cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A polymer model for BeF2 and SiO2 melts

Crystalline BeF2 and SiO2 have similar structures in which tetrahedrally coordinated cations (M) are bridged by bi-coordinated anions (Y) producing a network of MY4 tetrahedra with shared corners. Each compound melts to produce a very viscous liquid which no doubt is highly polymeric. When a basic fluoride is added to BeF2 or a basic oxide is added to SiO2, the viscosity of the resulting NY-MY2 mixtures drops rapidly, presumably because bridging anion linkages have been broken, and the degree of polymerization decreased. This plausible qualitative description has been treated more quantitatively on the assumptions that: (1) The many possible polymeric species MaYb which can be formed in such binary mixtures all involve tetrahedrally coordinated M cations and mono- or bi-coordinated Y anions; (2) the stability of each such polymeric species MaYb depends primarily on the number of bridging anions (-Y-) and the number of non-bridging anions (-Y) it contains and, to a lesser extent, on the size of rings formed in the cross-linked polymer structures; and finally (3) the activity of species MaYb in the melt can be derived from volume fractions according to Flory's approximation for the entropy of mixing and from a heat-of-mixing term. Although the evaluation of component activities (aMY2 and aNY) from this model requires extensive numerical calculations, the model is inherently a simple one with but three adjustable parameters. It fits observed activities quite well over the full composition range in the LiF-BeF2 system and in several silicate systems for which accurate data are available.
Copper Activity in Sucrose Solutions

Copper activity was measured by a cupric electrode in 0.1 M sodium acetate-acetic acid buffered (pH 3.2, 4.5, 6.0) and unbuffered sucrose solutions (10% w/v) using the standard addition technique (l–10 ppm of Cu++). In water, the measured copper concentration (activity) was linearly related to the added copper concentration with a slope of unity. The slope decreased in acetate buffer solutions as pH increased indicating that Cu++ was complexed with acetate and to a greater extent at higher pH. In the presence of sucrose, copper activity increased approximately 16% in all solutions. Results suggest that the bulking effect of sucrose and the decreased water activity in solutions produced increased copper activity in sucrose solutions.
An analysis-based approach to composition of distributed embedded systems

The growing complexity in the functionality and system architecture of embedded systems has motivated designers to raise the level of abstraction by composing the system with a mix of reusable and system-specific components. Currently, these components assume specific programming models that make them difficult to compose or retarget. The modal process model addresses the problem of control composition by separating the synchronization semantics from state unification, and by supporting automatic synthesis of control communication onto distributed architectures. By avoiding over-specifying the behavior, the components can be made more composable and the designer can more easily choose the least expensive synchronization semantics for implementing the composition. To help designers evaluate their choice, we propose a method for analyzing the properties of the composed system, including the detection of potential deadlock and livelock situations.
Management of arteriovenous malformations in the elderly: A single-center case series and analysis of outcomes

OBJECT Treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) in the elderly remains a challenge for cerebrovascular surgeons. In this study the authors reviewed the patient characteristics, treatments, angiographic results, and clinical outcomes in 28 patients over 65 years of age who were treated at Henry Ford Hospital between 1990 and 2014. METHODS The bAVM database at the authors' institution was queried for records of elderly patients with bAVMs, and data regarding patient demographics, presenting symptoms, bAVM angioarchitecture, treatment modalities, angiographic results, clinical outcomes, and treatment complications were tabulated and analyzed. RESULTS There were 9 male (32%) and 19 female (68%) patients, with an average age ( ± SD) of 73.0 ± 6.95 years. The most common symptoms on presentation were hemorrhage (36%) and headaches (18%). The bAVMs were equally distributed between the supra- and infratentorial compartments. The most common Spetzler-Martin grade was II, observed in 57% of the patients. Eleven patients (39.3%) underwent resection, 4 patients (14.3%) received standalone radiation therapy, and 13 patients (46%) did not receive treatment or were managed expectantly. Four patients (14.3%) were lost to follow-up. Complete bAVM obliteration was achieved in 87% of the treated patients. None of the patients who received any form of treatment died; the overall mortality rate was 3.6%. CONCLUSIONS Surgical management of bAVMs in the elderly can result in complete obliteration and acceptable clinical outcomes.
Withdrawing from the Desert: Pachomius and the Development of Village Monasticism in Upper Egypt

In a recent article entitled “Le monachisme egyptien et les villes,” Ewa Wipszycka cataloged for the later Byzantine period the abundant evidence of monastic habitation in or adjacent to the towns and villages of Egypt as well as in or on the margins of the cultivated land. Her analysis, which begins after the late third- to fourth-century formative period of Antony, Pachomius, and the Lower Egyptian semi-anchoritic centers in Nitria, Scetis, and Cellia, supplies convincing evidence of the rhetorical selectivity employed in the portrayal of Egyptian monasticism by the authors of the literary sources. In the literary texts, the dominance of monastic sites located in places of solitude generates a monastic geography of physical isolation. While acknowledging this dominance in the literature, Wipszycka draws together the infrequent literary references and the more numerous documentary examples of less physically isolated and more socially integrated monastic centers. The resulting picture of Egyptian monasticism is spatially and socially more complex than that derived from the literary sources alone.
Social Economy as an Extension of the Austrian Research Program

Although the origins of the Austrian school are usually tied to Carl Menger, an argument can be made that its genuine origins rest within the writings of the early classical liberal thinkers, particularly Adam Smith. Boettke (2007), for example, argues that although Austrian economics is outside the mainstream of contemporary economic thought, it is squarely within the "mainline" of thinking that begins with Smith and runs through the development of political economy in its various forms to investigations into the economics of social institutions and the study of entrepreneurship.
Abstract A37: Peripheral blood DNA methylation profiles are predictive of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Head and neck cancer accounts for an estimated 47,560 new cases and 11,480 deaths annually in the United States, the majority of which are squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). The overall 5-year survival is approximately 60% and declines with increasing stage at diagnosis, indicating a need for non-invasive tests that facilitate the detection of early disease. DNA methylation is a stable epigenetic modification that is amenable to measurement and readily available in peripheral blood. DNA methylation profiles are commonly altered in tumor tissue, including HNSCC. We applied a semi-supervised recursively partitioned mixture model (SS-RPMM) approach to identify novel blood DNA methylation markers of HNSCC using genome-wide methylation array data (26,486 autosomal CpG loci) for peripheral blood samples from 92 HNSCC cases and 92 cancer-free controls. Subjects were randomly split into training (n = 92) and testing (n = 92) sets, stratified by case-control status to ensure an equal distribution of cases and controls between sets. A series of mixed effects models were fit to the training data only and CpG loci were ranked according to absolute t-statistic. The top M loci were selected to train a classifier, where M was chosen using a nested cross-validation procedure, which was then fit to the testing data. To assess the performance of the resultant markers in the testing data, we constructed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and calculated the corresponding area under the curve (AUC). Cases and controls were best differentiated by a methylation profile of 6 CpG loci (associated with FGD4, SERPINF1, WDR39, IL27, HYAL2 and PLEKHA6), resulting in 4 classes, with an AUC of 0.73 (95% CI: 0.62–0.82). After adjustment for subject age, gender, smoking, alcohol consumption and HPV16 serostatus, the AUC increased to 0.85 (95% CI: 0.76–0.92). There was no significant difference in stage at diagnosis, tumor site or HPV-16 serostatus for cases by class. We have identified a novel blood-based methylation profile that is predictive of HNSCC with a high degree of accuracy. Although not yet adequate for use in clinical settings, this profile demonstrates the potential of DNA methylation measured in blood for development of non-invasive applications for detection of head and neck cancer. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2011;4(10 Suppl):A37.
Radian-level coherent optical links over 100’s of meters and 100’s of terahertz

We demonstrate coherent transfer of optical signals with radian level noise in a 25 MHz bandwidth through a series of laser systems spanning from 657 nm to 1550 nm and over several hundred meter distances.
FP-Growth Parallel Algorithm in Cluster System

When the dataset size is huge,both the memory usage and computational cost of FP-Growth algorithm are expensive.This paper proposes a parallel algorithm,which is designed to run on the PC cluster.This algorithm finds all the conditional pattern bases of frequent items by the projection method.It splits the mining task into number of independent sub-tasks,executes these sub-tasks in parallel on nodes and aggregates the sub-results back for the final result.Experiments show that this parallel algorithm not only can accelerate the computational speed,avoids the memory overflow,but also achieves much better scalability than the FP-Growth algorithm.
Toward a unified approach to the study of expert judgment

One of the marks of the 20th century must surely be the rise of the importance of the expert. As the operating functions of even ordinary household appliances become increasingly less and less understandable to the person who uses them, the expert who does understand them increases in importance. The same is true in the corporate and government workplace as well as in military settings. Anyone might have repaired, or at least understood, a broken harness strap; but who dares now to repair or even claims to understand a TV set, radio, VCR, washing machine, fuel injection system, or the electronic mysteries of a missile guidance system—other than the expert?
Novel Therapies for Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Both HeFH and HoFH require dietary and lifestyle modification. Pharmacotherapy of adult HeFH patients is largely driven by the American Heart Association (AHA) algorithm. A high-potency statin is started initially with a goal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reduction of >50 %. The LDL-C target is adjusted to 300 mg/dL (or >200 mg/dL with significant CAD, although now approved for LDL-C as low as 160 mg/dL with CAD). Due to the early, severe LDL-C elevation in HoFH patients, concerning natural history, rarity of the condition, and nuances of treatment, all HoFH patients should be treated at a pediatric or adult center with HoFH experience. LDL-C apheresis should be considered as early as 5 years of age. However, apheresis availability and tolerability is limited and pharmacotherapy is required. Generally, the AHA algorithm with reference to the European Atherosclerosis Society Consensus Panel recommendations is reasonable with all patients initiated on high-dose, high-potency statin, ezetimibe, and bile acid-binding resins. In most, additional LDL-C lowering is required with PCSK9 inhibitors and/or lomitapide or mipomersen. Liver transplantation can also be considered at experienced centers as a last resort.
Kinetics of the C2H5O2 + NOx Reactions: Temperature Dependence of the Overall Rate Constant and the C2H5ONO2 Branching Channel of C2H5O2 + NO

The temperature dependence of the overall rate constant for the C2H5O2 + NO reaction and the rate constant for the minor branching channel resulting in the production of C2H5ONO2 have been measured...
Synthesis of Feedback Control for Forbidden State Problems in Discrete Manufacturing Systems

Abstract This paper concerns the supervisory coordination and control of concurrent activities in an automated manufacturing facility. In contrast to commonly used simulation models which integrate the control policy with the system model, the subsystem state transition logic is represented by a class of controlled Petri nets (CPNs) with external inputs to be determined by the control synthesis algorithm. We formulate the forbidden state control problem in the CPN context and present a computationally efficient algorithm for generating maximally permissive controls which guarantee the system will avoid the forbidden states while permitting a maximal amount of flexibility in the system operation. The problem formulation and control synthesis algorithm is illustrated for an example of AGV coordination, and several classes of manufacturing control problems which can be addressed within this framework are identified.
Bis{2-[({[3-(dimethylazaniumyl)propyl]imino}methyl)phenyl]sulfanido}nickel(II) tetra­phenyl­borate

In the title compound, [Ni(C12H18N2S)2](C24H20B)2, the NiII atom is coordinated by two ligands via the thiol­ate S and the imine N atoms. The amine N atoms are protonated and inter­act with the phenyl rings of the BPh4 anions.
Fierce Urgency of Now: Building Movements to End the Prison Industrial Complex in Our Schools

This article argues that prison abolition and education must be thought and practiced together, now more than ever. Drawing on a forum, Without Walls: Abolition & Rethinking Education in Oakland, CA to dialogue about strategies to challenge carceral logics in classrooms and communities, this article contextualizes the intensification of policing and the criminalization of young people and communities that continues to reach into and beyond all levels of K-12 schools. We share a number of suggestions and starting places based on the ways many educators and youth advocates are building the capacity to challenge the prison industrial complex.
The Henry's constant of monochloramine

Abstract Monochloramine is a secondary disinfectant used in drinking water and is also formed in chlorinated wastewater. While known to hydrolyze over time and react with dissolved organic matter, its partitioning between the aqueous and gas phase has not been extensively studied. Preliminary experiments demonstrated that monochloramine concentrations in solutions open to the atmosphere or actively aerated decreased more rapidly than in sealed solutions, indicating significant losses to the atmosphere. For example, a monochloramine solution open to the atmosphere yielded a loss rate constant of 0.08 d−1, a value twice that for sealed samples without headspace (0.04 d−1) where loss occurs exclusively as a result of hydrolysis. A solution aerated at 10 mL s−1 had a loss rate constant nearly 10× greater than that for hydrolysis alone (0.35 d−1). To better understand partitioning of monochloramine to the gas phase and potential for volatilization, the dimensionless Henry's law constants of monochloramine (KH) were determined using an equilibrium headspace technique at five different temperatures (11, 16, 21, 27, and 32 °C). The resulting values ranged from 8 × 10−3 to 4 × 10−2, indicating a semi-volatile compound, and were found to be consistent with quantitative structure activity relationship predictions. At 20 °C, monochloramine exhibits a dimensionless Henry's constant of about 1.7 × 10−2 which is 35 times greater than ammonia but comparable to the Henry's constant of inorganic semi-volatile compounds such sulfur dioxide. The Henry's constant values for monochloramine suggests that volatilization could be a relevant loss process in open systems such as rivers receiving chlorinated wastewater effluent, swimming pools and cooling towers.
Finance and urbanization in early nineteenth-century New York

Abstract Using information on the location of commercial banks in early nineteenth-century New York State we show that the opening of a bank had a significant positive effect on town population growth after the bank opened. Our results are robust to different samples of cities, control groups, time spans, as well as omitting New York City or small towns. To identify this relationship we exploit the legislative granting of corporate bank charters and argue that lobbying introduced enough exogenous variation in bank location choices that the location of banks in this period was different from what it would have been under a system of free entry based on entrepreneurial expectations of a towns’ future population. Using a generalized difference-in-difference approach, we show that towns that petition for and received a bank between 1821 and 1835 saw their population increase more rapidly than those that petitioned for and did not receive a bank. Because urbanization and modernization were correlated in the nineteenth century, these results are broadly consistent with the finance-growth nexus identified elsewhere in the economics and economic history literatures.
Utilization of two microphones for real-time low-latency audio smartphone apps

This paper presents an approach to overcome the limitation imposed by existing smartphone operating systems in using two microphones of smartphones at the same time for real-time low-latency audio apps that require the use of two microphones. This approach involves the use of an external dual-microphone and the processing steps needed to access audio signals from both of the external microphones at the same time. The developed approach is then applied to two example audio applications consisting of noise classification and noise reduction. It is shown that these dual-microphone apps lead to improved noise classification and noise reduction accuracy compared to the apps using a single microphone.
Effect of Practice Ownership on Work Environment, Learning Culture, Psychological Safety, and Burnout

PURPOSE Physicians have joined larger groups and hospital systems in the face of multiple environmental challenges. We examine whether there are differences across practice ownership in self-reported work environment, a practice culture of learning, psychological safety, and burnout. METHODS Using cross-sectional data from staff surveys of small and medium-size practices that participated in EvidenceNOW in Virginia, we tested for differences in work environment, culture of learning, psychological safety, and burnout by practice type. We conducted weighted multivariate linear regression of outcomes on ownership, controlling for practice size, specialty mix, payer mix, and whether the practice was located in a medically underserved area. We further analyzed clinician and staff responses separately. RESULTS Participating were 104 hospital-owned and 61 independent practices and 24 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). We analyzed 2,005 responses from practice clinicians and staff, a response rate of 49%. Working in a hospital-owned practice was associated with favorable ratings of work environment, psychological safety, and burnout compared with independent practices. When we examined separately the responses of clinicians vs staff, however, the association appears to be largely driven by staff. CONCLUSIONS Hospital ownership was associated with positive perceptions of practice work environment and lower burnout for staff relative to independent ownership, whereas clinicians in FQHCs perceive a more negative, less joyful work environment and burnout. Our findings are suggestive that clinician and nonclinician staff perceive practice adaptive reserve differently, which may have implications for creating the energy for ongoing quality improvement work.
Non-medication Treatments

The most effective non-medication therapies are aerobic and strengthening exercises and cognitive- and operant-behavioral therapies. Performing exercises in a pool may facilitate benefits. Modest benefits may be achieved with manual therapy, yoga, and relaxation techniques. Acupuncture is generally ineffective for fibromyalgia. Lifestyle modifications, including smoking cessation, sleep regulation, and weight management, are important for improved general health, with some fibromyalgia-specific symptom benefits also expected.
Transcription in bacteriophage f1-infected Escherichia coli: Messenger populations in the infected cell☆

Transcription of bacteriophage f1 DNA in vivo occurs in two independent regions. They are separated from one another by a strong terminator just downstream from gene VIII on one side, and by the filamentous phage intergenic space on the other. One of these regions contains genes II, V, VII, IX and VIII, and is actively transcribed. In this region there are a number of promoters but only one effective terminator. Thus, most of the RNAs that come from this region overlap and share sequences close to the termination site. The other region, which contains genes III, VI, I and IV, is transcribed much less actively. This region gives rise to a long (approximately 4 X 10(3) bases) RNA that covers the entire region, and several RNAs that overlap in the region closest to their 5' termini. Several other RNAs appear to overlap only with the 4 X 10(3) base transcript. Thus, not only the frequency but the organization of transcription differs in the two portions of the genome.
End-of-Life Care Intensity in Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Population-Level Analysis

PurposeIntensity of end-of-life care receives much attention in oncology because of concerns that high-intensity care is inconsistent with patient goals, leads to worse caregiver outcomes, and is expensive. Little is known about such care in those undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), a population at high risk for morbidity and mortality.Patients and MethodsWe conducted a population-based analysis of patients who died between 2000 and 2013, within 1 year of undergoing an inpatient allogeneic HCT using California administrative data. Previously validated markers of intensity were examined and included: hospital death, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and procedures such as intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation at end of life. Multivariable logistic regression models determined clinical and sociodemographic factors associated with: hospital death, a medically intense intervention (ICU admission, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, hemodialysis, intubation), and ≥ two intensit...
Test-Retest and Inter-Monitor Reliability of The Atlas Activity Monitor For Assessing Resistance Training Exercises

Background: Resistance training (RT) is an integral component of physical activity guidelines, but methods for the objective assessment of RT have been limited. Recently, the Atlas Wearables Wristband2 has been marketed to measure RT, but its reliability is unknown. Purpose: To determine the reliability of the Wristband2 for measuring RT exercises. Methods: Participants (n = 62) aged 18–52 yrs. wore two Wristband2 monitors on the left wrist and performed 2 sets of 12 repetitions of 14 different resistance training exercises. Test-retest reliability was determined by calculating percent agreement for exercise type and for repetitions recorded by a single Wristband2 between sets 1 and 2 for each exercise, and inter-monitor reliability was determined by calculating percent agreement for exercise type and for repetitions recorded by both Wristband2 monitors in set 1 of each exercise. Results: Test-retest reliability for exercise type was 80.0 ± 1.0% (lowest: 69.4% for bench press; highest: 95.2% for biceps cu...
Ligands to the platelet fibrinogen receptor glycoprotein IIb-IIIa do not affect agonist-induced second messengers Ca2+ or cyclic AMP

Previous studies have suggested that the platelet glycoprotein complex GPIIb-IIIa, which is the putative fibrinogen receptor, regulates Ca2+ influx into platelets, possibly operating as a Ca2+ channel. We have used RGD-peptides (peptides containing the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp; disintegrins), isolated from snake venoms, that have a high affinity and specificity for the fibrinogen-binding site of GPIIb-IIIa to address the question of whether blocking this site inhibits Ca2+ movement from the extracellular medium to the cytosol. Using fura-2-loaded human platelets, we found that neither disintegrins nor a monoclonal antibody (M148) to the GPIIb-IIIa complex altered the level of cytosolic Ca2+ obtained when the cells were stimulated with various agonists in the presence of either nominal or 1 mM extracellular Ca2+. In the presence of Mn2+, an ion that quenches fura-2 fluorescence, fura-2-loaded platelets were stimulated with thrombin or ADP. Neither disintegrins nor the monoclonal antibody altered the kinetics or the amount of quenching of fura-2 fluorescence by Mn2+. These data indicate that the binding of ligands to the fibrinogen receptor is not associated with an inhibition of Ca2+ movement through a receptor-operated channel. Furthermore, the disintegrins have no effect on platelet cyclic AMP metabolism in either the presence or the absence of phosphodiesterase inhibitors.
Reactivity of Zinc Thiolate Bonds: Oxidative Organopolysulfide Formation and S3 Insertion.

Zinc thiolate bonds are intriguing targets of study because of their redox noninnocence and prevalence in bioinorganic sites. A five-coordinate zinc dithiolate complex [Et4N]2[LZn] (H4L = N,N′-di(2...
Geochemical and geomechanical alteration of siliciclastic reservoir rock by supercritical CO2-saturated brine formed during geological carbon sequestration

Abstract Geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) is an approach for storing CO2 and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. During GCS, carbon dioxide dissolves into pore water, resulting in a low-pH brine that can react with reservoir rock minerals. This work evaluates the effects of geochemical reactions on geomechanical integrity of representative siliciclastic reservoir samples obtained from the Mt. Simon formation. Rock samples were aged 4 or 8 weeks in CO2-saturated brine under reservoir conditions, and in N2-saturated brine as a control. Post-aging, CT scans revealed more extensive micro-fracture development along horizontal bedding planes at grain edges in CO2 versus N2-aged samples. Digital analysis of CO2-aged samples showed porosity increase from 8.1% to 15.8%. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the loss of clay cementation, greater exposure of quartz and K-feldspar grains, and apparent surface roughening (confirmed by laser profilometry) in CO2-aged samples, but not in N2-aged samples. Fracture toughness as evaluated by scratch testing was reduced by 32.1% after 4 weeks in scCO2-saturated brine and 69.5% after 8 weeks. The primary reason for weakening appears to be detachment of clays from quartz and feldspar grain surfaces, resulting in weakening of the rock matrix. Rock weakening may alter the geomechanical stability of storage formations.
Safety in office-based anesthesia: an updated review of the literature from 2016 to 2019.

Purpose of review Office-based anesthesia (OBA) is rapidly growing across the world. Availability of less invasive interventions has facilitated the opportunity of offering new procedures in office-based settings to patient populations that would not have been considered in the past. This article provides a practical approach to discuss and analyze newest literature supporting different practices in the field of OBA. In addition, an update of the most recent guidelines and practice management directives is included. Recent findings Selected procedures may be performed in the office-based scenario with exceedingly low complication rates, when the right patient population is selected, and adequate safety protocols are followed. Current regulations are focused on reducing surgical risk through the implementation of patient safety protocols and practice standardization. Strategies include cognitive aids for emergencies, safety checklists, facility accreditation standards among other. Summary New evidence exists supporting procedures in the office-based scenario in areas such as plastic and cosmetic surgery, dental and oral surgery, ophthalmology, endovascular procedures and otolaryngology. Different systematic approaches have been developed (guidelines and position statements) to promote standardization of safe practices through emergency protocols, safety checklists, medication management and surgical risk reduction. New regulations and accreditation measures have been developed to homogenize practice and promote high safety standards.
Matching anonymous participants in longitudinal research on sensitive topics: Challenges and recommendations.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the final analytic sample of a longitudinal randomized control trial (RCT) evaluation of a sexual violence prevention program at a university after facing challenges with the implementation of a self-generated identification code. The matched and unmatched samples (e.g., all unique surveys across all time periods) included 10,135 surveys. Eighty-eight percent of these surveys were matched into the final longitudinal dataset. Findings suggest that students with certain characteristics were more likely to be matched over time (i.e., students who participated in student government, Latino/a students, and Asian students). In addition, students who did not comply with RCT protocol were less likely to be matched. Student history of victimization or perpetration of sexual violence was not associated with being matched over time. This study provides recommendations for preventing matching problems in longitudinal studies, a process for rectifying matching issues and a critique of studies that do not address issues of matching-related sample bias in their final analytic sample.
Stabilized Loop Heat Pipe Architecture for Reliable Operation Under High-Power Transients

This paper analyzes test data obtained by the authors and corresponding results of numerical simulation of transients in a high-power loop heat pipe (LHP) with a small-diameter condenser bypass. Th...
Health Status of Adults with Hearing Loss in the United States.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the current health status of adults in the United States with self-reported hearing loss and compare it with US adults with a self-reported excellent or good hearing in three areas: (1) chronic disease states and general health status, (2) medical screening behaviors, and (3) lifestyle behaviors. Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted using the 2014 data set from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), specifically the Sample Adult Public Use File (samadult). For this questionnaire set, one adult per family was randomly selected. This individual self-reported their response to the questionnaire items. Binary regressions were used to analyze the odds ratio to find differences for selected disease states, screenings, and lifestyle behaviors. Respondents were grouped into one of four categories: excellent/good hearing, a little trouble hearing, moderate/a lot of trouble hearing, and deaf. Results: The excellent/good hearing group was used as the comparison group for the other three levels of hearing. There are many differences in likelihood to self-report disease states; the greatest increased likelihoods include tinnitus and heart disease, with tinnitus being 8.6 times more likely for those who identified as having moderate/a lot of hearing loss. Those with any level of hearing loss were 3 to 5 times more likely to self-report heart disease. Regarding lifestyle factors, individuals with any level of hearing loss were less likely to consume alcohol and 2.5 to 9 times more likely to be unable to engage in moderate or vigorous activity on a weekly basis, respectively. Conclusions: There is a difference in the health status of individuals with hearing loss across all three areas examined (chronic disease states and general health status, medical screening behaviors, and lifestyle behaviors), and those differences vary based on level of hearing loss, the most notable being the self-reported inability to engage in moderate and vigorous physical activity. Disproportionate rates of tinnitus and heart disease were evident in all levels of hearing loss but most notable in those identifying as having moderate/a lot of trouble hearing. Further interdisciplinary research is necessary to improve the health of individuals with all levels of hearing loss, increase awareness of the hearing/health connection, and decrease hearing loss in general.
Enabling the environment for private sector investment: Impact on food security and poverty

Millions of people worldwide live in extreme poverty, which has an adverse effect on global food security. Research shows that growth in the agricultural labor sector has twice the impact on poverty compared to growth in other labor sectors. To that end, we examine some of the enabling factors of private sector investment to increase food security and reduce poverty: innovative output, intellectual property rights innovation, gender-sensitive land tenure, creation of new businesses, openness to trade, government institutional flexibility, access to credit, inclusion of new sectors, income diversification, public-private partnerships, infrastructure improvements, payments for eco-system services, and climate-smart innovation. Developing policies that improve food security will help to reduce poverty.
Cold War Journalism as Threat: Shielding Against Foreign Media Content

This chapter’s guiding theme is the idea that any exposure to foreign media content might be harmful. During the Cold War, governments, media organizations, and individuals attempted to either block such exposure or to educate citizens about the dangers of that contact with “enemy” content. This chapter addresses jamming and efforts to control print content across the Iron Curtain. The chapter draws on case study research on East Germans listening to the U.S. government-run station RIAS Berlin as well as listeners in North America tuning in to Radio Moscow during the Cold War. The chapter traces patterns of concern over radio waves as a threat, and it highlights mixed messages and inconsistencies in such reactions.
Adaptive growth homeostasis in response to drought in Iberian Arabidopsis accessions

ABSTRACT Plants respond to environmental fluctuations through plastic phenotypic shifts. Whether a plastic response upon environmental variability is adaptive or not has been subject to debate. Using a set of Iberian Arabidopsis accessions, we quantified an interplay between passive plastic reductions in leaf areas that we found typical of accessions from productive environments and homeostatic leaf areas responses to drought typified by accessions originating from unproductive environments. Results from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) and Transcriptome Wide Association Studies (TWAS) highlight the role of auxin-related processes and, in particular, the possible role of the SMALL AUXIN UP RNA 26 (SAUR26) gene in the regulation of the observed plastic responses. Homeostatic responses in leaf area potential following drought were typical of accessions with lower leaf area potential under well-watered conditions. Transcripts that were negatively associated with leaf area potential and positively associated with homeostatic and positive leaf area plasticity following drought showed functional enrichment in ion transport processes. We hypothesized that the contrasting plastic and homeostatic responses in leaf area potential were associated with differential intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi). We confirmed this relationship in a metanalysis conducted using previously published δ13C measurements. Our results highlight the adaptive role of homeostatic leaf area response to water depletion arising from increased WUEi. The concerted utilization of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), Transcriptome Wide Association Studies (TWAS), and expression Genome-Wide Association Studies (eGWAS) allows integration of phenotype, genotype, and transcript abundance to identify both “plasticity genes” and “homeostasis genes” associated with drought stress responses. One-sentence summary: Information on phenotype, genotype, and transcript abundance is integrated to identify both plasticity and homeostasis genes and processes associated with local adaptation to drought stress in Arabidopsis accessions of the Iberian Peninsula.
Electronic structure of non-alternant hydrocarbons: Their analogues and derivatives: XVIII. The electronic spectrum and electron affinity of fluoranthene

Abstract A comparison of the fine structure of the absorption spectrum of fluoranthene and seven of its simple derivatives recorded at 77°K reveals the presence of seven separate electronic transitions below 43 000 cm −1 . Evidence for the existence of three additional transitions in the 43 000–50 000 cm −1 region is also presented. Gas phase electron affinity is reported. The results are in good agreement with semiempirical π-electron calculations.
Angiotensin II modulates sex steroid receptors and their metabolizing enzymes in rat cardiac fibroblast (701.10)

Sex steroids influence angiotensin II (AngII)-induced cardiac remodeling; however, the importance of local sex steroid metabolism in this process is not known. We previously demonstrated that AngII increased aromatase levels, the enzyme that converts testosterone (T) to 17β-estradiol, in cultured coronary vascular smooth muscle cells. In the present study we investigated the impact of AngII on sex steroid receptor and enzyme expression in primary rat cardiac fibroblasts. Fibroblasts were isolated from adult male rats and treated at P1 in 2% charcoal-stripped FBS with AngII or vehicle (18h), followed by T (6h) in the presence or absence of anastrozole (aromatase inhibitor; 6.5h). Cardiac fibroblasts expressed receptors ERα, ERβ, and AR, as well as the enzymes aromatase and 5α-reductase. AngII significantly reduced mRNA expression of ERβ. 5α-reductase, AR, and ERβ levels increased when anastrazole was administered with T. This is the first demonstration that cardiac fibroblasts express the enzymes and recep...
The preparation of dimolybdenum(V,V) complexes from molybdenum quadruply bonded metal-metal dimers

Abstract Oxidation of quadruply bonded metal-metal dimers in the presence of good π-accepting ligands results in the formation of MoVMoV compounds of the type [MO2(μ-X)2(Y)(Y′)]2+ (X = O or S; Y,Y′ = O,O; S,S; O,S). Reaction of MO2(O2CCH3)4 with oxygen in the presence of Na2mnt (mnt = 1,2-dicyanoethylene-2,2-dithiolate) gives [MO2(μ-S)2(O)(S)(mnt)2]2− (1). The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c, with cell dimensions a = 19.547(4), b = 15.210(4), c = 18.754(6) A, β = 101.69(2)°, V= 5460(2) A3, and Z = 4. Similarly, oxidation of o-dichlorobenzene solutions of Mo2Cl4(CH3CN)4 and 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-dipyridyl (dmpby) or, more directly, the reaction of Mo2Cl4(dmbpy)2 with oxygen leads to the formation of a red solid, which was characterized by X-ray crystallography to be Mo2(μ-O)2(O)2(Cl)2(dmbpy)2 (2). Red diamond crystals, prepared by slow evaporation of CH3CN solutions of 2, are trigonal and in the space group P3121 with cell dimensions a = 16.135(4), b = 16.135(4), c = 10.709(3) A, V = 2414.4(13) A3 and Z = 3. In both structures, the geometry about each of the molybdenum atoms is a distorted square pyramid with terminal oxygen or sulphur atoms at the apices and in a syn conformation. The molybdenum-molybdenum bond distances of 2.858(1) A and 2.562(2) A in structures of 1 and 2, respectively, are typical of other MoVMoV dimers and indicative of a single MoMo bond.
The improved differential approximation for radiative transfer in multidimensional media

One particularly popular approximate method for radiative transfer in participating media is the so-called differential approximation or P-1 approximation. Unfortunately, the differential approximation is accurate only in optically thick media, and may become very inaccurate in optically thin situations, in particular in two- and three-dimensional geometries. To increase the accuracy, a number of improvements have been proposed. Olfe (1967, 1968) separated wall emission from medium emission in what he called the modified differential approximation (MDA). Modest (1974, 1975) combined the P-1 approximation with an optically thin correction term in what he called the improved differential approximation (IDA). While very accurate, both models were limited to relatively simple situations. Recently, Modest (1989) demonstrated that Olfe's MDA may be formulated for a general three-dimensional case with an absorbing/emitting, anisotropically scattering medium bounded by gray, diffusely emitting and reflecting walls. It is the purpose of the present note to show that the IDA may also be extended to the most general case, reducing to the correct optically thin and optically thick limits for all situations, resulting in accuracy similar to that of the MDA, but being computationally more efficient.
The Soul of Islam: Writing and Publishing as Engaged Sufism

Writing and publishing imply purpose and intentionality. This study analyzes writings of contemporary Sufi authors in the West and demonstrates that such writings constitute engaged Sufism in several distinct ways: The authors share Sufi knowledge with the world they live in, particularly the Western world they come from or have settled in. Sufism is presented as an alternative to spiritually impoverished and materialistic Western modernity and as a remedy to its negative impacts on the individual as well as religious communities. More importantly, the writers recognize, challenge and potentially change negative perceptions of Islam and Muslims by presenting Sufism as the spiritual, peaceful and beautiful heart or soul of Islam. The Sufi writings address rejection and critiques of Sufism by modernist and Salafi Muslims and confidently counter them with an emphasis on pluralism of interpretations and proof for the organic connection between Sufism and Islam. To be a Sufi is to be a lover, but not just any kind of lover. We need knowledge to know what to love and what love asks of us, in order that we might become love itself. Journal for Islamic Studies Vol. 26 2006: pp. 36-70
Pharmacokinetics of methsuximide and a major metabolite in dogs.

Abstract The pharmacokinetics of methsuximide and its major metabolite 2-methyl-2-phenylsuccinimide were studied in dogs after single intravenous doses. Plasma methsuximide levels were described by a two-compartment open model, and those of the metabolite were described by a one-compartment open model. An expression was derived that describes both methsuximide and metabolite plasma levels after methsuximide administration. Excellent fits were obtained between observed data and those predicted from the model. The metabolite accounted for 40% of the overall elimination of methsuximide, and the half-life of the metabolite (15 hr) was much greater than that of the parent drug (1–3.5 hr). The results suggest that pharmacological effects after methsuximide administration may be due primarily to the metabolite, which may accumulate in the body during repeated doses.
Constrained regression model selection

Abstract We propose two improved versions of the Akaike information criterion, AIC C and AIC C * , for the constrained linear and single-index models, respectively. These enhanced versions have corresponding unconstrained selection criteria as their special cases. Our Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that AIC C and AIC C * are superior to the Akaike information criterion. Additionally, we illustrate the use of AIC C * in an empirical example and generalize AIC C * to the constrained partially linear model.
Optimization of the johnson-mehl-avarami equation parameters for α-ferrite to γ-austenite transformation in steel welds using a genetic algorithm

A nonisothermal Johnson-Mehl-Avarami (JMA) equation with optimized JMA parameters is proposed to represent the kinetics of transformation of α-ferrite to γ-austenite during heating of 1005 steel. The procedure used to estimate the JMA parameters involved a combination of numerical heat-transfer and fluid-flow calculations, the JMA equation for nucleation and growth for nonisothermal systems, and a genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization tool that used a limited volume of experimental kinetic data. The experimental data used in the calculations consisted of phase fraction of γ-austenite measured at several different monitoring locations in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) of a gas tungsten arc (GTA) weld in 1005 steel. These data were obtained by an in-situ spatially resolved X-ray diffraction (SRXRD) technique using synchrotron radiation during welding. The thermal cycles necessary for the calculations were determined for each monitoring location from a well-tested three-dimensional heat-transfer and fluid-flow model. A parent centric recombination (PCX) based generalized generation gap (G3) GA was used to obtain the optimized values of the JMA parameters, i.e., the activation energy, pre-exponential factor, and exponent in the nonisothermal JMA equation. The GA based determination of all three JMA equation parameters resulted in better agreement between the calculated and the experimentally determined austenite phase fractions than was previously achieved.
Nonlinear dynamic buckling of imperfect rectangular plates with deformable loaded edges

Abstract The great majority of papers dealing with nonlinear dynamic buckling of plates assume that the edge at which the in-plane load is applied is not deformable (rigid). Those few references which examine the buckling with deformable edges normally use a variational approach based on “trial” functions for the in-plane displacements, which approach often leads to incorrect results. In this paper we give the solution for a rectangular plate for two different sets of boundary conditions. The exact solution for the in-plane displacements is found under the assumption that the system has only one degree of freedom. The effect of initial imperfections for both cases at pre- and post-buckling conditions is studied. The comparison between linear and nonlinear approaches is made. It is shown that the deformability of the loaded edges should be taken into account for square-shaped plates, while for long rectangular plates this effect may be disregarded.