cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A corner detection-based object representation technique for 2-D images

A corner detection-based object representation technique that operates on a thinned binary image is presented. The proposed method consists of two computational phases. The first phase involves the use of a corner detection method which detects the corners in the image. The second phase is a curve-following process that establishes the topological relationships between the corners for a complete object representation. The final output of the method is a list of corners, each identified by its position, the number of its edges, and the neighboring corners connected to it. Experimental results on a computer-generated line-drawing and an image of a real object are presented. The method gives reasonably good results for the images used in the test experiments. >
The lumped-charge power MOSFET model, including parameter extraction

A fundamentally new, physically-based power MOSFET model features continuous and accurate curves for all three interelectrode capacitances. The model equations are derived from the charge stored on two internal nodes and the three external terminals. A straightforward parameter extraction technique uses the standard gate-charge plot or process data and is matched with interelectrode capacitance measurements. Simulations are in excellent agreement with measurements. The model is used to design a snubber for a flyback converter. >
Horse soleus muscle: postural sensor or vestigial structure?

The soleus muscle of horses is rather diminutive with respect to the overall size of adjacent synergist muscles in the hind limb of the horse. Whether or not such a muscle might be vestigial or may be providing some essential function has not been determined. We have studied the horse’s soleus muscle using histochemical (ATPase), immunocytochemical (myosin isoform identification), and SDS-PAGE analysis to demonstrate that it is largely composed of 100% type I, presumed slow-twitch fibers. Only one soleus muscle studied (out of 13 adult horses) contained any type II muscle fibers. Given this consistent high percentage of slow-oxidative fibers, we hypothesized that the soleus muscle could have a significant role in proprioceptive function, essentially functioning as a proprioceptive organ instead of a significant force-generating muscle during locomotion. We tested this by examining three whole soleus muscles and assessing their muscle spindle content, which proved to have a spindle index of about 12. This value provided equivocal support for the hypothesis since it did not approach values reported for other mammalian proprioceptive muscles that were approximately 40–50 spindles per gram of muscle mass. Other parameters, such as motoneuron number and muscle unit size, may be useful in understanding these data. Anat Rec Part A, 288A:1068–1076, 2006. 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress in Parents of Children with Cancer: Are they Elevated Relative to Parents of Healthy Children?

Objective To examine posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in parents of children with cancer as a function of time since diagnosis, treatment status, and relapse history, and as compared to parents of healthy children. Method Participants included parents of 199 children with cancer, comprising a cross-sectional sample of diagnoses and treatment phases, ranging from currently on therapy to long-term survivors, and 108 parents of healthy children obtained via acquaintance control methods. Parents completed a standardized self-report measure of PTSS. Results Within the cancer group, parental report of PTSS differed as a function of treatment status and time since diagnosis. Parents of children on active treatment endorsed similar levels of PTSS as control parents, whereas parents of children off treatment reported significantly lower levels of PTSS than did controls. Similarly, parents of long-term survivors reported significantly lower levels of PTSS than did controls, while parents of recently diagnosed children did not differ from controls on PTSS. In contrast, parents of children who had suffered a relapse reported significantly higher levels of PTSS, and were much more likely to be identified as a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) case. Conclusions As a group, parents of children with cancer did not demonstrate any evidence of increased PTSS relative to parents of healthy children. Time since diagnosis, child treatment status, and relapse history are significant determinants of parent PTSS. Only parents of children who experienced a relapse appear to be at increased risk of PTSD. The current results appear discrepant from the existing literature, and possible explanations for these discrepancies are examined.
''Pots are pots, not people:'' material culture and ethnic identity in the Banda Area (Ghana), nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Colonial literature often assumed that Africans belonged to tribes and could be organised in orderly fashion. Concepts of ethnicity and identity have replaced the colonial paradigm and propositions of ‘pots as people' are considered fallacies. Nevertheless, analogies continue to be employed, thereby overlooking the diversity of historical experiences, the fluidity and the strategic character of ethnicity, rather than stressing similarities across time and space. This case study cautions against the validity of simple analogies used to address identity formation and its direct relationship with material culture. It focuses on ceramics produced in the Banda area of west-central Ghana during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that are characterised by their seeming lack of meaning as emblems of identity, while intangible cultural aspects play a central role. When analysed at the micro-level identical vessels used by different ethnic groups in their daily life show variability in manufacture among village...
The ternary IGF complex influences postnatal bone acquisition and the skeletal response to intermittent parathyroid hormone

The role of circulating IGF-I in skeletal acquisition and the anabolic response to PTH is not well understood. We generated IGF-I-deficient mice by gene deletions of IGF ternary complex components including: (1) liver-specific deletion of the IGF-I gene (LID), (2) global deletion of the acid-labile (ALS) gene (ALSKO), and (3) both liver IGF-I and ALS inactivated genes (LA). Twelve-week-old male control (CTL), LID, ALSKO, and LA mice were treated with vehicle (VEH) or human PTH(1-34) for 4 weeks. VEH-treated IGF-I-deficient mice (i.e. LID, ALSKO and LA mice) exhibited reduced cortical cross-sectional area (P = 0.001) compared with CTL mice; in contrast, femoral trabecular bone volume fractions (BV/TV) of the IGF-I-deficient mice were consistently greater than CTL (P < 0.01). ALSKO mice exhibited markedly reduced osteoblast number and surface (P < 0.05), as well as mineral apposition rate compared with other IGF-I-deficient and CTL mice. Adherent bone marrow stromal cells, cultured in beta-glycerol phosphate and ascorbic acid, showed no strain differences in secreted IGF-I. In response to PTH, there were both compartment- and strain-specific effects. Cortical bone area was increased by PTH in CTL and ALSKO mice, but not in LID or LA mice. In the trabecular compartment, PTH increased femoral and vertebral BV/TV in LID, but not in ALSKO or LA mice. In conclusion, we demonstrated that the presentation of IGF-I as a circulating complex is essential for skeletal remodeling and the anabolic response to PTH. We postulate that the ternary complex itself, rather than IGF-I alone, influences bone acquisition in a compartment-specific manner (i.e. cortical vs trabecular bone).
Child maltreatment and women's adult sexual risk behavior: childhood sexual abuse as a unique risk factor

This study investigated (a) whether childhood sexual abuse (CSA) was uniquely associated with adult sexual risk behavior, after controlling for other types of childhood maltreatment and (b) whether there were additive or interactive effects of different types of maltreatment on adult sexual risk behavior. Participants were 414 women (M age = 28 years) attending a publicly funded STD clinic. All women completed a computerized survey assessing childhood maltreatment (sexual, physical, psychological abuse, and neglect) and sexual risk behavior. Analyses showed that sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect were associated with adult sexual risk behavior. Multivariate analyses that controlled for all other forms of child maltreatment showed that only CSA was uniquely associated with adult sexual risk behavior (i.e., percentage of episodes of unprotected sex in the past 3 months and number of lifetime partners). The authors found little support for an additive or an interactive model of the effects of different types of childhood maltreatment on adult sexual risk behavior; CSA alone was the best predictor of adult sexual risk behavior. Sexual risk reduction interventions are needed for women who were sexually abused as children. Continued research on the effects of multitype maltreatment on adult sexual risk behavior is needed.
Thermal convection in a Hele-Shaw cell

We derive the Rayleigh number RHS for thermal convection in a Hele-Shaw cell with gap width d and full width (gap plus walls) Y. For the state of marginal stability, the system of equations is found to be formally identical to that describing flow through a uniform porous medium, if d3/12Y is identified as the Hele-Shaw permeability. Thus Lapwood's (1948) thermal-instability analysis should apply, and the critical Rayleigh number should be 4π2 when the cell has impermeable isothermal boundaries.Baker's (1966) pH-indicator method for visualizing fluid flow has been adapted for use in a Hele-Shaw cell. In addition to revealing the convection pattern clearly, this technique proves to be an especially sensitive detector of incipient flow, and a highly accurate means of verifying the onset of convection. Our experiments confirm that the critical Hele-Shaw Rayleigh number is 40 ± 2, thereby validating our theoretically derived expression for the Rayleigh number. We also measure the vertical flow velocity wm and find that wm∝ (R2HS−402)½ closely fits our data for 40 < RHS < 140.
Assessment of the Immediate Impacts of the 2013–2014 Drought on Ecosystems of the California Central Coast

Abstract. A methodology was developed to assess the impacts of the historic 2013–2014 drought on ecosystems of California's Central Coast region, using a combination of satellite image analysis and in situ measurements of soil moisture in predominant vegetation types of the region. According to differences in Landsat drought indices for plant water stress and vegetation green cover (NDWI and NDVI, respectively), the geographic areas within the study region that were most severely impacted by the 2013 drought were the inland Carmel Valley in northern Monterey County and the coastal zones around San Simeon Point and Cambria in northern San Luis Obispo County. An expanded area of severe vegetation moisture stress, generally indicated by relative-differenced NDWI values of >400, was detected by May 2014 in both of these same geographic areas. For more detailed examination of drought impacts, the entire study region was separated into the 3 predominant vegetation types (grasslands, shrublands, and forests) to ...
Cracking and delamination behaviors of photovoltaic backsheet after accelerated laboratory weathering

The channel crack and delamination phenomena that occurred during tensile tests were utilized to study surface cracking and delamination properties of a multilayered backsheet. A model sample of commercial PPE (polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/PET/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)) backsheet was studied. Fragmentation testing was performed after accelerated aging with and without ultraviolet (UV) irradiation in two relative humidity (RH) levels (5 % RH and 60 % RH) at elevated temperature (85 °C) conditions for 11 days and 22 days. Results suggest that the embrittled surface layer resulting from the UV photo-degradation is responsible for surface cracking when the strain applied on the sample is far below the yielding strain (2.2 %) of the PPE sample. There was no surface cracking observed on the un-aged sample and samples aged without UV irradiation. According to the fragmentation testing results, the calculated fracture toughness (KIC) values of the embrittled surface layer are as low as 0.027 MPa·m1/2 to 0.104 MPa·m1/2, depending on the humidity levels and aging times. Surface analysis using attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared and atomic force microscopy shows the degradation mechanism of the embrittled surface layer is a combination of the photodegradation within a certain degradation depth and the moisture erosion effect depending on the moisture levels. Specifically, UV irradiation provides a chemical degradation effect while moisture plays a synergistic effect on surface erosion, which influences surface roughness after aging. Finally, there was no delamination observed during tensile testing in this study, suggesting the surface cracking problem is more significant than the delamination for the PPE backsheet material and conditions tested here.
The Ties That Bind: Social Capital, Families, and Children's Well‐Being

Social bonds between parents and their children, an important form of social capital, promote children's cognition and their social adjustment. Both bonding and bridging social capital are consequential, as are parental norms and values, which vary by social class. Parents' working conditions, including occupational complexity and work schedules, influence children's home environments as well as their children's development. Family social capital is more important than school social capital in influencing both cognitive and social child outcomes. Recent studies show how fathers' roles are changing, with implications for social capital in families, and point to bonding with fathers as a possible mechanism for building social capital. We know relatively little about how different forms of capital, including financial, human, cultural, and social capital, combine to influence families and children. We need further analyses regarding how to build social capital, particularly for at-risk children.
Allele Sharing and Evidence for Sexuality in a Mitochondrial Clade of Bdelloid Rotifers

Rotifers of Class Bdelloidea are common freshwater invertebrates of ancient origin whose apparent asexuality has posed a challenge to the view that sexual reproduction is essential for long-term evolutionary success in eukaryotes and to hypotheses for the advantage of sex. The possibility nevertheless exists that bdelloids reproduce sexually under unknown or inadequately investigated conditions. Although certain methods of population genetics offer definitive means for detecting infrequent or atypical sex, they have not previously been applied to bdelloid rotifers. We conducted such a test with bdelloids belonging to a mitochondrial clade of Macrotrachela quadricornifera. This revealed a striking pattern of allele sharing consistent with sexual reproduction and with meiosis of an atypical sort, in which segregation occurs without requiring homologous chromosome pairs.
GIS based discrete event modeling and simulation of biomass supply chain

A consistent, reliable and low cost biomass supply chain is crucial for a sustainable biorefinery. Spatial and temporal variations in biomass yield, weather risk, transport network, machine capacity significantly impacts logistics cost and supply chain performances. The objectives of the study are to develop a sustainable biomass supply chain modeling framework coupled with GIS (Geographic Information System) to estimate feedstock flow rate and delivered cost. The supply chain model was developed and implemented in discrete event simulation platform and tested with Miscanthus crop (biomass) supply chain for 10 years from strip-mined lands in Ohio. The overall cost of biomass delivered to a biorefinery was estimated to 84 $/dry Mg with an average annual plant demand of 200,000 dry Mg. The developed model will be further improved to include energy consumption and environmental impacts of entire biofuels supply chain.
Identification of the Serum Fraction Carrying Syphilitic Reagin by Electrophoresis.

Summary1. Electrophoretic analyses are reported for syphilitic sera, before inactivation by heating to 56°C for 30 minutes, after inactivation, and after inactivation and flocculation with the Kahn antigen. No significant change occurred on inactivation but flocculation with the antigen apparently removes some γ globulin from solution. 2. Electrophoretic analyses and serological reactions of protein fractions obtained by salting out with ammonium sulfate are reported. From the data obtained, the β or γ globulin fractions or both have been identified as carriers of the Kahn and Wassermann reagins.
Film Cooling With Compound Angle Holes: Adiabatic Effectiveness

Film cooling effectiveness was studied experimentally in a flat plate test facility with zero pressure gradient using a single row of inclined holes, which injected high-density, cryogenically cooled air. Round holes and holes with a diffusing expanded exit were directed laterally away from the free-stream direction with a compound angle of 60 deg. Comparisons were made with a baseline case of round holes aligned with the free stream. The effects of doubling the hole spacing to six hole diameters for each geometry were also examined. Experiments were performed at a density ratio of 1.6 with a range of blowing ratios from 0.5 to 2.5 and momentum flux ratios from 0.16 to 3.9. Lateral distributions of adiabatic effectiveness results were determined at streamwise distances from 3 D to 15 D downstream of the injection holes. All hole geometries had similar maximum spatially averaged effectiveness at a low momentum flux ratio of I = 0.25, but the round and expanded exit holes with compound angle had significantly greater effectiveness at larger momentum flux ratios. The compound angle holes with expanded exits had a much improved lateral distribution of coolant near the hole for all momentum flux ratios.
Antigen modulation of the immune response: The decline of immunological memory in the absence of continuing antigenic stimulation

Abstract Irradiated rats reconstituted with immune spleen cells demonstrated a decline in their ability to mount a secondary response when challenged at various times after transfer. This decline was biphasic in nature, suggesting the existence of at least two memory cell populations: one with a half-life of 4.5 days and the other with a half-life of 40 days. When antigen (DNP-BGG) was given immediately after reconstitution and the rats rechallenged 1 mo later, a significant potentiation of immunological memory occurred. This effect of antigen appeared to be independent of its ability to stimulate the memory cells into becoming antibody-forming cells. This suggested that antigen may have at least two distinct effects on the memory cell population: (1) it can stimulate the cells to become antibody forming cells or (2) it can somehow act on the cells to potentiate their functional survival.
Localization of arbutin in Pyrus by means of alkaline p-phenylenediamine.

A reagent composed of 0.2% p-phenylenediamine in 2 N NH4OH was used for the cytochemical demonstration of arbutin in plant tissue. Sections of fresh tissue were cut at 25-50 μ, mounted in a drop of the reagent, and allowed to stand uncovered 15-20 min before applying a coverslip. Arbutin stained dark blue to dark purple and was easily distinguished from other constituents of the cell, such as chlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and quinic acid, which stained yellow, yellow-green, red or brown in color. The limit of sensitivity of the p-phenylenediamine-arbutin reaction was 1:100,000, as determined by spot-plate tests.
Detection of the Previously Unobserved Stereoisomers of Thujone in the Essential Oil and Consumable Products of Sage (Salvia officinalis L.) Using Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction–Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

The discovery of the (+)-α-thujone and (−)-β-thujone stereoisomers in the essential oil of sage (Salvia officinalis L.) and dietary supplements is documented for the first time. The detection was accomplished using a chiral resolution protocol of racemic α-/β-thujone on headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Because the previously unreported stereoisomers, (+)-α-thujone and (−)-β-thujone, are not commercially available, a three-step synthesis of racemic thujone from commercially available starting materials was developed. Thermolysis studies demonstrated that no racemization at the cyclopropane stereocenters occurs, corroborating that the detection is not an artifact from the hydrodistillation process. The developed chiral resolution of thujone was also used to provide evidence for the absence of the (+)-α-thujone and (−)-β-thujone enantiomers in other common thujone-containing essential oils.
Correction for Henson et al., Artificial Seawater Media Facilitate Cultivating Members of the Microbial Majority from the Gulf of Mexico

Volume 1, no. 2, doi:[10.1128/mSphere.00028-16][1], 2016. Two additional references should have been cited: Sosa OA, Gifford SM, Repeta DJ, DeLong EF . 2015. High molecular weight dissolved organic matter enrichment selects for methylotrophs in dilution to extinction cultures. ISME J 9 :2725–2739
Cost of discarded medication in Indiana long-term care facilities

The cost of discarded medication was studied in 17 Indiana intermediate-care and skilled-nursing facilities with varying bed capacities and drug-distribution systems. During visits to each facility, one or two pharmacists collected data on patients' drug regimens and the quantities of medication dispensed and discarded over periods of one to seven months. A total of $ 5,620 worth of medication ($ 4,472 excluding topical medications) was destroyed in the facilities during the study period. The projected annual cost of discarded medication was approximately $ 15,800 ($ 12,460 excluding topical medications). In the 13 facilities using some type of unit dose drug distribution system, the mean projected annual cost of discarded medication per patient ($ 4.07) was significantly less than for the four facilities using traditional drug-distribution systems ($ 23.54). There was an inverse relationship between bed capacity and mean projected annual cost of discarded medication per patient. The use of unit dose drug distribution systems in all long-term care facilities would be expected to result in substantial savings in the costs of discarded medications.
Urban Malaise: Explorations of Problems and Dissatisfaction with City Life

This key chapter discusses city problems building on classical sociological theory, and presents evidence of city unhappiness.
Negotiating Armed Power: The Control of Arms and Violence

Regardless of their effectiveness as a military or police force, a wellarmed citizenship was a potent symbol of civic power. At the same time, the association of manhood with weapons was a potential source of disorder. The requirement that men keep and bear arms in defense of their communities outlined in the previous chapters also socialized them to resort to arms in their own defense. Although armed violence was usually illegal, it was often tolerated and could even be encouraged by the authorities under certain circumstances. Late medieval and early modern laws describe a clear hierarchy of offences that underscore shared assumptions about the rights, the responsibilities, and the code of honor that governed violent behavior and resort to arms. This chapter is concerned with the right to bear and use arms for both individual and collective defense, and the circumstances under which these rights could be curtailed.
HIV-1 Tat Mediated Effects on Focal Adhesion Assembly and Permeability in Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a network formed mainly by brain microvascular endothelial cells. The integrity of the BBB is critical for brain function. Breakdown of the BBB is commonly seen in AIDS patients with HIV-1-associated dementia (HAD), despite the lack of productive HIV-infection of the brain endothelium. The processes by which HIV causes these pathological conditions are not well understood. Here, we characterized the molecular mechanisms by which Tat mediates its pathogenic effects in-vitro on primary human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs). Tat treatment of HBMECs stimulated cytoskeletal organization and increased focal adhesion sites as compared to control cells or cells treated with heat-inactivated Tat. Pretreatment with Tat antibodies or with the specific inhibitor SU-1498, which interferes with VEGFR-2 (Flk-1/KDR) receptor phosphorylation, blocked the ability of Tat to stimulate focal adhesion assembly and the migration of HBMECs. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) was tyrosine-phosphorylated by Tat and found to be an important component of focal adhesion sites. Inhibition of FAK by the dominant-interfering mutant form FRNK (FAK-related non-kinase) significantly blocked HBMEC migration and disrupted focal adhesions upon Tat activation. Furthermore, HIV-Tat induced permeability changes in HBMECs in a time dependent manner. Tat also impaired BBB permeability as observed in HIV-1 Tat transgenic mice. These studies define a mechanism for HIV-1 Tat in focal adhesion complex assembly in HBMECs, via activation of FAK, leading to cytoskeletal reorganization and permeability changes.
Aggregation-Induced Emission for Highly Selective and Sensitive Fluorescent Biosensing and Cell Imaging

Fluorescent bioprobes are powerful analytical tools for studying biological activities in living systems. Fluorogens with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics have recently emerged as a new class of fluorescent bioprobes for biosensing and cell imaging. As discovered by Tang, AIE fluorogens are nearly nonemissive in molecular states with their intermolecular rotations being not restricted whereas their fluorescence is turned on by binding with certain biomolecules, leading to highly selective turn-on fluorescent probes for specific biomolecules and fluorescent cell imaging with a high signal-to-background noise ratio. By introducing the AIE characteristics into polymeric materials, AIE polymers could possess a good solubility and biocompatibility, excellent structural diversity, and ease for functionalization useful for efficient biosensing and cell imaging. Herein, we highlight a few recently published articles on small and macromolecular AIE molecules to provide a fundamental understanding of the AIE mechanism and illustrate the working principle for AIE based biosensing and cell imaging. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 653–659
Assessing work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among otolaryngology residents.

Abstract Purpose Previous studies have suggested that musculoskeletal symptoms are common among practicing otolaryngologists. Early training can be the ideal time to foster knowledge of ergonomics and develop safe work habits, however, little data exists regarding musculoskeletal symptoms in residents. The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize musculoskeletal symptoms in a preliminary sample of otolaryngology residents. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey incorporating the Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was sent to 30 Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residencies to examine musculoskeletal symptoms among residents. A two-sample test of proportions was performed to compare symptoms between male and female residents. Results In total, 141 respondents (response rate = 34.7%) completed the survey. Fifty-five percent of survey respondents were male and 45% were female. Musculoskeletal symptoms were most frequently reported in the neck (82.3%), followed by the lower back (56%), upper back (40.4%), and shoulders (40.4%). The most common symptoms were stiffness in the neck (71.6%), pain in the neck (61.7%), and pain in the lower back (48.2%). In total, 6.4% of residents missed work and 16.3% of residents stopped during an operation at some point due to their symptoms. Most residents (88.3%) believed their musculoskeletal symptoms were attributed to their surgical training. Female residents were significantly more likely to experience neck (p Conclusions Musculoskeletal symptoms were common among residents, approaching rates similar to those previously identified in practicing otolaryngologists. Increased emphasis on surgical ergonomics is warranted to improve workplace safety and prevent future injury.
Effect of light intensity and feed density on feeding behaviour, growth and survival of larval sablefish Anoplopoma fimbria

We studied the effects of light intensity on larval activity, feeding behaviour, growth and survival of a candidate species for aquaculture – sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria). Of six light intensities ranging from 2 to 750 lux at the water surface, the greatest surviving biomass in small tanks was observed at 12–42 lux. In another experiment in larger tanks, behavioural observations showed that larvae fed poorly under light brighter than 800 lux but fed better at lower light intensities, depending on tank type. In a separate experiment, where live feed densities were varied between 2.5 and 17.5 rotifers per mL of tank water, surviving biomass and dry weight increased with higher feed densities. These experiments help refine methods for rearing larval sablefish by demonstrating effects of light intensity and feed density on larval performance.
An equivalent stress-gradient regularization model for coupled damage-viscoelasticity

Abstract For materials that display viscoelastic behavior, adequate description of their failure requires accurate prediction of damage initiation, propagation and growth rate in addition to their time-dependent response. While many local damage models are available in the literature, they all lack a length scale needed to regularize the solution and lead to mesh independent results. In this work, we propose a new damage regularization approach based on an equivalent stress measure concept and apply it to a Prony Series type viscoelastic solid with a Murakami type damage-rate law. Viscoelastic behavior is achieved by a semi-analytical integration of the constitutive law and damage regularization is obtained by solving an additional second-order gradient equation of an equivalent stress. The scheme leads to a coupled set of nonlinear equations which are solved simultaneously using a monolithic Newton framework to obtain displacement and damage fields as a function of time. The formulation is shown to be thermodynamically consistent and the energy dissipation of the model is studied. Mesh-insensitive behavior under creep, relaxation and strain rate conditions is demonstrated for one and two dimensional problems. Moreover, for different viscoelastic materials with different dominant damage terms, the proposed model is shown to provide consistent damage growth results.
Visionics: A New Vision Guided Estimation of a Dynamical System*

Abstract We consider the problem of motion and shape estimation of a moving textured surface with the aid of a monocular camera. We show that the estimation problem reduces to a specific parameter estimation of a perspective dynamical system. In this paper we analyze a planar textured surface undergoing a rigid flow and an affine flow. These two cases have been analysed for perspective and orthographic projection. The main result of this paper is to identify what parameters or function of parameters are identifiable.
Familial Risk for Insomnia Is Associated With Abnormal Cortisol Response to Stress.

Objectives Abnormalities in the stress system have been implicated in insomnia. However, studies examining physiological stress regulation in insomnia have not consistently detected differences in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis response to stress. One explanation may be that deficits in the stress system are associated specifically with a biological vulnerability to insomnia rather than the phenotypic expression of insomnia. To examine stress response as a function of vulnerability to insomnia, this study tested response to the Trier Social Stress Test in a sample of healthy sleepers with varying familial risks for insomnia. Methods Thirty-five healthy individuals with and without familial risk for insomnia were recruited to complete a laboratory stressor. Participants with one or both biological parents with insomnia were categorized as positive for familial risk, whereas those without biological parents with insomnia were categorized as negative for familial risk. Participants completed the Trier Social Stress Test in the laboratory, and psychological and physiological (autonomic and HPA-axis) responses were compared. Results Despite self-reported increases in anxiety, those positive for familial risk exhibited a blunted cortisol response relative to those without familial risk for insomnia. Individuals with blunted cortisol also reported heightened reactivity to personal life stressors, including increased sleep disturbances, elevated cognitive intrusions, and more behavioral avoidance. Conclusions Findings from this study provide initial evidence that abnormal stress regulation may be a biological predisposing factor conferred via familial risk for insomnia. This deficit may also predict negative consequences over time, including insomnia and the associated psychiatric comorbidities.
Towards Bandwidth Guarantee for Virtual Clusters Under Demand Uncertainty in Multi-Tenant Clouds

In the cloud, multiple tenants share the resource of datacenters and their applications compete with each other for scarce network bandwidth. Current studies have shown that the lack of bandwidth guarantee causes unpredictable network performance, leading to poor application performance. To address this issue, several virtual network abstractions have been proposed which allow the tenants to reserve virtual clusters with specified bandwidth between the Virtual Machines (VMs) in the datacenters. However, all these existing proposals require the tenants to deterministically characterize the bandwidth demands in the abstractions, which can be difficult and result in inefficient bandwidth reservation due to the demand uncertainty. In this paper, we explore a virtual cluster abstraction with stochastic bandwidth characterization to address the bandwidth demand uncertainty. We propose Stochastic Virtual Cluster (SVC), which models the bandwidth demand between VMs in a probabilistic way. Based on SVC, we develop a stochastic framework for virtual cluster allocation, in which the admitted virtual cluster's bandwidth demands are satisfied with a high probability. Efficient VM allocation algorithms are proposed to implement the framework while reducing the possibility of link congestion through minimizing the maximum bandwidth occupancy of a virtual cluster on physical links. Using simulations, we show that SVC achieves the trade-off between the job concurrency and the average job running time, and demonstrate its effectiveness for accommodating cloud application workloads with highly volatile bandwidth demands and its improvement to work-conserving bandwidth enforcement.
Separation of Functions and the National Labor Relations Board

rT HE administrative process has experienced rough going recently. Various quasi-erudite and legalistic groups have felt impelled to inquire into the mysterious workings of this relatively novel development in American government. Some attempts have been merely fishing expeditions,' others serious efforts to remedy what have been felt to be alarming defects in the system of "government by men."2 One principal feature of the administrative process has drawn general fire, namely, the combination of administrative, prosecutory and judicial functions under one roof in the federal independent tribunals.3 This is attacked as in violation of Coke's time-worn dictum that no man should be judge in his own cause. The latter concept still possesses sufficient vitality to evoke consternation from those who fear for the independence of our democratic institutions and the "rights of man." Such fears remain de-
Women's experiences of their preabortion ultrasound image printout.

Abstract Objectives We know little about women's interest in and experiences with a printout of their preabortion ultrasound image. Methods We conducted a mixed-methods study at a large-volume abortion-providing facility where patients are offered the opportunity to receive their ultrasound printout, using 2 years of abstracted medical chart data on demographics and printout acceptance and interviews with patients about whether they took a printout and, if they did, why and what they did with it. We analyzed chart data using multivariable logistic regression to examine predictors of printout acceptance and interviews using elaborative coding and modified grounded theory. Results We abstracted data from 5342 charts and interviewed 23 women. Thirty-eight percent of all patients and 61% of interviewees accepted the printout. Predictors of accepting the printout included being younger, being nonwhite, having a partner who is a boyfriend or friend, and not having a support person at the visit. Interviewees reported that they accepted the printout simply because it was offered, out of curiosity and as part of confirming their abortion decision. They described various uses for the printout, including sharing with others, consulting before their abortion appointment, retaining as a keepsake and nothing at all. Conclusions Some abortion patients are interested in receiving a printout of their ultrasound image and find it useful. Women accept a printout for a range of reasons and use it in various ways; there is no singular experience or use of the printout. Implications We find no evidence that taking a printout of the preabortion ultrasound image causes emotional distress, nor did we find that it was expressly important for any patient's experience. Providers should consider providing interested patients with a printout, if they have the capability to do so, when they request one.
On slopes of L-functions of Zp-covers over the projective line

Abstract Let P : ⋯ → C 2 → C 1 → P 1 be a Z p -cover of the projective line over a finite field of cardinality q and characteristic p which ramifies at exactly one rational point. We study the q-adic valuations of the reciprocal roots in C p of L-functions associated to characters of the Galois group of P . We show that for all covers P such that the genus of C n is a quadratic polynomial in p n for n large, the valuations of these reciprocal roots are uniformly distributed in the interval [ 0 , 1 ] . Furthermore, we show that for a large class of such covers P , the valuations of the reciprocal roots in fact form a finite union of arithmetic progressions.
Minimap2: pairwise alignment for nucleotide sequences

Motivation Recent advances in sequencing technologies promise ultra-long reads of ∼100 kb in average, full-length mRNA or cDNA reads in high throughput and genomic contigs over 100 Mb in length. Existing alignment programs are unable or inefficient to process such data at scale, which presses for the development of new alignment algorithms. Results Minimap2 is a general-purpose alignment program to map DNA or long mRNA sequences against a large reference database. It works with accurate short reads of ≥100 bp in length, ≥1 kb genomic reads at error rate ∼15%, full-length noisy Direct RNA or cDNA reads and assembly contigs or closely related full chromosomes of hundreds of megabases in length. Minimap2 does split-read alignment, employs concave gap cost for long insertions and deletions and introduces new heuristics to reduce spurious alignments. It is 3-4 times as fast as mainstream short-read mappers at comparable accuracy, and is ≥30 times faster than long-read genomic or cDNA mappers at higher accuracy, surpassing most aligners specialized in one type of alignment. Availability and implementation https://github.com/lh3/minimap2. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Hydrologic responses to climate change using downscaled GCM data on a watershed scale

The changing climate has raised significant concerns for water resources, especially on a watershed scale. In this study, the downscaled global circulation model (GCM) products were further bias corrected and evaluated for the period of 1981–2099. Driven by the bias-corrected products, a calibrated Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) model was used to assess long-term hydrologic responses in the Lehman Creek watershed, eastern Nevada. The results of this study show: (1) the Parameter–elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) products offer a reliable replacement for limited observations for bias correction using quantile mapping (QM) technique; (2) average increases of 2.3 °C, 2.2 °C, and 35.1 mm in maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and precipitation by the end of century; (4) an annual streamflow increase of 7.6%–11.6% with greatest increases in April and greatest decreases in June; (5) 20 days earlier-shift in annual peak flow – as indicated by the date of winter-spring center of volume – by the end of the century. For management of local water resources, this study provides a better understanding of variations in the streamflow rate and timing to a potential climate change in the study area as well as corresponding uncertainties in the estimation processes.
G321(P) Spontaneous remission of epilepsy in a case of mesial temporal sclerosis

Background Mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) is commonly referred to as hippocampal sclerosis (HS), is the most common association with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. The typical MRI features of hippocampal sclerosis, are unilateral volume loss and increased signal intensity on T2-weighted images. There is no sex or side preference and a proportion of cases are bilateral. Macroscopically the hippocampus is firm and shrunken. Microscopic findings include a characteristic pattern of neuronal loss and reactive gliosis that varies in severity from case to case. Mesial temporal sclerosis is an uncommon finding in children, but when it occurs, it is always associated with epilepsy. Mesial temporal sclerosis is the most frequent cause of drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy but has a satisfactory response to surgery, and is considered infrequent in children. Patient Characteristics: 13 year old girl, she was born at 41 week of gestation with an uneventful antenatal history. She was ventilated at birth and also treated for streptococcal meningitis. She developed seizures during this treatment period. She didn’t require antiepileptic at discharge. No developmental concerns. She presented with focal seizures at the age of 3 years. Had further seizures, about one or two a year, up to the age of 6 years. Eye deviation to right side, abnormal mouthing movements, disoriented, confused, vacant, lip smacking lasting for 10 min followed by headache and vomiting with post ictal phase for two hours. She remained seizure free for the past 6 years. She was not commenced on any medication. Investigations EEG at the age of 5 years shown clustered spike epileptiform discharges focal in the central, temporal and occipital area. MRI scan – MRI brain scan showed dilatation of the left temporal horn with left mesial temporal sclerosis. Conclusion This is a case of mesial temporal sclerosis with spontaneous remission of epilepsy. It is extremely unusual for mesial temporal sclerosis to be spontaneously seizure free. Pathophysiological mechanism of epilepsy in mesial temporal sclerosis is not fully understood. Further imaging and pathological studies comparing similar cases against the usual MTS with drug resistant epilepsy might lead to find clinically useful indicators.
Intercultural Sensitivity, Intercultural Competence & Intercultural Intelligence: A Review of the Literature and a Proposition of a Linear Relationship

The ideas, terms and concepts surrounding intercultural competence are robust and offer varying degrees, phases and precursors. Working off of the definitions, models and stages of previous works, this review starts by providing working definitions of culture, intercultural sensitivity, intercultural competence and intercultural intelligence. This presentation of literature is sequenced in a way to give insight into how and why each of these terms lead into and overlap each other and how a causal relationship is manifested in each step. This review is approached through the lens of education and how these concepts can and are applied in a classroom environment. Conclusions are made regarding the linear, yet not prescriptive relationship among these steps.
Distributed Multimedia Support

The distributed processing and presentation of multimedia information is a key element in an authoring/learning environment like Nestor. In this chapter, the multimedia processing within such a distributed, heterogeneous environment is described.
Rethinking Patent Law's Presumption of Validity

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is tasked with the job of reading patent applications and determining which ones qualify for patent protection. It is a Herculean task, and the Patent Office pursues it subject to enormous informational and budgetary constraints. Nonetheless, under current law, courts are bound to defer to the Patent Office's decisions regarding patent validity. In this Article, we argue for reform. Deference to previous decision-makers is appropriate in instances where those previous decisions have a high likelihood of accuracy, and the patent system should endeavor to create processes that fit this mold. But granting significant deference to the initial process of patent review is indefensible and counter-productive. Patents should be vulnerable to challenge until and unless they are significantly evaluated in an information-rich environment. At that point, they will have earned and therefore should be accorded a presumption of validity. Such an approach would better serve the patent's systems long-run incentive goals, and it would give patent applicants better incentives to file for genuine inventions but leave their more obvious and incremental accomplishments outside the patent system's purview. Here, we therefore suggest the creation of a two-tier system of patent validity, with patents that are subject to intensive scrutiny accorded a strong presumption of validity, while untested patents are left to be evaluated more fully in court.
Therapeutic opportunities and pitfalls in the treatment of axon degeneration

Purpose of reviewThe current review analyzes recent findings that suggest that axon degeneration is a druggable process in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and a subset of traumas.Recent findingsEmerging evidence reveals that axon degeneration is an active and regulated process in the ea
REAL-TIME POWER SYSTEM STATE ESTIMATION VIA DEEP UNROLLED NEURAL NETWORKS

Contemporary smart power grids are being challenged by rapid voltage fluctuations, due to large-scale deployment of electric vehicles, demand response programs, and renewable generation. To secure grid operations, it becomes increasingly critical to obtain accurate estimates of power system AC states, namely the complex voltages at all buses, in real time. With the emergent nonconvexity however, past optimization based power system state estimation (PSSE) schemes are either sensitive to initialization, or computationally expensive. To bypass these hurdles, this paper advocates deep neural networks (DNNs) for PSSE. Different from model-agnostic NNs, that are difficult to tune and train, the novel model-specific DNN is obtained by unrolling state-of-the-art physics-based prox-linear PSSE solvers. The proposed prox-linear net requires a minimal tuning effort, and is easy to implement. Simulated tests show improved performance of the proposed prox-linear net relative to ‘plain-vanilla’ NN-, and the ‘workhorse’ Gauss-Newton-based PSSE solvers.