cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parallel power system transient stability analysis on hypercube multiprocessors

With the growth in size and complexity of interconnected power systems the simulation of power system equations in the time domain for stability assessment is becoming more time-consuming or too expensive. There is always considerable incentive to find better computation schemes. The authors develop an efficient and fast computation scheme for transient stability analysis on a hypercube multiprocessor. In order to realize communications among processing elements (PEs) efficiently, a pseudo-binary tree is embedded into the hypercube. The pseudo-binary tree is a binary tree structure where a node in the hypercube may correspond to more than one node in the corresponding binary tree. The implementation results on an iPSC/2 are discussed in detail to suggest an efficient way to parallelize the computation for power system transient stability analysis. >
Enabling remote access to personal electronic medical records

The Poket Doktor is a wireless personal healthcare system that can obtain accurate patient medical information in situations where it may not otherwise be available. The system is designed to provide a flexible, scalable method of storing and communicating critical electronic medical record information using personal handheld electronic devices. The first phase of development has succeeded in: designing the architecture for a wireless, power-efficient smart card to store and communicate medical information incorporating Bluetooth wireless technology with radiofrequency identification wakeup on the smart card to enable a fast wireless connection to a healthcare provider's device; and selecting a platform and creating application software for a handheld computing device used by healthcare providers. The Poket Doktor system assists medical personnel in obtaining accurate patient medical information in situations where it may not otherwise be available. In this manner, Poket Doktor technology will improve the quality of care delivered in emergency situations.
Dark energy physics expectations at DES

Giving rise to a new and exciting research field, observations of the last 13 years established the accelerated expansion of the Universe. This is a strong indication of new physics, either in the form of a new energy component of the Universe – dark energy – or of theories of gravity beyond general relativity. A powerful approach to this problem is the study of complementary cosmological probes in large optical galaxy surveys such as the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We present the expectations for dark energy physics based on the combination of four fundamental probes: galaxy clusters, weak lensing, large scale structure and supernovae. We show that DES data have constraining power to improve current measurements of the dark energy equation-of-state parameter by a factor of 3–5 and to distinguish between general relativity and modified gravity scenarios.
A comparison of FPGA and DSP development environments and performance for acoustic array processing

This paper compares the development effort and performance of a field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based implementation of a signal processing solution with that of a traditional digital signal processor (DSP) implementation. An acoustic array processing task was selected as a typical problem. A simple metric is proposed to compare the design effort.
When Children Ask, “What Is It?” What Do They Want to Know About Artifacts?

When children ask, “What is it?” are they seeking information about what something is called or what kind of thing it is? To find out, we gave 2-, 3-, and 4-year-olds (32 at each age) the opportunity to inquire about unfamiliar artifacts. An ambiguous question was answered with a name or with functional information, depending on the group to which the children were assigned. Children were inclined to follow up with additional questions about the object when they had been told its name, but seemed satisfied with the answer when they had been told the object's function. Moreover, children in the name condition tended to substitute questions about function for ambiguous questions over the course of the session. These results indicate that children are motivated to discover what kinds of things novel artifacts are, and that young children, like adults, conceive of artifact kinds in terms of their functions.
Formaldehyde in textiles--what dermatologists need to know about the relationship to contact dermatitis: a review of the US Government Accountability Office's Report to Congressional Committees.

does not contain recommendations. 1 However, pertinent information can be gleaned for dermatologists caring for patients with contact dermatitis that may be related to formaldehyde resins found in many types of textiles. The GAO report tested 180 items for formaldehyde release, using two different tests that have been developed and used by the textile industry. The most frequently used is the Japanese Industrial Standard L 1041 Test, which was developed to measure the amount of formaldehyde that may be released by clothing and other textiles that come into contact with the skin. The American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists 112 Test, which was developed to measure the amount of formaldehyde that may be released from clothing and other textiles during extended storage or hot and humid conditions, 2 is also used in 5 of the 14 studies analyzed in the GAO report. The United States does not have regulations on detectable limits for textiles made in this country, but the majority of items tested would have met the American Apparel and Footwear Association’s most stringent regulations in other countries. 3 Of the 180 items tested, 10 exceeded the acceptable limits defined as less than 75 ppm for products that come into direct contact with the skin, as minimum elicitation thresholds may be as low as 30 ppm in some individuals. Of these, half indicated ‘‘easy care’’ characteristics such as: wrinkle free, stain resistant, and no iron. As expected, all were either 100% cotton or a cotton/polyester or cotton/nylon blend. The most problematic items were adult pillowcases (3/12 released excessive formaldehyde), and men’s and boy’s dress shirts (3/15). Additional itemstestingpositiveincludedapairofmen’skhakis, a child’s hat, a crib sheet, and a pair of US military combat pants. A total of 25 additional items released formaldehyde at a level that was below the lowest acceptable limit, and 145 items released no detectable formaldehyde.
Takotsubo's cardiomyopathy with an uncommon complication: implications for management and treatment.

ABSTRACT We present the case of a 57-year-old female with no significant history of cardiac disease admitted to our service with stress-induced cardiomyopathy (Takotsubo's cardiomyopathy). Admission echocardiography with contrast showed a non-mobile apical-filling defect, consistent with laminar thrombus. After 1 month of anticoagulation with warfarin (bridged with inpatient intravenous heparin), follow-up echocardiography with contrast showed resolution of the thrombus. Although reported in the literature, to our knowledge, there are no consensus guidelines for the surveillance and treatment of left ventricular thrombus in patients with Takotsubo's cardiomyopathy. An awareness of this adverse effect and its treatment implications is imperative for any clinician caring for these patients.
Interferometric measurement of head/tape spacing in a high-speed R-DAT helical recorder

Head/tape spacing in a high-speed R-DAT helical recorder was interferometrically measured using a replica head made of fiber-optic material. For the head tested, observation of white light fringes indicates that the region where head/tape spacing is less than 100 nm changes significantly as a function of tape tension in the range of 0.05 to 0.15 N. However, the small spacing region was not significantly affected by changes in scanner speed in the range from 2000 to 100000 RPM. >
Engineering plastics from lignin. VI: Structure-property relationships of PEG-containing polyurethane networks

Hydroxypropyl lignin-based thermosetting polyurethanes were synthesized with excess hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and tolylene diisocyanate (TDI) by solution casting. Four polyethylene glycols (PEG) of molecular weight 400, 600, 1000, and 4000 were mixed with lignin polyol to incorporate different proportions of soft segment into the network prior to crosslinking. Neither thermal nor mechanical and limited small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis provided distinct evidence for phase separation and microstructure formation. The study examines the effect of the soft segment in relation to chain length and weight contribution on the thermal and mechanical properties of the final networks. A significant sensitivity of glass transition temperature (Tg), of swelling in DMF, and of the mechanical properties to soft segment content was observed. Some of this sensitivity must, however, be attributed to differences in crosslink density since the polyol to diisocyanate weight ratio was kept constant throughout the synthesis series. The magnitude of the change of the different properties was found to be influenced by both glycol content and glycol molecular weight. The Tg of the network decreased from 105°C to as low as 38°C (HDI), and from 158°C to 70°C (TDI), with incorporation of up to 17.8% glycol, and it was greater with lower molecular weight glycols than with higher ones at any weight fraction. Swelling in DMF increased as expected with soft segment content. Mechanical properties were affected most if HDI and lower molecular weight glycols were used. The uniformity in structure, reduction in brittleness, and considerable improvement in mechanical properties with inclusion of minor PEG contents indicates that lignin-based network polyurethanes can be synthesized with controllable performance characteristics.
Cambio del comercio ligado a los sistemás mundiales de producción. ¿Qué política seguir?

La globalizacion economica suele estudiarse a la luz de la apertura al comercio internacional y del crecimiento economico de los paises. A juicio del autor, ello esta ocultando un cambio simultaneo y profundo de la composicion del comercio mundial: lo que mas aumentan son los intercambios de bienes intermedios debido al desmembramiento y la internacionalizacion de la produccion en puntos dispersos por el planeta. De ahi que sea conveniente comprender este cambio estructural, sus causas y sus consecuencias teoricas y practicas para la accion politica. Una vez tocados estos puntos, el autor afirma que deben replantearse las teorias del comercio y la inversion internacionales basadas en la ventaja comparativa y mutuamente beneficiosa, segun la cual las empresas se afanan por «internizar» mas operaciones; lo que conviene entender y teorizar - dice - es la competencia que se da actualmente por la ventaja absoluta mediante la subcontratacion e internacionalizacion de actividades empresariales.
HLA-DM mediates peptide exchange by interacting transiently and repeatedly with HLA-DR1

The peptide editor HLA-DM (DM) catalyzes the exchange of peptides bound to MHC class II molecules within antigen presenting cells by generating a “peptide-receptive” MHC class II conformation (MHCreceptive) to which peptides readily bind and rapidly unbind. While recent work has uncovered the determinants of DM recognition and effector functions, the nature of MHCreceptive and its interaction with DM remains unclear. Here, we show that DM induces but does not stabilize MHCreceptive in the absence of peptides. We demonstrate that DM is out-competed by certain superantigens, and increasing solvent viscosity inhibits DM-induced peptide association. We suggest that DM mediates peptide exchange by interacting transiently and repeatedly with MHC class II molecules, continually generating MHCreceptive. The simultaneous presence of peptide and DM in the milieu is thus crucial for the efficient generation of specific peptide–MHC class II complexes over time.
Gravity interpretation using the Fourier integral

The gravitational anomalies of simple bodies (sphere, cylinder, and fault) were used to develop methods for analyzing gravity data in the frequency domain. The Fourier transforms of the functional representations of the theoretical gravitational anomalies of these bodies were obtained. Mathematical relations were formulated between the transform-versus-frequency relationships and the depths and sizes of the bodies. Compound gravity anomalies (multiple cylinders, fault, and cylinder) were analyzed, and the transforms were reduced to transforms of anomalies due to individual simple bodies. These methods of analysis were applied to theoretical anomalies using numerical techniques, and the accuracy of both depth and size determinations was within a few percent in all cases.
Pathological supply dependence of systemic and intestinal O2 uptake during endotoxemia.

When systemic delivery of oxygen (QO2 = blood flow X arterial O2 content) is reduced, the systemic O2 extraction ratio [(CaO2 - CVO2)/CaO2; where CaO2 is arterial O2 content and CVO2 is venous O2 content] increases until a critical limit is reached below which O2 uptake (VO2) becomes limited by delivery. Patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome and sepsis exhibit supply dependence of VO2 even at high levels of QO2, which suggests that a peripheral O2 extraction defect may be present. We tested the hypothesis that endotoxemia might produce a similar defect in the efficacy of tissue O2 extraction by determining the whole-body critical systemic QO2 (QO2 c) and critical extraction ratio in a control group of dogs and a group receiving a 5-mg/kg dose of Escherichia coli endotoxin. QO2 c was determined in each group by measuring VO2 as QO2 was gradually reduced by bleeding. The VO2 and QO2 of an isolated segment of small intestine were also measured to determine whether O2 extraction was impaired within a local region of tissue. The dogs were anesthetized, paralyzed, and ventilated with room air. Systemic QO2 was reduced in stages by hemorrhage as hematocrit was maintained. The systemic and intestinal critical points were determined from a plot of VO2 vs. QO2. The mean systemic QO2 c and critical O2 extraction ratio of the endotoxemic group (12.8 +/- 2.0 and 0.54 +/- 0.11 ml.min-1.kg-1) were significantly different from control (6.8 +/- 1.2 and 0.78 +/- 0.04) (P less than 0.001), indicating that endotoxin administration impaired systemic extraction of O2. Endotoxin also increased base-line systemic VO2 [6.1 +/- 0.7 (before) to 7.4 +/- 0.1 (after)] (P less than 0.001). The critical and maximal intestinal O2 extraction ratios of the endotoxemic group (0.47 +/- 0.10 and 0.71 +/- 0.04) were significantly less than control (0.69 +/- 0.06 and 0.83 +/- 0.05) (P less than 0.001). In addition, intestinal reactive hyperemia disappeared in six of seven endotoxemic dogs, whereas it remained intact in all control dogs. Thus endotoxin reduced the ability of tissues to extract O2 from a limited supply at the whole body level as well as within a 40- to 50-g segment of small intestine. These results could be explained by a defect in microvascular regulation of blood flow that interfered with the optimal distribution of a limited QO2 in accordance with tissue O2 needs.
Detection of subsequent episodes of gestational diabetes mellitus: a need for specific guidelines.

Guidelines for detection of individuals with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) indicate that glucose testing for women with a history of GDM should occur as soon as feasible with retesting of an initially negative screen to occur between the 24th and 28th week of gestation. The aim of this study was to evaluate medical records for individuals enrolled in a GDM management program that presented with two subsequent pregnancies with GDM and to determine if more specific guidelines for detection are needed. Records (n=60) from both pregnancies were reviewed for gestational age at enrollment, delivery, and when insulin was started, infant birth weights and complications (e.g., hypoglycemia), and maternal complications (e.g., emergency cesarean section). Over half [33/60 (55%)] of the women required insulin during both pregnancies, while 16.7% (10/60) required insulin during the second enrollment for GDM but not the first. For those requiring insulin during both pregnancies, 88% (29/33) required it earlier during the subsequent pregnancy (31.5±2.7 vs. 21.6±8.4 weeks of gestation, P<.001). During the subsequent pregnancy, approximately 1/2 of the women requiring insulin needed it before the 24th week of gestation while 1/3 required it by the 15th week. Also during the subsequent pregnancy, neonate birth weights declined (3494±521 vs. 3356±515 g, P<.05) and there were fewer complications. Given that approximately 70% of the women required insulin therapy during a subsequent GDM pregnancy and that this therapy was on average necessary by the 22nd week of gestation, we recommend that specific guidelines be established with a definitive time frame determined for the detection of repeat episodes of GDM.
Isometric + Isotonic = Isoconfusion

To the Editor: The serious student of the dictionary would likely conclude that the terms isometric , “equal measurement,” and isotonic , “equal tone,” as applied to muscle contractions, in fact mean “equal confusion.” The terms were created by a Zurich ophthalmologist, Adolf Eugen Fick, 128 years ago (personal correspondence, Dr. Jokl, Berlin, August 1983). Modern dictionaries amply cover these terms; however, most of the definitions say little about muscle contraction. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary 1 states that isometric is “the same measure or length; of equal dimensions…not isotonic.” The roots of the word itself define it: iso , from the Greek isos , meaning “equal, alike, the same”; and metric , from metron , “to measure.” But where does the definition suggest anything about a muscle or a muscle contraction? If Dorland's definition of isometric makes no mention of muscle or movement, its definition of isotonic is even more elusive.…
The causes of fetal and neonatal mortality

Abstract 1. 1. The study is concerned with a report of 1,000 fetal deaths occurring among 25,823 deliveries at New York Hospital and the Sloane Hospital for Women. On the basis of live births, the gross fetal mortality rate was 4.03 per cent. If only the viable infants are included, the rate is 3.66 per cent. 2. 2. Asphyxia is the most common cause of fetal death. 3. 3. There is a higher fetal death rate in the Negro. 4. 4. Multiparas and primiparas show essentially the same fetal death rate. 5. 5. The greatest net gain of living over dead children occurs among women between 20 and 24 years of age. After the age of 30 the woman delivers a proportionately greater number of dead babies than she did before that age. 6. 6. In labors that exceed thirty hours, the fetal mortality rate doubles. 7. 7. Spontaneous deliveries show the lowest fetal death rate. High forceps show the highest. 8. 8. On the basis of the material studied, a reduction of the fetal death rate suggests the following: 8.1. (a) Labors that exceed thirty hours in duration should receive the benefit of consultation, unless delivery is imminent. 8.2. (b) Interference should be avoided unless absolutely justifiable; the best results are obtained in spontaneous deliveries. 8.3. (c) Pelvic conformation should be studied roentgenologically if there is doubt. Both see and feel the cephalopelvic relationship. 8.4. (d) The mechanism of delivery should be adapted to the architecture of the pelvis in operative deliveries. 8.5. (e) In dystocia, avoid interference if progress is being made even though the progress is slow, but do not unnecessarily delay delivery if progress has come to a standstill. 8.6. (f) The asphyxiated baby should be treated before delivery. Avoid hurry in delivering these babies. 8.7. (g) The fetal heart should be auscultated frequently for one-half hour after membranes rupture. 8.8. (h) Examine patient after the membranes rupture if the presenting part was high prior to their rupture. 8.9. (i) Examine for tight cord around neck when there is no other obvious cause for asphyxia. 8.10. (j) Use sedatives sparingly when labor is going to be prolonged. Use them freely in cases of precipitate labors. 8.11. (k) Use pituitrin with great care if at all before parturition. 8.12. (l) Save premature babies by adequate pediatric organization. The first twenty-four hours are the most important. 8.13. (m) Research in the causes of labor, the causes and early detection of uterine inertia, the causes of premature rupture of membranes, means of predetermining the size of the fetus, the physiology of fetal respiration, the mechanics of molding and birth injuries, and the physiology of the premature infant will all aid materially in further reducing the infantile mortality rate.
Best optimisation practices for site managers : machine fleet, operation and sanitary landfills : landfills

There are multiple choices in terms of machine types, sizes and options in sanitary landfills. This paper provides guidance to landfill site managers on these critical choices by explaining how they can influence the final density of solid waste.
Using Microsoft Paint to illustrate a conceptual understanding of fraction addition and subtraction

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has set, as one of its mathematics objectives, to "understand meanings of operations and how they relate to one another". In grades 6-8, students should "understand the meaning and effects of arithmetic operations with fractions". Instructional programs should enable all students to "select appropriate methods and tools for computing with fractions and decimals from among mental computation, estimation, calculators or computers, and paper and pencil, depending on the situation, and apply the selected methods" (NCTM, 2000, pp. 148, 214).
Correlation between Photooxidation and the Appearance of Raman Scattering Bands in Lead Chalcogenide Quantum Dots

In this report, we carefully study the effects of photooxidation on the Raman spectra of lead chalcogenide (PbX) quantum dots (QDs). Photoexcitation of PbS, PbSe, and PbTe QD films at 488 nm with p...
Artifact Reduction in Small Animal Experiments Using Diffuse Optical Tomography and Photoacoustic Tomography with Exogenous Contrast Agents

In this paper, a cover layer is introduced to reduce the artifact in small animal experiments when monitoring the exogenous contrast agent, indocyanine green, uptake and washout using diffuse optical tomography and photoacoustic tomography.
A Thermodynamic Model for the Laser Fluence Ablation Threshold of PECVD SiO2 on Thin a-Si:H Films Deposited on Crystalline Silicon

We have developed a thermodynamic model that predicts the heat distribution in a stack of PECVD SiO2 and a-Si:H on crystalline Si after laser irradiation. The model is based on solving the total enthalpy heat equation with a finite difference scheme. The laser used in the model is a frequency doubled Nd:YVO4 green laser with pulse duration in the nanosecond range. The modeling was done with the aim of getting a better understanding of our newly developed laser ablation process for making local contacts on back-junction silicon solar cells. Lasers with pulse duration within the nanosecond range are usually believed to induce too much thermal damage into the underlying silicon to make them suitable for high efficiency solar cells. In our case, insertion of a thin layer of a-Si:H between the SiO2 and the Si absorbs much of the laser irradiation both optically and thermally. This makes it possible to form local contacts to Si in a damage-free way. In addition, the residual a-Si:H serves as an excellent surface passivation layer for the Si substrate. We have also developed a simple static model to determine the onset of SiO2 ablation on a-Si:H layers of varying thickness. The models, both the static and the dynamic, are in good agreement with experimental data.
Dichotomy between tunneling and multiphoton ionization in atomic photoionization: Keldysh parameter γ versus scaled frequency Ω

It is commonly accepted in the strong-laser physics community that the dynamical regime of atomic ionization is characterized by the Keldysh parameter $\ensuremath{\gamma}$. Two distinct cases, where $\ensuremath{\gamma}l1$ and $\ensuremath{\gamma}g1$, are associated with ionization mechanisms that are predominantly in the tunneling and in the multiphoton regimes, respectively. We perform fully three-dimensional quantum simulations for the ionization of the hydrogen atom by solving the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation for a wide range of laser parameters encoded by the Keldysh parameter. We find that the meaning of the Keldysh parameter $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ changes when the laser frequency $\ensuremath{\omega}$ is changed, and demonstrate that $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ is useful in determining the dynamical ionization regime only when coupled with the scaled laser frequency $\ensuremath{\Omega}$ when a large range of laser frequencies and peak intensities are considered. The scaled frequency $\ensuremath{\Omega}$ relates the laser frequency $\ensuremath{\omega}$ to the classical Kepler frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{K}$ of the bound electron. Together with the Keldysh parameter, the pair ($\ensuremath{\gamma},\ensuremath{\Omega}$) refers to a more realistic picture of the dynamical ionization regime. We refer to final momentum distributions of the ionized electrons at several interesting points on the ($\ensuremath{\gamma},\ensuremath{\Omega}$) landscape in order to infer whether the tunneling or the multiphoton mechanism is dominant in these regions.
Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy Study of Electron-Transfer Kinetics and Catalysis at Nanoporous Electrodes

The complicated electrochemical properties of nanoporous electrodes arising from their geometry remain poorly understood because their complex structure defies easy interpretation of experimental results. The large surface area of a porous electrode results in a higher double-layer charging current and faster apparent heterogeneous rate constants, which are difficult to measure by voltammetry and other transient electrochemical techniques. In this article, we used a scanning electrochemical microscope equipped with a nanometer- or micrometer-sized tip to measure the rates of the same electron-transfer process at the flat and nanoporous Au electrodes. The origins and magnitude of the rate constant enhancement at the nanoporous surface (after the roughness factor correction) are discussed. Using the substrate generation/tip collection mode of the scanning electrochemical microscope operation, the higher catalytic activity of nanoporous Au for the oxygen reduction reaction was found from both substrate and t...
The Photoessay as a Teaching Tool in Introductory Earth Science

(2000). The Photoessay as a Teaching Tool in Introductory Earth Science. Journal of Geoscience Education: Vol. 48, No. 5, pp. 602-602.
ROCKI Regulates Critical Functions in Macrophages and Neutrophils.

Neutrophils and macrophages are a major cellular component of innate immune response and are recruited rapidly in large numbers to sites of infection. The small GTPase Rho and its downstream effectors, the serine/threonine kinase ROCKI and ROCKII have been implicated in various cellular functions including actin cytoskeleton organization, cell adhesion, and cell motility in non-hematopoietic cells. We show that loss of ROCKI results in a significant reduction in the number of B lymphocytes in the bone marrow (BM). The number of late pre-B cells were significantly reduced in ROCKI−/− bone marrow compared to WT controls (n=4, WT [51%] vs. ROCKI−/− [40%]). No significant difference in the number of pro/pre B-cells or immature B cells were observed in ROCKI−/− BM compared to WT controls (n=4). Surprisingly, recirculating mature B cells were significantly increased in ROCKI−/− BM compared to WT (n=4, WT [13.25%] vs. ROCKI−/− [25.2%]). Consistently , in vitro migration of ROCKI−/− B lymphocytes towards SDF-1was also significantly reduced compared to WT controls. Next, we analyzed the recruitment of macrophages deficient in the expression of ROCKI using a well-studied model of aseptic thioglycolate-induced peritonitis. In spite of comparable expression of F4/80 (WT; 85.63% vs. ROCKI−/−; 88.68%, n=4) and α4β1 and α5β1 integrins (WT; 67.49% & 88.2% vs. ROCKI−/−; 71.82% & 87.09%, respectively, n=4) in WT and ROCKI−/− macrophages, a ∼3.2 fold increase in the migration of macrophages was observed in the peritoneal cavity of ROCKI−/− mice compared to controls (WT; 0.46 X 106 vs. ROCKI−/−; 1.5 × 106, n=3, p .05). Close examination of the cytoskeleton of ROCKI deficient macrophages using confocal microscopy revealed that F-actin was localized more across the entire cell surface in spread cells compared to wildtype controls. Consistently, flow cytometric analysis using Alexa 488-phalloidin staining revealed abundance of F-actin in ROCKI−/− macrophages compared to WT controls (WT; 46.19% vs. ROCKI−/−; 65.23%, n=3, * p <0.05). Furthermore, immunofluorescence imaging of focal adhesion complexes carried out using anti-vinculin antibody revealed more pronounced and increased focal adhesion sites in ROCKI deficient macrophages compared to WT controls. Biochemically, deficiency of ROCKI resulted in increase levels of cyclinD1, a molecule known to play a critical role in macrophage migration. Consistently, deficiency of ROCKI in neutrophils also demonstrated a ∼2.63 fold increase in migration in response to fMLP in vitro and in vivo in response to thioglycolate challenge compared to WT controls (WT; 0.47 X 106, ROCKI−/− vs. 1.6 × 106, * p <0.05). Taken together, our results provide a critical physiologic role for ROCKI in regulating both macrophage and neutrophil functions.
Physical-layer security of NC-OFDM-based systems

This paper examines the low-probability-of-exploitation (LPE) characteristics of a noncontiguous orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (NC-OFDM) system. NC-OFDM transmission is similar to OFDM transmission but only uses a subset of the frequencies either to avoid incumbent transmissions or due to tactical considerations. This paper considers an NC-OFDM transmission with a given set of active subcarriers and examines how an eavesdropper can infer transmission parameters such as total duration of an NC-OFDM symbol, length of the cyclic prefix, etc., using tools like the cyclostationary analysis. Such an analysis reveals that difficulty in estimating the total nominal bandwidth of NC-OFDM transmissions (bandwidth that includes frequencies occupied by inactive subcarriers) poses a fundamental challenge in determining the correct sampling rate and the subsequent retrieval of the transmitted signal. The analysis also shows that the features of the cyclic autocorrelation function (CAF) of an NC-OFDM transmission depend closely on the set of active subcarriers. Procedures for inferring the transmission parameters from the CAF are discussed while noting that the choice of an interleaved set of subcarriers introduces additional ambiguity in determining the transmission parameters. A PCA-based offline timing recovery scheme is proposed and used as a guidepost in determining the minimum rate at which an active set of subcarriers must be refreshed to avoid easy exploitation. Finally, key advantages of an NC-OFDM system over an OFDM system from an LPE-standpoint are discussed and suggestions for an LPE-centric design of NC-OFDM systems are made.
China’s Illiberal Regulatory State in Comparative Perspective

This study reviews the development of Chinese regulation against the history of the development of the regulatory state in the West. Section One discusses the rise of the regulatory state in western democracies in an age of concern about state expansion. It notes that, generally speaking, the regulatory state in a liberal democratic setting has become accepted as enabling liberal democracies to combine democratic legitimacy with the independence and professionalism of unelected regulatory bodies. Section Two offers a quick overview of the establishment and proliferation of regulatory institutions in China in the context of continued single-Party rule and strong state dominance. Section Three delineates the politics of changes to the regulatory regime from the perspective of political risk and points to dynamics that are animating regulatory state building with Chinese characteristics, with special reference to environmental regulation. Section Four concludes.
Using a conformal water bolus to adjust heating patterns of microwave waveguide applicators

Background: Hyperthermia, i.e., raising tissue temperature to 40-45°C for 60 min, has been demonstrated to increase the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy for cancer. Although multi-element conformal heat applicators are under development to provide more adjustable heating of contoured anatomy, to date the most often used applicator to heat superficial disease is the simple microwave waveguide. With only a single power input, the operator must be resourceful to adjust heat treatment to accommodate variable size and shape tumors spreading across contoured anatomy. Methods: We used multiphysics simulation software that couples electromagnetic, thermal and fluid dynamics physics to simulate heating patterns in superficial tumors from commercially available microwave waveguide applicators. Temperature distributions were calculated inside homogenous muscle and layered skin-fat-muscle-tumor-bone tissue loads for a typical range of applicator coupling configurations and size of waterbolus. Variable thickness waterbolus was simulated as necessary to accommodate contoured anatomy. Physical models of several treatment configurations were constructed for comparison of simulation results with experimental specific absorption rate (SAR) measurements in homogenous muscle phantom. Results: Accuracy of the simulation model was confirmed with experimental SAR measurements of three unique applicator setups. Simulations demonstrated the ability to generate a wide range of power deposition patterns with commercially available waveguide antennas by controllably varying size and thickness of the waterbolus layer. Conclusion: Heating characteristics of 915 MHz waveguide antennas can be varied over a wide range by controlled adjustment of microwave power, coupling configuration, and waterbolus lateral size and thickness. The uniformity of thermal dose delivered to superficial tumors can be improved by cyclic switching of waterbolus thickness during treatment to proactively shift heat peaks and nulls around under the aperture, thereby reducing patient pain while increasing minimum thermal dose by end of treatment.
Legitimacy and the UN Security Council Agenda

Is the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) a legitimate organization? Do the veto powers legitimately pursue international security, or do they protect their narrow national interests? One way to evaluate the legitimacy of the UNSC is through its agenda. Does it address the most significant conflicts in world politics? Or is it influenced by the national interests of the veto powers? This article addresses these questions with a dataset that includes the number of UNSC meetings held and resolutions passed on 40 conflicts from 1991 to 2013. This analysis provides evidence for the legitimacy of the UNSC—conflicts with more refugees and more deaths are significantly more likely to be on the agenda. The analysis does not support critics of the UNSC—the national interests of the veto powers, measured as arms sales to and trade with the conflict participants, do not significantly alter the UNSC agenda.
Palliation with Dual Burden of Heart and Kidney Failure: An Underutilized Strategy

Cardio-renal disease as a disease entity carries with it high morbidity and mortality. This entity is only now being defined and studied, and much of the treatment of these patients is guided by what is known of patient populations with heart failure or kidney failure. There are few disease specific treatments available for CRS and much of the care is focused on symptom management, and is characterized by very high morbidity and mortality burden. Palliative care as a specialty was recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 2006. Given the high symptom burden and complexity of outcomes with the overlap of heart and kidney disease, palliative care is integral to the multi-disciplinary effort required in achieving optimal outcomes in these patients.
Genesis and the Animal–Human Community

Underlying Lewis’s fascination with the Genesis image of Adam and Eve in the Garden with “every beast of the field” (2:19) is the certainty that nature and all the creatures populating earth, sky, and sea are good (1:31). Paradise is lost, yes, but hope remains. Faith clings to the expectation of a restoration, which means, as St. Paul puts it, an end to creation’s groaning. If this is the case, there are implications for Christian ethics in the present. Animal suffering is an evil requiring the response of God’s people while they await the kingdom of God in its fullness. This includes advocacy on behalf of suffering animals.
Walking droplets interacting with single and double slits

Couder & Fort (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 97, 2006, 154101) demonstrated that when a droplet walking on the surface of a vibrating bath passes through a single or a double slit, it is deflected due to the distortion of its guiding wave field. Moreover, they suggested the build-up of statistical diffraction and interference patterns similar to those arising for quantum particles. Recently, these results have been revisited (Andersen et al., Phys. Rev. E, vol. 92 (1), 2015, 013006; Batelaan et al., J. Phys.: Conf. Ser., vol. 701 (1), 2016, 012007) and contested (Andersen et al. 2015; Bohr, Andersen & Lautrup, Recent Advances in Fluid Dynamics with Environmental Applications, 2016, Springer, pp. 335–349). We revisit these experiments with a refined experimental set-up that allows us to systematically characterize the dependence of the dynamical and statistical behaviour on the system parameters. The system behaviour is shown to depend strongly on the amplitude of the vibrational forcing: as this forcing increases, a transition from repeatable to unpredictable trajectories arises. In all cases considered, the system behaviour is dominated by a wall effect, specifically the tendency for a drop to walk along a path that makes a fixed angle relative to the plane of the slits. While the three dominant central peaks apparent in the histograms of the deflection angle reported by Couder & Fort (2006) are evident in some of the parameter regimes considered in our study, the Fraunhofer-like dependence of the number of peaks on the slit width is not recovered. In the double-slit geometry, the droplet is influenced by both slits by virtue of the spatial extent of its guiding wave field. The experimental behaviour is well captured by a recently developed theoretical model that allows for a robust treatment of walking droplets interacting with boundaries. Our study underscores the importance of experimental precision in obtaining reproducible data.
Wounded memory of Hazara refugees from Afghanistan: Remembering and forgetting persecution

This article explores oral histories of Hazara refugees who fled to Australia and the significance of subjectivity when using memory as an historical source. In forming modern Afghanistan, Hazaras were brutally subjugated and continue to suffer persecution a century later. Ricoeur argues that a nation’s founding violence creates wounded memory , in which past grievances dominate, while other experiences are forgotten . Through interdisciplinary analysis, the tensions between remembering and forgetting within the Hazaras’ narratives reveal both the effects of trauma and their assertion of agency, and highlight the complex interplay between history, memories of suffering, and the present. This article has been peer-reviewed.
Dismantling simplified regulated breathing: A case of a bilingual stutterer

In this case study of a 28-year-old bilingual male, the Simplified Regulated Breathing treatment for stuttering was further dismantled. Implementing noncontingent diaphragmatic breathing in one treatment session, stuttering was reduced in both English (his second language) and Russian (his native language), while his words per minute increased. In addition, the implementation of treatment resulted in a decrease in secondary struggle behaviors associated with stuttering. The results were seen as socially valid and the treatment was seen as acceptable to the participant. Implications of this case study are presented.
Elements of Coordinated ARM Movements in Three-Dimensional Space§

In this chapter some of the basic problems in the study of coordinated limb motion are defined, an outline of how they might be solved by the central nervous system is presented, and pertinent experimental results are summarized. One problem is that the central nervous system has at its disposal extra degrees of freedom, and therefore limb motion is in principle indeterminate. Because the observed behavior is unique, one can conclude that this uniqueness results because suitable constraints have been imposed. Such constraints, if they can be identified, can provide insights concerning the way movements are planned and controlled. A second issue concerns the need for sensorimotor transformations and the existence of frames of reference in which information about limb movement is represented. The premise of this chapter is that coordinated limb movements involve a succession of three such transformations: between extrinsic and intrinsic kinematic coordinates, between kinematics and dynamics, and between dynamics and muscle activation
Processing Effects on the Engineering Properties of Cast Metal-Matrix Composites

The physical and mechanical properties of metal-matrix composites synthesized using the various solidification and casting techniques are reviewed. The emphasis is on engineering properties such as strength, ductility, fracture toughness, hardness, creep, wear and friction, damping, and thermal and electrical properties. The process-structure-property relationships for these materials are highlighted with specific examples from composites of practical importance. It is shown that as both the structure and properties of cast composites are extremely sensitive to a myriad of process-related variables (temperature, time, atmosphere, pressure etc.), the composite performance must be evaluated in synergy with the fabrication technique in order to establish a rigorous protocol between composite performance and fabrication techniques.
Quality of life outcomes of ECT

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) continues to stand the test of time. There is a growing demand for patient reported outcome data including measures of HRQL, patient satisfaction and utility. ECT is efficacious for a number of psychiatric conditions but it is often reserved for the most ill patients because compared to drugs or psychotherapy it has a higher cost per unit of treatment, requires anesthesia, and because of a continuing stigma. As well, ECT has a particular set of side effects including the potential for memory impairment, and cardiac death. Mental illness produces profound deficits in HRQL and loss of HRQL is linear to severity of illness, and may therefore be part of decision to refer for ECT. At baseline studies have shown that ECT patients have reduced HRQL and functioning. ECT treatment improves HRQL and functioning in a lasting way for patients with major depression and schizophrenia. HRQL improvements are related to ECT’s effect on mood whereas functional improvements are more closely related to cognition
World Views and the Solar System

Galileo Galilei rubbed his eyes. Peering through his spyglass was difficult work. The images were not crystal clear, and the night was cold. But he had seen wonders in God’s firmament over the past several evenings: the lunar surface had mountains and valleys, more like the Earth than Aristotle’s perfect featureless orb, and faint cloudy areas in the sky had resolved into a multitude of stars never before seen with the naked eye. And now, on January 11, 1610, he would once again be checking on the star-like objects lined up to the east and west of Jupiter.
Fenestrated aortic endograft branching with Gore VBX poses failure risk from delayed-onset branch kinking.

Abstract The Gore VBX stent graft (Gore Medical, Flagstaff, Ariz) provides a new option for branching of fenestrated aortic endografts. However, its modular stent structure has raised concerns about potential kinking at the interspace between stent rings if lateralizing force exists between the fenestration and target vessel orifice. We present a case of near-occlusion of a VBX celiac branch due to narrowing of this interspace identified at postoperative month 3. Although the Gore VBX offers several potential advantages as a branch endoprosthesis, its design poses the risk of unpredictable, delayed-onset kinking and raises concern for its use as a fenestrated endograft branch.
Case 17-2019: A 44-Year-Old Man with Joint Pain, Weight Loss, and Chest Pain.

A Man with Joint Pain, Weight Loss, and Chest Pain A 44-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of joint pain, weight loss, and chest pain. CT revealed small-volume ascites, a moderate-to...
Growth of Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 1− x Dy x Cu 2 O 8+ δ Single Crystals

Because of its easiness to cleave to provide a smooth, clean and neutral surface, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 is one of the most popularly studied cuprate superconductors by ARPES. Because cleaving process destroys samples, large amount of samples is needed in the ARPES study of cuprate high-temperature superconductivity. In order to cover the complex electronic phase diagram, single crystals with a wide doping range are also necessary. This chapter describes the growth of high quality Bi2Sr2Ca x Dy1−x Cu2O8 single crystals from heavily underdoping to optimally doping by traveling floating zone method and the characterization of the obtained single crystals by x-ray diffraction, resistivity and magnetic measurement. Also introduced in this chapter is the process of obtaining overdoped single crystals by annealing in high pressure oxygen. High quality single crystals of Bi2212 from heavily underdope (T c <5 K) to overdope (T c ∼60 K) were obtained.