cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How Many Taphonomists Spoil the Data? Multiple Operators in Taphofacies Studies

Abstract The consistency of taphonomic data collected by multiple operators in taphofacies studies is examined in order to determine if the employment of multiple operators is an acceptable way of generating the large amount of data required in taphofacies studies. Through two exercises designed to train operators in scoring taphofacies data, the consistency/repeatability of scoring data in the damage categories commonly used in taphofacies analysis was examined. The results of these tests seem to indicate that using multiple operators within a single study introduces vast amounts of inconsistency into the data. Most troubling is that consistency among operators in their scoring is so low that any attempt at comparing the results between studies by different authors would seem destined to encounter tremendous variation in the scoring of taphonomic data and not be feasible. Closer examination of the causes of the inconsistency among the operators, however, suggests that, with increased experience and a cle...
Trends in Print vs. Electronic Use in School Libraries

To facilitate a comparison of reference services at academic and school libraries, a survey of resource use at school libraries was undertaken. The survey showed that electronic references sources are favored at all levels of schools. The resources used may be different, but the goal of the reference transaction is the same—to create a more information-literate student.
A new procedure for quantitative X-ray analysis with electron excitation

Abstract A method of quantitative x-ray analysis with electron excitation which eliminates the need to correct for absorption, fluorescence, and electron backscatter has been developed. This method consists of 1) analyzing an element using two or more different electron beam energies, 2) extrapolating the observed intensity ratios as a function of energy to an intensity ratio at the critical excitation potential, and 3) multiplying the result by an easily calculated factor to account for electron retardation effects. This method makes possible quantitative analyses of a single element in a multi-element assemblage without knowledge of the other elements. The procedure has been tested with a number of mineral and alloy specimens, and its accuracy is found to be at least as great as that obtained by conventional correction methods.
STRONGLY MAXIMAL TRIANGULAR AF ALGEBRAS

We consider strongly maximal triangular subalgebras of AF algebras. These are the triangular algebras such that is dense in the ambient AF algebra. We prove that every isometric isomorphism between two strongly maximal triangular subalgebras of the AF algebra factors as the composition of two automorphsims of , one induced by a homeomorphism of the Gelfand spectrum of the diagonal of , and the other induced by a cocycle on the groupoid supporting . As a consequence we obtain that the partial order supporting is an isomorphism invariant for . Another result establishes conditions that if satisfied by a strongly maximal triangular subalgebra of a UHF algebra guarantee that is product type analytic. As a consequence we show that the two fundamental examples of triangular UHF algebras are product type analytic, and we exhibit cocycles implementing the analyticity.
Analog RRS cells—An alternative approach for sampled-data low-pass filters

Running recursive sum (RRS) or moving average filters are simple building blocks that are commonly applied in digital signal processing for prefiltering and decimation purposes. This paper presents an efficient implementation of RRS filters employing switched-capacitor techniques. The resulting filter topologies are stray-capacitance insensitive. In order to improve the inherent low-frequency selectivity of these low-pass cells, two novel sharpening procedures are proposed. The zero locations of the analog RRS blocks are, analogous to their digital counterparts, determined exclusively by the applied sampling rate and the order of the filter cell. Hence, the corresponding analog circuits exhibit extremely low element sensitivities. The feasibility of the presented approach is demonstrated by means of two 24th-order silicon prototype filters implemented by a 2-μm double-poly CMOS process.
Least absolute values estimation: an introduction

A brief review and bibliography of least absolute values (LAV) estimation is given. This paper serves to introduce the other articles in this special issue on the computational aspects of LAV estimation.
Hierarchy of root and mycorrhizal fungal interactions with soil aggregation

Abstract In the hierarchical model of soil aggregate formation proposed by Tisdall and Oades (1982), a major mechanism involved in the binding of microaggregates into macroaggregates is physical entanglement by roots and mycorrhizal fungus hyphae. Using data collected from soils of a chronosequence of tallgrass prairie restorations and an adjacent prairie soil cultivated to row crops for at least 100 yr. it was found that root lengths by diameter size class, the lengths of roots colonized by mycorrhizal fungi within each root-size class, and extraradical hyphal lengths of mycorrhizal fungi were all highly correlated with the geometric mean diameter (GMD) of water-stable soil aggregates. To better understand the relative contributions of roots and mycorrhizal fungi to water-stable aggregation, a conceptual model emphasizing the interrelationships between roots of differing size classes, mycorrhizal fungi and aggregate-size distribution was developed and evaluated using path analysis. From path analysis, it was found that extraradical hyphal length followed by fine (0.2–1 mm dia) root length had the strongest direct effects on GMD. It was expected that a physical entanglement mechanism would involve the very finest roots; however, the direct path between very-fine (
Observations of recirculation in the bore fluid during hollow fiber spinning

Hollow fiber membranes are used widely in membrane separation processes because of their high surface area to volume ratio. Several models have been developed for the hollow fiber spinning process. However, many details of the process are not well understood. In this work, the conservation of mass and momentum equations are solved for isothermal, axisymmetric hollow fiber spinning. In contrast to past work, the conservation equations are solved for both the bore and clad fluids. The two sets of equations are linked by continuity of velocity and stress across the bore–clad interface. Simulation results show an unexpected recirculation region in the bore fluid under certain operating conditions. For a given die geometry, the presence/absence and size of the recirculation region is dependent on the bore-to-clad flow rate ratio and bore-to-clad viscosity ratio. The appearance of the recirculation region leads to a more rapid decrease of both fiber outer and inner radii after die swell. The predicted changes in fiber radii are in better agreement with experimental observations than predictions from the one-dimensional thin filament analysis. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006
Creep behavior and microstructural correlation of a particle-strengthened Nb–1Zr–0.1C alloy

The steady-state creep behavior of a particle-strengthened alloy of niobium (Nb–1Zr–0.1C) was compared with pure niobium and a Nb–1Zr alloy. The approach to a threshold stress was indicated at stress levels below 16 MPa and was supported by a statistical analysis of mean particle size. Analysis of the crept microstructure showed a classic dislocation substructure whose cell size was inversely proportional to the applied stress except at very low stresses. The smaller than predicted cell size observed at low applied stresses was attributed to the particles, preventing the dislocation cells from reaching their equilibrium dimension. Some amount of particle growth was observed which led to a reduction in creep resistance with time.
Sex-specific hippocampus-dependent cognitive deficits and increased neuronal autophagy in DEspR haploinsufficiency in mice

Aside from abnormal angiogenesis, dual endothelin-1/VEGF signal peptide-activated receptor deficiency (DEspR−/−) results in aberrant neuroepithelium and neural tube differentiation, thus elucidatin...
National Study of Changes in Community Access to School Physical Activity Facilities: The School Health Policies and Programs Study

Background: A Healthy People 2010 developmental objective (22-12) was set to increase the proportion of the nation's public and private schools that provide access to their physical activity spaces and facilities for all persons outside of normal school hours. The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of indoor and outdoor facilities at schools and the availability of those facilities to the public in 2000 and 2006. Methods: In 2000 and 2006, the School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) was conducted in each state and in randomly selected districts, schools, and classrooms. This analysis focused on the school level questionnaire from a nationally representative sample of public and nonpublic elementary, middle, and high schools (n = 921 in 2000 and n = 984 in 2006). Results: No meaningful changes in the prevalence of access to school physical activity facilities were found from 2000 to 2006, for youth or adult community sports teams, classes, or open gym. Conclusions: These nationa...
Fuzzy-based Methods for Privacy-Preserving Data Mining

As more and more organizations are collecting and sharing data about their customers, there is a growing concern about violation of customer privacy. While some of the sharing is for the benefit of general public such as to understand disease behavior in medical research, individuals are concerned about violation of their privacy. The middle ground is found through privacy-preserving data mapping. Here, sensitive attributes of data are mapped to another domain so that original values are not revealed and yet the original associations are retained. In this paper, we compare a set of fuzzy-based mapping techniques in terms of their privacy-preserving property and their ability to retain the same relationship with other fields. In particular, our contribution is on four fronts: (i) modification of the fuzzy function definition, (ii) introducing seven ways to combine the different functional values for a data item into a single value, (iii) using several similarity metrics to compare the original data with the mapped data, (iv) measuring the effect of mapping on derived association rule. The paper presents preliminary results in this direction and proposes future work in this area.
Culture and Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy in Kenya

Entrepreneurial enterprises are suggested as a means of reducing poverty and increasing economic success for less developed countries. An Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy (ESE) survey of 823 males between 18 and 35 years of age in Kenya found significant differences among ethnic communities in their perceived ability to successfully accomplish tasks previously associated with entrepreneurial success. The results indicated significant differences among various ethnic communities on total ESE, and on individual subscales of sourcing, planning, marshaling, implementation-people, and implementation-finance. The implications are that resources available to promote entrepreneurial training and education should be targeted to ethnic communities based on increasing entrepreneurial self-efficacy in areas of lower perceived abilities.
Electronically tunable, first-order Fabry-Perot infrared filter

Abstract : A tunable infrared filter capable of scanning from 8.2 to 12.8 micrometers has been designed, constructed and tested. It is a first order Fabry Perot interferometer with piezoelectrically driven cavity spacing. Multilayer dielectric coatings for the partially transmitting mirrors were designed to minimize the wavelength dependent phase change produced by reflection. The transmission bandwidth ranged from 2.8 to 4.0% across the tuning range. Continuous scanning at 20 Hz rates was demonstrated.
Extending and Tuning the Travel Range of Microelectromechanical Actuators Using Electrically Reconfigurable Nano-Structured Electrodes

The travel range of a microelectromechanical actuator is defined as the maximum distance traveled by the movable electrode before it is pulled-in. In this letter, we ask 1) whether the travel range of voltage controlled microactuators be extended beyond the limit of one-third of the initial air-gap for parallel-plate actuators and 2) if the travel range be tuned once the structure is fabricated, both without using any external feedback circuit, series capacitor, and/or modifying the actuation mechanism. Our results show that microactuators with nano-structured electrodes and non-linear spring can achieve a travel range of [p/(n+p)] of the initial air-gap, where n (=2 for parallel-plate actuators) is a constant that depends on the electrode geometry and p (=1 for linear spring) is the order of nonlinearity of the spring. Therefore, an electrical tuning of the geometry parameter n using reconfigurable nano-structured electrodes enable versatile, on-demand, post-fabrication control of the travel range.
Genotoxicity biomarkers associated with exposure to traffic and near-road atmospheres: a review

Diesel and gasoline emissions, which are the primary components of traffic exhaust, are known or possible human carcinogens, respectively, and working or living near high-traffic roads is associated with various health effects, including cancer. To help understand the mechanistic basis for this observation, the present article reviews 63 studies on genotoxicity biomarkers in traffic-exposed subjects, with office workers being the typical control subjects. The six primary biomarkers used in these studies were the traditional cytogenetic end points, chromosome aberrations (CAs), micronucleus (MN) and sister chromatid exchange, and the standard molecular end points for DNA damage, (32)P-postlabeling, the comet assay and urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine. These six assays accounted for 74 of the 87 biomarker assessments reported in the studies; all six effectively distinguished traffic-exposed from control populations, giving an average 89% positive results among exposed versus control subjects. In addition, three genomic biomarkers effectively distinguished between the exposed and control populations; these assays measured changes in gene expression, leukocyte telomere length and DNA methylation. Nearly half of all of the studies included exposure assessments involving blood (primarily protein adducts), urine (primarily 1-hydroxypyrene) or air (primarily polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons); these assays distinguished the exposed from the control subjects for the vast majority of the studies. All but three of the 63 reports were environmental studies that investigated 18 general exposure categories, such as traffic police and automobile/bus mechanics. The studies were performed in 20 countries; however, nearly all of the environmental studies were performed in Europe and Asia, with only one each from Africa, North America and South America. Given that several of the biomarkers are associated with increased cancer risk, including CAs, MNs and altered telomere length, the data reviewed here provide strong mechanistic support for the ability of chronic exposure to traffic exhaust to increase cancer risk.
Efficient generation of test patterns using Boolean difference

Most automatic test pattern generation systems for combinational circuits generate a test for a given fault by directly searching a data structure representing the circuit to be tested. The author describes a novel system that divides the problem into two parts: first it constructs a formula expressing the Boolean difference between the unfaulted and faulted circuits. Second, it applies a Boolean satisfiability algorithm to the resulting formula. The novel system can incorporate any of the heuristics used by structural search techniques. It is not only quite general but is able to test or improve untestable every fault in the popular Brglez-Fujiwara test benchmark (Int. Symp. Circuits and Systems, June 1985). Experimental results are presented. >
Comprehensive healthcare: why is the inclusion of reproductive health controversial for women but not men?

Whether comprehensive healthcare for women includes birth control, abortion, or even reproductive healthcare remains controversial in the United States. Women have long been faced with health insurance options that could exclude pregnancy, even when it was not a preexisting condition. Multiple arguments have recently been made as to why birth control should not be mandated coverage for women. Comprehensive care for women that broadly includes reproductive care is not yet the standard of care, despite recognition of the gaps and the many consequences for women’s health. The past four decades have brought a series of national efforts to address gaps inwomen’s healthcare, including thewomen’s lay health movement, the rapid expansion of women as providers in all health science fields, the rise of many advocacy groups for the care of women, and the institutionalization of women’s health with national Offices of Women’s Health throughout the Department of Health and Human Services. Each of these efforts was expected to close thegaps.Yet care remains fragmented, aspectsof women’s healthcare are the subject of much public debate, and considerable gender differences in quality of care persist. Interestingly, men’s sexual and reproductive health has not elicited the same scrutiny. There are few restrictions on drugs to treat sexual dysfunction for men with pharmaceutical coverage. In fact, sildenafil (Viagra) is covered even under Medicare. One could make many of the same social arguments regarding sildenafil as have been recently suggested regarding birth control coverage. Both reliable birth control and sildenafil can contribute to sexual activity that might not otherwise take place (although that is arguably the point). In fact, research suggests that men using sildenafil have a higher rate of sexually transmitted diseases than do other men (Jena et al., 2010).
Neuroprotective effects of deep hypothermia in refractory status epilepticus.

Objective Pharmacoresistance develops quickly during repetitive seizures, and refractory status epilepticus (RSE) remains a therapeutic challenge. The outcome of RSE is poor, with high mortality and morbidity. New treatments are needed. Deep hypothermia (20°C) is used clinically during reconstructive cardiac surgery and neurosurgery, and has proved safe and effective in those indications. We tested the hypothesis that deep hypothermia reduces RSE and its long-term consequences. Methods We used a model of SE induced by lithium and pilocarpine and refractory to midazolam. Several EEG measures were recorded in both hypothermic (n = 17) and normothermic (n = 20) animals. Neuronal injury (by Fluoro-Jade B), cell-mediated inflammation, and breakdown of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) (by immunohistochemistry) were studied 48 h following SE onset. Results Normothermic rats in RSE seized for 4.1 ± 1.1 h, and at 48 h they displayed extensive neuronal injury in many brain regions, including hippocampus, dentate gyrus, amygdala, entorhinal and pyriform cortices, thalamus, caudate/putamen, and the frontoparietal neocortex. Deep hypothermia (20°C) of 30 min duration terminated RSE within 12 min of initiation of hypothermia, reduced EEG power and seizure activity upon rewarming, and eliminated SE-induced neuronal injury in most animals. Normothermic rats showed widespread breakdown of the BBB, and extensive macrophage infiltration in areas of neuronal injury, which were completely absent in animals treated with hypothermia. Interpretation These results suggest that deep hypothermia may open a new therapeutic avenue for the treatment of RSE and for the prevention of its long-term consequences.
Ti-modified niobium-silicide based directionally solidified in-situ composites

This paper examines microstructure-property relationships in high-temperature directionally solidified (DS) in-situ composites based on Nb silicides, such as Nb3Si and Nb5Si3. These in-situ composites are based on the Nb3Si-Nb binary eutectic, and are alloyed with Ti. They were prepared using cold crucible Czochralski crystal growth. Ternary Nb-Ti-Si alloys with Ti concentrations from 9 to 45%, and Si concentrations from 10 to 25%, were directionally solidified to generate aligned two- and three-phase composites containing a Nb solid solution with Nb3Si and Nb5Si3 silicides. Fracture toughness values generally greater than 10 MPa√m were measured in these composites. For a given Si concentration, the fracture toughness of the Ti-containing composites was increased ∼ 6 MPa√m over that of the binary alloy composites. The effects of Si concentration, and a range of Nb:Ti ratios, on microstructure, phase equilibria, and fracture toughness were examined.
Integrin alpha subunit mRNAs are differentially expressed in early Xenopus embryos

Adhesion of cells to extracellular matrix proteins is mediated, in large part, by transmembrane receptors of the integrin family. The identification of specific integrins expressed in early embryos is an important first step to understanding the roles of these receptors in developmental processes. We have used polymerase chain reaction methods and degenerate oligodeoxynucleotide primers to identify and clone Xenopus integrin alpha subunits from neurula-stage (stage 17) cDNA. Partial cDNAs encoding integrin subunits alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 4, alpha 5, alpha 6 and an alpha IIb-related subunit were cloned and used to investigate integrin mRNA expression in early embryos by RNase protection assay and whole-mount in situ hybridization methods. Considerable integrin diversity is apparent early in development with integrins alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 4, alpha 5 and alpha 6 each expressed by the end of gastrulation. Both alpha 3 and alpha 5 are expressed as maternal mRNAs. Zygotic expression of alpha 2, alpha 3, alpha 4 and alpha 6 transcripts begins during gastrulation. Integrin alpha 5 is expressed at relatively high levels during cleavage, blastula and gastrula stages suggesting that it may represent the major integrin expressed in the early embryo. We demonstrated previously that integrin beta 1 protein synthesis remains constant following induction of stage 8 animal cap cells with activin (Smith, J. C., Symes, K., Hynes, R. O. and DeSimone, D. W. (1990) Development 108, 289–298.). Here we report that integrin alpha 3, alpha 4 and alpha 6 mRNA levels increase following induction with 10 U/ml activin-A whereas alpha 5, beta 1 and beta 3 mRNA levels remain unchanged. Whole-mount in situ hybridization reveals that alpha 3 mRNAs are expressed by cells of the involuting mesoderm in the dorsal lip region of early gastrulae. As gastrulation proceeds, alpha 3 expression is localized to a stripe of presumptive notochordal cells along the dorsal midline. In neurulae, alpha 3 mRNA is highly expressed in the notochord but becomes progressively more restricted to the caudalmost portion of this tissue as development proceeds from tailbud to tadpole stages. In addition, alpha 3 is expressed in the forebrain region of later stage embryos. These data suggest that integrin-mediated adhesion may be involved in the process of mesoderm involution at gastrulation and the organization of tissues during embryogenesis.
A robust color object analysis approach to efficient image retrieval

We describe a novel indexing and retrieval methodology integrating color, texture, and shape information for content-based image retrieval in image databases. This methodology, we call CLEAR, applies unsupervised image segmentation to partition an image into a set of objects. Fuzzy color histogram, fuzzy texture, and fuzzy shape properties of each object are then calculated to be its signature. The fuzzification procedures effectively resolve the recognition uncertainty stemming from color quantization and human perception of colors. At the same time, the fuzzy scheme incorporates segmentation-related uncertainties into the retrieval algorithm. An adaptive and effective measure for the overall similarity between images is developed by integrating properties of all the objects in every image. In an effort to further improve the retrieval efficiency, a secondary clustering technique is developed and employed, which significantly saves query processing time without compromising retrieval precision. A prototypical system of CLEAR, we developed, demonstrated the promising retrieval performance and robustness in color variations and segmentation-related uncertainties for a test database containing 10000 general-purpose color images, as compared with its peer systems in the literature.
A two-phase approach to scheduling multi-category outpatient appointments – A case study of a women’s clinic

In this paper, we propose a two-phase approach for designing a weekly scheduling template for outpatient clinics providing multiple types of services. In many outpatient clinics, various service types are categorized to address the operational challenge of substantial changeover time between certain pairs of services. In the first phase of our approach, a mixed-integer program is formulated to assign service categories to clinic sessions during a week and determine the optimal number of appointments reserved for each service type in each clinic session. The objective in the first phase is to balance the workload of the providers among clinic sessions. In the second phase, a stochastic mixed-integer program is formulated for each clinic session to assign each contained appointment with a starting time based on several time-based performance measures. To solve the formulated stochastic program, we develop a Monte Carlo sampling based genetic algorithm. The two-phase approach is tested numerically with cases derived from a real women’s clinic. Our results demonstrate that the two-phase approach can efficiently find promising weekly appointment scheduling templates for outpatient clinics. In addition, our results suggest that the best suboptimal scheduling templates found become more sensitive to the weighting coefficients of the time-based measures as the provider workload increases.
Combining seismic arrays to image the high‐frequency characteristics of large earthquakes

SUMMARY This study investigates the source properties of the 2007 8.0 Pisco, Peru, 2007 8.4 and 7.9 Mentawai Islands, Indonesia, 2009 8.1 Samoa Islands and 2010 8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquakes using a backprojection technique that utilizes data from multiple seismic arrays. Combining seismic arrays increases azimuth and distance coverage and improves lateral resolution. The four subduction interface events show rupture propagation towards the bottom of the seismogenic zone. In addition, all of the earthquakes show evidence of multiple rupture segments with varying rupture speeds and directions. Relating these segments to the specific features of the subduction zones (e.g. interseismic coupling) suggests that asperity sizes may be controlled by subtle features of the subducted slab.
Toxicity of Seven Termiticides on the Formosan and Eastern Subterranean Termites

Using both topical application and substrate (sand) treatments the toxicities of seven new generation soil termiticides were evaluated to determine the LD50 and LC50 against two economically important subterranean termite species, eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), and Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. The lethal dose toxicity (LD50) rankings for R. flavipes from highest to lowest were: fipronil > bifenthrin > chlorantraniliprole > cyantraniliprole > imidacloprid > chlorfenapyr > indoxacarb; the rankings for C. formosanus were fipronil > imidacloprid > chlorantraniliprole > cyanthraniliprole> bifenthrin > chlorfenapyr > indoxacarb. The respective lethal concentration toxicity (LC50) rankings were fipronil > bifenthrin > chlorfenapyr > indoxacarb > cyantraniliprole > chlorantraniliprole > imidacloprid for R. flavipes; and fipronil > chlorfenapyr > bifenthrin >imidacloprid > cyantraniliprole > chlorantraniliprole > indoxacarb for C. formosanus. The study provides an opportunity to directly compare toxicity, action speed, and bioavailability among this group of newer generation soil termiticides.
Case Studies In Marketing Research

The use of case studies for Marketing Research has been examined. Starting with a topic selection, students collected the background information from various sources. A focus group was conducted to gather detailed information. A questionnaire was designed for an in-depth survey of the general public. Using mall intercept, 100 or more convenient samples were collected from the questionnaire. SPSS software was used to analyze this data. Then a final report with possible recommendations was written. During the course of this research, students made face-to-face interview with senior managers or CEO, selected appropriate Harvard Business School cases, did research using Internet or library resources, and added much real-life learning to the theoretical in-class knowledge.
Life histories of enslaved Africans in Barbados

(1998). Life histories of enslaved Africans in Barbados. Slavery & Abolition: Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 129-140.
Why so Similar?: Identifying Semantic Organizing Processes in Large Textual Corpora

This paper introduces the concept of semantic organizing processes as a means of inferring theoretically meaningful behavior from the observation of raw text. Semantic organizing processes are mechanisms by which a set of authors come to produce texts that are similar in some observable, quantifiable way. We introduce three broad semantic organizing processes -- authors sharing subject matter, authors sharing goals, and authors sharing sources -- and argue that each of these processes will lead to texts that tend to share n-grams at different lengths: short n-grams for shared subject matter, moderate length n-grams for shared goals, and long n-grams for shared sources. To test these hypotheses, we develop a novel n-gram extraction technique to capture text similarity based on n-grams of different lengths. We then apply our technique to a corpus where the author attributes are observable: the public statements of the Members of the U.S. Congress. Our results support the hypothesis that these three processes are reflected in distinct kinds of textual similarity. This article presents the first empirical finding that different social processes are detectable through the structure of overlapping textual features. The finding has important implications for modeling text and understanding underlying social processes.
Rate Your Firms Budgeting Leadership

The purpose of this manuscript is to relate the findings of a recent research project that studies the issues of leadership styles and budget and to provide the reader with a means of conducting a self-assessment of their organization.
Metastable non-stoichiometric diopside and Mg-wollastonite; an occurrence in an interplanetary dust particle

Interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are the best samples available for the study of the dust that accreted in the early solar system to form protoplanets at 4.56 Ga. Chondritic aggregate IDPs have a matrix of (sub)-spherical units with variable amounts of micrometer-sized Fe,Ni-sulfides, Mg,Fe-olivines, and (Ca,Mg,Fe)-pyroxenes. The crystallographic and chemical properties of these materials can be modified by energetic thermal processes such as irradiation by energetic atoms (space weathering) and flash heating when an IDP decelerates in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Both thermal events have high heating and quench rates. Thermal alteration that occurs during atmospheric entry, or dynamic pyrometamorphic alteration, could obscure many details of earlier thermal modifications. Pure and TiO 2 - or Al 2 O 3 -bearing, non-stoichiometric diopside and Mg-wollastonite in the IDP L2011K7 are the ultimate products of these thermal modifications, which were dominated by thermally induced loss of (Ca,Mg)O or mostly MgO in original Ca,Mg-clinopyroxene. The calculated oxygen deficiencies, O = 22 - 24 atoms per formula unit (afu) on the basis of Si = 8.00 afu, support a sequence of "anhydrous biopyriboles": diopside/Mg-wollastonite --> anhydrous amphibole --> (Si-rich) anhydrous smectite. This particular type of thermal modification, which is kinetically controlled, is unique to the constituents of IDPs. The extreme environmental conditions of high temperatures with high heating and cooling rates encountered by IDPs favor metastable equilibrium of the reaction products. That is, the kinetic, non-equilibrium processes, do not yield random reaction products but ones with predictable chemical compositions. The Ca,Mg-clinopyroxene compositions observed in this IDP were determined by the metastable eutectic in the enstatite-wollastonite system. The "anhydrous biopyribole" reaction sequence breaks down at calculated oxygen deficiency (O<20 afu) in the vesicular, amorphous, amoeboid grains that could have been melted by atmospheric-entry flash heating.
Low Latency, Rack Scale Optical Interconnection Network for Data Center Applications

Warehouse scale datacenters running complex applications involving many servers require low latency interconnects to avoid excessive delays to the user. The SPINet(Scalable Photonic Interconnection Network) architecture can dynamically support ultralow latencies for packetized light loads and high-bandwidth long flows under heavy traffic.
Solar Dynamics Observatory Reaction Wheel Bearing Friction Increase: Detection, Analysis, and Impacts

The Solar Dynamics Observatory is a three-axis stabilized NASA heliophysics satellite operating in geosynchronous orbit utilizing reaction wheels as its primary attitude actuators. Beginning in April 2013, the SDO operations and instrument teams began observing an increase in spacecraft jitter that was ultimately traced back to anomalous behavior in one of its reaction wheels believed to be related to fluctuations in bearing friction. Though the problem seemed to resolve itself over the course of several months without any corrective action, on February 16, 2014 the same reaction wheel became temporarily stuck at zero RPM and required a torque significantly higher than nominal to resume spinning, inducing an attitude error of several arcseconds in the spacecraft when it did so. Asessment of the data from the incident by the manufacturer has suggested that the wheel is healthy and drastic mitigations such as resting the wheel are unnecessary, but that extended periods of operation in an undesirable low-speed range should be avoided in the future. Options under consideration to ensure this include modifying the SDO momentum unload scheduling process so as to avoid low speeds and utilizing a flight software command to rapidly force the wheels through the undesirable range.
Loss of Transmissibility by Aphids of Bean Yellow Mosaic Virus

In general, transmissibility of bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) by aphids was not reduced after transfer only by sap inoculation for as long as 4 years. On one occasion, transmissibility by aphids was lost or greatly reduced within 1 month after transfer by sap inoculation from a culture maintained by aphid transfer. This nontransmissible strain apparently became dominant when inoculated into broad bean plants at the same time as the strain transmissible by aphids. Transmission by aphids from such doubly inoculated plants was exceedingly low. Transmissibility of BYMV by Mysus persicae (Sulzer) was not affected by transfer by Xeomysus circumflexus (Buckton) for 13 months. BYMV symptoms varied considerably among broad bean plants inoculated at one time from the same source of virus. Aphids transmitted BYMV more readily from plants with severe symptoms than from plants with mild symptoms. More bean plants were infected and more lesions resulted on Chenopodium amaranticolor Coste and Reyn, when inoculated with sap from broad bean plants with severe symptoms than from plants with mild symptoms.
Improved Momentum-Transfer Theory for Ion Mobility. 1. Derivation of the Fundamental Equation

For the first time the fundamental ion mobility equation is derived by a bottom-up procedure, with N real atomic ion–atomic neutral collisions replaced by N repetitions of an average collision. Ion drift velocity is identified as the average of all pre- and postcollision velocities in the field direction. To facilitate velocity averaging, collisions are sorted into classes that “cool” and “heat” the ion. Averaging over scattering angles establishes mass-dependent relationships between pre- and postcollision velocities for the cooling and heating classes, and a combined expression for drift velocity is obtained by weighted addition according to relative frequencies of the cooling and heating encounters. At zero field this expression becomes identical to the fundamental low-field ion mobility equation. The bottom-up derivation identifies the low-field drift velocity as 3/4 of the average precollision ion velocity in the field direction and associates the passage from low-field to high-field conditions with ...
Vocal function exercises for normal voice: The effects of varying dosage.

Purpose: This study examined the effect of varying dosage of vocal function exercise (VFE) home practice on attainment of pre-established maximum phonation time (MPT) goals in individuals with norm...
Thinking about Foreign Community Health Service Management Model

After three years of health care reform,our urban community health service obtains large development and goes into a consolidating and improving period.Some surveys showed that the residents satisfied with the national health policy and community health services.But along with the medical system reform,some deep-seated contradictions were highlighted.The social security system of western developed countries is relatively complete after more than 100 years of development,especially there are a lot of successful experiences of community health services we can learn from them.The article analysis international models of medical insurance and the community health service management,which sourced from four countries(Britain,USA,Germany and Singapore).Meanwhile,it Summarizes the current situations of our country,and maintains our community health service management model should accord with the fundamental national condition of our country,strengthen " the first consultation system",implement " gatekeeper" system;strengthen team construction,improve the community health service;improve the funding system,ensure the public welfare,further perfect the medical insurance system and social assistance system,and improve the capability of safeguard.
Pairwise-covariance linear discriminant analysis

In machine learning, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is a popular dimension reduction method. In this paper, we first provide a new perspective of LDA from an information theory perspective. From this new perspective, we propose a new formulation of LDA, which uses the pairwise averaged class covariance instead of the globally averaged class covariance used in standard LDA. This pairwise (averaged) covariance describes data distribution more accurately. The new perspective also provides a natural way to properly weigh different pairwise distances, which emphasizes the pairs of class with small distances, and this leads to the proposed pairwise covariance properly weighted LDA (pcLDA). The kernel version of pcLDA is presented to handle nonlinear projections. Efficient algorithms are presented to efficiently compute the proposed models.
Validation of the efficacy of a practical method for neutrophils isolation from peripheral blood.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study were to validate the Polymorphprep™ method for neutrophils isolation for conditions within an identified clinical laboratory setting and to confirm the purity and viability of isolated neutrophils utilizing standard clinical laboratory cell counting, differential, and viability methods. DESIGN: A validation study, utilizing a quantitative and qualitative design, was performed. PATIENTS /SAMPLES: 18 EDTA tube blood samples were collected from donors between the ages of 18-60, with no underlying condition. The study was performed in a CLS student laboratory of a midwestern university. The Institutional Review Board approved the study and informed consent was obtained from each subject before blood collection. INTERVENTIONS: Blood samples were treated using a Polymorphprep™ procedure to isolate a pure population of neutrophils. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pre and post cell counts were performed using an automated cell counter. Manual white cells differentials and Trypan blue white blood cells viability analysis was performed. RESULTS: The mean purity levels were at least 94% following isolation with Polymorphprep™, the mean viability of neutrophils was 99%. CONCLUSION: The use of Polymorphprep™ technique provides a practical and effective method for the isolation of neutrophils from peripheral blood which can be used for investigative purposes. Validation of the purity of the isolated cell population can be readily confirmed using standard clinical laboratory cell counting and differential analysis. ABBREVIATIONS:CBC= Complete blood count, EDTA= ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, WBC= White blood Cells, PMN = Polymorphonuclear neutrophil, Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)
Postorthopedic Surgery Joint Replacement Surgery Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis

Elective total hip or knee arthroplasty places patients at risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). As our understanding of the pathophysiology of VTE after joint arthroplasty has increased, pharmacologic strategies have been developed to target different aspects of the coagulation cascade. Various approaches have been used as risk reduction strategies. In 2011 and 2014 the Food and Drug Administration approved rivaroxaban and apixaban as new oral antithrombotic agents. Although controversies remain with regard to the ideal VTE pharmacoprophylactic agent, this class of novel oral anticoagulants has been demonstrated to be safe and to be more effective than enoxaparin.
Corn Oil Ketogenic Diet

The successful substitution of corn oil for MCT oil in 6 children treated with the ketogenic diet for intractable seizures is reported from the Depts of Pediatrics, Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children's Hospital, 804 Wolfe St., Little Rock, AR.
Nifty assignment: concurrent multi-user battleship

This paper describes a group project for an undergraduate networking course emphasizing socket programming and concurrency. The primary tools are Java its swing library for GUI programming. The project takes advantage of using gaming to encourage student interest. It also used a somewhat unusual approach to group work, requiring each student to do their own socket and thread programming, to insure they worked with those concepts that were central to the course, and shared other code, that was not the focus of the course as a group.
Underwater inspection using sonar-based volumetric submaps

We propose a submap-based technique for mapping of underwater structures with complex geometries. Our approach relies on the use of probabilistic volumetric techniques to create submaps from multibeam sonar scans, as these offer increased outlier robustness. Special attention is paid to the problem of denoising/enhancing sonar data. Pairwise submap alignment constraints are used in a factor graph framework to correct for navigation drift and improve map accuracy. We provide experimental results obtained from the inspection of the running gear and bulbous bow of a 600-foot, Wright-class supply ship.
Temperature-stabilized, narrowband tunable fiber-Bragg gratings for matched-filter receiver

We report on a 1550-nm matched filter based on a pair of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) that is actively stabilized over temperature. The filter is constructed of a cascaded pair of athermally-packaged FBGs. The tandem FBG pair produces an aggregate 3-dB bandwidth of 3.9-GHz that is closely matched to a return-to-zero, 2.880-GHz differential-phase-shift-keyed optical waveform. The FBGs comprising the filter are controlled in wavelength using a custom-designed, pulse-width modulation (PWM) heater controller. The controllers allow tuning of the FBGs over temperature to compensate and cancel out native temperature dependence of the athermal FBG (AFBG) package. Two heaters are bonded to each FBG device, one on each end. One heater is a static offset that biases the FBG wavelength positively. The second heater is a PWM controller that actively moves the FBG wavelength negatively. A temperature sensor measures the FBGs' temperature, and a feed-forward control loop adjusts the PWM signal to hold the wavelength within a desired range. This stabilization technique reduces the device's native temperature dependence from approximately 0.65 pm/°C to 0.06 pm/°C, improving the temperature stability by tenfold, while retaining some control for poten- tial long-term drifts. The technique demonstrates that the FBGs can be held to ±1.5 pm (±188 MHz) of the target wavelength over a 0 to +50°C temperature range. The temperature-stabilized FBGs are integrated into a low-noise, optical pre-amplifier that operates over a wide temperature range for a laser communication system.
Lectins as Ligands for Directing Nanostructured Systems

Lectins are proteins / glycoproteins of non-immunological origin found ubiquitously in all organisms. Research investigations show that many types of diseased tissues often display glycans that vary from their normal counterparts. Therefore, lectins that can interact with these transformed glycans may be used for early diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Specificity of lectins towards glycans has greatly attracted nanobiotechnology in engineering lectin functionalized nanoparticles. Conjugating lectin with a nanosystem can identify and specifically attach to the carbohydrate moieties of glycoproteins expressed on cell surfaces and this has led to the development of several lectin functionalized nanoparticles to target drugs to various tissues with minimized systemic side effects. Such efficient lectin functionalized nanoparticles developed so far, and their role in targeted drug delivery, targeted therapies and oral immunization are reviewed. Technical difficulties behind designing and targeting these lectin functionalized nanoparticles are also discussed.
Exploring dynamism of cultural ecosystems services through a review of environmental education research

The field of cultural ecosystem services (CES) explores the non-material benefits that ecosystems provide to people. Human perceptions and valuations change, for many reasons and in many ways; research on CES, however, rarely accounts for this dynamism. In an almost entirely separate academic world, research on environmental education (EE) explores how EE programming affects peoples' attitudes and values toward the natural world. In this review of 119 EE research publications, we explore whether CES (and the adjacent concept of relational values) can be dynamic. We approach this via two lines of inquiry that explore whether EE may instigate this change. First, we investigate whether the EE community measures (and tries to affect) CES-related outcomes. Second, we ask: Has EE research detected changes in CES-related outcomes? We find the EE programs measure many CES outcomes (e.g., aesthetic appreciation, social connectedness), and that in most cases studies observe increases in these outcomes after EE experiences.