cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Motor redundancy during maximal voluntary contraction in four-finger tasks

The goal of the study was to investigate force-sharing patterns in multi-finger tasks. Maximal normal force (MNF) as well as the force-time curves produced by individual fingers were measured in 10 young male subjects in three tasks: (1) holding an instrumented handle in a pad opposition with the thumb at seven different locations, from opposing the index finger (L0) to opposing the little finger (L6); (2) holding the handle in a pad opposition with the thumb at an individually selected comfortable location; and (3) pressing with the four fingers against the same handle fixed to the external support. We found that: (1) The moment due to the normal finger forces changed systematically when the thumb position varied from L0 to L5 /L6, and it was equal to zero at a certain middle position of the thumb, the neutral position. At this position, the shear force produced by the fingers was zero. (2) The total MNF changed in an ascending-descending manner when the thumb position varied from L0 to L5 /L6. The highest value of the maximal total normal force was produced at a position of the thumb that was preferred as the most comfortable position in the grip task. (3) In the press task, the neutral line – the line with respect to which the moment generated by the four fingers equals zero – was at the same location as the preferred thumb position in the grip tasks. (4) Larger total normal force corresponded to smaller total shear forces. (5) In grip tasks, with the thumb in a comfortable position, the force-force relationships among fingers were approximately linear. Hence, in these thumb positions, the force-sharing pattern was established at the beginning of the trial. At the extreme positions of the thumb, irregular patterns of the force-force relationships were observed. (6) In trials with different thumb locations, a significant correlation was found between the maximal force produced by the index and small fingers. (7) Peak force exerted by individual fingers in the multi-finger tasks was much smaller than the maximal force displayed by the same fingers in the single-finger tasks. The peak force depended on the thumb position and varied from 11.3% to 65.2% of the maximal force exerted by the same finger in the single-finger task. With the thumb in the comfortable position, the relative peak force for all fingers was approximately at the same level, 50–55%. The data are in agreement with the hypothesis that the total force is shared among individual fingers, minimizing the moment with respect to the functional hand axis.
Comparative sequence analysis of the 5′ noncoding region of classical swine fever virus strains from Europe, Asia, and America

Polymerase chain reaction was utilized to determine the sequence of a 280 base pair fragment from cDNAs of the 5' noncoding region of 29 isolates of classical swine fever virus. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences revealed low level genomic variation that correlated with the geographic origins of the isolates.
The cis-acting regulatory element of the mvaAB operon of Pseudomonas mevalonii.

Abstract DNA upstream of the transcription start site of the mvaAB operon of Pseudomonas mevalonii, which encodes 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (EC 1.1.1.88) and HMG-CoA lyase (EC 4.1.3.4), contains a cis-acting regulatory element which functions in the response to mevalonate. The regulatory element resides within a 36-bp region located from 48 to 84 bp upstream of the transcription start site of mvaA. This location was inferred from the beta-galactosidase activities of P. mevalonii harboring plasmid-encoded mvaA-lacZ fusions induced by mevalonate and by DNA gel retardation and competition assays. While protein from P. mevalonii grown on mevalonate produced a band shift, protein from cells grown on succinate gave no band shift, even when mevalonate was added. The operator contains three 10-bp direct repeats with the consensus sequence TGGGTACAGT, which may be important for regulation of the mvaAB operon.
Development of an assay to measure mutagenic non-homologous end-joining repair activity in mammalian cells

Double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways are critical for the maintenance of genomic integrity and the prevention of tumorigenesis in mammalian cells. Here, we present the development and validation of a novel assay to measure mutagenic non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) repair in living cells, which is inversely related to canonical NHEJ and is based on the sequence-altering repair of a single site-specific DSB at an intrachromosomal locus. We have combined this mutagenic NHEJ assay with an established homologous recombination (HR) assay such that both pathways can be monitored simultaneously. In addition, we report the development of a ligand-responsive I-SceI protein, in which the timing and kinetics of DSB induction can be precisely controlled by regulating protein stability and cellular localization in cells. Using this system, we report that mutagenic NHEJ repair is suppressed in growth-arrested and serum-deprived cells, suggesting that end-joining activity in proliferating cells is more likely to be mutagenic. Collectively, the novel DSB repair assay and inducible I-SceI will be useful tools to further elucidate the complexities of NHEJ and HR repair.
A new FQPSK modem/radio architecture for PCS and mobile satellite communications

A newly developed constant envelope FQPSK modem/radio architecture, which employs a modified double-jump (DJ) filter in the cross-correlated FQPSK system, is proposed for personal communications systems (PCS) and mobile satellite applications. The power efficiency and spectrum efficiency of this system are investigated in a nonlinear amplified (NLA) environment. The bit error rate (BER) performance is evaluated in a noisy Rayleigh fading channel. We demonstrate that with the simplest threshold detectors (binary robust eye diagrams in I and Q channels), this system is 4-7 dB more power efficient than the US digital cellular and Japanese Handyphone standard /spl pi//4-QPSK (50%-100% more spectrally efficient than the recently adopted wireless local area network (LAN) standard GFSK and the European standard GMSK). The results indicate that the proposed DJ filtered FQPSK is a power and spectrally efficient modem/radio technique. By selecting different system parameters, this system can be optimized for a wide range of applications in PCS and mobile satellite communications. >
Provincial Motor Vehicle Taxation in Indonesia

Vehicle-based taxes are collected by provincial governments in Indonesia and constitute their most important source of locally collected revenue. This paper evaluates the structure and revenue performance of the two vehicle-based taxes–-the vehicle registration tax and the vehicle transfer tax–-focusing in particular on their allocative efficiency. This is evaluated in terms of their potential to meet road maintenance resource requirements, and the study finds that objectives other than allocative efficiency have determined the structure of the two taxes.
Examining patterns of sustainability across Europe: a multivariate and spatial assessment of 25 composite indices

Nearly all societies have now committed themselves to sustainable development by integrating some form of environmental quality, social equity, and economic welfare into their day-to-day activities. As such, there remains a strong political desire for the comprehensive assessment of conditions that evaluate the current status, measure progress, and help set future development goals. Indicators have been nominated as universal tools for progressing sustainable development across scales; however, there remains no consensus regarding the best approach to their design or use. While several studies have investigated the associations between indicators of sustainable development, few have directly addressed the question of how multiple measures can be used simultaneously to assess sustainability regionally. Building upon previous studies, this paper presents a quantitative and spatial assessment of 25 multi-metric indices across 36 European nations. The goals of this research were (1) to increase understanding ...
Unsticking the web

A single web page in a complex web application has many possible runtime states. Functions, like JavaScript event handlers, that operate on such pages are therefore difficult to write correctly. I propose DynXML, a new language for the web which safely and naturally mutates XML trees. Any dynamic web application written in DynXML is statically guaranteed to be free of structural defects -- code that transforms the page in a way that is unexpected by other code or relies on an element of the page that is of the wrong type or does not exist. I specified DynXML formally and proved it sound. I intend to show its expressiveness by implementing several web application design patterns and a subsection of a popular JavaScript framework. I will analyze web application defects to validate the importance of structural defects.
Evaluation of No Evidence of Disease Activity in a 7-Year Longitudinal Multiple Sclerosis Cohort

Importance With multiple and increasingly effective therapies for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), disease-free status or no evidence of disease activity (NEDA) has become a treatment goal and a new outcome measure. However, the persistence of NEDA over time and its predictive power for long-term prognosis are unknown. Objective To investigate NEDA during 7 years as measured by relapses, disability progression, and yearly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Design, Setting, and Participants Patients were selected from the 2200-patient Comprehensive Longitudinal Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (CLIMB) cohort study. Patients were required to have an initial diagnosis of clinically isolated syndrome or relapsing-remitting MS and a minimum of 7 years of prospective follow-up that included yearly brain MRI and biannual clinical visits (n = 219). Patients were analyzed independent of disease-modifying therapy. Patients were classified as having early (recent-onset) MS if they were 5 years or less from their first MS symptom at enrollment or otherwise considered to have established MS (>5 years from onset). Main Outcomes and Measures NEDA was defined as a composite that consisted of absence of relapses, no sustained Expanded Disability Status Scale score progression, and no new or enlarging T2 or T1 gadolinium-enhancing lesions on annual MRI. Relapses, progression, and MRI changes were also investigated as individual outcomes. Results A total of 99 of 215 patients (46.0%) had NEDA for clinical and MRI measures at 1 year, but only 17 of 216 (7.9%) maintained NEDA status after 7 years. No differences were found in NEDA status between patients with early vs established MS. A dissociation was found between clinical and MRI disease activity. Each year, 30.6% (64 of 209) to 42.9% (93 of 217) of the cohort had evidence of either clinical or MRI disease activity but not both. NEDA at 2 years had a positive predictive value of 78.3% for no progression (Expanded Disability Status Scale score change ≤0.5) at 7 years. Only minor improvement was found in the positive predictive values with additional follow-up of 1 to 3 years. Conclusions and Relevance NEDA is difficult to sustain long term even with treatment. NEDA status at 2 years may be optimal in terms of prognostic value in the longer term. Our results provide a basis for investigating NEDA as an outcome measure and treatment goal and for evaluating the effect of new MS drugs on NEDA.
Effect of changes in fat distribution on the rates of change of insulin response in children

HUANG, TERRY T.-K., MARIA S. JOHNSON, BARBARA A. GOWER, AND MICHAEL I. GORAN. Effect of changes in fat distribution on the rates of change of insulin response in children. Obes Res. 2002;10: 978 –984. Objective: To develop mixed models for examining longitudinal associations between rates of change in visceral, subcutaneous abdominal, and total body fat with rates of change in fasting insulin (FI) and insulin sensitivity (SI) over 3 years in children. Research Methods and Procedures: Seventy-seven children (mean age, 8.3 years at baseline) from Birmingham, Alabama, with three or more annual measures of FI and SI were included. Abdominal fat was measured by computed tomography, and total body fat and lean tissue mass were measured by DXA. Mixed models examined the longitudinal associations between the baseline level/rate of change of different fat compartments and the rate of change in FI or SI. Results: An annual increase of 5% in FI was associated with 1c m 2 /yr of visceral fat gain per year (p 0.05), independent of subcutaneous abdominal fat. A 1-cm 2 difference in initial subcutaneous abdominal fat was associated with an 0.2% increase per year in FI (p 0.02), independent of visceral fat. None of the rates of change in any of the fat measures was associated with the rate of change of SI. Discussion: The rate of change in visceral fat was positively associated with the rate of change in FI, independent of increasing subcutaneous abdominal fat; however, subcutaneous abdominal fat may be more predictive of the rate of change of FI than visceral or total fat. Therefore, growthrelated increases in abdominal fat, particularly subcutaneous abdominal fat, may contribute to accelerating increases in FI, but have no effect on SI.
Nitrogen Oxide Fluxes and Nitrogen Cycling during Postagricultural Succession and Forest Fertilization in the Humid Tropics

The effects of changes in tropical land use on soil emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) are not well understood. We examined emissions of N2O and NO and their relationships to land use and forest composition, litterfall, soil nitrogen (N) pools and turnover, soil moisture, and patterns of carbon (C) cycling in a lower montane, subtropical wet region of Puerto Rico. Fluxes of N2O and NO were measured monthly for over 1 year in old (more than 60 years old) pastures, early- and mid-successional forests previously in pasture, and late-successional forests not known to have been in pasture within the tabonuco (Dacryodes excelsa) forest zone. Additional, though less frequent, measures were also made in an experimentally fertilized tabonuco forest. N2O fluxes exceeded NO fluxes at all sites, reflecting the consistently wet environment. The fertilized forest had the highest N oxide emissions (22.0 kg N · ha−1· y−1). Among the unfertilized sites, the expected pattern of increasing emissions with stand age did not occur in all cases. The mid-successional forest most dominated by leguminous trees had the highest emissions (9.0 kg N · ha−1· y−1), whereas the mid-successional forest lacking legumes had the lowest emissions (0.09 kg N · ha−1· y−1). N oxide fluxes from late-successional forests were higher than fluxes from pastures. Annual N oxide fluxes correlated positively to leaf litter N, net nitrification, potential nitrification, soil nitrate, and net N mineralization and negatively to leaf litter C:N ratio. Soil ammonium was not related to N oxide emissions. Forests with lower fluxes of N oxides had higher rates of C mineralization than sites with higher N oxide emissions. We conclude that (a) N oxide fluxes were substantial where the availability of inorganic N exceeded the requirements of competing biota; (b) species composition resulting from historical land use or varying successional dynamics played an important role in determining N availability; and (c) the established ecosystem models that predict N oxide loss from positive relationships with soil ammonium may need to be modified.
Three-Dimensional Photon Beam Treatment Planning

Treatment planning, in the most general sense, consists of all procedures which are used by the radiation oncologist (and other staff) to help determine the plan with which the patient will be treated. In practice, however, the term “treatment planning” has two different usages: 1. Treatment planning is often considered to be the act of entering the patient shape and beam locations into a computer system (treatment planning system), and then generating a calculated dose distribution which predicts what one expects the actual dose distribution to be if the patient is treated with the chosen plan. 2. A more general definition is that treatment planning refers to the quantitative parts of the process (at least) by which the patient’s plan is determined.
Neutron radiation embrittlement of lacrosse reactor pressure vessel steel and weldment: Properties and directionality considerations

Abstract Plate sections from three heats of A302-B steel including one 4-in, thick test weldment produced for the LaCrosse Boiling Water Reactor (LACBWR) have been evaluated for both pre- and post-irradiation properties. Two of the steel heats showed exceptionally high levels of full-shear energy absorption for the longitudinal orientation, but only half those levels for the transverse orientation. The decrease in full shear energy levels as a result of 550°F irradiation were not large and appeared to be proportional between longitudinal and transverse orientations. Increases in transition temperature as a result of 550°F irradiation, 2.1 × 10 19 n/cm2 > 1 MeV, were shown to be in relation to copper content. One heat with low copper content displayed essentially nil embrittlement while the weld metal, containing signifiicantly more copper, revealed a larger amount of embrittlement. None of the LACBWR steel plates or the weldment showed as much embrittlement, however, as the A302-B reference steel which was used as the control material for the study. The three LACBWR steel heats and the weldment, thus, appear capable of accepting the lifetime neutron fluence determined for the plant without undue regard for radiation-induced property changes.
The New Federalism of Mexico’s Party System

Federalism is widely lauded for its ability to manage deep social divisions and promote efficient policy in democratic systems, but it has been criticized for its impact on party system nationalization. In this paper, we explore the role of formal and informal institutions on party system nationalization in the Mexican political system, focusing on legislative politics. In Mexico, an end of one-party rule transformed the nature of center–periphery relations, empowering subnational actors and giving them incentives to act on the national stage. Using an original dataset, we show that these changes resulted in national parties dividing along state lines on policy decisions, and that the magnitude of these divisions depends primarily on 1) the informal centralization of career resources, 2) the extent to which parties are ideological and programmatic, and 3) the personal vote incentives of electoral rules.
Localization of Diffusive Sources Using Distributed Sequential Bayesian Methods in Wireless Sensor Networks

We develop an efficient distributed sequential Bayesian estimation method to localize a diffusive source in wireless sensor networks. Potential applications include security, environmental monitoring, pollution control, and explosives detection. We first derive the physical model of the substance dispersion by solving the diffusion equations under different environmental scenarios. We then integrate the derived dispersion models into the distributed processing technologies, and propose a distributed sequential Bayesian localization technique, in which the state belief is transmitted in the wireless sensor networks and updated using the measurements from the new sensor node. In order to decrease the required communication burden we propose two parameterizable belief approximations: a Gaussian approximation and a new linear combination of polynomial Gaussian approximation. We also apply the idea of information-driven sensor scheduling and select the next sensor node according to certain criterions to reduce the response time and save energy consumption of the sensor network.
Control-oriented approaches to supply chain management in semiconductor manufacturing

After describing the general supply chain management problem with examples from the semiconductor industry, attention is restricted to the core manufacturing problem. Using a control-oriented approach for this nonlinear stochastic combinatorial optimization problem, an outer loop for addressing the planning parts of the problem and an inner loop to manage the execution aspects are proposed. The outer loop provides a material release plan generated by a linear programming formulation (LP) and inventory safety stock targets generated by a dynamic programming formulation (DP) to the inner loop to guide execution. Portions of the nonlinearity and stochasticity inherent in the problem are addressed by the outer loop that requires iterative convergence between the LP and the DP. The inner loop is formulated from the perspective of model predictive control (MPC) and integrates optimal control and stochastic control. Initial results are presented to demonstrate the ability of the inner loop to track material release and safety stock targets while improving delivery performance in the face of both supply and demand stochasticity. A simulation module is also described that supports the other components of the system by validating their efficacy before application in the real world. This component has to address the integrated flows of materials, information, and decisions through the supply chain, and employs innovative approaches combining a number of specialized models to do so quickly and accurately.
An immortalized rat liver stellate cell line (HSC-T6): a new cell model for the study of retinoid metabolism in vitro.

Hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells play important roles in retinoid storage and metabolism. Hepatocytes process postprandial retinyl esters and are responsible for secretion of retinol bound to retinol-binding protein (RBP) to maintain plasma retinol levels. Stellate cells are the body's major cellular storage sites for retinoid. We have characterized and utilized an immortalized rat stellate cell line, HSC-T6 cells, to facilitate study of the cellular aspects of hepatic retinoid processing. For comparison, we also carried out parallel studies in Hepa-1 hepatocytes. Like activated primary stellate cells, HSC-T6 express myogenic and neural crest cytoskeletal filaments. HSC-T6 cells take up and esterify retinol in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Supplementation of HSC-T6 culture medium with free fatty acids (up to 300 micrometer) does not affect retinol uptake but does enhance retinol esterification up to 10-fold. RT-PCR analysis indicates that HSC-T6 cells express all 6 retinoid nuclear receptors (RARalpha, -beta, -gamma, and RXRalpha, -beta, -gamma) and like primary stellate cells, HSC-T6 stellate cells express cellular retinol-binding protein, type I (CRBP) but fail to express either retinol-binding protein (RBP) or transthyretin (TTR). Addition of retinol (10(-8)-10(-5) m) or all-trans-retinoic acid (10(-10)-10(-6) m) rapidly up-regulates CRBP expression. Using RAR-specific agonists and antagonists and an RXR-specific agonist, we show that members of the RAR-receptor family modulate HSC-T6 CRBP expression.Thus, HSC-T6 cells display the same retinoid-related phenotype as primary stellate cells in culture and will be a useful tool for study of hepatic retinoid storage and metabolism.
Character, Narrator, and Simile in the Iliad : The Simile and the Homeric Comparative Spectrum

a study of the homeric simile can begin by defining its terms. I propose to accomplish this preliminary task by looking at the larger question of statements in the shape “A (is) like B” in the Homeric poems. Glaukos' famous contention that men resemble leaves is a good place to start: οἵη πeρ φύλλων γeνeή, τοίη δὲ καὶ ἀνδρῶν. φύλλα τὰ μέν τ' ἄνeμος χαμάδις χέeι, ἄλλα δέ θ' ὕλη τηλeθόωσα φύeι, ἔαρος δ' ἐπιγίγνeται ὥρη· ὣς ἀνδρῶν γeνeὴ ἡ μὲν φύeι ἡ δ' ἀπολήγeι. As is the generation of leaves, so that also of men. Some leaves the wind pours out on the ground, but others the wood flourishing produces, and the season of spring returns: so the generation of men, one grows, the other dies. ( Il . 6.146–49) Hayden Pelliccia suggests that Glaukos' figure strongly asserts the similarity between tenor (i.e., “the generation of men”) and vehicle (i.e., “the generation of leaves”), whereas the purpose behind a simile comparing, for example, Achilleus to a leaping lion “does not seem to be to assert what Achilles is like, but to bring his leaping more vividly to the eye” (2002: 199). The idea that different Homeric statements in the shape “A is like B” reveal different degrees of similarity between tenor and vehicle appears elsewhere.
Eye movements and anaphor resolution: effects of antecedent typicality and distance.

The coordination of the eye movement control system with comprehension processes was studied. Eye movements were monitored while subjects read paragraphs containing an anaphoric noun phrase. In Experiment 1, fixations on the anaphoric noun were shorter when its antecedent was close and typical of the noun category than when it was distant and/or atypical. Subjects took longer reading the words following the anaphoric noun when the antecedent was atypical than when it was typical. In Experiment 2, distance of antecedent affected anaphor fixation times for category name anaphors but not for general noun anaphors (e.g., "object"). The results suggest that the eyes do not wait for the completion of anaphor resolution processes. Rather, these processes are completed after the eyes have left the anaphoric noun. The different patterns of effects on the anaphors themselves and the post-anaphor region were interpreted to reflect two different stages in anaphor resolution.
Wave-equation Inversion of Time-lapse Seismic Data Sets

We propose a linearized wave-equation inversion formulation for time-lapse data sets. Our method poses time-lapse imaging as a joint least-squares problem that utilizes target-oriented approximations to the Hessian of the objective function. Because our method accounts for differences in acquisition geometries and illumination patterns, and band-limited wavepropagation effects, it provides better estimates of productionrelated changes than migration. Using data sets from a North Sea field, we demonstrate how our method can be used to image differences between time-lapse data sets. We show that obstruction artifacts may be attenuated by wave-equation inversion.
Thermal Conductivity of Single Carbon Fibers Using Photothermal Deflection Techniques

A modification of the transverse photothermal deflection technique is used to determine the thermal diffusivity of high-conductivity carbon fibers. A chopped, cw Ar-ion laser beam is focused to a point on the fiber to cause localized heating of the fiber and the surrounding transparent fluid medium. The fluid medium immediately adjacent to the fiber sample is probed with a weak He-Ne laser that grazes the fiber surface and is deflected by the synchronous thermal lens produced near the fiber surface. The pump laser is stepped along the length of the fiber to produce a photothermal signal that is proportional to the temperature gradient along the length of the fiber. The theory necessary to predict the magnitude and phase of the probe beam deflection as a function of distance along the fiber is derived. This signal can then be analyzed by a simple method to determine the thermal diffusivity of the carbon fiber.
Studies on the effects of tricaprylin on gluconeogenesis and ketogenesis in isolated perfused liver.

SummaryThe effects of gluconeogenic substrates on ketogenesis and the effects of tricaprylin on gluconeogenesis were studied using perfused rat liver. Galactose, lactate, pyruvate or alanine (10 mM) suppressed endogenous ketogenesis. Tricaprylin (1 mM) caused a twofold increase in ketogenesis which was suppressed by lactate but not by galactose, alanine and pyruvate. Lactate did not suppress the increase in the presence of octanoate. This suggests that the inhibition of ketogenesis by lactate may involve the suppression of triglyceride hydrolysis. Tricaprylin stimulated glucose production in the presence of lactate, galactose, or alanine. The increase in glucose production appeared to be due to the octanoate moiety of tricaprylin.
Parental Age and Life Span Versus Progeny Life Span in Paramecium

It has been possible to investigate for the first time at the cellular level, the influence of parental age on progeny life span, using Paramecium . As parental age increased, progeny life span decreased. The process of generating progeny clones from aging parents yielded paramecia with different life spans, allowing the study of the influence of parental life span on progeny life span. We found that parental life span was also a significant variable in the progeny life span. The theoretical basis for cellular aging and rejuvenation (the reinitiation of the life cycle) in paramecia is discussed in relation to the present data and previous studies.
The Oxyhemoglobin Dissociation Curve in Acute Disease

When there is evidence of cellular hypoxia, improving the fraction of inspired oxygen and minute volume may not be sufficient. In addition to the cardiac output and the red cell mass, a shift of the oxygen dissociation curve resulting from excessive banked blood, acid-base abnormalities, or lack of phosphates in hyperalimentation feeding can affect oxygen delivery.
Class Relations Among Old and New Immigrants.

Several self- and externally-imposed identifiers—ethnic background, religious membership, gender, and national origin for example—obscure class affiliation and disguise the ways that individuals from different class backgrounds use such identifiers to increase or reduce the material consequences of class. Among immigrants, class relations can become further obscured by legal statuses assigned by the state, village of origin, language ability, and the extent to which immigrants view themselves as transnationals or members of Diasporas. Drawing on recent research among Latino immigrants in the U.S. Midwest and South, this paper examines class relations among immigrants with different degrees and kinds of immigration experience.
Characteristics of diet among a culturally diverse group of low-income pregnant women.

This study reports on diet quality and variety in food selection among a culturally diverse group of 335 low-income pregnant Massachusetts women. The Index for Nutritional Quality (INQ), which is the observed nutrient density divided by the recommended nutrient density, was estimated for seven nutrients from data reported on food frequency questionnaires and diet recalls. Mean INQs for protein and vitamin C were above the recommended level of 1.0, whereas INQ for iron was 0.6 or less. Mean INQ for calcium was 1.2 for whites and between 0.9 and 1.0 for non-whites. When comparisons were made among ethnic groups by site of prenatal care, significant differences in INQ were found for all nutrients except iron and vitamin B-6. WIC participants had higher diet quality for protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin B-6 than did non-participants. Employed women had higher protein and zinc INQs than did unemployed women, and non-smokers had higher iron and vitamin B-6 INQs than did smokers. Variety was not significantly correlated with diet quality but differed (p
On the Entropies and the Mutual Information of Some Bivariate Continuous Distributions Used in Reliability

In this paper, we consider some bivariate distributions that are used in reliability theory and study their entropies and mutual information.
Who Decides When The Party Doesn’t? Authoritarian Voters and the Rise of Donald Trump

While the party decides theory explains the outcomes of past nomination battles for president, this year in the Republican presidential contest party insiders failed to anoint a standard bearer. Who decides when the party elites don’t? In 2016, it was America’s authoritarian voters. And their candidate of choice, Donald Trump, is anathema to party leaders. I argue that Trump’s rise is in part the result of authoritarian voters’ response to his unvarnished, us-versus-them rhetoric. The failure of Republican Party insiders to coalesce behind one candidate opened the door for Trump. Authoritarian-driven partisan polarization (Hetherington and Weiler 2009), increasing fear of real and imagined threats, and terrorist incidents abroad and at home provided the fuel for Trump’s campaign. And Trump’s message and manner ignited that fuel, propelling him to the Republican nomination for president.
A novel laparoscopic camera robot with in-vivo lens cleaning and debris prevention modules

Robotic systems have recently drawn attention in minimally invasive surgeries due to their increased dexterity feature. A major drawback of these systems is image blurring due to lens contamination which cause imaging impairment during up to 40% of surgery time. This paper demonstrates a novel laparoscopic magnetic driven camera system with implemented in-vivo lens cleaning and debris prevention systems. This camera robot can cover 150 degrees field of view inside the abdominal cavity and provide adjustable illumination system to improve the video quality. Design details for different modules, such as anchoring, actuation, video capturing, illumination, debris prevention and lens cleaning of this robot have been provided and discussed. This camera robot can decrease the possibility of lens contamination by creating CO 2 gas barrier in front of lens. In case of contamination it can clean the lens in-vivo without removing the camera from abdominal cavity. The lens cleaning module has been tested for water vapor and water droplets. The robot is manufactured and each module has been validated by designed experiments.
Narrowing the treatment gap in managing opioid use disorder

[See related article at [www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.170958][2]][2] KEY POINTS North America is in the midst of a public health crisis related to opioid use disorder and overdose. In the United States, opioid overdose is the number-one cause of death from unintentional injuries, surpassing
Impact of Clinically Relevant Elliptical Deformations on the Damage Patterns of Sagging and Stretched Leaflets in a Bioprosthetic Heart Valve

After implantation of a transcatheter bioprosthetic heart valve its original circular circumference may become distorted, which can lead to changes in leaflet coaptation and leaflets that are stretched or sagging. This may lead to early structural deterioration of the valve as seen in some explanted transcatheter heart valves. Our in vitro study evaluates the effect of leaflet deformations seen in elliptical configurations on the damage patterns of the leaflets, with circular valve deformation as the control. Bovine pericardial tissue heart valves were subjected to accelerated wear testing under both circular (N = 2) and elliptical (N = 4) configurations. The elliptical configurations were created by placing the valve inside custom-made elliptical holders, which caused the leaflets to sag or stretch. The hydrodynamic performance of the valves was monitored and high resolution images were acquired to evaluate leaflet damage patterns over time. In the elliptically deformed valves, sagging leaflets experienced more damage from wear compared to stretched leaflets; the undistorted leaflets of the circular valves experienced the least leaflet damage. Free-edge thinning and tearing were the primary modes of damage in the sagging leaflets. Belly region thinning was seen in the undistorted and stretched leaflets. Leaflet and fabric tears at the commissures were seen in all valve configurations. Free-edge tearing and commissure tears were the leading cause of valve hydrodynamic incompetence. Our study shows that mechanical wear affects heart valve pericardial leaflets differently based on whether they are undistorted, stretched, or sagging in a valve configuration. Sagging leaflets are more likely to be subjected to free-edge tear than stretched or undistorted leaflets. Reducing leaflet stress at the free edge of non-circular valve configurations should be an important factor to consider in the design and/or deployment of transcatheter bioprosthetic heart valves to improve their long-term performance.
Tool Support for Efficient Programming of Graphics Processing Units

Graphics Processing Units (GPU) have established themselves as effective platforms for high-performance computing. Utilizing the power of these devices usually requires significant changes to existing codes or the development of a completely new solution. In this paper, we survey approaches that we believe are the most promising in reducing the complexity of programming or porting codes to GPUs. We also focus our presentation on our refactoring tool developed for this purpose, called ExtractKernel, which transforms existing C loops into code that can execute on the GPU.
The Hajdu-Cheney syndrome: Report of two cases and review of the literature

The Hajdu-Cheney syndrome includes short stature, characteristic facies, and a slowly progressive skeletal dysplasia which affects skull, spine, and long bones. Two patients with this syndrome are presented. In the first patient the most distinctive skeletal feature, acro-osteolysis, was shown to be absent at age 6 years but was present at age 11 years. Diagnosis was made in the second case in the absence of acroosteolysis because of otherwise typical findings. Abnormalities affecting vision, hearing, and dentition occur and these, along with the other characteristic physical and radiographic features of the syndrome, should enable diagnosis prior to the onset of acro-osteolysis.
Synthesis of an anionic derivative of the terpyridine ligand

Abstract A procedure for preparing a 4′-triphenylborate-substituted derivative of the 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine ligand is described. Such a modification renders the terpyridine ligand anionic, which enables unique design possibilities for coordination chemistries involving metal ions relative to the unsubstituted parent ligand. Proof-in-principle that this new ligand can coordinate to transition metals was provided through the synthesis of a novel nickel complex.
Multivariate Spatio-temporal Solar Generation Forecasting: A Unified Approach to Deal With Communication Failure and Invisible Sites

Short-term prediction of multivariate dynamical processes evolving over time when data are partially observable is a challenging task. The power from solar resources has reached grid parity and must be predicted based on real-time observations available up to the current time step to ensure efficient power systems operation. However, solar data in the form of a time series generated by a network of sensors are not always available. Invisi-ble solar sites and communication failure are two causes that leave the energy management data acquisition system with an incomplete solar time series, thus leading to inaccurate forecasts. This paper addresses the impact of partially observable measurements on short-term solar power prediction. We present a low-rank tensor learning scheme to predict six-hour-ahead solar power generation. We use actual multivariate spatio-temporal National Renewable Energy Laboratory solar data in the state of Kansas presented in the form of tensors along with a photovoltaic power conversion model. A design of experiments experimental framework has been proposed to evaluate single and joint effects of spatio-temporal partially observable sites and the regulating parameters on forecasting accuracy. Numerical results show the capability of the framework to uncover detailed insight into the forecasting model behavior.
A Novel Method to Investigate Stoichiometry and Performance of Buried Passivated Contacts Utilizing Time-of-Flight SIMS

We report on methods using time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) to elucidate critical information about the buried interfaces in interdigitated back-contact silicon solar cells. We examined the stoichiometry of the tunneling oxide with TOF-SIMS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Interestingly, the data indicates that the stoichiometry of the tunneling oxide moves away from SiO2 towards lower stoichiometry (SiOx) upon the crystallization annealing treatment, and towards SiO2 again upon Al2O3deposition and a subsequent forming gas anneal. We also report on an important artifact for samples with an Al2O3passivation layer related to the oxygen content of the matrix.
Capacitive Energy Storage for Magnetic Resonant Imaging Gradient Driver

The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gradient driver is a high-performance inverter that provides large currents, >1000A, for the gradient magnetic fields used for imaging. It is challenging to achieve the required performance with the fast transitions on current pulses driven with high voltages, >2000V, for fast imaging. The currents provided by the driver are defined by the imaging procedure and are always changing from zero to maximum current, resulting on pulsating load from zero load to 10 times the rated power. The accuracy for the currents supplied to the gradient coils requires regulated voltages provided to the inverter not to sag below -10% of rated value. To avoid voltage sag and to limit peak power draw from the facility power utilities, the system has capacitors for energy storage at the inverter supply voltages and at the input of the power supplies for the inverter. The paper presents the power architecture for power supplies, inverter (gradient amplifier), and energy storage, and how the energy storage is optimized to avoid excessive demands on facility power feed that have to be designed for peak power. The architecture and energy storage selections reduced the input current and minimized the voltage sagging at the inverter input. The solution was implemented, and the results are presented here when operating standard imaging sequences.
Patterns of failure after immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors predict durable progression-free survival after local therapy for metastatic melanoma

Checkpoint inhibitors (CPI) have revolutionized the treatment of metastatic melanoma, but most patients treated with CPI eventually develop progressive disease. Local therapy including surgery, ablation or stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may be useful to manage limited progression, but criteria for patient selection have not been established. Previous work has suggested progression-free survival (PFS) after local therapy is associated with patterns of immunotherapy failure, but this has not been studied in patients treated with CPI. We analyzed clinical data from patients with metastatic melanoma who were treated with antibodies against CTLA-4, PD-1 or PD-L1, either as single-agent or combination therapy, and identified those who had disease progression in 1 to 3 sites managed with local therapy. Patterns of CPI failure were designated by independent radiological review as growth of established metastases or appearance of new metastases. Local therapy for diagnosis, palliation or CNS metastases was excluded. Four hundred twenty-eight patients with metastatic melanoma received treatment with CPI from 2007 to 2018. Seventy-seven have ongoing complete responses while 69 died within 6 months of starting CPI; of the remaining 282 patients, 52 (18%) were treated with local therapy meeting our inclusion criteria. Local therapy to achieve no evidence of disease (NED) was associated with three-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 31% and five-year disease-specific survival (DSS) of 60%. Stratified by patterns of failure, patients with progression in established tumors had three-year PFS of 70%, while those with new metastases had three-year PFS of 6% (P = 0.001). Five-year DSS after local therapy was 93% versus 31%, respectively (P = 0.046). Local therapy for oligoprogression after CPI can result in durable PFS in selected patients. We observed that patterns of failure seen during or after CPI treatment are strongly associated with PFS after local therapy, and may represent a useful criterion for patient selection. This experience suggests there may be an increased role for local therapy in patients being treated with immunotherapy.
The problem of imposing risk and the procedural dimension of stakeholder management

The case Caprica Energy and Its Choices concerns a fictionalized energy corporation choosing between three potential drilling sites. According to the published Teaching Note, the case is an exercise in the stakeholder approach to business: it requires balancing profit considerations with potential harm to those who live near those drilling sites. Though unintended, the case raises a further question not addressed in the case or in the Teaching Note: what gives Caprica Energy the right to impose risk on members of the communities surrounding its drilling sites? The first section of the present article argues that, in such cases, management can only justify imposing risk on the local community by securing those stakeholders' consent. The second section outlines the implications for stakeholder theory and stakeholder management. The third section outlines one connection between this material and recent literature on the imposition of risk and moral theory; that section offers an account of what make this particular instance of imposing risk morally problematic, with reference to the directedness of the imposition.
Thermal atomic layer deposition of ruthenium metal thin films using nonoxidative coreactants

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of ruthenium metal films is presented using (η4-2,3-dimethylbutadiene)(tricarbonyl)ruthenium [Ru(DMBD)(CO)3] with the coreactants 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, hydrazine, or tert-butylamine. The dependence of growth rate on precursor pulse lengths at 200 °C showed a saturative, self-limited behavior at ≥3.0 s for Ru(DMBD)(CO)3 and ≥0.1 s for 1,1-dimethylhydrazine. An ALD window was observed from 200 to 210 °C, with a growth rate of 0.42 A/cycle. Films grown at 200 °C showed rms surface roughnesses of <1 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of a 42 nm thick film grown at 200 °C revealed 90.6% ruthenium, 7.0% nitrogen, and 2.0% oxygen. Ruthenium films were deposited on patterned substrates with TiN surfaces using various treatments at 200 °C with 250 cycles. 42 nm thick ruthenium films grown at 200 °C were subjected to annealing studies under hydrogen and ammonia atmospheres at 400 °C, followed by rapid thermal annealing at 600 °C. These annealing procedures led to higher purity, more crystalline, and lower resistivity ruthenium films. The coreactants hydrazine and tert-butylamine were evaluated in ruthenium ALD trials using Ru(DMBD)(CO)3. Hydrazine gave a growth rate of 0.42 A/cycle within a 200–205 °C ALD window, whereas tert-butylamine gave a growth rate of 0.25 A/cycle at 200 °C.Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of ruthenium metal films is presented using (η4-2,3-dimethylbutadiene)(tricarbonyl)ruthenium [Ru(DMBD)(CO)3] with the coreactants 1,1-dimethylhydrazine, hydrazine, or tert-butylamine. The dependence of growth rate on precursor pulse lengths at 200 °C showed a saturative, self-limited behavior at ≥3.0 s for Ru(DMBD)(CO)3 and ≥0.1 s for 1,1-dimethylhydrazine. An ALD window was observed from 200 to 210 °C, with a growth rate of 0.42 A/cycle. Films grown at 200 °C showed rms surface roughnesses of <1 nm. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of a 42 nm thick film grown at 200 °C revealed 90.6% ruthenium, 7.0% nitrogen, and 2.0% oxygen. Ruthenium films were deposited on patterned substrates with TiN surfaces using various treatments at 200 °C with 250 cycles. 42 nm thick ruthenium films grown at 200 °C were subjected to annealing studies under hydrogen and ammonia atmospheres at 400 °C, followed by rapid thermal annealing at 600 °C. These annealing procedures led to higher purity, more...
Chinese DMOs’ engagement on global social media: examining post-related factors

This study explores how Chinese destination management organizations (DMOs) employ global social media posts to promote their destinations to international travelers and to understand the effects o...