cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Significance of Oxidative Aging on the Thermal Cracking Predictions in Asphalt Concrete Pavements

The resistance of asphalt concrete pavements to thermal cracking is fundamentally related to the asphalt mix stiffness, strength, and contraction properties. These properties continuously change over time with the oxidative aging of the asphalt binder in the mix. Oxidation reaction in long-term mainly results in formation of carbonyl functional group that improves the association among polar components, increasing the asphalt binder stiffness and brittleness. Hence, thermal cracking is generally more prevalent in old pavements. In this paper, a methodology is proposed to refine the mechanistic model for prediction of thermal cracking events over pavement service life in order to account for continuous changes of asphalt mixture critical properties with oxidative aging. Particularly, the changes in asphalt mix relaxation modulus, crack initiation stress, and coefficient of thermal contraction (CTC) were related to the growth in carbonyl groups in the respective binder used in the mix. The approach was examined on few types of asphalt mixes having different air void levels, and with unmodified and polymer-modified binders to be used as a surface course in a specific asphalt pavement. Based on preliminary modeling results, significant differences in thermal cracking performances of mixes were observed when effect of aging was considered.
Validation of diagnostic characteristics of needle based confocal laser endomicroscopy in differentiation of pancreatic cystic lesions.

Background and aims: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided needle-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (nCLE) characteristics of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) have been identified in studies where the gold standard surgical histopathology was available in a minority of patients. There are diverging reports of interobserver agreement (IOA) and paucity of intraobserver reliability (IOR). Thus, we sought to validate current EUS-nCLE criteria of PCLs in a larger consecutive series of surgical patients. Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients who underwent EUS-nCLE at a single center was performed. For calculation of IOA (Fleiss’ kappa) and IOR (Cohen’s kappa), blinded nCLE-naive observers (n = 6) reviewed nCLE videos of PCLs in two phases separated by a 2-week washout period. Results: EUS-nCLE was performed in 49 subjects, and a definitive diagnosis was available in 26 patients. The overall sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for diagnosing a mucinous PCL were 94 %, 82 %, and 89 %, respectively. The IOA for differentiating mucinous vs. non-mucinous PCL was “substantial” (κ = 0.67, 95 %CI 0.57, 0.77). The mean (± standard deviation) IOR was “substantial” (κ = 0.78 ± 0.13) for diagnosing mucinous PCLs. Both the IOAs and mean IORs were “substantial” for detection of known nCLE image patterns of papillae/epithelial bands of mucinous PCLs (IOA κ = 0.63; IOR κ = 0.76 ± 0.11), bright particles on a dark background of pseudocysts (IOA κ = 0.71; IOR κ = 0.78 ± 0.12), and fern-pattern or superficial vascular network of serous cystadenomas (IOA κ = 0.62; IOR κ = 0.68 ± 0.20). Three (6.1 % of 49) patients developed post-fine needle aspiration (FNA) pancreatitis. Conclusion: Characteristic EUS-nCLE patterns can be consistently identified and improve the diagnostic accuracy of PCLs. These results support further investigations to optimize EUS-nCLE while minimizing adverse events. Study registration: NCT02516488
Dirichlet-Reihen und erzeugende Funktionen

Eine unendliche Reihe der Art $$\displaystyle\sum\limits_{n=1}^{\infty}{\frac{f(n)}{n^{s}}}$$ (5.1) mit einer arithmetischen Funktion f und einer reellen oder komplexen Variablen s nennt man Dirichlet-Reihe zu f. Im Folgenden wird nur der Fall mit reellem Argument s weiter verfolgt.
The characterization of haboobs and the deposition of dust in Tempe, AZ from 2005 to 2014

Abstract Dust storms known as ‘haboobs’ occur in Tempe, AZ during the North American monsoon season. This work presents a catalog of haboob occurrence over the time period 2005–2014. A classification method based on meteorological and air quality measurements is described. The major factors that distinguish haboobs events from other dust events and from background conditions are event minimum visibility, maximum wind or gust speed, and maximum PM10 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters of 10 μm or less) concentration. We identified from 3 to 20 haboob events per year over the period from 2005 to 2014. The calculated annual TSP (total suspended particulate) dry deposition ranged from a low of 259 kg ha−1 in 2010 to a high of 2950 kg ha−1 in 2011 with a mean of 950 kg ha−1 yr−1. The deposition of large particles (PM>10) is greater than the deposition of PM10. The TSP dry deposition during haboobs is estimated to contribute 74% of the total particulate mass deposited in Tempe.
STI HDP process effect on yield of embedded memory processes

One of the key challenges in embedded memory solutions is yield degradation due to additional thermal budget in the process. In this work, we report STI HDP-CVD (Shallow Trench Isolation High-Density Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition) process as a key contribution factor to yield degradation in embedded memory devices by causing higher degree of silicon dislocations. With optimized plasma sputter/deposition conditions, silicon dislocations are reduced and significantly improved yield.
Overcoming the intelligence-sharing paradox: Improving information sharing through change in organizational culture

Existing organizational cultures among agencies in the intelligence community serve as barriers to information sharing. These cultures are characterized by secrecy and limited disclosure of informa...
“We're Gonna Capture Johnny Depp”: Making Kin with Cinematic Comanches

This article analyzes Comanche elder LaDonna Harris's adoption of actor Johnny Depp as a response to the cultural politics of Disney's casting him as a Comanche Tonto in The Lone Ranger 2013. In ad...
Metabolic and Cardiac Adaptation to Chronic Pharmacologic Blockade of Facilitative Glucose Transport in Murine Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Myocardial Ischemia.

GLUT transgenic and knockout mice have provided valuable insight into the role of facilitative glucose transporters (GLUTs) in cardiovascular and metabolic disease, but compensatory physiological changes can hinder interpretation of these models. To determine whether adaptations occur in response to GLUT inhibition in the failing adult heart, we chronically treated TG9 mice, a transgenic model of dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure, with the GLUT inhibitor ritonavir. Glucose tolerance was significantly improved with chronic treatment and correlated with decreased adipose tissue retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) and resistin. A modest improvement in lifespan was associated with decreased cardiomyocyte brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) expression, a marker of heart failure severity. GLUT1 and −12 protein expression was significantly increased in left ventricular (LV) myocardium in ritonavir-treated animals. Supporting a switch from fatty acid to glucose utilization in these tissues, fatty acid transporter CD36 and fatty acid transcriptional regulator peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) mRNA were also decreased in LV and soleus muscle. Chronic ritonavir also increased cardiac output and dV/dt-d in C57Bl/6 mice following ischemia-reperfusion injury. Taken together, these data demonstrate compensatory metabolic adaptation in response to chronic GLUT blockade as a means to evade deleterious changes in the failing heart.
Do Presidential Debates Matter? Examining a Decade of Campaign Debate Effects

This study responds to The Racine Group's (2002) call for campaign debate research that explores “the trans-campaign effects of debates on such matters as voting behavior, image formation, and atti...
Job matching: Development and evaluation of a web-based instrument to assess degree of match among employment preferences

To increase the probabilities of successful employment, job seekers with disabilities require precision assessment of their skills in relation to the job's requirements. Assessment of job seeker characteristics in relation to job requirements has been referred to as job matching. Ideally, job matching should be predicated on identification of an individual's job preferences and yield a listing of preferred jobs in terms of degree of match. This article describes job preference assessment, one method for assessing degree of match across preferred jobs, and initial field evaluation. Results from 18 young adults with developmental disabilities indicate the web-based program may yield scores useful in assessing degree of job match. Results are discussed in terms of implications for job seekers with disabilities and the need for additional research.
A nano shell game

Individual, light-emitting nanoparticles offer many opportunities for early disease detection. Now, advances towards greatly enhanced brightness are being made using core–multi-shell architectures.
The rhetoric of re-entry education: persuasive definition, agency, and voice in prison discourse

ABSTRACTThe Second Chance Act of 2007 provided funding for an array of re-entry education programs aimed at helping prisoners succeed after their release. The debate team at the United States Penit...
Racism?: Surely not

The early childhood profession is underpinned by a philosophy that respects and reinforces equality. The role of early childhood professionals in delivering culturally competent services is identified in the Early Years Learning Framework. However, recent critique of the concepts underpinning Closing the Gap, concepts of social inclusion and cultural competency, identify inherent racism that impacts on our ability to achieve the aspirations identified in Closing the Gap. Recent research argues that racism is still strong in Australia as it is in other western nations, though its form is different than in the past. This research posits denial of racism results in a form of racism that positions the hegemonic white culture as a benchmark against which other cultures are evaluated. Silencing the voices of those identifying racism serves to support the denial of its existence. In this paper I reflect on the critiques presented in this body of research and speculate on its implications for early childhood professionals working with children and families from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Surgical and Pharmacologic Fertility Preservation: The Role of Ovarian Transposition and Medical Suppression

While the majority of successful fertility preservation measures occur prior to the initiation of cancer treatment, surgical and medical options may reduce the gonadotoxicity of radiation and chemotherapy. Ovarian transposition (OT), or oophoropexy, involves surgically repositioning the ovaries away from the planned radiotherapy fields. Medical agents such as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gnarl) agonists can be administered alongside chemotherapy to protect the ovary, but the mechanisms and efficacy remain unproven and controversial. Experimental agents such as small-molecule inhibitors show promise in preclinical studies and continue to be explored. This chapter describes ovarian transposition, medical suppression with GnRH agonists, and experimental approaches to surgical and medical fertility preservation.
Poster Abstract: On-Device Training from Sensor Data on Batteryless Platforms

In this paper, we argue that the fusion of machine learning (ML) and batteryless computing systems enables true lifelong learning in mobile devices. The lack of learning from experience in current batteryless systems makes them ignorant of changes in their operating environment. Due to high communication cost, latency, privacy, and dependency issues of offloading computation to an edge device, on-device training is a solution for batteryless systems to learn and adapt in dynamically changing environments. Combining batteryless systems and ML is however a challenging task. Sporadic energy supply and limited resources in a batteryless system cause execution-discontinuity and data-constraints in ML processes. To understand these challenges, we identify suitable ML tasks for such systems and study the energy producers, i.e., harvesters, and consumers, i.e., intermittently executable tasks in a ML pipeline. Using a trace-driven simulation, we demonstrate the feasibility of on-device training of a batteryless learner.
Liquid–Gas Interfacial Chemistry of Gallium–Indium Eutectic in the Presence of Oxygen and Water Vapor

Gallium–indium eutectic (eGaIn) is a liquid metal being explored in a number of applications because of its high thermal/electrical conductivity and favorable deformability. A key function regulati...
Ignorance and the Gender Binary: Resisting Complex Epistemologies of Sex and Testosterone

A key project for feminist scholars aligned with Science and Technology Studies (STS) has been to critically examine how researchers produce knowledge about sexed bodies in ways that impose binary categories onto a far more complex and indeterminate reality. In this chapter, I ask: how is it that institutional actors are able to ignore the now large body of evidence demonstrating that sex is dynamic, non-binary, and entangled with gender? In order to answer this question, I examine the regulation of women with high levels of naturally occurring testosterone in international track-and-field. Drawing on interviews with 62 stakeholders, including athletes, coaches, managers, media personnel, and officials, I examine how this elite community protected their existing epistemic investments when a high-profile international court case called into question the exclusion of women athletes with high testosterone. Proposing a framework of ignorance as an institutional process, I identify the strategies and structural arrangements that allowed stakeholders to turn away from and ignore claims that threaten their commitment to binary sex. I suggest that attention to these dynamics can aid the feminist cause of challenging the institutional marginalization of more complex representations of sex and gender.
Rapid actions of anti‐Müllerian hormone in regulating synaptic transmission and long‐term synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus

Anti-Mullerian hormone (Amh) is a peptide factor that is known to regulate sexual differentiation and gonadal function in mammals. Although Amh is also suggested to be associated with cognitive development and function in the postnatal brain, little is known about its expression or direct effects on neuronal activities in the hippocampus. Therefore, we assessed Amh and its receptor expression in the hippocampus of male and female mice using PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence staining. While Amh-specific receptor expression was comparable between males and females, mRNA and protein levels of Amh were higher in females than those of males. Electrophysiological recordings on acute hippocampal slices showed that exogenous Amh protein addition increased synaptic transmission and long-term synaptic plasticity at the Cornu Ammonis (CA) 3-CA1 synapses. Amh exposure also increased the excitatory postsynaptic potential at CA1 synapses. Our findings support direct and rapid actions of Amh as a paracrine and/or autocrine factor in regulating hippocampal neuronal activities. Data provide functional evidence of Amh-mediated postsynaptic modulation of synaptic transmission and Amh-regulated long-term synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus. These results suggest a potential role of Amh in learning and memory, and a possible cause of the sex differences in cognitive development and function.
Glutathione catabolism by Treponema denticola impacts its pathogenic potential

Treponema denticola is a spirochete that is etiologic for periodontal diseases. This bacterium is one of two periodontal pathogens that have been shown to have a complete three step enzymatic pathway (GTSP) that catabolizes glutathione to H2S. This pathway may contribute to the tissue pathology seen in periodontitis since diseased periodontal pockets have lower glutathione levels than healthy sites with a concomitant increase in H2S concentration. In order to be able to demonstrate that glutathione catabolism by the GTSP is critical for the pathogenic potential of T. denticola, allelic replacement mutagenesis was used to make a deletion mutant (Δggt) in the gene encoding the first enzyme in the GTSP. The mutant cannot produce H2S from glutathione since it lacks gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity. The hemolytic and hemoxidation activities of wild type T. denticola plus glutathione are reduced to background levels with the Δggt mutant and the mutant has lost the ability to grow aerobically when incubated with glutathione. The Δggt bacteria with glutathione cause less cell death in human gingival fibroblasts (hGFs) in vitro than do wild type T. denticola and the levels of hGF death correlate with the amounts of H2S produced. Importantly, the mutant spirochetes plus glutathione make significantly smaller lesions than wild type bacteria plus glutathione in a mouse back lesion model that assesses soft tissue destruction, a major symptom of periodontal diseases. Our results are the first to prove that T. denticola thiol-compound catabolism by its gamma-glutamyltransferase can play a significant role in the in the types of host tissue damage seen in periodontitis.
Assessing whether ad hoc clinician-generated patient questionnaires provide psychometrically valid information

The provision of psychometrically valid patient reported outcomes (PROs) improves patient outcomes and reflects their quality of life. Consequently, ad hoc clinician-generated questionnaires of the past are being replaced by more rigorous instruments. This change, while beneficial, risks the loss/orphaning of decades-long information on difficult to capture/chronically ill populations. The goal of this study was to assess to the quality of data retrieved from these legacy questionnaires. Participants included 8563 patients who generated a total of 12,626 hospital admissions over the 2004–2014 study period. Items used to screen for issues related to function, mood, symptoms, and social support among patients with chronic disease were identified in our medical center’s patient information questionnaire. Cluster and exploratory factor analyses (EFA) followed by multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) analyses were used to select items that defined factors. Scores were derived with summation and MIRT approaches; inter-factor relationships and relationships of factor scores to assigned diagnostic codes were assessed. Rasch analyses assessed the constructs’ measurement properties. Literature review and clinician interviews yielded four hypothesized constructs: psychological distress/wellbeing, symptom burden, social support, and physical function. Rasch analyses showed that, while all had good measurement properties, only one, function, separated individuals well. In exploratory factor analyses (EFA), 11 factors representing depression, respiratory symptoms, musculoskeletal pain, family support, mobility, activities of daily living, alcohol consumption, weight loss, fatigue, neurological disorders, and fear at home were identified. Based on the agreement between EFA and cluster analyses as well as Cronbach’s alpha, six domains were retained for analyses. Correlations were strong between activities of daily living and mobility (.84), and moderate between pain and mobility (.37) and psychological distress (.59) Known-group validity was supported from the relationships between factor scores and the relevant diagnostic code assignments (.12 to .20). Items from ad hoc clinician-generated patient information questionnaires can be aggregated into valid factors that assess supportive care domains among chronically ill patients. However, the binary response options offered by many screening items limit their information content and consequently, as highlighted by Rasch analyses, their ability to meaningfully discriminate trait levels in these populations.
Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy Presented with Atrial Fibrillation: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Background: Left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC) is a rare congenital cardiomyopathy characterized by increased trabeculation in one or more segments of the ventricle. LVNC presented with non-specific symptoms and highly variable clinical presentation ranging from asymptomatic to progressive heart failure and recurrent or life-threatening arrhythmias. Case presentation: 54-year-old Black man with a history of hypertension, diabetes and end-stage renal disease presented with one day palpitations and lightheadedness following a dialysis session. He denied any dyspnea or syncope. On examination, blood pressure was 175/91 mmHg with irregular pulse. No murmur, rubs or gallops were appreciated. Laboratory were unremarkable except increased creatinine and mild anemia with normal thyroid function test. Electrocardiogram (ECG) revealed atrial fibrillation with normal ventricular rate. Transthoracic echocardiogram revealed mildly increased left ventricular (LV) wall thickness with prominent trabeculation and ejection fraction of 55-60 percent, a pseudo-normal LV filling pattern, with concomitant abnormal relaxation and increased filling pressure, suggestive of LVNC. The patient was switched to apixaban. Genetic testing was recommended for family members. Conclusions: LVNC is rare congenital cardiomyopathy with non-specific symptoms and should be considered among the possible diagnosis in patients presenting with arrythmia patients. Echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging can be utilized to establish diagnosis.
“His stethoscope, his beard, her breasts”: Narrative Gaps, Automaticity, and the Microfiction of Lydia Davis

What could be the value of a story so short that it would be called “microfiction”? According to Marc Botha, short fiction mirrors “the short attention span of modern readers,” as well as “the gaps and fragmented-ness of modern consciousness.” While microfiction is not necessarily the only form of fiction that engages with cognitive processes, as there is a rich history of describing literary studies such as poetry through the lens of cognitive science. This article explores microfiction’s structure and its relation to cognitive processes. Using 2013 Man Booker Prize-awardee Lydia Davis’s microfiction as a sample oeuvre, applied are a range of cognitive science methodologies—an interdisciplinary approach encompassing psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, artificial intelligence, anthropology, and linguistics—to consider how certain genres of literature mimic and even refract the ways in which the human brain processes information. Putting microfiction as a literary work in dialogue with cognitive processing demonstrates seemingly disparate fields can provide insight into both literature and cognitive science.
Precision medicine identifies a pathogenic variant of the ITGA2B gene responsible for Glanzmann's thrombasthenia in a cat.

Author(s): Li, Ronald HL; Ontiveros, Eric; Nguyen, Nghi; Stern, Joshua A; Lee, Elizabeth; Hardy, Brian T; 99 Lives Cat Genome Consortium | Abstract: BackgroundA nonpedigreed male cat presented with epistaxis, severe bladder hemorrhage, and secondary urethral obstruction after cystocentesis.ObjectivesTo characterize the phenotype of a cat with bleeding diathesis and use a precision medicine approach to identify the molecular genetic defect by whole genome sequencing.MethodsAdenosine diphosphate (ADP) and arachidonic acid (AA)-induced whole blood platelet aggregometry was performed in the affected cat and a healthy cat. Platelet activation, measured by P-selectin expression, and surface integrin subunit β3 expression were evaluated by flow cytometry in the affected cat and healthy control. Total integrin subunit αIIb expression was assessed by western blot. Whole genome sequencing at 30× coverage was used to identify genetic variants that segregated in the affected cat compared to 194 cats from the 99 Lives Sequencing Consortium.ResultsPlatelet aggregometry identified significant impairment in platelet aggregation in response to ADP and AA compared to the control cat. Targeted protein expression analyses by flow cytometry and immunoblot analysis determined that the surface expression and total expression of the integrin, αIIbβ3, was absent. Whole genome sequencing identified a homozygous c.1986delC frameshift variant in the integrin subunit αIIb (ITGA2B) gene that was not detected in the control population. The p.Pro662fs (ITGA2B P662X) variant terminates translation of the protein at the extracellular domain of the integrin prematurely, which is predicted to affect expression of the β3 unit.Conclusions and clinical importanceThis novel ITGA2B variant and the associated phenotype closely resemble Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, which has never been reported in cats.
Robotic and Laparoscopic Approaches for Adrenal Surgery in Obese Patients.

ObjectiveMinimally invasive adrenalectomy is a challenging procedure in obese patients. Few recent studies have advocated against robot-assisted adrenalectomy, particularly in obese patients. This ...
CIRCUMBINARY CHAOS: USING PLUTO’S NEWEST MOON TO CONSTRAIN THE MASSES OF NIX AND HYDRA

The Pluto system provides a unique local laboratory for the study of binaries with multiple low-mass companions. In this paper, we study the orbital stability of P4, the most recently discovered moon in the Pluto system. This newfound companion orbits near the plane of the Pluto-Charon (PC) binary, roughly halfway between the two minor moons Nix and Hydra. We use a suite of few body integrations to constrain the masses of Nix and Hydra, and the orbital parameters of P4. For the system to remain stable over the age of the solar system, the masses of Nix and Hydra likely do not exceed 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 16} kg and 9 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 16} kg, respectively. These upper limits assume a fixed mass ratio between Nix and Hydra at the value implied by their median optical brightness. Our study finds that stability is more sensitive to their total mass and that a downward revision of Charon's eccentricity (from our adopted value of 0.0035) is unlikely to significantly affect our conclusions. Our upper limits are an order of magnitude below existing astrometric limits on the masses of Nix and Hydra. For a density at least that of ice, the albedos of Nixmore » and Hydra would exceed 0.3. This constraint implies they are icy, as predicted by giant impact models. Even with these low masses, P4 only remains stable if its eccentricity e {approx}< 0.02. The 5:1 commensurability with Charon is particularly unstable, combining stability constraints with the observed mean motion places the preferred orbit for P4 just exterior to the 5:1 resonance. These predictions will be tested when the New Horizons satellite visits Pluto. Based on the results for the PC system, we expect that circumbinary, multi-planet systems will be more widely spaced than their singleton counterparts. Further, circumbinary exoplanets close to the three-body stability boundary, such as those found by Kepler, are less likely to have other companions nearby.« less
Photodissociation of the N2-NO Complex between 225.8 and 224.0 nm

Our primary goal was to measure the NO (A) photoproduct appearance energy and ground-state dissociation energy of the N2-NO complex. We recorded velocity map ion images of NO photofragments resulting from the dissociation of the N2-NO complex excited between ∼225.8 and 224.0 nm, which ranged from the photodissociation threshold to about 342 cm-1 above the threshold. In the experiment, one photon dissociated the complex through the N2 (X 1Σg+)-NO (A 2Σ+) ← N2 (X 1Σg+)-NO (X 2Π) transition, and a second photon nonresonantly ionized the NO (A) photoproduct. The lowest-energy photons near 225.8 nm did not have sufficient energy to photodissociate the lowest excited state of the complex; however, dissociation was observed with increasing photon energy. On the basis of the experiments, we determined the appearance energy for the NO (A) photoproduct to be 44 284.7 ± 2.8 cm-1. From the appearance energy and the NO A ← X origin band transition, we determined a ground-state dissociation energy of 85.8 ± 2.8 cm-1. As we increased the photon energy, the excess energy was partitioned into rotational modes of the diatomic products as well as product translational energy. We found good agreement between the average fraction of rotational energy and the predictions of a simple pseudo three atom impulsive model. Finally, at all photon energies, we observed some contribution from internally excited complexes in the resulting P(ET). The maximum internal energy of these complexes was consistent with the ground-state dissociation energy.
Ordering Online Arbitration in the Age of Covid … and Beyond

Arbitration has been moving online for some time, especially with the growth of Online Dispute Resolution (“ODR”), which includes using technology to assist online negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and variations thereof. Online Arbitration (“OArb”) is nonetheless a unique subset of ODR because it usually culminates in a final and binding award by a neutral third party that is enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and other arbitration laws. Indeed, I have written about OArb on prior occasions, due to its unique status. However, OArb was relatively limited until the COVID-19 pandemic sparked its acceleration. It became the norm while in-person gatherings halted and courts closed, or severely limited the cases they could hear. Furthermore, most opine that OArb is here to stay due to its convenience and cost savings. What happens, however, when a party objects to virtual hearings? This Article will explore this important question and offer analysis that balances efficiency and fairness. An edited, workshopped and finalized version of this paper will be included in a forthcoming book on arbitration in the wake of the pandemic
The aging lung mucosa: A proteomics study

The elderly population is at increased risk of acute and chronic respiratory infections and other pulmonary diseases, and it is estimated that this population will double in the next 30 years. Biochemical changes in the lung alveolar mucosa and lung cells alter local immune response as we age, creating opportunities for invading pathogens to establish successful infections. Indeed, the lungs of the elderly are a pro-inflammatory, pro-oxidative, dysregulated environment but this environment has remained understudied. We performed a comprehensive, quantitative proteomic profile of the lung mucosa in the elderly, developing insight into the molecular fingerprints, pathways, and regulatory networks that characterize the lung in old age. We identified neutrophils in the lungs of elderly individuals as possible contributors to dysregulated lung tissue environment. This study establishes a baseline for future investigations to develop strategies to mitigate susceptibility to respiratory infections in the elderly.
Study of the compressive properties of adhesively bonded carbon fiber laminates at different strain rates

The characteristics of bond line thickness, and joint type of adhesively joined composites have been studied under variable mechanical loading conditions. However, the high strain rate (HSR) respon...
Requirements Evolution and Project Success: An Analysis of SourceForge Projects

Requirements are often cited as one of the important factors in determining project success. Over the past 30 years requirements practice has changed. The new requirements engineering is facing new problems of complexity and continuous change. To address this New RE, researchers have proposed a new Six-V measurement model. This study provides an operationalization of the Six-V model and then uses it to analyze 31 open source projects. The results show that many of the Six-V measures are related to project attraction, which is important for open source project success.
Autistic Ethos at Work: Writing on the Spectrum in Contexts of Professional and Technical Communication

I explore the rise of international technology companies that recruit people with autism and Asperger's Syndrome, focusing specifically on the type of professional ethos that these companies cultivate for their employees. Using theories of ethos and communication from the field of technical communication, I argue that these companies often predetermine a limited sense of professional ethos for employees and reinforce stereotypes about people with autism. More broadly, I examine how this limitation is indicative of the ableism of traditional formulations of ethos in the rhetorical tradition. I then turn to potential revisions that technical communicators with autism can offer. Specifically, I examine two technical and professional writers in particular—Temple Grandin and Dawn Prince Hughes—showing how each invents a professional ethos that resists stereotypes about autism and what it means to be an "ideal" professional communicator.
Saturation and the Foveal Achromatic Interval

Abney’s curves for chromatic threshold are similar to curves for colorimetric purity as presented by Priest and Brickwedde. Determinations of chromatic threshold Ec and achromatic threshold Ea in two of our own subjects show that the curve for the chromatic threshold is similar to that of Abney and also similar to the curve for colorimetric purity. The curve for the achromatic threshold is below the curve for the chromatic threshold and reproduces the luminosity curve for the fovea. Six other subjects showed chromatic threshold curves similar to those of Abney. Defined as logEc/Ea the curve for achromatic interval has a maximum near 570 nm and, in general, falls to greatly reduced values at 420 in the blue and 700 in the red. This curve also gives chromatic thresholds in photopic photometric units based on achromatic thresholds (i.e., foveal luminosity). In the blue and red regions of the spectrum, the achromatic threshold has a value that approaches the chromatic. This result, not obtained by Purdy in the blue, is discussed. It is pointed out that colorimetric-purity thresholds and chromatic thresholds seem both to be reciprocal measures of saturation. Chromatic thresholds may have an advantage in not involving a physical mixture of color with white.
Paying for College: Advice from Current Students to Incoming Freshmen

The purpose of this research was to develop a better understanding of how students cope with college costs. As part of an online survey at two large public universities, students responded to an open-ended question at the end of the survey about financial management, paying for college, and advice they would offer to incoming freshmen. A qualitative analysis of the responses produced six dominant themes: costs and methods of payment, spending, credit card use, time management, financial knowledge and education, and personal feelings and family impacts. The themes were organized into a theoretical framework with costs and methods of payment serving as the dominant theme. The themes provide insight into the college students’ beliefs about paying for college. The findings could assist educators, college administrators and researchers in addressing students’ needs in the future.
Self-transfer and genetic recombination mediated by P, the sex factor of Vibrio cholerae.

Vibrio cholerae cells, infected with the sex factor P, produce discrete, plaque-like clearings when plated on lawns of P − cells. We investigated the nature of these clearings and conclude that they are probably sites of active mating. We developed a quantitative assay for P + cells and used it to study the kinetics of sex factor spread in broth cultures. Both established and newly infected donor populations were efficient sex factor donors, indicating that P is not self-repressed. We also investigated the kinetics of recombinant formation in broth matings. In 1-hr matings, we routinely found recombination frequencies of 10 −6 per donor cell. Kinetic studies of recombinant formation showed that the markers tested all appeared at early times. Thus P, the V. cholerae sex factor, seems to resemble F in its transfer properties. Images
Recombinant human retinoic acid receptor beta. Binding of synthetic retinoids and transcriptional activation.

Abstract All-trans-retinoic acid mediates cell growth and differentiation by binding to and then activating nuclear retinoid receptor proteins that regulate gene transcription. Recombinant human retinoic acid receptor beta was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein rMBP-RAR beta with maltose-binding protein to facilitate purification. After isolation from bacterial lysates, rMBP-RAR beta was used for binding with selected retinoids. Scatchard analysis with [11,12-3H2]all-trans-retinoic acid gave a Kd of 0.34 nM. Competitive binding studies with a series of conformationally restricted aromatic retinoids indicated that the Ki values for binding to rMBP-RAR beta correlated with the logs of the EC50 values for gene transcriptional activation (p < or = 0.05) and with those for the relative activation compared to that of all-trans-retinoic acid (p < or = 0.01). Inspection of binding-activation correlation diagrams indicates candidate structures for improved retinoid agonists or antagonists.
DNA and the criminal justice system: a web-based community of practice

The development of the Internet is strongly intertwined with the possibility of increasing the flow of information among knowledgeable actors. This is particularly important for today's government, which is characterized by increasingly complex tasks and decentralized structures. As we move to integrate technologies into our government, such as DNA into the criminal justice system, the need for a dialog within and across government agencies becomes ever more crucial. In this project, we examine DNA in the criminal justice system to uncover the role of the Internet in the diffusion of learning across governmental units. Our objective is twofold: First, we offer a model to augment existing institutions in creating a discourse around DNA and the criminal justice system by creating a community website on the subject. Second, we outline a research design to study the impact of that website on the criminal justice system.
Cunneen's Bresson, on Joseph Cunneen's Robert Bresson: A Spiritual Style in Film

Joseph Cunneen _Robert Bresson: A Spiritual Style in Film_ New York: Continuum, 2003 ISBN 0-8264-1471-0 200 pp.
Land use change exacerbates tropical South American drought by sea surface temperature variability

[1] Observations of tropical South American precipitation over the last three decades indicate an increasing rainfall trend to the north and a decreasing trend to the south. Given that tropical South America has experienced significant land use change over the same period, it is of interest to assess the extent to which changing land use may have contributed to the precipitation trends. Simulations of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model (NCAR CAM3) analyzed here suggest a non-negligible impact of land use on this precipitation behavior. While forcing the model by imposed historical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) alone produces a plausible north-south precipitation dipole over South America, NCAR CAM substantially underestimates the magnitude of the observed southern decrease in rainfall unless forcing associated with human-induced land use change is included. The impact of land use change on simulated precipitation occurs primarily during the local dry season and in regions of relatively low annual-mean rainfall, as the incidence of very low monthly-mean accumulations (<10 mm/month) increases significantly when land use change is imposed. Land use change also contributes to the simulated temperature increase by shifting the surface turbulent flux partitioning to favor sensible over latent heating. Moving forward, continuing pressure from deforestation in tropical South America will likely increase the occurrence of significant drought beyond what would be expected by anthropogenic warming alone and in turn compound biodiversity decline from habitat loss and fragmentation.
Systematic celestial 4-configurations

Celestial 4-configurations are a class of highly symmetric geometric configurations of points and lines in the plane in which 4 points lie on each line and 4 lines pass through each point (that is, they are ( n 4 ) configurations). The set of isometries of the plane that map a configuration to itself (that is, the symmetries of the configuration) partition the points into orbits, called the symmetry classes of points , and likewise the symmetries of the configuration partition the lines into orbits as well, forming the set of symmetry classes of lines. Celestial 4-configurations have the property that two lines from each of two symmetry classes of lines pass through each point, and two points from each of two symmetry classes of points lie on each line; a celestial 4-configuration with k symmetry classes is called k -celestial. Celestial configurations may be classified as being trivial , systematic , or sporadic . Previously, three non-trivial classes of 3-celestial 4-configurations were known. This paper presents a number of new systematic families of celestial 4-configurations, including 16 new 3-celestial families, four 4-celestial families, and three classes of h -celestial configurations for infinitely many values of h , although it does not provide a complete classification.
Track-Level-Compensation Look-Up Table Improves Antenna Pointing Precision

This article presents the improvement of the beam-waveguide antenna pointing accuracy due to the implementation of the track-level-compensation look-up table. It presents the development of the table, from the measurements of the inclinometer tilts to the processing of the measurement data and the determination of the threeaxis alidade rotations. The table consists of three axis rotations of the alidade as a function of the azimuth position. The article also presents the equations to determine the elevation and cross-elevation errors of the antenna as a function of the alidade rotations and the antenna azimuth and elevation positions. The table performance was verified using radio beam pointing data. The pointing error decreased from 4.5 mdeg to 1.4 mdeg in elevation and from 14.5 mdeg to 3.1 mdeg in cross-elevation. I. Introduction The Deep Space Station 25 (DSS 25) antenna shown in Fig. 1 is one of NASA s Deep Space Network beam-waveguide (BWG) antennas. At 34 GHz (Ka-band) operation, it is necessary to be able to track with a pointing accuracy of 2-mdeg root-mean-square (rms). Repeatable pointing errors of several millidegrees of magnitude have been observed during the BWG antenna calibration measurements. The systematic errors of order 4 and lower are eliminated using the antenna pointing model. However, repeatable pointing errors of higher order are out of reach of the model. The most prominent high-order systematic errors are the ones caused by the uneven azimuth track. The track is shown in Fig. 2. Manufacturing and installation tolerances, as well as gaps between the segments of the track, are the sources of the pointing errors that reach over 14-mdeg peak-to-peak magnitude, as reported in [1,2]. This article presents a continuation of the investigations and measurements of the pointing errors caused by the azimuth-track-level unevenness that were presented in [1] and [2], and it presents the implementation results. Track-level-compensation (TLC) look-up tables were created for the DSS 25, DSS 26, DSS 34, and DSS 55 antennas. To date, the most complete and detailed results were obtained for the DSS 25 and DSS 55 antennas. In this article, for brevity of presentation, we present the DSS 25 antenna results only. 1 Communications Ground Systems Section. The research described in this publication was carried out by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Biosynthesis of the streptovaricins: 3-amino-5-hydroxybenzoic acid as a precursor to the meta-C7N unit.

[Carboxy-]sp14C]-3-amino-5-hydroxybenzoic acid (AHBA) has been shown to be incorporated by Streptomyces spectabilis to the extent of greater than 0.1% (35:1 dilution) in the ansamycin antibiotic streptovaricin C, the major component of the streptovaricin complex. When [carboxy-13C]AHRA was similarly administered, C-21 (quinone methide carbonyl at 188.3 ppm) of streptovaricin C was specifically labeled (at twenty one times natural abundance). In preparation for the 13C incorporation study the 13C NMR spectrum of streptovaricin C was investigated, making extensive use of short- and long-range HETCOR. These assignments revise some of those proposed earlier for streptovaricin C.
Threshold law for positron-atom impact ionisation

The threshold law for ionisation of atoms by positron impact is adduced in analogy with our approach to the electron-atom ionization. It is concluded the Coulomb-dipole region of the potential gives the essential part of the interaction in both cases and leads to the same kind of result: a modulated linear law. An additional process which enters positron ionization is positronium formation in the continuum, but that will not dominate the threshold yield. The result is in sharp contrast to the positron threshold law as recently derived by Klar on the basis of a Wannier-type analysis.
A versatile high resolution beam position monitor

Abstract A new kind of Cerenkov beam position monitor is described. The counter, though relatively simple and inexpensive, has high sensitivity, introduces a minimal amount of multiple scattering, and is capable of high spatial resolution over a wide range of beam currents. Measurements of the position of the SLAC electron beam to an accuracy of ± 1 2 mm have been made for electron currents from 20 nA to 10 mA.
Laboratory Evaluation of Abatement Measures for Mitigating Dust Emission from Cattle Feedlots

Measures for mitigating dust emission from cattle feedlots were evaluated by using a laboratory chamber. The chamber, which has a cross section of 0.61 m x 0.61 m and a length of 3.7 m, has a layer of dry, loose, sieved feedlot manure above a compacted soil. The vertical movement of a cattle hoof was simulated by dropping a 4.5-kg steel weight onto the manure surface. Highvolume samplers for PM10 (particulate matter smaller than 10-µm aerodynamic equivalent diameter) were used to collect suspended PM10. The applications of wheat straw, sawdust (242, 484, 726 g/m2), and surface water (3.2 and 6.4 mm) on dust emission were investigated by using a 10-cm manure depth and 54-J drop energy of the steel weight. Results indicated that addition of wheat straw, sawdust, or water to the manure surface significantly decreased PM10 emission potential. The addition of magnesium chloride and an organic-based substance on the manure surface to control PM10 emission potential was also investigated and compared with surface water application; a manure depth of 10 cm, wet layer of 6.4 mm, and drop energy of 27 J were used. Surface applications of magnesium chloride and water did not result in any significant difference in PM10 emission potential. As the wet layer dried up, however, emission potential was significantly greater from the manure surface treated with magnesium chloride than from the water treatment. The manure treated with the organic-based substance had slightly greater emission potential immediately after application than did manure treated with magnesium chloride and water; but manure treated with the organic-based substance had the least emission potential during subsequent tests.