cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Plasmaassisted conversion of pyrogas

Pyrogas - a fuel gas formed from the pyrolysis or gasification of Biomass or Coal - usually contain large amounts of heavy hydrocarbons (tar) and unreacted light hydrocarbons (CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6), that decreases its value and require significant cleaning. The conversion of Pyrogas into synthesis gas (a combination of CO and H2) in varying quantities in the presence of Plasma discharge in the form of Gliding arc Plasma is effectively demonstrated and studied. A special low current gliding arc plasma reactor, 'plasmatron', is designed to provide plasma discharge in a reforming zone for reforming reactions. The Gliding arc plasma reactor (plasmatron) is a non thermal reformer which offers better selectivity, reactivity and efficiency compared to conventional catalytic reformers.
Extra-amniotic Pregnancy With Fetal Gastroschisis and Clubfoot

here have been prior reports of an extra-amniotic pregnancy in the literature.1–4 None of these previous cases noted fetal deformities. We report a case with fetal anomalies. Our patient was initially evaluated at 20 weeks’ gestation via sonography for findings of a “free-floating” amnion and distinct localization of the fetal head and upper body from the lower trunk and extremities within separate cavities (intraand extra-amniotic). There were additional findings of gastroschisis and a right-sided clubfoot. The patient was delivered at 33 weeks’ gestation because of early labor and a nonreassuring fetal heart tracing. Our findings suggest that there may be an intricate role between extra-amniotic pregnancies and fetal development. The spectrum of amniotic bands, extra-amniotic pregnancy, and extra-chorionic pregnancy is reviewed.
The research rotation: competency-based structured and novel approach to research training of internal medicine residents

Background In the United States, the Accreditation Council of graduate medical education (ACGME) requires all accredited Internal medicine residency training programs to facilitate resident scholarly activities. However, clinical experience and medical education still remain the main focus of graduate medical education in many Internal Medicine (IM) residency-training programs. Left to design the structure, process and outcome evaluation of the ACGME research requirement, residency-training programs are faced with numerous barriers. Many residency programs report having been cited by the ACGME residency review committee in IM for lack of scholarly activity by residents.
Design and Evaluation of a MEMS Bimetallic Thermal Actuator for Viscosity Measurements

A non-cantilever-beam micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) based viscosity sensor is proposed. This novel vibration viscometer device utilizes thermal actuation and piezoresistive sensing. As the actuation bias is kept constant, viscosity changes can be correlated to changes in the oscillation amplitude. This proposed solution is CMOS compatible, inexpensive and reliable. This paper investigates the vertical movement of thin silicon/aluminum bimetal diaphragms with varying bimetal areas and diaphragm thickness to better understand the thermo- mechanical behavior of the proposed actuator/sensor device. Proof of concept results are presented in which the oscillation amplitude of the bimetal actuator changes when the device is immersed in media of different viscosity.
Undergraduates Achieve Learning Gains in Plant Genetics through Peer Teaching of Secondary Students

This study tests the hypothesis that undergraduates who peer teach genetics will have greater understanding of genetic and molecular biology concepts as a result of their teaching experiences. Undergraduates enrolled in a non–majors biology course participated in a service-learning program in which they led middle school (MS) or high school (HS) students through a case study curriculum to discover the cause of a green tomato variant. The curriculum explored plant reproduction and genetic principles, highlighting variation in heirloom tomato fruits to reinforce the concept of the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. HS students were taught additional activities related to mole­cular biology techniques not included in the MS curriculum. We measured undergraduates’ learning outcomes using pre/postteaching content assessments and the course final exam. Undergraduates showed significant gains in understanding of topics related to the curriculum they taught, compared with other course content, on both types of assessments. Undergraduates who taught HS students scored higher on questions specific to the HS curriculum compared with undergraduates who taught MS students, despite identical lecture content, on both types of assessments. These results indicate the positive effect of service-learning peer-teaching experiences on undergraduates’ content knowledge, even for non–science major students.
Compact low coupling dual -antennas for MIMO applications in handheld devices

A dual-port slot strip antenna array for MIMO handheld devices is presented. This antenna array uses a T-shaped slot with changed widths to improve isolation between the two ports. The antenna has the combination of omni-directional radiation, high efficiency and compact size in an easy to fabricate structure. The experimental and simulated results validate the proposed design.
DNA sequence variation in a 3.7-kb noncoding sequence 5' of the CYP1A2 gene: implications for human population history and natural selection.

CYP1A2 is a cytochrome P450 gene that is involved in human physiological responses to a variety of drugs and toxins. To investigate the role of population history and natural selection in shaping genetic diversity in CYP1A2, we sequenced a 3.7-kb region 5′ from CYP1A2 in a diverse collection of 113 individuals from three major continental regions of the Old World (Africa, Asia, and Europe). We also examined sequences in the 90-member National Institutes of Health DNA Polymorphism Discovery Resource (PDR). Eighteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found. Most of the high-frequency SNPs found in the Old World sample were also found in the PDR sample. However, six SNPs were detected in the Old World sample but not in the PDR sample, and two SNPs found in the PDR sample were not found in the Old World sample. Most pairs of SNPs were in complete linkage disequilibrium with one another, and there was no indication of a decline of disequilibrium with physical distance in this region. The average ± SD nucleotide diversity in the Old World sample was 0.00043±0.00026. The African population had the highest level of nucleotide diversity and the lowest level of linkage disequilibrium. Two distinct haplotype clusters with broadly overlapping geographical distributions were present. Of the 17 haplotypes found in the Old World sample, 12 were found in the African sample, 8 were found in Indians, 5 were found in non-Indian Asians, and 5 were found in Europeans. Haplotypes found outside Africa were mostly a subset of those found within Africa. These patterns are all consistent with an African origin of modern humans. Seven SNPs were singletons, and the site-frequency spectrum showed a significant departure from neutral expectations, suggesting population expansion and/or natural selection. Comparison with outgroup species showed that four derived SNPs have achieved high (>0.90) frequencies in human populations, a trend consistent with the action of positive natural selection. These patterns have a number of implications for disease-association studies in CYP1A2 and other genes.
Radiative entropy production

THE radiative tensor obtained from the specular moments of the transfer equation is considered. The radiative entropy production is expressed in terms of this tensor. Contents The theory of gas radiation dates back to studies Rayleigh made over a century ago on the illumination and polarization of the sunlit sky. Since then, the theory has rapidly grown because of the efforts of astrophysicis ts and later of applied scientists and engineers. However, the entropy production associated with radiation apparently remains untreated and is the motivation of this study. As is well known, the entropy production results from dissipative processes (involving mass, species, momentum, and/or heat transfer and electromagnetic or nuclear transport). Less known is the fact that the dissipation may have a diffusive or hysteretic origin, the diffusion being directional and the hysteresis being cyclic. However, except for a few cases (such as strain hardening and the magnetic saturation), the majority of dissipative processes (including the dissipation of radiation) are of diffusive nature. A recent study by Arpaci 1 shows, in terms of the radiative stress obtained from the specular (kinetic) moments of the transfer equation, the diffusive nature of radiation for any optical thickness. Accordingly, the expression to be developed for entropy production is in terms of this stress and includes also the dissipation resulting from the conduction of heat and viscous friction. First, some remarks on the radiative stress are needed. These will be made in terms of spectrally averaged radiation because of its simplicity. A monochromatic approach, which may be needed for a quantitative study, is not essential here because of the conceptual nature of the intended study. As pointed out by Felske and Tien,2 there are a variety of practical situations in which scattering is not important. For these situations, consider the spectrally averaged transfer equation,
Safe bounds check annotations

The semantics of the Java programming language require that the out-of-bounds array accesses be caught at runtime. In general, this requires dynamic checks at the time the array element is accessed. Some of these checks can be eliminated statically during just-in-time (JIT) compilation, but the most precise analyses are too expensive to run in JIT compilers. This paper presents a framework in which thorough static range analyses can be used safely during the less-performance-critical compilation of Java source into machine-independent mobile code. In this framework, the static analysis results are used to derive proofs that certain linear inequality constraints hold. These linear constraints and their proofs are then added to the mobile code as annotations. The annotation framework is designed so that proofs can be verified efficiently. This allows the JIT compiler to safely eliminate array bounds checks during compilation without an expensive runtime analysis. Experiments with a prototype system that can generate and verify these annotations demonstrate that this framework is more precise than prior work and that verification is efficient. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Consenting Marine Discharges

Regulation of man's interaction with the environment steers a course between the opposing, but complementary, concepts of the‘precautionary principle’and‘environmental capacity'. In simple and restricted interactions, deterministic science allows the estimation of‘environmental capacity', whereas in more complex interactions the‘precautionary principle’is likely to apply. The importance of far-field effects is increasing, and the wider costs of regulation are becoming more recognised. This paper includes example of marine legislation and regulatory procedures from the Control of Pollution Act 1974 and various European directives but, whatever the details, there is a need for flexibility and adaptation to changing knowledge, laws and monitoring results.
How North Korea threatens China's interests: understanding Chinese ‘duplicity’ on the North Korean nuclear issue

Speaking of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's test of nuclear device on 9 October 2006, official statements from the government of one of the permanent five members of the UN Security Council claimed that North Korea ignored the universal opposition of the international community and flagrantly conducted the nuclear test and that this government is resolutely opposed to it...
Conflicting Ambivalence of Haitian Identity-Making in South Florida

Este articulo describe las construcciones de identidad, lugar de origen,y de pertenencia entre la primera y segunda generacion de migrantes haitianos que viven en el sur de Florida. Polaridades en conflicto marcan las experiencias vividas de los haitianos entrevistados y, las teorias de la migracion como integracion tales como la del "crisol de culturas diferentes" o la "ensaladera", se vuelven inutiles para la comprension de las experiencias de inmigrantes. En otro nivel, se elabora la nocion de hibridacion social por su resonancia con conceptos ontologicos entre los haitiano-estadounidenses, especialmente en lo que respecta al "estira y afloja" de vivir en los Estados Unidos con un sentimiento hacia Haiti. Para muchos de nuestros informantes haitianos, la nocion de estratificacion de clase definio sus percepciones de individualidad. Asi tambien, nuestros entrevistados haitiano-americanos describieron sus diferencias con respecto a otras experiencias de afro-descendientes como los afro-americanos, ademas de situar su "haitinidad” como unica. Lo que esta claro a partir del analisis de estas narrativas de haitiano-americanos, es la mutabilidad de su pertenencia imaginaria y los polivalentes significados asociados con sus identidades ambivalentes. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0903118
Microbiology of periodontal disease

There is a perception of conflicting data and opinions among research laboratories that are studying periodontal microbiology. In response to this perception I was asked to discuss recent literature in this field at the 1986 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Dental Research. This review is based on that discussion which primarily concerned all of the relevant papers that were available to me and that had been published in the last 2 years (1984 and 1985). In order to determine what the data (rather than what our biases) may tell us, accurate comparisons of published reports in this field require an appreciation of the reasons for different results in different laboratories. Therefore, before we compare data, let's consider some of the reasons why results from different laboratories may differ. The periodontal flora is complex. We have found over 325 distinct bacterial species in the human gingival crevice (1). Many of these species have never been formally described, most of them are ignored by some laboratories, identified differently by others, or lumped together in various groups by still others. Some of the predominant species have special growth requirements and are not detected on some media that are widely used. Identification criteria differ among laboratories. Even with rigorous testing, identification of some species is questionable. With minimal testing it is even less reliable.
Failure of Standard Training Sets in the Analysis of Fast-Scan Cyclic Voltammetry Data.

The use of principal component regression, a multivariate calibration method, in the analysis of in vivo fast-scan cyclic voltammetry data allows for separation of overlapping signal contributions, permitting evaluation of the temporal dynamics of multiple neurotransmitters simultaneously. To accomplish this, the technique relies on information about current-concentration relationships across the scan-potential window gained from analysis of training sets. The ability of the constructed models to resolve analytes depends critically on the quality of these data. Recently, the use of standard training sets obtained under conditions other than those of the experimental data collection (e.g., with different electrodes, animals, or equipment) has been reported. This study evaluates the analyte resolution capabilities of models constructed using this approach from both a theoretical and experimental viewpoint. A detailed discussion of the theory of principal component regression is provided to inform this discu...
Active microrheology in active matter systems: Mobility, intermittency, and avalanches

We examine the mobility and velocity fluctuations of a driven particle moving through an active matter bath of self-mobile disks for varied density or area coverage and varied activity. We show that the driven particle mobility can exhibit nonmonotonic behavior that is correlated with distinct changes in the spatiotemporal structures that arise in the active media. We demonstrate that the probe particle velocity distributions exhibit specific features in the different dynamic regimes and identify an activity-induced uniform crystallization that occurs for moderate activity levels and is distinct from the previously observed higher activity cluster phase. The velocity distribution in the cluster phase has telegraph noise characteristics produced when the probe particle moves alternately through high-mobility areas that are in the gas state and low-mobility areas that are in the dense phase. For higher densities and large activities, the system enters what we characterize as an active jamming regime. Here the probe particle moves in intermittent jumps or avalanches that have power-law-distributed sizes that are similar to the avalanche distributions observed for nonactive disk systems near the jamming transition.
Multimodal Sentiment Analysis

With more than 10,000 new videos posted online every day on social websites such as YouTube and Facebook, the internet is becoming an almost infinite source of information. One important challenge for the coming decade is to be able to harvest relevant information from this constant flow of multimodal data. In this talk, I will introduce the task of multimodal sentiment analysis, and present a method that integrates linguistic, audio, and visual features for the purpose of identifying sentiment in online videos. I will first describe a novel dataset consisting of videos collected from the social media website YouTube, which were annotated for sentiment polarity. I will then show, through comparative experiments, that the joint use of visual, audio, and textual features greatly improves over the use of only one modality at a time. Finally, by running evaluations on datasets in English and Spanish, I will show that the method is portable and works equally well when applied to different languages.
Alternative Victorian Religion and the Recuperation of Women's Voices

What is Victorian “religion” and how might we define the “alternative” in “alternative religions” of this time period? Dealing with these questions affirms why analyzing so-called peripheral religions in the Victorian period is necessary to understanding the Victorian cultural landscape. “Alternate” may refer to the proliferation of non-mainstream forms of belief; the concept that change and difference are inherent to the very structures mainstream of Victorian religions; the range of methods and theories needed to study Victorian belief properly; and the disparate perspectives such studies make available to our engagements with Victorian literature and culture. Recent feminist recuperations of female writers and their alternate understandings, voices, and critique provide enriched readings of Victorian faith. These voices may become available through strong “critical empathy,” belief, and alternative research methodologies.
The display-equalized filter for frequency-time analysis

Frequency-time analysis (FTAN) results are usually presented as an array of amplitude values associated with discrete intervals group velocity and log period. The display-equalized filter, a modified form of the Gaussian frequency-time filter, produces amplitude estimates for which the frequency-time “averaging region” is of approximately constant shape, although varying in size, throughout the display. The shape of the averaging region can be adjusted to permit greater frequency resolution, with a corresponding loss of time resolution, and vice versa. An improved time-variable filter effectively utilizes the optimum frequency-time resolution of the Gaussian filter.
Characterization of the induction of stress ethylene synthesis in cotton caused by the cotton fleahopper (Hemiptera: Miridae) and its microorganisms

The cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter), induced stress ethylene production by detached, vegetative shoot tips of young cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., plants. Ethylene production rates reached abscission-inducing levels within 24 h or less and remained well in excess of the threshold levels for 3 d. Among the microorganisms associated with the fleahopper, the two most common Fusarium spp. were identified as F. semitectum Berk, and Ravenel and F. equiseti (Corda) Sacc. Ethylene production followed a similar pattern in both insect-infested and F. semitectum -inoculated shoot tips, but the peak rate occurred earlier with F. semitectum inoculation. Field-collected insects, laboratory-hatched insects, insects collected immediately after molting, intact eggs, and ruptured eggs all were almost universally contaminated with microorganisms. Under extended storage of stems containing overwintering fleahopper eggs, the number of insects hatching per stem, the degree of contamination of the insects that hatched, and the capacity of these insects to cause stress ethylene production all decreased. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that microorganisms are involved in the symptoms of fleahopper injury to cotton—inhibited internode elongation and abscission of young flower buds. This suggests that stress ethylene causes the symptoms, and that some of the microbes may be disease organisms; if so, the insect is a vector. The involvement of microorganisms in injury does not eliminate the possibility that other mechanisms may also be involved.
Calanus finmarchicus diapause initiation: new view from traditional life history-based model

Organisms have evolved to optimally align the timing of diapause with the seasonal- ity of environmental conditions in order to maximize their fitness. Observations from the North- west Atlantic suggest that Calanus finmarchicus diapause initiation date varies significantly by geographic location, inconsistent with patterns of seasonal changes of any single environmental factor such as photoperiod, sea surface temperature, or food availability. In the present study, a life history-based model was used to reconcile the apparent inconsistency. The model results suggest that (1) the induction of diapause involves multiple environmental factors as a result of fitness maximization, and (2) in addition to temperature and food condition, predation pressure is another key factor that could affect diapause initiation process. It is further suggested that phenotypic plasticity is likely to be the major source of variation in the timing of diapause initiation for C. finmarchicus.
“Rotten English”: Excremental Politics and Literary Witnessing

This chapter explores the language and literature of abjection in Nigeria. In his 1985 novel Sozaboy, writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa experimented with a form of literary language that he thought could best articulate the experiences, sufferings, and desires of those populations constituted as excessive, useless, and disposable by the Nigerian state. This language, which he called “Rotten English,” expresses linguistically and narratologically the ways in which the Nigerian state fails to adequately “represent” all its citizens. Claude Levi-Strauss (1961: 386) classified societies as “anthropophagie” or “anthropoemic,” depending on whether they “consume” and assimilate, or remove, exclude, or “vomit” out their adversaries. In Saro-Wiwa’s assessment, the Nigerian state features both tendencies, vampirically consuming the bodies and resources of its micro-minorities, by exploiting their oil resources and using ethnic conflict as an ideological “fix,” only to excrete these remainders by abandoning them to a space where the law and the political are suspended. Critically indicting the disjuncture between the state’s “big grammar” rhetoric of democracy, representation, and national unity, and its “rotten” or necropolitical exercise of power in the oil-producing regions, Saro-Wiwa argues that the fate of minority populations, like his own Ogoni, can be productively read as an exemplary case (the example as that which is taken-out) for understanding the nature and effects of sovereignty in his country.
Improved bowel preparation increases polyp detection and unmasks significant polyp miss rate.

Improved bowel preparation increases polyp detection and unmasks significant polyp miss rate
Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Infections

The spectrum of nontuberculous mycobacterial infections has changed. Improved understanding of the immunopathogenesis of slow growing mycobacerial ­disease has been accompanied by a higher number of cases in patients with or without cancer. In recent years, ­difficult-to-treat infections due to rapidly growing mycobacteria are on the rise, this may in part reflect newer molecular identification methods; however, rise in susceptible immunosuppressed patient population and frequently used indwelling prosthetic devices are also important contributors in this trend. Despite resistance to a number of available antimicrobials, newer agents may provide the much-needed treatment options for high-risk cancer patients with ­nontuberculous mycobacterial infection-disease.
Evidence for functionally distinct dual atrial inputs to the human AV node

Although conventional models of the human atrioventricular (AV) node assume a single upper common pathway, animal studies demonstrate dual atrial inputs: an anterior input from the interatrial septum and a posterior input from the crista terminalis (running near the os of the coronary sinus in the posteroseptal region). We hypothesized that functionally distinct dual atrial inputs to the AV node also exist in humans and that the anterior input has a lower safety factor for impulse propagation. To evaluate this hypothesis, we examined 20 patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation of the slow AV nodal pathway for AV nodal reentrant tachycardia who underwent subsequent follow-up testing. After ablation near the os of the coronary sinus (and posterior to the compact AV node), 11 patients had no residual slow pathway conduction [SP(-)], whereas 9 did [SP(+)]. The effective refractory period of the fast AV nodal pathway (FP-ERP) and anterograde AV nodal Wenckebach (AVN-W) cycle length were significantly increased at follow-up in the SP(-) patients (FP-ERP = 336 +/- 71 vs. 387 +/- 103 ms, P = 0.02; AVN-W cycle length = 356 +/- 74 vs. 442 +/- 118 ms, P = 0.03) but not in SP(+) patients. Similarly among 10 patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation of a right posteroseptal accessory pathway (near the os of the coronary sinus), 5 developed impaired AV conduction: abnormal anterograde pacing-induced AVN-W cycle length in 4 patients and 2:1 AV nodal block in 1 patient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Fictions of the European Home Front: Keeping Faith with the Conquered

Before World War II, Europe was easy prey for English fictions of foreign intrigue. Stories of the Continent’s political revolutions and sexual excesses and its history of ethnic and political rivalries fueled plots of ill-fated love, dynastic intrigue, and feudal conflict. Staging these plots required little imagination, for Europe’s baroque facades and labyrinthine passageways could all too easily be made to symbolize the elaborate manners that lent mystery to stories of romantic and political betrayal. These fictions often revolve around highly principled if politically pragmatic English characters who become deeply invested in saving the Europeans from their already compromised political morality. Whether they succeed in saving the Europeans from their own worst tendencies, the English characters confirm the moral and political superiority of British democracy. By contrast, European protagonists and antagonists in these political romances are portrayed as incorrigable Others, heirs to internecine conflicts they replicate from gothic and byzantine pasts, albeit with the benefit of modern technology.
Meta-Analysis of Perioperative Stroke and Mortality in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a rapidly evolving safe method with decreasing incidence of perioperative stroke. There is a void in literature concerning the impact of stroke after TAVI in predicting 30-day stroke-related mortality. The primary aim of this meta-analysis was to determine whether perioperative stroke increases risk of stroke-related mortality after TAVI. Online databases, using relevant keywords, and additional related records were searched to retrieve articles involving TAVI and stroke after TAVI. Data were extracted from the finalized studies and analyzed to generate a summary odds ratio (OR) of stroke-related mortality after TAVI. The stroke rate and stroke-related mortality rate in the total patient population were 3.07% (893 of 29,043) and 12.27% (252 of 2,053), respectively. The all-cause mortality rate was 7.07% (2,053 of 29,043). Summary OR of stroke-related mortality after TAVI was estimated to be 6.45 (95% confidence interval 3.90 to 10.66, p 6 times greater risk of 30-day stroke-related mortality. Transapical TAVI is not associated with increased stroke-related mortality in patients who suffer from perioperative stroke. Preventative measures need to be taken to alleviate the elevated rates of stroke after TAVI and subsequent direct mortality.
Spermine Condenses DNA, but Not RNA Duplexes

Interactions between the polyamine spermine and nucleic acids drive important cellular processes. Spermine condenses DNA and some RNAs, such as poly(rA):poly(rU). A large fraction of the spermine present in cells is bound to RNA but apparently does not condense it. Here, we study the effect of spermine binding to short duplex RNA and DNA, and compare our findings with predictions of molecular-dynamics simulations. When small numbers of spermine are introduced, RNA with a designed sequence containing a mixture of 14 GC pairs and 11 AU pairs resists condensation relative to DNA of an equivalent sequence or to 25 bp poly(rA):poly(rU) RNA. A comparison of wide-angle x-ray scattering profiles with simulation results suggests that spermine is sequestered deep within the major groove of mixed-sequence RNA. This prevents condensation by limiting opportunities to bridge to other molecules and stabilizes the RNA by locking it into a particular conformation. In contrast, for DNA, simulations suggest that spermine binds externally to the duplex, offering opportunities for intermolecular interaction. The goal of this study is to explain how RNA can remain soluble and available for interaction with other molecules in the cell despite the presence of spermine at concentrations high enough to precipitate DNA.
Lead and Zinc Speciation in Soils and Their Transfer in Vegetation

Studies of the dynamics of mobile lead and zinc species in Sod-podzolic and Chernozem soils demonstrate vertical migration of heavy metals and their transfer to plants. The degree of pollution significantly affects the rate of immobilization of heavy metals and their vertical migration.
High quality LiNbO 3 photonic crystal nanobeams

We report, for the first time, high-quality LiNbO 3 one-dimensional photonic crystal nanabeams with optical Q up to 1.09 × 105, which allows us to observe strong reversible photorefractive effect.
Costs and benefits of group living in primates: an energetic perspective.

Group size is a fundamental component of sociality, and has important consequences for an individual's fitness as well as the collective and cooperative behaviours of the group as a whole. This rev...
Geographically weighted regression approach to investigate spatial variations in activity space

This study examined individual activity space focusing on whether and how the effects of the built environment vary spatially across the study region. With the use of the 2012–2013 Northeast Ohio Regional Travel Survey data, a global regression model and a geographically weighted regression (GWR) model were estimated to analyze these effects after controlling for sociodemographics and travel time. The global results indicate that people living in areas characterized by high densities, a variety of jobs and populations, and high access and connectivity generally have smaller activity spaces. The GWR results report better fit than the global model and present spatial variations in the relationships between the six built environment variables and individuals’ activity spaces. Relevant transportation and land use policies, such as transit-oriented development and smart growth, may directly affect the built environment and therefore change individual access and sizes of activity spaces. The spatial variations ...
Building a Creative Learning Transfer Theory: A Nomological Network

To survive and thrive in the ever-changing global environment, organizational managers must constantly innovate and transform by obtaining, applying, and creating new knowledge. This study is an at...
Piezoelectricity enhancement and bandstructure modification of atomic defect-mediated MoS2 monolayer.

Piezoelectricity appears in the inversion asymmetric crystal that converts mechanical deformation to electricity. Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcolgenide (TMDC) monolayers exhibit the piezoelectric effect due to inversion asymmetry. The intrinsic piezoelectric coefficient (e11) of MoS2 is ∼298 pC m−1. For the single atomic shift of Mo of 20% along the armchair direction, the piezoelectric coefficient (e11) of MoS2 with 5 × 5 unit cells was enhanced up to 18%, and significantly modified the band structure. The single atomic shift in the MoS2 monolayer also induced new energy levels inside the forbidden bandgap. The defect-induced energy levels for a Mo atom shift along the armchair direction are relatively deeper than that for a S atom shift along the same direction. This indicates that the piezoelectricity and band structure of MoS2 can be engineered by a single atomic shift in the monolayer with multi unit cells for piezo- and opto-electric applications.
Fire-fighting robot

With the advent of technology, humans are replaced with robots in life-threatening situations. We aim to design a robot capable of detecting and suppressing fires. By designing and implementing an autonomous robot capable of detecting and extinguishing flames, disasters can be avoided with minimal risk to human life. In this research, we illustrate an autonomous robot capable of detecting flames indoors and maneuvering towards the flame to extinguish it with the help of carbon dioxide.
Economic optimization of Organic Rankine cycle with pure fluids and mixtures for waste heat and solar applications using particle swarm optimization method

Abstract The optimization criterion for designing the thermodynamic layout of an organic Rankine cycle is often based on either achieving maximum thermodynamic efficiency or incurring minimum initial specific investment costs. Such designs, however, need not lead to the maximum utilization of waste heat potential or an optimal investment. For full potential utilization of a waste heat source, its temperature should be brought down to near ambient temperatures via transfer of enthalpy to the organic Rankine cycle working fluid. In the limit, however, pursuit of complete source utilization may lead to capital intensive organic Rankine cycle layouts that demand infinitesimal temperature gradients in heat exchangers leading to massive heat transfer areas. This paper defines a new objective function that reveals the tradeoffs between specific investment cost and the extent to which waste heat is utilized. A particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to optimize 7 and 8 dimensional search space for pure and mixture based working fluids, respectively, for case studies involving power capacities of 5, 50 and 500 kWe, waste heat source temperatures ranging from 75 to 275 °C and a number of working fluids. As a practical aid to designers, a methodology for generating high isentropic efficiency scroll geometries corresponding to optimized cycles is presented, and the optimization analysis is further extended to solar thermal applications.
Quick, Easy Mindset Intervention Can Boost Academic Achievement in Large Introductory Psychology Classes.

Having a growth mindset has been shown to predict better academic performance in a variety of educational settings. Efforts to instill a growth mindset through educational interventions have demonstrated positive effects on academic success. However, many of the interventions previously tested are relatively time intensive and costly for some instructors at large research-intensive institutions. In this study, we find that a quick and easy mindset intervention can produce some gains in academic performance. This intervention involved no class time, little prep-work, and was easily disseminated to a 300-student Introductory Psychology lecture. Participants (N = 278) were randomly assigned to receive a growth mindset, fixed mindset, or control letter from their instructor after their first midterm exam. Nine weeks post-intervention, participants were given a manipulation check to see who read and remembered their letter’s message. Of participants who passed the manipulation check (N = 86), those in the grow...
Contributions of citizen scientists to arthropod vector data in the age of digital epidemiology

Citizen-collected arthropod vectors are useful for epidemiological studies of vector–borne disease, especially since the vectors encountered by the public are the subset of vectors in nature that have a disproportionate impact on health. Programs integrating educational efforts with collecting efforts may be particularly effective for public health initiatives, resulting in an empowered public with knowledge of vector–borne disease prevention. Citizen science programs have been successfully implemented for the collection of unprecedented sample sets of mosquitos, ticks, and triatomines. Cyber infrastructure employed in digital epidemiology — including websites, email, mobile phone apps, and social media platforms — has facilitated vector citizen science initiatives to assess disease risk over vast spatial and temporal scales, advancing research to mitigate vector–borne disease risk.
Effects of Cholera Toxin, LH and PGF2α on Steroidogenesis in Luteal Cells

Recent studies using cultured rat luteal cells (1) showed that PGF2α inhibits accumulation of cyclic AMP (cAMP) and progesterone secretion in response to LH, while having little effect on the binding of LH to its receptor. This inhibition of progesterone secretion was reversed by simultaneous addition of exogenous cyclic AMP but not by theophylline (1). It was concluded that PGF2α prevents accumulation of cAMP stimulated by the LH-receptor complex. Secondary factors may mediate the action of PGF2α in intact cells since it does not inhibit LH-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in isolated luteal membranes (2).
When Do Groups Benefit from Membership Instability? The Role of Hierarchy Steepness and Its Change

This study examines the moderating effect of hierarchy steepness on the relationship between membership instability and group effectiveness. Furthermore, it proposes a new construct, ""hierarchy st...
Bedside open abdominal surgery. Utility and wound management.

Intentional open abdominal management of severe trauma and other visceral catastrophic illness is becoming increasingly common in the ICU. Benefits to selected critically ill patients include prevention and treatment of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and the abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS), the facilitation of serial operations where damage control tactics have been employed, the stabilization of traumatic abdominal wall defects, the prevention and treatment of necrotizing fasciitis and necrotizing pancreatitis, and lavage therapy for peritonitis. Physicians caring for the critically ill need to be familiar with the concepts and practice of temporary abdominal coverage (TAC) and staged abdominal procedures.
Fast-Neutron Effects on the Carbides of Titanium, Zirconium, Tantalum, Niobium, and Tungsten

Solid cylindrical specimens (½- × ½-in.) of the monocarbides of Ti, Zr, Ta, Nb, and W, made by 1) hot pressing, 2) slip casting and sintering, and 3) explosion-pressing and sintering, were irradiat...
Overview of OOI/RSN cabled ocean observatory

The summer of 2014 saw the completion of installation and first data from the cabled portion of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Regional Scaled Nodes (RSN). Data streams live from over 130 instruments to an OOI Data Portal via telecom cables that land in Pacific City, OR. The observatory encompasses a cross-section of the Juan de Fuca plate from the coastal shelf to an undersea volcano, with instruments from 80 m to 2900 m depth. Acoustic instrumentation includes 6 broadband hydrophones (capable of 120 kHz), 5 low frequency hydrophones (to 5 kHz), two 3-frequency upward looking fisheries sonars, and 6 upward looking ADCPs. Water-borne acoustic data have also been observed in the 5 broadband (3 mHz to 10 Hz) and 7 short-period (0.1 Hz to 100 Hz) seismometers. Two new acoustic experiments will be deployed in the 2018 O&M cruise. The raw and processed data are archived and are open access to all. An overview of the types of instruments and their locations, as well as discussion of data characteristics and how to access the data, will be given. Some examples of data will be shown as well as examples of specific event characterization and ongoing uses.The summer of 2014 saw the completion of installation and first data from the cabled portion of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Regional Scaled Nodes (RSN). Data streams live from over 130 instruments to an OOI Data Portal via telecom cables that land in Pacific City, OR. The observatory encompasses a cross-section of the Juan de Fuca plate from the coastal shelf to an undersea volcano, with instruments from 80 m to 2900 m depth. Acoustic instrumentation includes 6 broadband hydrophones (capable of 120 kHz), 5 low frequency hydrophones (to 5 kHz), two 3-frequency upward looking fisheries sonars, and 6 upward looking ADCPs. Water-borne acoustic data have also been observed in the 5 broadband (3 mHz to 10 Hz) and 7 short-period (0.1 Hz to 100 Hz) seismometers. Two new acoustic experiments will be deployed in the 2018 O&M cruise. The raw and processed data are archived and are open access to all. An overview of the types of instruments and their locations, as well as discussion of data characteristi...
Integrative governance: The relationships between governance instruments taking center stage:

The fragmentation and complexity of governance are well recognized among scholars and policy makers. The debate on fragmentation has itself, however, also remained rather fragmented. This has inhib...
Investigation of spatial and short-term temporal nearshore sandy sediment strength using a portable free fall penetrometer

Abstract In order to investigate the effect of wave processes on the geotechnical characteristics of topmost sediments, a Portable Free Fall Penetrometer (PFFP) was deployed in the energetic nearshore zone of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Field Research Facility (FRF) in Duck, NC. A total of 335 deployments were conducted from the FRF's 560 m long pier over six non-consecutive days in September and October of 2016. During the surveying period, significant wave heights varied between Hs = 0.8–2.4 m measured at a water depth of 17.4 m. The results showed that the sediment strength is affected by the wave climate. The derived average maximum quasi-static bearing capacities (qsbc), which reflects sediment strength, during low energy wave periods (September 22–24 and 26; Hs = 0.8–1.3 m) ranged between 67 and 73 kPa with maximum qsbc values of 120–136 kPa, while the average values were 47–59 kPa with a maximum qsbc of 82–98 kPa during the high energy wave periods (October 5–6; Hs = 2.4 m). Results also showed that the sediment strength decreased in the shallow water depth regions in spite of the increase in the particle size distribution, due to the increasing wave impact on the seabed within the shallow water region. The area where seabed strength variations were affected by the wave action became wider in the cross-shore direction as the wave height increased. Results further showed that the strength of the topmost sediment layers varied spatially along the profile and temporarily with variations in significant wave height. This likely reflects the impact of waves on sediment strength.
The Legislature, 'Lemons,' and Legal Endogeneity: How Manufacturers Force Consumers to 'Holster' Consumer Warranty Protection Law 'Weapons'

This study builds on socio-legal and neo-institutional scholarship on the relationship between organizations and law. A recent development in neo-institutional theories of law and organizations suggests that employment discrimination law becomes endogenous as judicial interpretations of anti-discrimination laws mandates come to incorporate and rely on the presence of institutionalized compliance structures as evidence of non-discriminatory, fair treatment. Although this development is important, it is too limited. In this study, I show that endogeneity operates through the legislative as well as the judicial process and I show that endogeneity operates in the context of consumer warranty laws. Through a case study that examines over thirty-five years of California's legislative history regarding its consumer protection law, this article demonstrates how automobile manufacturers subject to California consumer warranty protection laws devised internal dispute resolution grievance structures that the legislature subsequently incorporated into statutes as evidence of compliance. In addition, this study demonstrates that it was not legislative establishment or recognition of dispute resolution grievance procedures that motivated manufacturers to create them. Rather, it was the manufacturers' creation of dispute resolution procedures in response to an ambiguous consumer protection law that motivated legislators to codify such mechanisms into law and afford such procedures considerable deference. This paper concludes by positing that the endogeneity of law results in the holsterization of rights, i.e., the process whereby public rights are (1) re-defined, (2) confined, and (3) controlled by private organizations.
Predictors of outcomes in exercisers with Parkinson disease: A two-year longitudinal cohort study.

BACKGROUND Exercise may modify disease progression in persons with Parkinson disease (PD). OBJECTIVE The purpose of this longitudinal cohort study was to determine factors that predict motor, activity, and participation-based outcomes over two years in exercisers with PD. METHODS A convenience sample with idiopathic PD was included in the analysis [n = 74; mean age 66.7(8.4) years; male 54%; median months post diagnosis 69.0(76.0), median Hoehn and Yahr score 1.0(2.0)]. Exercise behaviors (minutes of exercise/week, peak rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and mode of exercise) and outcomes of impairment [grip strength], activity [10-meter walk test, functional reach test, activity specific balance confidence scale] and participation [Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39] were assessed at baseline, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. RESULTS Using generalized estimating equations at least one exercise behavior was a significant predictor across most of the models (p≤0.026), with higher RPE predicting better outcomes in all activity and participation domains. Younger age, male gender and lower disease severity also significantly predicted better outcomes over time (p≤0.041). CONCLUSIONS Exercise behaviors contributed to activity and participation-based outcomes over two years in exercisers with PD. Participation in high-intensity exercise programs may enhance maintenance of health and function over time in individuals with PD.