cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Temperature dependence of oxygen diffusion and consumption in mammalian striated muscle

This study investigated the effect of temperature on the oxygen diffusion coefficient (DO2) of hamster retractor muscle from 11 to 37 degrees C. DO2 was measured using a non-steady-state technique, whereas muscle O2 consumption (VO2) was estimated after steady state was reached. DO2 was 0.84 +/- 0.04 x 10(-5) cm2/s at 11 degrees C and rose exponentially to 2.41 +/- 0.19 x 10(-5) cm2/s at 37 degrees C, producing a temperature coefficient for DO2 of 4.60%/degrees C for this temperature range. To measure DO2 directly at 37 degrees C, it was necessary to inhibit tissue VO2 with Amytal. The DO2 measurements made at 37 degrees C were significantly higher than previously reported values, which had been based on extrapolations from lower temperatures (6). Further analysis suggests a possible transition in the diffusion pathway between 23 and 30 degrees C, resulting in a DO2 higher than that previously expected. This larger DO2, together with a recently published value of oxygen solubility (alpha) (21), results in an in vitro Krogh's diffusion coefficient (KO2) that is 2.4 times larger than that previously reported (24) and therefore significantly reduces an order of magnitude discrepancy between in vitro and estimated in vivo KO2 values (24). Muscle VO2 was 0.35 ml O2.min-1.100 g-1 at 11 degrees C and increased with temperature, resulting in an activation energy of the rate-limiting reaction from the Arrhenius equation of -10.5 kcal/mol between 11 and 30 degrees C.
Knowing what you know: Intellectual humility and judgments of recognition memory

Abstract This study examined the relationship between recognition memory and intellectual humility, the degree to which people recognize that their personal beliefs are fallible. Participants completed the General Intellectual Humility Scale, an incidental old/new recognition task, and a task that assessed the tendency to over-claim one's knowledge. Signal detection analyses showed that higher intellectual humility was associated with higher discriminability between old and new items, regardless of whether the items were congruent or incongruent with participants' own beliefs. However, intellectual humility was not related to response bias, indicating that intellectually arrogant people were not biased to claim that they knew everything. Together, the findings support a relationship between intellectual humility and performance on memory tasks, indicating that individual differences in intellectual humility may partly reflect how people process information and judge what they do and do not know.
Light and Reproduction in the Rat Effects of Early Lighting on Responses Measured in Adult Females

Female Sprague-Dawley rats that were born and raised either in constant light (SDLL) or in 12L: 12D (SDLD) were exposed to various lighting schedules or were blinded as adults. Estrous cycle lengths were monitored by means of daily vaginal smears for 4 to 5 months, and at autopsy body and organ weights were compared. SDLL rats showed predominantly 4-day cycles after blinding or when exposed to 12L:12D as adults. In 16L : 8D, the SDLL rats showed a predominance of 5-day cycles, and when constant lighting was continued into adulthood they continued to show 5-day cycles for almost 3 months before beginning to develop persistent estrus. SDLD rats also showed predominantly 4-day cycles after blinding, but in both 12L: 12D and 16L:8D they showed predominantly 5-day cycles. When placed in constant light as young adults, the majority developed persistent estrus within 1 month. Body and organ weights showed no consistent differences which could be attributed either to early lighting or to lighting conditions in adulthood. Since both groups of rats were of identical genetic makeup, the difference in responses to lighting regimens as adults can be attributed to the type of lighting to which they were exposed in the neonatal and prepuberal period. These results suggest that early constant lighting renders female rats more sensitive to dark but less sensitive to light.
CdTe Thin Films: Spray Deposition Using a Nanoparticle Ink Precursor

CdTe thin film growth using nanoparticle precursors and spray deposition has been investigated. Employing a metathesis approach, cadmium iodide was reacted with sodium telluride in methanol solvent resulting in the formation of soluble Nal and insoluble CdTe nanoparticles. After appropriate chemical workup, methanol-capped CdTe colloids were isolated. CdTe colloids prepared by this method exhibit a dependence of the nanoparticle diameter upon reaction temperature as determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis). CdTe thin film formation was achieved by spray depositing the nanoparticle colloids (25–75 A diameter) onto substrates at elevated temperatures (T = 280–440 °C) with no further thermal treatment. These films were characterized by XRD, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Cubic CdTe phase formation was observed by XRD with a contaminant oxide phase also detected. XPS analysis showed that CdTe films produced by this one-step method contained no Na or C, but substantial O. AFM gave CdTe grain sizes of ˜0.1–0.3 pim for films sprayed at 400 °C. A layer-by-layer film growth mechanism proposed for the one-step spray deposition of nanoparticle precursors will be discussed.
Accumulation of adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in slices of rat cerebral cortex induced by alpha-adrenergic agonists II. Studies on mechanisms underlying the interaction with adenosine

Incubation of slices of rat cerebral cortex with the calcium ionophore A23187 produced small increases in the accumulation of adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP). While low concentrations of Ca2+ ions (e.g., 200 µM) were sometimes necessary, the presence of adenosine (e.g., 50 µM) was essential; no effect of ionophore was observed when isoproterenol or isobutylmethylxanthine was substituted for adenosine. These results are consistent with the previously advanced hypothesis that stimulation of α-adrenergic receptors in this issue may cause calcium mobilization and thereby produce a calmodulin-mediated stimulation of adenylate cyclase. However, there is no apparent explanation for the requirement for adenosine. In addition, the possibility that additional mechanisms may be operating was suggested by experiments in which the incorporation of 3H-adenine into cyclic AMP was examined under steady-state conditions. While brief exposure to 3H-adenine after maximal adenosine- or isoproterenol-induced accumulations had been achieved led to small increases in the specific activity of cyclic AMP, the combination of norepinephrine and adenosine (plus propranolol) produced substantial decreases in the specific activity of cyclic AMP. Since the rate of incorporation of radioactivity did not keep pace with the expansion of the cyclic AMP pool, it is possible that norepinephrine also caused some reduction in the rate of cyclic AMP degradation under these conditions. Other interpretations of these results are discussed.
Phospholipids and Their Constituent Fatty Acids in Two Populations of Dendroctonus frontalis (Coleoptera: Scolytidae),

The neutral lipids and the phospholipids and their fatty acids from 2 populations of insects belonging to Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmerman (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) are compared. The populations differ significantly from one another only in the amounts of neutral lipid and in amounts of plasmalogen present. The principal phospholipid base is choline. Serine and other amino acids are present in the lipid extracts. The amount of plasmalogen present in the lipids is much larger than that usually found in insects or in other animals. The fatty acids in all lipid categories are primarily 16- and 18-carbon acids, but 14- and 15-carbon fatty acids compose 10–20% of the fatty acids in the ethanolamine phospholipids.
Serving Notice on the One-Shot: Changing Roles for Instruction Librarians

Column Editor's NotesThis column examines advances in public services internal and external to libraries. The focus is on how public services, such as instruction and education, programming, research consulting, and circulation, evolve and impact users. The strength of the column is its broad, international focus and contributors are encouraged to explore issues and recent advances in public services relevant to their geographical region, as well as the larger, global audience. Interested contributors should contact the column editor at andrea.falcone@ucdenver.edu.
“It’s Important for Them to Know Who They Are”: Teachers’ Efforts to Sustain Students’ Cultural Competence in an Age of High-Stakes Testing:

This article examines how four urban elementary teachers designed their literacy instruction in ways that sought to sustain students’ cultural competence—maintaining their language and cultural pra...
Use of heparinoids to treat acute ischemic stroke.

Low molecular weight heparinoids (LMWHs) offer a new treatment option to patients experiencing acute ischemic stroke. These heparin sub-fractions provide an increased risk/benefit ratio when compared to standard heparin, and allow patients to achieve better functional outcomes with fewer neurologic deficits. Because LMWHs separate the antithrombotic activity of standard heparin from its anticoagulant and antiplateletaggregating effects, they are safer, but equally or more effective than heparin.
Effects of Displacement in Children Exposed to Disasters

The literature on children's responses to disasters is well developed with increasing attention to the confounding experiences of displacement. This paper presents an overview of the emotional and behavioral effects of displacement on children and adolescents and describes their educational adjustment in terms of both academic achievement and school behavior. A summary of family effects elucidates how children's functioning is influenced through the family system in which they are embedded. The psychosocial impact of displacement reflects the myriad social losses that children and their families may face. Information from this review of the current literature on the effects of displacement may inform the design and delivery of support and intervention services for children and families following disasters.
Effects of Accelerator-Driven Transmutation System on Radiotoxicity of High-Level Radioactive Wastes

We have developed a computation tool, WAste COM-position (WACOM) for performing a scoping study of the effects of the accelerator-driven transmutation of waste (ATW) system with a lead-bismuth-eutectic-cooled transmuter on actinide inventory and radiotoxicity reduction. WACOM consists ofa simplified burnup model for a chain of 18 actinide isotopes and a fuel cycle model to evaluate high-level waste (HLW) generation from the reference ATW plant. Interpolation formulas for effective one-group cross sections as a function of the actinide mass fraction have been developed. Three kinds of HLW generation were considered: (a) HLW from uranium separation for light water reactor (LWR) spent fuel, (b) HLW from the partitioning process in multicycle ATW operation, and (c) the last core of the transmuter at the decommissioning of the ATW system. The latter two HLW sources resulting from multicycle ATW operation have been found to be greater than the first source. Potential benefits of ATW deployment have been found to be (a) reduction of the total actinide toxicity by a factor of 48 at the time of waste generation and (b) conversion of the actinide mixture into a more proliferation-resistant configuration, by effective transmutation of 239 Pu, 241 Am, and 237 Np included in the LWR spent fuel. The total actinide radiotoxicity further decreases to 1/260 for the time period of 100000 yr, which would improve the performance of the Yucca Mountain Repository.
Polymeric film dialysis in organic solvent media for cleanup of organic contaminants

La methode, utilisant un film ou une membrane polymere non polaire est utilisee pour l'elimination de contaminants organiques dans les lipides de poisson. Etude des parametres de cette elimination
Leadership Lessons from the World of Athletics: Up Close and Personal

The purpose of this paper is to organize the reflections of my sons on the leadership qualities of their coaches, representing 22 years of teams at the professional, college and high school ranks and eight head coaches. As a professor of public administration who teaches leadership in an MPA program, I was interested in examining how their observations compared and contrasted with prevalent leadership themes in respected books on the topic. My conclusion is that these reflections are worthwhile illustrations of a number of classic leadership theories and practices.
How to Incorporate Experiential Learning in the Classroom to Address Complex Problems in Ecology

An alternative to the use of live predators in the context of predator–prey feeding relationships for educational purposes is presented here. A group of 18 students was asked to maneuver a fictional predator (pipette), which was used to capture age-0 Shovelnose Sturgeon under different densities (1–30 fish per 40-L tank) and temperature treatments (13°C, 18°C, and 24°C). The data were then used to estimate the functional feeding response coefficients typical of a type II curve. Results indicated that the temperature treatments did not have a significant influence on the magnitude of the coefficients. However, the use of a fictional predator provided useful insight into behaviors (fish captured head first and off the bottom of the tank) that were more likely to lead to a predation event. This exercise also limited the mortality of organisms typically associated with these types of trials. Conclusions should provide students with a mechanistic understanding of predator–prey interactions by means of an exper...
Coyote (Canis latrans) diet in an urban environment: variation relative to pet conflicts, housing density, and season

Coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823) are highly successful in urbanized environments, but as they populate cities, conflict can occur and often manifests in the form of incidents with pets. To better ...
Prediction Model for Field Rut Depth of Asphalt Pavement Based on Hamburg Wheel Tracking Test Properties

AbstractThe Hamburg wheel tracking (HWT) test has been found to be a promising test to evaluate the field rutting performance of asphalt pavements and has been implemented as a material screening t...
Entanglements of Firm Size and Country of Origin with Mining Company Reputational Risk in Guatemala

In this paper I develop two interrelated arguments around the idea of reputational risk within the mining sector as a valuable way of approaching mining conflicts. First, I argue that smaller mining companies (juniors) are more risk-tolerant than large firms (seniors) and thus thrive under conditions of institutional weakness and violence. I support this assertion by looking at mining activity in Guatemala from 1999 to the present. In so doing I observe two distinct historical periods. The first period, from 1999-2008, was characterised by the consolidation of larger and larger mining companies over the control of Guatemala’s mineral stocks. The second period, as mining grew riskier in Guatemala—both in investment terms and personal security terms—from 2008 to the present, has been characterised by the divestment of senior companies and turning the mineral landscape of Guatemala back over to risk-tolerant junior companies. The second argument I advance herein is that the national origins of the company are tangled up in firm behaviour. The integrity and productiveness with which companies engage with host communities and police their environmental impacts maps onto the geographies of origin of these firms, in the Guatemalan case.
Distributionally Robust Chance Constrained Optimal Power Flow with Renewables: A Conic Reformulation

The uncertainty associated with renewable energy sources introduces significant challenges in optimal power flow (OPF) analysis. A variety of new approaches have been proposed that use chance constraints to limit line or bus overload risk in OPF models. Most existing formulations assume that the probability distributions associated with the uncertainty are known a priori or can be estimated accurately from empirical data, and/or use separate chance constraints for upper and lower line/bus limits. In this paper, we propose a data driven distributionally robust chance constrained optimal power flow model (DRCC-OPF), which ensures that the worst-case probability of violating both the upper and lower limit of a line/bus capacity under a wide family of distributions is small. Assuming that we can estimate the first and second moments of the underlying distributions based on empirical data, we propose an exact reformulation of DRCC-OPF as a tractable convex program. The key theoretical result behind this reformulation is a second-order cone programming (SOCP) reformulation of a general two-sided distributionally robust chance constrained set by lifting the set to a higher dimensional space. Our numerical study shows that the proposed SOCP formulation can be solved efficiently and that the results of our model are quite robust.
What's So Special About Science (And How Much Should We Spend on It?)

Scientific research probes the deepest mysteries of the universe and of living things, and it creates applications and technologies that benefit humanity and create wealth. This “Beauty and Benefits of Science” is the theme of this 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting. The subject of my address is a
In Search of a Theology of Reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula

Peace and reconciliation are vital theological concepts: God reconciles himself with us through Christ, and likewise, we are called to become reconciled with one another. But how can this theologic...
Biofeedback: Clinically Valid or Oversold?

Despite over 20 years of research, the clinical effectiveness of biofeedback has not been established. Nevertheless the use of biofeedback techniques has been promulgated as a beneficial form of treatment for a wide variety of disorders. Although some biofeedback applications seem to be highly effective, the research underlying many other types of application remains equivocal. This article addresses a number of the more important critical issues, both methodological and conceptual that are in need of resolution before biofeedback can be promoted as a clinically valid treatment procedure on as wide a basis as is presently the case.
Physically-based simulation of solids and solid-fluid coupling

This dissertation presents algorithms for the simulation of solids and fluids, and for two-way coupling between the two. Physically-based simulation has a wide range of applications, and the focus in this dissertation is on creating visually plausible animation for computer graphics and visual effects. Novel techniques for rigid body simulation are described first. These include a new approach to time integration, merging it with the collision and contact processing algorithms in a fashion that obviates the need for ad hoc threshold velocities. In addition, a novel shock propagation algorithm allows for efficient use of the propagation (as opposed to the simultaneous) method for treating contact. Examples are given involving many nonconvex rigid bodies undergoing collision, contact, friction, and stacking. A brief overview of existing techniques for simulation of thin deforming shells (such as cloth) is also given. Our fluid simulator is described next. Techniques for both smoke and water simulation are presented, with the latter making use of the particle level set method to represent the water-air interface. A node-based approach is described which allows both uniform and octree grid discretizations to be handled in a consistent and efficient manner. Next, a novel method for coupling infinitesimally thin solids to the fluid is presented. The proposed method works for both rigid and deformable shells. Leaks across the solid are prevented by using robust ray casting and visibility. Incompressibility is properly enforced at the solid-fluid interface so that fluid does not incorrectly compress (and appear to lose mass). Furthermore, computation of a smoother pressure for coupling alleviates some of the stiffness associated with coupling to an incompressible fluid. Finally, coupling to volumetric solids is described. The coupling strategy is similar to that used for thin shells, except ghost values, rather than one-sided stencils, are used to enforce boundary conditions at the solid-fluid interface. In addition, a more accurate approach to computing the coupling pressure is suggested. For both thin shells and volumetric solids, our coupling framework treats the solids simulation as a black box, allowing any alternative simulators to replace the ones used here.
Assessing the Value of a Societal-Level Sustainability Index for Macromarketing Research:

As the Internet makes secondary data increasingly more accessible and less costly to obtain, the need for methods to evaluate the reliability and validity of such data has grown accordingly. In efforts to harness the surge of data at the country level, researchers have created indexes to more efficiently track the performance of societies on a variety of dimensions. Large-scale global indexes like the Sustainable Society Index (SSI), published biannually since 2006 by the Sustainable Society Foundation, have the potential to provide valuable insights into important issues related to macromarketing, sustainability, and quality of life. The primary purpose of this article is to assess the value of a societal-level index for macromarketing research. By evaluating the reliability, internal validity and external validity of a societal-level index, such as the SSI, researchers will be better informed about the importance of such an index, but will also understand how the protocol used in this study can be appli...
Confinement effects on energy harvesting by a heaving and pitching hydrofoil

Abstract Wall confinement effects on the energy harvesting performance by a flapping hydrofoil (aspect ratio = 4.5) have been investigated in a circulating water flume at a Reynolds number of 50,000. Measurements of hydrodynamic forces are taken for three different confinement configurations (unconfined, one-wall and two-wall confinement) and a series of confinement levels for each configuration. Compared with the unconfined situation, a significant improvement of efficiency performance is obtained for strong two-wall confinement due to the enhancement of the hydrodynamic forces, while only a modest increase is observed in the one-wall confinement configuration. Results show that the heave component of efficiency is the primary contributor to the performance improvement. A parametric study, varying reduced frequency and pitching amplitude, shows that as the confinement increases, the optimal energy harvesting occurs at larger values of the reduced frequency and pitching amplitude, and can reach a Lanchester–Betz efficiency as high as 50%.
Endogenous Serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C Receptors Associate in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

The 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) and 5-HT2CR are localized to the same neurons within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which regulates executive function, decision-making, and reward-guided learning and memory processes. The 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR coimmunoprecipitate in the mPFC of male Sprague-Dawley rats, while in vitro studies demonstrate the presence of a physical interaction between the 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR. The purpose of this study was to identify mPFC subregions in which the 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR physically interact ex vivo in the male Sprague-Dawley rat. We established the expression patterns of 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR in layers I-VI of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), prelimbic (PL), and infralimbic (IL) subregions using double-label fluorescence immunohistochemistry in male rats. We then employed the proximity ligation assay (PLA) to test the hypothesis that the 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR form a close, physical association within these mPFC subregions. Our results demonstrate subregion- and layer-specific expression of the 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR proteins using immunofluorescence and single recognition PLA, and a spatially close (within 40 nm) interaction between the 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR that occurs along a dorsal-ventral gradient in the rat mPFC.
Production of e+e− from U+U collisions at sNN=193 GeV and Au+Au collisions at sNN=19.6,27,39,62.4, and 200 GeV as measured by STAR

Abstract We present STAR's measurement of the e + e − continuum as a function of centrality, invariant mass, and transverse momentum for U+U collisions at s N N = 193 GeV . Also reported are the acceptance-corrected e + e − invariant mass spectra for minimum-bias Au+Au collisions at s N N = 27 , 39 , and 62.4 GeV and U+U collisions at s N N = 193 GeV . The connection between the integrated e + e − excess yields normalized by charge particle multiplicity ( d N c h / d y ) at mid-rapidity and the lifetime of the fireball is discussed.
High-Field Magic Angle Spinning Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Using Radicals Created by γ-Irradiation.

High-field magic angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization (MAS DNP) is often used to enhance the sensitivity of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance experiments by transferring spin polarization from electron spins to nuclear spins. Here, we demonstrate that γ-irradiation induces the formation of stable radicals in inorganic solids, such as fused quartz and borosilicate glasses, as well as organic solids, such as glucose, cellulose, and a urea/polyethylene polymer. The radicals were then used to polarize 29Si or 1H spins in the core of some of these materials. Significant MAS DNP enhancements (e) of more than 400 and 30 were obtained for fused quartz and glucose, respectively. For other samples, negligible values of e were obtained, likely due to low concentrations of radicals or the presence of abundant quadrupolar spins. These results demonstrate that ionizing radiation is a promising alternative method for generating stable radicals that are suitable for high-field MAS DNP experiments.
An Experimental Survey of Evaluation Strategies for Constellation Queries

Given a set of query points within an image coordinate system, constellation queries identify the matching points in a database of known points within a standard coordinate system. Constellation queries are an integral part of orientation determination systems used in spacecrafts to orient and navigate themselves. The query points are bright spots in an image captured by a camera on the spacecraft and the database contains known celestial objects in a celestial coordinate system. This paper studies six existing constellation query processing strategies (Angle, Interior Angle, Spherical Triangle, Planar Triangle, Pyramid, Composite Pyramid) using a unified algorithmic framework and presents experimental evaluation of the six strategies. We find that the Pyramid strategy in its simplified form has the best accuracy to runtime ratio given simulated images with false positives, false negatives, and Gaussian noise.
Adelante el pasado: oralidad y visualidad, acto y evento en las prácticas artísticas del mundo indígena contemporáneo

This article is an exercise in reading the production of two visual artists from Abya Yala: Rosa Tisoy-Tandioy, Inga artist from Colombia, and Benvenuto Chavajay, Maya artist from Guatemala. Through their artistic practice loaded with visuality and events-actions, they present conceptual strategies closed to the so-called decolonial turn, which account for their experiences as contemporary creators in Latin America.
An input-controlled model system for identification of MHC bound peptides enabling laboratory comparisons of immunopeptidome experiments.

Abstract Characterization of MHC-bound peptides by mass spectrometry (MS) is an essential technique for immunologic studies. Many efforts have been made to quantify the number of MHC-presented ligands by MS and to define the limits of detection of a specific MHC ligand. However, these experiments are often complex and comparisons across different laboratories are challenging. Therefore, we compared and orthogonally validated quantitation of peptide:MHC complexes by radioimmunoassay and flow cytometry using TCR mimic antibodies in three model systems to establish a method to control the experimental input of peptide MHC:complexes for MS analysis. Following isolation of MHC-bound peptides we identified and quantified an MHC ligand of interest with high correlation to the initial input. We found that the diversity of the presented ligandome, as well as the peptide sequence itself affected the detection of the target peptide. Furthermore, results were applicable from these model systems to unmodified cell lines with a tight correlation between HLA-A*02 complex input and the number of identified HLA-A*02 ligands. Overall, this framework provides an easily accessible experimental setup that offers the opportunity to control the peptide:MHC input and in this way compare immunopeptidome experiments not only within but also between laboratories, independent of their experimental approach. Significance Although immunopeptidomics is an essential tool for the characterization of MHCbound peptides on the cell surface, there are no easily applicable established protocols available that allow comparison of immunopeptidome experiments across laboratories. Here, we demonstrate that controlling the peptide:MHC input for immunopurification and LC-MS/MS experiments by flow cytometry in pre-defined model systems allows the generation of qualitative and quantitative data that can easily be compared between investigators, independently of their methods for MHC ligand isolation for MS.
Fixed-Domain Asymptotics Under Vecchia's Approximation of Spatial Process Likelihoods

Statistical modeling for massive spatial data sets has generated a substantial literature on scalable spatial processes based upon a likelihood approximation proposed by Vecchia in 1988. Vecchia's approximation for Gaussian process models enables fast evaluation of the likelihood by restricting dependencies at a location to its neighbors. We establish inferential properties of microergodic spatial covariance parameters within the paradigm of fixed-domain asymptotics when they are estimated using Vecchia's approximation. The conditions required to formally establish these properties are explored, theoretically and empirically, and the effectiveness of Vecchia's approximation is further corroborated from the standpoint of fixed-domain asymptotics. These explorations suggest some practical diagnostics for evaluating the quality of the approximation.
The intersection of oncology, nephrology, and palliative care:

Onconephrology patients share a common feature: decreased survival. This is where Palliative Care finds a role in managing for these patients. However, during the course of illness and its treatmen...
Machine Learning based Water Pipe Failure Prediction: The Effects of Engineering, Geology, Climate and Socio-Economic Factors

Abstract Underground water pipes deteriorate under the influence of various physical, mechanical, environmental, and social factors. Reliable pipe failure prediction is essential for a proactive management strategy of the water supply network (WSN), which is challenging for the conventional physics-based model. This study applied data-driven machine learning (ML) models to predict water pipe failures by leveraging the historical maintenance data heritage of a large water supply network. A multi-source data-aggregation framework was firstly established to integrate various contributing factors to underground pipe deterioration. The framework defined criteria for the integration of various data sources including the historical pipe break dataset, soil type dataset, topographical dataset, census dataset, and climate dataset. Based on the data, five ML algorithms, including LightGBM, Artificial Neural Network, Logistic Regression, K-Nearest Neighbors, and Support Vector Classification are developed for pipe failure prediction. LightGBM was found to achieve the best performance. The relative importance of major contributing factors on the water pipe failures was analyzed. Interestingly, the socio-economic factors of a community are found to affect the probability of pipe failures. This study indicates that data-driven analysis that integrates the Machine Learning (ML) techniques and the proposed data integration framework has the potential to support reliable decision-making in WSN management.
Rocky Mountain blue: a shifting terrain in the Rocky Mountain west

This study examines the changes in partisan distribution across the states of the Rocky Mountain West. Previous research on realignment explained the movement of states toward the Democratic Party as an issue-based phenomenon and fracturing of the party in power. Specifically, research from scholars such as V.O Key and Sundquist find that a critical juncture normally triggers change in party system. This study tests whether the secular realignment in the region may perhaps be better explained by demographics. A longitudinal case study along with Lijphart’s most similar design system will be used to consider three demographic variables to test if they affect voting trends: the migration of liberal voters moving to the region from California; percent of Hispanic/Latino voters present in the state and the number of Mormon/Catholic adherents in the region. The hypothesis that this is a demographic realignment and not issue-based is confirmed, although, further research on the migration from other parts of the United States and its impact on the region must be considered as well. My findings suggest that instead of voters abandoning their political ideology/party affiliation, what is occurring in the Rocky Mountain Region, is a watering down effect of Republican voters tipping the balance in favor of the Democratic Party.
On the vibrational spectra and structure of red phosphorus1

Abstract The infrared spectrum of red phosphorus (1400-33 cm−1) shows two pronounced bands at 452 and 354 cm−1 whereas, in the Raman spectrum, four strong, well-defined lines were observed. The data are consistent with a polymeric structure composed of a repeating unit of four phosphorus atoms connected to form a puckered ring of D2d symmetry. However, the data could also be explained adequately in terms of two equilateral triangles with a common base with C2v symmetry.
Dynamic online nonlinear robust detection and accommodation of incipient component faults for nonlinear dissipative distributed processes

SUMMARY This paper proposes a new nonlinear detection observer for the detection of component faults and their subsequent accommodation for a class of nonlinear distributed processes. Specifically, the proposed results constitute a significant extension to previous precursory work that utilized a linear observer for both detection and diagnosis of component faults for the same class of nonlinear distributed processes. An added feature of the proposed nonlinear observer under consideration is not simply the inclusion of nonlinear dynamics terms in the detection and diagnostic observers but the inclusion of such additional information in the expression for the dynamic residual threshold. The resulting improved version of a dynamic threshold contributes to the robustness of the detection scheme and minimizes the fault detection time. Two different dynamic threshold approaches are employed within the same nonlinear detection observer leading to improved detection time. A combination of the two thresholds is also considered to arrive at a detection observer that reaps the beneficial attributes of each of the thresholds, thus resulting in significant reduction of the fault detection time. Finally, an adaptive diagnostic observer is proposed that is subsequently utilized in an automated control reconfiguration scheme that accommodates the component faults. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Groundwater source assessment program for the state of Hawaii, USA: methodology and example application

The 1996 reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act required that each state in the US addresses the protection of public drinking water sources, including the development and implementation of a source-water assessment program. Such a program includes delineating source-water assessment areas, inventorying potential contaminant sources within this area, and determining the water system's susceptibility to contamination. The public was also involved in various phases of the program. Hawaii’s groundwater source assessment program is presented, along with an approach for implementation, which is consistent with federal requirements. The approach integrates groundwater models, aquifer databases, and a geographic information system. Source assessment areas were delineated by using numerical groundwater-flow models that used site-specific data to their fullest availability. The proposed approach is flexible enough to allow easy future updates as more sources are identified or as new information becomes available. The final product includes numerical scores that quantify the relative source susceptibility to contamination. Aquifer models developed in this study are potentially useful for future site-specific protection efforts or for other modeling purposes.
Bandit problems with arbitrary side observations

A bandit problem with side observations is an extension of the traditional two-armed bandit problem, in which the decision maker has access to side information before deciding which arm to pull. In this paper, the essential properties of the side observations that allow achievability results with respect to the minimal inferior sampling time are extracted and formulated. The sufficient conditions for good side information obtained here contain various kinds of random processes as special cases, including i.i.d sequences, Markov chains, periodic sequences, etc. A necessary condition is also provided, giving more insight into the nature of bandit problems with side observations. A game-theoretic approach simplifies the analysis and justifies the viewpoint that the side observation serves as an index of different sub-bandit machines.
Packaging trends and mounting techniques for power surface mount components

One of the fastest growing areas in surface mount is in power electronics applications such as motor control and power supplies. These applications which have been traditionally through-hole have discovered the advantages of surface mount. The increased availability of surface mount power semiconductors, new substrates and other components has many of the newer power designs converting to surface mount technology. This paper shows trends in discrete power packaging and then addresses some of the concerns that arise when using packages such as the SOT-223, DPAK, D/sup 2/PAK, D/sup 3/PAK, and SOIC packages. Details of these packages are discussed as well as thermal capabilities and mounting techniques as they relate to power electronics. >
Enhanced Dissolution of Oil Shale by Bioleaching with Thiobacilli

Abstract Oil shale was subjected to bioleaching by cultures of thiobacilli. From X-ray, electron microprobe, and thin-section petrographic analysis, the shale matrix was found to contain tightly bonded carbonate minerals. When subjected to the bioproduced acids, these carbonate minerals were removed successively from the shale matrix. This process created pits and cavities which were gradually enlarged as indicated by scanning electron micrographs of samples subjected to leaching for varying lengths of time. At the end of 14 days, essentially all available carbonates had been depleted from the solid matrix. The effected increase in porosity and permeability of the oil shale then enhanced the exposure of fuel precursors, thus facilitating their production and conversion.
Animal Research: A Moral Science

Historically, the scientific community—at least in the USA—did not perceive the use of animals in research as an ethical issue. Anyone who raised questions about the way animals were kept and treated during experiments ran the risk of being stigmatized as an anti‐vivisectionist; a misanthrope preferring animals to people; or an ingrate who did not value the contributions of biomedical science to human health and well‐being. I received a full barrage of such charges when I drafted and promoted what eventually became two US federal laws to protect laboratory animals: the 1985 Health Research Extension Act and an ‘Animal Welfare’ amendment to the 1985 Food Security Act. Indeed, a reviewer of my book Animal Rights and Human Morality (Rollin, 1981)—in which I argue for elevating the moral status of animals and codifying that status into law for laboratory animals—wrote that I “exonerate the Nazis” by comparing the killing of animals for science with the Holocaust, and that the book gives “a false cloak of morality” to attacks on research laboratories (Visscher, 1982). To be fair, anti‐vivisectionists were not much more sophisticated at the time—conceptually or morally. The day after I received the published review, abolitionists criticized the book, castigating me for accepting the reality of science, and scolding me for proposing regulations that would result in short‐term improvements for animals, thereby retarding the complete abolition of animal research. My own experience of being vilified as ‘anti‐science’ by the scientific community has been reflected in societal debates on animal research. Although abolitionists argue that using animals in biomedical research produces no benefits for humans, the scientific community has adopted an equally extreme position. The Foundation for Biomedical Research—a non‐profit organization in Washington, DC, USA—produced a film in 1984 entitled Will I Be All Right, Doctor? . The query in the …
Alveolar Cell Carcinoma of the Lung: A Retrospective Analysis of 205 Patients

Abstract From 1970 to 1986, survival of 205 patients with alveolar cell carcinoma was retrospectively studied. Analysis examined the predictive value of presenting symptoms and diagnostic screening results for pathological Stage III or IV disease (advanced) and survival. The lesion presented as a peripheral mass in 121 patients (59%) and as an infiltrate in 84 (41%). Follow-up data were available on 199 patients (97%). Variables analyzed included indices of background or risk factors, presenting symptoms, diagnostic test results, and clinical management. Seventy-nine patients (39%) had a histological diagnosis of advanced disease by TMN staging criteria. Of the 152 deaths (74%), 117 (77%) were related to the pulmonary carcinoma. Univariate analysis associated short-term and long-term anorexia, weight loss, generalized weakness, and profound dyspnea with advanced disease and ultimately with death due to cancer. Multivariate logistic regression analyses suggested that weight loss and dyspnea disclosed independent information about the likelihood of advanced disease for this population ( p > 0.0003). Cox proportional hazard regression analyses of survival revealed a significant association between weight loss and death due to alveolar cell carcinoma after pathological stage was taken into account ( p = 0.001). In this series, the 80 patients with Stage I disease had the best prognosis (5-year survival of 55%). There was no significant difference in disease-free survival between patients having wedge resection (N = 17) and those having lobectomy (N = 63) for Stage I disease.
Protozoa from aboveground and ground soils of a tropical rain forest in Puerto Rico

Summary Decomposition occurs in the aboveground and ground litter and soils of tropical rain forests, but little is known about the protozoa that stimulate bacterial activity and turnover. I examined litter and ground soils, epiphytic bryophyte soils on tree trunks and branches, and adventitious roots of lianas attached to tree trunks, within 2 m above ground in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, within the Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico. Amoebae numbered 69,000–170,000, ciliates 1000–25,000, and testate amoebae 58,000–190,000 g−1 dry wt. of litter, but were reduced by 0.25–0.5 of these abundances in the underlying soils. In the aboveground soils, amoebae numbered 64,000–145,000, ciliates 1000–8000, and testate amoebae 84,000–367,000 g−1 dry wt. of soil. Eighty species of ciliates and 104 species of testate amoebae were found. About 50% of the individuals in ciliate and 33% in testate amoebae populations were small r-selected species, illustrating that functional differences between species determine community composition. Although protozoan numbers are best described as “protozoan potential” because many individuals may be dormant, the high moisture content of tropical rain forest litter and soils suggest almost continually connected soil water films (necessary for protozoan transport), and together with the large numbers and biodiversity of protozoa, suggest that a major proportion of these protozoa contribute to the bacterial decomposition channel of organic matter.
Left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome after pacemaker implantation in a male

Left apical ballooning syndrome, also known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC), characterized by transient left ventricular dysfunction is increasingly recognized worldwide. Predominantly affecting females, this condition mimics myocardial infarction and often occurs in the setting of emotional or physical stress. We report the case of a 77-year-old male who was admitted to the hospital for complete heart block and developed TTC after pacemaker implantation. To our knowledge, this is the first report of TTC development after pacemaker implantation in a male.
Exploring the Dynamics of Teacher Perceptions of Homeless Children and Families during the Early Years

The perceptions teachers have of homeless children and their families are a significant influence on children and parents. These perceptions of teachers are explored from a social justice view and in relation to barriers that may impede teacher development of nurturing and supportive perspectives. Effective strategies for helping teachers strengthen their perspectives of homeless children and families are presented and discussed.
Macrocyclic polyethers as probes into pheromone receptor mechanisms of a sciarid fly Lycoriella mali Fitch

A series of experiments was undertaken in an effort to understand the possible role of chemical shape and, in particular, the steroid shape in the sex pheromone system of the sciarid fly,Lycoriella mali Fitch. A broad spectrum of compounds includingn-alkanes and macrocyclic polyethers (crown ethers) were tested on sciarid males which were significantly attracted to several test compounds, includingn-heptadecane (the natural pheromone), cycloheptadecane, and a newly synthesized 17-crown-5 isomer which apparently can adopt the steroid shape. The apparent relationship of shape to activity suggests that the steroid template may indeed be of some consequence in insect olfaction.