cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigating the Effect of Fouling on TEMA-Type Heat Exchangers’ Selection

Fouling has been a very serious problem in heat exchangers ever since their invention. It would require increasing heat exchanger nominal size by up to 30% to compensate for the losses in heat transfer due to fouling accumulation on the heat transfer surface. The large energy losses lead to more research in this field, and coming up with new technologies that target the reduction of these losses. This paper investigates the intent of having two similar TEMA-type shell-and-tube heat exchangers, S- and T-type configuration, utilized in industrial operations. Since the main reason for having these two types are the need to facilitate maintenance activities of fouled shell-side’s shell and tube heat exchangers, this paper assesses achieving this challenge when using the proposed heat exchanger type. This paper also presents a comparison of using the two heat exchanger types regarding different factors. The main factors considered are the cost (initial, operation, time and repair), and the utilization of new technologies appearing in the field of shell-and-tube heat exchangers to mitigate fouling. This paper also employs some actual heat exchanger problems at oil and gas operations as an example of fouling mitigation at S- and T-type heat exchangers.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Dosimetric characteristics of a newly designed grid block for megavoltage photon radiation and its therapeutic advantage using a linear quadratic model.

Grid radiation therapy with megavoltage x-ray beam has been proven to be an effective technique for management of large, bulky malignant tumors. The clinical advantage of GRID therapy, combined with conventional radiation therapy, has been demonstrated using a prototype GRID block [Mohiuddin, Curtis, Grizos, and Komarnicky, Cancer 66, 114-118 (1990)]. Recently, a new GRID block design with improved dosimetric properties has become commercially available from Radiation Product Design, Inc. (Albertive, MN). This GRID collimator consists of an array of focused apertures in a cerrobend block arranged in a hexagonal pattern having a circular cross-section with a diameter and center-to-center spacing of 14.3 and 21.1 mm, respectively, in the plane of isocenter. In this project, dosimetric characteristics of the newly redesigned GRID block have been investigated for a Varian 21EX linear accelerator (Varian Associates, Palo Alto, CA). These determinations were performed using radiographic films, thermoluminescent dosimeters in Solid Water trade mark sign phantom materials, and an ionization chamber in water. The output factor, percentage depth dose, beam profiles, and isodose distributions of the GRID radiation as a function of field size and beam energy have been measured using both 6 and 18 MV x-ray beams. In addition, the therapeutic advantage obtainedmore » from this treatment modality with the new GRID block design for a high, single fraction of dose has been calculated using the linear quadratic model with {alpha}/{beta} ratios for typical tumor and normal cells. These biological characteristics of the new GRID block design will also be presented.« less
Measuring residual stress in glasses and ceramics using instrumented indentation

Instrumented indentation has yielded mixed results when used to measure surface residual stresses in metal films. Relative to metals, many glasses and ceramics have a low modulus-to-yield strength (E/σy) ratio. The advantage of this characteristic for measuring residual stress using instrumented indentation is demonstrated by a series of comparative spherical and conical tip finite element simulations. Two cases are considered: (i) a material with E/σy = 24—similar to glass and (ii) a material with E/σy = 120—similar to metal films. In both cases, compressive residual stress shifts the simulated load–displacement response toward increasing hardness, irrespective of tip geometry. This shift is shown to be entirely due to pile up for the “metal” case, but primarily due to the direct influence of the residual stress for the “glass” case. Hardness changes and load–displacement curve shifts are explained by using the spherical cavity model. Supporting experimental results on stressed glasses are provided.
Analysis of Aluminum and Divalent Cation Binding to Wheat Root Plasma Membrane Proteins Using Terbium Phosphorescence

A phosphorescent trivalent cation, terbium [Tb(III)], has been used to study the binding of different polyvalent cations to the proteins of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) root plasma membranes. The phosphorescence emission intensity of Tb(III) was enhanced after Tb(III) binding to wheat root plasma membranes as a result of nonradiative resonance energy transfer from the membrane protein tyrosine and phenylalanine residues. Complex, saturable Tb(III) binding was observed, suggesting multiple binding sites. Bound Tb(III) could be displaced by divalent cations in the general order: Mn(II) > Ca(II) > Mg(II). Al(III) was very effective in reducing the protein-enhanced Tb(III) phosphorescence at pH values below 5. Al(III) also altered the Tb(III) phosphorescence lifetime, suggesting Al(III)-induced changes in membrane protein conformation. The more Al(III)-sensitive wheat cultivar (Anza) bound Al(III) with higher affinity than the more tolerant cultivar (BH 1146). At pH 5.5 where Al(III) did not displace bound Tb(III), low levels of Al(III) reduced the ability of Mn(II) to decrease Tb(III) phosphorescence. The significance of these results is discussed with respect to the mechanisms of Al(III) tolerance in wheat and the potential beneficial effects of Al(III) in reducing Mn(II) phytotoxicity.
Religious Belief, Perceptions of Human Suffering, and Support for Reproductive Genetic Technology

Reproductive genetic technologies are becoming more controversial as they become more ubiquitous. The opponents of these technologies are largely religious groups, a fact that leads to the question of why religious groups would be more opposed to these technologies than others. Since all of these technologies are justified by their ability to relieve suffering of some kind, it is hypothesized that the actively religious have a notion of suffering different from that of advocates for these technologies, and this different notion of suffering leads to opposition to the technologies. In this article I report on a qualitative interview study of the religiously active in the United States. I find that the religiously active do have views of suffering that are distinct from the medical consensus, and these views are related to people's conclusions about the advisability of reproductive genetic technologies.
Imatinib-Induced Regression of AIDS-Related Kaposi's Sarcoma

Purpose Activation of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and c-kit receptors has been proposed as important in mediating the growth of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). We investigated the response of KS to the PDGF receptor (PDGFR)/c-kit inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, and investigated the effect of this therapy on critical signal transduction intermediates. Patients and Methods Ten male patients with AIDS-related cutaneous KS, which progressed despite chemotherapy and/or highly active antiretroviral therapy, received imatinib mesylate administered orally, 300 mg twice daily. Clinical response was determined by serial tumor measurements. To determine biologic and histologic response, skin lesion biopsies were obtained at baseline and following 4 weeks of therapy. Results Five of 10 participants had a partial response by tumor measurements. Biopsies after 4 weeks of therapy demonstrated histologic regression in four of six patients. Four patients' tumor biopsies were assessable for immunohistochemi...
Mexico, A Higher Vision: An Aerial Journey From Past to Present

Mexico,. Higher Vision: An Aerial Journey From Past to Present. Text by Michael Calderwood and Gabriel Brena. Introduction by Carlos Fuentes. Aerial Photography by Michael Calderwood. La Jolla, California: Alti Publishing, 1990. 192 pp., illustrations. $49.95 (cloth). ISBN0-9625399-5-3.
Enteral Nutrition in the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Patient

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive, chronic disease, in which malnutrition can have an undesirable effect. Therefore, the patient’s nutritional status is critical for optimizing outcomes in COPD. The initial nutrition assessment is focused on identifying calorically compromised COPD patients in order to provide them with appropriate nutrition. Nutritional intervention consists of oral supplementation and enteral nutrition to prevent weight loss and muscle mass depletion. Evaluation of nutritional status should include past medical history (medications, lung function, and exercise tolerance) and dietary history (patient’s dietary habits, food choices, meal patterns, food allergy information, and malabsorption issues), in addition to physiological stress, visceral proteins, weight, fat-free mass, and body mass index. The current medical literature conflicts regarding the appropriate type of formulation to select for nutritional intervention, especially regarding the amount of calo...
Low-frequency learning and fast adaptation in model reference adaptive control for safety-critical systems

While adaptive control has been used in numerous applications to achieve system performance without excessive reliance on dynamical system models, the necessity of high-gain learning rates to achieve fast adaptation can be a serious limitation of adaptive controllers. This is due to the fact that fast adaptation using high-gain learning rates can cause high-frequency oscillations in the control response resulting in system instability. In this paper, we present a new adaptive control architecture for nonlinear safety-critical uncertain dynamical systems to address the problem of achieving fast adaptation using high-gain learning rates. The proposed framework involves a new and novel controller architecture involving a modification term in the update law. Specifically, this modification term filters out the high-frequency content contained in the update law while preserving asymptotic stability of the system error dynamics. This key feature of our framework allows for robust, fast adaptation in the face of high-gain learning rates. Furthermore, we show that transient and steady-state system performance is guaranteed with the proposed architecture. Two illustrative numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
Leveraging the short-term memory of hardware to diagnose production-run software failures

Failures caused by software bugs are widespread in production runs, causing severe losses for end users. Unfortunately, diagnosing production-run failures is challenging. Existing work cannot satisfy privacy, run-time overhead, diagnosis capability, and diagnosis latency requirements all at once. This paper designs a low overhead, low latency, privacy preserving production-run failure diagnosis system based on two observations. First, short-term memory of program execution is often sufficient for failure diagnosis, as many bugs have short propagation distances. Second, maintaining a short-term memory of execution is much cheaper than maintaining a record of the whole execution. Following these observations, we first identify an existing hardware unit, Last Branch Record (LBR), that records the last few taken branches to help diagnose sequential bugs. We then propose a simple hardware extension, Last Cache-coherence Record (LCR), to record the last few cache accesses with specified coherence states and hence help diagnose concurrency bugs. Finally, we design LBRA and LCRA to automatically locate failure root causes using LBR and LCR. Our evaluation uses 31 real-world sequential and concurrency bug failures from 18 representative open-source software. The results show that with just 16 record entries, LBR and LCR enable our system to automatically locate the root causes for 27 out of 31 failures, with less than 3% run-time overhead. As our system does not rely on sampling,
Détente and the Nixon Doctrine: American Foreign Policy and the Pursuit of Stability, 1969-1976

Acknowledgements Introduction 1. America as the night-watchman state, 1947-1968 2. Charting the Nixon-Kissinger strategy 3. The Nixon-Kissinger strategy: 1. Defining the 'limited adversary relationship', 1969-1973 4. The Nixon-Kissinger strategy: 2. The limits of politico-military retrenchment 5. The Nixon-Kissinger strategy: 3. Detente and the dilemmas of strategic management, 1973-1976 Conclusion Notes Select Bibliography Index.
Asexuality in disability narratives

This essay explores normative regulations of disabled people’s sexuality and its relationship with asexuality through narratives of disabled individuals. While asexuality has been persistently criticized as a damaging myth imposed on disabled people, individuals with disabilities who do not identify as sexual highlight the inseparable intersection between normality and sexuality. Disabled and asexual identity and its narratives reveal that asexuality is an embodiment neither to be eliminated, nor to be cured, and is a way of living that may or may not change. Claims for the sexual rights of desexualized minority groups mistakenly target asexuality and endorse a universal and persistent presence of sexual desire. The structurally and socially enforced asexuality and desexualization are distinguished from an asexual embodiment and perspective disidentifying oneself from sexuality.
Predictability and Prediction Skill of the MJO in Two Operational Forecasting Systems

AbstractThe authors examine the predictability and prediction skill of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) of two ocean–atmosphere coupled forecast systems of ECMWF [Variable Resolution Ensemble Prediction System (VarEPS)] and NCEP [Climate Forecast System, version 2 (CFSv2)]. The VarEPS hindcasts possess five ensemble members for the period 1993–2009 and the CFSv2 hindcasts possess three ensemble members for the period 2000–09. Predictability and prediction skill are estimated by the bivariate correlation coefficient between the observed and predicted Wheeler–Hendon real-time multivariate MJO index (RMM). MJO predictability is beyond 32 days lead time in both hindcasts, while the prediction skill is about 27 days in VarEPS and 21 days in CFSv2 as measured by the bivariate correlation exceeding 0.5. Both predictability and prediction skill of MJO are enhanced by averaging ensembles. Results show clearly that forecasts initialized with (or targeting) strong MJOs possess greater prediction skill compared to...
Parametric Model of High-Resolution Radio-Frequency Dismount Data

With recent advancements in radar technology, RF characterization of dismounts has become feasible. This paper presents the initial steps taken in developing a physically-relevant parametric RF dismount model. The model assumes the data is composed of multiple interacting attributed scattering centers that can be associated to human body elements.1 2
Literature, Reading, Writing, and ESL: Bridging the Gaps

For a long time, literature, which once played a prominent role in language study, has been excluded from both ESL programs and first language composition programs whose central aim is the achievement of linguistic proficiency. In recent years, however, many educators in both fields have again acknowledged the academic, intellectual, cultural, and linguistic benefits of the study of literature. An examination of research on the activities of reading, composing, and responding to literature reveals that these three areas of study, usually taught separately, can be viewed as similar processes. After discussing these findings, this article describes a literature and composition course which demonstrates how ESL students can profit from instruction which focuses on the interrelationship of reading and writing. The course also shows that ESL students have much to gain when literature is the reading content of their composition course and the subject matter for their compositions.
Zweistufige Kompression mit Zwischenkondensation

Bei gleichzeitiger Ausnutzung einer Kalteanlage zu Warmezwecken mus eine genugend hohe Temperatur des abfliesenden Kuhlwassers verlangt werden, um die Einrichtung als Warmepumpe wirksam zu machen. Dadurch sinkt aber die Leistungsziffer der Kalteanlage.
Geopositioning Accuracy of an Autonomous Navigation System using Landmarks

An autonomous navigation system employing three-axis gyros, an earth sensor, star trackers, and sun sensors for attitude and orbit estimation is investigated via covariance analysis. Of primary interest is the ability of the system to determine the location in earth-fixed coordinates of features of interest observed by the earth sensor, i.e., the geopositioning accuracy. Known landmarks observed by the earth sensor are indispensible references for this application since they provide the only orbit information and also avoid problems arising from dynamic misalignments between this primary sensor and the secondary attitude sensors. The dynamic models employed and the measurement model for the earth sensor are discussed. Preliminary results indicate that the intrack orbit uncertainty provides the major component of the geopositioning error.
On a progressive simultaneous iteration method for vibration analysis of gyroscopic systems

This paper presents details of an eigenproblem solution procedure for the efficient and accurate free vibration analysis of gyroscopic systems such as spinning structures. The procedure enables computation of the first few roots and vectors without having to compute any other. While structural discretization is achieved by the standard finite element method, eigenproblem solution of the resulting equations is effected by a newly developed progressive simultaneous iterative (PSI) method. Numerical solution of relevant example problems re presented which are compared to those obtained by ther existing analysis techniques, testifying to substantial gains in the efficacy of the newly developed solution algorithm. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
X-routing using two Manhattan route instances

In deep sub-micron (DSM) technologies, wire delays comprise a dominant fraction of the total delay of a design. As a consequence, routing techniques which reduce the total wire length of a design are highly relevant to such technologies. One such approach which holds promise is that of non-Manhattan routing (or X routing). In this paper, we describe a technique to perform non-Manhattan routing by combining the results of two related Manhattan routing instances. The first is a regular, unrotated routing instance. The second routing instance is derived from the first by rotating the coordinate system by 45/spl deg/. Both instances are routed on the same pair of metal layers. By selectively combining the results of the two instances, we obtain a final routing result that contains non-Manhattan wire segments. Our approach utilizes a powerful Floyd-Warshall based engine to combine the results of the two instances. We demonstrate that our router produces highly efficient results, reducing the total wire length by an average of about 20% (31%) over the unrotated (rotated) results, with a via-count decrease of between 4% (43%).
Autism spectrum disorder: Screening, diagnosis, and medical evaluation

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are a group of behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disabilities with core deficits in socialization, communication, and behavior, although the presentation can be extremely variable. This article describes the core deficits in ASD, as well as the differential diagnosis and the more commonly associated comorbid disorders. The importance of early diagnosis is emphasized, and screening and assessment tools are reviewed. Finally, the role of the pediatric neurologist is discussed with regard to specific components of the evaluation, including history, physical examination, and ancillary testing.
Indirect search for neutralino dark matter with high energy neutrinos

Abstract We investigate the prospects of indirect searches for the supersymmetric neutralino dark matter with high energy neutrinos produced from neutralino annihilations in the Sun. Muon neutrinos of this origin can be seen in large detectors like the AMANDA, the IceCube, and the ANTARES. We make realistic estimates for the indirect detection rates including effects of the muon detection threshold, quark hadronization, and solar absorption. In the minimal supersymmetric model and supergravity unified models, we find good prospects for detection of neutralinos with mass above 200 GeV.
The course of autoimmune disease in parous NZB/NZW mice.

Abstract In a study designed to investigate the effects of pregnancy and parturition on spontaneous lupus-like disease in NZB NZW mice, 24 female mice were allowed to breed repeatedly with male NZB NZW mice. Control female mice were caged separately without male mice. Seven months after the study began, the extent of autoimmune disease in parous and control animals was determined by assessing anti-DNA antinuclear antibodies, and the severity of renal lesions. Disease activity in both groups of mice was the same, indicating that pregnancy and parturition had no influence on autoantibody levels or severity of renal disease. It was concluded that bearing young had no effect on the course of autoimmune disease in NZB NZW mice.
Hospice fraud and abuse: Operation Restore Trust and beyond

Medicare-funded hospice is at a crossroad. It is estimated that in the year 2000, of the 2.4 million Americans who died, one in four used hospice. The demand for hospice services is projected to grow as the baby-boomer population continues to age and experiences the health issues that come with it.Yet evidence suggests the program is failing to fulfill its statutory purpose as a meaningful benefit to many, particularly those with noncancerous conditions. The causes for this include unwieldy eligibility criteria and the chilling effect of aggressive fraud enforcement.The unique nature and scope of hospice services available under Medicare, and their complex interrelationship with other Medicare benefits, all contribute to the errors and fraud graphically illustrated by government enforcement activities.Operation Restore Trust and similar enforcement activities may be restoring confidence that inappropriate expenditures are being wrung out of the hospice system. But at the same time, they are also creating ...
A Numerical Investigation of Storm Structure and Evolution during the July 1999 Las Vegas Flash Flood

Abstract Severe flash flood storms that occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 8 July 1999, were unusual for the semiarid southwest United States because of their extreme intensity and the morning occurrence of heavy convective rainfall. This event was simulated using the high-resolution Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), and convective rainfall, storm cell processes, and thermodynamics were evaluated using Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) imagery and a variety of other observations. The simulation agreed reasonably well with the observations in a large-scale sense, but errors at small scales were significant. The storm's peak rainfalls were overestimated and had a 3-h timing delay. The primary forcing mechanism for storms in the simulation was clearly daytime surface heating along mountain slopes, and the actual trigger mechanism causing the morning convection, an outflow from nighttime storms to the northeast of Las Vegas, was not captured accurately. All simulated convectiv...
Maps in Context: Some Analogies Between Visual Cortical and Genetic Maps

The purpose of this essay is to examine some parallels in the evolutionary and functional significance of replicated maps in the genetic material and the visual cortex. In particular, I would like to explore two related ideas. The first is that the differentiation of replicated maps is an important factor in the development of new functional capacities in evolution. The second is that the properties of maps are influenced by their context. The contextual influences are mediated in genetic systems by various forms of gene regulation. In the visual cortex, contextual influences are expressed by the effects of stimuli located outside the classical receptive fields of individual neurons making up each cortical map. These contextual influences may determine how the organs of the body are assembled by the genes and how percepts and thoughts emerge from the activity of mapped arrays of neurons.
Power amplifier technologies for emerging air interface standards

Various power amplifier technologies are compared specifically for applications in emerging new air interface standards such as 3G, LEOS and MEOS satellite systems and WLAN. The differences between present and future systems related directly to power transistor and amplifier developments are defined. The paper describes state-of-the-art results for power amplifiers and indicates the challenges being faced for improved performances. The trade-offs of various types of linearization are covered. Advances in simulation techniques (with examples of electrical, mechanical and thermal designs) are described.
Extraction of Correlated 2-Photons with Near Unit Efficiency

We demonstrate the extraction of high purity correlated 2-photons (g2(0)=0.0055) from a microstructure-fiber source with near unit efficiency. Such a source may help many quantum information applications including loop-hole free Bell-type tests.
The Information Economy: Implications for Education

The now familiar statistics resulting from the pioneering work of Fritz Machlup and the painstaking analyses of Marc Porat show the information sector of the U0S. economy as accounting for over half the Gross National Product, and employee compensation in the information sector as accounting for 53.52 percent of total national employee compensation in 1967. These statistics are defensible in terms of the definitions of the “Information Economy” adopted by these researchers, but can be misleading when used by educators as an indicator of job opportunities for information professionals, Porat himself doubts that the information workforce can ever again increase at the pace of the’40s and’50s. There is a need to determine to what extent new information workers should be trained, and to what extent present information workers need re-training.
Diabolic Dye, Commodities, and Refinement in Phillis Wheatley's ON BEING BROUGHT FROM AFRICA TO AMERICA

Phillis Wheatley authored “On Being Brought from Africa to America” (1773) as a young woman who sought to assert her views on the passage from freedom to slavery, ignorance to knowledge, darkness t...
Assessing Accessibility: How Accessible Are Online Courses for Students with Disabilities?.

Delivering course material in a manner that is accessible to all students including those with disabilities is important in the online environment. This article presents an analysis focusing on the accessibility of six courses presented through the Webcourses platform. Six professors volunteered one course for analysis. The tool use for analyzing the courses was the WAVE tool bar. Analysis of course was completed individually, but results were reported across courses. Overall results indicated 13 types of challenges and of these 5 were the most prevalent across courses. The author discusses a brief history of distance education, the tool used for analysis, challenges that were identified within course and offers suggestion of how to minimize those challenges. Within the methodology, screen shots of the WAVE tool bar are provided. Visual analysis of the frequency of the 13 challenges is provided. Implications of the WAVE tool are shared with future research directions.
Inhaled Carbon Monoxide Induces a Phenotypic Shift In Macrophages

METHODS: U-shaped pluronic F127 fibers were sacrificed in type I collagen, creating a central microchannel, 1.5 mm in diameter. After fiber sacrifice, 5 x106 cells/mL human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMC) and 5 106 cells/mL human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were sequentially seeded into the microchannel 24 hours apart. After 7, 14, and 28 days of culture, constructs were fixed and processed for histology.
Climate and Climatic Variation

Climate is the end-product of a multitude of interactions between several different subsystems—the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere, land surface, and cryosphere—which collectively make up the climate system. Each subsystem is coupled in some way to the others such that changes in one subsystem may give rise to changes elsewhere through positive or negative feedbacks. Climate is the statistical expression of daily weather events. The overall distribution of climatic parameters defines the climatic variability of the place. Climates may change on different scales of time and in different ways, due to forcing factors (orbital, solar, volcanic) and to internal variability within the climate system.
The Pirate Professor

UChicago’s Department of Mathematics is located in Eckhart Hall, a distinguished neo-Gothic building on the main quadrangle across the street from Alpha Delta Phi, a rival fraternity. Many famous mathematicians have taught in this building, including Andre Weil, the man who discovered my father in 1955 in Tokyo. The department’s history and the imposing nature of the building intimidated me from day one.
Acculturation Stress of Americans Overseas

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have travelled to foreign lands in search of adventure and financial gain. These people have worked for the U.S. military, the U.S. Foreign Service, the oil companies, and various other multinational corporations. Many have left the United States believing that adjustment would be no problem, and that the rewards far outweighed the risks. Some were led to this thinking by incomplete or incorrect orientation by their sponsoring organizations; others deceived themselves and their family members into thinking all would be just as in the United States; and still others had no choice since unemployment in the United States was the alternative to a job in Baghdad.
The Pardon Power and the American State Constitutional Tradition

Although the exercise of the presidential pardon power has sparked periodic controversies and generated various reform proposals in recent decades, the original Hamiltonian conception of the power-grounded in a preference for vesting clemency exclusively in the executive and keeping it as unfettered as possiblehas gone virtually unchallenged at the federal level. At the state level, however, where the exercise of gubernatorial pardons has been no less controversial, constitution-makers have had numerous opportunities to reconsider the wisdom of the Hamiltonian model and to experiment with alternative arrangements. Through a study of the relevant state constitutional convention debates during the past two centuries, it becomes clear that state constitution-makers have frequently rejected the Hamiltonian model, insofar as they have provided for the participation of various officials other than the executive in the pardoning process and insofar as they have imposed various restrictions on the exercise of the...
Safety of Technosphere Inhaled Insulin

Background Technoshere insulin (TI), Afrezza, is a form of short-acting human insulin taken by oral inhalation with meals. Methods literature search (English, French, Spanish) of all human studies and pertinent animal and in-vitro studies related to technosphere insulin until September 2016 with special emphasis on its safety. Results Compared to subcutaneous insulin aspart, TI is slightly less effective, the difference in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) reduction being 0.19%. Use of TI is associated with lower risk of hypoglycemia and weight gain compared with insulin aspart. Apart from hypoglycemia, cough is the most common adverse effect of TI reported by 24-33% of patients. Cough induced by TI is mostly dry, occurs within 10 minutes after inhalation and usually subsides after few weeks of use. TI is contraindicated in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease in whom it causes acute bronchospasm. TI is also not recommended in smokers. All patients starting TI need to check their pulmonary function at baseline then after 6 months, and annually thereafter. Conclusions Overall, while TI is an attractive form of prandial insulin, its use is limited by high incidence of cough, requirement of frequent monitoring of respiratory function, and lack of long-term safety data.
Bacteriocinogeny in Proteus rettgeri.

In 2 von 7 Stammen vonProteus rettgeri gelang die Induktion von Bakteriozinen unter der Einwirkung von Mitomycin C. Die gewonnenen Bakteriozine waren chloroformbestandig, trypsinresistent und hitzelabil.
Body mass index trajectories in young adulthood predict non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in middle age: The CARDIA cohort study

Background & Aims Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is an epidemic. Identifying modifiable risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease development is essential to design effective prevention programmes. We tested whether 25-year patterns of body mass index change are associated with midlife non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Methods In all, 4423 participants from Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults, a prospective population-based biracial cohort (age 18-30), underwent body mass index measurement at baseline (1985-1986) and 3 or more times over 25 years. At Year 25, 3115 had liver fat assessed by non-contrast computed tomography. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was defined as liver attenuation ≤40 Hounsfield Units after exclusions. Latent mixture modelling identified 25-year trajectories in body mass index per cent change (%Δ) from baseline. Results We identified four distinct trajectories of BMI%Δ: stable (26.2% of cohort, 25-year BMI %Δ = 3.1%), moderate increase (46.0%, BMI%Δ = 21.7%), high increase (20.9%, BMI%Δ = 41.9%) and extreme increase (6.9%, BMI%Δ = 65.9%). Y25 non-alcoholic fatty liver disease prevalence was higher in groups with greater BMI %Δ: 4.1%, 9.3%, 13.0%, and 17.6%, respectively (P-trend <.0001). In multivariable analyses, participants with increasing BMI%Δ had increasingly greater odds of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease compared to the stable group: OR: 3.35 (95% CI: 2.07-5.42), 7.80 (4.60-13.23) and 12.68 (6.68-24.09) for moderate, high and extreme body mass index increase, respectively. Associations were only moderately attenuated when adjusted for baseline or Y25 body mass index. Conclusions Trajectories of weight gain during young adulthood are associated with greater non-alcoholic fatty liver disease prevalence in midlife independent of metabolic covariates and baseline or concurrent body mass index highlighting the importance of weight maintenance throughout adulthood as a target for primary non-alcoholic fatty liver disease prevention.
How Robots Can Recognize Activities and Plans Using Topic Models

The ability to identify what humans are doing in the environment is a crucial element of successful responsive behavior in human-robot interaction. We examine new ways to perform plan recognition (PR) using natural language processing (NLP) techniques. PR often focuses on the structural relationships between consecutive observations and ordered activities that comprise plans. However, NLP commonly treats text as a bag-of-words, omitting such structural relationships and using topic models to break down the distribution of concepts discussed in documents. In this paper, we examine an analogous treatment of plans as distributions of activities. We explore the application of Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic models to human skeletal data of plan execution traces obtained from a RGB-D sensor. This investigation focuses on representing the data as text and interpreting learned activities as a form of activity recognition (AR). Additionally, we explain how the system may perform PR. The initial empirical results suggest that such NLP methods can be useful in complex PR and AR tasks.
Seasonal acclimatization of thallus proline contents of Mastocarpus stellatus and Chondrus crispus: intertidal rhodophytes that differ in freezing tolerance.

Mastocarpus stellatus and Chondrus crispus often co-occur in the lower intertidal of Northern Atlantic rocky shorelines. At our field site along the Maine coast (USA), Mastocarpus stellatus thalli possessed greater contents of proline when compared with thalli of Chondrus crispus. In addition, M. stellatus thalli acclimated to colder growth conditions in winter/early spring by increasing proline content several fold; no seasonal acclimation in proline content was observed in C. crispus. Proline accumulates in the tissues of a broad diversity of freezing-tolerant organisms and is among the most common cryoprotectant molecules. Thus, our observations provide a basis for the previously well-documented greater freezing tolerance of Mastocarpus stellatus when compared with Chondrus crispus.
Why We Need More

Words matter. We talk—it’s what people do. The Internet has made it easy to talk and fill our world with talk. We talk and talk and talk and, too often, we are deafened as our own words bounce back...
Gene Therapy for Preservation of Alveolar Endothelial and Epithelial Function

It has been long established that the pathobiology of acute lung injury (ALI) includes increased alveolar permeability due to altered integrity of intracellular adhesion molecules. More recently, it has been recognized that other alveolar proteins (e.g. antioxidants, solute transport or surfactant proteins) may also be compromised in ALI. Up to now, no avenues existed to restore the function of these proteins. Gene therapy and its potential to increase protein function has created the possibility of restoring or even augmenting alveolar function in the setting of ALI and as such offers tremendous promise for new treatments of ALI.
Socioeconomic Disparities in Electronic Cigarette Use and Transitions from Smoking

Introduction Socioeconomic disparities have been established for conventional cigarette use, but not for electronic cigarettes. This study estimates socioeconomic gradients in exclusive use of conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and dual use (ie, use of both products) among adults in the United States. Methods Analyses consider nationally representative data on 25- to 54-year-old respondents to the 2014-2016 National Health Interview Surveys (N = 50306). Demographically adjusted seemingly unrelated regression models estimate how two socioeconomic status measures-respondent education and household income-relate to current exclusive use of conventional cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, and dual use. Results Conventional cigarette use exhibits negative education and income gradients, consistent with existing research: -12.9 percentage points (confidence interval [CI]: -14.0, -11.8) if college educated, and -9.5 percentage points (CI: -10.9, -8.1) if household income exceeds 400% of the federal poverty level. These gradients are flatter for dual use (-1.4 [CI: -1.8, -0.9] and -1.9 [CI: -2.5, -1.2]), and statistically insignificant for electronic cigarette use (-0.03 [CI: -0.5, 0.4] and -0.3 [CI: -0.8, -0.2]). Limiting the sample to ever-smokers, higher education is associated with a 0.9 percentage point increase in likelihood of exclusive electronic cigarette use at interview (CI: 0.0, 1.9). Conclusions Education and income gradients in exclusive electronic cigarette use are small and statistically insignificant, contrasting with strong negative gradients in exclusive conventional cigarette use. Furthermore, more educated smokers are more likely to switch to exclusive e-cigarette use than less educated smokers. Such differential switching may exacerbate socioeconomic disparities in smoking-related morbidity and mortality, but lower the burden of tobacco-related disease. Implications Research has not yet established whether socioeconomic disparities in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use resemble those observed for conventional cigarettes. This article uses nationally representative data on US adults aged 25-54 to estimate income and education gradients in exclusive use of conventional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and dual use. Both gradients are steep and negative for conventional cigarette use, but flat and statistically insignificant for e-cigarette use. Repeating the analysis among ever-smokers indicates that more educated smokers are more likely to transition toward exclusive e-cigarette use than less educated smokers. Such differential substitution may exacerbate disparities in smoking-related morbidity and mortality.
Modeling Studies and Experimental Performance of Slab Geometry Lasers

We report on progress made in the modeling of thermal effects in zig-zag slab geometry solid state lasers. A numerical model has been completed and verified. An analytic model exists which is adequate in many simple cases. These models predict that a laser using a slab of square cross-section could have low thermal focusing and birefringence.
Enhanced Image Sensor Module for Head-Mounted Microscopes *

Several research groups have developed head-mounted fluorescence microscopes as a modality for recording neural activity in freely behaving mice. The current designs have shown exciting results from in vivo imaging of the bright dynamics of genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECI). However, despite their potential, head-mounted microscopes are not in use with genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVI) or bioluminescence indicators. Due to its ability to match the temporal resolution of neuron spiking, GEVIs offer great benefits to experiments designed to provide feedback after real-time detection of specific neural activity such as the less than 250ms replay events that can occur in the hippocampus. Orthogonally, the emerging bioluminescence activity reporters have the potential to eliminate autofluorescence and photobleaching that can occur in fluorescence imaging. There are two important properties of the head-mounted microscope’s image sensor affecting the ability to image GEVIs and bioluminescence indicators. First, the low signal to noise ratio (SNR) characteristics of GEVIs and bioluminescent indicators make signal detection difficult. Second, in order to take advantage of the GEVIs faster fluorescence kinetics, the image sensor must be capable of matching frame rates. Here, we present the design of a new imaging module for head-mounted microscopes incorporating the latest CMOS sensor technology aimed at increasing image sensor sensitivity and frame rates for use in real-time detection experiments. The design builds off an existing open-source project and can integrate into the existing data acquisition hardware and microscope housing.
Designing landscapes for biomass production and wildlife

Abstract Replacing fossil with biomass-based sources of energy may help to reduce climate threats to biodiversity. However, some geographic areas with high potential value for producing biomass are also biodiversity hot spots. Guidance is needed to manage landscapes to successfully co-produce biomass for energy and habitat for wildlife. The land-sharing versus sparing (LSS) paradigm suggests a spectrum of approaches, but there are challenges with applying the paradigm to bioenergy production. Drawing on examples from biomass production systems spanning a latitudinal gradient from the prairies and southeast forests of North America to the savannas of the Cerrados and Amazonian forests of Brazil in South America, we extract recommendations for co-managing for wildlife and biomass production at the landscape scale and at the scale of individual parcels. At the landscape scale, setting-aside larger conservation reserves while zoning for smaller individual parcels in biomass production is recommended where biodiversity is high. Where ecosystems support wide-ranging species with poor gap-crossing abilities, corridors linking reserves are also recommended. At the scale of parcels managed by an individual owner, wildlife habitat quality can be improved by reducing the intensity of production in lands used to grow biomass for energy, i.e., land sharing. For example, retaining key structural elements that offer insect habitat and prey refuge, increasing vegetative diversity, and using natural pest control are three wildlife-friendly practices. In addition, dynamic management can facilitate time-sharing between production of biomass and wildlife. Finally, understanding and mitigating for negative wildlife interactions that cause damage to crops is central to finding solutions that are acceptable to land managers.
What nutrient sources support anomalous growth and the recent sargassum mass stranding on Caribbean beaches? A review

Since 2011, tropical beaches from Africa to Brazil, Central America, and the Caribbean have been inundated by tons of sargassum seaweed from a new equatorial source of pelagic sargassum in the Atlantic. In recent years the extraordinary accumulations of sargassum make this a nuisance algal bloom for tropical coasts. In 2018 satellite data indicated floating mats of sargassum that extended throughout the Caribbean to the northeast coast of Brazil with the highest percent coverage over the water yet recorded. A literature review suggests that Atlantic equatorial recirculation of seaweed mats combined with nutrients from several possible sources may be stimulating the growth and accumulations of sargassum. In the western equatorial recirculation area, new nutrient sources may include Amazon River floods and hurricanes; in the eastern equatorial recirculation area, nutrient sources that could sustain the sargassum blooms include coastal upwelling and Congo River freshwater and nutrients.
Challenges with responding to static analysis tool alerts

Static analysis tool alerts can help developers detect potential defects in the code early in the development cycle. However, developers are not always able to respond to the alerts with their preferred action and may turn away from using the tool. In this paper, we qualitatively analyze 280 Stack Overflow (SO) questions regarding static analysis tool alerts to identify the challenges developers face in understanding and responding to these alerts. We find that the most prevalent question on SO is how to ignore and filter alerts, followed by validation of false positives. Our findings confirm prior researchers' findings related to notification communication theory as 44.6% of the SO questions that we analyzed indicate developers face communication challenges.
Re: Identifying Problematic Substance Use in a National Sample of Adolescents Using Frequency Questions.

To the Editor: Chavez et al. determined age-specific cutoffs for the frequency of alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and illicit drug use among adolescents that would put them at a higher risk for substance use disorder.[1][1] Specifically, for alcohol and cannabis use, these cutoffs were determined to be
Time-Difference-of-Arrival (TDOA)-Based Distributed Target Localization by A Robotic Network

Localization and tracking of a moving target arises in many different contexts and is of particular interest in the field of robotic networks. One important class of localization schemes exploits the time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) of a signal emitted by the target and detected by multiple sensors. In this article, we propose a fully distributed approach to TDOA-based localization and tracking of a moving target in 3-D space by a group of mobile robots. We utilize a networked extended Kalman filter to estimate the target's location in a distributed manner, and guarantee successful localization under fixed and time-varying undirected communication topologies if every agent is part of a network with a minimum of four connected, noncoplanar agents. Since localization performance under TDOA-based schemes degrades as the target moves away from the convex hull formed by the agents, it is important for the network to track the target as it moves in space. We thus further propose a movement control strategy based on the norm of the estimation covariance matrices, with a tuning parameter to balance the tradeoff between estimation performance and the total distance traveled by the robots. A numerical example involving robots with simplified 3-D dynamics is provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed approach.