cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New University Movement and the modernization of higher education in England

The "New University Movement" undertaken in the 19th-century England was a massive reform for higher education.Under the influence of utilitarianism,great modification on purpose and function,subject and curriculum in England's higher education was achieved.Essential rectification was made to the classical gentleman education so much so that secular,popularized education available to all people was facilitated.New University Movement re-set the relationship between classical gentleman education and practical vocational education,and reshaped the role of government and society for higher education.Therefore,tradition successfully became compatible with the modern.
Child neurology and multimedia technology

Methods of computer technology (intelligent technology, IT), such as multimedia and virtual reality, are utilized more and more in all medical fields including child neurology. Advances in the digitalization of individual medical data and multi-media technology have enabled patients to be able to obtain their own medical data by small media and to receive medical treatment at any hospitals even if they are located in distance place. Changes from a doctor oriented to patients oriented medicine is anticipated. It is necessary to store medical data from birth to adulthood and to accumulate epidemiological data of rare diseases such as metabolic diseases or degenerative diseases especially in child neurology, which highly require tele medicine and telecare at home. Moreover, IT may improve in the QOL of patients with neurological diseases and of their families. Cooperation of medicine and engineering is therefore necessary. Results of our experiments on telemedicine, telecare and virtual reality are described.
Ending empire and imagining the future

French and British rule in Africa collapsed not because of an all-out assault from a clearly defined colonized people, but because the imperial system broke apart at its internal cracks, as Africans selectively incorporated into political structures based on citizenship or self-determination seized the initiative and escalated their demands for power. Meanwhile, in the mid-1950s Portuguese and Belgian rulers, and the whites who dominated South Africa, were vigorously holding on to political power and appropriating economic gains for a tiny fraction of the population. However, they were slowly moving from being ordinary members of an international club where colonialism was the norm to being outliers in a new world where legitimacy was measured in terms of progress toward self-government and economic development (chapter 6). In the long run, neither Portugal, Belgium, nor South Africa could contain the pressures coming from neighboring territories or from the transformation of international norms, but it was the colonialism that identified itself with political reform and economic development that first proved unsustainable. By 1956 or 1958 French and British governments knew that the colonial endgame had begun. But where could colonial governments set the limits on the kinds of politics allowed in the ambiguous space between colonial domination and territorial autonomy? What could the first generation of African political leaders allowed a measure of power do with their opportunities?
On Generalized and Viscosity Solutions of Nonlinear Elliptic Equations

There are many notions of solutions of nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations. This paper is concerned with solutions which are obtained as suprema (or infima) of so-called subfunctions (superfunctions) or viscosity subsolutions (viscosity supersolutions). The paper also explores the relationship of these (generalized) solutions of differential inequalities and provides a relevant example for which existence questions have been studied using these concepts. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification. 35D, 35J.
Rabbits Multiplying Like Rabbits: The Rise in the Worldwide Popularity of Rabbits as Pets

Rabbits are one of the world’s most recently domesticated animals, having been domesticated for food and fur in the first millennium after Christ. The idea of keeping rabbits as pets did not gain widespread acceptance in Europe and North America until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the late twentieth century, the house rabbit movement emerged, whereby rabbits graduated from outdoor, caged pets to indoor household companions, gaining a status among some which now approaches that of cat or dog. At this time, rabbits began to be kept more commonly as pets in areas outside of Europe and the USA as well; in particular, rabbits are extremely popular pets in Australia (even though they are banned in some states) and Asian countries like Japan and Singapore. This chapter looks at the issues facing rabbits as pets outside of the USA, and makes some predictions for the future of rabbits as companion animals.
Testing decay of astrophysical neutrinos with incomplete information

Neutrinos mix and have mass differences, so decays from one to another must occur. But how fast? The best direct limits on nonradiative decays, based on solar and atmospheric neutrinos, are weak, $\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\gtrsim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}3}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{s}$ ($m/\mathrm{eV}$) or much worse. Greatly improved sensitivity, $\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\sim}1{0}^{3}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{s}$ ($m/\mathrm{eV}$), will eventually be obtained using neutrinos from distant astrophysical sources, but large uncertainties---in neutrino properties, source properties, and detection aspects---do not allow this yet. However, there is a way forward now. We show that IceCube diffuse neutrino measurements, supplemented by improvements expected in the near term, can increase sensitivity to $\ensuremath{\tau}\ensuremath{\sim}10\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{s}$ ($m/\mathrm{eV}$) for all neutrino mass eigenstates. We provide a road map for the necessary analyses and show how to manage the many uncertainties. If limits are set, this would definitively rule out the long-considered possibility that neutrino decay affects solar, atmospheric, or terrestrial neutrino experiments.
What Is a Safe Noise Level for the Public

The author discusses what is considered to be a safe noise level for members of the public in the U.S., and it mentions the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders' views about exposure to sound, decibel levels, and hearing loss. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's adoption of a legal standard for workplace hearing protection is assessed, along with the American Environmental Protection Agency Office of Noise Abatement and Control.
Predictive capabilities of statistical learning methods for lung nodule malignancy classification using diagnostic image features: an investigation using the Lung Image Database Consortium dataset

To determine the potential usefulness of quantified diagnostic image features as inputs to a CAD system, we investigate the predictive capabilities of statistical learning methods for classifying nodule malignancy, utilizing the Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC) dataset, and only employ the radiologist-assigned diagnostic feature values for the lung nodules therein, as well as our derived estimates of the diameter and volume of the nodules from the radiologists' annotations. We calculate theoretical upper bounds on the classification accuracy that is achievable by an ideal classifier that only uses the radiologist-assigned feature values, and we obtain an accuracy of 85.74 (±1.14)% which is, on average, 4.43% below the theoretical maximum of 90.17%. The corresponding area-under-the-curve (AUC) score is 0.932 (±0.012), which increases to 0.949 (±0.007) when diameter and volume features are included, along with the accuracy to 88.08 (±1.11)%. Our results are comparable to those in the literature that use algorithmically-derived image-based features, which supports our hypothesis that lung nodules can be classified as malignant or benign using only quantified, diagnostic image features, and indicates the competitiveness of this approach. We also analyze how the classification accuracy depends on specific features, and feature subsets, and we rank the features according to their predictive power, statistically demonstrating the top four to be spiculation, lobulation, subtlety, and calcification.
One Primitive to Diagnose Them All: Architectural Support for Internet Diagnostics

Today, network operators are increasingly playing the role of part-time detectives: they must routinely diagnose intricate problems and malfunctions, e.g., routing or performance issues, and they must often perform forensic investigations of past misbehavior, e.g., intrusions or cybercrimes. However, the current Internet architecture offers little direct support for them. A variety of solutions have been proposed, but each solution tends to address only one specific problem. Moreover, each solution proposes a different fix that is incompatible with the others, which complicates deployment.In this paper, we make the observation that most of the existing solutions share a common "functional core", which suggests that it may be possible to add a single primitive to the Internet architecture that can support a wide variety of diagnostic and forensic tasks. We then present one specific candidate that we call secure packet provenance (SPP). We show that SPP is easy to add to the current architecture, that it can be implemented efficiently in both software and hardware, and that it can be used to approximate (and sometimes surpass) the capabilities offered by a variety of existing diagnostic and forensic systems.
Modified Quasilinearization Method for Mathematical Programming Problems and Optimal Control Problems1

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a general method for solving mathematical programming problems and optimal control problems via modified quasilinearization. The method is coupled with a technique for choosing the initial multipliers optimally. Modified quasilinearization differs from ordinary quasilinearization because of the inclusion of the scaling factor or stepsize α in the system of variations. Because of the stepsize, modified quasilinearization exhibits a descent property in the performance index R, while this is not the case with ordinary quasilinearization. Convergence is achieved when R becomes smaller than some preselected value. The beneficial effect associated with the optimal initial choice of the multiplier lies primarily in increasing the likelihood of convergence rather than accelerating convergence. The dimensions of the matrices employed in the modified quasilinearization algorithm and the auxiliary minimization algorithm are presented in the chapter in a tabulated form. The chapter also presents a modification of the quasilinearization algorithm which has a descent property in the performance indexes P, Q, and R.
Jack of All Trades and Master of Knowledge: The Role of Generalists in New Distant Knowledge Integration

Organization-level knowledge diversification facilitates exploration – integration of external new knowledge –, yet knowledge accumulation poses a challenge because there is a trade-off between individual-level breadth and depth of knowledge. This leads to a need to coordinate larger teams in order to gather enough diverse expertise and capitalize on its benefits, a complex and costly process. As an alternative, we consider and show evidence of the role of individual-level diversification as a mechanism through which skilled researchers engage in successful exploration by utilizing the benefits of their breadth of knowledge and by mitigating the perceived disadvantages of their shallower depth of knowledge through diverse collaboration networks. Our results suggest that organizations seeking to innovate at the frontier should consider the benefits of hiring diverse researchers.
Cosine Approximate Nearest Neighbors

Kosinus-Ahnlichkeitsgraphenerstellung, oder All-Pairs-Ahnlichkeitssuche, ist ein wichtiger Systemkern vieler Methoden der Datengewinnung und des maschinellen Lernens. Die Graphenerstellung ist eine schwierige Aufgabe. Bis zu n2 Objektpaare sollten intuitiv verglichen werden, um das Problem fur eine Reihe von n Objekten zu losen. Fur grose Objektreihen wurden Naherungslosungen fur dieses Problem vorgeschlagen, welche die Komplexitat der Aufgabe thematisieren, indem die meisten, aber nicht unbedingt alle, nachsten Nachbarn abgefragt werden. Wir schlagen eine neue Naherungsgraphen-Erstellungsmethode vor, welche Eigenschaften der Objektvektoren kombiniert, um effektiv weniger Vergleichskandidaten auszuwahlen, welche wahrscheinlich Nachbarn sind. Auserdem kombiniert unsere Methode Filterstrategien, welche vor kurzem entwickelt wurden, um Vergleichskandidaten, die nicht vielversprechend sind, schnell auszuschliesen, was zu weniger allgemeinen Ahnlichkeitsberechnungen und erhohter Effizienz fuhrt. Wir vergleichen unsere Methode mit mehreren gangigen Annaherungs- und exakten Grundwerten von sechs Datensatzen aus der Praxis. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass unser Ansatz einen guten Kompromiss zwischen Effizienz und Effektivitat darstellt, mit einer 35,81-fachen Effizienzsteigerung gegenuber der besten Alternative bei 0,9 Recall.
Non-target stimuli in the visual field impact movement preparation

The present work provides an empirical test of the Dynamic Field Theory (DFT) of visuospatial cognition. The DFT is in a class of bi-stable neural network models applied to explain how visual information is integrated during the preparation of reaching responses (Erlhagen & Schoner, 2002). The DFT posits that peaks of neural activation representing potential targets are represented within an activation field. Objects that are close in space produce peaks that overlap, whereas objects that are far apart produce distinct peaks with non-overlapping distributions. As such, the DFT predicts reaction times to potential targets that are close in space will be faster than those to targets that are far apart. The present work provided the first test of this prediction as it applies to reaching movements. Healthy young adults (N=13) completed reaching movements to virtual targets in the horizontal plane in two separate tasks. Visual targets were gray circles with a diameter of 3.5 cm, located 17 cm from a central start position inline with body midline. All targets appeared on the horizontal axis. In the control task, participants were shown two potential targets. After 400 ms at the start position, one of the two targets turned blue indicating it was the target for the trial. The second target remained visible for the duration of the trial. In the distractor task, the same series of events took place, however, after the first target turned blue, the second target flashed green serving as a distractor during the reaching movement. In both tasks, reaction times were fastest when the two targets were adjacent to one another and increased as the distance between targets increased. These findings support the tenets of the DFT and demonstrate that non-target stimuli in the visual field can influence movement preparation.
DEEP HEAT AND JOINT MOBILIZATIONS INCREASE RANGE OF MOTION IN TRAUMATIC ELBOW INJURIES

The purpose of this paper is two-fold. First, to report the cases of 9 patients who lacked full range of motion (ROM) in the elbow due to fracture or dislocation and immobilization, and second, the treatment regimen to restore ROM. Nine patients presented with decreased elbow ROM. All were postsurgical, 3 with internal fixation devices. Initial active extension for each patient was 17 °, 23°, 28 °, 25 °, 45 °, 30 °, 26 °, 30 ° and 33 ° respectively (range of 17 – 45 degrees).Treatment regimen consisted of deep heat (pulsed shortwave diathermy for the first 8 patients and ultrasound for the 9th patient). Changes in extension active range of motion (AROM) were assessed before and after each treatment. Treatment consisted of 10-20 minutes of deep heat on the anterior aspect of the elbow, followed by approximately 10 minutes of joint mobilizations. After post-treatment AROM was recorded, ice was applied to the area for 20 minutes. Once the patient achieved full AROM or did not improve on 2 consecutive visits, he or she was discharged from the study. By the 6th treatment, 7 patients achieved full AROM (One took 10 treatments). All returned to normal activity and normal use of their elbow. One month later, 8 maintained full AROM (one lost 5°). A regimen of deep heat and joint mobilizations was effective in restoring AROM to elbows lacking ROM after injury or surgery.Key Words: rehabilitation, diathermy, ultrasound,
Physical, Cognitive, and Psychosocial Characteristics Associated With Mortality in Chronic TBI Survivors: A National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study.

Objective To compare a group of individuals who died more than 1 year posttraumatic brain injury (TBI) with a matched group of survivors and to identify physical function, cognitive function, and/or psychosocial function variables associated with mortality. Design Secondary analysis of data from a multicenter longitudinal cohort study. Setting Acute inpatient rehabilitation facilities and community follow-up. Participants Individuals 16 years and older with a primary diagnosis of TBI. Main outcome measures Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Disability Rating Scale, Participation Assessment with Recombined Tools Objective, Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale, Satisfaction With Life Scale. Results Individuals who died were distinguishable from their surviving counterparts. They demonstrated significantly poorer global functioning on all physical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning variables at their most recent study follow-up visit prior to death. FIM Motor demonstrated the largest difference between survival groups, suggesting that independence in mobility may be particularly indicative of likelihood of longer-term survival. Conclusions These findings may inform continued research to elucidate functional characteristics of individuals postchronic TBI prior to their death and to identify opportunities for prevention of accelerated death and interventions to improve health, longevity, and quality of life.
Influence of Atrial Fibrillation on Outcomes in Patients Who Underwent Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common co-morbidity among patients presenting with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Previously, small studies have reported an association between AF and poorer outcomes among patients with STEMI. We performed this study to investigate the impact of AF on in-hospital outcomes in patients with STEMI treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) using a large national database. The study population constituted of patients 18 years and older with a primary discharge diagnosis of STEMI and who underwent PPCI. Using a 2:1 matching protocol, matched groups of patients with AF (N = 24,680) and without (N = 49,198) were developed. Among 1,493,859 patients with STEMI who underwent PPCI, 129,354 patients (8.7%) had AF. In the propensity-matched cohort, adjusted in-hospital mortality was significantly higher for patients with AF compared with patients with no AF (10.3% vs 9.4%) (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.10; confidence interval [CI] 1.06 to 1.16; p
3-D Fully Convolutional Networks for Multimodal Isointense Infant Brain Image Segmentation

Accurate segmentation of infant brain images into different regions of interest is one of the most important fundamental steps in studying early brain development. In the isointense phase (approximately 6–8 months of age), white matter and gray matter exhibit similar levels of intensities in magnetic resonance (MR) images, due to the ongoing myelination and maturation. This results in extremely low tissue contrast and thus makes tissue segmentation very challenging. Existing methods for tissue segmentation in this isointense phase usually employ patch-based sparse labeling on single modality. To address the challenge, we propose a novel 3-D multimodal fully convolutional network (FCN) architecture for segmentation of isointense phase brain MR images. Specifically, we extend the conventional FCN architectures from 2-D to 3-D, and, rather than directly using FCN, we intuitively integrate coarse (naturally high-resolution) and dense (highly semantic) feature maps to better model tiny tissue regions, in addition, we further propose a transformation module to better connect the aggregating layers; we also propose a fusion module to better serve the fusion of feature maps. We compare the performance of our approach with several baseline and state-of-the-art methods on two sets of isointense phase brain images. The comparison results show that our proposed 3-D multimodal FCN model outperforms all previous methods by a large margin in terms of segmentation accuracy. In addition, the proposed framework also achieves faster segmentation results compared to all other methods. Our experiments further demonstrate that: 1) carefully integrating coarse and dense feature maps can considerably improve the segmentation performance; 2) batch normalization can speed up the convergence of the networks, especially when hierarchical feature aggregations occur; and 3) integrating multimodal information can further boost the segmentation performance.
Public Sector Employment and Earnings Differentials Across Countries: The Importance of Employee Preferences

This study uses individual-level data from Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and Switzerland to estimate the effects of employment in the public sector on earnings. The lack of a profit motive in the public sector may affect the types of workers who choose to work for the public sector. Using employee preferences over sector of employment as an instrument, the results reveal that sorting accounts for most of the difference in predicted earnings between the sectors. Previous studies that did not account for sorting appear to have overestimated the returns to working in the public sector. This pattern is evident in each of the countries studied.
Visceral pain: A disturbance in the sensorimotor continuum?

A painful experience may be brought about by an equilibrium shift in the kinetics of the central nervous system or by the information flow in separate interactive pathways and neural centers. A number of recent studies have addressed the role of spinal pathways, in particular the dorsal column, and other alternative mechanisms in the processing and integration of visceral information into a visceral pain experience. This article reviews newly reported experimental findings and some of the historical clinical evidence that point to a role of the dorsal column in visceral pain. It proposes a shift to a goal-oriented approach to pain issues that defers speculations about the nature of pain and keeps in mind the exigency of pain relief for those who are suffering.
Attenuated forearm vascular conductance responses to rhythmic handgrip in young African-American compared with Caucasian-American men.

It is known that African-American individuals have heightened vasoconstriction and reduced vasodilation under resting conditions compared with Caucasian-American individuals. Here, we identified th...
Postchemotherapy Immunization Practices for Non-HSCT Pediatric Oncology Patients

Pediatric oncology patients treated with antineoplastic therapy have impaired immune systems that lead to loss of protective antibodies. They require reimmunization to protect against vaccine-preventable diseases. There are a paucity of studies on the clinical practice of pediatric oncologists and the available recommendations are heterogenous. This study describes current reimmunization practices among pediatric oncologists. We surveyed the Children's Oncology Group (COG)-identified principle investigators to capture clinical practices among pediatric oncologists within their institutions regarding reimmunization of non-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients. The majority of respondents did not routinely assess vaccine-related immune status; those who did most frequently assessed 6 months after cessation of therapies. Methods of assessment included type of therapy received, vaccine titers, and absolute lymphocyte counts. Providers from smaller institutions were more likely to check vaccine titers than those from larger institutions. More than half of the surveyed institutions did not have standardized guidelines available for practitioners. There are variations in reimmunization practices among pediatric oncologists despite available guidelines on recommended schedules. Further research is needed to identify the safest and most cost-effective way to insure immunity to infectious disease after the treatment of childhood cancer.
Modeling of THz Pump Induced Plasmonic Oscillations in Silicon Membranes

We present a one-dimensional charge density model for an oscillating “plasmon” in a 200 nm thick silicon membrane. The free carriers are generated using photoexcitation, then a single-cycle THz pump induces an oscillation of those carriers. The plasmonic oscillation is probed using a short relativistic electron bunch which is sensitive to the dipole field produced by the separation of charges. We compare the results of the model with measurements of the local field from ultrafast electron diffraction.
Designing emotionally sentient agents

Emotionally sentient systems will enable computers to perform complex tasks more effectively, making better decisions and offering more productive services.
From Metapopulation to Metacommunity and the Complications of Community Structure

Abstract The metacommunity, as it evolved from Levin’s metapopulation, provides a framework to consider the spatial organization of species interactions. Arguably the most fundamental feature of metapopu-lations and metacommunities are that demes are connected via migration. An important result from Levin’s metapopulation work—that increasing migration lowers regional extinction probability—is often incorporated into conceptions of metacommunities. We first use a toy model to show how this result from Levin’s metapopulation does not necessarily hold when considering community interactions in a metacommunity context. We also report results from a metacommunity field experiment conducted with a tropical terrestrial leaf litter community and show that migration induces the extinction of predators in the metacommunity. Our result corroborates the findings of a prior metacommunity experiment in a temperate terrestrial leaf litter community. The concordance between these experiments even with vastly different communities highlights the importance of considering trophic and non-trophic community structure to understand metacommunity dynamics.
Sampling for Estimating Frankliniella Species Flower Thrips and Orius Species Predators in Field Experiments

The western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is a polyphagous pest that has been spread worldwide. The extensive use of insecticides in attempts to control its populations eliminates natural enemies and competitor flower thrips species, thereby increasing its populations. An unsustainable situation develops with concomitant resistant pest populations, secondary pest outbreaks, and environmental degradation. Integrated pest management utilizes knowledge of pest and natural enemy relationships to implement tactics that are environmentally friendly and sustainable. Minute pirate bugs are the most important worldwide predators of thrips. They can suppress and ultimately control Frankliniella species flower thrips. Flower samples taken at least weekly are needed to understand predator-prey dynamics. Shown here is the sampling of the flowers of fruiting vegetables and companion plants to estimate the densities of individual thrips and minute pirate bug species. Representative data illustrates how the protocol is used to determine the efficacy of management tactics over time and how to evaluate the benefits of predation by minute pirate bugs. The sampling protocol is similarly adaptable to sampling thrips and minute pirate bugs in other plant species hosts.
Trauma-responsive Organizational Cultures: How Safe and Supported do Employees Feel?

Over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in the delivery of evidence-based, trauma-responsive care. Included in the evolution of this field is a recognition that services are provid...
Low Temperature Sequential Melting and Anion Retention in Simplified Low Activity Waste

This study seeks to understand the low temperature reactions of the salt phase that occur during the vitrification of Hanford Low Activity Waste (LAW). Salts (such as nitrates, sulfates, carbonates, halides, etc.) play a key role in these low temperature reactions as they sequentially melt, decompose, and volatilize during batch-to-glass conversion. To further understand these complex processes, simplified LAW melts containing oxyanion salts (sodium salts of carbonate, sulfate, and/or nitrate) and early melting glass formers (boric acid) have been evaluated using thermal analysis, infrared absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Results from this study indicate that the volatilization behavior of particular salts is influenced by the presence or absence of other salts. NaNO3 volatilization is decreased by the presence of Na2SO4. The addition of either Na2SO4 or NaNO3 to the system may enhance the volatilization of Na2CO3. In all cases, Na2SO4 was retained after melting and was often found to be in two different crystalline phases upon quenching.
5 – Genetic Deafness

Publisher Summary The underlying processes that result in hearing loss and deafness are numerous and, in many instances, they interact. The most common of these factors is the genetic make-up of an individual. It has been estimated that more than 50% of all hearing losses have a substantial genetic component. There are numerous ways by which the various genetically based hearing disorders can be classified. The anatomical site(s) of gene action can be used to organize the information in a useful manner. The apparent characteristics of the gene action, the phenotype, are another useful means of classification. There are at least two general phenotypic modes of classification: syndromic and nonsyndromic. The advances in genetics enable the clinician to care for the hearing impaired with increased effectiveness. The new information mandates a high level of accuracy and continuous attention to ethical tenets. The clinical application includes diagnosing, functional testing, serology, imaging, dysmorphology, system evaluation, molecular DNA and RNA testing. This chapter further explores several special areas of patient management that are obligated when a diagnosis of a genetic basis for a hearing impairment is established.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS OF MOTION TRACKING IN VIRTUAL REALITY SYSTEMS

This article is centered around the sort of virtual reality (VR) – MoCap – motion capture. VR is utilized as a part of the planning and design procedure of the working environment. Firstly, the work environment is designed and before actual building the various conditions are simulated. Product of this simulation by VR is the working environment/ building. VR is utilized too in the medical treatments. This paper investigates a way to deal with physical rehabilitation using best in class advances in virtual reality and motion tracking. As of present, there has been a boom in the utilization of the Kalman channel in Virtual/ Augmented Reality. This paper presents a brief introduction to the Kalman filter and the development of the utilization of the filter in VR motion tracking.
Connectivity jamming game for physical layer attack in peer to peer networks

Because of the open access nature of wireless communications, wireless networks can suffer from malicious activity, such as jamming attacks, aimed at undermining the network's ability to sustain communication links and acceptable throughput. One important consideration when designing networks is to appropriately tune the network topology and its connectivity so as to support the communication needs of those participating in the network. This paper examines the problem of interference attacks that are intended to harm connectivity and throughput, and illustrates the method of mapping network performance parameters into the metric of topographic connectivity. Specifically, this paper arrives at anti-jamming strategies aimed at coping with interference attacks through a unified stochastic game. In such a framework, an entity trying to protect a network faces a dilemma: (i) the underlying motivations for the adversary can be quite varied, which depends largely on the network's characteristics such as power and distance; (ii) the metrics for such an attack can be incomparable (e.g., network connectivity and total throughput). To deal with the problem of such incomparable metrics, this paper proposes using the attack's expected duration as a unifying metric to compare distinct attack metrics because a longer-duration of unsuccessful attack assumes a higher cost. Based on this common metric, a mechanism of maxmin selection for an attack prevention strategy is suggested. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
2D Layered SiP as Anisotropic Nonlinear Optical Material

Two-dimensional (2D) material of silicon phosphide (SiP) has recently been shown as a promising optical material with large band gap, fast photoresponse and strong anisotropy. However, the nonlinear optical properties of 2D SiP have not been investigated yet. Here, the thickness-dependent in-plane anisotropic third-harmonic generation (THG) from the mechanically exfoliated 2D layered SiP flakes is reported. The crystal orientation of the SiP flake is determined by the angle-resolved polarized Raman spectroscopy. The angular dependence of the THG emission with respect to the incident linear polarization is found to be strongly anisotropic with the two-fold polarization dependence pattern. Furthermore, the effect of the SiP flake thickness on the THG power is analyzed.
Damage Control and Open Abdomen in the Elderly

Damage control surgery (DCS) is an integral component in managing many trauma and surgical patients. DCS emphasizes strategies to not only control any active bleeding and ongoing contamination, but additionally aims to minimize the physiologic consequences that are associated with prolonged surgeries. Metabolic derangements can have profound consequences on all patients; however, in elderly patients with diminished physiologic reserves the ability to correct and overcome these derangements becomes increasingly more difficult leading to higher morbidity and mortality rates. Open abdomen and temporary abdominal closure techniques allow for the surgeon to manage the initial insult of bleeding and contamination, while giving them the ability to come back for definitive reconstruction and abdominal closure once the patient’s resuscitative endpoints have been met. This chapter discusses the indications and management strategies used in DCS as well as the considerations that should be taken into account with the aging population.
Priorities, Technology, & Power: Co-Designing an Inclusive Transit Agenda in Kampala, Uganda

There is considerable effort within the HCI community to explore, document, and advocate for the lived experiences of persons with disabilities (PWDs). However, PWDs from the Global South, particularly Africa, are underrepresented in this scholarship. We contribute to closing this gap by investigating the unmet transit needs and characterization of technology within the disability community in Kampala, Uganda. We investigated transportation due to the increase in ride-share solutions created by widespread mobile computing and the resulting disruption of transportation worldwide. We hosted co-design sessions with disability advocates and adapted the stakeholder tokens method from the value-sensitive design framework to map the stakeholder ecosystem. Our key insight is the identification of a new group of non-traditional core stakeholders who highlight the values of inclusion, mobility, and safety within the ecosystem. Finally, we discuss how our findings engage with concepts of disability justice and perceptions of power.
The persistence of ancient settlements and urban sustainability.

We propose a dedicated research effort on the determinants of settlement persistence in the ancient world, with the potential to significantly advance the scientific understanding of urban sustainability today. Settlements (cities, towns, villages) are locations with two key attributes: They frame human interactions and activities in space, and they are where people dwell or live. Sustainability, in this case, focuses on the capacity of structures and functions of a settlement system (geography, demography, institutions) to provide for continuity of safe habitation. The 7,000-y-old experience of urbanism, as revealed by archaeology and history, includes many instances of settlements and settlement systems enduring, adapting to, or generating environmental, institutional, and technological changes. The field of urban sustainability lacks a firm scientific foundation for understanding the long duree, relying instead on narratives of collapse informed by limited case studies. We argue for the development of a new interdisciplinary research effort to establish scientific understanding of settlement and settlement system persistence. Such an effort would build upon the many fields that study human settlements to develop new theories and databases from the extensive documentation of ancient and premodern urban systems. A scientific foundation will generate novel insights to advance the field of urban sustainability.
Kidney-Specific Klotho Gene Deletion Causes Aortic Aneurysm via Hyperphosphatemia.

Klotho is an aging-suppressor gene. The purpose of this study was to determine whether deletion of the klotho gene in kidneys causes aortic aneurysm (AA) and investigate the underlying mechanisms. Klotho-floxed alleles and tamoxifen-inducible kidney-specific CreERT2 mice were crossed to generate KLflox/flox (floxed Klotho); KspCadCreERT2 mice. Tamoxifen injection induced kidney-specific deletion of klotho gene, which led to severe hyperphosphatemia and thoracic and abdominal AA formation in mice on a normal diet. The architectural destruction of the aortic wall in the first 7 days post-Klotho ablation was manifested by overwhelming aortic cell death and calcification, massive MMP (metalloproteinase) 2/9 secretion, elastin degradation, and limited collagen deposition, resulting in aortic wall thinning and AA formation. The adverse reparative remodeling of aortas in the following 7 days exhibited robust fibroblast proliferation and osteogenic differentiation and redundant collagen deposition, further promoting aortic wall thickening and AA progression. These changes were accompanied by aortic macrophage infiltration and osteoclast transition. Interestingly, low-phosphorus diet normalized serum phosphate levels, prevented vascular cell apoptosis and osteogenic differentiation, and consequently retained aortic structure in Klotho-deficient mice. Mechanistically, excessive inorganic phosphate and calcium promoted vascular cell death, osteogenic differentiation, and MMP2/9 secretion ex vivo and in vitro. We found that NF-κB (nuclear factor-kappa B) mediated phosphate-induced MMP2 generation in human aortic smooth muscle cells in vitro. These findings provide the first evidence for a causative role of Klotho deficiency-induced hyperphosphatemia in AA development. Interventional control of dietary phosphorus may be a new preventive and therapeutic strategy for AA.
A Perfect Start

Despite good looks, brilliance, and abundant charm, a man cannot find his place in the world. Convinced that such a place exists, he tries one job after another, taking his young family on a Childe Harold's Pilgrimage through state after state until they arrive at the final cliffs and can go no further.
Rapport in the Foreign Language Classroom: From Face-to-Face to Online in Times of Pandemic

As shown in previous studies, positive teacher and student rapport increases motivation and performance in foreign language learning. This study investigated the impact of three forms of interaction on the development of teacher-student and student-student relationships in a Spanish as a Foreign Language classroom that transitioned from face-to-face (FtoF) to online due to the emergence of the co-vid-19 pandemic. These forms of interaction were positive comments, corrective feedback, and personal thematic discourse. The participants were students from six different beginner-level Spanish courses at a university in Hawai'i. Because of covid restrictions, half of the semester was conducted FtoF and half online. Data were collected through a three-part questionnaire with open and closed-ended questions which explored the impact of the online and FtoF setting and forms of interaction on rapport. The results reveal the importance of corrective feedback and positive comments on the development of positive teacher-student rapport, and of positive comments and personal thematic discourse on student-student rapport. The study suggests the need to bring qualities from the FtoF classroom to online, such as a sense of a more personal experience, ability to connect, ease in asking questions, receiving feedback, and greater interaction. © 2021 Universidad de Antioquia. All Rights Reserved.
China in Latin America Then and Now: A Systemic Constructivist Analysis of China’s Foreign Policy:

Examining China’s policy towards Latin America from 1949 to the present day, this article uncovers a puzzle about China in Latin America: while the guiding doctrine of China’s policy towards the re...
A Letter from South Africa

I AM FROM CALIFORNIA. I am forty years old. Six years ago I met my future wife, a South African, when she was on vacation in San Fran cisco. A year later, having a hard time finding jobs in our fields, we de cided we would go to South Africa. We came to Johannesburg, my wife's hometown. We planned to stay a year, we have stayed on. The beauty of this land ?the lavender Jacarandas dropping their petals in the October spring, the barrenness of the deserts?allows the tourist bureau to pro claim that South Africa is "a world within a country." Before meeting my wife, I had little idea of what or where South Africa was. I certainly had never thought of coming here. Faced with actually leaving for South Africa, I wondered if there were supermarkets and book stores and all the civilized amenities I was accustomed to. I wondered if I
Mechanisms of Directed Forgetting

Publisher Summary Instructions to forget induce an S to adopt a strategy that modifies test performance. This chapter focuses on these strategies. Strategies of selective encoding, or selective processing (to-be-remembered (TBR) rehearsal or nonrehearsal of to-be-forgotten (TBF) items), are relatively not interesting as their effectivness is too closely tied to the conditions of a specific experimental procedure. Thus the chapter primarily focuses on the mechanisms of erasure and selective search. It presents various experiments to examine the viability of the selective search hypothesis, the data from which provide sufficient grounds for concluding that selective search can account for many of the findings of directed forgetting experiments. Further applications to directed forgetting would depend on the development of a model of selective search that provides much greater detail than the current general formulation. The erasure hypothesis is the most dramatic interpretation of directed forgetting. But unequivocal positive findings of erasure have not emerged in the directed forgetting literature. Thus one can conclude that voluntary erasure is only an expository fiction devised by investigators as a means for highlighting the features of other favored ideas.
Fluorescent Proteins in Zebrafish Cell and Developmental Biology

The zebrafish is a compelling vertebrate model for understanding cellular processes in the context of the developing embryo and for analysis of cellular defects that lead to diseases such as cancer. Major advances in fluorescent protein technology have been, and will continue to be, combined with novel experimental strategies to explore these biological phenomena. Furthermore, fluorescent proteins can be used in the design of forward genetic and chemical modifier screens of ever increasing sophistication. Here I review three noteworthy applications of fluorescent proteins in zebrafish: (1) analysis of kinesin motor function in the cleaving zebrafish embryo, (2) determination of the roles of semaphorins in axonal guidance, and (3) creation of transgenic models of leukemia and other cancers.
Understanding tools: Task-oriented object modeling, learning and recognition

In this paper, we present a new framework - task-oriented modeling, learning and recognition which aims at understanding the underlying functions, physics and causality in using objects as “tools”. Given a task, such as, cracking a nut or painting a wall, we represent each object, e.g. a hammer or brush, in a generative spatio-temporal representation consisting of four components: i) an affordance basis to be grasped by hand; ii) a functional basis to act on a target object (the nut), iii) the imagined actions with typical motion trajectories; and iv) the underlying physical concepts, e.g. force, pressure, etc. In a learning phase, our algorithm observes only one RGB-D video, in which a rational human picks up one object (i.e. tool) among a number of candidates to accomplish the task. From this example, our algorithm learns the essential physical concepts in the task (e.g. forces in cracking nuts). In an inference phase, our algorithm is given a new set of objects (daily objects or stones), and picks the best choice available together with the inferred affordance basis, functional basis, imagined human actions (sequence of poses), and the expected physical quantity that it will produce. From this new perspective, any objects can be viewed as a hammer or a shovel, and object recognition is not merely memorizing typical appearance examples for each category but reasoning the physical mechanisms in various tasks to achieve generalization.
The POWER-Light Version: Improving Legal Quality under Time Pressure

The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration conducts a research program Program for an Ontology-based Working Environment for Rules and regulations (POWER). In this research program that was started in 1999 and is sponsored by the European Commission (E-POWER) since September 2001 an ICT-based methodology has been developed that enables the formalization of legal sources and finally the design of legal knowledge-based systems. The full-scale POWER-method however although much less time consuming than normal software design methodologies is still too elaborate especially if we want to apply this method in legal drafting or policy making processes. We therefore created the POWER-light version, a variant of the POWER-method that helps to improve legal quality and can be used with relatively little effort and in short time. Although the POWER-light version lacks many of the advantages of the regular POWER-method (e.g. its verification, simulation and knowledge-based component generation abilities) it offers a first step. The POWER-light approach offers the tools to get the best possible legal quality given the time restrictions.