cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mutual fund herding and reputational concerns

The article examines whether mutual fund managers’ career concerns contribute to their herding behavior. We find that mutual funds herd, on average, 71% more in down markets than in up markets. Furthermore, we find that poorly performing funds herd, on average, 17% more than well performing funds, and that this pattern is the result of poorly performing funds that herd, on average, 110% more in down markets relative to up markets. Our evidence is consistent with the argument that poorly performing managers have stronger career concerns, and particularly so in down markets.
Lateral asymmetry in the freely occurring behaviour of budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) and its relation to cognitive performance.

Hemispheric laterality and its provision of potential fitness advantages to aves is a widespread topic of research in budgerigars and other parrot species [e.g., Magat, M. & Brown, C. (2009). Later...
Current Status of the Female Athlete Triad: Update and Future Directions.

This review provides an update on the primary clinical sequelae of the Female Athlete Triad. Scientific advancements have contributed to improve understanding of Triad-related conditions, including leptin’s role as a potential neuroendocrine link between energy status and reproductive function. Use of finite element analysis of HRpQCT imaging has provided a more accurate assessment of bone geometry and bone strength and may be clinically relevant. New perspectives aimed at developing and implementing a multi-disciplinary, personalized approach in the prevention and early treatment of triad-related symptoms are provided. The Female Athlete Triad is a multi-dimensional condition that affects active women across the lifespan. Energy availability impacts reproductive function and bone with implications for health and performance. Understanding the contributions of each individual component as well as their interconnected effects is necessary for progression and expansion of the Triad literature.
Language rights and international domain names

ABSTRACTThis research examines how international domain names (IDNs) have become a proxy solution to multilingualism and language rights on the internet. In 2009, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved the initiation of fully internationalised top-level domain names. In this paper, I introduce the process of initiating IDNs, and map out their technological standards and solutions in the praxis of internet governance. Then, I discuss the key players and participants in the initiation of IDNs in relation to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) transition of 2016 and the expiring control of the U.S. government over ICANN. Finally, I discuss the relatively new language rights paradigm, which is gaining ground in cyberspace, coupled with the increasing norm of multilingualism.
Genes affecting progression of bacteriophage P22 infection in Salmonella identified by transposon and single gene deletion screens

Bacteriophages rely on their hosts for replication, and many host genes critically determine either viral progeny production or host success via phage resistance. A random insertion transposon library of 240,000 mutants in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was used to monitor effects of individual bacterial gene disruptions on bacteriophage P22 lytic infection. These experiments revealed candidate host genes that alter the timing of phage P22 propagation. Using a False Discovery Rate of < 0.1, mutations in 235 host genes either blocked or delayed progression of P22 lytic infection, including many genes for which this role was previously unknown. Mutations in 77 genes reduced the survival time of host DNA after infection, including mutations in genes for enterobacterial common antigen (ECA) synthesis and osmoregulated periplasmic glucan (OPG). We also screened over 2000 Salmonella single gene deletion mutants to identify genes that impacted either plaque formation or culture growth rates. The gene encoding the periplasmic membrane protein YajC was newly found to be essential for P22 infection. Targeted mutagenesis of yajC shows that an essentially full-length protein is required for function, and potassium efflux measurements demonstrated that YajC is critical for phage DNA ejection across the cytoplasmic membrane.
Abstract 19781: Life-threatening Arrhythmia in Cardiac Sarcoidosis: Does Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction Matter?

Introduction: Cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) patients with systolic dysfunction experience high rates of ventricular arrhythmias (VA) and sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). However, the risk of VA and SCA in CS patients without significant systolic dysfunction remains incompletely understood. Methods: We consecutively identified patients with clinical CS diagnosed per HRS guidelines or suspected isolated CS based on cardiac MRI findings and PET inflammation studies at a tertiary care referral center. Patients were divided into a priori defined groups of biplane LVEF ≥ 40% and LVEF Results: Of 110 CS patients, LVEF Conclusion: Compared to lower optimal LVEF cutoffs in ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathies, the elevated risk of VA or SCA in CS patients with LVEF ≥ 40% in CS highlights the additional consideration beyond LVEF required to make decisions regarding arrhythmia prevention in this population.
WOUND HEALING AND WOUND INFECTION: What Surgeons and Anesthesiologists Can Do

Wound healing can be enhanced and wound infections prevented, often by simple, inexpensive, readily available means. Preoperative evaluation for impediments to healing, such as malnutrition, vasoconstriction, hyperglycemia, and steroid use, allows correction prior to operation. Intraoperatively, the surgeon should concentrate on surgical technique, appropriate antibiotic use, and prevention of vasoconstriction (volume, warming). Postoperatively, the focus should be on prevention of vasoconstriction through pain relief, warming, and adequate volume resuscitation and on maintaining nutrition and normoglycemia. These approaches apply as well to chronic wounds. Additionally, maintenance of a moist environment, correction of local vasospasm with sympathetic blockade or warming, and stimulation of angiogenesis through aggressive debridement or hyperbaric oxygen therapy enhance healing of chronic wounds.
Sexual function in women with neurologic disorders.

Women with neurologic disabilities exhibit a wide range of effects on their sexual functions, based on the location and degree of their neurologic dysfunction. With the exception of spinal cord injuries, little is known about the impact of neurologic disabilities on sexual response. In this article, current information about neurologic disabilities and female sexual functions is reviewed. Potential future therapies and research recommendations also are discussed in this article.
Actimetry Measurement of Behavioral Regulation and Sleep Cycles in Infant Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Activity patterning and circadian cycles have proven to be important measures for clinical and translation research. For example, circadian disruption and activity levels that deviate significantly from either baseline or a comparison group may serve as diagnostic criteria for a range of disorders including depression (Jean-Louis et al., 2000), attention deficit disorder (Miller and Kraft, 1994), posttraumatic stress disorder (Glod et al., 1997 a, b), and substance abuse (Johnson and Breslau, 2001). At the same time, individual differences in activity patterns may serve as an early risk marker for those disorders.
P045 : DONOR-SPECIFIC ANTIBODY CAN BE MITIGATED BY INCREASING ANTIMETABOLITE DOSING ALONE

Aim The alloantibody response in solid organ transplantation is felt to be durable and long lasting. The durability of this response is appreciated in pretransplant patients where alloantibody can only be removed by plasmapheresis in combination with bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor indicated for patients with relapsing multiple myeloma. We hereby report a cohort of post-transplant patients with donor specific antibody that has been successfully mitigated using increased antimetabolite alone. Methods Since October 2008, annual screening and testing for renal dysfunction has identified 238 renal transplant patients with donor-specific antibody, as characterized by Luminex single antigen bead interrogation; 114 patients demonstrated clinically significant DSA, with SFI > 100,000. A retrospective analysis of this group was performed to identify those patients who were treated with increased antimetabolite therapy only and who demonstrated significant decrease in DSA to SFI Results Of the 114 patients with clinically significant DSA, 17 (15%) were noted to have significantly decreased SFI with intensified medical therapy only. MPA AUC was assessed after change in medical regimen. Mean values and ranges are summarized: Decrease in DSA levels. Initial Posttreatment SFI 154,684 (99,679–402,188) 29,022 (0–51,644) Creatinine (mg/dl) 1.80 (0.9–4.0) 1.80 (1.0–6.0) MPA AUC – 80.5 (30–133) MMF Dosage (mg/d) 1125 (500–3000) 1700 (1000–3000) Analysis of HLA loci demonstrated DSA at A(2 patients), DR (3 patients) and DQ (12 patients). Conclusions Increased medical immunosuppressive therapy alone may be sufficient to decrease clinically significant DSA levels and to ensure stable renal function. This is often achieved through early detection of DSA formation and optimization of antimetabolite dosage using MPA AUC measurement. Class II HLA loci are most frequently associated with DSA formation, particularly at the DQ locus, suggesting that more frequent monitoring of patients with known Class II mismatches may be beneficial. H.C. Yang: Speaker’s Bureau; Company/Organization; Novartis.
A Tumor Cell-Intrinsic Yin-Yang Determining Immune Evasion.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is mostly refractory to immunotherapies. In this issue of Immunity, Li et al. (2018) generate a library of clonal PDAC tumors to examine the tumor-intrinsic features shaping the anti-tumor immune response and find that tumor cell-derived CXCL1 directly blunts T cell infiltration and reduces responsiveness to immunotherapy.
De Novo Myelodysplastic Syndrome and Subsequent Diagnosis of Primary Solid Tumors: Evidence from the National Cancer Institute 2001-2011.

Background To our knowledge there are no population-level studies on the association between non-treatment-related myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and subsequent primary solid tumors. Materials and methods Adult patients diagnosed with non-treatment-related MDS were selected from the SEER 18 database and the risk of subsequent primary solid tumor was calculated. Results A total of 40,780 patients with a diagnosis of MDS were reported in the SEER 18 registry during 2001 to 2011. In these patients, 2,111 subsequent primary solid tumors were diagnosed with an observed/expected (O/E) ratio of 1.16 and an absolute excess risk of 26.86 per 10,000. Diagnosis of subsequent solid tumor was most likely immediately after diagnosis of MDS or within 1 year of diagnosis. Conclusion The risk of diagnosis of primary solid tumor malignancy in adult patients with de novo MDS is significantly higher compared to the general population. It is unclear whether this is due to detection bias or underlying pathophysiology.
Impulsivity, Painful and Provocative Events, and Suicide Intent: Testing the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide

Objective The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (IPTS; Joiner, 2005. Why People Die by Suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) hypothesizes that repeated exposure to painful and provocative events (PPE) increases capability for suicide (CS), therefore facilitating the development of suicidal intent, and that impulsive individuals are more likely to experience these painful and provocative events, creating an indirect relationship between impulsivity and CS. Research to date largely supports this hypothesis but has not translated this theory to actual suicidal intent. Method The present study used data from the MacArthur Violence Risk Assessment Study to examine the relationship between PPE and intent, and the indirect relationship between impulsivity and intent among a sample of 245 recent suicide attempters, using the clinician-rated Suicide Intent Scale as an objective measure of intent. Results Results supported the hypothesized direct relationship between PPE and intent, and the indirect relationship between impulsivity and intent through PPE. There was no direct relationship between impulsivity and intent, suggesting that the relationship between impulsivity and intent occurs entirely through exposure to PPE. Conclusions These findings suggest that assessing exposure to painful and provocative events is critical in evaluating risk of suicide, and that impulsivity itself does not confer an increased risk of lethal or nearly lethal attempts.
NETSIM: A Realtime Virtual Ocean Hardware-in-the-loop Acoustic Modem Network Simulator

This paper presents netsim, a combined software/hardware system for performing realtime realistic operation of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) with acoustic modem telemetry in a virtual ocean environment. The design of the system is flexible to the choice of physical link hardware, allowing for the system to be tested against existing and new modems. Additionally, the virtual ocean channel simulator is designed to perform in real time by coupling less frequent asynchronous queries to high-fidelity models of the ocean environment and acoustic propagation with frequent pertubation-based updates for the exact position of the simulated AUVs. The results demonstrate the performance of this system using the WHOI Micro-Modem 2 hardware in the virtual ocean environment of the Arctic Beaufort Sea around 73 degrees latitude. The acoustic environment in this area has changed dramatically in recent years due to the changing climate.
Iranian Culture: Representation and Identity

Throughout modern Iranian history, culture has served as a means of imposing unity and cohesion onto society. The Pahlavi monarchs used it to project an image of Iran as an ancient civilisation, re-emerging as an equal to Western nations, while the revolutionaries deployed it to remake the country into an Islamic nation. Just as Iranian culture has been continually re-interpreted, the representations and avocations of Iranian identity vary amongst Iranians across the world. Iranian Culture: Representation and Identity demonstrates these fissures and the incompatibilities that refuse to be written out of national culture, analysing works of literature, popular music, graphic art and film, as well as oral narratives. Using works produced before and after the 1979 revolution, created both inside and outside of Iran, this study reveals neglected complexities and contradictions in the field of Iranian cultural production. It considers how contested claims to culture, whether they originated in Iran or the Iranian diaspora, shape our understanding of this culture and what spaces they create for new articulations of it, and in doing so offers an important re-examination of our collective concept of culture. This book would be an excellent resource for students and scholars of Middle East Studies and Iranian Studies, specifically Iranian culture including film and contemporary literature and the Iranian diaspora.
Risk of gastroschisis with maternal genitourinary infections: the US National birth defects prevention study 1997–2011

Objective To assess the association between occurrence and timing of maternal self-reported genitourinary tract infection (urinary tract infections [UTIs] and/or sexually transmitted infection [STI]) and risk for gastroschisis in the offspring. Design Population-based case–control study. Setting National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a multisite study in the USA. Participants Mothers of 1366 gastroschisis cases and 11 238 healthy controls. Main outcome measures Crude and adjusted ORs (aORs) with 95% CIs. Results Genitourinary infections were frequent in case (19.3%) and control women (9.9%) during the periconceptional period (defined as 3 months prior to 3 months after conception). UTI and/or STI in the periconceptional period were associated with similarly increased risks for gastroschisis (aOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.3 to 1.8; aOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.3, respectively). The risk was increased with a UTI before (aOR 2.5; 95% CI 1.4 to 4.5) or after (aOR 1.7; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.6) conception only among women ≥25 years of age. The risk was highest among women Conclusions UTI and/or STI were associated with an increased risk for gastroschisis, with the strength of the association varying by maternal age and timing of infection.
Compression and Localization in Reinforcement Learning for ATARI Games.

Deep neural networks have become commonplace in the domain of reinforcement learning, but are often expensive in terms of the number of parameters needed. While compressing deep neural networks has of late assumed great importance to overcome this drawback, little work has been done to address this problem in the context of reinforcement learning agents. This work aims at making first steps towards model compression in an RL agent. In particular, we compress networks to drastically reduce the number of parameters in them (to sizes less than 3% of their original size), further facilitated by applying a global max pool after the final convolution layer, and propose using Actor-Mimic in the context of compression. Finally, we show that this global max-pool allows for weakly supervised object localization, improving the ability to identify the agent's points of focus.
The Role for Fracture Mechanics in Conventional Reinforced Concrete Design

Fracture mechanics role within the framework of the ACI Building Code will be significant if fracture mechanics provides answers to public safety issues, and relatively insignificant if fracture mechanics only provides a different theoretical viewpoint for provisions which already provide an adequate margin of public safety. Public safety issues for which fracture mechanics can provide answers include size effects, appropriate finite element analyses procedures, new materials, minimum reinforcement ratios, maximum reinforcement spacings, and time dependent effects. Issues for which fracture mechanics can provide a consistent theoretical basis include the diagonal tension cracking capacity for shear, torsion, and combined shear and torsion loadings.
The Impact of a Poverty Simulation on Educators' Attributions and Behaviors.

AbstractMany educators subscribe to poverty myths that can negatively impact teaching practices. This study examined whether poverty simulation participation would lead to sustained changes in pove...
Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Vouchers and Veterans' Homelessness, 2007-2017.

Objectives. To determine what role the 88 000 Housing and Urban Development–Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) vouchers for permanent supportive housing among US veterans distributed be...
MATLAB-Based Programs for Power System Dynamic Analysis

This paper presents MATLAB-based programs developed for power system dynamic analysis. The programs can be used for educational purposes and research studies. With the program, time-domain simulation, system linearization, modal analysis, participation factor analysis and visualization, optimal placement of controller, feedback signal selection, frequency response analysis, and control design can be obtained. In addition to solving a power system problem, the package provides a symbolic and vectorized representation of the model in time domain and state space. The package uses the full advantages of MATLAB’s powerful solvers for solving non-stiff and stiff problems. Both explicit and implicit techniques are used for solving the differential algebraic equations (DAEs). The synchronous machines are assumed to be equipped with exciter, turbine, and stabilizer. The loads can be modeled as voltage-dependent and independent loads. The test systems used in this paper are the IEEE 9-bus and 68-bus systems, and Texas’s 2007-bus synthetic power system. Different types of disturbances are applied to the systems including generator-side and network-side disturbances. The results demonstrate the efficiency and educational values of the package for researchers and students.
A Deep Neural Networks Approach for Pixel-Level Runway Pavement Crack Segmentation Using Drone-Captured Images.

Pavement conditions are a critical aspect of asset management and directly affect safety. This study introduces a deep neural network method called U-Net for pavement crack segmentation based on drone-captured images to reduce the cost and time needed for airport runway inspection. The proposed approach can also be used for highway pavement conditions assessment during off-peak periods when there are few vehicles on the road. In this study, runway pavement images are collected using drone at various heights from the Fitchburg Municipal Airport (FMA) in Massachusetts to evaluate their quality and applicability for crack segmentation, from which an optimal height is determined. Drone images captured at the optimal height are then used to evaluate the crack segmentation performance of the U-Net model. Deep learning methods typically require a huge set of annotated training datasets for model development, which can be a major obstacle for their applications. An online annotated pavement image dataset is used together with the FMA data to train the U-Net model. The results show that U-Net performs well on the FMA testing data even with limited FMA training images, suggesting that it has good generalization ability and great potential to be used for both airport runways and highway pavements.
Effect of bariatric surgery on outcomes in the operative treatment of hip fractures.

Abstract Introduction Few studies have evaluated the effect of prior bariatric surgery on outcomes following the operative treatment of hip fractures. The purpose of this study is to evaluate these metrics in a population of bariatric surgery patients compared to a control group who were operatively treated for hip fractures. Materials and Methods The California Office of Statewide Health Planning & Development (OSHPD) discharge database was accessed to identify patients who sustained a hip fracture between 2000–2014. CPT codes were utilized to identify patients who had a prior history of bariatric surgery within this time period. A control cohort of patients who had undergone previous appendectomy were queried similarly. The study evaluated complication rates and inpatient mortality at 30- and 90-days postoperatively as well as 30- and 90-day readmission rates. Results There were 1,327 bariatric and 2,127 control patients identified. Survival rates were significantly lower in bariatric patients compared to controls (87.2% vs. 91.8%, p = 0.048) at 5 years. After controlling for confounders, bariatric patients had higher 30- (OR 1.46, p = 0.005) and 90-day (OR 1.38, p = 0.011) readmission rates. There were no differences in all-cause complication and inpatient mortality rates between groups at 30 or 90 days. Discussion Bariatric surgery patients are at increased risk of readmission after hip fracture surgery. Further research is warranted to delineate potential risk factors and mitigate readmission in these patients. Level of Evidence III
Fully Atomistic Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene with Insights into Hydroxyl Aggregation

A fully atomistic model designed to reproduce the molecular weight and average functionality typical of commercial hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) formulations is presented. The structural...
Transformative Anti-Ableist Pedagogy for Social Justice: Charting a Critical Agenda for Inclusive Education

Higher education institutions are legally bound to provide equal educational opportunities for diverse learners, traditionally materialized as individualized accommodations. This paper contends that despite the growing interest and scholarship in implementing more inclusive pedagogy enabling access to education for all students (e.g. Universal Design for Learning), those efforts still fall short of systematically addressing intersecting, oppressive, and anti-ableist practices in the classrooms. I argue, that in order to develop a truly inclusive, equitable, socially just and transformative pedagogy and teaching practices, we need a theory that posits disability in the context of learning and development, the theory that integrates disability into human development in a manner that overcomes dichotomized and reductionist perspectives of disability and individualistic notions of learning. Drawing on my research on teaching and institutional practices for a student diagnosed with autism, analyzed through the lens of Critical Disability Studies in conjunction with Vygotsky’s theory of defectology and recent advances in cultural-historical activity theory, especially the Transformative Activist Stance (Stetsenko, 2016), this paper offers steps toward integrating these approaches into a transformative pedagogy framework for inclusive, equitable, and anti-ableist pedagogy for all learners.
Relationship Between Intensive Care Unit Delirium Severity and 2-Year Mortality and Health Care Utilization.

Background Critical care patients with delirium are at an increased risk of functional decline and mortality long term. Objective To determine the relationship between delirium severity in the intensive care unit and mortality and acute health care utilization within 2 years after hospital discharge. Methods A secondary data analysis of the Pharmacological Management of Delirium and Deprescribe randomized controlled trials. Patients were assessed twice daily for delirium or coma using the Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale and the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU). Delirium severity was measured using the CAM-ICU-7. Mean delirium severity (from time of randomization to discharge) was categorized as rapidly resolving, mild to moderate, or severe. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to model time to death, first emergency department visit, and rehospitalization. Analyses were adjusted for age, sex, race, Charlson Comorbidity Index, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, discharge location, diagnosis, and intensive care unit type. Results Of 434 patients, those with severe delirium had higher mortality risk than those with rapidly resolving delirium (hazard ratio 2.21; 95% CI, 1.35-3.61). Those with 5 or more days of delirium or coma had higher mortality risk than those with less than 5 days (hazard ratio 1.52; 95% CI, 1.07-2.17). Delirium severity and number of days of delirium or coma were not associated with time to emergency department visits and rehospitalizations. Conclusion Increased delirium severity and days of delirium or coma are associated with higher mortality risk 2 years after discharge.
Discrete Simulation of Continuous Systems

Finding a discrete system which simulates the behavior of a given continuous system is important in discrete-domain control system design, since the (continuous) plant’s response to a discretized input must be known before a controller can be designed for that plant.
Vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 tested in humans.

Vaccines directed against SARS-CoV-2 have been administered to healthy volunteers and have been shown to stimulate a brisk humoral and cellular immune response. All vaccines were generally well tolerated with mostly mild to moderate local and systemic reactions.
Evaluation of subsurface irrigation on microorganism contamination of romaine lettuce

The use of contaminated water to irrigate crops by surface, sprinkler, or conventional drip irrigation represents a significant public health concern due to the presence of multiple microbial pathogens associated with gastrointestinal disease. In this study, Escherichia coli and MS2 bacteriophage were used as microbial surrogates to evaluate the contamination of romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia) using bottom watering pots simulating a subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system in a greenhouse. The primary goal was to determine whether the exposure of lettuce plants to E. coli and MS2 would result in detectable levels of these microorganisms associated with the edible portions of plants. Plants were grown in bottom watering pots and were irrigated the last twelve days before harvesting with contaminated water containing E. coli and MS2 phage at 109 CFU/ml and 1011 PFU/ml, respectively. Harvested plants were processed to determine if E. coli or MS2 was associated with the plant surfaces or within the plant tissues. None of the samples was positive for either E. coli or MS2 bacteriophage, suggesting that subsurface irrigation systems effectively reduce the risk of produce-contamination with bacterial and viral pathogens.
Arthrodesis and Arthroplasty of the Small Joints

Arthritis of the small joints of the hand is a common problem encountered by orthopaedic hand surgeons. Nonoperative management is maximized to include splinting, injections, therapy in some situations, and oral analgesics. Pain is the main indication for joint arthroplasty and arthrodesis of the small joints of the hand. Additional indications include deformity, stiffness, and joint incongruity as seen in degenerative and inflammatory arthritis. We describe specific indications for treatment of the metacarpal phalangeal, finger proximal and distal interphalangeal, and thumb interphalangeal joints. Treatment options include open debridement of painful osteophytes, arthroplasty, and arthrodesis. Bone and soft-tissue stability is necessary to support an implant, thus treatment is dependent on the soft-tissue envelope and the amount of joint destruction. Based on the literature and the authors’ experience, arthrodesis is a better alternative than arthroplasty in most cases.
Single-Step Integration of Poly(3-Octylthiophene) and Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Highly Reproducible Paper-Based Ion-Selective Electrodes.

Calibration of ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) is cumbersome, time-consuming, and constitutes a significant limitation for the development of single-use and wearable disposable sensors. To address ...
Modeling and Simulation of Capsules and Biological Cells

In the past three decades, considerable progress has been made in the mathematical analysis, modelling, and simulation of the fluid dynamics of liquid capsules and biological cells, and interest in this area is now at an all-time high. This book features a collection of chapters contributed by acknowledged leaders in the field who explore topics related to the modeling and numerical simulation of capsule fluid dynamics and cell biomechanics. While providing an outstanding overview of the state of the art in selected areas of the subject, the authors also present the results of their own original research. A companion Web site holds useful links and additional information related to the topics discussed.
Calibration of Flow Cytometry for Quantitative Quantum Dot Measurements

Observations of quantum dot (QD)–labeled cells in biomedical research are mainly qualitative in nature, which limits the ability of researchers to compare results experiment to experiment and laboratory to laboratory. Labeled cells are useful in a range of in vitro and in vivo assays where tracking behavior of administered cells is integral for answering research questions in areas such as tissue engineering and stem cell therapy. Before the full potential of QD-based toolsets can be realized, uptake of QDs by cells must be quantified and standardized. This unit describes a novel, simple method to assess the number of QDs per cell using flow cytometry and commercially available standards. This quick and easy method can be used to calibrate flow cytometry instruments and settings, and quantify QD uptake by cells for in vitro and in vivo experimentation for comparable results across QD conjugate types, cell types, research groups, lots of commercial QDs, and homemade QDs. Curr. Protoc. Cytom. 49:6.26.1-6.26.7. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: quantitative; quantum dot; cell uptake; flow cytometry; number of quantum dots per cell; QD uptake
Ground‐Based and Airborne Lidar

Lidar remote sensing techniques can be applied to measure a wide variety of atmospheric parameters important in the hydrological sciences, including aerosol distribution, cloud properties, ozone and water vapor concentration, and wind fields. Lidar measurements make use of scattering and extinction of laser radiation in the atmosphere. Instruments are deployed on surface and aircraft platforms to investigate phenomena such as moisture spatial distribution and temporal evolution, ozone sources and transport, boundary-layer height, aerosol distribution, cloud microphysics, and wind structure. New satellite-based instruments enable lidar techniques to be applied on a global scale. Keywords: lidar; laser; remote sensing; ozone concentration; water vapor concentration; aerosol structure; wind structure; differential absorption lidar; Doppler; backscatter
Housing the Aging Baby Boomers: Implications for Local Policy

Most elderly want to age in place. Yet, most elderly live in suburban and rural communities ill-suited to meet the changing aging-related demands. This paper discusses various issues communities need to address when balancing the demands of aging baby boomers against those of younger households. Accommodating changes in life stage needs requires revising building and zoning codes to permit mixed use and mixed density development incorporating greater varieties of housing units and easier accessibility. Developing support arrangements for naturally occurring retirement communities will become important for state and local governments. A significant number of aging adults will move to locales with natural and augmented civic amenities. Such migration is double-edged; features that attract gray gold also attract needy elderly. Finally, affordable housing will be an issue for a growing number of elderly, calling for targeted tax and financial assistance policies for lower income elderly homeowners.
Analytical Lower Bounds on the Capacity of Insertion and Deletion Channels

We develop several analytical lower bounds on the capacity of binary insertion and deletion channels by considering independent uniformly distributed (i.u.d.) inputs and computing lower bounds on the mutual information between the input and the output sequences. For the deletion channel, we consider three different models: usual independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) deletion channel, i.i.d. deletion/substitution channel and i.i.d. deletion channel with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). The latter two models are introduced to incorporate effects of the channel noise along with the synchronization errors. For the insertion channel case we assume that the transmitted bits are replaced with two bits with a certain probability independently of any other insertion events. We consider two specific cases: Gallager’s model where the pair of bits are random and uniform over the four possibilities, and the sticky channel where transmitted bits are duplicated. The general approach taken is similar in all cases, however the specific computations differ. Furthermore, the approach yields a useful lower bound on the capacity for a wide range of deletion probabilities for the deletion channels, while it provides a beneficial bound only for very low insertion probabilities for the insertion models adopted. We emphasize the importance of these results by noting that 1) our results are the first analytical bounds on the capacity of deletion-AWGN channels, 2) the results developed are the best available analytical lower bounds on the deletion/substitution case, 3) for the deletion only channel, our results competes well with the best available lower bounds for small deletion probabilities and they explicitly obtain the first order terms in the recently proved capacity expansions, 4) for both sticky and Gallager insertion channel models, the new lower bounds improve the existing results for small insertion probabilities. Index Terms Insertion/deletion channels, synchronization, channel capacity, achievable rates. This research is funded by the National Science Foundation under contract nsf-tf 0830611.
Measured and electrical-model characteristics of buildings heated by floor thermal storage

The thermal design and behaviour of single- and multi-storey floor-heating installations based on measurements on an electrical analogue are described. The practical justification for the approach is the good agreement between the measured temperature and heat-flow data on a 3MW floor-heating installation for a single-storey factory and the predictions of the analogue.
Spinning disk solid-state lasers, computer simulation

A computer code to calculate the output power and disk temperature distribution for a spinning disk laser has been developed. Calculated values agree well with experiment. The surfaces of the Nd:YAG rotating disk pass close to two water-cooled plates. A thin gap, filled with gas, separates each plate from the disk. For an Nd:YAG disk, results are given for a 50 μm gap filled with He .
Tumor-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes derived from the peripheral blood of prostate cancer patients by in vitro stimulation with autologous tumor cell lines.

To identify tumor-associated antigens as putative targets for developing immunotherapies against prostate cancer, we investigated the ability of T cells derived from the peripheral blood lymphocytes of prostate cancer patients to recognize autologous tumor cells. The technical challenge of growing in vitro carcinoma cell lines from small prostate cancer samples was previously addressed by immortalization of early epithelial cell cultures with the HPV16 transforming proteins E6 and E7 and by genetic characterization of the carcinoma and normal prostate cell lines. In our study, peripheral blood lymphocytes were stimulated in vitro using autologous IFNgamma-treated prostate carcinoma cells transduced with the B7.1 molecule as a source of T-cell costimulation. Tumor-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes were obtained from 3 of 6 prostate cancer patients tested and included T cells restricted by classical and nonclassical HLA molecules. In 1 case, we demonstrated that the prostate cancer-reactive T cells were TCRalpha/beta+ and recognized autologous tumor cells but not autologous normal cells in the context of HLA-B or -C molecules. These results validate the approach of in vitro stimulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes from prostate cancer patients with autologous tumor cell lines to isolate prostate cancer-specific T cells and demonstrate the existence of a functionally diverse immune response against prostate cancer.
Spatial learning in the little brown skink, Scincella lateralis: the importance of experience

Previous studies have shown that squamates (lizards and snakes) are capable of spatial learning, but only after extensive training. In nature, squamates' capacity to learn may be better than that suggested by laboratory studies, because they have the opportunity to become familiar with the location of important landmarks and vital resources as they wander through their home range. I conducted three laboratory experiments to test the hypothesis that prior experience with a habitat improves spatial learning in little brown skinks. Individual lizards were subjected to a simulated predatory attack and tested for their ability to take refuge under one of two cardboard retreats (experiment 1) and to choose the ‘correct’ retreat without prior experience (experiment 2) and with 48 h of prior experience (experiment 3) in the ‘habitat’. Although little brown skinks learned to take refuge under cardboard retreats (experiment 1), inexperienced lizards did not learn to take refuge under the ‘correct’ retreat (experiment 2). However, experienced lizards did learn to take refuge under the correct retreat (experiment 3) and did so after only a few trials. I discuss the influence of experience, the ecological relevance of stimuli used in learning experiments, and other methodological issues.
A comparison of the FORTRAN language implementation for several computers

A feature-by-feature comparison is made of five different implementations of FORTRAN IV representing three different manufacturers. A table is constructed showing, where possible, the use of each feature in each implementation. Only those items which are different from, or have been added to FORTRAN II are shown.
A model of the effect of outer hair cell motility on cochlear vibrations.

Abstract A model of cochlear function is presented in which deformation forces within outer hair cells are assumed to occur in synchronized response to generator potentials. Assuming a 90° phase lag between the generator potentials and the deformation forces, it is shown that the forces act to reduce cochlear-partition damping and thus increase frequency selectivity. A number of other experimentally observed phenomena, such as the effects of efferent-fiber stimulation and electrical polarization, can also be accounted for with this model.
Disentangling Type A Behavior: The Roles of Ambition, Insensitivity, and Anxiety.

Abstract This study identified stable components of Type A behavior as usually defined, and examined their relationships with more traditional psychological constructs. Overall scores on the most popular Type A measure (a version of the Jenkins Activity Survey) were moderately associated with ambition but largely unrelated to measures of adjustment. An item analysis yielded subcomponents of Drivenness and Involvement. Drivenness was unrelated to ambition, but was positively related to anxiety and negatively related to interpersonal perceptiveness. Involvement was positively related to ambition and to interpersonal competence. It is suggested that the Jenkins Activity Survey measures a heterogeneous mixture of constructive commitment and self-defeating responses that clouds its psychological interpretation.
Effects of watershed topography, soils, land use, and climate on baseflow hydrology in humid regions: A review

Baseflow is the portion of streamflow that is sustained between precipitation events, fed to stream channels by delayed (usually subsurface) pathways. Understanding baseflow processes is critical t...
Professionalizing the Role of "Truth-Seekers"

John Dewey closed his Michigan classroom ledger on June 13, 1894, with the feeling that it was a "great relief to think of getting out of this mire of pettiness." He enthusiastically anticipated the move to the University of Chicago where he was "determined to join in the boom 'u (Dewey, 1894[a]). Chicago was a boom town and an ideal setting for an ambitious young professor eager to make his mark. When Dewey set out for the new university, he was aware that he and the academic profession he had chosen had a bright future. He sensed that he was part of a new thrust in higher education which, in time, would radically change the function of the university and its relationship to the larger society. Furthermore, he saw himself as a member of a new professional class, destined to play an influential role in shaping the new industrial society. Dewey attributed the boom in higher education largely to the progress in scientific knowledge at the university and the application of that knowledge to the new technology that was revolutionizing business and industry. Under such circumstances, both public and private corporate financial interests willingly supported the growth of higher education. Standing in the midst of such rapid development, Dewey had good reason to be optimistic. Between 1890 and 1900, the number of college and university professors in the United States increased by approximately 90 per cent (Hofstadter and Metzger, 1955). As this professional class increased in size and influence, Dewey actively sought to define and shape its role in terms of what he called "a society of truth-seekers" (Dewey, 1902, p.14). In this article we analyze the part Dewey played in shaping the role of the academic profession. We do this first by examining Dewey's involvement in the Bemis Case at Chicago from which he evolved his ideas about academic freedom that he later expressed in his 1902 essay on the subject. Next we consider Dewey's role in the creation of the Americm'a Association of University Professors. We then turn to Dewey's participation in the development of the Teachers Union and the part he played in helping to shape its anti-communist position. Lastly we assess Dewey's legacy to the professionalization of the academic.
A note on plurisubharmonic defining functions in$$\mathbb{C}^2$$

Let Ω ⊂⊂ $$\mathbb{C}^2$$ be a smoothly bounded domain. Suppose that Ω admits a smooth defining function which is plurisubharmonic on the boundary of Ω. Then the Diederich-Fornaess exponent can be chosen arbitrarily close to 1, and the closure of Ω admits a Stein neighborhood basis.
Evaluation of EtherCAT Distributed Clock Performance

EtherCAT is a real-time Ethernet protocol conceived explicitly for industrial applications. It is characterized by high communication efficiency, which permits control loops to be closed with short cycle times, and is provided with a suitable mechanism, known as distributed clock (DC), that enables synchronized operations to take place across the controlled system. These features can be profitably adopted, for instance, to support motion control applications. In this paper, the performance of the DC mechanism is evaluated by means of a thorough campaign of experimental measurements carried out on a real network setup. A number of factors have been taken into account that can affect accuracy and precision, and their effects studied in depth.
Baker soil test theory and applications

Abstract The availability of chemical elements from soils to plants and ultimately to animals consuming them has been investigated by scientists for centuries. Evidence has accumulated to support the theory that plants respond directly to changes in the activities of ions in the soil solution and only indirectly to the quantities of each element in soil which maintains the respective activities within the soil solution. Soil management involves changes in the available forms of each element in order to obtain the required range of activity to meet plant requirements. The Baker Soil Test™ (BST) is a new approach to soil testing which provides an activity measurement (intensity), a quantity measurement (extensive), and for some samples the total sorbed quantity of metals.
Nocturia: Etiology, diagnosis, and treatment

Voiding at night, or nocturia, is a common reason for interrupted sleep in the adult population. The condition affects both men and women, with an incidence that increases dramatically with age. Nocturia has a negative impact on quality of life, affecting both morbidity and mortality. Effective diagnosis of the condition is dependent on a clear understanding of its underlying etiology. In general, the causes of nocturia fall into three categories: diurnal polyuria, nocturnal polyuria, and low bladder capacity. In some individuals, however, nocturnal polyuria and low bladder capacity may both contribute to the overall symptomatology of nocturia. Addressing any underlying conditions that contribute to nocturia is the first step in treating the condition. Lifestyle and behavioral changes may provide benefit in some individuals, but for many, the only option is pharmacotherapy. Antimuscarinic agents are first-line therapies for overactive bladder and are often used in the management of nocturia. Pharmacological and physicochemical differences between available antimuscarinic agents, however, translate into different safety and tolerability profiles, which may make some agents more suitable for use in certain populations, including the elderly. Careful selection of the most appropriate antimuscarinic medication is therefore central in optimizing treatment outcomes.