/advanced respiratory failure. As of September 2018, 194 patients were transferred to our facility, of which 50 with severe PCCS were included in this retrospective review. Results All 50 patients were placed on VA ECMO (mean age: 58 ±14; male: 41; mean duration of support: 10 days ± 8). Mean distance traveled was 56 miles ± 59, with a range of 1 to 190 miles. ECMO was initiated in the OR, secondary to difficult weaning from CPB in 28 patients. In 22 patients, ECMO support was initiated after surgery, with mean time from surgery to ECMO initiation of 4 days. Prior to ECMO support, 1 patient was on Impella, while 21 (42%) had intra-aortic balloon pumps. Twenty-four patients underwent CABG (48%). Sixteen patients had other procedures in addition to CABG. One patient underwent VSD repair. Two patients each of MV replacement, AV replacement, and pericardiectomy. Three patients required aortic root replacement. There were no transport-related complications noted. Bleeding and tamponade were the most common complication (14 patients; 28%) followed by pneumonia in 11 patients (22%). Continuous renal replacement therapy was performed in 24 patients (48%). Twenty-nine patients (58%) were successfully weaned, of whom 20 (40%) were discharged from the hospital. Two were bridged to durable MCS, of which 1 patient was discharged (LVAD) and 1 deceased (TAH). Support was withdrawn in 17 patients (34%). Two patients required transition to Bi-VAD, but both died. Conclusion Our data demonstrates the safety of transferring early PCCS patients. The exceptional results justify expansion of the hub-and-spoke model to improve outcomes in PCCS patients.
Developing a Quasi-Static Controller for a Paralyzed Human Arm: A Simulation Study

Individuals with paralyzed limbs due to spinal cord injuries lack the ability to perform the reaching motions necessary to every day life. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a promising technology for restoring reaching movements to these individuals by reanimating their paralyzed muscles. We have proposed using a quasi-static model-based control strategy to achieve reaching controlled by FES. This method uses a series of static positions to connect the starting wrist position to the goal. As a first step to implementing this controller, we have completed a simulated study using a MATLAB based dynamic model of the arm in order to determine the suitable parameters for the quasi-static controller. The selected distance between static positions in the path was 6 cm, and the amount of time between switching target positions was 1.3 s. The final controller can complete reaches of over 30 cm with a median accuracy of 6.8 cm.
Optimal Residential Battery Storage Operations Using Robust Data-Driven Dynamic Programming

In this paper, we consider the problem of operating a battery storage unit in a home with a rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) system so as to minimize expected long-run electricity costs under uncertain electricity usage, PV generation, and electricity prices. Solving this dynamic program using standard techniques is computationally burdensome, and is often complicated by the difficulty of estimating conditional distributions from sparse data. To overcome these challenges, we implement a data-driven dynamic programming (DDP) algorithm that uses historical data observations to generate empirical conditional distributions and approximate the cost-to-go function. Then, we formulate two robust data-driven dynamic programming (RDDP) algorithms that consider the worst-case expected cost over a set of conditional distributions centered at the empirical distribution, and within a given Chi-square or Wasserstein distance, respectively. We test our algorithms using data from homes with rooftop PV in Austin, Texas. Numerical results reveal that DDP and RDDP outperform common existing methods with acceptable computational effort. Finally, we show that implementation of these superior operational algorithms significantly raises the break-even battery cost under which a homeowner is incentivized to invest in a residential battery rather than participate in a feed-in tariff or net energy metering program.
Mussel-inspired bioadhesives in healthcare: design parameters, current trends, and future perspectives.

Mussels are well-known for their extraordinary capacity to adhere onto different surfaces in various hydrophillic conditions. Their unique adhesion ability under water or in wet conditions has generated considerable interest towards developing mussel inspired polymeric systems that can mimic the chemical mechanisms used by mussels for their adhesive properties. Catechols like 3,4-dihydroxy phenylalanine (DOPA) and their biochemical interactions have been largely implicated in mussels’ strong adhesion to various substrates and have been the centerpoint of research and development efforts towards creating superior tissue adhesives for surgical and tissue engineering applications. In this article, we review bioadhesion and adhesives from an engineering standpoint, specifically the requirements of a good tissue glue, the relevance that DOPA and other catechols have in tissue adhesion, current trends in mussel-inspired bioadhesives, strategies to develop mussel-inspired tissue glues, and perspectives for future development of these materials.
Developing a local definition of urban agriculture: context and implications for a rural state

Purpose : Understanding the context of urban agriculture in a rural state is critical for the success of and collaboration between local food actors and other organizations, such as the Cooperative...
Role of Regional and International Powers

The unending Syrian civil war has involved every major and regional power against the Assad regime. Except for Russia and Iran, their active military involvement against a sovereign country, with a legally constituted government, has thrown overboard the cardinal UN principle of non-interference in internal affairs of states. Russian and Iranian participation on the side of the government has helped the Assad regime to regain the country. It has divided the UN Security Council, and the General Assembly, making Syria the septic focus of a world order in change. Both camps have thrown to the wind the founding UN Security Council principles and international law that these very powers have applied, during the last seven decades, to international crises. It has demonstrated the increasing self-serving use, by its permanent members, of the Security Council. The chapter delves deeper into the motivations and role of the countries actively involved: France, Iran, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.
Optically induced extraordinarily large negative orientational nonlinearity in dye-doped liquid crystal

Nematic liquid crystals are noted for their large optical reorientational nonlinearities. Such a reorientation process takes on some new and interesting features when traces of absorbing dye molecules are dissolved in the liquid crystal.1-3 In this paper, we report the observation of a new negative reorientation effect that occurs in the highly absorptive dye-doped liquid crystal (DDLC). The efficiency of this reorientation process is governed by tile types of dye molecules used as dopants. This new effect can give an optical nonlinearity that is two to three orders of magnitude larger than the ordinary so-called "Giant Optical Nonlinearity" in liquid crystal.3
Preliminary study of the impact of elevated circulating plasma levels of catecholamines on opioid requirements for acute surgical pain.

Introduction: The objective of this study is to determine whether elevated circulating plasma catecholamine levels significantly impact opioid requirements during the first 24 hours postoperative period in individuals with acute surgical pain. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 15 electronic medical records (EMRs) from adults 18 years and older, with confirmed elevated plasma catecholamine levels (experimental) and 15 electronic health records (EHRs) from matched-controls for age, gender, race and type of surgery, with a follow up of 24 hours postoperatively. Results: The total morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) requirements from the experimental group were not statistically different when compared with controls [44.1 (13 to 163) mg versus 47.5 (13 to 151) mg respectively; p 0.4965]. However, the intraoperative MMEs showed a significant difference, among the two groups; [(experimental) 32.5 (13. to 130) mg, (control) 15 (6.5 to 130) mg; p 0.0734]. The intraoperative dosage of midazolam showed a highly significant positive correlation to the total MMEs (p 0.0005). The subjects with both elevated plasma catecholamines and hypertension used significantly higher intraoperative MMEs compared to controls [34.1 (13 to 130) mg versus 15 (6.5 to 130) mg, respectively; p 0.0292)]. Those 51 years and younger, with elevated circulating levels of catecholamines, required significantly higher levels of both the postoperative MMEs [29.1 (0 to 45) mg versus 12 (0 to 71.5) mg; (p 0.0553)] and total MMEs [544.05 (13 to 81) mg versus 29.42 (13 to 92.5) mg; (p 0.00018), when compared to controls with history of nicotine and alcohol use. Conclusion: This preliminary study evaluated a biologic factor, which have promising clinical usefulness for predicting analgesic requirements that can drive clinical decisions on acute surgical pain.
Accounting and Sustainability

Abstract Addressing the global warming effect has become imperative in recent times due to the impact it has on all species on our planet. Part of the solution is the transition to low-carbon energy systems and an overall cultural shift of state and non-state actors, toward environmental friendly activities and attitudes including circular economy. The transition to diverse business models that support long-term sustainable economy, requires broad participation from professionals such as accountants and finance experts. This study refers to the role that the accounting profession can have on the way to achieve the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the European Unions’ (EU) strategy to accomplish a viable economy for the humans and the planet.
A Combined Experimental and Modeling Approach to Investigate the Performance of Joint Between AZ31 Magnesium and Uncoated DP590 Steel Using Friction Stir-Assisted Scribe Technique

In this study, the friction stir-assisted scribe technique was used to achieve a viable joint between AZ31 magnesium alloy and uncoated DP590 steel. The mechanical properties and performance of the joint were investigated using finite element modeling and electron microscopy. The joint strength can be ascribed to two factors, the mechanical interlocking due to hook feature, and the metallurgical bonding of two materials at their interface. A computational model was used to quantify the contributions from both factors. The interface of the weld was modeled using a cohesive zone model. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to investigate the effect of hook geometry on joint strength. Energy disperse x-ray spectroscopy analysis was used to further investigate the metallurgical bonding, and it was found that complex aluminum oxides were formed at the interface.