cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A PM-IRRAS Investigation of Monorhamnolipid Orientation at the Air–Water Interface

The rhamnolipid biosurfactants have been considered as possible “green” alternatives to synthetic surfactants due to their greater compatibility with the environment and excellent surface active properties. In order to understand the molecular orientation of rhamnolipids at the air–water interface, a new monorhamnolipid with two octadecyl chains, Rha–C18–C18, has been studied at the air–water interface with polarization modulated-infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS). Since rhamnolipids possess a carboxylic acid, and hence exhibit pH-dependent properties, their water surface orientation is studied in solutions of pH 2, 5, and 8. Rhamnolipids have also been reported to form strong complexes with Pb2+; thus, the effect of the presence of Pb2+ on molecular orientation at the interface is also investigated. PM-IRRA spectra indicate an increase in alkyl chain order and a decrease in alkyl chain tilt angle as the surface pressure of the monolayer increases, with pH-independent tilt angles rangi...
Structure of a Dinuclear Iron Cluster-Containing β-Hydroxylase Active in Antibiotic Biosynthesis

A family of dinuclear iron cluster-containing oxygenases that catalyze β-hydroxylation tailoring reactions in natural product biosynthesis by nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) systems was rece...
Palladium(II) and Platinum(II) Compounds of 1,1′-Bis(phosphino)metallocene (M = Fe, Ru) Ligands with Metal–Metal Interactions

The reaction of [Pd(dtbpf)Cl2] (dtbpf = 1,1′-bis(di-tert-butylphosphino)ferrocene) with a chemical oxidant led unexpectedly to the formation of [Pd(dtbpf)Cl]+. Further study found that a variety of reagents could be used to abstract a chloride ligand from [Pd(dtbpf)Cl2] to yield [Pd(dtbpf)Cl]+. The solid-state structure suggests the formation of an Fe–Pd interaction. The presence of the bulky tert-butyl groups is essential, as similar reactions with [Pd(PP)Cl2] (PP = other 1,1′-bis(phosphino)ferrocene ligands) results in the formation of [Pd(PP)(μ-Cl)]22+. The analogous platinum compounds have also been investigated and appear to behave in a similar manner. Similar compounds of the type [M′(PP)(PR3)]2+ (M′ = Pd, Pt, R = Ph, Me) have been prepared, and a metal–metal interaction has also been observed. Steric and electronic effects dictate the formation of these compounds. X-ray crystal structures were obtained for eight of these compounds and were used as the basis for a computational analysis of the metal...
Sovereignty Under Law: A Possible Redefinition of Sovereignty in the Light of Locke's Theory of Liberty.

Does the concept of sovereignty under law necessarily involve a self-contradiction? That it does, has admittedly been held by the great majority of careful thinkers from the time of Hobbes to the present day. Nor has this been inconsequential. The belief that submission to an enforceable law would be a surrender of sovereignty has been a most potent obstacle to the substitution of the law court for the battlefield in the determination of international disputes. On the other hand, it is generally conceded that for the individual the only liberty worth seeking is liberty under law. It is the thesis of this article that sovereignty under law for the state is no more absurd than liberty under law for the individual.The term “sovereignty” has been variously and elaborately defined, but for present purposes its essential elements may be listed as authority, equality, and liberty. The first-named attribute—authority—has its great importance in the field of constitutional law, which postulates that in every state there is some agency or combination of agencies possessed of the authority to control everything within the state. However, it is well known that the rise and spread of constitutionalism and federalism have rendered the concept of sovereign authority increasingly mystical. Even in Great Britain, the old simplicity of the sovereignty of “King in Parliament” has been complicated by the Parliament Act of 1911, and especially by the Statute of Westminster of 1931. To-be sure, it is easy enough to visualize sovereign authority in a dictatorial regime, but this arouses no envy on the part of those who enjoy other forms of government.
Some Issues on Establishing Teaching Team in Local Colleges and Universities

In the process of establishing a teaching team,resources are optimized,academic independence,echelon construction and teachers' ethic construction are emphasized.In the meantime,the relations between teaching and research,between team and staff room are handled.Cultural atmosphere is established and administrative mechanism is perfected with premise definition and explicit division of labor.
SURGERY OF THE PARATHYROID GLANDS

The otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon is increasingly called upon to perform surgery on the parathyroid glands. It is required, therefore, that one have a thorough understanding of the various possible pathologic conditions and the appropriate operative approach for each condition. There is not universal agreement on every aspect of the treatment of various parathyroid entities, however, and they are briefly discussed in this article.
Computer-generated graphic evaluation of nutritional status in critically injured patients.

The pictorial display at each patient’s bedside serves as a constant reminder of the importance of nutritional support in the recovery of the critically ill patient.
Free Will and Miracles

The Consequence Argument is sound only if no one has a choice about the laws of nature, and one prominent compatibilist reply to the argument—championed by David Lewis (1981)—begins by claiming that there is a sense in which we do have such a choice, and a sense in which we don't. Lewis then insists that the sense in which we do have such a choice is the only sense required by compatibilism. Peter van Inwagen (2004) has responded that even if Lewis's distinction between two senses of having a choice about the laws is accepted, compatibilists are still committed to the incredible view that free will requires the ability to perform miracles. In this paper, I offer a reply to van Inwagen on Lewis's behalf.
MAP image reconstruction for land mine and IED detection using ground penetrating radar

In this paper, we introduce an iterative maximum a posteriori (MAP) algorithm that reconstructs reflectance images from ground penetrating radar (GPR) data. Typically, the scene of interest (SOI) being illuminated by the GPR contains only a few electromagnetic wave scatterers. We account for this prior information through the use of a novel sparsity-promoting density function, which we call the Butterworth prior. The Butterworth prior can mimic the Dirac Delta function or a uniform density function, and possesses the added benefit of mathematical tractability. We have tested our algorithm on real data provided by the US Army Research Laboratory.
Molecular Imaging of Cancer Cells Growing in Bone

Recently, a definition of molecular imaging was recommended by the Molecular Imaging Center of Excellence (MICoE) and the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM). Molecular imaging was defined as “the visualization, characterization, and measurement of biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels in humans and other living systems”. Although the term “molecular imaging” was coined in the mid-1990s, it has its roots in molecular and cell biology, as well as in imaging technology, chemistry, and radiochemistry. Molecular imaging is the direct result of significant developments in several noninvasive, in vivo imaging technologies including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [59, 114], nuclear imaging (gamma camera and a positron emission tomography (PET)) [6], and optical imaging of small animals [36, 57, 112] (Fig. 8.1).
Insurance status, mortality, and hospital use among pediatric trauma patients over three decades

Abstract Background We investigated the association between lack of insurance and mortality, resource use, and medical comorbidities among pediatric trauma patients. Methods Our trauma database was queried for patients Results A total of 3120 patients were included. The mortality among patients with insurance was 3.6% compared to 8.4% among those without insurance ( p =0.0001, OR=2.42, 95% CI=1.53–3.82). This relationship remained statistically significant with adjustment via multivariable logistic regression ( p =0.0001, OR=2.83, 95% CI: 1.64–4.74). Hospital and ICU LOS were significantly greater among insured patients in severely and moderately injured samples, respectively. There was no correlation between insurance and medical comorbidities. The uninsured mortality rate was 12.9% from 1989 to 1997 compared to 3.9% in 2006–2013. Conclusion Lack of insurance was associated with mortality but not preexisting comorbidity. This relationship persisted over time despite an overall decline in mortality. Additionally, lack of insurance was associated with decreased hospital stay and ICU utilization. Level of evidence Treatment Study, Level III.
Hazards in Motion: Development of Mobile Geofences for Use in Logging Safety

Logging is one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States. Real-time positioning that uses global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology paired with radio frequency transmission (GNSS-RF) has the potential to reduce fatal and non-fatal accidents on logging operations through the use of geofences that define safe work areas. Until recently, most geofences have been static boundaries. The aim of this study was to evaluate factors affecting mobile geofence accuracy in order to determine whether virtual safety zones around moving ground workers or equipment are a viable option for improving situational awareness on active timber sales. We evaluated the effects of walking pace, transmission interval, geofence radius, and intersection angle on geofence alert delay using a replicated field experiment. Simulation was then used to validate field results and calculate the proportion of GNSS error bearings resulting in early alerts. The interaction of geofence radius and intersection angle affected safety geofence alert delay in the field experiment. The most inaccurate alerts were negative, representing early warning. The magnitude of this effect was largest at the greatest intersection angles. Simulation analysis supported these field results and also showed that larger GNSS error corresponded to greater variability in alert delay. Increasing intersection angle resulted in a larger proportion of directional GNSS error that triggered incorrect, early warnings. Because the accuracy of geofence alerts varied greatly depending on GNSS error and angle of approach, geofencing for occupational safety is most appropriate for general situational awareness unless real-time correction methods to improve accuracy or higher quality GNSS-RF transponders are used.
Thorn in My Spine: A case of a retained intradural extramedullary foreign body

Foreign bodies in the spine are most commonly traumatic and managed in an acute setting. A few case reports describe foreign bodies resulting in delayed neurologic dysfunction, most commonly iatrogenic or from penetrating injury. We present a 30-year old man with lower extremity weakness from an intradural extramedullary foreign body granuloma secondary to a thorn, which was initially thought to represent an aggressive malignant process with intra and extramedullary involvement on MR. Postoperatively, the patient endorsed a causative trauma several years prior. We also present a review of the few similar published cases as well as the described prototypical imaging features and pathologic process.
Training Needs of Clinical and Research Professionals to Optimize Minority Recruitment and Retention in Cancer Clinical Trials

The study of disparities in minority recruitment to cancer clinical trials has focused primarily on inquiries among minority patient populations. However, clinical trial recruitment is complex and requires a broader appreciation of the multiple factors that influence minority participation. One area that has received little attention is minority recruitment training for professionals who assume various roles in the clinical trial recruitment process. Therefore, we assessed the perspectives of cancer center clinical and research personnel on their training and education needs toward minority recruitment for cancer clinical trials. Ninety-one qualitative interviews were conducted at five U.S. cancer centers among four stakeholder groups: cancer center leaders, principal investigators, referring clinicians, and research staff. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analyses focused on response data related to training for minority recruitment for cancer clinical trials. Four prominent themes were identified: (1) Research personnel are not currently being trained to focus on recruitment and retention of minority populations; (2) Training for minority recruitment and retention provides for a specific focus on factors influencing minority research participation; (3) Training on cultural awareness may help to bridge cultural gaps between potential minority participants and research professionals; (4) Views differ regarding the importance of research personnel training designed to focus on recruitment of minority populations. There is a lack of systematic training for minority recruitment. Many stakeholders acknowledged the benefits of minority recruitment training and welcomed training that focuses on increasing cultural awareness to increase the participation of minorities in cancer clinical trials.
The importance of assessing parameter sensitivity when using biophysical models: a case study using plethodontid salamanders

Landscapes are continually changing due to numerous assaults, including habitat alteration, anthropogenic disturbances, and climate change. Understanding how species will respond to these changes is of critical importance for conservation and management. Mechanistic models, such as biophysical models (BPMs), are an increasingly popular tool to predict how local population dynamics or species’ distributions may be altered in response to environmental and climate changes. By mechanistically modeling relationships between environmental conditions, physiology and behavior, it is possible to make accurate predictions about how species may respond. However, BPMs are often difficult to implement due to lack of appropriate, species-specific data that is biologically realistic or relevant. In this study, we present a BPM for the salamander Plethodon jordani and assess how adding more biological realism has potential to alter model predictions about annual energy budgets. Additionally, we conducted local and global sensitivity analyses to evaluate the importance of accurately specifying model parameter values and functional relationships. We found that the addition of biological realism resulted in greater model complexity as well as substantially different estimates of energy balance. Correct parameterization of biophysical models is also critical, as small changes in parameter values can result in disproportionately large changes in downstream model estimates. Our model highlights the overall importance of using ecologically relevant and specific data for input parameters, as well as careful assessment of parameter sensitivity. We encourage researchers to be aware of the data they are using to parameterize BPMs, and urge the collection of system-specific data that is relevant in spatial and temporal scale. We also recommend greater and more transparent use of sensitivity analyses to provide a better understanding of the model, as well as greater confidence in model predictions.
Novel Local Shape-Adaptive Gyrification Index with Application to Brain Development

Conventional approaches to quantification of the cortical folding employ a simple circular kernel. Such a kernel commonly covers multiple cortical gyral/sulcal regions that may be functionally unrelated and also often blurs local gyrification measurements. We propose a novel adaptive kernel for quantification of the local cortical folding, which incorporates neighboring gyral crowns and sulcal fundi. The proposed kernel is adaptively elongated to cover regions along the cortical folding patterns. The experimental results showed that the proposed kernel-based gyrification measure achieved a higher reproducibility in a multi-scan human phantom dataset and captured the cortical folding in a more shape-adaptive way than the conventional method. In early human brain development, we found positive correlations with age over most cortical regions as previously found as well as novel, refined regions of both positive and negative correlations undetectable by the conventional method.
Gender differences in pathways from physical and sexual abuse to early substance use

Abstract Early substance use (i.e., before age 14) is a known risk factor for substance use disorder, but scarce research has examined gender differences in pathways to early substance use. This study applies a developmental traumatology perspective to examine the relations between child physical and sexual abuse and early substance use among youths investigated by child protective services (CPS), a population with high risk for substance use disorder. Drawing from the first National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a sample of 11–13 year olds (n = 467 girls, n = 329 boys) was examined. Multiple group path analysis assessed gender differences in the relations between physical and sexual abuse severity and early substance use and indirect effects via internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and posttraumatic stress. Focal measures included the child-reported Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (physical abuse severity), the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (posttraumatic stress), the Youth Self-Report (internalizing and externalizing problems), and the NSCAW's caseworker-alleged abuse (sexual abuse severity) and child substance abuse modules (any current alcohol, marijuana, hard drug, inhalant, or nonmedical prescription drug use). Significant indirect effects of physical abuse severity to early substance use were found through externalizing behavior problems in girls only (β = 0.068; 95% CI = 0.029, 0.130; p = 0.004), with a significantly stronger relation between externalizing problems and early substance use in girls. Results suggest gender differences in the sequelae of trauma as they relate to early onset substance use and the need to integrate mental health and substance use services.
Roles of Corneal Epithelial Ion Transport Mechanisms in Mediating Responses to Cytokines and Osmotic Stress

Normal vision depends, in part, on the combined refractive powers of the cornea and crystalline lens to permit adequate focusing of light onto the retina. Such refractive function requires that the cornea remain transparent, a requirement that is met provided that corneal hydration, i.e., deturgescence, is maintained within specific physiological limits. Maintenance of corneal deturgescence is reliant upon coupled ion and fluid transport activities within the epithelial and endothelial layers. Net ion transport activity offsets the natural tendency of the corneal stroma to imbibe fluid from the anterior chamber, thus keeping the cornea transparent (1–5). Although most of the ion transport activity involved in maintaining corneal deturgescence is contingent upon ion transport processes localized in the corneal endothelial layer, corneal epithelial ion transport activity plays a fine-tuning role in maintaining corneal deturgescence during exposure to environmental challenges (6) (Fig. 1). Only under maximally stimulated conditions is the epithelial-side fluid transport rate able to increase sufficiently, i.e., to approximately 25% of the endothelial-side fluid transport rate (7). This realization has prompted a host of studies concentrated on characterizing receptor-mediated regulation of corneal epithelial active ion transport.
Familial polyposis coli. Results of mucosal proctectomy with ileoanal anastomosis.

The outcome of mucosal proctectomy with ileoanal anastomosis in patients with polyposis coli has not been well studied. A series of 25 patients with polyposis treated at the Mount Sinai Hospital over a period of ten years is reported. The mean age of the patients was 23 years. Early postoperative complications were present in seven patients and consisted of thrombophlebitis (three), pelvic sepsis (three), and retraction of the anastomosis (one). Intestinal obstruction requiring laparotomy occurred in another five patients. Twenty-three patients were followed for a mean of 47 months after closure of the ileostomy. Ninety-one percent are satisfied with the operative results. The mean number of bowel movements per 24 hours is 6.0. All patients are continent, but eight have occasional episodes of rectal seepage at night. Nearly 50 percent require some antidiarrheal medication. New adenomatous polyps have developed just above the dentate line in four patients. Patients with polyposis coli seem to have fewer serious complications requiring excision of the ileoanal anastomosis than patients with ulcerative colitis. They also should have lifelong surveillance of the entiregastrointestinal tract even after total colectomy with ileoanal anastomosis.
Interleukin-6 and Depressive Mood Symptoms: Mediators of the Association Between Childhood Abuse and Cognitive Performance in Middle-Aged Adults.

Background Childhood abuse is a risk factor for the development of cognitive deficits in adulthood, a relation that is likely mediated by stress-sensitive psychological and physiological indicators. Purpose To evaluate whether the link between exposure to childhood abuse and cognitive function in middle adulthood is mediated by interleukin-6 (IL-6), metabolic risk, and depressive mood symptoms. Methods Participants were 770 adults aged 40-65 recruited from the community, who completed the following: (i) a questionnaire assessing exposure to abuse prior to age 18, (ii) a phone interview assessing current depressive mood symptoms, and (iii) a home visit that included blood sampling for evaluation of IL-6 and assessment of metabolic risk indices. A follow-up telephone assessment evaluating cognitive function was completed by 555 of the participants. Structural equation modeling was used to test study hypotheses. Results Childhood abuse predicted higher levels of IL-6, depressive mood symptoms, and metabolic risk scores (p < .05). The relation between childhood abuse and poorer cognitive performance was mediated by IL-6 (p = .046) and depressive mood symptoms (p = .023), but not metabolic risk. IL-6 and depressive mood symptoms significantly mediated the relation between childhood abuse and adult cognitive function. Conclusions Exposure to early abuse conveys enduring physiological and psychological effects, which may contribute to cognitive deficits that are evident by middle adulthood. Increased vulnerability for cognitive decline among adults with a history of early trauma and the mediating roles of IL-6 and depressive mood symptoms point to the potential value of interventions that address inflammation or depression, singly or together, to prevent cognitive decline in this at-risk population.
FUTURES: Forecasting the Unexpected Transfer to Upgraded Resources in Sepsis:

Sepsis is one of the most deadly and costly diseases. The Emergency Department (ED) is the initial point of care for most patients who become hospitalized due to sepsis. Quantifying the accuracy of...
High Energy Contaminant: An Mo-99/Tc-99m Fission Generator

An incident is described in which a reading of 65 uCi was found during routine disposal of a Mo-99/Tc-99m fission generator column in a nuclear medicine department. The column was shipped to the manufacturer and was identified as niobium-95, a byproduct of the molybdenum fission process. According to the manufacturer's technical services department, the species did not enter into the eluate and therefore posed no radiation health problems to patients receiving the Tc-99m from the generator. The importance of strict quality control procedures for radioactive waste disposal in nuclear medicine is stressed. These should include monitoring with a survey meter, checking for residual activity in a dose calibrator, and strict record keeping.(JMT)
Phased Array Ultrasonic Technique Parametric Evaluation for Composite Materials

A series of ultrasonic elements arranged in a phased array transducer can provide the capability to activate each element separately but in a programmed sequence. This will help the acoustic signal to be generated at desired focusing distances and anticipated angles for specific materials and structures. In case of composite material inspection, this characteristic of the phased array method can improve the undesirable effects of the high attenuation and anisotropic structure of composite materials on response signals. In this study different phased array probes and wedges which are commercially available were evaluated for their response signals’ characteristics. First, the capability and resolution of bulk wave generation were studied for each set of probe and wedge, and the response signals were compared to that of the conventional single element ultrasonic transducers for different thicknesses composite plates. Then the resolution of the response signals and their sensitivity to defect size were evaluated and compared to the single element transducers as well. Next, each phased array probe and wedge set was used to generate plate waves in aluminum plates based on plate wave propagation theory, probe and wedge physical properties and the definition of delay law. Results show a general improvement in response signals’ strength and resolution for phased array method in comparison to the single element transducers. Also some plate wave modes could be generated with optimized signal generation parameters in phased array system.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Real-time search in non-deterministic domains

Many search domains are non-deterministic. Although real-time search methods have traditionally been studied in deterministic domains, they are well suited for searching nondeterministic domains since they do not have to plan for every contingency they can react to the actual outcomes of actions. In this paper, we introduce the min-max LRTA* algorithm, a simple extension of Korf's Learning Real-Time A* algorithm (LRTA*) to nondeterministic domains. We describe which nondeterministic domains min-max LRTA* can solve, and analyze its performance for these domains. We also give tight bounds on its worst-case performance and show how this performance depends on properties of both the domains and the heuristic functions used to encode prior information about the domains.
Resistance is futile: prohibitive costs of egg ejection in an obligate avian brood parasite host

Most hosts of the parasitic brown-headed cowbird, Molothrus ater, demonstrate an astonishing lack of defences against parasitism, typically explained by evolutionary lag. We investigated antiparasite strategies of the dickcissel, Spiza americana, whose apparent acceptance of parasitism is unlikely to be explained by lag because its historic centre of abundance overlaps with that of the cowbird. Cowbirds parasitized almost half of dickcissel nests (343 of 767 nests), and dickcissels suffered significant costs when attempting to eject cowbird eggs. Our predicted responses indicated that acceptance of parasitism would lead to the loss of 0 hosts eggs, attempted ejections would lead to the loss of 1.2 host eggs and successful ejection of cowbird eggs would lead to the loss of 1.6 host eggs. There was no significant cost of raising a single cowbird nestling, but parasitized nests had 1.1 fewer host eggs due to removal by female cowbirds or when the thick-shelled cowbirds eggs struck the host eggs during laying. After accounting for damaged eggs that still hatched, acceptance of parasitism yielded a loss of 1.1 eggs/nestlings, those that attempted to eject the cowbird egg lost 1.8 eggs/nestlings and those that ejected the cowbird egg lost 2.0 eggs/nestlings. The prohibitive costs of egg ejection combined with the relatively low costs of raising a cowbird nestling may explain why most dickcissels (64%) accepted parasitism or stopped trying to eject cowbird eggs. However, some birds persisted in their ejection attempts, so there are likely additional carryover fitness effects on hosts of raising and sharing nests with cowbirds. Because of the difficulty in ejecting cowbird eggs, dickcissels would benefit from a strategy that emphasizes frontline defences to prevent parasitism from occurring in the first place.
Simple and flexible Bayesian inferences for standardized regression coefficients

In statistical practice, inferences on standardized regression coefficients are often required, but complicated by the fact that they are nonlinear functions of the parameters, and thus standard te...
A Dynamic Programming Framework for DVFS-Based Energy-Efficiency in Multicore Systems

Per-core Dynamic Voltage and Frequency (V/F) Scaling (DVFS) is a well-known methodology for achieving energy efficiency in multicore systems. Heuristic DVFS techniques provide fast, suboptimal V/F predictions while Dynamic Programming (DP) methods solve smaller sub-problems iteratively and use their outcomes to evaluate V/F levels globally, but at the cost of overhead delays. We propose an efficient DP framework using the Viterbi algorithm, which uses the Energy-Delay Product (EDP) as an objective function to predict the best V/F levels using applications’ profiled information, to minimize energy consumption and execution time. Experimental results show that our framework outperforms heuristics using the EDP criteria and provides near-optimal solutions when maximizing energy saving is as, or more, important than minimizing execution time penalty. In fact, across several benchmarks, our proposed algorithm provides from a 12 to 75 percent improvement in EDP compared to heuristic methods. Furthermore, using a Pareto frontier to evaluate solutions of the algorithms under study, we demonstrate that our framework's energy-time solution is on average only 9 percent worse than the optimal solution. In addition, we show that our dynamic programming solution is 3 to 18 percent closer to a theoretical lower-bound when compared to the studied heuristic methods.
Real-time physical register file allocation with neural networks for simultaneous multi-threading processors

Simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) processors improve system performance by allowing concurrent execution of multiple independent threads with shared key resources. Physical register file, shared among the threads in real-time, is one of the most critical resources in deciding overall system performance. Disproportional distribution of registers among the threads may easily hamper normal processing of some threads. In this paper, we develop a machine learning algorithm to efficiently allocate registers among concurrent executing threads based on current resource utilisation circumstances. An offline training process is first employed to establish a well-trained neural network which is then applied to dynamically adjust the resource distribution in real-time. Our experiment results on M-sim, which is a multi-threaded micro-architectural simulation environment, show that our proposed technique significantly improves the average system throughput by up to 42% without sacrificing execution fairness among the threads.
A Geometric Analysis of Eye Dominance Suggesting That Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci Had Straight Eyes After All.

This study theorizes about the straightness of the eyes of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and Leonardo da Vinci through diagrams and images.
10 – Insect Proteases

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on non-digestive proteases, which have many diverse roles in insect biology. Proteases (peptidases) are enzymes that hydrolyze peptide bonds in proteins. These proteases often function in cascade pathways, in which one protease activates the zymogen form of another protease, leading to amplification of an initial signal that may involve a few molecules, and finally generating a very large number of effector molecules at the end of the pathway. The complement and blood coagulation pathways in mammals are well-understood examples of this type of protease cascade, which also occurs in insect embryonic development and insect immune responses. Details of the organization and regulation of such pathways in insect biology are beginning to be understood in a few species. A common feature of proteases is that they are synthesized as inactive zymogens, activated by proteolysis when the time is right, and then rapidly inhibited by specific inhibitors. Better understanding of molecular mechanisms of this tight regulation of multiple and varied protease cascade pathways will impact many areas of insect biology.
Air quality impact of the Northern California Camp Fire of November 2018

Abstract. The Northern California Camp Fire that took place in November 2018 was one of the most damaging environmental events in California history. Here, we analyze ground-based station observations of airborne particulate matter that has a diameter
Color perceptibility and validity of silicon carbide-based protective coatings for dental ceramics.

Abstract Statement of problem A silicon carbide (SiC) protective coating has been developed for dental ceramics, but whether the coated ceramics can match the classical VITA shades is unclear. Purpose The purpose of this observational in vitro study was to evaluate the color adaptability of SiC-coated dental ceramics by testing the hypotheses that SiC-coated disks can be fabricated to match standard tooth shades and have a perceptible color match rate of at least 50% for disks with a color difference (ΔE) Material and methods SiC-coated disks were fabricated to color match (ΔEab Results A significant difference in color match rate was found between disks with ΔE Conclusions SiC-coated disks were successfully fabricated to match all VITA classical shades, and clinical visual color matching results confirmed that ΔE was a useful metric in optimizing color matching for the SiC-coated dental ceramics.
Externalizing organizational activities: where and how US establishments use employment intermediaries

Organizations are increasingly externalizing work activities, but vary as to where and how they do so. Using a US employer survey, we examine within- and between-organization differences in the use of employment intermediaries such as temporary help agencies and contract companies, in whether external workers from these intermediaries supplement on-payroll employees or exclusively perform activities, and in the exercise of supervisory control over external workers. Organizations use workers from employment intermediaries more often in work activities separable from the core workflow. External workers tend to supplement regular workers engaged in more central activities and exclusively perform more peripheral ones; employers are more apt to supervise external workers for more central activities. Small, private sector employers are more likely to use employment intermediaries. When large organizations do use external workers, they tend to use them in a supplementary rather than exclusive way, and to exercise supervisory control over them.
Paradox in Leading a Human Rights Funder Network

This case study focuses on the leadership of International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG), a world-wide network of grantmakers committed to funding human rights efforts around the globe. Solving the many problems in the human rights domain requires the type of coordinated efforts that are possible in this type of funder network. The examination of the leadership team demonstrates some of the unique challenges in their work and exemplifies how paradox can emerge and limit opportunities for growth. Paradox theory is used as a lens for understanding interview data obtained from IHRFG’s leaders; paradoxes of learning and performing are highlighted. Consideration is also given to the presence of paradox throughout the IHRFG network. A greater appreciation for the presence and influence of paradox serves in understanding funder networks and provides practitioners with a means for overcoming restrictive mindsets.Subscribe to JNEL
An essential role for the piRNA pathway in regulating the ribosomal RNA pool in C. elegans

Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are RNA effectors with key roles in maintaining genome integrity and promoting fertility in metazoans. In Caenorhabditis elegans loss of piRNAs leads to a transgenerational sterility phenotype. The plethora of piRNAs and their ability to silence transcripts with imperfect complementarity have raised several (non-exclusive) models for the underlying drivers of sterility. Here, we report the extranuclear and transferable nature of the sterility driver, its suppression via mutations disrupting the endogenous RNAi and poly-uridylation machinery, and copy-number amplification at the ribosomal DNA locus. In piRNA-deficient animals, several small interfering RNA (siRNA) populations become increasingly overabundant in the generations preceding loss of germline function, including ribosomal siRNAs (risiRNAs). A concomitant increase in uridylated sense rRNA fragments suggests that poly-uridylation may potentiate RNAi-mediated gene silencing of rRNAs. We conclude that loss of the piRNA machinery allows for unchecked amplification of siRNA populations, originating from abundant highly structured RNAs, to deleterious levels.
Performance Measurement Using an Auditory Monitoring Task

An auditory monitoring task has been developed for use in shipboard environments as a measure of task performance under difficult environmental conditions such as severe ship motion. The task involves listening to sequences of apparently random presentations of either three or four tones. The listener must monitor the number of occurences of either two or three specified tones from the set. When the specified number have occurred, a button is pressed, and the count restarted. With reasonable training, stable performance in the laboratory can be obtained for at least thirty minutes of monitoring. A wide range of tone presentation rates were used, as were different ratios of tones monitored to tones presented. The results demonstrated that both presentation rate and tones monitored to tones presented could be used to control task difficulty. A consistent and significant difference in performance was found between men (N = 10) and women (N = 8). The literature on sex differences describes such differences in...
Thresholds for Path Colorings of Planar Graphs

A graph is path k-colorable if it has a vertex k-coloring in which the subgraph induced by each color class is a disjoint union of paths. A graph is path k-choosable if, whenever each vertex is assigned a list of k colors, such a coloring exists in which each vertex receives a color from its list.
Light and electron microscopic studies of microorganisms growing in rotating biological contactor biofilms.

The biofilms growing in the first compartments of two rotating biological contactors used to treat municipal wastewater were examined by light and electron microscopy. The biofilms were found to contain a complex and varied microbial community that included filamentous and unicellular bacteria, protozoa, metazoa, and (possibly) bacteriophage. The predominant microorganism among these appeared to be a filamentous bacterium that was identical to Sphaerotilus in both morphological and ultrastructural characteristics. It was possible to isolate a Sphaerotilus -like bacterium from each contactor. Both the Sphaerotilus filaments and the wide variety of unicellular bacteria present tended to contain poly-β-hydroxybutyrate inclusions, a probable indication that these organisms were removing carbon from the wastewater and storing it. The microbial population of the biofilms appeared to be metabolically active, as evidenced by the presence of microcolonies and dividing cells. Images
Finding pareto-optimal set by merging attractors for a bi-objective traveling salesmen problem

This paper presents a new search procedure to tackle multi-objective traveling salesman problem (TSP). This procedure constructs the solution at-tractor for each of the objectives respectively. Each attractor contains the best solutions found for the corresponding objective. Then, these attractors are merged to find the Pareto-optimal solutions. The goal of this procedure is not only to generate a set of Pareto-optimal solutions, but also to provide the infor-mation about these solutions that will allow a decision-maker to choose a good compromise solution.
An objective analysis of the dynamic nature of field capacity

[1] Field capacity is one of the most commonly used, and yet poorly defined, soil hydraulic properties. Traditionally, field capacity has been defined as the amount of soil moisture after excess water has drained away and the rate of downward movement has materially decreased. Unfortunately, this qualitative definition does not lend itself to an unambiguous quantitative approach for estimation. Because of the vagueness in defining what constitutes “drainage of excess water” from a soil, the estimation of field capacity has often been based upon empirical guidelines. These empirical guidelines are either time, pressure, or flux based. In this paper, we developed a numerical approach to estimate field capacity using a flux-based definition. The resulting approach was implemented on the soil parameter data set used by Schaap et al. (2001), and the estimated field capacity was compared to traditional definitions of field capacity. The developed modeling approach was implemented using the HYDRUS-1D software with the capability of simultaneously estimating field capacity for multiple soils with soil hydraulic parameter data. The Richards equation was used in conjunction with the van Genuchten-Mualem model to simulate variably saturated flow in a soil. Using the modeling approach to estimate field capacity also resulted in additional information such as (1) the pressure head, at which field capacity is attained, and (2) the drainage time needed to reach field capacity from saturated conditions under nonevaporative conditions. We analyzed the applicability of the modeling-based approach to estimate field capacity on real-world soils data. We also used the developed method to create contour diagrams showing the variation of field capacity with texture. It was found that using benchmark pressure heads to estimate field capacity from the retention curve leads to inaccurate results. Finally, a simple analytical equation was developed to predict field capacity from soil hydraulic parameter information. The analytical equation was found to be effective in its ability to predict field capacities.
A comparative study of Land Mobile Radio and LTE-based public safety communications

Enabling seamless and mission critical voice and data services is a key requirement for public safety networks during the emergency and natural disaster scenarios. The ability to save lives depends on the reliable and effective communication amongst the first responders and victims. Land Mobile Radio System (LMRS) is a legacy technology which has been used for public safety communication scenarios for decades. It has been designed as a narrowband technology for critical voice communications with limited use for data applications. With the evolution of broadband technologies that enable wideband data transmission, there is a significant potential to transform the capabilities of public safety communication technologies. In the United States, FirstNet is building a nationwide public safety communication system that uses band class 14 and the broadband Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, which is designed for broadband voice and data to ensure reliable and high-quality services at all times. This paper presents a study of legacy public safety networks and the FirstNet system that is based on the LTE technology. A simulation study of LTE band class 14 environment is also provided using the NS-3 simulation environment.
Ontology for Land Development Decisions and Plans

The focus of geographic and other ontologies of urban development has been to represent locations with object attributes or objects with locational attributes. Urban information systems should also represent decisions, which have or could have locational attributes. Development processes are critically influenced by expectations about declared intentions manifest through plans and records of decisions. This paper provides an ontology of decision situations characterized by actors participating, intentions expressed, and alternatives considered. We argue that these elements are closely tied to and interdependent with other aspects of urban ontologies, which typically focus on physical objects of development. An ontology of plans and decisions will enable sharing of information among actors and consideration of disparate and distributed information.
A Distance-Education Chemistry Course for Nonmajors

A course for nonchemistry majors has been developed at Florida Atlantic University using a distance-education format. “Chemistry in Modern Life” surveys the chemistry relevant to environmental and consumer issues. The class lectures are on videotape, providing the maximum flexibility in scheduling options. In order to enhance instructor-student contact, a web-page and electronic communication are used to handle questions and class assignments. Student performance is primarily evaluated using thematic research assignments. In addition, take-home lab projects are included to provide practical exposure to experimental methods. The objective of the assigned work is for each student to observe how chemical issues affect their local community and to evaluate individual contributions to environmental problems and personal exposure to chemicals.
Microstructural design of hybrid CoO@NiO and graphene nano-architectures for flexible high performance supercapacitors

We demonstrate the rational design and fabrication of CoO nano-architectures with different morphologies (sheet-like, petal-like and urchin-like) on flexible activated carbon textiles (ACTs) by simply changing the reactant concentration. We further unveiled that the electrochemical properties of CoO nanostructures are morphology-dependent. The specific capacitance increased exponentially with the surface/volume ratio of nanostructures. The architecture with a higher surface area exhibits better electrochemical performance. Due to its higher surface/volume ratio and better electrochemical performance, the urchin-like CoO nanostructure was further chosen as a backbone to deposit NiO nanoflakes to construct a hierarchical core/shell CoO@NiO hybrid nanostructure. Flexible ACTs wrapped with conductive graphene were used as a negative material. After coating with a PVA–KOH polymer gel which served as both the solid state electrolyte and separator, the flexible core/shell CoO@NiO/ACT//ACT/graphene asymmetric cell exhibited an exceptional combination of electrochemical properties in terms of working potential (1.6 V), energy density (52.26 W h kg−1), maximum power density (9.53 kW kg−1), and cycling stability (97.53% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles even under harsh working conditions). Such a hierarchical nanostructure on a cotton-enabled flexible textile substrate should find more applications in next-generation flexible solid-state power sources for future wearable electronic devices.