cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sun-to-magnetosphere modeling: CISM forecast model development using linked empirical methods

The Wang–Sheeley–Arge (WSA) method is used to predict the solar wind speed (and certain other parameters) near the Earth’s orbit based upon solar surface measurements. This approach gives a predicted solar wind time series with a lead time of three to four days. Such forecasted solar wind conditions can then be convolved with linear and nonlinear filters in order to provide a predicted set of geomagnetic indices or various particle flux estimates. In order to illustrate the method in a concrete way, we present here a demonstration of an end-to-end empirical forecast of relativistic electrons in the outer Van Allen radiation belt. Past work has shown that radiation belt electron fluxes are highly dependent on the speed of the solar wind striking the magnetosphere. We develop filters that predict electron fluxes using the WSA estimates of solar wind speed at L1, which allows for 3–4 days lead times. We compare the prediction efficiency (PE) provided by these filters with filters developed to use 3–4 day old values of the solar wind velocity measured at L1 and 3–4 day old values of the measured electron fluxes themselves. It is found that the WSA method provides PEs of the electron flux that are slightly lower than that provided by using old L1 or the autocorrelated electron flux data. r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The effects of fructose on adenosine triphosphate depletion following mitochondrial dysfunction and lethal cell injury in isolated rat hepatocytes.

Abstract Mitochondrial injury in aerobic mammalian cells is associated with a rapid depletion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which occurs prior to the onset of lethal cell injury. In this report, the relationships between ATP depletion and lethal cell injury were examined in rat hepatocytes using oligomycin as a model mitochondrial toxicant and fructose as an alternative carbohydrate source for glycolysis. Oligomycin was more potent in causing lethal cell injury in hepatocytes isolated from fasted animals than cells from fed animals. The onset of cell injury (leakage of lactate dehydrogenase) in cells from fed animals correlated with the depletion of stored glycogen and ATP. The degree and time course profile of oligomycin-induced ATP depletion could be duplicated with 50 m m fructose alone in hepatocytes from fasted animals; however, fructose did not cause lethal cell injury. Oligomycin caused marked accumulation of adenosine monophosphate (AMP) and inorganic phosphate ( P i ) and a conservation of adenine nucleotides. In contrast, fructose (50 m m ) caused a decrease in P i , no persistent change in AMP, and a depletion of the adenine nucleotide pool. Fructose, at concentrations greater than 1.0 m m , protected hepatocytes from oligomycin-induced toxicity. Blockade of mitochondrial ATP synthesis with oligomycin resulted in massive ATP depletion. In the presence of oligomycin, 5.0 m m fructose maintained cellular ATP content similar to that of control cells, whereas 50 m m fructose did not, demonstrating the biphasic effect of increasing fructose concentrations on cellular ATP content. Fructose-induced protection of hepatocytes from oligomycin toxicity was due to glycolytic fructose metabolism as hepatocytes incubated with iodoacetate (30 μ m ), fructose, and oligomycin had reduced viability and ATP content. In conclusion, interruption of mitochondrial ATP synthesis leads to marked ATP depeletion and lethal cell injury. Cell injury is clearly not due to ATP depletion alone since increased glycolytic ATP production from either glycogen or fructose can maintain cell integrity in the absence of mitochondrial ATP synthesis and at low cellular ATP levels.
Proxima: a mobile augmented-image search system

Image-based search has become an increasingly active area of research. Despite the fact that many resources have been spent on creating new ideas and improving existing algorithms and designs, existing image-based search engines do not provide scalability or accuracy that is even remotely close to today's text-based search engines. The challenges in image-based search are due to a number of factors, including the computation intensity of existing algorithms and the difficulty of detecting and recognizing objects. In this paper, we present a system called Proxima, which leverages contextual information provided by a mobile device, such as time, location, and user data, to search for people in a stored image database who are "similar" to the person in the input image. Unlike other systems that automatically associate metadata with images, Proxima utilizes the image itself as part of the database query. We also describe a prototype that implements the Proxima algorithm to provide an image-based search service for social networking.
Structural and functional dissection of a membrane glycoprotein required for vesicle budding from the endoplasmic reticulum.

Abstract Sec12p is a membrane glycoprotein required for the formation of a vesicular intermediate in protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Comparison of the N-linked glycosylation of Sec12p, a Sec12p-invertase hybrid protein, and a derivative of Sec12p lacking 71 carboxy-terminal amino acids showed that Sec12p is a type II membrane protein. Analysis of two truncated forms of Sec12p and of a temperature-sensitive mutant indicated that the C-terminal domain of Sec12p is not essential for protein transport, whereas the integrity and membrane attachment of the cytoplasmic N-terminal domain are essential. Expression of a soluble cytoplasmic domain dramatically inhibited the growth of a sec12 temperature-sensitive strain by increasing the transport defect at a normally permissive temperature. This growth inhibition as well as the sec12 temperature-sensitive defect were suppressed by the overproduction of Sar1p, a small GTP-binding protein that participates in protein transport. Sar1p membrane association was enhanced by elevated levels of Sec12p. These results suggest that the cytoplasmic domain of Sec12p interacts with Sar1p and that the complex may function to promote vesicle formation.
Music and the Internet

The fact is, if you want to make a difference in music, you have to change the machine. (Christie 1998)In my book Rock Formation I borrowed from Walter Ong and Jacques Attali when I noted that, ‘The ability to record sound is power over sound.’ (Jones 1992, p. 51) I continue to believe that statement to be true. Arguments that I then made about the increasing role computers would play in the production of music have been borne out. They were not hard forecasts to make: one only had to imagine that the processing power of computer chips would continue to increase according to Moore's Law and then extrapolate the possibilities such increases would create for sound recording and reproduction. Even comments I made, vaguely tongue-in-cheek, expecting that we would have, in addition to the ability to record high-quality digital audio in the home, the ability to press CDs at home, and print colour inserts for CD jewel boxes, thus creating not only home studios but home pressing plants, have become a reality. However, with but a few years' hindsight, I want to append to these an argument that recording sound matters less and less, and distributing it matters more and more, or, in other words, the ability to record and transport sound is power over sound. Consequently, technology is an even more important element to which popular music scholars must attend.
Contextualizing Patterns of Work Group Interaction: Toward a Nested Theory of Structuration

The focus of this article is the patterns of interaction that arise within work groups, and how organizational and institutional factors play a role in shaping these patterns. Based on an ethnographic study of groups across three national contexts, we describe the variation in patterns of interaction that we observed. We further suggest how different patterns of interaction form mutually reinforcing systems with aspects of the organizational context. In addition, we suggest how these mutually reinforcing systems are perpetuated by aspects of the broader institutional context. Our findings point toward a nested theory of structuration, expanding structuration theory to multiple levels simultaneously. In turn our findings have theoretical and practical implications for better understanding and managing interaction patterns among group members.
SDFMM-based fast analysis of radiation and scattering from finite microstrip structures

The prediction of radiation and scattering from microwave circuits and multilayered patch antennas is essential in the design of many communication systems. The analysis of electromagnetic phenomena involving large-scale quasiplanar structures requires efficient and accurate numerical techniques. The most popular approach for analyzing scattering and radiation from such structures relies on surface integral equation formulations and method of moments (MoM) based solution techniques. The application of the MoM to solve surface integral equations leads to a matrix equation involving a dense matrix. In this work, the steepest descent fast multipole method (SDFMM) is applied to the full-wave analysis of microstrip structures on finite substrates and ground planes. The quasiplanar nature of such structure is exploited to obtain matrix vector products in O(N) CPU time and memory, resulting in a dramatic solution efficiency. Owing to the multiregion nature of the present analysis problem, not all N MoM basis functions are independent. The required identification of independent functions, N/sub ind/ in number, and enforcement of appropriate boundary conditions are incorporated through another matrix transformation. The SDFMM permits the solution of scattering and radiation from extremely large and complex structures within realistic times. These include large microstrip patch arrays with finite substrates and ground planes modeled using 90,000 or more MoM basis functions.
Intermountain and the Importance of Administrative Law in Tax Law

On September 29, 2009, Treasury issued regulations retroactively extending the six-year limitations period for income tax deficiencies resulting from basis overstatements. In its May 6 Intermountain decision, the Tax Court unanimously invalidated those regulations, but on divided rationales. The government has appealed.
From Split Atoms to Spliced Genes: The Evolution of Cold War Fear in Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park and Richard Powers’s The Gold Bug Variations

ABSTRACTThis essay argues that representations of evolution and genetics in the novels Jurassic Park (1990) by Michael Crichton and The Gold Bug Variations (1991) by Richard Powers depict a shift in American anxieties from nuclear war to genetic manipulation in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, marking an extension of Cold War rhetoric in regard to technology and scientific innovation that remains prevalent in contemporary American literature.
Large Amplitude Rate-Dependent Mechanical Alternans may Precede Arrhythmogenesis in Human Heart Failure and are Linked to Electrical Alternans via Abnormal Calcium Handling

Microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) testing identifies patients at risk for lethal ventricular arrhythmias. However, stratification of low and high risk patients with MTWA is challenging due in part to poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of MTWA measurements. Since microscopic systolic pressure alternans (MSPA) has a higher SNR than MTWA, and is also associated with abnormal calcium handling, we hypothesized that rate-dependent MSPA also precedes arrhythmia and may be an alternative approach for arrhythmia risk stratification in heart failure patients. To test this hypothesis, we investigated mechanical alternans, a surrogate for MSPA, and its proposed link to arrhythmogenesis via abnormal calcium handling. Electromechanical models of single human myocytes were constructed. Key features of remodeling were incorporated to simulate abnormal calcium handling in human heart failure. A dynamical pacing protocol was used to investigate intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca]i), voltage, and force for different pacing rates. In normal myocytes, [Ca]i, voltage, and force alternans were not found for pacing rates <200 bpm. In the presence of deranged calcium handling common in heart failure (sarcoplasmic calcium reuptake reduced below 74%), [Ca]i, AP phase II voltage, and force alternans developed at moderate pacing rates <120 bpm and increased in magnitude with increased pacing rate. For all pacing rates, the ratio of force alternans to peak force was at least tenfold larger than the ratio of AP phase II voltage alternans to maximum AP phase II voltage. In conclusion, electrical and mechanical alternans are both rate-dependent and linked via abnormal calcium handling, but mechanical alternans has the greatest amplitude across all pacing rates. Thus, mechanical alternans, due to their greater SNR, may be better predictors for arrhythmogenic propensity in heart failure patients than electrical alternans.
Young Girls' Intelligence and Motivation: Links With Maternal Employment and Education but Not Systems Theory

ABSTRACT Family systems theory postulates causal links within the family, including the marital relationship, parenting behavior, and child development. In a sample of midwestern families, few significant correlations were found between measures of spousal relationship and reports of parent behavior, and no spousal relationships or reports of parent behavior were found to be correlated with measures of their preschool daughters' intelligence or motivation. Maternal employment was inversely correlated with daughters' achievement motivation, and maternal education was directly associated with daughters' intellectual performance.
The Effect of Entry into Dieldrin-Treated Soil Upon Adults of the European Chafer

Adults of the European chafer ( Amphimallon majalis (Raz.)) were introduced into cages which had been placed in untreated plots and plots treated with dieldrin granules at 2 pounds of actual toxic ant per acre. The bottoms of the cages were open, and the adults were free to burrow into the soil. Many more beetles were capable of emergence from untreated than from treated soils on the days following introduction. Application of the insecticide 10 weeks or 1 year before introduction of beetles caused fewer adults to emerge than application 5 days before introduction. Males were more susceptible than were females. Although the number of eggs laid in treated soil was reduced by more than 50%, no effect of the treatment upon egg viability was detected.
Analysis on epidemiological characteristics of notifiable diseases in schools of Wuming County in Guangxi from 2008-2012

[Objective]To understand the epidemiological characteristics of notifiable diseases in schools of Wuming County in Guangxi in recent years,provide evidence for prevention and control of infectious diseases in school.[Methods]The epidemiological characteristics of infectious diseases in schools of Wuming County were analyzed with the descriptive epidemiological method.[Results]The average annual incidence rate in schools of Wuming County was 1 906. 52/lakh from 2008-2012,which was higher than that in Wuming County( χ2= 3 616. 54,P 0. 01),and the incidence rate increased year by year. The respiratory infectious diseases,including influenza,mumps and rubella,and the contagious diseases,including acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis and hand-foot-and-mouth disease,were the most common infectious diseases. The constitute and incidence rates of infectious diseases were diverse in different type of schools,and the incidence rates from high to low were in kindergarten,senior high schools,primary schools and junior high school. There was significant difference in the incidence rate among different type of schools( χ2= 3 494 176. 71,P 0. 01).[Conclusion]Since there is a high incidence rate of infectious diseases in schools,it is necessary to implement the morning check system,disinfection and isolation measures,improve the knowledge among teachers,carry out the preventive vaccination of influenza,mumps and rubella according to the epidemiological characteristics,and strengthen the health education.
Pynchon's Anti-Quests

The quest pattern is one of the most venerable literary paradigms of human development, both psychological and social. All three of Pynchon's novels make overt use of the quest pattern, generally depicting the inadequacy of the traditional pattern to abet or develop a consciousness capable of restoring the individual and his world to productive harmony. In effect, Pynchon has played a major role in establishing a fictional pattern I will call the Anti-Quest.
False Diagnosis of Renal Transplant Urinary Leakage on Scintigraphy with Mercaptoacetyltriglycine

99mTechnetium-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (99mTc-MAG-3) has rapidly become the best isotope for transplant renal scintigraphy because of the excellent anatomical resolution. Because 99mTc-MAG-3 is also sequestered by the liver and excreted into the biliary system, images of the gallbladder and intestinal tract will appear in normal 99mTc-MAG-3 scans, especially on delayed scintigraphs. We describe the clinical interpretation of normal bowel images as urinary extravasation in a renal transplant recipient with a sudden decrease in renal function.
Ames stereo pipeline-derived digital terrain models of Mercury from MESSENGER stereo imaging

Abstract In this study, 96 digital terrain models (DTMs) of Mercury were created using the Ames Stereo Pipeline, using 1456 pairs of stereo images from the Mercury Dual Imaging System instrument on MESSENGER. Although these DTMs cover only ~1% of the surface of Mercury, they enable three-dimensional characterization of landforms at horizontal resolutions of ~50–250 m/pixel and vertical accuracy of tens of meters. This is valuable in regions where the more precise measurements from the Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) are sparse. MLA measurements nonetheless provide an important geodetic framework for the derived stereo products. These DTMs, which are publicly released in conjunction with this paper, reveal topography of features at relatively small scales, including craters, graben, hollows, pits, scarps, and wrinkle ridges. Measurements from these data indicate that: (1) hollows have a median depth of ~32 m, in basic agreement with earlier shadow measurement, (2) some of the deep pits (up to ~4 km deep) that are interpreted to form via volcanic processes on Mercury have surrounding rims or rises, but others do not, and (3) some pits have two or more distinct, low-lying interior minima that could represent multiple vents.
Assessing Resident Surgical Volume Before and After Initiation of a Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship.

Objectives The effect of fellowship programs on resident training for gynecologic surgery volume has not been clearly defined. The purpose of our study is to assess resident surgical volume for laparoscopic and vaginal hysterectomy before and after initiation of a female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) fellowship. Design A retrospective review of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Resident Case Logs of obstetrics and gynecology residents who graduated in the 3 years before and after initiation of a FPMRS fellowship was performed. Mean values of vaginal and laparoscopic hysterectomies were compared using two-tailed t-tests with statistical significance set at p Setting Obstetrics and gynecology resident case logs at the Ronald Reagan University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center were assessed. The UCLA Medical Center, located in Los Angeles, CA, is a tertiary referral center with a graduating class of 7 obstetrics and gynecology residents yearly. Participants Obstetrics and gynecology residents who graduated from residency 3 years before and after imitation of a FPMRS fellowship were included. In the 3 years before the start of the fellowship, 20 residents graduated, whereas 21 residents graduated after the start of the fellowship. Results Residents who graduated in the 3 years after the start of the FPMRS fellowship, finished with 4.6 less vaginal hysterectomies compared with residents who graduated before the fellowship (p = 0.022). Residents who graduated in the 3 years after the start of the FPMRS fellowship finished with 3.2 more laparoscopic hysterectomies compared with residents who graduated before the fellowship although this was not significant (p = 0.25). Conclusions Resident surgical volume was significantly decreased for vaginal hysterectomy after the initiation of a FPMRS fellowship, whereas laparoscopic hysterectomy volume was not significantly changed. Longer follow-up and a national assessment are necessary to determine the broader effect of fellowship training on resident surgical experience.
Effect of Specimen Size and Curing Condition on the Compressive Strength of Alkali-Activated Concrete

Alkali-activated concrete is a rapidly emerging sustainable alternative to portland cement concrete. The compressive strength behavior of alkali-activated concrete has been reported by various studies to a limited extent, but these discussions have been based on minimal evidence. Furthermore, although it is known that specimen size has a distinct effect on the apparent compressive strength of concrete, this effect has yet to be modeled for alkali-activated concrete. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive study of the effects of curing condition (i.e., moist-cured at ambient temperature for 28 days or heat-cured at 50cC for 48 h) and specimen size on the compressive strength of sodium silicate–activated fly ash and slag cement concrete. The heat-cured strength of alkali-activated slag cement concrete was linearly related to the moist-cured strength; the former was about 5% greater than the latter. Heat curing also improved the strength of alkali-activated fly ash concrete, although the effect w...
Landing on Europa, part 2: Proposed instruments

This paper, the second of three, proposes a suite of instruments for a lander vehicle for studying Europa. It outlines the science and engineering parameters for the instruments. It estimates the mass, volume, and power consumption for each instrument.
Correlated Electrophysiological and Biochemical Studies of Hippocampal Slices

The nervous system operates with impulses and transmissions that have time scales in the millisecond range, and yet is called upon to store information for periods of years. Evidently, the patterns of electrical activity that speed through brain circuitries, on some occasions, must modify the properties of the elements that transmit them. Understanding the nature of these modifications, the physiological forms they take, and the cellular chemistries that bring them into existence constitutes one of the major problems of neurobiology. Studies of the relatively simple nervous systems of invertebrates by Kandel and others have located synapses that are modified by experience (see Kandel, 1981, for a review). Comparable efforts on mammalian central nervous system (CNS), hampered as they are by the extraordinary complexity of the brain, are still at the stage of conclusively pinning down sites that show lasting traces of experience.
Structural Health Monitoring of Nanocomposite Bonded Energetic Materials Through Piezoresistive Response

The application of in situ structural health monitoring in polymer bonded explosive materials through the introduction of carbon nanotubes into the binder phase is investigated through piezoresisti...
Progression of mitral regurgitation: A prospective Doppler echocardiographic study

OBJECTIVES This study was performed to define the rates and determinants of progression of organic mitral regurgitation (MR). BACKGROUND Severe MR has major clinical consequences, but the rates and determinants of progression of the degree of regurgitation are unknown. Quantitative Doppler echocardiographic methods allow the quantitation of regurgitant volume (RVol), regurgitant fraction (RF) and effective regurgitant orifice (ERO) to define progression of MR. METHODS In a prospective study of MR progression, 74 patients had two quantitative Doppler echocardiographic examinations of MR (with at least two methods) 561 ± 423 days apart without an intervening event. RESULTS Progression of MR was observed, with increase in RVol (77 ± 46 ml vs. 65 ± 40 ml, p 8 ml was found in 11% and 51%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, independent predictors of progression of RVol were progression of the lesions, particularly a new flail leaflet (p = 0.0003), and progression of mitral annulus diameter (p = 0.0001). Regression of MR was associated with marked changes in afterload, particularly decreased blood pressure (p = 0.008). No significant effect of treatment was detected. CONCLUSIONS Organic MR tends to progress over time with increase in volume overload (RVol) due to increase in ERO. Progression of MR is variable and determined by progression of lesions or mitral annulus size. These data should help plan follow up of patients with organic MR and future intervention trials.
Phase field modeling of sintering: Role of grain orientation and anisotropic properties

Abstract The influence of anisotropic properties of powder particles on microstructural evolution during solid-state sintering processes is analyzed. Two types of anisotropy studied in the current work are direction-dependent interface diffusion anisotropy, and grain orientation dependent grain boundary energy anisotropy. A phase field modeling approach is utilized to assess how the individual anisotropic characteristics influence morphological changes during sintering. In addition, a novel approach for updating grain orientation after rigid-body rotation of particles during powder compaction accompanying the sintering process is developed. It is observed that conventional isotropic microstructural analysis over-simplifies the material behavior and demonstrates faster microstructural evolution. Direction-dependent diffusion produces gradual shape change of the particles by mass transfer from high curvature region to low curvature region along the particle surface, and delays the onset of the grain growth process. Depending on the grain boundary misorientation and inclination, anisotropic grain boundary energy may induce faster or slower grain boundary migration rate. Orientation update during the process plays a critical role in the consolidation kinetics, as well as in the final microstructural configuration. Variation in grain orientation and its evolution during the sintering process can produce different grain morphologies for the same initial condition.
Some Practical Aspects of Basic Hydraulics

It is obvious that a paper on this subject cannot possibly deal with all of the great wealth of material that is available. Therefore, it is necessary to narrow the material down to a more specific subject that will be of interest and value to the greatest possible number of people that are gathered here.Paper published with permission.Compilation Copyright © 2018 ASME
Caregiver and pediatric provider perspectives on symptom-based inhaled corticosteroid therapy in asthma.

Abstract Objectives Guidelines recommend that healthcare providers adjust the dose of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in asthma patients based on the degree of symptom severity and control. Symptom-based, intermittent ICS therapy (use of ICS together with short acting bronchodilators- symptom-based adjustment: SBA) has been demonstrated to be comparable to guideline-based management by providers in controlled clinical trials. We sought input from African American caregivers and pediatricians on the acceptability and barriers for this alternative management strategy. Methods Focus group interviews of caregivers and individual interviews with community providers of African-American children ages 6–17 years with mild-moderate persistent asthma were conducted by trained facilitators to assess perceptions of how asthma affects children and their caregivers, and of SBA as a management strategy. Interview data were transcribed and analyzed using inductive thematic based coding. Results Twenty-six parents participated in six focus groups. Fourteen pediatricians were interviewed. Caregivers reported facing financial burden and difficulty with tracking medications. Caregivers and pediatricians were favorable about SBA, citing its potential for decreased use of medications and cost and similarity to actual care provided. Some caregivers voiced concern that SBA would not be as effective as daily ICS. Caregivers suggested that education on symptom recognition and close communication between physician and patient would facilitate the implementation of SBA. Conclusions SBA was generally viewed favorably by caregivers and providers of African American children. However, concerns regarding effectiveness of SBA were voiced by both caregivers and providers. Patient education and provider-patient communication is important in implementing this alternative asthma management strategy.
A Note on Business Survival and Social Network

We extend Burt, Burzynska, and Opper's cross-sectional network prediction of relative success among Chinese entrepreneurs by predicting which ventures are still active five years later. The cross-sectional analysis is corroborated in three ways (despite the vicissitudes of a national anti-corruption campaign): (1) Businesses run in 2012 by CEOs with a network rich in structural holes are more likely to be active five years later, in 2017. (2) Survival odds are improved if the large, open network around a CEO in 2012 was initially a supportive ‘cocoon’ closed network when the business was founded. (3) Both results are contingent on capturing the guanxi ties valuable early in the history of the business. The two network effects disappear when the network around a CEO is limited to his or her currently valued contacts. Beyond corroboration, we find that advantage is concentrated in ventures that began well and had become successful. Network advantage here does not compensate for weakness – it is a mechanism for cumulative advantage, amplifying the success of businesses already doing well.
Validation of gallbladder absorbed radiation dose reduction simulation: human dosimetry of [18F]fluortriopride.

[18F]Fluortriopride (FTP) was developed as a dopamine D3-selective radiotracer, thought to be important to neurobiological reward pathways and implicated in drug addiction, Parkinson’s disease, and schizophrenia. Preclinical radiation dosimetry studies found the gallbladder wall received the highest dose. A gallbladder dose reduction intervention was simulated using a novel reduction model for healthy adults following fatty-meal consumption. The goals of this study were to assess whole body FTP human dosimetry and determine the feasibility of reducing absorbed dose to the gallbladder wall. Effective dose without a fatty meal was 0.022 ± 0.002 mSv/MBq (± standard deviation) with highest organ dose of 0.436 ± 0.178 mSv/MBq to the gallbladder wall (n = 10). Predicted gallbladder dose reduction with fatty meal consumed was 67.4% (n = 10). Meal consumption by four repeat volunteers decreased average gallbladder dose by 71.3% (n = 4) compared to the original ten volunteers. Observed effective doses were adequately low to continue studying FTP uptake in humans. Validated dosimetry simulations indicate up to a 71% reduction in gallbladder dose can be achieved by employing intrinsic physiology to contract the gallbladder via fatty meal ingestion. This methodology for predicting gallbladder absorbed dose reduction from fatty meal consumption can be applied to other radiopharmaceuticals and radiotherapies.
Turning mechanics of the bipedal hopping Desert kangaroo rat (Dipodomys deserti).

A fundamental aspect of animal ecology is the ability to avoid getting eaten. Catching prey and avoiding depredation involves a dynamic interplay between forward and lateral acceleration. Success at these tasks depends on achieving sufficient performance. In turn, performance is determined by biomechanics. After observing several kangaroo rats utilize turns under the duress of simulated predation in the field, we designed and conducted an experiment in the lab to measure turning mechanics of desert kangaroo rats. The average turning speed in our study was 1.2 ms-1. While field performances are rarely replicable in the lab, we found that kangaroo rats utilize braking impulses (~0.4 N), followed by lateral impulses, and orientated their body early in the turn to match trajectory change. to execute a turn. Coordinating turn in this ways likely prioritizes safety.
Mechanistic Study of Stress Relaxation in Urethane-Containing Polymer Networks

Cross-linked polymers are used in many commercial products and are traditionally incapable of recycling via melt reprocessing. Recently, tough and reprocessable cross-linked polymers have been real...
Calcium silicate and fluorosilicate optical fibers for high energy laser applications

Passive calcium silicate and fluorosilicate glass optical fibers are fabricated using the molten core method, and their properties investigated. Reductions up to −11.5 dB in Brillouin gain coefficient, −2 dB in Raman gain coefficient, and −2.5 dB in thermo-optic coefficient, relative to silica, are measured. These results support the continued study of alkaline earth oxide silicates as host materials in high energy fiber-based applications since they offer less optical nonlinearity-limited properties for power-scaling than do current analogs. Other properties, such as refractive index and acoustic velocity, are also reported and discussed. Finally, modeling work is performed to study and identify the contributions of CaO and CaF2 glass materials on the fiber properties.
A City on a Lake: Urban Political Ecology and the Growth of Mexico City

Mexico City is plagued by environmental challenges, a topic explored by Matthew Vitz, professor of history at the University of California, San Diego. The city was founded on an island in the middl...
Passport: enabling accurate country-level router geolocation using inaccurate sources

When does Internet traffic cross international borders? This question has major geopolitical, legal and social implications and is surprisingly difficult to answer. A critical stumbling block is a dearth of tools that accurately map routers traversed by Internet traffic to the countries in which they are located. This paper presents Passport: a new approach for efficient, accurate country-level router geolocation and a system that implements it. Passport provides location predictions with limited active measurements, using machine learning to combine information from IP geolocation databases, router hostnames, whois records, and ping measurements. We show that Passport substantially outperforms existing techniques, and identify cases where paths traverse countries with implications for security, privacy, and performance.
Transcranial photobiomodulation with 1064-nm laser modulates brain electroencephalogram rhythms.

Noninvasive transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) with a 1064-nm laser has been reported to improve human performance on cognitive tasks as well as locally upregulate cerebral oxygen metabolism and hemodynamics. However, it is unknown whether 1064-nm tPBM also modulates electrophysiology, and specifically neural oscillations, in the human brain. The hypothesis guiding our study is that applying 1064-nm tPBM of the right prefrontal cortex enhances neurophysiological rhythms at specific frequency bands in the human brain under resting conditions. To test this hypothesis, we recorded the 64-channel scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) before, during, and after the application of 11 min of 4-cm-diameter tPBM (CW 1064-nm laser with 162 mW / cm2 and 107 J / cm2) to the right forehead of human subjects (n = 20) using a within-subject, sham-controlled design. Time-resolved scalp topographies of EEG power at five frequency bands were computed to examine the tPBM-induced EEG power changes across the scalp. The results show time-dependent, significant increases of EEG spectral powers at the alpha (8 to 13 Hz) and beta (13 to 30 Hz) bands at broad scalp regions, exhibiting a front-to-back pattern. The findings provide the first sham-controlled topographic mapping that tPBM increases the strength of electrophysiological oscillations (alpha and beta bands) while also shedding light on the mechanisms of tPBM in the human brain.
Geometric and combinatorial aspects of submonoids of a finite-rank free commutative monoid

Abstract If F is an ordered field and M is a finite-rank torsion-free monoid, then one can embed M into a finite-dimensional vector space over F via the inclusion M ↪ gp ( M ) ↪ F ⊗ Z gp ( M ) , where gp ( M ) is the Grothendieck group of M. Let C be the class consisting of all monoids (up to isomorphism) that can be embedded into a finite-rank free commutative monoid. Here we investigate how the atomic structure and arithmetic properties of a monoid M in C are connected to the combinatorics and geometry of its conic hull cone ( M ) ⊆ F ⊗ Z gp ( M ) . First, we show that the submonoids of M determined by the faces of cone ( M ) account for all divisor-closed submonoids of M. Then we appeal to the geometry of cone ( M ) to characterize whether M is a factorial, half-factorial, and other-half-factorial monoid. Finally, we investigate the cones of finitary, primary, finitely primary, and strongly primary monoids in C . Along the way, we determine the cones that can be realized by monoids in C and by finitary monoids in C .
Midas’s Touch: Common Property and Erotic Economies in Book 5 of the Confessio Amantis

This chapter explores the links between fiscal and sexual anxiety in the most unwieldy book in John Gower’s Confessio Amantis. Book 5 focuses on the sin of avarice, and in the beginning of the book, Genius lauds the practice of holding property in “comun,” rather than through individual ownership. However, when the text imports this preference for public vs. private ownership into the erotic arena, the prospect of sharing one’s lover creates a crisis in masculinity for Amans, a crisis in which sexual and financial dearth overlap and reinforce one another. Gower resolves this crisis not by interrogating the tensions and contradictions inherent in fiscal and erotic economies, but rather by turning Amans’s reluctant lover into a usurer who refuses, selfishly, to share her private property with him. In the end, book 5 insists that women must share their most personal property, but do so in a way that gives one man sole property rights to it.
Chronic Diarrhea and Failure to Thrive

The diagnosis of immune dysregulation polyendocrinopathy enteropathy X-linked (IPEX) should be considered in the differential diagnosis of early-onset endocrinopathy or enteropathy with associated dermatitis in a male patient
Fractal analysis of lung fluid flow

The human lung brings a continuous flow of blood into close proximity with a cyclic flow of air so that respiratory gases can readily diffuse between these two fluids. Nature has created an intricate arrangement of spaces to accomplish this task. A 3-dimensional cylinder of venous blood leaving the right ventricle is transformed into a nearly 2-dimensional film of blood by the time it arrives at the alveolus. At the same time, a bolus of inhaled air is divided into smaller streams and pockets until its surface area approaches 100 m2. Both processes distribute a fluid through a repeatedly bifurcating network. The configuration of these networks as well as their relative sizes have been difficult to summarize using the conventional language of Euclidean geometry [7].
10 – PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the basic methods for solving partial differential equations. Partial differential equations are the basic tool for modeling physical phenomena. The amount of computer power spent in solving them is probably larger than any other single class of problems. Some of the software available is also widely applicable even though the really difficult problems almost always require programs tailored for them. Partial differential equations are similar to ordinary differential equations in so much that boundary conditions or initial values are needed to completely determine the solution. The mathematical theory of partial differential equations is quite difficult; the theory and analysis of numerical methods for partial differential equations are the most difficult and extensive in numerical computation. Not all partial differential equations are difficult to solve, and the simpler methods may be useful for implementation in a substantial number of applications. The first step in solving a partial differential equation is to discretize it; the differential equations must be replaced by an approximating, finite system of algebraic equations. A large body of numerical analysis is devoted to analyzing the error because of discretization. Once a partial differential equation has been discretized, the next step is to solve the resulting system of algebraic equations.
Intratrial Exposure to Vitamin D and New-Onset Diabetes Among Adults With Prediabetes: A Secondary Analysis From the Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes (D2d) Study.

OBJECTIVE Postrandomization biases may influence the estimate of efficacy of supplemental vitamin D in diabetes prevention trials. In the Vitamin D and Type 2 Diabetes (D2d) study, repeated measures of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level provided an opportunity to test whether intratrial vitamin D exposure affected diabetes risk and whether the effect was modified by trial assignment (vitamin D vs. placebo). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The D2d study compared the effect of daily supplementation with 100 μg (4,000 units) of vitamin D3 versus placebo on new-onset diabetes in adults with prediabetes. Intratrial vitamin D exposure was calculated as the cumulative rolling mean of annual serum 25(OH)D measurements. Hazard ratios for diabetes among participants who had intratrial 25(OH)D levels of RESULTS There was an interaction of trial assignment with intratrial 25(OH)D level in predicting diabetes risk (interaction P = 0.018). The hazard ratio for diabetes for an increase of 25 nmol/L in intratrial 25(OH)D level was 0.75 (95% CI 0.68–0.82) among those assigned to vitamin D and 0.90 (0.80–1.02) among those assigned to placebo. The hazard ratios for diabetes among participants treated with vitamin D who maintained intratrial 25(OH)D levels of 100–124 and ≥125 nmol/L were 0.48 (0.29–0.80) and 0.29 (0.17–0.50), respectively, compared with those who maintained a level of 50–74 nmol/L. CONCLUSIONS Daily vitamin D supplementation to maintain a serum 25(OH)D level ≥100 nmol/L is a promising approach to reducing the risk of diabetes in adults with prediabetes.
Drought and the collapse of the Tiwanaku Civilization: New evidence from Lake Orurillo, Peru

Abstract Tiwanaku was a regionally significant, state level polity in the south-central Andes from ca. 500–1000 CE. The development of complex society in the region was greatly facilitated through intensified agricultural systems that relied on monsoonal precipitation. At the end of the first millennium CE, the Tiwanaku political regime collapsed, and their raised field systems were mostly abandoned within 200 years or less. It has been suggested that a prolonged period of aridity contributed to the collapse, but questions have remained about its chronology and severity. In this study, we investigated the relationship between δ2Hwax and δ18Ocalcite values, aridity and societal change. A period of nondeposition or erosion occurred between 915 and 1025 CE indicating a low lake stand exposing the core site. This extended and pronounced drought ending 1025 CE was recorded in the isotopic proxies extracted from lake sediments that show this period of aridity persisted into the 13th century. The broad agreement between our record and other regional paleoenvironmental archives of Holocene climate variability is consistent with Northern Hemisphere oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns as a mechanism for driving centennial scale climate change in the Andes and supports the correspondence between prolonged drought and the collapse of Tiwanaku.
Color Columns in Visual Area V4

SummaryModels of the cerebral cortex propose a canonical columnar architecture preserved across the brain. Evidence for this model primarily stems from observations in primary sensory areas, such as the visual cortex, where neurons in an anatomical column respond preferentially to the same stimulus features. Similar columnar feature selectivity has been described for visual area V2, visual area V3 [9, 10], the middle temporal visual area (area V5), and inferotemporal cortex. The fourth visual area (V4) features color selective neurons, organized in clusters across its surface. However, whether these color-sensitive neurons are organized in a columnar fashion is debated and uncertain due to technical limitations. Here, we utilize laminar multielectrode recordings along V4 columns to resolve rival hypotheses. Linear electrode arrays were introduced orthogonally into area V4, spanning all cortical layers. Monkeys viewed color stimuli presented to the visual receptive field of the column of neurons. We found that preference for a specific color was conserved along depth but varied across columns. Interestingly, while color preference (e.g. red or green) was consistent along depth, color selectivity was significantly greater in upper layers relative to the input layer and was weakest in the lower layers. These findings demonstrate that area V4 is organized in functional columns like other visual areas.
On Friederich's New Fine-Tuning Argument

The most common objection to the Fine-Tuning Argument for the Multiverse is that the argument commits the Inverse Gambler’s Fallacy. Simon Friederich has recently composed an interesting version of this fine-tuning argument that avoids this fallacy and better-matches important scientific instances of anthropic reasoning. My thesis in this paper is that this new argument, while it may avoid the fallacy, contains a disputable premise concerning the prior probabilities of the hypotheses at issue. I consider various ways to modify the argument to avoid this problem, but I argue that plausible replacements render other lines unjustified. I also briefly compare ‘indexical’ fine-tuning arguments such as Friederich’s, according to which our universe permits life, to ‘existential’ fine-tuning arguments, according to which some universe or other permits life. I conclude that while Friederich is correct that the new fine-tuning argument avoids the Inverse Gambler’s Fallacy, the argument nevertheless depends on an unjustified premise, and this is further reason for proponents of fine-tuning arguments for the multiverse to employ existential arguments rather than indexical arguments.
Should Corporate Bond Trading Be Centralized

This paper shows that centralizing the US corporate bond market would yield large gains in efficiency. By studying two markets where corporate bonds are successfully traded on central limit order books, I estimate that the transaction costs of US corporate bonds would decrease by 70% on average if trading migrated from over-the-counter markets to limit order markets. To study the social value of reforming the corporate bond market, I build a parsimonious model of centralized and decentralized trading. The model implies that the optimal market structure can be determined by appropriately scaling the transaction costs associated with each market structure. Estimating the scaling factors reveals that a centralized market structure would be optimal for 91% of the bonds studied. For the average bond, moving to limit order markets would generate a social surplus equal to 1.28% of total par value. Large bond issues with low credit ratings and long time to maturity would benefit the most.