cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bridging the Gaps: iPSC-Based Models from CHIP to MDS to AML

Myeloid malignancies exist on a spectrum from asymptomatic clonal hematopoiesis to overt leukemia and exhibit substantial clonal heterogeneity. Both aspects are challenging to capture in experimental models. In two landmark studies in this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Kotini et al. (2017) and Chao et al. (2017) establish iPSC-based experimental platforms that recapitulate disease stages and clonal architecture.
The Hero–Apollonius Lemma in Nicomedes and Euclid

The lemma [f], present in identical wordings in HE and AJ, has been argued in the preceding chapter to be a remnant from the 3rd century B.C. prototype underlying the Hero and Apollonius–Parmenion versions of the cube duplication. It establishes, relative to the accompanying diagram (Fig. 2.1), where DE is perpendicular bisector of BG, the following identity:
Positive reward prediction errors strengthen incidental memory encoding

The dopamine system is thought to provide a reward prediction error signal that facilitates reinforcement learning and reward-based choice in corticostriatal circuits. While it is believed that similar prediction error signals are also provided to temporal lobe memory systems, the impact of such signals on episodic memory encoding has not been fully characterized. Here we develop an incidental memory paradigm that allows us to 1) estimate the influence of reward prediction errors on the formation of episodic memories, 2) dissociate this influence from other factors such as surprise and uncertainty, 3) test the degree to which this influence depends on temporal correspondence between prediction error and memoranda presentation, and 4) determine the extent to which this influence is consolidation-dependent. We find that when choosing to gamble for potential rewards during a primary decision making task, people encode incidental memoranda more strongly even though they are not aware that their memory will be subsequently probed. Moreover, this strengthened encoding scales with the reward prediction error, and not overall reward, experienced selectively at the time of memoranda presentation (and not before or after). Finally, this strengthened encoding is identifiable within a few minutes and is not substantially enhanced after twenty-four hours, indicating that it is not consolidation-dependent. These results suggest a computationally and temporally specific role for putative dopaminergic reward prediction error signaling in memory formation.
Anesthetic Management for HLHS

Optimal anesthetic management of infants and children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) entails a thorough understanding of the spectrum of anatomic and physiologic findings that can comprise this syndrome. Over the past two decades, a substantial amount has been learned about the unique considerations and challenges posed by patients with HLHS [1]. Some of these new concepts have been beneficial in the management of other forms of critical neonatal congenital heart disease (CHD), while others are nuances that uniquely apply to this malformation, the largest anatomic subset of patients with functional single ventricle.
Fusion: Opportunistic Web Prototyping with UI Mashups

Modern web development is rife with complexity at all layers, ranging from needing to configure backend services to grappling with frontend frameworks and dependencies. To lower these development barriers, we introduce a technique that enables people to prototype opportunistically by borrowing pieces of desired functionality from across the web without needing any access to their underlying codebases, build environments, or server backends. We implemented this technique in a browser extension called Fusion, which lets users create web UI mashups by extracting components from existing unmodified webpages and hooking them together using transclusion and JavaScript glue code. We demonstrate the generality and versatility of Fusion via a case study where we used it to create seven UI mashups in domains such as programming tools, data science, web design, and collaborative work. Our mashups include replicating portions of prior HCI systems (Blueprint for in-situ code search and DS.js for in-browser data science), extending the p5.js IDE for Processing with real-time collaborative editing, and integrating Python Tutor code visualizations into static tutorials. These UI mashups each took less than 15 lines of JavaScript glue code to create with Fusion.
Introduction: The Archival Tourist

The introduction provides context for the main theoretical threads of this book: tourism theory, performance theory, archive theory, and studies of women and material culture. I define and explore the idea of the “archival tourist” along with the strategies involved in curating the individual case studies in the book. In addition, I establish connections among the main figures in the narrative (Elizabeth Inchbald, Sally Siddons, The Countess of Blessington [Marguerite Gardiner], Isabella Beetham, Jane Read, Marie Tussaud, and Amelia M. Watson) and the trajectory of tangible objects (pocket diaries, paintings, magic lanterns, silhouettes, waxworks, and photographs) featured in each chapter.
Civil Wrongs and Civil Procedure

Civil wrongs are conventionally redressed through civil litigation, which, in turn, is constituted and governed by “transsubstantive” rules of civil procedure. What place, if any, should the general processes of civil litigation and rules of civil procedure have in a theory of private law organized around the concept of civil wrongs? In answering that question, this chapter makes three claims. First, the civil recourse theory of tort law, which attaches particular importance to the concept of civil wrongs, presupposes a process for redressing those wrongs with several distinctive features, features associated more with the general structure of the civil justice system than with any substantive private law doctrines. Second, civil recourse theory follows many other wrongs-based accounts of private law in employing an “interpretive” methodology that commits it to deeming those procedural features a “basic” part of the substantive body of law it purports to illuminate through the concept of civil wrongs. Third, the procedural landscape presumed by wrongs-based accounts of private law such as civil recourse theory has been upended in recent decades by significant changes to the ways in which civil wrongs are, in practice, redressed. The upshot is that private law theorists may well have to choose between the “pragmatic” desire to situate private law in its modern procedural context and the normative ambition to explain private law in terms of a plaintiff-empowering understanding of civil wrongs.
Decellularization in Heart Valve Tissue Engineering

Annually, over 50,000 deaths are attributed to heart valve disease (HVD) in the United States. The most common treatment for HVD, such as stenosis and regurgitation, is total valve replacement using mechanical and bioprosthetic heart valves, which often results in subsequent surgery to replace failed implants. For the pediatric population especially, a viable valve implant with the potential to repair, remodel, and grow within the patient is a great clinical need. Recent research has demonstrated that tissue-engineered heart valves (TEHV) have the potential to deliver a viable valve replacement, which is constructed with scaffolds and functional cells. Acellular heart valve (HV) scaffolds obtained by decellularization, biological polymer scaffolds, and synthetic polymer scaffolds have been widely used for TEHV fabrication, each having advantages and disadvantages. In this chapter, we focus on TEHV via a decellularization approach and provide a systematic review covering (1) the concepts of decellularization and current decellularization methods, (2) a comparative study showing how the ultrastructure and biomechanics of acellular HV scaffolds were affected by different decellularization methods, (3) the cell sources and bioreactor systems for TEHV reseeding, conditioning, and integrity testing, and (4) the current accomplishments of HV decellularization in animal studies and clinical trials and the challenges in moving this approach toward clinical applications.
Potential Complications of Right Atrial Catheterization

Often credited with the introduction of the use of central venous catheters in humans, 1956 Nobel laureate Werner Forssman stressed acquiring a functional knowledge of anatomy, application of gentle technique, and selection of the proper catheter in order to avoid numerous obvious and potential complications. But even today, almost 30 years later, human error remains the single most frequent cause of complication in the widespread use of central venous catheters.
TOWARDS A POST-MODERN HERMENEUTIC ONTOLOGY OF ART: NIETZSCHEAN STYLE AND HEIDEGGERIAN TRUTH

Beyond the modem aesthetic institution, the artistic philosophies of Nietzsche and Heidegger construe art from the perspectives of life and truth rather than beauty, meaningful form, or value. I introduce this perspective as post-aesthetic, recalling Nietzsche’s interpretive insight: “We have art lest we perish of the truth.”1 Heidegger’s reflection on the art-work, offering a foundational hermeneutic of the essence of art as the occasion of truth, underscores the unimportance of institutional art. Instead, for a post-aesthetic understanding of the challenge of art, what is important is the possibility of a congenial appropriation or answering move. For human Dasein, this congenial response may be found in the extraordinarily demanding way of being Heidegger names as tarrying, dwelling-alongside, letting be. As Hans-Georg Gadamer further explains, in the tragedy of mystery, even in its closest contact with the beautiful, the impetuousity of the human heart robs it of the rare surrender that alone could constitute the accession of its desire. Attending to the truth of art, mortal beings borrow the wings of ascendent desire. Learning how to linger upon the work of art is a special achievement. In Gadamer’s words, “the longer we allow ourselves, the more it displays its manifold riches to us. The essence of our temporal experience of art is learning how to tarry in this way.”2
General properties of auditory spectro-temporal receptive fields

The analyses of more than 2000 spectro-temporal receptive fields (STRFs) obtained from the ferret primary auditory cortex revealed their dominant encoding properties along time and frequency domains. Results showed that the peak responses of the STRFs were roughly aligned along the time axis, and enhanced low modulation components of the signal around 3 Hz. On the contrary, the peaks of the STRF population along the frequency axis varied and were distributed widely. Further analyses revealed that there were some general properties along the frequency axis around the best frequency of each STRF. The STRFs enhanced modulation frequencies around 0.25 cycles/octave. These findings are consistent with techniques that have been reported in the literature to result in improvements in speech recognition performance, highlighting the significant potential of biological insights into the design of better machines.
Peening Effect of Glass Beads in the Cold Spray Deposition of Polymeric Powders

Cold spray is a green additive manufacturing method that accelerates micron-size particles to supersonic speeds. At these high speeds, the particles deposit upon impact with a desired surface. High-density polyethylene, polyurethane, polyamide-12, polystyrene, and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene particles were cold-sprayed onto a low-density polyethylene substrate under different process conditions. Glass beads with diameters between 20 and 120 µm were added to each batch to study the effect of non-adhesive peening particles on the deposition efficiency and the quality of the final deposited layer of a series different polymeric powders. The successful deposition window was compared for the cold spray process with and without the addition of glass beads. Adding the glass beads to the polymer powders was found to widen the successful windows of deposition to both higher and lower impact velocities at a given temperature for all the polymer powder studied. In addition, adding peening particles were found to make deposition possible at lower particle temperatures where deposition had not been successful previously. This was especially important for ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene particles for which deposition in the absence of peening particles was not possible below 60 °C, but with peening particles was successful even at room temperature. Peening particles were found to increase deposition efficiency by as much as 50% for a given set of deposition conditions. The appropriate size of the added glass beads to maximize the deposition efficiency was found to be comparable to the size of the depositing particles. The addition of glass beads was also found to reduce the surface roughness of the deposited layer by more than 50%. Finally, for processing conditions with particle velocities below a Mach number of one, no glass beads were found to adhere to the resulting cold-sprayed substrates.
Monte Carlo Simulations of Neutron Ambient Dose Equivalent in a Novel Proton Therapy Facility Design.

Abstract Purpose: The neutron shielding properties of the concrete structures of a proposed proton therapy facility were evaluated with help of the Monte Carlo technique. The planned facility's des...
The Roots of Dialogue

Leading dialogue theorist and practitioner William Isaacs, like other dialogue practitioners in the field he helped found, based his work on Martin Buber’s principle of fundamental relationality and reiterated Buber when he proclaimed, “in the beginning was the relationship.” This chapter examines how Buber’s dialogic ontology, based on the fundamental relationality of humans, can be used to ground a theory of dialogue able to deal with divisive civic discourse plagued by polarization. Buber’s emphasis accords with John Dewey’s, who also recognized the way in which our fundamental relationality can provide the grounds and motivation for a more intentional democratic community. Dewey described how “we are born organic beings associated with others, but we are not born members of a community.” Both Buber and Dewey affirm that the fundamental connection shared by all humans needs to be actualized and put into practice through concrete dialogic relations if we are to achieve a viable pluralistic community.
Colonic Conditions: Infectious Colitis

The human colon is host to an array of commensal organisms that aid in digestion. The infectious colitides include a wide range of organisms that in sufficiently large colonies may be pathologic to humans. Infectious colitis may result when overwhelmingly large colonies or hypervirulent strains develop. Treatment varies from simple supportive care or in the case of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) eliminating the oral antibiotics that may have altered the enteric milieu, selecting oral antibiotic counter-therapy and fecal microbiota transplant for resistant or progressive cases with surgical intervention (for fulminant or complicated colitis) as a last resort. The incidence of CDI has increased dramatically with most cases responding to oral antibiotic therapy (e.g. oral vancomycin), however, the virulence, hospital admissions (fourfold) and mortality (threefold) associated with CDI has also increased as 3–10% of patients progress to fulminant life-threatening systemic toxicity requiring subtotal colectomy and end ileostomy with attendant high rates of mortality (32–100%).
Gastric-type endocervical adenocarcinoma and cervical cytology: Experience at a general hospital and review of the literature.

Author(s): Greenland, Nancy Y; Wolsky, Rebecca J; Darragh, Teresa M; Vohra, Poonam | Abstract: IntroductionGastric-type endocervical adenocarcinoma (GAS) is an uncommon type of endocervical adenocarcinoma that is not associated with human papillomavirus infection. This diagnosis is relatively rare and may portend a worse prognosis than usual-type endocervical adenocarcinoma. Subtle morphological features make it an under-recognised diagnostic challenge. Study of the cytological features of individual cases is valuable in order to increase awareness of this entity.MethodsThe pathology database of our institution was searched for the diagnosis of GAS and all cytological and surgical specimens for each patient were reviewed. The original cytological interpretation was compared to a retrospective central review interpretation. Clinical history and follow-up results were obtained from the electronic medical record.ResultsFour cases of GAS were identified. The findings on initial cervical cytology varied, with GAS found in both patients with negative cervical cytology and those with atypical glandular cells. Cytological findings included endocervical cells arranged in three-dimensional clusters and honeycomb sheets with abundant vacuolar cytoplasm, and in two patients, moderate nuclear atypia with irregular nuclear membranes, coarse chromatin, hyperchromatic nuclei, and prominent nucleoli. In one patient, GAS was incidentally discovered via thorough sampling of a cystic lesion in the superior portion of the endocervical canal.ConclusionsGAS is an aggressive human papillomavirus-independent type of endocervical adenocarcinoma with subtle morphological features and, as our study shows, varying clinical presentation. Given the aggressive nature of GAS and the difficulties in initial diagnosis, increased awareness of this entity among pathologists is crucial.
The Pursuit of Equal Educational Opportunity: A Historical Analysis of the South Texas/Border Initiative:

The purpose of this historical study was to investigate how individuals articulated the call for the South Texas/Border Initiative, a legislative mandate that funneled unprecedented amounts of fund...
Management of higher risk myelodysplastic syndromes after hypomethylating agents failure: are we about to exit the black hole?

Hypomethylating agents (HMA) remain the mainstay of treatment for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (HR-MDS). However, complete responses to HMAs are seen in <20% of cases and are...
Trends in Discharge Disposition Following Hepatectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

Post-acute care (PAC) services can include home healthcare, long-term care hospitals, and skilled nursing facilities. We sought to define factors associated with PAC discharge disposition among Medicare beneficiaries who underwent hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Data for Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of HCC and who underwent a hepatectomy between 2004 and 2015 were retrieved from the SEER-Medicare database. Discharge disposition was defined as routine (HSC: discharged to home) or non-routine (SNF/ICF, discharged to skilled nursing/intermediate care facilities, or HHA, discharge to home with home health agency). The Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess trends in discharge disposition. Among 1305 patients, the median patient age at diagnosis was 72 years (IQR: 68–76). Approximately 4 in 5 patients were discharged to HSC (77.4%; n = 1010). The odds of a non-routine discharge decreased by 7.0% annually from 2004 to 2015 (ORtrend, 0.93; 95%CI, 0.89–0.97; ptrend = 0.001). Several factors were associated with non-routine discharge, including patient age (OR 1.06, 95%CI 1.04–1.09) and longer LOS (OR 1.07, 95%CI 1.05–1.10). In contrast, patients who had a minor hepatectomy (OR 0.69, 95%CI 0.52–0.93) at a teaching hospital (OR 0.63, 95%CI 0.45–0.89) had lower odds of a non-routine discharge (all P < 0.05). HSC discharge increased over time (2004–2007 (n = 205, 68.1%) vs. 2008–2011 (n = 330, 77.8%) vs. 2012–2015 (n = 475, 81.9%); ptrend < 0.001). Over the same time period, there was a decreasing trend in 90-day readmission (2004–2007 (n = 91, 30.2%) vs. 2008–2011 (n = 107, 25.2%) vs. 2012–2015 (n = 129, 22.2%); ptrend = 0.03). Utilization of PAC services following hepatic resection of HCC decreased by 57.0% between 2004 and 2015. These data highlight that decreased PAC utilization was not generally associated with higher readmission rates following resection of HCC.
Impact of hemoglobin biophysical studies on molecular pathogenesis and drug therapy for sickle cell disease.

Abstract Basic research on hemoglobin has been essential for understanding the origin and treatment of many hematological disorders due to abnormal hemoglobins. The most important of the hemoglobinopathies is sickle cell disease - Linus Pauling's “molecular disease” that gave birth to molecular medicine. In this review, I will describe the contributions of basic biophysical research on normal and sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) to understanding the molecular pathogenesis of the disease and providing the conceptual basis for the various approaches to drug therapy that target HbS polymerization. Most prominent among these are the experimental results on the solubility of HbS as a function of oxygen saturation explained by the allosteric model of Monod, Wyman, and Changeux and the Gill-Wyman thermodynamic linkage relation between solubility and oxygen binding, the solubility of mixtures of HbS with normal or fetal hemoglobin explained by Minton's thermodynamic model, and the highly unusual kinetics of HbS polymerization explained by a novel double nucleation mechanism that also accounts for the aggregation kinetics of the Alzheimer's peptide. The HbS polymerization kinetics are of great importance to understanding the pathophysiology and clinical course, as well as guiding drug development for treating this common and severe disease. The article focuses primarily on experimental and theoretical results from my lab, so it is not a comprehensive review of the subject.
Method development on automated sample preparation system for content uniformity and assay testing in a product with multiple APIs and new strategy for quick development and application.

Abstract Automation of analytical sample preparation and testing is always attractive due to its high efficiency and continuous operation, but it can also be very challenging due to the operational complexity and method development. Studies focused on method development in automated systems are extremely rare and little has been published on the subject. In this paper, we investigate several unique and advanced aspects of this subject. The example product is selected containing two APIs to be tested by a single method to be productive. The product strengths of the two APIs are significantly different, making development of a single method much more challenging. In addition, we use a “green chemistry” approach, avoiding any organic solvent in the dissolving media in order to achieve an environmentally friendly solution. The selection and optimization of several key operational parameters are then discussed. The successful method is achieved using a new strategy called “Automated Online Standard (AO-STD)” methodology. This novel approach is compared to the manual operation procedure. The proposed approach can substantially reduce the method transfer time, generally considered the biggest obstacle to practical deployment of automated systems. The automated system applied in this paper is most suitable for content uniformity testing, but is also applicable for potency assays, blend uniformity testing, and degradation product tests.
Study on Modulation of the p75 Neurotrophin Receptor Using LM11A-31 Prevents Diabetes-induced Retinal Vascular Permeability in Mice via Inhibition of Inflammation and the RhoA Kinase Pathway

Aims/hypothesis: The breakdown of the inner blood–retinal barrier (BRB) is a key event in the pathogenesis of diabetic macular oedema, which leads to vision loss. We previously demonstrated that diabetes produces an imbalance of nerve growth factor (NGF) isoforms, leading in the buildup of proNGF and overexpression of the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), with subsequent increases in Ras homologue gene family, member A activation (RhoA). We also discovered that in diabetes, genetic deletion of the p75NTR gene retained the BRB and inhibited the production of inflammatory mediators in the retina. The goal of this study is to see if LM11A-31, a small-molecule p75NTR modulator and proNGF antagonist, can help prevent BRB breakdown caused by diabetes. The role of p75NTR/RhoA downstream signalling in mediating cell permeability was also investigated. Methods: Streptozotocin injection was used to make male C57BL/6 J mice diabetic. Mice were given oral gavage with LM11A-31 (50 mg kg1 day1) or saline (NaCl 154 mmol/l) for an additional 4 weeks after 2 weeks of diabetes.Extravasation of BSA–AlexaFluor-488 was used to measure BRB breakdown. In the presence or absence of LM11A-31 or the Rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632, the direct effects of proNGF were investigated in human retinal endothelial (HRE) cells. Results: BRB breakdown was induced by diabetes, which resulted in large increases in TNF- and IL-1 levels in the circulatory and retinal systems. Significant decreases in retinal NGF and elevations in vascular endothelial growth factor and proNGF expression, as well as RhoA activation, accompanied these effects. ProNGF accumulation was significantly reduced and BRB integrity was preserved after interventional modulation of p75NTR activity in diabetes animal models using LM11A-31. Treatment with mutant proNGF (10 ng/ml) increased cell permeability and reduced expression of tight junction proteins, zona occludens-1 (ZO-1) and claudin-5, in HRE cells, independent of inflammatory mediators or cell death, compared to control. ProNGF-mediated RhoA activation, occludin phosphorylation (at serine 490), and cell permeability were all considerably reduced when p75NTR was modulated.The effects of ProNGF were moderated by LM11A-31, which caused redistribution of ZO-1 in the cell wall and the development of F-actin stress fibres. Conclusions/interpretation: Using LM11A-31, an orally accessible receptor modulator, to target p75NTR signalling may provide an effective, safe, and non-invasive therapeutic method for treating macular oedema, a leading cause of blindness in diabetics.
Spectral imaging for revealing and preserving world cultural heritage

The utilization of spectral imaging for the preservation of cultural heritage has allowed the Library of Congress to develop and adapt methodologies to reveal information from degraded ancient texts and objects. Spectral imaging systems provide a powerful tool for non-invasive, non-contact identification and characterization of pigments, inks, substrates and treatments of artefacts, allowing completely non-destructive analyses for research and preservation. Detecting any changes before they are visible enables the assessment and optimization of display and storage conditions for a range of heritage materials. Advanced processing of significant manuscripts including the Waldseemuller 1507 World Map, Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence, and others have revealed previously non-visible and obscured information, recovering lost scientific and cultural knowledge that forms the basis of modern society.
The Impact of Service-Learning on Preservice Professionals’ Dispositions Toward Diversity

As service-learning becomes more widespread in schools and classrooms, it is similarly becoming more common in schools of education. A particular area of exploration is the use of service-learning to prepare preservice teachers to learn about diversity. This article provides a description of a project designed to positively influence preservice teachers’ dispositions related to working with linguistically, socioeconomically, and culturally diverse families and initial analysis of that work. Further, this study examined what might make the service experience more transformational for participants. Specifically, the findings suggested that engaging in service work in the varied contexts of children and families allows preservice educators to see students’ multiple lived identities, something not possible when service is performed solely in a school context.
Investigation of single-event upsets in dynamic logic based flip-flops

We investigate the impact of single-event upsets in dynamic flip-flop circuits, which are more appealing for the design of high-performance microprocessors because of short latency, small area and high clock frequency. Previous work either uses the approaches for static flip-flops to evaluate SEU effects in dynamic flip-flops or overlook the SEU injected during the precharge phase. We re-examine the possible SEU sensitive nodes in dynamic flip-flops and extend the window of vulnerability of dynamic flip-flops. Our simulation results show that the drain nodes of clocked transistors in dynamic flip-flops are also sensitive to SEUs. For a non-hardened dynamic D-flipflop, the last 55.3 % of the precharge phase and the entire evaluation phase are affected by SEUs. However, the upset sensitivity trend is reversed in a hardened dynamic flip-flop.
The effects of floodplain soil heterogeneity on meander planform shape

[1] Past analytical studies of meander planform development have mostly focused on the complexity of the governing equations, i.e., hydrodynamics, and less so on the stream bank resistance to erosion, whose spatial heterogeneity is difficult to describe deterministically. This motivated the use of a Monte Carlo approach to examine the effects of floodplain soils and their distribution on planform development, with the goal of including bank erosion properties in the analysis. Simulated bank erosion rates are controlled by the resistance to hydraulic erosion of the bank soils using an excess shear stress approach. The spatial distribution of critical shear stress across the floodplain is delineated on a rectangular, equidistant grid with varying degrees of variability. The corresponding erodibility coefficient is computed using a field-derived empirical relation. For a randomly disturbed distribution, in which the mean resistance to erosion exponentially increases away from the valley centerline, two relevant parameters are identified: the standard deviation of the critical shear stress distribution, which controls skewness and variability of the channel centerline, and the cross-valley increase in soil resistance, which constrains lateral migration and also affects bend skewness. For a purely random distribution, migrated centerlines exhibit larger variability for increasing spatial scales of floodplain soil heterogeneity. For equal stochastic variability of the corresponding governing parameters, relating meander migration to hydraulic erosion of the bank soils produces more variability and shape complexity than the “classic” bank migration approach of Ikeda et al. (1981), which relates migration rate to excess velocity at the outer bank. Finally, the proposed stochastic approach provides a foundation for estimating a suitable spatial density of measurements to characterize the physical properties of floodplain soils and vegetation.
Tunable liquid crystal-resonant grating filters using superimposed grating structures fabricated by nanoimprint lithography

Demonstration of superimposing a short-pitch gratings for aligning liquid crystals onto a larger-pitch subwavelength resonant grating (SRG) is presented, to achieve superior liquid crystal alignment, which leads to drastically improved tuning filter performance and tuning range. The tunable SRG needs a 1 /spl mu/m pitch gratings for the desired filter resonance frequency, which is in the infrared, and a-shallower gratings with a pitch between 200 nm to 400 nm for aligning liquid crystal, which is used for tuning the resonance frequency of the filter. A tuning range of 21 nm has been achieved.
Portfolio Performance and Strategic Asset Allocation Across Different Economic Conditions

Motivated by the theoretical results on strategic asset allocation, we examine the gains in portfolio performance when investors diversify into different asset classes, with particular focus on the timeliness of such gains. Although the various asset classes we analyze yield significant gains in portfolio performance, even in the presence of short sales constraints, the timeliness of the gains differs considerably across the asset classes. Our key result is that commodities and precious metals, and equity REITs are the two asset classes that deliver portfolio gains when consumption growth is low and/or volatile, i.e., when investors really care for such benefits. Consistent with these results, our examination of investor portfolio allocations using a regime switching framework reveals that during the 'bad' economic state, the mean-variance optimal risky portfolio is tilted towards equity REITs, precious metals, and Treasury bonds. Our analysis highlights an important metric by which to judge the attractiveness of an asset class in a portfolio context, namely the timeliness of the gains in portfolio performance.
A Review of “L’Épreuve de la Béance: L’Écriture nomade chez Hédi Bouraoui”

L’Epreuve de la Beance constitue une etude importante sur l’œuvre d’Hedi Bouraoui. Comme le souligne a juste titre Abderraham Beggar, malgre sa « production intellectuelle colossale » (2), sa tripl...
Design of a dimpled femoral head in total hip replacements using elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory

In this paper, a three-dimensional computational and analytical elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) analysis of a new dimpled design of an artificial hip joint is discussed. The shape, size and location of the dimple are known a priori. The method employed here differs from those found in literature, in that, unlike existing methods, which express the film thickness as a function of the eccentricities of the femoral head relative to the acetabular cup, the present method derives an expression for film thickness as a summation of film thickness from Reynolds equation, the elastic deflection, the geometry, the central film thickness and the contribution to the film thickness by the presence of the dimple. Therefore, in the present method, the film thickness and hence the pressure, has no dependence on eccentricities. The dimple, as sized and located in the present design, had negligible effect on the minimum film thickness, but did reduce the maximum pressure distribution between the femoral head and the acetabular cup. Optimization of the shape, size and location of the dimple is planned for the next phase of this work.
Air Infiltration: A Review of Some Existing Measurement Techniques and Data

This paper reviews the state of the art in the measurement of ventilation and air infiltration. It considers tracer gas techniques and discusses some of the tracer gases used as well as some of the potential sources of error. It also discusses fan pressurization-evacuation procedures for measuring building tightness and compares fan and tracer measurements. It discusses the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) crack method. It also considers a number of factors influencing infiltration rates and finally reviews a few of the empirical equations that have been developed to correlate infiltration rate with wind velocity and inside-outside temperature difference.
Properties and function of low- and high-voltage-activated Ca2+ channels in hypoglossal motoneurons

Calcium influx through voltage-gated Ca2+ channels plays an important role in neuronal function. In a thin-slice preparation of neonatal rat hypoglossal motoneurons (HMs) we recorded Ba2+ currents through voltage- gated Ca2+ channels using the whole-cell configuration of the patch- clamp technique. We found that HMs have low-voltage-activated (LVA) and at least three types of high-voltage-activated (HVA) Ca2+ channels (omega-Aga-IVA sensitive, omega CgTx sensitive, and dihydropyridine sensitive), based on pharmacological and voltage-dependent properties. Of the Ca2+ current activated at 0 mV from a holding potential of -70 mV, approximately one-half was omega-Aga-IVA (200 nM) sensitive, one- third was omega-CgTx (3 microM) sensitive, whereas only 6% was DHP (nimodipine; 10 microM) sensitive. The residual current, after applying these three antagonists, had characteristics of LVA Ca2+ currents. Based on this pharmacology we found that Ca2+ entry during a single action potential (AP) through LVA Ca2+ channels has a different role from CA2+ entry through HVA Ca2+ channels. Ca2+ influx through omega- Aga-IVA-sensitive and omega-CgTx-sensitive HVA Ca2+ channels activates Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels responsible for the AP afterhyperpolarization. On the other hand, Ca2+ entry through LVA Ca2+ channels is responsible for spike afterdepolarization and provides Ca2+ for the Ca(2+)-activated K+ channels that contribute to AP repolarization.
Effects of later-occurring nonlinguistic sounds on speech categorization.

Nonspeech stimuli influence phonetic categorization, but effects observed so far have been limited to precursors’ influence on perception of following speech. However, both preceding and following speech affect phonetic categorization. This asymmetry raises questions about whether general auditory processes play a role in context-dependent speech perception. This study tested whether the asymmetry stems from methodological issues or genuine mechanistic limitations. To determine whether and how backward effects of nonspeech context on speech may occur, one experiment examined perception of CVC words with [ga]-[da] series onsets followed by one of two possible embedded tones and one of two possible final consonants. When the tone was separated from the target onset by 100 ms, contrastive effects of tone frequency similar to those of previous studies were observed; however, when the tone was moved closer to the target segment assimilative effects were observed. In another experiment, contrastive effects of a following tone were observed in both CVC words and CV nonwords, although the size of the effects depended on syllable structure. Results are discussed with respect to contrastive mechanisms not speech-specific but operating at a relatively high level, taking into account spectrotemporal patterns occurring over extended periods before and after target events.
Improving per processor memory use of ns-3 to enable large scale simulations

In this paper we describe enhancements to improve the scaling of the ns-3 simulator for large problem sizes. The ns-3 simulator has a parallel capability however the current implementation instantiates the entire network topology on all ranks (processors). This restricts the problem sizes that could be run. We describe an approach to removing this limitation by distributing the network topology across ranks such that each rank only holds a part of the network topology. Performance studies were conducted to investigate the scaling performance of the modified ns-3 simulator.
Fusion power — an assessment of its potential impact in the USA

Abstract The prospects for harnessing power through the fusion of light nuclei have by turns looked doubtful and hopeful since the first research was conducted some 20 years ago. When might fusion begin to make a significant contribution to electricity generation and what will be the economic and environmental consequences? Dr Kulcinski presents possible answers to these questions and also highlights difficulties that could arise in the cost and availability of refractory metals and alloying elements for construction of magnetically-confined plasma reactors.
Take this job and shove it: An exploratory study of turnover intent among jail staff

The success of any organization usually rests on the shoulders of its employees. As such, voluntary personnel turnover presents administrative challenges that have substantial and far reaching effects. Understanding the factors that lead to staff turnover intentions can assist organizational leaders in possibly altering the work environment to address employee concerns. Among correctional organizations, the few studies that have been conducted on turnover intent have focused, as most correctional research in general, on prisons. The exclusion of jail turnover intent is puzzling given the unique challenges that jail staff face. The current study attempted to fill this empirical void by using survey data to examine the antecedents (i.e., personal characteristics, perceptions of the work environment, and job attitudes) of turnover intent among staff at a large southern jail. Based on a multivariate analysis, the most powerful predictors of jail staff turnover intent were job attitudes (i.e., job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment). The findings suggested that administrators should concentrate on improving the work environment to boost employee job involvement, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
Finger Tapping: Why Can't We Alternate Hands?

The purpose of this research was to determine if there is any need, as per the Halstead-Reitan instructions, to test each hand uninterruptedly on the Finger Oscillation Test (FoT). To the authors’ knowledge, there is no widely available research addressing this issue. Enabling administration of the FoT using alternate hands would theoretically make the administration of the assessment more efficient. In this study, participants consisted of 49 graduate students. All were administered the FoT with standard instructions and using an alternating-hands method. The order of administration was counterbalanced to avoid practice effects, and subjects completed distractor tasks between administrations. Results indicated there was a difference between the two administration methods for both dominant, t(47) = −4.09, p < .001, and nondominant, t(48) = −4.17, p < .001, hands. Surprisingly, mean T-scores were significantly higher for both the dominant and nondominant hands in the alternative administration group when c...
Pediatric enterocystoplasty: long-term complications and controversies

As enterocystoplasty has become a routine procedure in pediatric urology, long-term complications are emerging in adult patients. Pediatric urologists in general do not follow their patients beyond late adolescence. The sequelae of enterocystoplasty have fallen into the hands of their adult colleagues. Some of the complications of enterocystoplasty, such as reservoir stones, malignancy and perforation, are also seen in older adults following continent diversion. On the other hand, problems with bone growth, pregnancy and reflux nephropathy are unique to children and young adults. A better awareness and understanding of these complications will lead to improved prevention, surveillance and treatment.
Analysis of intra-arch and interarch measurements from digital models with 2 impression materials and a modeling process based on cone-beam computed tomography

Introduction Study models are an essential part of an orthodontic record. Digital models are now available. One option for generating a digital model is cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanning of orthodontic impressions and bite registrations. However, the accuracy of digital measurements from models generated by this method has yet to be thoroughly evaluated. Methods A plastic typodont was modified with reference points for standardized intra-arch and interarch measurements, and 16 sets of maxillary and mandibular vinylpolysiloxane and alginate impressions were made. A copper wax-bite registration was made with the typodont in maximum intercuspal position to accompany each set of impressions. The impressions were shipped to OrthoProofUSA (Albuquerque, NM), where digital orthodontic models were generated via CBCT. Intra-arch and interarch measurements were made directly on the typodont with electronic digital calipers and on the digital models by using OrthoProofUSA's proprietary DigiModel software. Results Percentage differences from the typodont of all intra-arch measurements in the alginate and vinylpolysiloxane groups were low, from 0.1% to 0.7%. Statistical analysis of the intra-arch percentage differences from the typodont of the alginate and vinylpolysiloxane groups had a statistically significant difference between the groups only for maxillary intermolar width. However, because of the small percentage differences, this was not considered clinically significant for orthodontic measurements. Percentage differences from the typodont of all interarch measurements in the alginate and vinylpolysiloxane groups were much higher, from 3.3% to 10.7%. Statistical analysis of the interarch percentage differences from the typodont of the alginate and vinylpolysiloxane groups showed statistically significant differences between the groups in both the maxillary right canine to mandibular right canine (alginate with a lower percentage difference than vinylpolysiloxane) and the maxillary left second molar to mandibular left second molar (alginate with a greater percentage difference than vinylpolysiloxane) segments. This difference, ranging from 0.24 to 0.72 mm, is clinically significant. Conclusions In this study, digital orthodontic models from CBCT scans of alginate and vinylpolysiloxane impressions provided a dimensionally accurate representation of intra-arch relationships for orthodontic evaluation. However, the use of copper wax-bite registrations in this CBCT-based process did not result in an accurate digital representation of interarch relationships.
EEG signal modeling using adaptive Markov process amplitude

In this paper, an adaptive Markov process amplitude algorithm is used to model and simulate electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. EEG signal modeling is used as a tool to identify pathophysiological EEG changes potentially useful in clinical diagnosis. The least mean square algorithm is adopted to continuously estimate the parameters of a first-order Markov process model. EEG signals recorded from rodent brains during injury and recovery following global cerebral ischemia are utilized as input signals to the model. The EEG was recorded in a controlled experimental brain injury model of hypoxic-ischemic cardiac arrest. The signals from the injured brain during various phases of injury and recovery were modeled. Results show that the adaptive model is accurate in simulating EEG signal variations following brain injury. The dynamics of the model coefficients successfully capture the presence of spiking and bursting in EEG.
Sequential abstract-state machines capture sequential algorithms

We examine sequential algorithms and formulate a sequential-time postulate, an abstract-state postulate, and a bounded-exploration postulate . Analysis of the postulates leads us to the notion of sequential abstract-state machine and to the theorem in the title. First we treat sequential algorithms that are deterministic and noninteractive. Then we consider sequential algorithms that may be nondeterministic and that may interact with their environments.
Pre-service teachers’ and teacher-educators’ experiences and attitudes toward using social networking sites for collaborative learning

Extensive use of social networking sites by students and teachers makes educators and researchers to think whether they can be incorporated in instructional process to facilitate students’ learning. This survey-based study records and examines Pakistani pre-service teachers’ and teacher-educators’ current uses of Facebook, and their attitudes toward using Facebook for collaborative learning, and to see if there is a significant relationship between participants’ intensity of Facebook use and their attitude toward instructional use of Facebook. Results of the study indicated that pre-service teachers’ and teacher-educators’ motives for their current Facebook use are mainly limited for social purposes. Pre-service teachers’ use of Facebook is more intensified than the use of Facebook by teacher-educators. Further, pre-service teachers showed more positive attitudes toward using Facebook for collaborative learning than the attitudes of their faculty. Findings also indicated a positive relationship between pa...