cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electrical Transmission Structure Response to Wind

ABSTRACT Twenty-three 12-minute duration records of wind and electrical transmission structure response are analyzed. Wind speed, wind direction, load cells, swing angles, and strains comprise a total of 38 channels of recordings. Mean speeds for most of the 12-minute duration records are above 30 mph with maximum approaching 50 mph. Turbulence intensity of wind ranges from 0.02 to 0.21. This range of turbulence intensity virtually bounds the terrain categories that the transmission lines are likely to encounter. The wind direction was found to fluctuate significantly within the 12-minute recording period. Standard deviation of mean direction for several records approached 10 degrees. Strain gage recordings indicating stresses in tower members also show random fluctuations. Statistical peak factors for one strain gage fall between 2 and 4, but the values are independent of turbulence intensity of wind. Preliminary analysis indicates that useful information can be gained from the recorded data. Additional analyses of conductor response and tower member stress data to assess statistical and spectral characteristics of response records are planned. These analyses will add to our understanding of the response of transmission structures to wind.
Understanding Life Cycle Issues: A Resource for School Leaders:

This article outlines the work of Erik Erikson, Daniel Levinson, and Roger Gould as examples of life cycle theories. It also raises questions about similarities and differences between men's and wo...
Increased risk of hospital admission for ICD-9-CM psychotic episodes following admission for epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether epilepsy admissions are associated with a higher readmission risk for psychotic episodes compared to admissions for other medical causes. METHODS The Nationwide Readmissions Database is a nationally representative dataset from 2013. We used International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes to identify medical conditions. There were 58 278 index admissions for epilepsy, and this group was compared against admissions for stroke (n = 215 821) and common medical causes (pneumonia, urinary tract infection [UTI], congestive heart failure [CHF], and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], n = 973 078). Readmission rates for psychotic episodes within 90 days from discharge for index hospitalizations were calculated. Cox regression was used to test for associations between admission type and readmission for psychotic episodes up to 1 year after index admission, in univariate models and adjusted for multiple medical, social, and psychiatric variables. RESULTS Up to 90 days from index admission, there were 683/100 000 readmissions for psychotic episodes in the epilepsy group, 92/100 000 in the stroke group, and 58-206/100 000 in the medical group. The relative rate of readmission in the epilepsy group was highest in the first 30 days following index admission (311/100 000). Unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) for readmission for psychotic episodes within 1 year in the epilepsy group compared to the stroke group was 6.58 (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.69-7.61, P < 2 × 10-16 ), and 4.41 compared to the medical group (95% CI 4.00-4.85, P < 2 × 10-16 ). The fully adjusted HR for readmission in the epilepsy group remained elevated at 3.63 compared to the stroke group (95% CI 3.08-4.28, P < 2 × 10-16 ), and 1.95 compared to the medical group (95% CI 1.76-2.15, P < 2 × 10-16 ). Confounding factors most strongly associated with psychosis readmission were documented psychosis history at the time of index admission, younger age, and lower income quartile. SIGNIFICANCE An epilepsy admission was independently associated with subsequent hospital readmission for psychotic episodes, even after adjustment for confounding variables.
Cochlear Inflammation Associated with Noise-Exposure

While we know a great deal about the anatomical and physiological changes that occur within the cochlea as a result of noise exposure of various spectra, intensities and durations, we know relatively little about the inflammatory response to these noises. Some cochlear cells up-regulate their expression of inflammatory mediators in response to noise and presumably thereby, recruit circulating macrophages into the cochlea or activate resident cells. The mechanisms that mediate these process are not yet known. The value of the inflammatory response in terms of cochlear repair is not known. Investigators have described immune responses within the stria vascularis, the spiral ligament, the mesothelial cells below the basilar membrane and the epithelial cells of the organ of Corti. The cooperation and/or interactions among these various cells are not known. This chapter is an attempt to identify what is known of the inflammatory response and stimulate new research to clarify the response and its function.
Examining patients’ medical and psychosocial experiences following detection of a CDH1 variant with multiplex genetic testing.

1583Background: Germline CDH1 mutations are associated with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer and lobular breast cancer. We conducted a cross-sectional, self-report survey to understand genetic tes...
Developing a model of climate change behavior among adolescents

Research on adolescent climate change perceptions has uncovered key insights about how knowledge, concern, and hope might relate to behavior and the potential for educational interventions to influence these factors. However, few of these studies have employed treatment/control designs that might address causality and none have addressed how these factors might interact to influence behavior. We developed a model of behavior change where a climate education treatment impacted knowledge, knowledge impacted hope and concern, and hope and concern together impacted behavior. We empirically tested the utility of this model and the causal relationships within it using a pre/post, treatment/control evaluation of climate education among adolescents in North Carolina, USA (n = 1041). We found support for a causal relationship between the treatment and gains in knowledge, but not between treatment and behavior. However, we did find support for a path model in which climate change knowledge positively relates to increased climate change concern and hope, and increases in concern and hope predict changes in pro-environmental behavior. Low SES was related to smaller gains in knowledge, concern, and behavior. Our results contribute to a theoretical understanding of climate change behaviors among adolescents and suggest that climate education aiming to change behavior should focus on building hope and concern.
Climate Change and Eutrophication: A Short Review

Water resources are vital not only for human beings but essentially all ecosystems. Human health is at risk if clean drinking water becomes contaminated. Water is also essential for agriculture, manufacturing, energy production and other diverse uses. Therefore, a changing climate and its potential effects put more pressure on water resources. Climate change may cause increased water demand as a result of rising temperatures and evaporation while decreasing water availability. On the other hand, extreme events as a result of climate change can increase surface runoff and flooding, deteriorating water quality as well. One effect is water eutrophication, which occurs when high concentrations of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, are present in the water. Nutrients come from different sources including agriculture, wastewater, stormwater, and fossil fuel combustion. Algal blooms can cause many problems, such as deoxygenation and water toxicity, ultimately disrupting normal ecosystem functioning. In this paper, we investigate the potential impacts of climatic factors affecting water eutrophication, how these factors are projected to change in the future, and what their projected potential impacts will be.
Acculturation Moderates the Effects of Expressive Writing on Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms Among Chinese American Breast Cancer Survivors

Previous research indicated that the benefits of expressive writing on cancer patients’ physical and psychological well-being may vary across cultures. However, it remains unknown whether the within-ethnicity cultural orientation would also moderate the efficacy of expressive writing. Immigrants are a special population who differ widely in extent of endorsing the home culture and the host culture. We examined the role of acculturation in moderating the effect of expressive writing among Chinese American breast cancer survivors in reducing different post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom clusters: re-experiencing, avoidance, and arousal. Ninety-six Chinese American breast cancer survivors were randomly assigned to three groups to write about cancer-related topics: a self-regulation group to write about deepest feelings, stress coping, and finding benefits; an emotional disclosure group to write about deepest feelings; and a cancer-fact group to write about cancer experience objectively. The only examined moderator, acculturation, was assessed at baseline. PTSD symptoms were assessed at baseline and 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. Acculturation moderated the effect of expressive writing at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Among participants with low acculturation, PTSD symptoms were less severe in the self-regulation and cancer-fact groups compared with the emotional disclosure group; in contrast, no group differences in PTSD were found among highly acculturated participants. Our findings highlight the important role of sub-ethnic cultural orientation in the efficacy of psychosocial interventions targeting immigrant populations. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03546673
Bravo Teacher: Building Relationships with Actions That Value Others

As they wrestle with today’s rules, regulations and high-stakes testing, our best teachers never forget that strong, positive relationships are at the core of student success. This book shows us how to build relationships with students, parents, and co-workers to create the kind of learning environments where all students achieve success.
West Nile Virus: Veterinary Health and Vaccine Development

West Nile virus (WNV) (Flaviviridae: Flavivirus) was discovered in Africa more than 80 yr ago and became recognized as an avian pathogen and a cause of neurologic disease in horses largely during periodic incursions into Europe. Introduction of WNV into North America stimulated great anxiety, particularly in the equine industry, but also for pet owners and livestock producers concerned about the effect of WNV on other domestic animals. Numerous subsequent studies of naturally occurring and experimentally induced disease greatly expanded our understanding of the host range and clinical consequences of WNV infection in diverse species and led to rapid development and deployment of efficacious vaccines for horses. In addition to humans, horses are clearly the animals most frequently affected by serious, sometimes lethal disease following infection with WNV, but are dead-end hosts due to the low-magnitude viremia they develop. Dogs, cats, and livestock species including chickens are readily infected with WNV, but only occasionally develop clinical disease and are considered dead-end hosts for the virus.
The LACE + index as a predictor of 90-day urologic surgery outcomes.

This study assessed the ability of the LACE + [Length of stay, Acuity of admission, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) score, and Emergency department visits in the past 6 months] index to predict adverse outcomes after urologic surgery. LACE + scores were retrospectively calculated for all consecutive patients (n = 9824) who received urologic surgery at one multi-center health system over 2 years (2016–2018). Coarsened exact matching was employed to sort patient data before analysis; matching criteria included duration of surgery, BMI, and race among others. Outcomes including unplanned hospital readmission, emergency room visits, and reoperation were compared for patients with different LACE + quartiles. 722 patients were matched between Q1 and Q4; 1120 patients were matched between Q2 and Q4; 2550 patients were matched between Q3 and Q4. Higher LACE + score significantly predicted readmission within 90 days (90D) of discharge for Q1 vs Q4 and Q2 vs Q4. Increased LACE + score also significantly predicted 90D emergency room visits for Q1 vs Q4, Q2 vs Q4, and Q3 vs Q4. LACE + score was also significantly predictive of 90D reoperation for Q1 vs Q4. LACE + score did not predict 90D reoperation for Q2 vs Q4 or Q3 vs Q4 or 90D readmission for Q3 vs. Q4. These results suggest that LACE + may be a suitable prediction model for important patient outcomes after urologic surgery.
Shock wave compression behavior and dislocation density evolution in Al microstructures at the atomic scales and the mesoscales

Abstract Molecular dynamics simulations are carried out to investigate the deformation response during shock compression of nanocrystalline Al microstructures at the atomic scales. The shock response is investigated for various grain sizes (18 nm–100 nm) and impact velocities (700 m/s to 1500 m/s). The simulations suggest an increase in shock front width and a decay in the velocity and the amplitude of the elastic precursor wave (Hugoniot elastic limit) as the wave travels through the microstructure. For a limited sample depth of 500 nm of polycrystalline Al, the Hugoniot elastic limit (HEL) values are higher for larger grain sizes due to a lower density of grain boundaries and higher for higher piston velocities/shock pressures. Quasi-coarse-grained dynamics (QCGD) simulations are carried out to extend this investigation of the shock response of polycrystalline microstructures to the mesoscales. The capability of QCGD simulations to reproduce the atomic scale evolution of dislocation density fractions and shock wave structures is first demonstrated for a 100 nm grain-sized Al system. The evolution of shock front width, HEL, and dislocation densities are investigated for microstructures with grain sizes ranging from 100 nm to 800 nm and system lengths ranging from 600 nm to 9.6 μm. The MD and QCGD simulations indicate that the decay behavior is attributed to the capability of the shock wave to generate Shockley partial dislocations in the compressed microstructure. The simulations indicate that grain size and impact velocities affect the rates of generation of Shockley partials and hence affect the decay of the HEL. The MD and QCGD predicted values for HEL reported here show excellent agreement with the experimentally observed sample thickness dependence for Al. An empirical model is developed to predict the HEL of Al microstructures with grain size, shock pressure and sample depth as variables.
Coughlin, S. S., Smith, S. A., & Fernández, M. E. (Eds.). (2017). Handbook of community-based participatory research. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 304 pp.

A review of Coughlin, S. S., Smith, S. A., & Fernandez, M. E. (Eds.). (2017). Handbook of community-based participatory research. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 304 pp.
Applications of electronic nose (e-nose) and electronic tongue (e-tongue) in food quality-related properties determination: A review

Abstract Background An e-nose or an e-tongue is a group of gas sensors or chemical sensors that simulate human nose or human tongue. Both e-nose and e-tongue have shown great promise and utility in improving assessments of food quality characteristics compared with traditional detection methods. Scope and approach This review summarizes the application of e-nose and e-tongue in determining the quality-related properties of foods. The working principles, applications, and limitations of the sensors employed by electronic noses and electronic tongues were introduced and compared. Widely employed pattern recognition algorithms, including artificial neural network (ANN), convolutional neural network (CNN), principal component analysis (PCA), partial least square regression (PLS), and support vector machine (SVM), were introduced and compared in this review. Key findings and conclusions Overall, e-nose or e-tongue combining pattern recognition algorithms are very powerful analytical tools, which are relatively low-cost, rapid, and accurate. E-nose and e-tongue are also suitable for both in-line and off-line measurements, which are very useful in monitoring food processing and detecting the end product quality. The user of e-nose and e-tongue need to strictly control sample preparation, sampling, and data processing.
Transparent alumina ceramics fabricated by 3D printing and vacuum sintering

Abstract Transparent alumina ceramics were fabricated using an extrusion-based 3D printer and post-processing steps including debinding, vacuum sintering, and polishing. Printable slurry recipes and 3D printing parameters were optimized to fabricate quality green bodies of varying shapes and sizes. Two-step vacuum sintering profiles were found to increase density while reducing grain size and thus improving the transparency of the sintered alumina ceramics over single-step sintering profiles. The 3D printed and two-step vacuum sintered alumina ceramics achieved greater than 99 % relative density and total transmittance values of about 70 % at 800 nm and above, which was comparable to that of conventional CIP processed alumina ceramics. This demonstrates the capability of 3D printing to compete with conventional transparent ceramic forming methods along with the additional benefit of freedom of design and production of complex shapes.
Using the principles of Halford J. Mackinder and Nicholas John Spykman to reevaluate a twenty-first-century geopolitical framework for the United States

The dynamic concepts and principles enunciated by two classic twentieth-century thinkers, Halford J. Mackinder, a geographer from Oxford University and Nicholas J. Spykman, a historian from Yale Un...
Electrospun Polydioxanone Templates Loaded with Chloroquine Modulate Template-Induced NET Release and the Inflammatory Response

Electrospun biomaterials for in situ tissue regeneration are advantageous as drug delivery systems because they can be used to regulate the acute inflammatory response to establish a regenerative microenvironment. Neutrophils are the first inflammatory cell recruited to an electrospun biomaterial, and their release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and secretion of inflammatory and regenerative signals modulate the microenvironment around the biomaterial. In this work, chloroquine diphosphate, an anti-inflammatory drug shown to decrease NET release, was electrospun into polydioxanone (PDO) fibers for local delivery and immunomodulation of biomaterial-interacting neutrophils. Electrospinning was optimized so that the eluted concentration of chloroquine reached a previously reported, therapeutic concentration of 10 µM within one hour. Subsequently, acute neutrophil-template interactions were evaluated in vitro with freshly isolated human peripheral blood neutrophils for 3 and 6 hours. NET release was quantified through detection of NET-derived MPO with an ELISA, and the secretion of inflammatory and regenerative factors was quantified with an immunomagnetic multiplex assay. The results indicate that the chloroquine-eluting templates significantly reduced NET release within the first 3 hours, but had no effect at 6 hours, suggesting a therapeutic window for modulating acute NET release or temporal changes in cell viability. Additionally, the elution of chloroquine increased the secretion of regenerative factors HGF, VEGF-A, and IL-22 while suppressing inflammatory signals MMP-9 and IL-8 at 3 and 6 hours, indicating a shift towards a pro-healing neutrophil phenotype. Together, these data suggest that chloroquine-eluting PDO biomaterials may modulate the acute neutrophil response from inflammatory to pro-healing, which may significantly enhance in situ tissue regeneration. Future work includes in vivo studies to evaluate long-term effects on tissue integration and regeneration in a physiological environment. Ultimately, these electrospun biomaterials may function as immunomodulatory drug delivery systems that regulate the neutrophil response and enhance the potential for in situ tissue regeneration.
Managed Distribution Policies in Closed-End Funds and Shareholder Activism

In closed-end funds, a managed distribution policy (MDP) is a dividend commitment potentially requiring the liquidation of assets. We argue that MDPs lower managerial claims on fund assets and, when the fund is at a discount, increase shareholder value. This transfer of wealth can be rationalized by managers wishing to deter a challenge from activist shareholders through a costly proxy vote. We find strong empirical evidence that managers respond to the presence of activists using MDPs, that MDPs constitute an effective wealth transfer to shareholders, and that activists are less likely to challenge management when an MDP is in place.
Synthetic atrophy for longitudinal surface-based cortical thickness measurement

Difficulty in validating accuracy remains a substantial setback in the field of surface-based cortical thickness (CT) measurement due to the lack of experimental validation against ground truth. Although methods have been developed to create synthetic datasets for this purpose, none provide a robust mechanism for measuring exact thickness changes with surface-based approaches. This work presents a registration-based technique for inducing synthetic cortical atrophy to create a longitudinal, ground truth dataset specifically designed for ac- curacy validation of surface-based CT measurements. Across the entire brain, we show our method can induce up to between 0.6 and 2.6 mm of localized cortical atrophy in a given gyrus depending on the region's original thickness. By calculating the image deformation to induce this atrophy at 400% of the original resolution in each direction, we can induce a sub-voxel resolution amount of atrophy while minimizing partial volume effects. We also show that our method can be extended beyond application to CT measurements for the accuracy validation of longitudinal cortical segmentation and surface reconstruction pipelines when measuring accuracy against cortical landmarks. Importantly, our method relies exclusively on publicly available software and datasets.
Echocardiographic Indicators Associated with Adverse Clinical Course and Cardiac Sequelae in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children with Coronavirus Disease 2019.

BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with coronavirus disease 2019 causes significant cardiovascular involvement, which can be a determinant of clinical course and outcome. The aim of this study was to investigate whether echocardiographic measures of ventricular function were independently associated with adverse clinical course and cardiac sequelae in patients with MIS-C. METHODS: In a longitudinal observational study of 54 patients with MIS-C (mean age, 6.8 ± 4.4 years; 46% male; 56% African American), measures of ventricular function and morphometry at initial presentation, predischarge, and at a median of 3- and 10-week follow-up were retrospectively analyzed and were compared with those in 108 age- and gender-matched normal control subjects. The magnitude of strain is expressed as an absolute value. Risk stratification for adverse clinical course and outcomes were analyzed among the tertiles of clinical and echocardiographic data using analysis of variance and univariate and multivariate regression. RESULTS: Median left ventricular apical four-chamber peak longitudinal strain (LVA4LS) and left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) at initial presentation were significantly decreased in patients with MIS-C compared with the normal cohort (16.2% and 15.1% vs 22.3% and 22.0%, respectively, P 18.5%; P < .01). Initial LVA4LS and LVGLS were normal in 13 of 54 and 10 of 39 patients, respectively. There was no mortality. In multivariate regression, only LVA4LS was associated with both the need for intensive care and length of stay. At median 10-week follow-up to date, seven of 36 patients (19%) and six of 25 patients (24%) had abnormal LVA4LS and LVGLS, respectively. Initial LVA4LS < 16.2% indicated abnormal LVA4LS at follow-up with 100% sensitivity. CONCLUSION: Impaired LVGLS and LVA4LS at initial presentation independently indicate a higher risk for adverse acute clinical course and persistent subclinical left ventricular dysfunction at 10-week follow-up, suggesting that they could be applied to identify higher risk children with MIS-C.
Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the Treatment of Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Suicidal Ideation in Military Populations: A Scholarly Review.

Introduction Military mental health conditions, such as depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation, are currently understudied and undertreated. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is currently being considered as a treatment for these conditions; however, there exists a paucity of research in this area. This scholarly review will examine the limitations of the existing literature on the use of rTMS to treat depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation in service members (SMs) and veterans. Materials and methods Publications that evaluated rTMS for the treatment of depression, PTSD, or suicidal ideation in military samples were identified via a PubMed search. Non-interventional rTMS studies, studies where the sample could not be confirmed to be primarily composed of SMs or veteran participants, studies without psychiatric outcome measures, and studies not published in a peer-reviewed journal were excluded from this review. Results This literature search identified 20 total publications (eight primary analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), one longitudinal analysis of an RCT, five open label trials, and six retrospective analyses of clinical data), inclusive of 879 participants. Eighteen studies utilized a protocol targeting the prefrontal cortex (PFC), and one of these also targeted the supplementary motor area (SMA) with the PFC (one study did not specify the stimulation site). Eight studies applied standard 10 Hz frequency stimulation, and four applied standard 1 Hz frequency stimulation. The remainder of studies applied alternative stimulation protocols including 5 Hz (two studies), 20 Hz (one study), a combination of 1 and 10 Hz (two studies), and theta burst stimulation (TBS) (two studies). Twelve studies reported significant results, including four RCTs, three open label studies, and five retrospective analyses. Conclusions rTMS offers a promising area of research for mental health conditions in military populations. However, the number of studies that focus specifically on this population are few in number and have many notable limitations. Further research is needed to validate the effectiveness of this tool for SMs and veterans.
Teaching Ethics and Professionalism: A National Survey of Ophthalmology Residency Program Directors

Background While ethics and professionalism are important components of graduate medical education, there is limited data about how ethics and professionalism curricula are taught or assessed in ophthalmology residency programs. Objective This study aimed to determine how U.S. ophthalmology residency programs teach and assess ethics and professionalism and explore trainee preparedness in these areas. Methods Directors from accredited U.S. ophthalmology residency programs completed an online survey about components of programs' ethics and professionalism teaching curricula, strategies for assessing competence, and trainee preparedness in these areas. Results Directors from 55 of 116 programs (46%) responded. The most common ethics and professionalism topics taught were informed consent (38/49, 78%) and risk management and litigation (38/49, 78%), respectively; most programs assessed trainee competence via 360-degree global evaluation (36/48, 75%). While most (46/48, 95%) respondents reported that their trainees were well or very well prepared at the time of graduation, 15 of 48 (31%) had prohibited a trainee from graduating or required remediation prior to graduation due to unethical or unprofessional conduct. Nearly every program (37/48, 98%) thought that it was very important to dedicate curricular time to teaching ethics and professionalism. Overall, 16 of 48 respondents (33%) felt that the time spent teaching these topics was too little. Conclusion Ophthalmology residency program directors recognized the importance of an ethics and professionalism curriculum. However, there was marked variation in teaching and assessment methods. Additional work is necessary to identify optimal strategies for teaching and assessing competence in these areas. In addition, a substantial number of trainees were prohibited from graduating or required remediation due to ethics and professionalism issues, suggesting an impact of unethical and unprofessional behavior on resident attrition.
Location of Free Surface in Porous Media

The boundary integral equation method (BIEM) is applied to the problem of locating the free surface in both steady and unsteady flow through porous media. The method is numerical in its application and uses boundary data only. Thus, the position of the free surface can be found without solving the complete flow problem. The method can be continued to find the solution to the complete problem. It is especially efficient when the solution is desired at a limited number of points (e.g., on a failure surface in determining slope stability) or in a limited area of the flow. Examples appear in the paper in which there is a free surface and a seepage surface and in which zones of different permeability appear.
Ethics in Science: The Unique Consequences of Chemistry.

This article discusses the ethical issues unique to the science and practice of chemistry. These issues arise from chemistry’s position in the middle between the theoretical and the practical, a science concerned with molecules that are of the right size to directly affect human life. Many of the issues are raised by the central activity of chemistry––synthesis. Chemists make thousands of new substances each year. Many are beneficial, but others are threats. Since the development of the chemical industry in the nineteenth century, chemistry has contributed to the deterioration of the environment but has also helped to reduce pollution. Finally, we discuss the role of codes of ethics and whether the current codes of conduct for chemists are adequate for the challenges of today’s world.
Slow-light in nonuniform quantum dot waveguide

We analyzed a new variable all-optical buffer using semiconductor quantum dots (QD). We show that an InAs-InGaAs-GaAs QD waveguide with 20 meV inhomogeneous linewidth can achieve substantial buffering with a novel unbalanced multi-wavelength pumping scheme.
Highway overhead structure detection with on-line camera pitch bias estimation

A radar-based forward collision warning system has the draw back of not being able to distinguish a stopped vehicle from the false alarms caused by highway overhead structures. A vision-based overhead structure detection system has previously been developed that detects and tracks horizontal edge features from the overhead structures. The system also estimates the height of the structures and their distance to the host vehicle, which can be used to help reject false alarms from radar caused by the overhead structures. The algorithm used in this system relies on accurate calibration of the in-vehicle video camera, and the so-called reference horizon in particular, which can vary depending on the camera pitch bias. In this paper, we present an algorithm for on-line estimation of the reference horizon, and consequently the pitch bias of the camera. An enhanced system combining overhead structure detection and reference horizon estimation, and steps towards real-time implementation are also presented.
On the Use of Higher Order Plate Theories for Determining Free-Edge Stresses

The minimum number of kinematic variables in conjunction with higher order plate theories for approximating the stresses in the free-edge zone of a laminate under uniaxial inplane tension is examined. It is well recognized that classical shear deformation theory is not appropriate for such problems. The through-the-thickness normal strain component must be non-zero in order to obtain reasonable results. Two classes of higher order theories are compared for approximating interlaminar stress distributions in the free-edge zone. These theories employ kinematic relations which lead to constant and linear distributions of transverse normal strain through-the-thickness of the laminate. Interlaminar stresses in the free-edge zone at the midplane and at the 0°/90° interface of a bidirectional laminate are considered.
Regulation of Angiogenesis by Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor and Angiopoietin-1 in the Rat Aorta Model: Distinct Temporal Patterns of Intracellular Signaling Correlate with Induction of Angiogenic Sprouting

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) promote the spontaneous angiogenic response of freshly cut rat aortic rings. When VEGF and Ang-1 were tested in cultures of 14-day-old rings, which are quiescent and unable to spontaneously produce neovessels, only VEGF was capable of inducing an angiogenic response. Ang-1 failed to initiate angiogenesis in this system, but significantly potentiated VEGF-induced neovessel sprouting. Potential differences in cell signaling triggered by VEGF and Ang-1 were evaluated in cultures of quiescent rings. VEGF induced biphasic and prolonged (15 minutes and 4 to 24 hours) phosphorylation of p44/42 MAPK and Akt, while the effect of Ang-1 was transient and monophasic (15 minutes). Both VEGF and Ang-1 induced rapid, monophasic (15 minutes) phosphorylation of p38 MAPK. When VEGF and Ang-1 were administered together, the second peak of VEGF-induced p44/42 MAPK phosphorylation was markedly reduced. The effect of the VEGF/Ang-1 combination on AKT phosphorylation was, instead, additive over time, and sustained over a 24-hour period. The VEGF/Ang-1 combination caused an additive effect also on p38 MAPK phosphorylation at 1 hour. Confocal microscopy of VEGF-, Ang-1, or VEGF/Ang-1-stimulated aortic rings double stained at time points of maximal phosphorylation for cell markers and signal transduction proteins demonstrated phosphorylated p44/42 MAPK, p38 MAPK, and Akt predominantly in endothelial cells. Experiments with specific inhibitors demonstrated that p44/42 MAPK and Akt, but not p38 MAPK, are necessary for neovessel sprouting. These results identify p44/42 MAPK and Akt as critical intracellular mediators of angiogenesis, whose transient phosphorylation is, however, not sufficient for the initiation of this process. The observation that sustained phosphorylation of these signaling pathways, particularly of Akt, correlates with induction of angiogenesis suggests that the duration of phosphorylation signals influences critical cellular events required for the induction of angiogenic sprouting.
A Fast Feature-Based Method to Detect Unusual Patterns in Multidimensional Datasets

We introduce a feature-based method to detect unusual patterns. The property of normality allows us to devise a framework to quickly prune the normal observations. Observations that can not be combined into any significant pattern are considered unusual. Rules that are learned from the dataset are used to construct the patterns for which we compute a score function to measure the interestingness of the unusual patterns. Experiments using the KDD Cup 99 dataset show that our approach can discover most of the attack patterns. Those attacks are in the top set of unusual patterns and have a higher score than the patterns of normal connections. The experiments also show that the algorithm can run very fast.
An eIF2α-binding motif in protein phosphatase 1 subunit GADD34 and its viral orthologs is required to promote dephosphorylation of eIF2α

Transient protein synthesis inhibition, mediated by phosphorylation of the α subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2α), is an important protective mechanism cells use during stress conditions. Following relief of the stress, the growth arrest and DNA damage-inducible protein GADD34 associates with the broadly acting serine/threonine protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) to dephosphorylate eIF2α. Whereas the PP1-binding motif on GADD34 has been defined, it remains to be determined how GADD34 directs PP1 to specifically dephosphorylate eIF2α. In this report, we map a novel eIF2α-binding motif to the C terminus of GADD34 in a region distinct from where PP1 binds to GADD34. This motif is characterized by the consensus sequence Rx[Gnl]x1–2Wxxx[Arlv]x[Dn][Rg]xRFxx[Rlvk][Ivc], where capital letters are preferred and x is any residue. Point mutations altering the eIF2α-binding motif impair the ability of GADD34 to interact with eIF2α, promote eIF2α dephosphorylation, and suppress PKR toxicity in yeast. Interestingly, this eIF2α-docking motif is conserved among viral orthologs of GADD34, and is necessary for the proteins produced by African swine fever virus, Canarypox virus, and Herpes simplex virus to promote eIF2α dephosphorylation. Taken together, these data indicate that GADD34 and its viral orthologs direct specific dephosphorylation of eIF2α by interacting with both PP1 and eIF2α through independent binding motifs.
Transaction cost politics and the National Endowment for the Arts

Abstract Cultural economists have traditionally justified public funding of the arts through the claim that there are “market failures,” particularly externalities, in the consumption of the arts. But when we try to explain the wide variation in funding for the United States’ federal arts funding agency, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), we find that something more than the usual economists’ model is required, since it is not evident that fluctuation in the degree of market failure has been sufficiently large to provide an explanation of the NEA's history. This paper advocates a transaction cost approach to thinking about the economics and politics of arts funding. It finds that the transaction cost politics method of looking at the “delegation problem”—the decision by elected legislators to provide bureaucratic agencies with a certain amount of decision-making discretion—gives a fruitful means of explaining the declining fortunes of the NEA through the 1990s, as well as changes to its administrative structure.
Personal Health Record System and Integration Techniques with Various Electronic Medical Record Systems

This paper discusses the importance of a Patient Centric Health Record system. Such systems can empower patients to participate in improving health care quality. It would also provide an economically viable solution to the need for better healthcare without escalating costs by avoiding duplication. The proposed system is Web-based so patients and healthcare providers can access it from any location. Moreover the architecture is cloud-based so large amount of data can be stored without any restrictions. Also the use of cloud computing architecture will allow consumers to address the challenge of sharing medical data that is overly complex and highly expensive to address with traditional technologies.
Postoperative Complications with Protruding Monofilament Nylon Sutures

Cut ends of 10-0 monofilament nylon sutures protruded and caused various combinations of severe pain, conjunctival inflammation, tarsal conjunctival ulcerations, eyelid edema, and corneal epithelial erosions in six patients postoperatively. These changes occurred one to three weeks after keratoplasty and one to three months after cataract surgery. In all six patients the signs and symptoms cleared after we trimmed or removed the offending sutures.
Determination of manganese in biological specimens.

Abstract Two methods of sample preparation and three colorimetric methods for the determination of manganese in biological specimens have been improved and evaluated. The diethylaniline method in which the manganese serves as a catalyst for color development proved to be far superior in sensitivity for urine samples.
Effects of Adriamycin on rat heart cells in culture: Increased accumulation and nucleoli fragmentation in cardiac muscle v. non-muscle cells

Abstract Primary cultures from neonatal rat hearts consist of morphologically distinguishable cardiac muscle and non-muscle cells. The relative fluorescence intensity and nucleolar effects of Adriamycin (ADR) have been studied in these different cell types by fluorescence and phase-contrast microscopy. In cultures exposed to ADR (10 μg/ml) for 30 min, or continuously for 24 h, the intensity of drug-specific fluorescence was significantly greater in the nuclei of muscle, as compared to non-muscle cells. Consistent with these differences in cytofluorescence, nucleolar fragmentation was observed in muscle cells 24 h after a 30-min exposure to ADR, whereas non-muscle cell nucleoli remained intact. With N -trifluoroacetyladriamycin-14-valerate (AD 32), a potent ADR analog, fluorescence was observed in the cytoplasm of both muscle and non-muscle cells; no difference in the intensity of fluorescence between these two cell types was detected. Based on these observations, we believe that drug-induced nucleolar fragmentation in cardiac muscle cells results from higher ADR levels than those achieved in non-muscle cells, and that these differences may have relevance with respect to anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in vivo .
Risk-Averse Taxpayers and the Allocation of Tax Enforcement Effort: Law Enforcement or Leviathan? Some Empirical Evidence

Agencies charged with collecting taxes and enforcing the tax code generally use information provided by taxpayers to decide whether to subject individual returns to a variety of review procedures. ...
Nystatin and valinomycin induce tubuloglomerular feedback.

First published September 21, 2001; 10.1152/ajprenal.00357.2001.—The macula densa expresses a luminal Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter and a basolateral Cl− conductance. Although it is known that cotransp...
High-mobility FET in strained silicon

Suitably strained silicon exhibits a mobility anisotropy that can be used to advantage in field-effect transistors. The desired strain can be achieved through heteroepitaxy.
Kinetics studies on the interaction between ouabain and (Na+,K+)-ATPase.

The association and dissociation rate constants for the interaction of [3H]ouabain with partially purified rat brain (Na+,K+)-ATPase (ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3) in vitro were estimated from the time course of the [3H]ouabain binding observed in the presence of Na+, Mg2+ and ATP by a polynomial approximation-curve-fitting technique. The reduction of the association rate constant by K+ was greater than its reduction of the dissociation rate constant. Thus, the affinity of (Na+,K+)-ATPase for ouabain was reduced by K+. The binding-site concentration was unaffected by K+. Consistent with these findings, the addition of KCl to an incubation mixture at the time when [3H]ouabain binding to (Na+,K+)-ATPase is close to equilibrium, caused an immediate decrease in bound ouabain concentration, apparently shifting towards a new, lower equilibrium concentration. Dissociation rate constants which were estimated following the termination of the ouabain-binding reaction were different from those estimated with above methods and may not be useful in predicting the ligand effects on equilibrium of the ouabain-enzyme interaction.
Development of a rapid method for the measurement of lactose in milk using a blood glucose biosensor

Current methods for lactose measurement in dairy products are time consuming and tedious and may require expensive equipment and skilled technicians. The aim of this research was to develop a novel and rapid method for the routine measurement of lactose in dairy products. The proposed method is based on the rapid hydrolysis of lactose using β-galactosidase and subsequently measuring glucose using a blood glucose meter. Blood glucose meters were developed after decades of research and clinical trials and are used extensively worldwide by individuals with diabetes to monitor their blood glucose levels. The method was developed and validated in a series of experiments. In the first experiment, temperature and time required for the near-complete hydrolysis of lactose were determined. Subsequently, the influence of glucose meters and their test strip lots were evaluated. We found that meters were not significantly different. However, the test strip lots were significantly different from each other. In the second experiment, the proposed method was validated using different concentrations of lactose solutions (1.9–6.5%) and compared with a HPLC-based reference method. In the third experiment, the proposed method was used to determine the lactose content of raw milk. The proposed method shows potential for rapid, routine, and low-cost measurement of lactose in milk and other dairy products.
Theoretical Investigation of the Relationship between Proton NMR Chemical Shift and Hydrogen Bond Strength.

Hartree−Fock, Moller−Plesset, and DFT (BLYP, B3LYP) calculations have been carried out using the 6-31+G(d,p) basis set to study the relationship between calculated 1H NMR chemical shifts and calculated hydrogen bond strengths in several model low-barrier hydrogen bond complexes. For both the formic acid-substituted formate anion and enol-substituted enolate anion model systems, we find an excellent linear correlation between calculated hydrogen bond strength and predicted 1H NMR chemical shift, with an average slope of 1.5 kcal/mol per ppm chemical shift.
Escape from tolerance in the human X-linked autoimmunity-allergic disregulation syndrome and the Scurfy mouse.

T cells that respond to self antigens exist in normal tissues but are, of necessity, stringently controlled in healthy individuals. Autoreactive T cells may be specifically deleted as they develop in the thymus; those that survive and reach the peripheral tissues are kept mitotically quiescent and otherwise unresponsive by stimuli from other immune cells. Together, these two mechanisms, termed central and peripheral tolerance, hold autoreactive T cells in check. Autoimmune disease arises when clones of these cells overcome the usual safeguards, expand, and become activated. The mechanism behind such an escape from tolerance is uncertain, and defects in both central and peripheral tolerance have been proposed to underlie various disorders. Now, two independent sets of reports establish that both of these mechanisms participate in the pathogenesis of an unusual form of immune disregulation observed in humans and mice. The human disorder, X-linked autoimmunity–allergic disregulation syndrome (XLAAD), presents with a collection of symptoms that are also seen in the Scurfy mouse. With the report by Chatila et al. (1) in a recent issue of the JCI and independent analyses by Brunkow et al. (2), it is now clear that the genes affected are orthologues and encode a transcription factor termed Foxp3, JM2, or scurfin. This parallel offers the prospect of insights into the molecular regulation of human autoimmune diseases. The current findings also suggest that certain allergic diseases arise because of intrinsic defects in CD4+ T cells, leading to Th2-skewing and hyperreactivity to antigens.