cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Robust Vision-Based Skyline Detection Algorithm Under Different Weather Conditions

The skyline is a piece of important reference information in the automatic flight control system of an unmanned vehicle. Currently, most skyline detection algorithms assume that the skyline has distinct edge features that can be located in the image by edge detection. This method of detection, however, is only applicable when the skyline is obvious. Its detection result in images with an indistinct skyline is affected by the threshold value, such as on cloudy or heavily foggy days, when clear skyline features cannot be found. To find both distinct and indistinct skylines in the images, this paper proposes a vision-based skyline detection algorithm, in which the skyline is located by analyzing image brightness variations. This method is able to identify nonlinear skyline profiles in scenes with a clear skyline, and find the interface region between the sky and earth in scenes with an indistinct skyline, to estimate its location. According to the experimental results, the algorithm correctly finds the skyline profile in 97% of the test images, making it ideal to provide skyline reference information for the automatic flight control systems of unmanned vehicles.
Building an Exam Through Rigorous Exam Quality Improvement

Assessment drives learning; therefore, valid and robust assessments are important. To achieve trustworthy assessments with high-quality multiple choice questions, we established a rigorous system of exam quality improvement (QI). Our exam QI process helps ensure implementation of best practices and evidence-based approaches to student assessment, as well as identify opportunities for process modifications that ultimately lead to systematic improvements. We provide a step-by-step summary of our QI process for consideration by other institutions. The model outlined here may serve as a template for other institutions who hope to improve their exams through exam QI processes.
The Application of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback to Medical and Mental Health Disorders

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a medical index for morbidity and wellness. Lower HRV accompanies many illnesses; high HRV accompanies healthy states, resilience, and optimal functioning. Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) uses real-time electronic feedback of the moment-to-moment changes in HRV to train patients to produce increases in HRV. Outcome studies on HRVB have shown therapeutic benefit for a wide variety of medical and mental health disorders. Lehrer and colleagues have published evidence-based protocols for HRV assessment and HRV treatment. Here, the authors review outcome studies on a sampling of common disorders: asthma, chronic muscle pain, depression, heart failure, hypertension, and posttraumatic stress disorder. HRVB offers promising therapeutic benefit for any medical or mental health disorder known to be accompanied by autonomic nervous system dysregulation.
Characteristics and outcomes of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy in hematologic malignancies and stem cell transplant - a case series.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a life-threatening opportunistic infection of immunomodulatory therapies. PML cases reported in PubMed (1995–2017) following stem-cell transplant...
Scope of Nanotechnology in Endodontics

Nanosized particles such as clusters of small numbers of atoms or molecules in nanostructured biomaterials used in biomedical research have demonstrated significantly superior properties from the properties of the same material at larger scales of measurement. This concept is influencing each and every branch of science and endodontics is no exception. Although in its nascent stage, research into the applications for nanotechnology has been initiated in several treatment areas in endodontics. The superior resistance of nanomaterials to wear and fatigue is being suggested for surface modifications of currently used rotary nickel–titanium files for root canal therapy. Irrigants, medicaments, sealers, and obturating materials may be enhanced using nanoparticles and drug elutions to help improve disinfection and sealing of the root canal system. Applications in regenerative endodontics are currently underway creating improved scaffolds and growth-factor delivery. This chapter reviews current scientific knowledge and research findings as well as feasible and predictable future applications of nanobiomaterials in the field of endodontics.
Evolving interface design for robot search tasks: Research Articles

This paper describes two steps in the evolution of human-robot interaction designs developed by the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) and the Idaho National Laboratory to support urban search and rescue tasks. Usability tests were conducted to compare the two interfaces, one of which emphasized three-dimensional mapping while the other design emphasized the video feed. We found that participants desired a combination of the interface design approaches. As a result, the UML system was changed to augment its heavy emphasis on video with a map view of the area immediately around the robot. The changes were tested in a follow-up user study and the results from that experiment suggest that performance, as measured by the number of collisions with objects in the environment and time on task, is better with the new interaction techniques. Throughout the paper, we describe how we applied human-computer interaction principles and techniques to benefit the evolution of the human-robot interaction designs. While the design work is situated in the urban search and rescue domain, the results can be generalized to domains that involve other search or monitoring tasks using remotely located robots. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Radiation-Induced Cystitis Following Intracavitary Irradiation for Superficial Bladder Cancer

Intracavitary irradiation is effective in the treatment of noninvasive papillary transitional cell carcinoma and carcinoma in situ of the bladder. Mortality has not been associated with this form of therapy. The morbidity associated with intracavitary irradiation consists of mild to severe radiation cystitis and we report 2 such cases. One patient is from a series of 65 patients with noninvasive bladder tumors treated with intracavitary irradiation at this clinic since 1965. The second patient had noninvasive bladder tumors and was treated with intracavitary irradiation elsewhere. In both patients severe radiation cystitis subsequently developed, requiring simple cystectomy and urinary diversion. The potential for this serious side effect must be considered when choosing a form of therapy for patients with noninvasive papillary transitional cell carcinoma and carcinoma in situ of the bladder.
Basic Philosophy of CFD

Imagine that you are an aeronautical engineer in the later 1950s. You have been given the task of designing an atmospheric entry vehicle—in those days it would have been an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Later, in the early 1960s, interest also focused on manned atmospheric entry vehicles for orbital and lunar return missions.) You are well aware of the fact that such vehicles will enter the earth’s atmosphere at very high velocities, about 7.9 km/s for entry from earth orbit and about 11.2 km/s for entry after returning from a lunar mission. At these extreme hypersonic speeds, aerodynamic heating of the entry vehicle becomes very severe, and is the dominant concern in the design of such vehicles. Moreover, you are cognizant of the recent work performed at the NACA Ames Aeronautical Laboratory by H. Julian Allen and colleagues wherein a blunt-nosed hypersonic body was shown to experience considerably less aerodynamic heating than a sharp, slender body—contrary to some popular intuition at that time. (This work was finally unclassified and released to the general public in 1958 in NACA Report 1381 entitled A Study of the Motion and Aerodynamic Heating of Ballistic Missiles Entering the Earth’s Atmosphere at High Supersonic Speeds.) Therefore, you know that your task involves the design of a blunt body for hypersonic speed. Moreover, you know from supersonic wind tunnel experiments that the flowfield over the blunt body is qualitatively like that sketched in Figure 1.1. You know that a strong curved bow shock wave sits in front of the blunt nose, detached from the nose by the distance δ, called the shock detatchment distance.
Multi-Scale Communication by Vertebrates

This paper presents a theoretical model for the evolution of the structure of many vertebrate communication signals. This model integrates recent advances in neurophysiology with generalizations developed about the structure of communication signals. The model is expected to apply to vertebrate signals in which the size of the signaler is important.
General Pain Management Concepts

As of January 2012, cancer survivors in the United States numbered an estimated 13.7 million and are projected to reach 18 million over the next decade. Cancer survivors tend to have poor health-related quality of life (HRQol) and experience numerous symptom clusters (physical and mental), including pain. The pain pattern shifts from short-term cancer-related pain to chronic pain syndromes that may last from months to years. Although a majority return to work, 20% are not able to because of the complex disability associated with their symptom burden. In the American Cancer Society’ s study of survivors, 90% reported pain and other symptoms 1 year after diagnosis. A quarter of these survivors were considered to have a “high symptom burden,” with pain, depression, and fatigue having the greatest impact on health-related quality of life (HRQol). We propose incorporating components from comprehensive chronic pain rehabilitation programs and tailoring them to the specific needs of cancer survivors.
Bi2TeO5: Synthesis, Structure, and Powder Second Harmonic Generation Properties

The synthesis, structure, and powder SHG properties of Bi2TeO5 are reported. The NLO measurements indicate that Bi2TeO5 is not phase-matchable, with a doubling efficiency of 300 times crystalline SiO2. In addition, the average NLO bond susceptibility, 〈 〉, is approximately 9.56 pm/V.
Hydrometeor Lofting and Mesoscale Snowbands

AbstractEnvironments that accompany mesoscale snowbands in extratropical cyclones feature strong midlevel frontogenesis and weak symmetric stability, conditions conducive to vigorous ascent. Prior ...
Flap reconstruction for sacrectomy defects: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Summary Background Following the excision of sacral tumors, plastic surgeons are often faced with a large soft tissue defect that necessitates flap coverage to promote wound healing and obliterate the resulting dead space. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes and complications following soft tissue reconstruction of sacrectomy defects. Methods Applying the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), a comprehensive search of several databases was performed from 1950 to 2019 for articles reporting outcomes of soft tissue flap reconstruction after sacrectomy. Demographics, surgical characteristics, and complication rates were abstracted and analyzed. Results A total of 544 articles were identified in the initial search, out of which 26 met our inclusion criteria. Gluteal-based flap was the most commonly used (50%), followed by the vertical rectus abdominis myocutaneous (VRAM) flap (38%) and free latissimus dorsi (5%). Patients who underwent high sacrectomy had significantly higher local complications than those who underwent low sacrectomy [OR: 2.57(1.12,5.92); p = 0.03]. Patients who received preoperative radiation had a significantly higher complication rate than those who did not [OR: 2.91(1.25,6.79); p = 0.01]. The pooled local complication rate was 37% in the gluteal-based flap group and 50% in the VRAM flap group. Total flap loss was identified in 1 gluteal and 2 VRAM flaps. Conclusion Gluteal-based and VRAM flaps are the two most common options for soft tissue reconstruction after sacrectomy. Both flaps demonstrate a high complication rate after this morbid procedure; however, total flap loss seems to be a rare occurrence. Most patients can achieve good functional outcome following reconstruction.
Markers of coagulation and hemostatic activation aid in identifying causes of cryptogenic stroke.

Objective To test the hypothesis that markers of coagulation and hemostatic activation (MOCHA) help identify causes of cryptogenic stroke, we obtained serum measurements on 132 patients and followed them up to identify causes of stroke. Methods Consecutive patients with cryptogenic stroke who met embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) criteria from January 1, 2017, to October 31, 2018, underwent outpatient cardiac monitoring and the MOCHA profile (serum D-dimer, prothrombin fragment 1.2, thrombin-antithrombin complex, and fibrin monomer) obtained ≥2 weeks after the index stroke; abnormal MOCHA profile was defined as ≥2 elevated markers. Prespecified endpoints monitored during routine clinical visits included new atrial fibrillation (AF), malignancy, venous thromboembolism (VTE), or other defined hypercoagulable states (HS). Results Overall, 132 patients with ESUS (mean age 64 ± 15 years, 61% female, 51% nonwhite) met study criteria. During a median follow-up of 10 (interquartile range 7–14) months, AF, malignancy, VTE, or HS was identified in 31 (23%) patients; the 53 (40%) patients with ESUS with abnormal MOCHA were significantly more likely than patients with normal levels to have subsequent new diagnoses of malignancy (21% vs 0%, p Conclusion The MOCHA profile identified patients with cryptogenic stroke more likely to have new malignancy, VTE, or HS during short-term follow-up and may be useful in direct evaluation for underlying causes of cryptogenic stroke.
Appraisal of Health States Worse Than Death in Patients With Acute Stroke.

Objective: To identify health states that patients with acute stroke deem worse than death and to explore potential predictors for these ratings. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving patients admitted to an urban comprehensive stroke center with acute stroke. Participants were asked to rate 10 possible health states/functional outcomes as better or worse than death using a 5-point Likert scale. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce clusters of correlated ratings to summary components (factors). These components were then analyzed using linear regression to identify possible predictive variables. Results: Eighty patients participated. The states deemed equal to or worse than death by the majority of participants were relying on a breathing machine (66%) or feeding tube (66%), persistent confusion (62%), inability to communicate with others (58%), and bowel/bladder incontinence (50%). PCA revealed two factors of correlated variables: factor 1 composed primarily of relying on a feeding tube or breathing machine, incontinence, chronic pain, and persistent confusion and factor 2 composed primarily of being wheelchair- or bed-bound, living in a nursing home, and requiring help for ADLs. The only significant predictor found was race for factor 1, with Black participants finding these states more preferable to death than White participants. Discussion: A substantial number of patients found multiple common outcomes of stroke to be the same as or worse than death. This highlights the importance of realistic discussions about expected functional outcomes with patients and/or their surrogate decision-makers when considering goals of care after stroke.
8 – Teleological Behaviorism

Publisher Summary This chapter explores teleological behaviorism. The chapter presents a view of final causes to show how a form of modern behaviorism, known as teleological behaviorism, makes use of final causes. It argues that this form of behaviorism provides both a vehicle for prediction and control of behavior and a potential meaning for mental terms at least as useful as that potentially provided by physiological or cognitive psychology. Teleological behaviorism expands Skinner's original concept of reinforcement from a single event dependent on a single operant. Teleological inferences and models are inferences and models about respondent and operant contingencies that may not be present at the moment but may serve as the context for current actions. One important feature of the teleological viewpoint bears emphasis because the temporal context of a brief event extends into the future as well as the past. Teleological analyses, because of their molar nature, are necessarily less precise than efficient-cause analyses. A given act may be truly understood only some time, perhaps a considerable time, after it occurs because the context of an act extends into the future as well as into the past.
Assessment of intimate partner violence abuse ratings by recently abused and never abused women.

There are a paucity of directly reported intimate partner violence survivors’ experiences, especially in women of color. This study measures recently/currently abused women’s ratings of varied abuse events compared to ratings from never abused women. Women in a single, urban, public hospital emergency department (ED) were screened for intimate partner violence using the Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS). Two groups were identified - women abused within 1 year by an intimate partner or family member and those who screened negative for abuse. Using a two-group longitudinal survey and interview format, women completed visual analog scale ratings (0–100) for each of 20 abuse events/types. For analysis, each abuse type was placed on the 0–100 scale according to its designated rating. Average age of participants in the abuse group (n = 30) was 33. Never abused women averaged age 50 (n = 32). The majority of participants were African-American: abused 67% and never abused 94%. Abused women rated name-calling (p < 0.02) and put-downs (p < 0.01) as more severe than never abused women. Other non-physical and physical forms of abuse such as threats, control, burns or forced sex were perceived more similarly between groups. Abused women perceive verbal abuse events differently compared to never abused women.
Qualitative descriptions of patient perceptions about fall risks, prevention strategies and self-identity: Analysis of fall prevention Motivational Interviewing conversations

Background Older adults are often reluctant to engage in fall prevention activities. Objectives To understand how older adults respond to fall prevention and identify attributes that affect their responses to fall prevention. Methods Qualitative content analysis of Fall Prevention Motivational Interviewing conversations that were conducted as an intervention for a fall prevention study in the USA. We report the methods, results and discussions using the COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research checklist. Results Conversations from 30 participants were analysed. Participants showed various responses to fall prevention from acceptance and engagement to ambivalence to denial or giving up. Three attributes affecting how they responded to fall prevention were as follows: (a) their perception of fall risks, (b) their perception about fall prevention strategies and (c) self-identity. If participants perceived that their fall risks were temporary or modifiable, they were more likely to engage in fall prevention. If participants perceived that their fall risks were permanent or unmodifiable, they seemed to have difficulty accepting fall risks or gave up engaging in fall prevention strategies. Participants were more willing to adopt fall prevention strategies that involved minor adjustments but expressed more resistance to adopting strategies that required major adjustments. Further, their response to accepting or not accepting fall prevention was influenced by their perception of whether the fall risks and fall prevention strategies aligned with their self-identity. Conclusion Findings underscore the importance of understanding older adults' self-identify and perceptions about fall prevention. Relevance to clinical practice Exploring older adults' self-identity and perceptions about fall prevention can be useful to support their engagement in fall prevention.
Transcorporeal Identification and Strategic Essentialism in Eco-Horror: mother!’s Ecofeminist Rhetorical Strategies

The eco-horror film mother! tells the story of mother, who navigates a tenuous relationship with her husband, Him, while an increasing number of people invade their home. mother! deploys strategic ...
In vitro pectate lyase activity and carbon uptake assays and whole genome sequencing of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum strains for a pectin defective pathway

The pectin lyase activity of 59 Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum (Bap) strains was tested in vitro on Pectate Agar (PA) and Tris-Spizizen Salts (TSS) medium. Bap strains were cultured on TSA medium and washed three times with sterile water before the inoculation on PA media. Higher and lower pectate lyase activity were observed in six (AP193, AP203, AP299, AP80, AP102, and AP52) and four (AP 194, AP214, AP215, and AP305) Bap strains compared to other Bap strains. A total of 12 Bap strains (AP67, AP71, AP77, AP78, AP85, AP102, AP108, AP135, AP143, AP189, AP192, and AP193) grew vigorously on TSS medium. A total of six Bap strains (AP194, AP204, AP214, AP216, AP219, and HD73) had lower growth compared to other Bap strains. Pectin (1.0%) were used for in vitro PA and TSS medium. Pectate lyase and utilization activity were not found in Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki strain HD73 compared to Bap strains. A draft genome sequence for strains AP194 and AP214 that were negative for pectin utilization were generated using an Illumina MiSeq. RAST analysis revealed that the bpectin-associated gene altronate hydrolase (uxaA) absent in AP 214 strain. Multiple amino acid alignments of exuT and uxuB gene sequence showed dissimilarities among AP194, AP214, and reference Bap strains.
Effects of ad libitum food intake, insufficient sleep and weekend recovery sleep on energy balance

STUDY OBJECTIVES Insufficient sleep is believed to promote positive energy balance (EB) and weight gain. Increasing weekend sleep duration to "recover" from weekday sleep loss is common, yet little is known regarding how weekend recovery sleep influences EB. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess how: (1) 2 days and 8 days of insufficient sleep and (2) ad libitum weekend recovery sleep impact EB (energy intake [EI] - energy expenditure [EE]). METHODS Following ten baseline days with 9 h per night sleep opportunities, participants completed one of three 10-day experimental protocols with ad libitum EI: control (9 h sleep opportunities; n = 8; 23 ± 5 years [mean ± SD]); sleep restriction (SR; 5 h sleep opportunities; n = 14; 25 ± 5 years); sleep restriction with weekend recovery sleep (SR + WR; 5 days insufficient sleep, 2 days ad libitum weekend recovery sleep, 3 days recurrent insufficient sleep; n = 14; 27 ± 4 years). RESULTS Twenty-four hour EB increased (p < 0.001; main effect) by an average of 797.7 ± 96.7 (±SEM) kcal during the 10-day experimental protocol versus baseline with no significant differences between groups. Percent change from baseline in 24 h-EE was higher (p < 0.05) on day 2 of insufficient sleep (SR and SR + WR groups; 10 ± 1%) versus adequate sleep (control group; 4 ± 3%). CONCLUSIONS In this between-group study, the effects of adequate sleep and insufficient sleep, with or without or weekend recovery sleep, on 24 h-EB were similar. Examining EB and body weight changes using within-subject cross-over designs and "free-living" conditions outside the laboratory (e.g. sleep extension) are needed to advance our understanding of the links between insufficient sleep, weekend recovery sleep and weight-gain.
Stochastic Attitude Smoothing and Interpolation on SO(3) with Matrix Fisher Distributions

This paper presents Bayesian smoothing for continuous-time attitude trajectories on the special orthogonal group. The objective is to estimate the attitude trajectory as a function of time, utilizing all of the attitude measurements and the unbiased gyro measurements over a given period of time. In contrast to the common causal estimation problem where the current estimation depends on the past and the present measurements only, the smoothing problem incorporates subsequent measurements occurred afterwards as well. This is addressed in the Bayesian framework by utilizing a global form of a probability density function for attitudes, referred to as the matrix Fisher distribution. As such, the proposed approach avoids singularities and complexities associated with local coordinates. This is further applied to stochastic interpolation on the special orthogonal group.
A SAS macro for modelling periodic data using cosinor analysis

Abstract Background and objective Cosinor analysis, developed by Franz Hallberg and colleagues in the 1960s, allows for the fitting of a cosine curve to data of a known period. Cosinor analysis is frequently used in the analysis of biological rhythm data. While software exists to perform these analyses, we are not aware of any published SAS procedures or macros which would facilitate them. Methods To meet this gap, we herein describe SAS macros which perform cosinor analyses that assume either normally or gamma distributed outcomes and fixed period. The macros can 1) produce datasets with cosinor parameters including acrophase, mesor, amplitude, nadir and test for rhythmicity 2) output datasets with fitted and observed values from the model, and 3) plot the resulting curve and underlying data. Results We demonstrate the use of these macros with data from our research on circadian rhythms of heart rate and sleep in critically ill patients. Conclusions Cosinor analysis provides a parsimonious and intuitive set of estimates to summarize periodic data. We are hopeful that the publication of our macro will allow a wider spectrum of users to avail themselves of this technique.
On the geometry of numerical ranges over finite fields

Abstract Numerical ranges over a certain family of finite fields were classified in 2016 by a team including our fifth author [5] . Soon afterward Ballico generalized these results to all finite fields and published some new results about the cardinality of the finite field numerical range [1] , [2] . In this paper we study the geometry of these finite fields using the boundary generating curve, first introduced by Kippenhahn in 1951 [8] , [9] . We restrict our study to square matrices of dimension 2, with at least one eigenvalue in F q 2 .
An approach to rapidly assess sepsis through multi-biomarker host response using machine learning algorithm.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition and understanding the disease pathophysiology through the use of host immune response biomarkers is critical for patient stratification. Lack of accurate sepsis endotyping impedes clinicians from making timely decisions alongside insufficiencies in appropriate sepsis management. This work aims to demonstrate the potential feasibility of a data-driven validation model for supporting clinical decisions to predict sepsis host-immune response. Herein, we used a machine learning approach to determine the predictive potential of identifying sepsis host immune response for patient stratification by combining multiple biomarker measurements from a single plasma sample. Results were obtained using the following cytokines and chemokines IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IP-10 and TRAIL where the test dataset was 70%. Supervised machine learning algorithm naive Bayes and decision tree algorithm showed good accuracy of 96.64% and 94.64%. These promising findings indicate the proposed AI approach could be a valuable testing resource for promoting clinical decision making.
A Partial Bibliography of Cyprinodon variegatus (Osteichthyes: Cyprinodontidae)

A partial bibliography of the sheepshead minnow Cyprinodon variegatus Lacipide, 1803, is presented. Scientific works related to systematics and general biology are listed along with references to recent work involving toxicological bioassays. An extensive search of the literature on parasites of C. vuriegatus was not conducted. shrimp, Artemia salina, in aquaria. Most 19th century references listed relate to systematics or collection records of C. variegatus. A great deal of work was done on the general biology and ecology of this species from 1900 to 1965. Over the past fifteen years, however, the majority of work has documented responses of C. variegatus to environmental pollutants. Thus, it is one o f ' the few organisms for which we have a good biological data base as well as an assessment of man's potential impact on the estuarine environment. INTRODUCTION Qprinodon variegatus is a relatively abundant inhabitant of estuarine marshes from Massachusetts to South America. Because of itsimportance in the estuarine ecosystem and the ease with whichit can be cultured, it has become an increasingly important organism for toxicological bioassays. Sheepshead minnows have a protracted spawning season and will breed year-round in warm water, with a generation time of three to four months. They feed on both algal and animal material in nature and can be easily reared on brine
Performance of Hydrocarbon Monitoring Instrumentation

Automatic instrumentation has evolved over the years to analyze the atmosphere for total hydrocarbon concentration, classes of hydrocarbons, and specific hydrocarbons. This paper deals with principles of analysis of commercial automated instruments-their performance, calibration, application, and impact on assisting our past, present, and future capability for measuring hydrocarbons.
Writing, Evolution of

Writing – a system of graphic marks representing the units of a specific language – was invented independently in the Near East, China, and Mesoamerica. The cuneiform script, created in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, c. 3200 BC, was the first form of writing. It is also the only writing system that can be traced to its earliest prehistoric origin. This antecedent of the cuneiform script was a system of counting and recording goods with clay tokens. The evolution of writing from tokens to pictography, syllabary (written symbols representing syllables), and alphabet illustrates the development of information processing to deal with larger amounts of data in ever greater abstraction.
Ready to Read: A Collaborative, Community-Wide Emergent Literacy Program

Summary In 1997, Kalamazoo Public Library and Bronson Methodist Hospital along with several other community organizations collaborated to create an emergent literacy program. The program provides volunteer readers at community sites, pediatricians' prescription of reading aloud for healthy child development and giving books to children at well-baby visits, providing a cloth book for every child born in Kalamazoo County, offering workshops on reading and book sharing skills for parent groups and providing book collections and volunteer readers to child care centers. This program is unique in its widespread collaboration of twenty community service organizations to provide county-wide services.
Changing Market Perceptions of Who is 'Too Big to Fail' During the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008

The government support of financial firms through direct assistance and programs to improve market liquidity during the worldwide financial crisis of 2007-2008 is unprecedented since the Great Depression. Whether a given firm is ex-ante ‘Too Big To Fail’ in the mind of government agents is not the principal issue for moral hazard, however. It is investor perception of ‘Too Big To Fail’ that drives the economically inefficient reduced funding cost for the firm. This work examines the U.S. government’s crisis actions as well as two international bank bailouts in a series of event studies employing both debt and equity returns. Other than in the case of private mortgage insurer, Radian, in response to explicit support of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, I conclude that only the largest of the banks and the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, already perceived to be recipients of explicit or implicit government guarantees, experienced any ‘Too Big To Fail’ premiums in their debt securities. There is no evidence that these premiums extended to other large financial firms such as broker dealers, non-mortgage insurers or surety firms, in spite of the bailout of Bear Stearns. There is no evidence that letting Lehman Brothers fail was a surprise to investors. In addition, there is no evidence that AIG’s large derivative exposures and their associated losses prior to and during the crisis led investors to infer it would be rescued. Federal Reserve programs to improve liquidity and extend lending to non-banks did not lead to ‘Too Big To Fail’ premiums for firms.
"Prosecutors and Psychics On the Air: Does a "Psychic Detective Effect" Exist?"

With this essay I begin an examination of the effect and influence of psychics and psychic detectives on the legal system and popular culture. Scripted shows such as the popular Medium and the recently cancelled Ghost Whisperer enhance the personal accounts of the psychic detectives on whom they are based, adapting interesting characteristics and stories, and creating entertainment for viewers. Psychic detective shows such as the reality shows Psychic Detectives, Psychic Witness, and the new series Paranormal Cops provide an alternative to the popular crime scene investigation (CSI) shows as a way to provide a window into the legal system for America’s TV audience. The CSI shows rely on experts and an exciting array of scientific tools, suggesting that scientific evidence often can be so conclusive that the prosecutor in criminal cases can satisfy the “reasonable doubt” standard with no problem. Psychic detective shows seem to present investigative television that appeals to those interested in the spiritual and the unknown and offer a contrast to the certain outcomes of CSI shows by posing questions that seem closer to the realities with which many viewers are more likely to be familiar through their newspaper and tv experiences. Sometimes juries or judges acquit defendants even though they seem to be guilty or convict them though they seem innocent. Some members of the public think they have paranormal experiences and regularly go to psychics. Many people read newspaper horoscopes, even if only for entertainment, and love the inserts in their Chinese fortune cookies. Further, such shows emphasize what many viewers may consider to be the fallible side of the legal system, playing on existing viewer fears that defense attorneys with their “tricks” can overwhelm prosecutors and juries. These fears include those that arise out of the impression that constitutional guarantees such as those embedded in the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments are “loopholes” or “technicalities,” which function solely to give the accused far too many rights at the expense of the victim and his or her family. Linked to that fear is the idea that the police may arrest the wrong person or fail to solve crimes altogether. In conjunction with a news media which deluges viewers with stories about cold cases are horror stories about criminals inexplicably allowed to go free who then commit additional crimes, killers never caught and the suspicion that innocent persons may spend years in prison or may well be executed, such “psychic detective” shows present a convenient solution to what seems to some to be an insoluble and horrific dilemma.
Dessler, Jimenez, Klein, and Nenes Receive 2012 Atmospheric Sciences Ascent Awards: Response

I am honored to receive this recognition. I wish to thank all those who have helped me in my career, including those from where I received my education as well as those I have encountered at the different positions I have held. I have been very fortunate in interacting with many great people.
Thoughts about the Evaluation of STS More Questions than Answers

This chapter focuses on issues affecting the design and implementation of evaluation of STS (Science, Technology, and Society) programs, particularly accountability and national evaluation. Questions are raised about STS, and how its programmatic evaluation could be conceptualized and conducted. Also examined are important issues that must be considered in evaluation and a discussion of suggestions for implementing evaluation. The approach taken incorporates the critical, negative mask of the evaluator as described byPatton (1990), as well as the skeptical view suggested byScriven (1973), with the intent not to dampen, but to bring to the surface the subtle issues that affect STS and the evaluation of STS programs.
A proposed ablation laser

Abstract A new type of eximer laser is proposed; it involves the simultaneous sublimation and excitation of a frozen film by means of a relativistic electron beam. Calculated beam requirements for noble gases are ∼ 10 kA/cm2 of 400 kV electrons for periods of 2 to 12 ns. Predicted advantages of this laser are high gain and the elimination of wavelength limiting optical windows. Preliminary experimental fluorescence spectra have been obtained from xenon films. The emission from the solid phase consists primarily of two 100 A wide bands centered at 1690 A and 1730 A the fluorescence lifetimes are 4 ± 2 ns for both bands.
Quality by design in formulation and process development for a freeze-dried, small molecule parenteral product: a case study

A case study has been developed to illustrate one way of incorporating a Quality by Design approach into formulation and process development for a small molecule, freeze-dried parenteral product. Sodium ethacrynate was chosen as the model compound. Principal degradation products of sodium ethacrynate result from hydrolysis of the unsaturated ketone in aqueous solution, and dimer formation from a Diels-Alder condensation in the freeze-dried solid state. When the drug crystallizes in a frozen solution, the eutectic melting temperature is above -5°C. Crystallization in the frozen system is affected by pH in the range of pH 6-8 and buffer concentration in the range of 5-50 mM, where higher pH and lower buffer concentration favor crystallization. Physical state of the drug is critical to solid state stability, given the relative instability of amorphous drug. Stability was shown to vary considerably over the ranges of pH and buffer concentration examined, and vial-to-vial variability in degree of crystallinity is a potential concern. The formulation design space was constructed in terms of pH and drug concentration, and assuming a constant 5 mM concentration of buffer. The process design space is constructed to take into account limitations on the process imposed by the product and by equipment capability.
Effects of language experience and expectations on attention to consonants and tones in English and Mandarin Chinese

Both long-term native language experience and immediate linguistic expectations can affect listeners' use of acoustic information when making a phonetic decision. In this study, a Garner selective attention task was used to investigate differences in attention to consonants and tones by American English-speaking listeners (N = 20) and Mandarin Chinese-speaking listeners hearing speech in either American English (N = 17) or Mandarin Chinese (N = 20). To minimize the effects of lexical differences and differences in the linguistic status of pitch across the two languages, stimuli and response conditions were selected such that all tokens constitute legitimate words in both languages and all responses required listeners to make decisions that were linguistically meaningful in their native language. Results showed that regardless of ambient language, Chinese listeners processed consonant and tone in a combined manner, consistent with previous research. In contrast, English listeners treated tones and consonants as perceptually separable. Results are discussed in terms of the role of sub-phonemic differences in acoustic cues across language, and the linguistic status of consonants and pitch contours in the two languages.
An information theoretic approach for combining neural network process models

Typically neural network modelers in chemical engineering focus on identifying and using a single, hopefully optimal, neural network model. Using a single optimal model implicitly assumes that one neural network model can extract all the information available in a given data set and that the other candidate models are redundant. In general, there is no assurance that any individual model has extracted all relevant information from the data set. Recently, Wolpert (Neural Networks, 5(2), 241 (1992)) proposed the idea of stacked generalization to combine multiple models. Sridhar, Seagrave and Barlett (AIChE J., 42, 2529 (1996)) implemented the stacked generalization for neural network models by integrating multiple neural networks into an architecture known as stacked neural networks (SNNs). SNNs consist of a combination of the candidate neural networks and were shown to provide improved modeling of chemical processes. However, in Sridhar's work SNNs were limited to using a linear combination of artificial neural networks. While a linear combination is simple and easy to use, it can utilize only those model outputs that have a high linear correlation to the output. Models that are useful in a nonlinear sense are wasted if a linear combination is used. In this work we propose an information theoretic stacking (ITS) algorithm for combining neural network models. The ITS algorithm identifies and combines useful models regardless of the nature of their relationship to the actual output. The power of the ITS algorithm is demonstrated through three examples including application to a dynamic process modeling problem. The results obtained demonstrate that the SNNs developed using the ITS algorithm can achieve highly improved performance as compared to selecting and using a single hopefully optimal network or using SNNs based on a linear combination of neural networks.
Plasma diagnosis by laser beam scanning

A procedure is developed for determining the radial electron density and temperature profiles of a rotationally symmetric plasma. This high‐resolution technique involves measuring the deflection of laser beams incident transverse to the plasma. Diagnosis of a stable atmospheric pressure argon arc with CO2 and He‐Ne laser beams yields results in good agreement with spectroscopic methods.
Cardiotoxicity in a Citalopram and Olanzapine Overdose

Abstract Background This is a case of a citalopram and olanzapine overdose causing seizures and severe cardiotoxicity. Case Report A 21-year-old man presented unresponsive, with seizures, to an Emergency Department. The patient’s initial electrocardiogram demonstrated a widened QRS of 160 ms and a normal QT/QTc interval of 400/487 ms consistent with cardiac sodium channel blockade. Within 30 min of arrival, peak citalopram and olanzapine levels were measured to be 522 ng/mL and 505 ng/mL, respectively. Measured levels remained supratherapeutic until 13.6 h and 42.6 h after arrival for citalopram and olanzapine, respectively. The patient developed bradycardia and hypotension that required multimodal therapies including sodium bicarbonate boluses, vasopressors, and transvenous pacing. Seizures and cardiotoxicity continued while citalopram, but not olanzapine, was supratherapeutic. Conclusions This case describes cardiotoxicity directly correlated with supratherapeutic citalopram levels in overdose.
Spirituality and life-threatening illness: a phenomenologic study.

Purpose/objectives To examine the lived experience of individuals when confronted with a life-threatening disease. Research approach Qualitative, phenomenologic using Giorgi's approach. Setting Patients' homes in the Midwest. Participants Five women and two men, aged 44-74 years, who had a variety of diagnoses, including breast cancer, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, and myocardial infarction. Methodologic approach Subjects were recruited through flyers posted at support groups and religious establishments and by word of mouth. Main research variables Willingness to volunteer to share their stories. Findings Participants described how their spirituality provided comfort throughout their journey, strength in facing the life-threatening illness, many blessings despite the hardship of the illness, and trust in a higher power to see them through the journey. All participants described a sense of meaning in their lives throughout their experience. Conclusions Spirituality greatly affected patients' journeys through a life-threatening illness and provided a sense of meaning despite the illness. Interpretation Nurses need to acknowledge patients' spirituality and, in turn, assist patients in meeting their spiritual needs. By understanding the study participants' experiences, nurses can better support their patients, provide time and space for spiritual practices, and honor patients' spiritual journeys.
Physics of resonant tunneling. The one-dimensional double-barrier case

In this work we discuss how the occurrence of resonant tunneling through a one-dimensional (1D) double barrier involves some interesting phenomena which have so far been overlooked. The effect of an externally applied electric field is considered, and it is shown that with fully symmetrical barriers it leads to weaker resonances than otherwise possible. Furthermore, the time required for resonance to be fully established is discussed, and it is shown that, depending on the barrier transmission coefficients and experimental conditions, it can be exceedingly long, thus contributing to a reduction of resonance effects on the usual experimental time scale. We also show that resonant tunneling under the usual experimental conditions implies carrier trapping, hence a buildup of space charge available for modifying the potential-energy barrier. Different current behaviors then result from the inherent feedback mechanism. The effects of temperature on the measured current are finally discussed.
Quality of Alfalfa Hay Chemically Treated at Cutting to Hasten Field Drying

Abstract Spray treatment of cut alfalfa with solutions containing emulsified methyl esters of long chain fatty acids and potassium carbonate increased dry matter content above untreated control forage baled at the same time and reduced length of field exposure before baling at a dry matter content "safe" for storage. Bale temperatures, dry matter loss, and changes of visual and analytical quality measurements were greater for control hay baled simultaneously with sprayed alfalfa when respective dry matter contents were 66 and 88%. When both sprayed and unsprayed alfalfas were baled at the same dry matter percent but at different times, analytical measures for resulting hays, bale temperatures, dry matter loss, and changes in analytical measures during storage were similar.
High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of saturated monohydroxy fatty acid mixtures containing positional isomers of various chain-lengths.

Formation, purification et analyse de derives t-butyldimethylsiloxy desters p-nitrobenzyliques d'acides gras monohydroxyles
Development of a dynamic stiffness matrix for free vibration analysis of spinning beams

Abstract Following the derivation of the governing differential equations in free vibration by using Hamilton’s principle, the dynamic stiffness matrix of a spinning beam is developed. The Wittrick–Williams algorithm is then applied to the resulting dynamic stiffness matrix to compute the natural frequencies and mode shapes for some illustrative examples. These results are discussed and compared with published ones. The paper concludes with some remarks.