cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Research Note: Better Tourism Market Analysis by Using Import Gap Analysis

In a previous article published in this journal, the authors show that the total requirements approach to analysing a region's tourism and hospitality industry is superior to the traditional use of location quotients. This paper extends the authors' previous research by focusing on imports. It introduces the import gap analysis as a powerful, highly accurate analytical tool for use by local policymakers and economic development officials charged with identifying, targeting, and recruiting industries and businesses offering the highest opportunities for growth. The best method to define and analyse the local tourism industry is to utilize both exports and imports as a package approach.
System 4000

The evolution of a modular control and telemetry system with unusual flexibility for adapting to a wide spectrum of industrial applications is described. Basic logic functions are performed by integrated circuits. All wiring is printed. Unique design concepts permit application to a specific telemetry problem through computer selection of modules from a standard parts list. Modules plug into connectors on a mother board which forms part of the cabinet housing the system and provides all interconnections between modules. One standard mother board is used for all applications. Structuring of the system permits use on any communication channel, provides selection of bit rates from 15 to 2400 bit/s, handles long and short messages for one or an unlimited number of remote locations, and offers a choice of code security techniques.
Embedding Technology and Assessment Into the Music Classroom With Nearpod

Nearpod is a great way to bring content and assessment into the music classroom. This article describes how to use Nearpod and potential applications.
On the origin of abnormal chromosome 10 in maize (Zea mays L.)

1. The abnormal chromosome 10 in maize, previously described byLongley and byRhoades, appears to be the product of a simple translocation between A- and B-chromosomes. 2. A similar change has also given rise to an abnormal chromosome 9, which has not been previously described. This abnormal chromosome 9 has a large piece of heterochromatin attached to the distal end of the short arm. This piece of heterochromatin sometimes appears like a large terminal knob.
An evaluation of tool design and method of use of railroad leverage tools on back stress and tool performance.

The effects of railroad claw bar design factors and method of use upon performance and back stress were investigated. Novice and experienced subjects were tested for their ability to use the claw bar to remove track spikes. Two standard claw bar designs were evaluated. The method of tool use was described by body position relative to the claw bar and by body action.Tool design had no significant effect on either tool-lifting performance or back-stress measures. Body action patterns, but not body position, were found to have significant effects on both performance and back stress. Results support the use of a body action involving the use of the arms only. This method provides the required impulse forces with minimum back stress and also provides proper balance to avoid falls from sudden spike removal.Proper technique, as opposed to total force application, was found to be the key factor in tool use. Novices attempt to apply a large, sustained force using the whole body, whereas experienced trackmen use a ...
Pressure–temperature stability of the van der Waals compound (H2)4CH4

Abstract The melting curve of (H2)4CH4, an extremely hydrogen-rich compound in the hydrogen–methane system, was determined using optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy at high pressure (6 GPa) and low temperature (10 K) in a diamond anvil cell. The experimental data was fit with a Simon–Glatzel equation: P (GPa) = 2.67 × 10−3T (K)1.36 − 0.771. The high hydrogen content (50.2 wt% including the hydrogen in methane, 33.4 wt% only considering the molecular hydrogen) makes this material of interest for hydrogen fuel storage. We found that (H2)4CH4 can be quenched to ambient helium pressure of 1 atm at 10 K and decomposes at approximately 23 K.
Successful antiviral treatment after 6years of chronic progressive neurological disease attributed to VZV brain infection.

Abstract We describe an extraordinary case of an immunocompetent patient who developed sacral-distribution zoster, followed 3 months later by neurological disease that progressed for 6 years and was attributed to varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection of the brain. Despite the prolonged infection, neurologic symptoms and signs resolved rapidly and completely after treatment with intravenous acyclovir.
Optimal Resilient transmission Grid Design

As illustrated in recent years (Superstorm Sandy, Northeast Ice Storm of 1998, etc.), extreme weather events pose an enormous threat to the electric power transmission systems and the associated socio-economic systems that depend on reliable delivery of electric power. These threats motivate the need for approaches and methods that improve the response (resilience) of power systems. In this paper, we develop a model and tractable methods for optimizing the upgrade of transmission systems through a combination of hardening existing components, adding redundant lines, switches, generators, and transformers. While many of these components are included in traditional design (expansion planning) problems, we uniquely assess their benefits from a resiliency point of view.
Studies of the Uniformity of Avalanche Breakdown by Means of Low Frequency Noise Measurements

The correlation between low frequency noise and the uniformity of the current distribution in avalanche diodes is investigated. It is found that small diodes with a uniform current distribution obey the theoretically predicted relation u2/?f=a2Vb2/I with a2 = 4.8·10?20 A/Hz. Larger diodes exhibit excess noise above the theoretically predicted minimum noise. The origin of this excess noise is traced to nonuniformities of the breakdown voltage across the avalanche junction. To characterize the uniformity of breakdown we have defined four quantities which can be determined readily from noise and impedance vs current characteristics. These four quantities are: (1) the number of noise peaks N; (2) the maximum noise figure F*AD; (3) the relative breakdown voltage spread ?Vb/Vb; and (4) the impedance ratior r. The correlation between these quantities and the uniformity of avalanche breakdown is demonstrated on a series of alloyed, planar, and guard ring diodes.
Modeling a leadership-scale storage system

Exascale supercomputers will have the potential for billion-way parallelism. While physical implementations of these systems are currently not available, HPC system designers can develop models of exascale systems to evaluate system design points. Modeling these systems and associated subsystems is a significant challenge. In this paper, we present the Co-design of Exascale Storage System (CODES) framework for evaluating exascale storage system design points. As part of our early work with CODES, we discuss the use of the CODES framework to simulate leadership-scale storage systems in a tractable amount of time using parallel discrete-event simulation. We describe the current storage system models and protocols included with the CODES framework and demonstrate the use of CODES through simulations of an existing petascale storage system.
Building Heterocyclic Systems with RC(OR)2+ Carbocations in Recyclable Brønsted Acidic Ionic Liquids: Facile Synthesis of 1-Substituted 1H-1,2,3,4-Tetrazoles, Benzazoles and Other Ring Systems with CH(OEt)3 and EtC(OEt)3 in [EtNH3][NO3] and [PMIM(SO3H)][OTf]

1-Aryl/alkyl-1H-1,2,3,4-tetrazoles can conveniently be synthesized in one-pot reactions from the corresponding amines by reaction with TMSN 3 and CH(OEt) 3 using the readily available, recyclable, Bronsted acidic ionic liquids [EtNH 3] -[NO 3 ] IL-1 and [PMIM(SO 3 H)][OTf] IL-2 under mild conditions in high yields. Based on comparative reactions, whereas both ILs are excellent promoters, reactions are completed with shorter reaction times and in higher yields with IL-2. Among 24 examples provided, identical products were obtained via the two ILs, except in the case of 2-aminobenzoic acid where tetrazole was formed with IL-2 and 2-ethylquinazolin-4(3H)-one was formed with IL-1. By leaving out TMS-N 3 from the reaction, the in-situ formed CH(OEt) 2 + and Et-C(OEt) 2 + (via their corresponding orthoesters) react under sonication with o-phenylenediamine bearing various substituents, o-aminothiophenol and o-aminophenol to form a wide array of benzazoles (benzimidazole, benzothiazole and benzoxazole) and quinazolin-4(3H)-one in high yields (18 examples). The two ILs reacted differently in reaction with 2-aminobenzamide, whereas quinazolin-4(3H)one was formed with IL-2/CH(OEt) 3 , the "unexpected" N-ethylquinazolin-4(3H)one was isolated with IL-1/CH(OEt) 3 . The latter was also formed from 2-aminobenzoic acid in IL-1/CH(OEt) 3 . Mechanistic implications are addressed. The reported protocols enable rapid assembly of a host of heterocyclic systems in high yields with the added advantage of recycling and reuse of the ILs.
Minimum-Cost Crowdsourcing with Coverage Guarantee in Mobile Opportunistic D2D Networks

With the remarkable proliferation of intelligent wireless devices and active mobile users, we have witnessed a rapid increasing trend of mobile crowdsourcing applications. While crowdsourcing does not depend on any specific underlying network, the device-to-device (D2D)-based crowdsourcing is highly desired when the originator of a crowdsourcing task cannot directly reach out to the participants or the conventional approaches for data transportation are costly. The marriage of crowdsourcing and D2D creates new, interesting research problems, mainly due to the unique non-deterministic setting in D2D. In this work, we focus on the problem of how to efficiently distribute a crowdsourcing task and recruit participants based on D2D communications. We formally formulate the minimum-cost crowdsourcing (MCC) problem in D2D networks, which explores a multi-dimensional design space to seek an optimal solution that minimizes the total crowdsourcing cost while satisfying the coverage probability over the field of interest. We introduce an approximation algorithm based on a reduced solution space and formally prove that its cost is bounded by a desired approximation ratio in comparison with the optimal solution. We further propose a lightweight online heuristic that inherits the same design philosophy but implements it in a distributed manner. We prototype the proposed online scheme in Android and carry out experiments in a campus environment, involving 21 Dell Streak tablets carried by students for a period of 15 days. We also extract the algorithm codes from our prototype and perform extensive simulations based on Haggle trace. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed heuristics and reveal empirical insights into the design tradeoffs and practical considerations in D2D-based crowdsourcing.
Selfie-Presentation in Everyday Life: A Large-scale Characterization of Selfie Contexts on Instagram

Carefully managing the presentation of self via technology is a core practice on all modern social media platforms. Recently, selfies have emerged as a new, pervasive genre of identity performance. In many ways unique, selfies bring us full-circle to Goffman — blending the online and offline selves together. In this paper, we take an empirical, Goffman-inspired look at the phenomenon of selfies. We report a large-scale, mixed-method analysis of the categories in which selfies appear on Instagram — an online community comprising over 400M people. Applying computer vision and network analysis techniques to 2.5M selfies, we present a typology of emergent selfie categories which represent emphasized identity statements. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first large-scale, empirical research on selfies. We conclude, contrary to common portrayals in the press, that selfies are really quite ordinary: they project identity signals such as wealth, health and physical attractiveness common to many online media, and to offline life.
Identification of First-Order Hold Continuous-Time Systems

Abstract A general procedure for calculating an equivalent ramp invariant (FOH) continuous-time model corresponding to a given discrete-time model is derived. Previously, only SISO and ΜΙΜΟ systems having distinct non-zero continuous eigenvalues have been treated. In this respect, the presented procedure represents a generalization of published results. An illustrative computational example is included.
Teacher Empathy and ScienceEducation: A Collective Case Study

To initiate dialogue on empathy in science classroom, its role in science teaching, and to encourage science teacher education researchers and faculty to consider the role of empathy in science teaching, we conducted an instrumental collective case study with five science education graduate students at a Research-I university in the US. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Within-case and across-case analyses were performed to interpret the data from the individual interviews and compare them with one and another. Our findings collectively speak to our participants’ perspectives of empathy in science teaching. Finally, we discuss implications for teacher education and professional development and the need for learning sciences and science education research to systematically examine teacher empathy and student learning.
Submesoscale Dynamics in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Part I: Regional and Seasonal Characterization and the Role of River Outflow

AbstractRealistic, submesoscale-resolving numerical simulations are used to characterize the flow’s statistics and the geography of surface submesoscale currents in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This study examines the role of the Mississippi–Atchafalaya River system in driving submesoscale currents during winter and summer, on and off the shelf, by investigating two sets of statistically equilibrated solutions, with and without river forcing. In this paper, the first of three, the authors analyze vorticity ζ, horizontal divergence δ, and available potential energy to eddy kinetic energy conversion and show that river forcing has an important effect on the spatial distribution and magnitudes of submesoscale currents in both seasons. During winter, solutions without river forcing display an increase in seasonal-mean values of ζ, δ and compared to solutions with river forcing, particularly east of the Mississippi River delta and offshore. On the contrary, during summer, seasonal-mean values are larger in sol...
A pilot study of mining association between psychiatric stressors and symptoms in tweets

Suicide is a significant public health issue, causing huge impacts on individuals as well as their families. Psychiatric stressors are major suicide risk factors and can profoundly impact a person in many aspects. In order to facilitate the understanding of psychiatric stressors and the associated symptoms, we extracted stressors and symptoms terms from major online knowledge repositories and psychiatric clinical notes. The current vocabulary collection contains 1,292 psychiatric symptoms and 715 psychiatric stressors, which was leveraged to study the associations between stressors and symptoms in a corpus of suicide related tweets. Using Chi-Square test with Bonferroni correction, 3,500 symptom–stressor pairs were identified with significant association (p-value<0.01).
Fully automated disease severity assessment and treatment monitoring in retinopathy of prematurity using deep learning

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a disease that affects premature infants, where abnormal growth of the retinal blood vessels can lead to blindness unless treated accordingly. Infants considered at risk of severe ROP are monitored for symptoms of plus disease, characterized by arterial tortuosity and venous dilation at the posterior pole, with a standard photographic definition. Disagreement among ROP experts in diagnosing plus disease has driven the development of computer-based methods that classify images based on hand-crafted features extracted from the vasculature. However, most of these approaches are semi-automated, which are time-consuming and subject to variability. In contrast, deep learning is a fully automated approach that has shown great promise in a wide variety of domains, including medical genetics, informatics and imaging. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are deep networks which learn rich representations of disease features that are highly robust to variations in acquisition and image quality. In this study, we utilized a U-Net architecture to perform vessel segmentation and then a GoogLeNet to perform disease classification. The classifier was trained on 3,000 retinal images and validated on an independent test set of patients with different observed progressions and treatments. We show that our fully automated algorithm can be used to monitor the progression of plus disease over multiple patient visits with results that are consistent with the experts’ consensus diagnosis. Future work will aim to further validate the method on larger cohorts of patients to assess its applicability within the clinic as a treatment monitoring tool.
Quality Circles: A Cooperative Effort to Delight the Customer

(1993). Quality Circles: A Cooperative Effort to Delight the Customer. Hospitality & Tourism Educator: Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 15-17.
Vulvodynia: a state-of-the-art consensus on definitions, diagnosis and management.

Vulvodynia is a prevalent and highly distressing disorder, with major consequences for interpersonal and psychologic well-being. The meeting on which this article is based was held in October 2004 in association with the Third Annual Meeting of the International Society of Women's Sexual Health. The areas that were addressed included the definition of vulvodynia, comorbid conditions, disease progression, diagnosis and workup of the patient, clinical management and reasearch needs.
- Polypropylene Response to High-Energy Radiation

This chapter discusses that normal polypropylene will become highly embrittled following sterilizing doses of high-energy irradiation. This embrittlement becomes progressively severe with post-irradiation time and temperature. The basic mechanism involved is oxidative which is initiated by the radicals formed during the irradiation process. There are several factors involved in preventing or minimizing these degradative effects. The need for materials that will withstand ionizing radiation during sterilization of medical products has increased dramatically due to regulatory problems associated with ethylene oxide residuals found after ethylene oxide sterilization. As a consequence, the need for better stabilization packages that can tolerate a sterilizing dose of25 kGy has increased along with the requirement to understand the mechanism of why a plastic embrittles or discolors during irradiation. The chapter also analyzes polypropylene that readily degrades during irradiation. It provides a mechanistic example along with experimental results to support the theory of polymer stabilization by different approaches.
Cardiovascular Risk Factors and the Development of Coronary Heart Disease in Women

The following risk factors are associated with a high prevalence of coronary heart disease, both in men and women: Age Family history of coronary heart disease Smoking Hypertension Dyslipidemia Diabetes mellitus
Mid-infrared dual-comb spectroscopy of volatile organic compounds across long open-air paths

Open-path measurements of atmospheric gas species in the air, including volatile organic compounds, are essential to quantify emissions from sources like oil and gas, forest fires, and industry. Here, we extend open-path dual-comb spectroscopy to probe the fundamental mid-infrared C-H stretch modes of volatile organic compounds over up to 1 km long open-air paths. The spectrometer’s high resolution and accuracy facilitates suppression of strong spectral clutter from atmospheric water and methane, allowing quantitative measurements of released acetone and isopropanol with a 1−σ sensitivity of 5.7 ppm·m and 2.4 ppm·m, respectively, and of ambient atmospheric ethane with a 1−σ sensitivity of 0.4 ppb, measured with 1 min time resolution over hours. These results underline the potential of dual-comb spectroscopy for quantifying emissions.
Human Papillomavirus Infection

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a group of more than 120 virus types that are highly restricted to infecting humans. HPV infects either the epithelial cells of the skin and mucous membranes. Infection of the skin can cause cutaneous warts, while infection of the mucous membranes can cause anogenital or oropharyngeal disease, including laryngeal papillomatosis. HPV types are divided into low-risk and high-risk types based on their oncogenic potential. Low-risk HPV types are associated with the development of condyloma acuminatum (anogenital warts) and common warts typically found on the hands and feet. Persistent infection with high-risk HPV types has the long-term potential to cause cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus, penis, and oropharynx. Since the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer typically remain silent until very late in the disease, routine screening for early signs of cervical dysplasia using Papanicolaou cytology of cervical scrapings (Pap smears) and/or testing for the presence of high-risk HPV types is recommended. Safe and effective HPV vaccines first became available in 2006. While their widespread use has already led to reductions in HPV-associated morbidity, improvements in vaccine coverage rates are still necessary if they are to reach their full potential. A strong provider recommendation for vaccination and the knowledge that HPV vaccine prevents cancer are the two factors most consistently associated with robust vaccine uptake.
Interplay of topologically interconnected mesoporous network and defects number density in improving electroactivity of graphene-single-walled carbon nanotube aerogels

Electroactivity of graphene-family nanomaterials and three-dimensional porous architectures is key for various applications at the grand challenges of “energy-water-sensing nexus.” It requires well-controlled morphology, manipulation of surface chemistry, interconnected topologic network, as well as electronic properties. Here, we demonstrate by taking advantage of hierarchical mesoporosity, optimized defects number density, nD (edges-plane and pore sites, oxygenated and nitrogenated functionalities), further invoked by synergistic coupling between one-dimensional single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) as “nano” spacers and polymer linker with two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide derived three-dimensional scaffolds (known as aerogels) under hydrothermal conditions, and improved electrochemical (re)activity by enhancing the heterogeneous electron transfer rate (kET). We determined the correlation among nD, in-plane sp2C cluster, La and interdefect distance, LD (all via Raman spectroscopy), and kET (via scanning electrochemical microscopy) to establish “structure–property–functionality–electroactivity” relationships. The prominent Raman bands were also analyzed to determine the sp2-bonded C cluster size (La) for graphene- and nanotube-rich phases. The interplay of (1) rich surface redox chemistry due to carbonyl—C=O, carboxyl—COOH, pryridinic—N and pyrrolic—N functional groups, and geometric defects; (2) protruded edge plane and nanopores sites; (3) topological network; and (4) finite density of states with increased vacancy sites is emphasized and signifies the inherently activated electronic states in functionalized nanoporous composite carbon aerogels, for improved physicochemical processes (following graphene < N-graphene < graphene-SWCNT < N-graphene-SWCNT aerogels) relevant for electrocatalysis, thermo-electrochemical energy harvesting, desalination, and biosensing.Electroactivity of graphene-family nanomaterials and three-dimensional porous architectures is key for various applications at the grand challenges of “energy-water-sensing nexus.” It requires well-controlled morphology, manipulation of surface chemistry, interconnected topologic network, as well as electronic properties. Here, we demonstrate by taking advantage of hierarchical mesoporosity, optimized defects number density, nD (edges-plane and pore sites, oxygenated and nitrogenated functionalities), further invoked by synergistic coupling between one-dimensional single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) as “nano” spacers and polymer linker with two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide derived three-dimensional scaffolds (known as aerogels) under hydrothermal conditions, and improved electrochemical (re)activity by enhancing the heterogeneous electron transfer rate (kET). We determined the correlation among nD, in-plane sp2C cluster, La and interdefect distance, LD (all via Raman spectroscopy), and kET (via sc...
Checking in on check-out: Survey of Learning Priorities in Primary Care Residency Teaching Clinics.

Background Despite focus on increasing the quality of ambulatory education training, few studies have examined residents' perceptions of learning during case discussions with their preceptors (i.e., "check-out"). The objective of this study was to assess the difference between residents' and preceptors' perceptions of behaviors that should occur during check-out discussions. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey of categorical internal medicine and family medicine residents and preceptors. The survey was distributed electronically and assessed 20 components of the check-out discussion. Results Of 38 preceptors, 22 (61%) completed the survey. Of 172 residents, 82 (48%) completed the survey. For residents, we identified discrepancies in desired and perceived check-out behaviors. Specifically, utilizing a dependent sample t-test, residents felt that all 20 areas needed additional teaching during check-out (P < 0.05). Preceptors believed that demonstrating physical examination skills in the patient room during check-out was significantly more important than did residents (P = 0.01). Increasing years of preceptor experience did not statistically relate to their valuation of components important to residents. Discussion Our research highlighted a major deficiency in training in the check-out process, with residents desiring more patient management education in all components. Moreover, faculty and residents do not necessarily agree with what is an important focus in the "teachable moment." Our results serve as a training needs assessment for future faculty development seminars and highlight the need to consider resident learning needs in general.
Almost Periodic Functions with Values in a Linear Topological Space

This chapter is devoted to almost periodicity in general linear topological spaces as presented in [29] and[30]. We assume that the reader is acquainted with elementary properties of numerical almost periodic functions (cf. [8], [39],[43], for instance). We will use the results to study almost periodicity of solutions of differential equations in locally convex spaces in Chapter 7.
Performance on the DANA Brief Cognitive Test Correlates With MACE Cognitive Score and May Be a New Tool to Diagnose Concussion.

Nearly 380,000 U.S. service members between 2000 and 2017 were, and at least 300,000 athletes annually are, diagnosed with concussion. It is imperative to establish a gold-standard diagnostic test to quickly and accurately diagnose concussion. In this non-randomized, prospective study, we examined the reliability and validity of a novel neurocognitive assessment tool, the Defense Automated Neurobehavioral Assessment (DANA), designed to be a more sensitive, yet efficient, measure of concussion symptomatology. In this study, the DANA Brief version was compared to an established measure of concussion screening, the Military Acute Concussion Evaluation (MACE), in a group of non-concussed service members. DANA Brief subtests demonstrated low to moderate reliability, as measured by intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC; values range: 0.28 – 0.58), which is comparable to other computerized neurocognitive tests that are widely-implemented to diagnose concussion. Statistically significant associations were found between learning and memory components of the DANA Brief and the diagnostic MACE cognitive test score (DANA Brief subtests: CDD: R2 = 0.05, p = 0.023; CDS: R2 = 0.10, p = 0.010). However, a more robust relationship was found between DANA Brief components involving attention and working memory, including immediate memory, and the MACE cognitive test score (DANA Brief subtests: GNG: R2 = 0.08, p = 0.003; PRO: R2 = 0.08, p = 0.002). These results provide evidence that the DANA Rapid version, a five-minute assessment self-administered on a hand-held portable device, based on the DANA Brief version, may serve as a clinically useful and improved neurocognitive concussion screen to minimize the time between injury and diagnosis in settings where professional medical evaluation may be unavailable or delayed. The DANA’s portability, durability, shorter test time and lack of need for a medical professional to diagnose concussion overcome these critical limitations of the MACE.
Development of a Portable Tool to Identify Patients With Atrial Fibrillation Using Clinical Notes From the Electronic Medical Record.

Background: The electronic medical record contains a wealth of information buried in free text. We created a natural language processing algorithm to identify patients with atrial fibrillation (AF)...
The influence of solute on irradiation damage evolution in nanocrystalline thin-films

Abstract Grain boundaries (GBs) are considered sinks where mobile defects are attracted and annihilated thereby hampering irradiation damage accumulation. Nanocrystalline (NC) metals characteristically have greater densities of GBs relative to their coarse-grained counterparts hence they are postulated to provide enhanced resistance to irradiation damage. The use of alloying as a means to impart synergistic properties such as corrosion resistance, increased toughness, or improved conductivity is well studied, yet the cooperative effects of solute addition and grain size in the nano-regime is not well understood. In this study, a combination of in situ ion irradiation, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and automated crystal orientation mapping (ACOM) on model Ni, NiCr, Fe, and FeCr NC thin-films are used to provide experimental evidence that grain size and irradiation induced defect morphology (defect density and size) are not directly correlated due to defect agglomeration, annihilation at sinks, and saturation, while the addition of solute impedes defect mobility, altering the final damage state.
Identifying the unidentifiable: A PCR multiplex protocol for the diagnosis of invasive pheretimoid earthworm species, verified by morphological and barcode identification

Abstract Identification of taxa that are morphologically very similar is a standing problem in ecology and is particularly important for invasive species that may differ in their dispersal rates and environmental and economic costs. Three similar pheretimoid earthworms (genera of Amynthas, Metaphire) are important invasive species in North American forests. They often lack the diagnostic morphological characters and their hatchlings, juveniles, and cocoons are impossible to identify to species. We present a multiplex PCR protocol that accurately scores the three species and is inexpensive compared to other molecular methods. Multiplex PCR identification was as accurate as mitochondrial COI barcoding and better than morphological scoring. The method uses unique PCR fragments of different lengths for each species from the COI gene. The multiplex PCR correctly identified embryos within cocoons, juveniles, and adults of Amynthas agrestis, Amynthas tokioensis and Metaphire hilgendorfi, with 100% accuracy. Comparisons of COI sequences (GenBank) with other populations of the same species (including specimens from their native range in Japan), and many other species of earthworms showed the primers always amplify only the three target species. The multiplex PCR method is rapid and costs a fraction of standard COI barcoding. Also, tiny scratches of cells from living specimens can be entered directly into the PCR for easy identification, reducing costs even further by avoiding DNA extraction, and allows the earthworms to be conserved for ecological experiments. To show the utility of the method we present the hatching phenology of the three species which could not be done by morphology. The three species begin hatching at the same time with A. tokioensis producing the most abundant juveniles early in the season. The method facilitates studies on biogeography, phenology, life histories, and resource partitioning among the three co-occurring earthworm species.
Inter-surgeon variability is associated with likelihood to undergo minimally invasive hepatectomy and postoperative mortality.

Abstract Introduction Minimally invasive liver surgery (MILS) has been increasingly adopted in clinical practice; yet, inter-surgeon variability in operative approach (MILS vs. open), as well as the impact of providers on the likelihood of undergoing MILS have not been well characterized. Methods The Medicare 100% Standard Analytic Files were reviewed to identify Medicare beneficiaries who underwent hepatectomy between 2013 – 2017. The impact of patient- and procedure- related factors on the likelihood of MILS was investigated. Results Overall 12,110 (91.6%) patients underwent open liver resection, while 1,112 (8.4%) patients had MILS. Based on total MILS volume, surgeons were categorized into average (1–3 cases), above average (4–7 cases) and high (>8 or more cases) MILS volume surgeons. While male patients (OR = 0.85, 95%CI 0.75–0.97) were less likely to undergo MILS, patients operated on more recently (year 2017; OR = 1.72, 95%CI 1.38–2.14) for a cancer indication (OR = 1.23, 95%CI 1.05–1.42) had a higher chance of MILS. After controlling for patient- and procedure-related characteristics, there was almost a two-fold variation in the odds that a patient underwent MILS versus open hepatectomy based on the individual surgeon provider (MOR = 1.75, 95%CI 1.48–1.99). Patients who had a MILS performed by a high-volume MILS surgeon had 36% lower odds of death within 90-days (OR = 0.64, 95%CI 0.51–0.79). Conclusion The likelihood of undergoing MILS, as well as post-operative mortality, was heavily influenced by the individual surgeon provider rather than patient- or procedure-related factors.
Selling mechanisms for perishable goods: An empirical analysis of an online resale market for event tickets

This paper assesses the value of the availability of menus of different selling mechanisms to agents in an online platform in the context of scarce perishable goods. By analyzing the choice between auctions and posted prices in the context of National Football League tickets offered on eBay, it estimates a structural model in which heterogeneous, forward-looking sellers optimally choose which selling mechanism to use and its features. Counterfactual results suggest that sellers would experience an average 87.37% decrease in expected revenues if auctions were removed and just a 4.34% decrease if posted prices were. In turn, buyers would benefit from an auction-only platform since the expected number of transactions would increase and expected transaction prices would decrease. These results suggest that while sellers benefit from menus of different selling mechanisms, the same does not hold for buyers. Thus, the implications for a platform, which should take into account both sides of the market, are ambiguous.
Exergy-based modeling framework for hybrid and electric ground vehicles

Abstract Exergy, or availability, is a thermodynamic concept representing the useful work that can be extracted from a system evolving from a given state to a reference state. It is also a system metric, formulated from the first and the second law of thermodynamics, encompassing the interactions between subsystems and the resulting entropy generation. In this paper, an exergy-based analysis for ground vehicles is proposed. The study, a first to the authors’ knowledge, defines a comprehensive vehicle and powertrain-level modeling framework to quantify exergy transfer and destruction phenomena for the vehicle’s longitudinal dynamics and its energy storage and conversion devices (namely, electrochemical energy storage, electric motor, and ICE). To show the capabilities of the proposed model in quantifying, locating, and ranking the sources of exergy losses, two case studies based on an electric vehicle and a parallel hybrid electric vehicle are analyzed considering a real-world driving cycle. This modeling framework can serve as a tool for the future development of ground vehicles management strategies aimed at minimizing exergy losses rather than fuel consumption.
Raman spectroscopy-based diagnostics of water deficit and salinity stresses in two accessions of peanut.

Water deficit and salinity are two major abiotic stresses that have tremendous effect on crop yield worldwide. Timely identification of these stresses can help limit associated yield loss. Confirmatory detection and identification of water deficit stress can also enable proper irrigation management. Traditionally, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based imaging and satellite-based imaging, together with visual field observation, are used for diagnostics of such stresses. However, these approaches can only detect salinity and water deficit stress at the symptomatic stage. Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a noninvasive and nondestructive technique that can identify and detect plant biotic and abiotic stress. In this study, we investigated accuracy of Raman-based diagnostics of water deficit and salinity stresses on two greenhouse-grown peanut accessions: tolerant and susceptible to water deficit. Plants were grown for 76 days prior to application of the water deficit and salinity stresses. Water deficit treatments received no irrigation for 5 days, and salinity treatments received 1.0 L of 240-mM salt water per day for the duration of 5-day sampling. Every day after the stress was imposed, plant leaves were collected and immediately analyzed by a hand-held Raman spectrometer. RS and chemometrics could identify control and stressed (either water deficit or salinity) susceptible plants with 95% and 80% accuracy just 1 day after treatment. Water deficit and salinity stressed plants could be differentiated from each other with 87% and 86% accuracy, respectively. In the tolerant accessions at the same timepoint, the identification accuracies were 66%, 65%, 67%, and 69% for control, combined stresses, water deficit, and salinity stresses, respectively. The high selectivity and specificity for presymptomatic identification of abiotic stresses in the susceptible line provide evidence for the potential of Raman-based surveillance in commercial-scale agriculture and digital farming.
The Benefits of the Dollar System to the United States and the Rest of the World

This chapter considers the various benefits for the United States and the rest of the world that can be ascribed to the dollar-dominated international reserve system. Private traders and investors in the United States have gained from the convenience of using the dollar in their cross-border transactions, while the US government has benefitted from the absence of pressure to eliminate its external current account deficit given the strong demand by other countries for its Treasury securities that have been used to finance it. The rest of the world has gained from efforts of the United States to maintain a liberal international economic order and a stable anchor of sustained economic growth and relatively low inflation over the long term.
Counterintuitive: Intelligence Operations and International Law

This essay addresses proposals for international regulation of intelligence gathering activities. We show that international law currently does not express any strong norms against intelligence gathering. We argue that international law is incapable of regulating such activities and proposals for change would prove counterproductive. Careful attention to the causes of war between rational nation-states shows that these efforts will have the highly undesirable result of making war more, rather than less, likely.
Formal and Experimental Foundations of a New Rank Quality Measure

In previous work, Bogaerts and Leake [1,2] introduced the rank qualitymeasure for the evaluation of conversational case-based reasoning (CCBR) systems. Rank quality assesses how well a system copes with the limited problem information available in an ongoing dialog, giving useful evaluation information not readily available from standard precision and efficiency measures. However, that work also revealed surprising challenges for developing rank quality measures, restricting the proposed measures' applicability. This paper explores two open questions from that work: 1) how to define a rank quality measure immune to the previous pitfalls, and 2) how to assess the meaningfulness of any proposed rank quality measure. The paper establishes formal requirements for a rank quality measure, presents a new formulation of the measure, and provides a formal proof and empirical evidence to support that the new measure avoids previous pitfalls and meets the formal requirements.
Ultrasonic measurements in the superconducting state of URu/sub 2/Si/sub 2/

Measurements of attenuation, velocity, and AC susceptibility on a URu/sub 2/Si/sub 2/ single crystal in the frequency range from 32 to 300 MHz and the temperature range from 300 mK up to 25 K are reported. The measurements of ultrasound and AC susceptibility were performed on the same single crystal of URu/sub 2/Si/sub 2/ (0.37 cm long) in the vicinity of the Neel transition temperature T/sub N/ and the superconducting transition temperature T/sub c/. The results show sharp signatures at T/sub N/ and near T/sub c/. The measurements of both attention and velocity across the superconducting transition show an attenuation peak and jump, respectively. The results of a magnetic field sweep indicate that URu/sub 2/Si/sub 2/ may also show a magnetic-field-induced phase transition. >
The importance of international demographic research for the United States

International demographic research hasprovided many benefits for the U.S. This paperidentifies five main reasons for these benefits. First, cross-national research provides unique policyinsights that help the U.S. to develop more effectiveprograms and policies to address pressing andpersistent domestic challenges. Second, it helps theU.S. to understand and address problems and issues inmany countries or regions of the world that are ofparticular relevance to the U.S. because of theirstrategic or commercial importance to us. Third, ithelps the U.S. to address problems and issues that areglobal in nature and require international policyresponses. Fourth, it helps the U.S. to providehumanitarian aid to poor countries more effectivelyand efficiently. Finally, it contributes to theadvancement of science, which in turn stimulates andenriches research focusing on the U.S.
Extended Set Operators for Nested Relations and Complex Objects

Extended set operators defined originally for nested relations form a basis for the set operators for complex objects because the common approach based on the application of set operators to sets of oids (based on the equality of oids) alone is not sufficient as pointed out in the literature. Extended set operators operate directly on nested relations and produce nested relations. Hence, restructuring of the operands and the result are not needed. We consider the set operators for nested relations proposed in the literature and analyze them with respect to a property that we call information equivalence. We also show that some of these operators are not information equivalent. Then we define new extended set operators and show that they satisfy the information equivalence property. We also discuss different semantics (single value and complex object semantics) of nested relations and define the extended set operators accordingly.
Telecoaching plus a portion control plate for weight care management: a randomized trial

Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death and disability and is associated with a lower health-related quality of life. We evaluated the impact of telecoaching conducted by a counselor trained in motivational interviewing paired with a portion control plate for obese patients in a primary care setting. We conducted a randomized, clinical trial among patients in a primary care practice in the midwestern United States. Patients were randomized to either usual care or an intervention including telecoaching with a portion control plate. The intervention was provided during a 3-month period with follow-up of all patients through 6 months after randomization. The primary outcomes were weight, body mass index (BMI),waist circumference, and waist to hip ratio measured at baseline, 6, 12, 18, and 24 weeks. Secondary outcomes included measures assessing eating behaviors, self-efficacy, and physical activity at baseline and at 12 and 24 weeks. A total of 1,101 subjects were pre-screened, and 90 were randomly assigned to telecoaching plus portion control plate (n = 45) or usual care (n = 45). Using last-value carried forward without adjustment for baseline demographics, significant reductions in BMI (estimated treatment effect -0.4 kg/m2, P = .038) and waist to hip ratio (estimated treatment effect -.02, P = .037) at 3 months were observed in the telecoaching plus portion control plate group compared to usual care. These differences were not statistically significant at 6 months. In females, the telecoaching plus portion control plate intervention was associated with significant reductions in weight and BMI at both 3 months (estimated treatment effect -1.6 kg, P = .016 and -0.6 kg/m2, P = .020) and 6 months (estimated treatment effect -2.3 kg, P = .013 and -0.8 kg/m2, P = .025). In males, the telecoaching plus portion control intervention was associated with a significant reduction in waist to hip ratio at 3 months (estimated treatment effect -0.04, P = .017), but failed to show a significant difference in weight and BMI. Telecoaching with a portion control plate can produce positive change in body habitus among obese primary care patients; however, changes depend upon sex. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02373878, 13 February 2015. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02373878 .
Application of root cause analysis in a service delivery operational environment

Presents an approach for applying root cause analysis (RCA) in a service delivery system for the purpose of investigating and correcting service delivery system problems. Utilizes a methodology that incorporates and integrates RCA into the service system by combining the approach with other managerial tools, a proactive continuous improvement (CI) philosophy, and an open system perspective of the organization and its environment. Stresses relevance of both operational and strategic implications that result from service delivery problems. The development and utility of the proposed methodology presented in this research is illustrated using both a hypothetical example and a real world application.