cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Influence of electromagnetic fields on endochondral bone formation

Endochondral ossification is a basic physiological process in limb development and is central to bone repair and linear growth. Factors which regulate endochondral ossification include several biophysical and biochemical agents and are of interest from clinical and biological perspectives. One of these agents, electric stimulation, has been shown to result in enhanced synthesis of extracellular matrix, calcification, and bone formation in a number of experimental systems and is the subject of this review. The effects of electric stimulation have been studied in embryonic limb rudiments, growth plates, and experimental endochondral ossification induced with decalcified bone matrix and, in all these models, endochondral ossification has been enhanced. It is not known definitively whether electric fields stimulate cell differentiation or modulate an increased number of molecules synthesized by committed cell population and this is a fertile area of current study.
A power-efficient real-time architecture for SURF feature extraction

This paper presents a novel FPGA-based architecture for the Speeded-Up Robust Feature (SURF) extractor. By leveraging the inherent parallelism of the SURF algorithm, we designed a fully pipelined architecture implemented on the FPGA fabric of a Xilinx Zynq-7020 device (XC7Z020CLG484-1). Compared with other high-performing SURF designs in the literature, our implementation achieved the highest frame rate (131.36 fps) while compactly fitting on a single device and consuming only 0.608 Watts of average power. An experimental platform featuring a 640×480 resolution camera was used to compare the proposed design with OpenSURF, a widely used open-source C++ library, running on a high-end Intel i7 processor. Our system achieved real-time performance independent of the number of interest points extracted from the targeted image, and consistently outperformed the SURF software baseline, reaching a maximum speedup of 15. An extensive analysis was conducted to prove that the performance of our proposed architecture was as robust as the SURF algorithm to image transformations (rotation and scaling) and image distortions (blurring and pixelation), demonstrating that interest-point repeatability was maintained under varying viewing conditions.
A New Era of Antithrombotic Therapy in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation/flutter is the most common cardiac arrhythmia that can potentially result in stroke and death. For many years, aspirin and warfarin have been the cornerstone of stroke prevention among such patients. Although warfarin therapy has been advocated for patients with high likelihood of stroke, it requires close surveillance and monitoring, has a narrow therapeutic window and is quite often affected by medication interactions and diet. Thus, the need for a better and more consistent anticoagulant therapy was necessary and has been under development with various successes for many years. This article will review 3 new antithrombotic medications that may potentially become the mainstay for treatment of patients with atrial fibrillation in the near future.
Field Comparison of Micropurging vs. Traditional Ground Water Sampling

Micropurge sampling of ground water wells has been suggested as a possible replacement to traditional purge and sample methods. To compare methods, duplicate ground water samples were collected at two field sites using iraditional and micropurge methods. Samples were analyzed for selected organic and inorganic constituents, and the results were compared statistically. Analysis of the data using the nonparametric sign test indicates that within a 95 percent confidence interval, there was no significant difference between the two methods for the site contaminants and the majority of analytes. These analytical results were supported by visual observations with the colloidal borescope, which demonstrated impacts on the flow system in the well when using traditional sampling methods. Under selected circumstances, the results suggest replacing traditional sampling with micropurging based on reliability, cost, and waste minimization.
Assessing residents’ opinions on changes in a gentrifying neighborhood: A case study of the Alberta neighborhood in Portland, Oregon

Abstract In this article, I use survey data to examine residents’ opinions about changes in the gentrifying Alberta neighborhood of Portland, OR. This neighborhood is diverse in terms of race, socioeconomic status, tenure status, and length of residence, and there has been an influx of educated white residents, some of whom have been instrumental in creating the new “Alberta Arts” identity, coupled with a decline in black residents, businesses, and cultural institutions. I evaluate which of the residents are most likely to approve of these changes. The majority of the residents like the way the neighborhood is evolving. However, homeowners and longtime white residents are more likely to approve of the changes. Further analysis reveals that homeowners and white residents have more relations with—and are more trusting of—their neighbors and shop more at the neighborhood's new grocery store. Homeowners are also less likely to feel vulnerable to being displaced.
α2u-Globulin Nephropathy and Renal Tumors in National Toxicology Program Studies

Chemically induced renal neoplasms in male rats, developed coincident with alpha(2u)-globulin nephropathy, are not considered predictive of risk to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Criteria have been defined to establish the role of alpha(2u)-globulin nephropathy in renal carcinogenesis, based on a proposed mode of action involving sustained tubular cell proliferation resulting from alpha(2u)-induced nephropathy, with consequent development of neoplastic lesions. Recent NTP studies demonstrated inconsistencies with this proposed mechanism, including in some cases, far weaker kidney tumor responses than expected based on the extent of alpha(2u)-globulin nephropathy. NTP studies with decalin, propylene glycol mono-t-butyl ether and Stoddard solvent IIC included extended evaluations of alpha(2u)-related nephropathy, and were thus used in assessing the linkage between key events in 90-day studies with renal tumors in 2-year studies. This review revealed no or at best weak associations of tumor responses with renal alpha(2u)-globulin concentrations, indices of cell turnover, or microscopic evidence of alpha(2u)-associated nephropathy in prechronic studies. While tumor responses corresponded somewhat with a measure of cumulative alpha(2u)-associated nephropathy (linear mineralization of the papilla) at the end of the 2-year studies, the severity of chronic nephropathy was generally in best agreement with the pattern of tumor response. These results suggest that while alpha(2u)-globulin nephropathy may contribute to the renal tumor response, the critical component(s) of the nephropathy most closely associated with the development of tumors could not be clearly identified in this review.
Onset of left ventricular mechanical contraction as determined by phase analysis of ECG-gated myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging: development of a diagnostic tool for assessment of cardiac mechanical dyssynchrony.

A count-based method using technetium-99m sestamibi electrocardiographygated myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography imaging has been developed to extract the left ventricular (LV) regional phase of contraction (onset of mechanical contraction [OMC]) throughout the cardiac cycle. This study was performed to develop OMC normal databases and dynamic OMC displays for assessment of cardiac mechanic dyssynchrony. LV regional phases were extracted from 90 enrolled normal subjects (45 men and 45 women) by use of the Emory Cardiac Toolbox and then submitted to statistical analysis to generate the normal databases. The LV OMC wave was dynamically propagated over the perfusion polar map by blackening either sequential phase bins or all past phases. The developed OMC normal databases consisted of peak phase (134.5° ± 14.3° for men and 140.2° ± 14.9° for women), phase SD (14.2° ± 5.1° for men and 11.8° ± 5.2° for women), and phase histogram bandwidth (38.7° ± 11.8° for men and 30.6° ± 9.6° for women), skewness (4.19 ± 0.68 for men and 4.60 ± 0.72 for women), and kurtosis (19.72 ± 7.68 for men and 23.21 ± 8.16 for women). Both statistical analysis and dynamic OMC displays were incorporated into a user interface as a diagnostic tool. The OMC normal databases and dynamic OMC displays should help clinicians evaluate cardiac mechanic dyssynchrony. Prospective clinical trials are needed to validate whether this tool can be used to select patients with severe heart failure symptoms who might benefit from cardiac resynchronization therapy.
Information Sharing in a Supply Chain with Horizontal Competition: The Case of Discount Based Incentive Scheme

Li [1] examined the incentives for information sharing in a two-level supply chain in which there are a manufacturer and many competing retailers. Li showed that direct and leakage effects of information sharing discourage retailers from sharing their information and identified conditions under which demand information sharing can be traded. The purpose of this note is to show that full information is the equilibrium if the manufacturer adopts a discount based incentive scheme instead of the side-payment scheme used by Li. The discount-based scheme eliminates the direct as well as leakage effects. Discount based scheme is attractive because similar schemes are commonly used in practice and it results in Pareto-efficient information sharing equilibrium that has a higher social welfare and consumer surplus than the no information sharing scenario. The total social benefits and consumer surplus are higher in discount based incentive scheme. Consequently, many of the key results of Li are critically dependent on the assumption that the manufacturer uses side payment for information.
CONFIDENCE INTERVALS FOR ROBUST ESTIMATES OF THE FIRST ORDER AUTOREGRESSIVE PARAMETER

. The confidence interval properties of several estimators of the transition parameter, φ, in the first order autoregressive model are examined by a Monte Carlo study. The least squares confidence interval estimator, as well as two forms of a proposed robust confidence interval based on a generalized M-estimator, are examined under two model alternatives to the classical time series approach: the innovations model (the time series is observed ‘perfectly’) and the additive effects model (the time series is observed plus an added ‘effect’). Samples were generated from a number of symmetric distributions, including the Gaussian and a variety of contaminated distributions with mild to heavy contamination. Over a range of outlier models, values of φ (.25 to.9), and sample sizes (20 to 100), it was found that the GM-estimators possess desirable confidence interval robustness properties in terms of validity and efficiency. In general, the least squares confidence interval is not robust against symmetric heavy-tailed contamination in the innovations model or against the additive effects model.
THE SLOPE METHOD FOR PRESCRIBING EXERCISE WITH RATINGS OF PERCEIVED EXERTION (RPE)

The Borg Ratings of Perceived Exertion scale (RPE) has been shown to be a valuable tool for prescribing exercise; however, use of RPE-based exercise prescriptions in field settings has often been problematic because RPE data derived from maximal exercise testing are needed. We describe a simple method for obtaining target RPEs for exercise training from submaximal exercise data. Target RPEs for 50%, 60%, 70%, and 85% VO2peak exercise intensities obtained using the new method did not differ significantly from those obtained using data from a maximal graded exercise test. The mean difference was less than one RPE unit and was not significant (p<.05). Therefore, the Slope Method appears to be valid for developing RPE-based exercise prescriptions.
Wide field of view infrared imaging system design

In the design of optical systems, simple straightforward requirements are often complicated by unusual and unique constraints. In this particular case a design mapping a 20° square field of view onto a CCD sensor is complicated by the requirement that the wide field of view must not vignette through a narrow-diameter, finite-length cylindrical aperture. Furthermore, the design must use off-the-shelf optics available from any major vendor. The imaging system is designed to operate in the near IR. The 20° square field of view must pass through a 20.32mm diameter, 40mm long cylindrical tube without vignetting. This constraint prohibits the use of a simple achromat whose back focal length would place the image within the cylindrical tube. Two design approaches are discussed, a Keplerian telescope with a field lens, and a reverse telephoto system. Matlab programs have been written that evaluate the first-order optical principles to arrive at a design solution space. Representative solutions are then evaluated in Zemax using the built-in lens catalog to select appropriate lenses. The results show the advantages and limitations of each particular design approach.
Agent-Based Framework for Modeling Gap Acceptance Behavior of Drivers Turning Left at Signalized Intersections

An algorithm based on a reactive driving agent was developed for modeling gap acceptance behavior of drivers making left turns at signalized intersections. The model considers the interaction between driver characteristics and the physical capabilities of vehicles. A vehicle dynamics model explicitly captures the vehicle constraints on driving behavior. In addition, the model uses the driver's input and psychological deliberation about accepting or rejecting a gap. The model was developed with a total of 301 accepted gaps and validated with 2,429 rejected gaps at the same site and with 1,485 gap decisions (323 accepted and 1,162 rejected) at another site. The proposed model is a mix of traditional and reactive methods for decision making and consists of three main components: input, data processing, and output. The input component uses sensing information and vehicle and driver characteristics to process the data and estimate the critical gap value. Then, the agent decides to either accept or reject the o...
Using the levels of conceptual interoperability model and model-based data engineering to develop a modular interoperability framework

This paper describes how to use the Levels of Conceptual Interoperability (LCIM) as the theoretical backbone for developing and implementing an interoperability framework that supports the exchange of XML-based languages used by M&S systems across the web. The principles of Model-based Data Engineering (MBDE) are integrated within the framework to support the interactions between systems across the layers of the LCIM. We present a use case that shows how the framework supports the interoperability of heterogeneous military systems.
Generalization and Parameter Estimation in Feedforward Nets: Some Experiments

We have done an empirical study of the relation of the number of parameters (weights) in a feedforward net to generalization performance. Two experiments are reported. In one, we use simulated data sets with well-controlled parameters, such as the signal-to-noise ratio of continuous-valued data. In the second, we train the network on vector-quantized mel cepstra from real speech samples. In each case, we use back-propagation to train the feedforward net to discriminate in a multiple class pattern classification problem. We report the results of these studies, and show the application of cross-validation techniques to prevent overfitting.
Sediment phosphorus dynamics for three tile fed drainage ditches in Northeast Indiana

Phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural lands degrade surface waters due to anthropogenic eutrophication. Previous studies focused on plot-to-field scale P loss and reductions from best management practices (BMP’s), little information in intense agricultural catchments has been gathered on the dynamics influencing P beyond the edge of the field. This study was conducted to examine the phosphorus equilibrium between the water column and sediments in three tile fed drainage ditches in Northeast Indiana. Surface water and sediment samples were collected and analyzed for organic carbon (C), particle size and P from sites along three ditches with similar soils and land use at sites within each watershed draining approximately 300 and 1500 ha on each ditch. Organic C, silt and clay fractions of the bottom sediments decreased with increasing drainage area. Soluble P concentrations were low in Ditch A, but increased with increasing drainage area (0.02‐ 0.05 mg P L 1 ). Overall, the P concentrations were higher in the Ditches B and C (0.06‐0.09 mg PL 1 ). Exchangeable P, P partitioning index and equilibrium P concentrations (EPCo) decreased with increasing drainage area by as much as 95, 93 and 100%, respectively, except in one catchment area with a confined animal feeding operation between sampling points, where ExP and EPCo increased by 4 and 116%, respectively. Aluminum sulfate and calcium carbonate treatment of ditch sediments reduced exchangeable P and sediment EPCo in this study. Results from this study indicated some watershed characteristics, as well as sediment physiochemical properties, affect ditch sediment
Ecological risk assessment in a large river‐reservoir: 8. Experimental study of the effects of polychlorinated biphenyls on reproductive success in mink

As a component of an ecological risk assessment of Poplar Creek (located on the Oak Ridge Reservation [ORR]) and the Clinch River (a large river-reservoir system), fish from Poplar Creek, the Clinch River, and Atlantic Ocean were fed to ranch mink to evaluate reproductive success. Five diets, each composed of 75% fish and 25% normal ranch mink chow, were prepared. Two diets served as reference diets and contained 75% Atlantic Ocean fish or 75% Clinch River fish collected above the ORR. The fish portion of the remaining three diets contained 25, 50, and 75% fish collected from Poplar Creek and 50, 25, and 0% ocean fish, respectively. Five mink groups (eight females and two males each) were each fed one of the prepared diets for 196 days. Polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations were determined in diets and various mink tissues, ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity was determined in liver tissue, and reproductive success was evaluated. Concentrations of PCB were greatest in the diet composed of 75% Poplar Creek fish and in tissues from mink fed this diet and their offspring. There was a trend toward decreased adult female and kit weights and reduced mean litter size in mink fed diets containing 75% Poplar Creekmore » fish; however, at 6 weeks of age, kit survival was similar among diet groups. Liver EROD activity significantly increased in adult female mink fed 50 and 75% Poplar Creek fish diets. Estimated dietary concentrations of PCBs were similar to or slightly lower than concentrations associated with adverse effects in experimentally dosed mink. Mercury (Hg) concentrations previously reported in these same mink were below that associated with adverse effects, and there was no indication of additive or synergistic effects from exposure to PCBs plus Hg. It is unlikely that population-level reproductive effects would be observed in mink consuming fish from Poplar Creek on the ORR.« less
Redressing Past Human Rights Violations: Global Dimensions of Contemporary Social Movements

This paper proposes a theoretical framework to understand the impact of newly emerging global norms on contemporary social movements and applies the framework to an empirical case of social movement for former "comfort women." In the past several decades, new normative expectations around progressive issues such as human rights and environmentalism have congealed into fairly coherent global norms and influential international instruments. The progressive ideas have diffused and changed political dynamics across the globe, engendering many new social movements that pressure governments and corporations to change their practice. Scholars in international relations and social movement research have taken notice and produced many studies that examine the impact of the new global norms and institutions on contemporary social movements. This paper builds on this burgeoning literature and seeks a theoretical synthesis of the existing studies on global dimensions of contemporary social movements, incorporating ideas in the world polity research. The theoretical framework will then be applied to a case study on social
Fatigue-life enhancement of steel by nitrogen implantation

Abstract The fatigue-life of low carbon steel was found to be significantly enhanced following implantation of 150 keV N+ 2. The observed lifetimes were found to be dependent on the thermal history of the samples.
A reservoir of time constants for memory traces in cortical neurons

According to reinforcement learning theory, reward expectation reflects an integration of past rewards over a fixed time scale. Here the authors extract signals about reward memory from neurons in the prefrontal, cingulate and parietal cortex, finding a wide range of time constants across the neuronal population, with a power-law distribution.
Cholesterol sulfate metabolism in human fetal adrenal mitochondria.

The metabolism of cholesterol sulfate (5-cholesten- 3β-ol sodium sulfate) and cholesterol to pregnenolone sulfate and pregnenolone, respectively, in human fetal adrenal mitochondria has been investigated. Cholesterol sulfate (50 μM) was converted efficiently to pregnenolone sulfate (5-pregnen-3β-ol- 20-one sodium sulfate; 1.6 nmol min-1 mg-1 protein). Pregnenolone sulfate biosynthesis from endogenous mitochondria! precursors could not be detected. The rate of pregnenolone biosynthesis in the presence of cholesterol (50 μM) was 0.2 nmol min-1 mg-1 protein. In contrast, mitochondria obtained from the adrenal tissue of a boy and two adult men did not produce detectable amounts of pregnenolone sulfate after the addition of cholesterol sulfate (50 μM). Pregnenolone was produced efficiently by adrenal mitochondria from endogenous mitochondrial precursors and was not stimulated by the addition of cholesterol (100 μM). The results suggest that human fetal adrenal mitochondria contain a specific cholesterol sulfat...
Between History and Nature: Social Contract Theory in Locke and the Founders

Part of the problem with the debate between "liberal" and "republican" historians of early American political thought is the use both sides have made of a false conceptual dichotomy between "nature" and "history" where the first is taken to be the province of liberal theory and the second belongs to republicanism. A careful reading of Locke's philosophy, however, shows that his theory is carefully positioned between history and nature. A further reading of the theoretical texts of Jefferson and Adams then shows that these two Founders, at least, followed Locke's theory at a very high level of detail. It is Locke's theory that authorizes a simultaneous claim of natural and historical rights.
Accurate and Efficient Search Prediction Using Fuzzy Matching and Outcome Feedback

While search engines have demonstrated improvement in both speed and accuracy, the response time to queries is prohibitively long for applications that require immediate and accurate responses to search queries. Examples include identification of multimedia resources related to the subject matter of a particular class, as it is in session. This paper begins with a survey of recommendation and prediction algorithms, each of which applies a different method to predict future search activity based on the search history of a user. To address the shortcomings identified in existing techniques, we draw inspiration from bioinformatics and latent semantic indexing to propose a novel predictive approach based on local alignment and feedback-based neighborhood refinement. We validate our proposed approach with tests on real-world search data. The results support our hypothesis that a majority of users exhibit search behavior that is predictable. Modeling this behavior enables our predictive search engine to bypass the common query-response model and proactively deliver a list of resources to the user.
Asymptotic properties of Kolmogorov widths

The rst problem studied in the paper is relations between the Kolmogorov n-width of a compact and its projections. The second problem is: to what extent the width can change if we enlarge the space. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classication: 46B20, 41A46, 41A65
Uncertainty and the timing of taxes

Abstract This paper uses Blanchard's (1985) overlapping-generations model to study a current tax reduction followed by a future budget-balancing tax increase at an unknown date. Assuming that the rate of time preference equals the interest rate, the tax cut creates a trade deficit which grows before it eventually shrinks. With certainty regarding the timing of future taxes, the initial deficit immediately improves. The former path for the trade deficit is consistent with events in the United States following the 1981 tax cut.
Molybdenum/cobalt/sulfur clusters : models and precursors for hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts

Sulfido clusters which incorporate molybdenum and a late transition metal, e.g. iron, cobalt or nickel, are readily prepared by the reactions of Cp2Mo2S4, Cp2Mo2S2(SR)2 or Cp2Mo2(CO)2(SR)2 with Fe2(CO)9, Co2(CO)8, Ni(CO)4, Cp2Ni, etc. The homogeneous reactions of the cluster Cp2Mo2Co2S3(CO)4 with thiols, thiophene, and phosphines are reviewed, as are some reactions of the clusters with metal oxide surfaces to produce heterogeneous catalysts for CO hydrogenation or hydrodesulfurization.
SenSec: A Scalable and Accurate Framework for Wireless Sensor Network Security Evaluation

Developing secure wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a complex process that involves careful design of attack test cases and security countermeasures, as well as meaningful evaluation of the impact of the attack and performance of the countermeasure. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of Sen Sec, a scalable framework that facilitates the development and evaluation of secure WSNs, protocols, and applications. We also demonstrate key benefits of Sen Sec: (1) it allows security evaluation of real sensor applications, (2) it can be easily extended to any real application simulator, (3) it provides a modular structure for defining attack cases and supports extensibility to a broad set of attacks, (4) it supports automatic generation of sophisticated and previously unconsidered attack cases, and (5) it facilitates the analysis and identification of vulnerabilities in security systems and a quantitative evaluation of the impact of attacks and countermeasures in WSNs.
Sampling community structure

We propose a novel method, based on concepts from expander graphs, to sample communities in networks. We show that our sampling method, unlike previous techniques, produces subgraphs representative of community structure in the original network. These generated subgraphs may be viewed as stratified samples in that they consist of members from most or all communities in the network. Using samples produced by our method, we show that the problem of community detection may be recast into a case of statistical relational learning. We empirically evaluate our approach against several real-world datasets and demonstrate that our sampling method can effectively be used to infer and approximate community affiliation in the larger network.
Presence of coherent precipitate in VC0.76 monocrystals

Abstract An electron transmission microscope study in VC0.76 monocrystals has revealed the presence of a fine, coherent, ordered precipitate randomly distributed in a disordered matrix. The precipitate revealed a domain structure similar to that observed within the domains in VC0.84 monocrystals. The VC phase field therefore exhibits at temperatures low relative to Tm, a two phase region of co-existing ordered and disordered components, in addition to the previously reported VC0.84 and VC0.88 superlattices1–3.
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis and the Origin and Evolution of Space-Time

Primordial nucleosynthesis remains as one of the pillars of modern cosmology. It is the testing ground upon which all cosmological models must ultimately rest. It is our only probe of the universe during the first few minutes of cosmic expansion and in particular during the important radiation-dominated epoch. There have been significant recent advances in the understanding of the big bang including the recent detection of the inflation-generated gravity-wave background. This talk will review the the current state of observational constraints on primordial abundances along with the key nuclear reactions, their uncertainties and how this knowledge places key constraints on cosmological models. In particular, we will summarize the connections between big bang nucleosynthesis and the birth of the universe, including cosmic gravity waves, inflation, the possible time variation of fundamental constants], the nature and origin of dark matter and dark energy, supersymmetry, and the primordial magnetic field.
Visualizing aerial LiDAR cities with hierarchical hybrid point-polygon structures

This paper presents a visualization framework for cities in the form of aerial LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) point clouds. To provide interactive rendering for large data sets, the framework combines level-of-detail (LOD) technique with hierarchical hybrid representations of both point and polygon of the scene. The supporting structure for LOD is a multi-resolution quadtree (MRQ) hierarchy that is built purely out of input points. Each MRQ node stores separately a continuous data set for ground and building points that are sampled from continuous surfaces, and a discrete data set for independent tree points. The continuous data is first augmented with vertical quadrilateral building walls that are missing in original points owing to the 2.5D nature of aerial LiDAR. The continuous data is then spatially partitioned into same size subsets, based on which hybrid point-polygon structures are hierarchically constructed. Specifically, a polygon conversion operation replaces points of a subset forming a planar surface to a quadrilateral covering the same space, and a polygon simplification operation decimates wall quadrilaterals of a subset sharing the same plane to a single compact quadrilateral. Interactive hybrid visualization is retained by adapting a hardware-accelerated point based rendering with deferred shading. We perform experiments on several aerial LiDAR cities. Compared to visually-complete rendering [10], the presented framework is able to deliver comparable visual quality with less than 8% increase in pre-processing time and 2-5 times higher rendering frame-rates.
La prise en compte des accidents à la conception : exemple de l'évacuation de la puissance résiduelle en situation accidentelle dans un RHT

Dans le cadre de l'evaluation des concepts de Reacteurs a Haute Temperature (RHT) de type modulaire, la situation accidentelle d'evacuation de la puissance residuelle par des moyens purement passifs est l'une des principales situations a etudier pour d'une part dimensionner et concevoir le reacteur, et d'autre part demontrer la surete du concept vis-a-vis de nombreux initiateurs. L'article presente les resultats d'une approche par simulation numerique pour estimer les consequences thermiques sur le coeur et les structures des RHT en situation de perte de la convection forcee. Les details de la methodologie sont presentes et differentes analyses parametriques sont realisees pour estimer la sensibilite des parametres. Ces premiers resultats permettent de definir les principaux parametres qui seront a considerer ou a valider dans le cadre de l'optimisation du concept.
p(R)-order of analytic Dirichlet series

The growth and regular growth of the p(R)-orde of analytic function represented by Dirichlet series convergent in the right-half plane with the relation of its coefficients are studied under more general coefficients condition(lim)n+∞lnln nlnλ_n1,then two necessary and sufficient conditions are obtained.
The effect of driver cognitive abilities and distractions on situation awareness and performance under hazard conditions

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the role of cognitive abilities in driver situation awareness (SA) and performance. Sixteen participants drove a high-fidelity driving simulator and experienced a hazard condition (a vehicle turning into their lane). In general, exposure to the hazard resulted in a subsequent increase in driver SA in follow-on driving. Working memory and visual-cognitive skills appeared to be critical to supporting driver SA after hazard exposure. Findings indicated that tactical driving tasks place greater demands on cognitive abilities and levels of SA for successful performance, as compared to operational and strategic tasks. Correlations among measures of driver cognitive ability, SA and performance provide a basis for future development of a relational model of the roles of cognition and SA in driving.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa sabotages the generation of host proresolving lipid mediators

Recurrent Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections coupled with robust, damaging neutrophilic inflammation characterize the chronic lung disease cystic fibrosis (CF). The proresolving lipid mediator, 15-epi lipoxin A4 (15-epi LXA4), plays a critical role in limiting neutrophil activation and tissue inflammation, thus promoting the return to tissue homeostasis. Here, we show that a secreted P. aeruginosa epoxide hydrolase, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator inhibitory factor (Cif), can disrupt 15-epi LXA4 transcellular biosynthesis and function. In the airway, 15-epi LXA4 production is stimulated by the epithelial-derived eicosanoid 14,15-epoxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15-EET). Cif sabotages the production of 15-epi LXA4 by rapidly hydrolyzing 14,15-EET into its cognate diol, eliminating a proresolving signal that potently suppresses IL-8-driven neutrophil transepithelial migration in vitro. Retrospective analyses of samples from patients with CF supported the translational relevance of these preclinical findings. Elevated levels of Cif in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid were correlated with lower levels of 15-epi LXA4, increased IL-8 concentrations, and impaired lung function. Together, these findings provide structural, biochemical, and immunological evidence that the bacterial epoxide hydrolase Cif disrupts resolution pathways during bacterial lung infections. The data also suggest that Cif contributes to sustained pulmonary inflammation and associated loss of lung function in patients with CF.
Total Ionizing Dose Influence on the Single Event Effect Sensitivity in Samsung 8Gb NAND Flash Memories

A recent model provides risk estimates for the deprogramming of initially programmed floating gates via prompt charge loss produced by an ionizing radiation environment. The environment can be a mixture of electrons, protons, and heavy ions. The model requires several input parameters. This paper extends the model to include TID effects in the control circuitry by including one additional parameter. Parameters intended to produce conservative risk estimates for the Samsung 8 Gb SLC NAND flash memory are given, subject to some qualifications.
Medicaid Expansion Coverage Effects Grew In 2015 With Continued Improvements In Coverage Quality

Previous research has demonstrated large gains in insurance coverage associated with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) Medicaid expansion in 2014. We used detailed federal survey data through 2015 to analyze more recent changes in coverage for low-income adults after the expansion. We found that the uninsurance rate fell in both expansion and nonexpansion states but that it fell significantly more in expansion states. By 2015 the post-ACA uninsurance rate for low-income adults had fallen by 7.5 percentage points more in expansion than in nonexpansion states, a difference that was similar (about 6.8 percentage points) in adjusted regression models. Private coverage increased in nonexpansion states, but significantly less than Medicaid coverage increased in expansion states. Rates of private coverage did not appear to decline in expansion states. Finally, Medicaid expansion was associated with significantly improved quality of health coverage, as reported by low-income adults.
Pediatric Germ Cell Tumor: Case Study:

Germ cell (yolk sac) tumors are rare tumors that often have a poor prognosis because they are not usually found until metastases have occurred. The diagnosis of yolk sac tumors is usually a multimo...
Backstage Stories from My Life in Public Television: By Ron Hull. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 2012, 260 pp.

In 1976, with great fanfare, NBC unveiled a stylistic “n” as its new logo—a logo it had spent thousands of dollars developing to brand the network. In Lincoln, Ron Hull and other officials of Nebra...
Two Attempts to Do Without Mental Phrase Markers

I cast doubt on two proposals for doing without mental phrase markers (MPMs). The first is due to Roger Schank and his colleagues at Yale, who constructed comprehension models that relied almost exclusively on semantic and pragmatic resources. I rehearse the striking and pervasive failures of such models and suggest that similar problems will likely plague newer incarnations in the connectionist tradition. The second proposal for doing without MPMs is Devitt’s “brute-causal” conception of language processing, which sees comprehension as a reflex like, associative mapping directly from words and sentences to concepts and thoughts. I argue on empirical grounds that language comprehension, even at the earliest stages, is neither reflex-like nor associative. Setting that aside, I examine Devitt’s distinction between responding to a property and representing something as having it, and show that the operations of the HSPM cannot be mere “responses” in the relevant sense. Parsing requires keeping track of prior context, and the clues that are relevant for a successful parse may be arbitrarily far back and in discontinuous regions of the stimulus stream. To explain the HSPM’s sensitivity to contextually relevant factors, and the resulting flexibility of its decision-making and behavior, we must posit inference-like transitions between MPMs.
Making and Breaking Abstinence Pledges: Moral Foundations and the Purity Movement

The purity movement encourages teenagers and young adults to make abstinence pledges, which are promises not to engage in premarital sexual intercourse. Moral foundations theory contends that there are individual differences in the bases of moral decision-making. The purpose of this study was to investigate, among a large sample (N = 961) of U.S. college students, whether there are differences in moral foundations between individuals who make and do not make abstinence pledges—and, among individuals who make an abstinence pledge, between those who do and do not break their pledge. Results indicated that abstinence pledgers endorsed greater binding foundations than those who did not make a pledge. Among abstinence pledgers, women who kept their pledge reported higher binding foundations than both men who kept their pledge and women who broke their pledge. Overall, these results suggest links between moral foundations and abstinence pledging.
Risk of Neonatal Neurologic Morbidity in Advancing Term Gestations.

Objective Placental insufficiency is associated with neonatal neurologic morbidity and late-term gestations (410/7–416/7 weeks). Whether late-term infants are at increased risk of neurologic morbidity compared with term infants (390/7–406/7 weeks) remains unclear. We aim to compare risk of neurologic morbidity among late-term and term infants. Study Design This secondary analysis of a single-institution prospective cohort study included all liveborn, nonanomalous singleton term and late-term infants, with data on adverse neonatal outcomes up until 28 days of life. The primary outcome was a neonatal neurologic morbidity composite, defined by having one of these conditions: neonatal seizures, intraventricular hemorrhage, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and neonatal hypothermic therapy. Secondary outcomes were the composite's individual components and nonneurologic neonatal morbidity. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for delivery mode, nulliparity, and labor type. Results Of 5,529 infants included, 747 were late term and 4,782 were term. The risk of composite neurologic morbidity was not significantly different among late-term or term infants (0.5 vs. 0.6%; adjusted odds ratio: 0.59, 95% confidence interval: 0.21–1.71). Overall neonatal morbidity was not significantly different in the two groups, though late-term infants had a nonsignificantly higher prevalence of respiratory distress syndrome (5.5 vs. 3.3%) and meconium aspiration syndrome (0.7 vs. 0.2%). Conclusion Neonatal neurologic morbidity is uncommon after 39 weeks. Risk does not increase after 41 weeks.
Outer Space Treaty During Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Outer Space Treaty was created 50 years ago. It contains the general rules of the exploration of outer space by human beings. Since the Outer Space Treaty entered into force, an enormous technological progress has been done. This study discusses how the Outer Space Treaty influences the rights and responsibilities of humans and robots in today’s laws and how it might provoke changes to the Outer Space Treaty.
Neutralization of residual antimicrobial processing chemicals in broiler carcass rinse for improved detection of Campylobacter1

SUMMARY The USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has established pathogen reduction performance standards for Campylobacter on broiler carcasses. Processors may apply antimicrobial processing aids as a spray or immersion to lower contamination on carcasses. In the United States, broiler carcasses are generally sampled by whole carcass rinse and the potential exists for residual levels of antimicrobial processing aid to be carried over into the rinsate. It has been shown that, if un-mitigated, such carryover can interfere with the detection of Salmonella. In the current study, we demonstrate that unmitigated carryover of antimicrobial treatment also can interfere with the detection and recovery of Campylobacter in broiler carcass rinse samples. We tested traditional buffered peptone water and found that it did not offer enough neutralizing capability to counteract residual antimicrobial activity of some post-chill processing aids (peroxyacetic acid, cetylpyridinium chloride, acidified sodium chloride, or a blend of acids) to allow full recovery of Campylobacter. A recently reported formulation for a neutralizing buffered peptone water (currently being used by FSIS) outperformed the traditional carcass rinse medium and allowed significantly improved recovery of Campylobacter even in the presence of 3 of the 4 tested antimicrobial processing aids. Performance of the new carcass rinse medium with the fourth antimicrobial processing aid (acidified sodium chloride) was not different from the traditional formulation. Neutralizing buffered peptone water represents a significant improvement in the broiler carcass rinse method for detection of Campylobacter.
Response of Professional Societies and Conservation Organizations to Peak Oil and Economic Growth

Peaking of the world’s oil supply is resulting in economic, social, cultural, and environmental instability on a global level. Individuals, businesses, and entire countries are attempting to maintain economic growth and preserve our current way of life for as long as possible. Government attention is turned toward averting economic collapse and obtaining energy resources, while the people are concerned about job security and subsistence. Environmental concerns are receiving the least attention by the majority of people. The environment is being ravaged by an aggressive quest for more fossil fuel resources to support a growing population and sustain economic growth by a society that knows no other way to live and is utterly dependent on oil. Addressing current environmental problems is already a challenge for conservationists, because societal priorities reside elsewhere or resolving these issues directly impacts certain powerful economic interests. The environmental community, including many professional societies and conservation organizations, as well as a number of government agencies and private companies, will need to step up their efforts to address global impacts of oil depletion if they hope to continue to protect living natural systems and the environment. Unfortunately, societal capacity to support these vital efforts is diminishing due to the buildup of pervasive economic pressures from escalating higher costs of living in response to higher prices for energy.
Diophantine Equations and More

The ancient world left a legacy of several mathematical works that provide the foundation that more recent mathematicians have built upon.
Growth of Cu-Free Phases in Bi(2212)

The solidification of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ has been studied using high temperature x-ray diffraction in order to determine the relative amounts of Cu-free phase and alkaline earth cuprates that form during melting and freezing in a N2 atmosphere. On melting, three peaks associated with Bi2(Sr,Ca)4O7 are observed in the vicinity of 870°C and disappear at 890°C. Only (Ca,Sr)O is observed in equilibrium with the melt at 890°C. On freezing, this Bi2(Sr,Ca)4O7 grows out of the liquid at 830°C and then disappears again below 820°C. At 820°C, Bi2(Sr,Ca)3O6 begins to grow, and below 780°C, Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ begins to grow.
Imagining Human Alteration of Ancient Landscapes in Central and South America

This chapter explores the definition of "nature" by providing a review of the long-term alteration of natural ecosystems by humans in the context of specific examples from pre-Columbian Latin America, with special emphasis on lowland South America and Costa Rica. Archaeological evidence suggests that humans have been a keystone species in most natural habitats in the Americas since the end of the Pleistocene. This chapter argues that indigenous peoples of Latin America have played an essential role in shaping landscapes and ecosystems, both consciously and unconsciously, through the use of fire as well as a range of innovative agricultural technologies. It uses specific examples from pre-Columbian Latin America to explain how studies of archaeology, ethnohistory, and iconography have been useful in documenting the contributions of native populations to habitat alteration, how it has been experienced by these populations, and how it is interpreted by scholars.
A Receiver for Multicarrier Logarithmic Warped Frequency Domain Code Waveforms

This paper studies a receiver for a new class of waveforms created by mapping an existing digital radar code onto set of simultaneously transmitted frequencies that are uniformly spaced after a logarithmic warping of the frequency axis. This mapping preserves the digital code's autocorrelation mainlobe and sidelobes while adding Doppler detection capability. The receiver uses a running Chirp Z-Transform followed by frequency warping and convolutional matched filtering in the warped frequency domain to detect the incoming waveform. Noise and interference between the warped domain code elements are suppressed via a bank of bandpass filters. This paper gives an example of these waveforms, derives the optimal matched filter threshold, illustrates its performance, and exhibits the time and Doppler resolution capability of the receiver.