cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neonatal Rhinovirus Infection Induces Mucous Metaplasia and Airways Hyperresponsiveness

Recent studies link early rhinovirus (RV) infections to later asthma development. We hypothesized that neonatal RV infection leads to an IL-13-driven asthma-like phenotype in mice. BALB/c mice were inoculated with RV1B or sham on day 7 of life. Viral RNA persisted in the neonatal lung up to 7 d postinfection. Within this time frame, IFN-α, -β, and -γ peaked 1 d postinfection, whereas IFN-λ levels persisted. Next, we examined mice on day 35 of life, 28 d after initial infection. Compared with sham-treated controls, virus-inoculated mice demonstrated airways hyperresponsiveness. Lungs from RV-infected mice showed increases in several immune cell populations, as well as the percentages of CD4-positive T cells expressing IFN-γ and of NKp46/CD335(+), TCR-β(+) cells expressing IL-13. Periodic acid-Schiff and immunohistochemical staining revealed mucous cell metaplasia and muc5AC expression in RV1B- but not sham-inoculated lungs. Mucous metaplasia was accompanied by induction of gob-5, MUC5AC, MUC5B, and IL-13 mRNA. By comparison, adult mice infected with RV1B showed no change in IL-13 expression, mucus production, or airways responsiveness 28 d postinfection. Intraperitoneal administration of anti-IL-13 neutralizing Ab attenuated RV-induced mucous metaplasia and methacholine responses, and IL-4R null mice failed to show RV-induced mucous metaplasia. Finally, neonatal RV increased the inflammatory response to subsequent allergic sensitization and challenge. We conclude that neonatal RV1B infection leads to persistent airways inflammation, mucous metaplasia, and hyperresponsiveness, which are mediated, at least in part, by IL-13.
The relationships between common measures of glucose meter performance.

Background: Glucose meter performance is commonly measured in several different ways, including the relative bias and coefficient of variation (CV), the total error, the mean absolute relative deviation (MARD), and the size of the interval around the reference value that would be necessary to contain a meter measurement at a specified probability. This fourth measure is commonly expressed as a proportion of the reference value and will be referred to as the necessary relative deviation. A deeper understanding of the relationships between these measures may aid health care providers, patients, and regulators in comparing meter performances when different measures are used. Methods: The relationships between common measures of glucose meter performance were derived mathematically. Results: Equations are presented for calculating the total error, MARD, and necessary relative deviation using the reference value, relative bias, and CV when glucose meter measurements are normally distributed. When measurements are also unbiased, the CV, total error, MARD, and necessary relative deviation are linearly related and are therefore equivalent measures of meter performance. Conclusions: The relative bias and CV provide more information about meter performance than the other measures considered but may be difficult for some audiences to interpret. Reporting meter performance in multiple ways may facilitate the informed selection of blood glucose meters.
Prices and Wages in Maryland, 1750–1850

This article presents an analysis of empirical research on the course of agricultural prices and wages in Maryland over the century 1750 to 1850. An attempt has been made to present the data in a form comparable to other studies for other regions. In addition to the long-term movement of price and wage series the paper focuses on the use of these data to draw inferences on changes in the standard of living and productivity growth.
Refocusing or Recycling? The Stereotype Inoculation Model and Its Relationship With Research on Ingroup Role Models

Women have long been underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields (e.g., Ceci & Williams, 2010; Hill, Corbett, & St. Rose, 2010). Although there are many expl...
Fast Stereo Matching in Compressed Video

In this paper we present new algorithms that exploit compressed image data to achieve coarse stereo reconstructions in a real-time environment. Others have shown large gains from processing image streams in compressed form, and we extend those results to address the stereo correspondence problem. We show that it is possible to obtain stereo matches between two frames of a compressed video stream in approximately the same time it takes to fully decompress just one image.
Increasing U.S. asthma mortality rates: who is really dying?

Asthma mortality rates have been increasing since 1979, but rates of change among different demographic subgroups have not been examined in detail. This analysis identifies the demographic subgroup...
Protein structure prediction with a combined solvation free energy-molecular mechanics force field

Abstract Models of protein structure are frequently used to determine the physical characteristics of a protein when the crystal structure is not available. We developed a procedure to optimize such models, by use of a combined solvation free energy and molecular mechanics force field. Appropriately chosen atomic solvation parameters were defined using the criterion that the resulting protein model should deviate least from the crystal structure upon a forty picosecond molecular dynamics simulation carried out using the combined force field. Several tests were performed to refine the set of atomic solvation parameters which best complement the molecular mechanics forces. Four sets of parameters from the literature were tested and an empirically optimized set is proposed. The parameters are defined on a well characterized small molecule (alanyl dipeptide) and on the highly refined crystal structure of rat trypsin, and then tested on a second highly refined crystal structure of α-lytic protease. The new set...
Creativity New Hope for the Health Care Field

Creativity is required for solving many of the problems that face the health care system. As a group, caregivers tend to underestimate their own creativity and its potential impact on the systems in which they work. This article reviews common misconceptions about creativity and describes forces that erode its expression. Suggestions are made for how creativity can be increased within traditional-practice settings. Steps in a creative process are reviewed as well as internal and external factors that support the occurrence of creative moments. The benefits to be gained from increased creativity range from practical improvements within the system to personal gratification for individual caregivers.
Effects of land-use history and the contemporary landscape on non-native plant invasion at local and regional scales in the forest-dominated southern Appalachians.

Determining what factors explain the distribution of non-native invasive plants that can spread in forest-dominated landscapes could advance understanding of the invasion process and identify forest areas most susceptible to invasion. We conducted roadside surveys to determine the presence and abundance of 15 non-native plant species known to invade forests in western North Carolina, USA. Generalized linear models were used to examine how contemporary and historic land use, landscape context, and topography influenced presence and abundance of the species at local and regional scales. The most commonly encountered species were Microstegium vimineum, Rosa multiflora, Lonicera japonica, Celastrus orbiculatus, Ligustrum sinense, and Dioscorea oppositifolia. At the regional scale, distance to city center was the most important explanatory variable, with species more likely present and more abundant in watersheds closer to Asheville, NC. Many focal species were also more common in watersheds at lower elevation and with less forest cover. At the local scale, elevation was important for explaining the species’ presence, but forest cover and land-use history were more important for explaining their abundance. In general, species were more common in plots with less forest cover and more area reforested since the 1940s. Our results underscore the importance of considering both the contemporary landscape and historic land use to understand plant invasion in forest-dominated landscapes.
The rat as particle filter

The core tenet of Bayesian modeling is that subjects represent beliefs as distributions over possible hypotheses. Such models have fruitfully been applied to the study of learning in the context of animal conditioning experiments (and analogously designed human learning tasks), where they explain phenomena such as retrospective revaluation that seem to demonstrate that subjects entertain multiple hypotheses simultaneously. However, a recent quantitative analysis of individual subject records by Gallistel and colleagues cast doubt on a very broad family of conditioning models by showing that all of the key features the models capture about even simple learning curves are artifacts of averaging over subjects. Rather than smooth learning curves (which Bayesian models interpret as revealing the gradual tradeoff from prior to posterior as data accumulate), subjects acquire suddenly, and their predictions continue to fluctuate abruptly. These data demand revisiting the model of the individual versus the ensemble, and also raise the worry that more sophisticated behaviors thought to support Bayesian models might also emerge artifactually from averaging over the simpler behavior of individuals. We suggest that the suddenness of changes in subjects’ beliefs (as expressed in conditioned behavior) can be modeled by assuming they are conducting inference using sequential Monte Carlo sampling with a small number of samples — one, in our simulations. Ensemble behavior resembles exact Bayesian models since, as in particle filters, it averages over many samples. Further, the model is capable of exhibiting sophisticated behaviors like retrospective revaluation at the ensemble level, even given minimally sophisticated individuals that do not track uncertainty from trial to trial. These results point to the need for more sophisticated experimental analysis to test Bayesian models, and refocus theorizing on the individual, while at the same time clarifying why the ensemble may be of interest.
Encapsulation and stimulated release of enzymes using lecithin vesicles

Summary Lecithin vesicles prepared by dehydration-rehydration (DR) were used to encapsulate enzymes (lysozyme and pepsin). The encapsulating efficiency was highest when the pH was close to the isoelectric point of each enzyme. Vesicles stored in suspension at 10°C for up to 21 days showed no release of enzymes. Acidic pH at 10°C and 25 mM Ca2+ at 10°C or 37°C produced pulse-like release of 17–35%, while acidic pH at 37°C produced pulse-like release followed by slow release up to 100%, and Tween 80 induced steady release from the beginning. The hydrolysis pattern of a protein by pepsin released from DR vesicles for 142 hr was similar to that obtained by the same total amount of fresh pepsin solution added stepwise, in proportion, indicating that the pepsin retains its activity throughout the period of encapsulation. Vesicles prepared by processing of lecithin-enzyme solution by a homogenizer (MicrofluidizerTM) were also characterized and found effective.
Detection of a 58-Kilodalton High Density Lipoprotein-Binding Protein in the Membrane Fraction of Luteinized Rat Ovaries*

The membrane fraction from the ovaries of pseudopregnant rats exhibits specific, high affinity binding of high density lipoproteins (HDL). Previous studies have indicated that HDL binding in this tissue is up-regulated by hCG and may be involved in supplying cholesterol as substrate for steroid hormone production. To characterize the HDL-binding activity, we solubilized the membrane proteins using 40 mM β- octylglucoside and then separated them by electrophoresis on a 7% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel. The separated proteins were transferred to nitrocellulose sheets and subsequently incubated in the presence of [125I]apolipoprotein-E-free HDL. Autoradiography of the nitrocellulose revealed that the labeled HDL was bound to a single major band, with an apparent mol wt of 58,000 daltons. Neither reduction with β-mercaptoethanol nor heat denaturation before separation on the gel affected the molecular size of the band, which indicates that it is probably a single polypeptide chain. The band was up...
On a global optimization technique for solving a nonlinear hyperboloid least squares problem

We present a numerical experimentation of the global optimization algorithm presented by Velazquez et al. (2001) applied to a nonlinear hyperboloid least squares problem. This problem arises when beta sheet residues from an allosteric enzyme are fitted onto a hyperboloid by using Newton type methods. The results show that the algorithm performs well on three test cases. An important side result of this study is that the nonlinear fitting procedure is vastly superior to the linear least squares procedures traditionally used for this type of problems.
Social Network Modeling and Agent-Based Simulation in Support of Crisis De-Escalation

Decision makers need capabilities to quickly model and effectively assess consequences of actions and reactions in crisis de-escalation environments. The creation and what-if exercising of such models has traditionally had onerous resource requirements. This research demonstrates fast and viable ways to build such models in operational environments. Through social network extraction from texts, network analytics to identify key actors, and then simulation to assess alternative interventions, advisors can support practicing and execution of crisis de-escalation activities. We describe how we used this approach as part of a scenario-driven modeling effort. We demonstrate the strength of moving from data to models and the advantages of data-driven simulation, which allow for iterative refinement. We conclude with a discussion of the limitations of this approach and anticipated future work.
Enhanced Low-Temperature CO Oxidation on a Stepped Platinum Surface for Oxygen Pressures Above 10-5 Torr

The rate of CO oxidation has been characterized on the stepped Pt(411) surface for oxygen pressures up to 0.002 Torr, over the 100−1000 K temperature range. CO oxidation was characterized using both temperature-programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS) and in situ soft X-ray fluorescence yield near-edge spectroscopy (FYNES). New understanding of the important role surface defects play in accelerating CO oxidation for oxygen pressure above 10-5 Torr is presented in this paper for the first time. For saturated monolayers of CO, the oxidation rate increases and the activation energy decreases significantly for oxygen pressures above 10-5 Torr. This enhanced CO oxidation rate is caused by a change in the rate-limiting step to a surface reaction limited process above 10-5 Torr oxygen from a CO desorption limited process at lower oxygen pressure. For example, in oxygen pressures above 0.002 Torr, CO2 formation begins at 275 K even for the CO saturated monolayer, which is well below the 350 K onset temperature for...
Noncircular features in Saturn’s rings I: The edge of the B ring

Abstract A comprehensive investigation of all available radio and stellar occultation data for the outer edge of Saturn’s B ring, spanning the period 1980–2010, confirms that the m = 2 distortion due to the strong Mimas 2:1 inner Lindblad resonance circulates slowly relative to Mimas in a prograde direction, with a frequency Ω L = 0.1819° d −1 . Our best-fitting model implies that the radial amplitude of this distortion ranges from a minimum of 3 km to a maximum of 71 km, with short-lived minima recurring every 5.42 yrs. In addition to the dominant m = 2 pattern, the edge of the B ring also exhibits at least four other perturbations. An m = 1 component with a radial amplitude of ∼20 km rotates at a rate very close to the expected local apsidal precession rate of ϖ B ∼ 5.059 ° d −1 , while smaller perturbations are seen with m = 3 (amplitude 12.5 km), m = 4 (5.9 km), and m = 5 (5.6 km), each of which has a pattern speed consistent with that expected for a spontaneously-generated “normal mode” (French, R.G. et al. [1988]. Icarus 73, 349–378). Our results for m = 1, m = 2 and m = 3 are compatible with those obtained by Spitale and Porco (Spitale, J.N., Porco, C.C. [2010]. Astron. J. 140, 1747–1757), which were based on Cassini imaging data. The pattern speed of each normal mode slightly exceeds that expected at the mean edge radius, supporting their conclusion that they may represent a series of free modes, each of which is trapped in a narrow region between the mode’s resonant radius and the ring’s edge. However, both our model and that of Spitale and Porco fail to provide complete descriptions of this surprisingly complex feature, with post-fit root-mean-square residuals of ∼8 km considerably exceeding typical measurement errors of 1 km or less.
Does regular walnut consumption lead to weight gain

Studies consistently show the beneficial effects of eating nuts, but as high-energy foods, their regular consumption may lead to weight gain. We tested if daily consumption of walnuts (approximately 12 % energy intake) for 6 months would modify body weight and body composition in free-living subjects. Ninety participants in a 12-month randomized cross-over trial were instructed to eat an allotted amount of walnuts (28-56 g) during the walnut-supplemented diet and not to eat them during the control diet, with no further instruction. Subjects were unaware that body weight was the main outcome. Dietary compliance was about 95 % and mean daily walnut consumption was 35 g during the walnut-supplemented diet. The walnut-supplemented diet resulted in greater daily energy intake (557 kJ (133 kcal)), which should theoretically have led to a weight gain of 3.1 kg over the 6-month period. For all participants, walnut supplementation increased weight (0.4 (se 0.1) kg), BMI (0.2 (se 0.1) kg/m(2)), fat mass (0.2 (se 0.1) kg) and lean mass (0.2 (se 0.1) kg). But, after adjusting for energy differences between the control and walnut-supplemented diets, no significant differences were observed in body weight or body composition parameters, except for BMI (0.1 (se 0.1) kg/m(2)). The weight gain from incorporating walnuts into the diet (control-->walnut sequence) was less than the weight loss from withdrawing walnuts from the diet (walnut-->control sequence). Our findings show that regular walnut intake resulted in weight gain much lower than expected and which became non-significant after controlling for differences in energy intake.
Flash flood mitigation: recommendations for research and applications

New technologies promise reduced flash flood losses. However, real-time observations with vast multi-sensor networks, more precise mapping capabilities using remote sensing and GIS, quicker hydrological and meteorological models, and increasing forecast lead times have not reduced losses. In November, 1999, 35 researchers from nine countries met in Ravello, Italy at a NATO sponsored Advanced Study Institute, to discuss these issues and to develop a research agenda that incorporates the various components required to cope with flash floods. The key recommendations from the Institute were: (1) greater emphasis on increasing understanding of the social processes involved in flash flood warning, particularly in the response phases, and (2) the need to reduce vulnerability in sustainable ways compatible with long-term economic and social goals. The relationship between hydrometeorology and social science is seen as critical to advancing our abilities to cope with flash floods. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Automated fixed-point data-type optimization tool for signal processing and communication systems

A tool that automates the floating-point to fixed-point conversion (FFC) process for digital signal processing systems is described. The tool automatically optimizes fixed-point data types of arithmetic operators, including overflow modes, integer word lengths, fractional word lengths, and the number systems. The approach is based on statistical modeling, hardware resource estimation and global optimization based on an initial structural system description. The basic technique exploits the fact that the fixed point realization is a weak perturbation of the floating point realization which allows the development of a system model which can be used in the optimization process.
Psychotherapy for Persons with Craniofacial Deformities: Can We Treat without Theory?

In recent years, increasing numbers of experts have recommended that psychological support be available for cleft children and their parents. Few cleft palate centers however offer comprehensive psychological services. This paper presents some conceptual factors which may contribute to the paucity of psychological treatments available to cleft children and their families. Shortcomings in current concepts of emotional dysfunction in cleft children are discussed, and the effects of conceptual confusion on options for psychotherapy are outlined. Suggested directions in psychotherapy research for cleft children are discussed.
Phylogeography of the asian elephant (Elephas maximus) based on mitochondrial DNA

Populations of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) have been reduced in size and become highly fragmented during the past 3,000 to 4,000 years. Historical records reveal elephant dispersal by humans via trade and war. How have these anthropogenic impacts affected genetic variation and structure of Asian elephant populations? We sequenced mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to assay genetic variation and phylogeography across much of the Asian elephant's range. Initially we compare cytochrome b sequences (cyt b) between nine Asian and five African elephants and use the fossil-based age of their separation (approximately 5 million years ago) to obtain a rate of about 0.013 (95% CI = 0.011-0.018) corrected sequence divergence per million years. We also assess variation in part of the mtDNA control region (CR) and adjacent tRNA genes in 57 Asian elephants from seven countries (Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia). Asian elephants have typical levels of mtDNA variation, and coalescence analyses suggest their populations were growing in the late Pleistocene. Reconstructed phylogenies reveal two major clades (A and B) differing on average by HKY85/gamma-corrected distances of 0.020 for cyt b and 0.050 for the CR segment (corresponding to a coalescence time based on our cyt b rate of approximately 1.2 million years). Individuals of both major clades exist in all locations but Indonesia and Malaysia. Most elephants from Malaysia and all from Indonesia are in well-supported, basal clades within clade A. thus supporting their status as evolutionarily significant units (ESUs). The proportion of clade A individuals decreases to the north, which could result from retention and subsequent loss of ancient lineages in long-term stable populations or, perhaps more likely, via recent mixing of two expanding populations that were isolated in the mid-Pleistocene. The distribution of clade A individuals appears to have been impacted by human trade in elephants among Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and India, and the subspecies and ESU statuses of Sri Lankan elephants are not supported by molecular data.
Bivalirudin Use in an Infant With Persistent Clotting on Unfractionated Heparin

Bivalirudin is a direct thrombin inhibitor approved for use in adult patients with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Recently, its use in the pediatric population has increased due to its anti-thrombin-independent mechanism of action. As heparin products produce great inter- and intraindividual variability in pediatric patients, often due to decreased antithrombin concentrations in the first year of life, some practitioners have turned to direct thrombin inhibitors, such as bivalirudin, for more predictable pharmacokinetics and effects on bound and circulating thrombin. We report our experience using bivalirudin in a 2-month-old female with recurrent systemic thrombi despite continuous unfractionated heparin infusion. Due to the patient’s inability to maintain therapeutic activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) values during heparin infusion, bivalirudin was initiated at 0.1 mg/kg/h and increased due to subtherapeutic aPTTs to a maximum of 0.58 mg/kg/h. Therapeutic aPTTs were achieved at the increased dose; however, the patient’s worsening renal impairment with resultant drug accumulation and overwhelming sepsis on day 5 of therapy led to discontinuation of the infusion and the initiation of comfort measures.
Near-On-Design Unsteadiness in a Supersonic Low-Boom Inlet

The data collected in the 8×6 ft supersonic wind tunnel at the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center of a low-boom supersonic inlet have been analyzed and compared to computational results generated using a detached eddy simulation methodology based on the Nichols–Nelson model. The objective of this study is to better understand the capability of this methodology and the source of significant external shock oscillations. The external-compression axisymmetric inlet includes a relaxed-compression spike followed first by a short subsonic diffuser to the aerodynamic interface plane that represents the inflow face of an engine and then by a long low-speed diffuser that terminates in the mass flow plug. The flow conditions for the experiments and simulations were based on a Mach 1.67 freestream coupled with 4.5% spillage (higher than the 1.5% on-design spillage condition). A 10 deg flow sector was modeled with a three-dimensional structured grid and solved with the WIND-US code. The time-averaged computational fl...
Democracies at risk? A forecasting analysis of regime type and the risk of terrorist attack

How substantial is democracy as a cause of transnational terrorist attacks? Can our identification of democratic political systems help us to anticipate the flow of transnational terrorism? We seek to address these questions by analyzing data on transnational terrorist incidents from 1968 to 2007. We rely on receiver operating curves as a diagnostic tool to assess forecasting ability of various models of terrorist activity. Our analyses yield four central conclusions. First, our model of transnational terrorism provides a fairly strong basis for forecasting attacks—at least at the (relatively broad) level of the country-year. Second, while the overall forecasting capacity of this model is fairly strong, democracy adds very little to our capacity to forecast terrorist attacks relative to a parsimonious model that includes only distance and the prior history of terrorism. Collectively, these two variables perform about as well as a much more broadly specified model in forecasting terrorist attacks out of sa...
Specificity or Generality of Speed of Systematically Related Movements

Abstract The maximal speeds of discrete arm and leg movements similar to the actions of throwing a baseball or kicking a football were tested in 80 college men. Repetitive (cyclic) movements involving both arms or both legs were also measured. Individual differences were highly reliable, ranging from r = .92 to .99. Intercorrelations between discrete and repetitive movements were very low, ranging from r = .03 to .16. While the correlations were somewhat higher between arm speed and leg speed, namely .39, the amount of task specificity under the most favorable circumstances was about 85 percent, compared with 15 percent common variance that could be ascribed to a general “speed of limb movement” factor. The results suggest the need to revise current concepts of the nature of motor abilities, since individual differences in making a fast movement are evidently quite specific to the particular motor task, rather than existing as a speed component that could be measured in a motor ability test.
Transgenic Cotton: From Biotransformation Methods to Agricultural Application

Transgenic cotton is among the first transgenic plants commercially adopted around the world. Since it was first introduced into the field in the middle of 1990s, transgenic cotton has been quickly adopted by cotton farmers in many developed and developing countries. Transgenic cotton has offered many important environmental, social, and economic benefits, including reduced usage of pesticides, indirect increase of yield, minimizing environmental pollution, and reducing labor and cost. Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation method is the major method for obtaining transgenic cotton. However, pollen tube pathway-mediated method is also used, particularly by scientists in China, to breed commercial transgenic cotton. Although transgenic cotton plants with disease-resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, and improved fiber quality have been developed in the past decades, insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant cotton are the two dominant transgenic cottons in the transgenic cotton market.
Nanoplasmonic systems for ultrasensitive biomolecular detection and identification

Plasmonics, by localizing light below sub-diffraction limit and enhancing local field intensities, is enabling exciting possibilities in bio-detection field. In this talk, I will present novel plasmonic systems for ultrasensitive vibrational nanospectroscopy and biomolecular identification.
Evolution in Visualization for Sinus and Skull Base Surgery: From Headlight to Endoscope

Rhinoscopy became a formal field of study in the mid-nineteenth century as improvements in nasal specula were made and the potent vasoconstrictive effects of cocaine on the intranasal tissues were discovered. Since then, a multitude of advances in visualization and illumination have been made. The advent of the Storz-Hopkins endoscope in the mid-twentieth century represents a culmination of efforts spanning nearly 2 centuries, and illumination has evolved concomitantly. The future of endoscopic sinus surgery may integrate developing technologies, such as 3-dimensional endoscopy, augmented reality navigation systems, and robotic endoscope holders.
Rapid prototyping and parametric optimization of plastic acoustofluidic devices for blood-bacteria separation.

Acoustic manipulation has emerged as a versatile method for microfluidic separation and concentration of particles and cells. Most recent demonstrations of the technology use piezoelectric actuators to excite resonant modes in silicon or glass microchannels. Here, we focus on acoustic manipulation in disposable, plastic microchannels in order to enable a low-cost processing tool for point-of-care diagnostics. Unfortunately, the performance of resonant acoustofluidic devices in plastic is hampered by a lack of a predictive model. In this paper, we build and test a plastic blood–bacteria separation device informed by a design of experiments approach, parametric rapid prototyping, and screening by image-processing. We demonstrate that the new device geometry can separate bacteria from blood while operating at 275% greater flow rate as well as reduce the power requirement by 82%, while maintaining equivalent separation performance and resolution when compared to the previously published plastic acoustofluidic separation device.
Nonlinear evidence on the existence of jobless recoveries

The sluggish growth in employment following the Great Recession has spurred research into investigating its cause. Economists are split as to whether it reflects the advent of “jobless recoveries” or just reflects “slow recoveries” in which both output and employment are slow to recover. We estimate a version of Friedman’s plucking model to investigate this issue. We find evidence suggesting that employment does have its own dynamic response after a recession. Some of the slow growth in employment can be ascribed to the slow output growth, but there is a remaining portion which is consistent with the jobless recovery hypothesis. We then produce evidence relative to four different hypothesis of why jobless recoveries have occurred.
Influence of Social Context on Consumption in the USA: An Abstract

The present study explores co-consumption—consuming in a social context—in the USA. It takes advantage of publicly available, individual-level survey data on time use and presence of others, as well as utility models. The activities of interest include shopping for two types of goods and exposure to varied media. Simultaneous equation models help capture the endogenous relationship between the utility of (a) spending waking time on any given activity and (b) sharing this time and activity with others. Overall, individual utility does not change with respect to the average when the utility-generating activities are using media, or shopping. The utility of sharing time and activity with others though does increase while shopping—especially for durable goods and clothing (DG&C), watching theatrical movies and television, as well as listening to recorded or streamed music. Listening to radio has negative effects, especially after 2010. Historic trends reveal that, in the otherwise “individualistic” USA, co-shopping for DG&C has been growing (representing 70% of minutes spent shopping in 2015) and co-shopping for groceries has been stable (51%), whereas media co-exposure has had a weak tendency to decrease but remains high for television (52%) and theatrical movies (95%).
The Angle Classification, Does it Mean Anything to Orthodontists Today?*

Abstract No Abstract Available. *Read before the Ninth Annual Meeting of the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontia, Chicago, October 18th, 1933.
Global aging and public finance

The world is getting older, and the rate of aging, as well as the composition of aging, has important global policy implications for public finance. We’re witnessing a speeding-up of the share of elderly in developing countries. It’s important to think about fiscal stress from aging in two ways. Aging from above results in changes in social expenditures. This is going to lead to increases in health expenditures, increases in pension expenditures, and decreases in education expenditures. Aging from below leads to changes in revenues as workers decline relative to the total population. I want to “right-size” spending on health care, pensions, and welfare. Let’s talk about our public policy values and goals and figure out what we can afford, and what that means, and who needs it.
The Work of Postcolonial Game Studies in the Play of Culture

This article considers larger methodological questions of what political work is undertaken when scholars engage in postcolonial critiques of video games within academic intellectual frameworks. What is postcolonial game studies, and what is its purpose, within the context of larger issues of inclusion, representation, diversity, and the challenging of hegemonic power structures? After surveying some of the key literature in postcolonial game studies, the author provides critical frameworks for understanding the means by which these approaches have largely been excluded from video game studies, and their crucial function in operating against the grain of profit and innovation-driven discourses in games. This work is the extension of a larger discussion of inclusion, diversity, and tolerance discourse within the liberal academy, and particularly the functions of postcolonial, postmodern and other critical cultural scholarly interventions. In this article, the author argues for a postcolonial approach to game studies, but one that refuses to be reduced to an institutional cultural labor of due diligence, or according to Slavoj Žižek’s term, a ‘culturalization of politics’. Through the work of Stuart Hall and Sara Ahmed on intellectual diversity work within the context of large systems and academic institutions, this article asserts that the perception that critical theorizations (like postcolonial game studies) exert pressure on efficiency and innovation is greatly outweighed by the rich toolkits they bring to video games as maturing cultural forms.
Phase I study of defactinib combined with pembrolizumab and gemcitabine in patients with advanced cancer.

2561Background: Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is consistently hyperactivated in multiple tumor types including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Our preclinical work showed that FAK and PD-1 i...
The impact of SST-forced and unforced teleconnections on 2015/16 El Niño winter precipitation over the western United States

The factors impacting western U.S. winter precipitation during the 2015/16 El Nino are investigated using the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA-2) data, and simulations with the Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS-5) atmospheric general circulation model forced with specified sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Results reveal that the simulated response to the tropical Pacific SST associated with the 2015/16 El Nino was to produce wetter than normal conditions over much of the west coast including California - a result at odds with the negative precipitation anomalies observed over much of the Southwestern U.S. It is shown that two factors acted to partly counter the canonical ENSO response in that region. First, a potentially predictable but modest response to the unusually strong and persistent warm SST in the northeastern Pacific decreased precipitation in the Southwestern U.S. by increasing sea level pressure, driving anticyclonic circulation and atmospheric descent, and reducing moisture transport into that region. Second, large-scale unforced (by SST) components of atmospheric variability (consisting of the leading modes of unpredictable intra-ensemble variability) resembling the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation are found to be an important contributor to the drying over the western U.S. While a statistical reconstruction of the precipitation from our simulations that account for internal atmospheric variability does much to close the gap between the ensemble mean and observed precipitation in the Southwestern U.S., some differences remain, indicating that model error is also playing a role.
Dynamic High Gain output Feedback Stabilization Algorithm

We consider in this paper time-invariant finite dimensinal, linear systems described by an invertible Transfer function G(s) which is of minimum phase and strictly proper. We also assume G(s) have the following state space realization triple (C,A,B), s.t. $$\left\{ {\begin{array}{*{20}{l}} {\dot x(t) = Ax(t) + Bu(t)}&{} \\ {y(t) = Cx(t)}&{x \in {\mathcal{R}^n} u \in {\mathcal{R}^m} y \in {\mathcal{R}^p}} \end{array}} \right.$$ (1.1) with $$G\left( s \right) = C{\left( {sI - A} \right)^{ - 1}}B = \sum\limits_{i = 0}^\infty {\frac{{C{A^i}B}}{{{s^{i + 1}}}}} $$ (1.2) If the high frequency gain of G(s) is invertible (i.e., det (CB)#O), then the system can be stabilized by a static feedback u(t)=-k(CB)-ly(t) for sufficient large k. Generally, people are looking for dynamic stablilizing output feedback of the form $$\left\{ {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {\dot w(t) = Nw(t) + My(t)} \\ {u(t) = Lw(t) + Dy(t)} \end{array}} \right.$$ (1.2) with least dynamic order. Based on Schumacher’s work, Trentleman [1] showed that for any invertible, minimum phase system, there exists a stabilizing compensator of the form (1.3) of dynamic order n-m-dim(V*), which is a pure existance result. This paper will develop a concrete algorithm to construct a stabilizing (pre)compensator of order ≤ n-m-dim(V’) by using the concept of 5-piece normal form. Because our approach here is structural, the results of this paper can be applied to other situations, e.g., universal adaptive stabilization algorithm, the problem of DDPS, etc.
Space Shuttle Main Engine Control System

The Space Shuttle Main Engine is a reusable, high-performance rocket engine being developed by the Rocketdyne Div. of Rockwell International to satisfy the operational requirements of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Vehicle. The design incorporates a hydraulically actuated, closed-loop servosystem controlled and monitored by a programmable electronic digital controller. The controller accepts vehicle commands for the various engine operational phases, positions the appropriate valves, monitors the engine for the required performance precisions and conditions, and provides redundancy management.
Samantar and Executive Power

This essay examines Samantar v. Yousuf in the context of broader debate about the relationship between federal common law and executive power. Samantar represents simply the latest effort by the Executive Branch to literally shape the meaning of law through a process referred to in the literature as "executive lawmaking." While traditional accounts of executive lawmaking typically have treated the idea as a singular concept, Samantar demonstrates the need to bifurcate the concept into at least two different categories: acts of executive lawmaking decoupled from pending litigation and acts of executive lawmaking taken expressly in response to litigation. As Samantar illustrates, these latter acts of executive lawmaking raise special concerns about separation of powers and politically motivated decisionmaking. They counsel in favor of judicial caution in accepting such acts and, more generally, in favor of a more cautious approach to the creation of federal common law, which invites such acts.
Network Localization and Navigation Using Measurements with Uncertain Origin

Location aware networks will introduce new applications and services for modern convenience, the military, and public safety. In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian method for network localization and navigation in the presence of measurement-origin uncertainty (MOU). In the envisioned cooperative scenario, the agents in a dynamic network aim to better localize themselves by performing pairwise observations with other agents in their environment and sharing their location information. Since pairwise observations suffer from MOU, a data association problem has to be solved before an agent can update its location information. In our approach, joint inference is performed through a factor graph formulation of the entire, network-wide estimation problem. Performing the loopy sum-product algorithm on the derived factor graph results in a distributed and scalable inference algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that cooperation among agents can significantly improve the localization accuracy even in the presence of MOU.
Living in a trash can: turbulent convective flows impair Drosophila flight performance

Turbulent flows associated with thermal convection are common in areas where the ground is heated by solar radiation, fermentation or other processes. However, it is unknown how these flow instabilities affect the locomotion of small insects, like fruit flies, that inhabit deserts and urban landscapes where surface temperatures can reach extreme values. We quantified flight performance of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) traversing a chamber through still air and turbulent Rayleigh-Benard convection cells produced by a vertical temperature gradient. A total of 34% of individuals were unable to reach the end of the chamber in convection, although peak flow speeds were modest relative to typical outdoor airflow. Individuals that were successful in convection were faster fliers and had larger wing areas than those that failed. All flies displayed higher pitch angles and lower mean flight speeds in convection. Successful individuals took longer to cross the chamber in convection, due to lower flight speeds and greater path sinuosity. All individuals displayed higher flapping frequencies in convection, and successful individuals also reduced stroke amplitude. Our results suggest that thermal convection poses a significant challenge for small fliers, resulting in increased travel times and energetic costs, or in some cases precluding insects from traversing these environments entirely.
Oysters from Tide to Table in the Pacific Northwest

This paper examines oyster harvesting, farming, and consumption in the Pacific Northwest from 1850 to the present. A range of archival cultural-historical, biological, environmental, and culinary source material is used to trace the interwoven relationship between people and edible oysters. The paper has several foci, including the historic oyster businesses focused primarily on Washington’s Puget Sound and Willapa Bay, the fate of the Ostrea lurida over time, and the introduction of nonnative oysters. The role of Japanese immigrants in the oyster industry in relation to the Alien Land Act and World War II is presented. The contemporary passion for oyster consumption is presented in the context of terroir or meroir, a true taste of place for oysters related to the oyster’s unique biology and ecology. The final section of the chapter covers human-induced stress on the oysters and their environment and profiles initiatives for building collaborative knowledge between scientists and community members. Encouraging, supporting, and expanding experiential opportunities for people to engage with oysters and their environment is part of building a foundation that can ultimately become local knowledge underpinning a resilient biocultural heritage.
State public-private partnership (P3) legislation and P3 project implementation: An exploratory investigation

Purpose This exploratory study aims to look at the policy and public-procurement requirements set forth in state public-private partnership (P3) legislation and their relationship to P3 project implementation. Design/methodology/approach The research uses both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches. The paper begins by defining P3s and discussing their increasing importance as a form of private-sector delivery of public facilities and infrastructure. The major policy and procurement requirements of state P3 legislation are then identified. Using the public works financing database of 301 P3 project closures between 1996 and 2016, the relationships between state P3 legislative policy and procurement requirements and P3 project implementation are explored. Findings The study finds positive associations between 15 of 16 state P3 legislative policy and procurement requirements. Originality/value This is the first study of its kinds to explore the relationships between state P3 policy and procurement requirements and P3 project implementation (project closures).
Re-evaluation of homozygous lethality for EF1A indel polymorphism in Pisaster ochraceus

Abstract A genotypic polymorphism in the sea star Pisaster ochraceus has been associated with possible overdominant maintenance of diversity, and subsequent studies of this polymorphism suggested that intermittent disease outbreaks could be a driving factor in this system. However, comparative transcriptomic studies of individuals carrying distinct genotypes at the elongation factor 1-alpha (EF1A) region indicated that the marker was not accurately describing the constitutive differences among individuals. Here we more thoroughly assess this EF1A intron region to better understand how polymorphic diversity could be associated with differential disease outcomes and physiological responses, and find that the underlying genetic model is incorrect. In fact, rather than an instance of homozygous lethality, it is clear that previous genotyping efforts were misled by a PCR artefact. We reanalyze results from two previous studies to show that the effects are not as clear as believed.