cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Study on Ballast Particle Movement at Different Locations Beneath Crosstie Using “SmartRock”

Ballast compaction and particle rearrangement cause ballast to rotate and move vertically and horizontally. Ballast movement, including translation and rotation, has a significant effect on track performance. Large movement of ballast particles leads to track geometry roughness, e.g., hanging ties, and thus increases potential of damage and deterioration to rails, ties and fastening components. This study investigated ballast particle movement at different locations beneath a crosstie. In the paper, a wireless device — “SmartRock” was utilized to monitor ballast movement under cyclic loading in laboratory tests. The SmartRock has a shape of a realistic ballast particle. Inside the SmartRock was imbedded a tri-axial accelerometer, tri-axial gyroscope, and tri-axial magnetometer with 9 degrees of freedom so that particle translation, rotation and orientation can be interpreted, relatively. The real-time measurements were recorded by the SmartRock and then sent to a computer via Bluetooth. In the laboratory tests, a ballast box was constructed. In the ballast box, a half section of a typical railroad track was constructed. Five hundred cyclic load repetitions were applied on the top of the rail. Translational and rotational accelerations of the particle were recorded by the “SmartRock”. Three ballast box tests were conducted. Two SmartRocks were placed beneath the middle of tie and the edge of tie, respectively but at different depths during each test — right under the tie, 12 cm beneath the tie and 25 cm beneath the tie. The results indicated that (1) ballast particles had translational as well as rotational modes under cyclic loading; (2) ballast particles had rotation together with horizontal translation; (3) particle rotation were higher beneath the edge of tie than those beneath the middle of tie; (4) Ballast movement were significantly reduced with depth. The paper also further confirmed that the SmartRock was capable of recording real-time translational and rotational accelerations, which would not have altered the motions of surrounding ballast particles due to its realistic shape of a particle, hence, provided a new means to monitor ballast particle movement in railroad engineering.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
MacIntyre and Nussbaum on Diversity, Liberalism, and Christianity

ABSTRACTThis article argues that the politics of difference has been unsuccessful in its attempt to liberate itself from the modern politics of universal dignity and self-determination. As a result, theorists who emphasize difference ultimately must find a way to balance a conception of diversity with that of a universal normative ethics. To make this case, I examine the virtue ethics of Alasdair MacIntyre and Martha Nussbaum as two different examples of this tension, one constructing a particularistic virtue ethics around specific traditions, while the other presents a universalistic virtue ethics around universal human experience, thus serving as an example for how the “right” and “left” engage with diversity. There is a common denominator to the virtue ethics of MacIntyre and Nussbaum in that they both go about this by reconstructing an ethics of character out of elements of Aristotle's ethics of virtue in his Nicomachean Ethics as the basis for a model of pluralism and do so within a modern liberal an...
Power from Sunshine

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of power from sunshine. Light consists of bundles of energy called photons. The energy content of a photon is proportional to the frequency of the light—the higher the frequency, the higher is the energy content. The Earth's atmosphere filters sunlight by absorbing most of the high-energy ultraviolet light and some of the infrared light. About 30% of the incident solar energy is directly reflected and scattered back into space as light, a short wavelength radiation. Another 47% is absorbed by the atmosphere, the land, and ocean surfaces and converted to the form of long wave radiation—heat. An additional 23% is utilized as the energy source of the hydrologic cycle, driving the processes of evaporation, precipitation, winds, ocean currents, and waves; in this form it is eventually dissipated by friction-generated heat. This is the energy source of hydraulic power stations, wind energy, heliothermal, and hydrothermal energy schemes. The amount of solar energy entering the environment—insolation, as it is called—along with the amounts of it that control the weather or turn directly into heat, is in precarious balance. Burning of fossil fuels and generating heat by the necessary cooling of nuclear reactors result in excess heat that enters waters and atmosphere. The most favorable sites for the direct utilization of solar energy or for large-scale development of solar-electric power are desert areas not more than 35° north and south of the equator.
Chapter 10 – Microtubule–Membrane Interactions in Chlamydomonas Flagella

Publisher Summary Interactions between the flagellar membrane and doublet microtubules represent an important and potentially very fertile area for future studies. Each of the classes of microtubule–membrane bridges described in this review has been found in all cilia and flagella examined, although structural details and specific signaling complexes often are species- and cilia-specific. Their structures and their occurrences in many different cilia have been reviewed elsewhere, so this chapter focuses principally on the microtubule-membrane bridges found in Chlamydomonas. Given their importance in flagellar maintenance, assembly, and signal transduction, it is hoped that this review will stimulate further study of these poorly understood structures. Interactions between the flagellar membrane and doublet microtubules represent an important and potentially very fertile area for future studies. Capping structures that link the flagellar membrane to the distal tips of microtubules are the only known structures that bind to the inner wall of microtubules and that are exclusively located at the microtubule plus-ends. The caps may directly regulate microtubule assembly and disassembly or provide a scaffold to which regulatory factors can bind. These capping structures are exclusively covered.
A 0.9-μm² 1T1R Bit Cell in 14-nm High-Density Metal Fuse Technology for High-Volume Manufacturing and In-Field Programming

This paper introduces the first high-volume manufacturable (HVM) metal-fuse technology in a 14-nm trigate high-k metal-gate CMOS process. A high-density array featuring a 0.9-μm² bit cell with an efficient bit level redundancy scheme is presented. An array efficiency of over 53% is achieved through hierarchical bitline design by minimizing the impact of parasitic resistance on fuse programming through short local bitline and sharing sense amplifier through longer global bitline. A power gating-based scheme is adopted to reduce leakage current consumption and high-voltage exposure to minimize reliability concern. Program conditions can be optimized for HVM and in-field programming to achieve close to 100% unit level yield with the proposed redundancy scheme.
New Forms of CdSe: Molecular Wires, Gels, and Ordered Mesoporous Assemblies

This work investigates the structure and properties of soluble chalcogenidocadmates, a molecular form of cadmium chalcogenides with unprecedented one-dimensional bonding motifs. The single crystal X-ray structure reveals that sodium selenocadmate consists of infinite one-dimensional wires of (Cd2Se3)n2n– charge balanced by Na+ and stabilized by coordinating solvent molecules. Exchanging the sodium cation with tetraethylammonium or didodecyldimethylammonium expands the versatility of selenocadmate by improving its solubility in a variety of polar and nonpolar solvents without changing the anion structure and properties. The introduction of a micelle-forming cationic surfactant allows for the templating of selenocadmate, or the analogous telluride species, to create ordered organic–inorganic hybrid CdSe or CdTe mesostructures. Finally, the interaction of selenocadmate “wires” with Cd2+ ions creates an unprecedented gel-like form of stoichiometric CdSe. We also demonstrate that these low-dimensional CdSe spe...
Regiodivergent Glycosylations of 6-Deoxy-erythronolide B and Oleandomycin-Derived Macrolactones Enabled by Chiral Acid Catalysis

This work describes the first example of using chiral catalysts to control site-selectivity for the glycosylations of complex polyols such as 6-deoxyerythronolide B and oleandomycin-derived macrolactones. The regiodivergent introduction of sugars at the C3, C5, and C11 positions of macrolactones was achieved by selecting appropriate chiral acids as catalysts or through introduction of stoichiometric boronic acid-based additives. BINOL-based chiral phosphoric acids (CPAs) were used to catalyze highly selective glycosylations at the C5 positions of macrolactones (up to 99:1 rr), whereas the use of SPINOL-based CPAs resulted in selectivity switch and glycosylation of the C3 alcohol (up to 91:9 rr). Additionally, the C11 position of macrolactones was selectively functionalized through traceless protection of the C3/C5 diol with boronic acids prior to glycosylation. Investigation of the reaction mechanism for the CPA-controlled glycosylations revealed the involvement of covalently linked anomeric phosphates rather than oxocarbenium ion pairs as the reactive intermediates.
Long short-term memory recurrent neural networks for antibacterial peptide identification

Antimicrobial peptides are short amino acid sequences with antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Antibacterial peptides have the possibility to form a new class of antibiotics to aid in combating bacterial antibiotic resistance. Most machine learning methodologies applied to the task of identifying antimicrobial peptides have applied features representing the presence or absence of certain periodic patterns in the amino acid sequence. This requires considering different periodicities for each feature and leads to a large number of features many of which are likely irrelevant to the classification task at hand. Also as the peptides vary in length it is difficult to develop a feature vector of identical finite length representing all the sequences. An easy way to circumvent both of these problems is provided by recurrent neural networks. In this work we choose to extract a feature vector through the application of bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural networks from features representing individual amino acids within each sequence. The LSTM network recursively iterates along both directions of each amino acid sequence and extracts two finite vectors whose concatenation yields the finite length vector representation of the amino acid sequence. As this is done during the training of the network on the classification task, the representation extracted is more likely to be relevant for distinguishing between the classes. This work demonstrates the LSTM approach to classification of antibacterial peptides and compares it to a Random Forest classifier and a k-nearest neighbor classifier.
The Residents’ Meeting—A Forum for Learning Some Administrative Aspects of Psychiatry

The residents’ meeting provides a forum for learning some administrative aspects of psychiatry. The residents develop organizational skills while participating in the educational, clinical, research, and administrative functions of an organization. Each senior resident develops leadership skills under supervision.
The eosinophil: structure and biochemical composition.

The eosinophil was first discovered in 1846 and ever since it has been an object of curiosity and fascination to investigators. The literature on eosinophils is vast; Schwarz's review done in 1913 contains 1,200 references. Nonetheless knowledge of the structure and of the chemical composition of the cell has continued to grow and in the past decade a series of studies have disclosed new information. In this review certain of the more recent reports dealing with the structure and biochemistry of the eosinophil will be discussed. Cytoplasmic organelles of eosinophils The distinguishing feature of the eosinophil under the light microscope is the dense eosinophilic granulation which may completely fill the cytoplasm. When viewed under the electron microscope the eosinophil granule, as shown in Figure 1, is seen as a membrane bounded cytoplasmic organelle with a distinctive internal structure. In most cases, the eosinophil granule has an electron dense core and a less dense matrix.
Robotics and Pediatric Urology: Robotically Assisted Pyeloplasty in Children

The evolution of pediatric laparoscopy techniques lagged behind that in adults largely because of the greater need, and greater challenge, to perform reconstructive procedures. This required a high level of skill and experience in delicate suturing techniques, which have been the most difficult to develop in conventional laparoscopy. As a result, although laparoscopic pyeloplasty was first described in children 10 years ago, it has not been widely used, despite the fact that in adult practice it has become a common procedure. In addition, the pediatric urologist is inherently a surgeon who performs a wide variety of procedures, even in an academic practice, making it difficult to focus the necessary time and energy on developing the skills for one procedure, such as laparoscopic pyeloplasty. The case volume for any one procedure is limited as well. With the advent of clinically useful robotic assistance in laparoscopic surgery, however, the potential for delicate pediatric reconstructive laparoscopy was realized.
The Four Horsemen of Downsizing and the Tower of Babel

The twentieth century has marked transitions in the developed world from an agricultural to an industrial to an information-based society. As the primary work force has evolved from farmers to laborers to knowledge workers, the bases of wealth, power and social interaction have moved from land to mass production to e-commerce. Critical writings from Drucker's The Age of Social Transformation to Fukuyama's The Great Disruption, have discussed these transitions and their impact on values. This paper places the issue of downsizing in the context of those discussions, exploring the ethical impact and role in those transitions of the author's Four Horsemen of Downsizing: Suspicion, Acquisition, Budget-cuts, and Termination. Finally, it discusses Western society's predilection to use language to construct an epistemological Tower of Babel and the impact that may have on Fukuyama's conclusion that a Great Reconstruction based on Western values will replace the Great Disruption.
Short-Term Forecast for Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP) Data Sets

This paper investigate the accuracies of short-term forecast for MISO's locational marginal pricing (LMP) data sets. A collection of methods such as rolling average, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), and long short-term memory (LSTM) were applied to a three-year data sets and compared against MISO's forecasting approach. Our preliminary findings indicate that the use of recurrent neural networks (RNN) to gain near 25% increase in accuracy compared to MISO's forecasting approach.
Care Bundle Approach to Minimizing Infection Rates after Neurosurgical Implants for Neuromodulation: A Single-Surgeon Experience.

Introduction Implant-related infections carry a high morbidity. Infectious rates for neuromodulation implants range from 1% to 9% for deep brain stimulation (DBS), 0% to 10% for spinal cord stimulation (SCS) systems, and 3% to 15% for intrathecal (IT) pump systems. Meanwhile, studies of care bundles report infection rate reduction to 1.0% for SCS and 0.3% for cardiac implants. Herein, we evaluate the effectiveness of an infection prevention bundle (IPB) in minimizing infections after surgeries for neuromodulation implants. Methods An IPB focused on preoperative checklists, screening questionnaires, methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus decolonization, weight-based antibiotic prophylaxis, strict draping and surgical techniques, and wound care education was implemented in our functional neurosurgery division in April 2015. We retrospectively reviewed all surgeries for implantation or replacement of SCS, DBS, and IT pump system components from March 2013 to October 2017. The patients were divided into pre-IPB and post-IPB groups. All procedures were performed by a single surgeon. Each surgical site was considered a unique surgical case. Infection rates were calculated for pre-IPB and post-IPB groups. Results A total of 688 patients underwent 1161 unique surgical procedures (222 DBS electrodes, 419 IPG, 203 SCS, 317 IT pumps) during the study period. There were 546 pre-IPB and 615 post-IPB surgical procedures. The pre-IPB infection rates were 0%, 1.3%, and 8.7% for SCS, DBS, and IT pumps, respectively. The post-IPB infection rates were 0%, 0.3%, and 1.8% for SCS, DBS, and IT pumps, respectively. Conclusions Implementation of a standardized IPB approach reduced the number of infections for all neuromodulation implants studied. This approach can be adopted within any specialty to potentially decrease the incidence of implant-related infections.
The Information Content of Order Executions at Low-Latency

This paper studies the liquidity of assets traded on NASDAQ as measured by the impact that order executions have on future market prices over very short horizons. After deriving a testable implication of Glosten and Milgrom (1985), high-frequency data from a six month sample of all stocks traded on NASDAQ are applied to the model. Empirical results characterize the average information content across asset executions during the sample period. The most active stocks fit the predictions of the GM model tested here, even at very low latency. Less active stocks do not reject the model, although there is a significant loss of power. Evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that some of this lack of power is due to the censoring that comes from the minimum tick size. Using the structure of the GM model, the information content of executed orders can be characterized. Average information content of trades decreases in the log of message frequency, consistent with the hypothesis that prices become more efficient and individual trades are less likely to alter market prices as the amount of activity in the asset increases. By this measure, frequency trade increases liquidity for the average trader in the average asset. Regression results suggest that the assets for which executions convey the most information are those that are infrequently messaged, have a high price and a low market capitalization. This statistical model has substantial predictive power for the 100 most frequently messaged stocks.
What probability distribution describes search

Typically, search research papers assume that target acquisition is described by an exponential distribution. We investigate when this assumption is valid. It is obvious that two people are more effective than one person at finding a target, but how can that be quantified? The network imaging sensor (NIS) and time-dependent search parameter (TDSP) models quantify how much more effective multiple observers are at finding a target than a single individual for a wide variety of scenarios. We reference and summarize evidence supporting the NIS and TDSP models and demonstrate how NIS model results can be expressed in terms of a reduced hyperexponential distribution for scenarios where observer and target are stationary. Target acquisition probabilities are determined by analysis and confirmed by computer simulations and perception experiments. Search by multiple stationary observers looking for a stationary target is described by the hyperexponential distribution. Stationary scenarios with multiple observers are more accurately modeled by hyperexponential rather than exponential distributions. Hyperexponential distributions are an example of phase-type distributions used in queuing and in the performance evaluation of computer networks and systems. The observation that search, queuing, and computer networks share phase-type distributions facilitates cross fertilization between these fields.
Second-generation Probiotics Producing IL-22 Increase Survival of Mice After Total Body Irradiation

Background/aim Intestinal damage induced by total body irradiation (TBI) reduces leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5)-expressing stem cells, goblet, and Paneth cells, breaching the epithelial lining, and facilitating bacterial translocation, sepsis, and death. Materials and methods Survival was measured after TBI in animals that received wild-type or recombinant bacteria producing interleukin-22 (IL-22). Changes in survival due to microbially delivered IL-22 were measured. Lactobacillus reuteri producing IL-22, or Escherichia coli-IL-22 were compared to determine which delivery system is better. Results C57BL/6 mice receiving IL-22 probiotics at 24 h after 9.25 Gy TBI, demonstrated green fluorescent protein-positive bacteria in the intestine, doubled the number of Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells, and increased 30-day survival. Bacteria were localized to the jejunum, ileum, and colon. Conclusion Second-generation probiotics appear to be valuable for mitigation of TBI, and radiation protection during therapeutic total abdominal irradiation.
Osteoradionecrosis of the Occipitocervical Junction After Radiation for Head and Neck Cancer: A Report of 8 Cases.

Background Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) refers to the degenerative changes seen in bone after local radiation, particularly in head and neck cancer. ORN can present as neck or facial pain and may be confused with tumor recurrence. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans are often inconclusive, requiring percutaneous biopsy to differentiate ORN from infection and recurrent disease. We reviewed the utility of preprocedural imaging in guiding the decision to biopsy in cases of ORN. Case Description Eight patients with a history of prior head and neck cancer, radiation therapy, and suspected ORN at the skull base, occipitocervical junction, and atlantoaxial spine were identified retrospectively from a single academic medical center. In 4 cases, MRI findings and PET imaging were negative for recurrence. One patient in this group underwent an aborted biopsy. Four patients had MRI concerning for infection or recurrent tumor with PET-positive lesions. Three patients in this group underwent biopsy that was negative for recurrent tumor. One patient developed an arteriovenous fistula after biopsy. The fourth patient was observed and did not demonstrate progression at 5 months. At last follow-up for all patients, there was no evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis at the index site to indicate a misdiagnosis for recurrent tumor. Conclusions This case series highlights that PET scanning may not be useful in predicting which patients will benefit from biopsy for ORN because no patients with PET-positive lesions had histopathologic evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis on biopsy.
Chapter 10 – Myasthenia Gravis

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an immune-mediated disorder of neuromuscular transmission. Antibodies are directed towards proteins of the neuromuscular junction, mainly the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor but also muscle-specific kinase. The antibodies, regulated by T-cell signaling, mediate injury by impairing antigen function, removing the target protein, or complement destruction of postsynaptic membranes. The autoimmune attack leads to a reduction in functional acetylcholine receptors at the postsynaptic muscle surface and weakness with a characteristic of worsening with prolonged activity. Electrophysiological tests demonstrate a decremental response of the motor unit potential to repetitive nerve stimulation. Clinical phenotypes vary based on the distribution of muscle involvement: some patients have weakness of ocular muscles producing double vision and ptosis while others have diffuse, severe weakness that requires treatment with mechanical ventilation. Treatment of MG ranges from acetylcholinesterase inhibitors to immunosuppressive therapies. Development of specific therapies for MG requires knowledge of the basis of the autoimmune attack.
Evaluation of a Video Decision Aid to Reduce Decisional Conflict in Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Decision-Making:

Background/Objectives:Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is recommended as a preferred practice for advance care planning with seriously ill patients. Decision aids can assist p...
Child Abuse Concerns in Oculoplastics

Childhood physical abuse is an important cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality and is associated with major physical and mental health problems that can extend into adulthood. Non-accidental trauma is a leading cause of childhood traumatic injury and death in the United States. It is estimated that some 1400 children die annually from maltreatment in the United States, and abusive head trauma accounts for approximately 80% of these deaths.
A 3-Port Circulator Based on Non-Reciprocal Acoustoelectric Delay Lines

This work describes an approach to utilize acoustoelectric delay lines in an integrated non-magnetic RF circulator. Three adjacent delay lines are defined in X-cut lithium niobate, with a bonded thin film silicon layer in the path of the forward and reverse propagating surface acoustic waves. By applying uniform dc bias (30V) to the Si semiconductor, the delay lines each produce a non-reciprocal response, which is measured with a contrast of up to 20 dB in a single delay line. Through appropriate routing of ports, these delay lines can used to realize a 3-port circulator at 409 MHz with at least 13 dB of isolation simulated between ports. In contrast with previous works using switching or periodic modulation of acoustic wave delay lines, this work demonstrates the feasibility of using acoustoelectric effects to produce chip-scale circulators.
Domain-General Tutor Authoring with Apprentice Learner Models

Intelligent tutoring systems are effective for improving students’ learning outcomes (Pane et al. 2013; Koedinger and Anderson, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 8, 1–14, 1997; Bowen et al. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 1, 94–111 2013). However, constructing tutoring systems that are pedagogically effective has been widely recognized as a challenging problem (Murray 2003; Murray, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 10, 98–129, 1999). In this paper, we explore the use of computational models of apprentice learning, or computer models that learn interactively from examples and feedback, for authoring expert-models via demonstrations and feedback (Matsuda et al. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 25(1), 1–34 2014) across a wide range of domains. To support these investigations, we present the Apprentice Learner Architecture, which posits the types of knowledge, performance, and learning components needed for apprentice learning. We use this architecture to create two models: the Decision Tree model, which non-incrementally learns skills, and the Trestle model, which instead learns incrementally. Both models draw on the same small set of prior knowledge (six operators and three types of relational knowledge) to support expert model authoring. Despite their limited prior knowledge, we demonstrate their use for efficiently authoring a novel experimental design tutor and show that they are capable of learning an expert model for seven additional tutoring systems that teach a wide range of knowledge types (associations, categories, and skills) across multiple domains (language, math, engineering, and science). This work shows that apprentice learner models are efficient for authoring tutors that would be difficult to build with existing non-programmer authoring approaches (e.g., experimental design or stoichiometry tutors). Further, we show that these models can be applied to author tutors across eight tutor domains even though they only have a small, fixed set of prior knowledge. This work lays the foundation for new interactive machine-learning based authoring paradigms that empower teachers and other non-programmers to build pedagogically effective educational technologies at scale.
Knowledge Access: The Effects of Carnegie Libraries on Innovation

Between 1883 and 1919, Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of more than 1,500 public libraries across the United States, reducing the costs of accessing knowledge for millions of people. We study the effect of these libraries on innovation using new data on city-level patenting and a novel control group: cities that qualified to receive a library grant and applied to be part of the program, but ultimately did not build a library. Patenting in recipient towns increased by 7-11 percent in the 20 years following library construction. We show that access to scientific knowledge and opportunities to interact with fellow patrons are possible mechanisms.
Malunions of the Distal Tibia and Ankle

Malunions about the ankle are a challenging clinical problem, as normal gait is dependent on the intact structure and function of the ankle joint. Malunions of the articular surface are at risk for arthritis, while those of the malleoli can affect joint stability. Similarly, malunions of the distal tibial metaphysis alter the mechanical axis of the limb and the orientation of adjacent joints. There is no one implant or procedure to treat ankle malunions. Instead, management of this problem requires the application of specific treatment principles and an understanding of each patient’s deformity. This chapter will review the evaluation of malunions with specific discussion of the ankle joint and distal tibia.
A Density Functional Theory Study on the Mechanism of Complete Ethanol Oxidation on Ir(100): Surface Diffusion-Controlled C–C Bond Cleavage

Effective C–C bond cleavage is a critical concern in the applications of ethanol technologies. The lack of catalytic efficiency toward complete ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) has hindered the dev...
COVID-19 Masking, Social Distancing & Vaccines: Results from a Random Sample Survey of Oregon Residents

A small, but significant, percentage of Oregonians engage in risky behaviors including are not following social distancing and mask wearing guidance when visiting public places and attending social gatherings. These behaviors are contributing to the spread of COVID-19. Nearly 1⁄4 of Oregonians indicate they will not get vaccinated.
Diabetes Apps: Information about COVID-19 and Risk Factors?

Background: Annually, there are 3.7 billion downloads of mobile health apps. There are 275.6 million smartphones in the US. Diabetes affects 34.2 million people and 88 million have prediabetes. Diabetes is a risk factor for COVID-19 and affects longterm health of the survivors. Other risk factors for COVID-19, include race and gender. There are also linguistic barriers to care in Diabetes and COVID-19. Both diabetes and COVID-19 have higher risks associated with race and ethnicity. With the pandemic, the US government, Google and Facebook, in March 2020, provided emergency grants for COVID-19 and dissemination of public education. Did the Diabetes apps meet this moment of public health crisis?. Purpose: Do Diabetes Apps provide information about COVID-19 and its risk factors? Methods: Using the search term “diabetes,” the top ten most downloaded android and iOS apps were assessed in the Google Play Store/Apple App Store, respectively. Inclusion criteria: 1) Android: Downloads g100,000;iOS: Reviews g300, star rating g4. Apple App store does not provide download information. 2) Free;3) Ability to track health data: HbA1C, FBS;4) Language Accessibility via in-app language settings. Results: In the Google Play Store(DROID), the top ten apps in descending order were: 1) mySugr, 2) Onetouch Reveal, 3) OneDrop Diabetes Management, 4) Diabetes: M, 5) Health2Sync - Diabetes Care, 6) Diabetes, 7) Ontrack Diabetes, 8) Blood Glucose Tracker, 9) Glucose Buddy Diabetes Tracker, and 10) Diabetes Connect. In the Apple App Store(iOS), the top ten apps in descending order were: 1) OneTouch Reveal, 2) Glucose Buddy Diabetes, 3) One Drop for Diabetes, 4) Glucose - Blood Sugar Tracker, 5) Blood Sugar Monitor by Dario, 6) mySugr, 7) Sugarmate, 8) DiabetesPal, 9) Diabetes:M, 10) Center Health - The Diabetes App. Of the 10 DROID apps: 0/10 had COVID symptom information in the app;3/10 had a COVID statement;In-app language settings: 2/10 had Spanish and 1/10 had Chinese. Gender: 7/10 Droid apps. Race/Ethnicity: 0/10. Of the ten iOS apps: 0/10 had COVID symptom information in the app;4/10 had a COVID statement (Only mySugr has CDC link for COVID information);In-app language settings: 1/10 had Spanish and 0/10 had Chinese settings. Gender: 9/10 Droid apps;7/10 iOS apps, Race/Ethnicty:1/10. Conclusion: Of the top 20 diabetes apps, none had information about COVID-19 and its symptoms within the app. Also, the overall language accessibility is limited. Despite popularity of ehealth, physicians can continue to play an important role in public education about Diabetes and COVID-19 during this important time of the pandemic.
Noncured Graphene Thermal Interface Materials for High-Power Electronics: Minimizing the Thermal Contact Resistance.

We report on experimental investigation of thermal contact resistance, RC, of the noncuring graphene thermal interface materials with the surfaces characterized by different degree of roughness, Sq. It is found that the thermal contact resistance depends on the graphene loading, ξ, non-monotonically, achieving its minimum at the loading fraction of ξ ~15 wt%. Decreasing the surface roughness by Sq~1 μm results in approximately the factor of ×2 decrease in the thermal contact resistance for this graphene loading. The obtained dependences of the thermal conductivity, KTIM, thermal contact resistance, RC, and the total thermal resistance of the thermal interface material layer on ξ and Sq can be utilized for optimization of the loading fraction of graphene for specific materials and roughness of the connecting surfaces. Our results are important for the thermal management of high-power-density electronics implemented with diamond and other wide-band-gap semiconductors.
Stochastic functional linear models and Malliavin calculus

In this article, we study stochastic functional linear models (SFLM) driven by an underlying square integrable stochastic process X(t) which is generated by a standard Brownian motion. Utilizing the magnificent Ito integrals and Malliavin calculus, X(t) is expanded into a summation of orthogonal multiple integrals, i.e., Wiener-Ito chaos expansions, which is the counterpart of the Taylor expansion of deterministic functions. Based on the expansion, we show that the fourth moments of linear functionals of underlying stochastic process X(t) are bounded by the square of their second moments when X(t) is a finite linear combination of multiple Ito integrals. Therefore, an optimal minimax convergence rate in mean prediction risk of SFLM is valid if eigenvalues of related linear operators are of order $$k^{-2r}$$ by using results in literature when the underlying process X(t) is a linear combination of multiple Ito integrals. A sufficient and necessary condition of finite fourth moment of random functions of multiple Ito integrals is proved, which is a key condition in methodology and convergence rates of functional linear regressions. Our results show that the optimal minimax convergence rate in mean prediction risk can be applied to the class of linear combination of multiple Ito integrals which are not necessarily Gaussian processes. Moreover, the sufficient and necessary condition of finite fourth moment for multiple Ito integrals can be directly applied to show methodology and convergence rates of functional linear models. Using the theory of stochastic analysis, one may construct a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) associated with a square integrable stochastic process to facilitate analysis of functional data.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES IN COLD INJURY. II. THE PATHOGENESIS OF FROSTBITE.

Summary The necrosis of tissue following frostbite either may be due to direct injury to the cells or may be secondary to a vascular lesion. The frostbitten skin of rabbit's ear was transplanted autogenously to the normal ear, and normal skin was simultaneously transplanted to the frozen area. The frostbitten skin survived on a normal tissue bed, whereas the normal skin necrosed on a frostbitten bed. The experiments suggest that much of the tissue damage following frostbite is reversible if the circulation to the frozen area can be restored.
Ocean Variability Effects on Underwater Acoustic Communications

Abstract : This proposed research seeks to identify, explain, and ultimately predict, the factors that significantly alter the operational effectiveness of underwater acoustic communications through experimental work and theoretical analysis. The long-term goal is to develop reliable, high rate transceivers customized for coherent underwater acoustic communications.
Effects of oral contraceptives on circulating lipids and lipoproteins: maximizing benefit, minimizing risk.

The structure of lipoproteins is described followed by a description of the structure and function of low density lipoproteins (LDL) which carry cholesterol to cells and high density lipoproteins (HDL) which remove cholesterol. The process of atherosclerosis is then indicated. When LDL accumulates in plasma it is deposited in macrophages which metabolize all the components of LDL except the cholesterol ester which becomes a foam cell. HDL converts foam cells back to macrophages. The presence of HDL and HDL2 allows foam cells to secrete cytoplasmic cholesterol and an apoprotein E which coats HDL2 and allows the recognition and removal of cholesterol in blood and by receptors in he liver. Atherosclerosis can be predicted from the effect of the HDL and LDL on foam cell formation i.e. more foam cells means more HDL particularly HDL2 and the less likely atherosclerosis will develop. The link between oral contraceptives (OCs) and atherosclerosis is that with estrogen LDL cholesterol levels decrease while there are increases with progestins; HDL and HDL2 increase with estrogen and decrease with progestins. HDL3 is unaffected by estrogen. The effects of progestins are dependent on a number of other factors. Longterm clinical trials of OCs and their effects on lipoproteins are identified from Johns Hopkins and George Washington University studies. The longterm trail results are given. Total cholesterol rose regardless of the 3 different progestins. Compounds containing dl-norgestrel in higher doses raised LDL levels more than ethynodiol diacetate or norethindrone. In low doses levels of LDL also rose but ethynodiol diacetate rose least in 6 months. Apoprotein B also rose in a similar fashion. Norgestrel lowers HDL considerably and HDL2 in higher or lower doses; there were more differences in ethynodiol diacetate or norethindrone. All 3 preparations raised HDL3 similarly. Norgestrel decreases apoprotein levels in high doses and apoprotein is unaffected at low doses; low apoprotein is linked to coronary artery disease. Increases occurred with ethynodiol diacetate and norethindrone. New triphasic compounds are under investigation and show low HDL at 6 but not 12 months but consistently raise LDL. Lipoprotein phospholipids research findings are also revealed as well as other related research. Adverse effects may be seen for many years after OC use so low doses are recommended.
The push for “truth in sentencing”: Evaluating competing stakeholder constructions: The Case for Contextual Constructionism in Evaluation Research☆

Abstract This article promotes the use of contextual constructionism in evaluation research. The article extends Palumbo and Hallett's 1992 argument rejecting traditional models of evaluation which assume that “consensus” is reached among “key policymakers, managers and staff” regarding program goals. Palumbo and Hallett argue that “conflict” more accurately characterizes program evaluation, due to the existence of “multiple realities” among stakeholders. They advocate a constructionist grounding for evaluation research. In the present article, the call for “truth in sentencing” in Tennessee (and to a lesser extent, across the country) is used to further illustrate conflict and to promote the use of a “contextual constructionist” approach to evaluation research.
The relationship between psychological reactance and emotional intelligence

Abstract Psychological reactance is a motivational force that may arise when ones freedom is threatened ( Brehm, 1966 ). Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to label and control emotions. The purpose of this study is to explore relationships between reactance and emotional intelligence. A total of 298 undergraduate students (54.4% male) completed a measure of psychological reactance and EI. Results show that males with low behavioral reactance have significantly higher EI subscale scores on well-being, self-control, and emotionality. For females there is no significant difference between high and low behavioral reactance, and any of the EI subscales. However, for verbal reactance males with higher reactance scores have higher EI scores on self-control, well-being, emotionality, and sociability. Females with higher verbal reactance scores have higher EI scores on emotionality and sociability. These findings suggest that the relationship between reactance and EI is somewhat gender dependent and that overall emotionality is highly associated with reactance in both genders.
Babies and Bath Water

Of what value is extended reading and writing, however we might define those terms? What kinds of knowledges or know-how can we reasonably expect from extended reading and writing? Whether or not “real world” literacy involves primarily reading and writing short bits of text (through whatever modalities), to what extent should schools and universities shape curriculum to mirror the “real world” and whose “real world” gets to count? Much research in Literacy Studies has suggested that schools need to be more permeable to the larger community. But for such permeability to be productive, we would have to pay attention, in Heath’s terms, to the specificity of concrete contexts in which reading and writing take place in order to better understand the personal and communal values and purposes of different kinds of practices.
PHM of Leadfree Electronic Assemblies Using Resistance Spectroscopy With Sequential Importance Resampling

Electronic assemblies have been monitored using state-space vectors from resistance spectroscopy, phase-sensitive detection and particle filtering (PF) to quantify damage initiation, progression and remaining useful life of the electronic assembly. A prognostication health management (PHM) methodology has been presented for electronic components subjected to mechanical shock and vibration. The presented methodology is an advancement of the state-of-art, which presently focuses on reactive failure detection and provides limited or no insight into the system reliability and residual life. Previously damage initiation, damage progression, and residual life in the pre-failure space has been correlated with micro-structural damage based proxies, feature vectors based on time, spectral and joint time-frequency characteristics of electronics [Lall2004a–d , 2005a–b , 2006a–f , 2007a–e , 2008a–f ]. Precise resistance measurements based on the resistance spectroscopy method have been used to monitor interconnects for damage and prognosticate failure [Lall 2009a,b , 2010a,b , Constable 1992, 2001]. In this paper, the effectiveness of the proposed particle filter and resistance spectroscopy based approach in a prognostic health management (PHM) framework has been demonstrated for electronics. The measured state variable has been related to the underlying damage state using non-linear finite element analysis. The particle filter has been used to estimate the state variable, rate of change of the state variable, acceleration of the state variable and construct a feature vector. The estimated state-space parameters have been used to extrapolate the feature vector into the future and predict the time-to-failure at which the feature vector will cross the failure threshold. Remaining useful life has been calculated based on the evolution of the state space feature vector. Standard prognostic health management metrics were used to quantify the performance of the algorithm against the actual remaining useful life. Application to part replacement decisions for ultra-high reliability system has been demonstrated. Using the technique described in the paper the appropriate time to reorder a replacement part could be monitored, and defended statistically. Robustness of the prognostication algorithm has been quantified using standard performance evaluation metrics.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Water transport in a cluster of closely packed erythrocytes at subzero temperatures

Abstract A one-dimensional model has been developed to describe the kinetics of water transport in a cluster of closely packed cells. For the case of human red blood cells, the intracellular medium has been treated as an ideal, hydrated, nondilute multicomponent electrolyte solution. Results show that the volume flux of water out of the interior cells of the cluster lags behind that of the exterior cells. At any given temperature (or time), the amount of water retained within a cluster of closely packed cells of a given type exceeds (on an overall percentage basis) the amount of water retained within a single isolated cell of the same type. For a given cooling rate the probability of intracellular ice nucleation at any given temperature will therefore be greater for cells in the interior of a cluster, and the survival signature for a cell cluster should peak at a cooling rate which is less than the corresponding optimal value for a single, isolated cell. These results are consistent with experimental observations.
Counting nodes in binary trees

This paper describes an original method for introducing linear recurrence relations. Boolean expressions are represented by binary trees and the counting of the internal nodes of these trees yield linear recurrence relations. The method allows the students to create their own family of Boolean expressions, to draw the corresponding binary trees, to deduce the recurrence relation representing the number of nodes in the trees, and finally, to solve and check the solutions of these relations.
Recent Results from the Cleo dE/dx System

The installation of the CLEO dE/dx particle identification system was completed last summer. DE/dx measurements are made with a pressurized gas proportional wire chamber system capable of making 117 ionization measurements. We report on measurements of relativistic rise and resolution from data taken on the T resonances and the nearby continuum. We describe the proven capabilities of the device in identifying hadrons in both the low and high momentum regions and electrons above 1 GeV/c.
Anionic synthesis of aromatic carboxyl functionalized polymers. Chain-end functionalization of poly(styryl)lithium with 4,5-dihydro-4,4-dimethyl-2-[4-(1-phenylethenyl)phenyl] oxazole

The novel syntheses of 4-(4,5-dihydro-4,4-dimethyl-2- oxazolyl)benzophenone, 1-[4-(4,5-dihydro-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolyl)phenyl]-1-phenylethanol and 4,5-dihydro-4,4-dimethyl-2-[4-(1-phenylethenyl)phenyl]oxazole (1) are described. ω-Oxazolyl polystyrene (2) was synthesized in quantitative yields by the reaction of poly(styryl)lithium with stoichiometric amounts of 4,5-dihydro-4,4-dimethyl-2-[4-(1-phenylethenyl)phenyl]oxazole (1) in toluene/tetrahydrofuran (4 :1 v/v) at -78°C. Deblocking of the oxazoline protecting group by acid hydrolysis followed by saponification quantitatively provides the corresponding aromatic carboxyl chain-end functionalized polystyrene (3). The functionalization agent and functionalized polymers were characterized by HPLC, thin layer chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, vapor phase osmometry, spectroscopy ( 1 H NMR, 13 C NMR and FTIR), potentiometry and elemental analysis.