cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The role of faculty autonomy in a course-integrated information literacy program

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the significance of faculty autonomy in sustaining a successful information literacy program. Design/methodology/approach – Faculty members were given the opportunity to create courses that integrated and assessed information literacy as part of a course grant program associated with an institutional assessment mandate. This case study analyzes course grant proposals, course assessment methods and results. It also presents results of a follow-up survey of faculty participants to see if they continued to integrate information literacy in other courses. Results are situated in the context of self-determination theory to better understand the role of autonomy in faculty motivation and participation in an assessment program. Findings – Defining and integrating information literacy themselves allowed faculty to align information literacy with their own course goals. Supporting faculty in choosing their own assessment methods for these integrations also provided program administrators with new information about faculty members’ teaching and learning practices and values. Results of a follow-up study confirmed that faculty continued to integrate information literacy in their courses of their own accord, underscoring the importance of an autonomy-supportive program structure. Originality/value – This paper provides evidence for information literacy advocates that faculty autonomy can be a strength, not an obstacle. It demonstrates ways to incorporate and allow for autonomy within program constraints and introduces librarians to self-determination theory, a way of thinking about motivation that can help librarians pursue more effective collaborations with faculty.
Feedback control of plasma etching reactors for improved etching uniformity

This workfocuses on the design and implementation of a feedbackcontrol system on a parallel electrode plasma etching (PE) process with showerhead arrangement used to etch a 500 A amorphous silicon thin "lm on a 4 in wafer. The feedbackcontrol system consists of three spatially distributed proportional integral controllers that use measurements of the etching rate at three locations across the wafer to manipulate the inlet concentration of carbon tetra#uoride in the showerhead. The controller is implemented on a detailed fundamental model of the process, which accounts for di!usive and convective mass transfer, bulkand surface reactions, and non-uniform#uid #ow and plasma electron density pro"les, and is shown to reduce the etching rate nonuniformity from 30.2% to 3.8%. 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Tumor infiltrating B-cells are increased in prostate cancer tissue.

The presence of increased B-cell tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) was seen in mouse prostate cancer (PCa) but has not been fully documented in human PCa. We, therefore, investigated the density of infiltrating B cells within human PCa utilizing a quantitative computational method. Archived radical prostatectomy specimens from 53 patients with known clinical outcome and D’Amico risk category were obtained and immunohistochemically (IHC) stained for the B cell marker, CD20. Slides were reviewed by a genitourinary pathologist who manually delineated the tumoral regions of PCa. Slides were digitally scanned and a computer algorithm quantified the area of CD20 stained B-cells as a measure of B cell density within the outlined regions of prostate cancer (intra-tumoral region), versus extra-tumoral prostate tissue. Correlations were analyzed between B-cell density and demographic and clinical variables, including D’Amico risk groups and disease recurrence. For the entire cohort, the mean intra-tumoral B cell density was higher (3.22 SE = 0.29) than in the extra-tumoral region of each prostatectomy section (2.24, SE = 0.19) (paired t test; P < 0.001). When analyzed according to D’Amico risk group, the intra-tumoral B cell infiltration in low risk (0.0377 vs. 0.0246; p = 0.151) and intermediate risk (0.0260 vs. 0.0214; p = 0.579) patient prostatectomy specimens did not show significantly more B-cells within the PCa tumor. However, patient specimens from the high-risk group (0.0301 vs. 0.0197; p < 0.001) and from those who eventually had PCa recurrence or progression (0.0343 vs. 0.0246; p = 0.019) did show significantly more intra-tumoral CD20+ B-cell staining. Extent of B-cell infiltration in the prostatectomy specimens did not correlate with any other clinical parameters. Our study shows that higher B-cell infiltration was present within the intra-tumoral PCa regions compared to the extra-tumoral benign prostate tissue regions in prostatectomy sections. For this study we developed a new method to measure B-cells using computer-assisted digitized image analysis. Accurate, consistent quantitation of B-cells in prostatectomy specimens is essential for future clinical trials evaluating the effect of B cell ablating antibodies. The interaction of B-cells and PCa may serve as the basis for new therapeutic targets.
How do probation officers assess and manage recidivism and violence risk for probationers with mental disorder? An experimental investigation

Persons with mental disorder are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Once involved in the criminal justice system, offenders with mental disorder are more likely to return to custody while on probation than their nondisordered counterparts, often for breaking the rules of community supervision. Risk assessments and risk management strategies employed by probation officers can lead to higher rates of returns to custody for probationers with mental disorder, and the current study is the first to examine these experimentally. Here, 234 probation officers provided risk assessments and risk management decisions based on a vignette portraying a probationer with mental disorder, substance abuse disorder, both, or neither. Although substance abuse is a relatively stronger risk factor than mental disorder, mental disorder had a stronger effect on officers' risk assessments. In terms of risk management, mental disorder had the strongest effect on officers' desire to manage risk with forced mental health treatment. These findings suggest that training for probation officers in the relative utility of mental disorder in predicting risk, in addition to evidence-based risk management strategies that take the focus off mental disorder, may improve outcomes for probationers with mental disorder.
Ankle Joint Contact Loads and Displacement With Progressive Syndesmotic Injury.

Background:Ligamentous injuries to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis are predictive of long-term ankle dysfunction. Mild and moderate syndesmotic injuries are difficult to stratify, and the impact of syndesmosis injury on the magnitude and distribution of forces within the ankle joint during athletic activities is unknown.Methods:Eight below-knee cadaveric specimens were tested in the intact state and after sequential sectioning of the following ligaments: anterior-inferior tibiofibular, anterior deltoid (1 cm), interosseous/transverse (IOL/TL), posterior-inferior tibiofibular, and whole deltoid. In each condition, specimens were loaded in axial compression to 700 N and then externally rotated to 20 N·m torque.Results:During axial loading and external rotation, both the fibula and the talus rotated significantly after each ligament sectioning as compared to the intact condition. After IOL/TL release, a significant increase in posterior translation of the fibula was observed, although no syndesmotic wide...
Virtual reality's moment

Virtual reality has been hyped as the next big thing for decades-and yet, it never seems to deliver. Despite the potential, particularly in the world of gaming, numerous attempts have left players dizzy with disappointment, and just plain dizzy. So why should you believe us when we say that this is the year?
Creating Keweenaw: Parkmaking as response to post-mining economic decline

Abstract Communities respond to the loss of mining in a multitude of ways. Oftentimes, grassroots organizations embrace the heritage of former industry for economic development and for reassurance of their place’s significance. Between 1986 and 1992, national politicians joined grassroots efforts in order to establish Keweenaw National Historical Park. The mostly-privatized park encompasses decentralized spaces of copper extraction, processing, and worker housing. This paper examines efforts to create Keweenaw National Historical Park and the resulting challenges inherent in this mostly privatized park format. In so doing, Keweenaw National Historical Park’s story contributes to the ongoing debate over the ideal formats for commemorating dormant mining industries.
Effects of porcine thyrocalcitonin on serum calcium, phosphorus and magnesium in the monkey and in man.

SummaryThe effects of subcutaneous administration of a crude extract of porcine thyrocalcitonin on serum calcium, phosphorus and magnesium were studied in 5 rhesus monkeys and in 3 normal human subjects. Thyrocalcitonin lowered serum calcium in each of the monkeys and normal subjects but did not change serum magnesium. Changes in serum phosphorus were the same as those in control studies. Extracts from human thyroid glands showed calcium-lowering activity in rats. These findings together with those from other laboratories support the view that thyrocalcitonin plays a role in the physiological control of calcium metabolism in man.
Dosimeter selection criteria in radiation research and processing dosimetry

In both radiation research and radiation processing dosimetry, one of the most important problems dealt with by the experimenter and technician is the proper choice of a dosimetry system.
The older person has a stroke: Learning to adapt using the Feldenkrais® Method

The older person with a stroke requires adapted therapeutic interventions to take into account normal age-related changes. The Feldenkrais® Method presents a model for learning to promote adaptability that addresses key functional changes seen with normal aging. Clinical examples related to specific functional tasks are discussed to highlight major treatment modifications and neuromuscular, psychological, emotional, and sensory considerations.
Molecular Dynamics Simulations and XAFS (MD-XAFS)

MD-XAFS (Molecular Dynamics X-ray Adsorption Fine Structure) makes the connection between simulation techniques that generate an ensemble of molecular configurations and the direct signal observed from X-ray measurement. Due to the fact that the signal is most sensitive to the structure nearest to a photoelectron source, an understanding of XAFS signal is an exquisite tool for decoding the nearest neighbor coordination and correlated structure of the solvent molecules surrounding the photo-electron source. The XAFS signal can be constructed from an ensemble of scattering paths. Often the signal cannot be decomposed into a few dominant paths with characteristics that can be fitted. MD-XAFS takes advantage of the direct correspondence between the ensemble of molecular configurations and the ensemble of scattering paths, taking into account the complex correlation between them resulting in the observed signal. Due to the fact that significant phenomena are controlled by solvent response and fluctuations, such as diffusion and speciation of species, the establishment of the connection between molecular simulation and experiment has established utility in materials and catalysis systems.
Modeling Operator Workload for the Resource Prospector Lunar Rover Mission

NASA’s Resource Prospector mission is an unmanned lunar exploration mission currently in the concept development stage. Early tests have shown that the unique mission characteristics may combine to create the potential for very high workload for operators. This paper applies a taxonomy of workload drivers to identify the contextual variables expected to contribute to operator workload during the mission. Specifically, workload drivers attributed to the environment, task demands, equipment, and operator characteristics are reviewed. This research is intended to support the development of predictive models of operator workload to support the design and evaluation of workload countermeasures for the mission.
Preemptive, low latency datacenter scheduling via lightweight virtualization

Data centers are evolving to host heterogeneous workloads on shared clusters to reduce the operational cost and achieve higher resource utilization. However, it is challenging to schedule heterogeneous workloads with diverse resource requirements and QoS constraints. On the one hand, latency-critical jobs need to be scheduled as soon as they are submitted to avoid any queuing delays. On the other hand, best-effort long jobs should be allowed to occupy the cluster when there are idle resources to improve cluster utilization. The challenge lies in how to minimize the queuing delays of short jobs while maximizing cluster utilization. Existing solutions either forcibly kill long jobs to guarantee low latency for short jobs or disable preemption to optimize utilization. Hybrid approaches with resource reservations have been proposed but need to be tuned for specific workloads. In this paper, we propose and develop BIG-C, a container-based resource management framework for Big Data cluster computing. The key design is to leverage lightweight virtualization, a.k.a, containers to make tasks preemptable in cluster scheduling. We devise two types of preemption strategies: immediate and graceful preemptions and show their effectiveness and tradeoffs with loosely-coupled MapReduce workloads as well as iterative, in-memory Spark workloads. Based on the mechanisms for task preemption, we further develop a preemptive fair share cluster scheduler. We have implemented BIG-C in YARN. Our evaluation with synthetic and production workloads shows that low-latency and high utilization can be both attained when scheduling heterogeneous workloads on a contended cluster
Power and Technology Scaling into the 5 nm Node with Stacked Nanosheets

Terence Hook has been with IBM since 1980, after receiving his ScB from Brown University. He earned his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Yale University in 1986. While at IBM, he has worked on technology integration and device design for bipolar, BiCMOS, and CMOS technologies from 2 μm to 5 nm and beyond. He has authored dozens of conference and journal papers and holds more than 100 patents. He is currently with IBM Research in Albany, NY.
Exercise-induced myokines: a brief review of controversial issues of this decade

Introduction: Myokines, known to mediate metabolism, inflammation, and other pathophysiological conditions, have been widely investigated, including myokines induced by exercise. However, among pub...
A LEARNING CURVE FOR SHARED DECISION MAKING: THE IMPACT OF PHYSICIAN EXPERIENCE ON DECISION AID EFFICACY IN SEVERE AORTIC STENOSIS

The adoption of shared decision making (SDM) in cardiology practice is difficult. This study investigates the impact of physicians' experience using AS Choice, a decision aid (DA) to help patients with severe aortic stenosis explore options between transcatheter aortic valve replacement and medical
Sex steroids mediate discrete effects on HDL cholesterol efflux capacity and particle concentration in healthy men.

Background Exogenous testosterone decreases serum concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in men, but whether this alters cardiovascular risk is uncertain. Objective To investigate the effects of testosterone and estradiol on HDL particle concentration (HDL-Pima) and metrics of HDL function. Methods We enrolled 53 healthy men, 19 to 55 years of age, in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. Subjects were rendered medically castrate using the GnRH receptor antagonist acyline and administered either (1) placebo gel, (2) low-dose transdermal testosterone gel (1.62%, 1.25 g), (3) full replacement dose testosterone gel (1.62%, 5 g) or (4) full replacement dose testosterone gel together with an aromatase inhibitor for 4 weeks. At baseline and end of treatment, serum HDL total macrophage and ABCA1-specific cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC), HDL-Pima and size, and HDL protein composition were determined. Results Significant differences in serum HDL-C were observed with treatment across groups (P = .01 in overall repeated measures ANOVA), with increases in HDL-C seen after both complete and partial testosterone deprivation. Medical castration increased total HDL-Pima (median [interquartile range] 19.1 [1.8] nmol/L at baseline vs 21.3 [3.1] nmol/L at week 4, P = .006). However, corresponding changes in total macrophage CEC and ABCA1-specific CEC were not observed. Change in serum 17β-estradiol concentration correlated with change in total macrophage CEC (β = 0.33 per 10 pg/mL change in serum 17β-estradiol, P = .03). Conclusions Testosterone deprivation in healthy men leads to a dissociation between changes in serum HDL-C and HDL CEC. Changes in serum HDL-C specifically due to testosterone exposure may not reflect changes in HDL function.
Feminism, Gender, and Race

Feminism has developed into gender studies and its focus on white middle-class women has broadened. Intersectionality as a method of analysis and basis for political action is more contextualized than identity politics, because people have multiple identities. Within philosophy, first white feminism and then African American philosophy became established. Black feminist philosophers proceed by reclaiming historical figures for philosophical analysis and inspiration, forging connections between different traditions in philosophy, and philosophizing contemporary concerns of black women. Black male philosophy is both the work of black male philosophers and a focus on the experience of black men, especially harmfully false and dangerous stereotypes. A new question of intersection arises: Who may write about whom and is the race/gender of sources important?
Single Crystal Growth and Study of the Ferromagnetic Superconductor RbEuFe4As4

RbEuFe4As4 exhibits both superconducting order in the FeAs layers and ferromagnetic order in the Eu layers, providing a good platform to study the interaction and microscopic coexistence of these two traditionally incompatible orders. Growing high-quality RbEuFe4As4 single crystals is essential to investigate these phenomena at a deeper level. Here we report the successful growth of the RbEuFe4As4 single crystals with millimeter-size dimensions using a RbAs flux. The high-quality crystals were characterized via resistivity, magnetization, and heat capacity measurements. Single crystal X-ray diffraction data refinements reveal almost regular FeAs4 tetrahedra (As1–Fe–As1 = 108.60(7)°, As2–Fe–As2 = 109.01(8)°, and As1–Fe–As2 = 109.81(2)°) in RbEuFe4As4, providing structural support for the highest superconducting transition temperature (Tc = 36.8 K) among all known AAeFe4As4 (A = K, Rb, Cs; Ae = Ca, Sr, Eu) compounds. Our flux method using RbAs can also be employed to grow other desired transition metal comp...
On the Paternity of a Market Delineation Approach

This paper traces the historical antecedants of the 1982 Merger Guidelines SSNIP (small but significant and non-transitory increase in price) approach to market definition. Surveying the prior literature, it recognizes that the person believed to have proposed the approach was Morris Adelman. The author claims a second-mover slot for his testimony in a 1972 brewing merger case, the IBM case, and the Marathon-Mobil case of 1981, along with a 1980 restatement of market definition principles in his industrial organization textbook. Intermediate contributions are also surveyed.
Copper-Based Metallization

Copper is suggested as a replacement for Aluminum as interconnect material in the fine-line interconnects required for high-packing density integrated circuits. The melting temperature of Cu (1083°C) is well above that of Al (660°) so that Cu should be more stable than Al in regard to void formation induced by thermal stress or electromigration. This paper addresses one of the strong disadvantages of Cu in that it reacts readily with Si, metals, and silicides at low (200 to 300°C) process temperatures. Cu oxidizes rapidly in air ambients and does not form a self-limiting oxide layer as is found in Al. A diffusion barrier technology is required to prevent reaction of Cu with the surrounding materials and the ambient.
Free energy surfaces in the superconducting mixed state

The free energy surface for Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 has been measured as a function of temperature and magnetic field to determine the fundamental thermodynamic properties of the mixed state. The change in free energy, G(H)-G(O), is found to be linear in temperature over a wide range indicating that the specific heat is independent of field.
Infields, Outfields, and Broken Lands

Even before the advent of the well-known “prime mover” theories of the 20th century (i.e. Wittfogel 1957, Boserup 1965) fired the imaginations of contemporaneous archaeologists, scholars had long been asking questions about the connections between political power, agricultural intensification, and economics. While enthusiasm for these ideas has faded, there is still an active debate about the role of state governments in what archaeologists interpret as intensification attempts, and all the ramifications — social, political and economic — that may be inferred from them. Despite some earlier calls for a deeper look into the causes and consequences of intensification (i.e. Bender 1978), until the 1990s, a fairly simple line was usually drawn, connecting large agricultural “improvement projects” and the idea of top-down directives from authoritarian rulers. Even with a continuing accumulation of contradictory data, many researchers continued to assert that only those who could see from the top of a “pyramid” — both literally and figuratively — could have the perspective to organize and plan such complex undertakings. More recently, several authors have called this into question — while some cases surely illustrate the power of elites to demand or support increased production, in other cases, both labor and organization can be traced to farmers and farming communities, who turn out to be fairly capable of both creating and maintaining large, complicated systems of terracing, irrigation, land reclamation, and other laborious intensification schemes (Erickson 1993, Frederick, this volume, Lansing & Kremer 1993). This has led some researchers to replace the top-down assumption with a generalized skepticism about the extent of elite authority in organizing agricultural intensification.
Creating a Favorable Tax Environment for Small Business

Abstract The paper first discusses the growth of the SME sector in the region and its impact on tax policy and tax administration. It then describes approaches chosen by different countries in the region to reduce the tax burden and compliance costs for SMEs. The paper looks at policy changes in Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, and Albania and analyzes their motives and impact. In the final section the paper shows that, despite the often very generous tax reductions offered by simplified regimes, these regimes have not significantly altered the tax behavior of SME operators.
Incorporating Vicarious Learning Environments with Discourse Scaffolds into Physics Classrooms

The current study investigated the role of discourse scaffolds embedded into vicarious learning environments in classroom learning. In the current study, one of three vicarious learning conditions with varying levels of discourse scaffolds preceded standard instruction on seven classroom days. An explanation condition included deep questions, course content and explanations. In a question condition the explanations were deleted. A monologue condition contained only course content. The explanation condition participants showed significantly greater learning gains for daily sessions. Results are discussed in terms of presenting vicarious explanations and their role in classroom instruction.
Synaptic Growth As A Learning Model

Abstract In this paper, three S ynaptic G rowth N etwork (SGN) models are introduced. All SGN's described are sparsely connected neural architectures whose principle use is the storage and recovery of binary associated patterns. All SGN models utilize “dendritic domains” that model input interactions on localized regions of the dendritic surface. Selection of inter-neuron connections and domain formation are statistical, non-Hebbian processes modeling biological synaptic growth. Theorems are given demonstrating SGN association storage capacity with respect to the number and specificity of connections, number of active neurons per association, amount of binary noise present during recall and tolerated association error.
REGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTION BY PEPTIDE ANTIBIOTICS

ABSTRACT Peptide antibiotics are produced by Bacillus species near the onset of sporulation, and both genetic and physiological evidence point to a relationship between antibiotics and sporulation. Based on our observation that tyrothricin, the antibiotic complex produced by Bacillus brevis, inhibits RNA synthesis in growing but not in sporulating cultures of the producing organism, we had proposed earlier that peptide antibiotics may function as regulatory effectors of transcription which inhibit the expression of certain vegetative genes without interfering with the expression of sporulation functions. Consistent with this idea was the observed inhibition of purified RNA polymerase by the constituents of tyrothricin, gramicidin and tyrocidine, at concentrations equivalent to their intracellular level at the beginning of sporulation. If the inhibition of RNA synthesis by gramicidin indeed served a regulatory function, one might expect the antibiotic to affect specifically one of the early stages of transcription involved in promoter selection. In fact, the results presented here indicate that the later steps in transcription, the formation of the initiation complex and subsequent chain elongation, are relatively resistant to gramicidin. On the other hand, the formation of the binary complex between RNA polymerase and DNA is inhibited by the antibiotic to nearly the same extent as overall RNA synthesis. Further analysis of this effect showed that gramicidin not only inhibits the formation of the “open” RNA polymerase - DNA complex but that it actually destabilizes this complex and enhances its rate of dissociation. In this respect, gramicidin differs from unspecific agents, such as heparin, which inhibit complex formation simply by binding to free RNA polymerase. Since the formation of the “open” RNA polymerase - DNA complex appears to involve the opening of the DNA strands to permit RNA polymerase to interact directly with the template bases, it is probably of central importance in the selectivity of transcription. The inhibition by gramicidin of this specific step is thus highly suggestive of a role in the regulation of transcription.
Customer-and Network-Aware Decentralized EV Charging Control

In this paper, we develop a decentralized electric vehicle (EV) charging control framework that can (i) alleviate impacts of EV charging on the distribution network including nodal voltage drop and transformer overloading, (ii) utilize aggregated charging power to facilitate grid-level services, and (iii) enable drivers to designate local charging objectives. The control design is formulated as an optimization problem with a non-separable objective function, and globally and locally coupled constraints. We present an improved shrunken-primal-dual subgradient (SPDS) algorithm to support the decentralized control scheme. Simulations are conducted under various realistic scenarios to verify the efficacy of the proposed framework.
In-hospital outcomes of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT).

e18091Background: Allogeneic HCT is a potentially curative option for certain patients with AML. However, in-hospital outcomes and cost haven't been described. We use the NIS, a nationally weighted...
Brief cognitive screening detects baseline cognitive impairment and predicts in-hospital complexity (P6.186)

Objective: To test the utility of a rapid cognitive assessment – the six-item screener (SIS) – in the initial day of a hospital visit for acute illness. Background: Brief cognitive assessments can help to risk-stratify the ill, or to detect incipient dementia in otherwise healthy patients. Patients seen by our Neurology Consult Service sometimes have poor baseline cognition, acute worsening in cognition, or an admixture of both. In this complex setting – usually the emergency department – it is not known whether standard assessments lose their accuracy, or instead preserve it, allowing us to simultaneously risk-stratify the ill and screen for dementia. Design/Methods: We measured performance on the SIS within 24 hours of hospital arrival in one hundred consecutive English-speaking patients aged ≥ 45 years. Performance was compared to patient age, documented cognitive impairment, and proxies for in-hospital complexity, including whether or not a patient was admitted to the hospital, and the number of medical studies ordered. Results: Those with poor SIS performance were older (P = 0.02), more likely to have previously-identified cognitive impairment (P Conclusions: Poor performance on the SIS was sensitive and specific for known cognitive impairment and predicted in-hospital complexity. Disclosure: Dr. Bissig has nothing to disclose. Dr. DeCarli has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Novartis Pharmaceuticals.
Using Python for Mapping Molecular Dynamics Simulation Openmm Onto the Xeon Phi Architecture

In seeking to accelerate the mathematically intense engineering and scientific applications, parallel computing is used to bypass the physical limitations of traditional stand-alone CPU based systems. This has led to the creation of new hardware and software paradigms developed in tandem for future performance gains. The thrust of this paper is to investigate the performance of applications and code run in two distinct hardware configurations: standalone 16-Core 2.3 GHz Intel Xeon E5-2968 CPU and the Xeon E5 coupled with dual Xeon Phi 7120 61-Core 1.25GHz Intel Many Integrated Core (MIC) Architecture. The hardware configurations were implemented under different software environments: standard Python, Intel's distribution of Python and both Python versions with Automatic Offloading enabled. The results revealed a significant increase in application performance when implemented under Intel's distribution of Python combined with the offloading of computationally demanding portions of the code to the host co-processors.
Enhancing Debond Fracture Toughness of Sandwich Composites for Marine Current Turbine Blades

Sandwich composites for marine current turbine blades were investigated. Sandwich with composite face-sheet and polymeric foam core is of particular interest. Foam as core materials can provide high stiffness and buckling strength to the blade which is required under water where the density is 800 times higher than air. In addition to stiffness and strength, simplicity in manufacturing, self-buoyancy, and superior fatigue performance of sandwich composites are other advantages. However, in sandwich composites, two failure modes are dominant; one is core shear, and the other is face-core debonding. To assess this debonding, mode-I fracture toughness, also known as debond-fracture toughness was determined. The sandwich composite was made of carbon/epoxy face sheet with syntactic and polyurethane foam cores. In order to improve upon the fracture toughness, chopped strand mat (CSM) were inserted at the face-core interface. ASTM D5528-01 test method was used in single cantilever beam (SCB) configuration to determine the fracture toughness. Sandwich composites with a syntactic and polyurethane foam core were found to have an average debond toughness of 177 J/m2 and 175 J/m2, respectively. After CSM was introduced at the interface, toughness increased by about 14% in both cases. Details of sandwich construction, their characterization, and source of improvement in fracture toughness is described in the paper.
Erythema Multiforme Versus Stevens–Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis: Subtle Difference in Presentation, Major Difference in Management

Erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis are immune-mediated epidermal conditions with variable clinical presentations. Although their clinical presentations often overlap, they have distinct etiologies and potential outcomes, which necessitate specific management strategies. This case is presented to highlight the subtle differences and review management given that Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis can rapidly become life-threatening. The need for astute diagnostic work-up and accuracy is magnified in the military setting given operations in austere environments and availability of medical and medical evacuation resources. Herein, we present a less common case of bullous erythema-multiforme, the diagnostic approach, and clinical differential with special attention to the importance of the military physician.
Classification of autism spectrum disorder from blood metabolites: Robustness to the presence of co-occurring conditions

Abstract Background Previous studies have found plasma measurements of metabolites from the folate-dependent one-carbon metabolism (FOCM) and transsulfuration (TS) pathways to be useful for differentiating individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from their typically developing peers. However, ASD is heterogeneous due to wide variation in the presence of co-occurring behavioral and medical conditions, and it is unknown how these conditions influence the ability to identify ASD based on FOCM/TS metabolites. Method This study employs a previously developed multivariate model that makes use of five FOCM/TS measurements (S-adenosylmethionine/S-adenosylhomocysteine, glutamylcysteine, glutathione disulfide, free cystine/free cysteine, and percent oxidized glutathione) to distinguish children with ASD from typically developing children. The model is used here to evaluate an independent cohort of individuals having ASD with diagnosed co-occurring conditions (age range 2–17 years old) and assess classifier performance in the presence/absence of these conditions. The four categories of co-occurring conditions considered were allergic disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, immune/metabolic disorders, and neurological disorders. All data were collected and retrospectively analyzed from previous clinical studies. Results The model was able to identify 124 of 131 participants with ASD (94.7 %) correctly regardless of co-occurring condition status. Model performance was generally not sensitive to the absence or presence of most co-occurring conditions, with the exceptions of ever/never having allergies or gastrointestinal symptoms, or currently (not) having any condition, all of which had minor impacts on model prediction accuracy. Conclusion The results of this exploratory study suggest that a FOCM/TS-based classifier for diagnosing ASD may potentially be robust to variations in co-occurring conditions and potentially applicable across ASD subtypes. Larger, more comprehensive follow-up studies with typically developing and/or developmentally delayed control groups are required to provide a more conclusive assessment of classifier robustness to co-occurring conditions.
Vision Simultaneous Localization and Mapping for Autonomous Navigation using ORB Method

In the past few decades, mobile robots and autonomous systems have attracted great attention from researchers around the world, and significant progress and breakthroughs have been made. At present, mobile robots can perform complex tasks autonomously such as delivering a package. The aim of this paper is to check the loop closing module of ORB method for three different aspects: the robustness in dynamic environment; the stability of the map points for reverse orientations and the ability to distinguish visually challenging scenario for real time applications like autonomous navigation.
Women Inclusivity in Entrepreneurial and STEM Related Education—A Case Study:

This paper presents an interdisciplinary case study on women's inclusivity in an entrepreneurship class consisting of adults enrolled in interdisciplinary majors, including science, technology, eng...
Dynamic effect of thermal bridges on the energy performance of a low-rise residential building

Abstract The existence of thermal bridges in building envelopes affects the energy performance of buildings, their durability and occupants’ thermal comfort. Typically the effect of thermal bridges on the energy performance is taken into account by implementing an equivalent U-value in 1D whole building energy simulation program. This treatment accounts for the effect of thermal bridges on the overall thermal transmittance, while their thermal inertia effect is ignored. The presence of thermal bridges not only reduces the overall thermal resistance but also changes the dynamic thermal characteristics of the envelope. This paper investigates the dynamic effect of thermal bridges on the energy performance of residential buildings through simulations. A two-story residential building is used as a case study. Three methods, namely equivalent U-value method, equivalent wall method, and direct 2D/3D modeling method, are implemented in WUFI Plus, a whole building Heat, Air and Moisture (HAM) modeling program. Simulations are carried out for two climates with different insulation levels. Simulation results show that for the cold climate the annual heating load of this building with the inclusion of thermal bridges modeled using 3D dynamic method is 8–13% higher than that modeled using the equivalent U-value method, and 4–9% higher than that modeled using the equivalent wall method. With the increase of the insulation level, the percentage effect of thermal bridges on the heating load increases, while the difference among the three methods decreases. For the hot climate, simulation results show that the presence of thermal bridges increases the annual cooling load by 20%. Compared to the 3D dynamic method, the annual cooling load is underestimated by 17% using the equivalent U-value method and by 14% using the equivalent wall method, respectively.
Persistent Thebesian Vessels Involving the Right and Left Ventricles Leading to Coronary Steal Phenomena and Ischemia

We report an extremely rare case of thebesian vein microfistulae to both ventricles. A 65-year-old woman, with no major cardiovascular risk factors, presented with multiple episodes of chest pain. The resting electrocardiogram showed T-wave inversion in leads V(1) -V(4). A Dipyridamole myocardial perfusion imaging revealed large and severe inferior defect with complete reversibility. Coronary angiography showed no coronary artery disease. On contrast injection, an exaggerated capillary blush from the distal portions of the right and left coronary artery systems was seen in both ventricles, mimicking the image of ventriculography. This appearance suggests prominent thebesian vessels, a congenital communication between the coronaries and the two ventricles. The clinical relevance of these myocardial sinusoids is still not well established. Although the majority of these fistulas are small in size and with no clinical significance, they can rarely present with chest pain, cardiac arrhythmia, syncope, myocardial infarction, and/or pulmonary hypertension. These fistulae when excessive can cause significant shunting of blood to the ventricles, leading to coronary steal phenomena and ischemia. This phenomenon is facilitated by the low resistance in these microfistulae as opposed to the higher resistance in the normal coronary circulation. Due to the diffuse nature of these microfistulae, neither surgery nor transcatheter therapy is feasible. This condition can only be managed medically; however, it should be noted that vasodilator agents, such as nitrates, can worsen the coronary steal phenomenon. Our patient was treated with ranolazine with significant improvement in her symptoms, which was not reported previously. Multiple coronary artery microfistulae could be an underestimated condition of angina in patient with normal coronaries.
Morbidity, mortality, and health care costs for patients undergoing spine surgery following the ACGME resident duty-hour reform: Clinical article

Object The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) implemented resident duty-hour restrictions on July 1, 2003, in concern for patient and resident safety. Whereas studies have shown that duty-hour restrictions have increased resident quality of life, there have been mixed results with respect to patient outcomes. In this study, the authors have evaluated the effect of duty-hour restrictions on morbidity, mortality, length of stay (LOS), and charges in patients who underwent spine surgery. Methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to evaluate the effect of duty-hour restrictions on complications, mortality, LOS, and charges by comparing the prereform (2000–2002) and postreform (2005–2008) periods. Outcomes were compared between nonteaching and teaching hospitals using a difference-in-differences (DID) method. Results A total of 693,058 patients were included in the study. The overall complication rate was 8.6%, with patients in the postreform era having a significantly higher r...
Hard tissue reaction to dual acid-etched titanium implants: influence of plaque accumulation. A histological study in humans

Abstract: Objectives: The aim of this investigation was to evaluate histologically, histometrically, and histomorphometrically the influence of plaque accumulation on the peri-implant hard tissues. Material and methods: Twelve fully edentulous subjects were selected for this investigation. Four to five standard titanium screw implants were placed interforaminally. Two small custom-made screw implants were incorporated in the region of the former first molar, one in each lower quadrant. One month after abutment connection, plaque control was terminated randomly at one of the custom-made implants and continued at the other implant. The custom-made implants and the surrounding tissue were harvested after different time points of plaque accumulation (7, 21, or 90 days). Thus, according to the plaque control program and implant removal time, there were six groups each with four implants for investigation. After histologic processing of the biopsies, histologic, histometric, and histomorphometric analyses were performed. Results: Four of the 24 implants were unavailable for analysis. One implant was mobile at abutment connection and another implant was mobile 2 weeks after abutment connection; both implants had to be removed. The bone around two implants was destroyed during the removal with the trephine bur; therefore, these two implants could not be evaluated histologically either. No differences in the histologic appearance of the peri-implant bone between the different groups could be observed. Histomorphometrically, the implant surface in contact with mineralized bone as a fraction of the implant surface (measured from the buccal to the lingual implant shoulder) varied between 59% and 73%. The implant surface in contact with mineralized bone from the first bone-to-implant contact buccally to the first bone-to-implant contact lingually varied between 80.6% and 91.5%. The values for the distance from the implant shoulder to the first bone-to-implant contact, i.e. peri-implant bone loss, varied from 1.1 to 2.2 mm. No statistically significant differences could be found between any of the evaluated variables. Conclusions: This clinical investigation is the first to evaluate the hard tissue reactions to different plaque accumulation periods. Within the limits of this experiment, it can be concluded that the bone reaction toward the different plaque accumulation periods and in the different plaque control/accumulation groups were similar. It can be further concluded that the observed bone loss is rather attributed to the establishment of the biologic width than to plaque accumulation.
Detecting looping simplifications

A generalization of tree matching and unification algorithms is presented. Given the equation s=t, this algorithm can often quickly determine that the rewrite rule s→t leads to an infinite sequence of “simplifications”. The rule t→s can be tested in the same way. Rules leading to infinite simplifications should not be included in a rewrite system. In general, the problem of deciding whether a set of rewrite rules leads to infinite simplifications is undecidable. The algorithm that is used for this problem is a cross between a unification algorithm for terms with overlapping variables and a matching algorithm. In the simplest case it attempts to find α, σ M and σ U such that σ M σ U =σ U t/a. In other words, is there a substitution σ U such that in the rule σ U s→σ U t the left side matches a subpart of the right side. The same basic algorithm can be used to test more complex cases of looping involving the interaction of several rules, but it is limited to those cases where each application of a rule occurs inside of the previous rule application. Experiments suggest that the simplest form of the algorithm is about 80 percent effective in eliminating bad orientations of rules. The algorithm never rules out a good orientation of a rule, and so it is most useful when one wants to consider all possible rule orientations.
QUANTIFYING GROWTH AND CALCIUM CARBONATE DEPOSITION OF CALLIARTHRON CHEILOSPORIOIDES (CORALLINALES, RHODOPHYTA) IN THE FIELD USING A PERSISTENT VITAL STAIN1

Growth and calcium carbonate deposition rates of the coralline alga Calliarthron cheilosporioides Manza were quantified by monitoring fronds in the intertidal zone that had been chemically labeled with the nontoxic fluorescent brightener Calcofluor white. This vital stain effectively labeled apical meristems of coralline thalli in the field: fronds exposed for only 5 min had detectable chemical marks at least 1.5 years later. By distinguishing portions of thalli that developed before and after exposure, this methodology permitted accurate measurement of growth and calcium carbonate deposition at each meristem. In Calliarthron, meristematic activity declined with increasing frond size. However, because growing fronds dichotomize, the total number of meristems and the deposition rate of new calcified tissue both increased with frond size. Growth rates reported here suggest that large fronds may not be as old as previously estimated. The Calcofluor white method may improve demographic studies of corallines by resolving growth and age of fronds in the field and may facilitate studies of climate change on calcium carbonate deposition in these ecologically important, calcifying algae.
Predicting query performance via classification

We investigate using topic prediction data, as a summary of document content, to compute measures of search result quality. Unlike existing quality measures such as query clarity that require the entire content of the top-ranked results, class-based statistics can be computed efficiently online, because class information is compact enough to precompute and store in the index. In an empirical study we compare the performance of class-based statistics to their language-model counterparts for two performance-related tasks: predicting query difficulty and expansion risk. Our findings suggest that using class predictions can offer comparable performance to full language models while reducing computation overhead.