cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Childhood growth, schooling, and cognitive development: further evidence from the Young Lives study

BACKGROUND: A growing literature has linked early childhood growth to later-life cognition and schooling outcomes in developing countries. Although existing evidence suggests that children's ability to recover from early growth delays in later childhood is limited, longitudinal studies on the persistence and risk of growth faltering beyond age 5 y remain scarce. OBJECTIVE: Using longitudinal data recently collected from 4 developing countries as part of the Young Lives study, we investigated catch-up growth in children between the ages of 8 and 15 y and the effects of growth during this late-childhood and early-adolescence period on schooling and developmental outcomes. DESIGN: We analyzed the associations between children's physical growth and development by using longitudinal data from 3327 children aged 8-15 y collected in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam as part of the Young Lives project. RESULTS: The study yielded 2 main results. First, 36% of children stunted at age 8 y managed to catch up with their peers by age 15 y, and those who caught up had smaller deficits in cognitive scores than did children who remained stunted. Second, physical growth faltering was not restricted to early childhood but rather affected a substantial share of children in the 8-15-y age range, with large negative consequences for cognition and schooling outcomes. CONCLUSION: The results from this study suggest that child development in developing countries is a dynamic process offering continued opportunities for children to catch up during adolescence and sustained risks for children to fall behind in their developmental trajectories. Language: en
Design of sparse linear arrays by Monte Carlo importance sampling

The formation of acoustic images in real-time requires an enormous computational burden. To reduce this demand the use of sparse arrays for beamforming is mandated. The design of these arrays for adequate mainlobe width and low sidelobe level is a difficult nonlinear optimization problem. A new approach to the joint optimization of sensor placement and shading weights is discussed. Based on the concept of importance sampling an optimization method is presented and some examples given to illustrate its effectiveness.
Homozygous carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1b (muscle isoform) deficiency is lethal in the mouse

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1) catalyzes the rate-limiting step of mitochondrial beta-oxidation of long chain fatty acids (LCFA), the most abundant fatty acids in mammalian membranes and in energy metabolism. Human deficiency of the muscle isoform CPT-1b is poorly understood. In the current study, embryos with a homozygous knockout of Cpt-1b were lost before embryonic day 9.5-11.5. Also, while there were normal percentages of CPT-1b+/- pups born from both male and female CPT-1b+/- mice crossed with wild-type mates, the number of CPT-1b+/- pups from CPT-1b+/- breeding pairs was under-represented (63% of the expected number). Northern blot analysis demonstrated approximately 50% Cpt-1b mRNA expression in brown adipose tissue (BAT), heart and skeletal muscles in the CPT-1b+/- male mice. Consistent with tissue-specific expression of Cpt-1b mRNA in muscle but not liver, CPT-1+/- mice had approximately 60% CPT-1 activity in skeletal muscle and no change in total liver CPT-1 activity. CPT-1b+/- mice had normal fasting blood glucose concentration. Consistent with expression of CPT-1b in BAT and muscle, approximately 7% CPT-1b+/- mice (n=30) developed fatal hypothermia following a 3h cold challenge, while none of the CPT-1b+/+ mice (n=30) did. With a prolonged cold challenge (6h), significantly more CPT-1b+/- mice developed fatal hypothermia (52% CPT-1b+/- mice vs. 21% CPT-1b+/+ mice), with increased frequency in females of both genotypes (67% female vs. 38% male CPT-1b+/- mice, and 33% female vs. 8% male CPT-1b+/+ mice). Therefore, lethality of homozygous CPT-1b deficiency in the mice is consistent with paucity of human cases.
Randomized prospective clinical trial comparing reamer irrigator aspirator (RIA) to standard reaming (SR) in both minimally injured and multiply injured patients with closed femoral shaft fractures treated with reamed intramedullary nailing (IMN).

Abstract Purpose To investigate whether inflammatory markers are improved among patients with traumatic femur fractures who undergo RIA reamed intramedullary nailing (IMN) prior to fixation when compared to patients treated with standard reamed (SR) IMN. Methods A prospective, randomized, single-blind trial was conducted on patients who had a closed femoral shaft fracture amenable to reamed IMN. Patients were randomized to undergo IMN with standard reaming or IMN with the RIA in a 1:1 ratio. Patients were stratified by Injury Severity Score (ISS) and by presence or absence of chest injury with AIS > 3. Patients had blood samples and bronchioalveolar lavage samples taken at specified time points pre- and postoperatively. Specimens from SR and RIA cohorts were compared for the presence of IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, TNF, and IL-10 in plasma and IL-1b and IL-8 in bronchioalveolar lavage (BAL) samples to determine the relationship between inflammatory markers and intramedullary reaming. Results Nineteen consecutive patients participated in the study with 9 assigned in the RIA group and 10 in SR group. Significant differences existed for ISS between SR and RIA groups (p=0.04). Bronchial lavage data showed no statistical significant differences when RIA and standard reamers were compared and when ISS >16 and Conclusions This prospective study of reamer type indicates that RIA may be protective of systemic inflammation. This is supported by data showing decreased levels of IL-8 in the bronchial washings and increased level of IL-10 in the serum. Reaming and intramedullary fixation may cause an increase in IL-6 levels regardless of reamer type. Further investigations with a larger cohort of patients are desirable.
Interleukin-1 receptor signaling protects mice from lethal intestinal damage caused by the attaching and effacing pathogen Citrobacter rodentium.

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, enterohemorrhagic E. coli, and Citrobacter rodentium are classified as attaching and effacing pathogens based on their ability to adhere to the intestinal epithelium via actin-filled membranous protrusions (pedestals). Infection of mice with C. rodentium causes a breach of the intestinal epithelial barrier, leading to colitis via a vigorous inflammatory response resulting in diarrhea and a protective antibody response that clears the pathogen. Here we show that interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling protects mice following infection with C. rodentium. Upon infection, mice lacking the type I IL-1R exhibit increased mortality together with severe colitis characterized by intramural colonic bleeding and intestinal damage including gangrenous mucosal necrosis, phenotypes also evident in MyD88-deficient mice. However, unlike MyD88−/− mice, IL-1R−/− mice do not exhibit increased pathogen loads in the colon, delays in the recruitment of innate immune cells such as neutrophils, or defects in the capacity to replace damaged enterocytes. Further, we demonstrate that IL-1R−/− mice have an increased predisposition to intestinal damage caused by C. rodentium but not to that caused by chemical irritants, such as dextran sodium sulfate. Together, these data suggest that IL-1R signaling regulates the susceptibility of the intestinal epithelia to damage caused by C. rodentium.
Automated construction by contour crafting—related robotics and information technologies

Although automation has advanced in manufacturing, the growth of automation in construction has been slow. Conventional methods of manufacturing automation do not lend themselves to construction of large structures with internal features. This may explain the slow rate of growth in construction automation. Contour crafting (CC) is a recent layered fabrication technology that has a great potential in automated construction of whole structures as well as subcomponents. Using this process, a single house or a colony of houses, each with possibly a different design, may be automatically constructed in a single run, imbedded in each house all the conduits for electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning. Our research also addresses the application of CC in building habitats on other planets. CC will most probably be one of the very few feasible approaches for building structures on other planets, such as Moon and Mars, which are being targeted for human colonization before the end of the new century.
Incompetent cervix: pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment.

Abstract The incompetent cervix is a diagnostic dilemma. There are no well-defined or strict criteria to diagnose cervical incompetence, and therefore the indications for treatment are not always clear. Forty years ago, when the basic methods of treatment were first described, the diagnosis seemed relatively simple and the treatment acceptable. There have been very few large, prospective, randomized, well-controlled studies to determine the efficacy of the various surgical methods. Liberal use of cerclage procedures in situations of moderate risk for premature delivery or as prophylactic measures in multiple pregnancy does not appear to improve outcome as judged by prematurity or fetal survival. At the present, fetal survival cannot be a measure of the success of a surgical procedure because so many other factors play a role in outcome, such as the quality of obstetrical and neonatal care. Therefore, outcome of surgical procedures should be judged by more objective criteria, such as prolongation of pregnancy (in weeks) and birth weight. The methods that would allow making an unequivocal and objective diagnosis of incompetent cervix are not yet available. Until we reach this goal, the subject of cervical incompetence and effectiveness of its treatment will remain challenging and elusive.
Peptide pheromone signaling in Streptococcus and Enterococcus

Intercellular chemical signaling in bacteria, commonly referred to as quorum sensing (QS), relies on the production and detection of compounds known as pheromones to elicit coordinated responses among members of a community. Pheromones produced by Gram-positive bacteria are comprised of small peptides. Based on both peptide structure and sensory system architectures, Gram-positive bacterial signaling pathways may be classified into one of four groups with a defining hallmark: cyclical peptides of the Agr type, peptides that contain Gly-Gly processing motifs, sensory systems of the RNPP family, or the recently characterized Rgg-like regulatory family. The recent discovery that Rgg family members respond to peptide pheromones increases substantially the number of species in which QS is likely a key regulatory component. These pathways control a variety of fundamental behaviors including conjugation, natural competence for transformation, biofilm development, and virulence factor regulation. Overlapping QS pathways found in multiple species and pathways that utilize conserved peptide pheromones provide opportunities for interspecies communication. Here we review pheromone signaling identified in the genera Enterococcus and Streptococcus, providing examples of all four types of pathways.
Specialized Nucleoprotein Structures in high‐fidelity DNA transactions

Three proteins used to initiate DNA replication and carry out site-specific recombination in E. coli generate organized nucleoprotein structures at their target sites. The association of proteins bound at multiple sites on DNA presumably folds or winds the DNA to produce a specific three-dimensional conformation. This specialized nucleoprotein structure may be a general mechanism for achieving very high fidelity in DNA transactions in which even a rare mistake must be avoided. The overall interaction is more complex than that of prokaryotic transcription regulators studied so far, but might be characteristic of eukaryotic transcription regulators, for which the problem of site-localization is more difficult.
An introduction to the processing graph method

The Processing Graph Method (PGM) technology is a paradigm that provides the engineer/system designer with an environment to specify and maintain applications in a form which is invariant over a wide range of MIMD message passing parallel architectures. We will give the reader the flavor of this approach by providing a description of an application; illustrating how that application is represented; showing typical results obtained by running the application; providing a short description of the atoms that are used to build the application; and providing a short discussion of the technical issues to which PGM must respond.
Cloning advances and challenges for conservation

Although controversy surrounds cloning efforts, the cloning of animals to assist efforts to preserve genetic variation in support of endangered species conservation efforts has attracted serious interest. A recent report by Loi et al. describing the cloning of a mouflon (a species of wild sheep) in a domestic sheep surrogate points to potential conservation opportunities and additional challenges in the evaluation of appropriate technologies for present and future efforts to conserve gene pools of endangered species.
The Influence of Gentrification on Gang Homicides in Chicago Neighborhoods, 1994 to 2005:

In this study, the author examines the effects of three forms of gentrification—demographic shifts, private investment, and state intervention—on gang-motivated homicides in Chicago from 1994 to 2005 using data from the U.S. Census, the Chicago Police Department, business directories, and the Chicago Housing Authority. The findings suggest that demographic shifts have a strong negative effect on gang homicide. Private investment gentrification, measured here as the proliferation of coffee shops, has a marginally significant and negative effect on gang homicide. In contrast, state-based gentrification, operationalized as the demolition of public housing, has a positive effect on gang homicide.
Economic Value of Weather and Climate Forecasts

Researchers who ponder the value of information work in the world of integrated assessment. They study the creation of scientific knowledge from models and data and view the processing and analysis of knowledge through the creation and distribution of information. They understand that the value of this information is derived fundamentally from how it is used. Therefore, such researchers must investigate how and where individuals (and the institutions and systems that individuals create) uncover information that they find credible and how and why those same individuals, institutions, and systems discard information that they find incredible. The essays presented in Economic Value of Weather and Climate Forecasts are a perfect example of how practicing researchers confront this integration process in an area in which just about everyone has an opinion—the weather.
Treatment of Neuroendocrine Liver Metastases

Neuroendocrine tumors are rare and slow-growing malignancies that commonly metastasize to the liver, resulting hormonal syndromes and death from liver failure. Surgical consultation and liver debulking are key components in management. Traditional surgical resection guidelines do not apply to these tumors as with other cancers. Surgical resection has shown survival benefit even in the event of an incomplete resection. Ablation may be used as an adjunct to resection or in patients who are not candidates for resection. Asymptomatic patients with high-volume disease do as well with intra-arterial therapy as with surgery.
Interpretation of the Infrared Spectra of Inorganic Molecules

The infrared spectra of many inorganic salts have been determined in the sodium chloride region [1] and in the cesium bromide region [2]. From these studies, several characteristic frequencies for polyatomic ions have been found. These frequencies have proved useful in qualitative inorganic analysis.
Abstract TMP63: Accuracy of Remote Video Cellphone Evaluation of Stroke Deficits Using California Brief Stroke Scale

Background: Availability of 4G cellular network and video cellphone handsets may allow mobile videophone assessment to be employed in prehospital stroke care. The California Brief Stroke Scale (CABSS) is a 4 item scale designed as a mobile videophone test to evaluate a prehospital telemedicine instrument to rate stroke severity. Potential uses include identifying patients who are likely harboring persisting large vessel occlusions and to characterize baseline deficits prior to enrollment in prehospital trials. Methods: One bedside and one remote CABSS score were independently obtained on 15 ischemic stroke patients with persistent neurologic deficits. The bedside examination was performed by a stroke neurologist. The remote examination was performed by a second stroke neurologist through mobile video phone. A CABSS score of 1 or higher (scale 0-7) was an index of global stroke deficit severity. Kappa coefficients were calculated for concordance between bedside and remote scores. Results: The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 6 (interquartile range IQR 4-10). On average the CABSS score evaluation took 25 seconds to perform. The median video CABSS was 2, (IQR1-3) and median bedside CABSS was 3, (IQR 1-3). Based on weighted K coefficients, cortical findings (aphasia, gaze deviation/hemineglect) displayed excellent agreement κ=1 (95% CI 1.0) and non-cortical findings (facial droop, arm drift) displayed substantial agreement κ =0.7 (95% CI 0.4-1.0). There was substantial agreement between bedside and remote methods for the total CABSS κ 0.68 (95% CI 0.44-0.92). The CABSS scores obtained by bedside and remote methods were strongly correlated (r= 0.85, P Conclusion: Our prospective study found that mobile videocell phone evaluation using CABSS is a feasible and reliable means of examining hyperacute stroke patients in the field. A physician can rapidly perform an audiovideo examination to increase the accuracy of prehospital identification of patients harboring persisting large vessel occlusions and characterize baseline deficits prior to enrollment in prehospital clinical trials to a clinically important degree.
Transportation networks

Three network models used in transportation systems analysis are described. These are: a) the traffic assignment model which routes traffic through a congested network according to one of two optimization schemes, b) an optimal network improvement model which improves links so as to minimize total travel time within a fixed investment budget, c) a model which optimizes network improvements over time. Solution techniques, which include decomposition and non-linear programming algorithms, are discussed.
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Using Visualization to Illustrate the Impact of Assets on Health

Teaching students about the intricacies of how social determinants of health (SDOH) influence individual and community health requires instructor creativity. This article offers an innovative strat...
Adsorption of Multiple H2 Molecules on Pd3 and Pd4 Clusters. A Density Functional Study

The reaction/adsorption of multiple H2 molecules on Pdn clusters with n = 3 and 4 were studied using the density functional theory. It has been shown that the activation of the first H2 molecule by Pd3 and Pd4 takes place without or with a small energetic barrier (based on ΔH (298.15 K)) and leads to the formation of Pd3(H)2 and Pd4(H)2 complexes, respectively, where the H−H bond is broken. For the Pd4(H)2 complex, various isomeric structures were found in the singlet and triplet states, among which the singlet Pd4_1_c_(e,e‘), with the two H ligands bridging the Pd−Pd edges not sharing the Pd atom, is found to be the most favorable. Unlike the first H2 addition reaction, dissociative adsorption of the second H2 molecule, reactions Pd3(H)2 + H2 → Pd3(H)4 and Pd4(H)2 + H2 → Pd4(H)4, appeared to be thermodynamically and kinetically unfavorable. Instead, molecular adsorption of additional mH2 molecules onto the “naked” Pd centers of the Pd3(H)2 and Pd4(H)2 complexes was shown to be feasible, which is in good ...
The Endothelial Glycocalyx: Emerging Concepts in Pulmonary Edema and Acute Lung Injury

The endothelial glycocalyx is a dynamic layer of macromolecules at the luminal surface of vascular endothelium that is involved in fluid homeostasis and regulation. Its role in vascular permeability and edema formation is emerging but is still not well understood. In this special article, we highlight key concepts of endothelial dysfunction with regards to the glycocalyx and provide new insights into the glycocalyx as a mediator of processes central to the development of pulmonary edema and lung injury.
Femtosecond ligand/core dynamics of microwave-assisted synthesized silicon quantum dots in aqueous solution

A microwave-assisted reaction has been developed to produce hydrogen-terminated silicon quantum dots (QDs). The Si QDs were passivated for water solubility via two different methods: hydrosilylation produced 3-aminopropenyl-terminated Si QDs, and a modified Stober process produced silica-encapsulated Si QDs. Both methods produce water-soluble QDs with maximum emission at 414 nm, and after purification, the QDs exhibit intrinsic fluorescence quantum yield efficiencies of 15 and 23%, respectively. Even though the QDs have different surfaces, they exhibit nearly identical absorption and fluorescence spectra. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy was used for temporal resolution of the photoexcited carrier dynamics between the QDs and ligand. The transient dynamics of the 3-aminopropenyl-terminated Si QDs is interpreted as a formation and decay of a charge-transfer (CT) excited state between the delocalized π electrons of the carbon linker and the Si core excitons. This CT state is stable for ~4 ns before reverting back to a more stable, long-living species. The silica-encapsulated Si QDs show a simpler spectrum without CT dynamics.
Corrigendum: Noncontextuality with marginal selectivity in reconstructing mental architectures

This corrigendum note points out and corrects two mistakes found in the paper cited in the title. These mistakes do not affect the correctness of the statements proved and expressions derived. In Zhang and Dzhafarov (2015), Lemma 2.6 (p. 7) and Lemma 3.3 (p. 10) are formulated for series-parallel (SP) architectures in which the minimum (∧) and maximum (∨) operations may be intermixed. The proofs are shown for the min-parallel arrangement of the selectively influenced processes, with the correct statement that the max-parallel arrangement is dealt with analogously. However, by an oversight, the proof for the min-parallel arrangement is shown only for homogeneous SP∧ architectures, those that cannot contain ∨ operations. The statements of the lemmas are correct despite this oversight, because the proofs remain valid if the rightmost ∧Y and ∧X in all expressions of the form (SP1(…)∧SP2(…)+X)∧↑Y and(SP1(…)∧SP2(…)∧↑X)+Y are replaced with ∨Y and ∨X, respectively. Equations (61) and (62) on p. 9 should be disregarded: one of them, (62), contains typos, and both are shown in the wrong place. These transformations are only valid in the context of Theorem 3.5, for sequential architectures, and this is the only place where they are used, in Equations (63) and (64) on p. 11. (A typo: in Equation (60) on p. 9, c[n](t, ∞) should be cr[n](t,∞).)
Hubble Space Telescope Images of a Sample of 20 Nearby Luminous Quasars

Observations with the Wide-Field Camera of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are presented for a representative sample of 20 intrinsically luminous quasars with redshifts smaller than 0.30. These observations show that luminous quasars occur in diverse environments that include ellipticals as bright as the brightest cluster galaxies (two), apparently normal ellipticals (10), apparently normal spirals with H II regions (three), complex systems of gravitationally interacting components (three), and faint surrounding nebulosity (two). The quasar host galaxies are centered on the quasar to the accuracy of our measurements, 400 pc. There are more radio-quiet quasars in galaxies that appear to be ellipticals (seven) than in spiral hosts (three), contrary to expectations. However, three, and possibly five, of the six radio-loud quasars have detectable elliptical hosts, in agreement with expectations. The luminous quasars studied in this paper occur preferentially in luminous galaxies. The average absolute magnitude of the hosts is 2.2 mag brighter than expected for a field galaxy luminosity function. The superb optical characteristics of the repaired HST make possible the detection of close galactic companions; we detect eight companion galaxies within projected distances of 10 kpc from quasar nuclei. The presence of very close companions, the images of current gravitational interactions, and the higher density of galaxies around the quasars suggest that gravitational interactions play an important role in triggering the quasar phenomenon.
Investigating the regular reference range of middle school students′ blood grease levels in Zhongshan City Guangdong Province

Objective:To provide regular reference range by investigating the grease level of the 14～16 years old students in Zhongshan City. Methods: 687 secondary school students aged 14～16 were selected randomly. Inject blood 3 ml in fasting,separate serum and analyze total cholesterol (TC),triglycerides (TG),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) with HITACHI7170A automatic biochemical analyzer. Estimating the regular reference range of TC ,TG ,LDL-C with 5～90 percentiles. 5 percentile was used to be reference range lower limit of HDL-C. Results: The blood greases level of 687 middle school students was normal or disnormal distribution . The 5 percentiles of boy students TC ,TG ,LDL-C were 2.78,0.50,1.16 mmol/L,the 90 percentiles were 4.51 ,1.68 ,2.57 mmol/L.The 5 percentile of HDL-C was 0.89 mmol/L. The 5 percentiles of girl students TC ,TG ,LDL-C were 3.12,0.54,1.37 mmol/L,the 90 percentiles were 5.24,1.69,3.13 mmol/L. The 5 percentile of HDL-C was 1.06 mmol/L.Conclusion: TC ,TG ,LDL-C reference range of boy students are 2.78～4.51 ,0.50～1.68 ,1.16～2.57 mmol/L. The HDL-C reference range is 0.89 mmol/L. TC ,TG ,LDL-C reference range of girl students are 3.12～5.24 ,0.54 ～1.69 ,1.37～3.13 mmol/L. The HDL-C reference range is 1.06 mmol/L.
Werner's syndrome

Werner's syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that affects connective tissue throughout the body. The genetic basis is not yet known, although many laboratory abnormalities have been reported. The manifestations are widespread, and many organs may prematurely undergo changes usually associated with aging. The disease generally becomes apparent around puberty, with growth arrest and thinning and graying of hair. Rapidly progressing bilateral cataracts typically occur when patients are in their 20s and 30s. A dermatologist may be consulted because of the scleroderma-like appearance of the skin, lower-extremity ulcers or calluses, thinning and graying of hair or baldness, nail dystrophy or loss, wrinkling and aging of the face, or skin cancers. Patients should have a thorough clinical and laboratory work-up, keeping in mind their elevated risk for neoplasms.
Myosin content and distribution in human neonatal erythrocytes are different from adult erythrocytes.

Neonatal erythrocytes (N-RBC) are different from adult erythrocytes (A- RBC). N-RBC are larger, less deformable, and undergo enhanced spontaneous and drug-induced endocytosis. The reticulocyte population of N-RBC is also different, consisting primarily of the youngest (R1) reticulocytes that are motile and capable of receptor-mediated endocytosis. Processes such as motility could require a contractile system. Myosin, a contractile protein, was identified in both A-RBC and N-RBC. We proposed to compare myosin content and distribution in A-RBC and N-RBC by immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a monospecific polyclonal rabbit antimyosin. There was bright immunofluorescence on 44% of N-RBC with some heterogeneity contrasting with a barely detectable fluorescence on A-RBC. ELISA measurements showed that A-RBC had 4,315 myosin copies/RBC, whereas N- RBC had 10,855 copies/RBC (or 2.5 times as much). ELISA measurements of white ghosts showed that A-ghosts contained 1,250 copies of myosin/RBC (29% of total) whereas N-ghosts contained 3.4 times as much at 4,320 copies/RBC (39% of total). Therefore, N-RBC not only have more myosin, but the amount that is membrane-associated is disproportionately increased. It is proposed that such differences in amount and distribution of myosin could account for some of the unusual properties of neonatal RBC indicated.
An introduction to aerial spray modeling with FSCBG. Forest Service Cramer-Barry-Grim

The FSCBG aerial spray drift and deposition model predicts the dispersion of material released from aircraft into the atmosphere, and particularly downwind from the release point. The effects of aircraft wake structure, droplet evaporation, local meteorology, penetration through forest or agricultural canopies, and prediction of ground or canopy deposition, air dosage, and concentration are all included in the model. The long developmental and validation history of the model, a brief summary of its assumptions and underlying approximations, and its present user-friendly operation on personal computers are reviewed and highlighted in this paper.
Structured Data Types in C

The C++ concept of a class has some aspects in common with structs in C. This is clear from the historical origin of C++. This chapter describes the relationship between classes and structs. An object is called static if it does not use dynamic storage allocation and does not include any member functions. Static objects have several important features. An object that is not static is called a dynamic object. A static object uses the default constructor provided by the compiler. This constructor is invoked before any executable statements—statements other than data definitions or declarations—are executed. A default destructor is used with static objects. These destructors are created by the compiler. The default destructor is invoked for a static object when the function main ( ) is exited. The chapter discusses template construction in C++ programs. The template construction in C++ programs allows the abstraction to be used in different contexts. A template allows one to develop a general set of operations and data that apply to any type of abstraction of data organization. The abstract operations are the same; only the underlying structure of the data changes.
Evaluation of the Kirby–Bauer Disc Diffusion Test as a Screening Test for High-level Aminoglycoside Resistance in Enterococci

The Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test was evaluated as a test to detect high-level aminoglycoside (streptomycin, kanamycin, tobramycin, and gentamicin) resistance in isolates of enterococci. The authors found that high-level resistance could not be predicted accurately with the diffusion test.
A recursive Bayesian approach to load phase detection in unbalanced distribution system

This paper introduces a recursive Bayesian approach to identifying the phase connection of a single-phase load in unbalanced distribution systems. This method operates through comparing the measurement errors in distribution system state estimation (DSSE) of different models in the model bank, which contains all possible modes of phase connection. As a first step, numerical study based on IEEE 13-node test feeder is conducted to illustrate the accuracy and computational complexity of the proposed algorithm. The proposed algorithm successfully identifies the phase connection of the unknown single-phase load in a few iterations.
Adapting Evaluations of Alternative Payment Models to a Changing Environment.

Objective To identify the most robust methods for evaluating alternative payment models (APMs) in the emerging health care delivery system environment. Study Design (Approach) We assess the impact of widespread testing of alternative payment models on the ability to find credible comparison groups. We consider the applicability of factorial research designs for assessing the effects of these models. Principal Findings The widespread adoption of alternative payment models could effectively eliminate the possibility of comparing APM results with a “pure” control or comparison group unaffected by other interventions. In this new environment, factorial experiments have distinct advantages over the single-model experimental or quasi-experimental designs that have been the mainstay of recent tests of Medicare payment and delivery models. Conclusions The best prospects for producing definitive evidence of the effects of payment incentives for APMs include fractional factorial experiments that systematically vary requirements and payment provisions within a payment model.
Integrative Bioethics is a Bridge-Builder Worth Considering to Get Desired Results

In “A Bridge Back to the Future: Public Health Ethics, Bioethics, and Environmental Ethics,” Lee (2017) advocated a return to Leopold's and Potter's concepts of bioethics to unite the fields of bio...
Make theatre, create contacts in Gob Squad’s living room

This article explores the way in which the British-German performance collective Gob Squad uses video to transform temporal and spatial relationships in the theatre, using its recent production, We...
Stress and Pain

Chronic pain can affect every aspect of life, from functional disability to social isolation, financial problems, and stress and psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. However, there are enormous individual differences in how those with pain function; while many chronic pain patients experience relatively low levels of daily functioning, others are able to adapt and function well. For these reasons, an understanding of individual differences in coping strategies, background or consequent psychological stress, and environmental and social resources may help to understand how stress and pain are related. Because pain incorporates both a sensory and emotional component, it is important to understand both when considering assessment and treatment of pain. This chapter will focus specifically on the relationship between pain (both chronic and acute) and psychological stress, but the fundamental message of what follows is that the comorbidity between stress and pain requires careful assessment of psychological, social, and environmental factors when assessing patients in pain, and when planning a treatment strategy. Whether the pain specifically increases stress or whether similar amounts of stress are induced by illness in general, stress can increase the experience and perception of pain, the mode and degree of success in coping with the pain, the degree to which patients and healthcare providers can effectively work together, and adherence to and success with treatment.
Further Developments in Fetal and Neonatal Physiology

An example of the manner in which discoveries in fundamental physiology and biochemistry have combined with clinical investigation to impact care of the newborn infant, perhaps no more striking instance is that of an understanding of the lung and the changes that occur at birth. Survival at birth depends on the optimal development and maturation of the lung in utero. Disorders of lung growth, maturation, and the regulation of respiration continue to be among the most important problems with which the neonatologist has to deal. As noted above, in the USA, as well as throughout the world, premature birth occurs in 7–12 % of pregnancies, a major complication of which is pulmonary immaturity with resultant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Affecting more than 10 % of infants born prematurely, this potentially devastating condition is characterized by tachypnea, cyanosis, grunting, and intercostal and subcostal chest wall retractions. It is associated with both short- and long-term complications such as alveolar rupture with development of pneumothorax, pulmonary interstitial emphysema, and other conditions. In the USA alone during the 1950s, this condition claimed the lives of more than 10,000 infants a year. A monumental discovery was that inadequate pulmonary surfactant was associated with altered pulmonary function and respiratory disease of the newborn. In this instance, the genesis of a clinical problem was elucidated in the laboratory by collaboration of basic scientists and clinicians, driven by curiosity and working to saving the lives of prematurely born infants (Figs. 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4, and 14.5).
Cytochrome biochemistry in sheep retina following exposure to oxygen.

The mitochondrial enzyme cytochrome c oxidase (COX) is abundant in the photoreceptor inner segments and the synaptic layers of the retina where it functions as essential enzyme in oxidative metabolism. Indeed, the neural retina has the highest known rates respiration and glucose oxidation (1,2). However, the greatest concentration of COX is found in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) where it presumably functions primarily as an antioxidant. Photoreceptor cells are highly sensitive to oxygen toxicity when oxygen tensions (PO2) are elevated by as little as two fold (3).The photoreceptor cell membrane is particularly susceptible to free radical attack because of its high ratio of docosahexaenoic acid (4). However O2 toxicity might be exacerbated by a direct effect of O2 upon the activity of COX which would diminish its efficiency in both its metabolic role and as an antioxidant.
Multi-Branch Binary Modulation Sequences For Interferer Rejection

When the techniques of random modulation are used in wideband communication receivers, one can design spectrally shaped sequences that mitigate interferers while preserving messages to reduce distortion caused by amplifier nonlinearity and noise. For sampling rates that are too high for standard modulation, one can instead rely on multi-branch architectures involving multiple modulators working at reduced sampling rates. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to design a set of binary sequences to be used in multi-branch modulation to mitigate a strong interferer while allowing for stable message recovery. The implementation consists of a quadratic program that is relaxed into a semidefinite program combined with a randomized projection. While interferer signals are often modeled as a subspace under the discrete Fourier transform, spectrum leakage occurs when the signal contains so-called off-grid frequencies. The Slepian basis provides a much better-suited representation for such bandlimited signals that mitigates spectrum leakage. We use both representations during the evaluation of our design algorithm, where numerical simulations show the advantages of our sequence designs versus the state of the art.
Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering Enhanced by MoS2 Nanoparticles

We demonstrate the surface enhancement of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) on pyridine-ethanol solution by MoS2 nanoparticles. The time resolved CARS measurements reveal increased dephasing rates of pyridine vibrational modes.
S-Corporation Cash-Out Break-Ups and Code Sec. 1031 Exchanges

Many legacy S-Corporations (those with real property purchased before the advent of LLCs) still own real property with the prospect of selling or transferring it as part of a generational change in ownership. With such dispositions, the owners may have different objectives for the use of the property’s sale proceeds and may wish to part ways. Many tax advisors are familiar with techniques that apply to similar types of break-ups of partnerships and LLCs, which allow some parties to exchange property tax free under Code Sec. 1031 while others cash out. S-Corporation break-ups are taxed differently from partnership and LLC break-ups, so the same types of transactions that are tax-free in the partnership or LLC context could trigger gain recognition for members of S-Corporations. This article presents the rules governing S-Corporation break-ups and illustrates how some cash-out break-ups of S-Corporations can trigger gain recognition for all members, including those who wish to do a Code Sec. 1031 exchange with their shares of the sale proceeds. The article also identifies some planning techniques that might be available in some situations to help mitigate the effects of the taxable S-Corporation break-up.
A Hacking Atlas: Holistic Hacking in the Urban Theater

This essay is intended to help further the understanding of contemporary social change and social activism, which in turn should assist people developing civic intelligence within both local and global communities. Civic intelligence is a social phenomenon that describes how well collectivities address their shared problems efficiently and equitably. It describes examples at a variety of scales from a neighborhood trying to stop a new trash incinerator from being built next to its school to the global climate change agreement negotiated in Paris in 2015. To accomplish this effort, the concepts of hacking and holistic hacking, and hacking spaces (and seven types of hacking spaces) are introduced and then employed in relation to an actual activist mobilization called Shell No, that was waged in Seattle by environmental activists over a 30-day period in Spring 2015.
Tunable magnetic textures in spin valves: From spintronics to Majorana bound states

Spin-valve structures in which a change of magnetic configuration is responsible for magnetoresistance led to impressive advances in spintronics, focusing on magnetically storing and sensing information. However, this mature technology also offers versatile control of magnetic textures with usually neglected underlying fringing fields to enable entirely different applications by realizing topologically nontrivial states. Together with proximity-induced superconductivity in a two-dimensional electron gas with a large $g$ factor, these fringing fields realized in commercially available spin valves provide Zeeman splitting, synthetic spin-orbit coupling, and confinement, needed for Majorana bound states (MBS). Detailed support for the existence and control of MBS is obtained by combining accurate micromagnetic simulation of fringing fields used as an input in the Bogoliubov--de Gennes equation to calculate low-energy spectrum, wave-function localization, and local charge neutrality. A generalized condition for a quantum phase transition in these structures provides valuable guidance for the MBS evolution and implementing reconfigurable effective topological wires.
Source-Orientation and Avoidance/Approach-Orientation are Important Components of Introjected Regulation for Leisure-Time Physical Activity.

Introjected regulation has been inconsistently linked to physical activity, which may be due to it being an umbrella construct for different types of introjected regulation that have the potential ...
Power-law Sérsic profiles in hydrostatic stellar galaxy discs

Previously, we showed that surface density profiles of the form of a power-law times a Sersic function satisfy the hydrostatic Jeans equations, a variety of observational constraints, and the condition of a minimal radial entropy profile in two-dimensional galaxy discs with fixed power-law, halo potentials. It was assumed that such density profiles are generated by star scattering by clumps, waves, or other inhomogeneities. Here we generalize these models to self-gravitating discs. The cylindrically symmetric Poisson equation imposes strong constraints. Scattering processes favor smoothness, so the smoothest solutions, which minimize entropy gradients, are preferred. In the case of self-gravitating discs (e.g., inner discs), the gravity, surface density and radial velocity dispersion in these smoothest models are all of the form 1/r times an exponential. When vertical balance is included, the vertical velocity dispersion squared has the same form as the surface density, and the scale height is constant. In combined self-gravitating plus halo gravity cases, the radial dispersion has an additional power-law term. Nonetheless, the surface density profile has the same form at all radii, without breaks, satisfying the disc-halo conspiracy. The azimuthal velocity and velocity dispersions are smooth, though the former can have a distinct peak. In these models the vertical dispersion increases inwards, and scattering may mediate a transition to a secular bulge. If halo gravity dominates vertically in the outer disc, it flares. The models suggest a correlation between disc mass and radial scale length. The combination of smoothness, simplicity, ability to match generic observational features and physical constraints is unique to these models.
Oral manifestations and management in Sjögren's syndrome

Abstract In Sjogren's syndrome (SS), alterations of the normal oral microenvironment caused by qualitative and quantitative changes in saliva may disrupt oral homeostasis and lead to dysbiosis. The severity of the associated complications is determined by the disease stage and the loss of the protective functions of saliva. A comprehensive assessment of patient symptoms, associated comorbidities, and early recognition of oral signs will enable the oral healthcare provider to develop a customized treatment program for each patient. Early institution of preventative care will lower healthcare costs from serious oral complications, have a positive impact on a patient's quality of life, and ease the psychological burden of living with a chronic illness. Frequent patient education on the available treatment modalities with specific attention to costs, patient lifestyle, and individual needs will also help to optimize care. Patient compliance with the preventive regimen and early treatment are key factors to control complications arising from salivary hypofunction in SS.
An experimental investigation on the effect of adhesive distribution on strength of bonded joints

Adhesive joints are widely used due to their higher strengths, lower weights, lesser expenses and ease of fabrication than other methods of joining. Hence, they are used extensively in aerospace and automobile industries. High quality bonds require the use of fixtures which are essential to ensure proper curing and to attain uniform thickness. Improper adhesive application and method of fixturing can cause irregularities in the distribution of the adhesive along the overlap which could affect the joint strength. This is especially critical for aerospace components as the replacement of parts can be costly and time consuming. This paper presents a nondestructive test (NDT) methodology to quantify the bonded joints where the adhesive does not completely cover the overlap area. Single lap adhesive joints with carbon fiber adherents were fabricated using a two-part epoxy based adhesive. The adhesive region was fabricated to have various shapes including elliptical and circular of different sizes and a joint with full coverage for comparison. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) cutouts were used to mask regions of adhesive to achieve the desired coverage pattern. After fabrication all samples were ultrasonically scanned with a 10 MHz spherically focused immersion transducer using pulse-echo ultrasonics to determine the actual as tested adhesive distribution shape. The scans were able to resolve the shape of adhesive distribution across the overlap region of 25.4 × 25.4 mm and were correlated with the actual adhesive distribution at the interface after lap shear tests. Lap shear tests were then performed on the samples fabricated and the samples were loaded to failure. It was found that the shape and the orientation of the adhesive shape relative to the loading direction had an effect on failure strength.