cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Wind Energy Resource Assessment and Power Production Estimates as an Undergraduate Project

It is common practice to install wind-monitoring stations in geographical locations having high winds to estimate power production prior to installing large-scale wind farms. For the current study, a wind-monitoring program was developed as an educational tool for undergraduate engineering students at West Virginia University. The focus of this paper is not on the results of the assessment, but rather on how this program was used as a hands-on approach for educating students about wind energy and availability. The objective of the student/industry collaborative project was to determine the feasibility of constructing a wind farm to power a federal prison facility located in an area with an abundant wind resource in North Central West Virginia, while educating students on wind energy.This paper presents a description and assessment of this program as an undergraduate senior design project. As part of the program, students played a key role from the developmental stages of the project, to the assessment of the results. During the first semester of the senior design project, students procured a wind monitoring station based on down-select criteria, selected the site for construction, installed the wind monitoring station, commissioned the sensor suite, and performed quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) of and evaluated the initial data sets. Students logged data through the second semester of the program, performed data quality monitoring, processed average wind speed and direction data into frequency distributions and wind roses, analyzed monthly and diurnal averages in wind resources and performed power production calculations. Several different methodologies were employed, including application of fluid control volume energy analysis to derive Betz’ limit, turbine efficiency curves with operational limits and Weibull statistics to employ online power production estimators. The program successfully introduced students to the applicability of their engineering education to the area of renewable energy.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Fine Particle Collection Efficiency Related to Pressure Drop, Scrubbant and Particle Properties, and Contact Mechanism

Collection efficiencies are shown for control of fine particles in venturi scrubbers (1) as a function of pressure drop, and (2) as a function of throat area and liquid to gas ratio. A relationship of pressure drop to throat area, gas density, throat velocity, and liquid to gas ratio is given and is used to provide a method for estimating efficiency knowing only these scrubber design parameters. The effect of charged particles and of surface active agents on collection efficiency are discussed briefly.
TCDD Disrupts Hypural Skeletogenesis during Medaka Embryonic Development

Defective bone and cartilage development account for a large number of human birth defects annually. Normal skeletogenesis involves cartilage development in early morphogenesis through a highly coordinated and orchestrated series of events involving commitment and differentiation of mesenchymal cells to chondrocytes followed by a highly programmed process of structural maturation. Recent developmental studies with laboratory model fish demonstrate that exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) results in cartilage and skeletal abnormalities. In this study, we exposed embryonic medaka to TCDD to induce developmental modification(s) of both cartilage and bone formation. Emphasis is placed on cell-rich hyaline cartilage of the hypural plate where both chondrogenesis and osteogenesis are impaired by TCDD exposure. In this model, TCDD exposure results in a concentration-dependent impairment of mesenchymal cell recruitment, chondrocyte cell proliferation, differentiation, and progression to hypertrophy. Gene expression of ColA2, a marker of chondrocyte terminal differentiation in hypural structures, is markedly attenuated consistent with hypural dysmorphogenesis. Assessment of hypural structure using a transgenic medaka expressing mCherry under control of the osterix promoter illustrated significant attenuation in expression of the osteoblast gene marker and lack of formation of a calcified perichondral sheath surrounding hypural anlage. Overall, these studies illustrate that TCDD impacts terminal differentiation and growth of cartilage and bone in axial structures not likely derived from neural crest progenitors in medaka hypurals.
Overhead conductor thermal dynamics identification by using Echo State Networks

Dramatic reductions in sensor, computing and communications costs, coupled with significant performance enhancements has increased the possibility of realizing widely and massively distributed power line sensor networks (PLSNs) to monitor utility asset status for enhancing line reliability and utilization. One of the important applications of such a PLSN is to evaluate the overhead power line dynamic current capacity down to ‘per span’ level of granularity. Due to the inherent non-linearity of overhead conductor thermal behavior, it is usually quite complex to directly calculate the conductor temperature. Therefore the prediction for the conductor dynamic thermal behavior becomes difficult. In this work, an Echo State Network (ESN) is proposed to identify the overhead conductor thermal dynamics in real-time. The well trained ESN model is used to predict the dynamic thermal behavior, and thus to evaluate the dynamic current capacity of the line under current ambient weather conditions. This paper addresses the design and implementation issues for such an ESN for this specific application. Simulation results reveal that the ESN model is very effective to predict the conductor temperature and to identify the conductor thermal dynamics subject to wide variations in line current and ambient weather conditions.
Effect of Age on Body Water and Resting Metabolic Rate

Background. We previously reported that differences in fat-free mass (FFM) estimated by isotope dilution of 18 Olabeled water could not fully account for lower resting metabolic rates (RMR) in old men and women compared to RMR in young men. Methods. Since age-related changes in the distribution of water between extracellular and intracellular spaces could lead to overestimation of FFM in the old, we reanalyzed our data using estimates for total body and intracellular water (TBW and ICW, respectively) derived from published equations and included data from adolescent boys and girls studied under similar conditions. Results. In both sexes, the age-related reduction in RMR remained significant after adjustment for estimated body water compartments (p < .05). While adjusted RMR differed in boys and girls (p < .0001), it did not in old men and women (p — .15). Conclusion. We conclude that aging per se reduces RMR in lean tissue, a difference which cannot be fully explained by changes in body water or its distribution. Investigators should be cautious when selecting models and equations to estimate body water compartments.
Early Contractor Design Involvement to Expedite Delivery of Emergency Highway Projects: Case Studies from Six States

Events such as Hurricanes Katrina and Irene and the sudden collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota forced state departments of transportation (DOTs) to step into the public spotlight and implement expedited procurement procedures to restore vital links in the transportation network as the media scrutinized their work every night on the evening news. This paper presents the results of case studies from Florida, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, and Utah where the DOT brought the construction contractor into the design process as the primary means to expedite the delivery of emergency projects. The case studies include the use of design-bid-build, indefinite delivery and indefinite quantity (IDIQ), construction manager-general contractor (CMGC), and design-build (DB) contracts as mechanisms to gain substantive contractor input on materials, means, and methods during design. The paper concludes that completing the design is the first obstacle to surmount in emergency procurements and that the surest to...
The conundrum of early-onset sepsis.

* Abbreviation: COFN — : Committee on Fetus and Newborn In an ideal world, the practice of medicine would be based on scientific studies guiding the decisions involved in the care of an individual patient. However, clinicians must frequently rely on observational studies and the experiences of other practitioners (the “art of medicine”) because high-quality randomized clinical trials are not available. Within the field of pediatrics, nowhere is that more evident than in the evaluation and treatment of infants with possible sepsis. Scientific studies have identified the risk factors for sepsis (eg, chorioamnionitis), the most frequent pathogens responsible for sepsis (group B Streptococcus and Escherichia coli ), the clinical signs associated with infection, the sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic tests, and the toxicities associated with treatment.1,2 To date, however, studies cannot accurately tell us whether an individual woman has chorioamnionitis nor whether an individual infant is infected or is instead showing clinical signs compatible with the normal transition to postnatal life or a noninfectious condition. If the treatment of sepsis were completely benign, it would make no difference if every infant with the slightest chance of infection was treated. However, … Address correspondence to Richard A. Polin, MD, New York Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, 3959 Broadway, CHC102, New York, NY 10032. E-mail: rap32{at}mail.cumc.columbia.edu
An Experimental Method of Measuring Steam-Water and Air-Water Capillary Pressures

An experimental method was developed to measure both steam-water and air-water capillary pressures using an X-ray CT technique. We conducted spontaneous water imbibition and gravity drainage in ceramic core samples for steam-water and air-water systems respectively. The results were compared, and it was found that the steam-water capillary pressures were significantly less than the airwater capillary pressures in both imbibition and drainage cases.
Endotracheal Tube Seal and Suction Performance in a Novel Biorealistic Tracheal Model.

BACKGROUND: Endotracheal tube (ETT) cuffs create a seal to protect against secretion entry to the lungs. Cuff inflation currently is recommended at 20–30 cm H2O pressure. ETT designs have variable seal performance in bench studies using rigid tracheal models lacking the dynamic characteristics of the human trachea. We compared ETT designs within a new, biorealistic tracheal model to assess cuff and suction performance in the setting of a compliant trachea. METHODS: Three ETT designs (Mallinckrodt Hi-Lo, KimVent Microcuff, and Sheridan/HVT) were tested for performance by simulant leakage below the cuff and air leakage (measured as return tidal volume ≥ 80% delivered) over a range of cuff (5–25 cm H2O) and end-expiratory pressure (PEEP 0–15 cm H2O). Subglottic suction channel performance was tested in 2 ETTs (TaperGuard Evac [Covidien] and ISIS HVT [Teleflex]) as time to evacuate the simulant. RESULTS: All ETT cuffs provided effective seals at an inflation pressure of 12 cm H2O when PEEP was ≤ 5 cm H2O. The Microcuff ETT sealed at the lowest pressure of 6 cm H2O, whereas the Sheridan/HVT cuff sealed at 12 cm H2O ( P = .01). With a PEEP of 15 cm H2O, a reciprocal increase in air leak occurred, requiring a cuff inflation up to 22 cm H2O to maintain a return tidal volume at ≥ 80% delivered. Suction channel performance improved in the lateral position compared with supine for both ETT designs during continuous 15 mm Hg suction pressure ( P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Within a novel model with normal trachea compliance, we found all ETT designs tested to seal at lower than current recommended cuff pressures.
A general three-phase PFC controller. I. For rectifiers with a parallel-connected dual boost topology

A general constant-frequency power-factor-correction (PFC) controller is proposed for three-phase rectifiers with parallel-connected dual-boost topologies. This paper shows that unity fundamental power factor and low current distortion in all three phases can be realized by one-cycle control of a linear combination of the inductor currents using one integrator with reset along with a few logic components. This new extension of one-cycle control provides the core PFC function to the dual-boost topologies and the logical circuit rotates the PFC function in three phases. It does not require multipliers, used in many other control approaches, to scale the current reference according to the output power level. In each 60/spl deg/ of AC line cycle, only two switches are switched at high frequency; therefore the switching losses are significantly reduced. All switches are switched at low current, which results in reduced current ratings. This control method is simple and general. It is applicable to three-phase rectifiers that can be decoupled into parallel-connected dual-boost topologies by slight modification of the logic circuit. This control method is verified by theoretical analysis and experimental results. The proposed controller is ready to be integrated into a three-phase PFC control chip.
Lipid class composition of the viviparous yellowtail rockfish over a reproductive cycle

Triacylglycerols (TAG) were the dominant lipids in liver tissue of both sexes of the viviparous yellowtail rockfish Sebastes flavidus during the spring and summer when greatest feeding occurred. Significant declines in liver TAG during the winter corresponded to increased concentrations of polar lipids (PL), the main component of cell membranes. Elevated PL in female livers relative to those of males preceded the period of ovarian enlargement and may be attributed to the production of vitellogenin. During late vitellogenesis and gestation, ovaries contained significantly elevated concentrations of PL, TAG, and cholesterol. Since yellowtail rockfish are highly fecund and viviparous, large quantities of ovarian PL are required for proliferation of the cell membranes in developing larval tissues. TAG accumulated in ovaries in lower concentrations than PL and were likely metabolized as the main source of energy during gestation. This pattern of ovarian PL concentrations exceeding those of TAG and the presence of oil globules, may be unique to highly fecund, viviparous teleosts and signify an alternative profile to those previously documented for oviparous species. Testes at maximum IG were only 7% of maximum ovarian size, composed of mainly PL, and lacked a defined lipid dynamic pattern across the reproductive cycle.
Preparing Heart and Mind for Becoming a Parent Following a Diagnosis of Fetal Anomaly

Using a cross-sectional, grounded dimensional analysis study design, we collected demographic and health information and conducted telephone interviews with 37 expectant parents of 26 fetuses within 25 families. We describe a theoretical model with a core process of preparing heart and mind for becoming a parent following a diagnosis of fetal anomaly. The process of preparing was influenced by fetal and future child health, experiences of previous loss, and social interactions within both new and familiar settings. Expectant parents reported varying turning points and strategies associated with three distinct trajectories of relating to the fetus or “baby” yet to be born. These relational trajectories include claiming the child as one’s own, delaying the connection to the fetus, and doing the routine of pregnancy. With the findings presented in this article, we extend the understanding of how parenting develops during pregnancy in the context of a fetal anomaly.
Phonetic Skills and Vocabulary Size in Late Talkers: Concurrent and Predictive Relationships.

Phonetic skills and vocabulary size were investigated in 37 toddlers (24 to 31 months) identified with specific expressive language impairment and 20 comparison toddlers matched on age, SES, and nonverbal ability. The use of consonants was highly consistent across two contexts: 20 minutes of structured testing and 5 minutes of free play. The comparison children produced almost triple the number of consonant types and five times as many consonant tokens as the late talkers. However, the most frequently present consonants were similar across groups, indicating delayed rather than deviant phonetic development in the late talkers. The late talkers used a much higher proportion of their consonants in initial position than did the normally developing toddlers. Consonant types and tokens were significantly related to reported vocabulary size on Rescorla's (1989) Language Development Survey. No significant predictive relationship was found between either phonetic repertoire or vocabulary size at intake and age 3 language outcome. However, age 3 MLU and IPSyn scores were significantly predicted by age-normed severity of expressive delay at intake (Reynell Expressive z score), with more delayed children showing poorer outcomes.
Worst-case design for optimal channel equalization in filterbank transceivers

A worst-case approach is adopted to tackle optimal channel equalization for multirate filterbank transceivers, which are widely used in data communication networks, such as discrete wavelet multitone (DWMT) systems in digital subscriber lines (DSL), orthogonal frequency multiplexing division (OFMD) in frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, applicable to direct-sequence/spread-spectrum (DS/SS) code division multiple access (CDMA) networks. It is assumed that the observation noise is nonwhite with bounded power-norm or root-mean-squared (RMS) value. Our objective is to design the optimal receiving filterbanks that not only achieve the zero-forcing (ZF) condition or channel equalization but also minimize the RMS error between the transmitted symbols and the received symbols in the presence of the worst-case nonwhite noise. All ZF receiving filterbanks will be parameterized, and optimal design for channel equalization will be converted into an equivalent optimal H/sub /spl infin// filtering problem for the augmented receiving filterbanks with RMS error preserved. Our main results cover computation of the optimal RMS error achievable for the worst-case noise and an explicit design algorithm for suboptimal channel equalizers with the performance index arbitrarily close to the optimal one. A simulation example is used to illustrate the proposed optimal channel equalization algorithm.
Introduction to Qualitative Process Theory

Reasoning about physical systems requires the integration of a range of knowledge and reasoning techniques. P. Hayes has named the enterprise of identifying and formalizing the common-sense knowledge people use for this task “naive physics.” Qualitative process (QP) theory by K. Forbus proposes a structure and some of the content of naive theories about dynamics (i.e., the way things change in a physical situation). Classical physics, along with its foundations in real mathematics and especially differential calculus, has been under development for thousands of years and is a very sophisticated and successful tool for analyzing the physical world. What, then, is the motivation for pursuing qualitative modeling techniques? There are two basic motivations behind the work in qualitative physics: 1. To see how much can be derived from very weak descriptions of a physical situation. Often, we may not have precise measurements of masses, positions, velocities, etc. 2. To reduce the amount of preanalysis that must be performed before theory can be applied.
Using Pseudostrain Damage Theory to Characterize Reinforcing Benefits of Geosynthetic Materials in Asphalt Concrete Overlays

Reflective cracking is one of the more serious distresses associated with existing hot-mix asphalt (HMA) or portland concrete cement pavements overlaid with a thin bituminous layer. Preventive maintenance techniques have included incorporating geosynthetic materials (defined here as grids, fabrics, or composites) into the pavement structure. These materials have exhibited varying degrees of success, and their use within a particular agency has been based primarily on local experience or a willingness to try a product that appears to have merit. A methodology is described that was used to compare the relative effectiveness of six commercially available geosynthetic materials in reducing the severity or delaying the appearance of reflective cracking in HMA overlay. Each geosynthetic material was incorporated into compacted HMA specimens and tested to failure. Engineering fracture mechanics and pseudostrain energy concepts based on the elastic-viscoelastic correspondence principle were used and demonstrated ...
Towards reduced false-alarms using cohorts

The focus of the 2010 NIST Speaker Recognition Evaluation (SRE) [1] was the low false alarm regime of the detection error trade-off (DET) curve. This paper presents several approaches that specifically target this issue. It begins by highlighting the main problem with operating in the low-false alarm regime. Two sets of methods to tackle this issue are presented that require a large and diverse impostor set: the first set penalizes trials whose enrollment and test utterances are not nearest neighbors of each other while the second takes an adaptive score normalization approach similar to TopNorm [2] and ATNorm [3].
Approximating checkers for simulation acceleration

Simulation-based functional verification is the key validation methodology the industry. The performance of logic simulators, however, is not sufficient to attain acceptable verification coverage on large industrial designs within the time-frame available. Acceleration platforms are a valuable addition to the verification effort in that they can provide much higher coverage in less time. Unfortunately, these platforms do not provide the rich checking capability of software-based simulation. We propose a novel solution to deploy those complex checkers, typical of simulation-based environments, onto acceleration platforms. To this end, checkers must be transformed into synthesizable, compact logic blocks with bug-detection capabilities similar to that of their software counterparts. Our “approximate checkers” trade off logic complexity with bug detection accuracy by leveraging novel techniques to approximate complex software checkers into small synthesizable hardware blocks, which can be simulated along with the design on an acceleration platform. We present a general checker taxonomy, propose a range of approximation techniques based on a checker's characteristic and provide metrics for evaluating its bug detection capabilities.
A method for determining the driving currents for focused stimulation in the cochlea

A pseudo-inverse technique has been applied to a lumped-element model of the first turn of an implanted cochlea of a guinea pig. The method calculates the currents necessary to focus or distribute stimuli in desired patterns across the location of the family of auditory nerve cells in the implanted ear. Studies in animals are being undertaken to validate the technique. >
Effects of antibiotic exposure and immune system challenge on the development of allergic asthma

Abstract. In previous studies, experimenters have found that the risk of atopic disease is increased due to less exposure to infection and increased antibiotic use during immune system development. The data have supported this finding in accordance with hay fever, eczema and atopy, but are inconclusive regarding asthma. This study aims to further research the effects of antibiotic use and immune system challenge early in life on the development of allergic asthma. This was done retrospectively by collecting data from labor and delivery records of mothers who delivered vaginally, pediatric records up until age two, and participant completed questionnaires concerning family medical history and home environment information. A total of 206 women and 277 children, of which 18.4% have asthma, were enrolled in the study. Children who were prescribed antibiotics anytime after birth until two years of age were statistically more often diagnosed with asthma than those who were not given antibiotics (OR 2.884, CI 1....
Microbial communities acclimate to recurring changes in soil redox potential status

Rapidly fluctuating environmental conditions can significantly stress organisms, particularly when fluctuations cross thresholds of normal physiological tolerance. Redox potential fluctuations are common in humid tropical soils, and microbial community acclimation or avoidance strategies for survival will in turn shape microbial community diversity and biogeochemistry. To assess the extent to which indigenous bacterial and archaeal communities are adapted to changing in redox potential, soils were incubated under static anoxic, static oxic or fluctuating redox potential conditions, and the standing (DNA-based) and active (RNA-based) communities and biogeochemistry were determined. Fluctuating redox potential conditions permitted simultaneous CO₂ respiration, methanogenesis, N₂O production and iron reduction. Exposure to static anaerobic conditions significantly changed community composition, while 4-day redox potential fluctuations did not. Using RNA:DNA ratios as a measure of activity, 285 taxa were more active under fluctuating than static conditions, compared with three taxa that were more active under static compared with fluctuating conditions. These data suggest an indigenous microbial community adapted to fluctuating redox potential.
Preserving the Non-Instrumentality of Summer Camp

After a brief consideration of the types of camps, this introduction questions what is the most beneficial aspect of a two week summer day camp for children living in disadvantaged circumstances or struggling in school? Is it a formal educational program or professional-lead therapeutic activities or the provision of an opportunity for children to play with peers in a relaxed, scenic and supportive place? The introduction suggests that being with peers living with similar circumstances or challenges while being in a scenic place with supportive staff and having the opportunity to play may provide such children with a greater good.
Development of an analytic approach utilizing the extended common midpoint method to estimate asphalt pavement thickness with 3-D ground-penetrating radar

Abstract As a nondestructive technique, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) has been applied to estimate asphalt pavement thickness. The extended common midpoint (XCMP) method is a method that can be used on the air-coupled, pulsed horn antenna to increase the accuracy of asphalt pavement thickness estimation without calibrating the dielectric constant by taking cores. 3-D GPR is a multi-array, stepped-frequency radar that can measure both in-line and cross-line directions at a very close sampling interval. By developing signal-processing and numerical analysis techniques, this research integrates 3-D GPR with the XCMP method. By validating the developed algorithm at a full-scale test site, the study concludes that by using signal processing techniques and numerical analysis approaches, 3-D GPR can be used to accurately predict asphalt layer thickness using the XCMP method when the layer thickness is greater than 64mm.
Evolution in heterogeneous environments: genetic variability within and across different grains in Tribolium castaneum.

Evolution in heterogeneous environments: genetic variability within and across different grains in Tribolium castaneum
Urban biogeography : City parks as islands for Diptera and Coleoptera.

Species richness and abundance of Diptera and Coleoptera were assessed in nine city parks in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Species richness for each park was related to the area of the park in a manner predicted by island biogeography theory. The z values for the Diptera and Coleoptera were 0.235 and 0.222 respectively. These values are somewhat higher than expected for continental islands and suggest that the Diptera and Coleoptera in these parks are as isolated as many species which occur on true oceanic islands.A stepwise multiple regression was conducted, regressing species richness against several aspects of habitat diversity in the parks. It was found that area alone was the best predictor of species richness. This result, coupled with data on population sizes, suggests that increased area acts primarily to reduce extinction rates rather than to provide new habitats for specialized species.
Electrochemical Passivation of Iron in NO3-, SO42-, and ClO4- Solutions

Electrochemical passivation of iron was studied in NO3-, SO42-, and ClO4- solutions of different pH values. Passivation potential of iron in NO3- and ClO4- was similar for any pH examined, while in SO42- it was more anodic. Passive current was lowest in NO3- (10 ± 2 μA/cm2), in SO42- was in the range of 40−60 μA/cm2 while in ClO4- passive current of 30−50 μA/cm2 was reached only at 600−800 mV. After passivation, the properties of passivated iron are similar in NO3- and SO42- but differ in ClO4-. In the latter, the passive region is shorter by 200−300 mV. The transpassive potential in ClO4- is 1.2 V vs SCE and independent of pH, but shifts anodically with decrease in ClO4- concentration. The transpassive potential in NO3- and SO42- is higher, O2 evolution starts, and the potential shifts cathodically with increase of pH. At the transpassive potential in ClO4-, a black substance forms which dissipates in acidic solutions and is stable in strong alkaline solutions. Microphotographs of anodically polarized ir...
Religion, Spirituality, and Sexual Addiction: A Critical Evaluation of Converging Fields

abstractThe current issue of Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity is a foray into the intersection between the psychology of religion and spirituality and the psychology of human sexual behavior. Religiousness and sexual behavior are intricately related domains of human functioning, but, prior to the present issue, relatively little work had been done examining how religiousness and spirituality were related to the experience of sexual addiction. The present issue seeks to address this paucity of research. Nine articles featuring a variety of methods (e.g., qualitative, experimental, survey) and sampling techniques (e.g., undergraduates, community samples of adults, clinical samples of treatment-seeking adults) delve into the nuances of the relationships between religiousness/spirituality and sexual addiction. Collectively, these works expand current understandings of sexual addiction and provide a valuable foundation for much needed future research.
Charles Chesnutt’s Reparative Gothic

Critics have noted that in Charles Chesnutt’s works, the Gothic illustrates how past injustices of the American slave system haunt the postbellum present of his short stories and novels. Wooley’s chapter extends such an analysis by suggesting that in Chesnutt’s story ‘Po’ Sandy’, gothic figures link the affective response that the horrors of slavery should produce to reparative actions that acknowledge, and attempt to rectify, racial inequality in the United States. However, her reading of Chesnutt’s final published novel, The Colonel’s Dream, argues that the most gothic moment in that novel signals Chesnutt’s increasing pessimism concerning racial progress. As a result, the gothic figure comes to present not an opportunity for progress but the rejection of socio-economic justice for African Americans by the American South.
Epithelial Carcinoma of the Ovary

Epithelial carcinomas are the most common malignancy of the ovary. The causes of this malignancy have not been identified, nor has even the cell of origin with certainty. It is clear that the more babies a woman has, the lower the risk, and that long-term use of oral contraceptives reduces risk. Hysterectomy and even tubal ligation also reduce risk, although the mechanism is unclear. Women who belong to one of the rare families with mutations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 are at a greatly increased risk of ovarian carcinoma, as well as of breast cancer. Exposure to radiation from the atomic bomb resulted in more ovarian cancers than was expected, and it is presumed that other forms of radiation can do so as well. Epithelial ovarian cancers are thought by some to arise from the cells that line the ovary, and that same sort of cell also lines the abdominal cavity. Epithelial ovarian cancers and the much more rare equivalent malignancies of men occur in Los Angeles with roughly the same frequency as elsewhere. Risk begins to increase in young adulthood. White women of upper social class are at slightly increased risk, whereas women of Asian origin are at decreased risk. No systematic pattern of geographical occurrence is apparent, and therefore no local source of causation can be identified.
Expression of DLK/PREF1 Results in Inhibition of Human Myeloid Cell Differentiation and Proliferation through Distinct Molecular Mechanisms.

The molecular pathogenesis of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) is poorly understood. Microarray based analyses have shown that the Delta-Like/Preadipocyte-Factor 1 (DLK/PREF1) gene is overexpressed in CD34+ cells from patients with MDS. DLK encodes an EGF-like transmembrane protein subject to proteolytic cleavage and release. Stromal expression of DLK appears to play a role in maintenance of murine hematopoietic stem cells and in supporting B- and T-lymphopoiesis. However, the functional consequences of DLK overexpression in human hematopoietic cells are not known. We have studied the effects of ectopic expression of DLK on the differentiation and growth of HL-60 promyelocytic cells, and found that ectopic expression of DLK inhibits induced differentiation in response to ATRA, PMA and DMSO exposure. DLK mutants were generated to explore mechanisms underlying its effects on hematopoietic cells. These included DLK-EC, expressing only the extracellular portion of the molecule; DLK-dIC, a transmembrane form lacking the intracellular domain; and DLK-ALT, an alternatively spliced form lacking the protease sensitive site. We observed that proteolytic cleavage and release of the extracellular domain was not required for inhibition of hematopoietic cell differentiation, whereas intracellular domain interactions were critical to this DLK function. We have also tested the effect of DLK expression on myeloid cell proliferation. DLK expressing cells demonstrated significantly reduced proliferation compared with controls (91-fold expansion of control cells after 7 days culture vs. 66-fold expansion for DLK expressing cells, p
Temperate forest methane sink diminished by tree emissions.

Summary Global budgets ascribe 4–10% of atmospheric methane (CH4) sinks to upland soils and have assumed until recently that soils are the sole surface for CH4 exchange in upland forests. Here we report that CH4 is emitted from the stems of dominant tree species in a temperate upland forest, measured using both the traditional static-chamber method and a new high-frequency, automated system. Tree emissions averaged across 68 observations on 17 trees from May to September were 1.59 ± 0.88 μmol CH4 m−2 stem h−1 (mean ± 95% confidence interval), while soils adjacent to the trees consumed atmospheric CH4 at a rate of −4.52 ± 0.64 μmol CH4 m−2 soil h−1 (P < 0.0001). High-frequency measurements revealed diurnal patterns in the rate of tree-stem CH4 emissions. A simple scaling exercise suggested that tree emissions offset 1–6% of the growing season soil CH4 sink and may have briefly changed the forest to a net CH4 source.
Review: Chicago 1890: The Skyscraper and the Modern City by Joanna Merwood-Salisbury

Joanna Merwood-Salisbury Chicago 1890: The Skyscraper and the Modern City Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2009, 208 pp., 89 b/w illus. $45, ISBN 9780226520780 Chicago 1890: The Skyscraper and the Modern City is a welcome addition to the scholarship on the Chicago skyscraper. Perhaps it is more accurate to say the book contributes to the scholarship of Chicago and to the scholarship of the skyscraper. By examining “these architectural artifacts through the lens of their own time, in their social and urban contexts” (4). Joanna Merwood-Salisbury contributes insights to the histories of both. And by focusing her research on the Inland Architect and Builder (later the Inland Architect and News Record ) between 1883 and 1908, she is able to re-create a sense of immediacy and newness, and at the same time introduce the remarkable range of issues that surrounded this building type’s development. Her first chapter, on the tall office building as a regional type, is a broadly researched and well-composed summary of the topic. Merwood-Salisbury provides …
Hardware-Assisted Cybersecurity for IoT Devices

Internet of Things (IoT) has become an integral part of the modern era as it provides an ease of life with higher flexibility, easier control, and wide connectivity through numerous applications. However, security vulnerabilities in the IoT domain have given rise to potential threats and attacks that can compromise critical infrastructures and national security, cause physical and financial loss. Being common and easier targets due to low power and low processing capabilities, lightweight firewall, and availability for service, IoT devices require lightweight but enhanced security to thwart different cyber attacks. In this paper, we champion for hardware-assisted defense mechanisms against cyber attacks in IoT domain. We highlight that hardware-assisted techniques indeed offer an additional layer of protection with respect to traditional software-only cybersecurity. However, to offer a comprehensive security, many challenges including area and power footprint, as well as security strength, need to be addressed.
Chinese Postman and Euler Tour Problems in Bi-Directed Graphs

Euler tours occupy an interesting position in the history of graph theory. Current interest in this area is due to problems involving tours where service is required along arcs of the tour rather than at nodes. Examples of problems of this type involve mail delivery, snow removal, street cleaning, trash pickup, etc. In considering such problems involving city streets, the nodes are intersections and the arcs are roadways between intersections. However, there are one-way streets and two-way streets. If the service must be done on both sides of a two-way street then two one-way streets (one in each direction) can replace it. However, there are situations where the street, even though two-way, need only be traversed once. For example, mail delivery in a more rural or suburban setting may require traversing the street or road only once. In a rural road, mail delivery is frequently done on one side of the road, and those who live on the other side must cross the road to get their mail. In setting up the routes, though, the road could be traversed in either direction. Thus, we consider graphs with two types of connections: directed and undirected. Other postman problems [14] have been considered.
Phantoms in Brachytherapy

Brachytherapy is a subfield of radiation oncology where miniature radiation sources are placed in close contact or within the human body. Sources are frequently embedded surgically and can be temporarily implanted or placed permanently.
Sustainable Bio-Composites from Renewable Resources: Opportunities and Challenges in the Green Materials World

Sustainability, industrial ecology, eco-efficiency, and green chemistry are guiding the development of the next generation of materials, products, and processes. Biodegradable plastics and bio-based polymer products based on annually renewable agricultural and biomass feedstock can form the basis for a portfolio of sustainable, eco-efficient products that can compete and capture markets currently dominated by products based exclusively on petroleum feedstock. Natural/Biofiber composites (Bio-Composites) are emerging as a viable alternative to glass fiber reinforced composites especially in automotive and building product applications. The combination of biofibers such as kenaf, hemp, flax, jute, henequen, pineapple leaf fiber, and sisal with polymer matrices from both nonrenewable and renewable resources to produce composite materials that are competitive with synthetic composites requires special attention, i.e., biofiber–matrix interface and novel processing. Natural fiber–reinforced polypropylene composites have attained commercial attraction in automotive industries. Natural fiber—polypropylene or natural fiber—polyester composites are not sufficiently eco-friendly because of the petroleum-based source and the nonbiodegradable nature of the polymer matrix. Using natural fibers with polymers based on renewable resources will allow many environmental issues to be solved. By embedding biofibers with renewable resource–based biopolymers such as cellulosic plastics; polylactides; starch plastics; polyhydroxyalkanoates (bacterial polyesters); and soy-based plastics, the so-called green bio-composites are continuously being developed.
Biochemical studies of the developing avian embryo. III. The oxidation of reduced pyridine nucleotide.

In a previous paper of this series (1) we have demonstrated that preparations obtained from chick embryos are capable of catalyzing all the individual reactions of the citric acid cycle, and that the activities of the various enzymes involved appeared to undergo changes in the course of embryonic development. This latter finding, for at least two of the enzymes studied, is in agreement with work from other laboratories (2, 3). The oxidative reactions of the cycle, except for the reaction catalyzed by succinic dehydrogenase, are linked to oxygen through the pyridine nucleotides. Thus it became imperative to study the aerobic oxidation systems for reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide in order to obtain some understanding of the respiratory capabilities of embryonic tissues. Among work done by others on this subject, we may mention that Philips (4) measured the over-all oxygen consumption of the early chick embryo at various stages of development. He found, with unhomogenized tissue, and by means of Cartesian diver techniques, that the oxygen uptake with glucose as substrate, did not increase markedly between the first and third day, although he reported a 100 per cent increase in the Qo, during the first 4 hours of incubation. In later work Philips (5) showed that under his conditions there was no variation in the oxygen uptake of different regions of chick blastoderms between zero and 37 hours of incubation. A detailed discussion of the determination of Qo, values in the chick embryo has been given by Romanoff (6). Sippel (7) measured the increase of succinoxidase activity in the heart and heart forming tissue of the chick embryo with Cartesian diver and Warburg techniques. He reported an increase in the specific activity, relative to nitrogen, with age from the second day onward. Albaum et al. (8) also measured cytochrome oxidase manometrically in water homogenates of chick embryos and found an increase in activity per embryo which exceeded the corresponding increase in succinoxidase. More recently Davidson (9) assayed for cytochrome oxidase spectrophotometrically in buffered homogenates of embryonic organs. He found an increase in the specific activity of the heart and the liver from the fourth day on while the activity in the nervous system remained constant throughout the period of study. Scevola and De Barbieri (3) subjected homogenates of 5- and lo-day-old embryos to differential centrifugation. They report that the distribution of succinic oxidase and cytochrome oxidase in these fractions is not unlike that which might be expected with adult tissue. * Supported by Grant-in-aid H-2177 from the National Heart Institute, National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service, and a program grant of the
Surgical Management of Melanoma: Concept of Field Cancerization and Molecular Evaluation of Tissue Margins

The concept of field cancerization, first proposed by Slaughter in 1953, describes a process whereby cells in a particular tissue or organ are sequentially transformed by multiple cumulative genetic and epigenetic alterations, such that a clonal expansion of pre-neoplastic genetically-altered, but morphologically normal-appearing cells is present, prior to the development of overt malignancy. Additional genomic aberrations are required for cancer development, but these precursor cells may persist with the malignant cells of a tumor.
THE MEASUREMENT OF ETA AND OTHER NUCLEAR PROPERTIES OF U$sup 233$ AND U$sup 235$ IN CRITICAL AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

The thermal value of eta for U//sup 233/ and U//sup 235/ is determined in experiments on unreflected homogeneous aqueous solutions of the two isotopes. These experiments also yield a value for the neutron age and the limiting concentrations of the fissile isotope in the aqueous solutions for infinlte volumes. Auxiliary experiments, establishing limits of error, testing certain aspects of the theoretical model employed, and experimentally determining the parameters in the critical equation, are also performed. Experiments performed with 27-in.- and 48-in.-diam spheres, and 5-ft- and 9-ft-diam cylinders yield consistent values of eta. Measurements of the nonleakage probability in cylindrical geometry give values consistent with those predicted by a two-group model in which the theoretical value of the age is used. Within the experimental error no differences are found in the ages of fission neutrons for U/sup 233/ and U/sup 235/. The average thermal values of eta determined are 2.292 plus or minus 0.015 for U/sup 233/ and 2.076 plus or minus 0.015 for U//sup 235/. The 2200 meters/sec values are the same since the g-factors for eta are unity. The value of the neutron age to the indium resonance energy for U//sup 235/fission neutrons in water is found to bemore » 25.6 plus or minus 1.3 cm/sup 2/. The minimum U/sup 233/ and U/sup 235/ critical densities for these nitrate solutions are found to be 11.25 plus or minus 0.10 and 12.30 plus or minus 0.10 gm/liter for U/sup 233/ and U/sup 235/, respectively. (auth)« less
Extended Kalman Filter-Based 3D Active-Alignment Control for LED Communication

LED-based optical communication is emerging as a low-cost, high-data-rate alternative to the traditional acoustics mode of underwater communication. However, it is challenging to establish and maintain Line-Of-Sight (LOS) between the receiver and the transmitter, especially when such systems are used by mobile robots. Hence, there is a need for an active alignment system that enables the receiver to constantly align itself towards the direction of the transmitting device. In this paper, we propose and implement an active alignment control system capable of tracking a transmitting source moving in the three-dimensional (3D) space. An extended Kalman filter is used to estimate the components of the angle between the receiver orientation and the receiver-transmitter line. Using the estimate, a proportional-integral (PI) controller is implemented to adjust the receiver orientation. The algorithm uses one measurement of the light intensity from a single photo-diode, where successive measurements are obtained via a circular scanning technique. The amplitude of the scanning is adapted to the alignment performance, to achieve a sound trade-off between estimation accuracy, signal strength, and energy consumption. Simulation and experimental results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.