cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An improved video-based computer tracking systems for soft biomaterials testing

An improved video-based computer system is presented for online tracking of small markers moving in a plane. The system consists of a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera, a video monitor, a dedicated 80386/20 microcomputer, a video frame grabber, and custom software. Up to four markers can be tracked at the 30-Hz video frame rate using a two-step, correlation based search procedure. The requisite hardware and software requirements are discussed, and how this tracking system can be used to collect strain data during biaxial stretching tests on planar soft tissues is shown. Operating at 30 Hz, this system is an improvement over those previously reported, which either are slower or yield less information. >
Fiber tract mapping from diffusion tensor MRI

To understand evolving pathology in the central nervous system (CNS) and develop effective treatments, it is essential to correlate the nerve fiber connectivity with the visualization of function. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can provide the fundamental information required for viewing structural connectivity. We present a novel algorithm for automatic fiber tract mapping in the CNS specifically, the spinal cord. The automatic fiber tract mapping problem is solved in two phases, namely a data smoothing phase and a fiber tract mapping phase. In the former, smoothing is achieved via a new weighted total variation (TV)-norm minimization (for vector-valued data) which strives to smooth while retaining all relevant detail. For the fiber tract mapping, a smooth 3D vector field indicating the dominant anisotropic direction at each spatial location is computed from the smoothed data. Fiber tracts are then determined as the smooth integral curves of this vector field in a variational framework.
Strontium-90 Fallout from the 1961 Soviet Nuclear Detonations

A steady increase in the strontium-90 concentration in rain was observed at Fayetteville, Arkansas, after the 1961 Soviet nuclear test series. Experimental data indicate that the nuclear weapons tested in 1961 were "cleaner" on the average by a factor of five than those exploded in 1957 and 1958.
Preschool Inclusion: What We Know and Where We Go From Here

Inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood classrooms with typically developing peers has become a primary service option in early childhood special education. In this paper, I brie...
Electrical Actuation of Dielectric Droplets

Electrical actuation of liquid droplets at the microscale offers promising applications in the fields of microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip devices. Much prior research has targeted the electrical actuation of electrically conducting liquid droplets; however, the actuation of dielectric droplets has remained relatively unexplored, despite the advantages associated with the use of a dielectric droplet. This paper presents modeling and experimental results on the electrical actuation of dielectric droplets between two flat plates. A first-order analytical model, based on the energy-minimization principle, is developed to estimate the electrical actuation force on a dielectric droplet as it moves between two flat plates. Two versions of this analytical model are benchmarked for their suitability and accuracy against a detailed numerical model. The actuation force prediction is then combined with available semi-analytical expressions for predicting the forces opposing droplet motion to develop a model that predicts transient droplet motion under electrical actuation. Electrical actuation of dielectric droplets is experimentally demonstrated by moving transformer oil droplets between two flat plates under the influence of an actuation voltage. Droplet velocities and their dependence on the plate spacing and the applied voltage are experimentally measured and showed reasonable agreement with predictions from the models developed.
Design and applications of 2-6.5 GHz transistor amplifiers

Using the microwave thin-film technology, the class-A common emitter transistor pre- and power amplifiers fabricated on a sapphire substrate were initially optimized for the gain and VSWR's simultaneously over the 2-6.5 GHz range and then adjusted for the large-signal conditions. The large-signal adjustments were proven to be quite beneficial in maximizing the power-handling capability and in minimizing the spurious signal content. The measured power gain of both amplifiers is 4 dB. The output power at the 1 dB gain compression level of pre- and power amplifiers is 13 and 16 dBm, respectively, while all spurious signals are at lease 20 dB down. Also, their applications in C-band test instruments are given.
New Concept in Microtia Repair

• Reconstruction of the severely deformed external ear has been a frustrating experience for many patients and surgeons alike. Until recently, children with microtia (1:10000 births) have been subjected to multiple procedures with frequently ungratifying results. Because of the rarity of this deformity, most surgeons have had little personal experience with the common problems encountered in microtia reconstruction. The problems of (1) proper location of the reconstructed ear, (2) size and shape, and (3) durability of the implanted graft can be prevented by adherence to newer principles and techniques. When the four-stage reconstruction is begun at 5 years of age, an adequate and durable costal cartilage framework can be sculptured and implanted. Over the past four years, the use of these principles and techniques in 13 patients has resulted in gratifying results. ( Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 1988;114:1016-1019)
“Free to All”: Library Publishing and the Challenge of Open Access

There is a significant and important responsibility as libraries move into the role of publishing to retain our heritage of “access for all.” Connecting and collaborating with colleagues in the publishing industry is essential, but should come with the understanding that the library as an organization is access-prone. This article discusses the complexities of navigating that relationship, and calls for libraries and publishers to embrace and respect the position from which we begin. Finally, the article forecasts several possible characteristics of what “publishing” might look like if libraries press the principle of access in this growing area.
Discriminants and Resultants for Polynomials in One Variable

In this chapter we consider the most classical case of the discriminant of a polynomial in one variable, and the resultant of two such polynomials. In the general language of Part II, we consider the A-discriminant Δ A where A consists of monomials 1, x, x 2,..., x n and the (A 1, A 2)-resultant where A 1 = {1, x,..., x m } and A 2 = {1, x,..., x A }
Preparation and Characterization of LaAlO3 via Sol-Gel Process

Lanthanum aluminate powders were synthesized by sol-gel process with metal nitrates as raw materials, 2-methoxyethanol/water as solvent and citric acid as chelating agent. The influence of this techniques (the amount of citric acid, pH value, calcination temperature and the ratio of 2-methoxyethanol/water) on the lanthanum aluminate powders were studied. The XRD shows pure LaAlO3 powders could be obtained after calcining at 600-900 °C. The SEM analysis indicates that the LaAlO3 particles are uniform and nanosized with a range of about 40-70 nm, which is slightly larger than the estimated particle size using Scherrer formula.
Three-Dimensional Super-Resolution Imaging of the RNA Degradation Machinery in Caulobacter Crescentus

Due the small size of bacteria and the diffraction limit (DL), obtaining precise information on the location of biomolecules through the use of conventional fluorescence imaging is difficult. However, the conventional resolution of optical microscopes (∼200 nm) can be circumvented by the time-sequential super-localization of single-molecule fluorescent labels, resulting in ∼5x resolution enhancement. We applied these super-resolution techniques, in combination with a double-helix point spread function microscope, to study the three-dimensional (3D) spatial organization of the RNA degradation machinery in Caulobacter crescentus (C. crescentus). The RNA degradosome plays a dominant role in mRNA degradation, a key step in gene expression. RNaseE is a key component in the RNA degradosome, and is thought to be the scaffold for this complex in C. crescentus. Previous diffraction-limited fluorescence imaging has shown that C. crescentus RNaseE exhibits a patchy localization throughout the nucleoid. We report the first 3D super-resolution images of RNaseE in live C. crescentus, with careful attention to remove any spurious clustering from over-counting of blinking fluorescent protein labels. We use the acquired localizations to quantify RNaseE's spatial distribution and find a non-random, clearly clustered distribution of this protein. Moreover, most RNaseE molecules are localized in regular clusters spaced along the cell axis, and it is possible to extract specific measures of cluster size and other parameters. Disturbing transcription perturbs the protein distribution, resulting in more diffuse RNaseE localization. Our results suggest that mRNA decay is spatially organized within C. crescentus, and that this organization is related to the function of RNaseE in mRNA homeostasis.
Human Service Administrators’ Attitudes Toward Immigration: Shaped by Community and Organizational Context?

This study investigates whether human service administrators’ attitudes toward immigration are associated with local demographic context. Hypotheses informed by threat, contact, and institutional theories are tested with a probability sample of human service administrators from Alabama, a state with pockets of dramatic growth in Latino immigrants. Results show that administrators from counties with larger percentage growth in the Latino population from 1990 to 2010 perceived a greater threat from immigration. Administrators perceived less threat from immigration when immigrant services were expected and legitimate in the organizational task environment. Results have implications for immigrant services in contexts of demographic change.
Changing fisheries productivity and food security.

Understanding changes in productivity for populations of exploited marine fish is important for appropriate management and conservation. Britten et al. (1) show that, on average, the productivity of fish stocks have declined 3% per decade. This figure was an unweighted mean, and therefore gave equal weight to all stocks, regardless of size. An unweighted mean is a useful measure of changing productivity, particularly when considering conservation of individual stocks. However, food security is a central concern for many countries bordering the ocean, so we should also ask, “How can changes in productivity influence the total biomass in the ocean and the total catch derived from that biomass?”
A Study of the Capability of the Rice Weevils Sitophilus sasakii and S. oryzae to Reproduce Parthenogenetically

Observations on more than 1000 virgin females of each of Sitophilus sasakii (Takahashi) and S. oryzae (L.) from emergence as adult insects to natural death of all individuals indicated that parthenogenesis does not occur in either of these species. The results also indicated that virgin females of these species do not oviposit. Irradiation of virgin S. oryzae females did not stimulate oviposition.
Simulation of Hydrodynamic Cavitating Flows Using Stabilized Finite Element Method

This paper reports our progress on the simulation of cavitating ∞ows using the stabilized flnite element method. The solver is modifled from our incompressible free-surface ∞ow solver where the volume-of-∞uid (VOF) concept is applied. The liquid-vapor phase interface is treated as an internal interface captured by an interface function. The vapor bubble boundary can be located according to the value of the volume fraction of vapor. Source terms based on the bubble dynamics are added to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations to model the physical phase change process (vaporization and condensation) due to cavitation. The discretization is based on the flnite element method stabilized using the Streamline-Upwinded/Petrov Galerkin (SUPG) method. The matrix-free GMRES solver together with block diagonal preconditioning are used to solve the large sparse linear system resulting from the flnite element discretization. The Message Passing Interface (MPI) functions are called to parallelize the code for large-scale applications on distributed memory computers. Preliminary results are presented to demonstrate the capability of our solver in simulating cavitating ∞ows.
DREADDS: Use and application in behavioral neuroscience.

Technological advances over the last decade are changing the face of behavioral neuroscience research. Here we review recent work on the use of one such transformative tool in behavioral neuroscience research, chemogenetics (or Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs, DREADDS). As transformative technologies such as DREADDs are introduced, applied, and refined, their utility in addressing complex questions about behavior and cognition becomes clear and exciting. In the behavioral neuroscience field, remarkable new findings now regularly appear as a result of the ability to monitor and intervene in neural processes with high anatomical precision as animals behave in complex task environments. As these new tools are applied to behavioral questions, individualized procedures for their use find their way into diverse labs. Thus, "tips of the trade" become important for wide dissemination not only for laboratories that are using the tools but also for those who are interested in incorporating them into their own work. Our aim is to provide an up-to-date perspective on how the DREADD technique is being used for research on learning and memory, decision making, and goal-directed behavior, as well as to provide suggestions and considerations for current and future users based on our collective experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Extravagance and three other plays

Well known in Italy, Dacia Maraini has not received a great deal of attention in the English-speaking world. Her works have been only sporadically translated into English. This is especially true o...
Do Particles Evolve

After some reflection on the messages that I have found most inspiring in Wolfram’s NKS book, ten years after its publication, in this paper I speculate on a few, highly attractive new developments that NKS-style experimental research might undergo, and that I have myself begun to explore in recent years. According to these visions, the grand challenge that the emergent, localized structures of elementary automaton 110, or similar ‘particles’, must face in the next ten years is to evolve into populations of increasingly complex individuals, up to forms of (artificial) life, and to a fully blown biosphere.
Design of catheter radio frequency coils using coaxial transmission line resonators for interventional neurovascular MR imaging.

BACKGROUND It is technically challenging to design compact yet sensitive miniature catheter radio frequency (RF) coils for endovascular interventional MR imaging. METHODS In this work, a new design method for catheter RF coils is proposed based on the coaxial transmission line resonator (TLR) technique. Due to its distributed circuit, the TLR catheter coil does not need any lumped capacitors to support its resonance, which simplifies the practical design and construction and provides a straightforward technique for designing miniature catheter-mounted imaging coils that are appropriate for interventional neurovascular procedures. The outer conductor of the TLR serves as an RF shield, which prevents electromagnetic energy loss, and improves coil Q factors. It also minimizes interaction with surrounding tissues and signal losses along the catheter coil. To investigate the technique, a prototype catheter coil was built using the proposed coaxial TLR technique and evaluated with standard RF testing and measurement methods and MR imaging experiments. Numerical simulation was carried out to assess the RF electromagnetic field behavior of the proposed TLR catheter coil and the conventional lumped-element catheter coil. RESULTS The proposed TLR catheter coil was successfully tuned to 64 MHz for proton imaging at 1.5 T. B1 fields were numerically calculated, showing improved magnetic field intensity of the TLR catheter coil over the conventional lumped-element catheter coil. MR images were acquired from a dedicated vascular phantom using the TLR catheter coil and also the system body coil. The TLR catheter coil is able to provide a significant signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) increase (a factor of 200 to 300) over its imaging volume relative to the body coil. CONCLUSIONS Catheter imaging RF coil design using the proposed coaxial TLR technique is feasible and advantageous in endovascular interventional MR imaging applications.
Intermodel Spread around the Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension Region in Coupled GCMs Caused by Meridional Variation of the Westerly Jet from Atmospheric GCMs

AbstractThe Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension (KOE) is a region of energetic oceanic mesoscale eddies and vigorous air–sea interaction that can influence climate variability over the northwest Pacific and East Asia. General circulation models (GCMs) exhibit considerable differences in their simulated climatology around the KOE region. Specifically, there are substantial intermodel spreads in both sea surface temperature (SST) and the upper-level westerly jet. In this study, the cause for such large spreads is studied by analyzing 21 pairs of coupled and atmospheric GCMs from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5).It is found that the intermodel spread of the climatological westerly jet among coupled GCMs is largely inherited from their atmospheric models rather than being due to their SST difference as previously thought. An anomalous equatorward shift in the simulated westerly jet can give rise to a cold SST bias around the KOE region as follows. The equatorward jet shift induces cyclonic ...
Der Ablauf der Willenshandlungen

Jede eigentliche Willenshandlung setzt ein mit einem besonderen Akt, dem Willensruck. Dieser ist, wie alle personalen Letzttatsachen, nicht eigentlich zu beschreiben und zu erklaren; wir konnen ihm nur durch gewisse Umschreibungen naher kommen.
Mobile Monitoring of Personal NOx Exposures during Scripted Daily Activities in Chicago, IL

ABSTRACTElevated ambient concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NOx), including nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), are associated with a wide range of adverse human health effects. Most studies have investigated these associations using ambient NO2/NOx measurements from fixed-site monitors or modeled ambient NO2/NOx concentrations. However, the majority of personal exposures to NO2/NOx occur in a variety of different microenvironments in which people spend most of their time. Previous studies have reported widely varying correlations between personal exposures and ambient NO2/NOx concentrations over various timescales. To add to the knowledge base of how personal NO/NO2/NOx exposures vary spatially, temporally, and within different microenvironments in an urban environment, we conducted roll-around mobile monitoring of NO/NO2/NOx with 1-minute resolution during 14 days of scripted activities in and around Chicago, IL. Activities involved time spent in three primary microenvironments: outdoors, indoors inside various building types, and in multiple modes of transportation including walking, personal vehicle, and public transit. Measurement were conducted at a higher time resolution than most prior microenvironmental monitoring studies using a recently developed direct UV absorbance NO/NO2/NOx monitor that is designed to minimize interferences that have been observed in some field campaigns using chemiluminescence monitors. The individual microenvironmental categories with the highest median NOx concentrations included four indoor environments and a variety of public transit environments. The individual transportation microenvironments with the highest median NOx concentrations were found aboard regional trains, largely driven by high NO from diesel locomotives. Correlations between microenvironmental NO/NO2/NOx measurements and simultaneous records from the nearest ambient monitor were extremely low, with coefficients of determination below 0.05 for each NOx constituent. These data further illustrate the limitations of relying on ambient site regulatory monitors to characterize personal NO/NO2/NOx exposures and provide further evidence that personal monitoring is critical for accurately assessing personal exposure to NOx.
Multi-objective electric vehicle scheduling considering customer and system objectives

Electric vehicle (EV) scheduling is a multi-objective optimization problem with conflicting system and customer interests. They bear the potential to support the grid while providing incentives to the customers through energy transactions, demand response and grid support. Vehicle-to-grid operations provide the customer with attractive avenues for earning revenues but degrade the battery life. Efficient and economical solutions require a balance between customer incurred costs, battery degradation costs and system health. In this paper, the relationships between these objectives have been explored using a multi-objective optimization technique called augmented epsilon-constraint method (AUGMECON). The Pareto optimal solutions will provide day-ahead strategies for coordinating electric vehicles which can then be used for selecting mutually beneficial outcomes.
When Proactivity Fails: An Electrophysiological Study of Establishing Reference in Schizophrenia.

Abstract Background Schizophrenia is characterized by abnormalities in referential communication, which may be linked to more general deficits in proactive cognitive control. We used event-related potentials to probe the timing and nature of the neural mechanisms engaged as people with schizophrenia linked pronouns to their preceding referents during word-by-word sentence comprehension. Methods We measured event-related potentials to pronouns in two-clause sentences in 16 people with schizophrenia and 20 demographically matched control participants. Our design crossed the number of potential referents (1-referent, 2-referent) with whether the pronoun matched the gender of its preceding referent(s) (matching, mismatching). This gave rise to four conditions: 1) 1-referent matching ("Edward took courses in accounting but he . . ."); 2) 2-referent matching ("Edward and Phillip took courses but he . . . "); 3) 1-referent mismatching ("Edward took courses in accounting but she . . ."); and 4) 2-referent mismatching ("Edward and Phillip took courses but she . . ."). Results Consistent with previous findings, healthy control participants produced a larger left anteriorly distributed negativity between 400 and 600 ms to 2-referent matching than to 1-referent matching pronouns (the "Nref effect"). In contrast, people with schizophrenia produced a larger centroposterior positivity effect between 600 and 800 ms. Both patient and control groups produced a larger positivity between 400 and 800 ms to mismatching than to matching pronouns. Conclusions These findings suggest that proactive mechanisms of referential processing, reflected by the Nref effect, are impaired in schizophrenia, while reactive mechanisms, reflected by the positivity effects, are relatively spared. Indeed, patients may compensate for proactive deficits by retroactively engaging with context to influence the processing of inputs at a later stage of analysis.
Technology-organization tradeoffs in the architecture of a high performance processor

To design computers which reach the performance limits of the implementation technology, one must understand the relationships between the technology and organization of the processor. This thesis presents a multilevel performance optimization methodology to analyze these relationships. All technology-organization relationships can be analyzed as tradeoffs between CPU cycle time ($t\sb{\rm CPU}$) and CPU cycles per instruction (CPI), the product of which, time per instruction (TPI), is used as the performance metric in this thesis. Two new analysis tools: (1) a timing analyzer for $t\sb{\rm CPU}$ and (2) a trace-driven cache simulator for CPI are an integral part of the optimization methodology. The methodology is extensively validated using a high performance processor design that is implemented out of gallium arsenide chips and multichip module packaging. The results of this validation are a number of general guidelines for high performance processor design. The methodology is first applied to the design of the first-level cache of a two-level cache hierarchy. Simple expressions are derived that provide the access time of on-chip and MCM based caches of various sizes. The access time of the first-level cache is on the critical path of the processor and so determines $t\sb{\rm CPU}$. When the first-level cache is unpiplined maximum performance is reached with small caches that have short access times. When the first-level cache is pipelined higher maximum performance is reached with larger caches that have longer access times. This is possible because the increase in CPI, that pipelining has the potential to create, can be effectively hidden by using static scheduling techniques. Applying the methodology to other parts of the cache-hierarchy produces the following results. Second-level caches that are split between instructions and data have performance and implementation benefits. The choice of write-policy (write-back or write-through) depends on the effective access time of the next higher level of the memory hierarchy. Adding concurrency to the cache-hierarchy in the form of write-buffering of the second-level cache or a non-blocking first-level cache provides modes reductions in CPI. When the reduction in CPI is weighed against the increased implementation complexity and possible increase in $t\sb{\rm CPU}$ these techniques for improving performance are not nearly as effective as increasing the sizes of the caches and pipelining the first-level cache.
The Persistence of 'Dumb' Contracts

“Smart contracts” are a hot topic. Presently, smart contracts are mostly evidence of property, like crypto-currencies or mortgages, created and/or transferred on blockchain technology. This is an exploration of the theoretical possibilities of artificial intelligence in a far broader range of complex and heretofore negotiated transactions that occur over time. My goal is to understand what it means to make a contract smarter, i.e. to delegate more and more of the creation, performance, and disposition of legally binding transactions to machine thinking. Moreover, I want to do so from the perspective of one who is neither a true believer in the purported technological singularity to come nor a digital Luddite. There are two primary themes. First, the extent to which complex transactions occurring over time can be embodied in computer programs – the ability of the contracts to be smarter rather than dumber – depends on the extent to which the subject of the transaction becomes not just a social fact, but an institutional reality. The dumb contract is merely a map of an antecedent reality, but the smart one is a real thing in itself. Second, smart rather than dumb contracts will require the translation of often fuzzy legal predicates, otherwise capable of expression in truth-functional logic, into digital proxies expressible in the non-ambiguous discrete units of code. The upshot of these two themes is that, at least until there is some better evidence that a technological singularity will occur, deciding will remain something that is fundamentally different than reasoning by way of logic or code. Hence, for the time being, dumb contracts, ones that leave open the possibility of what Karl Llewellyn called situation sense, will persist.
Female Athletes' Motives and Experiences During the Gay Games

This study examines female athletes' motives for participation in Gay Games IV, and their experiences during the Games. The participants (N = 132) acknowledged traditional sport motives as well as social, self-enhancement, and political motives for participation in the Gay Games. Positive aspects of these athletes' experiences at the Games included having a sense of belonging, pride, and community. Meeting, competing with, and being near other lesbian, gay, and bisexual athletes also were important motives and outcomes of participation in this event. Almost all of the athletes described positive experiences at the Games. The experiences expressed by these athletes show the affirming emotional and psychological impact of participation in an inclusive sport environment. Overall, while many of these athletes noted sport highlights in describing their experiences, the social and personal development were voiced more consistently and frequently.
Constructing Examples of Integral Domains by Intersecting Valuation Domains

The subject of this survey is a method of constructing integral domains which is not often utilized compared to various other methods, but is deceptively powerful. The motivation is the following classical theorem of W. Krull.
High-Temperature And Moisture-Ageing Reliability of High-Density Power Packages For Electric Vehicles

Reliability and failure mechanisms associated with high-density, high-temperature (175-250 °C) electronics in harsh environments were investigated. Test-structures were built to emulate both high-power and high-density packages. Different material sets were evaluated for various failure modes such as delamination and corrosion. Design guidelines for high-density and high-power automotive packages are provided with emerging and leading-edge packaging materials. A 40% reduction in the adhesion strength was seen after high-temperature ageing at 200 °C along with a discoloration of the polymer. The experimental results indicate a need for enhanced interfaces and improved material properties for long-term high-temperature reliability.
Twentieth-Century Socialist Revolutions and Their Class Components: Russia, China, Cuba, and Vietnam

Any attempt to theorize socialist revolution must start at the point where conditions of exploitation are converted into the practice of class struggle. Socialist revolutions in the twentieth century have unfolded as complex processes decisively dependent on the emergence and growth of a revolutionary political organization. The central political organization (party or movement) passes through several crucial interrelated phases, each of which provides a unique contribution to the ultimate success of the whole enterprise. The sequence leading to the revolutionary transformation begins with the formative period, involving the organization and ideology of the party. This is followed by class and political struggles, in which forces are accumulated, roots are put down among the masses, a mass membership is won, and, finally, power is seized. Subsequently, the socialist revolutionary process includes the establishment of a government, reorganization of the state, and efforts to transform social relations.
Beyond settlement: Making peace last after civil conflict

Globally, although the number of large-scale interstate conflicts has decreased, the number of internal conflicts has increased in the last five decades. Today, there are about 74 active conflicts ...
SRS and SBRT Integration with Supportive Care

Advanced techniques in radiotherapy including stereotactic radiotherapy (both intracranial and SBRT) hold significant promise in the treatment of patients with metastatic cancer, both by allowing dose escalation and by decreasing dose to normal tissues. There are limited studies directly comparing these advanced techniques with conventional palliative radiotherapy. Patients with short anticipated life expectancy may not live long enough to benefit from these advanced technologies, and, thus, the role of advanced radiotherapy techniques near the end of life remains an open topic for exploration. Ongoing studies will help to clarify the position of advanced technologies in palliative radiotherapy near the end of life.
Pelizaeus–Merzbacher Disease

Pelizaeus–Merzbacher Disease (PMD) occurs due to PLP1 mutations, which is located on the X chromosome and encodes proteolipid protein 1 (PLP1), the main protein constituent of central nervous system myelin. A multitude of different PLP1 mutation types include point mutations, copy number alterations, and deletions/null mutations. The diagnosis of PMD is established by a detailed examination of the patient's neurological signs, the presence of hypomyelinated white matter on magnetic resonance imaging, and an X-linked inheritance pattern. PLP1 molecular testing is needed to confirm the diagnosis and guide genetic counseling. No disease-specific therapy exists and care remains supportive.
U.S. Fashion Brands Endeavors Toward Sustainability from the Kaizen Perspective: A Data-mining Based Lexical Analysis

Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SCM) indicates to a company’s mission and vision that incorporate environmental and social issues into SCM to enhance the company’s environmental and social performance including its suppliers and customers without hampering its overall economic performance. Past researches have been focused on specific aspects of sustainability from the individualistic view and there is a need for conducting further research focusing on sustainability at the organizational level. To address this issue, 44 of publically available sustainability/corporate social responsibility reports from 11 of the top U.S. fashion brands were reviewed using data mining technique. Results showed that all of these brands are practicing continuous improvement, or Kaizen, inherently, even though the term Kaizen might not be explicitly stated in their sustainability practices. Future research is recommended to see how Kaizen principles could yield improvement in various corporate sustainability goals and structures across different fashion brands worldwide.
Prognostic Value of Ultrasound Imaging of the Median Nerve in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Background: Ultrasound has been well established as a diagnostic modality for carpal tunnel syndrome, but its prognostic utility has not been deeply investigated. Few studies, showing contradictory...
Exometabolite dynamics over stationary phase reveal strain-specific responses to nutrient limitation

Abstract Microbial exponential growth is expected to occur infrequently outside of the laboratory, in the environment. Instead, resource-limited conditions impose non-growth states for microbes. However, non-growth states are uncharacterized for the majority of environmental bacteria, especially in regard to exometabolite production. To investigate exometabolite production in response to nutrient limitation, we compared exometabolites produced over time in stationary phase across three environmental bacteria: Burkholderia thailandensis E264 (ATCC 700388), Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 31532, and Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato DC3000 (ATCC BAA-871). We grew each strain in monoculture and investigated exometabolite dynamics over time from mid-exponential to stationary phase. We focused on exometabolites that were released into the media and accumulated over 45 hours, including approximately 20 hours of stationary phase. In concert, we analyzed transcripts (RNAseq) to inform interpretation of exometabolite output. We found that a majority of exometabolites released under these conditions were strain-specific. A subset of identified exometabolites were involved in both central and secondary metabolism. Transcript analysis supported that exometabolites were released from intact cells, as various transporters were either upregulated or consistently expressed. Interestingly, we found that all strains released succinate, and that each strain re-routed their metabolic pathways involved in succinate production during stationary phase. Overall, these results show that non-growth states can also be metabolically active and dynamic. Furthermore, they show that environmental bacteria have the capability to transform a resource-limited extracellular environment into a rich chemical milieu. This work has implications for understanding microbial community interactions via exometabolites, and within resource-limited environments. Importance Non-growth states are common for bacteria that live in resource-limited environments, and yet these states remain largely uncharacterized in cellular metabolism and metabolite output. Here, we investigated and compared stationary phase exometabolites and RNA transcripts for each of three environmental bacterial strains. We observed that diverse exometabolites were produced and that they collectively exhibited clear and directional dynamics over time. Additionally, each bacteria strain had a characteristic exometabolite profile and dynamic. This work affirms that stationary phase is not at all “stationary” for these bacteria, and sets the stage for understanding how individual metabolisms support interspecies interactions in resource-limited environments.
Constructing hybrid gridshells using bending-active formwork:

Aiming to promote a more sustainable approach to material utilization in architecture, this article presents an alternative construction method for lightweight and efficient concrete structures. Th...
Impact of climate change on water availability and its propagation through the Western U.S. power grid

Abstract Climate change is expected to affect the availability of water for electricity generation, yet the propagation of climate impacts across a large and diverse power grid remains unexplored. In this study, we evaluate how projected changes in water availability affect electricity generation at hydroelectric and thermal power plants and how the coincident impacts propagate locally and throughout the interconnected power grid of western United States. We also evaluate whether the prospect of climate-driven change could affect regional power dependencies. Hydrologic simulations derived from three Global Circulation Models (CCSM4, INMCM4, and GFDL-CM3), two radiative scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and the VIC hydrology model are used to force a large-scale, distributed water management model (MOSART-WM), which translates water availability into power generation constraints at hydropower plants and water-dependent thermoelectric plants. Power system dynamics are evaluated using the production cost model PLEXOS. We find that the interregional connections across the contemporary Western U.S. electricity infrastructure play an essential role in managing variations in regional generation due to hydrological variability. Projected WECC-scale changes in mean annual precipitation ranging from −3.8% to +17% are moderated to −6% to +4% in mean annual production cost changes. Climate change impacts on water availability in the Northwest drive future changes in other regions’ generation and in regional power flows. Northwest total generation influences interannual variability in other regions’ net generation, explaining about 40%, 50%, and 35% of the variability in Southwest, Rockies, and Southern California regions respectively. The propagation of Northwest climate change impact throughout the grid is exacerbated by the occurrence of dry years in Northern California. Generation from the Desert Southwest emerges as a critical resource to compensate for variations in water availability, and generation, in these regions. Though the regional power flow directions seem insensitive to long-term variations in water availability, our analysis highlights the need to consider other compounding regional factors, such as changes in Southern California’s net load and changes in regional fuel prices.
Treatment of Bronchopleural and Alveolopleural Fistulas in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome With Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, a Case Series and Literature Review

Objectives To describe a ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation management strategy for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome complicated by bronchopleural and alveolopleural fistula with air leaks. Design setting and participants Case series from 2019 to 2020. Single tertiary referral center-University of California, San Diego. Four patients with various etiologies of acute respiratory distress syndrome, including influenza, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury, and coronavirus disease 2019, complicated by bronchopleural and alveolopleural fistula and chest tubes with air leaks. Measurements and main results Bronchopleural and alveolopleural fistula closure and survival to discharge. All four patients were placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with ventilator settings even lower than Extracorporeal Life Support Organization guideline recommended ultraprotective lung ventilation. The patients bronchopleural and alveolopleural fistulas closed during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and minimal ventilatory support. All four patients survived to discharge. Conclusions In patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome and bronchopleural and alveolopleural fistula with persistent air leaks, the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation to allow for even lower ventilator settings than ultraprotective lung ventilation is safe and feasible to mediate bronchopleural and alveolopleural fistula healing.
Cryosols of the Circumarctic Region

The circumarctic region contains 11.4 million km2, or 83 % of the cryosols worldwide. The climate of the circumarctic varies geographically and is determined by proximity to oceans, elevation, and latitude. Most of the circumarctic contains continuous permafrost. However, discontinuous, sporadic, and isolated permafrost may occur in the Low Arctic. Active-layer depths range from 0.4 to 2.0 m in the Low Arctic, from 0.4 to 1.0 m in the Mid-Arctic, and from 0.25 to 0.9 m in the High Arctic. Common vegetation types in the Arctic are erect shrub land, peaty graminoid tundra, barrens, mineral graminoid tundra, prostrate-shrub tundra, and wetlands. The relief in the circumarctic commonly is flat to undulating with elevations generally below 500 m. Patterned ground is ubiquitous in the Arctic. Cryosols in the circumarctic have been derived from a variety of parent materials, including marine and lacustrine, glacial, windblown, colluvium, and residuum.
A new species of freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionidae), Pleurobema athearni , from the Coosa River Drainage of Alabama, USA

The Mobile Basin historically supported one of the most diverse freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionidae) assemblages in North America. More than 65 species of mussels are known from the Basin, but it is difficult to determine how many species were present historically. The drainage's unique physical habitat was largely destroyed between the late 1800s and mid-1900s by impoundment and channel modifications of most of the larger rivers. Many species that were once common are now restricted to small headwater rivers and mid-sized tributaries. Recent Coosa River tributary surveys revealed a new, undescribed species of Pleurobema. This new species, Pleurobema athearni, is distinctive in outward appearance, shell morphometry and reproductive morphology, and can be distinguished from other Coosa River drainage unionids. Our analysis indicates that P. athearni is morphologically different from other similar taxa. It differs both in shell width/length and width/height ratios and thus provides a simple, quantitative means to differentiate this species from P. georgianum (Lea, 1841) Fusconaia barnesiana (Lea, 1838), and F. cerina (Conrad, 1838), which it superficially resembles and that also occur in the area. Our morphological diagnosis of this species is supported by recent molecular analyses that suggest this species is a Pleurobema and one closely related to other endemic Coosa River drainage unionids. The discovery of a new species of large, long-lived macroinvertebrate from a relatively well-sampled drainage in a populated region of the southeast United States underscores the need for more detailed surveys in isolated stretches of tributary streams. It should also serve as a reminder that almost 40 species of aquatic mollusks have been extirpated from the Mobile Basin before anything could be learned about their habitat or life history requirements.
Laser Detection of Latent Fingerprints: Difficult Surfaces

Fingerprint development techniques that use blue-green laser light suffer from high background fluorescence on substrates such as cardboard, wood, leather, and some metals and plastics. These substrates tend to exhibit little or no fluorescence under ultraviolet light, prompting us to search for procedures that yield visible fluorescence under this illumination. Specifically, chemical development with dansyl chloride and vapor staining with 9-methylanthracene were found to be useful when dealing with these substrates. Fluorescence excitation was possible either with an ultraviolet lamp or an argon-ion laser operating in the ultraviolet. Coumarin 535 vapor staining following 9-methylanthracene staining was also found effective.
Tiers in Consumer Fractional Ownership Markets

In fractional ownership markets, consumers purchase a share in a property and can later exchange it with other owners through a secondary market. Forward-looking consumers may purchase low quality shares at a low price with the intention of trading up. This poses a serious problem. We show that firms can adopt a tiered approach for exchange so as to restore sales of high quality shares in the primary market, while at the same time facilitating exchanges in the secondary market. Data from laboratory markets strongly support this argument. Firm revenue and total social surplus are both higher in tiered than in tier-free markets. Furthermore, the impact of the tier structure depends on the exchange mechanism the firm uses. Over time, participants adapt to changes in tier structure in the direction predicted by theory. Risk aversion partly explains the deviation of data from theoretical predictions.