cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mining data on usage of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) from YouTube videos

Objective The objective was to analyse and compare puff and exhalation duration for individuals using electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and conventional cigarettes in YouTube videos. Methods Video data from YouTube videos were analysed to quantify puff duration and exhalation duration during use of conventional tobacco-containing cigarettes and ENDS. For ENDS, comparisons were also made between ‘advertisers’ and ‘non-advertisers’, genders, brands of ENDS, and models of ENDS within one brand. Results Puff duration (mean ! 2.4 s) for conventional smokers in YouTube videos (N! 9) agreed well with prior publications. Puff duration was significantly longer for ENDS users (mean ! 4.3 s) (N ! 64) than for conventional cigarette users, and puff duration varied significantly among ENDS brands. For ENDS users, puff duration and exhalation duration were not significantly affected by ‘advertiser’ status, gender or variation in models within a brand. Men outnumbered women by about 5:1, and most users were between 19 and 35 years of age. Conclusions YouTube videos provide a valuable resource for studying ENDS usage. Longer puff duration may help ENDS users compensate for the apparently poor delivery of nicotine from ENDS. As with conventional cigarette smoking, ENDS users showed a large variation in puff duration (range ! 1.9e8.3 s). ENDS puff duration should be considered when designing laboratory and clinical trials and in developing a standard protocol for evaluating ENDS performance.
Plasmonic mode-evolution-based polarization rotator and coupler

A plasmonic mode-evolution-based device rotates the TE mode in silicon waveguide and couples it to the hybrid plasmonic mode with a 92% peak coupling factor and −3 dB bandwidth of over 500 nm at near infrared.
Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles for Acidic Nuclear Waste Separation

Actinide specific chelator (che) conjugated with magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been developed to separate nuclear waste in acidic conditions. Compared to the traditional nuclear waste treatments, such as solvent extraction and ion exchange, this method is a simple, compact and cost-effective process that generates minimum secondary waste. In this paper, we focus on the coating process of MNPs to achieve a combination of good acidic resistance, high chelator loading density and efficient magnetic separation. An optimized silica coating process before conjugates chelator directly onto MNPs significantly improves the acidic resistance of the MNP-che complex. Chelator loading density is significantly increased by attaching a linear polyamine polymer poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) to the surface of the MNPs using chemical and physical approaches.
MIMO Relaying With Linear Processing for Multiuser Transmission in Fixed Relay Networks

In this paper, a novel relaying strategy that uses multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) fixed relays with linear processing to support multiuser transmission in cellular networks is proposed. The fixed relay processes the received signal with linear operations and forwards the processed signal to multiple users creating a multiuser MIMO relay. This paper proposes upper and lower bounds on the achievable sum rate for this architecture assuming zero-forcing dirty paper coding at the base station, neglecting the direct links from the base station to the users, and with certain structure in the relay. These bounds are used to motivate an implementable multiuser precoding strategy that combines Tomlinson-Harashima precoding at the base station and linear signal processing at the relay, adaptive stream selection, and QAM modulation. Reduced complexity algorithms based on the sum rate lower bounds are used to select a subset of users. We compare the sum rates achieved by the proposed system architecture and algorithms with the sum rate upper bound and the sum rate achieved by the decode-and-forward relaying.
Surface textural analysis of quartz sand grains from ODP Site 918 off the southeast coast of Greenland suggests glaciation of southern Greenland at 11 Ma

Shipboard analysis of the 1,183-m sedimentary section recovered at Site 918 in the Irminger Basin during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 152 revealed material of glacial origin (diamictons, ice-rafted debris (IRD) and dropstones) as deep as 543 m below sea floor (bsf). The sediment containing the deepest dropstone was biostratigraphically dated shipboard as approximately 7 Ma, pushing back the date for the onset of glaciation on southern Greenland by 5 Ma. Thin layers of fine sand were found as much as 60 m deeper in the core, raising the possibility of an even earlier date for glaciation. To determine the sedimentary history of these deeper sand layers, the surface textures on quartz grains from eleven cores bracketing the interval of interest were analyzed by scanning electron microscope. The results suggest that the grains in the 60-m interval below the deepest dropstone have a glacial history. At that level, an 11-Ma Sr-isotope date was obtained from planktonic foraminifers. This late Miocene timing is supported biostratigraphically by both nanofossil and foraminifer assemblages, indicating a new minimum age for the onset of glaciation on southern Greenland and in the North Atlantic.
Under cover: causes, effects and implications of Hsp90-mediated genetic capacitance.

Summary The environmentally responsive molecular chaperone Hsp90 assists the maturation of many key regulatory proteins. An unexpected consequence of this essential biochemical function is that genetic variation can accumulate in genomes and can remain phenotypically silent until Hsp90 function ischallenged.Notably,this variation can be revealed by modest environmental change, establishing an environmentally responsive exposure mechanism. The existence of diverse cryptic polymorphisms with a plausible exposure mechanism in evolutionarily distant lineages has implications for the pace and nature of evolutionary change. Chaperone-mediated storage and release of genetic variation is undoubtedly rooted in protein-folding phenomena. As we discuss, properproteinfoldingcruciallyaffectsthetrajectoryfrom genotype to phenotype. Indeed, the impact of protein quality-control mechanisms and other fundamental cellular processes on evolution has heretofore been overlooked. A true understanding of evolutionary processes will require an integration of current evolutionary paradigms with the many new insights accruing in protein science. BioEssays 26:348–362, 2004. 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Microstructure of Silica in the Presence of Iron Oxide

The microstructures that are developed when iron oxide reacts with excess silica at elevated temperatures are described. Compacts of powdered quartz and iron oxide were heated to various temperatures and under selected conditions of oxidation to determine the effect of these parameters on microstructure. The results show that temperature has a small but measurable effect on the geometry of the silica and liquid phases. The oxidation level does not have an effect on the geometry of the phases in this system other than to reduce the liquid content by introducing magnetite as a secondary phase. The strength of silica brick in the presence of high liquid contents probably arises from the interfacial-energy relations which maintain considerable solid-to-solid contact at elevated temperatures.
Descriptions of job characteristics and retirement activities during the transition to retirement

This study compares employees' descriptions of their jobs with their subsequent descriptions of the same jobs after they have been retired for some time; it also compares employees' descriptions of their expected retirement lives with their descriptions of their lives after they have actually retired. This will aid in the interpretation of past (and future) research about retirement that collects data only from older employees before they retire or only from retirees after they have retired, but not from people at both times of their lives. Retirees' retrospective reports of job descriptions agreed strongly with their prior reports, and employees' prospective reports of their retirement activities agreed moderately well with their subsequent reports.
Electricity Market Forecasting via Low-Rank Multi-Kernel Learning

The smart grid vision entails advanced information technology and data analytics to enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and economics of the power grid infrastructure. Aligned to this end, modern statistical learning tools are leveraged here for electricity market inference. Day-ahead price forecasting is cast as a low-rank kernel learning problem. Uniquely exploiting the market clearing process, congestion patterns are modeled as rank-one components in the matrix of spatio-temporally varying prices. Through a novel nuclear norm-based regularization, kernels across pricing nodes and hours can be systematically selected. Even though market-wide forecasting is beneficial from a learning perspective, it involves processing high-dimensional market data. The latter becomes possible after devising a block-coordinate descent algorithm for solving the non-convex optimization problem involved. The algorithm utilizes results from block-sparse vector recovery and is guaranteed to converge to a stationary point. Numerical tests on real data from the Midwest ISO (MISO) market corroborate the prediction accuracy, computational efficiency, and the interpretative merits of the developed approach over existing alternatives.
Good acting requires a good cast: A meso-level model of deep acting in work teams

Summary This study proposes and tests a meso-level model of deep acting in work teams that draws on emotional contagion theory to explain how shared means of complying with display rules can arise in work teams. We argue that the presence of influential deep actors can lead to greater convergence (lower dispersion) on individual deep acting in the team. That is, team members behave more similarly. When a team has greater convergence, deep acting by individual members should be related to lower emotional exhaustion and higher job satisfaction and in-role performance. In a sample of mature work teams, these hypotheses received general support. Our findings suggested that team-level deep acting effects can foster benefits for team members (lower emotional exhaustion and higher satisfaction) and organizations (higher job performance). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Use of hearts transplanted from donors with severe sepsis and infectious deaths.

Background The reluctance to use organs from donors who have died from severe infections is based on the potential transmission of an infectious agent to the recipient and on the uncertainty about allograft function in the setting of severe donor sepsis. Methods From 1999 to 2007, donor hospital records were reviewed which focused on microbiology cultures and sensitivity results; type and duration of antimicrobial therapy; hemodynamic data, results of echocardiogram, and imaging studies. Preliminary positive and negative results from pre-harvest blood, respiratory, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid cultures were verified with the procurement agency. The harvesting surgeon performed gross inspection of donor valvular structures. Results Nine donor hearts were transplanted from patients who expired from community onset infections with severe septic shock, meningitis, and/or pneumonia caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae ( n = 4), Streptococcus milleri ( n = 2), Neisseria meningitidis ( n = 2), and unidentified gram- positive cocci ( n = 1). Four donors had probable infection-induced intracranial hemorrhage, and all donors were vasopressor-dependent before organ procurement. No evidence of donor-transmitted infection, sepsis, or rejection was observed, and long-term function remained excellent; allograft dysfunction in three patients resolved after transplant. Our series of nine donors represents approximately 1.3% of successfully transplanted cardiac allografts during the respective period of review. Conclusions Patients succumbing to severe infections (meningitis, pneumonia, and septic shock) should not be arbitrarily excluded for possible heart donation. Assessing the suitability of donors with severe infections requires flawless communication between the donor and transplant facility, including a comprehensive evaluation of donor infection and pathogen(s), severity of sepsis, adequacy of antimicrobial treatment, and the degree of sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction.
Longitudinal Multi-Trait-State-Method Model Using Ordinal Data

Multi-trait multi-method (MTMM) models provide a way to assess convergent and discriminant validity when multiple traits are measured by multiple methods. In recent years, longitudinal extensions of MTMM models have been proposed in the structural equation modeling framework to evaluate whether and how the trait as well as method factors change over time. We propose a novel longitudinal ordinal MTMM model that can be used to effectively distinguish volatile "state" processes from "trait" processes that tend to remain stable and invariant over time. The proposed model, termed a longitudinal multi-trait-state-method (LM-TSM) model, combines 3 key modeling components: (a) a measurement model for ordinal data, (b) a vector autoregressive moving average model at the latent level to examine changes in the state as well as the method factors over time, and (c) a second-order factor-analytic model to capture time-invariant traits as shared variances among the state factors across all measurement occasions. Data from the Affective Dynamics and Individual Differences (ADID; Emotions and Dynamic Systems Laboratory, 2010 ) study was used to illustrate the proposed longitudinal LM-TSM model. Methodological issues associated with fitting the LM-TSM model are discussed.
A review of synthetic methods for the production of upconverting lanthanide nanoparticles

Upconverting lanthanide nanoparticles overcome many of the problems associated with more traditionally used luminescent contrast agents, such as photobleaching, autofluorescence, cytotoxicity and phototoxicity. For this reason, they are an attractive choice for biomedical imaging applications, particularly for imaging in living tissues. The last decade has seen numerous improvements to these nanocrystals, but a comprehensive guide to the synthesis of upconverting lanthanide nanoparticles has not yet been written. Methods vary from paper to paper and from group to group, and results vary between research groups for each method. For this reason, development of these nanoparticles remains a significant endeavor for any research group interested in joining the field. In this review, we look at the varying synthetic methods employed over the last decade and detail methodology for a select few that have been favored in the field.
Dynamic and viscoelastic interfacial behavior of β-lactoglobulin microgels of varying sizes at fluid interfaces

Abstract Hypothesis Microgel particles formed from the whey protein β-lactoglobulin are able to stabilize emulsion and foam interfaces, yet their interfacial properties have not been fully characterized. Smaller microgels are expected to adsorb to and deform at the interface more rapidly, facilitating the development of highly elastic interfaces. Methods Microgels were produced by thermal treatment under controlled pH conditions. Dynamic surface pressure and dilatational interfacial rheometry measurements were performed on heptane–water droplets to examine microgel interfacial adsorption and behavior. Langmuir compression and atomic force microscopy were used to examine the changes in microgel and monolayer characteristics during adsorption and equilibration. Findings Microgel interfacial adsorption was influenced by bulk concentration and particle size, with smaller particles adsorbing faster. Microgel-stabilized interfaces were dominantly elastic, and elasticity increased more rapidly when smaller microgels were employed as stabilizers. Interfacial compression increased surface pressure but not elasticity, possibly due to mechanical disruption of inter-particle interactions. Monolayer images showed the presence of small aggregates, suggesting that microgel structure can be disrupted at low interfacial loadings. The ability of β-lactoglobulin microgels to form highly elastic interfacial layers may enable improvements in the colloidal stability of food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products in addition to applications in controlled release and flavor delivery systems.
Disabilities among veterans and their utilization of health care

Objectives: This study introduces a conceptual model to investigate factors that influence healthcare utilization. The model included three components: Need for Care, Facilitators and Barriers of Access, and Health Care Utilization. Methods: A nationally representative sample of 13,244 male veterans aged 18 and older was extracted from the 2011 National Health Interview Survey. The sample included 2890 veterans with disabilities. Descriptive analyses and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, along with significance tests for differences in distributions. Results: Need for services was operationalized by perceived health and number of types of disabilities. Both these variables, predicted healthcare utilization, making visits to the emergency room and staying in the hospital overnight. Facilitators and barriers were operationalized as political structures, societal structure, and demographic variables partially contributed to the model. The political variables, which wars the veterans fough...
A pilot study of bevacizumab and stereotactic intensity modulated re-irradiation for recurrent high grade gliomas

2028 Background: Bevacizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed at vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A). Preclinical studies suggest that inhibition of VEGF-A improves glioma resp...
Studies on Systemic Transduction of Wounding Signal in Plants by Means of Chlorophyll Fluorescence

This study examined the effects of mechanical wounding and(Z)-hexen-3-al on wounding signal of Populus simonii×P.pyramibalis c.v by means of chlorophyll fluorescence.The results showed that wounding signal could transfer in two-way,heterogeneity of FV/Fm in different leaves provided visual evidence for systemic transduction of wounding signal.
Breeding of a new rice variety Xue-hua-xin-zhan with high yield and diseases resistance

Xue-hua-xin-zhan was a new photoperiod-insensitive Indica rice variety bred by crossing feng-si-zhan/xin-nong-zhan with feng-si-zhan/xue-hua-zhan and after several generations selecting in Rice Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In two years different site field test of Guangdong province, the result showed that Xue-hua-xin-zhan 's average yield was421.72 kg and 456.78 kg/667m2respectively, decreased by 1.32% and 1.64% respectively in comparison with the check variety You-you-128, but not significant. Its grain quality didn't reach the scales of high quality paddy in national standard, and it had the resistance to the blast and mid-resistance to the bacterial leaf blight disease. It was permitted to release by Crop Examine and Approve Committee of Guangdong province in January 2012.
Orientation of the intercostal muscle fibers in the human rib cage.

Great improvement was achieved to protect vehicle occupants in case of a motor vehicle crashes thanks to the development of restraint systems such as seat belts and airbags. These systems increase ...
Telegraphs and Territoriality in Ottoman Africa and Arabia during the Age of High Imperialism

AbstractThis paper investigates the transformation of the Ottoman Empire’s position on the international stage during the age of High Imperialism. It uses two major technological projects, namely, the two Hijaz telegraph lines of 1882 and 1901, as case studies in which to analyse the shift in the Ottoman Empire’s relationship with its European counterparts and draw important conclusions about the relationship between imperialism and technology. The paper makes the argument that only by understanding the Great Powers’ gradual stifling of the Ottoman participation in the ‘Scramble for Africa’, and the connection between the private telegraph industry and imperialism over the 1880s can we appreciate the significance of the shift from Istanbul’s dependence on European telegraph technology in 1882 to its insistence on an independently planned, constructed and run telegraph line 20 years later.
APPLICATIONS OF A MULTICOPY PHENOTYPE APPROACH

A multicopy phenotype approach to identify new regulatory proteins is not without drawbacks. Overexpression of an activity is not a “real life” situation for the cell. Hartwell and coworkers remark that this method, even while conveniently providing the cloned wildtype gene for further analysis, might fool the investigator; overexpression of any activity might give the desired phenotype, or lead to cell death (2). However, there are ways to circumvent these problems and the investigator need only realize that, when using a multicopy phenotype approach, the next obvious step after the identification of an activity will be to determine its role, as a single copy function, in the cell.
Wrist-independent energy expenditure prediction models from raw accelerometer data.

Purposes: (1) Develop artificial neural network (ANN) models for wrist accelerometer data which can predict energy expenditure (EE) using data collected from either wrist. (2) Develop ANNs for detecting the wrist on which the accelerometer was worn. Forty-four adults wore GENEActiv accelerometers on the left and right wrists and a portable metabolic analyzer while participating in a 90 min semi-structured activity protocol. Participants performed 14 sedentary, lifestyle, exercise, and ambulatory activities and were allowed to choose activity order, duration, and intensity. ANNs were created to predict EE and wrist detection using a leave-one-out cross-validation. In total, 12 combinations of feature sets (mean and variance of raw, vector magnitude, and absolute value data), training methods (left- and right- wrist), and testing methods (left- and right-wrist data) were used to develop EE prediction ANNs. Accuracy of the ANNs was evaluated using correlations, root mean square error (RMSE), and bias, using metabolic analyzer data as the criterion for EE. ANNs using raw data from the same wrist (e.g. EE predicted from right wrist ANNs using accelerometer data from right wrist) had the highest accuracy for EE prediction (r = 0.84, RMSE = 1.25–1.26 METs); conversely, opposite-wrist prediction accuracy (e.g. EE predicted from right wrist ANNs using accelerometer data from left wrist) was lower (r = 0.60–0.64, RMSE = 1.93–2.01 METs). Preprocessing into absolute values prior to ANN development allowed for, high EE prediction accuracy, with no difference in accuracy for same- versus opposite-wrist prediction (r = 0.80–0.83, RMSE = 1.30–1.49 METs). Wrist detection ANNs correctly determined wrist placement 100% of the time. Highly accurate, wrist-independent EE prediction ANNs were developed by computing absolute values of raw acceleration data prior to ANN development. This method provides a potential approach for advancing predictive accuracy of wrist-worn accelerometers.
537. El paisaje agavero y la planificación turística sostenible. Un requisito para su permanencia como sitio patrimonio de la humanidad

En 2006 el Paisaje Agavero fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad y, desde entonces, se ha cuestionado la gestion realizada sobre el mismo. Algunos problemas detectados se han agravado debido a la descoordinacion de las administraciones publicas y a los intereses economicos de empresas privadas, mas preocupadas por convertirlo en un parque tematico que en preservar los valores que promovieron su declaracion. La falta de un modelo turistico sostenible exige plantear iniciativas que impulsen a este sector hacia la sostenibilidad. En este trabajo se propone un sistema de indicadores para avanzar hacia ese objetivo y, ademas, contribuir a la permanencia del sitio como Patrimonio de la Humanidad.
Electron Hopping and Charge Separation within a Naphthalene-1,4:5,8-bis(dicarboximide) Chiral Covalent Organic Cage

We present the stereoselective synthesis of a chiral covalent organic cage consisting of three redox-active naphthalene-1,4:5,8-bis(dicarboximide) (NDI) units by dynamic imine chemistry. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis shows that host–guest interactions and racemic cocrystallization allow for controlling the solid state structure. Electronic interactions between the NDI units probed by absorption and circular dichroism spectroscopies, electrochemistry and theoretical calculations are shown to be weak. Photoexcitation of NDI leads to intracage charge separation with a longer lifetime than observed in the corresponding monomeric NDI and dimeric NDI cyclophane imines. The EPR spectrum of the singly reduced cage shows that the electron is localized on a single NDI unit at ambient temperatures and transitions to rapid hopping among all three NDI units upon heating to 350 K. Dynamic covalent chemistry thus promises rapid access to covalent organic cages with well-defined architectures to study charge ...
Approaches to and Clinical Benefits of Reducing Dietary K in CKD.

Hyperkalemia is a common electrolyte abnormality in patients with CKD. The incidence of hyperkalemia increases as GFR declines and has been found to be as high as 31% among patients with an eGFR<20 ml/min per 1.73 m2 in cross-sectional studies ([1][1]). Patients with CKD are predisposed to
Students' Misconceptions in Interpreting Center and Variability of Data Represented via Histograms and Stem-and-Leaf Plots

This paper identifies and discusses misconceptions that students have in making judgments of center and variability when data are presented graphically. An assessment addressing interpreting center...
Advertising morality: maintaining moral worth in a stigmatized profession

Although a great deal of literature has looked at how individuals respond to stigma, far less has been written about how professional groups address challenges to their self-perception as abiding by clear moral standards. In this paper, we ask how professional group members maintain a positive self-perception in the face of moral stigma. Drawing on pragmatic and cultural sociology, we claim that professional communities hold narratives that link various aspects of the work their members perform with specific understanding of the common good. These narratives allow professionals to maintain a shared view of their work as benefitting society and to perceive themselves as moral individuals. As a case study, we focus on the advertising industry, which has long been stigmatized as complicit in exploitative capitalist mechanisms and cultural degradation. We draw on nine total months of fieldwork and seventy-four interviews across three US advertising agencies. We find that advertising practitioners use narratives to present their work as contributing to the common good, depicting themselves as moral individuals who care about others in the process. We analyze three prevalent narratives: the account-driven narrative, which links moral virtue to caring for clients; the creative-driven narrative, which ties caring to the production of meaningful advertisements; and the strategic-driven narrative, which sees caring in finding meaningful relationships for consumers and brands.
Isolated Right Varicocele and Incidence of Associated Cancer.

Objective To test the classic teaching that isolated right varicoceles are associated with significantly high rates of occult malignancies. Methods Retrospective chart review included all men diagnosed with varicocele at the Cleveland Clinic from 2000 to 2015. Charts were queried for demographics, varicocele laterality, cross-sectional imaging, and subsequent diagnosis of abdominal malignancy or vascular anomaly. Descriptive statistics are presented as means ± standard deviation. Comparative statistics include analyses of variance with Tukey-Kramer pairwise comparisons or chi-square tests as indicated. All P Results Varicocele was diagnosed in 4060 men (3258 left, 337 right, and 465 bilateral). Men with right varicoceles were significantly older (43.6 ± 17.1) than left (33.4 ± 14.9, P Conclusion Men with right varicoceles were older, heavier, and underwent more computed tomography scans than those with left or bilateral varicoceles but did not have higher rates of cancer diagnosis.
Multiple Causal Inference with Latent Confounding.

Causal inference from observational data requires assumptions. These assumptions range from measuring confounders to identifying instruments. Traditionally, causal inference assumptions have focused on estimation of effects for a single treatment. In this work, we construct techniques for estimation with multiple treatments in the presence of unobserved confounding. We develop two assumptions based on shared confounding between treatments and independence of treatments given the confounder. Together, these assumptions lead to a confounder estimator regularized by mutual information. For this estimator, we develop a tractable lower bound. To recover treatment effects, we use the residual information in the treatments independent of the confounder. We validate on simulations and an example from clinical medicine.
Six Questions for Well-Child Care Redesign.

A bstract In the United States, well-child care has the goal of providing comprehensive care to children by addressing developmental, behavioral, psychosocial, and health issues through visits at recommended intervals. The preventive care needs of families can outpace the capacity of clinics and practices to provide it, necessitating a redesign of our well-child care system that aligns the structure of preventive care delivery with the needs of families. Here we focus on 6 questions (the what, when, who, why, how, and where) for well-child care redesign for infants and young children. By addressing these key questions and providing recommendations for advancing well-child care redesign in the clinical and research arenas, we hope to accelerate the process of well-child care redesign. In the current political and socioeconomic environment, continuing with well-child care “as usual” will mean that many families will find that their well-child care visits do not fully address the most pressing needs impacting children's health and well-being. It is time to implement and sustain real change in our system for preventive care.
Local spin-coupled distortions in multiferroic hexagonal HoMnO3

Local structural measurements have been performed on hexagonal ${\text{HoMnO}}_{3}$ in order to ascertain the specific changes in bond distances, which accompany magnetic ordering transitions. The transition from the paramagnetic to the antiferromagnetic (noncollinear) phase near $\ensuremath{\sim}70\text{ }\text{K}$ is dominated by changes in the $a\text{\ensuremath{-}}b$ plane Mn-Mn bond distances. The spin rotation transition near $\ensuremath{\sim}40\text{ }\text{K}$ involves both Mn-Mn and nearest-neighbor Ho-Mn interactions while the low-temperature transition below 10 K involves all interactions, Mn-Mn, Ho-Mn (nearest and next nearest), and Ho-Ho correlations. These changes in bond distances reveal strong spin-lattice coupling. The similarity in magnitude of the change in $J(\text{Mn-Mn})$ and $J(\text{Ho-Mn})$ enhances the system frustration. The structural changes are interpreted in terms of a model of competing spin order and local structural distortions. Density-functional calculations are used to estimate the energies associated with ionic displacements. The calculations also reveal asymmetric polarization of the charge density of Ho, O3, and O4 sites along the $c$ axis in the ferroelectric phase. This polarization facilitates coupling between Ho atoms on neighboring planes normal to the $c$ axis.
d‐Histidinium (2S,3S)‐tartrate

The crystal structure of the title compound, C6H10N3O2+·C4H5O6−, has been determined as part of an ongoing study into the fundamental effects of chirality on salt formation and hydration. This structure has distinct layers of histidine, which are linked by stacks of tartrates, forming a complex three-dimensional hydrogen-bond network.
Computer Simulated Cardiac SPECT Data for use in Evaluating Reconstruction Algorithms

The purpose of this work was to develop a technique for simulating SPECT projection data which realistically model a cardiac T1-201 study. The data are intended for use in evaluating image reconstruction and processing algorithms using ROC analysis. The significant physical effects of T1-201 patient acquisitions have been incorporated into the simulation, including patient anatomy, attenuation, scatter, detector response, and statistical noise fluctuations. The simulation technique involves first generating a 3D source distribution which models the radioisotope uptake of a clinical T1-201 study. A patient CT image provides an anatomical model for generating the distribution. Next, projections are calculated as ray-sums in a way which incorporates photon attenuation and detector response. Detailed attenuation information is provided by the CT image. The effects of scatter are then incorporated by filtering the projection data at each angle with an estimate of the scatter response function specific for that angle. Finally, Poisson noise is added to the projections. The results have shown that the simulation technique generates data closely modeling clinical T1-201 data.
Achilles’ Tears: Cavell, the Iliad , and Possibilities for the Human

Is Achilles a narcissist? Can he feel for his fellow man in a way that we humans know as our own? And more particularly, what does this half-god’s behavior—the way he is moved to tears by the plea of another man—tell us about the nature of human empathy more generally, our knowledge of how others feel, and the possibility of the human as such? Sometimes it is those who are not fully human—Gods, half-gods, animals—who demonstrate and reinforce (our presumed) human traits. Drawing primarily from the work of Stanley Cavell, yet in company with disparate scholars, including Simone Weil and her remarkable reflections on the Iliad, we are pushed to ask whether it is possible to genuinely weep over others, or whether tears are necessarily only shed over one’s own pain and losses. Why and how this scene of male weeping recommends this troubling thought lies at the heart of my investigation. Not wanting to leave things at loose ends, I conclude with notes on some criteria for human emotion and expression, and whether we may mediate ourselves out of our own narcissism.
Short Circuit Reliability Study of Automotive Traction Inverter Power Module

Short circuit capability of power semiconductor device is a customer requirement for automotive traction inverter applications. This study provides a statistical approach to quantify the short circuit capability of a power module. A total of 75 out of the targeted 90 samples of a specific power module design is subjected to combinations of operating bus voltage, pulse width and temperature. Data collected provides insight on effect of heat soak duration and failure distribution of the population. Semiconductor response to short circuit energy beyond safe operating area and the corresponding failure modes are analyzed.
Polyphosphate Adsorption and Hydrolysis on Aluminum Oxides.

The geochemical behaviors of phosphate-containing species at mineral–water interfaces are of fundamental importance for controlling phosphorus mobility, fate, and bioavailability. This study invest...
A Novel Framework of Text-independent Speaker Verification based on Utterance Transform and Iterative Cohort Modeling

A novel framework for text-independent speaker verification is proposed. The framework is based on a new interpretation of Universal Background Model. The UBM in our framework actually defines a transform which maps the variable length observation into a fixed dimensional supervector(supervector space). Each speech utterance is then mapped into a point in this supervector space. The similarity measure in this vector space is progressively refined via an iterative cohort modeling scheme. The experiments on NIST 2002 corpus show the effectiveness of this new framework. Overall the EER drops from the baseline system(with TNorm) 9.21% to final improved system(without T-Norm) 8.07%. The new framework can effectively reduce the data dependence in the final output score which is clearly indicated in the second sets of experiments. The EER after T-Norm of final system marginally increases by relatively 1.73% compared to the EER of baseline system drops 16.12% relatively after T-Norm. Also, the relative improvement of DCF after T-Norm is marginal for the final improved system (2.47%) compared to 33.68% in baseline system. It clear shows that the iterative cohort modeling effectively reduce the data dependence of the final scores, so that T-Norm will not further improve the system performance. Also, the performance of novel frame clearly increases as the iteration grows which suggest that the framework progressively refine the similarity measure on the supervector space with the iterative cohort modeling. Index Terms: speaker verification, utterance transform, iterative cohort modeling.
Improving the fellowship interview experience for reproductive endocrinology and infertility candidates: a survey

Objective To collect data on the current reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) fellowship interview process so that it may be improved in the future. Design Web-based cross-sectional survey. In addition, fellowship program directors and coordinators were contacted by e-mail. Setting Survey data were collected after completion of the 2018 REI fellowship interview season. Patient(s) Not applicable. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) Number of days used for interviews, missed opportunities to interview, frequency of travel to the same city, average money spent, recommendations for how the interview process could be improved. Result(s) There were 44 survey respondents. The mean number of interviews attended was 12.6 (range, 1–22). On average 13.4 (0–30) days off work were used to interview. About 68.1% (n = 30) missed an opportunity to interview at a program they were interested in. The most common reasons were the interview date was the same day as another interview, could not attend due to geographic location, and cost was too high. About 72% (n = 31) traveled to the same city more than once for an interview. The average cost per interview was $478 (range, $200–$1,000) and average cost per interview season was $5,660 (range, $900–$15,000). Fellowship program data were available from 43 of 48 programs contacted. The number of dates that had conflicting interviews scheduled were 26. Conclusion(s) These data highlight the need to coordinate the REI fellowship recruitment process between programs to reduce conflicting interview dates and mitigate costs to applicants. Based on these results, a concrete action plan is presented.
Hydrogen Bond Donor Catalyzed Cationic Polymerization of Vinyl Ethers.

The synthesis of high-molecular-weight poly(vinyl ethers) under mild conditions is a significant challenge, since cationic polymerization reactions are highly sensitive to chain-transfer and termination events. We identified a novel and highly effective hydrogen bond donor (HBD)-organic acid pair that can facilitate controlled cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers under ambient conditions with excellent monomer compatibility. Poly(vinyl ethers) of molar masses exceeding 50 kg mol-1 can be produced within 1 h without elaborate reagent purification. Modification of the HBD structure allowed tuning of the polymerization rate, while DFT calculations helped elucidate crucial intermolecular interactions between the HBD, organic acid, and polymer chain end.
Riemann Spaces and Tensors

In this chapter we begin to study the mathematics needed for general relativity. Quite general spaces such as we will use to describe spacetime and gravity were first developed by nineteenth century mathematicians such as Gauss and Riemann. The most important mathematical objects in such spaces are vectors and tensors. We will treat these using both the classic index notation and a more modern abstract notation.
Lunar Resource Harvesting and Manufacturing: Rich Content for the Chemistry Classroom

Space-related activities remain a fertile environment for classroom applications of chemistry through both traditional lecture styles and through collaborative learning projects. With the resurgence of lunar exploration and the expansion of the commercial space sector, serious scholarship, planning, and resources have been focused on extracting and using lunar materials to sustain activity in space. In this work, several interdisciplinary general chemistry topics and assessment activities are explored through the lens of lunar resource formation, identification, extraction, purification, and employment. Four applications of chemistry are presented: the formation of lunar water via reduction of ores by solar wind, identifying likely locations of lunar water via spectroscopy, extracting water from the lunar regolith for use as fuel, and the extraction, purification, and use of materials from the lunar regolith. A variety of traditional general chemistry topics are explored through these applications, to include light, energy, unit conversions, equilibrium, phase diagrams, oxidation–reduction, and semiconductors.
Frame dragging and the Hong-Ou-Mandel dip: Gravitational effects in multiphoton interference

The authors study general relativistic effects in multi-photon quantum interference, for quantum-optical platforms restricted to the earth's surface.
Outcomes after Surgery among Patients Diagnosed with One or More Multi-Drug–Resistant Organisms

Background: Infections with multi-drug–resistant organisms (MDROs) may be difficult to treat and prolong patient hospitalization and recovery. Multiple MDRO coinfections may increase the complexity...
Integrin signaling via actin cytoskeleton activates MRTF/SRF to entrain circadian clock

The circadian clock is entrained to daily environmental cues. Integrin-linked intracellular signaling via actin cytoskeleton dynamics transduces cellular niche signals to induce Myocardin-related Transcription Factor (MRTF)/Serum Response Factor (SRF)-mediated transcription. So far, how the integrin-associated signaling cascade may transmit cellular physical cues to entrain circadian clock remains to be defined. Using combined pharmacological and genetic approaches, here we show that the transcription factors mediating integrin to actin cytoskeleton signaling, MRTF-A and SRF, exert direct transcriptional control of core clock components, and that this signaling cascade modulates key properties of clock circadian activity. Pharmacological inhibition of MRTF/SRF activity by disrupting actin polymerization significantly augmented clock amplitude with period shortening , whereas an actin polymerizing compound attenuated oscillation amplitude with period lengthening. Genetic loss-of-function of Srf or Mrtf mimics that of actin-depolymerizing agents, validating the role of actin dynamics in driving clock function. Furthermore, integrin-mediated focal adhesion with extracellular matrix and its downstream signaling modulates the circadian clock, as blockade of integrin, focal adhesion kinase or Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) increased clock amplitude and shortened period length. Mechanistically, we identify specific core clock transcription regulators, Per1 , Per2 and Nr1d1 , as direct target genes of MRTF-A/SRF. Collectively, our findings uncovered an integrin-actin cytoskeleton-MRTF/SRF signaling cascade in linking clock entrainment to its extracellular microenvironment, which may mediate cellular adaptation to its physical niche.
Designing Prediction Bands

This article develops four principles for the design of good prediction bands for a random process. The issues addressed include : appropriate asymptotic convergence of conditional and unconditional coverage probabilities; probability centering of prediction bands; controlling dispersion of conditional coverage probabilities; and increasing the rate of convergence of unconditional coverage probabilities. Examples illustrate the design issues and a proposed bootstrap construction for good prediction bands.
Hydrogenation of Edible Oils

Dietary fat consists of a mixture of vegetable oils and animal fats that are generally characterized by their fatty acid composition. As shown in Table 1, liquid oils are high in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, while solid fats consist mainly of saturated fatty acids. Partial Table 1 (Anon. 1982) Fatty Acid Composition of Dietary Fats Fat or Oil Saturates Monoun-Saturates Polyun-Saturates Sunflower oil 10.8 22.0 67.2 Soybean oil 16.0 25.0 58.0 Corn oil 14.5 29.0 56.5 Cottonseed oil 26.7 18.0 55.3 Peanut oil 21.0 52.0 27.0 Chicken fat 34.0 47.5 18.5 Pork fat 41.4 46.3 12.3 Palm oil 50.1 40.2 9.7 Tallow 50.4 44.3 5.3 Butter fat 65.5 30.6 3.9 Coconut oil 91.7 6.4 1.9 and selective hydrogenation of liquid oils is practiced to change the physical properties for solid fat products or to improve the stability of highly unsaturated oils during high temperature use. Hydrogenated vegetable oils are used in the formulation of shortenings, margarines, salad/cooking oils, and other foods. In the United States, the total consumption of visible and non-visible fat is 169 g per person per day (Table 2). Of this total, 72 g (42.6%) is visible fat, of which about 39.6% (28.5 g) is estimated to be hydrogenated vegetable oils, mainly hydrogenated soybean oil. Non-visible fat contains about 11.8% (11.4 g) hydrogenated vegetable oils. Combined, these products constitute the second most important source of fat calories and dietary fat. Thus, the hydrogenation process is a technology having significant nutritional impact.
Dynamically forecasting network performance using the Network Weather Service

The Network Weather Service is a generalizable and extensible facility designed to provide dynamic resource performance forecasts in metacomputing environments. In this paper, we outline its design and detail the predictive performance of the forecasts it generates. While the forecasting methods are general, we focus on their ability to predict the TCP/IP end-to-end throughput and latency that is attainable by an application using systems located at different sites. Such network forecasts are needed both to support scheduling (Berman et al., 1996) and, by the metacomputing software infrastructure, to develop quality-of-service guarantees (DeFanti et al., to appears Grimshaw et al., 1994).
Computed tomography morphometric analysis for lateral mass screw placement in the pediatric subaxial cervical spine.

Object Lateral mass screws are routinely placed throughout the subaxial cervical spine in adults, but there are few clinical or radiographic studies regarding lateral mass fixation in children. The morphology of pediatric cervical lateral masses may be associated with greater difficulty in obtaining adequate purchase. The authors examined the lateral masses of the subaxial cervical spine in pediatric patients to define morphometric differences compared with adults, establish guidelines for lateral mass instrumentation in children, and define potential limitations of this technique in the pediatric age group. Methods Morphometric analysis was performed on CT of the lateral masses of C3–7 in 56 boys and 14 girls. Measurements were obtained in the axial, coronal, and sagittal planes. Results For most levels and measurements, results in boys and girls did not differ significantly; the few values that were significantly different are not likely to be clinically significant. On the other hand, younger (< 8 year...
Lower Eyelid Blepharoplasty: Procedure Pearls and Pitfalls

Pearls and pitfalls for lower blepharoplasty surgery include suing a transconjunctival approach when possible. Conservative removal or redraping of herniated orbital fat is recommended as well as addressing the skin.