cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
WSN17-4: Controlled Node Mobility: A Mechanism for Energy Load Distribution in Sensor Networks

This paper presents a mechanism for extending network life by introducing energy-aware mobility in wireless sensor networks. The concept of controlled mobility for energy saving has been motivated by a natural grouping behavior that is observed in Emperor penguins in the Antarctic region. As a survival strategy during the winters, large groups of Emperor penguins form a closely huddled group to improve their collective heat insulation. Individual penguins within a group exhibit a local mobility pattern that ensures that each individual spends equal amount of time at the periphery of the group, where the heat loss is the maximum. In this paper, we first draw a parallel between the heat loss of a penguin at the group periphery, and the routing energy burden of a sensor node near base stations. Then we develop a distributed and fully localized mobility control algorithm for collective extension of the network life. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed controlled mobility can significantly extend a sensor network's operating life even in situations where the energy cost of physical node movement is modeled as high as up to four orders of magnitude larger than the energy cost for packet communication.
Institutional Environment(s) for Online Course Development and Delivery

There is a lot we know about online courses, but a lot is yet to be discovered. We know quite a bit about how to develop these courses, as well as how to deliver them. We know quite a bit about assuring the quality of these courses, and how to assess student performance. We know quite a bit about how to "incentivize" faculty to develop these courses, and about their equivalence to hybrid and traditional classroom-based courses. What we do not know, and what Sociology can contribute to the discussion, is how the institutional environment affect's individual faculty member's propensity and ability to develop and deliver online courses. This manuscript attempts to tackle these issues and discusses nine different elements that affect the development and delivery of these courses including the technological/teaching context, the political environment, faculty and administrative resistance, competing agendas, course ownership, resources, specialists and technology, and the human touch. Each of these areas is discussed in the article then linked to an individual case study at a large research University in the Northeastern United States.
A proposed initial approach to distributed real-time Java

The process of defining requirements for "real-time Java" and subsequently the two competing specifications for it, began with considerable thought by the participants about what the term "real-time Java" could and should mean. Now two corresponding requirements and specification processes have begun for distributed real-time Java. This paper summarizes some ideas about that term and an initial approach to a specification. The approach is based on providing a natural and minimal mechanistic extension to Remote Method Invocation (RMI) that facilitates real-time distributed computing in general and real-time distributed (in the sense of trans-node) programming in particular. Here, "real-time RMI" is not defined as "real fast" or even "real predictable" RMI (although those are both important attributes). Instead, it means that the timeliness properties of computational entities are preserved when the entities perform RMIs and RETURNs that span physical nodes. A similar approach has been proven effective in several other distributed real-time contexts, and is a primary feature of the unified proposal to OMG for dynamic real-time CORBA.
Keepers of the City: The Corregidores of Isabella I of Castile (1474-1504)

Tables Glossary Map 1. The omnicompetent servant 2. Establishing authority 3. The naked sword (1474-85) 4. Faithful servants (1485-94) 5. Careers open to talent: judicature, remuneration, residencia 6. Lords and prelates: a matter of privilege 7. The end of convivencia: Jews, Christians, and Muslims 8. Difficult governance (1495-1504) 9. The queen in heaven: troubled aftermath Notes Bibliography Index.
Vascular changes in the subventricular zone after distal cortical lesions

One of the effects of cortical lesions is to produce cell proliferation in the subventricular zone (SVZ), a neurogenic zone of the adult brain distal from the lesion. The mechanisms of these effects are unknown. Recent evidence points to a relationship between the vasculature and neurogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we asked whether cortical lesions induced vascular modifications in the distal SVZ in vivo. Lesions of the frontoparietal cortex were produced by thermocoagulation of pial blood vessels, a method that leads to highly reproducible loss of all cortical layers, sparing the corpus callosum and underlying striatum. These lesions induced increased immunoreactivity for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) around the walls of SVZ vessels, at a considerable distance from the lesion. Vascular permeability was markedly increased in both the SVZ and RMS by 3 days after the injury. A dramatic increase in endothelial proliferation was followed by expansion of the local SVZ vascular tree 7 days after the injury. This time course corresponded to the proliferative changes in the SVZ, and a tight correlation was observed between the number of blood vessels and the increase in SVZ cell number. The data demonstrate that thermocoagulatory cortical lesions induce distal vascular changes that could play a role in lesion-induced SVZ expansion.
A Prospective Study of the “Two-Bag System” in Diabetic Ketoacidosis Management

The "two-bag'' system, an adaptation of the euglycemic clamp technique, consists of simultaneous administration of 2 intravenous (IV) fluid bags of differing dextrose concentrations. Individualized therapy is dictated by adjustment of the infusion rate of each bag. We sought to assess the benefits of the two-bag system in the initial acute emergency department management of children in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Thirty-three children presenting to an urban pediatric emergency department in DKA were randomized into 2 groups: patients managed with the two-bag system and patients managed with the traditional "one-bag'' system. Other aspects of the management were standardized. Outcome measures included rate of decline in serum glucose, rate of bicarbonate correction, time on IV insulin therapy, and response time for IV fluid changes. Study period was defined as time on IV insulin therapy. There were no differences between the 2 groups in demographic parameters, initial baseline metabolic parameters, or total time on IV insulin therapy. There were no differences between the groups in average rates of serum glucose decline: two-bag 33.1 mg/dL/hr (s.e. 5.57, 95% CI 22.2, 44), one-bag 30.2 mg/dL/hr (s.e. 5.72, 95% CI 19, 41.4); average rate of serum bicarbonate correction: two-bag 1.19 mEq/L/hr, one-bag 1.27 mEq/L/hr; or the average number of IV fluid bags used: two-bag 4.1 bags, one-bag 3.2 bags. However, there was a difference between the groups in regard to elapsed total time to make changes in the IV fluids: two-bag 1 minute, one-bag 42 minutes, (p < 0.001). The "two-bag'' system enables a faster response time in making IV fluid therapy changes. This efficiency makes this system ideal for use in the emergency department.
Stock-Market Prices with Forgetful Investors

This note investigates the impact of investors’ memory limitations on stock-market prices. I consider a simple asset-pricing model in which investors allocate limited cognitive resources to retrieve information from memory and to learn about the data generating process of multiple assets. I show that the proposed framework may shed light into a number of empirical ‘anomalies’, including the excess volatility and excess premium of risky assets and the lower return and volatility of more familiar (e.g. large size) stocks.
On the first paper in Cardiovascular Research: frequency, force, and beyond.

The force–frequency effect was the subject of the first paper published in the inaugural issue of Cardiovascular Research in 1967 (Ref. [1]; see Fig. 1). As a co-author with a longstanding interest in this topic, I was asked by the managing editor, Elizabeth Martinson to comment on this publication and on other research in which I was involved during that period at the Cardiology Branch of the then National Heart Institute in Bethesda. It was an exhilarating time for those involved in the (some might say somewhat excessive) outpouring of laboratory and clinical research papers. That first Cardiovascular Research publication arose from the then-prevalent interest in studying the strength-interval relations of cardiac muscle, a term which encompasses such phenomena as postextrasystolic potentiation, poststimulation potentiation and effects of changing the frequency of stimulation. John Blinks, a leader in that field [2], had visited the NIH, and I found his talk concerning studies in isolated cardiac muscle of great interest. It had been difficult to demonstrate the contractile effect of increasing cardiac frequency by electrical pacing on the intact heart because of the accompanying changes in cardiac loading conditions, particularly reduced preload. This study established that increased heart rate has a positive inotropic effect in the whole heart by demonstrating, in a setting of controlled preload coupled with induced single isovolumetric beats of the left ventricle, that peak tension and the rate of tension development increased, with reduced time to peak tension, … * 8599 Prestwick Drive, La Jolla, California 92037, United States. Tel./fax: +1 858 453 0166. jlross{at}ucsd.edu
Membrane Potentials, Resistances, and Conductances of Toad Bladder during Na+ - H+ Transport and H+ Transport

AbstractThis study was undertaken to define the electrical characteristics imparted to toad bladder by H+ secretion in absence of Na+ transport, and to determine Na+ and H+ conductances of the apical bladder cell membrane. Cellular membrane potentials, conductances and resistances, and paracellular resistance were studied with microelectrode methods during Na+ - H+ transport and with H+ secretion after Na+ transport was stopped by withdrawal of mucosal Na+ and addition of mucosal amiloride. Epithelial potential reversed from 26 mV mucosa negative to 14 mV mucosa positive. Apical P.D. reversed from 13.7 mV cell positive to 16 mV cell negative to mucosa. Basal-lateral P.D. decreased to 3.8 mV, but cell remained negative to serosa. With Na+ and H+ transport and residual cationic and anionic conductances (probably K+ and Cl−), voltage divider ratio was 1.90, apical resistance was 2181 ohm·cm2, shunt resistance was 12,387, and basal-lateral resistance was 1162. After stopping Na+ transport, ΔΨa/ΔΨb increased t...
A Component Library Based Flexible Electricity Settlement Method

To solve the problems caused by the complexity of the settlement types and rules,this paper presents a flexible method based on component library to support the electricity settlement.This method implements the business Abstraction and unified modeling of the tie-line settlement and generation settlement.Component library is composed of elements library,parameters library,types library,rules library,algorithms library,and instances library.Implemented by rule engine technologies,the method achieves the decomposition and combination of electricity settlement by establishing hierarchical business object model and designing based on componentization.The method has been used in multiple electricity settlement systems to validate its flexibility and effectiveness.
Phase-locked sustainment of photorefractive holograms using phase conjugation

When multiple holograms are recorded in a photorefractive crystal, the recording of recent holograms erases early ones. We can equalize the strengths of all recorded holograms by following an appropriate exposure schedule. However, this leads to a composite hologram whose strength decreases as the number of exposures increases. In this paper, we describe a system in which the composite photorefractive hologram reaches a steady state with overall efficiency independent of the number of holograms (N). Furthermore, the phases of the recorded holograms remain locked during this process.
Repulsive magnetic levitation-based ocean wave energy harvester with variable resonance: Modeling, simulation and experiment

Abstract This paper investigates a magnetic levitation characteristic used in a vibration based energy harvester, called repulsive magnetic scavenger (RMS). The RMS is capable of harvesting ocean wave energy with a unique repelling permanent magnet array, which provides a stronger and more uniform magnetic field, compared to its attracting magnetic counterparts. The levitating magnets are stacked together around a threaded rod so that the same pole is facing each other. Two fixed magnets placed with one at each end of the RMS provides a collocated harvesting and braking mechanism in the face of high amplitude vibrations. Magnets in the levitated magnet stack are separated by pole pieces which are made of metals to intensify the magnetic field strength. The effect of the thickness and the use of different materials with different permeability for pole pieces is also studied to obtain an optimal energy harvesting efficiency. Moreover, the procedure to find the restoring force applied to the levitating magnet stack is demonstrated. Then, the Duffing vibration equation of the harvester is solved and the frequency response function is calculated for various force amplitudes and electrical damping so as to investigate the effect of these parameters on the response of the system. Furthermore, the effect of the maximum displacement of the moving magnet stack on the natural frequency of the device is studied. And finally, Faraday’s law is employed to estimate the output voltage and power of the system under the specified input excitation force. Experiments show that the output emf voltage of the manufactured prototype reaches up to 42 V for an excitation force with the frequency of 9 Hz and the maximum amplitude of 3.4 g.
Article 26 [Habilitation and Rehabilitation]

People who experience a form of disability are identified by the CRPD as those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairments that in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (Article 1). Disabled persons are about 15 % of the world’s population, and this percentage is growing mainly due to the aging process, which comports an increase in chronic health conditions. Other factors include car accidents, abuse of drugs, humanitarian crises (including natural disasters and health pandemics). Of those, about 80 % live in low-income countries. Many of these persons have serious health conditions and face barriers in accessing health and related services, such as habilitation, rehabilitation, assistive technology, assistance and support services and community-based rehabilitation (CBR). For most of them, access to adequate and affordable habilitation and rehabilitation constitutes a precondition for integration or reintegration into societies and inclusion in the communities in which they live. In fact, without (re)habilitation, many people with disabilities would be isolated from society, their community, and even their family. While (re)habilitation is often thought to include only medical aspects, the reality is that it goes far beyond the health field and embraces a wide range of issues.
A Lightweight AES Implementation Against Bivariate First-Order DPA Attacks

Aggressive voltage scaling (AVS) technique is an efficient and lightweight countermeasure for cryptographic circuits against conventional first-order (CFO) differential power analysis (DPA) attacks. However, in this paper, it is demonstrated that AVS technique is vulnerable against bivariate first-order (BFO) DPA attacks since the noise inserted by the random scaling of the voltage can be filtered easily under BFO DPA attacks. To protect a cryptographic circuit that utilizes voltage scaling against BFO attacks, a lightweight implementation of the advanced encryption standard (AES) is proposed. In the proposed technique, even if the noise inserted by the random voltage scaling is filtered, a significant amount of random power noise can still be present in the side-channel leakage obtained by BFO DPA attacks. As demonstrated with the simulation results, when BFO DPA attacks are implemented on the proposed lightweight random AES engine with AVS technique, the measurement-to-disclose (MTD) value is enhanced over 1 million. Alternatively, the MTD value is less than 6,000 under BFO DPA attacks for a conventional AES engine with AVS technique.
Approaches to Natural Language

There are various ways of studying human language. I want to contrast two such ways, and indicate which I shall adopt in what follows. Our point of departure will be some remarks which philosophers have made about semantics, but let me first offer a preliminary sketch of the two rather general ways in which we might conceive the study of natural language.
"Rejection Sensitivity in Job Seekers: Coping, Job Search Attitudes and Self-Reported Behavior"

Rejection sensitivity (RS) is a learned disposition that causes individuals to anxiously expect and overreact to real or perceived rejections in dysfunctional ways that may actually increase their chances for rejections. This study is the first to apply this construct to unemployed individuals looking for jobs. Using RS theory and the theory of planned behavior, a study was conducted in two waves investigating how RS affects the job search and how coping strategies could improve outcomes for highly RS job seekers. Although findings did not consistently support predictions, they provided some evidence that RS increases in proportion to the length of time one is exposed to real or potential rejections, that RS affects attitudes about the job search, that highly RS job seekers cope differently than those lower in RS, and that some coping strategies make a difference in some job search attitudes and behaviors.
Role of Endosymbionts in Insect–Parasitic Nematode Interactions

Endosymbiotic bacteria exist in many animals where they develop relationships that affect certain physiological processes in the host. Insects and their nematode parasites form great models for understanding the genetic and molecular basis of immune and parasitic processes. Both organisms contain endosymbionts that possess the ability to interfere with certain mechanisms of immune function and pathogenicity. This review summarizes recent information on the involvement of insect endosymbionts in the response to parasitic nematode infections, and the influence of nematode endosymbionts on specific aspects of the insect immune system. Analyzing this information will be particularly useful for devising endosymbiont-based strategies to intervene in insect immunity or nematode parasitism for the efficient management of noxious insects in the field.
Slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) somatic embryogenesis. I: Initiation of embryogenic cultures from immature zygotic embryos

Immature female gametophytes and enclosed zygotic embryos of slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm.) collected at various developmental stages were cultured either on eight initiation media supplemented with different plant growth regulator (PGR) combinations or on LPM medium solidified with two brands of agar. Embryonal-suspensor cell masses extruded from gametophyte explants infrequently produced white or translucent mucilaginous embryogenic cultures. Variation in extrusion frequency was observed across seed sources (families), explant collection dates, agar types and culture media. Increased explant maturity (as related to collection dates) reduced cell extrusion rates. Four types of extrusions were grouped according to their morphology. One type of extrusion produced the greatest number of established and long-surviving embryogenic cultures. This extrusion type (type I) was associated with an extrusion condition termed “empty” in which the entirety of the embryonal-suspensor mass was extruded out of the gametophyte. Three other extrusion types (types II, III and IV) showed less culture establishment and survival.
UTPlaceF 2.0: A High-Performance Clock-Aware FPGA Placement Engine

Modern field-programmable gate array (FPGA) devices contain complex clock architectures on top of configurable logics. Unlike application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), the physical structure of clock networks in an FPGA is pre-manufactured and cannot be adjusted to different applications. Furthermore, clock routing resources are typically limited for high-utilization designs. Consequently, clock architectures impose extra clock constraints and further complicate physical implementation tasks such as placement. Traditional ASIC placement techniques only optimize conventional design metrics such as wirelength, routability, power, and timing without clock legality consideration. It is imperative to have new techniques to honor clock constraints during placement for FPGAs. In this article, we propose a high-performance FPGA placement engine, UTPlaceF 2.0, that optimizes wirelength and routability while honoring complex clock constraints. Our proposed approaches consist of an iterative minimum-cost-flow-based cell assignment as well as a clock-aware packing for producing clock-legal yet high-quality placement solutions. UTPlaceF 2.0 won first place in the ISPD’17 clock-aware FPGA placement contest organized by Xilinx, outperforming the second- and the third-place winners by 4.0% and 10.0%, respectively, in routed wirelength with competitive runtime, on a set of industry benchmarks.
A novel stochastic integral equation method for wireless communication in diffuse multipath environments

This paper investigates a novel stochastic integral equation method for the statistical characterization of wave propagation within diffuse multipath environments. The stochastic integral equation rigorously integrates coherent and incoherent propagations within a compact form, which does not appear to be available in the literature. Furthermore, it quantitatively describes universal statistical properties of the environment through random matrix theory. The theoretical research is evaluated and validated through semi-empirical statistical fading models.
47 Introduction of an online programme for the specialty referrals combined with an outlier patient manager

The project ‘Introduction of an online programme for the specialty referrals featuring an outlier patient manager’ is an initiative at Royal Blackburn Hospital that was run by a gastroenterology registrar and a foundation doctor from Nov-2016 to Mar-2017. It was developed on already available resources at zero cost. Initially, we replaced an out dated handwritten fax referral system with an online referral system based on the ‘Sun quest ICE Desktop System’. This platform conveniently combined valuable clinical information such as laboratory and radiology reports, discharge letters and the patients’ location. After 3 months of use, we assessed the online referrals and found: • a very high number of gastroenterology referrals, approximately 140 per month • a significant number of days of gastroenterology patients spent as outliers before transfer to our ward Consequently, we developed an ‘online outlier’s manager’as part of the new referral system which is a shared list of patients that can be accessed through ICE. The gastroenterology team populates the list with patients referred to us and need to be taken over by our team. This allowed us to have a handover tool for the outliers and a patient tracker that the bed managers use to expedite the transfers to our ward. We audited the results of the project in three cycles. The days for transfer of a gastroenterology patient to a gastroenterology ward from: • AMU has decreased from 1.6 to 1.3 days (18%) • an outlier ward has decreased from 5.3 to 3.9 days (26%) The ratio of gastroenterology patients to general medical patients in our wards has increased from 63% to 69%. In conclusion, by transferring patients to an appropriate ward, the overall turnover of patients has been increasing continuously from 87 total admissions to 119 and then to 131 patients over three week period (increase of 50%).
Solanaceous Fruits: Tomato, Eggplant, Peppers, and Others

Tomato’s origin has been designated as the Andean region of South America because of the widespread distribution of the genus Lycopersicon in this area. Recent archeological evidence indicates the site of domestication to be Mexico and Central America. Since the discovery of America, tomato has become distributed throughout the world. At first it was a curiosity and erroneously reported as having poisonous fruits. It was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that tomato became increasingly popular and in recent years has become one of the most important vegetables produced worldwide.
Micro-Perfusion Flow Cell for Imaging Cultured Cells

We present a unique design for a flow cell with a small working volume that allows rapid displacement of media viewed under high power and short working distance objectives. The flow cell has a small internal depth (ca. 0.033 cm) and volume (ca. 0.05 mL) and is easy to handle. Made of Delrin, the flow cell is biologically inert. We have used the flow cell for fluorescence imaging of PC12 cells loaded with tetramethylrhodamine dextran (TMRD) and other dyes.
What Do We Mean by Democracy? Reflections on an Essentially Contested Concept and Its Relationship to Politics and Public Administration

This article argues that democracy is an essentially contested concept in that its meaning and applications appear to be subject to endless contestation, but that the origins of such contestation a...
Routing protocols and architecture for disaster area network: A survey

Abstract Disaster Area Network (DAN) is very crucial in case of natural or man-made disasters. During state of emergency, a rapidly deployable network is the highest priority to conduct search and rescue operations. This survey aims at investigating network architecture and routing models for disaster area networks. The main objective and goal of DAN is to ensure reliable, energy efficient communication which is susceptible to mobility and topology changes in the disaster area. The purpose is to improve delay, reduce overhead, minimize energy used, sustain movement and increase bandwidth for multimedia applications. Mobile Ad hoc network (MANET) addresses issues related to rapid and temporary setup and terminal probability and mobility in a disaster area until conventional infrastructure communication is established. We study the different routing protocols using MANETS or a combination of MANETS and other networks that are available in the literature to build up an efficient DAN.
Elobixibat for the treatment of constipation.

Introduction: Chronic idiopathic constipation (CC) is highly prevalent worldwide. A subset of patients with CC have reduced fecal (and by inference, intra-colonic) bile acids (BA). Elobixibat, a lo...
Small Bowel Obstruction

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is common and defined as the absence or abnormal passage of enteral content through the small bowel. Although a seemingly straightforward issue, appropriately identifying patients that will benefit from operative intervention is often difficult and left to clinical judgment. Patients generally present with abdominal pain, distention, nausea, vomiting, and obstipation. Abdominal X-ray, CT scan, and small bowel follow-through are the imaging studies of choice for the diagnosis of SBO. Management of SBO depends on the initial presentation of patients, along with laboratory and imaging findings. In the absence of urgent indications for exploration, the majority of patients with SBO can be managed conservatively with bowel rest, nasogastric decompression, and intravenous fluids and ultimately avoid the need for operative intervention.
Driving Across Settler Late Liberalism: Indigenous Ghettos, Slums and Camps

The essay provides a genealogical comparison between these three forms of social containment and excess and the social world in which my interlocutors/family manoeuvre. Echoing the Introduction to ...
Central memory CD8+ T cells become CD69+ tissue-residents during viral skin infection independent of CD62l-mediated lymph node surveillance

Memory CD8+ T cells in the circulation rapidly infiltrate non-lymphoid tissues following infection and provide protective immunity in an antigen-specific manner. However, the subsequent fate of memory CD8+ T cells after entering non-lymphoid tissues such as the skin during a secondary infection is largely unknown. Furthermore, because expression of CD62L is often used to identify the central memory (TCM) CD8+ T cell subset, uncoupling the physical requirement for CD62L-mediated lymph node homing versus other functional attributes of TCM CD8+ T cells remains unresolved. Here, we show that in contrast to naive CD8+ T cells, memory CD8+ T cells traffic into the skin independent of CD62L-mediated lymph node re-activation and provide robust protective immunity against Vaccinia virus (VacV) infection. TCM, but not effector memory (TEM), CD8+ T cells differentiated into functional CD69+/CD103- tissue residents following viral clearance, which was also dependent on local recognition of antigen in the skin microenvironment. Finally, we found that memory CD8+ T cells expressed granzyme B after trafficking into the skin and utilized cytolysis to provide protective immunity against VacV infection. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that TCM CD8+ T cells become cytolytic following rapid infiltration of the skin to protect against viral infection and subsequently differentiate into functional CD69+ tissue-residents.
Biogas production from high solids anaerobic co-digestion of food waste, yard waste and waste activated sludge

Abstract High-solids anaerobic co-digestion (HS-AcD) has the potential to recover energy and reduce environmental impacts of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste and waste activated sludge. We investigated the impact of substrate to inoculum (S/I) ratios, alkalinity sources (sodium bicarbonate and oyster shells), co-substrate mixing ratios and inoculum acclimation on HS-AcD of food waste, yard waste, and waste activated sludge using batch studies. Long-term HS-AcD performance was evaluated under the optimal conditions through a semi-continuous biodigester study with leachate recirculation. The digester with S/I = 1 using a mixture of crushed oyster shells and sodium bicarbonate as alkalinity sources had the highest methane yields (183 mL CH4/g VS). Addition of waste activated sludge to food waste and yard waste alleviated acidification (pH 6.86 ± 0.12) during the start-up period, which and improved digester stability. Mixtures with FW/YW/WAS = 0.8:1.7:0.5 had higher methane yields (134 ± 15 mL CH4/gVS) than mixtures with FW/YW/WAS = 1:1:1, but required a longer time (10 days) for self-recovery from volatile fatty acid inhibition. The use of an acclimated inoculum eliminated the lag time during start-up and produced 38% higher methane yield. In the semi-continuous biodigester, an average volatile solids reduction of 38% and methane yield of 186 mL/gVS was achieved. Improved performance in the semi-continuous biodigester compared with batch reactors was likely due to leachate recirculation, which can improve mass transfer of substrates to the microbial community. Digestate produced from HS-AcD of waste organics had a 1.7–2.3 fold higher nitrogen, similar phosphorous and 0.2–0.3 fold lower potassium content than commercially available bioorganic fertilizer.
Excerpt from Richard Roe. A Memoir of a Legal Person

In March of 2019, I published Richard Roe, a book that claims to be the memoir of one of the oldest legal persons in English case law. The conceit is fairly ridiculous, for Roe is hardly enough of an individual to give a consistent account of his life. Invented by the law to mask the identities of untold agents, he can do little more than perform as a consummate mouthpiece. He is most himself when he is spoken through.
Pitch and Roll Effects of On-board Wind Measurements Using sUAS

Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are becoming more and more used in atmospheric related applications as fixed remote sensors. Utilizing mobile remote sensing in air pollution applications can be beneficial. This work looks at assessing the accuracy of wind speed and direction measurements under pitch and roll maneuvers with on-board ultrasonic anemometer (UA) using sUAS. A low-cost wind tunnel (LCWT) is used as a first approach to assess this accuracy and the experimental results are compared with ground truth measurements to provide a recommendation for use in the field.
Weight Loss after Left Gastric Artery Embolization: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Abstract A systematic review of clinical trials investigating the safety and efficacy of left gastric artery (LGA) embolization as a bariatric procedure was performed. The Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies (MINORS) instrument was used for quality assessment. Patient characteristics, weight loss after embolization, and complications were reviewed. Meta-regression was performed to assess associations of age, sex, body mass index, and ghrelin and leptin levels with weight change after LGA embolization. The final meta-analysis included 6 nonrandomized prospective trials. Findings of 3 additional studies reporting weight changes after LGA embolization for control of gastrointestinal bleeding were also reviewed. Pooled analysis of 47 subjects with overweight/obesity showed mean ± SD weight loss after embolization of 8.1% ± 1.5% and 8.85 kg ± 1.24 kg (both P
Abstract 865: The E3 Ubiquitin Ligase Parkin Regulates Metabolism From the Nucleus

Parkin facilitates mitophagy by ubiquitinating depolarized mitochondria to label them for degradation. We have previously shown that Parkin is important for adaptation to myocardial infarction (MI)...
Stepping up and stepping back as scholars of color: taking care of students and ourselves in troubling times

In this article, the authors explore what it means to be critical qualitative researchers before, during, and after the 2016 US presidential campaign and election. They reflect on their positionali...
Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and HIV

Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB are associated with substantially worse outcomes than drug-susceptible TB—especially in the setting of HIV co-infection. Although global TB incidence has decreased over the past decade, drug-resistant TB remains a substantial threat to control of TB worldwide. This chapter reviews the epidemiology of drug-resistant TB, common genetic mutations conferring resistance to first and second-line TB drugs, as well as current diagnostic methods and principles of treatment. Therapy for drug-resistant TB is complicated, associated with frequent side effects, and a field of active research. Several new and repurposed drugs, such as bedaquiline and delamanid, have recently come to market or are in active clinical development. Guidelines change frequently and consultation with a clinician who has expertise in the co-management of drug-resistant TB and HIV is recommended.
Assessing the utility, findings, and outcomes of percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy with SpyglassTM Direct visualization system: a case series

Bile duct stones, indeterminate biliary strictures and other biliary duct pathologies represent a significant surgical and endoscopic challenge in patients with altered luminal or biliary anatomy. Traditional endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is not feasible and alternative approach is usually required. A novel alternative approach of addressing these challenging cases is assessed by this case series. All patients who underwent percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy (PTCS) and SpyglassTM Direct visualization system (SDVS) between December 2016 and February 2018 were studied. The indications for procedure, interventions performed, outcomes and complications were reviewed for each case. SpyglassTM marketed by Boston Scientific Corporation, Marlborough, Massachusetts was utilized by interventional endoscopists and radiologists through a 12 French (Fr) percutaneous vascular sheath. Five patients had altered biliary and/or luminal anatomy: two with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and three with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. All patients had unsuccessful previous ERCP attempts. All PTCS with SDVS procedures were technically successful. Indications for this unusual approach were: ascending cholangitis, abnormal liver function tests and biliary dilation on imaging. SDVS was utilized to conduct electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL) for biliary stone management in four patients and intraductal biopsies for indeterminate strictures in two of them. PTCS with SDVS can be beneficial for multiple diagnostic and therapeutic indications in patients with altered biliary or luminal anatomy. SDVS allows direct evaluation and management of different biliary pathologies in challenging cases where traditional ERCP is not feasible. Some indications for PTCS with SDVS include evaluation of biliary strictures and biliary stasis, biliary tract biopsy and lithotripsy for management of biliary stones.
Investigation of the successive Ozone episodes in the El Paso-Juarez region in the summer of 2017

The adjacent cities of El Paso in Texas, USA, and Juarez in Mexico commonly experience pollution episodes, especially during the summer months. In the summer of 2017, successive high and low ozone episodes were observed. Aerosol backscattered data from a laser ceilometer was used to monitor and continuously measure the aerosol-layer characteristics. Meteorological parameters together with the aerosol layer height were used to determine the reason behind these successive high and low ozone events. In our research, both modelling and experimental data of the planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) were obtained and related to atmospheric stability. Aerosol backscatter data was used to investigate the structure, evolution, and influence of the top of the aerosol layer, which is a proxy for PBLHs. A shallow aerosol layer height (1164 ± 59 m) was observed during the high ozone episodes, in contrast to a deep aerosol layer (1990 ± 79 m) during the low ozone episodes. The ozone precursors, the ozone, and the ground-level aerosol concentrations were also examined during these episodes. It was observed that when the ozone was high, the PM2.5 was high, and when the ozone was low, the PM10 concentrations were high. Analysis of the wind patterns and synoptic scale meteorology also contributed to a better explanation of the nature of these events.
ThinVR: VR displays with wide FOV in a compact form factor

We demonstrate ThinVR as a new approach to simultaneously address the bulk and limited FOV of today’s head-worn VR displays. ThinVR enables a VR display to provide 180 degrees horizontal FOV in a thin, compact form factor. Our approach is to replace traditional large optics with a curved microlens array of custom-designed heterogeneous lenslets and place these in front of a curved display. Custom-designed heterogeneous optics were crucial to make this approach work, since over a wide FOV, many lenslets are viewed off the central axis. We show the viability of the ThinVR approach through two demonstrations, using both dynamic and static displays.
Abstract 15652: Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Induces Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Contractile Phenotype via a PI3K-Mediated Post-Transcriptional Mechanism Dependent on the α5β1 Integrin

In the progression of atherosclerosis, remodeling of the vessel wall occurs in which the extracellular matrix environment is altered and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) undergo a loss of contractile phenotype leading to increased plaque vulnerability and propensity for aneurysm formation. Our earlier studies have shown that insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)-infusion or SMC-specific IGF-1 overexpression increases contractile SMCs in atherosclerotic plaques of ApoE-/- mice. To investigate signal transduction mechanisms whereby IGF-1 induces contractile protein expression, human aortic SMCs were cultured and treated with 0-100 ng/mL IGF-1 for 0-24 hours in the presence of various inhibitors. IGF-1 induced a dose-dependent increase in expression of SMC contractile proteins, alpha-actin (αSMA) and smooth muscle 22-alpha (SM22α) (~2-fold-increase each with 100 ng/mL, p<0.01, n=10), without affecting mRNA levels. Additionally, IGF-1-upregulation of αSMA and SM22α protein expression was not blocked by actinomycin D...
Multidimensional Scaling and Product Positioning: Are Physical Product Attributes Good Predictors of the Overall Similarities Data

Past research reports have often questioned the usefulness of multidimensional scaling for marketing or positioning decisions and have concluded that this method may at best be used as a diagnostic aid. Two often cited criticisms are that (1) measures based on direct similarity judgments are themselves notoriously poor in psychometric properties, and (2) respondents do not seem to use information on all attributes of the products while comparing pairs of them. This study is designed to address these and related issues. Data was collected and analyzed on perceived similarities of soft drinks as well as on perceptions relating to similarities along specific attributes so that results could be compared. Next, the results are viewed within the context of the criticisms of MDS advanced by past studies. These issues are addressed in this study by analyzing the differences in perception of various cola drinks among consumers. The increasing competition among soft drink manufacturers and the recent entry of a new cola drink (King Cola) emphasizing price alone point to the usefulness of such an analysis for positioning decisions in the soft drink market.
A New Capacity for Symplectic Manifolds

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the axioms for a symplectic capacity. At present, very little is known about the nature of a symplectic map. The axioms for a symplectic capacity are useful for a more systematic study of the symplectic embedding problem; they led to a new rigidity result. The axioms such as monotonicity, conformality, local nontriviality, and nontriviality do not determine a capacity function uniquely. There are many ways to construct different capacity functions. The capacity of every symplectic manifold is positive or ∞. Every capacity singles out the subgroup of homeomorphisms of R2n preserving the capacity. The elements of this distinguished group of homeomorphisms have the additional property that they are symplectic or anti-symplectic in case they are differentiable. The associated pseudogroup can be used to define a topological symplectic manifold.
Effects of Crack Closure on Ultrasonic Transmission

Ultrasonic waves are attenuated as they propagate past the tip of a crack due to the reflection of the energy at the crack face and diffraction at the crack tip. Crack closure modifies the situation since partial transmission can occur at points along the crack face where asperities come in contact. This phenomenon is important in defining the ability to nondestructively detect closed cracks and in developing a more detailed understanding of the closure phenomenon itself. Modified compact tension specimens were used to investigate the effects of partial crack closure on focussed, through-transmission ultrasonic signals. Data obtained from fatigue cracks in 7075-T651 A1 provides evidence for a gradual transition from a fully closed crack condition at the crack tip to an essentially fully open condition at a distance of a few mm from the tip, with additional localized contact along the length of the crack. This interpretation of the data was aided by a two-dimensional, quasi-static model for ultrasonic interaction with a partially contacting interface. The model relates width and separation of asperity contacts to the frequency dependence of the ultrasonic reflection and transmission. These measurements were supplemented by tests in which water infiltrated into the crack opening. The frequency spectra of the ultrasonic transmitted signals for this case were used to estimate the average COD at various points along the crack length.
Thermal Radio Emission from Molecules in Circumstellar Outflows

Most molecular species carried along in the outflow from a mass-losing red giant emit quasi-thermal radio radiation in their rotational lines. The shapes and intensities of the profiles of these lines permit one to infer a great deal about the physical and chemical conditions in the outflow, and about the elemental composition of the underlying star. Relative molecular abundances, for example, can be quite well determined with straightforward models describing the excitation. Since circumstellar outflows are large (up to ~ 1 pc), they can often be spatially resolved with radio spectral line observations, so one can study the chemical evolution of the outflowing gas, as well as the short-term evolution of the mass ejection process. Resolved emission regions also provide a means of determining stellar distances if the radio emission varies, as expected, with the luminosity cycle of the star. Carbon monoxide emission, now seen in > 100 stars, is a useful probe of the mass loss rate, and the surveys that have been made are beginning to provide an idea of the total rate of return of enriched stellar material to the interstellar medium and give an indication of which objects contribute significantly to the mass return rate. Not only is mass loss important for galactic evolution, but studies of individual stars indicate that their evolution is strongly affected by the loss of a major portion of their mass.
Spinal Column Disease

A. Relatively small size of spinal cord (only about thumb size) packs many important structures in close proximity; it is also encased in relatively small space (vertebral canal) B. Spinal cord ends in conus medullaris at about L1-L2 vertebral level with cauda below that level; thus, lumbosacral vertebral disease tends to present as root symptoms, while cervical vertebral disease presents more often as spinal cord symptomatology
Estimating a random walk using fuzzily recent data

This paper presents a method for estimating a random walk which is observed subject to additive noise. The method is based on an optimal weighted average, conceptualized as defining a fuzzy set of "recent" data. A Monte Carlo experiment compares the method's effectiveness against the naive method, ordinary least squares regression, and regression with fuzzily recent data.
The Cosmic-Ray Positron and Electron Excess: An Experimentalist's Point of View

The recent report by the PAMELA team of the observed rise in the cosmic-ray positron fraction above a few GeV and the report of an excess of cosmic-ray electrons around a few hundred GeV by the ATIC collaboration has resulted in a flurry of publications interpreting these observations either as a possible signature from the decay of dark matter or as a contribution from isolated astrophysical sources. While those interpretations are scientifically exciting, the possibility that measurements are contaminated by misidentified cosmic ray protons can not be ignored.