cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Two-Parameter Pareto Distribution

The Pareto distribution was introduced by Pickands (1975) and has since been applied to a number of areas including socio-economic phenomena, physical and biological processes (Saksena and Johnson, 1984), reliability studies and the analysis of environmental extremes. Davison and Smith (1990) pointed out that the Pareto distribution might form the basis of a broad modeling approach to high-level exceedances. DuMouchel (1983) applied it to estimate the stable index a to measure tail thickness, whereas Davison (1984a, 1984b) modeled contamination due to long-range atmospheric transport of radionuclides. van Montfort and Witter (1985, 1986, 1991) applied the Pareto distribution to model the peaks over threshold (POT) streamflows and rainfall series, and Smith (1984, 1987) applied it to analyze flood frequencies. Similarly, Joe (1987) employed it to estimate quantiles of the maximum of a set of observations. Wang (1991) applied it to develop a peak over threshold (POT) model for flood peaks with Poisson arrival time, whereas Rosbjerg et al. (1992) compared the use of the 2-parameter Pareto and exponential distributions as distribution models for exceedances with the parent distribution being a generalized Pareto distribution. In an extreme value analysis of the flow of Burbage Brook, Barrett (1992) used the Pareto distribution to model the POT flood series with Poisson interarrival times. Davison and Smith (1990) presented a comprehensive analysis of the extremes of data by use of the Pareto distribution for modeling the sizes and occurrences of exceedances over high thresholds.
Workflow in Robotic Surgery

The introduction of a robotic system into the operating room (OR) creates the need for an organized workflow. This chapter discusses the workflow in robotic surgery, including room setup, positioning, room flow, staffing, and instrumentation. A case workflow checklist (Table 7.1) outlines all the major steps to promote a seamless operation.
Polarimetric Requirements for Epoch of Reionization Observations

Radio observations of the 21 cm (1420 MHz) fine-structure splitting of the ground state of neutral hydrogen have been an essential component of astronomy for over 60 years. Because the expansion of the universe encodes information about the distance to an emitter in the redshift of its wavelength, it is possible to observe the redshifted 21 cm line and obtain fully three-dimensional information about the location of neutral hydrogen at early times. Recent scientific interest in observing the highly redshifted (50 - 250 MHz) emission of neutral hydrogen has been spurred by the promise of a unique view into the first billion years of the universe's history, by revealing – in three dimensions, and over time – the formation of the first stars, galaxies, and black holes through their effect on the thermal and ionization state of the intergalactic medium. Measurements of this signal will require an unprecedented understanding of the properties of low-frequency radio interferometers and careful data analysis to separate the strong intervening “foreground” emission from other, nearer, astrophysical sources from the desired signal. A powerful tool for this separation is by contrasting the spectral “smoothness” of the foreground signal, primarily synchrotron emission, from the highly spectrally structured cosmological line signal. This signal is intrinsically unpolarized, but because Faraday-rotated polarized emission is spectrally structured in a way difficult to distinguish statistically from the cosmological signal, a high degree of isolation of polarized leakage from Stokes Q and U to I is necessary. A thorough understanding of the instrument's polarization properties are necessary to separate Faraday-rotated astrophysical emission from the expected signal and to achieve high dynamic range imaging. We review the crucial elements of polarized interferometry and the current state of the art.
A numerical method for coupling the BGK model and Euler equations through the linearized Knudsen layer

Abstract The Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) model, a simplification of the Boltzmann equation, in the absence of boundary effect, converges to the Euler equations when the Knudsen number is small. In practice, however, Knudsen layers emerge at the physical boundary, or at the interfaces between the two regimes. We model the Knudsen layer using a half-space kinetic equation, and apply a half-space numerical solver [19] , [20] to quantify the transition between the kinetic to the fluid regime. A full domain numerical solver is developed with a domain-decomposition approach, where we apply the Euler solver and kinetic solver on the appropriate subdomains and connect them via the half-space solver. In the nonlinear case, linearization is performed upon local Maxwellian. Despite the lack of analytical support, the numerical evidence nevertheless demonstrate that the linearization approach is promising.
Surface Structure of Co3O4 (111) under Reactive Gas-Phase Environments

In this work, we thoroughly examined the structure of the Co3O4 (111) surface under oxidative and reductive conditions, i.e. in equilibrium with realistic pressures of O2/H2O and H2/H2O, using dens...
Introduction and Definitions

Reverse osmosis (RO) technology has grown extensively in recent years; many new types of membranes are now available, leading to an increase in various applications. Improvements have been made in membrane materials making them more pH, temperature, and chlorine resistant than the traditional cellulose acetate membranes. The ability of membranes to separate simultaneously, or selectively, organic and inorganic solutes from aqueous systems without phase change offers substantial energy savings and flexibility in the design of separation processes. The industrial development of noncellulosic, thin-film composite (TFC) membranes has provided better flux performance and enhanced separations of organics under lower operating pressures than those obtained with cellulosic membranes.
Discrete Supply Modulation of a Three-Stage K-Band PA

A three-stage K-band GaN MMIC amplifier with over 20 dB of saturated gain, greater than 4 W peak output power, and a peak PAE over 40 % is characterized using supply modulation. A discrete supply modulator is used to track the 50 MHz noise-like signal used for testing. Drain supply modulation increases the efficiency by 9 percentage points and, through the use of a flat-gain shaping function, does not degrade the linearity compared to the static supply case for the same output power. An adaptive shaping function for the discrete supply modulator further improves supply modulation performance in back-off. This work demonstrates an improvement in efficiency without the need for pre-distortion and, to the best of the authors' knowledge, is the first demonstration of supply modulation on a GaN PA at K-Band.
Pediatric Airway Management Education and Training

Education in medicine, informed by research findings, is moving away from the traditional apprenticeship model and increasingly embraces new, active learning methodologies. In this article, we will review these methodologies along with adult learning theories; we explore the available evidence on acquisition and maintenance of pediatric airway management skills, including technical and nontechnical skills. We recall the elements of a competency-based curriculum and how they can be applied in pediatric airway skill training and suggest mapping strategies based on research evidence. We propose future directions in education and educational research in the field.
Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering using a miniature dispersive Rowland refocusing spectrometer

X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) beamlines worldwide are steadily increasing their emphasis on full photon-in/photon-out spectroscopies, such as resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy (RXES) and high energy resolution fluorescence detection XAS (HERFD-XAS). In such cases, each beamline must match the choice of emission spectrometer to the scientific mission of its users. Previous work has recently reported a miniature tender X-ray spectrometer using a dispersive Rowland refocusing (DRR) geometry that functions with high energy resolution even with a large X-ray spot size on the sample [Holden et al. (2017). Rev. Sci. Instrum. 88, 073904]. This instrument has been used in the laboratory in multiple studies of non-resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy using a conventional X-ray tube, though only for preliminary measurements at a low-intensity microfocus synchrotron beamline. This paper reports an extensive study of the performance of a miniature DRR spectrometer at an unfocused wiggler beamline, where the incident monochromatic flux allows for resonant studies which are impossible in the laboratory. The results support the broader use of the present design and also suggest that the DRR method with an unfocused beam could have important applications for materials with low radiation damage thresholds and that would not survive analysis on focused beamlines.
AANEM survey of training in electrodiagnostic medicine in U.S. residency programs

Background Little literature exists describing resident training in peripheral electrodiagnosis (EDX). Methods U.S. residency programs in neurology and physical medicine and rehabilitation (PMR training averaged 22 weeks in PM&R programs. EDX experience was required in all PM&R and in 90% of neurology programs. Results varied greatly for the residency years of training, pulling of residents for other responsibilities, participation in continuity clinics, number of teaching physicians, number of needle examinations performed, organization of nerve conduction training, written/oral examinations, muscle/nerve biopsy reviews, and training materials. Conclusions This survey demonstrated large variability in training of neurology and PM&R residents in peripheral EDX.
Bidirectional Capacitive Wireless Power Transfer for Energy Balancing in Modular Robots

A modular approach to the complex robotic systems is desireable due to advantages such as ease of development, reconfigurability, and re-usability. Powering these dynamic structures while maintaining ease of assembly and versatile form-factor is a challenge. One promising solution is to exchange energy between modules which each have a small battery. Performing this exchange of energy using mechanical connections is not only unreliable but also limits the reconfigurability of the modules. In this paper, we present a bidirectional capacitive wireless power transfer scheme for energy balancing between different robot modules. A modified CMCDE topology is also presented to make the power transfer resilient to the changes in the robot dimensions. The concept is verified by demonstrating 20 W of power transfer between two modules at 13.56 MHz achieving a dc-dc efficiency of 79 % that is resilient to the changes in the track length.
Rapid Recovery from COVID-19 Respiratory Failure with Comorbidity in 21 Patients Treated with Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide

Background: Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) is known to bind to and protect Alveolar Type II cells by blocking replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, inhibiting cytokine synthesis, preventing cytopathy, and upregulating surfactant production. RLF-100™ (aviptadil), a synthetic form of VIP has been granted Fast Track Designation for treating Critical COVID-19 with Respiratory Failure and is currently in phase 2/3 placebo-controlled trials. Methods: Case series of 21 consecutive patients with Acute Respiratory Failure in Critical COVID-19 and multiple co-morbidities, treated with intravenous VIP. Sixteen patients were treated with mechanical ventilation and five with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Results: So far, 19 of 21 patients have survived. Improved radiographic appearance was seen in both lungs of 17 patients and in one lung of 2 patients. A mean 292% increase in PaO2:FiO2 ratio was seen with complete remission from respiratory failure in 9 patients and ongoing improvement in 10. Seven patients were discharged from the hospital, 7 sent to intermediate care, and 5 remain in the ICU. Three of 5 patients on ECMO have been decannulated and two have been discharged. A 75% (95% CI±3%: P<.001) reduction in IL-6 was seen with corresponding decrease in C-reactive protein. A median 4 point reduction in the NIAID Ordinal Scale was observed (P<.01). Comment: The short term outcomes in these 21 patients represent a dramatic response in patients who are excluded from all other trials of COVID therapeutics. Improvement in radiographic appearance, oxygenation requirement, and inflammatory markers is consistent with in vitro evidence of direct anti-viral effect. Trial Registration: Expanded Access Protocol (EAP), NCT04453839. Funding Statement: Research support was provided by the Cavendish Impact Foundation and Princeton Alumni Angels. Clinical trial funding was provided by Relief Therapeutics Holdings, AG, Geneva and NeuroRx, Inc. Declaration of Interests: Author JCJ is employed by NeuroRx, Inc., a pharmaceutical company that is currently conducting clinical trials of RLF-100 in patients with COVID-19 and is Vice Chairman Elect of Relief Therapeutics, all other authors have no declaration to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: Human subjects’ protection was overseen by Advarra IRB, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the Houston Methodist Hospital, and by an independent Data Monitoring Committee.
Variants of significance: medical genetics and surgical outcomes in congenital heart disease.

Purpose of review This article reviews the current understanding and limitations in knowledge of the effect genetics and genetic diagnoses have on perioperative and postoperative surgical outcomes in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Recent findings Presence of a known genetic diagnosis seems to effect multiple significant outcome metrics in CHD surgery including length of stay, need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, mortality, bleeding, and heart failure. Data regarding the effects of genetics in CHD is complicated by lack of standard genetic assessment resulting in inaccurate risk stratification of patients when analyzing data. Only 30% of variation in CHD surgical outcomes are explained by currently measured variables, with 2.5% being attributed to diagnosed genetic disorders, it is thought a significant amount of the remaining outcome variation is because of unmeasured genetic factors. Summary Genetic diagnoses clearly have a significant effect on surgical outcomes in patients with CHD. Our current understanding is limited by lack of consistent genetic evaluation and assessment as well as evolving knowledge and discovery regarding the genetics of CHD. Standardizing genetic assessment of patients with CHD will allow for the best risk stratification and ultimate understanding of these effects.
Clock data recovery: a system perspective

With shrinking unit intervals (UI), the optimal horizontal centering of the reference sampling point becomes an important consideration for the choice of the phase detector and associated timing recovery method. Optimization of the timing recovery and link equalization can be greatly enhanced by the proper choice of timing function which, in conjunction, with proper equalization techniques will greatly improve the system performance. The material in this chapter has presented an overview of some of the considerations involved in the choice of phase detectors for good horizontal centering as well as good dynamic tracking characteristics and has introduced some analysis techniques to make quantitative comparisons to enable architectural decisions.
The impact of gender and political affiliation on trolling

Political trolling on social media platforms is more common than ever before, attracting media and scholarly attention. We examined if trolling target’s gender and ideology impact the extent of trolling towards their tweet, based on content analysis of 3,000 Twitter comments. We found both main and interaction effects of gender and political affiliation on trolling, specifically: tweets by female politicians were trolled more than tweets by male; tweets by Republicans were trolled more than tweets by Democrats; and tweets by male Democrats were trolled less than tweets by all other politicians.
FRI0465 TOFACITINIB POPULATION PHARMACOKINETICS IN CHILDREN WITH JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS: A POOLED ANALYSIS OF DATA FROM THREE CLINICAL STUDIES

Background: Tofacitinib is an oral JAK inhibitor that is being investigated for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Objectives: To describe tofacitinib pharmacokinetics (PK) in patients with JIA, identify potential covariates accounting for variability in exposure, assess the formulation effect of oral solution vs tablet and propose a simplified dosing regimen. Methods: This was a pooled analysis of data from 3 tofacitinib clinical studies in patients with JIA aged 2− Results: Of 246 patients in the analysis, 74.0% were female; 87.8% were white, 2% were black, 10.2% were ‘other’ races and no patients were Asian. Median (range) BW was 46.3 (11.1−121.8) kg. Initially, 100 patients received oral solution and 146 patients received tablets; 11 patients switched formulations during the studies. A one compartment disposition model with first-order absorption and a lag time sufficiently described the data. Final estimates for CL/F, V/F and the first-order absorption rate constant (ka) for tablets were 26.1 L/hr, 89.2 L and 2.78 hr-1, respectively. The only statistically significant covariate was a formulation effect on ka. All parameters were estimated adequately. Estimated allometric exponents were 0.310 for CL/F and 0.537 for V/F. Absorption was described with an estimated lag time of 0.186 hr, and the oral solution had a 1.64-fold faster absorption rate vs the tablet. VPCs sufficiently described the observed data over time, across BWs and ages. Given the PK characterisation and variability in patients with JIA, a simplified dosing scheme was proposed, targeting Cavg values equivalent to those in patients receiving 5 mg BID: 3.2 mg BID solution in patients 10− Conclusion: Tofacitinib population PK in patients with JIA were adequately described by a one compartment model parameterised in terms of CL/F, V/F and first-order absorption with a lag time. Drug absorption from the oral solution was faster than from the tablet. Tofacitinib does not require dose modification or restrictions for any covariates, except BW, to account for differences in Cavg. Based on the results of this analysis, a simplified BW-based dosing regimen was proposed. Acknowledgments: Study sponsored by Pfizer Inc. Medical writing support was provided by Sarah Piggott of CMC Connect and funded by Pfizer Inc. Disclosure of Interests: Camille Vong Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, at time of analysis, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, at time of analysis, Xiaoxing Wang Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, Anasuya Hazra Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, at time of analysis, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, at time of analysis, Arnab Mukherjee Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, Timothy Nicholas Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc, Cheng Chang Shareholder of: Pfizer Inc, Employee of: Pfizer Inc
The Future of antibiotics and other additives in livestock feed

My talk this morning will focus on several current issues involving the use of drugs in animal feeds. I will discuss these issues from the FDA perspective and in each case, I will give you my views on the future. My perspective is obviously not the only one and my crystal ball is not always 100% accurate, so when we are into the question and discussion time, I will be interested in your opinions, as well.
Feature Extraction and Visualization of Respiratory Therapist Notes for Pediatric Long-Term Ventilator Dependent Patients

Children with long-term ventilator dependence are a growing population that generate substantial cost to the healthcare system and require very lengthy admissions to initiate support. Respiratory therapy notes contain free-text descriptions of key respiratory events during these admissions but are underutilized. Using a retrospective electronic health record data set from 101 patients, we identified more clinically concerning patients, extracted key features from the free-text notes that differentiated these patients, and displayed those features in a timeline visualization that has implications for clinical decision support.
Participation equality and influence: cues and status in computer-supported cooperative works groups

We examined status effects in face-to-face and computer-mediated three-person groups. Our expectation that low status members in computer-mediated group discussions would participate more equally, and have more influence over decisions, than their counterparts in face-to-face groups was not confirmed. The results suggest that knowledge of status differences and labels were used to form cognitive impressions of other group members. It seems that when group members are aware of the status characteristics of the group, social cues were magnified rather than reduced. Implications of these findings for mixed status cooperative work groups and for the design of computer communication systems are discussed.
Using Wikipedia for Automatic Word Sense Disambiguation

This paper describes a method for generating sense-tagged data using Wikipedia as a source of sense annotations. Through word sense disambiguation experiments, the authors show that the Wikipedia-based sense annotations are reliable and can be used to construct accurate sense classifiers.
Sphingosine-mediated phosphatidylinositol metabolism and calcium mobilization.

Abstract The cytokine-mediated stimulation of sphingomyelin (SM) metabolism is emerging as an important signal transduction pathway via the generation of ceramide and sphingosine, products which have been shown to affect a wide variety of biological processes. Because SM-mediated signal transduction is initiated via the hydrolysis of an integral membrane phospholipid by a phospholipase C-like enzyme (sphingomyelinase) to yield lipids which modulate protein kinase C activity, the SM and phosphatidylinositol (PI) signaling pathways share certain similarities. The present study was undertaken to examine the potential for interplay between SM and PI turnover by testing the effects of sphingosine, sphingosine-1-phosphate, and ceramide on PI turnover. In dermal fibroblasts, sphingosine stimulated a rapid dose-dependent hydrolysis of PI, yielding inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate, followed by increased levels of intracellular calcium. Sphingosine-induced inositol phosphate (IP) accumulation was observed between 5 and 30 microM sphingosine with a maximal accumulation of 2.7-fold over control levels. Enhanced IP formation was measured as early as 5 s following sphingosine treatment and IP levels remained elevated for more than 60 min. Intracellular calcium mobilization accompanied the dose-dependent accumulation of IPs in response to sphingosine, although this effect was not apparent until after a 30-40-s lag period. Interestingly, sphingosine-1-phosphate stimulated a more rapid release of intracellular Ca2+ than sphingosine, but it had no effect on PI turnover. DL-threo-Dihydrosphingosine, a competitive inhibitor of sphingosine kinase, stimulates both PI turnover and Ca2+ flux, but does not block the action of sphingosine relative to those two processes. Ceramide (added as C2-ceramide), N-stearylamine, and stearoyl-D-sphingosine did not affect PI turnover or Ca2+ mobilization. Pretreatment of intact cells with pertussis toxin partially inhibited sphingosine-mediated IP accumulation, suggesting a role for guanine nucleotide binding protein(s) (G protein) in sphingosine-stimulated PI turnover. Furthermore, guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) stimulated, whereas guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) inhibited, sphingosine-induced IP accumulation in permeabilized cells. Collectively, these data suggest that sphingosine enhances PI turnover by stimulating phospholipase C activity, and the activation of this process may be modulated by G protein interactions. Thus, the regulation of PI turnover and Ca2+ mobilization by sphingosine may represent another mechanism by which sphingosine modulates cell function and that these effects can be distinguished from those of ceramide.
Symbolic compositional verification by learning assumptions

The verification problem for a system consisting of components can be decomposed into simpler subproblems for the components using assume-guarantee reasoning. However, such compositional reasoning requires user guidance to identify appropriate assumptions for components. In this paper, we propose an automated solution for discovering assumptions based on the L* algorithm for active learning of regular languages. We present a symbolic implementation of the learning algorithm, and incorporate it in the model checker NuSMV. Our experiments demonstrate significant savings in the computational requirements of symbolic model checking.
Perception and Control of Locomotion

Abstract : Over the past four years we have been studying problems of control and coordination with funds from AFOSR. Work over the first three years has been reviewed in the final report for the original AFOSR award (Flach, 1996). This report reviews work for the last year of the ASSERT grant. This work has focused on perception and control of low altitude flight. Experimental work from two synthetic task environments is described in this report. The first environment involved descent to low altitude. The key independent variables were speed of forward motion and optical texture (dot, grid, splay, depression). Results showed an interaction between texture and speed. For textures that contained depression information, the rate of approach to asymptote decreased with increasing forward speed. This was not true for splay texture. These results are consistent with previous experimental work and support the signal-to-noise hypothesis (Flach, Hagen, & Larish, 1992). The second environment involved collision avoidance. The key independent variables were speed of approach and the climb dynamics. The results showed that subjects were sensitive to both the dynamic constraints and uncertainties associated with action. Performance curves approached the optimal performance boundaries in state space. The buffer between the optimal boundary and the performance curves was proportional to the variability of responses. These two studies illustrate an active psychophysics paradigm that focuses on perceptual-motor coordination within closed-loop control tasks. The results are consistent with the logic of optimal control models that incorporate both dynamic constraints and uncertainty (perceptual and motor noise) as critical components in the model of the human operator.
Characteristics of metal/tunnel-oxide/n/p+ silicon switching devices—II: Two-dimensional effects in oxide-isolated structures

Abstract Effects of oxide isolation on the two-terminal D.C. characteristics of metal/tunnel-oxide/ n / p + silicon switching devices have been studied. Recent experimental results have shown that the switching characteristics are strongly dependent on area, and area-to-perimeter ratio of the device. To carry out a systematic investigation of this phenomenon, the devices in this study were isolated using V -grooves of various areas. For a given tunnel-oxide thickness and area, it was found that the magnitude of the switching voltage and holding current of the device increased with isolation area, whereas the switching current remained essentially constant. Furthermore, it is shown that the switching current is almost completely determined by the characteristics of the tunnel-oxide; in particular, the minority carrier concentration at the SiSiO 2 interface. Physical arguments are presented which adequately explain the observed trends. It is also experimentally shown that both switching current and holding current decrease as the tunnel-oxide thickness is increased. A simple two-dimensional model for the oxide-isolated MISS device is derived which effectively explains the above area-related phenomena. In agreement with experimental results, the model predicts that for a given tunnel-oxide thickness and area, an increase in switching voltage magnitude and holding current will result as the isolated p + - n junction area is increased. Calculations based on this model are shown to be in good agreement with experimental data.
Induction of oxidative stress by Taxol® vehicle Cremophor-EL triggers production of interleukin-8 by peripheral blood mononuclear cells through the mechanism not requiring de novo synthesis of mRNA.

Abstract Understanding the ability of cytotoxic oncology drugs, and their carriers and formulation excipients, to induce pro-inflammatory responses is important for establishing safe and efficacious formulations. Literature data about cytokine response induction by the traditional formulation of paclitaxel, Taxol®, are controversial, and no data are available about the pro-inflammatory profile of the nano-albumin formulation of this drug, Abraxane®. Herein, we demonstrate and explain the difference in the cytokine induction profile between Taxol® and Abraxane®, and describe a novel mechanism of cytokine induction by a nanosized excipient, Cremophor EL, which is not unique to Taxol® and is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry for delivery of a wide variety of small molecular drugs. From the Clinical Editor Advances in nanotechnology have enabled the production of many nano-formulation drugs. The cellular response to drugs has been reported to be different between traditional and nano-formulations. In this article, the authors investigated and compared cytokine response induction profiles between Taxol® and Abraxane®. The findings here provided further understanding to create drugs with better safety profiles.
Toward a Methodology for Systematically Generating Energy- and Materials-Efficient Concepts Using Biological Analogies

Energy- and materials-efficient designs are highly valued in the context of sustainable product design, but realizing products with significant changes in efficiency is a difficult task. One means to address this challenge is to use biological analogies during ideation. The use of biological analogies in the design process has been shown to greatly increase the novelty of concepts generated, and many authors in the bioinspired design (BID) community contend that efficiency-related benefits may be conferred as well. However, there is disagreement in the field as to when, how, and why efficiency-related benefits might arise in BIDs. This work explores these issues in-depth. A review of BID literature and an empirical study of BIDs lead to a better understanding of the types of efficiency advantages conferred by BID and set the stage for the development of tools and methods to systematically generate more energy- and materials-efficient design concepts using biological analogies.
Persistent infection and suppression of host response by alphaviruses.

Alphaviruses cause chronic noncytopathic infection in mosquito cells and develop a highly cytopathic infection in a wide variety of cells of vertebrate origin. Upon infection, alphaviruses modify cellular processes to meet the virus needs for propagation. Downregulation of translation and transcription caused by viral infection appears to reduce interferon (IFN) and cytokine gene expression and allows more efficient dissemination of infection. Alphaviruses with mutations in non structural protein nsP2 can become less cytopathic and capable of persisting in some vertebrate cell lines for a number of passages. nsP2 likely functions as an important regulator of virus-host cell interactions and plays a significant role in suppressing the antiviral response. Mammalian cells having no defects in type I IFN system react to replication of the nsP2 viral mutants by more efficient activation oflFN and IFN-dependent genes and are capable of eliminating established alphavirus infection. Blocking of IFN-α/β signaling makes mouse fibroblasts unable to stop replication of Sindbis virus (SINV) with mutated nsP2 and leads to persistent infection. Downregulation of transcription and translation during alphavirus infection are quite independent events, and both probably are involved in inhibition of the antiviral response.
Viruses of mycoplasmas and spiroplasmas.

Publisher Summary The term mycoplasma refers to a group of microorganisms (Class Mollicutes, Order Mycoplasmatales), previously known as pleuropneumonia-like organisms or PPLO. The many different isolates have been cataloged into the genera mycoplasma, acholeplasma, ureaplasma or T-strains, spiroplasma, thermoplasmn, and anaeroplasma. Mycoplasmas are clinically important microorganisms, and include the etiologic agents of a variety of plant and animal diseases. In human studies, mycoplasma pneumoniae has been found to be a pathogen and other mycoplasmas (of unknown etiology) have been isolated in clinical situations. Mycoplasmas are also frequently found as contaminants in tissue cultures. The biology of the mycoplasmas has been reviewed recently and some of their properties are summarized in this chapter. These prokaryotes do not have cell walls and are bounded by a single lipoprotein cell membrane. Mycoplasma, ureaplasma, spiroplasma, and anaeroplasma require sterol for growth. Some mycoplasma isolates are the smallest cells that have been found, and the genome sizes of the mycoplasma and ureaplasma are among the smallest reported.
Beyond Investigations: Differential Response in Child Protective Services

Until relatively recently, the only way that most Child Protective Services (CPS) systems could respond to allegations of child abuse and neglect was through an investigation. Concerns with certain elements of this forensic approach to child protection led to the development of a CPS reform known as Differential Response. This chapter will describe the key elements of a Differential Response approach to child protective services and highlight how it differs from a traditional investigative approach. Although a core set of practice elements have been defined that characterize Differential Response systems, wide variations in practice exist between systems, several of which will be described. As with most child welfare interventions, rigorous research on the effectiveness of Differential Response systems is limited, but quickly growing. A summary and critical review of the current evidence is provided, as well as suggestions for next steps.
Natural Science Approaches to Questions of Subjectivity

Commentaire critique de l'article de Heshusius reliant les faiblesses des recherches et des pratiques en education speciale a l'adoption d'un paradigme emprunte au champ des sciences naturelles
Superconducting Transition-Edge Sensor Bolometers with Integrated Electron-tunneling Refrigerators

We discuss the development of an array of superconducting Transition-Edge Sensor (TES) bolometers intended for use at millimeter wavelengths. Each bolometer in the array uses a proximity-effect TES sensing element and each has integrated Normal-Insulator-Superconductor (NIS) refrigerators to cool the bolometer below the reference bath temperature. The NIS refrigerators and bolometers are fabricated on a single Silicon substrate. Four short, thin and narrow legs suspend the millimeter wavelength radiation-absorbing element. The leg geometry is used to control and optimize the thermal conductance of the bolometer. Using the technology developed at NIST, we fabricated NIS refrigerators at the base of each of the suspension legs. These NIS refrigerators remove hot electrons by quantum-mechanical tunneling and should be capable of reducing the temperature of the biased (∼10 pW) bolometers by more than 100 mK when operating from a local thermal reservoir provided by a 3He system at ∼300 mK. This lower temperature at the bolometer will allow the detectors to approach background-limited performance despite the simple cryogenic system. In this paper we describe the progress toward the development of these detectors designed for use in observations at the 100 m Green Bank Telescope at 3 mm wavelength and the results of laboratory tests of a prototype detector.
Linear and curvilinear relationships between student practice and achievement in physical education

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between student practice trials and achievement in physical education classes. Middle school/junior high school students (N = 202) were pretested and posttested on two volleyball skills. Between tests students received seven classes of instruction. Data were collected from videotapes on the quantity and quality of individual student practice trials. Linear, quadratic, and cubic relationships of practice with residualized achievement were determined. For both skills, appropriate practice trials were positively related to achievement and inappropriate trials negatively related to achievement. Other linear and curvilinear relationships were found.
Comparison of some methods for collecting and analyzing data on aboveground net production and diversity of herbaceous vegetation in a northern Utah subalpine context

Our major objective was to compare methods of collecting and analyzing data on herbaceous aboveground net primary production and plant diversity in sequence of sites inferred to represent a meadow → aspen → fir → spruce-sere in the middle Rocky Mountains. These comparisons should help us better interpret the literature and prepare for monitoring vegetation trends due to global climatic changes. Both absolute and relative values for above net primary production were highly dependent on methods used. The magnitude of differences in community diversity also varied greatly depending on the methods used to express plant richness, equitability, heterogeneity and dominance. We conclude that it is impossible to objectively test differences in production and diversity using data from single sampling dates and arbitrary choices of methods. In communities with great inter and intra-seasonal dynamics, an index of dominance that only measures magnitude (e.g. peak standing crop) was shown to have undesirable properties. We have demonstrated how average seasonal phytomass can overcome these problems by employing a measure of residence time as well as magnitude.
Teaching ambition: a case study of high school music students

Music teacher socialisation (MTS) has received increased attention in music education research, but few researchers have explored MTS with students during their primary socialisation, or pre-college, years. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine the perspectives of high school music students who plan to pursue a music teaching career. Participants were a purposeful sample selected from an outreach honor choir at a large Southwestern university in the USA. Data included one formal interview with each participant, field notes from observations of the outreach honor choir and participants' visual representations of music teachers. Three themes resulted from data analysis: (1) MTS, (2) ideal music teacher and (3) expressed music teacher identity. Implications for practice in K-12 and university education are included, as well as suggestions for further research.
Graph theory for fused cubic clusters of water dodecamer.

The stable structures of the fused cubic water cluster (H 2 O) 1 2 are examined using graph theoretical techniques and ab initio calculations. The calculations are obtained by scanning the symmetry of digraph structures of hydrogen-bond network spanning 12 oxygen atom vertexes. Using the POlya theorem the cycle index expressions for 12 vertexes and 20 edges of a cuboid in point-group symmetry D 4 h are developed. A total of 91 energy-allowed fused cubic structures are obtained, which are classified by 8 point-group symmetries: 1 D 2 h , 2 S 4 , 5 C 4 , 1 D 2 , 11 C 2 , 10 C i , 1 C s , and 60 C 1 . An energy level diagram of the structures reveals 14 bands that correspond to 14 unique two-colored graphs derived from the distributions of four free hydrogens of the cluster.
Capacitance calculation for a shared-antipad via structure using an integral equation method based on partial capacitance

An integral equation method used for capacitance extraction for axially symmetric geometries is extended in this paper to calculate the via-plane capacitances in shared-antipad via structures, by changing the circular ring cells to arc ones. The proposed method is validated with a commercial finite element method based tool for a typical structure used in modern high-speed printed circuit design.
Optimization of Solvent Mixture Compositions for High Speed Countercurrent Distribution

Abstract Seven solvents considered appropriate for use with relatively sensitive biosynthetic products undergoing separation by multilayer coil planet centrifuge high speed countercurrent distribution (HSCCD) have been evaluated in a new and systematic procedure for optimal solvent selection. the new method was illustrated by a complete HSCCD separation of five closely related dipeptides.
Electrokinetic phenomena in fibrous porous media

Abstract This analysis of electroosmosis and electrophoresis associated with an array of circular cylinders extends to fibrous porous systems Henry's theory (D. C. Henry, Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 133, 106, 1931) for the electrophoresis of a single isolated sphere and an analysis of electrokinetic phenomena for a swarm of spherical particles (S. Levine and G. H. Neale, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 47, 520, 1974). The fluid flow is considered to be normal to the axes of the cylinders. A correction factor for Smoluchowski's classic theory (M. Smoluchowski, Z. Phys. Chem. 93, 129, 1918) for the electrophoretic velocity is obtained in terms of the porosity of the fiber matrix, the electric double layer thickness, the fiber surface potential and the effects of the surface potential of surrounding fibers. Analytical asymptotic expansions for the correction factor are developed, and the full solution is examined to determine the effects of the system parameters on the electroosmotic (or electrophoretic) velocity. For collapsed double layers the electroosmotic velocity reduces to Smoluchowski's result, and for expanded double layers the velocity decreases significantly as the porosity decreases.
Simulation-based power calculation for designing interrupted time series analyses of health policy interventions

Abstract Objective Interrupted time series is a strong quasi-experimental research design to evaluate the impacts of health policy interventions. Using simulation methods, we estimated the power requirements for interrupted time series studies under various scenarios. Study Design and Setting Simulations were conducted to estimate the power of segmented autoregressive (AR) error models when autocorrelation ranged from −0.9 to 0.9 and effect size was 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0, investigating balanced and unbalanced numbers of time periods before and after an intervention. Simple scenarios of autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (ARCH) models were also explored. Results For AR models, power increased when sample size or effect size increased, and tended to decrease when autocorrelation increased. Compared with a balanced number of study periods before and after an intervention, designs with unbalanced numbers of periods had less power, although that was not the case for ARCH models. Conclusion The power to detect effect size 1.0 appeared to be reasonable for many practical applications with a moderate or large number of time points in the study equally divided around the intervention. Investigators should be cautious when the expected effect size is small or the number of time points is small. We recommend conducting various simulations before investigation.
New considerations in analyzing stroke and heart disease mortality trends: the Year 2000 Age Standard and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision.

Background— Monitoring of trends and patterns of stroke mortality will be of utmost importance in the coming decade. Two innovations in vital statistics may complicate this task and must be brought to the attention of both researchers and readers of research reports: the new Year 2000 Age Standard and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision (ICD-10). Summary of Review— For cerebrovascular diseases, the age-adjusted death rate is 2.4 times higher with the use of the year 2000 standard than with the use of the old 1940 standard. However, if rates for all years are computed with the use of the same age standard, the percent change from 1979 to 1995 is similar according to the 1940 standard (−35.8%) or the year 2000 standard (−34.3%). Another important effect of the change to the year 2000 standard is to reduce black/white differentials in age-adjusted death rates. Major discontinuities are not observed for mortality trends in cerebrovascular disease...
Lyapunov functions for nonlinear time-varying systems

For a quite general class of dynamic systems having a single memoryless time-varying nonlinearity in the feedback path some frequency domain stability criteria are developed using Lyapunov's second method. Four classes of nonlinearities are considered, and it is seen that as the behaviour of the nonlinearity is restricted, the stability conditions are relaxed. For the first three classes of non-linearities, the results for time invariant systems are well known, and for two of the classes the result has previously been extended to apply to time-varying situations. The result concerning a significant new class of nonlinearities as well as the extension of the third previously known time-invariant result to cover time-varying systems are original with this paper.
Literalism and Hypnosis: Hypnotic versus Task-Motivated Subjects

Abstract To extend previous literalism research with hypnotized and simulating subjects, we compared literalism rates of hypnotized, highly hypnotizable subjects (N = 12) with nonhypnotized, task-motivated subjects (N = 12) who were also highly hypnotizable. Six questions of the type used by Erickson (e.g., “Do you mind telling me your name?”) constituted tests of literalism (scored if response is “Yes” or “No,” either verbally or nonverbally). Whereas Erickson claimed that 97% of his “deep trance” subjects and 90% of his “medium trance” subjects exhibited literal responses, we found that 87.5% of hypnotized, high-hypnotizable subjects' responses were nonliteral. Hypnotized and task-motivated subjects did not differ in their literal responding to the individual questions or when their scores were summed across questions. No support was secured for Erickson's assertion that literalism is a cardinal feature of hypnosis.
Investigation of failure during elongational flow of polymer melts

Abstract A basic study of the mechanisms of necking and ductile failure of polymer melts in uniaxial elongational flow has been carried out. A linear stability analysis was carried out using a White—Metzner convected Maxwell model with a deformation-rate-dependent relaxation time, which varies according to τ = τo/(1 + aτo[2trd2] 1 2 ). It was shown that filament stability and elongation to break depend upon τoE, where E is the elongation rate, and a. At fixed τoE, filament stability decreases with increasing a. At small a, stability increases with increasing τoE while for a > 1 √3 , stability decreases with increasing τoE. For a material with small a, ductile failure can occur for small τoE, but cohesive fracture should be the cause of failure at larger τoE. For a material with large a, however, ductile failure always dominates the failure mode. These results are used to interpret failure in elongational flow of low density and high density polyethylene and polypropylene melts and describe how the latter two melts exhibit ductile failure.