cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NonLinear Filtering Structure for Image Smoothing in Mixed-Noise Environments

This paper introduces a new nonlinear filtering structure for filtering image data that have been corrupted by both impulsive and nonimpulsive additive noise. Like other nonlinear filters, the proposed filtering structure uses order-statistic operations to remove the effects of the impulsive noise. Unlike other filters, however, nonimpulsive noise is smoothed by using a maximum a posteriori estimation criterion. The prior model for the image is a novel Markov random-field model that models image edges so that they are accurately estimated while additive Gaussian noise is smoothed. The Markov random-field-based prior is chosen such that the filter has desirable analytical and computational properties. The estimate of the signal value is obtained at the unique minimum of the a posteriori log likelihood function. This function is convex so that the output of the filter can be easily computed by using either digital or analog computational methods. The effects of the various parameters of the model will be discussed, and the choice of the predetection order statistic filter will also be examined. Example outputs under various noise conditions will be given.
Multiple measures of visual attention predict novice motor skill performance when attention is focused externally.

Abstract Multiple lines of evidence indicate that the control of attention and motor skill performance are related. Athletes of various skill levels differ in terms of their control over the focus of attention and directing athletes to adopt an internal or external focus of attention modulates performance. However, it is unclear (a) whether the relationship between skill level and attentional control arises from preexisting individual differences in attention or from practice of the motor skill and (b) whether the effect of adopting an internal or external focus of attention on motor performance is influenced by individual differences in attention. To address these issues, individuals were measured on three distinct attention functions – orienting, alerting, and executive – prior to engaging in a novel golf-putting task performed with either external or internal focus instructions. The results indicated that, on average, attentional functioning and putting performance were related but that the strong relationships with orienting and executive attention were only present in the group given external focus instructions. These findings suggest that individual differences in attentional abilities are predictive of novel skill performance under an external focus of attention and they shed light on the mechanisms underlying the effects of focus instructions during motor performance.
Confucian Order at the Edge of Chaos: The Science of Complexity and Ancient Wisdom

Many academics extol chaos theory and the science of complexity as significant scientific advances with application in such diverse fields as biology, anthropology, economics, and history. In this paper we focus our attention on structure-within-chaos and the dynamic self-organization of complex systems in the context of social philosophy. Although the modern formulation of the science of complexity has developed out of late-twentieth-century physics and computational mathematics, its roots may extend much deeper into classical thinking. We argue here that the essential ideas and predictions of the science of complexity are found within the social ordering principle of li (the rites) in Confucius's Analects.
Political Mobilization in Tibet

This paper aims to investigate the root of ongoing conflict between China and Tibetan regions for independence. By using the data collected from waves of protests in 2008 across Tibetan regions in China, it investigates the extent to which the physical Han Chinese presence led to political mobilization. The findings show that regions with stronger presence of Han population witnessed less protests, suggesting powerful influence of geography and ethnic integration on the spread of Tibetan Buddhism and independence movement over a long period of time. In order to explain the settlement patterns of Han Chinese in Tibet, the paper exploits the physiological differences between Tibetans and Han Chinese in their abilities to adapt to high altitudes.
Towards a common system architecture for dynamically deploying network services in routers and end hosts

The architectural simplicity of the core Internet is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, its agnostic nature paved the way for endless innovations of end-to-end applications. On the other hand, the inherent limitation of this simplicity makes it difficult to add new functions to the network core itself. This is exacerbated by the conservative tendency of commercial entities to “leave well-enough alone”, leading to the current situation often referred to as the ossification of the Internet. For decades, there has been practically no new functionality that has been added to the core Internet on a large scale. This thesis explores the possibility of enabling in-network services towards the goal of overcoming the ossification of the Internet. Our ultimate goal is to provide a common runtime environment supported by all Internet nodes and a wide-area deployment mechanism, so that network services can be freely installed, removed, and migrated among Internet nodes of all kinds—from backbone routers to mobile phones. In that vision of a future Internet, there is little difference between servers and routers for the purpose of running network services. Services can run anywhere on the Internet. Application service providers will have the freedom to choose the best places to run their code. We present NetServ, our first step towards that future. NetServ is a node architecture for dynamically deploying in-network services on edge routers. Network functions and applications are implemented as software modules which can be deployed at any NetServ-enabled node on the Internet, subject to policy restrictions. The NetServ framework provides a common execution environment for service modules and enables module deployment without restarting the nodes. There are many challenges in building such a system. The main contribution of this thesis lies in making design choices and implementation trade-offs to meet those challenges. First and foremost, we recognize that the primary impetus for adopting new technologies is economics. We demonstrate how NetServ can facilitate an economic alliance between content providers and eyeball ISPs. We make our case by presenting NetServ applications which represent four concrete use cases. Second, NetServ provides a unified runtime environment between routers and servers, taking us a step closer to the vision of a common runtime available on all Internet nodes. Third, NetServ provides a wide-area deployment mechanism based on on-path signaling, allowing a network service to be deployed on multiple routers along the path to a network destination. Fourth, unlike most programmable routers, NetServ runs service modules in user space, ensuring isolation and safety of the modules that belong to multiple users. Lastly, we address scalability by attaching multiple NetServ nodes to an OpenFlow forwarding engine. In this extended architecture, the scalability of services is no longer limited to a single NetServ node.
User-guided interictal spike detection

In the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, long-term monitoring may be required to document and study interictal activities such as interictal spikes. However, visual inspection of the EEG done by an expert is too time consuming and researchers normally resort to automatic detection methods. We describe a new EEG user-guided interictal spike detection algorithm that only requires the user to annotate a few spikes. We use the annotations to build a template that captures the relevant features of spikes, and then use Mean Squared Error (MSE) test to detect all of the other spikes in the recording. The detected events are rank ordered so that the user can easily identify the true spikes and their time of occurrence. The true spikes are then annotated to the EEG signals and reported to the EEG expert for further evaluation. This design provides a compromise between the enormous time commitments necessary to annotate recordings by hand and the inability of fully-automatic spike detection algorithms to account for the variability between subjects. Because spike morphology and spatial distribution change considerably when patients go through cycles of wake and sleep in long-term monitoring, this detection algorithm uses multichannel multiple templates to detect more than one type of event. The algorithm is able to achieve an average sensitivity of 96% and an average of 4.8 false detections/ hour.
Medically unexplained symptoms (Letter 3 of 5)

The article by Dr Page and Professor Wessely (May 2003 JRSM1) is salutary and informative, but on some occasions MUS should be MUSS, for medically unexplained symptoms and signs. Indeed, the article cites the work of Bergman and Stamm2 on cardiac non-disease in children. I can offer an example. More than fifty years ago our family physician misdiagnosed extrasystoles, of which I am still the proud owner, as evidence of rheumatic heart disease. While my school mates were playing rugby which I thoroughly enjoyed and cricket in the summer months, I was confined to a room in the high school and given the task of patching targets used for target practice. Although in later years I led a physically vigorous life including service in an army commando unit, I never forgot or forgave that family doctor. Numerous other signs impinge on the otherwise normal lives of patients and I refer particularly to screening signs, of which prostate specific antigen (PSA) is the exemplar. A raised PSA may be a sign of prostatic cancer but there are other possibilities which a potentially hazardous biopsy may or may not explain.3,4 In a patient over 70, even if the raised PSA is due to prostate cancer, he is likely to die from some other cause. The MUSS of any screening test should be evaluated with particular care because the complications of treatment may be as profound as failure to treat a false negative.
Organizational Attractiveness as an Employer on College Campuses: An Examination of the Applicant Population

Abstract I extended recruitment research by sampling from the applicant population to investigate factors related to a firm's attractiveness as an employer on college campuses. Specifically, I surveyed potential applicants at nine different universities and university personnel (faculty and placement staff) at eight of those universities to investigate relationships of recruitment activities, organizational attributes, familiarity with the firm, and the social context with a firm's attractiveness as an employer. Results indicated that recruitment activities influenced firm attractiveness through influencing perceptions of organizational attributes. Additionally, familiarity with the firm and the social context, operationalized as perceptions of university personnel, were related to potential applicants' attraction to the firm. Finally, of additional interest was the finding of no differences in perceptions of organizational attributes or attraction to the firm between respondents who interviewed with the firm and respondents who had not interviewed with the firm. The implications of such results for firms interested in attracting applicants are discussed.
The Ras and Sch9 pathways regulate stress resistance and longevity

Depending on the availability of extracellular nutrients, yeast can enter either high or low metabolism survival phases. We have identified two pathways that regulate longevity and stress resistance in both the low and high metabolism phases. The deletion of SCH9, which encodes for a serine threonine kinase, triples the mean life span and increases resistance to oxidative and thermal stress. Mutations that decrease the activity of the Ras/Cyr1/PKA pathway also extend longevity and increase stress resistance by activating transcription factors Msn2/Msn4 and the mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (Sod2). Although only one intracellular pathway that includes genes homologous to SCH9 and SOD2 has been identified in worms, our studies in yeast suggest that longevity in higher eukaryotes may also be negatively regulated by the Ras pathway.
A serrated edge Gregorian subreflector for dual chamber compact range systems

The performance of a Gregorian subreflector compact range system is studied. The compact range system uses a cosine blended rolled edge main reflector. Thus, the main reflector edge diffraction in the potential target zone of the compact system is very small. However, it was found that the diffraction from the edges of the subreflector degrades the incident fields on the main reflector, which subsequently leads to undesired stray fields in the target zone. To reduce the subreflector edge diffraction incident on the main reflector, serrations were added to the subreflector. It is shown that by using the serrated edge reflector, one can reduce the subreflector edge diffraction incident on the main reflector, which subsequently lowers the undesired stray fields in the target zone. >
Laminations Again, and Again

In the spring of 1982, I gave an introductory course to homogenization for researchers at Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France; students from Ecole Polytechnique could follow it as an optional course, and I needed to give an assignment to two students, Philippe BRAIDY and Didier POUILLOUX.1,2 I asked them to make a numerical study of the set attainable by successive laminations for comparing it with the optimal set characterized by Francois MURAT and myself. I thought the set obtained by repeated laminations to be different, i.e., strictly smaller, and our construction with confocal ellipsoids unavoidable,3 so that I was surprised that they reported that the two sets looked alike; a few days after, they provided a proof that the two sets are equal.
Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Candidate ULXs

In a subset of the most luminous of the so-called “ultra-luminous” X-ray sources in nearby galaxies, there is evidence for black holes with masses considerably higher than found in Galactic binaries. Apart from extremely high X-ray luminosities, cool disks found in the X-ray spectra of these sources and X-ray timing measurements form the basis for present evidence for intermediate-mass black holes in these sources. New optical and radio measurements appear to support the X-ray evidence. I will review recent X-ray, optical, and radio observations of these ULXs, and discuss the strengths of the intermediate-mass black hole interpretation, arguments against this interpretation, and future prospects for revealing the nature of these ULXS more clearly.
The Galois extensions induced by idempotents in a Galois algebra

Let B be a Galois algebra with Galois group G, Jg ={ b ∈ B | bx = g(x)b for all x ∈ B} for each g ∈ G, eg the central idempotent such that BJg = Beg ,a ndeK = � g∈K, eg ≠1 eg for a subgroup K of G .T henBeK is a Galois extension with the Galois group G(eK )( ={ g ∈ G | g(eK ) = eK }) containing K and the normalizer N(K)of K in G. An equivalence condition is also given for G(eK ) = N(K) ,a ndBeG is shown to be a direct sum of all Bei generated by a minimal idempotent ei. Moreover, a characterization for a Galois extension B is shown in terms of the Galois extension BeG and B(1 − eG).
Stimulation efficacy of chamber-type, thin-film microelectrode

A computational model of a chamber-type, thin-film stimulating microelectrode was developed to study the distribution of the current density within the chamber. The three-dimensional model was based on Laplace's equation. The model, in conjunction with published experimental observations, provided information on the stimulation efficacy of the chambered electrode within neural tissue. In comparison to the performance of unchambered electrodes with the same effective stimulating area, the chambered electrode can potentially inject more current and stimulate more neural tissue. In comparison to unchambered electrodes with the same physical size, the chambered electrode can operate more selectively for nearby neural tissue. Thus, the chamber design has a greater dynamic range of operation. >
Case Studies in L2 Teacher Education.

Recently the literature on ESL teacher education has focused on the importance of providing prospective teachers with opportunities to develop abilities in the areas of reflection, decision-making, problem-solving, analysis, and assessment Some authors have suggested the use of case studies as one means of reaching these goals. This article reports on the use of student-generated case studies in an ESL teacher education course, including descriptions of the context, participants, classroom procedures, and case studies written, as well as students' responses to their use. Other L2 teacher educators are urged to experiment with case studies in their own classrooms, and to obtain students' response to them.
Coagulability of blood in rats exposed to cigarette smoke

Abstract Coagulability of the blood was studied in rats exposed acutely or chronically to cigarette smoke. No significant difference was found in plasma clotting time for control rats and rats chronically exposed to cigarette smoke when the measurement was made 24 hours after smoke exposure. When coagulation was measured during the period of smoke exposure, a significant shortening of plasma clotting time was observed but fibrinogen level, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and thrombin time were not altered. The duration of smoke-induced shortening of plasma clotting time was protracted in animals which had previously been exposed to smoke but was quickly rectified in animals which had no prior exposure to smoke. Furthermore, the degree of hypercoagulability during smoke exposure was more pronounced in old rats (24 months) than in young rats (2–7 months).
The use of fluorescence in determining formation constants of complexes

Abstract Four different methods for the calculation of the formation constants of fluorescing complexes are discussed. The methods were used to determine constants for the complexes of aluminum(III), gallium(III) and indium(III) with 8-quinolinol-5-sulfonate anion.
Angiographic Evaluation and Management of Nonvariceal Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to review the roles of angiography, embolization, and various ancillary techniques in evaluating and managing gastrointestinal hemorrhage. CONCLUSION. Nonvariceal gastrointestinal hemorrhage typically resolves spontaneously or responds to medical or endoscopic management. Refractory hemorrhage may require angiography and transcatheter intervention. Noninvasive imaging evaluation may be useful for characterizing the bleeding source and confirming the presence of active hemorrhage before angiography. If a bleeding source is angiographically identified, superselective catheterization with embolization is typically effective in controlling hemorrhage while minimizing complications.
Examining the effects of drinking and interpersonal protective behaviors on unwanted sexual experiences in college women.

INTRODUCTION: Recent evidence suggests interpersonal protective behaviors (IPBs) may be more effective than alcohol-based strategies at decreasing alcohol-related sexual consequences. However, no studies have examined individual IPBs to assess their unique influences on specific sexual consequences. The current study used a longitudinal design to examine the direct effects of typical weekly drinking and specific IPBs on unwanted sex. IPBs were also examined as moderators of the relationship between drinking and unwanted sex. METHODS: Randomly sampled female drinkers attending a northeastern university (N=191) completed a baseline survey measuring typical weekly drinking and IPBs and a six-month follow-up assessing unwanted sex. Bootstrapped regression examined the effects. RESULTS: Drinking predicted unwanted sex after accounting for IPBs (range of bs=.008-.009, SE=.005, 95% CI [.000,.02]). Vigilance-related IPBs were negatively associated with unwanted sex after controlling for drinking (b=-.052, SE=.025, 95% CI [-.107, -.008]). The IPB "Talking to people who know one's potential dating or sexual partner to find out what s/he is like" significantly moderated the drinking-unwanted sex relationship (b=-.009, SE=.004, 95% CI [-.018, -.003]). At above-average drinking levels, women who used this IPB more frequently reported fewer episodes of unwanted sex. CONCLUSION: Findings revealed obtaining information about a potential partner significantly reduced the impact of drinking on unwanted sex for heavier drinkers. Future research examining how women implement this IPB may clarify its role in reducing unwanted sex. Language: en
Sensitivity of a Capacitance Sensor to Artificial Macropores

The effects of large macropores, cracks, and other large heterogeneities within the capacitance sensor sensitivity volume are of concern in application of these sensors. The objective of this work was to evaluate the sensitivity of the Enviroscan sensors to the presence of macropores. The artificial macropores were manufactured from polystyrene tubes and placed in contact with the access tube and at distances of 1.5 cm and 2.5 cm in air, water, and wetted sand. Measurements were obtained during sequential filling with water eight macropores at the same distance from the access tube. The dependencies of the raw frequencies on the number of filled macropores were linear with r 2 > 0.98. The macropore sensitivity, defined as the decrease in frequency per one filled macropore, deceased exponentially with the distance from the access tube. For a given distance from the access tube, the macropore sensitivity depended linearly on the scaled frequency. The effect of the water-filled macropores on the bulk soil water content estimate decreased with the increase in soil water content. The estimated errors of measurement were approximately 0.002 cm 3 cm -3 (0.001 cm 3 cm -3 ) per 1% of soil volume near the access tube occupied by the macropore for the water content of bulk soil of 0.10 cm 3 cm -3 (0.30 cm 3 cm -3 ) and were about three times smaller at the 1.5 cm distance from the access tube. Overall, macropores near the access tube had only moderate effect on the soil water content measurements with capacitance sensors when they occupied less than 13% of soil volume near the access tube.
Antiinflammatory activity of the platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist A-85783

Accumulating evidence suggests an important role for the lipid mediator, platelet-activating factor (PAF), in cutaneous inflammation. In these studies the antiinflammatory effects of the potent and selective lipophilic PAF receptor antagonist A-85783 topically applied to the ventral ears of male Wistar rats were assessed. Intradermal injections of PAF into rat ears resulted in cutaneous inflammation as assessed by both ear thickness measurements and histological evaluation. Pretreatment of the ears with A-85783 resulted in an inhibition of subsequent PAF-induced inflammation. A-85783 treatment also inhibited phorbol myristic acetate-induced cutaneous inflammation, suggesting that the PAF receptor is involved in the etiology of this experimental dermatitis. These findings demonstrate that epicutaneous A-85783 is an appropriate tool to study the role of the PAF receptor in cutaneous inflammation, and suggest the possible clinical utility of this new class of antiinflammatory agents.
Linking snowfall and snow accumulation to generate spatial maps of SWE and snow depth

It is critically important but challenging to estimate the amount of snow on the ground over large areas due to its strong spatial variability. Point snow data are used to generate or improve (i.e., blend with) gridded estimates of snow water equivalent (SWE) by using various forms of interpolation; however, the interpolation methodologies often overlook the physical mechanisms for the snow being there in the first place. Using data from the Snow Telemetry and Cooperative Observer networks in the western United States, we show that four methods for the spatial interpolation of peak of winter snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow depth based on distance and elevation can result in large errors. These errors are reduced substantially by our new method, i.e., the spatial interpolation of these quantities normalized by accumulated snowfall from the current or previous water years. Our method results in significant improvement in SWE estimates over interpolation techniques that do not consider snowfall, regardless of the number of stations used for the interpolation. Furthermore, it can be used along with gridded precipitation and temperature data to produce daily maps of SWE over the western United States that are comparable to existing estimates (which are based on the assimilation of much more data). Our results also show that not honoring the constraint between SWE and snowfall when blending in situ data with gridded data can lead to the development and propagation of unrealistic errors.
Is a second transurethral resection of high-grade T1 bladder tumors always necessary?

e16009Background: Routine use of a second transurethral resection (TUR) for all high-grade T1 (HGT1) bladder tumors is supported by AUA, EAU, and NCCN guidelines. We have observed significant pelvi...
Evaluation of Visunex Medical's PanoCam(TM) LT and PanoCam(TM) Pro wide-field imaging systems for the screening of ROP in newborn infants.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of childhood blindness. The incidence of ROP is rising, placing greater demands on the healthcare providers that serve these patients and their families. Telemedicine remote digital fundus imaging (TM-RDFI) plays a pivotal role in ROP management, and has allowed for the expansion of ROP care into previously underserved areas.Areas covered: A broad literature review through the pubmed index was undertaken with the goal of summarizing the current state of ROP and guidelines for its screening . Furthermore, all currently used telemedicine remote digital fundus imaging devices were analyzed both via the literature and the companies’ websites/brochures. Finally, the PanoCam LT™ and PanoCam™ Pro created by Visunex Medical were analyzed via the company website/brochures.Expert commentary: The PanoCam LT™ and PanoCam™ Pro have recently been approved for use within the USA and CE marked for international commercialization in European Union a...
Thinking small: The United States and the lure of community development

“The intimate scale can be just as oppressive as the large scale” (p. x). Thinking Small is a reminder to question the assumption that communities are peaceful and holy spaces, and an invitation to...
Associations between sleep disturbances, personality, and trait emotional intelligence ☆

Abstract Insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking earlier than desired, is often associated with complaints of nonrestorative sleep, but these complaints can occur independently. Fragmented sleep and nonrestorative sleep relate to one's mood, ability to process their own or others' emotions, and can lead to changes in cognitions and behaviors. Personality traits related to increases in anxiousness may play a role in the development and maintenance of sleep disorders and associated daytime impairment of nonrestorative sleep. Relations between sleep disturbance, personality traits, and trait emotional intelligence are underrepresented and findings are mixed. This study addressed inconsistencies by identifying associations between the Big Five personality traits, trait emotional intelligence, complaints of nonrestorative sleep, and disrupted sleep associated with insomnia using a sample of university students. We predicted that neuroticism would relate to poorer sleep, and that conscientiousness and trait emotional intelligence would be associated with better sleep. Openness to experience, extraversion, and agreeableness are rarely discussed in the literature, but were expected to associate similarly to conscientiousness. Results provided support that trait characteristics are associated with insomnia severity and restorative sleep quality.
Measurement of the π + π − → K s 0 K s 0 Scattering Cross Section

Data from the reaction ..pi../sup -/p ..-->.. nK/sub s//sup 0/K/sub s//sup 0/ have been used to determine the cross section for the reaction ..pi../sup +/..pi../sup -/ ..-->.. K/sub s//sup 0/K/sub s//sup 0/ by extrapolation to the pion pole. The reaction ..pi../sup +/..pi../sup -/ ..-->.. K/sub s//sup 0/K/sub s//sup 0/ is dominated by S* and f/sup 0/ production. The ..pi../sup +/..pi../sup -/ ..-->.. K/sub s//sup 0/K/sub s//sup 0/ cross section is well below the S-wave unitarity limit in the S* (threshold) region. We discuss implications for the SU(3) scalar meson nonet and for ..pi pi.. phase-shift analyses.
Renal Allograft Outcome After Simultaneous Heart and Kidney Transplantation.

Chronic kidney disease frequently accompanies end-stage heart failure and may result in consideration of simultaneous heart and kidney transplantation (SHKT). In recent years, there has been a significant increase in SHKT. This single-center cohort consisted of 35 patients who underwent SHKT during 1996 to 2015. The aim of this study was to review factors that may predict better long-term outcome after SKHT. Thirteen patients (37%) had delayed graft function (DGF) after transplant (defined as the need for dialysis during the first 7 days after transplant), which was significantly associated with mechanical circulatory support device therapy and high right ventricular systolic pressure before transplant. Most of the recipients had glomerular filtration rate (GFR) ≥50 ml/min/1.73 m2 at 1 and 3 years after transplant (21 of 26 [81%] and 20 of 21 [95%], respectively). Higher donor age was associated with reduced 1-year GFR (p = 0.017), and higher recipient pretransplant body mass index was associated with reduced 3-year GFR (p = 0.008). There was a significant association between DGF and reduced median GFR at 1 and 3 years after transplant (p <0.005). Patient survival rates at 6 months, 1, and 3 years after transplant were 97%, 91%, and 86% respectively. In conclusions, our data support good outcomes after SHKT. Mechanical circulatory support device therapy and pulmonary hypertension before transplant are associated with DGF, which is a risk factor for poor long-term renal allograft function.
10 German Foundations in Israel and the Palestinian Territories – an overload?

German foundations are overly active in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. All six foundations pursue multiple projects. Within a range of 60 km there are 10 foundation offices. Especially in a region already suffering from an overload of international non-governmental work, one may ask to what extend the work of the foundations can contribute. Overlaps between project and partner funding must be avoided and coordination between the offices must be achieved. Therefore, a high spirit of cooperation between the foundations is needed to fulfil the goals of the work in this area—namely to contribute to the peace process and a strong civil society.
Chemical shift as a probe of molecular interfaces: NMR studies of DNA binding by the three amino-terminal zinc finger domains from transcription factor IIIA

We report the NMR resonance assignments for a macromolecular protein/DNA complex containing the three amino-terminal zinc fingers (92 amino acid residues) of Xenopus laevis TFIIIA (termed zf1-3) bound to the physiological DNA target (15 base pairs), and for the free DNA. Comparisons are made of the chemical shifts of protein backbone1 HN, 15N,13 Cα and13 Cβ and DNA base and sugar protons of the free and bound species. Chemical shift changes are analyzed in the context of the structures of the zf1-3/DNA complex to assess the utility of chemical shift change as a probe of molecular interfaces. Chemical shift perturbations that occur upon binding in the zf1-3/DNA complex do not correspond directly to the structural interface, but rather arise from a number of direct and indirect structural and dynamic effects.
Neutron capture cross sections of stable Cd isotopes

Cross sections for radiative neutron capture have been measured by activation for the stable isotopes of Cd with mass numbers 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, and 116 by observing the decays of the 8 radioisotopes produced by captures in samples of both natural and enriched abundances. Determination of the thermal cross sections requires correction for captures by epithermal neutrons, so careful attention has been paid to the measurement of the resonance integrals, which were found to vary for irradiations at different sites in the reactor.
Search for μ-->e+e+e

We have made a search for the neutrinoless decay mode $\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}e+e+e$. Positive poins from the Berkeley 184-in. synchrocyclotron were stopped in a lithium target. The detection of three decay particles not in coincidence with an incoming pion served to trigger two thin-plate spark chambers viewing the decays. The energy of the decay particles was measured with a combination of NaI counters and range telescopes. The spark chamber pictures were first scanned for events with three tracks meeting at a common point in the target. A requirement that no angle between any of the three tracks could be greater than 160\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} eliminated essentially all of the main source of background, namely, knock-on collisions of electrons passing through the target. Further requirements for the three tracks to be coplanar and for each particle to have at least 16 MeV eliminated all but one ambiguous event. For this event insufficient energy information was available. If we assume that one event to be $\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}e+e+e$, and with a calculated detection efficiency of 0.0083, an upper limit for the branching ratio for this mode can be set at 1.5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$ with a 90% confidence level.
Mouse models of multiple sclerosis: experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and Theiler's virus-induced demyelinating disease

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and Theiler's Murine Encephalitis Virus-Induced Demyelinating Disease (TMEV-IDD) are two clinically relevant murine models of multiple sclerosis (MS). Like MS, both are characterized by mononuclear cell infiltration into the CNS and demyelination. EAE is induced by either the administration of myelin protein or peptide in adjuvant or by the adoptive transfer of encephalitogenic T cell blasts into naive recipients. The relative merits of each of these protocols are compared. Depending on the type of question being asked, different mouse strains and peptides are used. Different disease courses are observed with different strains and different peptides in active EAE. These variations are also addressed. Additionally, issues relevant to clinical grading of EAE in mice are discussed. In addition to EAE induction, useful references for other disease indicators such as DTH, in vitro proliferation, and immunohistochemistry are provided. TMEV-IDD is a useful model for understanding the possible viral etiology of MS. This section provides detailed information on the preparation of viral stocks and subsequent intracerebral infection of mice. Additionally, virus plaque assay and clinical disease assessment are discussed. Recently, recombinant TMEV strains have been created for the study of molecular mimicry which incorporate various 30 amino acid myelin epitopes within the leader region of TMEV.
Economic phenomenology: fundamentals, principles and definition

One of the tensions in economics, that has spanned the last few centuries, has undoubtedly been the dichotomy between dialectical materialism and idealism, which ended up laying the foundations between structure and superstructure, taking up the important philosophical questions faced in past centuries. This tension also ended up entering the economic visions between determinists/liberalists and interventionists, both engulfed by positivism and mathematical reason that has left out any transcendental dimension. With these assumptions, this article pretends to present the fundamentals of economic phenomenology, a branch of phenomenology that studies economics in the formation of its primary ideas in response to the economic positivism that left any transcendental dimension and questions out of the economics science, such as: what kind of society do we want? In this context, the principles of economic phenomenology take form from the relationship between subject (intention) and materiality, noesis and noema (Noesis is the intention, the subjective dimension. Noema, is the object thought in subjective terms), which always presupposes a concept, an idea that can be interpreted in everyday life. In this direction, it also proposes the presuppositions, the method, some concepts and theories of which economic phenomenology is composed. Among these, the concepts of ontological reason, Peoples rights demand, the meso-economy and the theory of wages in order to interpret the vision of life that underlies economic systems.
Race, Riots, and the Police: by H. Rahtz, Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2016, 209 pp. $27.50 (paperback), ISBN: 978-1-62637-558-1

In his book, Race, Riots, and the Police, Howard Rahtz sheds light on how race riots in the United States stem from the rift between police and African American communities. As a retired police cap...
A Safer Synthesis of the Explosive Precursors 4-Aminofurazan-3-Carboxylic Acid and its Ethyl Ester Derivative

A safe and efficient one-pot synthesis of 4-aminofurazan-3-carboxylic acid and its hydrogen chloride gas-free conversion to the ethyl ester derivative are described. Previous syntheses of these int...
Fractional Spacetime & the Emergence of the Dark Sector (I)

It is well known that both Newtonian gravity and General Relativity can be built starting from the classical Poisson equation in 3-dimensional space. Here we speculate that, at least in principle, the concept of 3-dimensional space equipped with minimal fractality enables a qualitative explanation of both rotation curves of disk galaxies and cosmological expansion. Our approach bridges the gap between particle and gravitational interpretations of Dark Matter and suggests a unified picture of the Dark Sector. It offers a basis for explaining away Modified Newtonian Gravity (MOND) and its theoretical ramifications.
Designing for Quality of life

Abstract There has been substantial interest in examining the connection between tourism as a socioeconomic force and quality of life. Similarly, designing places as smart destinations to enhance experience is now an important area of research and application. The paper argues that designing for tourism is intimately related to the enhancement of quality of life; that is, designing appropriate platforms for tourism experience settings with its actors will contribute not only to the wellbeing of participants, but also improve the livability of places as destinations. The article outlines a conceptual framework with seven propositions which links tourism design and key elements of quality of life. The paper concludes with a discussion of important areas for future research and practical implications.
Evidence-Based, Non-pharmacological Interventions for Pediatric Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric problems in pediatric populations, frequently persist into adulthood, and are prospectively linked to negative sequelae, such as depression, suicidal ideation, conduct problems, and illegal substance use for some youth. Cognitive and behavioral therapy protocols have accrued the largest and most rigorous scientific support. These protocols most often involve psychoeducation, exposures (in vivo, imaginal), and cognitive restructuring. Some protocols include augmentation strategies such as relaxation training, social skills training, caregiver training, and modification of caregivers’ own anxiety symptoms. This chapter synthesizes and critically evaluates presumed mechanisms of clinical change in pediatric anxiety with an eye toward clinical application. A clinical illustration is offered relevant to child-focused, group-based CBT. The strategies and tools come from the authors’ work in developing, evaluating, and deploying in communities exposure-based CBT interventions.
Wi-fi see it all: generative adversarial network-augmented versatile wi-fi imaging

Wi-Fi imaging has attracted significant interests due to the ubiquitous availability of Wi-Fi devices today. In this paper, we present Wi-Fi See It All (WiSIA), a versatile Wi-Fi imaging system built upon commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Wi-Fi devices, which is able to simultaneously detect objects and humans, segment their boundaries, and identify them within the image plane. To achieve this, WiSIA utilizes three techniques. First, instead of constructing the image plane at the receiver side using a high-cost antenna array and complex parameter estimation, WiSIA pushes the image plane to the object side with two pairs of transceivers and 2D-IFFT. Second, WiSIA extracts the specific physical signature of the signals reflected from multiple objects to segment their boundaries. Third, WiSIA incorporates a cGAN (conditional Generative Adversarial Network) to enhance the boundary of different objects. We have implemented WiSIA using COTS Wi-Fi devices and evaluated it using a rich set of experiments. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of WiSIA. It outperforms the state-of-the-art vision-based method in dark and occlusion scenarios, demonstrating its superiority in such challenge scenarios.
Personality and Social Psychology Approaches to Religious and Spiritual Development in Adolescents

The fields of personality and social psychology, with their focus on individual differences and human communalities, have much to offer the study of religious and spiritual development in adolescence. This review describes the ways McAdams and Pals’ comprehensive personality theory and Saroglou’s Big Four functional account of religion inform the scientific understanding of adolescents’ religious and spiritual development. These theories suggest religious/spiritual development of adolescents should be studied at three levels of personality (traits, characteristic adaptations, and narrative identity/objective biography) and account for the potential functions of religion in relation to behaving (moral), believing (cognitive), belonging (social), and bonding (emotional) across diverse cultural contexts. The utility of these theories for investigating adolescent religious/spiritual development is illustrated through description of empirical studies and lines of research based on methodologies commonly employed in personality and social psychology, including longitudinal studies, religious priming experiments, and experience sampling methods. Likewise, this review highlights areas for future investigation and provides specific suggestions for inquiry on adolescent religious/spiritual development, which include deploying experimental designs, merging narrative identity with identity status approaches, and adopting a more holistic view of traits through analysis of experience sampling data.
Molecular design principles of ionic liquids with a sulfonyl fluoride moiety

The continued success of ionic liquids in applications ranging from energy to medicine poses the challenge to rapidly find new functional ionic liquids with desirable properties while developing practical, scalable syntheses. As a SuFExable functionality, the sulfonyl fluoride has become widely adopted throughout the field of chemical biology due, in part, to its unique stability–reactivity pattern, highlighting the underappreciated potential of the SVI–F motif in materials chemistry. For the first time, we herein report the development of a set of sulfonyl fluoride-functionalized ionic liquids with considerable structural diversity via an efficient, modular, and orthogonal fluorosulfonylethylation procedure. The resulting SO2F-functionalized ionic milieu has properties consistent with its classification as ionic liquids. We employed a combination of molecular design, synthesis, computational modeling, and X-ray crystallographic studies to gain in-depth understanding of their structure–property correlations. The diversification of the SO2F-bearing salts is extended to include active pharmaceutical precursors, allowing for access to functional materials with a priori low toxicity.
Glycan-mediated molecular interactions in bacterial pathogenesis

Glycans are expressed on the surface of nearly all host and bacterial cells. Not surprisingly, glycan-mediated molecular interactions play a vital role in bacterial pathogenesis and host responses against pathogens. Glycan-mediated host–pathogen interactions can benefit the pathogen, host, or both. Here, we discuss (i) bacterial glycans that play a critical role in bacterial colonization and/or immune evasion, (ii) host glycans that are utilized by bacteria for pathogenesis, and (iii) bacterial and host glycans involved in immune responses against pathogens. We further discuss (iv) opportunities and challenges for transforming these research findings into more effective antibacterial strategies, and (v) technological advances in glycoscience that have helped to accelerate progress in research. These studies collectively offer valuable insights into new perspectives on antibacterial strategies that may effectively tackle the drug-resistant pathogens that are rapidly spreading globally.
Hierarchical multi-agent based frequency and voltage control for a microgrid power system

Abstract With the introduction of active devices such as inverters in the microgrid the system stability has been jeopardized. A primary controller fails to maintain the system frequency and hence an additional secondary controller is needed. In this paper, a control technique for an isolated smart microgrid in a multi-agent based infrastructure is studied. The agents are software abstractions that utilize advanced algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Adaptive Dynamic Programming (ADP) to tune the control parameters. The proposed ADP based control approach is applied in different multi-agent structures in the inverter based microgrid which is tested against oscillations in the system. The results show improvement in control performance of the microgrid system using the proposed multi-agent based control method.
THE ALGORITHM PLAYGROUND: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF USER-PRODUCED CHILDREN’S VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE

With early-childhood mobile media device use on the rise, online video content plays an ever-increasing role in children’s lives. Of the wide variety of content available to children, user-produced videos on YouTube seem to be most popular. However, due to the platform’s size and the overwhelming number of child-targeted videos found on YouTube, scholars have been struggling with how to approach and study this topic. This study aims to address the gap in research by analyzing prevalent user-produced children’s videos on YouTube, with research questions focusing on video genres, their features, and content themes. Drawing on YouTube’s popularity-measurements and video recommendation algorithm, a corpus of 100 user-produced videos targeted to children was assembled. A content analysis of these videos led to the identification and conceptualization of 13 distinct genres of user-produced children’s videos: unboxing, surprise eggs, finger family, play-doh, nursery rhymes, kids songs, learning, pretend play (enactment), pretend play (toys), storytelling, arts & crafts, entertainer in character, and process repetition. Furthermore, the findings indicate that there are often unique interplays between genre type and the content, the production format, and the overall quality and educational rating. In addition to shedding light on the importance of studying child-targeted content on YouTube, this study’s main contribution is a typological map of the user-produced children’s video ecosystem that future studies from various fields can draw on.