cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patterns of ant species richness along elevational gradients in an arid ecosystem

Aim In this study, we examine patterns of local and regional ant species richness along three elevational gradients in an arid ecosystem. In addition, we test the hypothesis that changes in ant species richness with elevation are related to elevation-dependent changes in climate and available area. Location Spring Mountains, Nevada, U.S.A. Methods We used pitfall traps placed at each 100-m eleva- tional band in three canyons in the Spring Mountains. We compiled climate data from 68 nearby weather stations. We used multiple regression analysis to examine the effects of annual precipitation, average July precipitation, and maximum and minimum July temperature on ant species richness at each elevational band. Results We found that patterns of local ant species richness differed among the three gradients we sampled. Ant species richness increased linearly with elevation along two transects and peaked at mid-elevation along a third transect. This suggests that patterns of species richness based on data from single transects may not generalize to larger spatial scales. Cluster analysis of community similarity revealed a high- elevation species assemblage largely distinct from that of lower elevations. Major changes in the identity of ant species present along elevational gradients tended to coincide with changes in the dominant vegetation. Regional species rich- ness, defined here as the total number of unique species within an elevational band in all three gradients combined, tended to increase with increasing elevation. Available area decreased with increasing elevation. Area was therefore correlated negatively with ant species richness and did not explain elevational patterns of ant species richness in the Spring Mountains. Mean July maximum and minimum temperature, July precipitation and annual precipitation combined to explain 80% of the variation in ant species richness. Main conclusions Our results suggest that in arid eco- systems, species richness for some taxa may be highest at high elevations, where lower temperatures and higher precipita- tion may support higher levels of primary production and cause lower levels of physiological stress.
Finite 3-groups acting on bordered surfaces

Let G be a finite group. The real genus p(G) [8] is the minimum algebraic genus of any compact bordered Klein surface on which G acts. There are now several results about the real genus parameter. The groups with real genus p ≤ 5 have been classified [8,9,12], and genus formulas have been obtained for several classes of groups [8,9,10,11,12]. Most notably, McCullough calculated the real genus of each finite abelian group [13]. In addition, there is a good general lower bound for the real genus of a finite group [11].
Twenty-Five Years Ago and Twenty-Five Years from Now: The Future of Public Dispute Resolution

Over the past twenty-five years, public dispute resolution has emerged as an important area of practice — linked, in part, to ongoing efforts to promote deliberative democracy. As the field has evolved, however, the market for public dispute mediators has shifted. It is already possible to glimpse the further shifts and the new intellectual challenges likely to face the public dispute resolution field over the next twenty-five years.
A Genome-Wide Association Study in American Indians Implicates DNER as a Susceptibility Locus for Type 2 Diabetes

Most genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have been identified through genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in Europeans. The current study reports a GWAS for young-onset T2DM in American Indians. Participants were selected from a longitudinal study conducted in Pima Indians and included 278 cases with diabetes with onset before 25 years of age, 295 nondiabetic controls ≥45 years of age, and 267 siblings of cases or controls. Individuals were genotyped on a ∼1M single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array, resulting in 453,654 SNPs with minor allele frequency >0.05. SNPs were analyzed for association in cases and controls, and a family-based association test was conducted. Tag SNPs (n = 311) were selected for 499 SNPs associated with diabetes (P < 0.0005 in case-control analyses or P < 0.0003 in family-based analyses), and these SNPs were genotyped in up to 6,834 additional Pima Indians to assess replication. Rs1861612 in DNER was associated with T2DM (odds ratio = 1.29 per copy of the T allele; P = 6.6 × 10(-8), which represents genome-wide significance accounting for the number of effectively independent SNPs analyzed). Transfection studies in murine pancreatic β-cells suggested that DNER regulates expression of notch signaling pathway genes. These studies implicate DNER as a susceptibility gene for T2DM in American Indians.
Assignment and Allocation Optimization of Partially Multiskilled Workforce

Multiskilling is a workforce strategy that has been shown to reduce indirect labor costs, improve productivity, and reduce turnover. A multiskilled workforce is one in which the workers possess a range of skills that allow them to participate in more than one work process. In practice, they may work across craft boundaries. The success of multiskilling greatly relies on the foreman's ability to assign workers to appropriate tasks and to compose crews effectively. The foreman assigns tasks to workers according to their knowledge, capabilities, and experience on former projects. This research investigated the mechanics of allocating a multiskilled workforce and developed a linear programming model to help optimize the multiskilled workforce assignment and allocation process in a construction project, or between the projects of one company. It is concluded that the model will be most useful in conditions where full employment does not exist; however, it is also useful for short term allocation decisions. By running the model for various simulated scenarios, additional observations were made. For example, it is concluded that, for a capital project, the benefits of multiskilling are marginal beyond approximately a 20% concentration of multiskilled workers in a project workforce. Benefits to workers themselves become marginal after acquiring competency in two or three crafts. These observations have been confirmed by field experience. Extension of this model to allocation of multifunctional resources, such as construction equipment, should also be possible.
Criteria for computer performance analysis

Computer evaluation, comparison, and selection is essentially a decision process. The decision making is based on a number of worth indicators, including various computer performance indicators. The performance indicators are obtained through the computer performance measurement procedure. Consequently, this procedure should be completely conditioned by the decision process.This paper investigates various aspects of computer performance measurement and evaluation procedure within the context of computer evaluation, comparison and selection process based on the Logic Scoring of Preference method. The set of elementary criteria for performance evaluation is proposed and the corresponding set of performance indicators is defined. The necessary performance measurements are based on the standardized set of synthetic benchmark programs and include three separate measurements: monoprogramming performance measurement, multiprogramming performance measurement, and multiprogramming efficiency measurement. Using the proposed elementary criteria, the measured performance indicators can be transformed into elementary preferences and aggregated with other non-performance elementary preferences obtained through the evaluation process. The applicability of presented elementary criteria is illustrated by numerical examples.
Influence of conductive network composite structure on the electromechanical performance of ionic electroactive polymer actuators

The influence of the nanostructure of the conductive network composite (CNC) on the performance of ionic electroactive polymer (IEAP) actuators has been examined in detail. We have studied IEAP actuators consisting of CNCs with different volume densities of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and the polymer network. Varying the concentration of AuNPs in CNC thin films was used as a means to control the CNC–ion interfacial area and the electrical resistance of the CNC, with minimum effect on the mechanical properties of the actuator. Increasing the interfacial area and reducing the resistance, while maintaining porosity of the composite, provide means for generating motion of more ions into the CNC at a significantly shorter time, which results in generation of strain at a faster rate. We have demonstrated that cationic strain in actuators with denser CNCs is improved by more than 460%. Denser CNC structures have larger interfacial areas, which results in attraction/repulsion of more ions in a shorter time, thus generation of a larger mechanical strain at a faster rate. Also, time-dependent response to a square-wave voltage was improved by increasing the AuNP concentration in the CNC. Under 0.1 Hz frequency, the cationic strain was increased by 64% when the AuNP concentration was increased from 4 to 20 ppm.
La influencia de Tiwanaku en San Pedro de Atacama: una investigación utilizando el análisis de isótopos del estroncio

The nature of Tiwanaku influence in the San Pedro de Atacama region during the Middle Horizon (AD 5001000) has been widely debated. While some scholars have emphasized an indirect relationship based on religious and/or economic interactions, others have argues that a population of Tiwanaku colonists was physically present in San Pedro de Atacama. Here, strontium isotope analysis is used to identity the geographic origin of individuals buried in Coyo-3, Coyo Oriental and Solcor-3. This study identified no individuals who may have lived in the southeastern Lake Titicaca Basin during the first few years of their life, weakening the hypothesis that San Pedro de Atacama was a Tiwanaku colony.
Asymptotic behavior of digital filters with block floating point arithmetic

The paper analyzes the asymptotic response behavior of direct form block floating point digital filters. The analysis is valid independent of the order or the quantization scheme used. Absolute bounds on the quantization error are derived and conditions for the existence of certain response types, the corresponding bounds on the output, and criteria for zero convergence are derived. Using sufficiently long block mantissa registers, the limit cycle amplitude can be made arbitrarily small by choosing the block exponent register length large enough. >
The Postshock Chemical Lifetimes of Outflow Tracers and a Possible New Mechanism to Produce Water Ice Mantles

We have used a coupled time-dependent chemical and dynamical model to investigate the lifetime of the chemical legacy in the wake of C-type shocks. We concentrate this study on the chemistry of H2O and O2, two molecules which are predicted to have abundances that are significantly affected in shock-heated gas. Two models are presented: (1) a three-stage model of preshock, shocked, and postshock gas; and (2) a Monte Carlo cloud simulation where we explore the effects of stochastic shock activity on molecular gas over a cloud lifetime. For both models we separately examine the pure gas-phase chemistry as well as the chemistry including the interactions of molecules with grain surfaces. In agreement with previous studies, we find that shock velocities in excess of 10 km/s are required to convert all of the oxygen not locked in CO into H2O before the gas has an opportunity to cool. For pure gas phase models the lifetime of the high water abundances, or "H2O legacy," in the postshock gas is approximately (4-7) x 10(exp 5) yr, independent of the gas density. A density dependence for the lifetime of H2O is found in gas-grain models as the water molecules deplete onto grains at the depletion timescale. Through the Monte Carlo cloud simulation we demonstrate that the time-average abundance of H2O, the weighted average of the amount of time gas spends in preshock, shock, and postshock stages, is a sensitive function of the frequency of shocks. Thus we predict that the abundance of H2O, and to a lesser extent O2, can be used to trace the history of shock activity in molecular gas. We use previous large-scale surveys of molecular outflows to constrain the frequency of 10 km/s shocks in regions with varying star formation properties and discuss the observations required to test these results. We discuss the postshock lifetimes for other possible outflow tracers (e.g., SiO and CH3OH) and show that the differences between the lifetimes for various tracers can produce potentially observable chemical variations between younger and older outflows. For gas-grain models we find that the abundance of water-ice on grain surfaces can be quite large and is comparable to that observed in molecular clouds. This offers a possible alternative method to create water mantles without resorting to grain surface chemistry: gas heating and chemical modification due to a C-type shock and subsequent depletion of the gas-phase species onto grain mantles.
CLAY MINERALS IN PENNSYLVANIA SOILS* RELATION TO LITHOLOGY OF THE PARENT ROCK AND OTHER FACTORS-I

Clay mineral data have been obtained on 348 soil profiles representing 117 different soil series from 28 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. The surface rock from which the soils were formed ranged from Pre-Cambrian to Tertiary-Pliocene and includes igneous, metamorphic and various types of sedimentary rocks. Major attention was focused on the subsoil mineralogy. Mica was found to be the most predominant clay mineral in terms of amounts and frequency of occurrence. It is dominant or co-dominant in 82 per cent of the profiles. In shale derived soils it is important in 95 per cent of the cases and in 68 per cent of the limestone soils. Kaolinite is a prominent component of soils derived from sandstone and metamorphic rocks. Montmorillonite was detected in over half of the soils but is very infrequently a prominent component and is more frequently found in the poorly drained soils. A mica-kaolinite suite is characteristic of soils from Pennsylvanian age rock whereas soils derived from Devonian, Mississippian, and Ordovician age rock had a mica-chlorite suite, The chlorite is frequently found weathered to chlorite-vermiculite in a 1:1 ratio. Gibbsite, talc, and pyrophyllite have been identified but only rarely occur. A difference in clay mineral types is frequently found among different profiies of the same soil series. Soils derived from limestone and highly calcar- eous rock may have rather unusual clay suites such as the dominance of a well-crystallized triocta- hedral chlorite, well crystallized mica, and soils approaching a monominerallic character in mica.
What went where

We present a novel framework for motion segmentation that combines the concepts of layer-based methods and featurebased motion estimation. We estimate the initial correspondences by comparing vectors of filter outputs at interest points, from which we compute candidate scene relations via random sampling of minimal subsets of correspondences. We achieve a dense, piecewise smooth assignment of pixels to motion layers using a fast approximate graphcut algorithm based on a Markov random field formulation. We demonstrate our approach on image pairs containing large inter-frame motion and partial occlusion. The approach is efficient and it successfully segments scenes with inter-frame disparities previously beyond the scope of layerbased motion segmentation methods.
Superconductivity versus structural phase transition in the closely related Bi2Rh3.5S2 and Bi2Rh3S2

Single crystals of ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ and ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3.5}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ were synthesized by solution growth, and the crystal structures and thermodynamic and transport properties of both compounds were studied. In the case of ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$, a structural first-order transition at around 165 K is identified by single-crystal diffraction experiments, with clear signatures visible in resistivity, magnetization, and specific heat data. No superconducting transition for ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ was observed down to 0.5 K. In contrast, no structural phase transition at high temperature was observed for ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3.5}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$; however, bulk superconductivity with a critical temperature, ${T}_{c}\ensuremath{\approx}1.7$ K, was observed. The Sommerfeld coefficient $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ and the Debye temperature $({\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Theta}}}_{\mathrm{D}})$ were found to be 9.41 mJ ${\mathrm{mol}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{K}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ and 209 K, respectively, for ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$, and 22 mJ ${\mathrm{mol}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{K}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$ and 196 K, respectively, for ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3.5}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$. Study of the specific heat in the superconducting state of ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3.5}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ suggests that ${\mathrm{Bi}}_{2}{\mathrm{Rh}}_{3.5}{\mathrm{S}}_{2}$ is a weakly coupled, BCS superconductor.
A Multimodal Air Gesture Interface for In Vehicle Menu Navigation

Multimodal and visual-only air gesture systems for navigating menus in the vehicle were developed and compared to a conventional direct touch system in a driving simulator using various distraction metrics. Participants using the multimodal air gesture system exhibited safer secondary task dwell patterns, but took longer to complete tasks and reported higher workload compared to the touch system.
The Relationship between Tests, Course Placement, and the Academic Performance of College Freshmen.

Standardized and basic skills placement tesh are used routinely as indicators of academic ability and potential in academic advising. By analyzing the relationship between test scores and the academic performance patterns of more than 1,800 freshmen attending an urban public university, the authors found that basic skills placement tesh measured academic preparation more accurately than did the American College Test (ACT). However, standardized and locally developed placement tests predicted academic performance with only low to moderate reliability. In particular, the tests tended to underestimate both the academic preparation and the likelihood of satisfactory academic performance of female and non-White students.
Update on Immunohistochemical Methods Relevant to Dermatopathology

Abstract Context.—Dermatopathology covers a large variety of entities, some having very similar histologic appearances. Immunohistochemistry is an incredibly helpful tool that is useful in diagnosi...
Volatile metabolic monitoring of glycemic status in diabetes using electronic olfaction.

The increased incidence of Type I and Type II diabetes among adults and adolescents is a growing public health concern worldwide. The primary objective of diabetes mellitus management involves keeping glycemia levels within the euglycemic range to prevent a variety of serious health complications. Unfortunately, daily self-monitoring is both a requirement and a problem for many patients with diabetes, particularly children and adolescents. Studies have shown that as many as 43% of adolescents and 30% of children (<14 years old) regularly forget to use glycemic tests and are significantly poorer at recognizing and reporting symptoms and signs of hypoglycemia/hyperglycemia. For this reason, methods for noninvasive, continuous monitoring that can signal glycemic status to a parent, teacher, or other caregiver would improve the care and management of symptoms of diabetes among these individuals. The goal of this review is to describe and evaluate electronic olfaction technology ("electronic nose") for monitor...
Scratch's Third Body: Video Talks Back to Television

Emerging in the UK in the 1980s, Scratch Video established a paradoxical union of mass-media critique, Left-wing politics, and music-video and advertising aesthetics with its use of moving-image appropriation in the medium of videotape. Enabled by innovative professional and consumer video technologies, artists like George Barber, The Gorilla Tapes, and Sandra Goldbacher and Kim Flitcroft deployed a style characterized by th e rapid sampling and manipulation of dissociated images drawn from broadcast television. Inspired by the cut-up methods of William Burroughs and the audio sampling practiced by contemporary black American musicians, these artists developed strategies for intervening in the audiovisual archive of television and disseminating its images in new contexts: in galleries and nightclubs, and on home video. Reconceptualizing video's “body,” Scratch's appropriation of televisual images of the human form imagined a new hybrid image of the post-industrial body, a “third body” representing a new convergence of human and machine.
Rapid karyotypic diagnosis of a case of trisomy 18 in the neonatal intensive care unit

Recent modifications in the technic of bone marrow preparation for karyotypic analysis permit confirmation of chromosomal aneuploidy such as trisomy 13, 18, or 21 within two to four hours. The patient reported illustrates how the technic of bone marrow karyotyping may assist the pediatrician in treating an acutely ill newborn, in accurately counseling parents, and in selecting with them an appropriate course of management.
MEMS accelerometer based on Molecular Electronic Transducers using Ionic Liquid

This paper demonstrates a novel MEMS accelerometer based on Molecular Electronic Transducers (MET) using Ionic Liquids (ILs) as sensing body to enable operation in a wide temperature range with better sensitivity. The Sensitivity has been improved for 8 times and the low operation temperature limit expands to at least −90 °C.
Composite Systems of Lignocellulosics with Synthetic Polymers

Incompatible polymer blends are known to have inadequate mechanical properties due to poor adhesion and high interfacial tension between the phases. One such blend that displays this type of behavior is the cellulose acetate-polystyrene blend and is typical of lignocellulosic-synthetic polymer blend systems. Tailor-made cellulose acetate-polystyrene graft copolymers have been synthesized and used as compatibilizers (emulsifiers) to reduce the interfacial tension and improve interfacial mixing. Thermal analyses and morphological studies of the blends with and without the graft copolymer demonstrated that this was indeed the case.
Development of Postinfection Epilepsy After Theiler's Virus Infection of C57BL/6 Mice

Viral infection of the central nervous system can lead to long-term neurologic defects, including increased risk for the development of epilepsy. We describe the development of the first mouse model of viral-induced epilepsy after intracerebral infection with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus. Mice were monitored with long-term video-electroencephalogram at multiple time points after infection. Most mice exhibited short-term symptomatic seizures within 3 to 7 days of infection. This was followed by a distinct latent period in which no seizures were observed. Prolonged video-electroencephalogram recordings at 2, 4, and 7 months after the initial infection revealed that a significant proportion of the mice developed profound, spontaneous epileptic seizures. Neuropathologic examination revealed hippocampal sclerosis in animals with epilepsy. Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus-infected C57BL/6 mice represent a novel "hit-and-run" model to investigate mechanisms underlying viral-induced short-term symptomatic seizures, epileptogenesis, and epilepsy. Importantly, this model will also be useful to investigate novel therapies for the treatment and prevention of epilepsy.
Landslides in Practice: Investigation, Analysis and Remedial/Preventative Options in Soils : (Derek H. Cornforth)

Dr. Derek Cornforth, who founded Landslide Technology in Portland, OR, in 1983, has turned more than 50 years of working with landslides into an excellent publication that will become the book used most by geologists and geotechnical engineers who perform landslide remediation and prevention. To date, it is the most complete and comprehensive text written on the practice of working with landslides. This book is written for the practicing engineer and geologist and for all students preparing to concentrate in this area. It will fast become the textbook of choice for graduate courses in landslides. I hope to start using it next year in my course! It should be found on the desk of everyone working with landslides because it contains so much information, it is so well organized which makes things easy to find, and it is well written! It should be purchased by all university libraries that have applied geology and civil engineering programs. I can also see the book being used by construction companies, land developers, landscape architects, and lawyers who work with the construction industry. Cornforth's book is divided into three parts. The first 12 chapters deal with investigations and analyses of landslides and the theory behind landslide work. Chapters 13 to 23 are the book's focal point and deal with all of the practical …
Correlation Analysis on Dietary Lutein Intake and Serum Lutein Concentration of Residents in a Community of Shanghai

[Objective] To assess lutein levels of residents aged 40 years and older,and to determine whether dietary lutein intake is correlated with serum lutein concentration.[Methods]Three hundred and forty-one enrolled participants were divided into three groups based on age,namely,40-49,50-59,and 60 years groups,and completed a quantitative food frequency questionnaire with 24-hour dietary recalls.Data from the questionnaires were used to calculate daily lutein intake.Serum concentrations of lutein were determined by high performance liquid chromatography.Then the correlation between dietary lutein intake and serum lutein concentration was evaluated.[Results]The linearity of lutein was good within the range of 0.08-1.6μg/mL,the correlation coefficient was r=0.9973,the recovery rate was 97.85%-103.67%,intra-day and inter-day coefficients of variation were 2.32% and 3.08% respectively,and the detect limit was 0.025μg/mL.Vegetables were the leading sources of lutein in the participants,especially spinach,leek,and broccoli.The average dietary lutein intake was(7.77±2.10) mg/d,the average serum lutein concentration was(0.370±0.183) μmol/L,and both were significantly lower in the 60 years group than in the 50-59 years group(P0.05).The dietary lutein intake was negatively correlated with the triglyceride concentration(r=-0.108,P0.05),and positively correlated with the cholesterol concentration(r=0.231,P0.001) and the serum lutein concentration(r=0.681,P0.001).[Conclusion]There is a positive correlation between dietary lutein intake and serum lutein concentration,and the latter could be used as an indicator of individual lutein level.Elderly people should consider improving intake or supplement of lutein.
FDA Approval: Alectinib for the Treatment of Metastatic, ALK-Positive Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer Following Crizotinib

On December 11, 2015, the FDA granted accelerated approval to alectinib (Alecensa; Genentech) for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK)-positive, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have progressed on or are intolerant to crizotinib. This approval was based on two single-arm trials including 225 patients treated with alectinib 600 mg orally twice daily. The objective response rates (ORR) by an independent review committee in these studies were 38% [95% confidence interval (CI), 28-49] and 44% (95% CI, 36-53); the median durations of response (DOR) were 7.5 months and 11.2 months. In a pooled analysis of 51 patients with measurable disease in the central nervous system (CNS) at baseline, the CNS ORR was 61% (95% CI, 46-74); the CNS DOR was 9.1 months. The primary safety analysis population included 253 patients. The most common adverse reactions were fatigue (41%), constipation (34%), edema (30%), and myalgia (29%). The most common laboratory abnormalities were anemia (56%), increased aspartate aminotransferase (51%), increased alkaline phosphatase (47%), increased creatine phosphokinase (43%), hyperbilirubinemia (39%), hyperglycemia (36%), increased alanine aminotransferase (34%), and hypocalcemia (32%). Dose reductions due to adverse reactions occurred in 12% of patients, whereas 27% of patients had alectinib dosing interrupted for adverse reactions. Permanent discontinuation of alectinib due to adverse reactions occurred in only 6% of patients. With the clinically meaningful ORR and DOR as well as the safety profile observed in these trials, alectinib was determined to have a favorable benefit-risk profile for the treatment of the indicated population. Clin Cancer Res; 22(21); 5171-6. ©2016 AACR.
A platform to support personalized training of people with disabilities

Digital education has potential to provide different possibilities for personalization and consequently reach a larger and more diverse number of people. Personalization is a key component of solutions addressing important and long-standing pedagogical challenges in education, such as dealing with heterogeneity of learning styles. In particular scenarios where accessibility support is required, personalization depends on the creation of different representations for individual pieces of content. In this light, the main goal of this article is to describe how we addressed the challenges involved in the construction of a platform that satisfies this requirement. We thus present a system that supports the creation, adaptation, and delivery of personalized courses for people with multiple types of disabilities. More specifically, we introduce the technology, describe its main capabilities, and discuss the results of early evaluations by two instructors of an institution that provides vocational training for people with intellectual disabilities. Our initial results show that the tool was favorably assessed by the instructors and can potentially be adopted in this community.
Judgements of quality, listening, and understanding based upon vocal activity

A large amount of research has indicated that vocal activity, or how much an individual talks, is a major, and often ignored variable in interpersonal interactions. In the past, vocal activity has been related strongly to rankings of leadership, influence, and liking. The present study sought to examine the relationships between vocal activity and three other, less often examined variables: the attribution of quality contributions, perceived listening, and perceived understanding. Correlational analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between activity and attribution of quality contributions. Significant negative relationships were observed between vocal activity and perceived listening and understanding.
The interactive effect of fungicide residues and yeast assimilable nitrogen on fermentation kinetics and hydrogen sulfide production during cider fermentation

Fungicide residues on fruit may adversely affect yeast during cider fermentation, leading to sluggish or stuck fermentation or the production of hydrogen sulfide (H2 S), which is an undesirable aroma compound. This phenomenon has been studied in grape fermentation but not in apple fermentation. Low nitrogen availability, which is characteristic of apples, may further exacerbate the effects of fungicides on yeast during fermentation. The present study explored the effects of three fungicides: elemental sulfur (S0 ) (known to result in increased H2 S in wine); fenbuconazole (used in orchards but not vineyards); and fludioxonil (used in post-harvest storage of apples).; Results: Only S0 led to increased H2 S production. Fenbuconazole (≥0.2 mg L-1 ) resulted in a decreased fermentation rate and increased residual sugar. An interactive effect of yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN) concentration and fenbuconazole was observed such that increasing the YAN concentration alleviated the negative effects of fenbuconazole on fermentation kinetics.; Conclusion: Cidermakers should be aware that residual fenbuconazole (as low as 0.2 mg L-1 ) in apple juice may lead to stuck fermentation, especially when the YAN concentration is below 250 mg L-1 . These results indicate that fermentation problems attributed to low YAN may be caused or exacerbated by additional factors such as fungicide residues, which have a greater impact on fermentation performance under low YAN conditions. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.; © 2016 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Survival of women with Mullerian adenosarcoma: A National Cancer Data Base study.

Abstract Objective To determine overall survival (OS) and factors associated with OS of women with Mullerian adenosarcoma. Methods Women with adenosarcoma of the uterus, cervix or ovary (n=2205) were identified from the 1998–2011 National Cancer Data Base. Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards survival analyses were performed to test for associations of potential explanatory variables with OS. A subset analysis of women with uterine adenosarcoma was also performed. Analyzed confounders included age, insurance status, income, race, surgical margin status, nodal and distant metastasis, surgical procedure type, and treatment with radiation and/or chemotherapy. Results Primary sites were uterus (n=1884), cervix (n=229) and ovary (n=92), representing 0.43% of uterine, 0.16% of cervical, and 0.04% of ovarian cancers in the NCDB. Only 36/1176 (3.1%) and 2.5% (33/1,342) had nodal and/or distant metastasis, respectively, at diagnosis. Distant metastasis, positive surgical margin, increased age, higher composite comorbidity score and adjuvant radiotherapy were independently associated with decreased OS. Primary site, lymph node status, surgical procedure, chemotherapy use, race, insurance status and income quartiles were not significantly associated with OS. Each 1cm increase in tumor size was associated with increased hazard for death (HR (95% CI) 1.06 (1.01–1.12), p=0.018) among women with uterine adenosarcoma. Conclusion Complete surgical resection remains the only treatment with well-evidenced OS benefit among women with Mullerian adenosarcoma. Early surgical resection may increase survival of Mullerian adenosarcoma.
Correct use of Membrane Elements in Structural Analysis

Structural analysis of consumer electronic devices such as phones and tablets involves Finite Element Analysis (FEA). Dynamic loading conditions such as device dropping and bending dictate accurate FEA models to reduce design risk in many areas. The solid elements typically used in structural analysis do not have integration points on the surface. The outer surface is of most interest because that is where the cracks start. Analysts employ a post processing trick through using membranes to bring accurate stress/strain results to the surface. This paper explains numerical issues with implementation of membranes and recommends a methodology for accurate structural analysis.
New Scheme to Connect DFIG to Power Grid

This paper tries to solve problems related to grid connection of wind turbines using series compensation. A new scheme is proposed for Doubly fed induction generators (DFIG) connected to grid. This scheme helps in limiting fault currents as well as balancing the voltages seen by DFIG. Reactive power compensation is also taken into account and is done by rotor side converter control.
Carbamazepine: Treatment of Affective Illness and Anxiety Syndromes

Several lines of evidence suggest that carbamazepine (Tegretol), an anticonvulsant effective in the treatment of major motor and psychomotor seizures, might represent a new type of drug useful in the treatment of patients with affective illness. While the structure of carbamazepine is similar to imipramine and chlorpromazine, its mechanism of action appears to be different from that of either classic tricyclic or neuroleptic medications1–3. Dalby4 reviewed the research of 40 studies which together included 2500 seizure patients treated with carbamazepine. In most of these studies, there was an improvement in mood and behavior. In addition, Dalby5 himself reported that symptoms of episodic depression improved in 11 of 18 psychomotor epileptic patients treated with open carbamazepine. The improvement in depression and manic-like behavior with carbamazepine therapy in some cases was not associated with an equally robust control of seizures. Dalby’s5 observations suggested that carbamazepine might have psychotropic properties independent of its effects on clinical seizure control. Consistent with this hypothesis, numerous studies have demonstrated carbamazepine[1]s efficacy in the treatment of neurological syndromes unrelated to a seizure diathesis such as trigeminal, glossopharyngeal, and post-herpetic neuralgias. Furthermore, Takazaki and Hanaoka6 and Okuma and colleagues7 found that open carbamazepine had positive psychotropic effects in psychiatric patients without overt organic lesions or epilepsy. While carbamazepine’s psychotropic and analgesic properties clearly are not related directly to improved seizure control, its “stabilizing” effects on limbic substrates may be pertinent in this regard.
A model of influences on the clinical learning environment: the case for change at one U.S. medical school

The learning environment within a school of medicine influences medical students’ values and their professional development. Despite national requirements to monitor the learning environment, mistreatment of medical students persists. We designed a program called WE SMILE: We can Eradicate Student Mistreatment In the Learning Environment with a vision to enhance trainee and faculty awareness and ultimately eliminate medical student mistreatment. We provide a description of our program and early outcomes. The program has enhanced student awareness of what constitutes mistreatment and how to report it. Faculty members are also aware of the formal processes and procedures for review of such incidents. Our proposed model of influences on the learning environment and the clinical workforce informs the quality of trainee education and safety of patient care. Institutional leadership and culture play a prominent role in this model. Our integrated institutional response to learning environment concerns is offered as a strategy to improve policy awareness, reporting and management of student mistreatment concerns. Our WE SMILE program was developed to enhance education and awareness of what constitutes mistreatment and to provide multiple pathways for student reporting, with clear responsibilities for review, adjudication and enforcement. The program is demonstrating several signs of early success and is offered as a strategy for other schools to adopt or adapt. We have recognized a delicate balance between preserving student anonymity and informing them of specific actions taken. Providing students and other stakeholders with clear evidence of institutional response and accountability remains a key challenge. Multiple methods of reporting have been advantageous in eliciting information on learning environment infringements. These routes and types of reporting have enhanced our understanding of student perceptions and the specific contexts in which mistreatment occurs, allowing for targeted interventions. A common platform across the healthcare professions to report and review concerns has afforded us opportunities to deal with interprofessional issues in a respectful and trustworthy manner. We offer a model of learning environment influences with leadership and institutional culture at the helm, as a way to frame a comprehensive perspective on this challenging and complex concern.
A Theoretical Analysis of Oxygen Transport: A New Strategy for the Design of Hemoglobin-Based Red Cell Substitutes

In vitro experiments and experiments with artificial capillary systems suggest that transfer of oxygen from cell-free carriers to tissue sites may be faster than it is from red blood cells. On first consideration, this appears to be advantageous, but new data obtained by direct measurements in the microcirculation indicate that facilitated release may actually lead to an autoregulatory decrease in capillary perfusion. This leads to the conclusion that the well-known hemoglobin-oxygen equilibrium curve may not be adequate by itself to describe oxygen delivery by cell-free hemoglobin-based red cell substitutes to achieve optimal tissue oxygenation.
Assessing riverscape-scale variation in fish life history using banded sculpin ( Cottus carolinae )

Advancing the field of fish ecology requires a shift in focus from describing patterns in species occurrences to understanding the mechanisms that regulate distributions and abundances across broad scales. For stream fish ecology, this includes understanding environmental mechanisms that regulate stream fish demographic properties at the scale of stream networks or riverscapes. Despite the fact that Banded Sculpin Cottus carolinae occupy a diversity of habitats and stream sizes across the southeastern United States, relatively little is known about the demography of this species. We assessed annual demographic properties (reproduction, growth, and survival) of C. carolinae collected monthly from four sites distributed longitudinally along the Roaring River riverscape in Tennessee to simultaneously describe life history attributes of the species and address riverscape-scale variation in population dynamics. Cottus carolinae lived for a maximum of four years, local populations were dominated by age-0 and age-1 individuals, reproduction began after one year, spawning occurred during December and January, and mean ova number was 398. A life history tradeoff between growth (robustness) and survival was evident at one site where water temperature and flow were least variable, otherwise life history attributes were consistent across the riverscape despite longitudinal changes in abiotic variables. Our work illustrates the potential for muted population responses to a strong hydrologic gradient in stream size and highlights the stability inherent with fish life history adaptations to natural environmental regimes across broad spatial scales.
Examining the link between placental pathology, growth restriction, and stillbirth

Stillbirth, often defined as death of a fetus ≥20 weeks of gestation, is emotionally devastating for families and caregivers. It is often associated with fetal growth restriction (FGR). Indeed, FGR or small-for-gestational age fetus (SGA) is a major risk factor for stillbirth. In rare cases, this is due to genetic abnormalities or infections. However, in most cases, it is linked to placental insufficiency. This may be due to abnormal placental development or placental damage, thereby resulting in decreased blood flow, oxygen, and nutrients to the fetus. Several placental histological abnormalities are associated with stillbirth, FGR, or both. Most involve vascular abnormalities but some are inflammatory lesions. This paper reviews evidence regarding the relationships between placental function and pathology, FGR, and stillbirth. Issues with clinical relevance, knowledge gaps, and areas for further research are highlighted.
Increasing Information Dissemination in Cancer Communication: Effects of Using "Palliative," "Supportive," or "Hospice" Care Terminology.

Abstract Background: When attempting to share information about comfort-oriented care, many use “palliative,” “supportive,” and “hospice” care terminology interchangeably, but we lack evidence about the effects of using these different terms. Objectives: This study was designed to test whether the use of “palliative,” “supportive,” or “hospice” terminology can improve the dissemination of information among breast cancer patients—a large and growing oncology population. Design, Setting, and Measurement: This experimental study was conducted at a major U.S. hospital serving a diverse population. Patients visiting a cancer clinic encountered opportunities to learn more about cancer care. They were offered health materials that were described as reporting on “palliative,” “supportive,” or “hospice” care and the primary outcome was whether a patient decided to select or reject each. As a secondary outcome, the study measured the patient's level of interest in receiving each. Results: Compared with alternatives...
Soil Erosion Modeling

Overland water flow can detach exposed soil and transport it over large distances, leading to soil loss and sediment deposition across landscape. Soil erosion can be effectively controlled by modifying topography to reduce concentrated overland flow or by planting vegetation to reduce soil detachment and transport. We used Tangible Landscape to analyze distribution of soil erosion and deposition potential in a small watershed and to design conservation measures by changing topography and planting vegetation in vulnerable locations. We iteratively adjusted and optimized our design based on real-time feedback from erosion and deposition maps projected over the modified 3D model. This feedback helped us to evaluate the effectiveness of our designs and develop better solutions.
En Route Care

The history of aeromedical evacuation parallels that of manned flight. The first fixed wing aeromedical evacuations occurred on limited basis during the First World War with a significantly increased experience occurring during the Second World War. The Korean War introduced the role of rotary-wing transport in decreasing transport time from the forward area of battle to medical care units. Vietnam expanded on this rotary-wing evacuation experience and introduced a limited set of medical interventions for the casualty during the transport process. The experience of aeromedical evacuation in the military during Vietnam was largely responsible for the subsequent proliferation of civilian aeromedical evacuation services in the trauma system of the United States during the latter part of the twentieth century.
Ammonia: Did it have a Role in Chemical Evolution?

The possibility that biomolecules necessary for life were formed in a reducing atmosphere was first suggested by Oparin in his classic treatise on the origins of life (2). Urey calculated from equilibrium thermodynamic data that CH4 and NH3 were the predominant compounds of carbon and nitrogen in the atmosphere of the primitive Earth if a minimum of 10-3 atmosphere of H2 were present (3). Rasool and McGovern postulated, on the basis of an equilibrium model for the primitive Earth, that the exospheric temperature was between 500–1000°Kf, so that the rate of H2 loss was relatively slow (4,5). They calculated that, with this slow rate of loss, there would have been sufficient H2 to maintain NH3 in the primitive atmosphere for 108–109 years.
Uranium precipitation from eluate using hydrogen peroxide

Uranium precipitation from an eluate using hydrogen peroxide has been studied in a laboratory continuous unit. The important process parameters were the dosage of H2O2, reaction pH and chloride ion concentration. In the process, the alkaline eluate is acidified to a pH of 2, then H2O2 at 110%–130% of the stoichiometric requirement is added, and finally NaOH is added to maintain a pH of 4 for one hour to complete the precipitation and settling. The chloride content in the system is controlled to 50 g/L or below by rejecting part of the decant solution. The process has been successfully employed in commercial operations. The uranium recovery is complete, while the precipitate settles rapidly and can be processed to high purity yellow cake without filtration.
Social Status and the Effects of Legal Concealed Firearms on College Campuses

Research consistently shows that students and faculty are generally against expanding access to firearms on campus, and many stakeholders worry about the effects of campus carry laws on student vio...