cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Associations among treatment-related neurological risk factors and neuropsychological functioning in survivors of childhood brain tumor

Adverse neurological side effects associated with childhood brain tumors and their treatments contribute to long-term neurocognitive morbidity. Measures designed to quantify tumor-related risk factors are lacking. The neurological predictor scale (NPS) is designed to assess treatment-related neurological risks. Preliminary validation established associations between the NPS and global cognitive functioning in this population, though its associations with specific neurobehavioral domains has yet to be addressed. Participants referred for outpatient neuropsychological assessment completed performance-based measures of intellectual, attentional, working memory, motor speed, and executive abilities. Caregivers completed ratings of adaptive functioning. Neuropsychological and adaptive data were available for 100 brain tumor survivors (51 % female), ages 6 to 22 years (M = 12.83, SD = 4.37). Total NPS scores were generated via retrospective medical record review. Total NPS scores were significantly associated with several neurocognitive composite scores including verbal reasoning and working memory, after controlling for years post-diagnosis (ps .05). Results indicate that the NPS is associated with performance-based neurocognitive functioning and executive skills but not with functioning in specific caregiver-reported adaptive behavior domains. The NPS offers some value as a resource for understanding associations between treatment-related neurological risks and select aspects of neurocognitive morbidity. Future studies should examine whether the NPS can aid in planning appropriate therapeutic intervention as survivors progress into early adulthood.
Optimizing the cloud service experience using constraint programming

This paper shows how to model and solve an important application of the well-known assignment problem that emerges as part of workforce management, particularly in cloud based customer service center optimization. The problem consists of matching a set of highly skilled agents to a number of incoming requests with specialized requirements. The problem manifests itself in a fast-paced online setting, where the complete set of incoming requests is not known apriori, turning this into a challenging problem where rapid response time and quality of assignments are crucial for success and customer satisfaction. The key contribution of this paper lies in the combination of a high-level constraint model with customizable search that can take into account various objective criteria. The result is an efficient and flexible solution that excels in dynamic environments with complex, conflicting and often changing requirements. The constraint programming approach handles hundreds of incoming requests in real-time while ensuring high-quality agent assignments.
Probabilistic Security-Constrained Unit Commitment With Generation and Transmission Contingencies

System operators maintain sufficient reserve in power systems in order to respond to generation and transmission contingencies. Traditionally, the reserve requirements have been determined using deterministic criteria (e.g., $N - 1$ ). These amounts of reserve allocate sufficient spare generation capacity and transmission margins to protect the system against any contingency of magnitude lower or equal to the chosen criterion. However, these criteria ignore the probability of individual contingencies as well as energy redistribution and transmission limitations in post-contingency states. In this paper, we propose to optimize the amount, location, and chronological procurement of the reserve in a given power system using probabilistic criteria. The proposed approach factors the probability of individual contingencies in a cost/benefit analysis, which balances the pre-contingency operating costs against the post-contingency cost of interruptions. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated using a modified IEEE Reliability Test System.
Rigging test bed enables development of multi-stage decelerator extraction

The Rigging Test Bed (RTB) is a ground facility capable of simulating a variety of extraction scenarios with full scale Parachute Decelerator System (PDS) hardware for the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) project. The PDS involves a multi-stage pilotdriven extraction of a supersonic parachute used in a Supersonic Flight Dynamics Test (SFDT). The uncertainties and complexities of developing the design for the lines and rigging of the PDS were addressed through testing in the RTB. Through more than 100 tests conducted in the facility, a wealth of data and experience were gained that fueled the PDS development. The utility of this testing and the lessons learned are presented in this paper. The goal is to inform the development of similar systems in the future and highlight the value and flexibility this type of testing offers rapid hardware development. The RTB provided a great compliment to the analytical models greatly compressing what would have otherwise been a very lengthy analytical effort or potentially much expanded flight test campaign.
Research on thermal design of smart phone terminal product

In order to solve the local overheating problems existing in intelligent mobile terminal,starting from the plane layout area,the heat conduction technology is adopted to catch the key of heat source device layout for multimode intelligent mobile terminal. The minimum layout area,taking account of heat dissipation,was obtained. The height of the complete machine structure was calculated according to heat flux density. The layout and structure design were simulated through thermal simulation technology. A reference comment about structure design is givenb in this paper. The test is performed to verify and improve the thermal design. The heating infrared spectrum distribution test was applied to an actual product. The temperature distribution plan of intelligent mobile products was obtained. A conclusion which was in keeping with simulation was obtained.
Deregulated Motor Carrier Industry -- Marketing Implications

The passage of the Motor Carrier Act of 1980 represents a major change in the transportation regulatory environment. The 1980 Act is often called a deregulation law. Some experts point out that it really involves regulatory reform or reregulation since its enactment did not free motor carriers from economic regulation. Without question, the 1980 Act has promoted greater reliance on market forces. Therefore, the marketing of motor carrier services has had to change.
Let Justice Roll Down: A Case Study of the Infrastructure for Water Equality and Affordability

In the absence of a fundamental right to a basic level of drinking water and sanitation in the United States, this article examines the ways in which federal and local civil rights laws provide an alternative legal infrastructure to ensure baseline water and sanitation equality. The article focuses on a particular jurisdiction, Washington, D.C. However, the framework analyzed has direct relevance to other subnational settings, since many anti-discrimination laws are federal and all share common themes across jurisdictions. Part I sets out background information on the delivery and affordability of residential water in Washington, D.C., describing a set of laws, regulations, and challenges that are similar to other localities around the country. Part II sets out the relevant civil rights laws – including federal constitutional law, federal statutory, and local legal theories – and how they might apply to a hypothetical instance of water inequality in Washington, D.C. arising from water unaffordability. Special attention is paid to the issue of discriminatory intent, a prerequisite to many civil rights claims. Part III summarizes the potential strengths and shortcomings of current antidiscrimination law as it applies to water and sanitation inequality, and identifies promising avenues for legal action. This section also describes several domestic initiatives to create a broader set of rights to augment and strengthen the existing legal infrastructure protecting water and sanitation access.
The status of biomass power generation and its solutions in our country

The biomass power generation, which uses the power of biomass for generation, is an important way of renewable energy power generation, including the plant biomass power generation, waste power generation, gas power generation and so on. This paper analyzes the importance of biomass power generation, describes the actuality of biomass power generation and the problems faced, and the outlets are given at the end.
DOES ATHLETIC SUCCESS INFLUENCE PERSISTENCE AT HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS? NEW EVIDENCE USING PANEL DATA

This study examines the relationship between athletic success and student persistence toward a degree. We build an updated panel of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I institutions and utilize within-institution variation to identify the effects of athletic success. Using a ranking of all institutions, we find that having more successful men's basketball and football teams has a significant positive effect on first-year retention rates. We also find some evidence that improved basketball rankings increase graduation rates, and that success in the NCAA tournament may have a sizable impact on retention. Although the estimated effects are generally modest in scale, we find rather limited evidence of other institutional factors affecting persistence, suggesting that athletics can be one avenue for institutions of higher education to engage and retain students. (JEL I23, Z20, L83)
Kev txhawb siab: Hmong parents’ educational encouragement of their undergraduate daughter/son

This study quantitatively examined 121 Hmong parents’ self-efficacy, expectations, and cultural values relative to their educational encouragement of their undergraduates. Differences of relationships between parents’ self-efficacy and encouragement were yielded for father-son and father-daughter pairings as well as mother-son and mother-daughter pairings, respectively. Parental self-efficacy emerged as a positive predictor of parental educational encouragement as well as mediated the relationship of expectations and encouragement. Limitations, future research, and implications are discussed.
Data-driven event-by-event respiratory motion correction using TOF PET list-mode centroid of distribution

Data-driven respiratory gating techniques were developed to correct for respiratory motion in PET studies, without the help of external motion tracking systems. Due to the greatly increased image noise in gated reconstructions, it is desirable to develop a data-driven event-by-event respiratory motion correction method. In this study, using the Centroid-of-distribution (COD) algorithm, we established a data-driven event-by-event respiratory motion correction technique using TOF PET list-mode data, and investigated its performance by comparing with an external system-based correction method. Ten human scans with the pancreatic β-cell tracer 18F-FP-(+)-DTBZ were employed. Data-driven respiratory motions in superior-inferior (SI) and anterior-posterior (AP) directions were first determined by computing the centroid of all radioactive events during each short time frame with further processing. The Anzai belt system was employed to record respiratory motion in all studies. COD traces in both SI and AP directions were first compared with Anzai traces by computing the Pearson correlation coefficients. Then, respiratory gated reconstructions based on either COD or Anzai traces were performed to evaluate their relative performance in capturing respiratory motion. Finally, based on correlations of displacements of organ locations in all directions and COD information, continuous 3D internal organ motion in SI and AP directions was calculated based on COD traces to guide event-by-event respiratory motion correction in the MOLAR reconstruction framework. Continuous respiratory correction results based on COD were compared with that based on Anzai, and without motion correction. Data-driven COD traces showed a good correlation with Anzai in both SI and AP directions for the majority of studies, with correlation coefficients ranging from 63% to 89%. Based on the determined respiratory displacements of pancreas between end-expiration and end-inspiration from gated reconstructions, there was no significant difference between COD-based and Anzai-based methods. Finally, data-driven COD-based event-by-event respiratory motion correction yielded comparable results to that based on Anzai respiratory traces, in terms of contrast recovery and reduced motion-induced blur. Data-driven event-by-event respiratory motion correction using COD showed significant image quality improvement compared with reconstructions with no motion correction, and gave comparable results to the Anzai-based method.
Shahi al-Ḥuriya: Militant optimism and freedom tea

This essay traces utopian impulses, following Ernst Bloch and Jose Esteban Munoz, in three musical performances of 2011 Libya. It contends that these performances illustrate the militant optimism that characterized this historical moment in Libya, and that reading them closely enables a nuanced engagement with Blochian theorizations of utopia as they are relevant to the quotidian both in seemingly unremarkable and in extraordinary times.
Harnessing out-of-plane deformation to design 3D architected lattice metamaterials with tunable Poisson’s ratio

Auxetic materials exhibiting a negative Poisson's ratio are of great research interest due to their unusual mechanical responses and a wide range of potential deployment. Efforts have been devoted to exploring novel 2D and 3D auxetic structures through rational design, optimization, and taking inspiration from nature. Here we report a 3D architected lattice system showing a negative Poisson's ratio over a wide range of applied uniaxial stretch. 3D printing, experimental tests, numerical simulation, and analytical modeling are implemented to quantify the evolution of the Poisson's ratio and reveal the underlying mechanisms responsible for this unusual behavior. We further show that the auxetic behavior can be controlled by tailoring the geometric features of the ligaments. The findings reported here provide a new routine to design architected metamaterial systems exhibiting unusual properties and having a wide range of potential applications.
Detention As a Last Resort: The Implications of General Comment No. 35

Improper confinement of children in migration contexts – unnecessary, prolonged, or in harmful conditions – is a severe and troubling phenomenon. In that regard, the UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment No. 35 (2014) summarizes the treaty body’s interpretation of the right to liberty of person, including protection against arbitrary detention, under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, one of the principal human rights treaties at the global level. This essay describes the Human Rights Committee’s approach to detention of migrants, including child migrants. It explains why General Comment No. 35 employs a broad definition of “detention,” and the resulting need for a nuanced and non-absolutist approach to the “detention” of children in migration contexts. Such “detention” is not invariably arbitrary, but rather should be used only as a measure of last resort, and for the shortest appropriate period of time.
PATEO syndrome: periarticular thenar erythema with onycholysis.

Periarticular thenar erythema with onycholysis (PATEO) syndrome, a subtype of hand-foot syndrome first defined by Childress and Lokich [1], is a rare cutaneous toxicity that may manifest in patient...
Power systems big data analytics: An assessment of paradigm shift barriers and prospects

Abstract Electric power systems are taking drastic advances in deployment of information and communication technologies; numerous new measurement devices are installed in forms of advanced metering infrastructure, distributed energy resources (DER) monitoring systems, high frequency synchronized wide-area awareness systems that with great speed are generating immense volume of energy data. However, it is still questioned that whether the today’s power system data, the structures and the tools being developed are indeed aligned with the pillars of the big data science. Further, several requirements and especial features of power systems and energy big data call for customized methods and platforms. This paper provides an assessment of the distinguished aspects in big data analytics developments in the domain of power systems. We perform several taxonomy of the existing and the missing elements in the structures and methods associated with big data analytics in power systems. We also provide a holistic outline, classifications, and concise discussions on the technical approaches, research opportunities, and application areas for energy big data analytics.
Age-Related Changes to the Bony Structure and Musculature of the Shoulder in a Nonhuman Primate Model

Abstract The African vervet monkey ( Chlorocebus pygerythrus ) experiences age-related musculoskeletal changes to the shoulder similar to humans and is therefore a promising species in which to study underpinnings of age-related changes and explore potential interventions. Older adult vervets experience increased osteoarthritic degeneration of the humeral head and glenoid and increased retroversion compared to middle-aged vervets. Older vervets also exhibited decreases in fiber cross-sectional area and total muscle volume compared to middle-aged vervets. Reductions in physical mobility were attributed to discomfort due to bony degeneration since mobility was not associated with measures related to muscle strength. Supraspinatus volume was relatively larger and deltoid volume relatively smaller in the vervet compared to humans, resulting in a lack of naturally occurring rotator cuff tears in the vervet; this suggests the importance of considering the deltoid when using an animal model to study rotator cuff tears, which occur frequently in aging adults.
Algal Sulfolipids and Chlorosulfolipids

The occurrence in algae of large quantities of sulfolipids and chlorosulfolipids often dominates the sulfur and chloride requirements in these microbes. Until this last decade, however, such substances were unknown and naturally it was not expected that they could possibly occur in sufficient quantity to have any bearing on the nutritional requirements of algae.
Pseudo-Leptomeningeal Contrast Enhancement at 3T in Pediatric Patients Sedated by Propofol.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Propofol is a cerebral vasoconstrictor that modulates cerebral perfusion by decreasing the metabolic rate of oxygen. Because younger children often undergo intravenous sedation for MR imaging, this study set out to evaluate the degree of leptomeningeal contrast enhancement on 3T postcontrast brain MR imaging and to determine whether this phenomenon relates to sequence, sedation dosage, or patient age or weight. MATERIALS AND METHODS: During a 2-year period, of 152 children 1–5 years of age who underwent MR imaging, 43 were included for MRI review. Of these, 37 underwent postcontrast imaging with either solely gradient-echo T1WI ( n = 20) or spin-echo T1WI ( n = 17); notably, 6 patients underwent both sequences. Three neuroradiologists separately graded the degree of leptomeningeal contrast enhancement (grades 0–3) that was correlated with various factors and calculated the interobserver reliability. RESULTS: For the 43 patients, the mean patient age was 3.1 ± 1.4 years. The leptomeningeal contrast-enhancement grade was significantly greater ( P r = −0.366 to −.418, P = .003–.01) and age ( r = −0.315 to −0.418, P = .004–.032) moderately and inversely correlated with the leptomeningeal contrast-enhancement grade, while the propofol dosage, sedation duration, and time to T1WI post-contrast administration did not (each, P > .05). The interobserver κ was strong regarding the leptomeningeal contrast-enhancement grade on both spin-echo T1WI (κ = 0.609–0.693, P P CONCLUSIONS: Leptomeningeal contrast enhancement (or “pseudo”-leptomeningeal contrast enhancement) occurs with a greater frequency and degree on 3T postcontrast spin-echo T1WI relative to gradient-echo TIWI in younger children sedated with propofol and should not be mistaken for disease. This phenomenon may be more prominent with lower age or size and may arise from propofol-induced vascular smooth-muscle dilation.
Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA)

Time division multiple access (TDMA) is a method of transmitting and receiving multiple independent signals over a single transmission channel. The TDMA at the transmit side, known as the multiplexer, assigns multiple channels in preassigned time slots. The TDMA at the receive side, known as the de-multiplexer, separates the incoming composite signal into parallel streams. Both multiplexer and de-multiplexer are synchronized by a common clock to receive data in accordance with the transmit sequence. This chapter presents the key concepts, underlying principles and practical applications of TDMA used in land-mobile telecommunication systems.
Stereoselective synthesis of chromane derivatives via a domino reaction catalyzed by modularly designed organocatalysts.

A highly enantio- and diastereoselective method for the synthesis of functionalized chroman-2-ones and chromanes was achieved by using an organocatalytic domino Michael/hemiacetalization reaction of aliphatic aldehydes and (E)-2-(2-nitrovinyl)phenols followed by a PCC oxidation and dehydroxylation, respectively. Using the modularly designed organocatalysts (MDOs) self-assembled from cinchona alkaloid derivatives and amino acids in the reaction media, the title products were obtained in good to high yields (up to 97%) and excellent diastereoselectivities (up to 99 : 1 dr) and enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee).
Two-Dimensional Electronic–Vibrational Spectroscopy of Coupled Molecular Complexes: A Near-Analytical Approach

This work presents theoretical calculations of the two-dimensional electronic-vibrational (2DEV) spectrum of a vibronically coupled molecular dimer using a near-analytical method. In strongly coupled dimers, where the IR mode is resonant with the electronic energy gap between the excitons, multiple infrared transitions become allowed that are forbidden in weakly coupled systems that have a nonresonant IR mode. This formalism enables the coherences and population contributions to be explored separately and allows efficient calculation of relaxation rates between the vibronic states. At short times, we find strong contributions of vibronic coherences to the 2DEV spectra. They decay fairly rapidly, giving rise to strong population signals. Although the interpretation of 2DEV spectra is considerably more complex than that for weakly coupled systems, the richness of the spectra and the necessity to consider both visible and infrared transition moments suggest that such analysis will be very valuable in characterizing the role of vibronic effects in ultrafast molecular dynamics.
Trauma screening and assessment outcomes in child welfare: a systematic review

This systematic review analyzes findings from all identified studies measuring traumatic stress in child welfare specific samples in order to explore how the existing literature informs trauma scre...
Investigating the effects of UV light and moisture ingression on low-impact resistance of three different carbon fiber–reinforced composites

In this article, the effects of ultraviolet light (UV) and moisture exposure on the low-velocity impact behavior of three different carbon fiber (CF) laminate composites (unidirectional fibers, plain weave woven fibers, and non-crimp fibers (NCF)) are reported based on the experimental observations. The composite laminate was fabricated by vacuum bagging method following the manufacturing specifications with symmetric and asymmetric stacking, and then the test coupons were extracted for impact testing, C-scan, and surface characterization studies before and after UV light and moisture exposures. A low-velocity impact test was carried out to evaluate the damage resistance and tolerance of the laminate specimens. The test outcomes uncovered that the NCF laminates were far predominant in load-carrying capacity than the woven and unidirectional laminates, with the NCF-asymmetric (NCF-NS) laminate exhibiting the greater load-carrying capacity of 3017.7 kN/m and impact energy of 7.07 kJ/m (NCF-NS). The NCF-symmetric (NCF-S) laminate showing impact energy of 7.0 kJ/m and load-carrying capacity of 2886.8 kN/m with some decrease after UV and moisture exposure for both cases. The ultrasonic C-scan revealed that NCF laminates, both NCF-S and NCF-NS, have the least penetration indicating greater out of plane fracture toughness and damage tolerance. The NCF-NS laminate has the least damage area (33.35 mm2) and dent depth (0.12 mm) as compared with other laminate studied here. The wettability of the panels was similar; however, the woven (baseline) panel showed the highest water contact angle (112°). After the UV and salt fog exposure, the contact angles of the composite panels were reduced between 66° and 58°. In addition, this study also reveals the effect of stacking sequence on the impact properties of the NCF composite laminate.
Dual Illumination Enhances Transformation of an Engineered Green-to-Red Photoconvertible Fluorescent Protein.

The molecular mechanisms for the photoconversion of fluorescent proteins remain elusive owing to the challenges of monitoring chromophore structural dynamics during the light-induced processes. We implemented time-resolved electronic and stimulated Raman spectroscopies to reveal two hidden species of an engineered ancestral GFP-like protein LEA, involving semi-trapped protonated and trapped deprotonated chromophores en route to photoconversion in pH 7.9 buffer. A new dual-illumination approach was examined, using 400 and 505 nm light simultaneously to achieve faster conversion and higher color contrast. Substitution of UV irradiation with visible light benefits bioimaging, while the spectral benchmark of a trapped chromophore with characteristic ring twisting and bridge-H bending motions enables rational design of functional proteins. With the improved H-bonding network and structural motions, the photoexcited chromophore could increase the photoswitching-aided photoconversion while reducing trapped species.
Apparent molar volumes and apparent molar heat capacities of aqueous silver nitrate at molalities from to , at temperatures from 278.15K to 393.15K, and at the pressure 0.35MPa

Abstract Densities of aqueous silver nitrate solutions were determined at molalities m from 0.015 mol · kg −1 to 0.5 mol · kg −1 , at temperatures T from 278.15 K to 368.15 K, and at the pressure 0.35 MPa, using a vibrating tube densimeter (DMA 512P, Anton Paar, Austria). A fixed cell, power-compensation, differential-output, temperature-scanning calorimeter (NanoDSC 6100, Calorimetry Sciences Corporation, American Fork, UT, USA) was used to measure the heat capacities of the same solutions at the same pressure and at 278.15⩽ T /K⩽393.15. Apparent molar heat capacities C p , φ and apparent molar volumes V φ were calculated for these solutions and fitted by regression to empirical equations describing the surfaces ( C p , φ , T , m ) and ( V φ , T , m ).
Rate of Decompensation of Normoxic Emergency Department Patients with SARS-CoV-2.

INTRODUCTION: As of October 30, 2020, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected over 44 million people worldwide and killed over 1.1 million people. In the emergency department (ED), patients who need supplemental oxygen or respiratory support are admitted to the hospital, but the course of normoxic patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection is unknown. In our health system, the policy during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was to admit all patients with abnormal chest imaging (CXR) regardless of their oxygen level. We also admitted febrile patients with respiratory complaints who resided in congregate living. We describe the rate of decompensation among patients admitted with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection but who were not hypoxemic in the ED. METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study of patients admitted to our health system between March 1-May 5, 2020 with suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection. We queried our registry to find patients who were admitted to the hospital but had no recorded oxygen saturation of <92% in the ED and received no supplemental oxygen prior to admission. Our primary outcome was decompensation at 72 hours, defined by the need for respiratory support (oxygen, high-flow nasal cannula, non-invasive ventilation, or intubation). RESULTS: A total of 840 patients met our inclusion criteria. Of those patients, 376 (45%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Sixty patients (7.1%) with suspected COVID-19 required respiratory support at 72 hours including 27 (3%) of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. Among the 376 patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 54 patients (14%) had normal CXR in the ED. One-third of patients with normal CXRs decompensated at 72 hours. Seven SARS-CoV-2 positive patients in our cohort died during their hospitalization, of whom five had normal CXRs on admission. CONCLUSION: Sixty (7.1%) of suspected COVID-19 patients hospitalized at 72 hours required respiratory support despite being normoxic in the ED. Further research should look to identify the normoxic SARS-CoV-2 patients at risk for decompensation.
Changes in Community Clinicians' Attitudes and Competence following a Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Training.

Background:Although the literature suggests that attitudes toward evidence-based practices (EBPs) are associated with provider use of EBPs, less is known about the association between attitudes and...
Subregion-Based Machine Learning for Wideband Amplitude-Only Direction-Finding Systems

In recent years, access to improved computing resources has contributed to the increased interest in the practical deployment of machine learning (ML) based systems. One area where ML has been considered is direction finding (DF) [1] . Typically, ML approaches for DF utilize preprocessing, or feature extraction. This produces good results, but it requires additional computations which increase the DF estimation time. Conventional DF approaches typically use the correlation method, where the received signal is correlated with pre-saved steering vectors in lookup tables. Some ML-based methods, such as the neural network presented in this work, can maintain a much smaller footprint than the baseline correlation approach, and omit the need for feature extraction. Often, these systems deploy multiple, parallel estimators which individually cover a fraction of the entire field-of-view (FOV), but collectively estimate over the system’s entire region of interest. This work presents a case study to quantify the impact of restricting the field-of-view (FOV) over which each subregion estimator operates.
“No-spin” states and low-lying structures in 130Xe and 136Xe

Inelastic neutron scattering on solid 130 XeF 2 and 136 XeF 2 targets was utilized to populate excited levels in 130 Xe and 136 Xe. When calculating nuclear matrix elements vital to the understanding of double-beta decay, it is important to have a clear understanding of the low-lying level structure of both the parent and daughter nucleus. Of particular relevance to double-beta decay searches are the assignments of 0 + states. We show here that in the case of 130 Xe there are several discrepancies in the adopted level structure. We found that one previous 0 + candidate level (1590 keV) can be ruled out and assigned two additional candidates (2223 and 2242 keV). In 136 Xe we question the previous assignment of a 0 + level at 2582 keV. Excitation function and angular distribution measurements were utilized to make spin and parity assignments of levels and place new transitions.
Female Genital Mutilation: A Cultural-Legal Analysis

This paper considers the legal and cultural meaning of female genital mutilation. The paper contrasts the meaning assigned to such procedures in Western culture with the meanings given the procedures in several African cultures. The paper illustrates that the social meaning of the ritual differs widely depending on the cultural context. The paper uses the case of female genital mutilation to explore the social construction of the Good. It argues that the concept of the Good is organized around certain key polarities: purity and pollution, health and harm, self and other, natural and unnatural, beauty and deformity, gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate, order and chaos, good and bad, and true and false. The article demonstrates how the cultural meaning of female genital mutilation differs depending on the values a society assigns the procedure along these different dimensions.
Patient-Specific Operative Planning for Aorto-Femoral Reconstruction Procedures

Traditionally, a surgeon will select a procedure for a particular patient based on past experience for patients with a similar state of disease. The experience gained from this patient will be selectively used when treating the next patient with similar symptoms. In this work, a surgical planning system was developed enabling a vascular surgeon to create and test alternative operative plans prior to surgery for a given patient. One dimensional and three dimensional hemodynamic (i.e. blood flow) simulations were performed for rest and exercise for operative plans for two aorto-femoral bypass patients and compared with actual postoperative data. The information that can be obtained from one-dimensional (volume flow distribution and pressure losses) and three-dimensional (wall shear stress) hemodynamic simulation may be clinically relevant to vascular surgeons planning interventions.
A Bayesian formulation of graph-cut surface estimation with global shape priors

In this paper, we propose a formulation of graph-cut segmentation that relies on a generative image model by incorporating both local and global shape priors. With surface estimation, rather than pixel classification, we cast the segmentation problem as a maximum a posteriori estimation from the image intensities via a cut through a multi-layer three-dimensional mesh model that preserves the topology of the shape class of interest. Methods that rely on local optimization techniques and/or local shape penalties, e.g., smoothness, have been proven to be ineffective to address challenging segmentation problems, such as noisy/ill-defined boundaries and irregular shapes. On the other hand, our method relies on graph cuts as well as a new formulation to estimate shape parameters in a closed form that provides a global updates-based optimization strategy. We demonstrate our formulation on synthetic datasets as well as the left atrial wall segmentation from late-gadolinium enhancement MRI, which is useful in atrial fibrillation to identify fibrosis, but presents local contrast and noise within the wall.
Intermediated Markets with Posted Prices

We consider a model of intermediated trade for a financial asset. Agents' valuation for the asset includes both a private and a common value component. A third party posts a price at which trade can occur, and a buyer and seller simultaneously decide whether to accept or reject the trade. We show that trade can be ex post inefficient, in the sense that a high value seller sells the good to a lower value buyer. Under specified conditions, any price at which trade occurs leads to inefficient trade with positive probability. We compare two objectives: volume maximization and welfare maximization. With symmetric priors over agents' private values, these lead to the same outcome, but, in general, imply different prices. Both objectives imply that a consummated trade is inefficient with positive probability. We consider two notions of informativeness, value informativeness and allocative informativeness. There is a tradeoff between informativeness and volume or welfare. In particular, small transactions costs, which reduce the volume of trade, can improve the informativeness of the outcome.
On Convergence of Concurrent Systems under Regular Interactions

Convergence is often the key liveness property for distributed systems that interact with physical processes. Techniques for proving convergence (asymptotic stability) have been extensively studied by control theorists. In particular, for the asynchronous model of computation Tsitsiklis [8] provides a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for proving stability and convergence under the assumption that each asynchronous operator (state transition function) is applied infinitely often. This paper generalize these results to obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for systems where the infinite sequence of operators is a member of an arbitrary omega regular language. This enables us to apply our theory to distributed systems with changing communication topology, node failures and joins. We illustrate an application of the new set of conditions in verifying the convergence of a simple (continuous) consensus protocol.
Multiple saccular congenital aneurysms of the atria causing persistent atrial tachyarrhythmia in an infant. Report of a case successfully treated by surgery.

A 5-month-old infant presented with persistent tachyarrhythmia, cardiomegaly, and an abdominal mass. Cardiac catheterization and cineangiocardiograms revealed multiple aneurysms of the atria. These were removed successfully at surgery, whereupon normal sinus rhythm returned. The abdominal mass proved to be a hamartoma of the liver.
Wavelet-Based Methodology for the Verification of Stochastic Submeso and Meso-Gamma Fluctuations

AbstractNumerical weather prediction model skill is difficult to assess for transient, nonstationary, nondeterministic, or stochastic motions, like submeso and small meso-gamma motions. New approaches are needed to complement traditional methods and to quantify and evaluate the variability and the errors for these high-frequency, nondeterministic modes. A new verification technique that uses the wavelet transform as a bandpass filter to obtain scale-dependent frequency distributions of fluctuations is proposed for assessing model performance or accuracy. This new approach quantifies the nondeterministic variability independent of time while accounting for the time scale and amplitude of each fluctuation.The efficacy of this wavelet decomposition technique for the verification of submeso and meso-gamma motions is first illustrated for a single case before the analysis is extended to six cases. The sensitivity of subkilometer grid-length Weather Research and Forecasting Model forecasts to the choice of thre...
Weeds in the algae garden – A source of biomass for the algae-to-biofuels program

Abstract Despite decades of effort, viable algal biofuels remain a distant vision. High-lipid microalgae for biodiesel is plagued by low productivity, poor biomass quality, and pond instability, so conversion of non-specific algal biomass into other fuels is now the favored approach. Nevertheless, with low productivity and high costs, microalgae cannot provide the annual tonnage of biomass needed for fuel production. An alternative source of easily produced algal biomass has been available for decades. Algal turf scrubbing (ATS) robustly cultivates indigenous algae in an open flume photobioreactor. It is a proven, cost-effective, point- and non point-source treatment method for recycling the aquatic nutrient pollution whose levels threaten to exceed sustainable earth system boundaries. Using ATS to reverse nutrient loading in eutrophic waters would produce copious algal biomass at essentially no cost, for biofuel production or for development into other bioproducts.
Fast multilevel techniques for solving integral equations in electromagnetics

In this paper, we describe several fast methods for solving electromagnetic scattering problems. Notably, we discuss iterative surface integral equation solvers such as the 3D fast multipole method, multilevel fast multipole method, rough surface scattering using steepest descent path fast multipole method, and the thin-stratified media fast multipole method.
New standard for dietary folate intake in pregnant women

The Institute of Medicine Panel for Folate and Other B Vitamins and Choline considered data from population-based and metabolic studies to revise the dietary intake standards for pregnancy. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for pregnant women is the average daily dietary intake sufficient to meet the requirements of 97-98% of pregnant women. The RDA is derived from the amount estimated to meet the requirement of half of healthy pregnant women, or the estimated average requirement (EAR). Maintenance of red cell folate was selected as the primary indicator of adequacy of folate status during pregnancy. The dietary folate equivalent (DFE) was used to interpret studies in which folate was provided as a combination of food folate and synthetic folic acid because folic acid is more bioavailable than is food folate. Many population-based studies confirmed that approximately 680 nmol (approximately 300 microg) folic acid/d consumed in conjunction with a low-folate diet prevented folate deficiency in pregnant women. Additional studies showed that 227 nmol (100 microg) folic acid/d was inadequate to maintain normal folate status in a significant percentage of the groups assessed. The EAR was derived by adding the DFE of this quantity [454 nmol (200 microg)/d] to the EAR for nonpregnant women [725 nmol (320 microg)/d] to provide an EAR of 1178 nmol (520 microg)/d. The RDA of 1362 nmol (600 microg) DFE/d was derived by multiplying the EAR by 1.2 to account for an estimated 10% CV. Data from the metabolic studies support an RDA of 1362 nmol (600 microg) DFE/d on the basis of the maintenance of normal red cell folate concentrations and agree with the findings from the population studies that 1362 nmol DFE/d is adequate to maintain normal folate status in pregnant women.
Cracked Rotor Diagnostics Using Soft Computing

A study is presented for detection and diagnostics of cracked rotors using soft computing techniques like adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), artificial neural networks (ANN) and genetic algorithms (GA). A simple model for a cracked rotor is used to simulate its transient response during startup for different levels of cracks. The transient response is processed through continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to extract time-frequency features for the normal and cracked conditions of the rotor. Several features including the wavelet energy distributions and the grey moment vectors (GMV) of the CWT scalograms are used as inputs for diagnosis of crack level. The parameters of the classifiers, ANFIS and ANN, along with the features from wavelet energy distribution and grey moment vectors are selected using GA maximizing the diagnostic success. The classifiers are trained with a subset of the data with known crack levels and tested using the other set of data (testing data), not used in training. The procedure is illustrated using the simulation data of a simple de Laval rotor with a ‘breathing’ crack for different crack levels during run-up through its critical speed. A comparison of diagnostic performance for the classifiers is presented. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach in detection and diagnosis of cracked rotors.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Effect of Pore Structure on CO2 Adsorption Characteristics of Aminopolymer Impregnated MCM-36

The CO2 adsorption characteristics of a pillared 2-dimensional porous silicate material impregnated with amine containing polymers have been investigated. It was determined that the introduction of amine polymer deteriorates the CO2 capture kinetics of the MCM-36 supported amine adsorbents compared to that of the bare material, due to the fact that with the addition of a higher loading of amine polymer the diffusion of CO2 through the 2-dimensional interlayer mesoporous channels of MCM-36 becomes greatly hindered. This pore blocking sets an upper limit to the CO2 capture performance of the polymer impregnated MCM-36 and greatly reduces the utility of using this sort of amine–solid adsorbent for carbon capture. Interestingly, these results suggest that for 2-D channel solid supports there is an optimal amine loading which is not likely to be equal to the maximum loading, and which can be determined and utilized to obtain the maximum improvement over the original materials. The study performed in this work ...
Effect of Electrical Generator Parameters on Transient Suppressors

In vehicular and aircraft generating systems, the voltage transient suppressor requirements for protection of utilization loads are generally based on measured values of valtage transients and the generating system impedance. This paper presents an approximate method for determining the suppressor requirements that disregards the generating system impedance. When a voltage surge due to removal of load is suppressed, the greater portion of the removed load current is transferred to the shunt-type suppressor. The influence of generating system voltage regulator design on severity of voltage transients is discussed.
An improved image graph for semi-automatic segmentation

The problem of semi-automatic segmentation has attracted much interest over the last few years. The Random Walker algorithm [1] has proven to be quite a popular solution to this problem, as it is able to deal with several components and models the image using a convenient graph structure. We propose two improvements to the image graph used by the Random Walker method. First, we propose a new way of computing the edge weights. Traditionally, such weights are based on the similarity between two neighbouring pixels, using their greyscale intensities or colours. We substitute a new definition of weights based on the probability distributions of colours. This definition is much more robust than traditional measures, as it allows for textured objects, and objects that are composed of multiple perceptual components. Second, the traditional graph has a vertex set which is the set of pixels and edges between each pair of neighbouring pixels. We substitute a smaller, irregular graph based on Mean Shift oversegmentation. This new graph is typically several orders of magnitude smaller than the original image graph, which can lead to a major savings in computing time. We show results demonstrating the substantial improvement achieved when using the proposed image graph.