cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extension of the ITU-R P.1411-8 urban path loss models to high antennas

This paper presents an extension of the ITU-R P.1411-8 urban low antenna path loss models to higher antennas. The Line-of-Sight (LOS) and non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) urban canyon models presented in the paper are typically used for street level peer-to peer or cellular communications, but can be more generally used to account for radio waves propagating through urban street canyons. It is shown through comparisons with measurements of varying transmit antenna height and large variations of height difference between transmit and receive antennas, that the presented urban street canyon models are applicable to taller microcellular antennas. The measurements that are used in the comparisons and analysis were obtained in an urban high-rise environment in San Francisco at 850 and 1920 MHz frequencies.
A formative evaluation of a coach-based technical assistance model for youth- and family-focused programming.

Abstract Background The Children, Youth, and Families At-Risk (CYFAR) initiative provides funding and technical support for local community-based programs designed to promote positive outcomes among vulnerable populations. In 2013, CYFAR implemented significant changes in the way it provides technical assistance (TA) to grantees. These changes included introducing a new TA model in which trained coaches provide proactive support that is tailored to individual CYFAR projects. The purpose of this paper is to describe the evolution of this TA model and present preliminary findings from a formative evaluation. Methods CYFAR Principal Investigators (PIs) were invited to respond to online surveys in 2015 and 2016. The surveys were designed to assess PI attitudes towards the nature and quality of support that they receive from their coaches. Results CYFAR PIs reported that their coaches have incorporated a range of coaching skills and techniques into their work. PIs have generally positive attitudes towards their coaches, and these attitudes have become more positive over time. Conclusions Results suggest that CYFAR PIs have been generally supportive of the new TA system. Factors that may have facilitated support include a strong emphasis on team-building and the provision of specific resources that support program design, implementation, and evaluation.
Success of scaphoid nonunion surgery is independent of proximal pole vascularity

We followed 35 consecutive patients with scaphoid nonunions in a prospective longitudinal registry. All nonunions were treated with curettage, non-vascularized autogenous grafting and headless screw fixation. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging, intraoperative bleeding points and histopathological analysis of cancellous bone in the proximal pole were recorded as measures of viability. Healing was categorized as ≥50% bony bridging on computed tomographic images in the plane of the scaphoid. Nine of 23 proximal poles demonstrated ischaemia on magnetic resonance imaging but none were interpreted as infarcted. Twenty-eight of 33 were found to have impaired vascularity as assessed by intraoperative bleeding. Fourteen of 32 demonstrated ≥50% trabecular necrosis and four of 33 demonstrated ≥50% tissue necrosis on histopathological analysis. Thirty of 33 demonstrated focal or robust remodelling activity. Despite pathological evidence of impaired vascularity in over half of the patients, 33 of the 35 scaphoids...
Instrumental exploitation: Predatory property relations at city’s end

Abstract In the years since the financial crisis, low-income housing markets are increasingly dominated by speculative bulk ownership and eviction. These intertwined trends reflect both economic transitions in these markets and the racial-spatial reordering of US cities. In this paper we draw on the case of Detroit to tie bulk foreclosure sales to the rising rates of eviction and patterns of dispossession in the decade that followed. These markets are now dominated by speculative bulk buyers, exploitative contract selling, and eviction. We situate this transition within strategies of accumulation by dispossession and the economic logics of expulsion. We utilize multiple property data sets, court records, participant observation, and interviews to demonstrate the link between foreclosure markets, speculative purchasing, contract sales, and subsequent evictions. We situate these finding within the longer history of racial housing exploitation in US cities and argue the outcomes of displacement and dispossession in the complex chains of relations between finance, speculation, and the state do not land in an arbitrary manner, but are tethered to the past and present racial-spatial ordering of US cities.
PC with Superior Ductility Using Mixture of Pristine and Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes

Polymer concrete (PC) replaces cement hydration with polymerization by utilizing epoxy polymer binders as a substitute of cement creating impermeable and highly durable concrete. It has been reported that the tensile properties of PC can be significantly improved by incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) at 2.0 wt.% content. In this work, pristine and carboxyl functionalized MWCNTs are mixed together to investigate the effect of functionalization as well as to engineer PC mechanical performance. Results show that hybrid mixes outperform plain mixes of either type of MWCNTs achieving strains at failure up to 5.5% and improvements in toughness up to 184%. The resultant PC also offers tensile strength in the range of 10 MPa. Microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and dynamic modulus analyzer (DMA) reveals proper dispersion of MWCNTs and increased cross-linking density due to functionalization. Furthermore, it is evident that functional group concentration of 0.001–0.018 wt.% maximizes PC ductility. The proposed PC is an attractive alternative for concrete joints under extreme loading events such as earthquakes and hurricanes.
Test Spaces and Orthoalgebras

In a long series of papers published in the 1970s and early 1980s, D. J. Foulis and C. H. Randall developed a conceptually simple, but very compelling semantics for quantum logics and otherwise based on the notion of a manual or, in more recent usage, a test space. A test space is a collection A of non-empty sets, taken to represent the sets of outcomes associated with some collection of measurements, experiments or tests. Subject to a fairly mild constraint, one can construct from a test space A a “logic” II(A) having the structure of an orthoalgebra. All orthoalge-bras arise via this construction. This paper surveys gives an up-to-date survey of the theory of test spaces and orthoalgebras, including a discussion of recent work of the author on group actions on test spaces.
Impact of consumption temperature on sensory properties of hot brewed coffee.

Abstract The sensory properties of coffee are impacted by various factors such as coffee origin, degree of roasting and methods of consumption. This study analyzed impact of consumption temperature on 36 flavor attributes of hot brewed coffee by descriptive sensory analysis. Different coffee samples (2 Arabica, 1 Robusta, and 1 Blended Arabica and Robusta) were consumed at 50 °C, 60 °C and 70 °C. Data were assessed using an Analysis of Variance, mixed effect model with least square means and significance level of α = 0.05. Results showed significant interactions of consumption temperature and coffee samples for attributes such as coffee identity, fidelity, and blendedness. The consumption temperature played a major impact on perceived flavor attributes of coffee and influenced Arabica, Blended and Robusta coffee differently. Coffee identity and fidelity significantly increased with an increase in all temperatures, but most attributes showed significantly higher intensity only for samples consumed at 70 °C regardless of insignificant differences at 60 °C and 50 °C.
Selecting New RNA Crystal Contacts.

RNAs are relatively difficult to crystallize because many sequence variants must be tested to obtain suitable crystal contacts. In this issue of Structure, Shoffner et al. (2018) report an in crystallo selection procedure that allows for the rapid generation of new RNA crystal contacts.
A Hypothesis for the Intensification of Tropical Cyclones under Moderate Vertical Wind Shear

AbstractA major open issue in tropical meteorology is how and why some tropical cyclones intensify under moderate vertical wind shear. This study tackles that issue by diagnosing physical processes...
Simultaneous Pheochromocytoma, Paraganglioma, and Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma without Known Mutation.

Background. Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma is a rare tumor from neuroendocrine cells. 1/ of cases have germline mutations. Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common neoplasm from follicular cells of the thyroid. We report a case of pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma and PTC with negative testing for common mutations. Case. 32-year-old male with incidental liver mass during laparoscopy for acute appendicitis. His symptoms included abdominal pain and profuse axillary hyperhidrosis. MRI showed an 11x12x14 cm cystic and solid mass in right adrenal gland, and 3.4x2.9x3.8 cm mass in porta hepatis. Urine metanephrines was elevated. After preoperative alpha-blockade, patient underwent total right adrenalectomy. Pathology report confirmed diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. According to the Grading system for Adrenal Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma (GAPP), tumor’s score was 9, indicating poorly differentiated tumor. Ki67 index 5% and S100 were negative. Postoperatively, plasma free metanephrines normalized but plasma free normetanephrines remained elevated. Based on this biochemical profile, presence of paraganglioma was suspected. CT showed 4.2x3.5 cm round soft tissue mass in porta hepatis which increased in size from previous MRI. Simultaneously, PET scan identified a 1.5 cm thyroid mass. Calcitonin level was normal. Fine-needle aspiration was consistent with PTC. Resection of the mass and total thyroidectomy were performed with confirmation of paraganglioma S100 positive and PTC. Normetanephrines decreased to 283 (<148 pg/mL); free metanephrines remained normal. Gene mutation of EGLN1, FH, KIF1B, MEN1, NF1, RET, SDHAF2, SDHC, SDHD, TMEM127, VHL, and SDHA was negative. Conclusion. Whether paraganglioma/pheochromocytoma/PTC combination is coincidental or resulted from an underlying unknown mutation cannot be excluded.
Atomistic simulations of temperature and direction dependent threshold displacement energies in α- and γ-uranium

Abstract We performed a systematic study of the threshold displacement energy ( E d ) in metallic uranium as a function of both the recoil direction and temperature using Molecular Dynamics simulations. We developed a novel orientation sampling scheme that utilizes crystallographic symmetrical geodesic grids to select directions from the orientation fundamental zone to study the directional dependency. Additionally, we studied the temperature dependency by considering both the α -uranium phase, corresponding to the ground state for temperatures ranging from 0 K to 600 K, and the γ -uranium phase, corresponding to high-temperature state for temperatures above 900 K. In this study, we compared several definitions of the threshold energy: a direction-specific threshold displacement energy ( E d θ , ϕ ), an angle-averaged threshold energy ( E d ave ), a production probability threshold displacement energy ( E d pp ), and a defect count threshold displacement energy ( E d dc ). The direction-specific threshold displacement energies showed large angular anisotropy and variations in accordance with crystallographic considerations. Specifically, preferred defect channeling directions were observed in the [ 1 2 0 ] , [ 1 2 ¯ 0 ] , [ 1 1 ¯ 1 ] directions for the α -uranium, and [ 0 0 1 ] , [ 1 1 1 ] directions for the γ -uranium. The production probability threshold displacement energy ( E d pp ) is calculated as approximately 99.2659 eV at 10 K ( α -U), 103.4980 eV at 300 K ( α -U), 76.0915 eV at 600 K ( α -U), and 42.9929 eV at 900 K ( γ -U). With exception of those calculated at 10 K, threshold displacement energies decrease with increasing temperature. Analyses of the stable defect structures showed that the most commonly observed interstitial configuration in α -uranium consists of a 〈 0 1 0 〉 dumbbell-like interstitial; while in γ -uranium no preferential defect configuration could be identified due to thermally-induced lattice instabilities at the elevated temperatures.
Elevated bone marrow sympathetic drive precedes systemic inflammation in angiotensin II hypertension.

Early microglia activation in paraventricular nucleus precedes sympathetic activation of the bone marrow. This leads to increased bone marrow immune cells and their release into circulation and an ...
Adolescents’ confidence in institutions: Do America’s youth differentiate between legal and social institutions?

It is widely believed that there is a crisis of confidence in law enforcement in the United States. What remains to be seen, however, is whether adolescents actually differentiate between legal authorities and other types of authorities. Leveraging cross-sectional, nationally representative data of 12th graders from every year from 2006 to 2017 from Monitoring the Future (N = 10,941), the results indicate that adolescents distinguish between legal authorities (e.g., law enforcement, justice system) and social authorities (e.g., schools, religious institutions). Youth report more confidence in social authorities than in legal authorities. Furthermore, whereas confidence in social authorities remained largely stable between the cohorts over the last decade, confidence in legal authorities, and in law enforcement in particular, has declined markedly. Although there may be an era of mistrust in legal authorities, it cannot be attributed to a ubiquitous anti-authority attitude among modern adolescents in the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Executable Examples for Programming Problem Comprehension

Flawed problem comprehension leads students to produce flawed implementations. However, testing alone is inadequate for checking comprehension: if a student develops both their tests and implementation with the same misunderstanding, running their tests against their implementation will not reveal the issue. As a solution, some pedagogies encourage the creation of input-output examples independent of testing-but seldom provide students with any mechanism to check that their examples are correct and thorough.We propose a mechanism that provides students with instant feedback on their examples, independent of their implementation progress. We assess the impact of such an interface on an introductory programming course and find several positive impacts, some more neutral outcomes, and no identified negative effects.
Persistent transcriptional programs are associated with remote memory in diverse cells of the medial prefrontal cortex

Abstract It is thought that memory is stored in ‘engrams’, a subset of neurons that undergo learning-induced alterations. The role of gene-expression during learning and short-term memory has been studied extensively, but little is known about remote memory that can persist for a lifetime. Using long-term contextual fear memory as a paradigm, an activity-dependent transgenic model for engram-specific labeling, and single-cell transcriptomics we probed the gene-expression landscape underlying remote memory consolidation and recall in the medial prefrontal cortex. Remarkably, we find sustained activity-specific transcriptional alterations in diverse populations of neurons that persist even weeks after fear-learning and are distinct from those previously identified in learning. Out of a vast plasticity-coding space, we uncover select membrane-fusion genes that could play important roles in maintaining remote memory traces. Unexpectedly, astrocytes and microglia also acquire new persistent gene signatures upon recall of remote memory, suggesting that they actively contribute to memory circuits. Our discovery of novel distinct gene-expression programs involved in long term memory adds an important dimension of activity-dependent cellular states to existing brain taxonomy atlases and sheds light on the elusive mechanisms of remote memory storage.
The curvature interpolation method for surface reconstruction for geospatial point cloud data

Surface reconstruction for scattered data is an ill-posed problem and most computational algorithms become overly expensive as the number of sample points increases. This article studies an effecti...
Effects of an exercise-based oncology rehabilitation program and age on strength and physical function in cancer survivors.

Cancer therapy diminishes strength and physical function in cancer survivors. Whether oncology rehabilitation (OR) exercise training following therapy can correct these deficits, and whether its effectiveness differs by age, is not clear. We examine the utility of a clinically based, 12-week, combined aerobic and resistance training intervention on muscle strength and physical function in two age groups of cancer survivors. Strength and physical function measures were assessed in middle-aged (45 to 64 years) and older (≥ 65 years) patients following treatment for stage 0–III cancer before and after the OR training program. Older patients had lower physical function compared to middle-aged patients across a range of subjective and objective measures at baseline, and exercise improved all indices of physical function and strength in both age groups. Compared to the middle-aged individuals, older participants tended to have less improvement leg strength and the 5 time sit to stand (5TSTS) test as a result of OR. In models predicting post-intervention measures, older age contributed to less improvement in walking distance and power as well as the 5TSTS test. Prior to beginning the OR exercise program, middle-aged patients had higher physical function compared to older patients. However, a 12-week aerobic and resistance training intervention improved physical function across both age groups, although older age did limit responsiveness in some physical function measures. The physical function and strength of middle-aged and older cancer survivors improve in response to an exercise-based OR program after cancer treatment.
Introduction: Parkinson's disease pathology and therapeutics

Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the elderly. Vital pathological events include decline in nigrostriatal neurons and deterioration of neurotransmitter dopamine. As amyloid fibrils are the key end products of several proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, panoply of studies emphasize their diagnosis as the mainstay of current research. Despite remarkable progress in multifarious PD therapeutics such as micro-RNAs and brain drug delivery systems, a few limitations impede their success. In addition, hitherto employed nanotechnological therapeutic avenues for brain diseases have not been more effective strategies as they are for other diseases. Therefore, this chapter throws light on advantages and disadvantages of recently developed novel therapeutics.
Production rates and EUR forecasts for interfering parent-parent wells and parent-child wells: Fast analytical solutions and validation with numerical reservoir simulators

Abstract Analytical expressions are given to forecast the production decline and estimated ultimate reserves (EUR) for pairs of both parent-parent wells and parent-child wells. The forecasts use physics-based flow rate quantification in elementary flow cells between hydraulic fractures sets. The intrinsic rate in the flow cells for a given shale formation can be obtained and scaled by a type curve specific for its completion and reservoir parameters. The model then can predict how changes in fracture treatment design parameters will affect the performance of new wells in the same target zone. The effect of well down-spacing and the onset of pressure interference on the performance of parent-parent wells can be forecasted with reasonable accuracy. Similarly, the equations can also predict the effect of infill drilling of child wells on the performance of both well types. The method is applied to real world examples from Eagle Ford acreage. The fast analytical model forecasts are benchmarked against the results from an independent numerical reservoir simulator, with satisfactory matches. The validated approach aims to provide a practical analytical tool for the production forecasting of multi-wells in shale formations.
Contemporary Management of Acute Pulmonary Embolism

Multiple treatment options beyond anticoagulation exist for massive and submassive pulmonary embolism to reduce mortality. For some patients, systemic thrombolytics and catheter-directed thrombolysis are appropriate interventions. For others, surgical pulmonary embolectomy can be life-saving. Extracorporeal life support and right ventricular assist devices can provide hemodynamic support in challenging cases. We propose a management algorithm for the treatment of massive and submassive pulmonary embolism, in conjunction with a multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism response team, to guide clinicians in individualizing treatment for patients in a timely manner.
Ecotype differences in aggression, neural activity and behaviorally relevant gene expression in cichlid fish

In Lake Malawi, two ecologically distinct lineages of cichlid fishes (rock- vs sand-dwelling ecotypes, each comprised of over 200 species) evolved within the last million years. The rock-dwelling species (Mbuna) are aggressively territorial year-round and males court and spawn with females over rocky substrate. In contrast, males of sand-dwelling species are not territorial and instead aggregate on seasonal breeding leks in which males construct courtship "bowers" in the sand. However, little is known about how phenotypic variation in aggression is produced by the genome. In this study, we first quantify and compare behavior in seven cichlid species, demonstrating substantial ecotype and species differences in unconditioned mirror-elicited aggression. Second, we compare neural activity in mirror-elicited aggression in two representative species, Mchenga conophoros (sand-dwelling) and Petrotilapia chitimba (rock-dwelling). Finally, we compare gene expression patterns between these two species, specifically within neurons activated during mirror aggression. We identified a large number of genes showing differential expression in mirror-elicited aggression, as well as many genes that differ between ecotypes. These genes, which may underly species differences in behavior, include several neuropeptides, genes involved in the synthesis of steroid hormones and neurotransmitter activity. This work lays the foundation for future experiments using this emerging genetic model system to investigate the genomic basis of evolved species differences in both brain and behavior.
A gendered look at work-family conflict among diverse US immigrants

Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to shed light on the challenges that African, Asian, and Latino United States immigrants face as they navigate demands between work and family through a gendered cultural lens. The cultural difference between individualistic US work culture and collectivistic immigrant communities, along with the gendered expression of work and family roles, has the potential to cause conflict with work and family domains. Recommendations for practice are made for mental health professionals, career counselors, and human resource professionals to help decrease work-family conflict among diverse immigrants they engage with professionally.
Social participation of students with autism spectrum disorder in general education settings

Abstract This article presents a systematic review of the recent literature from 2005 onwards on the social participation of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in inclusive elementary and secondary schools. These students may experience particular challenges in social interaction and communication within mainstream settings, due to the specific characteristics associated with ASD. In the context of this review, social participation has been defined as a multidimensional concept including four key aspects: (1) friendships/relationships, (2) contacts/interactions, (3) ASD students' social self-perception, and (4) acceptance by classmates. This multidimensional framework has been adopted to examine how the inclusion of students with ASD in general K-12 settings shapes their social participation status. We reviewed 24 studies in relation to the four key aspects of social participation for the students with ASD. Overall, the results are mixed. On the whole, students with ASD have been found to maintain a lower social participation status within their schools, but some encouraging findings have also been reported, especially at the elementary school level. In the secondary school level, students with ASD were found to face more challenges in regards to peer social participation and interactions. Implications for special and inclusive practice and research are being discussed.
Quantum Correlated Images from Four-wave Mixing

We demonstrated sub-10 Hz intensity-difference squeezing and eliminate 2-beam coupling effects in quantum correlated images formed using four-wave mixing. With these techniques, we are closer to taking pixel-by-pixel quantum images with a CCD camera.
Complications of Chronic Pancreatitis

In chronic pancreatitis associated with steatorrhea, clinically significant deficiencies of fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, and K) do not generally occur (Chapter 13). One important reason is that the composition of dietary fat in the small intestine in pancreatic insufficiency is mostly triglycerides, which do not complex with fat-soluble vitamins, calcium, or magnesium, whereas in diseases of the small intestine, dietary fat is hydrolyzed by pancreatic lipase to free fatty acids, which do complex with these vitamins and cause deficiencies of prothrombin, calcium and magnesium, and vitamin A. Deficiency in vitamin E has been noted in chronic pancreatitis, and has been associated with a variety of histologic changes including ceroid pigmentation of smooth muscle without clinical signs or symptoms of vitamin deficiency.1 Subclinical abnormalities in retinal function appear to correlate with zinc deficiency rather than vitamin A deficiency or steatorrhea.2 Some patients with pancreatic insufficiency have decreased absorption of vitamin B-12, at least by the Schilling test.3 B-12 malabsorption does not appear to be related to the presence or absence of steatorrhea or any other variable that has been tested thus far. A single dose of a potent pancreatic extract is nonetheless able to correct vitamin B-12 malabsorption, but only in vitamin B-12 malabsorption associated with pancreatic insufficiency, and not in pernicious anemia. There is no known method other than the administration of pancreatic extracts to correct this problem.3,4
An Evaluation of Continuity Clinic Redesign

To the Editor: We read with great interest the article by Wieland and colleagues regarding the redesign of their residency program to a 50/50 alternating ambulatory–inpatient schedule.1 Interestingly, patient continuity decreased from both a provider and patient perspective, and there was no change in resident or faculty satisfaction with the clinic restructuring. We implemented a similar system in the last academic year (AY 2012–2013). We intended to add a stronger emphasis on ambulatory care. We were also addressing what we felt was a common problem in the traditional model of residency—that staffing residents to cover inpatient needs with restricted duty hours occurred at the expense of canceling or changing continuity clinic days. This led to a steady increase in patient cancellations and rescheduling. Based on survey and clinic data, our experience with the transition to a 50/50 block schedule mostly mirrors the experience described by Wieland et al. Our residents did note an overall higher satisfaction with the new system. They noted less of a burden of continuity clinic compared to the traditional model, a more positive ambulatory experience, and felt more engaged in their inpatient rotations. Additionally, our rescheduling rate was reduced by 33 %, our clinic no-show rate declined by 10 %, and overall we had an increase in patient visits by 38 %. Like Wieland et al., we also observed a perceived drop in continuity of care. Another aspect of restructuring to a block model is the ability to implement longitudinal curriculum. This allowed us to implement a longitudinal quality and safety curriculum culminating in residents developing improvement projects in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. Whether incorporating residents into improvement initiatives will have a positive impact on patient outcomes is unknown, but certainly is a point of emphasis for the ACGME’s Next Accreditation System.2 Although we feel we have had an overall positive experience transitioning to a block model, the question remains whether this is an effective way to train internists, or simply a reaction to restrictions in resident duty hours. It would be interesting to see research comparing the relative merits of different models of block scheduling (50/50, 4:1 week or 4:2 week) to the traditional model of training. Nonetheless, the work by Wieland et al. is the start of a systemic look at the restructuring of residencies to enhance educational and clinical opportunities for the internal medicine resident.
Associations between menopause, cardiac remodeling, and diastolic function: the CARDIA study.

OBJECTIVES Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) affects more women than men. Menopause may influence HFpEF development in women. We assessed cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between menopause and echocardiographic measures of left ventricular (LV) function and cardiac remodeling. METHODS We studied 1,723 women with available echo data from at least two of: year 5 (Y5) (1990-1991), Y25 (2010-2011), or Y30 (2015-2016) in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Cardiac structure and function were measured using 2D and Doppler echocardiography. Cross-sectional associations between menopausal status and repeated echo measures at Y25 and Y30 were analyzed using linear mixed models. Two-segmented models were used to compare longitudinal changes in echocardiographic measures in the premenopausal period to changes in the postmenopausal period. RESULTS Mean ± SD age (years) at enrollment was 27 ± 3 in those with menopause by Y25, 25 ± 3 in those with menopause between Y25 and Y30, and 21 ± 3 in those premenopausal at Y30. There were no significant differences in race, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, or diabetes between the groups. Postmenopausal women had higher early diastolic mitral inflow (E) to annular (e') velocity ratio than premenopausal after adjusting for demographics and risk factors (P < 0.05). Menopause was associated with relative increases in the rates of change in LV mass and left atrial volume, even after adjustment. Change in E/e' ratio was similar before and after menopause. CONCLUSIONS Menopause is associated cross-sectionally with worse diastolic function and longitudinally with adverse LV and left atrial remodeling. This may contribute to the increased HFpEF risk in postmenopausal women.
Robust measurement of thin-film photovoltaic modules exhibiting light-induced transients

Light-induced changes to the current-voltage characteristic of thin-film photovoltaic modules (i.e. light-soaking effects) frustrate the repeatable measurement of their operating power. We describe best practices for mitigating, or stabilizing, light-soaking effects for both CdTe and CIGS modules to enable robust, repeatable, and relevant power measurements. We motivate the practices by detailing how modules react to changes in different stabilization methods. We also describe and demonstrate a method for validating alternative stabilization procedures, such as those relying on forward bias in the dark. Reliable measurements of module power are critical for qualification testing, reliability testing, and power rating.
Mapping an aquitard breach using shear-wave seismic reflection

In multi-layered hydrostratigraphic systems, aquitard breaches caused by faulting or paleo-erosion can allow substantial quantities of water of differing quality to be exchanged between aquifers. Seismic reflection technology was used to map the extent and orientation of an aquitard breach connecting a shallow alluvial aquifer to the deeper semi-confined Memphis aquifer in southwestern Tennessee, USA. Geophysical well logs indicate the presence of the aquitard at borehole locations that define the beginning and end points on two seismic survey lines, which intersect at a borehole where the aquitard is absent. A SE–NW-oriented paleochannel, 350 m wide and approximately 35–40 m deep, is interpreted from the seismic reflection surveys. The paleochannel cuts through the aquitard and into the upper part of the Memphis aquifer, thus creating a hydraulic connection between the shallow unconfined and deeper, semi-confined aquifers. The results indicate the potential of the shear-wave seismic reflection methods to resolve shallow breaches through fine-grained aquitards given availability of sufficient well control.
On the timing of wage payments

The problem of the timing of wage payments has been the subject of some dispute in recent discussions on the theory of capital and distribution. In particular, different positions have been taken on the question whether wages are to be viewed as paid at the start of production or after production is completed and, correspondingly, whether wages are part of the capital advanced to production or a payment out of the revenue product. On the one side, this is regarded as a purely formal problem, the particular manner of its theoretical treatment being viewed simply as a matter of convenience for the purpose of a particular analysis.1 On the other side, it is presented as a matter of substance, the treatment of which is supposed to establish a line of distinction between fundamentally different conceptions of the capitalist economy.2 In between these poles there are variations in the point of view adopted. The problem itself is not a new one. It goes as far back as the Physiocrats who had a definite concept of the wages of agricultural labour as 'annual advances' paid to support the workers over the production cycle from planting to harvest (Meek, 1962). This concept, generalised to the economy as a whole, was a key element in the much disputed Wages Fund Doctrine of the Classical Economists (Taussig, 1896). It was subsequently absorbed into the Austrian theory of capital as the representative case for explaining capitalist profit as a discount on the product of the worker which the capitalist gets for advancing the workers' means of subsistence (Bohm-Bawerk, 1891). Marx, on the other hand, attacked the 'absurdity of speaking of wages as an advance by the capitalist to the labourer' and ridiculed the attempt to explain profits on this basis (Mars, 1963, pp. 314— 321). It is evident from this brief sketch of its intellectual history that there are important theoretical issues embedded in this problem. That it is also a matter having real practical significance might have seemed obvious in the context of a predominantly agrarian society, owing to the discrete character of the production cycle in agriculture. But it is of no less significance in the context of modern industrial capitalism where, though produc tion activity goes on more or less continuously in a complex structure of time-phasing of production processes, it still remains the case that there is no synchronisation of wage payments and realisation of the finished product.
Transition of Chemolithotroph Ferrobacillus ferrooxidans to Obligate Organotrophy and Metabolic Capabilities of Glucose-Grown Cells

Transition of chemolithotrophic Ferrobacillus ferrooxidans to organotrophy occurred after 60 hr of incubation in an organic medium. Three distinct phases, based on metabolic activities of cells, were observed during the course of transition. Conversion of cellular nutrition to organotrophy resulted in a gradual loss of Fe(2+) oxidation and cessation of CO(2) fixation. These changes were concomitant with a rapid increase in uptake of glucose and phosphate during the latter part of transition period. The outcome of transition was governed by the pH of the medium, temperature of incubation, availability of oxygen, age of the chemolithotrophic cells, and the type of energy and carbon source available to the bacterium. Presence or absence of p-aminobenzoic acid and Fe(2+) ions did not influence transition of cells. A defined medium containing glucose, mineral salts, and p-aminobenzoic acid at pH 2.5 was found to be most suitable for transition and for culture of heterotrophic convertants. Maximum growth rate of the heterotrophic cells was attained with vigorous aeration at 35 C. The bacterium could be cultured on a variety of organic compounds, including complex organic media, provided they were used in low concentrations. Serological studies on autotrophic cells and the heterotrophic convertant have shown a definite antigenic relationship between the two cell types.
Novel chemical library screen identifies naturally occurring plant products that specifically disrupt glioblastoma-endothelial cell interactions

Tumor growth is not solely a consequence of autonomous tumor cell properties. Rather, tumor cells act upon and are acted upon by their microenvironment. It is tumor tissue biology that ultimately determines tumor growth. Thus, we developed a compound library screen for agents that could block essential tumor-promoting effects of the glioblastoma (GBM) perivascular stem cell niche (PVN). We modeled the PVN with three-dimensional primary cultures of human brain microvascular endothelial cells in Matrigel. We previously demonstrated stimulated growth of GBM cells in this PVN model and used this to assay PVN function. We screened the Microsource Spectrum Collection library for drugs that specifically blocked PVN function, without any direct effect on GBM cells themselves. Three candidate PVN-disrupting agents, Iridin, Tigogenin and Triacetylresveratrol (TAR), were identified and evaluated in secondary in vitro screens against a panel of primary GBM isolates as well as in two different in vivo intracranial models. Iridin and TAR significantly inhibited intracranial tumor growth and prolonged survival in these mouse models. Together these data identify Iridin and TAR as drugs with novel GBM tissue disrupting effects and validate the importance of preclinical screens designed to address tumor tissue function rather than the mechanisms of autonomous tumor cell growth.
Boson Sampling for Molecular Vibronic Spectra

we show that a boson sampling device with a modied input state can be used to generate molecular vibronic spectra, including complicated eects such as Duschinsky rotations.
FACTORS AFFECTING GROWTH OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS L FORMS ON SEMIDEFINED MEDIUM

Banville, Robert R. (The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.). Factors affecting growth of Staphylococcus aureus L forms on semidefined medium. J. Bacteriol. 87:1192-1197. 1964.-A semidefined agar medium was found suitable for production and cultivation of the L form of Staphylococcus aureus. In semidefined liquid medium, growth of the L form took place in the form of a sediment containing large masses of cells, but heavy and diffuse growth occurred in the same medium with 0.05% agar. The optimal pH for L-colony formation on solid medium was 6.5. More L colonies developed on 0.75% agar than at higher agar concentrations. L colonies developed in greater numbers on pour plates than on streak plates, and in some cases more L colonies appeared under anaerobic incubation. L-colony formation appeared to be inhibited by sodium citrate. The vitamin requirements of the L forms studied were similar to those of the classical form.
Performance study on CUDA GPUs for parallelizing the local ensemble transformed Kalman filter algorithm

Modern graphics cards provide computational capabilities that exceed current CPUs. As one of the computational intensive problems, numerical weather prediction has the opportunity to benefit from the massive number of threads and large memory throughput in the graphics architecture. In this paper, we present the key steps to integrate the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) programming framework for one key component in numerical weather prediction, the data assimilation algorithm, which incorporates the observational data into the model to produce the best initial condition in the next prediction. The data assimilation algorithm we studied in this paper exhibits good localization and favors parallelism. To maximize the throughput of the graphics card, over a million CUDA threads, global memory coalescing, and fast graphics shared memory are utilized. We also demonstrate the differences in the advancement of GPU architectures from the GTX 200 series to Fermi. The experiments are carried out separately on a GTX 260 (GTX 200 series) and a GTX 460 (Fermi) graphics card. Results show an improvement of 72.1× speedup running on the GTX 260 and 92.7×speedup on the GTX 460. The results provide attractive evidence for applying CUDA GPUs to high demanding scientific computation realms. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Common-Mode Noise Reduction In Interferometric Fiberoptic Sensors Using Electrooptic Feedback

Common-mode perturbations are an important subset of the environmental variations which affect the accuracy and stability of interferometric fiberoptic sensors. These effects, among which are source wavelength drift and spatially uniform temperature and pressure variations, alter the phase shifts in each of the optical paths in the fiber circuit in proportion to the optical path length. Earlier work showed that a recirculating delay line fiberoptic sensor could be modified to compensate for common-mode perturbations, but at the cost of some loss in measurand sensitivity. In this paper, we employ transmittance-dependent electrooptic feedback in an enhanced Mach-Zehnder fiberoptic interferometer to compensate for common-mode perturbations, while enhancing by aproximately an order of magnitude the measurand sensitivity found in the conventional Mach-Zehnder fiber interferometer.
Three different human tumor cell lines contain different oncogenes

We have obtained foci of transformed mouse cells after transfection of human DNA from colon and bladder carcinoma cell lines and a promyelocytic leukemia cell line. These foci can be shown to contain a large number of human DNA sequences by use of highly repetitive human DNA sequence probes. Cell DNA from primary foci can be used in a subsequent cycle of transfection resulting in secondary foci that contain relatively little human DNA. Secondary foci appear to contain only the human sequences proximal to those responsible for the transformed phenotype. A set of characteristic DNA restriction fragments is found in common among secondary foci derived from each tumor cell line DNA. Comparison of the common DNA fragments found in secondary foci derived from three different human tumor cell lines indicates that these three cell lines contain three different transforming genes.
Data Modeling Using NURBs Curves and Modified Genetic Algorithms

Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) curves have long been used to model 1D and 2D data because they are efficient to calculate, easy to manipulate, and capable of handling discontinuities and drastic changes in the general topology of the data. However, the user must assist in defining the control points, weights, knots and an order for the curve in order to fit the curve to the data. This paper uses a modified Genetic Algorithm (GA) to choose and manipulate these various parameters to produce a NURBS curve that minimizes the error between the data and the curve and also minimizes the time it takes the algorithm to compute the solution. The algorithm is tested on several 1D trial data sets and the results are explained. Then, several general difficulties for this application of the GA are explained and possible methods for overcoming them are discussed.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Three-Dimensional Wavefront Reconstruction

Wavefront reconstruction is a process by which a diffraction pattern can be restored into an image of the primary scatterer This process is being used to visualize the molecular structure of matter. Three-dimensional reconstruction is possible by means of a synthesizer which has two optic axes. The light in one arm of the synthesizer need not be coherent with respect to the light in the other arm.
Probing nuclear structure at finite temperature and spin via decay of superdeformed bands in lead nuclei

The 174Yb(25Mg, 5n)194Pb and 173Yb(24Mg, 5n)192Pb reactions were used to probe the decay of superdeformed (SD) bands. The total γ-ray spectra associated with the SD bands in 192,194Pb have been studied to determine the energy and angular momenta associated with each step of the cascade, from entry population to decay to the ground state. In particular, the γ-ray spectra associated with the quasicontinuous, non-discrete decay of their respective yrast SD bands has been extracted. Using various model assumptions, the quasicontinuous decay spectrum is expected to have a rapid rise in intensity at an energy associated with the gap, or backshift parameter, in level density; such a rise is observed in the quasicontinuous decay of the SD bands in 194,192Pb. Values of Egap ≈ 0.9(1) MeV for 194Pb at ≈ 6 and Egap ≈ 0.4+0.3-0.1 MeV for 192Pb at ≈ 10 have been deduced.
Dynamic dielectric screening and exciton binding energies in conjugated polymers

Semi-empirical quantum chemistry predicts exciton binding energies for a single chain of a conjugated polymer that are significantly larger than those measured in the solid state. This paper continues our development of an electronic- polaron model that explicitly includes Coulomb screening from adjacent chains. The original model used Huckel theory to describe the polarization induced in the surrounding solvent chains. Here, the use of Pariser-Parr-Pople theory instead of Huckel theory is shown to have little effect on the solvation energies obtained from the electronic-polaron model. The results confirm that the dynamic dielectric response plays a crucial role in establishing the exciton binding energy. The free electron-hole pair states are well solvated because the charge fluctuations arising from electron-hole motion are slow and the polarization of the surrounding chains can nearly follow the electron-hole motion. HOwever, the exciton state is weakly solvated because the charge-fluctuations are fast, and the surrounding chains cannot follow the electron-hole motion. The electron and hole must then shed their solvation cloud when they join to form an exciton. This consequence of dynamic dielectric screening enhances the differential solvation of the free electron-hole pair versus the exciton, and leads to a large reduction in the exciton binding energy.