cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Aerodynamic Behavior of a Three-Stage HP-Turbine at Different Operating Conditions

This paper describes experimental and numerical investigations of a three-stage high pressure research turbine which incorporates fully 3-D bowed blades at various operating conditions. Experimental data were obtained using interstage aerodynamic measurements at three measurement stations, namely, downstream of the first rotor row, the second stator row and the second rotor row. Measurements were conducted through the use of five-hole probes traversed in both circumferential and radial directions to create a measurement window. Aerodynamics measurements were carried out within a rotational speed range of 1800 to 2800 RPM. Numerical simulation of the aforementioned turbine was performed through the use of a commercial computational fluid dynamics code. A detailed mesh of the three-stages was created and used to simulate the corresponding operating conditions and a comparison was made between experimentally and numerically determined aerodynamics and turbine performance.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Dynamic responses of a pair of circular tubes subjected to liquid cross flow

Abstract This paper presents the results of two experimental investigations of a pair of circular tubes subjected to liquid cross flow: (1) two tubes in a plane normal to the flow stream; and (2) two tubes in tandem. Tube response characteristics, including natural frequencies, damping, displacements and vibration orbits, are measured and reported. Results of this study provide additional insight into the interaction of pairs of tubes in liquid flow, including such phenomena as flow velocity-dependent damping and the frequency “lock-in” region of tube motion in the drag direction.
Photoperiodic Regulation of Gonadal Growth and Pulsatile Luteinizing Hormone Secretion in Male Ferrets

Testicular growth was monitored in male ferrets subjected to one of the following photoperiodic treatments begun at weaning (8 weeks of age): 8 hr light/day (short days), 18 hr light/day (long days), or short days followed by transition to long days at either 10, 12, or 14 weeks of age. Mean ages to achieve adult testis width of greater than or equal to 12 mm were 27.5 +/- 1.3, 25.0 +/- 1.5, 23.6 +/- 2.9, 20.0 +/- 0.8, and 21.2 +/- 1.0 weeks in ferrets raised from weaning in long days, raised from weaning in short days, and transferred from short to long days at 10, 12, or 14 weeks, respectively. This criterion was met significantly earlier by ferrets experiencing the photoperiod transition at 12 or 14 weeks of age than by ferrets housed in long days from weaning. At the end of the experiment (30 weeks of age), mean testis width was significantly smaller in ferrets raised in long days from weaning or transferred to long days at 10 weeks of age, compared to that of the other three groups (p less than 0.05). In a second experiment, photoperiod experience with long or short days was begun at birth, and testicular size was monitored for a longer period of time. The time courses for testicular maturation were similar to that obtained when these treatments began at weaning. By 40 weeks of age, mean testis width of ferrets raised in long days was comparable to that of ferrets raised in short days. A third study determined that the retarded testicular growth observed in ferrets exposed to long days from weaning was correlated with diminished pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion. At 28 weeks of age, mean LH pulse frequency was 0.86 +/- 0.09 pulses/hr in ferrets undergoing spontaneous puberty in short days or photoinduced puberty after a short-to-long-day transition; pulse frequency was significantly lower (0.46 +/- 0.26 pulses/hr; p less than 0.05) in ferrets raised in long days. These results indicate that gonadal growth can be precociously induced in male ferrets by exposure to a sequence of short days followed by long days, and that the absence of sufficient prepubertal exposure to short days compromises pulsatile LH secretion and rate of gonadal growth. Experience with short days during development may be necessary for manifestation of stimulatory responses to long days.
Spanning Trees in Regular Graphs

Let X be a regular graph with degree k ≥ 3 and order n. Then the number of spanning trees of X is κ ( X ) γ κ c k n exp ( − ∑ i = 3 n k / 2 ( 1 − 2 i k n ) p i β i , k ( 1 / k ) ) , where γk, ck and βi,k(1/k) are positive constants, and pi is the number of equivalence classes of certain closed walks of length i in X. The value c k = ( k − 1 ) k − 1 ( k 2 − 2 k ) ( k / 2 ) − 1 is shown to be the best possible in the sense that κ(Xi)1/n → ck for some increasing sequence X1, X2, ... of regular graphs of degree k. A sufficient condition for this convergence is established. Finally, for some absolute constant A, κ ( X ) ⩽ A c k n log n / ( n k log k ) , a bound which (for fixed k) is high by at most O(log n).
Simulations of Multiple Spacecraft Maneuvering with MATLAB/Simulink and Satellite Tool Kit

A software interface between the MATLAB/Simulink environment and the Satellite Tool Kit Environment is introduced. This research is based on the need for validating model performance and visualizing simultaneous multiple-spacecraft proximity maneuvers for emerging missions. It is common for spacecraft systems to be modeled with MATLAB and Simulink. Furthermore, the software package Satellite Tool Kit is often used for animating and evaluating spacecraft maneuvers. In this research, a MATLAB/Satellite Tool Kit interface was developed to propagate six-degree-of-freedom spacecraft models, compared against Satellite-Tool-Kit-generated ephemeris, and animated for analysis. MATLAB script with necessary formatting is used for Satellite Tool Kit initialization and animation. The MATLAB/Satellite Tool Kit simulation interface allows variations in number, shape, and dimensions of spacecraft. Additionally, numerous model and simulation parameters can be selected and synchronized between MATLAB and Satellite Tool Kit...
Termination of Pseudopregnancy Following Hypothalamic Implantation of Prolactin

Pseudopregnancy (PP) in the rat is characterized by maintenance of the corpora lutea and twice daily surges of prolactin at 1500-2100 h and 0100–0900 h. Four days after PP was induced by cervical stimulation with a glass rod, rats were cannulated via the right carotid artery and one day later received an implant of ovine prolactin (200–250 mg) or albumin (controls) into the median eminence of the hypothalamus. Forty-five of 54 rats implanted with prolactin showed a termination of PP within 4 days. Ova were recovered from 19 of these rats whereas all of the controls remained pseudopregnant and did not ovulate. Ovarian and uterine weightswere increased in rats implanted with prolactin. Plasma prolactin levels in the rats implanted with prolactin were lower each day (45–89%) at 0100, 0300 and 1800 h compared to controls. Plasma LH levels rose gradually after prolactin implantation, and in those ratsin which ovulation occurred, a preovulatory LH rise was detected at 1800 h on the previous day. It is concluded...
A standard dose of radiation for "microscopic disease" is not appropriate.

Elective irradiation of sites of potential occult tumor spread is often part of a patient's radiation therapy program. The required radiation dose (D) depends on the probability that occult disease exists (P(occ)), the number of sites at risk (A), the number of tumor clonogens present (Ni), their radiation sensitivity, and the desired control rate. An exponential model of cell survival is used to quantify the importance of these factors. Control Probability = (1 - Pocc x (1 - e-Ni x (SF2)D/2))A; SF2 = surviving fraction after 2 Gy. Implications for clinical radiation therapy include: 1. Since the number of clonogens in an occult site may vary from 10 degrees to 10(8), Ni is the major determinant of the required dose. The intrinsic radiation sensitivity of the clonogens (SF2) is also extremely important in determining the dose. Other factors are less influential since they vary less. 2. The variability of Ni (8 logs) is larger than the variation in cell number seen with gross disease (1 cm3 versus 1000 cm3, 3 logs). When Ni approximately 10(8), the required dose approaches that needed for small volume gross disease (10(9) cells, 1 cm3). 3. The dose prescribed to elective sites should reflect themore » risk of occult disease based on the primary tumor site, stage, and grade. 4. Regions where clinicoradiologic evaluation is difficult (e.g., pelvis and obese neck) require higher doses because macroscopic tumor deposits may exist. 5. Relatively low doses (10 to 30 Gy) are often thought to be inadequate for microscopic tumor. However, similar doses have been reported to sterilize microscopic tumor in ovarian, rectal, bladder, breast, and head and neck carcinomas. Relatively low doses should not be discounted since they may be useful in select cases when normal tissue tolerances and/or previous irradiation treatment limit the radiation dose.« less
Effect of a bulge on the secondary instability of boundary layers

The influence of a two-dimensional hump on the three-dimensional (3-D) subharmonic secondary instability on a flat plate is investigated. The mean flow is calculated using interacting boundary layers, thereby accounting for the inviscid/viscous interaction. The primary wave is taken in the form of a two-dimensional (2-D) Tollmien-Schlichting (T-S) wave. The secondary wave is taken in the form of a 3-D subharmonic T-S wave.
Epidemiology of anorexia nervosa and bulimia: Background of the rochester project

The true incidence and prevalence of anorexia nervosa still are not known despite study of the condition spanning 100 years. Nor has the impression been confirmed that its frequency is increasing. The occurrence of bulimia in the general population is even less well documented. A population-based survey of anorexia nervosa and bulimia in Olmsted County, Minnesota (population, 95,000), has been undertaken with use of the medical record system of the Mayo Clinic. This report reviews the background and aims of the study.
Link attachment (preferential and otherwise) in contributor-run digital libraries

Ibiblio is a digital library whose materials are submitted and maintained by volunteer contributors. This study analyzes the emergence of hyperlinke d structures within the ibiblio collection. In the context of ibiblio, we analyze the suitability of Barabasi's model of preferential attachment to describe the distribution of incoming links. We find that the degree of maintainer activity for a given site (as measured by the voluntary development ofdescriptive metadata) is a stronger link count predictor for ibiblio than is a site's age, as the standard model predicts. Thus we argue that the efforts of ibiblio's contributors positively affectthe popularity of their materials.
A vulnerability assessment of 300 species in Florida: threats from sea level rise, land use, and climate change.

Species face many threats, including accelerated climate change, sea level rise, and conversion and degradation of habitat from human land uses. Vulnerability assessments and prioritization protocols have been proposed to assess these threats, often in combination with information such as species rarity; ecological, evolutionary or economic value; and likelihood of success. Nevertheless, few vulnerability assessments or prioritization protocols simultaneously account for multiple threats or conservation values. We applied a novel vulnerability assessment tool, the Standardized Index of Vulnerability and Value, to assess the conservation priority of 300 species of plants and animals in Florida given projections of climate change, human land-use patterns, and sea level rise by the year 2100. We account for multiple sources of uncertainty and prioritize species under five different systems of value, ranging from a primary emphasis on vulnerability to threats to an emphasis on metrics of conservation value such as phylogenetic distinctiveness. Our results reveal remarkable consistency in the prioritization of species across different conservation value systems. Species of high priority include the Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri), Key tree cactus (Pilosocereus robinii), Florida duskywing butterfly (Ephyriades brunnea floridensis), and Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium). We also identify sources of uncertainty and the types of life history information consistently missing across taxonomic groups. This study characterizes the vulnerabilities to major threats of a broad swath of Florida’s biodiversity and provides a system for prioritizing conservation efforts that is quantitative, flexible, and free from hidden value judgments.
Algorithms for design of continuum robots using the concentric tubes approach: A neurosurgical example

We propose a novel systematic approach to optimizing the design of concentric tube robots for neurosurgical procedures. These procedures require that the robot approach specified target sites while navigating and operating within an anatomically constrained work space. The availability of preoperative imaging makes our approach particularly suited for neurosurgery, and we illustrate the method with the example of endoscopic choroid plexus ablation. A novel parameterization of the robot characteristics is used in conjunction with a global pattern search optimization method. The formulation returns the design of the least-complex robot capable of reaching single or multiple target points in a confined space with constrained optimization metrics. A particular advantage of this approach is that it identifies the need for either fixed-curvature versus variable-curvature sections. We demonstrate the performance of the method in four clinically relevant examples.
The structure of symmetry groups of GK(2n, G)

The automorphism groups of the one-factorizations GK(2n,G) are computed. It is shown that every 1-factorization of K2n with a subgroup of the automorphism group that acts sharply 2-transitively on the one-factors must be GK(pm + 1, (Zp)m) for some odd prime p. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
WIMP-less dark matter and meson decays with missing energy

WIMP-less dark matter [J. L. Feng and J. Kumar, Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 231301 (2008).] offers an attractive framework in which dark matter can be very light. We investigate the implications of such scenarios on invisible decays of bottomonium states for dark matter with a mass less than around 5 GeV. We relate these decays to measurements of nucleon-dark matter elastic scattering. We also investigate the effect that a coupling to s quarks has on flavor changing b{yields}s processes involving missing energy.
Evidence for the Involvement of the Glc7-Reg1 Phosphatase and the Snf1-Snf4 Kinase in the Regulation of INO1 Transcription in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Binding of the TATA-binding protein (TBP) to the promoter is a pivotal step in RNA polymerase II transcription. To identify factors that regulate TBP, we selected for suppressors of a TBP mutant that exhibits promoter-specific defects in activated transcription in vivo and severely reduced affinity for TATA boxes in vitro. Dominant mutations in SNF4 and recessive mutations in REG1, OPI1, and RTF2 were isolated that specifically suppress the inositol auxotrophy of the TBP mutant strains. OPI1 encodes a repressor of INO1 transcription. REG1 and SNF4 encode regulators of the Glc7 phosphatase and Snf1 kinase, respectively, and have well-studied roles in glucose repression. In two-hybrid assays, one SNF4 mutation enhances the interaction between Snf4 and Snf1. Suppression of the TBP mutant by our reg1 and SNF4 mutations appears unrelated to glucose repression, since these mutations do not alleviate repression of SUC2, and glucose levels have little effect on INO1 transcription. Moreover, mutations in TUP1, SSN6, and GLC7, but not HXK2 and MIG1, can cause suppression. Our data suggest that association of TBP with the TATA box may be regulated, directly or indirectly, by a substrate of Snf1. Analysis of INO1 transcription in various mutant strains suggests that this substrate is distinct from Opi1.
The case for using middleware to manage diverse soft real-time schedulers

Although a number of general-purpose operating systems have been extended with soft real-time schedulers and have the potential to support coexisting, independently developed real-time applications, this potential is currently largely unexploited by common applications. This is because the provided scheduling functionality is low-level and depends on parameters that are difficult to estimate, and because different semantics are provided by different schedulers. The cost/benefit ratio of real-time support in general-purpose operating systems is too high for most users and application developers to tolerate.The contribution of this paper is the design of the CPU Resource Manager (CRM): a middleware application that manages processor allocation in a QoS-enabled general-purpose operating system by (1) providing a level of indirection between applications and the scheduling subsystem, (2) automatically calculating scheduling parameters when applicable, and (3) providing an environment supporting the execution of user-specified rules about the allocation of processor time. The focus of this work is not to increase the benefit provided by real-time schedulers, but rather to decrease the cost of using them.
COUGH AND MUCOCILIARY TRANSPORT OF AIRWAY PARTICULATE IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE LUNG DISEASE

Although the pathophysiology of persistent cough remains obscure, cough can be a manifestation of obstructive airway disease. We evaluated mucociliary function of the airway in elderly subjects with obstructive lung disease to determine if spontaneous cough was essential to clearance of secretions and particulate from the tracheobronchial airways. In severe airway obstruction, failure or delayed clearance of particulate from tracheobronchial airways may be a contributing factor to the increased mortality of respiratory patients found in urban centres of the U.S. (Dockery and Pope, 1993). Voluntary cough has been demonstrated to assist mucociliary clearance of airway mucus in health and severe airway disease (Bennett et al., 1990, 1993). However, the significance of involuntary or spontaneous cough or its frequency to the kinetics of mucus and particulate clearance from tracheobronchial airways in patients with chronic airflow obstruction is not well described (Camner et al., 1973; Puchelle et al., 1980).
Nitrogen‐15 Chemical Shift Tensors and Organic Structure

The sections in this article are 1 Introduction 2 Chemical Shielding 3 Experimental Techniques 4 Results 5 Conclusions 6 Biographical Sketch
Linear high-efficiency microwave power amplifiers using bandpass delta-sigma modulators

A novel amplifier configuration is described, in which a bandpass delta-sigma modulator is used to produce a two-level (digital) signal representing an analog radio frequency (RF) input. Subsequently, a switching-mode amplifier and bandpass filter are used to amplify the signal and remove unwanted spectral components. This configuration has the potential of achieving high efficiency (typical of switching mode amplifiers) together with high linearity. A simulated implementation with GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT) is shown.
A System for Relieving Mental Fatigue Based on Light and Sound Stimulation

A kind of stimulation device aiming at alleviating brain fag was designed. Meanwhile, the specific stereo signal which is expected to induce alpha-wave of human brain was programmed and encoded into audio files. To evaluating the effectiveness of this system, a comparison test was conducted. Volunteers are divided into control group and experimental group. Via power spectral analyzing, we can find the difference of EEG signals between control group and experimental group in alpha band (8~13Hz). It can be noted that the intensity of alpha-wave and beta-wave of experimental group is larger than that of control group obviously.
Function assignment and arrays of functions

APL has a simple direct notation for associating an array with a name. This paper proposes a notation for the direct association of names with functions and explores new syntax and operations for computing with arrays of functions.
Nonlinear Hebbian Learning for noise-independent vehicle sound recognition

In this paper we propose using a new approach, a nonlinear Hebbian learning, to implement acoustic signature recognition of running vehicles. The proposed learning rule processes both time and frequency components of input data. The spectral analysis is realized using auditory gammatone filterbanks. The gammatone-filtered feature vectors are then assembled over multiple temporal frames to establish a high-dimensional spectro-temporal representation (STR). With the exact acoustic signature of running vehicles being unknown, a nonlinear Hebbian learning (NHL) rule is employed to extract representative independent features from the spectro-temporal ones and to reduce the dimensionality of the feature space. During learning, synaptic weights between input and output neurons are adaptively learned. Motivated by neurobiological synaptic transmission in the brain, one specific nonlinear activation function, which can represent multiple independent neural signaling pathways, is proposed to process nonlinear Hebbian learning. It is shown that this function satisfies the requirements of the activation function in nonlinear neural learning, and that its derivative matches the implicit distribution of vehicle sounds, thus leading to a statistically optimal learning. Simulation results show that both STR and NHL can accurately extract critical features from original input data. The proposed model achieves better performance under noisy environments than its counterparts. For additive white Gaussian noise and common colored noise, the proposed model demonstrates excellent robustness. It can decrease the error rate to 3% with improvement 21 ~ 34% at signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)= 0 dB, and can function efficiently with error rate 7 ~ 8% at low SNR=-6 dB when its counterparts cannot work properly at this situation. To summarize, this study not only provides an efficient way to capture important features from high-dimensional input signals but also offers robustness against severe background noise.
Isolation and morphological and metabolic characterization of common endophytes in annually burned tallgrass prairie.

Dark septate endophytes (DSE) are com- mon and abundant root-colonizing fungi in the native tallgrass prairie. To characterize DSE fungi were isolated from roots of mixed tallgrass prairie plant communities. Isolates were grouped according to morphology, and the grouping was refined by ITS- RFLP and/or sequencing of the ITS region. Sporulat- ing species of Periconia, Fusarium, Microdochium and Aspergillus were isolated along with many sterile fungi. Leek resynthesis was used to quickly screen for DSE fungi among the isolates. Periconia macro- spinosa and Microdochium sp. formed typical DSE structures in the roots; Periconia produced melanized intracellular microsclerotia in host root cortex, whereas Microdochium produced abundant melanized inter- and intracellular chlamydospores. To further validate the results of the leek resynthesis growth responses of leek and a dominant prairie grass, Andropogon gerardii, were assessed in a laboratory resynthesis system. Leek growth mainly was unrespon- sive to the inoculation with Periconia or Microdochium, whereas Andropogon tended to respond positively. Select Periconia and Microdochium isolates were tested further for their enzymatic capabilities and for ability to use organic and inorganic nitrogen sources. These fungi tested positive for amylase, cellulase, polyphe- nol oxidases and gelatinase. Periconia isolates used both organic and inorganic nitrogen sources. Our study identified distinct endophytes in a tallgrass prairie ecosystem and indicated that these endo- phytes can use a variety of complex nutrient sources, suggesting facultative biotrophic and saprotrophic
Teacher nonimmediacy and misbehavior: Unintentional negative communication

This study involved the manipulation of teacher immediacy and teacher misbehaviors to determine their individual and combined impacts on perceived teacher immediacy and teacher misbehavior. Participants in the study were students enrolled in undergraduate communication classes. The results indicated that teacher nonimmediacy and teacher misbehaviors could not be manipulated independently. Analysis of variance indicated that nonimmediate teachers were perceived to be misbehaving even when no misbehaviors were induced in the experiments, It was concluded that students perceive teachers who communicate in nonimmediate ways as misbehaving.
Applying the polarization memory effect in polarization-gated subsurface imaging

Polarization memory is a well established phenomenon occurring when circularly polarized light propagates in turbid media of larger particles. Recent studies have demonstrated that the circularly cross-polarized imaging can significantly improve subsurface reflection contrast due to the polarization memory effect. We have found that such improvement is strongly influenced by the optical properties of the media. Circularly cross-polarized light provides superior image enhancement in low scattering media, but becomes inferior in high scattering media. Our experiments also demonstrate that polarization imaging provides no significant improvement to image resolution.
Health Literacy, Social Support, and Health Status Among Older Adults

The study examines whether social support interacts with health literacy in affecting the health status of older adults. Health literacy is assessed using the short version of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. Social support is measured with the Medical Outcome Study social support scale. Results show, unexpectedly, that rather than buffering the negative effect of low health literacy, social support has a more positive impact on physical health in older adults with high health literacy. Implications for improving the health status of older adults through health literacy and social support are discussed.
A multi-class MLLR kernel for SVM speaker recognition

Speaker recognition using support vector machines (SVMs) with features derived from generative models has been shown to perform well. Typically, a universal background model (UBM) is adapted to each utterance yielding a set of features that are used in an SVM. We consider the case where the UBM is a Gaussian mixture model (GMM), and maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR) adaptation is used to adapt the means of the UBM. Recent work has examined this setup for the case where a global MLLR transform is applied to all the mixture components of the QMM UBM. This work produced positive results that warrant examining this setup with multi-class MLLR adaptation, which groups the UBM mixture components into classes and applies a different transform to each class. This paper extends the MLLR/GMM framework to the multi- class case. Experiments on the NIST SRE 2006 corpus show that multi-class MLLR improves on global MLLR and that the proposed system's performance is comparable with state of the art systems.
Sustained analgesia achieved through esterase-activated morphine prodrugs complexed with PAMAM dendrimer.

Purpose Design and evaluate the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of two extended release morphine formulations developed for IV administration by complexing esterase activated morphine prodrugs to surface-modified, generation 5 (G5) poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimer.
The Effect of Trip Preview Prediction Signal Quality on Hybrid Vehicle Fuel Economy

Abstract This study seeks to develop an understanding of the sensitivity of sensing and prediction-derived vehicle fuel economy improvements to prediction signal quality. The trip pattern identification type of scenario control was selected for in-depth study. For this scenario control, we developed real-world derived drive cycles to test and demonstrate the effectiveness of the scenario control. Baseline models of the Prius HV were refined and used to develop a baseline fuel economy model. Optimal scenario control policies were derived assuming perfect signal quality and were implemented in the baseline vehicle fuel economy model to demonstrate the effectiveness of the scenario control under ideal conditions. Both the optimized and baseline vehicle models were then subjected to imperfections in the prediction signals with the objective of quantifying the absolute and relative performance of the scenario control policies, and the baseline vehicle control.
An Industrial Perspective

Whereas this course was, at its core, about major improvements that, I say, could and should be introduced into the vast industry of healthcare in this Information-Age, and whereas I addressed these from my vantage of medical academia, I felt that all of this should be rounded out by a commentary from the perspective of industry at large. For this I needed someone with vast knowledge of industry at large and of matters scholarly pertaining to it someone who also has a critical yet open mind together with commitment to the Western “culture of improvement” (Preface). So I asked my son to write this Appendix.
Taken Out of Context: Defending Civic Education From the Situationist Critique

Situationists have suggested that educational efforts to improve character and instill virtues should be abandoned, as individuals’ behavior is predicted by contexts and situations rather than by character traits. More recently it has been suggested that civic education and especially the effort to cultivate civic virtues are ineffective for similar reasons and should be replaced by the introduction of desirable social norms and institutions. After surveying the debate on this topic in the first part of the essay, we suggest that in fact virtues should not be judged as existing within one person and absent from another based on their behavior in a single instance. Rather, virtues should be understood as composite and probabilistic and therefore strengthening them is a valuable endeavor. In considering civic virtues specifically we argue that the social and public nature of their expression make schools excellent contexts for cultivating and practicing democratic civic virtues. Even the best institutional structures of a well-functioning democratic society rely on the compliance of virtuous citizens, and the situationist preference for desirable social norms is implicitly predicated on virtuous citizens to institute and follow those norms. Moreover, civic education in a democracy strives to cultivate more than compliance with norms of conduct. It aspires to nurture youth who see themselves as responsible to, and capable of shaping the norms of the society in which they live. We thus incorporate some of the insights from situationism into a revamped view of civic education.
Displacing Inorganic Nitrogen in Lignocellulosic Feedstock Production Systems

109 Determining alternative organic N fertilizer sources and levels over a range of soils that are C-neutral is fundamental to producing a sustainable bioenergy feedstock. Specifically, inorganic N fertilizers have prices linked to petroleum markets, require fossil energy for their production, and can degrade surface and ground water (Pimentel et al., 2008; Ashworth et al., 2015). One likely replacement of synthetic N fertilizer is the use of legumes in biofuel production systems (Snapp et al., 1998). An additional inorganic N alternative is biochar or the by-product of switchgrass and other lignocellulosic biomass from thermochemical conversion processes such as pyrolysis (Lehmann and Joseph, 2009). Biochar applications to soil may increase C sequestration and plant nutrient retention, thereby decreasing chemical fertilizer inputs (Mullen et al., 2010). However, in order for legumes and biochar to be employed for feedstock production, a protocol for the most economical and nutrient efficient system is needed. Soil fertility and crop yield can be increased by leguminous green manure intercrops through increases in soil organic C, N, and P compared with weedy fallows and nonleguminous cover crops (Tonitto et al., 2006). However, the extent of this in warm temperate intercropping systems is unknown, especially for switchgrass production. Smithson and Giller (2002) found that biologically fixed N from legumes can reach levels up to 450 kg N ha-1 per crop. Tonitto et al. (2006) concluded in a meta-analysis that legumes could supply up to 350 kg N ha-1 yr-1 in a fairly continuous distribution, with 50% of the studies having 50 to 150 kg N ha-1 yr crop-1. At this level of N, legume intercrop systems can meet N requirements for switchgrass production. These results demonstrate the potential for N2–fixing crops to support crop yields while reducing reactive mononitrogen oxide emissions and decreasing nitrate leaching by up to 40% (Tonitto et al., 2006). Biofuels
Biochemical preadaptations, founder events, and the evolution of resistance in Arthropods

We conducted literature-based comparative analyses of pesticide resistance evolution to evaluate 2 aspects of microevolutionary response to strong novel selection pressures. First, it has been proposed that herbivorous arthropods are preadapted to evolve resistance by a system of detoxifying enzymes the evolution of which was elaborated in response to plant defensive chemicals. To test this hypothesis, we note that arthropods that feed on plant vascular tissues (phloem and xylem, which are less strongly chemically defended than other tissues) have lower levels of detoxifying enzyme activities than species that chew or feed on cell contents, and might therefore be expected to be less strongly preadapted to pesticides. The record of pesticide resistance evolution in 615 arthropod pests of North American agriculture is consistent with the biochemical preadaptation hypothesis: phloem- and xylem-feeding species have a significantly diminished ability to evolve resistance when compared with either chewing or cell content-feeding species. The same result is obtained in an analysis restricted to species within the order Homoptera. We caution, however, that feeding behavior is confounded with taxonomy in these analyses; thus, strong inferences of a causal relationship between feeding mode and resistance evolution would be premature. Second, conventional theory suggests that population bottlenecks that occur during the initiation of geographically isolated populations can have profound effects on the genetic structure of populations, including particularly art the loss of allelic diversity. Arthropods that have been introduced to North America, and thus have undergone founder events, might therefore be expected to be depauperate for key resistance-conferring genetic variants. Our analyses find no support for this founder event hypothesis, native and introduced species do not differ significantly in resistance evolution. We evaluate the importance of possibly confounding variables in the interpretation of these results and emphasize the need to integrate experimental results with these comparative broad-scale results.
Racial and socioeconomic disparities in incidence of hospital-acquired complications following cerebrovascular procedures.

BACKGROUND Patients with cerebrovascular disease undergo complex surgical procedures, often requiring prolonged inpatient hospitalization. Previous studies have demonstrated associations between racial/demographic factors and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing cerebrovascular procedures (CVPs). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have published a series of 11 hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) deemed "reasonably preventable" for which related costs of treatment are not reimbursed. We hypothesize that race and payer status disparities impact HAC frequency in patients undergoing CVPs and that HAC incidence is associated with length of stay and hospital costs. OBJECTIVE To assess health disparities in HACs among the cerebrovascular neurosurgical patient population. METHODS Data were collected from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2002 to 2010. CVPs and HACs were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnostic and procedure codes. HAC incidence was evaluated according to demographics including race, payer status, and median zip code income via multivariable analysis. Secondary outcomes of interest included length of stay and resulting inpatient charges. RESULTS From 2002 to 2010, there were 1 290 883 CVP discharges with an HAC rate of 0.5%. Significant disparities in HAC frequency existed according to ethnicity and insurance provider. Minorities and Medicaid patients had increased frequency of HACs (P < .05), as well as prolonged length of stay and higher inpatient costs (P < .05). CONCLUSION HAC incidence is associated with racial and socioeconomic factors in patients who undergo CVPs. Awareness of these disparities may lead to improved processes and protocol implementation, which might help to decrease the frequency of these potentially avoidable events.
Gallium and Gallium Dichloride, New Solid-State Reductants in Preparative Transition Metal Chemistry. New, Lower Temperature Syntheses and Convenient Isolation of Hexatantalum Tetradecachloride Octahydrate, Ta6(μ-Cl)12Cl2(OH2)4.4H2O, and Synthesis and Solid-State Structure of a Tetraalkylammonium Derivative, [N(CH2Ph)Bu3]4[Ta6(μ-Cl)12Cl6], of the Reduced [Ta6(μ-Cl)12]2+ Cluster Core1

Reduction of TaCl5 with either Ga or Ga2Cl4, in the presence of NaCl, in a sealed borosilicate glass ampule at 500 °C, followed by aqueous Soxhlet extraction and treatment with SnCl2 and hydrochloric acid, yielded Ta6(μ-Cl)12Cl2(OH2)4·4H2O in 92% (Ga) or 96% (Ga2Cl4) yield. Ga2Cl4, a probable intermediate in the Ga-based reduction, is a more convenient reductant than Ga because it is readily dispersed in the reaction mixture, and these mixtures do not require homogenizations in order to afford high yields. Ta6(μ-Cl)12Cl2(OH2)4·4H2O was converted by ligand exchange to the first tetraalkylammonium derivative, [N(CH2Ph)Bu3]4[Ta6(μ-Cl)12Cl6], of the reduced cluster core Ta6(μ-Cl)122+, in 88% yield. [N(CH2Ph)Bu3]4[Ta6(μ-Cl)12Cl6] crystallizes from 1,2-dichloroethane/toluene mixtures in two crystalline morphologies, a nonsolvated cubic form and a solvated needle form. The solid-state molecular structures of both crystalline morphologies of [N(CH2Ph)Bu3]4[Ta6(μ-Cl)12Cl6] consist of octahedral, 16 VEC hexatantalu...
Electronic and photophysical properties of platinum(II) biphenyl complexes containing 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline ligands.

Pt(bph)(bpy) and Pt(bph)(phen), where bph is the 2,2′-biphenyl dianion, bpy is 2,2′-bipyridine, and phen is 1,10-phenanthroline, crystallize in the space groups I41/a and P21/c, respectively, in two different configurations as X-shaped and bowed (B). The distance between Pt centers is 3.5 A indicative of π–π stacking. The complexes are optically active, absorb light at 440 nm, and emit in the solid state at room temperature and in the solid glass phase at 77 K. The emission maxima for both in the glass occur near 581 nm but are red-shifted to ∼700 nm in the solid state. Both complexes exhibit solvatochromism in nitrile-based solvents with the Pt(bph)(phen) complex showing greater excited state dipole character compared to the Pt(bph)(bpy) derivative. Frontier orbitals for the HOMO determined by DFT calculations contain electronic contributions from the biphenyl ligand and the platinum center. The LUMO orbitals primarily reside on the diimine ligands. TDDFT calculations indicate the low-energy transitions ...
Prognosis of Early Onset Absence Epilepsy

Investigators from University of Chieti and several other centers in Italy conducted a multicenter retrospective 36-month follow-up study of the electroclinical course of epilepsy in all children with typical absence seizures (TAS) starting in the first 3 years of life.
Westernization and Cultural Resistance of Tattooing Practices in Contemporary Japan

and sheds light on attempts by traditional tattooists to retain a vital presence in the modern-to-postmodern transitional periods. Explaining the values, beliefs and practices associated with tattooing during the pre-modern period, it discusses how these are shaped and modified by modern cultural practices, and how they are being impacted by globalization. While drawing on historical and cross-cultural research on tattooing in Japan, this article incorporates three tattooists’ experiences as examples of contemporary practices. By resisting the impact of globalization, traditional tattooists preserve their own practices and pass them on to the next generation. ● K E Y W O R D S ● authenticity ● cultural resistance ● Japan ● marginality ● popular culture ● subculture ● tattoo ● tattooing ● westernization The recent popularity of tattoos has created polarized attitudes toward tattooing practices in Japan. On the one hand, more tattooists and tattooees openly present themselves as members of a tattoo culture in which tattoos are considered marks of self-expression. On the other hand, it is evident that negative views of tattoos remain strong. The sign, ‘No Tattooed People Allowed’, is overtly displayed in public places such as saunas and pools, even though tattooing is not illegal. Due to historical and sociocultural conditions, tattoos were often associated with criminal activities (e.g. tattooing was a gangster custom) and rebellion against society (e.g. going against Confucian teaching). This negativity surrounding Japanese tattooing still persists. As a result, the popularity of tattoos may also confuse Japanese tattooists. The appearance of tattoo conventions in Japan suggests that tattooing has gained the
Mechanism and energetics of O and O2 adsorption on polar and non-polar ZnO surfaces

Polar surfaces of semiconducting metal oxides can exhibit structures and chemical reactivities that are distinct from their non-polar surfaces. Using first-principles calculations, we examine O adatom and O2 molecule adsorption on 8 different known ZnO reconstructions including Zn-terminated (Zn-ZnO) and O-terminated (O-ZnO) polar surfaces, and non-polar surfaces. We find that adsorption tendencies are largely governed by the thermodynamic environment, but exhibit variations due to the different surface chemistries of various reconstructions. The Zn-ZnO surface reconstructions which appear under O-rich and H-poor environments are found to be most amenable to O and O2 adsorption. We attribute this to the fact that on Zn-ZnO, the O-rich environments that promote O adsorption also simultaneously favor reconstructions that involve adsorbed O species. On these Zn-ZnO surfaces, O2 dissociatively adsorbs to form O adatoms. By contrast, on O-ZnO surfaces, the O-rich conditions required for O or O2 adsorption tend to promote reconstructions involving adsorbed H species, making further O species adsorption more difficult. These insights about O2 adsorption on ZnO surfaces suggest possible design rules to understand the adsorption properties of semiconductor polar surfaces.
Epidemiological Analysis on Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Xihu District of Nanchang City during 2009-2010

[Objective]To understand the epidemiological characteristics of sexually transmitted diseases in reported by monitoring points of Xihu district in Nanchang city,provide the scientific basis for developing control measures. [Methods]The reported data of sexually transmitted diseases from 2009 to 2010 were analyzed with descriptive epidemiology. [Results]In 2009,619 cases of sexually transmitted diseases were reported,most of cases were syphilis and gonorrhea,and the male to female ratio was 1.42∶1.In 2010,610 cases were reported,most of cases were syphilis,condyloma acuminatum and gonorrhea,and the male to female ratio was 0.89∶1.The reported cases showed a downward trend.The majority of patients were people aged 20~34 years old and over 60 years old.The main occupation included housework,unemployment and workers. [Conclusion]The key populations of sexually transmitted diseases are people aged 20~34 years old and over 60 years old,and the key occupations are floating population and workers.The prevention measures include strengthening the education of knowledge about prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and promoting the 100% condom use.
Wireless imaging sensor network design and performance analysis

This paper discusses (a) the design and implementation of the integrated radio tomographic imaging (RTI) interface for radio signal strength (RSS) data obtained from a wireless imaging sensor network (WISN) (b) the use of model-driven methods to determine the extent of regularization to be applied to reconstruct images from the RSS data, and (c) preliminary study of the performance of the network.
Uncertainty Relations and Possible Experience

The uncertainty principle can be understood as a condition of joint indeterminacy of classes of properties in quantum theory. The mathematical expressions most closely associated with this principle have been the uncertainty relations, various inequalities exemplified by the well known expression regarding position and momentum introduced by Heisenberg. Here, recent work involving a new sort of “logical” indeterminacy principle and associated relations introduced by Pitowsky, expressable directly in terms of probabilities of outcomes of measurements of sharp quantum observables, is reviewed and its quantum nature is discussed. These novel relations are derivable from Boolean “conditions of possible experience” of the quantum realm and have been considered both as fundamentally logical and as fundamentally geometrical. This work focuses on the relationship of indeterminacy to the propositions regarding the values of discrete, sharp observables of quantum systems. Here, reasons for favoring each of these two positions are considered. Finally, with an eye toward future research related to indeterminacy relations, further novel approaches grounded in category theory and intended to capture and reconceptualize the complementarity characteristics of quantum propositions are discussed in relation to the former.
Personal style, culture and performance outcomes in projects: what is the role of project leader individual differences?

We centred the effect of project leader personal style on culture in project-based work. Little is known about dispositional factors of the project leader and how they contribute to culture in projects. The current study, based on a sample of 121 project teams, illustrates that individual differences in the project leader's personal style are related to culture in project-based work. In conjunction, we showed how culture can be used by the leader to trigger performance outcomes in projects. Recommendations to re-consider selection and training for project leaders are provided.