cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Team-based versus preceptor-based assignment of junior surgery students

Background Clinical evaluations of junior surgery students frequently lack sufficient detail for effective formative or summative feedback. We hypothesized that this was in part due to a lack of personal accountability associated with large general surgery teams, and that altering the format to assign students to specific surgical faculty preceptors rather than to teams would affect the clinical evaluation products. Methods Over a 1-year period, 154 junior medical students grouped into 8 successive clerkships were assigned alternately in the usual Team (3–5 junior students, with 2–4 general surgery faculty, 2–4 residents, and 0–2 senior students) or a new Preceptor format (1–2 students to each faculty preceptor). In order to keep the ratio of students to faculty low, approximately one-third of the Preceptor format students were assigned to subspecialists. Results The preceptor format resulted in the use of more adjectives to describe students in the open-ended portions of the faculties' clinical evaluations (mean of 3.2 as compared with 2.5, P = 0.003), and a greater proportion of students recommended for overall clinical Honors (47% as compared with 25%, P = 0.004). The clerkship format had no impact on exam performance, students' perceptions of the faculty, or the amount of students' self-reported clinical activity. Nevertheless, twice as many Team format students felt they had too few patients, whereas twice as many Preceptor students felt their informal instruction had been less than “good.” Conclusions Preceptor assignment increased the number of students recommended for Honors, but this did not correlate with students' exam performance. From the students' standpoint, each format had advantages and disadvantages. Limiting the number of students on the general surgery teams and adding structured formative feedback from faculty before the end of the clerkship might give students the instructional advantages of the Preceptor format without sacrificing those of the Team format.
Quantum Voltage comparator for 0.07 /spl mu/m CMOS flash A/D converters

This paper presents a new voltage comparator design called Quantum Voltage (QV) comparator for the next generation deep sub-micron low voltage CMOS flash A/D converter (ADC). Unlike the traditional differential voltage comparators designed to minimize input-offset voltage error due to the mismatches in a differential transistor pair the QV comparators are designed to optimize the input-offset voltages by systematically and uniformly varying the transistor sizes of the differential transistor pair. The QV comparators allow very small voltage comparison, complete elimination of resistor ladder circuit, and dramatic improvement of linearity in an ADC.
Computational Approaches for Predicting Biomedical Research Collaborations

Biomedical research is increasingly collaborative, and successful collaborations often produce high impact work. Computational approaches can be developed for automatically predicting biomedical research collaborations. Previous works of collaboration prediction mainly explored the topological structures of research collaboration networks, leaving out rich semantic information from the publications themselves. In this paper, we propose supervised machine learning approaches to predict research collaborations in the biomedical field. We explored both the semantic features extracted from author research interest profile and the author network topological features. We found that the most informative semantic features for author collaborations are related to research interest, including similarity of out-citing citations, similarity of abstracts. Of the four supervised machine learning models (naive Bayes, naive Bayes multinomial, SVMs, and logistic regression), the best performing model is logistic regression with an ROC ranging from 0.766 to 0.980 on different datasets. To our knowledge we are the first to study in depth how research interest and productivities can be used for collaboration prediction. Our approach is computationally efficient, scalable and yet simple to implement. The datasets of this study are available at https://github.com/qingzhanggithub/medline-collaboration-datasets.
Neural system design with the integrated neurocomputing architecture

Design and implementation issues of high-performance VLSI systems in the form of deployable neural networks for pattern recognition applications are addressed, in particular the integrated neurocomputing architecture (INCA), which was developed with a complete system approach involving the integration of custom analog IC design, digital and analog board-level design, neural network development software, and application-specific hardware and software elements, is considered. The design methodology is discussed to demonstrate the capability of INCA as a usable neuroprocessing system. It serves as an example of a system that highlights many design automation issues for future mixed-signal, highly integrated systems. >
From Agents to Outcomes: Simulation in International Relations:

This article reviews the use of computational simulations that focus on emergence and complex adaptive systems to model international politics. Computer simulations offer the advantages of focusing on nonlinear interactive dynamics and enabling researchers to explore alternative specifications of a global system. However, current world politics simulations ignore the epistemological and ontological implications that simulation raises. This criticism of current simulations is explored alongside current theories and approaches to international relations in order to highlight inconsistencies in simulations’ modeling of political behavior. The article concludes with suggestions for the future development of simulation as a research agenda in world politics.
COACERVATION, COMPLEX-COACERVATION AND FLOCCULATION

Abstract The mechanism of coacervation is reexamined in the light of recent studies on the polar (i.e., hydrogen-bonding) components of interfacial Interactions in aqueous media. The differences and similarities between coacervation, complex coacervation and flocculation are outlined and illustrated with a number of examples.
Agriculture and the Endangered Species Act

This textbook chapter comes in Part III off the groundbreaking Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Law, in which leading environmental legal scholars Mary Jane Angelo, Jason Czarnezki, and Bill Eubanks, along with five distinguished contributing authors, undertake an exploration of the challenging political and societal issues facing agricultural policy and modern food systems through the lens of environmental protection laws. It is the first book to examine both the impact of agricultural policy on the environment and the influence of environmental law on food and agriculture. The focus of this chapter is a thorough examination of the Endangered Species Act as it applies to all facets of farming and food production, from planting a crop seed, to applying pesticides and fertilizers, to irrigating and delivering water for agricultural use. The chapter analyzes the leading case law on these topics to provide concrete examples of how litigation in this realm may arise, and also explains current legal gaps that are likely to be addressed by courts in the near future.The copyright is held by the Environmental Law Institute/Thomson Reuters.
Information Literacy in Writing Tutor Training at a Liberal Arts College

Academic librarians have long understood the importance of, and argued for, the curricular integration of information literacy. The literature shows strong evidence of librarians collaborating with faculty, peer tutors, and other on-campus constituencies in an effort to facilitate discussion and acquisition of information literacy skills and concepts. The literature points to a likely collaboration, that of libraries and writing centers, in light of their corresponding missions and endeavors. This paper details how two academic librarians partnered with teaching faculty who oversee the campus writing center to infuse information literacy skills and concepts into the training of writing tutors. The authors explore the history of the collaboration with faculty that led up to the information literacy workshops, provide a detailed explanation of workshop activities focusing on disciplinary discourse and resource evaluation, and discuss information literacy standards embedded in the activities. Challenges and opportunities afforded by the experience are also considered, as well as future steps to extend this collaboration.
A prospective randomized double-blinded controlled trial evaluating indocyanine green fluorescence angiography on reducing wound complications in complex abdominal wall reconstruction

Abstract Background The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blinded controlled trial was to investigate the utility of indocyanine green fluorescence angiography (ICG-FA) in reducing wound complications in complex abdominal wall reconstruction. Materials and methods All consented patients underwent ICG-FA with SPY Elite after hernia repair and before flap closure. They were randomized into the control group, in which the surgical team was blinded to ICG-FA images and performed surgery as they normally would, or the experimental group, in which the surgery team viewed the images and could modify tissue flaps according to their findings. Patient variables and wound complications were compared with standard statistical methods. Results Among 95 patients, n = 49 control versus n = 46 experimental, preoperative characteristics were similar including age (58.3 versus 56.7 y; P = 0.4), body mass index (34.9 versus 33.6 kg/m2; P = 0.8), tobacco use (8.2% versus 8.7%; P = 0.9), diabetes (30.6% versus 37.0%; P = 0.5), and previous hernia repair (71.4% versus 60.9%; P = 0.3). Operative characteristics were also similar, including rate of panniculectomy (69.4% versus 58.7%; P = 0.3) and component separation (73.5% versus 69.6%; P = 0.6). The experimental group more often had advancement flaps modified (37% versus 4.1%, P Conclusions This is the first randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial to evaluate ICG-FA in abdominal wall reconstruction. Although ICG-FA guidance and intraoperative modification of flaps did not prevent wound-related complications or reoperation, it did identify at risk patients.
Secularization as Loss of Social Control: Toward a New Theory

The multiplicity of theories of secularization can be grouped into three general theoretical orientations: those which point to loss of bases of religion, those which note alterations in religious expression, and those which stress loss of religious social control. Most of these attempts are either vague, incomplete, or untested. The theory developed attempts to explain secularization in terms of social control in a way that is empirically testable. The theory establishes typologies of social control and religion. Religious groups are classified on a continuum from traditional to non-traditional based on the belief, practices, and denominationalism of individuals. Social control is classified as public or private, depending on which areas of life are influenced. It is then hypothesized that a traditional religious orientation is positively related to religious influence in the private sector, while a non-traditional religious orientation is related to influence in the public sector.
Combining statistical potentials with dynamics-based entropies improves selection from protein decoys and docking poses.

Protein structure prediction and protein–protein docking are important and widely used tools, but methods to confidently evaluate the quality of a predicted structure or binding pose have had limited success. Typically, either knowledge-based or physics-based energy functions are employed to evaluate a set of predicted structures (termed “decoys” in structure prediction and “poses” in docking), with the lowest energy structure being assumed to be the one closest to the native state. While successful for many cases, failures are still common. Thus, improvements to structure evaluation methods are essential for future improvements. In this work, we combine multibody statistical potentials with dynamics models, evaluating fluctuation-based entropies that include contributions from the entire structure. This leads to enhanced selection of native-like structures for CASP9 decoys, refined ClusPro docking poses, as well as large sets of docking poses from the Benchmark 3.0 and Dockground data sets. The data used...
La poética del testimonio en 'Necesidad de libertad', de Reinaldo Arenas

Resumen: Este articulo se propone analizar el libro Necesidad de Libertad (Mexico, 1986) del escritor cubano Reinaldo Arenas (Holguin, 1943- La Habana,1990) atendiendo a la aproximacion que hace este autor al genero testimonio. Convertido segun la critica en una alternativa frente a la autobiografia y al boom latinoamericano, el testimonio encontro fieles exponentes en los escritores e instituciones cubanas que lo acogieron y promovieron como fue el caso de Casa de las Americas. Me interesa examinar como Arenas acude a la poetica testimonial, en tanto practica discursiva, para enfrentarse a la retorica testimonial oficialista y dar cuenta de su labor politico-estetica en el exilio como parte de la generacion de escritores que llegaron a los Estados Unidos en 1980 a traves del puerto del Mariel. Estos apenas estudiados heterogeneos textos que conforman Necesidad (ensayos, cartas, documentos, fotos, etc.) son un ejemplo de una postura disidente dentro de la produccion testimonial latinoamericana, la cual pretende reivindicar la labor de la llamada Generacion del Mariel, estigmatizada, marginalizada y echada a un lado en ese debate sobre lo testimonial que acompano al proceso politico cubano y a sus correspondientes practicas culturales. Palabras clave: Reinaldo Arenas; necesidad de libertad; testimonio; Mariel; politica cultural cubana Abstract:This article analyzes the book Necesidad de libertad (Mexico, 1986) of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas (Holguin, Havana 1943- 1990). It is based on this author’s approach to the testimony literary genre. Highlighted by the critics as an alternative to the autobiography and the Latin American boom , the testimony was supported by Cuban writers and institutions such as Casa de las Americas. I am interested in examining how Arenas uses the poetics of testimony as a discursive practice that challenges official rhetoric. In addition, he highlights his political and aesthetic work in exile as part of the generation of writers who came to the United States in 1980 through the Mariel boatlift. These scarcely studied and heterogeneous texts compiled in Necesidad (essays, letters, documents, photos, etc.) are an example of dissidence within the Latin American testimonial production. They seek to vindicate the work of the Mariel Generation, stigmatized and marginalized in the debate on testimony that has accompanied official Cuban politics and its corresponding cultural practices. Key words: Reinaldo Arenas; necessity of freedom; testimony; Mariel; Cuban cultural politics
Dynamic Modeling

Dynamic modeling refers to the use of computer programs to simulate the behavior of complex, changing systems. Such systems range from weather forecasting to the environmental impact of a pesticide to the economics of fish harvests. Hannon and Ruth have combined the computing power of the modern personal computer and the ease of use of the simulation software Stella, and written an introduction to modeling that will be welcomed by students in disciplines ranging from biology to chemistry to engineering to economics. The "democratization" of modeling is intended to introduce simulation as an integral part of education which will prepare students to incorporate it routinely into their own areas of specialization.
Determination of the Molecular Weight Distribution of Small Molecule Oligopeptide in Fish Skin Collagen Hydrolyzate

OBJECTIVE To establish a method for determining the molecular weight distribution of small molecule oligopeptide in fish skin collagen hydrolyzate.METHODS The molecular weight distribution was determined using three TSK-GEL G 2000SWXL columns(300 mm×7.8 mm,5 μm) in series at room temperature with the mobile phase of acetonitrile-0.1% trifluoracetic acid solution(15∶85) at the flow rate of 0.6 mL·min.1.The detection wavelength was 220 nm. RESULTS In the molecular weight range of 149.2 490 Da,there was a good linear relationship between the logarithm of molecular weight of oligopeptide and the retention time(r=0.995 6).The RSD of precision and repeatability were both less than 0.1%.CONCLUSION The method is simple,accurate and reproducible for the determination of the molecular weight distribution of small molecule oligopeptide.
EVALUATION OF FOLIAR INSECTICIDES FOR CONTROL OF LEPIDOPTERAN LARVAE ON SWEET CORN, 2010

A field trial was conducted at the Central Crops Research Station in Clayton, NC to evaluate the efficacy of foliar insecticides for control of ear feeding lepidopteran larvae. The trial was arranged in a RCB design with 10 treatments and four replicates. Plots were four rows by 9m long and were seeded on 3 Jun. Plant spacing was 97cm and 30cm between and within row respectively. All insecticides were applied with a CO2 powered backpack sprayer with a single nozzle boom equipped with a DC23 core and D3 disc delivering 15gpa at 40 psi. Sprays were directed at the silks; both sides of each row were treated. Because of high CEW oviposition pressure, treatments were initiated approximately 3 days before silk emergence and were applied every other day until harvest. Application dates for foliar sprays were: 21‡, 23, 26*, 28, 30 Jul; 1, 3†, 5† Aug.
Mesoporous calcium oxide–silica and magnesium oxide–silica composites for CO2 capture at ambient and elevated temperatures

Incorporation of basic metal species (oxides) such as magnesium oxide and calcium oxide into porous materials is a logical strategy for enlarging the uptake of acidic greenhouse gases such as CO2. This work reports the development of ordered mesoporous silica (OMS) with incorporated magnesium and calcium oxides for CO2 sorption at ambient and elevated temperatures. These materials were prepared by using the sol–gel method in the presence of the triblock copolymer Pluronic P123 in acidic medium followed by evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). The resulting magnesium oxide (MgO)- and calcium oxide (CaO)-OMS materials were used for CO2 sorption at low (0, 15 °C), ambient (25 °C), and elevated (120 °C) temperatures. Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) was used to measure the CO2 sorption capacities for the mesostructures studied at 120 °C. These sorbents exhibited relatively high adsorption capacity (0.63–2.61 mmol g−1) under low (0, 15 °C) and ambient conditions (25 °C, 1 atm) and remarkably high sorption uptake (3.11–4.71 mmol g−1) at 120 °C. The observed high CO2 uptake by CaO–SiO2 and MgO–SiO2 composites under ambient conditions is caused by enhanced physisorption of CO2 in micropores. Amazingly high CO2 uptake at elevated temperatures by OMS sorbents with incorporated CaO and MgO is mainly due to the chemisorption of CO2. The well-developed porous structure together with high surface area, basic surface properties and high thermal and chemical stabilities of CaO–SiO2 and MgO–SiO2 composites increase their prospects for high temperature capture of CO2 from industrial emissions.
Talmudic Arguments: The Use of Insults, Reprimands, Rebukes and Curses as Part of the Disputation Process

In the Talmud, the colleague one argued with most in legal matters in the Talmud was known as “bar plugta”; this individual was typically one’s best friend. This was seen as the ideal study partnership since it involved constructive arguing; one might see it as form of adversarial collaboration. Unfortunately, arguing often results in insults being hurled and there is always the risk that an insult can be seen as harsh rather than playful or part of the disputation process. One example of an insult used fairly frequently is the term terada which either means scatterbrain or lunatic. “Vinegar son of wine” is an expression used to indicate that someone was inferior to his father. The following insult was said about Rabbah bar bar Chanah [bar means son]: “Every Abba is as stupid as a donkey; and every bar bar Chanah is a fool.” This paper examines and discusses many different insults, reprimand, rebukes and even curses used by the sages.
Neurospecific binding, internalization, and retrograde axonal transport

A number of pharmacologic agents which act on intracellular targets typically bind to specific cell surface receptors and are internalized in order to exert their effects on a cytosolic substrate (Neville and Chang 1978). Although many of the details remain to be determined, generally it is accepted that the clostridial neurotoxins (CNTs) interact with membrane receptors and are translocated into the cytosol where they act to block release of neurotransmitters (Habermann et al. 1980; Schmitt et al. 1981; Simpson 1980, 1981). The active toxins consist of a light (L) chain and a heavy (H) chain that are linked by one disulfide bond. The neurotoxins comprise three functional domains, each of which is required for one of the steps in the intoxication process (Fig. 1). The carboxyl terminal half of the H chain (HC) carries the receptor binding domain, the amino terminal half of the H chain (HN) Open image in new window constitutes the transmembrane domain, and the L chain is the catalytic domain (reviewed by Niemann 1991; Wellhoner 1992). This chapter summarizes current data on the binding of CNTs to sensitive cells and the mechanism whereby the toxins are thought to gain access to their cytoplasmic targets.
Functional Status and Adaptation: Measuring Activities of Daily Living and Device Use in the National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Objective: The objective of this study is to evaluate the functional status and adaptation of older Americans and discover the factors that contribute to device use. Method: Using the community par...
Social network effects on academic achievement

Abstract How peer groups contribute to educational outcomes has long interested researchers. However, the possibility that peer groups dominated by either low- or high-achieving youth can have substantively different effects on achievement has been largely ignored. In this paper, we show that while being embedded in a high-achieving network of friends is not associated with increased own achievement, being embedded in a low-achieving network is associated with decreased own achievement. In additional analyses, we present evidence that these associations are at least in part due to influence, as opposed to only selection effects or shared environment. We also examine whether the structure of the network in which a student is embedded might affect their educational achievement. We show that achieving at higher levels positively predicts how centrally located a student is in their network, but being more centrally located does not predict concurrent achievement. This finding suggests that the behavior of individuals is affecting the formation of network structure and not the reverse.
Metaphor and Observation in Science

In a recent series of articles, Observer adumbrates a rigorous “scientific” approach for psychology that would eradicate all reference to intangible entities like “mind” and “consciousness.” These constructs, he argues, are contrived mythically or metaphorically and have no confrontable qualities or extension. The present examination of the relationship between the observer and the observed phenomenon, however, reveals the inseparability of metaphoric thought and careful observation for scientific progress.
The contribution of delta 1- and delta 2-opioid receptors to hypoxia-induced pial artery dilation in the newborn pig.

Previously, it has been observed that μ-opioid receptors contribute to while κ-opioid receptors oppose pial artery dilation in response to hypoxia. The present study was designed to investigate the contribution of δ1- and δ2-opioid receptor activation to hypoxia-induced pial vasodilation. Newborn pigs equipped with a closed cranial window were used to measure pial artery diameter and collect cortical periarachnoid CSF for assay of opioids. Hypoxia increased CSF leucine enkephalin (a δ-agonist) from 36 ± 6 to 113 ± 17 pg/ml (n = 5). Hypoxiainduced pial artery vasodilation was attenuated during moderate hypoxia (Pao2 ≈ 35 mm Hg), while this response was blunted during severe hypoxia (Pao2 ≈ 25 mm Hg), by the δ1-opioid receptor antagonist 7-benzylidenenaltrexone (BNTX; 10−8M) (23 ± 2 vs. 13 ± 2 and 34 ± 6 vs. 10 ± 3% for moderate and severe hypoxia in the absence and presence of BNTX, respectively; n = 5). In contrast, the δ2-opioid receptor antagonist naltrindole (10−9M) blunted pial vasodilation during mod...
At the Interface of the Firm: Alliance Context & Boundary Spanner Collaborative Dynamics

This research responds to calls for more extensive understanding of the role of process in shaping alliance outcomes. I weave together multiple threads of research to examine whether and how percep...
Cortical Activity: Differential Optical Imaging

It is easy to understand the appeal of techniques like PET and fMRI that allow one to see brain activity. The more directly and easily one can do this, the more one ultimately can comprehend. In this regard, one of the most direct ways of following local brain activity exploits small changes in the reflectance of light. Due to the fact, described many decades ago by Wilder Pennfield (1933), that activity affects reflectance, local changes literally can be seen. Though limited to visibly accessible parts of the brain, this is about as direct as one can get: optical changes associated with activity are registered directly by the imaging device. The trick lies in detecting them with adequate sensitivity, extracting them from noise, and devising stimulus paradigms that are clever enough to reveal important organizational schemes. In our studies of monkey visual cortex, we used differential imaging to extract reflectance differences induced by slightly different stimuli (ones that differed with respect to only one variable) that we modulated systematically between trials. By comparing images of V1 responding to the same stimulus presented through the right and left eyes, for example, we extracted patterns of ocular dominance columns in the form of regular, dark and light bands. By comparing images of V1 responding to orthogonal contours, we similarly imaged orientation selectivity—patterns of dark and light patches representing sensitivity to each one. And by comparing responses to stimuli presented through complementary apertures, we extracted representations of the apertures in V1. Though other techniques have subsequently been introduced, all rely on the same principle: a careful comparison of images obtained during two activity states. Apart from instrumentation, the main differences among these techniques entail the wavelength of light (used to record changes), the stimuli whose responses are compared, and various procedures for eliminating unwanted sources of noise. Despite these variations, the results from different laboratories are remarkably similar; this suggests the optical signals responsible for producing them are robust and profound. Because optical techniques are atraumatic, moreover, they can be used repeatedly. In the short term they can be used to map representations of different properties in the same regions of cortex. Over a somewhat longer period, they can be used to follow organizational changes that develop over time (e.g., during early, neonatal maturation). Apart from limits imposed by technology, this approach is limited only by visual accessibility, and by the ingenuity of each investigator in devising sufficiently insightful and discriminative stimulation schemes.
An Extended First Collision Source Method for Electron Beam Source Problems

Beam source problems are difficult to treat numerically because of the associated singularities in angle and space. For electrons, conventional first collision source techniques offer little help because the cross sections are so large and anisotropic that the first collision source and original source are not very different. By extending the definition of the uncollided flux to include particles that have not deviated significantly from the original beam direction, an extended first collision source is obtained that is smooth enough for use in S[sub N] codes. Through the use of effective cross sections, the extended first collision source is determined using standard first collision source techniques. The effective cross sections model electron transport with a reduced number of collisions, but larger deflections per collision. These cross sections are generated using a brute-force S[sub N] solution of the space-independent Spencer-Lewis equation on a restricted cone of directions, centered about the beam direction. Several sample calculations are given in this paper.
Model of Visual Perceptual Space

Space is a fundamental concept in physics and psychology. We consider space around us to be 3-dimensional and Euclidean. Can the same be said about the representation of this world in our perceptual system? This 3- dimensional manifold1 of objects we are surrounded by have form and localization, in addition to characteristic qualities of color and brightness. (A brief definition of superscripted terms are given in the Notes (Section 16.4) at the end of the chapter). In a visual sensation, we are aware not only of a distribution of colors and brightness but also that certain of these qualities are combined into objects which have a definite geometric form and localization in a 3-dimensional space. This (the sensed space) is the visual space. The visual space is the final product of a long series of transformations/processes from the retina to the brain and it is coherent, self-organized, dynamic and complex (Indow 1991). Phenomenologically, it is articulated into individual objects, backgrounds and the “self”. The self is a percept that is due to visual and proprioceptive experiences. Other visual percepts arise from stimuli in physical space. Luneberg (1947, 1950), in his classic work on binocular vision, defined visual space as a space obtained by transforming, using a specific mapping, a physical space into a cyclopean egocentered space with orthogonal coordinates.
Industrial Utilization of CO2: A Win–Win Solution

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is an attractive carbon abatement strategy because of its potential for not only preventing CO2 emissions to the atmosphere but also converting CO2 to value-added products: a win–win solution. This approach can potentially make the carbon capture process more profitable and substantially reduce the investment needs for a rather expensive CO2 storage infrastructure. Over the last few years, interest in CCU has grown significantly, and many innovative technological approaches to the industrial CO2 utilization are under development, such as CO2 conversion to construction materials, plastics, fertilizers, fuels, etc. At the same time, the analysis of the CO2 utilization market shows that all existing industrial CO2 applications consume relatively small quantities of CO2, thus for the CCU to present a practical interest as a sink for anthropogenic CO2 emissions, the markets for the CO2-derived products would need to be increased by orders of magnitude. In this chapter, existing and emerging CO2 utilization technologies are analyzed in terms of their technological maturity, market size, permanence of CO2 storage, environmental impact, potential revenue generation, and carbon mitigation potential. The current status and outlook for CO2-to-fuel conversion technologies and CO2 utilization in algal systems are highlighted in this chapter.
Something Happened: What Was Once a Smooth Path for the Higher Education Act Has Become a Rocky Road

As this anniversary issue of Change goes to press, Congress should be considering reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. It was up for renewal in 2014. But meaningful action before the Novemb...
Improving pseudo-van der Waals epitaxy of self-assembled InAs nanowires on graphene via MOCVD parameter space mapping

Heterogeneous self-assembly of III–V nanostructures on inert two-dimensional monolayer materials enables novel hybrid nanosystems with unique properties that can be exploited for low-cost and low-weight flexible optoelectronic and nanoelectronic device applications. Here, the pseudo-van der Waals epitaxy (vdWE) growth parameter space for heterogeneous integration of InAs nanowires (NWs) with continuous films of single layer graphene (SLG) via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is investigated. The length, diameter, and number density of NWs, as well as areal coverage of parasitic islands, are quantified as functions of key growth variables including growth temperature, V/III ratio, and total flow rate of metalorganic and hydride precursors. A compromise between self-assembly of high aspect ratio NWs comprising high number density arrays and simultaneous minimization of parasitic growth coverage is reached under a selected set of optimal growth conditions. Exploration of NW crystal structures formed under various growth conditions reveals that a characteristic polytypic and disordered lattice is invariant within the explored parameter space. A growth evolution study reveals a gradual reduction in both axial and radial growth rates within the explored timeframe for the optimal growth conditions, which is attributed to a supply-limited competitive growth regime. Two strategies are introduced for further growth optimization. Firstly, it is shown that the absence of a pre-growth in situ arsine surface treatment results in a reduction of parasitic island coverage by factor of ∼0.62, while NW aspect ratio and number densities are simultaneously enhanced. Secondly, the use of a two-step flow-modulated growth procedure allows for realization of dense fields of high aspect ratio InAs NWs. As a result of the applied studies and optimization of the growth parameter space, the highest reported axial growth rate of 840 nm min−1 and NW number density of ∼8.3 × 108 cm−2 for vdWE of high aspect ratio (>80) InAs NW arrays on graphitic surfaces are achieved. This work is intended to serve as a guide for vdWE of self-assembled III–V semiconductor NWs such as In-based ternary and quaternary alloys on functional two-dimensional monolayer materials, toward device applications in flexible optoelectronics and tandem-junction photovoltaics.
Minimizing Reactive Current of a High Gain Dual Active Bridge Converter for Supercapacitor Based Energy Storage System Integration

In this paper, a control strategy is presented to operate a dual active bridge (DAB) converter at optimal operating point in terms of minimized reactive component of current. To interface a supercapacitor based energy storage system with the dc grid to absorb oscillating energy a DAB can be used. A DAB can provide galvanic isolation and can cater high voltage gain required to integrate a low voltage supercapacitor module with a higher voltage dc-link (voltage ratio more than 5). During operation, the voltage of the supercapacitor varies in wide range due to storage of oscillating energy. Also, during charging of the supercapacitor from zero voltage at the start of the operation and discharging to zero voltage at the end of the operation the voltage ratio varies from $\infty$ to 1.0. Due to large deviation of the voltage ratio from unity the reactive power in the DAB is increased. To minimize the reactive power flow an optimization method based on fundamental components is presented in this paper. By reducing the reactive component of the current overall current of the DAB for a fixed power flow is reduced. Experimental results showing implementation of the optimal solution are presented.
Digital technology for health promotion: opportunities to address excess mortality in persons living with severe mental disorders

Persons with severe mental disorders (SMDs) experience dramatically reduced life expectancy compared with the general population. We consider the role of digital technologies for addressing this serious public health concern. In this clinical review, we apply the multilevel risk model recently introduced by the WHO to conceptualise how digital technology can support efforts to reduce excess mortality risk at the individual, health system and social determinants of health levels. In particular, digital technologies show promise for targeting preventable physical health conditions in persons with SMDs. However, evidence on the use of these technologies for addressing early mortality risk factors is lacking. At the individual level, digital interventions show promise for managing mental health symptoms, promoting healthy lifestyle behaviours and targeting substance use concerns. At the health system level, digital interventions can support care coordination, clinician training, screening and monitoring health indices and shared decision-making. At the social determinants of health level, digital interventions can facilitate opportunities to engage peers for illness self-management and health promotion and for delivering and/or augmenting supported employment programmes. The time is ripe to capitalise on early evidence to support future development, testing and delivery of effective digital efforts targeting risk factors that contribute to shorter life expectancy in persons with SMDs. Key challenges and opportunities for future research include increasing user engagement, involving users during development and testing of digital interventions, carefully considering risks/harms and rigorously evaluating effectiveness and costs to support the scalability and sustainability of promising digital approaches.
Surgical Volunteerism as an Extension of Modern Hospital: Serving One Patient at Time and Building Bridges

Surgical volunteer missions (SVMs) have become popular and are safe and valuable in lessening the burden of surgical disease globally when performed in an organized fashion and with continuity of care. However, there is need for standardization of surgical care provided during SVMs and creation of a worldwide database of all SVMs. Surgeons embarking on these missions must understand their intricacies, and operating is perhaps the easiest of the all tasks involved in SVMs. In this chapter, some outcomes and organizational issues of SVMs will be discussed.
How to Effectively Use Economic Decision-Making Tools in Project Environments and Project Life Cycle

Project management decisions are mostly made based on money. Now, a business's worth and profit are taken into consideration when making technical decisions. Over 80% of the United States GDP is derived from projects that emphasize money as being an essential component involved in the process. On the other hand, all other aspects of a project are becoming more complex, such as equipment installation, the design and manufacturing process, renovation, and replacement. Thus, these factors must be emphasized when making decisions, as well. The private sector and federal institutions view projects as being the newest avenue for creating profits and keeping the economy afloat. As a result, project management should be considered to be an essential component, because it can recognize citizen-paid taxes and can avoid wasting resources. This study will begin with a discussion of how vital economics can be to the project management and the project environment. Second, this study will address the various kinds of useful economic decisions and decision-making methods. Finally, it will send the importance of decision-making methods in projects, which is particularly true for engineering and technicalt projects.
Condition Monitoring of Hydraulic Systems by Classifying Sensor Data Streams

Condition-based maintenance (CBM) of hydraulic systems requires methods for condition monitoring: Sensors installed in a hydraulic system for this purpose generate streams of real-time data that must be analyzed to accurately characterize the health of the system. Prior work has developed an experimental hydraulic system with such an installation and yielded a public dataset of sensor readings with associated values of condition variables that quantify the system’s health. This paper presents classification-based methods for inferring these condition variables from the sensor data streams. These methods significantly improve on the classification accuracy reported in prior work on this data. Further, this accuracy is maintained even when the number of sensor-based attributes used as input is substantially reduced.
Rounding Technique Analysis for Power-Area & Energy Efficient Approximate Multiplier Design

Approximate computing is one of best suited efficient data processing for error resilient applications, such as signal and image processing, computer vision, machine learning, data mining etc. Approximate computing reduces accuracy which is acceptable as a cost of increasing the circuit characteristics depends on the application. Desirable accuracy is the threshold point for controlling the trade off, between accuracy and circuit characteristics under the control of the circuit designer. In this work, the rounding technique is introduced as an efficient method for controlling this trade off. In this regard multiplier circuits as a critical building block for computing in most of the processors have been considered for the evaluation of the rounding technique efficiency. The impact of the rounding method is investigated by comparison of circuit characteristics for three multipliers. These three multipliers are the conventional Wallace tree accurate multiplier, DRUM [4] the recently proposed approximate multiplier and the rounded based approximate multiplier proposed in this work. Simulation results for three selected technologies show significant improvement on the circuit characteristics in terms of power, area, speed, and energy for proposed multiplier in comparison with their counterparts. Input data rounding pattern and the probability of the repetition for rounded values has been introduced as two essential items to control the level of the accuracy for each range of the data with minimum cost on the hardware.
Informal STEAM Education Case Study: Child-Robot Musical Theater

STEAM education fuses arts with traditional STEM fields so that the diverse disciplines can broaden and inform each other. Our eight-week STEAM after school program exposed elementary school children to social robotics and musical theater. Approximately 25 children grades K-5 participated over the course of the program with an average of 12 children attending each week. The program covered acting, dancing, music, and drawing with the robots in two-week modules based around the fairy tale, "Beauty and the Beast". The modular design enabled children who could come to only a few sessions to participate actively. The children demonstrated enthusiasm for both the robots and the musical theater activities and were engaged in the program. Efforts such as this can provide meaningful opportunities for children to explore a variety of arts and STEM fields in an enjoyable manner. The program components and lessons learned are discussed with recommendations for future research.
Semantic Integration Platform for Cyber-Physical System Design

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) are establishing heterogeneous engineering domains leading to engineering processes that span multiple design disciplines with separate modeling approaches, design flows and supporting tool suites. One of the challenges of design automation in CPS is the deep integration of models, tools and design flows such that design trade-offs across traditionally isolated design disciplines is facilitated. In this paper we overview experience and results gained along the implementation of an experimental design automation tool suite, OpenMETA, created for a complex CPS design challenge in the ground vehicle domain. The focus of the paper is domain agnostic methods and tools providing infrastructure for the model- and tool- integration platforms in OpenMETA. We present the arguments leading to the creation of the integration platforms instead of pursuing ad-hoc integration of heterogeneous tools and provide details on facilitating semantic integration.
Characterizing the Execution of Deep Neural Networks on Collaborative Robots and Edge Devices

Edge devices and robots have access to an abundance of raw data that needs to be processed on the edge. Deep neural networks (DNNs) can help these devices understand and learn from this complex data; however, executing DNNs while achieving high performance is a challenge for edge devices. This is because of the high computational demands of DNN execution in real-time. This paper describes and implements a method to enable edge devices to execute DNNs collaboratively. This is possible and useful because in many environments, several on-edge devices are already integrated in their surroundings, but are usually idle and can provide additional computing power to a distributed system. We implement this method on two iRobots, each of which has been equipped with a Raspberry Pi 3. Then, we characterize the execution performance, communication latency, energy consumption, and thermal behavior of our system while it is executing AlexNet.
An Optimal Design of a Moving Target Defense for Attack Detection in Control Systems

In this paper, we consider the problem of designing system parameters to improve detection of attacks in control systems. Specifically, we study control systems which are vulnerable to integrity attacks on sensors and actuators. We aim to defend against strong model aware adversaries that can read and modify all sensors and actuators. Previous work has proposed a moving target defense for detecting integrity attacks on control systems. Here, an authenticating subsystem with time-varying dynamics coupled to the original plant is introduced. Due to this coupling, an attack on the original system will affect the authenticating subsystem and in turn be revealed by a set of sensors measuring the extended plant. Moreover, the time-varying dynamics of the extended plant act as a moving target, preventing an adversary from developing an effective adaptive attack strategy. Previous work has failed to consider the design of the time-varying system matrices and as such provides little in terms of guidelines for implementation in real systems. This paper proposes two optimization problems for designing these matrices. The first designs the auxiliary actuators to maximize detection performance while the second designs the coupling matrices to maximize system estimation performance. Numerical examples are presented that validate our approach.
Sexual Futures, Queer Gestures, and Other Latina Longings

I am sitting in the afterglow. Unexpected bursts of pleasure linger in my body as beads of sweat trickle down my torso. The dark hair on the back of my brown, queer neck is attentive and tingling. ...