cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parahydrogen-Orthohydrogen Conversion for Enhanced Vapor-Cooled Shielding of Liquid Oxygen Tanks

Long-term space missions require minimized boil-off from liquid hydrogen and oxygen tanks to increase the payload mass fraction at launch. Vapor-cooled shielding technologies can use liquid hydrogen boil-off vapors to refrigerate and potentially eliminate boil-off from liquid oxygen tanks. Statistical thermodynamic calculations estimate that the amount of refrigeration provided by hydrogen for a liquid oxygen tank can be increased up to 50% through catalysis of parahydrogen–orthohydrogen conversion. Based on this prediction, a cryocatalysis hydrogen experiment facility was developed as a proof of concept. Hydrogen is liquefied in a noncatalytic condenser and vapor venting controlled via a proportional-integral-derivative controller. The effective heat capacity of the effluent is measured directly through a change in temperature of the known mass flow and applied heater power. The change in parahydrogen–orthohydrogen composition is validated independently with a thermal conductivity probe calibrated in sit...
Marketing and Designing Transaction Games

Past research reveals an extraordinary number and variety of transaction games, often with different rules. For example, buy and sell offers can be take-it-or-leave-it, irrevocable, of limited duration, negotiable, contingent on events, et cetera. The possible sets of rules seem endless. Past often, very insightful research has focused on optimization, given particular rules of the game. This focus often overlooks why players choose to play the game. Indeed, assuming that an exchange will occur makes the marketing function e.g., facilitating exchanges inconsequential. Unlike inescapable market games between rival firms, buyers and sellers often choose whether to play transaction games. Hence, game design i.e., setting the rules of the game becomes vital, because the design determines both the likelihood of desirable outcomes e.g., the best transaction price and whether or how many players will choose to play. We need more research revealing the desirability of various rule sets for different target groups and revealing rules that enhance the benefits to all players. For example, a particular auction game might provide sellers with liquidity i.e., faster transactions while providing buyers with unique items at bargain prices. We should also explore the interaction of rules and player benefits e.g., liquidity, anonymity, likelihood of a transaction, etc..
Reversal behavior in split-brain monkeys

Abstract Using split-brain monkeys, reversal behavior was observed under two conditions. In the first both hemispheres viewed the discrimination cues. Previous to this one hemisphere had been taught to respond to one cue and the other hemisphere had learned the opposite response. The task was reversed each time after responding to one cue reached criterion. In the second reversal condition, each hemisphere was individually presented the reversal of the task it had initially learned. An analysis of the results indicates that as a function of reinforcement, the response probability of pre-established habits can change without a corresponding change in the strength of these habits.
A generalized Lloyd-type algorithm for adaptive transform coder design

In this paper, we establish a probabilistic framework for adaptive transform coding that leads to a generalized Lloyd type algorithm for transform coder design. Transform coders are often constructed by concatenating an ad hoc choice of transform with suboptimal bit allocation and quantizer design. Instead, we start from a probabilistic latent variable model in the form of a mixture of constrained Gaussian mixtures. From this model, we derive an transform coder design algorithm, which integrates optimization of all transform coder parameters. An essential part this algorithm is our introduction of a new transform basis-the coding optimal transform-which, unlike commonly used transforms, minimizes compression distortion. Adaptive transform coders can be effective for compressing databases of related imagery since the high overhead associated with these coders can be amortized over the entire database. For this work, we performed compression experiments on a database of synthetic aperture radar images. Our results show that adaptive coders improve compressed signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by approximately 0.5 dB compared with global coders. Coders that incorporated the coding optimal transform had the best SNRs on the images used to develop the coder. However, coders that incorporated the discrete cosine transform generalized better to new images.
A variation aware high level synthesis framework

The worst-case delay/power of function units has been used in traditional high level synthesis to facilitate design space exploration. As technology scales to nanometer regime, the impact of process variations increases. The degree of variability encountered in the new process technologies makes worst-case analysis undesirable, because it may result in unexpected performance/power discrepancy or a pessimistic estimation, and may end up using excess resources to guarantee design constraints. In this paper, we propose a high level synthesis framework to take into account of the performance/power variation for function units. An effective metric called parametric yield, which is defined as the probability of the synthesized data flow graph (DFG) meeting the performance and power constraints, is used to guide scheduling, module selection, and resource sharing. An efficient performance/power yield perturbation computation method for DFG significantly improves the effectiveness of our yield driven high level synthesis algorithm. The experimental results show that our variation-aware synthesis framework achieves significant yield improvements, and has much faster (3X) runtime speed compared against previous approach.1
Network effects and social dilemmas in technology industries

Researchers investigating technology market dynamics have focused primarily on how a firm's economic and marketing strategy for pricing, distribution, packaging , and so on affect the market and the firm's position in it. This perspective reflects a managerial viewpoint, which focuses on maximizing a firm's profits and tends to emphasize short-term outcomes. We take a different view - the social planner's view - of the technology industry, which attempts to maximize total benefits for both firms and consumers over the long run. Network effects (also termed network externalities) impact how these total benefits, or social surplus, evolve over time in technology markets. Applying economic, social science, and biology theories to technology market dynamics, we find that network-effect-sensitive factors such as available capital, innovation, and product variety indicate whether an industry is heading toward healthy expansion or an unhealthy monopoly and ultimate decline. Increasing the social surplus to ensure long-term market health requires proactive measures such as industry self-regulation and government regulation.
THE MANAGEMENT OF THE "SKELETONISED" NOSE

The “skeletonised” nose is one in which the underlying bony and cartilaginous scaffolding of the nose is covered only by thin skin and scar tissue (Fig. I). The nostrils become distorted to produce a “snarl”, the atrophic tissues may break down repeatedly and late malignant degeneration is a well-recognised complication. Destruction of the nasal scaffold due to cancer or trauma may call for a complete reconstruction with skin, bone and cartilage. Methods of rebuilding the missing distal tip and lateral alar tissues have been well described by Millard (1976). Other useful techniques include full thickness skin and composite grafts, dermal overgrafting and small local flaps. This paper presents some examples of the “skeletonised” nose in which excision, dermal overgrafting, local flaps and repeated dermabrasion provided an acceptable solution to a very difficult clinical problem.
Factors affecting valrubicin response in patients with bacillus Calmette-Guérin-refractory bladder carcinoma in situ.

AbstractObjective: Patients with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)-refractory carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the bladder are candidates for intravesical (IVe) valrubicin. This post-hoc analysis of data from the pivotal phase 3, prospective, open-label study of valrubicin evaluated the effects of patient characteristics and past treatments on the response to valrubicin. Methods: Enrolled patients had non-muscle-invasive CIS with or without concurrent papillary disease stage Ta and/or T1 for which papillary tumors had been resected before treatment, and had previously received ≥ 2 courses of IVe therapy (≥ 1 BCG course). Patients received a course of valrubicin, which consisted of 6 weekly IVe treatments of valrubicin (800 mg). Complete response was defined as no evidence of disease by urine cytology, cystoscopy, and biopsy at 3 and 6 months posttreatment. Patient characteristics, baseline urinary symptoms, and number and type of previous treatment courses and instillations were compared for complete versus nonres...
Effect of substrate doping on microstructure and reactivity of porous silicon

Abstract The effect of substrate doping and the choice of oxidizer on the reactivity of energetic porous silicon-oxidizer composites were examined in this study. Porous silicon samples were prepared from N and P-type substrates with widely different dopant concentrations, and impregnated with perchlorate salts or sulfur to form energetic composites, which were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry. While the low temperature exothermic reactions with perchlorate salts were found to be unaffected by the substrate doping properties, low temperature reactions with sulfur were found to be affected by the substrate doping. This is attributed to the effect of substrate doping on the microstructure of the porous silicon formed.
Association between Construction Contracts and Relational Contract Theory

Construction projects primarily use three conventional delivery methods: design-bid-build (DBB); design-build (DB); and construction manager / general contractor (CMGC). Integrated project delivery (IPD) is an emerging delivery method that emphasizes the relational aspect between multiple organizations. It defines success by the outcomes of the project, not the individual organization’s outcomes. This is a culture change for the construction industry as IPD attempts to assimilate organizations as a team to focus on the project goals. This study examines the association between project integration and contracting relationships using relational contract theory behavioral norms. Relational contract theory states that long-term contracts are complex and that the interactions, communication, and understanding between contracting organizations are the most critical and intricate aspects to the success of a contract. Contractual behavior norms are the expected behaviors occurring between contracting organizations, which can “make or break” a project. To determine the connection between project integration and relational contracting, this study uses a content analysis to investigate standard construction contract language for the existence and frequency of contractual behavior norms. The results of this exploration illustrate that: (1) behavior norms exist in construction contracts; (2) construction contracts are generally relational in nature; and (3) IPD contracts are more relational than DBB, DB, and CMGC contracts.
When Does the Amount We Pay Research Participants Become "Undue Influence"?

Undue influence, which occurs when prospective research participants who otherwise would not enroll are induced to enter studies that might pose significant risks, may also involve social injustices such as unequal payment and participant selection methodsthat unequally distribute the potential harms and benefits of research.
Diet Analysis of Subadult Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) Turtles from West-Central Florida

Abstract The present study is the first to characterize Kemp’s ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) diets between the west-central Florida estuaries of Tampa Bay to Charlotte Harbor. We analyzed the stomach contents of 20 stranded subadult L. kempii and found that their diets were primarily carnivorous, consisting mostly of calico crab (Hepatus epheliticus), stone crab (Menippe mercenaria), and blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). In addition, we found uncommon prey items including fish and horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), suggesting these L. kempii are opportunistic feeders. When separated into 2 size classes (25–45 [n = 9] and > 45 [n = 11] cm straight carapace length), there was a significant difference in the turtles’ diet composition. These new insights into the ecology and life history of a critically endangered sea turtle reveal essential prey resources used by a poorly studied yet crucial subadult life stage.
Consistent Earnings Growth and the Credibility of Management Forecasts

This paper examines the relation between a series of past earnings increases and the credibility of voluntary management earnings forecasts. We demonstrate that both analyst forecast revisions and stock price reactions around management earnings forecasts that contain good news are more pronounced when the firm has posted a string of recent earnings increases. These results are consistent with our primary hypothesis that voluntary management earnings forecasts are more believable when they are made by firms with a history of consistent growth in earnings. This effect is more pronounced when firms are not widely followed by analysts. Additional analysis suggests that management forecasts are more accurate relative to ex post realized earnings when made by a firm with consistent growth in prior earnings. The effect of prior earnings growth on the credibility of management earnings forecasts is reduced when the level of net assets suggests a history of prior earnings management.
Activist Conflict in U.S. Electoral Politics

Formal work on the electoral model often suggests that parties or candidates should locate themselves at the electoral center (or origin). Recent research has found no evidence of such convergence. In order to explain non-convergence, the stochastic electoral model is extended by including various kinds of valences, some of which are based on individual and electoral perceptions. These electoral perceptions can be influenced by the contributions made by activist groups to the various parties. We present this formal activist model and then discuss the US presidential election in 2008 and the midterm US election in 2010 in order to evaluate the influence of activist groups, such as the "Tea Party."
Restoring Constitutional Equilibrium (Part I of II)

In areas such as the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court's lack of institutional restraint has affected citizens of every political persuasion. In Bush v. Gore, the Florida Supreme Court’s recount order was blocked. ‘Liberals,’ lost. In Roe v. Wade, the Court required state legislatures to allow most abortions in the first trimester. ‘Conservatives’ lost. In Clinton v. City of New York and Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the coordinate branch’s attempt to ensure a more efficient and fairer government was thwarted. Average citizens lost. The problem is not a liberal or conservative one, whatever those words mean. It is a democratic (and libertarian) one.
Shape optimization for DSA

Directed self-assembly using block copolymers for positioning vertical interconnect access in integrated circuits relies on the proper shape of a confined domain in which polymers will self-assemble into the targeted design. Finding that shape, i.e., solving the inverse problem, is currently mainly based on trial and error approaches. We introduce a level-set based algorithm that makes use of a shape optimization strategy coupled with self-consistent field theory to solve the inverse problem in an automated way. It is shown that optimal shapes are found for different targeted topologies with accurate placement and distances between the different components.
Enhanced Polymeric Dielectrics through Incorporation of Hydroxyl Groups

We use simulations and experiments to delineate the mechanism by which the addition of a small number of polar −OH groups to a nonpolar polymer increases the static relative permittivity (or dielectric constant) by a factor of 2, but more importantly while keeping the dielectric loss in the frequency regime of interest to power electronics to less than 1%. Dielectric properties obtained from experiments on functionalized polyethylenes and polypropylenes as a function of −OH doping are in quantitative agreement with one another. Molecular dynamics simulations for the static relative permittivity of “dry” −OH functionalized polyethylene (in the absence of water) are apparently in quantitative agreement with experiments. However, these simulation results would further imply that there should be considerable dielectric loss beyond simulation time scales (>0.1 μs). Since there are minimal experimentally observed dielectric losses for times as short as a microsecond, we believe that a small amount of adsorbed w...
Ongoing innovations in biomechanics and materials for the new millennium

Material innovations are reviewed within the context of ongoing biomechanical developments that relate the critical contact angle of second-order angulation (theta c) to the overall resistance to sliding (RS). As a science in its embryonic stage of development, RS is partitioned into classical friction (FR), elastic binding (BI), and physical notching (NO). Both FR and BI are defined in terms of normal forces (N) and kinetic coefficients (mu k). The angulation at which NO occurs (theta z) is introduced as a second boundary condition to theta c. Given this scientific backdrop, material modifications are sought that reduce RS. Approaches include minimizing mu k or N within the context of FR and theta < theta c, as, for example, by surface modifications of arch wires and brackets or by engineering novel ligation materials. Stabilizing theta at theta approximately equal theta c should provide more efficient and effective sliding mechanics by developing innovative materials (eg, composites) in which stiffness (EI) varies without changing wire or bracket dimensions. Between the boundaries of theta c and theta z (ie, theta c < theta < theta z), BI may be reduced by decreasing EI or increasing interbracket distance (IBD), independent of whether a conventional or composite material is used.
Circulating Human Neonatal Naïve B Cells are Deficient in CD73 Impairing Purine Salvage

Background: Extracellular purines, in particular adenosine (Ado) and adenosine-triphosphate (ATP), are critical immunoregulatory molecules. Expression and activity of purine ecto-enzymes on B cells in neonatal and adult blood may influence their function and has been incompletely characterized. Methods: Mononuclear cells were isolated from human neonatal (cord blood) or adult (peripheral blood) subjects and evaluated directly by flow cytometry for expression of purine ecto-enzymes. Additionally, B cell subsets were isolated from mononuclear cell fractions by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and gene transcription of purine ecto-enzymes (CD39 and CD73), adenosine deaminase (ADA1), purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and select purine receptors (A2a) were evaluated by reverse transcription followed by qRT-PCR. Immuno-magnetic-bead isolated naive B cells were evaluated for enzymatic activity by incubation with radio-labeled purines followed by thin-layer chromatography, and subsequent B cell Ado acquisition was evaluated by liquid scintillation quantitation of radio-labeled Ado uptake. Results: Relative to their adult counterparts, neonatal circulating naive B cells were markedly and selectively deficient in CD73 as observed by gene transcription, surface protein expression, and enzyme activity. Neonatal naive B cell deficiency of CD73 expression significantly impaired their capacity to acquire extracellular purines for purine salvage. Conclusions: Human neonatal circulating naive B cells are selectively deficient in CD73, impairing extracellular purine acquisition and potentially contributing to impaired B cell responses in early life.
Investigation of the dietary compliance and its influence factors in patients with advanced schistosomiasis of ascites type

Objective:To investigate the dietary compliance in patients with advanced schistosomiasis of ascites type,as well as to explore the factors that influence the dietary compliance.Methods:It was an objective sampling-sectional study.90 patients were surveyed with questionnaire to obtain data regarding their general information,dietary knowledge,health belief and dietary behaviors.Results:The score of dietary compliance was(15.73±4.22)(65.54%),and marriage status,disease duration time,hemorrhage history,hospitalization times,dietary knowledge in addition to health belief were related to their dietary compliance(p0.05).Conclusion:The dietary compliance in patients with advanced schistosomiasis of ascites type was relatively low.Many factors could influence their dietary compliance,therefore,further efforts are required to improve those patients' dietary compliance.
Prognosis of Childbirth Trauma

An accepted risk factor for pelvic floor disorders is vaginal birth, and its concomitant birth trauma. Much of the effect is mitigated over the life span, with conflicting evidence and unclear causal and mechanistic explanations in the literature of the role of birth trauma. The greatest impact of vaginal birth trauma is on the incidence and prevalence of pelvic organ prolapse [1]. The prognosis of vaginal birth trauma on development or severity of urinary incontinence and anal incontinence is more difficult to determine because of the profound impact that aging has on these conditions. Immediately after birth, little is known about the sequelae of specific trauma other than in the short-term postpartum period. In what follows, we review the literature and aim to elucidate the role of birth trauma, its impact, and prognosis on a parous woman’s pelvic floor.
Functional assessment in a community setting.

Functional assessment for persons with disabilities has been an important component of the traditional inpatient rehabilitation process. Recently there has been increasing interest in functional assessment for persons residing in the community as a means to understanding the role of rehabilitation in community integration and the effects of aging on persons with disabilities. The instruments used for in-hospital functional assessment (e.g., the Functional Independence Measure and the Barthel Index) measure aspects of disability, specifically basic self-care and mobility skills, and may not be adequate for community assessment. Most often the functional activities that are of interest for persons I iving in the community include instrumental activities of daily living such as housekeeping and shopping; components of handicap such as social integration, community mobility, and productive use of time; and community participation. Instruments used to measure components of handicap (i.e., the Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique) and community participation (i.e., the Self-Observation and Report Technique) may be more appropriate for the evaluation of functional status for persons living in the community.
Effect of Sugar on Behavior and Cognition

Meta-analysis of 16 published studies conducted over a period of 12 years from 1982 to 1994 was used to examine the effects of sugar, mainly sucrose, on the behavior or cognition of children with attention deficit disorder and reported from the Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
Critical Care Endocrinology

Endocrine emergencies may present as isolated occurrences, as the initial manifestation of an endocrine disorder or as an acute decompensation in the condition of a child with a known endocrine disease, the result of non-compliance with medication or stress of intercurrent illness. Signs and symptoms of endocrine disorders are non-specific and may include altered level of consciousness, respiratory changes and alterations in muscle tone. A history of poor feeding, vomiting, weight loss or lethargy may also be elicited. When evaluating a child with a suspected endocrinologic abnormality, it is imperative to obtain baseline laboratory samples prior to treatment such that the proper diagnosis and treatment can ultimately be determined.
Student use of flipped classroom videos in a therapeutics course

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the extent of student use of flipped classroom videos. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted in a college of pharmacy therapeutics course in the Unites States. In one section of the course (four sessions) all content was provided in the form of lecture videos that students had to watch prior to class. Class time was spent discussing patient cases. For half of the sessions, there was an electronic quiz due prior to class. The outcome measure was video view time in minutes. Adequate video view time was defined as viewing ≥75% of total video duration. Video view time was compared with or without quizzes using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results There were 100 students in the class and all were included in the study. Overall, 74 students had adequate video view time prior to session 1, which decreased to 53 students for session 2, 53 students for session 3, and 36 students for session 4. Median video view time was greater when a quiz was required [80 minutes (IQR: 38–114) versus 69 minutes (IQR: 3–105), p p = 0.005; model R 2 = 7.8%). Conclusion Student preparation prior to the flipped classroom is low and decreases with time. Preparation is higher when there is a quiz required.
Cryptic diversity and discordance in single‐locus species delimitation methods within horned lizards (Phrynosomatidae: Phrynosoma)

Biodiversity reduction and loss continues to progress at an alarming rate, and thus, there is widespread interest in utilizing rapid and efficient methods for quantifying and delimiting taxonomic diversity. Single-locus species delimitation methods have become popular, in part due to the adoption of the DNA barcoding paradigm. These techniques can be broadly classified into tree-based and distance-based methods depending on whether species are delimited based on a constructed genealogy. Although the relative performance of these methods has been tested repeatedly with simulations, additional studies are needed to assess congruence with empirical data. We compiled a large data set of mitochondrial ND4 sequences from horned lizards (Phrynosoma) to elucidate congruence using four tree-based (single-threshold GMYC, multiple-threshold GMYC, bPTP, mPTP) and one distance-based (ABGD) species delimitation models. We were particularly interested in cases with highly uneven sampling and/or large differences in intraspecific diversity. Results showed a high degree of discordance among methods, with multiple-threshold GMYC and bPTP suggesting an unrealistically high number of species (29 and 26 species within the P. douglasii complex alone). The single-threshold GMYC model was the most conservative, likely a result of difficulty in locating the inflection point in the genealogies. mPTP and ABGD appeared to be the most stable across sampling regimes and suggested the presence of additional cryptic species that warrant further investigation. These results suggest that the mPTP model may be preferable in empirical data sets with highly uneven sampling or large differences in effective population sizes of species.
Market-based path service composition for software defined networks

With the emerging network ‘softwarization’, the scope of services that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can provide now extends from traditional networking services to include higher layer infrastructure, network elements and applications. However, partly due to unclear economic incentives for ISPs, new network services, especially Software-Defined Network (SDN) services are mostly deployed in isolated silos. In this paper we propose a framework for abstracting and managing path services in SDNs so that they can be advertised, composed and purchased via marketplaces. Based on this framework, we present a service composition mechanism that can be used to maximize the provider benefit while satisfying the customer requests for services. The architecture is based on the NSF Future Internet Architecture (FIA) project called ChoiceNet.
The Role of Temporary Fecal Diversion.

The use of temporary fecal diversion is of great importance to tenuous anastomosis, immunosuppressed patient, or actively infected patient. Its use protects newly constructed intestinal anastomoses from being the culprit of pelvic sepsis or systemic illness. Thus, potential morbidity and mortality can be averted. However, its appropriate or optimal use is often debated. We herein discuss the evidence for when to best use a diverting stoma for colorectal, coloanal, and ileoanal anastomoses. We also discuss the importance of considering a temporary diverting stoma in the setting of high-dose immunosuppression (e.g., transplant patients or inflammatory bowel disease), active infection, or upon creation of ileal pouch–anal anastomosis. Lastly, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a loop ileostomy versus colostomy for temporary diversion of fecal contents.
Frictions or Mental Gaps: What's Behind the Information We (Don't) Use and When Do We Care?

Consumers suffer significant losses from not acting on available information. These losses stem from frictions such as search costs, switching costs, and rational inattention, as well as what we call mental gaps resulting from wrong priors/worldviews, or relevant features of a problem not being top of mind. Most research studying such losses does not empirically distinguish between these mechanisms. Instead, we show that most highly cited papers in this area presume one mechanism underlies consumer choices and assume away other potential explanations, or collapse many mechanisms together. We discuss the empirical difficulties that arise in distinguishing between different mechanisms, and some promising approaches for making progress in doing so. We also assess when it is more or less important for researchers to distinguish between these mechanisms. Approaches that seek to identify true value from demand, without specifying mechanisms behind this wedge, are most useful when researchers are interested in evaluating allocation policies that strongly steer consumers towards better options with regulation, traditional policy instruments, and defaults. On the other hand, understanding the precise mechanisms underlying consumer losses is essential to predicting the impact of mechanism policies aimed primarily at reducing specific frictions or mental gaps without otherwise steering consumers. We make the case that papers engaging with these questions empirically should be clear about whether their analyses distinguish between mechanisms behind poorly informed choices, and what that implies for the questions they can answer. We present examples from several empirical contexts to highlight these distinctions.
Utilizing publicly available satellite data for urban research: Mapping built-up land cover and land use in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract Urbanization is a fundamental trend of the past two centuries, shaping many dimensions of the modern world. To guide this phenomenon and support growth of cities that are competitive and sustainably provide needed services, there is a need for information on the extent and nature of urban land cover. However, measuring urbanization is challenging, especially in developing countries, which often lack the resources and infrastructure needed to produce reliable data. With the increased availability of remotely sensed data, new methods are available to map urban land. Yet, existing classification products vary in their definition of “urban” and typically characterize urbanization in a specific point (or points) in time. Emerging cloud based computational platforms now allow one to map land cover and land use (LC/LU) across space and time without being constrained to specific classification products. Here, we highlight the potential use of publicly available remotely sensed data for mapping changes in the built-up LC/LU in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in the period between 2000 and 2015. We perform a pixel-based supervised image classification procedure in Google Earth Engine (GEE), using two sources of reference data (administrative data and hand-labeled examples). By fusing publicly available optical and radar data as input to the classifier, we achieve accurate maps of built-up LC/LU in the province. In today's era of big data, an easily deployable method for accurate classification of built-up LC/LU has extensive applications across a wide range of disciplines and is essential for building the foundation for a sustainable human society.
Integrated Optics Technology

Integrated Optics is the use of guided waves on a substrate to achieve optical circuits which can be used in a number of applications. An example of such an integrated optical device is the waveguide switch shown in Fig. 1. This waveguide device is used to switch light between fibers.
Copper-Catalyzed Syntheses of Pyrene-Pyrazole Pharmacophores and Structure Activity Studies for Tubulin Polymerization.

Tubulin polymerization is critical in mitosis process, which regulates uncontrolled cell divisions. Here, we report a new class of pyrene-pyrazole pharmacophore (PPP) for targeting microtubules. Syntheses of seven pyrenyl-substituted pyrazoles with side-chain modification at N-1 and C-3 positions of the pyrazole ring were accomplished from alkenyl hydrazones via C–N dehydrogenative cross-coupling using copper catalyst under aerobic condition. Tubulin polymerization with PPPs was investigated using docking and biological tools to reveal that these ligands are capable of influencing microtubule polymerization and their interaction with α-, β-tubulin active binding sites, which are substituent specific. Furthermore, cytotoxicity response of these PPPs was tested on cancer cells of different origin, such as MCF-7, MDA-MB231, and C32, and also noncancerous normal cells, such as MCF-10A. All newly synthesized PPPs showed excellent anticancer activities. The anticancer activities and half-maximal inhibitory conc...
Forest planning at the tactical level

Forest management and planning can involve large tracts of land involving numerous areal units. One approach to plan activities for a forested region over decades involves breaking down decision making into three components: strategic, tactical, and operational. Each level of the management hierarchy can involve the development and application of optimization models. These models typically aid in exploring management alternatives as well as multi-objective tradeoffs. Even though a strategic model can provide support for long term management at a broad scale, solutions may not be feasible at an operational level. Tactical level modeling helps to bridge solutions reached at a strategic level using operational planning information. This paper presents several tactical level planning models that have been developed as a part of a research effort supported by the US Forest Service. These models have been utilized in land use management and planning by the US Forest Service through a specially developed spatial decision support system.
Adolescents with congenital heart defects: a patient and parental perspective of genetic information and genetic risk.

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) occur in 8 of 1000 live-born children, making them common birth defects in the adolescent population. CHDs may have single gene, chromosomal, or multifactorial causes. Despite evidence that patients with CHD want information on heritability and genetics, no studies have investigated the interest or knowledge base in the adolescent population. This information is necessary as patients in adolescence take greater ownership of their health care and discuss reproductive risks with their physicians. The objectives of this survey-based study were to determine adolescents’ recall of their own heart condition, to assess patient and parent perception of the genetic contribution to the adolescent’s CHD, and to obtain information about the preferred method(s) for education. The results show that adolescent patients had good recall of their type of CHD. Less than half of adolescents and parents believed their CHD had a genetic basis or was heritable; however, adolescents with a positive family history of CHD were more likely to believe that their condition was genetic (p = 0.0005). The majority of patients were interested in receiving additional genetics education and preferred education in-person and in consultation with both parents and a physician. The adolescents who felt most competent to have discussions with their doctors regarding potential causes of their heart defect previously had a school science course which covered topics in genetics. These results provide insight into adolescents’ perceptions and understanding about their CHD and genetic risk and may inform the creation and provision of additional genetic education.
Improving PM Collection of EPA Other Test Method (OTM) 36 Precutter

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the amount of particulate matter (PM) emitted by different industrial processes to protect human health and the environment. EPA Test Method 5 is the standard method to determine PM emissions from stationary sources. However, moisture present in emission sources can yield overestimated PM concentrations when using EPA Method 5. Alternatively, EPA Other Test Method (OTM) 36 regulates the method used for determining the concentration of PM2.5 emissions, which are particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, from moisture-saturated stationary source gas streams. The EPA has found that the OTM 36 sampling train measures lower PM concentrations than actual concentrations in the emission source. This is because the sampling train’s precutter nozzle, which is the first instrument of a sampling train placed into an emission source, collects particles at smaller sizes than intended, preventing these particles from being measured by the sampling train. The purpose of this research is to create a new precutter nozzle design that allows the PM sampling train to more accurately measure PM to reflect actual concentrations in emission sources tested by OTM 36. By using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in ANSYS Fluent program, the collection efficiency of different dimensions of the new precutter nozzle was calculated to choose the best design that more accurately collects PM. Based on this objective, a precutter nozzle with a 7-degree half-cone angle and 3-cm throat length was chosen as the most viable design.
Rotator Cuff Tendon Assessment in Symptomatic and Control Groups Using Quantitative MRI.

BACKGROUND Relatively weak correlations between patient symptoms and rotator cuff tendon (RCT) tearing have been reported; however, the relationship between symptoms and tendinosis has been less well-studied. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS To use quantitative MRI to assess the bilateral RCTs in shoulders of both patients with unilateral symptomatic tendinopathy and control subjects. We hypothesized that quantitative MRI measures would differ between symptomatic patients and controls. STUDY TYPE Prospective imaging study. POPULATION/SUBJECTS In all, 48 shoulders from 24 subjects (mean age, 32.8 years), including 14 patients with unilateral symptomatic tendinopathy and 10 asymptomatic controls. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE 3T/3D ultrashort echo time Cones sequence with magnetization transfer preparation (UTE-Cones-MT) and Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill. ASSESSMENT Macromolecular fraction (MMF) and T2 relaxation were measured in four regions of the superior RCT, including all-segments, and lateral-third, bursal-sided, and articular-sided segments. The Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) index and visual analog scale were assessed. STATISTICAL TESTS Three shoulder groups were evaluated, including symptomatic shoulders, contralateral asymptomatic shoulders in patients, and asymptomatic controls. MMF and T2 values were compared between groups using a bootstrap-based comparison of means. RESULTS Significant differences were found in both MMF and T2 values between symptomatic and control RCTs when analyzing all-segments (P = 0.027 and P = 0.006, respectively) and articular-sided segments (both P = 0.001). Significant differences between asymptomatic RCTs in patients and control RCTs were also found, including MMF in all four anatomic regions analyzed (P = 0.024-0.044), as well as T2 in all-segments (P = 0.003), bursal-sided segments (P = 0.021), and articular-sided segments (P = 0.002). No significant differences in MMF (P = 0.420-0.950) or T2 (P = 0.380-0.910) were seen between ipsilateral symptomatic and contralateral asymptomatic RCTs in patients. DATA CONCLUSION Symptomatic RCTs showed significantly lower MMF values and higher T2 values compared with control RCTs. In patients with unilateral symptomatic tendinopathy, the contralateral shoulder can demonstrate asymptomatic tendinopathy, which can be quantified using MMF or T2 . EVIDENCE LEVEL 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2020;52:864-872.
The Dynamic Response of Sweat Chloride to Changes in Exercise Load Measured by a Wearable Sweat Sensor

Wearable sensors enable the monitoring of an individual’s sweat composition in real time. In this work, we recorded real-time sweat chloride concentration for 12 healthy subjects in three different protocols involving step changes in exercise load and compared the results to laboratory-based analysis. The sensor results reflected the changes in exercise load in real time. On increasing the exercise load from 100 W to 200 W the sweat chloride concentration increased from 12.0 ± 5.9 to 31.4 ± 16 mM (mean ± SD). On decreasing the load from 200 W to 100 W, the sweat chloride concentration decreased from 27.7 ± 10.5 to 14.8 ± 8.1 mM. The half-time associated with the change in sweat chloride, defined as the time at which the concentration reached half of the overall change, was about 6 minutes. While the changes in sweat chloride were statistically significant, there was no correlation with changes in sweat rate or other physiological parameters, which we attribute to intra-individual variation (SD = 1.6–8.1 mM). The response to exercise-induced sweating was significantly different to chemically-induced sweating where the sweat chloride concentration was almost independent of sweat rate. We speculate that this difference is related to changes in the open probability of the CFTR channel during exercise, resulting in a decrease in reabsorption efficiency at higher sweat rates.
StoryMap(ping) Black Urban Experiences: Toward an Africana DH Subfield Through Research and Pedagogy

In thinking through the meaning of Black Digital Humanities and Africana Studies’ futurity among junior scholars and practitioners, this article presents a meditation on the intersections between Digital Humanities (DH), Africana Studies coursework, and Africana Studies pedagogy. It offers a case study wherein DH was employed in the instruction and assessment activities of an upper division hybrid (i.e., combining traditional face-to-face and online instruction) Africana Studies course at a public university in southern California during the fall semester of the 2018–2019 academic year. The purpose of this experiment was to determine how Africana Studies might go beyond a mere engagement with DH questions, theories, and tools to show how DH coursework that is distinctly “Africana” in nature may be developed more centrally as a subfield of Africana Studies itself. The overarching questions guiding this experiment include the following: What does it mean to engage DH in Africana Studies? How might we teach DH in Africana Studies within the framework of its pedagogical and methodological objectives? How does Africana DH shape both collaborative and creative learning in the classroom?
Postinfectious cough and its mechanism of neurogenic inflammation

Postinfectious cough is the most common cause of subacute cough. However,to date,the mechanism of pathogenesis is unclear and still lack of satisfactory treatment. The occurrence of cough is related to the two cough adaptors and the abnormal increase of the cough reflex sensitivity (CRS) is a very important reason of cough response. The neurogenic inflammation mediated by the neuropeptide releaseing from the sensory nerve endings (mainly C fibers terminals) may play an important role in the change of CRS and pathogenesis of postinfectious cough. Virus infection cause airway inflammation and increase the reaction to the two adaptors. Neuropeptides and Neurotransmitter can be released by a variety of mechanisms. Therefore, investigation for the pathogenesis of postinfectious cough caused by viral infection is helpful to reveal the nature of the disease and is important to better treatment. Key words: Cough; Neurokinin; Neurogenic inflammation ; Postinfectious cough
HYREC-2: A highly accurate sub-millisecond recombination code

We present the new recombination code hyrec-2, which achieves the same accuracy as the state-of-the-art codes hyrec and cosmorec and, at the same time, surpasses the computational speed of the code recfast commonly used for cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy data analyses. hyrec-2 is based on an effective four-level atom model, accounting exactly for the nonequilibrium of highly excited states of hydrogen, and very accurately for radiative transfer effects with a correction to the Lyman-$\ensuremath{\alpha}$ escape rate. The latter is computed with the original hyrec and tabulated as a function of temperature, along with its derivatives with respect to the relevant cosmological parameters. This enables the code to keep the same accuracy as the original hyrec over the full 99.7% confidence region of cosmological parameters currently allowed by Planck, while running in under one millisecond on a standard laptop. Our code leads to no noticeable bias in any cosmological parameters even in the case of an ideal cosmic-variance-limited experiment up to $\ensuremath{\ell}=5000$. Beyond CMB anisotropy calculations, hyrec-2 will be a useful tool to compute various observables that depend on the recombination and thermal history, such as the recombination spectrum or the 21-cm signal.
Development of diagnostic microsphere-based immunoassays for Heartland virus.

Abstract Background. Heartland virus (HRTV), a recently reclassified member of the genus Bandavirus, family Phenuiviridae, was first isolated in 2009 from a Missouri farmer exhibiting leukopenia and thrombocytopenia with suspected ehrlichiosis. Since then, more HRTV cases have been diagnosed, and firstline laboratory diagnostic assays are needed to identify future infections Objectives. We sought to develop rapid and reliable IgM and IgG microsphere immunoassays (MIAs) to test sera of patients suspected of having HRTV infection, and to distinguish between recent and past infections. Study design. Heartland virus antigen was captured by an anti-HRTV monoclonal antibody covalently bound to microspheres. Antibodies in human sera from confirmed HRTV-positive and negative cases were reacted with the microsphere complexes and detected using a BioPlex® 200 instrument. Assay cutoffs were determined by receiver operator characteristic analysis of the normalized test output values, equivocal zones for each assay were defined, and sensitivities, specificities, accuracies, and imprecision values were calculated. Results. Sensitivities, specificities and accuracies of the IgM and IgG MIAs were all >95 %. Both tests were precise within and between assay plates, and cross-reactivity with other arboviruses was not observed. Conclusions. HRTV IgM and IgG MIAs are accurate and rapid first-line methods to serologically identify recent and past HRTV infections.