cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
OER and Social Justice: A Colloquium at Oregon State University

INTRODUCTION Librarians are most likely to address issues of scholarly communication, including information economics and information privilege, with faculty and graduate students who are researching and publishing. However, undergraduate students, being both consumers and creators of information, should also be aware of these issues and can become advocates for open access. While they may not be publishing, the high cost of information directly affects students. They are often unaware the economic models that drive the price of information creation and access. Scholarly communication is not often included in basic information literacy instruction. Including undergraduates in discussions or activities surrounding open access and social justice topics is one way to help create future advocates. DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM Two librarians developed a 2-credit, 10-week Honors College course on open educational resources and social justice targeted at undergraduate students. The purpose of the course was to raise awareness among undergraduates on issues of scholarly communication through activities, discussion, and reflection. Course activities were designed to help students discover, synthesize, and reflect on social justice and information access. NEXT STEPS Feedback from the students indicated that the course content was appropriate and that students had a better understanding of these issues and could formulate arguments both for and against open access. Some changes to the course structure and content are under development to give students more opportunities to act as advocates and informed citizens.
A comprehensive investigation on the properties of nanostructured cerium oxide

The structural, optical, magnetic and electrical properties of cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles prepared by hydrothermal route are analyzed by subjecting them to characterization techniques such as Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), High resolution scanning electron microscope (HRSEM), High resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX), Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, Ultraviolet–Visible analysis, Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis and Dielectric measurements. The PXRD, FTIR, Raman and EDAX analyses confirm the formation of CeO2 nanoparticles. The PXRD studies reveal that the cerium oxide nanoparticles have crystalline nature and have Face Centered Cubic structure. The average crystallite size, estimated using Scherrer formula, is 7 nm. The HRSEM and HRTEM images reveal that the CeO2 nanoparticles have spherical morphology with an average particle size of 23 nm. The optical band gap energy of the cerium oxide nanoparticles, calculated from UV–Vis studies, is 3.4 eV which could be due to the substantial concentration of Ce3+ ions in the ceria nanoparticles. The Ferromagnetic behavior of CeO2 at room temperature is implied from VSM studies. The Dielectric analysis divulge that the dielectric constant of cerium oxide nanoparticles decreases as the frequency and temperature increases. The electrical behaviour, activation energy and relaxation time of electrons of CeO2 nanoparticles are studied by plotting Nyquist plot, Arrhenius plot and Bode plot respectively.
A review of 'scientist' software.

‘Scientist’ (MicroMath Scientific Software, Salt Lake City, UT) is a program for solving systems of differential equations and for fitting systems of differential equations to data. The graphical user interface is pleasing and simple, and it does exactly what it should do: it makes it possible to use the software without reference to the manual. The model and initial conditions are entered through an equation file in which the equations look much as one would write them by hand. Parameters may be entered through the same equation file or through a parameter file. Data are entered and results are obtained in spreadsheet format; results may be easily plotted.
Application of projection and immersed boundary methods to simulating heat and mass transport in membrane distillation

Abstract Membrane distillation is an emerging desalination process with important applications to the energy-water nexus. Its performance depends, however, on heat and mass transport phenomena that are uniquely challenging to simulate. Difficulties include two adjacent channel flows coupled by heat and mass transport across a semi-permeable membrane. Within the channels, heat and mass boundary layers interact with the membrane surface and vortical flow structures generated by complicated geometries. The presence of multiple inlets and outlets also complicates the application of mass-conserving outlet conditions. Moreover, even small amounts of outlet noise affect the resolution of important near-membrane fluid velocities. We show these phenomena can be simulated to second-order spatial and temporal accuracy using finite volume methods with immersed boundaries and projection methods. Our approach includes a projection method that staggers the coupled channel flows and applies Robin boundary conditions to facilitate mass conservation at the outlets. We also develop an immersed boundary method that applies Neumann boundary conditions to second-order spatial accuracy. The methods are verified and validated against manufactured solutions and theoretical predictions of vortex shedding. They are then applied to the simulation of steady and unsteady transport phenomena in membrane distillation. The methods have important applications to the broad field of chemical engineering and deal with long-standing issues in both theoretical and computational fluid dynamics.
The impact of antibiotic allergy labels on antibiotic exposure, clinical outcomes, and healthcare costs: A systematic review.

Objective: A growing body of evidence suggests that antibiotic allergy labels as documented in medical records are a risk factor for poor clinical outcomes. In this systematic review, we aimed to determine how antibiotic allergy labels influence 3 domains: antibiotic use and exposure, clinical outcomes, and healthcare-related costs. Design: We performed a systematic review to identify studies reporting outcomes in patients with antibiotic allergy labels compared to nonallergic counterparts. The search included PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, EBSCO, Cochrane Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects and Web of Science. Two reviewers independently screened studies for inclusion and abstracted data. Studies were graded using the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale. Study outcomes included antibiotic use, clinical outcomes, and economic outcomes. Results: In total, 41 studies met our criteria for inclusion. These studies varied in medical specialty, patient population, healthcare delivery system, and design, but most were conducted among adults age >18 years (85%) in the inpatient setting (82.5%). Among 34 studies examining antibiotic exposure, 32 (94%) found that patients with antibiotic allergy labels received more broad-spectrum antibiotics. Moreover, 31 studies examined clinical outcomes such as length of hospitalization, ICU admission, hospital readmission, multidrug-resistant or opportunistic infection, or mortality, and 27 (87%) found that allergy-labeled patients had at least 1 negative outcome. Of 9 studies examining healthcare costs, 7 (78%) found that allergy-labeled patients incurred significantly higher drug or hospital-related costs. Conclusions: Antibiotic allergy labels have negative effects on antibiotic use, clinical outcomes, and economic outcomes in a variety of clinical settings and populations.
Effects of heparinoid bridging in patients with mechanical heart valves.

Background Patients with mechanical heart valves (MHVs) require long-term oral anticoagulation therapy to protect against thromboembolisms. Invasive procedures with high bleeding risks require oral anticoagulation therapy cessation. Currently, guidelines recommend the use of either subcutaneous low-molecular-weight heparin or intravenous unfractionated heparin in the perioperative period. It is unclear whether the evidence supports the use of one heparinoid over the other. Objectives To compare the effectiveness of low-molecular-weight heparin and unfractionated heparin bridging based on the adverse outcomes of thromboembolisms, major bleeding, and death during the perioperative period. Date sources A literature search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. Five studies comparing the two bridging therapies in chronically anticoagulated MHV patients met the inclusion criteria. Conclusions No statistical significance was found for the endpoints of thromboembolism and death. One study found a statistically significant higher occurrence of major bleeding in patients treated with unfractionated heparin. In all the studies, major bleeding occurred more often than thromboembolisms. Findings were limited by the study designs and methodologies. Implications for practice Based on the available evidence, neither low-molecular-weight heparin nor intravenous heparin bridging was found to be more effective in reducing the occurrence of adverse events. This may be due in part to the study designs and lack of standardized bridging protocols used in the studies reviewed. Nurse practitioners should remain informed about bridging protocols and weigh the risk versus benefit of each bridging agent when caring for patients with MHVs.
Red cell transfusion thresholds for preterm infants: finally some answers

Extremely low birthweight infants become anaemic during their care in the neonatal intensive care unit because of the physiological anaemia experienced by all newborn infants compounded by early umbilical cord clamping, blood loss by phlebotomy for laboratory monitoring and delayed erythropoiesis. The majority of these infants receive transfusions of packed red blood cells, usually based on haemoglobin values below a certain threshold. The haemoglobin or haematocrit thresholds used to guide transfusion practices vary with infant status and among institutions and practitioners. Previous smaller studies have not given clear guidance with respect to the haemoglobin thresholds that should trigger transfusions or even if this is the best way to decide when to transfuse an infant. Two large clinical trials of similar design comparing higher and lower haemoglobin thresholds for transfusing extremely low birthweight infants were recently published, the ETTNO and TOP trials. These trials found reassuringly conclusive and concordant results. Within the range of haemoglobin transfusion thresholds studied, there was no difference in the primary outcome (which was the same in both studies), neurodevelopmental impairment at 2 years' corrected age or death before assessment, in either study. In addition, there was no difference in either study in either of the components of the primary outcome. In conclusion, haemoglobin transfusion thresholds within the ranges used in these trials, 11-13 g/dL for young critically ill or ventilated infants and 7-10 g/dL for stable infants not requiring significant respiratory support, can be safely used without expecting adverse consequences on survival or neurodevelopment.
Demography, education, and research trends in the interdisciplinary field of disease ecology

ABSTRACT Micro- and macroparasites are a leading cause of mortality for humans, animals, and plants, and there is great need to understand their origins, transmission dynamics, and impacts. Disease ecology formed as an interdisciplinary field in the 1970s to fill this need and has recently rapidly grown in size and influence. Because interdisciplinary fields integrate diverse scientific expertise and training experiences, understanding their composition and research priorities is often difficult. Here, for the first time, we quantify the composition and educational experiences of a subset of disease ecology practitioners and identify topical trends in published research. We combined a large survey of self-declared disease ecologists with a literature synthesis involving machine-learning topic detection of over 18,500 disease ecology research articles. The number of graduate degrees earned by disease ecology practitioners has grown dramatically since the early 2000s. Similar to other science fields, we show that practitioners in disease ecology have diversified in the last decade in terms of gender identity and institution, with weaker diversification in race and ethnicity. Topic detection analysis revealed how the frequency of publications on certain topics have declined (e.g., HIV, serology), increased (e.g., the dilution effect, infectious disease in bats), remained relatively common (e.g., malaria ecology, influenza, vaccine research and development), or have consistently remained relatively infrequent (e.g., theoretical models, field experiments). Other topics, such as climate change, superspreading, emerging infectious diseases, and network analyses, have recently come to prominence. This study helps identify the major themes of disease ecology and demonstrates how publication frequency corresponds to emergent health and environmental threats. More broadly, our approach provides a framework to examine the composition and publication trends of other major research fields that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries.
CRISPR-Cas Inhibits Natural Transformation through Altruistic Group Defense and Self-Sacrifice

Summary CRISPR-Cas systems present an evolutionary tradeoff: does defense against phages and other parasitic DNA also prevent cells from acquiring potentially helpful new genes? Genomic analyses of this conundrum have arrived at often contradictory conclusions. Meanwhile, experimental studies have focused mainly on phages, conjugation, or artificial transformation, but less work has examined natural competence, a major driver of evolution and antibiotic resistance. Here, we use Acinetobacter baylyi, which combines high natural competence with a functional CRISPR-Cas system, to experimentally probe the interactions between CRISPR-Cas and natural competence. In these bacteria, the endogenous CRISPR array largely allows natural transformation by targeted DNA. However, CRISPR-Cas then kills the newly autoimmune cells in a form of programmed cell death. CRISPR-Cas often allows self-targeting cells to form colonies, albeit with fitness costs. Thus CRISPR-Cas appears to block natural transformation in a process more akin to altruistic group defense than an individual immune system.
Disparities in postpartum contraceptive use among immigrant women with restricted Medicaid benefits

Abstract Background The Emergency Medicaid program offers restricted Medicaid benefits for people who meet the same financial eligibility criteria as traditional Medicaid recipients but do not meet the citizenship requirements for enrollment in traditional Medicaid. By federal law, Emergency Medicaid covers care for life-threatening emergencies or a hospital admission for child birth. No prenatal or postpartum care is covered. The majority of women enrolled in Emergency Medicaid are Latina. Objective We assessed postpartum visits and receipt of postpartum contraception, comparing outcomes for Emergency (restricted benefit) Medicaid to Traditional (full-benefit) Medicaid in Oregon and South Carolina, two states with similar sized immigrant populations. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study using linked Medicaid claims and birth certificate data of live births covered by Medicaid (Traditional and Emergency Medicaid) between January 1, 2010, and September 30, 2017, in Oregon and South Carolina. Our analysis was at the individual level. Primary outcomes were postpartum visit attendance and receipt of postpartum contraception within 2 months. We examined differences in demographic and delivery characteristics by Medicaid type. If women received postpartum contraception, we compared the timing of receipt (Immediate postpartum [IPP], within one month, one to two months, and two to six months) by type of Medicaid. Among women using contraception, we described the type of contraceptive received at each time point, stratified by Medicaid type. Associations between Medicaid type (Traditional vs. Emergency) and postpartum visit attendance and contraception were assessed using adjusted absolute predicted probabilities from logistic regression models. We ran models for the entire cohort, and conducted a sub-analysis restricted to only Latina women. Results Our study included 375,544 live births to 288,234 women, with 12.7% of births among Emergency Medicaid recipients. Women enrolled in Emergency Medicaid tended to be older (age > 35; 18.1% vs 7.2% p Latinas with births covered by Emergency Medicaid had a 1.9% (95% CI: 1.8 – 2.0%) adjusted probability of postpartum contraception use within two months, compared to 39.8% (95% CI: 38.7 – 39.9 %) among Latinas enrolled in Traditional Medicaid. Conclusion Women enrolled in Emergency Medicaid experience large disparities in postpartum care and contraceptive use. Policies that restrict Medicaid coverage following delivery exacerbate inequities in postpartum care, potentially leading to worse health outcomes for low-income immigrants and their children.
Can Blockchain Capabilities Contribute to Sustainable Supply Chain Governance

Environmental regulations and standards play critical roles in corporate sustainable supply chain practices. We explore and reflect how blockchain can play a role. To answer that question, a small survey was distributed to blockchain experts and evaluated the relationship to implementing the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) sustainability standards. We initially find that some characteristics of blockchain provided greater support for specific standards. Conclusions include that information transparency and traceability are more valuable for EPEAT environmental sustainability standards.
Administration of Probiotics Normalizes Deficits in the Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis Induced by DSS-Colitis

Author(s): Huynh, Kevin | Abstract: Altered behavior and mood disorders, including anxiety, depression and cognitive dysfunction, are increasingly found to occur in the context of intestinal diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and negatively affect patient quality of life. The aim was to determine whether colonic inflammation precipitates behavioral deficits and whether these changes can be ameliorated by administration of probiotic organisms. Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS; 3% w/ v) was administered to 6-7 week old C57BL/6 mice via drinking water for 5 days followed by either 3 days (8 d post-DSS; height of disease) or 9 days (14 d post-DSS; resolution of disease) of normal drinking water. A subset of mice was given probiotics (Lactobacillus rhamnosus [R0011] and L. helveticus [R0052]; 10⁹ CFU/ml orally) starting 7 days prior to DSS and continuing until the end of the experiment. Changes in weight, colon length, behavior and microbiota were assessed. At 8 d post-DSS, weight loss and colonic shortening (both pl0.01) were observed, indicating colonic disease, and dysbiosis was also present. DSS mice (vs. controls) demonstrated impairments in recognition memory (pl0.01) and the presence of anxiety-like behavior (pl0.05), which were both resolved by 14 d post-DSS. Administration of probiotics ameliorated colonic disease (pl0.05), deficits in behavior (pl0.05 for cognition and anxiety-like behavior), and normalized levels of c-fos expression (pl 0.05) in the CA-1 region as well as partially restored the composition of the microbiota. Taken together, these findings indicate the presence of dysregulation of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in the setting of DSS-induced colitis that can be prevented by treatment with probiotics
An unusual case of neostigmine bromide poisoning.

Summary Neostigmine bromide used for the treatment of functional megacolon in very low dosage nevertheless led to severe and prolonged poisoning. The role functional megacolon may have played in this is discussed.
Rate-based end-to-end congestion control of multimedia traffic in packet switched networks

This paper proposes an explicit rate-based end-to-end distributed congestion control mechanism for multimedia traffic in packet switched networks such as the Internet. The network is viewed as a set of sources distributed with feedback from respective destinations and it is modeled as a nonlinear system. The congestion is controlled by adjusting the transmission rates of the sources in response to the feedback information from destination such as the buffer occupancy, packet arrival and service rate, so that a desired performance referenced to as a quality of service (QoS) can be met. The QoS is defined in terms of packet loss ratio, transmission delay, system power and fairness. The performance and stability of the system is analyzed mathematically. The proposed scheme has been implemented in the NS-2 simulator. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the scheme to be in agreement with mathematical analysis. The proposed scheme is shown to provide considerable improvements in terms of the QoS metrics over New-Reno TCP (a variant of AIMD: additive increase multiplicative decrease) technique. Since it is end-to-end, no additional router support is necessary, and the proposed methodology can be readily applied to today's Internet, as well as for real-time video and voice data transfer in unicast networks. Finally some information is given as its overhead needed for the proposed scheme.
Unusual and rapid amniotic fluid cell growth

The majority of malignant neoplasms arising in endometriosis have been adenocarcinomas.’ In their recent review, Mostoufizadeh and Scully’ recalled five cases of malignant mixed miillerian tumor and 19 cases of stromal sarcoma originating in gonadal and extragonadal endometriosis. Even rarer is the phenomenon of massive polypoid endometriosis in which the histologic features of conventional endometriosis persist despite the gross appearance which simulates a malignant neoplasm.’ The present case is particularly unique in that a sarcoma developed within extensive endometriosis and that it did so despite apparent obliteration of ovarian function by irradiation. In view of the course of events, the question arises whether the original lesion was indeed histologically benign endometriosis and not adenosarcoma. The original sections contained normal-appearing proliferative-type endometrial glands with focal cystic hyperplasia. The endometrial stroma was unremarkable in most areas with the exception of focal hypercellular and mitotically active regions. This illdefined phenomenon of “stromal hyperplasia” has previously been reported in endometrial curettings from a patient who subsequently developed miillerian adenosarcoma of the uterus.3 Whether the stromal proliferation observed in this case placed the patient at greater risk for subsequent stromal sarcoma is a matter of conjecture inasmuch as the degree of mitotic activity and cellular pleomorphism was much less than in the sarcoma and was consistent with that found in proliferative endometrium. In addition, a classic pattern of neoplastic stromal growth such as stromal nodules or endolymphatic stromal myosis was not present. Irradiation of the ovaries as primary therapy for endometriosis is not generally recommended and was performed in this case only when surgical castration could not be carried out and hormonal therapy was Fig. 3. The sarcoma was composed of oval to spindle-shaped neoplastic mesenchymal cells. They were arranged randomly and in a plexiform pattern in a collagen matrix.
ELAFINT : A computational method for fluid flows with free and moving boundaries

A computational technique called ELAFINT has been developed to handle the existence of highly deformed moving and free boundaries. These boundaries or interfaces cut through an underlying cartesian grid, leading to irregularly shaped control volumes in the vicinity of the interface. A method to reassemble these control volumes to maintain flux conservation has been designed. The accuracy of the methods at each stage of the development have been assessed. Currently highly deformed, moving interfaces with phase change can be tracked in conjunction with an implicit pressure-based Navier-Stokes equation solver. This methodology can be applied to solve fluid flow problmes in complex geometries.
Determination of ephedrine alkaloids in human urine and plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry: collaborative study.

A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy and precision of a method for ephedrine-type alkaloids (i.e., norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, methylephedrine, and methylpseudoephedrine) in human urine and plasma. The amount of ephedrine-type alkaloids present was determined using liquid chromatography (LC) with tandem mass selective detection. The test samples were diluted to reflect a concentration of 5.00-100 ng/mL for each alkaloid. An internal standard was added and the alkaloids were separated using a 5 microm phenyl LC column with an ammonium acetate, glacial acetic acid, acetonitrile, and water mobile phase. Eight blind duplicates of human urine and eight blind duplicates of human plasma were analyzed by 10 collaborators. In addition to negative controls, test portions of urine and plasma were fortified at 3 different levels with each of the 6 ephedrine-type alkaloids at approximately 1, 2, and 5 microg/mL for urine and 100, 200, and 500 ng/mL for plasma. On the basis of the accuracy and precision results for this collaborative study, it is recommended that this method be adopted Official First Action for the determination of 6 different ephedrine-type alkaloids in human urine and plasma.
A Study of Vertical Motion Requirements for Landing Simulation

Tests were conducted to determine the significance of vertical acceleration cues in the simulation of the visual approach and landing maneuver. Landing performance measures were obtained for four subject pilots operating a visual landing simulation mechanized in the Ames Height Control Test Apparatus, a device that provides up to plus or minus 40 ft of vertical motion. Test results indicate that vertical motion cues are utilized in the landing task, and that they are particularly important in the simulation of aircraft with marginal longitudinal-handling qualities. To assure vertical motion cues of the desired fidelity in the landing task, it appears, that a simulator must have excursion capabilities of at least 20 ft in either direction.
Free Speech, Fair Elections, and Campaign Finance Laws: Can They Co-Exist?

A prominent politician once observed that, "You can either have free speech or fair elections, but you can’t have both." In the view of this article, that has it precisely backwards. In fact, you cannot have one without the other. The election of 2012 tested that thesis because it was the most expensive federal election in history and it contained what many claimed was a great deal of negative campaign speech and rhetoric. This paper argues that, under the First Amendment, election speech is supposed to be "uninhibited, robust and wide-open" and unrestrained in both quantity and content. Accordingly, the increase in campaign spending and activity by candidates, parties, non-profits organizations, labor unions, corporations and so-called "super pacs" is a good thing for free speech principles and democracy, not a bad thing, and efforts to impose greater limitations on campaign funding should be opposed. The same is also true for the supposed increase in the "negative" nature of the content of much campaign speech. There too a proper view of the First Amendment would applaud and encourage such robust debate about core issues of governance. The article concludes by advocating a number of reforms which will make our electoral speech even more vigorous than it is now.
Housing Low-Income Households: Lessons From the Sharing Economy?

The cost of operating, much less building, housing units that meet our quality standards in the United States far exceeds the ability of low-income households to pay. But the public dollars availab...
Detection of Incoherent Objects by a Quantum-Limited Optical System*

The detection of an incoherent object, light from which is received in the presence of thermal radiant energy, is treated by quantum detection theory under the assumption that the product of the observation time and the bandwidth of the object light is large. The threshold detector measures a quantum-mechanical operator that is a quadratic functional of the field at the aperture of the receiver. The statistics of the outcome of this measurement are approximately Poisson, and the detectability of the object depends—as under a background limitation—on the number of effectively independent spatio-temporal modes of the field. The detectabilities of objects with a rectangular and a Lorentz spectrum are compared under the assumption that the light from each possesses first-order coherence at the aperture.
On the structure of a random sum-free set of positive integers

Abstract Cameron introduced a natural probability measure on the set {crop of sum-free sets, and asked which sets of sum-free sets have a positive probability of occurring in this probability measure. He showed that the set of subsets of the odd numbers has a positive probability, and that the set of subsets of any sum-free set corresponding to a complete modular sum-free set also has a positive probability of occurring. In this paper we consider, for every sum-free set S , the representation function r s ( n ), and show that if r s ( n ) grows sufficiently quickly then the set of subsets of S has positive probability, and conversely, that if r s ( n ) has a sub-sequence with suitably slow growth, then the set of subsets of S has probability zero. The results include those of Cameron mentioned above as particular cases.
Arctic Sea Ice Extent Forecasting Using Support Vector Regression

The summer minimum Arctic sea ice extent has long been used as a measure of climate change, with record lows being reported in recent years. Understanding the dynamics of the Arctic sea ice extent is of utmost importance in understanding the timescales associated with this change. Complex global climate models are typically employed to gain insights about the future of Arctic sea ice, however, these models are typically very computationally expensive to solve and the results are often controversial. Here, we use historical data from remote sensing satellites along with machine learning algorithms in the forecasting of the Arctic sea ice extent. Support Vector Regression is employed in the learning of a dynamic model to represent this system. Validation results demonstrate the ability of the method to successfully forecast both the seasonal and long-term trends in Arctic sea ice coverage.
Abstract data types with shared operations

It is argued that the concept of abstract datatypes can be extended in a way that allows for operations to be shared between two (or more datatypes), and that this will often give a better and more natural way of structuring programs. Shared operations can access the representation of more than one abstract datatype.
All-optical TE-TM polarization switching in microns thick nematic liquid crystal with visible-infrared cw laser

We report on theoretical and experimental studies of all-optical polarization conversion of cw 1.55 μm lasers using nematic liquid crystal in their ordered and isotropic phases. Almost complete conversion of the linearly polarized laser is achieved in a 400 μm thick film at mW power.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Learning User Preferences for Topically Similar Documents

Similarity measures have been used widely in information retrieval research. Most research has been done on query-document or document-document similarity without much attention to the user's perception of similarity in the context of the information need. In this study, we collect user preference judgements of web document similarity in order to investigate: (1) the correlation between similarity measures and users' perception of similarity, (2) the correlation between the web document features plus document-query features and users' similarity judgements. We analyze the performance of various similarity methods at predicting user preferences, in both unsupervised and supervised settings. We show that a supervised approach using many features is able to predict user preferences close to the level of agreement between users, and moreover achieve a 15% improvement in AUC over an unsupervised approach.
Observation of the Glycines in Elastin Using 13C and 15N Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy and Isotopic Labeling

We report the solid-state 13C and 15N NMR of insoluble elastin which has been synthesized in vitro with isotopically enriched glycine. Most of the glycines reside in a domain with good cross-polarization (CP) efficiencies, although surprisingly, a portion resides in an environment that is not detectable using CP. Our data indicate that much of the 13C population resides in regions of significant conformational flexibility. To support these conclusions, we present 13C and 15N cross-polarization with magic-angle-spinning (CPMAS) data in conjunction with “direct-polarization”, nonspinning CP, and T1 measurements.
Simulation model of mammographic calcifications based on the american college of radiology breast imaging reporting and data system, or BIRADS

Rationale and Objectives. The authors developed and evaluated a method for the simulation of calcification clusters based on the guidelines of the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System of the American College of Radiology. They aimed to reproduce accurately the relative and absolute size, shape, location, number, and intensity of real calcifications associated with both benign and malignant disease. Materials and Methods. Thirty calcification clusters were simulated by using the proposed model and were superimposed on real, negative mammograms digitized at 30 μm and 16 bits per pixel. The accuracy of the simulation was evaluated by three radiologists in a blinded study. Results. No statistically significant difference was observed in the observers' evaluation of the simulated clusters and the real clusters. The observers' classification of the cluster types seemed to be a good approximation of the intended types from the simulation design. Conclusion. This model can provide simulated calcification clusters with well-defined morphologic, distributional, and contrast characteristics for a variety of applications in digital mammography.
Novel thermoplastic elastomers. III. Synthesis, characterization, and properties of star-block copolymers of poly(indene-b-isobutylene) arms emanating from cyclosiloxane cores

Novel thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) consisting of poly(isobutylene-b-indene) (PIB-b-PInd) arms radiating from hexamethylcyclohexasiloxane (D) cores were prepared, characterized, and their properties investigated. The syntheses of these star-blocks involved the linking by hydrosilation of PInd-b-PIBCH2CHCH2 prearms to D. The prearms were obtained by initiating the living polymerization of Ind by the cumyl chloride (CumCl)/TiCl4 or cumyl methoxide (CumOMe)/TiCl4 systems, continuing by the sequential block copolymerization of IB, and concluding the synthesis by end quenching with allyltrimethylsilane (ATMS). Dedicated experiments were carried out to develop conditions for the various synthesis steps. Select mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of TPE star-blocks having 5–18 PInd-b-PIB arms have been investigated. Because of the high Tg of the glassy PInd segment (Tg,PInd = 170–220°C), these TPEs maintained their strength at higher temperatures than those of similar polystyrene-based star blocks. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 279–290, 2000
Free vibrations of thin-walled semicircular graphite-epoxy composite frames

A detailed study is made of the effects of variations in lamination and material parameters of thin-walled composite frames on their vibrational characteristics. The structures considered are semicircular thin-walled frames with I and J sections. The flanges and webs of the frames are modeled by using two-dimensional shell and plate finite elements. A mixed formulation is used with the fundamental unknowns consisting of both the generalized displacements and stress resultants in the frame. The frequencies and modes predicted by the two-dimensional finite-element model are compared with those obtained from experiments, as well as with the predictions of a one-dimensional, thin-walled-beam, finite-element model. A detailed study is made of the sensitivity of the vibrational response to variations in the fiber orientation, material properties of the individual layers, and boundary conditions.
Feature extraction in the analysis of proteomic mass spectra

Feature extraction or biomarker selection is a critical step in disease diagnosis and knowledge discovery based on protein MS. Many studies have discussed the classification methods applied in proteomics; however, few could be found to address feature extraction in detail. In this paper, we developed a systematic approach for the extraction of mass spectrum peak apex and peak area with special emphasis on noise filtration and peak calibration. Application to a head and neck cancer data generated at the Eastern Virginia Medical School [Wadsworth, J. T., Somers, K. D., Cazares, L. H., Malik, G. et al.., Clin. Cancer Res. 2004, 10, 1625-1632] revealed that the new feature extraction method would yield consistent and highly discriminatory biomarkers.
Assessing the Variations in Reward Preference for Local Government Employees in Terms of Position, Public Service Motivation, and Public Sector Motivation

The reward preference of public sector employees has often been evaluated in terms of public service motivation (PSM). The present research, utilizing survey data from 927 municipal employees in Mississippi, reevaluates the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards to employees in local government in the light of changes in workforce composition, economic conditions, performance, and accountability that have challenged traditional public management approaches and techniques. PSM and employee position are found to be significantly related to the level of importance currently assigned to reward factors and to extrinsic and intrinsic reward variables in choosing to work for a local government. Minority status is also an important determinant of both PSM and the reward preferences of employees in this data set.
Seasonal variation in aerobic bacterial populations and endotoxin concentrations in grain dusts.

Settled and respirable grain dust samples were collected at intervals over a 16-month period at two grain terminals on the lower Mississippi River. Total and gram-negative aerobic bacterial (GNB) populations, as well as endotoxin concentrations, were studied. Plate counts indicated that no viable bacteria were found to be present in the respirable samples. Endotoxin concentrations ranged from 0.0 to 6.4 ng (0.0 to 7.9 ng/m3 air) per respirable sample, indicating that bacteria were once viable in dust of respirable size or contamination occurred from larger, non-respirable particles. Numbers of bacteria from settled dusts, both total and GNB, remained relatively stable; however, the genera of the GNB populations varied. Enterobacter agglomerans was the predominant species in warm months, but not in winter. Pseudomonas and Klebsiella species increased in winter and decreased in summer. Other genera found were Citrobacter and Serratia. Endotoxin concentrations in settled dust samples ranged from 1.7 to 5.6 n...
Hypervalent Iodine Oxidation of 1-Trimethylsilyloxy, 1-(2′-Trimethylsilyloxyphenyl)Ethene. Synthesis of 3-Coumaranone and 2,2′-Dihydroxyacetophenone

Abstract The oxidation of 1-trimethylsilyloxy,1-(2′-trimethylsilyloxyphenyl)ethene (6) with iodosobenzene, boron trifluoride etherate and water affords two major products, namely, 3-coumaranone (9, 31%) and 2, 2′-dihydroxyaceto-phenone (10, 25%). Formation of 9 is explained by neighboring group participation by the adjacent hydroxyl group.
Blockade of long-term depression in neonatal hippocampal slices by a phospholipase A2 inhibitor.

Low-frequency stimulation of the Schaffer-commissural pathways in slices prepared from juvenile rats (postnatal day 10–15) results in a long-term depression (LTD) of synaptic transmission. 30 min after 5 min of stimulation at 5 Hz, the response to the stimulated pathway was decreased by 36%, whereas the response to an unstimulated pathway projecting to the same neuronal population was decreased by 20%. Stimulation in the presence of the NMDA receptor antagonist AP5 completely prevented homosynaptic LTD. The phospholipase A2 inhibitor, bromophenacylbromide, also significantly reduced the extent of LTD in both the stimulated and control pathways. LTD was accompanied by a decrease in paired-pulse facilitation, suggesting a change in transmitter release. It also resulted in an increased effect of iontophoretically applied perchlorate, an ion which increases both the affinity of glutamate for the synaptic α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionate (AMPA) receptors and synaptic responses, suggesting a change in postsynaptic receptors. These findings indicate that certain stimulation paradigms produce a combination of pre- and postsynaptic modifications that could underlie changes in synaptic efficacy.
Effects of ratio reinforcement schedules on choice behavior.

Abstract Choice behavior under a concurrent VR-FR schedule of reinforcement was investigated in two experiments to test a molar theory of maximization. Hungermotivated albino rats pressed two bars, one on an FR10 and the other on a VR10 schedule, for a food reward. With the total number of experiences with each bar equated and interalternative switching eliminated during training, the study showed that during the choice test, the animals made significantly more responses to the VR than to the FR alternative, allocating about 75% of their responses to the VR alternative. The results suggest that, given an equal return of reward in the long run, the animals preferred a variable to a constant alternative in a choice situation. The findings are discussed in terms of a molar theory of maximization and a schedule-appropriate behavior interpretation of choice.
A diflunisal related fatality: A case report

A case is reported where the death of an individual resulted from the ingestion of diflunisal. Diflunisal was identified by a combination of liquid chromatography, UV spectrophotometry and colorimetry. Diflunisal was quantified in blood (260 mg/l), bile (71 mg/l), kidney (350 mg/kg), liver (400 mg/kg), stomach contents (34 mg) and urine (78 mg/l). No previous literature references discussing diflunisal related fatalities were available.
Neutron-diffraction study of phases of CD/sub 4/ monolayer films on graphite

Neutron-diffraction studies have been carried out of the various two-dimensional phases of C${\mathrm{D}}_{4}$ physisorbed on graphite and a phase diagram has been constructed. Registered, expanded, and compressed solid phases and a disordered fluidlike phase have been identified. The lattice constant, intensity, and cluster size have been measured as functions of temperature and coverage and the nature of the transitions between the phases has been investigated.
Alienation in Rural Women: A Longitudinal Cross-Lagged Analysis of its Association with Community and Family Involvement, Socioeconomic Status, and Education.

Rural women's alienation was studied longitudinally to determine its interrelationship with community activities, family involvement, income, and maternal education. Fifty-eight rural women were interviewed when their children were three, six, or nine years old and again two years later. Significant longitudinal cross-lagged panel correla tions were obtained between gross socioeconomic status (SES), maternal education, and community involvement with anomie two years later. Maternal alienation appears to be primarily affected by gross SES, community involvement and maternal education. Ma ternal alienation appears to affect future net income. The validity of anomia as a social psychological measure of rural women and its implications for applied programs are dis cussed.
Simulations of Anisotropic Grain Growth Involving Two-Phase Nanocrystalline/Amorphous Systems Using Q-State Monte Carlo

The present work incorporates an implementation of the two dimensional, Q-state Monte Carlo method to evaluate anisotropic grain growth in two-phase nanocrystalline/amorphous systems. Specifically, anisotropic grain boundaries are simulated via the use of surface energies and binding energies; the former attributable to the variation in grain orientation and assigned through a mapping process involving Wulff plots. The secondary, amorphous phase is randomly assigned to the lattice in accordance with a specified initial volume fraction. Among other findings, the results reveal that the grain boundary surface energy, as governed by the shape of the Wulff plot, plays a critical role in the resulting microstructure. Additionally, it was found that the addition of a secondary amorphous phase to an existing anisotropic grain boundary system evolves into primary grain microstructures characteristic of single phase isotropic systems.
Aeromaneuvering in the Martian Atmosphere: Simulation-Based Analyses

6Reddy, N. M., Nagashetty, K., Jagadeesh, G., and Reddy, K. P. J., “Review of HypersonicResearch Investigations in IISc Shock Tunnel (HST-1),” Sadhana, Vol. 21, Pt. 6, 1996, pp. 741–773. 7Jagadeesh, G., Reddy, N. M., Nagashetty, K., and Reddy, K. P. J., “ForebodyConvectiveHeat TransferMeasurements overLarge-AngleBlunt Cones at Hypersonic Mach Number,” AIAA Paper 98-2601, June 1998. 8Cheng, K. K., Hall, J. G., Golian, T. C., and Hertzberg, A., “BoundaryLayer Displacement and Leading-Edge Bluntness Effects in High Temperature Hypersonic Flow,” Journal of the Aerospace Sciences, Vol. 28, No. 5, 1961, pp. 353–381.
Direct Comparison of Muscle Force Predictions Using Linear and Nonlinear Programming

Estimating forces in muscles and joints during locomotion requires formulations consistent with available methods of solving the indeterminate problem. Direct comparisons of results between differing optimization methods proposed in the literature have been difficult owing to widely varying model formulations, algorithms, input data, and other factors. We present an application of a new optimization program which includes linear and nonlinear techniques allowing a variety of cost functions and greater flexibility in problem formulation. Unified solution methods such as the one demonstrated here, offer direct evaluations of such factors as optimization criteria and constraints. This unified method demonstrates that nonlinear formulations (of the sort reported) allow more synergistic activity and in contrast to linear formulations, allow antagonistic activity. Concurrence of EMG activity and predicted forces is better with nonlinear predictions than linear predictions. The prediction of synergistic and antagonistic activity expectedly leads to higher joint force predictions. Relaxation of the requirement that muscles resolve the entire intersegmental moment maintains muscle synergism in the nonlinear formulation while relieving muscle antagonism and reducing the predicted joint contact force. Such unified methods allow more possibilities for exploring new optimization formulations, and in comparing the solutions to previously reported formulations.