cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extrinsic and intrinsic factors control the genesis of amacrine and cone cells in the rat retina.

The seven major classes of cells of the vertebrate neural retina are generated from a pool of multipotent progenitor cells. Recent studies suggest a model of retinal development in which both the progenitor cells and the environment change over time (Cepko, C. L., Austin, C. P., Yang, X., Alexiades, M. and Ezzeddine, D. (1996). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93, 589–595). We have utilized a reaggregate culture system to test this model. A labeled population of progenitors from the embryonic rat retina were cultured with an excess of postnatal retinal cells and then assayed for their cell fate choices. We found that the postnatal environment had at least two signals that affected the embryonic cells9 choice of fate; one signal inhibited the production of amacrine cells and a second affected the production of cone cells. No increase in cell types generated postnatally was observed. The source of the inhibitor of the amacrine cell fate appeared to be previously generated amacrine cells, suggesting that amacrine cell number is controlled by feedback inhibition. The progenitor cell lost its ability to be inhibited for production of an amacrine cell as it entered M phase of the cell cycle. We suggest that postmitotic cells influence progenitor cell fate decisions, but that they do so in a manner restricted by the intrinsic biases of progenitor cells.
Channel State and Receiver State feedback for frequency-selective block fading channels

In a fading communication channel, it is often beneficial to feedback Channel State Information (CSI) and Receiver State Information (RSI) to the transmitter. The CSI generally refers to information about the channel condition available at the receiver, while the RSI in this work is defined as information about the receive's estimate of the message. The RSI can be used to improve reliability, e.g., through retransmission. This paper considers multi-carrier transmission through a doubly-selective Rayleigh fading channel, and studies the trade-off between the feedback of CSI and RSI under total feedback constraint. In particular, the CSI feedback specifies which groups of subchannels to activate with equal power, and the RSI feedback determines retransmissions of a codeword. The problem is how to allocate feedback bits between CSI and RSI in order to maximize the error probability exponent. It is found that the optimal trade-off exhibits phase transitions which depends critically on the coherence time and the total amount of feedback. Specifically, the first feedback bits should be CSI up to a critical amount. Additional feedback bits, if available, should be allocated to RSI first, and then to both CSI and RSI. For the model considered, as the amount of feedback exceeds a certain threshold, additional RSI feedback is not beneficial unless CSI feedback increases accordingly.
Error-locator ideals for algebraic-geometric codes

The error locations for an algebraic-geometric code C*(D,mP) are exactly the common zeros (that is, a projective variety V(I)) of a set (ideal) I of error-locator functions. The paper gives a one-dimensional Berlekamp-Massey version of the Feng-Rao (1993) algorithm for decoding algebraic-geometric codes C*(D,mP). This produces a generating set for I (as an ideal) of size at most /spl rho/ (the smallest positive pole order at P of any function in L(mP)) relative to any error of weight at most e >
Exit Polling and Racial Bloc Voting: Combining Individual-Level and R x C Ecological Data

Despite its shortcomings, cross-level or ecological inference remains a necessary part of many areas of quantitative inference, including in United States voting rights litigation. Ecological inference suffers from a lack of identification that, most agree, is best addressed by incorporating individual-level data into the model. In this paper, we test the limits of such an incorporation by attempting it in the context of drawing inferences about racial voting patterns using a combination of an exit poll and precinct-level ecological data; accurate information about racial voting patterns is needed to trigger voting rights laws that can determine the composition of United States legislative bodies. Specifically, we extend and study a hybrid model that addresses two-way tables of arbitrary dimension. We apply the hybrid model to an exit poll we administered in the City of Boston in 2008. Using the resulting data as well as simulation, we compare the performance of a pure ecological estimator, pure survey estimators using various sampling schemes, and our hybrid. We conclude that the hybrid estimator offers substantial benefits by enabling substantive inferences about voting patterns not practicably available without its use.
Land Use Issues: The Last Settler's Syndrome

In the last settler’s syndrome, each new settler wants the area to remain as it was on their arrival. Newcomers’ preferences often differ from long-term residents, and conflicts arise. To explore land use issues among various groups, a survey of opinions on mountain views was developed and administered to Watauga County residents in western North Carolina. Watauga County provides an interesting case study, because it is a growing area with an influx of newcomers along with long-time residents. The results suggest that agreements can be achieved on some land use issues, whereas disagreements will arise on others.
Absence of social networks, social support and health services utilization.

Background This study examines the effects of distress and three types of social relationships (family, friends, and confidantes) on the use of out-patient health services in an adult sample from a community survey of 3481 persons in Baltimore, Maryland. Methods Independent effects of predisposing (age, education, marital status, race and sex), enabling (employment, income and insurance) and need (physical health) factors are adjusted for in estimating the odds of using health care services. Results Illness, being female, and having insurance were positively related to use of services, while being aged was inversely related. After adjustment for the above factors, social support interacted with psychological distress to effect the use of medical care: the combination of high distress and low social support by a confidante results in a fourfold increase of medical utilization. Conclusions Our findings support the inclusion of psychological distress and social network variables in addition to physical health status in models attempting to explain the use of health services. Despite an inability to analyse change over time, our data suggest an understanding of the interrelationship between psychosocial factors, distress and health care use would benefit health providers and their patients.
Clavigeroscydmus Franz, a new junior synonym of Scydmaenus Latreille (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae)

The monospecific genus Clavigeroscydmus Franz, based on a single teneral female collected in Madagascar, was one of the most enigmatic taxa within Scydmaenini. Recent rediscovery of Clavigeroscydmus corticariaeformis Franz, including previously unknown males, made it possible to study morphological structures of this species and to verify its taxonomic placement. Comparative study of the type species of Scydmaenus Latreille and Clavigeroscydmus revealed no differences in any important structures. Consequently, Clavigeroscydmus is placed as a junior synonym of Scydmaenus s. str. Morphological details of the type species of Scydmaenus and Clavigeroscydmus are illustrated and discussed.
Aflatoxin conversion by dairy cattle consuming naturally-contaminated whole cottonseed

Whole cottonseed determined to have aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) levels of 5, 31, 104, 280, and 560 μg/kg was fed as 15% of the total dairy ration to a commercial herd of 90 grade Holstein dairy cattle for 70 d. Milk from the bulk tank was sampled either daily or after each milking and analyzed for aflatoxin M1 (AFM1). The ratio for AFB1 in the dairy ration to AFM1 in the milk averaged 75 to 1 under conditions and at levels tested with no consistent relation to the level of AFB1 in the feed. Approximately 1.6% conversion occurred during the steady state of consumption and secretion. The federal action level of 0.5 μg AFM1/L of milk would be produced by cows consuming a ration containing 15% whole cottonseed contaminated with approximately 250 μg AFB1/kg.
Effect of estrogen administration in vivo on prolactin release by rat pituitary in vitro.

SummaryTwenty-seven mature female rats were injected daily with 50 μg of estradiol benzoate in oil for 6 days, while 27 controls received only oil injections. On the seventh day the pituitaries were removed and cut into halves. Three anterior pituitaries from the estrogen-treated rats and 3 from the controls were placed in separate flasks (9 pairs of flasks) containing 2 cc of synthetic medium “199,” and incubated for 2 hours in a Dubnoff metabolic shaker at 37°C in an atmosphere of 95% O2-5% CO2. After incubation the medium from each flask was assayed for prolactin. The pituitaries from the estradiol benzoate-treated rats released 96% more prolactin into the medium than the pituitaries from control rats on a per pituitary basis, and 47% more on a 100 mg pituitary weight basis. Administration of estradiol benzoate increased the average weight of the anterior pituitaries by 45% and the average pituitary prolactin content by 187%. These results demonstrate that administration of estradiol benzoate in vivo i...
CFD analysis of multielement airfoils for wind turbines

Multielement airfoil configurations have shown promise in improving the aerodynamic characteristics of the inboard section of megawatt-scale wind turbine blades by increasing the lift-to-drag ratios, lift coefficients, and structural efficiency. Steady-state, twodimensional CFD calculations were carried out for a closely-coupled multielement airfoil system with one main element and two flaps at a Reynolds number of 1,000,000. Five configurations of the multielement airfoil system were simulated with varying flap deflection, gap, and overhang. Simulations were performed with ANSYS FLUENT, which is a hybridgrid Navier-Stokes solver. Computational results were obtained using the four-equation Langtry-Menter Shear Stress Transport (SST) Transition turbulence model. Grid convergence studies were carried out by examining three grids with progressively higher grid resolutions and quantifying their effects on lift and drag coefficients. Computed solutions were obtained for angles of attack ranging from 9 to 20 deg. Lift and drag coefficients were computed to understand the effect of gap, overhang, and flap deflection on the multielement airfoil system performance. Wake bursting, a multielement airfoil phenomenon, was observed by visualizing off-the-surface flow downstream of the airfoil.
Reach tracking reveals dissociable processes underlying cognitive control

The current study uses reach tracking to investigate how cognitive control is implemented during online performance of the Stroop task (Experiment 1) and the Eriksen flanker task (Experiment 2). We demonstrate that two of the measures afforded by reach tracking, initiation time and reach curvature, capture distinct patterns of effects that have been linked to dissociable processes underlying cognitive control in electrophysiology and functional neuroimaging research. Our results suggest that initiation time reflects a response threshold adjustment process involving the inhibition of motor output, while reach curvature reflects the degree of co-activation between response alternatives registered by a monitoring process over the course of a trial. In addition to shedding new light on fundamental questions concerning how these processes contribute to the cognitive control of behavior, these results present a framework for future research to investigate how these processes function across different tasks, develop across the lifespan, and differ among individuals.
The growing importance of skin toxicity in EGFR inhibitor therapy.

The review by LoRusso is a critical update to what could be considered the most significant dermatologic toxicity in modern oncology. This increased importance of dermatologic toxicities to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors can be attributed to several factors: 45% to 100% of patients will develop a papulopustular rash; the rash occurs in cosmetically sensitive areas (the face and upper trunk); it is associated with symptoms of pain and pruritus; and superinfections occur in approximately 30% of patients receiving these agents—all of which lead to dose modification by 76% and discontinuation by 32% of oncologists.
The roles of architecture and estrogen depletion in microdamage risk in trabecular bone

Bone quantity, or density, has insufficient power to discriminate fracture risk in individuals. Additional measures of bone quality, such as microarchitectural characteristics and bone tissue properties, including the presence of damage, may improve the diagnosis of fracture risk. Microdamage and microarchitecture are two aspects of trabecular bone quality that are interdependent, with several microarchitectural changes strongly correlated to damage risk after compensating for bone density. This study aimed to delineate the effects of microarchitecture and estrogen depletion on microdamage susceptibility in trabecular bone using an ovariectomized sheep model to mimic post-menopausal osteoporosis. The propensity for microdamage formation in trabecular bone of the distal femur was studied using a sequence of compressive and torsional overloads. Ovariectomy had only minor effects on the microarchitecture at this anatomic site. Microdamage was correlated to bone volume fraction and structure model index (SMI), and ovariectomy increased the sensitivity to these parameters. The latter may be due to either increased resorption cavities acting as stress concentrations or to altered bone tissue properties. Pre-existing damage was also correlated to new damage formation. However, sequential loading primarily generated new cracks as opposed to propagating existing cracks, suggesting that pre-existing microdamage contributes to further damage of bone by shifting load bearing to previously undamaged trabeculae, which are subsequently damaged. The transition from plate-like to rod-like trabeculae, indicated by SMI, dictates this shift, and may be a hallmark of bone that is already predisposed to accruing greater levels of damage through compromised microarchitecture.
At-Home Father Families in the United States: Gender Ideology, Human Capital, and Unemployment

The rising population of stay-at-home fathers is driven by economic conditions, human capital, and changing gender ideology. When unemployment rates increase, women become breadwinners in these families. The growing gender education gap is a crucial factor in spousal work and caregiving arrangements. The authors test these propositions by tracking individuals using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth and the Current Population Survey. They find that unemployment rates are associated with having both caregiving and unable-to-work stay-at-home father families and that the probability that households choose stay-at-home father arrangements is greater when mothers have more education than fathers. Finally, individual differences in gender ideology have strong effects on the probability that families choose a caregiving stay-at-home father family structure.
Characters and Representations After 1897

Frobenius’ papers of 1896–1897 marked the beginning of a new theory, a theory that continued to evolve in various directions for over a half-century. Frobenius himself, along with Burnside, made significant contributions to the theory after 1897, and many new ideas, viewpoints, and directions were introduced by Frobenius’ student Issai Schur (1875–1941), and then by Schur’s student Richard Brauer (1901–1977). In this chapter, these later developments will be sketched, with particular emphasis on matters that relate to the presentation in the previous sections.
Relationship of ground-level ozone with synoptic weather conditions in Chicago

Abstract This study investigates the relationship between ground-level ozone variability and synoptic weather conditions in the Chicago area in the summertime over the period 1990–2014. It shows that the occurrence of dry tropical (DT) weather conditions is most likely to lead to high ozone concentrations. Both the 95th percentile of summertime daily maximum 8-hour-average ozone concentrations and the number of days > 70 ppb are shown to have a greater and more significant correlation with DT weather in recent years (2004–2014) than in the preceding period (1990–2003), indicating an increased dependence of ozone on DT weather. The DT weather is shown to be associated with increased geopotential height, warmer temperature, and slower eastward wind at 500 hPa and also with warmer temperature and increased northward wind near the surface. The results have implications for the likely effect of future climate change on ozone as a result of modified synoptic weather conditions. More frequent episodes of high ozone concentrations can be expected, leading to worsened effects on public health and the environment. It will also make it increasingly challenging for Chicago to attain the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, which has recently been tightened by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
MNOS memory technology with oxynitride thin films

Memory properties of a metal-oxynitride-oxide-silicon (MNOS) device were investigated as a function of amount of oxygen and hydrogen impurities in the oxynitride films. The retention and endurance device characteristics improved by 60% and 10/sup 7/ to 10/sup 8/ cycles, respectively, as 13% oxygen was introduced in the oxynitride film. The interface state density decreased from 5.1 to 3.65/spl times/10/sup 11/ cm/sup -2/ eV/sup -1/, with an increase of approximately 21% oxygen in the oxynitride film, and further decreased to 2.1/spl times/10/sup 11/ cm/sup 2/ eV6/sup -1/ after hydrogen annealing. The results indicate that the nonvolatile memory properties of MNOS devices can be altered and considerably improved by incorporating oxygen in the oxynitride film and selecting appropriate processing and annealing conditions. >
Calculation and decomposition of income inequality in low- and middle-income countries: a survey data analysis

This article estimates income inequality in a sample of four low- and middle-income (LMI) countries namely; Albania, Nepal, Tajikistan and Tanzania using the household survey data – Nepal Living St...
Soft tissue sarcoma.

Soft tissue sarcomas comprise approximately 1% of all adult malignancies. These mesenchymal neoplasms require carefully planned diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to optimize postextirpative functional preservation. Soft tissue sarcomas most frequently occur in the lower extremity and typically require a multidisciplinary team approach with surgical resection, radiation therapy, and possibly chemotherapy for limb salvage.
Comment on “Cluster expansion and the configurational theory of alloys”

Cluster expansions with concentration-independent interactions have been widely used to model the formation energies of alloys. In the Sanchez paper [Phys. Rev. B 81, 224202 (2010)], this practice is called into question based on the argument that a truncated cluster expansion with concentration-independent interactions cannot be used to represent the formation energy of a random alloy if the formation energy is a nonlinear function of concentration. To clarify the validity of using cluster expansions with concentration-independent interactions, I demonstrate that this argument is not necessarily correct.
Transforming functional models to critical chain models via expert knowledge and automatic parsing rules for design analogy identification

Critical chains composed of critical flows and functions have been demonstrated as an effective qualitative analogy retrieval approach based on performance metrics. In prior work, engineers used expert knowledge to transform functional models into critical chain models, which are abstractions of the functional model. Automating this transformation process is highly desirable so as to provide for a robust transformation method. Within this paper, two paradigms for functional modeling abstraction are compared. A series of pruning rules provide an automated transformation approach, and this is compared to the results generated previously through an expert knowledge approach. These two approaches are evaluated against a set of published functional models. The similarity of the resulting transformation of the functional models into critical chain models is evaluated using a functional chain similarity metric, developed in previous work. Once critical chain models are identified, additional model evaluation criteria are used to evaluate the utility of the critical chain models for design analogy identification. Since the functional vocabulary acts as a common language among designers and engineers to abstract and represent critical design artifact information, analogous matching can be made about the functional vocabulary. Thus, the transformation of functional models into critical chain models enables engineers to use functional abstraction as a mechanism to identify design analogies. The critical flow rule is the most effective first step when automatically transforming a functional model to a critical chain model. Further research into more complex critical chain model architectures and the interactions between criteria is merited.
Trends: The Slowdown In Medicaid Spending Growth

New forecasts—including Congressional Budget Office estimates revised in February 1997—show that Medicaid's growth in spending will be much lower than predicted just a year ago.
Stability of Listeria monocytogenes in wheat flour during extended storage and isothermal treatment

Abstract Foodborne pathogens including Salmonella have been implicated in recent recalls of low-water activity (aw) foods, such as peanut butter, almond flour, wheat, flour and dry milk powder, and are primary concerns for the microbiological safety of dry food products. Although there are an increasing number of studies on Salmonella thermal resistance conducted in low-moisture foods, little information is available on Listeria monocytogenes thermal resistance in those products. This study evaluated the survival of L. monocytogenes in wheat flour during long-term storage as well as its thermal resistance in wheat flour equilibrated to aw 0.30, 0.45, and 0.60. L. monocytogenes survived in wheat flour at both aw 0.31 and 0.56 during 6 months of storage at room temperature, with populations decreasing about 2.52 and 6.27 logs at aw 0.31 and 0.56, respectively. Equilibration in low-aw flour enabled L. monocytogenes to become more resistant to thermal treatment. At treatment temperature between 70 and 80 °C, D-values increased with decreasing aw. For aw 0.30. 0.45, and 0.60 (measured at room temperature), respectively, D-value (in min) ranges for 70–80 °C were 37.10–7.08, 17.44–3.13, and 16.85–1.59. The z-values were 12.9, 14.2, and 9.9 °C for aw 0.30, 0.45, and 0.60, respectively. These data highlight the need for vigilance when processing dry foods, and provide valuable information for the industry to validate thermal processing for control of L. monocytogenes in low-moisture foods. This study also offers insight into the development of thermal inactivation strategies to control L. monocytogenes and other foodborne pathogens in foods with similar matrices.
Elements of Automatic Incorporation

In an effort to bring intellectual clarity to a complex subject, Dominice has suggested that an analysis of the relationship of treaties to municipal law should carefully distinguish the three aspects of the validity of treaties in municipal law, their direct application in national law and their rank in relation to national constitutions or legislation.1 Dominice’s helpful distinctions are used in this study as the theoretical framework for elucidating the problems involved in the national application of international labour conventions. The term “status” is used, however, in preference to the term “validity”, employed by Dominice, in order to emphasize the distinction between the international validity of a treaty and its status in national law, i.e., its force as law within a national legal svstem.
Expressions and Operators

Chapter 1 demonstrated how to use statements to get the computer to do something. The statements were made up of keywords and symbols that end with a semicolon. The next step is to examine expressions.
Choosing between Similar to What I Have Verses Different from What I Have: An Analysis of Consumers' Choice of a Late Entrant in Place of a Preferred Pioneer

Research on pioneering advantage delineates various advantages enjoyed by a pioneering brand in many product categories. Some research studies have also found contextual factors that favor a late mover against pioneer, but most research show that on various grounds pioneers possess an edge over its late rivals. Many research studies have approached pioneering advantage from the perspective of consumer behavior and some studies have specifically showed how consumer preference formation processes tend to put pioneers in an ever-advantageous position. Such research studies observe that consumer preferences for ideal product in market are formed by the pioneer's attribute combination in that market. Based on such findings many studies have concluded that for a late-mover product differentiation is relatively more advantageous as compared to adoption of a me-too strategy. On the other hand the exemplary model of schemas, as delineated in psychological literature predicts a different outcome. While, the prototypicality model predicts the loss of individual perceptual space for me-too products the exemplar model predicts the opposite. Unfortunately, there is not enough research focusing on consumers' choices of late entrant products. This study addresses this gap and shows the effect of relative price advantages on consumer's choice of a late entrant. The paper concludes by discussing managerial implications and providing suggestions for future research endeavors in this direction.
On the Drivers of Decadal Variability of the Gulf Stream North Wall

ABSTRACTThe Gulf Stream is bounded to the north by a strong temperature front known as the North Wall. The North Wall is subject to variability on a wide range of temporal and spatial scales—on int...
Epidemiology of Exertional Heat Illnesses in National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes During the 2009-2010 Through 2014-2015 Academic Years.

Context Exertional heat illnesses (EHIs) among football athletes have been widely researched, but data examining all collegiate sports are limited. Objective To describe the epidemiology of EHI in ...
An Exploratory Study on the Knowledge Gap in Public Affairs among Kenyans

The current exploratory survey examines the knowledge gap hypothesis in the context of Kenya (n=1,000). Using education as an indicator of socioeconomic status (SES), the study explores the overall...
Hot Carriers Generated by Plasmons: Where They are Born, Where They are Going and How They Die

A unified theory of plasmon-induced hot carrier generation in metals is developed with all the relevant mechanisms included. Analytical expressions for carrier generation rates, their locations, energies and directions of motion are obtained. © 2019 The Author(s)
Risk Regulation, GMOs and the Limits of Deliberation

Over the past two decades, the Council of Ministers has been drawn into a political maelstrom - the regulation of genetically modified (GM) foods and crops. Beginning with the 1990 Directive on the Deliberate Release into the Environment of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and proceeding through the growing controversy over GMOs in the 1990s, the unofficial moratorium on the approval of new GM varieties between 1999 and 2004, the ongoing transatlantic dispute over GMOs with the United States, and finally the tentative resumption of approvals initiated in 2004, the Council of Ministers has played a central role in the adoption and implementation of one of the most controversial areas of EU regulation. Throughout this period, the Council has been riven by persistent divisions both among its member governments and between the Council as a body and other institutional actors such as the Commission and the European Parliament (EP), and at the same time by pressures from societal actors in Europe, foreign governments such as that of the United States, and international organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Deletion of CISH in Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Natural Killer Cells Enhances Anti-Tumor Activity Via Metabolic Reprogramming

Cellular metabolism is now recognized to play a key role in regulating function and differentiation of immune cells. Immune cells undergo dynamic metabolic shifts to support their activity. Recent studies have shown the importance of metabolism to regulate NK cell function under different conditions. IL-15 can regulate NK cell metabolism in a dose- and time- dependent manner. However, whether improving metabolic fitness of NK cells can lead to improved anti-tumor activity is largely unknown. Here, we deleted CIS (encoded by the CISH gene in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived NK cells (CISH-/- iPSC-NK) using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. CIS is known to function as a critical negative regulator of IL-15 signaling and a potent inhibitory checkpoint in NK cell-mediated anti-tumor activity. Surprisingly, more than 3000 differentially expressed genes were identified in CISH-/- iPSC-NK cells through RNA sequencing analysis. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the top 2 up-regulated signaling pathways were associated with leukocyte differentiation and activation. Notably, more than 50 genes that involved in positive regulation of lymphocyte activation including genes associated with NK cell effector functions were significantly up-regulated in CISH-/- iPSC-NK cells compared with unmodified iPSC-NK cells. As expected, CISH-/- iPSC-NK cells exhibited increased sensitivity to IL-15 stimulation. Specifically, IL-15 stimulated JAK1 tyrosine phosphorylation, STAT3 and STAT5 phosphorylation were all dramatically increased in CISH-/- iPSC-NK cells, compared with unmodified iPSC-NK cells. In addition, when incubated with low concentrations of IL-15 (5 ng/ml), a concentration that does not support the growth and functions of unmodified iPSC-NK cells, CISH-/- iPSC-NK cells maintained significantly better expansion with >10 fold expansion for CISH-/- iPSC-NK cells in 3 weeks, whereas most of WT iPSC-NK cells died under these conditions (p Disclosures Guan: OncoImmune: Equity Ownership. Kaufman: FATE Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding.
Field-Aged Glass/Backsheet and Glass/Glass PV Modules: Encapsulant Degradation Comparison

Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) is the predominant encapsulant in crystalline-silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules; however, its degradation is a subject of major concern, which causes significant power loss under field conditions. This article presents a comparison of EVA degradation in field-aged PV modules with glass/backsheet (G/B) and glass/glass (G/G) architectures. Module-level characterization included UV fluorescence imaging and I–V measurements. Material analytical techniques, including colorimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy, were performed to correlate the module performance parameters with EVA material properties. An intense EVA discoloration in G/G modules was observed, which was corroborated by higher module $I_{sc}$ and P max degradation rates compared with its counterpart G/B modules. Higher power degradation was accompanied by a significant increase in EVA crosslinking, vinyl acetate content, yellowness index, and presence of functional groups containing unsaturated moieties that are linked to degradation products of photothermal reaction, and a higher decrease in the degree of crystallinity. The absence of a polymeric backsheet in hermetically sealed G/G modules, which restricts photobleaching and enhances the entrapment of volatile acetic acid and other degradation by-products, plays a major role in causing higher EVA degradation in G/G modules. This article concludes that EVA might have been a good choice of an encapsulant for the G/B modules over the decades, but it may prove to be an inappropriate choice for the G/G modules because of potential degassing, corrosion, and/or discoloration issues. Ionomers or polyester-based encapsulants like polyolefins could be best suited for G/G modules as it appears to be a current trend in the industry.
Archaeological perspectives on the French in the new world

Archaeological Perspectives on the French in the New World examines the recent contributions of historical archaeology to the growing body of scholarship dedicated to understanding France’s colonia...
Facing a Fragile Future: A Quantitative Investigation Into Perceived Career Barriers Among Diverse Urban Youth With Disabilities

The failure of our current transition planning for culturally and ethnically diverse students with disabilities has been documented throughout the literature. Despite transition mandates, students with disabilities, particularly those from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds, continue to be unemployed or underemployed. The purpose of this study was to document barriers to career goals that students themselves identify. The researchers surveyed 128 urban high school students with disabilities from culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds to identify the barriers they perceived to affect their career planning goals and choices. Students were asked to respond to a questionnaire that asked them to rank the importance of specific career barriers that might keep them from their future career goals. The five most frequently cited barriers included dropping out of school, being lazy, grades, drugs and alcohol, and low school attendance. Significant gender, ethnic, and school preparation differences...
Critical medical ecology and SARS-COV-2 in the urban environment: a pragmatic, dynamic approach to explaining and planning for research and practice.

Practitioners and researchers in the midst of overwhelming coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks are calling for new ways of looking at such pandemics, with an emphasis on human behavior and holistic considerations. Viral outbreaks are characterized by socio-behaviorally-oriented public health efforts aimed at reducing exposure and prevention of morbidity/mortality once infected. These efforts involve different points-of-view, generally, than do those aimed to understand the virus’ natural history. Rampant spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cities clearly signals that urban areas contain conditions favorable for rapid transmission of the virus. The Critical Medical Ecology model is a multidimensional, multilevel way of viewing pandemics comprehensively, rooted simultaneously in microbiology and in anthropology, with shared priority for evolution, context, stressors, homeostasis, adaptation, and power relationships. Viewing COVID-19 with a Critical Medical Ecological lens suggests three important interpretations: 1) COVID-19 is equally — if not more — a socially-driven disease as much as a biomedical disease, 2) the present interventions available for primary prevention of transmission are social and behavioral interventions, and 3) wide variation in COVID-19 hospitalization/death rates is not expected to significantly be attributable to a more virulent and rapidly-evolving virus, but rather to differences in social and behavioral factors — and power dynamics — rather than (solely) biological and clinical factors. Cities especially are challenged due to logistics and volume of patients, and lack of access to sustaining products and services for many residents living in isolation. In the end, SARS-CoV-2 is acting upon dynamic social human beings, entangled within structures and relationships that include but extend far beyond their cells, and in fact beyond their own individual behavior. As a comprehensive way of thinking, the Critical Medical Ecology model helps identify these elements and dynamics in the context of ecological processes that create, shape, and sustain people in their multidimensional, intersecting environments.
Political partisanship and mobility restriction during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract Objectives: Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are effective in curbing the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. All US states have adopted NPI policies, but the compliance to these measures and influence of sociopolitical factors on NPI adherence is unknown. NPI adherence may be approximated by personal mobility in a population that is tracked by anonymous mobile phone data. Study design This is a cross-sectional study of state-level mobility changes across the US. Methods State-level mobility was based on anonymous mobile phone data from multiple participating carriers collected by the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation ( http://www.healthdata.org ). Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to examine the strength and direction of the relationship between political affiliations and mobility restriction across states. Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to assess other factors that may impact personal travel. Results All states experienced a decline in personal mobility but had varying nadirs ranging from a 34% to a 69% reduction in mobility, which was not temporally related to the timing of state-level NPI measures. There was a statistically significant linear and negative correlation (r = −0.79) between the proportion of Republicans/leaning Republicans and NPI adherence across US states. The negative association between Republicans and NPI adherence was significant even when adjusting for urbanization, proportion of essential workers, population, Gini index, and poverty rates. Conclusions Political orientation affects risk perception, which may contribute to the unwillingness of some individuals to perceive the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic as a risk and to comply with NPIs. Our results highlight the importance of sociopolitical factors in disease control and emphasize the importance of bipartisan efforts in fighting the pandemic. These results may have implications for the development, dissemination, and communication of public health policies.
How Interactive Storytelling Persuades: The Mediating Role of Website Contingency and Narrative Transportation

While digital media technology has applied the “choose-your-own-adventure” type of storytelling to many different contexts, a rigorous empirical examination of the persuasive effect of interactive ...
Ethnicity and Self-Employment in Trinidad and Tobago: An Empirical Assessment

In Trinidad and Tobago, the Chinese, Syrian-Lebanese and White ethnic groups have the highest levels of self-employment, while Indians have emerged as the new business class. However, relatively few black Trinidadians are self-employed. Using survey data, this study examines whether these apparent differences in self-employment rates can be explained by differences in attributes, or must be explained by other factors like ethnic inclination/disinclination due to historical/sociological factors. We find substantial differences in the self-employment rates of the various ethnic groups, with black Trinidadians having the lowest rates, Indians and mixed Trinidadians have the second highest, and the Chinese, Syrian-Lebanese and whites having the highest probability of being self-employed of all ethnic groups. These differences in the probability that members of a given ethnic group will be self-employed persist even after controlling for individual characteristics that also affect the self-employment choice. We conclude with a discussion of the various historical/sociological factors that might explain differences in ethnic self-employment rates including the effects of colonisation, the importance that each group places on family ties, and each groups' appraisal of its status and opportunities relative to the other ethnic groups in the country.
Diastereo- and Enantioselective Ruthenium-Catalyzed C-C Coupling of 1-Arylpropynes and Alcohols: Alkynes as Chiral Allylmetal Precursors in Carbonyl anti -(α-Aryl)allylation.

Highly tractable 1-aryl-1-propynes, which are readily accessible via Sonogashira coupling, serve as chiral allylmetal pronucleophiles in ruthenium-JOSIPHOS-catalyzed anti-diastereo- and enantiosele...
Improving antibody thermostability based on statistical analysis of sequence and structural consensus data

The use of Monoclonal Antibodies (MAbs) as therapeutics has been increasing over the past 30 years due to their high specificity and strong affinity towards the target. One of the major challenges towards their use as drugs is their low thermostability, which impacts both efficacy as well as manufacturing and delivery. To aid the design of thermally more stable mutants, consensus sequence-based method has been widely used. These methods typically have a success rate of about 50% with maximum melting temperature increment ranging from 10 to 32°C. In order to improve the prediction performance, we have developed a new and fast MAbs specific method by adding a 3D structural layer to the consensus sequence method. This is done by analyzing the close-by residue pairs which are conserved in more than eight hundred MAbs9 3D structures. Major advantage of this structural level assessment is in significantly reducing the false positives by almost half from the consensus sequence method alone. In summary, combining consensus sequence and structural residue pair covariance methods, we developed an inhouse application for predicting human MAb thermostability to guide protein engineers to design more stable molecules. This application has shown success in designing MAb engineering panels in multiple biologics programs.
Equality of areas among the ears of the Routh triangle

Figure 1 below shows a triangle ABC and three cevians AX, BY and CZ with intersection points
Defending Uselessness: Rousseau’s Harmless and Happy Idleness:

While also valuing useful citizenship, Rousseau offers what is perhaps the most substantive modern account and defense of idleness. According to Rousseau, idleness’ attraction lies in its relation ...
Psychotherapy and AIDS

The Centers for Disease Control first described the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1981 (CDC, 1981a,b), but cases have now been traced back to 1979 (Curran, 1983). Since that time it has spread rapidly both nationally and internationally, with the number of cases doubling every six months. The disease most often attacks healthy young adults and destroys components of their immune systems, which makes them susceptible to various opportunistic infections and cancers. At present, there is no treatment which will restore immunologic competency. The course of the disease is one of progressive deterioration and death, with a mortality rate of approximately 80% in two years (Dowdle, 1983). AIDS has been designated as the nation’s number one health priority by the Public Health Service (Brandt, 1983).
Paclitaxel improves outcome from traumatic brain injury

Abstract Pharmacologic interventions for traumatic brain injury (TBI) hold promise to improve outcome. The purpose of this study was to determine if the microtubule stabilizing therapeutic paclitaxel used for more than 20 years in chemotherapy would improve outcome after TBI. We assessed neurological outcome in mice that received direct application of paclitaxel to brain injury from controlled cortical impact (CCI). Magnetic resonance imaging was used to assess injury-related morphological changes. Catwalk Gait analysis showed significant improvement in the paclitaxel group on a variety of parameters compared to the saline group. MRI analysis revealed that paclitaxel treatment resulted in significantly reduced edema volume at site-of-injury (11.92±3.0 and 8.86±2.2 mm3 for saline vs. paclitaxel respectively, as determined by T2-weighted analysis; p≤0.05), and significantly increased myelin tissue preservation (9.45±0.4 vs. 8.95±0.3, p≤0.05). Our findings indicate that paclitaxel treatment resulted in improvement of neurological outcome and MR imaging biomarkers of injury. These results could have a significant impact on therapeutic developments to treat traumatic brain injury.
The Native Ground: Indians and Colonists in the Heart of the Continent

In "The Native Ground", Kathleen DuVal argues that it was Indians rather than European would-be colonizers who were more often able to determine the form and content of the relations between the two groups. Along the banks of the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers, far from Paris, Madrid, and London, European colonialism met neither accommodation nor resistance but incorporation. Rather than being colonized, Indians drew European empires into local patterns of land and resource allocation, sustenance, goods exchange, gender relations, diplomacy, and warfare. Placing Indians at the center of the story, DuVal shows both their diversity as well as our contemporary tendency to exaggerate the influence of Europeans in places far from their centers of power. Europeans were at times more dependent on Indians than Indians were on them. With keen insight and broad vision, Kathleen DuVal retells the story of Indian and European contact in a more complex and, ultimately, more satisfactory way.
COMPARING FINANCIAL SYSTEMS: A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS y

This paper presents an equilibrium model of the flnancial system with heterogenous flrms and two flnancial instruments, market and intermediated flnance. The model generates, at the industry level, endogenous distributions of flrm sizes and shares of market flnance in total external flnance given exogenous industry-level distributions of productivity across flrms and exogenous country- level flnancing costs. We estimate the implied relative cost of market flnance using data on France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK and flnd that the UK has a larger share of market flnance than continental countries, but this is explained by larger flrms and not lower relative cost of market flnance. The model is also used to explore the welfare consequences of the complementarity between production and the flnancial instruments.
Component-composition based heart isolation for 3D volume visualization of coronary arteries

Heart isolation (separating the heart from the neighboring tissues, e.g., lung, liver, and rib cage) is a prerequisite to generate a 3D volume visualization as an intuitive view for coronary disease diagnosis and treatment planning. Previously, we proposed a component-carving based heart isolation approach by removing unwanted background tissues (e.g., non-cardiac structures, left atrial appendage, and pulmonary veins/arteries) sequentially. However, the final mask usually has many small extra pieces due to the difficulty to model and segment all background tissues. In this paper, we propose a component-composition based approach, which starts from an empty mask and then adds in wanted components (coronary arteries, four chambers, and the aorta) segmented from the original image. The proposed method can generate a much cleaner mask than the component-carving approach since only the wanted structures are added and the segmentation of the heart chambers and the aorta is more robust and accurate due to their greater predictability.
Beals-Cordes-type characterizations of pseudodifferential operators

We show that, if U is the representation of SOe(n+1, 1) on L2(Sn) given by (2.11), and P is a bounded operator on L2(Sn), then P belongs to OPS?,o(Sn) if and only if P(g) = U(g)PU(g)>1 is a C? function on SOe(n+ 1, 1) with values in the Banach space L(L2(Sn)).