cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Time-Resolved Thermal Quenching of THz Quantum Cascade Lasers

The thermal dynamic behaviors of terahertz quantum cascade lasers are investigated using a spectrally matching terahertz quantum-well photodetector. The THz output power of a lasing device under a pulse excitation is found to decrease with time, which is attributed to the increase of active-region temperature. The measurements show that the duration of output lasing pulse ranges from a few microseconds up to 77 ?s, depending on device bias and heat-sink temperature. A theoretical analysis based on a two-dimensional heat diffusion model is presented. The model calculates lasing quenching time based on an ?average active-region temperature? criterion as well as a ?reserve of gain? criterion. The best fit for quenching time is found when the vertical thermal conductivity in the quantum well region is two orders of magnitude lower than that of substrate. The measured lasing quenching time is in very good agreement with theoretical modeling calculated using both criteria.
Compound- and enzyme-specific phosphodiester hydrolysis mechanisms revealed by δ18O of dissolved inorganic phosphate: Implications for marine P cycling

Abstract We have studied the oxygen isotope signature of inorganic phosphate (P i ) generated by hydrolysis of nucleic acid phosphodiester (P-diester) compounds by cell-free enzymes (Deoxyribonuclease 1, Phosphodiesterase 1, Alkaline phosphatase) and microbial cultures at natural isotopic abundances. We demonstrate that the diesterase-catalyzed hydrolytic step leads to incorporation of at least one water O into released P i for a total of two O atoms from water incorporated into P i released from P-diesters. In the presence of Phosphodiesterase 1, 16 O is preferentially incorporated into nucleotides released from DNA; whereas 18 O is preferentially incorporated into nucleotides released from RNA. A strong consistency between predicted O-isotope regeneration signatures based on results of cell-free enzyme experiments and measured isotopic signatures from independent experiments with E. coli cultures was observed and confirms proposed models for phosphoester hydrolysis. Results from these studies made at natural 18 O abundance levels provide a new tool, enzyme-specific O-isotope fractionation, for investigations of organophosphate metabolism and phosphorus cycling pathways in natural aquatic systems.
Structuring Z specifications with views

A view is a partial specification of a program, consisting of a state space and a set of operations. A full specification is obtained by composing several views, linking them through their states (by asserting invariants across views) and through their operations (by defining external operations as combinations of operations from different views). By encouraging multiple representations of the program's state, view structuring lends clarity and terseness to the specification of operations. And by separating different aspects of functionality, it brings modularity at the grossest level of organization, so that specifications can accommodate change more gracefully. View structuring in Z is demonstrated with a few small examples. Both the features of Z that lend themselves to view structuring and those that are a hindrance are discussed.
Proof of quasi-adaptivity for the m-measurement feedback class of stochastic control policies

It is shown that the m -measurement feedback (mM) policy for nonlinear stochastic control, performs as well or better than the open-loop optimal policy and hence becomes one of only a few suboptimal policies presently known to be quasi-adaptive in the sense of Witsenhausen.
Evaluation of the Corrosivity of Smoke from Fire Retarded Products

A laboratory radiant combustion/exposure apparatus was used to evaluate the corrosion of copper test probes due to smoke from burning polymers. This apparatus is under consideration by an ASTM task group for development of a standard test procedure for corrosive properties of smoke. The brief test series was conducted with several different fire-retarded polymers and non-fire retarded polymers, and comprised the use of two different heat flux fire exposures and the option of adding moisture to the atmosphere. Recommen dations are presented for further test programs to improve upon the proposed standard test methodology.
Megabar-pressure infrared study of hydrogen deuteride.

Solid hydrogen deuteride (HD) has been studied to a pressure of 159 GPa and to low temperatures using near infrared spectroscopy. Of the two high pressure phases observed in hydrogen and deuterium, known as the BSP (broken-symmetry phase) and the $A$ phase, only the BSP had been observed in the lower pressure region of the phase line of HD and it was unusually different from the homonuclear diatomic species with a reentrant behavior. In this Letter the BSP phase line is identified to its maximum pressure of 159 GPa. Infrared absorption reveals a transition to the $A$ phase, observed for the first time in HD with onset at $157\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GPa}$. A new phase of electric dipolar order that should occur at low temperature is discussed.
Cytotoxic Principles of Parquetina nigrescens (Afzel.) Bullock (Asclepiadaceae

Systematic fractionation of the cytotoxic extracts of the roots of Parquetina nigrescens (Afzel.) Bullock (Asclepiadaceae) on silica gel column chromatography led to the isolation of three cardenolides: cymarin, strophanthidin, and a strophanthidin glycoside (XS-89). Also isolated during the investigation were β-sitosterol-β-D-glucoside, a mixture of α- and β-amyrins, a mixture of alkanols, and a mixture of plant sterols.
Steric Limitations in the Interaction of the ATP Binding Domains of the ArsA ATPase

Abstract ArsA, the catalytic subunit of an anion-translocating ATPase, has two consensus nucleotide binding sites, one N-terminal and one C-terminal. A mutation producing a G15C substitution in the N-terminal domain resulted in substantial reductions in arsenite resistance, transport, and ATPase activity. A second site revertant (A344V) adjacent to the C-terminal nucleotide binding site was previously shown to restore arsenite resistance, suggesting the interaction of the nucleotide binding sites in ArsA (Li, J., Liu, S., and Rosen, B. P. (1996) J. Biol. Chem. 271, 25247–25252). In this study, it is shown that alteration of Ala-344 to bulkier residues, including Cys, Thr, Pro, Asp, Leu, Phe, Tyr, or Arg, also suppressed the G15C substitution. However, A344G or A344S substitutions only marginally suppressed the primary mutation. Alteration of Gly-15 to Ala, Cys, Asp, Tyr, or Arg each resulted in decreased arsenite resistance. The larger the residue volume of the substitution, the lower the resistance, with a G15R substitution producing the least resistance. Resistance in a strain expressing an arsA gene encoding the G15R substitution could be rescued by A344S, A344T, A344D, A344R, or A344V second site suppressors. The larger the residue is then the greater the suppression is. The in vitro ArsA ATPase activities from purified wild type, G15A, G15C, and G15R exhibits an inverse relationship between activity and residue volume. Purified G15A and G15C exhibited both an increase in the K m for ATP and a decrease inV max. The results are consistent with a physical interaction of the two nucleotide binding domains and indicate that the geometry at the interface between the N- and C-terminal nucleotide binding sites places spatial constraints on allowable residues in that interface.
Products from enzyme-catalyzed oxidations of norcarenes

Recent studies revealed that norcarane (bicyclo[4.1.0]heptane) is oxidized to 2-norcarene (bicyclo[4.1.0]-hept-2-ene) and 3-norcarene (bicyclo[4.1.0]hept-3-ene) by iron-containing enzymes and that secondary oxidation products from the norcarenes complicate mechanistic probe studies employing norcarane as the substrate (Newcomb, M.; Chandrasena, R. E. P.; Lansakara-P., D. S. P.; Kim, H.-Y.; Lippard, S. J.; Beauvais, L. G.; Murray, L. J.; Izzo, V.; Hollenberg, P. F.; Coon, M. J. J. Org. Chem. 2007, 72, 1121−1127). In the present work, the product profiles from the oxidations of 2-norcarene and 3-norcarene by several enzymes were determined. Most of the products were identified by GC and GC−mass spectral comparison to authentic samples produced independently; in some cases, stereochemical assignments were made or confirmed by 2D NMR analysis of the products. The enzymes studied in this work were four cytochrome P450 enzymes, CYP2B1, CYPΔ2E1, CYPΔ2E1 T303A, and CYPΔ2B4, and three diiron-containing enzymes, so...
Policy Reform and Income Distribution

The paper analyses the relationship between within-country income inequality and policies of domestic liberalization and external globalization. The models used to provide the rationale for such reforms—such as the Hecksher-Ohlin model—usually predict a decline in inequality. However, the evidence shows that inequality often rose with the introduction of such reforms. The paper tries to explain this discrepancy by identifying the conditions under which the models' conclusions do not hold. Indeed, such models are based on a simplifi ed view of reality and restrictive assumptions, and their predictions do not necessarily hold in conditions of institutional weakness, structural rigidities, ineffi cient markets, asymmetric information and persistent protectionism.
This is your data on drugs: lessons computer security can learn from the drug war

Researchers have recently begun to study the economics of the markets for illicit digital goods to better understand how to invest resources in the most effective mitigations. This line of work in security economics can greatly benefit from data gathering methodologies used for the study of another underground economy, which has been analyzed for the better part of a century: the illicit drug trade. We describe "promises" and "puzzles" in the use of observational data for computer security research, that have been encountered previously in drug policy research, and highlight possible lessons we can learn from this different field. We then outline potential opportunities for security research to avoid pitfalls in data collection that drug policy studies have uncovered. Finally, we argue that failure to tackle problems with observational data runs the risk of creating incorrect "mythical numbers" that can have lasting effects on public policy surrounding computer security.
An Approximation Algorithm for Data Storage Placement in Sensor Networks

Data storage has become an important issue in sensor networks as a large amount of collected data needs to be archived for future information retrieval. This paper proposes to introduce storage nodes that can store data collected from the sensors in their proximities. The storage nodes alleviate the heavy load of transmitting all the data to a central place for archiving and reduce the communication cost induced by the network query. This paper considers the storage node placement problem to minimize the total power consumption for data funneling to the storage nodes and data query. We formulate it as an integer linear programming problem and present an approximation algorithm based on a rounding technique. Our simulation shows that our approximation algorithm performs well in practice.
Building Dynamic Capabilities: Innovation Driven by Individual-, Firm-, and Network-Level Effects

Following the dynamic capabilities perspective, we suggest that antecedents to innovation can be found at the individual, firm, and network levels. Thus, we challenge two assumptions common in prior research: (1) that significant variance exists at the focal level of analysis, whereas other levels of analysis are assumed to be homogeneous, and (2) that the focal level of analysis is independent from other levels of analysis. Accordingly, we advance a set of hypotheses to simultaneously assess the direct effects of antecedents at the individual, firm, and network levels on innovation output. We then investigate whether a firm's antecedents to innovation lie across different levels. To accomplish this, we propose two competing interaction hypotheses. We juxtapose the hypothesis that the individual-, firm-, and network-level antecedents to innovation are substitutes versus the proposition that these innovation mechanisms are complements. We test our multilevel theoretical model using an unusually comprehensive and detailed panel data set that documents the innovation attempts of global pharmaceutical companies within biotechnology over a 22-year time period (1980--2001). We find evidence that the antecedents to innovation lie across different levels of analysis and can have compensating or reinforcing effects on firm-level innovative output.
Investigation of gaseous electron multipliers with magnesium photocathodes for optical triggering of back-lighted thyratrons

Summary form only given. Developing reliable and compact optical triggering systems for back-lighted thyratrons (BLTs), light-activated pseudospark switches is of interest for applications of compact pulsed power. Investigation of the electron multiplication methods is crucial for utilization of low-intensity light sources, including ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diodes (LEDs), as optical sources for triggering BLTs. Recent advances on gaseous electron multipliers(GEMs) whose operation is based on gas multiplication within small, sub-millimeter to millimeter diameter holes has shown multiplication gains of 103 in both atmospheric and low pressure gas mixtures and noble gases.In this work, we present investigation of GEM type triggering units with magnesium photocathodes for triggering BLTs. Quantum efficiency (QE) of magnesium under BLT relevant pressure conditions (upto 100 mTorr) were measured to be 105. Higher quantum yield was demonstrated for utilization of Mg photocathode compared to Cu and Mo photocathodes. Measurements of the gaseous electron multiplication in argon and helium within the pressure range of 200 mTorr to 1 Torr are presented. Possible schemes for integration of such electron multiplier units with metal photocathode materials to the switch are discussed.
Applications of gel dosimetry

Gel dosimetry has been examined as a clinical dosimeter since the 1950s. During the last two decades, however, a rapid increase in the number of investigators has been seen, and the body of knowledge regarding gel dosimetry has expanded considerably. Gel dosimetry is still considered a research project, and the introduction of this tool into clinical use is proceeding slowly. This paper will review the characteristics of gel dosimetry that make it desirable for clinical use, the postulated and demonstrated applications of gel dosimetry, and some complications, set-backs, and failures that have contributed to the slow introduction into routine clinical use.
Population trends of spanwise vortices in wall turbulence

The present effort documents the population trends of prograde and retrograde spanwise vortex cores in wall turbulence outside the buffer layer. Large ensembles of instantaneous velocity fields are acquired by particle-image velocimetry in the streamwise–wall-normal plane of both turbulent channel flow at , the retrograde populations differ considerably beyond this point, highlighting the influence of the opposing wall in channel flow.
Tools for Very Fast Regular Expression Matching

Regular expressions, or regex, are a common choice for defining configurable rules for data parsing because of their expressiveness in detecting recurrent patterns and information. For many data-intensive applications, regex matching is the first line of defense in performing online data filtering. Unfortunately, few solutions can keep up with the increasing data rates and the complexity posed by sets with hundreds of expressions. DotStar addresses this problem by providing a complete algorithmic solution and a software tool chain that can compile large sets of user-provided regex first into a sequence of intermediate representations and then into an automaton that can search for matches in a single pass without backtracking. The entire software tool chain supports the extended Posix standard syntax for regex.
Phosphate control on the thorium/uranium variations in ordinary chondrites: Improving solar system abundances

Isotope dilution thorium and uranium analyses by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry of 12 samples of Harleton (L6) show a much larger scatter than was previously observed in equilibrated ordinary chondrites. Th/U linearly correlates with 1/U in Harleton and in the total equilibrated ordinary chondrite data set as well. Such a correlation suggests a two component mixture and this trend can be quantitatively modeled as reflecting variations in the mixing ratio between two phosphate phases: chlorapatite and merrillite. The major effect is due to apatite variations, which strongly control the whole rock U concentrations. Phosphorous variations will tend to destroy the Th/U vs. 1/U correlation, and measured P concentrations on exactly the same samples as U and Th show a factor of 3 range. It appears that the P variations are compensated by inverse variations in U (a dilution effect) to preserve the Th/U vs. 1/U correlation. Because variations in whole rock Th/U are consequences of phosphate sampling, a weighted average of high accuracy Th/U measurements in equilibrated ordinary chondrites should converge to a significantly improved average solar system Th/U. Our best estimate of this ratio is 3.53 with σ_(mean) = 0.10.
Thermal coupling in 2-finger heterojunction bipolar transistors

We have previously analyzed the collapse phenomenon in heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBT's) when the mutual couplings among the transistor fingers are negligible. In this investigation, we derive the collapse loci equations in 2-finger HBT's in the presence of thermal coupling. It is found that the collapse loci equations are closely linked to a thermal instability condition best determined from the transistor regression characteristics. Unlike the previous derivation assuming zero thermal coupling, the collapse loci equations derived here are different depending on whether the HBT is driven by constant base current or constant base voltage bias. >
Concrete-Semiconcrete-Abstract (CSA) Instruction: A Decision Rule for Improving Instructional Efficacy.

A concrete–semiconcrete–abstract (CSA) instructional approach derived from discovery learning (DIS) was embedded in a direct instruction (DI) methodology to teach eight elementary students with math disabilities. One-minute abstract-level probes were the primary metric used to assess student performance on subtraction problems (minuends 0–9). A single-subject, multiple-baseline across-participants design was used to identify the differential effects of discontinuing instruction at crossover (i.e., the point when the correct response rate exceeded the incorrect response rate). Results indicate that the commonly accepted practice of teaching an entire CSA unit of lessons may not be the most efficacious approach for classroom teachers. Instead, through daily data collection and application of the “crossover decision rule” (discontinue rule), teachers can selectively target those students appropriate for additional concrete- and/or semiconcrete-level instruction and those students for whom continued practice ...
Diffraction of an extremely short optical pulse

We provide a rigorous, closed-form mathematical model of pulsed diffraction in both time and frequency domains and interpret its anomalies. The customary continuous-wave (cw) approximation is corrected for the regime below 3 fs in pulse width, the present state of the art. The time-differentiated aspect of diffraction is linked with old theory and the conservation of energy. Convolution of the pulse with differentiated aperture edges produces traveling waves in the focal plane. Their collision near the focal point corresponds to the cw case. (This is generalized for a Gaussian beam.) Spectral sampling depicts a mode-locked laser of extremely broad spectrum, validating the nonintuitive phenomena. The square-modulus tool is validated for these pulses. Ultrashort pulses are related to data transmission rates above 100 THz. Diffraction anomalies cause confusion and loss of information in the sidelobes. Anomalous diffraction may provide new diagnostics. Diffracted energy (salient sidelobes versus continuum) can measure transform-limited pulse width.
Language acquisition in the absence of experience

A fundamental goal of linguistic theory is to explain how natural languages are acquired. This paper describes some recent findings on how learners acquire syntactic knowledge for which there is little, if any, decisive evidence from the environment. The first section presents several general observations about language acquisition that linguistic theory has tried to explain and discusses the thesis that certain linguistic properties are innate because they appear universally and in the absence of corresponding experience. A third diagnostic for innateness, early emergence, is the focus of the second section of the paper, in which linguistic theory is tested against recent experimental evidence on children's acquisition of syntax.
Combining genetic and biochemical approaches to identify functional molecular contact points

Protein-protein interactions are required for many viral and cellular functions and are potential targets for novel therapies. Here we detail a series of genetic and biochemical techniques used in combination to find an essential molecular contact point on the duck hepatitis B virus polymerase. These techniques include differential immunoprecipitation, mutagenesis and peptide competition. The strength of these techniques is their ability to identify contact points on intact proteins or protein complexes employing functional assays. This approach can be used to aid identification of putative binding sites on proteins and protein complexes which are resistant to characterization by other methods.
Adhesion-enhancing surface treatments for parylene deposition

Parylene-C has been extensively used in biomedical devices as a conformal and biocompatible coating. It is also a good material for implantation. Unfortunately, serious delamination between parylene-C and other materials is often found even during standard MEMS processes such as lift-off and sacrificial photoresist releasing. Therefore, surface treatments before parylene deposition that can enhance the interface adhesion between the deposited parylene and the coated surface are highly desirable. Interestingly, the chemical structure of Parylene-C does suggest that parylene-C deposition on a clean hydrophobic surface favors a good interface adhesion. This work is then to study various surface treatments, especially on silicon and another parylene-C surfaces, by hexane, toluene, propylene carbonate (P.C.), and tetrafluoromethane (CF 4 ) plasma. Our hypothesis is then good surface cleaning can lead to interface adhesion. We report the results here using parameters such as peeling force, soaking undercut rate, and vertical attack bubble density (VABD) to quantify the effectiveness of these adhesion treatments.
Volunteering is prospectively associated with health care use among older adults.

Abstract Rationale Although observational and experimental studies have shown that volunteering is linked with better mental health, physical health, and health behaviors, no studies have examined whether volunteering is associated with patterns of health care use. Objective The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine whether volunteering was associated with a greater use of preventive health care services, but fewer doctor visits and nights spent in the hospital. Methods Participants (n = 7168) were drawn from the 2006 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative panel study of American adults over the age of 51, and tracked for one wave (2 years). Logistic regression and generalized linear models were used for analyses. Results In analyses that adjusted for sociodemographic factors and baseline health, volunteers were 30% more likely to receive flu shots (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.16–1.47), 47% more likely to receive cholesterol tests (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.24–1.74); female volunteers were 53% more likely to receive mammograms/x-rays (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.28–1.83) and 21% more likely to receive Pap smears (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.03–1.41); male volunteers were 59% more likely to receive prostate exams (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.29–1.95). In a model that adjusted for sociodemographic factors, volunteers spent 38% fewer nights in the hospital (RR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.52–0.76), however volunteering was not associated with frequency of doctor visits (RR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.87–1.02). The association between volunteering and number of nights spent in the hospital was minimally affected after adjusting for potential confounding (baseline health) and explanatory variables (health behaviors, social integration, stress, positive psychological factors, personality). Conclusion This is the first known study to examine the association between volunteering and health care use. If future studies replicate these findings, the results may be used to inform the development of new strategies for increasing preventive health screenings, lowering health care use and costs, and enhancing the health of older adults.
Child Pornography and Pedophelia

Both by international and national laws aim to shield and protect children everywhere from premature sex. However, some argue that historically and all over the globe children have been objects of sexual fantasy and exploitation. The idea that children should be protected from sex – either being exposed to or involved in it – is a relatively recent development in human history. As a consequence considerable concern is expressed by people over the prospect that children might be contaminated by viewing sexually explicit material or, worse yet, being engaged in sexual acts, either with other children or adults. The fears and efforts against precocious sex have been greatly confounded by the advent of the internet resulting in a booming international pornography industry and the use of children in pornographic productions. Data on child pornography throughout the world is assessed and the problems encountered in accurately reporting of the numbers of children worldwide who have been sexually victimized in some way or another are discussed. Discussion is also devoted to the characteristics and motivations of the people who victimize child and the children subjected to this behavior. International and national laws directed to preventing child sexual exploitation are presented and their usefulness assessed. A variety of extra-legal approaches to protecting children and dealing with child sex-offenders are explored while the prospects of meaningfully addressing this problem are assessed.
Situating Opera: Toward a characterization of modernist opera

Modernist opera? The terms we use to periodize opera are not necessarily the terms we use to characterize other forms of music. “Baroque opera,” a label attached to well over a century of works from Monteverdi through the early Gluck, belongs to the same category we apply to all the arts. But although the music of Mozart and Haydn is classified as marking the so-called Classical style, we do not readily speak of Don Giovanni or Die Zauberflote as Classical operas. Yet we do speak of Romantic opera, but this, as mentioned earlier, is a relatively narrow term that suggests Weber and his successors up to early Wagner, and it is most often applied to German examples. Yet how do we bring the Germans together with their contemporaries Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti? Better perhaps to keep the Italians by themselves and speak of the Age of Bel Canto , a period concept intrinsic to opera and not transferable to other music, let alone the other arts. Modernist opera, however, is a concept that seems to have caught on, if only because the operas we see as “modernist” emanate from composers whom we have already classified with this term. Unlike their nineteenth-century predecessors, the modernist composers of opera were not primarily “opera composers.” Very few of the great nineteenth-century opera composers created significant oeuvres outside the opera house – the most notable exceptions being Beethoven, Berlioz, and Tchaikovsky.
SYMMETRIES IN WORKSPACE DENSITIES OF DISCRETELY ACTUATED MANIPULATORS

Discrete actuators have a finite number of states, e.g. stepper motors and bistable pneumatic cylinders. Given that the number of dis­tinct configurations attainable by discretely actuated manipulators grows exponentially in the number of actuated degrees of freedom, i.e. K n for n actuators or actuated modules each with K states, brute force representation of discrete manipulator workspaces is not feasible in the highly actuated case. Approximating the workspaces of segments of discrete manipulators as density functions on the Euclidean group (which describes workspace positions and orientations) the whole workspace can be approximated as an n-fold convolution of these functions. We have shown in the past that using convolution as a computational tool reduces an O(K n )problem to something that is linear in n.
Role of Mn Content on the Electrochemical Properties of Nickel-Rich Layered LiNi0.8–xCo0.1Mn0.1+xO2 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.08) Cathodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Ni-rich layered oxides (Ni content >60%) are promising cathode candidates for Li-ion batteries because of their high discharge capacity, high energy density, and low cost. However, fast capacity fading, poor thermal stability, and sensitivity to the ambient moisture still plague their mass application. In this work, we systematically investigate the effects of Mn content on the structure, morphology, electrochemical performance, and thermal stability of the Ni-rich cathode materials LiNi0.8–xCo0.1Mn0.1+xO2 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.08). It is demonstrated that with the increase in Mn content and decrease in Ni content, the cycling stability of LiNi0.8–xCo0.1Mn0.1+xO2 to a cutoff charge voltage of 4.5 V is significantly improved. The high-Mn-content electrode LiNi0.72Co0.10Mn0.18O2 shows a capacity retention of 85.7% after 100 cycles at a 0.2 C rate at room temperature, much higher than those of the lower Mn-content samples LiNi0.80Co0.10Mn0.10O2 (64.0%) and LiNi0.76Co0.10Mn0.14O2 (72.9%). The improved capacity retenti...
Decision-Making in Japan

revolution. Without a sense of the historical context and direction of change, understanding conflict between social systems is impossible. We may view this particular conflict as one between an earlier phase (Atlantic capitalism) and a later emergent (Eurasian socialism) of industrialism. Under the actual or anticipated stress of war and depression and collapse of obsolete social forms, several societies have recently moved toward socialism. With tension still accumulating in many areas, this trend is likely to continue. E. For the analysis of major social conflicts sociology offers both an organizing framework and valuable substantive insights. But their practical use of policymakers seems remote. Administrative ideologies, like social systems, evidently do not change markedly except as a result of great stress, which alone can motivate large masses of people to modify their basic attitude and behavior patterns. This means that sociologists will never be prime movers in social change. They do not cause sufficient stress.
Aging and Input Devices: Voice Recognition Performance is Slower Yet More Acceptable than a Lightpen

Microcomputers are ubiquitous to modern society, yet older adults consistently perform more poorly than younger counterparts using standard input devices (e.g. a mouse). Prior research has revealed that direct positioning devices (e.g. light pen), minimize age differences and enable quick transfer to the non-preferred hand. This study investigates whether speech recognition may also reduce age-related declines and enhance performance of older adults in target selection tasks. Twenty-four participants ages 20–26 (M = 21.7), twenty-four participants ages 44-55 (M = 48.9), and twenty-four participants ages 65–78 (M = 70.4) were asked to select a specified target using either a light pen or speech recognition software (IBM's ViaVoice). Results revealed no age effects for type of device, but response times for target acquisition were approximately 2178 ms longer for speech recognition than the direct positioning device, and preference ratings were higher using speech as input versus the lightpen. Implications ...
Fixation and Attention Allocation in Anesthesiology Crisis Management: An Abstraction Hierarchy Perspective:

The abstraction hierarchy analysis tool developed by Vicente and Rasmussen (1992) for Ecological Interface Design (EID) provides an in depth understanding of work domain constraints and information requirements. EID and work domain analysis (WDA) have been successfully applied in several fields. However, application in the medical domain has proven to be much more difficult. This study examines the relationships between three components within the OR: the surgical team, medical equipment, and the patient. It is hypothesized that crisis management failure in the OR is due to attentional mis-allocation and can be undone by re-directing team members' attention to the appropriate level of information structure. We propose a novel structure, based on existing work domain models for the operating room, to analyze the behavior of OR teams and map their attention allocation within the abstraction hierarchy to explain fixation during medical problem solving and crisis management.
Measuring with Murray

American students rank well below international peers in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Early exposure to STEM-related concepts is critical to later academic achievement. Given the rise of tablet-computer use in early childhood education settings, interactive technology might be one particularly fruitful way of supplementing early STEM education. Using a between-subjects experimental design, we sought to determine whether preschoolers could learn a fundamental math concept (i.e., measurement with non-standard units) from educational technology, and whether interactivity is a crucial component of learning from that technology. Participants who either played an interactive tablet-based game or viewed a non-interactive video demonstrated greater transfer of knowledge than those assigned to a control condition. Interestingly, interactivity contributed to better performance on near transfer tasks, while participants in the non-interactive condition performed better on far transfer tasks. Our findings suggest that, while preschool-aged children can learn early STEM skills from educational technology, interactivity may only further support learning in certain contexts.
Reduction in promotor methylation utilizing EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate) restores RXRα expression in human colon cancer cells

// Jay Morris 1 , Vondina R. Moseley 2 , April B. Cabang 1 , Katie Coleman 2 , Wei Wei 3 , Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer 4 , Michael J. Wargovich 1 1 Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA 2 Department of Cell & Molecular Pharmacology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA 3 Department of Public Health Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA 4 Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA Correspondence to: Jay Morris, email: morrisjl@uthscsa.edu Keywords: RXRα, EGCG, methylation, epigenetics, colon cancer Received: February 18, 2016 Accepted: April 16, 2016 Published: May 6, 2016 ABSTRACT Silencing of regulatory genes through hypermethylation of CpG islands is an important mechanism in tumorigenesis. In colon cancer, RXRα, an important dimerization partner with other nuclear transcription factors, is silenced through this mechanism. We previously found that colon tumors in Apc Min/+ mice had diminished levels of RXRα protein and expression levels of this gene were restored by treatment with a green tea intervention, due to reduced promoter methylation of RXRα. We hypothesized that CIMP+ cell lines, which epigenetically silence key regulatory genes would also evidence silencing of RXRα and EGCG treatment would restore its expression. We indeed found EGCG to restore RXRα activity levels in the human cell lines, in a dose dependent manner and reduced RXRα promoter methylation. EGCG induced methylation changes in several other colon cancer related genes but did not cause a decrease in global methylation. Numerous epidemiological reports have shown the benefits of green tea consumption in reducing colon cancer risk but to date no studies have shown that the risk reduction may be related to the epigenetic restoration by tea polyphenols. Our results show that EGCG modulates the reversal of gene silencing involved in colon carcinogenesis providing a possible avenue for colon cancer prevention and treatment.
Assessing Disease State in the Pulmonary Vasculature in Clinical Practice and Research

The pulmonary circulation is normally a high-flow, low-resistance, low-pressure system that carries blood to the pulmonary microcirculation where gas exchange occurs. In pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), the vasculature becomes less compliant as a result of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and hypertrophy, and endothelial cell proliferation resulting in lumen obliteration. This change results in a highly resistant low compliance system, which places an undue load on the right ventricle, eventually leading to right heart failure. The timeline of events that result in an obliterative vascular remodeling parallels the evolution of right ventricular (RV) remodeling from a normal to a decompensated state. Patients commonly present with non- specific symptoms of exercise limitation and dyspnea. Once a diagnosis is made and patients are started on therapy clinicians and researchers face the challenge of how to serially and objectively follow patients to gauge treatment response. There are a number of approaches available and being developed to assess response to therapy. Consequently there is a need to analyze current techniques and identify the future techniques that might be useful to guide management of PAH.
Research and design of the intelligent LED lighting systems

Based on the analysis of the characteristics of LED lights and the lighting of the school and office locations,the intelligent and efficient LED lighting system was designed,and the description and analysis was given,using the principles of artificial intelligence.Based on the expert knowledge of data fusion technology,the knowledge base and designed the temperature and the human body detection circuit,illumination circuit and the PWM circuit were established.The results shows that this study can be applied to the field of lighting,it is a certain significance for the further development of intelligent LED lighting system.
Modeling Healthcare Quality via Compact Representations of Electronic Health Records

Increased availability of Electronic Health Record (EHR) data provides unique opportunities for improving the quality of health services. In this study, we couple EHRs with the advanced machine learning tools to predict three important parameters of healthcare quality. More specifically, we describe how to learn low-dimensional vector representations of patient conditions and clinical procedures in an unsupervised manner, and generate feature vectors of hospitalized patients useful for predicting their length of stay, total incurred charges, and mortality rates. In order to learn vector representations, we propose to employ state-of-the-art language models specifically designed for modeling co-occurrence of diseases and applied clinical procedures. The proposed model is trained on a large-scale EHR database comprising more than 35 million hospitalizations in California over a period of nine years. We compared the proposed approach to several alternatives and evaluated their effectiveness by measuring accuracy of regression and classification models used for three predictive tasks considered in this study. Our model outperformed the baseline models on all tasks, indicating a strong potential of the proposed approach for advancing quality of the healthcare system.
The Role of Bundled Maintenance Warranties

Signal Theory posits that a product warranty functions as a cue to product reliability and therefore functions to lower risk to the consumer. The results of the survey reported here suggest that this notion is not universally true in some situations involving a long-term microcomputer maintenance warranty. These results suggest that the strategic desirability of bundling a long-term maintenance warranty with a complex product is limited.
Formation and Hydration of Cement and Cement Compounds

This chapter explores an understanding of the complex physico-chemical phenomena associated with the formation and behavior of cementitious compounds that is is facilitated through the application of many different types of investigative methods. Of the thermal analysis techniques the differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and conduction calorimetric methods are more popularly used than others. They are more adaptable, easier to use, and yield important results in a short span of time. The aim of this chapter is to highlight the application of these techniques and some of the work reported, utilizing other related methods that are mentioned with typical examples.
Oral Baclofen Withdrawal Resulting in Progressive Weakness and Sedation Requiring Intensive Care Admission

Baclofen is a common medication used as a muscle relaxant and antispasmodic. Baclofen-withdrawal syndrome has many symptoms such as sedation, somnolence, and weakness but can include psychological symptoms. We present a 62-year-old female whose oral baclofen was not continued at a skilled nursing facility after discharge following inpatient surgery that led to the development of altered mental status and respiratory insufficiency necessitating intensive care unit admission. Abrupt cessation of baclofen, no matter the mode of administration to the patient, can lead to baclofen-withdrawal syndrome.
Production-run software failure diagnosis via Adaptive Communication Tracking

Software failure diagnosis techniques work either by sampling some events at production-run time or by using some bug detection algorithms. Some of the techniques require the failure to be reproduced multiple times. The ones that do not require such, are not adaptive enough when the execution platform, environment or code changes. We propose ACT, a diagnosis technique for production-run failures, that uses the machine intelligence of neural hardware. ACT learns some invariants (e.g., data communication invariants) on-the-fly using the neural hardware and records any potential violation of them. Since ACT can learn invariants on-the-fly, it can adapt to any change in execution setting or code. Since it records only the potentially violated invariants, the postprocessing phase can pinpoint the root cause fairly accurately without requiring to observe the failure again. ACT works seamlessly for many sequential and concurrency bugs. The paper provides a detailed design and implementation of ACT in a typical multiprocessor system. It uses a three stage pipeline for partially configurable one hidden layer neural networks. We have evaluated ACT on a variety of programs from popular benchmarks as well as open source programs. ACT diagnoses failures caused by 16 bugs from these programs with accurate ranking. Compared to existing learning and sampling based approaches, ACT has better diagnostic ability. For the default configuration, ACT has an average execution overhead of 8.2%.
ATVB In Focus: Novel Approaches to the Treatment of Dyslipidemia

Disorders of plasma lipoprotein metabolism (“dyslipidemia”) play a major role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Low-density lipoproteins (LDL), as well as other atherogenic apoB-containing lipoproteins, are known to promote cholesterol accumulation in macrophages as well as inflammatory responses within the vessel wall, leading to atherosclerosis progression. In addition, high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and their major apolipoprotein, apoA-I, promote the efflux of cholesterol from macrophages, the first step in the process of reverse cholesterol transport, and have other antiinflammatory and antioxidant effects that may contribute to inhibition of atherosclerosis. Pharmacological treatment to reduce levels of atherogenic lipoproteins, particularly the use of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG) coenzyme A (CoA) reductase inhibitors, or statins, has been proven in multiple large clinical outcome trials to significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular events, generally by about one-third over five years. Indeed, the reduction of cardiovascular risk with statin therapy has been one of the greatest advances in medicine over the last two decades, and the expanding use of statin therapy will undoubtedly contribute to an important reduction in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease over the next several decades. See page 482 However, the success of statin therapy has not eliminated the importance of continuing to develop new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of dyslipidemia. First, as the targets for …
Orientation Control of Selected Organic Semiconductor Crystals Achieved by Monolayer Graphene Templates

Crystal orientation in organic thin films is one of the key parameters that determine absorption cross-section, interfacial energetics and excitonic states, and free charge properties. In this work, monolayer graphene is used to direct the crystal orientation of selected planar organic molecules. Lying-down orientation with π-stacking normal to the surface is achieved with graphene templating. The absorption spectra of the graphene-templated films are correlated to molecular orientation. The same set of absorption features with or without graphene suggests that no vibronic states are forbidden or newly introduced. However, the light absorption with graphene templating is enhanced due to the altered relative orientation between the transition dipole moment of the constituent molecules and the electric field of incident light. The energy level of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of graphene templated p-type films is observed at a deeper-lying value (relative to vacuum) compared to untemplated diindenoperylene films grown on indium tin oxide. In contrast, the HOMO energy levels of graphene templated n-type films are observed at higher-lying energy levels (relative to vacuum) compared to the respective untemplated films due to surface dipoles. Such a change can potentially increase the theoretical V oc expected for photovoltaic devices incorporating these templated films.
Net Neutrality| Wonkish Populism in Media Advocacy and Net Neutrality Policy Making

This article identifies a discursive tactic in media policy advocacy it calls wonkish populism and describes some of its features and operations as evident in the net neutrality debates. Wonkish populism is an advocacy technique that entails public participation in arcane regulatory procedures, with rhetoric antagonistic to establishment structures but steeped in policy minutia. Media policy advocates have used wonkish populism to stimulate mass participation in bureaucratic processes like rulemaking proceedings with language and practices that connect collective opposition to concentrated power with regulatory specificity that gains traction in the policy sphere. This article critically examines the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet policy-making process to illustrate wonkish populism in net neutrality advocates’ linkage of the terms and processes of policy insiders with the values and actions of political outsiders.