cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Path-forecasting for HEV optimal energy management (POEM)

This paper studies a control strategy using path-forecasting for Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) optimal energy management (POEM). In the previous work, a receding horizon control (RHC) approach was developed to solve a dynamic programming (DP) formulated optimization problem where preview information of an intended route is utilized to schedule battery state of charge (SoC) usage profile along the route for optimal fuel economy of HEVs. This paper presents our recent work that further developed POEM strategy with refined route segmentation rules and fuel consumption estimation. The work also contains the development of a simulation platform integrating POEM strategy with a production level vehicle control strategy, fuel economy evaluation of POEM under different driving cycles, and the robustness study of the POEM strategy.
Electrically Conductive Prepreg Systems

In efforts to reduce weight and potentially reduce costs of aircraft, airframe manufacturers have been increasing their use of composite materials. A major problem with composite structures is that they lack the electrical and thermal characteristics of the metal structures they are replacing. Low cost, structural conductive prepreg materials are now being developed by Hexcel to offer solutions to these very difficult problems. These materials, which are being marketed under the Thorstrandtm trade mark, are based on MBAssociate’s aluminum coated E-glass fiber.
The Challenges of Biological Materials

The challenges of biological materials and systems—the inherent complexity—is a result of the diversity of Nature itself. The evolution of structure in biological materials is guided by the ever-changing requirements of the external environment and have resulted in materials with desirable engineering properties, such as high strength, toughness, adaptability, flaw tolerance, self-healing, mutability and multifunctionality, all with a limited set of—and frequently inferior—building materials. As a result of such constraints, Nature implements a flexible material composed of a limited set of molecular components: soft, deformable, highly convoluted proteins, composed of a minute set of amino acids. Providing a common base, protein form and function has evolved intimately, such that even the prediction of folded structure from a known peptide sequence is a technological challenge. Potential functionality is extended through the use of structural hierarchies—resulting in system robustness, efficiency, and design tolerance—while decreasing the efficacy of any single-scale analysis. At the microscale, the complexity manifests as functional, growing, adaptable materials—producing “shaky” platforms for tissue engineering and growth. While biological and chemical cues may change across scales, mechanical insights can provide a common basis regardless of scale or analytical progression.
Mixed-scale jump regressions with bootstrap inference

Abstract We develop an efficient mixed-scale estimator for jump regressions using high-frequency asset returns. A fine time scale is used to accurately identify the locations of large rare jumps in the explanatory variables such as the price of the market portfolio. A coarse scale is then used in the estimation in order to attenuate the effect of trading frictions in the dependent variable such as the prices of potentially less liquid assets. The proposed estimator has a non-standard asymptotic distribution that cannot be made asymptotically pivotal via studentization. We propose a novel bootstrap procedure for feasible inference and justify its asymptotic validity. We show that the bootstrap provides an automatic higher-order asymptotic approximation by accounting for the sampling variation in estimates of nuisance quantities that are used in efficient estimation. The Monte Carlo analysis indicates good finite-sample performance of the general specification test and confidence intervals based on the bootstrap. We apply the method to a high-frequency panel of Dow stock prices together with the market index defined by the S&P 500 index futures over the period 2007–2014. We document remarkable temporal stability in the way that stocks react to market jumps. However, this relationship for many of the stocks in the sample is significantly noisier and more unstable during sector-specific jump events.
Transpyloric Feeding Tube Placement Using Electromagnetic Placement Device in Children.

BACKGROUND Transpyloric feeding tubes (TPT) are often recommended in critically ill children. Blind tube placement, however, can be difficult, be time-consuming, and incur multiple radiation exposures. An electromagnetic device (EMD) is available for confirmation of successful placement of TPTs. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate the efficacy of an EMD for TPT placement in children and determine its impact on placement success, radiation exposure, confirmation time, and cost for tube placement compared with traditional blind TPT placement. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective data were collected in patients receiving a TPT before (pre-EMD group) and after implementation of an EMD (EMD group). RESULTS Need for radiographic exposure decreased significantly in the EMD group (n = 40) compared with the pre-EMD group (n = 38) (0.6 vs 1.6 x-rays, P < .001). TPTs were placed and confirmed without abdominal x-ray in 21 of 40 patients in the EMD group. There were no serious adverse events such as misplacement into the lung or pneumothorax or perforation injury of the stomach. Successful tube confirmation took a significantly shorter time in the EMD group than in the pre-EMD group (1.45 vs 4.59 hours, P < .0001). There was an estimated cost savings of $245.10 per placement associated with decreased x-ray and fluoroscopy. CONCLUSION The use of an EMD in children significantly decreased radiation exposure and confirmation time while maintaining TPT placement success. The use of an EMD can potentially offer large cost savings. Elimination of abdominal x-ray with EMD during TPT placement was achieved without any serious complications in approximately half of the children.
Legal Issues: The Supreme Court Looks at Broadcasting and the Cloud

Potentially more interesting is a case scheduled for oral argument in April that could have a significant impact on the development of technologies for streaming over-the-air broadcast media content and rethinking what it means to “perform” a work as it is defined by the Copyright Act. The case is American Broadcasting Company, et.al., vs. Aereo, Inc., (available online at www.supremecourt.gov, search for “aereo”) and involves the start-up technology company Aereo, Inc., and ABC, CBS, NBC and a number of other television studios and networks. These companies broadcast television content over airwaves that are considered public property. Any consumer with the proper TV antenna can capture the content and watch it at no cost in the comfort of their own home. The “public airwaves”, along with the Copyright Act make it clear that such private use is not an infringement of copyright and is legal.
Three ways to make proton therapy affordable

Shrink accelerators, sharpen beams and broaden health-care coverage so more people can get this type of radiation treatment, argue Thomas R. Bortfeld and Jay S. Loeffler.
From Coating to Dopant: How the Transition Metal Composition Affects Alumina Coatings on Ni-Rich Cathodes

Surface alumina coatings have been shown to be an effective way to improve the stability and cyclability of cathode materials. However, a detailed understanding of the relationship between the surface coatings and the bulk layered oxides is needed to better define the critical cathode–electrolyte interface. In this paper, we systematically studied the effect of the composition of Ni-rich LiNixMnyCo1–x–yO2 (NMC) on the surface alumina coatings. Changing cathode composition from LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2 (NMC532) to LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 (NMC622) and LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) was found to facilitate the diffusion of surface alumina into the bulk after high-temperature annealing. By use of a variety of spectroscopic techniques, Al was seen to have a high bulk compatibility with higher Ni/Co content, and low bulk compatibility was associated with Mn in the transition metal layer. It was also noted that the cathode composition affected the observed morphology and surface chemistry of the coated material, which has ...
Laboratory analysis of cerebrospinal fluid.

Objective To review the physiology of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), normal laboratory reference values, and key aspects of CSF sample collection, gross and microscopic examination, microbiologic testing, and chemical analysis. Data sources Recent professional literature. Study selection Selected manually by the authors. Data extraction Articles manually by the authors. Data synthesis CSF is formed by a combined process of plasma ultrafiltration and active secretion. Mechanical and osmotic barriers exist between plasma and CSF and between CSF and brain. Lumbar puncture is the preferred technique for CSF sampling. Normal CSF should be clear, colorless, and free of clotted material. CSF can be examined for presence of microbes using stains. Additionally, the chemical composition of CSF can be examined; tests of interest include glucose, protein, lactate, enzymes, glutamine, specific amino acids, biogenic amines, and various drugs. Conclusion Visual, microscopic, and chemical examination of CSF is essential to the clinical management of patients with CNS disease.
Changes in Water Quality of Grand Lake St. Marys Watershed Following Implementation of a Distressed Watershed Rules Package

Grand Lake St. Marys watershed has drawn attention over the past decade as water quality issues resulting from nutrient loading have come to the forefront of public opinion, political concern, and scientific study. The objective of this study was to assess long-term changes in water quality (nutrient and sediment concentrations) following the distressed watershed rules package instituted in 2011. Since that time, a variety of rules (e.g., winter manure ban) and best management practices (cover crops, manure storage or transfers, buffers, etc.) have been implemented. We used a general linear model to assess variation in total suspended solids, particulate phosphorus, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), nitrate N, and total Kjeldahl nitrogen concentrations from daily Chickasaw Creek (drains ∼25% of watershed) samples spanning 2008 to 2016. Parameters were related to flow (higher values during high flows), timing (lower values during winter months), and the implementation of the distressed watershed rules package (lower values following implementation). Overall, reductions following the distressed designation for all parameters ranged from 5 to 35% during medium and high flow periods (with exception of SRP). Reductions were even more pronounced during winter months covered by the manure ban, where all parameters (including SRP) exhibited decreases at medium and high flows between 20 and 60%. While the reductions seen in this study are significant, concentrations are still highly elevated and continue to be a problem. We are optimistic that this study will serve to inform future management in the region and elsewhere.
Expert systems and simulation in flexible manufacturing systems

Abstract Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS), as a class of automated production systems, are being implemented to increase the flexibility and productivity of discrete part manufacturing. Today, as a result of on-going advances and developments in hardware, this technology is not only becoming more complex to control, but also presenting a number of decision problems to be solved. Which, in turn, increases the pressure on both the researchers and practitioners to develop better sofware algorithms in order to use these expensive hardware systems efficiently. In the recent literature on FMS, planning problems are classified into strategic, tactical and operational areas. Each area has been also studied extensively and several solution approaches have been proposed ranging from analytical techniques to simulation and expert systems. The objective of this paper is to review the developments in simulation and to discuss the role of Expert Simulation systems (ESS) in FMS by identifying possible future research areas.
Learning form-meaning mappings for language

The proposed thesis research addresses two of the main obstacles to building agents that communicate using natural language: the need for richer representations of linguistic constructions that incorporate aspects of conceptual knowledge, context and goals; and the need for a principled approach to the automatic acquisition of such structures from examples. More generally, it explores the idea that patterns that arise in language are inextricably linked with and motivated by patterns of meaning and experience. This view, along with empirical evidence suggesting that linguistic knowledge at all levels can be characterized as mappings between form and meaning, serves as the basis for a computational model of the acquisition of simple phrasal and clausal constructions. The idea that language involves associations between sounds (form) and relatively richer sets of stimuli (meaning) is neither new nor surprising. Indeed, such an assumption is made without controversy in some recent models of the acquisition of individual words, including those for objects, spatial relations, and actions (Regier 1996; Bailey 1997; Siskind 1997; Roy & Pentland 1998). Thus far, however, models of the learning of larger phrasal and clausal structures have been oriented toward the problem of acquiring symbolic syntactic patterns, usually based around verbal argument structure (e.g., Brent 1994). The meaning of these larger structures is typically assumed to be predictable from the meaning of its constituents. The current work adopts the less strictly compositional framework of Construction Grammar (Goldberg 1994). On this view, although phrasal and clausal constructions require more complex structural description of the relations between their constituents, they can still be described, like words, as mappings between form and meaning. Parameters of form consist primarily of phonological cues, such as features of intonation, words and their inflections, and word order. Parameters of meaning encompass a much larger set of possibilities, including event structure, sensorimotor control, force dynamics, attentional state, perspective-
Broad-Spectrum Memetic Therapies

There is a massive multiplication of pathogenic memes in mental illness – the culprit memes may have been initially benign and beneficial, or symbiotic, or pathogenic but dormant. The massive multiplication of memes may be in the form of ideas (e.g., paranoid or obsessive), emotions (e.g., depressive or euphoric), worries, desires, and behavior. In treating infections by microorganisms, broad-spectrum antibiotics have been particularly useful as they target a broad range of organisms, i.e., regardless of the nature of the organism, the therapy can be effective. Similarly, there are broad-spectrum therapies that may be geared to suppressing a broad range of memes. Of course, as in the case with antibiotics, broad-spectrum memetic therapy may have the side effect of suppressing beneficial normal flora of memes as well. Broad spectrum meme-oriented therapy is geared to depriving the pathogenic memes of attention, affect, and thought and thus the neural reinforcement, thus interfering with their multiplication. Pharmacologic direct suppression of attention and cortical activity through sedation and sleep is one such therapy. Many patients on psychotropic drugs also report a blunting of their affect. Extant non-pharmacologic broad-spectrum meme-oriented therapies include such diverse techniques as relaxation training, meditation, hypnosis, bath, massage, music therapy, dance therapy, exercise, bibliotherapy, and electroconvulsive therapy. All these techniques have in common the focusing of attention on something other than the thoughts and feelings that are distressful, and thus the ability to suppress the multiplication of memes. In addition, certain memetic therapies such as music therapy may have such direct neurophysiologic effects as the release of BDNF.
Oxygen distribution in the vasculature of mouse tissue in vivo measured using a near infra red phosphor.

Oxygen dependent quenching of phosphorescence has been used to measure the oxygenation of tissue in mice, including the differences between normal tissue and that of a murine tumor. Approximately 0.3 mg of the phosphorescence oxygen probe, Green 2W, was injected into the tail vein of tumor bearing mice. The mice were immobilized using an anesthetic cocktail and illuminated with flashes (< 4 µsec t1/2) of light of 636 ± 15 nm. The emitted phosphorescence (790 nm max.) was measured using an imaging phosphorimeter with an intensified CCD camera, an instrument which provides two dimensional digital maps of oxygen pressure. Both the illumination light and the phosphorescence were in the near infra red region of the spectrum, where skin and tissue have little absorption. The light can therefore readily pass through the skin and centimeter thickness of tissue. Mice are sufficiently small that the oxygen pressure maps could be obtained by illuminating from either the same or the opposite side as the camera (and tumor). The tumors were observed as regions with oxygen pressures substantially below those of the surrounding normal tissue. Thus, it is possible to non-invasively detect these tumors and to monitor their internal oxygen pressure in real time and through cm of tissue.
Racial Differences in Cause-Specific Mortality Between Community-Dwelling Older Black and White Adults.

Objectives To understand which causes of death are higher in black than white community‐dwelling older adults and determine whether differences in baseline risk factors explain racial differences in mortality. Design Longitudinal cohort study (Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study). Setting Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Memphis, Tennessee. Participants Black and white men and women aged 70 to 79 during recruitment (N=3,075; 48% men, 42% black) followed for a median of 13 years. Measurements A committee of physicians adjudicated cause of death, which was categorized as cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, cancer, dementia, pulmonary, infection, kidney, or other causes. Using competing risks regression, we examined whether known risk factors at baseline (demographic characteristics, smoking, body mass index, chronic diseases, physical function, cognition) could explain racial differences in cause‐specific mortality risk. Results During follow‐up, 1,991 (65%) participants died. Black participants died at higher rates from cancer (hazard ratio (HR)=1.36, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.14–1.63), kidney disease (HR=2.09, 95% CI=1.16–3.74), stroke (HR=1.31, 95% CI=0.98–1.76); and CVD (HR=1.16, 95% CI=0.98–1.37). Poorer physical and cognitive performance at baseline among black participants explained most of the racial difference in risks of dying from kidney disease, stroke, and CVD but not cancer. When examining types of cancer deaths, black participants died at higher rates from multiple myeloma, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer, which baseline risk factors did not explain either. Conclusion Factors contributing to poorer physical and cognitive performance in similarly aged black men and women could be targets to reduce excess mortality from CVD, stroke, and kidney disease. More work is needed to identify factors contributing to cancer mortality disparities.
Grain Boundary Phase Segregation for Dramatic Improvement of the Thermoelectric Performance of Oxide Ceramics.

This work presents a novel approach of dramatically increasing the energy conversion efficiency of thermoelectric CaMnO3−δ ceramics through the combination of lattice dopants substitution and secon...
Agricultural intensification may create an attractive sink for Dolichopodidae, a ubiquitous but understudied predatory fly family

Long-legged flies (Dolichopodidae) are common within U.S. agroecosystems, but rarely the focus of ecological study. Given a documented sensitivity to environmental changes, at least in natural systems like grasslands and reed marshes, we aimed to determine how local management and landscape-scale factors might influence the community assemblage of Dolichopodidae found within vegetable farms. During the summer of 2013 and 2014, pan trapping was used to sample the long-legged fly community present in produce farms across the northeast region of the U.S. state of Ohio; farms were selected to represent gradients of landscape complexity and management intensity. Communities found within sweet corn, summer squash, and unmanaged old fields were surveyed. Over 3000 flies representing 11 genera and 33 species were collected. This adds an additional 4 genera and 19 species as occurring within the study region. In nearly all cases, we found that Dolichopodidae abundance and the diversity of genera collected was greater within vegetable crops versus set-aside habitats on farms. Within croplands, the value of a habitat patch for Dolichopodidae was highly dependent on agricultural intensification; fields with a high frequency of pesticide use and conventional tillage practices supported reduced abundance and diversity. Landscapes dominated by agricultural production were also found to reduce the species pool of Dolichopodidae found within sampled habitats. Our findings provide an important baseline of Dolichopodidae species and their relative abundance within regional agricultural landscapes. They also highlight the potential that highly attractive but intensively managed croplands may act as ecological traps, with consequences for Dolichopodidae conservation.
Noninfectious Foodborne Exposures Reported to 2 National Reporting Systems, United States, 2000-2010.

Objectives:Foodborne disease is a pervasive problem caused by consuming food or drink contaminated by infectious or noninfectious agents. The 55 US poison centers receive telephone calls for advice...
Immuno-Ultrastructural Localization and Putative Multiplication Sites of Huanglongbing Bacterium in Asian Citrus Psyllid Diaphorina citri

Huanglongbing, the most destructive citrus disease worldwide, is caused by the bacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas) and is vectored by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). Very little is known about the form and distribution of CLas in infected psyllids, especially at the ultrastructural level. Here, we examined these aspects by transmission electron microscopy, combined with immunogold labeling. In CLas-exposed ACP adults, the CLas bacterial cells were found to be pleomorphic taking tubular, spherical, or flask-shaped forms, some of which seemed to divide further. Small or large aggregates of CLas were found in vacuolated cytoplasmic pockets of most ACP organs and tissues examined, including the midgut, filter chamber, hindgut, Malpighian tubules, and secretory cells of the salivary glands, in addition to fat tissues, epidermis, muscle, hemocytes, neural tissues, bacteriome, and walls of the female spermatheca and oviduct. Large aggregates of CLas were found outside the midgut within the filter chamber and between the sublayers of the basal lamina of the hindgut and Malpighian tubules. Novel intracytoplasmic structures that we hypothesized as ‘putative CLas multiplication sites’ were found in the cells of the midgut, salivary glands, and other tissues in CLas-exposed ACP. These structures, characterized by containing a granular matrix and closely packed bacterial cells, were unbound by membranes and were frequently associated with rough endoplasmic reticulum. Our results point to the close association between CLas and its psyllid vector, and provide support for a circulative-propagative mode of transmission.
Stability Analysis of Energy Routing System Considering Droop Control

The energy routing system can use DC bus to connect multiple input and output converters. The structure of the system is complex, and the flow of energy is changeable. Therefore, a detailed and effective design is necessary. This paper takes impedance analysis method to analyze the smallsignal stability of the energy routing system which uses a DC bus structure with constant power load considering the droop control strategy of multiple converters. Firstly, a small-signal model is established for the converter module by combining control strategy. Secondly, based on the control of the bus side port voltage converter (BVCC) and the control of the bus side port current converter (BCCC) classification, derivation and summary of the application steps of unified impedance criterion in the energy routing system are obtained. Finally, the energy routing system under constant power load is simulated and analyzed. The result shows that the oscillation frequency at the time of system instability is consistent with the frequency of the intercept point of the impedance curve. Meanwhile, the increasing of the inductance value of the constant power load converter can improve the system stability. The result is identical to the theoretical analysis as well as verifying the applicability and accuracy of the unified impedance criterion applied in the energy router.
Physician review of image registration and normal structure delineation.

INTRODUCTION: Image registration and delineation of organs at risk (OARs) are key components of three-dimensional conformal (3DCRT) and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) treatment planning. This study hypothesized that image registration and OAR delineation are often performed by medical physicists and/or dosimetrists and are not routinely reviewed by treating physicians. METHODS: An anonymous, internet-based survey of medical physicists and dosimetrists was distributed via the MEDPHYS and MEDDOS listserv groups. Participants were asked to characterize standard practices for completion and review of OAR contouring, target volume contouring, and image registration at their institution along with their personal training in these areas and level of comfort performing these tasks. Likert-type scales are reported as Median [Interquartile range] with scores ranging from 1 = "Extremely/All of the time" to 5 = "Not at all/Never." RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-seven individuals responded to the survey. Overall, respondents indicated significantly less frequent physician review (3 [2-4] vs 2 [1-3]), and less confidence in the thoroughness of physician review (3 [2-4] vs 2 [1-3], P < 0.01) of OAR contours compared to image registration. Only 19% (95% CI 14-24%) of respondents reported a formal process by which OAR volumes are reviewed by physicians in their clinic. The presence of a formal review process was also associated with significantly higher perceived thoroughness of review of OAR volumes compared to clinics with no formal review process (2 [2-3] vs 3 [2-4], P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Despite the critical role of OAR delineation and image registration in the 3DCRT and IMRT treatment planning process, physician review of these tasks is not always optimal. Radiotherapy clinics should consider implementation of formal processes to promote adequate physician review of OARs and image registrations to ensure the quality and safety of radiotherapy treatment plans.
Identification through fine mapping and verification using CRISPR/Cas9-targeted mutagenesis for a minor QTL controlling grain weight in rice

A minor QTL for grain weight in rice, qTGW1.2b, was fine-mapped. Its casual gene OsVQ4 was confirmed through CRISPR/Cas9-targeted mutagenesis, exhibiting an effect that was larger than the original QTL effect. The CRISPR/Cas system exhibits a great potential for rice improvement, but the application was severely hindered due to insufficient target genes, especial the lack of validated genes underlying quantitative trait loci having small effects. In this study, a minor QTL for grain weight, qTGW1.2b, was fine-mapped into a 44.0 kb region using seven sets of near isogenic lines (NILs) developed from the indica rice cross (Zhenshan 97)3/Milyang 46, followed by validation of the causal gene using CRISPR/Cas9-targeted mutagenesis. In the NIL populations, 1000-grain weight of the Zhenshan 97 homozygous lines decreased by 0.9–2.0% compared with the Milyang 46 homozygous lines. A gene encoding VQ-motif protein, OsVQ4, was identified as the candidate gene based on parental sequence differences. The effect of OsVQ4 was confirmed by creating CRISPR/Cas9 knockout lines, whose 1000-grain weight decreased by 2.8–9.8% compared with the wild-type transgenic line and the recipient. These results indicate that applying genome editing system could create novel alleles with large phenotypic variation at minor QTLs, which is an effective way to validate causal genes of minor QTLs. Our study establishes a strategy for cloning minor QTLs, which could also be used to identify a large number of potential target genes for the application of CRISPR/Cas system.
Investigating exposure measures and functional forms in urban and suburban intersection safety performance functions using generalized negative binomial - P model

Selecting an appropriate exposure measure and functional form for Safety Performance Functions (SPFs) is critical in precisely predicting crash counts by different crash types for intersections. This study proposes a new approach, namely Generalized Negative Binomial-P (GNB-P) model, to model the complex relationship between crashes and different exposure measures by crash type for intersections, which helps not only identify the most reliable exposure measure for intersection SPFs, but also explore the most appropriate functional form of the NB models. To this end, three types of SPF functional forms, namely Power function, Hoerl function 1 and Hoerl function 2 with different exposure measures including major road AADT, minor road AADT and total AADT were estimated by crash type for stop-controlled and two types of signalized intersections. The over-dispersion of the SPF models was estimated using the exposure measures to account for crash data variation across different intersections. The SPF estimation results highlighted that the mean-variance structure of NB models is not consistent and varies by crash data. The over-dispersion of SPFs by crash type is not constant and varies across different intersections. The minor road AADT is shown to be positively correlated with the over-dispersion of SPFs in estimating crash counts for Same-Direction Crashes (SDC), Intersecting-Direction Crashes (IDC) and Single-Vehicle Crashes (SVC). Estimating the over-dispersion using exposure measures results in more reliable SPF results. Furthermore, it is found that the Power function with major road and minor road AADT as the exposure measure performs the best in estimating SPFs for Opposite-Direction Crashes (ODC). The Hoerl function 2 with total AADT and the proportion of minor road AADT over the total as the exposure measure performs the best in estimating SVC SPFs for intersections. The Hoerl function 1 with major road and minor road AADT as the exposure measure is more accurate in estimating SPFs for both SDC and IDC.
The positive impact of mentoring on burnout: Organizational research and best practice interventions for cancer hospital employees.

11012Background: While burnout is not a new concept, combating it is becoming an increasingly important focus for organizations across all industries. Recently, the World Health Organization recogn...
Acoustic telemetry detection probability and location accuracy in a freshwater wetland embayment

In recent years, large-scale acoustic telemetry observation networks have become established globally to gain a better understanding of the ecology, movements and population dynamics of fish stocks. When studying a species that uses different habitats throughout its life history difficulty may arise where acoustically suboptimal habitats are used, such as shallow, vegetated areas. To test the feasibility of active tracking in these acoustically suboptimal habitats, we quantified detection probability and location error as a function of several environmental variables with two transmitter types in a shallow freshwater embayment. When placed in nearshore areas (< 1 m deep), the higher-powered transmitter (158 dB) had significantly greater detection probability than the lower-powered transmitter (152 dB). For both transmitter types, detection probability declined at 200 m; however, at the 100 m distance the higher-powered transmitter had greater than 50% detection probability per ping cycle (50.4%) while the lower-powered transmitter was substantially less (29.4%). Additionally, detection probability increased when the transmitter was deployed within sparse, senescent Phragmites spp. vegetation (14%). Estimated positional accuracy of transmitters deployed at known locations (location error) was variable (error range: 13–259 m), and was generally higher for the more powerful transmitter. Location error was minimized when the lower-powered transmitter was located near softened shoreline areas compared to near man-made armored shorelines (i.e., rip-rap). While benefits exist for maximizing transmitter power (e.g., increased detection range in open-water environments), use of a lower-powered transmitter may be advantageous for active tracking specific locations of fish inhabiting shallow water environments, such as in estuarine tidal marshes and shallow wetlands. Thus, when planning acoustic telemetry studies, researchers should conduct site-specific preliminary detection probability/location error experiments to better understand the utility of acoustic telemetry to investigate fish movements in acoustically suboptimal conditions.
The airway as a route of sensitization to peanut: An update to the dual allergen exposure hypothesis.

Food allergies have increased at an alarming rate over the past 2 decades, indicating that environmental factors are driving disease progression. It has been postulated that sensitization to foods, in particular, peanut, occurs through impaired skin. Peanut allergens have been quantified in household dust and may be the culprit source. Indeed, TH2 cell–skewing innate cytokines can be driven by application of food antigens on both intact and impaired skin of mice, resulting in antigen-specific IgE production and anaphylaxis following allergen exposure. However, allergy induction through the skin can be prevented by induction of oral tolerance before skin exposure. These observations led to the dual allergen exposure hypothesis, according to which oral exposure to food antigens leads to tolerance and antigen exposure on impaired skin leads to allergy. Here, we propose the airway as an alternative route of sensitization in the dual allergen exposure hypothesis that leads to food allergy. Specifically, we will provide evidence from mouse models and human cell–based studies that together implicate the airway as a plausible route of sensitization.
Severe rhinosinusitis

Rhinosinusitis is diagnosed frequently in clinical practice, but the term may in fact encompass a wide spectrum of diseases. Inflammation of the nasal and sinus mucosa can arise from various causes and lead to different sequelae. Moreover, the term rhinosinusitis is more accurate than sinusitis. Causes range from a viral infection leading to the common cold to an invasive, fungal infection. An accurate diagnosis is important because effective therapy is available if recognized early and if specific therapy is used. Importantly, there is a close relationship between upper and lower airway disease and each have unique structural and functional differences that make an understanding of rhinosinusitis important not only for upper airway disease, but also for the management of asthma. All too often, rhinosinusitis becomes chronic and this becomes a challenge because medical therapy may not be sufficient to control disease. Finally, we should note that the differential diagnosis of rhinosinusitis is extensive and physicians should place heavy emphasis not only on the history, but also on appropriate imaging studies. A normal exam does not rule out the possibility or rhinosinusitis. Finally, we should emphasize that effective treatment is dependent on the etiology of the symptoms but also dependent on whether it is acute or chronic.
A Robust Human-Robot Communication System Using Natural Language for HARMS

Abstract This paper presents a robust human-robot communication system using natural language for HARMS (Human, Agent, Robot, Machine, Sensor). HARMS is a unique model designed for multi-agent systems. The human-robot communication system focuses specifically on allowing humans to easily and naturally communicate with other agents in the multi-agent system. The communication system uses specially designed algorithms that can accept any input, classify the input as one of the three message types in HARMS, and interpret the input to machine readable commands to be transmitted to other agents. The communication system is robust because it does not rely on a specific set of input (i.e. direct commands) or syntax. The user does not need any prior training and can communicate with the system naturally. Tests were performed on the system for each of the three sentence types (imperative, interrogative, and declarative) with an overall accuracy of 96.6%.
Feedback-based dynamic voltage and frequency scaling for memory-bound real-time applications

Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling is increasingly being used to reduce the energy requirements of embedded and real-time applications by exploiting idle CPU resources, while still maintaining all application's real-time characteristics. Accurate predictions of task run-times are key to computing the frequencies and voltages that ensure that all tasks' real-time constraints are met. Past work has used feedback-based approaches, where applications' past CPU utilizations are used to predict future CPU requirements. Mispredictions in these approaches can lead to missed deadlines, suboptimal energy savings, or large overheads due to frequent changes to the chosen frequency or voltage. One shortcoming of previous approaches is that they ignore other 'indicators' of future CPU requirements, such as the frequency of I/O operations, memory accesses, or interrupts. This paper addresses the energy consumptions of memory-bound real-time applications via a feedback loop approach, based on measured task run-times and cache miss rates. Using cache miss rates as indicator for memory access rates introduces a more reliable predictor of future task run-times. Even in modern processor architectures, memory latencies can only be hidden partially, therefore, cache misses can be used to improve the run-time predictions by considering potential memory latencies. The results shown in this paper indicate improvements in both the number of deadlines met and the amount of energy saved.
Computer simulations of self-organized megaripples in the nearshore

[1] Megaripples are bed forms with heights of 20–50 cm and lengths of 1–10 m that are common in the surf zone of natural beaches. They affect sediment transport, flow energy dissipation, and larger-scale hydro- and morphodynamics. They are thought to be dynamically similar to bed forms in deserts, rivers, and deeper marine environments. Here a self-organization model (similar to models for subaerial bed forms) is used to simulate the formation and development of megaripples in the surf zone. Sediment flux is determined from combined wave and current flows using stream power and bed shear stress formulations as well as a third formulation for transport based on simple rules, which represent sheet flow. Random bed irregularities, either imposed or resulting from small variations in transport representing turbulence, are necessary seeds for bed form development. Feedback between the bed and the flow, in the form of a shadow zone downstream of a bed form and increasing flow acceleration with elevation over the crests of bed forms, alter the transport such that organized bed forms emerge. Modeled bed form morphology (including cross-sectional shape and plan view) and dynamics (including growth and migration) are similar to natural megaripples. The model can be used to extend the field observations of Clarke and Werner (2004), which suggest that, if conditions remain the same, megaripples will continue to grow. Contrary to many bed form models, this model supports the idea that bed form spacing grows continually.
Primary Structure of Freezing Point-depressing Glycoproteins

The freezing point-depressing glycoproteins, which are present in the blood of the Antarctic fish, Trematomus borchgrevinki, were sequenced. The first 6 residues of the native glycoprotein and the β-eliminated protein were identified by phenyl isothiocyanate degradation. The native glycoproteins were hydrolyzed into several small glycopeptides by the proteolytic enzymes subtilisin or elastase. The resulting hepta, hexa, penta, tetra, tri, and diglycopeptides were separated on Dowex 50 and were sequenced by phenyl isothiocyanate degradation. The sequences of these glycopeptides showed that the molecule contained the same repeating unit found in the first 6 residues of the unhydrolyzed protein. The repeating structural unit is a tripeptide of alanine-alanine-threonine in which the last residue is glycosidically linked to the disaccharide galactosyl-N-acetylgalactosamine.
Involvement of acyl carrier protein in acylation of glycerol 3-phosphate in Clostridium butyricum. I. Purification of Clostridium butyricum acyl carrier protein and synthesis of long chain acyl derivatives of acyl carrier protein.

Abstract Clostridium butyricum grown in medium supplemented with radioactive pantothenic acid incorporates this compound into both protein and nonprotein fractions of the cell. Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is the major protein into which pantothenic acid is incorporated. C. butyricum ACP was isolated as a homogeneous protein, as judged by column chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex, disc gel electrophoresis, and analytical ultracentrifugation. This protein contains a single sulfhydryl residue, 2-mercaptoethylamine, which is a component of the prosthetic group, 4'-phosphopantetheine. The prosthetic group is cleaved from the protein when the protein is incubated at pH 12, 70°, for 1 hour. Although this protein has properties similar to those of ACP of Escherichia coli, the amino acid compositions of the two proteins are different. The chemical synthesis of long chain fatty acyl-ACP derivatives is described. In this procedure other unidentified groups of the protein are acylated as well as the sulfhydryl group. The effects of acylation or acylation and alkylation of groups other than the sulfhydryl group of ACP were studied by testing ACP regenerated from such derivatives in the malonyl coenzyme A-CO2 exchange reaction.
The sulfated conjugate of biochanin A is a substrate of breast cancer resistant protein (ABCG2)

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP, ABCG2) in the transport of biochanin A and its metabolites. Transport studies were carried out in MDCK/bcrp1 as well as in control cells, and samples were analysed for biochanin A aglycone and metabolites using LC/MS/MS. In bidirectional transport studies biochanin A sulfate was detected in both apical and basolateral chambers after the addition of biochanin A. Analysis by RT-PCR revealed that the enzyme sulfotransferase 1A1 is expressed in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK)-II cells. After its intracellular formation, biochanin A sulfate was preferentially transported to the basolateral side in MDCK/Mock cells, whereas apical transport of biochanin A sulfate was predominant in MDCK/Bcrp1 cells. Genistein, an additional metabolite of biochanin A formed intracellularly, was also found to be a bcrp1 substrate. Studies with MDCK/MRP2 (ABCC2) cells demonstrated that both genistein and biochanin A sulfate are not MRP2 substrates. In contrast, biochanin A aglycone was not transported by murine or human BCRP; nor is it a substrate of MRP2 or P-glycoprotein. Therefore, BCRP may play an important role in the enteric cycling of biochanin A sulfate and through this mechanism may alter the bioavailability of its non-substrate parent compound biochanin A. Moreover, MDCK-II cells might be a suitable model to investigate the synergistic role of sulfotransferase enzymes with efflux transporters.
A social constructionist approach to crisis management: Allegations of sudden acceleration in the Audi 5000

Although most organizational crises begin with an objective triggering event, we maintain that public relations and management approaches (including introductory public relations textbooks), intentionally or not, often follow the positivistic temptation to treat the many components of crisis communication as objective choices, thus obscuring the distinctively communicative character of crises and their resolutions. Consequently, this monograph asserts that crises are dynamic, social constructions that are both created and resolved terminologically. This approach is rooted in the assumption that all perspectives of reality, from scientific discourse to crisis communication, are socially constructed through communication. The case of Audi, after its automobiles were alleged to suffer from “sudden acceleration,” is then used as an exemplar to illustrate the potential contributions that a social constructionist approach to communication offers crisis management researchers.
Plant-wide control of the Tennessee Eastman problem

Abstract This study focuses on the development and performance of four plant-wide control structures for the Tennessee Eastman challenge problem. The control structures are developed in a tiered fashion and without the use of a quantitative steady state or dynamic model of the process. The throughput or production rate manipulator is selected first so that it is located on the major process path. The inventory controls are arranged in an outward direction from this throughput manipulator. The four structures are described and comments are given on their effective handling of the defined disturbances and setpoint changes. One structure provides effective control under all circumstances for 50 hours of process time. The effective dynamic performance of these structures supports the strength of the tiered plant-wide control design methodology used.
System-Level Control to Optimize Glucagon Counterregulation by Switch-Off of α-Cell Suppressing Signals in β-Cell Deficiency

Background:Glucagon counterregulation (GCR) is a key protection against hypoglycemia that is compromised in diabetes. In β-cell-deficient rats, GCR pulsatility can be amplified if insulin (INS) or somatostatin (SS) are infused in the pancreatic artery and then switched off during hypoglycemia. The data indicate that these signals act by different mechanisms, and here we analyze the differences between the two switch offs (SOs) and predict the GCR-amplifying effect of their individual or combined application.Methods:A minimal control network (MCN) of α/δ-cell interactions is approximated by differential equations to explain the GCR response to a SO and test in silico the hypotheses: (i) INS SO suppresses basal and pulsatile, while SS SO blocks only pulsatile glucagon release and (ii) simultaneous application of the two switch offs will augment the individual GCR response.Results:The mechanism postulated in (i) explains the differences in the GCR responses between the SOs. The MCN predicts that simultaneous...