cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The DIBBS blackboard control architecture and its application to distributed natural language processing

The authors present DIBBS, a domain-independent blackboard system that has been used for applications in distributed natural language processing (NLP). It is shown how the explicit representation of control knowledge as units on the DIBBS control blackboard allows an application to implement dynamic control strategies and reason about its own problem-solving performance. The DIBBS truth maintenance dependency network allows robust treatment of control issues in conflict resolution. All of these properties makes DIBBS especially appropriate for applications in distributed NLP, such as the DIOGENES and DIANA systems. >
HAEMODYNAMIC STUDIES DURING INDUCTION OF ANAESTHESIA FOR OPEN-HEART SURGERY USING DIAZEPAM AND KETAMINE

SUMMARY In 14 patients undergoing open-heart operations the haemodynamic effects of diazepam 0.4 mg kg-1 followed by ketamine 2 mg kg-1 were studied. In eight patients undergoing coronary bypass surgery, the mean arterial pressure decreased significantly after diazepam from 90.3±7.4 (SEM) to 78.0±5.0 mm Hg (P
Comparison of complication rates associated with permanent and retrievable inferior vena cava filters: a review of the MAUDE database.

Abstract Purpose To compare the safety of permanent and retrievable inferior vena cava (IVC) filters by reviewing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database. Materials and Methods The MAUDE database was reviewed from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2012. Product class search criteria were "filter, intravascular, cardiovascular." Type of device used and specific adverse events (AEs) were recorded. Results For the period January 2009–December 2012, 1,606 reported AEs involving 1,057 IVC filters were identified in the MAUDE database . Of reported AEs, 1,394 (86.8%) involved retrievable inferior vena cava filters (rIVCFs), and 212 (13.2%) involved permanent inferior vena cava filters (pIVCFs) ( P Conclusions The MAUDE database reveals that complications occur with significantly higher frequency with rIVCFs compared with pIVCFs. This finding suggests that the self-reported complication rate with rIVCFs is significantly higher than the self-reported complication rate with pIVCFs.
Differences in Hydrogenase Gene Expression between Methanosarcina acetivorans and Methanosarcina barkeri

Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A encodes three putative hydrogenases, including one cofactor F420-linked (frh) and two methanophenazine-linked (vht) enzymes. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of these putative hydrogenases to those of Methanosarcina barkeri and Methanosarcina mazei shows that each predicted subunit contains all the known residues essential for hydrogenase function. The DNA sequences upstream of the genes in M. acetivorans were aligned with those in other Methanosarcina species to identify conserved transcription and translation signals. The M. acetivorans vht promoter region is well conserved among the sequenced Methanosarcina species, while the second vht-type homolog (here called vhx) and frh promoters have only limited similarity. To experimentally determine whether these promoters are functional in vivo, we constructed and characterized both M. acetivorans and M. barkeri strains carrying reporter gene fusions to each of the M. acetivorans and M. barkeri hydrogenase promoters. Generally, the M. acetivorans gene fusions are not expressed in either organism, suggesting that cis-acting mutations inactivated the M. acetivorans promoters. The M. barkeri hydrogenase gene fusions, on the other hand, are expressed in both organisms, indicating that M. acetivorans possesses the machinery to express hydrogenases, although it does not express its own hydrogenases. These data are consistent with specific inactivation of the M. acetivorans hydrogenase promoters and highlight the importance of testing hypotheses generated by using genomic data.
Point defect calculations for copper

Abstract The motion energies and atomic configurations of divacancies and di-interstitials in copper have been calculated using the classical model previously used by Johnson and Brown for single vacancy and interstitial calculations. About 100 atoms near the defects were treated as individual particles while the remainder of the crystal was treated as an elastic continuum with atoms imbedded init. A Born-Mayer interaction, A exp(—αr), wasusedbetweennearestneighbor atoms. The calculated motion energies for both divacancies and di-interstitials are quite small, 0.07 eV and 0.08 eV, respectively. The results given by the present model are significantly different from those of other similar calculations. A comparison of these results is presented, in which the use of the Born-Mayer interaction is shown to be the determining factor and the discrepancy between the reported results is shown to be due to numerical errors.
A 33-year-old Haitian immigrant with 7 months of abdominal pain and progressive distension

We report a case of a 33-year-old previously healthy Haitian immigrant with a 7-month history of abdominal pain, fever and ascites. He had a history of positive tuberculin skin test but never underwent treatment for latent tuberculosis (TB) infection. Initial examination showed abdominal distension. Abdominal CT scan showed mild ascites, abnormal soft tissue in the greater omentum and small bowel mesentery, retroperitoneal adenopathy, peritoneal thickening and dilated loops of small bowel. Paracentesis and thoracentesis were initially non-diagnostic. HIV testing was negative. The differential diagnosis included lymphoma and TB peritonitis. The omental mass was biopsied under ultrasound guidance, and histopathology revealed non-necrotising granulomas. Sputum cultures and omental biopsy cultures subsequently grew Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and a diagnosis was made of pulmonary TB with TB peritonitis. The patient responded well to the initiation of anti-TB treatment.
Atypical Neurofibroma with Bizarre Giant Cells

A 27-year-old woman presented with a 5 mm papule on her cheek. She had no family history or stigmata of neurofibromatosis. Biopsy showed a diffuse dermal proliferation of spindle cells embedded in a slightly myxomatous stroma which entrapped adnexae. They displayed cytologic atypia with hyperchromatic nuclei and bizarre multinucleated giant cells. No mitosis were identified. Immunohistochemistry showed the spindle cells to be S-100 and collagen IV positive, but MART-1 negative. The differential diagnosis included desmoplastic melanoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) and atypical neurofibroma. Both atypical neurofibroma and desmoplastic melanoma are S-100 positive, show variable atypia and can have bizarre multinucleated giant cells. However, the lack of epidermal melanocytic hyperplasia, mitosis and the positive collagen type IV staining, favor nerve sheath differentiation. In neurofibromatosis, neurofibromas may undergo malignant degeneration resulting in MPNST. Whether atypical neurofibroma represents a transitional stage is unknown. Mitotic activity and necrosis strongly suggest MPNST. The biologic potential of cutaneous atypical neurofibroma has not been well studied, but they appear to behave in a benign fashion. This case demonstrates the diagnostic challenge of atypia in neurofibromas and highlights the need for further studies on the behavior of these rare variants.
Synthesis of Michael Acceptor Ionomers of Poly(4-Sulfonated Styrene-co-Poly(ethylene Glycol) Methyl Ether Acrylate)

Ionomers containing sodium 4-styrene sulfonate (4SS) and poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate (PEGA) were synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The polymerization was mediated by 1-phenylethyl dithiobenzoate chain transfer agent in a dimethylformamide/water solvent system. Well-defined copolymers of pPEGA-co-4SS were produced with molecular weights ranging from 10 kDa to 40 kDa and polydispersity indices (PDIs) of 1.06-1.18 by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) against monodisperse poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) standards. Post polymerization, the dithioester was reduced and trapped in situ with divinyl sulfone to produce a well-defined, semitelechelic pPEGA-co-4SS Michael acceptor polymer. UV-vis, infrared, and (1)H NMR spectroscopy confirmed that the integrity of the polymer backbone was maintained and that the vinyl sulfone was successfully incorporated at the chain end.
Stereotypes as Judgmental Heuristics: Evidence of Circadian Variations in Discrimination

The question of when people rely on stereotypic preconceptions in judging others was investigated in two studies. As a person's motivation or ability to process information systematically is diminished, the person may rely to an increasing extent on stereotypes, when available, as a way of simplifying the task of generating a response. It was hypothesized that circadian variations in arousal levels would be related to social perceivers' propensity to stereotype others by virtue of their effects on motivation and processing capacity. In support of this hypothesis, subjects exhibited stereotypic biases in their judgments to a much greater extent when the judgments were rendered at a nonoptimal time of day (i.e., in the morning for “night people” and in the evening for “morning people”). In Study One, this pattern was found in probability judgments concerning personal characteristics; in Study Two, the pattern was obtained in perceptions of guilt in allegations of student misbehavior. Results generalized ove...
A Comparison of Noncoherent and Coherent MTI Improvement Factors

An analysis based on statistical considerations and Monte Carlo simulations indicates that a noncoherent moving target indicator (MTI) using a linear envelope detector differs from one using a square law envelope detector. The square law envelope detector is usually described in the literature because of ease of analysis, and it is commonly stated or implied that the results are the same for the two cases because of the similar spectral characteristics of the detectors. A comparison is made between the two noncoherent MTIs and the coherent MTI in terms of clutter attenuation and MTI improvement factors.
Rapid Segmentation of Calcification Clusters using Multi-resolution Guided Fuzzy C-Means and Wavelet Processing

Work presented here focuses on employing wavelets, multi-resolution guided fuzzy c-means (FCM), and coarse-to-fine feature analysis for rapid detection of microcalcification clusters in uncropped images. FCM segmentation is guided through a multi-resolution approach to rapidly distinguish medically relevant tissue from background. Sets of overlapping sub images, containing only relevant tissue, are extracted from the image for further high-resolution analysis. A minimum number of features are used in a simple fuzzy system to detect candidate microcalcifications. This coarse detection is shown to provide high detection rates while minimizing the data points requiring further feature analysis. Feature extraction and classification is performed with a radial basis function (RBF) neural network. Cluster analysis provides final detection.
Multi-signal pulse width modulation for multi-output inverters

Pulse width modulation (PWM) is extended to cases in which multiple signals are to be encoded into 2 single data stream, while still supporting. all the requirements of power conversion. This permits lossless recovery of multiple signals with a single set of converters. The approach has applications in digital PWM amplification of audio signals and in three-phase converters. It permits a unified AC link converter, for example, to conveniently deliver multiple output signals.
The quality of rural population estimates from the American Community Survey

The new American Community Survey (ACS) provides a unique and unprecedented opportunity to monitor changing community social and economic conditions in the U.S. between the decennial Censuses. In this paper, we provide a description of the ACS, and we evaluate ACS data quality for the 1996 rural test site – Fulton County, Pennsylvania – on the basis of response rates, allocation rates, and the comparability of ACS estimates of county population characteristics with the decennial census results and with local administrative records. Our analysis provides encouraging evidence that the ACS, when fully implemented, will provide high-quality data that allow public policy analysts, marketing firms, and social scientists to track rural and small area social and population changes during the post-censal period.
Laparoscopic Management of Pelvic Masses in Pregnancy

Adnexal masses are discovered in approximately 5 % of pregnant patients. The majority will resolve spontaneously without intervention. As such asymptomatic masses can be monitored conservatively with serial sonography and review of symptoms. Surgery is indicated for symptomatic masses or masses that are complex, solid, or over 6 – 10 cm. Minimally invasive surgery is a safe and effective approach for management in the majority of these patients. Specific details related to maternal and fetal health should be considered in this setting.
T cell recognition of epithelial self.

The presentation of self-antigens to circulating T cells is a critical, precipitating event in the induction of autoimmune injury in parenchymal organs. Epithelia expressing these self-antigens are thought to release such moieties for reprocessing by traditional antigen-presenting cells within the lymphoid system. We now demonstrate, however, that some epithelium possess novel functional mechanisms for presenting their own antigens to a responsive, syngeneic T cell repertoire. The presentation of these self-antigens occurs in the context of MHC class II molecules and depends on CD4 associative-recognition determinants. Our findings strongly suggest that organ epithelium may directly activate cell-mediated events to produce autoimmunity through self-recognition
Fractionating the Left Frontal Response to Tools: Dissociable Effects of Motor Experience and Lexical Competition

A number of theories about the evolution of language posit a close (and perhaps causal) relationship between tool use and speech. Consistent with this idea, neuroimaging studies have found that tool knowledge retrieval activates not only a region of the left premotor cortex involved in hand action, but also an adjacent region that is typically described as a language center. We examined whether this pattern of activation is best described as the result of a single process, related to both action and language, or the result of two independent processes. We identified two distinct neural components that jointly contribute to this response: a posterior region centered in the premotor cortex, which responds to motor knowledge retrieval, and an anterior region centered in the left frontal operculum, which responds to lexical competition. Crucial to the interpretation of the premotor response, individual variation in motor experience was highly correlated with the magnitude of the response in the premotor cortex, but not in the prefrontal cortex.
Associations of television content type and obesity in children.

Objectives. We tested the associations of content types of children’s television viewing with subsequent body mass index (BMI) to assess the plausibility of different causal pathways. Methods. We used time-use diary data from the Panel Survey of Income Dynamics to measure television viewing categorized by format and educational and commercial content. Analyses were stratified by age because children younger than 7 years are less able to understand the persuasive intent of advertising. BMI z scores in 2002 were regressed on television viewing, sociodemographic variables, mother’s BMI, and BMI in 1997 (for older children only). Results. Among children aged 0 to 6 years in 1997, commercial viewing in 1997 was significantly associated with BMI z scores in 2002 in fully adjusted regressions. Among children older than 6 years, commercial viewing in 2002 was associated with 2002 BMI. These results were robust after adjustment for exercise and eating while watching television. Conclusions. The evidence does not support the contention that television viewing contributes to obesity because it is a sedentary activity. Television advertising, rather than viewing per se, is associated with obesity. (Am J Public Health. 2010;100:334–340. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.155119)
NEWS MEDIA REPORTS OF PATIENT DEATHS FOLLOWING ‘MEDICAL TOURISM’ FOR COSMETIC SURGERY AND BARIATRIC SURGERY

Contemporary scholarship examining clinical outcomes in medical travel for cosmetic surgery identifies cases in which patients traveled abroad for medical procedures and subsequently returned home with infections and other surgical complications. Though there are peer-reviewed articles identifying patient deaths in cases where patients traveled abroad for commercial kidney transplantation or stem cell injections, no scholarly publications document deaths of patients who traveled abroad for cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery. Drawing upon news media reports extending from 1993 to 2011, this article identifies and describes twenty-six reported cases of deaths of individuals who traveled abroad for cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery. Over half of the reported deaths occurred in two countries. Analysis of these news reports cannot be used to make causal claims about why the patients died. In addition, cases identified in news media accounts do not provide a basis for establishing the relative risk of traveling abroad for care instead of seeking elective cosmetic surgery at domestic health care facilities. Acknowledging these limitations, the case reports suggest the possibility that contemporary peer-reviewed scholarship is underreporting patient mortality in medical travel. The paper makes a strong case for promoting normative analyses and empirical studies of medical travel. In particular, the paper argues that empirically informed ethical analysis of ‘medical tourism’ will benefit from rigorous studies tracking global flows of medical travelers and the clinical outcomes they experience. The paper contains practical recommendations intended to promote debate concerning how to promote patient safety and quality of care in medical travel.
In situ assessment of active Thiobacillus species in corroding concrete sewers using fluorescent RNA probes

Culture-dependent studies have implicated sulfur-oxidizing bacteria as the causative agents of concrete corrosion in sanitary sewers. Thiobacillus species are often considered the major representative of the acid-producing bacteria in these environments, and members of the genus Acidiphilium have been implicated to support their growth. Active populations of selected Thiobacillus, Leptospirillum, and Acidiphilium species were compared to total bacterial populations growing on the surfaces of corroding concrete using three oligonucleotide probes that have been con"rmed to recognize unique sequences of 16S rRNA in the following acidophilic bacteria: Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Thiobacillus thiooxidans (probe: Thio820), Leptospirilium ferrooxidans (Probe: Lept581) and members of the genus Acidiphilium (probe: Acdp821). With these genetic probes, !uorescent in situ hybridizations (FISH) were used to identify and enumerate selected bacteria in homogenized bio"lm samples taken from the corroding crowns of concrete sewer collection systems operating in Houston, Texas, USA. Direct epi!uorescent microscopy demonstrated the ability of FISH to identify signi"cant numbers of active acidophilic bacteria among concrete particles, products of concrete corrosion (e.g. CaSO4), and other mineral debris. As judged by FISH analyses with the species-speci"c probe Thio820, and a domain-level probe that recognizes all Bacteria (Eub338), T. ferrooxidans and T. thiooxidans comprised between 12% and 42% of the total active Bacteria present in corroding concrete samples. Although both Acidiphilium and Leptospirillum have also been postulated to have ecological signi"cance in acidic sulfur-oxidizing environments, neither genera was detected using genus-speci"c probes (Lept581 and Acdp821). ? 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Factors Influencing Pesticide Risks for Children

Infants and young children constitute a particular population of concern in terms of exposure to pesticides (including obsolete pesticides). For various reasons (behavioral, anatomical and metabolic) children may have greater susceptibility to the adverse effects of pesticide exposure. This potential for increased susceptibility must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis however, because in some cases children (particularly older children) may have similar or even less susceptibility compared to adults. Research has also pointed out a number of toxicological modes of action that may be of particular relevance for children’s health risks. These include effects on nervous system maturation, endocrine disruption and the influence of early life exposures on development of disease later in life. Although the importance of such modes of action is not yet fully understood, particularly at low levels of exposure, these are areas of expanding research and the data obtained are expected to be useful for improving health risk assessment in this population.
NOSH-Aspirin Inhibits Colon Cancer Cell Growth: Effects Of Positional Isomerism.

Background NOSH-aspirin, a novel hybrid that releases nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) was designed to overcome the potential side effects of aspirin. Aim We compared the cell growth inhibitory properties of ortho-, meta-, and para-NOSH-aspirins. Effects of electron donating/withdrawing groups on the stability and biological activity of these novel compounds were also evaluated. Methods Cell line: HT-29 (Cyclooxygenase, COX-1 & -2 expressing) and HCT 15 (COX null) human colon adenocarcimoa; Cell growth: MTT; Cell cycle phase distribution: Flow cytometry; Apoptosis: subdiploid (sub-G0/G1) peak in DNA content histograms; Proliferation: PCNA; ROS: measured hydrogen peroxide and super oxide by flow cytometry using DCFDA and DHE dyes. Results The IC50s for growth inhibition in µM at 24 h were, HT-29: ortho-NOSH-ASA (0.04±0.011), meta-NOSH-ASA (0.24±0.11), para-NOSH-ASA (0.46±0.17); significance between the groups were: o vs m P>0.05, o vs p P 0.05; HCT 15: ortho-NOSH-ASA (0.062±0.006), meta-NOSH-ASA (0.092±0.004), para-NOSH-ASA (0.37±0.04); significance between the groups were: o vs m P Conclusions Positional isomerism affects the potency of NOSH-aspirin. The effects appear to be COX independent.
International health planning.

Scrimshawin a paper published in 1974 correctly emphasizes that socioeconomic development; of which improved health and nutrition standards are integral components can only be a holistic process. This axiom is now receiving the attention it deserves and there are repeated requests on the part of developing countries leaders and planners that technical assistance resources be not allocated disproportionately according to priorities demanded by Western experts. The focus of the last decades on a systems approach to planning should promote adequate consideration of the influence on nonhealth factors on health conditions and health services. Most of the ills of public health importance in developing countries are basically socioenvironmental in nature and the following are examples of major health problems in these countries: malnutrition decreasing practice of breast-feeding the effects of socioenvironmental conditions on communicable diseases anemia and health problems related to human reproduction. In that high fertility in developing countries is promoted by very high infant and child morality and since it is recognized that this excessive morality is overwhelmingly due to socioenvironmental factors the population problem itself is to a certian extent environmental in its causation. An obvious corollary of great importance is that health workers must be very knowledgeable about this environment. No matter how skilled health workers are they will not be of much help if there is a gap between them and those they are supposed to be serving. The real challenge in international health planning might well be the effective involvement of the community the bridging of the gap between the common person and the health services the government makes available. Additionally all planners should be wary of avoiding overplanning and underimplementing.
Gas chromatography-electron ionization and chemical ionization mass spectrometric analysis of serum mexiletine concentration after derivatization with 2,2,2-trichloroethyl chloroformate: a novel derivative.

Mexiletine (Mexitil) is an antiarrhythmic agent used in the treatment of ventricular arrhythmia. The drug has a narrow therapeutic window, and monitoring its serum concentration is recommended. The authors describe a gas chromatography-mass spectrometric (GC/MS) assay of mexiletine using selected ion monitoring. Mexiletine was extracted from alkaline serum with dichloromethane followed by derivatization with 2,2,2-trichloroethyl chloroformate. The reaction was completed in 30 minutes at 70 degrees C. N-propylamphetamine was used as the internal standard. The ions monitored were m/z 58, 102, 122, 232, and 234 for derivatized mexiletine and m/z 56, 91, 131, 260, and 262 for the derivatized internal standard. The within-run precision at a serum mexiletine concentration of 1 mg/l was 1.7% (mean = 0.981, SD = 0.017 mg/l, n = 8) and the between-run precision was 3.3% (mean = 0.983, SD = 0.033 mg/l, n = 6). The assay was linear for serum mexiletine concentrations of 0.2 to 2.5 mg/l. The detection limit was 0.1 mg/l. The authors observed no carry-over problem in their assay. They observed a good correlation between mexiletine concentrations measured by a reference laboratory (Associated Regional University Pathologists, Salt Lake City, UT, U.S.A.) and by the new GC/MS assay.
Crises and Sequences in Collective Theory Development

Since 1954, the Committee on Comparative Politics has provided leadership in the comparative field, and one of its central objectives has been to construct a theory of political development. The books in the series that were published in the 1960s lacked rigorous design, although they did provide data and low-level generalizations which could be used in the theory-building task. This essay focuses primarily on Crises and Sequences in Political Development , which is authored solely by Committee members and reports on the results of their theoretical work thus far. The Committee takes the “intuitive empirical generalization” approach to theory development—in contrast with systematic empirical generalization and the analytic-deductive procedure. It is unlikely, however, that the Committee's approach will lead to the formulation of a coherent set of interrelated propositions within which empirical phenomena can be explained. But the Committee's work is not atypical of the theoretical literature in political science, which reflects the reward structure of the discipline. The building of powerful theories will be facilitated when emphasis is placed on the development of clearly falsifiable propositions rather than on the development of loose conceptual frameworks.
An efficient implementation of massive neutrinos in non-linear structure formation simulations

Massive neutrinos make up a fraction of the dark matter, but due to their large thermal velocities, cluster signicantly less than cold dark matter (CDM) on small scales. An accurate theoretical modelling of their eect during the non-linear regime of structure formation is required in order to properly analyse current and upcoming high-precision large-scale structure data, and constrain the neutrino mass. Taking advantage of the fact that massive neutrinos remain linearly clustered up to late times, this paper treats the linear growth of neutrino overdensities in a non-linear CDM background. The evolution of the CDM component is obtained via N-body computations. The smooth neutrino component is evaluated from that background by solving the Boltzmann equation linearised with respect to the neutrino overdensity. CDM and neutrinos are simultaneously evolved in time, consistently accounting for their mutual gravitational inuence. This method avoids the issue of shot-noise inherent to particle-based neutrino simulations, and, in contrast with standard Fourier-space methods, properly accounts for the non-linear potential wells in which the neutrinos evolve. Inside the most massive late-time clusters, where the escape velocity is larger than the neutrino thermal velocity, neutrinos can clump non-linearly, causing the method to formally break down. It is shown that this does not aect the total matter power spectrum, which can be very accurately computed on all relevant scales up to the present time.
RESEARCH ON THE ANTI-MONOPOLY OF CHINESE DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY FROM THE POINT OF EXPANDING OF FOREIGN CAPITAL IN CHINA

Distribution industry is the basic industry and its development is closely related to the effectiveness and efficiency of a district or a country.It is our first open field and the foreign enterprises have been entering China since 1992.More than 40 foreign enterprises of the biggest 50 ones succeed in entering China,and develop very quickly.It is very important for us to restate the necessity of anti-monopoly to build a fair competing environment,and to face up to the rapid development and huge developing potential of foreign capital enterprises.
ASHP guidelines: Minimum standard for ambulatory care pharmacy practice

In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis in health systems on the provision of ambulatory care services. Payers have created incentives to decrease hospitalization rates and length of stay, making way for a new shift toward pay-for-performance, outcomes-based reimbursement, and
Sub- and Supercritical Water Technology for Biofuels

One of the major challenges in utilization of biomass is its high moisture content and variable composition. The conventional thermochemical conversion processes such as pyrolysis and gasification require dry biomass for production of biofuels. Sub- and supercritical water (critical point: 374°C, 22.1°MPa) technology, which can utilize wet biomass, capitalizes on the extraordinary solvent properties of water at elevated temperature for converting biomass to high energy density fuels and functional carbonaceous materials. Here, water acts as reactant as well as reaction medium in performing hydrolysis, depolymerization, dehydration, decarboxylation, and many other chemical reactions. One of the advantages is that the large parasitic energy losses that can consume much of the energy content of the biomass for moisture removal are avoided. In sub- and supercritical water-based processes, water is kept in liquid or supercritical phase by applying pressure greater than the vapor pressure of water. Thus, latent heat required for phase change of water from liquid to vapor phase (2.26 MJ/kg of water) is not needed. For a typical 250°C subcritical water process, the energy requirement to heat water from ambient condition to the reaction temperature is about 1 MJ/kg, equivalent to 6–8% of energy content of dry biomass.
Addictive Behavior Interventions Among College Students

Addictive behaviors among college students are a significant public health concern. This manuscript reviews the past 2 years of the literature on prevention and treatment approaches for college students who engage in addictive behaviors. In-person skill-based interventions and motivational interventions that incorporate personalized feedback are effective in the short-term, but little support was found for long-term effects. Although web-based interventions reduced certain addictive behaviors (e.g., alcohol, problematic gambling), in-person interventions that include motivational interviewing components and personalized feedback appear to be more efficacious. Research has largely focused on alcohol and little is known about the utility of interventions for students who use tobacco or illicit substances or who engage in problematic gambling. Research on interventions for these high-risk behaviors is recommended.
Pan “Africa” Rising: The Paradox of Culture, Third Ways, and Coproducing Global Development

This chapter concludes the book with a final analysis and interpretation of the encounters that have been engaged by Afri-capitalism and Ubuntu business formulated throughout the book as new Pan Africanisms. The chapter responds to the opening chapter’s book thesis questions: How do Afri-capitalism and Ubuntu Business enhance, contradict, undermine, or complicate the pan-African project? How do Afri-capitalism and Ubuntu Business engage with neoliberal Africa Rising and Pan Africanist worldviews, and are Afri-capitalism and Ubuntu Business models viable alternative routes to African development? To this end, concluding the book’s thesis, “Pan Africa Rising” reveals how Afri-capitalism and Ubuntu business models are presenting the aspirations of new African political economies that unfold viable Third Way Pan Africanist economic worldviews to direct more authentic and meaningful growth prospects for Africans. Significantly, with this concluding chapter, we demonstrate how it is that both Afri-capitalism and Ubuntu Business models encounter limitations to Africa Rising narratives—their policy failures, their notional Western-gaze rhetoric, and their reinforcement of African global economic dependency and marginalization. By revealing how it is that as new Pan Africanists Afri-capitalism and Ubuntu business models push back against Africa-Rising type externalist, neoliberal constructions of African international political economy, the chapter proposes the alternative theorization of African international political economy—“Pan Africa Rising”. Pan Africa Rising therefore underscores the significance of Afri-capitalism and Ubuntu Business’ models as culturally driven responses to the global political economy that infuses African identities and self-determined economic imaginaries and aspirations into global development discourses.
Desmosterolosis presenting with multiple congenital anomalies.

Abstract Desmosterolosis is a rare multiple congenital anomaly syndrome caused by a defect in the enzyme 3-beta-hydroxysterol delta-24-reductase (DHCR24) in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Defects in this enzyme cause increased level of the cholesterol precursor desmosterol while disrupting development of cholesterol, impacting embryogenesis. A total of 9 cases of desmosterolosis have been reported to date. We report a 20-month-old male from consanguineous parents with multiple congenital anomalies including corpus callosum hypoplasia, facial dysmorphism, cleft palate, pectus deformity, short and wide neck and distal contractures. On analysis of the regions of homozygosity found by microarray, we identified DHCR24 as a candidate gene. Sterol quantitation showed a desmosterol level of 162 μg/mL (nl: 0.82 ± 0.48). Genetic testing confirmed the diagnosis with a homozygous likely pathogenic mutation (p.Glu191Lys) in the DHCR24 gene. Our case expands the known diagnostic spectrum for Desmosterolosis. We suggest considering Desmosterolosis in the differential diagnosis of patients who present with concurrent agenesis of the corpus callosum with white matter atrophy and ventriculomegaly, retromicrognathia with or without cleft palate, hand contractures, and delay of growth and development. Children of consanguineous mattings may be at higher risk for rare recessive disorders and testing for cholesterol synthesis defect should be a consideration for affected children. Initial evaluation can be performed using sterol quantitation, followed by genetic testing.
Mathematical-Statistical Model Building in Analysis of Developmental Data

A number of subtle and complex concepts of development are discussed in other chapters of this volume. As other authors note, study designs and data analyses must be carefully executed if concepts are to be properly represented. Kagan, for example (Chapter 2), has pointed to the need to distinguish between connectivity on the one hand and absence of connectivity and emergent phenomena on the other hand. Rutter (Chapter 3) has demonstrated the desirability of distinguishing within- environment determinism from within-person continuity. Fischer et al. (Chapter 5) have raised issues about quantum, or stage, development in contrast to near-continuous development. In almost all chapters there is discussion of how properly to identify stability when, as is inevitably the case, it is found in the company of instability.
Spark framework for transcriptomic trimming algorithm reduces cost of reading multiple input files

In this paper, we investigate the feasibility and performance improvement of adapting a common stand-alone bioinformatics trimming tool for in-memory processing on a distributed Spark framework. The rapid and continuous rise of genomics technologies and applications demands fast and efficient genomic data processing pipelines. ADAM has emerged as a successful framework for handling large scientific datasets, and efforts are ongoing to expand its functionality in the bioinformatics pipeline. We hypothesize that executing as much of the pipeline as possible within the ADAM framework will improve the pipeline's time and disk requirements. We compare Trimmomatic, one of the most common raw read trimming algorithms, to our own simple Scala trimmer and show that the distributed framework allows our trimmer to suffer less overhead from increasing the number of input files. We conclude that executing Trimmomatic in Spark will improve performance with multiple file inputs. Future work will investigate the performance benefit of passing the distributed dataset directly to ADAM in memory rather than writing out an intermediate file to disk.
Water quality improvements from implementation of tailwater recovery systems

Impacts of nutrient loading from agricultural landscapes have gained widespread attention and led to the implementation of conservation practices aimed at mitigating nutrient loss to downstream systems. A relatively new conservation practice, tailwater recovery (TWR) systems, has been considered as a potential mitigation strategy. The objective of this study was to compare concentrations and loads between effluent of TWR systems (TE) and effluent of similar catchments without TWR systems (CE), under the same agronomic management. Tailwater recovery systems, CE, and paired differences between TE and CE were compared over seasons. Nutrient concentrations and hydrologic discharge were monitored at five TWR system outflow and control catchment outflow locations on a flow event basis. Results revealed that of all experimental analytes, including total suspended solids, total phosphorus, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrate–nitrite, and ammonium, only total phosphorus concentrations were greater (F1,97 = 8.58, p < 0.005) at CE locations than TE locations. The difference between loads of TE and CE showed reduced loads per hectare leaving TWR systems. This included loads of total phosphorus, total nitrogen, organic nitrogen, total inorganic nitrogen, and nitrate–nitrite. Analyses revealed no differences across seasons for TE and paired differences between TE and CE. However, CE concentrations and loads were seasonally different, where ammonium was greater in the summer than in the winter and spring, but not different than fall. Additionally, only loads of total nitrogen were different across seasons, where winter was greater than spring, but not different than summer and fall. This study provides evidence that TWR systems are a positive contribution to reducing nutrient loads compared to control locations.
The testing effect and analogical problem-solving.

Researchers generally agree that retrieval practice of previously learned material facilitates subsequent recall of same material, a phenomenon known as the testing effect. There is debate, however...
Fourier-information duality in the identity management problem

We compare two recently proposed approaches for representing probability distributions over the space of permutations in the context of multi-target tracking. We show that these two representations, the Fourier approximation and the information form approximation can both be viewed as low dimensional projections of a true distribution, but with respect to different metrics. We identify the strengths and weaknesses of each approximation, and propose an algorithm for converting between the two forms, allowing for a hybrid approach that draws on the strengths of both representations. We show experimental evidence that there are situations where hybrid algorithms are favorable.
Combining specialized reasoners and general purpose planners: a case study

Many real-world planning problems involve substantial amounts of domain-specific reasoning that is either awkward or inefficient to encode in a general purpose planner. Previous approaches for planning in such domains have either been largely domain specific or have employed shallow models of the domain-specific considerations. In this paper we investigate a hybrid planning model that utilizes a set of specialists to complement both the overall expressiveness and the reasoning power of a traditional hierarchical planner. Such a model retains the flexibility and generality of classical planning framework while allowing deeper and more efficient domain-specific reasoning through specialists. We describe a preliminary implementation of a planning architecture based on this model in a manufacturing planning domain, and use it to explore issues regarding the effect of the specialists on the planning, and the interactions and interfaces between them and the planner.
What Is Mental Illness

Mental illness is usually defined as conditions that interfere with the sense of well-being or function of the individual. Some have equated the lack of a sense of well-being, or unhappiness, per se, with mental illness with presumed biological underpinnings. Others have emphasized the role of societal power structure as the origins of unhappiness. Unhappiness may be seen to be a universal condition arising from the experience of powerlessness as children and of continuing powerlessness of the individual and the masses vis-a-vis the powerful societal forces such as conformity, as well as symptoms of a biologically/genetically determined individual vulnerability. There is a continuum of unhappiness. For example, sadness may be situational, transient, and normal or may be a part of depressive syndrome requiring definitive treatment. In each culture and subculture, there are prevalent memes that represent how a person behaves or feels given a psychiatric condition. We likened mental health to a well-functioning memetic democracy in the brain in which there is an overall sense of coherence while there is competition and tolerance of different memes within it. In a democracy, there is always debate and tension; thus reasoned argument, persuasion, and compromise are essential in conflict resolution. Developmental task can be conceptualized as the integration of newly introduced and newly arising memes with the needs of unfolding genes. Neurosis denotes a state of the brain where the mutually incompatible and conflicting memes have not found a workable modus vivendi, where workable democracy has not developed. When the brain lacks sufficiently powerful reasoning ability (the ability to manipulate the memes), or when competing memes are intransigent and are unable to reach an agreed-upon course of action based on compromise, then the conflict may become irresolvable and severe anxiety ensues. Some individuals have a tyrannical selfplex that is severely repressive because it is very fragile and constantly in a state of threatened overthrow. The subversive selfplex in such a brain may be an even more repressive and depressive one, a repository of all unacceptable and derogatory memes. When such a fragile selfplex is overturned through new meme infusion (e.g., failure memes) under stress, this may trigger a meme-driven genetic cascade resulting in a final common pathway depressive syndrome. Final common pathway psychiatric syndromes are serious conditions reflecting a pathologic brain state that, without treatment, results in an autonomous course and often chronic outcome.
Morphology-controlled copper nanowire synthesis and magnetic field assisted self-assembly

Morphology, dimensions, crystalline structure and compositions of nanomaterials are very critical in determining their unique characteristics. Here we report how the reducing agent concentration affects the surface morphology of copper nanowires and establish the optimized reaction conditions to synthesize high aspect ratio nanowires with a smooth surface. Also, reported is the magnetic field assisted technique to control the orientational and positional ordering of cupronickel nanowires (Cu/Ni NWs) on a large-scale area. A combination of magnetic field, surface derivatization and photolithographic techniques allowed self-assembly of Cu/Ni NWs into channels. The channel resistance as a function of the applied magnetic field during fabrication shows an anomalous decrease owing to the positional end-to-end alignment of NWs. Magnetic field and areal NW density dependence of NW sheet resistance in channels is presented and analyzed using scaling theoretical models.
Late Breaking Abstract - Accelerated lung function decline in former and light smokers: NHLBI Pooled Cohorts Study

Background: Limited data suggest normalization of lung function decline with smoking cessation and slower decline with smoking reduction; yet, mechanistic studies suggest ongoing risk. Aims: To test whether former and “light” smoking are associated with accelerated lung function decline compared to never smoking. Methods: The NHLBI Pooled Cohorts Study harmonized spirometry and other measures from US population-based cohorts. Smoking status was self-reported as never, former, or current at each exam. Light current smoking was defined as Results: 25,552 participants from 6 cohorts (mean age 53 years) contributed 70,411 spirometry exams over a median of 7 years. Forty percent were never smokers (NS), 28% sustained former smokers (FS), 10% sustained current smokers (CS), and 23% reported variable status. In adjusted models, compared to NS, FS demonstrated 1.8 mL/year faster FEV1 decline (95% CI, 1.3-2.4) and 19% faster FEV1/FVC decline (95% CI, 14%-24%); these were 20% and 25% of effect sizes for CS. Lung function decline was faster in current light smokers than NS or FS (P Conclusions: Former and light smoking were associated with faster lung function decline than never smoking.