cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Advanced signal processing technique for damage detection in steel tubes

In recent years, ultrasonic guided waves gained attention for reliable testing and characterization of metals and composites. Guided wave modes are excited and detected by PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) transducers either in transmission or reflection mode. In this study guided waves are excited and detected in the transmission mode and the phase change of the propagating wave modes are recorded. In most of the other studies reported in the literature, the change in the received signal strength (amplitude) is investigated with varying degrees of damage while in this study the change in phase is correlated with the extent of damage. Feature extraction techniques are used for extracting phase and time-frequency information. The main advantage of this approach is that the bonding condition between the transducer and the specimen does not affect the phase while it can affect the strength of recorded signal. Therefore, if the specimen is not damaged but the transducer-specimen bonding is deteriorated then the received signal strength is altered but the phase remains same and thus false positive predictions for damage can be avoided.
Radiation Effects in Nuclear Waste Glasses

The radiation damage of a nuclear waste glass is shown to be associated with enhanced phase decomposition, oxygen bubble formation, and, when the glass is exposed to air saturated water, enhanced leaching.
Circulatory responses to chemical stimulation of oxygen uptake in canine hindlimb.

The increase in blood flow that occurs with stimulation of oxygen uptake in skeletal muscle is caused by at least three potential vasodilatory inputs to the area, according to Honig (1979). One of these, active sympathetic vasodilation, is dependent on extrinsic innervation and is usually seen as a transient response in anticipation of exercise. That would hardly apply in an anesthetized dog. The early increase in blood flow to contracting muscle in such a case can be attributed to the action of intrinsic nerves with neuronal cell bodies in the wall of small arteries and arterioles. The blood flow response would then be reinforced and sustained by metabolic vasodilation, which has a slower onset, in the unifying hypothesis of exercise vasodilation proposed by Honig. I thought that a rather neat test to this hypothesis could be made by chemically stimulating oxygen uptake in the hindlimb of an anesthetized dog by local injection of 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation. This would avoid stimulation of intrinsic nerves while still supplying metabolic stimulation and would thus allow separation of the two potential vasodilator influences.
Endoscopic urethroplasty: an improved technique.

AbstractEndoscopic urethroplasty is an excellent alternative to open repair of the traumatically disrupted posterior urethra. It offers the advantage of limiting surgical trauma to an already scarred urethra and pelvic floor. Our technique also allows fluoroscopic guidance of the recanalization procedure to align the new urethral channel precisely with minimum disruption of the nerves and muscles of the periurethral tissue and pelvic floor. It obviates the need for a second surgeon viewing the urethra from above as has been required in previously described techniques. This procedure allows for maximal preservation of residual post-traumatic continence and erectile function because it minimizes blind passage of instruments.
The role of antiphospholipid antibodies in stroke.

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) are strongly associated with brain infarction and transient ischemia attack (TIA). Current data suggest that up to 10% of all subjects with ischemic stroke harbor either a lupus anticoagulant, cardiolipin antibodies, or both, but the prevalence of these aPL may be higher in particular populations with stroke. Clinical and experimental studies indicate that aPL impair normal vascular endothelial-related anticoagulant functions. Despite these advances in understanding, the causal relationship between aPL and stroke and effective treatments of aPL-related thrombosis remain undefined.
Leadership and Social Justice

ABSTRACTLeaders have tremendous influence not only in their organizations but for the profession and within the communities they serve. Librarianship has strong core values that are the foundation of our services but librarians also create an environment that supports diversity of opinions. How does a library leader balance social justice while serving the broad needs of a community? Is there an inherent conflict between personal perspectives and the encompassing multiple viewpoints? Library leaders may face difficult decisions in determining social justice issues within their libraries considering personal beliefs, institutional responsibilities, and community impacts. Every library leader has opportunities to address social justice issues within libraries and in so doing, will advance community goals of inclusiveness of all members.
Prediction and Optimization of the Therapeutic Effect of mTOR Inhibitors in Aggressive B-Cell Lymphomas

Abstract Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a central integrator of nutrient and growth factor inputs that controls cell growth in all eukaryotes. Rapamycin and its analogs (rapalogs) have been approved for the treatment of relapsed mantle cell lymphoma. A large proportion of aggressive B-cell lymphoma patients, however, respond poorly to rapalogs. The second generation of mTOR inhibitors function as ATP-competitive inhibitors (TORi), directly targeting the mTOR catalytic site. TORis have been proven to be more effective than rapalogs in cancer treatment. However, the mechanism underlying the cytotoxic effect of TORis in aggressive B-cell lymphomas remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that TORi-induced apoptosis is predominantly dependent on loss of mTORC1-mediated 4EBP phosphorylation. Knocking out Rictor, a key component of mTORC2, or inhibiting p70S6K has little effect on TORi-induced apoptosis. In contrast, increasing the EIF4E:4EBP ratio by either overexpressing EIF4E or knocking out 4EBP1/2 protected lymphoma cells from TORi-induced cytotoxicity. Furthermore, down-regulation of MCL1 and BCL-XL expression plays an important role in TORi-induced apoptosis whereas BCL-2, in cells with high expression, confers resistance to TORi treatment. Based on the mechanism study, we demonstrated that BH3 profiling, primarily NOXA and HRK stimulation, can effectively predict the cytotoxicity of the TORi in lymphoma cells. Also, in combination with pro-apoptotic drugs, especially BCL-2 inhibitors, the TORi exerted powerful anti-tumor effects both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, this study provides mechanistic insight in TORi treatment in aggressive B-cell lymphoma and identified a mean to predict and improve its effectiveness clinically. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
A Trainable Object-Detection Method Using Equivalent Retinotopical Sampling and Fisher Kernel

The paper proposes an extension of support vector machines (SVMs) for recognizing position and size of objects in digital images. The discriminant function is given as an analytical function of the object position and size. Using Fisher kernel, a concept of Retinotopical Sampling(RS) is introduced to SVMs.
Quantifying and improving the efficiency of hardware-based mobile malware detectors

Hardware-based malware detectors (HMDs) are a key emerging technology to build trustworthy systems, especially mobile platforms. Quantifying the efficacy of HMDs against malicious adversaries is thus an important problem. The challenge lies in that real-world malware adapts to defenses, evades being run in experimental settings, and hides behind benign applications. Thus, realizing the potential of HMDs as a small and battery-efficient line of defense requires a rigorous foundation for evaluating HMDs. We introduce Sherlock — a white-box methodology that quantifies an HMD's ability to detect malware and identify the reason why. Sherlock first deconstructs malware into atomic, orthogonal actions to synthesize a diverse malware suite. Sherlock then drives both malware and benign programs with real user-inputs, and compares their executions to determine an HMD's operating range, i.e., the smallest malware actions an HMD can detect. We show three case studies using Sherlock to not only quantify HMDs' operating ranges but design better detectors. First, using information about concrete malware actions, we build a discrete-wavelet transform based unsupervised HMD that outperforms prior work based on power transforms by 24.7% (AUC metric). Second, training a supervised HMD using Sherlock's diverse malware dataset yields 12.5% better HMDs than past approaches that train on ad-hoc subsets of malware. Finally, Sherlock shows why a malware instance is detectable. This yields a surprising new result — obfuscation techniques used by malware to evade static analyses makes them more detectable using HMDs.
Guiding Jurors with Prior-Award Information: A Randomized Experiment

Jurors receive little guidance in determining awards for pain and suffering and punitive damages. Consequently, these awards are notoriously unpredictable, undermining the law’s objectives and causing a wide range of harms. Among the methods that have been proposed for addressing the unpredictability of such awards is the use of information regarding awards in comparable cases (“prior-award information”) as guidance for award determinations. This paper reports and interprets the results of a factorial experiment designed to test the effects of prior-award information at different levels of bias, variability, and form of presentation on the magnitude, spread, and accuracy of awards for pain and suffering and punitive damages. The paper examines juror behavior in response to prior-award information, and interprets whether such information can be expected to improve awards under a robust set of conditions. In summary, the data provide strong evidence that prior-award information improves the accuracy of awards (as defined) and that its beneficial effect on the dispersion of awards generally dominates any distortion, or bias, caused by the information. Furthermore, the data provide evidence that triers of fact respond to prior-award information as predicted in recent literature, and in line with the “optimal” use of such information.
Spatial-Dynamic Complexities of Climate Challenge for Rural Areas: Integrating Resource and Regional Economic Insights

Research questions in resource economics increasingly have incorporated both the field’s traditional dynamic considerations and the spatial concerns that often are the focus of regional economics. Spatial heterogeneity in costs, benefits, or connectivity often interact with intertemporal change in contexts such as fisheries management, water allocation, invasive species control, and land use change, making spatially- or temporally-uniform polices less likely to be efficient. In this article, we examine how climate change is likely to enhance the need to incorporate spatial-dynamic approaches to address natural resource challenges. We focus our discussion on rural areas, which are typically highly dependent on natural resources and particularly vulnerable to climate change. Following a brief review of existing spatial-dynamic models in natural resource economics and the insights derived from them, we describe how climate change can bring new spatial or temporal aspects to resource management problems, or exacerbate existing resource challenges that are best characterized as spatial-dynamic processes. We conclude with three case studies that highlight how integrating resource and regional economics through spatial-dynamic modeling may improve the analysis of climate change impacts in rural areas, considering the effects on rangeland management, groundwater policy, and land use management in floodplains and coastal areas.
Beamforming improvement for non-contrast perfusion imaging with adaptive tissue clutter demodulation

Non-contrast blood perfusion imaging with ultrasound is difficult due to tissue clutter caused by patient physiological and sonographer hand motion. This motion causes spectral broadening of the tissue clutter signal, which then overlaps with the perfusion signal. To address this problem, we previously introduced an adaptive frequency and amplitude demodulation scheme to reduce the bandwidth of the tissue clutter signal prior to high-pass filtering. We developed and validated the technique on phantoms and in vivo human leg muscles using unfocused single plane wave (SPW) power Doppler imaging to overcome frame rate, ensemble length, and directional limitations associated with conventional scanning.
Mg2+ transport in the kidney

Magnesium is abundant in biological systems and an important divalent cation in the human body. Mg2+ helps mediate cellular energy metabolism, ribosomal and membrane integrity. Additionally Mg2+ modulates the activity of several membrane transport and signal transduction systems. Despite its importance however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of Mg2+ transport and homeostasis in mammals. In mammals the amount of Mg2+ absorption is about the same as the amount of Mg2+ excretion in urine. Additionally, when total Mg2+ intake is deficient, the kidney is capable of reabsorbing all filtered Mg2+. This balance between intake and excretion indicates that the kidney plays a principal role in maintenance of total body Mg2+ homeostasis. Within the kidney, Mg2+ filtered by the glomerulus is handled in different ways along the nephron. About 10-20% of Mg2+ is reabsorbed by the proximal tubule. the bulk of Mg2+ (about 50-70%) is reabsorbed by the cortical thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle. In this region, Mg2+ moves across the epithelium through the paracellular pathway, driven by the positive lumenal transepithelial voltage. A recently cloned human gene, paracellin-1 was shown to encode a protein localized to the tight junctions of the cortical thick ascending limb and is thought to mediate Mg2+ transport via the paracellular space of this epithelium. The distal convoluted tubule reabsorbs the remaining 5-10% of filtered Mg2+. This segment seems to play an important role in determining final urinary excretion, since there is no evidence for significant Mg2+ absorption beyond the distal tubule. Although many renal Mg2+ transport activities have been characterized, no Mg2+ transporter cDNAs have been cloned from mammalian tissues. Recent research has certainly expanded our knowledge of Mg2+ transport in kidney; but details of the transport processes and the mechanisms by which they control Mg2+ excretion must await cloning of renal Mg2+ transporters and/or channels. Such information would provide new concepts in our understanding of renal Mg2+ handling.
Reproducibility of research: Issues and proposed remedies.

Reproducibility has been one of the major tools science has used to help establish the validity and importance of scientific findings since Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society was established in 1665 (1). Since that time the process of discovery has evolved to make use of new technologies and methods in a changing regulatory and social environment. The Sackler Colloquium “Reproducibility of Research: Issues and Proposed Remedies,” which took place on March 8–10, 2017, convened a wide range of research community stakeholders to address our understanding of transparency and reproducibility in the modern research context with two related questions: what does reproducibility mean in different research contexts, and what remedies increase reproducibility and transparency? We approach the topic of reproducibility with sensitivity to its complexity, spanning a wide range of issues from data collection and reporting to communication of scientific findings by scientists and nonscientists alike. The Colloquium was organized by David Allison, Richard Shiffrin, Victoria Stodden, and Stephen Fienberg. Before the Colloquium our esteemed and respected friend and colleague, Stephen Fienberg, unfortunately died and could not witness the outcome of his vision. A PNAS retrospective by Larry Wasserman describes Stephen’s extraordinary career (2). The 12 articles in this special issue fall into three categories that shaped the Colloquium. The first … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: shiffrin{at}indiana.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Magnetic Characterization of Materials

Magnetic materials have been of importance to mankind for several thousand years. Lodestone is believed to have been instrumental in winning a decisive battle for the first emperor of China fought in a dense fog against the barbarians ca. 2600 bc. Many branches of science, and indeed our daily lives, depend on magnetic materials and magnetic characterization of one form or another, from high-density magnetic recording media and read-heads in computers to magnetic resonance imaging. Condensed matter physicists and materials researchers also rely heavily on magnetic characterization for the understanding and the exploration of new materials.
Protein Folding in the Endoplasmic Reticulum and the Unfolded Protein Response

In all eukaryotic cells, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an intracellular organelle where folding and assembly occurs for proteins destined to the extracellular space, plasma membrane, and the exo/endocytic compartments (Kaufman 1999). As a protein-folding compartment, the ER is exquisitely sensitive to alterations in homeostasis, and provides stringent quality control systems to ensure that only correctly folded proteins transit to the Golgi and unfolded or misfolded proteins are retained and ultimately degraded. A number of biochemical and physiological stimuli, such as perturbation in calcium homeostasis or redox status, elevated secretory protein synthesis, expression of misfolded proteins, sugar/glucose deprivation, altered glycosylation, and overloading of cholesterol can disrupt ER homeostasis, impose stress to the ER, and subsequently lead to accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the ER lumen. The ER has evolved highly specific signaling pathways called the unfolded protein response (UPR) to cope with the accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER transmits a signal to the cytoplasm and nucleus has led to major new insights into the diverse cellular and physiological processes that are regulated by the UPR. This chapter summarizes how cells respond to the accumulation of unfolded proteins in the cell and the relevance of these signaling pathways to human physiology and disease.
Linking unfolded protein response to inflammation and depression: potential pathologic and therapeutic implications.

Depression is a devastating mental disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Inflammation has been shown to be a key factor involved in the underlying pathophysiology of depression and has been shown in a substantial proportion of cases of depression. Changes attributed with morphological deformities and immunomodulation in susceptible regions of the depressed brain raised the possibility of altered cellular homeostasis transduced by the intracellular stress response. How emotional stressors can lead to an inflamed brain that directly affects physiology and activity is yet to be fully understood. The unfolded protein response (UPR) has been shown to be active in both models of depression as well as in postmortem brain of depressed individuals. The UPR is the cellular response to stress which results in misfolded proteins. Interestingly, UPR activation is directly linked to both inflammatory cytokine production and Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression. The TLRs are part of the innate immune response which typically reacts to “classic invasions” such as bacteria or viruses as well as trauma. TLRs have also been shown to be upregulated in depression, thus solidifying the connection between inflammation and depression. In this review, we aim to tie the UPR–TLR response and depression, and describe the implications of such an association. We also propose future directions for their role in treatment for depression.
Applications of hybrid organic-inorganic metal halide perovskite thin film as a hole transport layer in CdTe thin film solar cells

We fabricate and characterize methylammonium lead halide perovskite film as a novel back contact to CdTe thin film solar cells. We prepare a ~500 nm perovskite film directly on a CdCl2-activated and Cu-doped CdTe polycrystalline film, and complete the device with Au back contact. Results of this novel back contact are compared with the performance of a Cu/Au back contact. Our investigation shows that incorporation of a thin perovskite layer before the back contact metallization reduces the back contact barrier effect, improving both FF and $\mathrm{V}_{\mathrm{oc}}$ of the solar cells. These improvements are consistent with improved passivation and a lower or negligible valence band offset between CdTe and the perovskite, especially with the incorporation of the Br in perovskite. Our best device shows FF improvement by ~3% with the highest FF of 78%, and solar cell efficiency increases by 5% when MAPb $(\mathrm{I}_{0.7}\mathrm{Br}_{0.3})_{3}$ is used as a hole transfer layer.
Optical coherence tomography imaging of melanoma skin cancer

No consensus guidelines exist on the use of optical coherence tomography (OCT) for diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma. The objectives of this review are to provide a descriptive review of the literature on characteristics of cutaneous melanomas seen on high-definition OCT (HD-OCT), speckle variance OCT (SV-OCT), and conventional OCT and to compare their diagnostic ability with that of histopathology. A review of PubMed and Google Scholar identified all available literature on OCT in melanoma skin cancer that included all in vivo and ex vivo studies on human or human tissues and excluded all studies on non-human subjects or animal studies. Two hundred nine abstracts were considered for evaluation, 31 abstracts were selected for manuscript review, and 14 abstracts were included that met all criteria. Diagnoses of MIS and MM using HD-OCT and SV-OCT were consistently reported to correlate with histopathology. However, accuracy of diagnosis using conventional OCT varied. Most authors agreed that it was difficult to differentiate MM from benign nevi using conventional OCT. HD-OCT, SV-OCT, and conventional OCT show promise for visualizing cutaneous melanoma. The use of OCT in diagnosis of melanoma is rarely reported in the literature. There is a need to increase and standardize reporting of OCT for diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma.
A Poor China Might Be More Dangerous Than a Rich China

This chapter focuses on the rise of China. Decades of double-digit annual growth have created the world’s second-largest economy, and many observers have proclaimed that the twenty-first century “belongs” to Beijing. This chapter asks: What if China’s development stalls? What if, instead of becoming a new superpower, China’s economic and political woes prevent it from rising above the status of regional power? How will China’s domestic issues shape its response to the new policies of the incoming Trump administration? This chapter describes how China’s rise has already reshaped world politics, but argues that a stagnant China might be even more challenging to the U.S.-led world order than a successful one. Moreover, a China that faces increasing pressure from Trump administration might be one that lashes out against U.S. goals and policies in the Asia/Pacific region and around the world.
Reversed Lateral Circulation in a Sharp Estuarine Bend with Weak Stratification

AbstractAlthough the hydrodynamics of river meanders are well studied, the influence of curvature on flow in estuaries, with alternating tidal flow and varying water levels and salinity gradients, ...
anderson-bernoulli localization on the 3d lattice and discrete unique continuation principle

we consider the anderson model with bernoulli potential on the 3d lattice, and prove localization of eigenfunctions corresponding to eigenvalues near zero, the lower boundary of the spectrum. we follow the framework by bourgain-kenig and ding-smart, and our main contribution is a 3d discrete unique continuation, which says that any eigenfunction of the harmonic operator with bounded potential cannot be too small on a significant fractional portion of all the points. its proof relies on geometric arguments about the 3d lattice.
Does Preoperative or Postoperative Graft Thickness Influence Postoperative Visual Acuity in Descemet Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty for Advanced Pseudophakic Bullous Keratopathy

PURPOSE To describe the evolution of best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) after Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) for very advanced pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (PBK) and to determine whether the thickness of corneal grafts in DSAEK surgery for advanced PBK correlates with BSCVA 6 months postoperatively. METHODS In a prospective, single-center, observational study, 141 eyes treated with DSAEK surgery were studied, from patients requiring posterior lamellar transplantation for advanced PBK. Graft thickness was measured during the surgery and in vivo 6 months later. The primary end point was BSCVA in LogMAR at 6 months. RESULTS BSCVA 6 months after surgery was slightly correlated with 6 months graft thickness (r = 0.24, P = 0.01), but not with preoperative graft thickness (r = 0.01, P = 0.93). After adjusting for preoperative BSCVA, a better 6 months BSCVA was best associated with thinner grafts at 6 months (P < 0.01), but not with preoperative graft thickness (P = 0.80). CONCLUSIONS BSCVA after DSAEK was significantly related to graft thickness measured 6 months after surgery, suggesting that better BSCVA after DSAEK is related to a decrease in graft thickness after surgery and not to the use of a thinner graft during surgery. This decrease may be because of the good health of the endothelium, but this result may be biased because of the intrastromal scars inherent in severe PBK. This study shows that DSAEK is a good option for advanced PBK but has low visual acuity potential recovery because of stromal scarring. Therefore, a penetrating keratoplasty may be indicated to obtain maximal recovery of visual acuity or for monocular patients.
A developmental view of mentoring talented students in academic and nonacademic domains

The role of mentors for talented students varies according to developmental level and domain. Domains differ as to when they begin, peak, and end. Therefore, mentoring at the beginning of a talent trajectory may take place in middle school for a science student and in elementary school for a violinist. In the later stages of talent development, mentors are more likely to select their proteges than to be organizationally matched with mentees. As mentees gain the requisite skills and knowledge, mentors place more emphasis on modeling and coaching for psychosocial skills and insider knowledge (access to networks of information, attitudes, and behaviors rewarded by gatekeepers) that allow their mentees to stand out and, if necessary, endure pushback derived from proposing creative ideas or performances that challenge the status quo. The conclusions reported here are derived from studies of mentoring talented students, with an emphasis on identifying similarities across domains, and recognition that mentors' provision of insider knowledge is particularly important for low-income children and youth.
Efficient green approaches for the preparation of physically crosslinked chitin gel materials by freeze-induced self-assembly

Abstract Chitin derived from crustacean biomass has great potential for the production of eco-friendly materials. However, one challenge is its insolubility in regular solvents. Herein, the gelation of chitin alkali suspension was induced via freeze-thawing approach. The as-prepared hydrogels with/without dialysis treatment were freeze-dried into solid foams to display “dry durian fruit” appearance. It was found that dialysis did influence the properties, in which the dialyzed samples exhibited superior water content, swelling ratio, porosity, thermal stability, and smoother surface morphological results. Moreover, the dialyzed chitin foams exhibited nearly the same level of thermal stability compared to chitin powder. With respect to formation mechanisms, we propose that alkali treatment swells chitin and the freezing process deconstructed and weakened H-bonding, while the weakened H-bonding residue self-assembly contributed to hydrogel formation. This research represents a simple and green route for converting chitin suspension to gel materials.
An update on current treatment strategies for managing bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after lung transplantation.

Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), a subtype of chronic lung allograft dysfunction, is quite common, with up to half of all lung recipients developing BOS within 5 years of transplantation. P...
High-Energy X-ray Tomographic Analysis of Precursor Metal Powders (Ti-6Al-4V) Used for Additive Manufacturing

We used high-energy x-ray tomography to characterize Ti-6Al-4V metal powders (both as-received and recycled) used in powder-bed additive manufacturing process. The image processing workflow was developed to process and analyze large amount of data objectively by computer program. The distribution of size and shape of the metal particles as well as defect (mainly porosity) inside the particles was analyzed with the statistical representation and resolution in micrometer. The result revealed that circular-shaped porosity with various sizes could be embedded in the powder particles. These porosities could potentially be transferred to the 3D printed part and critically affect the mechanical performance of the component. The present study shows the effectiveness of characterizing metal powders using x-ray imaging techniques where sufficient number of particles can be sampled within tens of minutes with a minimum sample preparation and high accuracy. Clear structural differences in the as-received and recycled powders were delineated that helps in determining the feasibility of using the recycled powders.
Development and Validation of an LC-MS/MS Based Quantitative Assay for Marmoset Insulin

Introduction: Insulin is a peptide hormone that is secreted by the β cells of the pancreas and is essential to the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in the body. The marmoset insulin peptide is not homologous with human insulin and therefore commonly available assays do not work for this species. Due to the increasing popularity of marmoset research, a simple, specific assay for the quantitation of marmoset insulin is needed. This study aimed to develop and validate a bottom-up proteomic workflow with trypsin digestion and analysis using LC coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Methods: Marmoset serum proteins were subjected to denaturation, reduction, and enzymatic cleavage to extract a unique, 7 amino acid peptide for quantitation of marmoset insulin. Resolution of the peptide was achieved by LC-MS/MS using electrospray ionization operating in positive mode. Calibration was achieved by aliquot dilution of fully synthetic marmoset insulin tryptic peptide into macaque serum. A stable-isotope labeled (13C, 15N) synthetic marmoset insulin tryptic peptide was used as internal standard. Results: The assay was fully validated according to bioanalytical method validation guidelines for linearity, precision, and dilution linearity using purified marmoset insulin. The limit of detection was 4.28 pmol/L and the limit of quantitation was 8.62 pmol/L. Biological validation was achieved by comparison of samples previously run by radioimmunoassay and measurement of the marmoset insulin response to glucose via an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The physiological range of marmoset insulin was shown to be 84.5 to 1222 pmol/L. Conclusions: This paper presents a simple, reproducible method to measure marmoset insulin using LC-MS/MS.
Introduction: the use of composites in civil structural applications

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites or advanced composite materials are very attractive for use in civil engineering applications due to their high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, corrosion resistance, light weight and potentially high durability. Their application is of most importance in the renewal of constructed facilities infrastructure such as buildings, bridges, pipelines, etc. Recently, their use has increased in the rehabilitation of concrete structures, mainly due to their performance characteristics, ease of application and low life cycle costs. These characteristics and the success of structural rehabilitation measures have led to the development of new lightweight structural concepts utilizing all FRP systems or new FRP/concrete composite systems.
SEEPAGE TOWARDS HIGHWAY CUTS

The natural ground, through which highway cuts are made, contributes to the waters to be drained in these cuts. The problem of seepage in such cases is studied on the basis of the analysis of the hydrodynamic forces within the flow medium. The problem is somewhat similar to trapezoidal sections of finite lengths of earth dams where some rigorous solutions for the free surfaces only were developed, such as those by Falkovich, Mikhailov, Meletchenko, Pavlovsky and Polubarinova-Kochina. The proposed method checks favorably with these solutions and gives not only the free surface but also a complete solution. In highway cuts, the extent of the flow region is not limited as in the case of earth dams. A procedure is explained by which the developed formulas can be extended for application to highway cuts. The free surface, the discharge face, the rate of flow towards the highway cuts and the hydropotential distribution within the natural ground along these cuts, can be determined directly by the proposed method. An illustrative example is also presented.
Peripheral Neural Processing of Auditory Information

The sections in this article are: 1 Anatomy of Primary Auditory Neurons 1.1 General Features of Primary Neurons 1.2 Nerve Endings in Cochlea 1.3 Nerve Fibers in Cochlea 1.4 Neuronal Cell Bodies in Spiral Ganglion 1.5 Auditory Nerve Fibers in Internal Auditory Meatus 1.6 Primary Innervation of Cochlear Nucleus 2 Physiological Data on Auditory Nerve 2.1 Conceptual Stages of Peripheral Auditory System 2.2 Methodology in Stimulus-Response Relationships of Auditory Nerve Units 2.3 Stimulus-Response Relationships For Auditory Nerve Units 2.4 Relationship Between Gross Neural Potentials and Unit Activity 2.5 Effects of Stimulating Efferent Fibers to Cochlea 2.6 Responses in Abnormal Ears 2.7 Electric Stimulation of Auditory Nerve Fibers 3 Implications of Data on Auditory Nerve 3.1 Peripheral Mechanisms Generating Auditory Nerve Activity 3.2 Central Processing of Auditory Information 3.3 Addendum
When Divorced Fathers Want No Contact with Their Children

Little is known from the fathers' perspective about fathers who have no contact with their children and are content with that level of contact. Drawing from a larger sample of fathers without contact, the responses of 14 fathers who do not wish to see their children are compared with those who would like contact. It was found that the fathers who do not want contact are more apt to have been in a violent marital relationship, to have bcen less involved with the childrearing of their children, and to feel indifferent about their children. It is hypothesized that these fathers may interpret harassment or ambivalence towards them as rejection rather than as a potential outgrowth of a divorce situation. Practice implications are offered.
Patterns of Interaction in Divorced and Non-Divorced Families

Abstract Dinnertime conflict interactions among parents and children in 82 mother-custody, father-custody, and two-parent homes were compared. Each conflict episode was identified, and coded for speaker, type of fighter move, and recipient of the talk turn in the sequence of their occurrence. The mothers in single-parent homes selectively fought more with their sons than the adults in either comparison group. Children in each family configuration participated equally in conflict interaction.
Evaluation of KQML as an agent communication language

This chapter discusses the desirable features of languages and protocols for communication among intelligent information agents. These desiderata are divided into seven categories: form, content, semantics, implementation, networking, environment, and reliability. The Knowledge Query and Manipulation Language (KQML) is a new language and protocol for exchanging information and knowledge. This work is part of a larger effort, the ARPA Knowledge Sharing Effort, which is aimed at developing techniques and methodologies for building large-scale knowledge bases that are sharable and reusable. KQML is both a message format and a message-handling protocol to support run-time knowledge sharing among agents. KQML is described and evaluated as an agent communication language relative to the desiderata.
Usage Policy-Based CPU Sharing in Virtual Organizations

Resource sharing within grid collaborations usually implies specific sharing mechanisms at participating sites. Challenging policy issues can arise within virtual organizations (VOs) that integrate participants and resources spanning multiple physical institutions. Resource owners may wish to grant to one or more VOs the right to use certain resources subject to local policy and service level agreements, and each VO may then wish to use those resources subject to VO policy. Thus, we must address the question of what usage policies (UPs) should be considered for resource sharing in VOs. As a first step in addressing this question, we develop and evaluate different UP scenarios within a specialized context that mimics scientific grids within which the resources to be shared are computers. We also present a UP architecture and define roles and functions for scheduling resources in such grid environments while satisfying resource owner policies.
Ultrahigh Energy Neutrinos in the Light of SuperK

We propose a novel approach for studying neutrino oscillations with extragalactic neutrinos. We show that measurement of the neutrino induced upward hadronic and electromagnetic showers and upward muons could be used to detect �µ ! �� oscillations. We find significant signal to background ratios for the hadronic/electromagnetic showers with energies above 10 TeV to 100 TeV initiated by the extragalactic neutrinos. We demonstrate that a kilometer-size neutrino telescope has a very good chance of detecting neutrino oscillations.
Palaeosols and sequence stratigraphy of the Lower Permian Abo Member, south‐central New Mexico, USA

The relationship between palaeosols and sequence stratigraphy is tested in the Lower Permian Abo Member, south-central New Mexico, by comparing interfluve and fluvial-terrace palaeosols with palaeosols that developed within lowstand-fluvial deposits. Interfluve and fluvial-terrace palaeosols consist of primary pedogenic features, including vertical root traces, vertic structures, Stage II and III pedogenic calcite and translocated clay (argillans), which are cross-cut or replaced by low-aluminium goethite, gley colour mottling, sparry calcite veins and ankerite. The polygenetic character of the palaeosols is consistent with initial development for several thousand to tens of thousands of years on well-drained interfluves or fluvial terraces, followed by waterlogging due to invasion by a rising water table that locally may have been brackish. In contrast, lowstand-fluvial sediment that filled incised valleys contains only rooted and vertic palaeosols, whose immaturity resulted from high aggradation rates. Palaeosols similar to those in the Abo Member have been recognized in other ancient strata and, when combined with highresolution correlation, provide evidence for interpretation of sequencestratigraphic surfaces and systems tracts.
Effect of Painted Shoulders on Vehicle Speed

The Tompkins County Highway Division, in Ithaca, New York, colored the shoulders on a stretch of county highway in 2012 to possibly act as a traffic-calming measure. The county performed a series of traffic counts before and after the colorization of the shoulder. The Cornell University Local Roads Program was asked to review these traffic data to see if there was a difference in the speed before and after the application of the colored shoulders. Overall, the effect of the colored shoulders on speed at the site in Ellis Hollow was minimal. At most, there was a slight increase for higher-speed trucks of just more than 1 mph; but for almost every other vehicle grouping the differences were not appreciable, even if they were statistically significant. The available data cannot be used to examine any effect on safety from application of colored shoulders. A different experimental design may have been able to allow the county to study the effect of the colored shoulders on safety for all highway users.
On the evolution of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Fingerprint and implications for decadal predictability in the North Atlantic

It has been suggested previously that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) anomaly associated with changes in the North Atlantic Deep Water formation propagates southward with an advection speed north of 34°N. In this study, using Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Coupled Model version 2.1 (GFDL CM2.1), we show that this slow southward propagation of the AMOC anomaly is crucial for the evolution and the enhanced decadal predictability of the AMOC fingerprint—the leading mode of upper ocean heat content (UOHC) in the extratropical North Atlantic. A positive AMOC anomaly in northern high latitudes leads to a convergence/divergence of the Atlantic meridional heat transport (MHT) anomaly in the subpolar/Gulf Stream region, thus warming in the subpolar gyre (SPG) and cooling in the Gulf Stream region after several years. Recent decadal prediction studies successfully predicted the observed warm shift in the SPG in the mid-1990s. Our results here provide the physical mechanism for the enhanced decadal prediction skills in the SPG UOHC.
FLOOD-CONTROL FACILITIES FOR UNIQUE FLOOD PROBLEMS

The unusual climatic, hydrologic, topographic and physiographic conditions in southern California present and create many unique problems in connection with the design of facilities for flood-control. The unusual conditions include extreme concentration of seasonal rainfall and runoff, short-duration and high-peak storms, steep topographic gradients and unique combination of physiographic and cultural characteristics. Facilities include debris basins, concrete-paved channels, leveed earth channels with and without grade-control structures, and continuous single levees. Initially, concepts of design have been based on judgement and theoretical considerations with limited or no actual knowledge or experience on such problems. Later, some facilities have been designed with the aid of scaled model studies, but for the most part, prototype verification of simulated conditions for flood of design magnitude is awaited. However, behavior of structures with small flows, ranging from about one-third to one-half of design value, as well as indicated necessity for remedial measures, are presented.
Effect of vit. E on myoglobin content of guinea pig skeletal muscle.

SummaryA marked decline in myoglobin concentration has been demonstrated in gastrocnemius and masseter muscles of guinea pigs maintained longer than 15 days on a Vit. E-deficient diet. Supplementation with Vit. E after 14 days on a deficient diet reduces the magnitude of concentration change and, indeed, stabilizes pigment concentration at control levels. No significant difference between control and experimental animals in regard to water content, muscle weight or body weight was evident from 21 and 30 day dietary regimen studies. Non-collagen nitrogen was significantly depleted only in the gastrocnemii of the 21 day deficient animals.
Evaluating the Cost and Risk Impacts of Launch Choices

A method is presented for quantitatively assessing the generalized cost and risk impacts to a space system architecture of a restrictive government launch policy and application is made to the case of the U.S. space transportation policy of 1994. For both a restrictive and unrestrictive launch policy scenario, a mixed integer optimization algorithm is used to select the best launch vehicle suite for a given satellite system architecture based on the cost or risk selection rule for a particular type of decision maker. The cost and risk impacts that result in the two scenarios are compared over an extensive matrix of satellite masses, altitudes, inclinations, and constellation arrangements. Generalized launch policy cost impact estimating relationships are derived, and risk impacts are represented by descriptive statistics. The analysis finds that the 1994 U.S. launch policy affects the launch cost and launch risk of many types of satellite system architectures.
Characterization of Long Descending Premotor Propriospinal Neurons in the Spinal Cord

The motor function of the spinal cord requires the computation of the local neuronal circuits within the same segments as well as the long-range coordination of different spinal levels. Implicated players in this process are the propriospinal neurons (PPNs) that project their axons across different levels of the spinal cord. However, their cellular, molecular, and functional properties remain unknown. Here we use a recombinant rabies virus-based method to label a specific type of long-projecting premotor PPNs in the mouse upper spinal cord that are monosynaptically connected to the motor neurons in the lumbar spinal cord. With a whole spinal cord imaging method, we find that these neurons are distributed along the entire length of the upper spinal cord with more in the lower thoracic levels. Among them, a subset of thoracic PPNs receive substantial numbers of sensory inputs, suggesting a function in coordinating the activity of trunk and hindlimb muscles. Although many PPNs in the cervical and thoracic spinal cord receive the synaptic inputs from corticospinal tract or serotonergic axons, limited bouton numbers suggested that these supraspinal inputs might not be major regulators of the PPNs in intact animals. Molecularly, these PPNs appear to be distinct from other known premotor interneurons, but some are derived from Chx10+ lineages. This study provides an anatomical basis for further exploring different functions of PPNs.