cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Research on the application of openstack to build a new heterogeneous real-time virtual cloud to reproduce application vulnerability and training demonstration architecture

In order to cope with the issues that physical hardware conditions and virtualized technical restrictions, Information Security Laboratory, Electric Power Research Institute, the State Gird Xinjiang Electric Power Company, where adopts virtualization and cloud technologies as well as uses the python and openstack to build out a fire-new, heterogeneous and real-time virtual cloud (NHRVC), reproducing the vulnerability attack and its processes in application systems for showing a network security technology platform. The platform adopts three equipments to establish: the physical network device, the safety device and the virtual cloud equipment. These based on layered abstract design and regional management. This platform has the characteristics, such as clear construction that it is easy to set up simulation and migrate complicated application systems. After the second-deployment, the application systems can make many snapshots from different stages and different physical application environments to pursue penetration testing in the total azimuth and the total process through the cloud experiment platform. At the same time, it can friendly carry on display and analysis to the process of the penetration testing.
Make America Great Again: Donald Trump and Redefining the U.S. Role in the World

In this article, I explore presidential candidate Trump’s rhetoric concerning America’s role in the world. I argue Trump’s rhetoric broke with the post-World War II consensus of maintaining and ext...
Mixing efficiency in large-eddy simulations of stratified turbulence

The irreversible mixing efficiency is studied using large-eddy simulations (LES) of stratified turbulence, where three different subgrid-scale (SGS) parameterizations are employed. For comparison, direct numerical simulations (DNS) and hyperviscosity simulations are also performed. In the regime of stratified turbulence where is the Ozmidov scale. In this situation, the computational costs of numerical simulations are significantly reduced because LES runs require much smaller computational resources in comparison with expensive DNS runs.
Sequence-Dependent Curvature of DNA

A large variety of DNA molecules, derived as restriction fragments from both prokaryotic (Ross et al., 1982; Stellwagen, 1983; Bossi and Smith, 1984; Zahn and Blattner, 1985) and eukaryotic (Simpson, 1979; Challberg and England, 1980; Israelewski, 1983; Schmidt, 1984; Kidane et al., 1984; Garrett and Carroll, 1986; Ray et al., 1986; Ryder et al., 1986) sources, display abnormal electrophoretic behavior. In particular, such molecules run more slowly in acrylamide gels than would be expected on the basis of their sizes (by sequence). An additional example of such electrophoretic behavior is displayed in figure 1. This example is of historical interest in that the HindII+III digest of SV40 was the first published restriction digest. The retardation of the F fragment was originally believed to be due to a chemical interaction of the fragment with the acrylamide gel. The example is also noteworthy in that the sequences giving rise to the anomalous behavior lie entirely within the coding sequences for the major capsid protein (VP1) gene.
The Use of Snake Venoms as Pharmacological Tools in Studying Nerve Activity

Most texts and review articles on venoms have been primarily concerned with chemical properties or mechanisms of action (Bucherl et al., 1968; Jimenez-Porras, 1968; Devi, 1968; Sarkar and Devi, 1968; Russell, 1967; Russell and Saunders, 1967; Condrea and de Vries, 1965; Meldrum, 1965; Braganca and Aravindakshan, 1962; Buckley and Porges, 1956; Zeller, 1951). Indeed, understanding of the pharmacological actions of venoms was greatly aided by the study of their effects on various organ systems such as nerve, muscle, and blood. It was, however, not so readily apparent that this complex, specialized saliva of snakes could be used as a tool for analysis of physiological processes. For example, by 1963 about 6000 papers on snake venoms and venomous snakes had been published (Russell and Scharf-fenberg, 1964), with relatively few of these having as their direct concern a better understanding of the physiological processes affected by venoms. A notable exception was the process of blood coagulation, which has been clarified by studying the action of snake venoms or venom components (Jimenez-Porras, 1968; Condrea and DeVries, 1965; Boquet, 1964). Snake venoms have also been useful as tools in general biochemical research, where the primary interest has been in extracting and studying enzymes obtained from venoms (Zeller, 1966).
Popular Participation and Pollution Control in Brazil

This chapter examines the role of popular participation in environmental policy-making in Brazil It focuses on the Cubatao Pollution Control Project (CPCP), successfully implemented by Cetesb, a state environmental protection agency, to control air, water, and soil industrial pollution in the city of Cubatao, Sao Paulo, one of the most polluted regions in the world. In Cubatao, by responding to community demands and seeking to encourage public participation, policy-makers favoured a style of policy design and implementation fundamentally different from business as usual in Brazil Three aspects of the interaction between popular movements and bureaucrats during the CPCP are relevant to improve the quality of environmental policy-making in Brazil First, through community support, Cetesb was able not only to increase its leverage vis-a-vis the polluting industry but also to promote environmental awareness and public accountability. Second, the ability of popular movements to forge collective identities and frame pollution as a social issue expanded their basis of support and promoted the creation of social capital. Finally, during the implementation of the CPCP, the interaction between technical personnel and social scientists provided both groups not only with a new understanding and appreciation for each other’s expertise but also with an opportunity to re-evaluate their professional roles in policy-making.
Long Seminars Photoacoustics and Deexcitation Processes in Condensed Media

In this article, we present a brief introduction to the field of photoacoustics, outlining its principles, methodology and some of its capabilities. We then discuss in some detail the application of this new technique to the study of deexcitation processes in condensed media, both solid and liquid. The deexcitation processes covered include radiationless (heat-producing) deexcitation, radiative deexcitation, photochemical deexcitation, and photovoltaic deexcitation. Photoacoustic experiments involving these different deexcitation modes are described.
THE DEXAMETHASONE SUPPRESSION TEST: AN ESTABLISHED BIOLOGICAL MARKER OF MELANCHOLIA

The dexamethasone suppression test (DST) is a standardized, indirect biological marker of melancholia. Abnormal results mark with high specificity the presence of pathophysiology in the limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system. As such, the DST has documented or potential value in diagnosing patients with melancholia, predicting outcome, monitoring treatment, assessing prognosis, identifying latent cases, and clarifying relationships among confusing clinical variants.
Relationship of infiltrating intraepithelial T lymphocytes in the diagnosis of oral lichen planus versus oral epithelial dysplasia: a pilot study

Objective The aim of this study was to identify the type and distribution of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in oral mucosal specimens to potentially distinguish between underlying alterations or patterns in oral epithelial dysplasia and oral lichen planus. Study Design This pilot study included 10 archived tissue samples that were received at the University of North Carolina Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Laboratory and were diagnosed as oral lichen planus and moderate to severe epithelial dysplasia. Dual staining with CD4 and CD8 antibodies was carried out on each case. Slides were scanned in the Aperio ScanScope FL (Leica Biosystems, Wetzlar, Germany) and archived. Histomorphometric analysis was performed to detect inflammatory cells expressing CD4 and CD8 biomarkers in the epithelial and connective tissue regions. Results No differences were found in the amount and ratio of CD4+/CD8+ lymphocytes among the 3 groups analyzed; however, the intraepithelial CD8+ lymphocyte distribution was strikingly different between lichen planus and moderate to severe epithelial dysplasia. Conclusions The localization of CD8+ cells can be potentially useful as an adjunctive diagnostic procedure to distinguish oral epithelial dysplasia from other inflammatory entities, such as lichen planus.
ECMO for Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (PARDS)

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) may be used for children with severe respiratory failure. ECMO removes blood from the venous circulation, instills oxygen and removes carbon dioxide, and then returns it to the patient. This may enable the clinician to substantially decrease mechanical ventilator settings from “toxic” ones to less injurious settings, which may facilitate recovery. General indications are intuitive, but specific indications for a given patient that improve outcomes have not been established. General treatment strategies, common adverse events, and long-term outcomes are also reviewed.
How to (dis)solve the Gamer’s Dilemma

The Gamer’s Dilemma challenges us to find a distinction between virtual murder and virtual pedophilia. Without such a distinction, we are forced to conclude that either both actions are morally acceptable or that both should be morally illicit. This paper argues that the best way to solve the dilemma is, in one sense, to dissolve it. The Gamer’s Dilemma rests on a misunderstanding in the sense that it does not distinguish between the effects that the form of a simulation can have on moral judgment apart from its surface content. A greater appreciation of the way structural features of a simulation affect subject experience will help us see why only simulations of murder and pedophilia generating virtually real experiences are likely to be seen as wrong. I argue that a simulation’s structural elements powerfully affect how subjects experience simulated content and hence is an important, and previously neglected, variable necessary to dissolve the Gamer’s Dilemma. Properly understood, virtually real simulations of murder and pedophilia are both likely to be treated by players as morally wrong. Similarly, virtually unreal murder and pedophilia will be less likely to be judged as wrong. Subject judgments are thus consistent once a simulation’s structural variables are accounted for. The Gamer’s Dilemma dissolves as a dilemma once we acknowledge these structural features of simulations and how they affect experience and moral judgment.
The Role of Dimethylammonium in Bandgap Modulation for Stable Halide Perovskites

Halide perovskites with bandgaps of 1.70–1.85 eV are of interest for multijunction photovoltaics. Mixing halides on the X site of the ABX3-structured perovskite system is a common way to reach thes...
Development and demonstration of a methodology to evaluate high burnup fuel susceptibility to pulverization under a loss of coolant transient

Abstract For economic reasons, the US nuclear industry is renewing efforts to build a technical basis to extend rod average burnup limits above the current regulatory burnup limit of 62 GWd/MTU. The primary driver is to increase pressurized water reactor cycle lengths to 24 months, reducing the number of fresh fuel assemblies and core design constraints, thereby making core energy utilization more efficient. However, fuel pellet fragmentation and pulverization, termed high burnup fuel fragmentation (HBFF), has been observed in the high burnup (>90 GWd/MTU) Halden loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA) integral test series. The issue gained attention when fuel fragmentation and pulverization were also observed closer to the current US regulatory limit during the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sponsored out-of-core integral test at Studsvik Nuclear in early 2011. This led to NRC concerns with potential changes to fuel and core designs relative to fuel pellet pulverization. In a letter to the NRC Commissioners, the staff specifically identified a need to “…define the boundary of safe operation for key fuel design and operating parameters,” stating that “the staff is challenged to evaluate the acceptability of future fuel design advancements and fuel utilization changes.” As such, it can be concluded that HBFF and potential dispersal into the reactor coolant system introduces additional complications in light-water reactor (LWR) fuel safety evaluations. However, it is not clear how much fuel will be susceptible to HBFF; nor has there been a methodology developed to evaluate fuel susceptibility to HBFF. To that end, this paper proposes an analysis methodology to assess fuel susceptibility to HBFF during LOCA scenarios. The work presented here uses the BISON fuel performance code to evaluate a representative pressurized water reactor fuel rod exposed to a rod average burnup of 75 GWd/MTU. Sensitivity studies investigated the impact of the peak cladding temperature, transient fission gas released, and pre-transient fission gas release on cladding ballooning and burst timing. Subsequently, a methodology to assess fuel susceptibility to HBFF will be developed based on experimental data published in the open literature. The methodology will then be demonstrated by calculating the mass of fuel susceptibility to HBFF. The BISON results conclude that increasing peak cladding temperature drastically decreased time to failure, and decreased balloon size both of which have been confirmed experimentally. Additionally, the effect of pre-transient and transient fission gas release affected cladding balloon size and burst timing. Lastly, fuel susceptibility to HBFF significantly decreased as a function of peak cladding temperature.
Neighborhood-Level Structural Factors, HIV, and Communities of Color

Neighborhoods and health studies have focused on a wide range of health outcomes, including HIV outcomes such as condomless sex and HIV acquisition. This growing body of research connecting neighborhoods to sexual behaviors [e.g., condomless anal intercourse], HIV prevention behaviors [e.g., pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use], and HIV care behaviors [e.g., antiretroviral therapy (ART) use] has been conducted in different populations across geographic regions. In this chapter, we overview studies focused on neighborhood factors and HIV outcomes, with special attention to relevant research focused on communities of color in the United States. In particular, we discuss how various social (e.g., racial segregation, neighborhood disadvantage, neighborhood disorder) and built (e.g., public transit, availability of sexually transmitted infections [STI] testing locations) environmental characteristics relate to a wide range of HIV outcomes. Various neighborhood characteristics have been related to HIV health outcomes in communities of color, including high-risk groups such as Black gay and bisexual men. Like the vast majority of neighborhoods and health research, neighborhoods research focused on HIV is largely cross-sectional and there is a clear paucity of evidence of neighborhood-level HIV-related interventions. However, the findings from observational studies suggest that neighborhood-level interventions can improve sexual health and related HIV outcomes and therefore should be explored.
A Nurses’ Personal Labor and Postpartum Experience During COVID-19

This special interest article describes a nurses’ labor and postpartum experience during the COVID-19 pandemic
Additive manufacturing of copper-stainless steel hybrid components using laser-aided directed energy deposition

Abstract Combining dissimilar materials in a single component is an effective solution to integrate diverse material properties into a single part. Copper-stainless steel hybrid components are attracting more and more attention since the high thermal conductivity of copper can greatly enhance the thermal performance of stainless steel, which benefits its applications in many industries. However, direct joining of copper and stainless steel such as SS316 L is challenging since they preserve significant dissimilarities in physical, chemical, and thermo-mechanical properties. This paper aims to fabricate well-bonded copper-SS316 L hybrid parts using a laser-aided directed energy deposition (DED) process. A nickel-based alloy Deloro 22 (D22) is introduced between copper and SS316 L to address the detrimental issues in copper-SS316 L direct joints. Using this technique, defect-free interfaces are achieved at both the D22-SS316 L and copper-D22 transition zones. Tensile testing of Cu-D22-SS316 L and D22-SS316 L hybrid parts shows the fracture occurs at pure copper and SS316 L region, respectively, indicating an excellent bonding at the interfaces. Ascending in the building direction, a transition of grain structure is observed. A significant diffusion zone is obtained at both the D22-SS316 L and the Cu-D22 interfaces. The large diffusion distance results in a smooth variation in microhardness over the dissimilar materials. The microhardness increases from SS316 L to D22 with the highest value of 240 HV and then decreases from D22 to Cu with the lowest value of 63 ± 4 HV. Testing of thermophysical properties of the Cu-D22-SS316 L system indicates there is a ∼300 % increase in thermal diffusivity and a ∼200 % increase in thermal conductivity when compared to pure SS316 L. The significant increase in thermal diffusivity and conductivity validates the enhanced thermal performance of SS316 L when it is joined with pure copper.
Cueing Changes in Peak Vertical Ground Reaction Force to Improve Coordination Dynamics in Walking

AbstractsBiofeedback has been effectively implemented to improve the mediation and distribution of joint loads during gait, however, the inability to effectively coordinate lower limb movement by altering loading patterns may increase pathological stress and risk of injury and deleterious joint changes. This study examined the influence cueing an increase or decrease in lower extremity loading has on inter- and intralimb joint coordination during gait, applied herein for 12 persons following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction across three loading conditions (control, high, and low). Visual biofeedback was presented on a screen via a force-measuring treadmill with targeted changes prescribed based on stride-to-stride peak vertical ground reaction forces bilaterally. The pattern and stability of coordination dynamics among each of the ankle, hip and knee joint pairs were assessed via discrete relative phase and cross-recurrence quantification analyses for each condition. High and low loading altered the pattern and stability of intralimb coordination; low loading led to decreased coordination stability (20° greater than control condition) and high loading resulted in a more tightly coupled coordination pattern (higher %CDET). With thoughtful consideration for movement control, biofeedback can be used to target mechanisms leading to long-term deleterious joint adaptations.
Solvent-mediated forces in protein dielectrophoresis.

DEP is an established method to manipulate micrometer-sized particles, but standard continuum theories predict only negligible effects for nanometer-sized proteins despite contrary experimental evidence. A theoretical description of protein DEP needs to consider details on the molecular scale. Previous work toward this goal addressed the role of orientational polarization of static protein dipole moments for dielectrophoretic effects, which successfully predicts the general magnitude of dielectrophoretic forces on proteins but does not readily explain negative DEP forces observed for proteins in some experiments. However, contributions to the protein chemical potential due to protein-water interactions have not yet been considered in this context. Here, we utilize atomistic molecular dynamics simulations to evaluate polarization-induced changes in the protein solvation free energy, which result in a solvent-mediated contribution to dielectrophoretic forces. We quantify solvent-mediated dielectrophoretic forces for two proteins and a small peptide in water, which follow expectations for protein-water dipole-dipole interactions. The magnitude of solvent-mediated dielectrophoretic forces exceeds predictions of nonmolecular continuum theories, but plays a minor role for the total dielectrophoretic force for the simulated proteins due to dominant contributions from the orientational polarization of their static protein dipoles. However, we extrapolate that solvent-mediated contributions to negative protein DEP forces will become increasingly relevant for multidomain proteins, complexes and aggregates with large protein-water interfaces, as well as for high electric field frequencies, which provides a potential mechanism for corresponding experimental observations of negative protein DEP.
A 650V/60A Gate Driver Integrated Wire-bondless Multichip GaN Module

Lateral Gallium Nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMT) exhibit lower on resistance and high switching speed due to the presence of 2D electron Gas and smaller capacitance. Moreover, the high critical electric field of GaN makes it excellent choice for power semiconductor devices. It has the capability of switching hundreds of volts in nanoseconds, giving it multiple megahertz capability. However, to enable this feature, advanced packaging structure with optimized stray parameters is required. The traditional wire-bonded package of power module has large parasitic inductance, which will cause voltage overshoot, oscillation, parasitic turn-on, and EMI issues. A gate driver integrated wire bondless solution for a GaN half-bridge, phase-leg module is presented in this manuscript. A global optimization is done to achieve 0.68 nH power loop inductance, 1.25 nH gate loop inductance and 0.257°C/W thermal resistance. The hybrid combination of printed circuit board (PCB) and direct bonded copper (DBC) substrate enabled vertical commutation loop, which has helped to limit the stray inductance substantially. The fabricated module shows excellent switching performance with turn-off speed as high as 192 V/ns while not exceeding the voltage overshoot more than 15% of applied DC link voltage.
Constant Tidal Volume Ventilation and Surfactant Dysfunction: An Overlooked Cause of Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury.

Ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) is currently ascribed to volutrauma and/or atelectrauma but the effect of constant tidal volume ventilation (CVTV) has received little attention. This Perspective summarizes the literature documenting that CVTV causes VILI and reviews the mechanisms by which it occurs. Surfactant is continuously inactivated, depleted, displaced or desorbed as a function of the duration of ventilation, the tidal volume, the level of PEEP and possibly the respiratory rate. Accordingly, surfactant must be continuously replenished and secretion primarily depends on intermittent delivery of large ventilatory excursions. The surfactant abnormalities resulting from CVTV result in atelectasis and VILI. While surfactant secretion is reduced by the absence of intermittent deep breaths continuous administration of large tidal volumes depletes surfactant and impairs subsequent secretion. Low or normal lung volumes result in desorption of surfactant. PEEP can be protective by reducing surface film collapse and subsequent film rupture on re-expansion, and/or by reducing surfactant displacement into the airways, but PEEP can also down-regulate surfactant release. Conclusions: The effect of CVTV on surfactant is complex. If attention is not paid to facilitating surfactant secretion and limiting its inactivation, depletion, desorption or displacement surface tension will increase and atelectasis and VILI will occur.
Surgical repair of posthysterectomy vault prolapse

Abstract Prolapse of the vagina after hysterectomy remains an infrequent but distressing complication for the patient and her surgeon. The proper corrective operation can be carried out by the vaginal approach, with preservation of a functional vagina. The operation is never routine, and the repair must fit the needs of the patient. The infrequent patient with multiple previous vaginal operations may require the abdominal approach.
When prey provide more than food: mammalian predators appropriating the refugia of their prey

Some mammalian predators acquire both food and shelter from their prey, by eating them and using the refugia the prey construct. I searched the literature for examples of predators that exhibit this behavior and summarize their taxonomic affiliations, relative sizes, and distributions. I hypothesized that size ratios of species involved in this dynamic would be near 1.0, and that most of these interactions would occur at intermediate and high latitudes. Seventeen species of Carnivorans exploited at least 23 species of herbivores as food and for their refugia. Most of them (76.4 %) were in the Mustelidae; several small species of canids and a few herpestids were exceptions. Surprisingly, the average predator/prey weight ratio was 10.51, but few species of predators were more than ten times the weight of the prey whose refugia they exploit. This may be why the long and thin Mustelines commonly exploit this habit. A number of predators appropriate the refugia of their key prey during winter when their prey occupies thermally secure nests. Indeed, most of the predator–prey pairs that engage in this relationship occur in intermediate and high latitudes, though there may be a reporting bias. Predators that depend on prey as food and for shelter, and whose fates are linked strongly to a few key prey species, may be particularly vulnerable to changes in climate that affect the subnivean habitats of their prey. Mammals that create refugia that can be used by other species (among them predators) may play disproportionately important roles in their communities.
Whatever the Judges Say It Is: The Founders and Judicial Review

Judicial review of federal and state legislation is the most distinctive and probably the most controversial aspect of American government. Yet the Constitution is silent on whether the Founders intended federal courts to assume that authority. This essay tackles that question, taking an original, holistic approach that sets the legacy of judicial constraints on government in its proper place as part, but only part, of the strategies of community review with which the Founders were familiar from English practice. It then examines whether the judicial review of legislation as it developed conforms to the principles set by the Founders’ much-admired political guides, Montesquieu and Blackstone. Lastly the essay tracks review of legislation and the concept of judicial review through the colonial experience, the first state constitutions and the Convention’s effort to decide where the responsibility to determine the constitutionality of legislation ought to be lodged. The conclusion finds that many Founders were adamantly against that review being centered in the judiciary, while even those who agreed it belonged to the judiciary, saw judicial review as only one strategy for curbing legislative or executive over-reach. They saw juries, not judges, as the ultimate protection for liberty. To restore some checks and balance to constitutional interpretation, it is necessary to shift from the notion that the Constitution is what the judges say it is, and accept more general responsibility for the protection of constitutional limits.
Crystal and molecular structure of pyrrolidine dithio carbamate cobalt (III) chelate

Pyrrolidine dithio carbamate (pdtc) cobalt(III) chelate has been used as a coprecipitation matrix for obtaining preconcentration factors of 100 or more for analytical estimation of trace metals in natural waters. This chelate, suitable for bivalent and trivalent ions, crystallizes as dark green crystals in monoclinic space group C2/c with unit cell parametersa = 28.89 a,b = 14.39 a,c = 16.17 a andΒ = 104.2‡. X-ray crystallographic analysis of these crystals reveals that threepdtc are coordinated to a Co03 + atom through their sulphur atoms, the six sulphur atoms forming a distorted octahedra around the metal atom at an average distance of 2.26 a. The thiocarbamate part of the ligands is nearly planar but the pyrrolidine rings are puckered.
Are There Non-Deductive Logics?

Without attempting to define what is meant by a ‘logic’, it seems reasonable to say that, however many ‘logics’ there are, they are ‘logics’ by virtue of their concern with what makes an argument sound. In the case of ‘deductive logic’, the concept of a sound argument is that of an argument which is such that if its premisses are true, its conclusion must be true. A good deductive argument is one which is not only sound (valid) but has true premisses, and hence a true conclusion.
NODULATION FACTOR FOR RHIZOBIUM-LEGUME SYMBIOSIS.

Valera, Concepcion L. (Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.), and M. Alexander. Nodulation factor for Rhizobium-legume symbiosis. J. Bacteriol. 89:1134-1139. 1965.-Nodulation of excised roots of Medicago sativa was enhanced by an extract of alfalfa seeds but not by several other substances. Coconut water exerted a similar influence upon the formation of nodules on excised roots of Glycine max and Phaseolus vulgaris. Direct evidence for a host factor concerned in nodule genesis was obtained by demonstrating that, although P. vulgaris seedlings developing from embryos devoid of cotyledons nodulated in the presence of an infective Rhizobium strain, nodules did not appear on explants derived from hypocotyls obtained from ungerminated seed. The legume factor, when examined by a soybean hypocotyl bioassay procedure, could be replaced by a water-soluble, thermostable, dialyzable fraction of coconut water, but not by meso-inositol, scyllitol, sorbitol, yeast extract, or a number of amino acids.
On the Computational Complexity of Approximation Operators II

Publisher Summary Computational complexity is a measure of the number of operations that some abstract machine requires to carry out a task. This chapter presents the computation of an approximation to a real function f(x). The chapter discusses how it is as easy to compute approximations as L2 approximations for most functions. For a wide class of functions, piecewise polynomial approximations are no more complex to compute than ordinary polynomial approximations of comparable accuracy. The chapter discusses the two algorithms for estimating least squares approximations by polynomials. It also discusses Tchebycheff approximation by polynomials.
Ambush Foraging Entomopathogenic Nematodes Employ ‘Sprinters' for Long-Distance Dispersal in the Absence of Hosts

Abstract: Ambush foragers must employ a long-distance dispersal strategy to maximize reproductive success in the absence of hosts. This hypothesis was tested by comparing lateral dispersal of the ambusher, Steinernema carpocapsae, and the cruiser, Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, nematodes from infected host cadavers in autoclaved, silt-loam soil in large microcosms (0.05–1.5 m2) with or without vegetation in the absence of hosts. Dispersal was estimated by taking soil cores (5 × 2 cm in diameter) from the microcosms at different intervals (6–240 hr) and distances (3.8–61 cm) from the infected host cadavers and baiting with Galleria mellonella larvae. The numbers of baited larvae killed and the numbers of infective juveniles (IJs) penetrated in dead baits were counted to compute the percentage of IJs dispersed from the source cadavers, based on the emergence potential and penetration efficiency of the 2 species, and analyzed. Vegetation enhanced dispersal of both species but more so for H. bacteriophora. Al...
Improving Women’s Preconceptional Health: Long-Term Effects of the Strong Healthy Women Behavior Change Intervention in the Central Pennsylvania Women’s Health Study

Purpose: To investigate the long-term (6- and 12-month) effects of the Strong Healthy Women intervention on healthrelated behaviors, weight and body mass index (BMI), and weight gain during pregnancy. Strong Healthy Women is a small-group behavioral intervention for pre- and interconceptional women designed to modify key risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes; pretest–posttest findings from a randomized, controlled trial have been previously reported. The following questions are addressed: 1) were significant pretest–posttest changes in health-related behaviors (previously reported) maintained over the 12-month follow-up period; 2) did the intervention impact weight and BMI over the 12-month follow-up period; and 3) did the intervention impact pregnancy weight gain for those who gave birth during the follow-up period? Methods: Data are from 6- and 12-month follow-up telephone interviews of women in the original trial of the Strong Healthy Women intervention (n ¼ 362) and from birth records for singleton births (n ¼ 45) during the 12-month followup period. Repeated measures regression was used to evaluate intervention effects. Main Findings: At the 12-month follow-up, participants in the Strong Healthy Women intervention were significantly more likely than controls to use a daily multivitamin with folic acid and to have lower weight and BMI. The intervention’s effect on reading food labels for nutritional values dropped off between the 6- and 12-month follow-up. Among those who gave birth to singletons during the follow-up period, women who participated in the intervention had lower average pregnancy weight gain compared with controls. Although the intervention effect was no longer significant when controlling for pre-pregnancy obesity, the adjusted means show a trend toward lower weight gain in the intervention group. Conclusion: These findings provide important evidence that the Strong Healthy Women behavior change intervention is effective in modifying important risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes and may improve an important pregnancy outcome, weight gain during pregnancy. Because the intervention seems to help women manage their weight in the months after the intervention and during pregnancy, it may be an effective obesity prevention strategy for women before, during, and after the transition to motherhood. Copyright 2011 by the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health. Published by Elsevier Inc.
The Backstage Work of Data Sharing

Conventional wisdom suggests that there are benefits to the creation of shared repositories of scientific data. Funding agencies require that the data from sponsored projects be shared publicly, but individual researchers often see little personal benefit to offset the work of creating easily sharable data. These conflicting forces have led to the emergence of a new role to support researchers: data managers. This paper identifies key differences between the socio-technical context of data managers and other "human infrastructure" roles articulated previously in Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) literature and summarizes the challenges that data managers face when accepting data for archival and reuse. While data managers' work is critical for advancing science and science policy, their work is often invisible and under-appreciated since it takes place behind the scenes.
Patient characteristics can predict improvement in functional health after elective coronary artery bypass grafting.

Abstract Background Despite many patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) to improve their functional status, literature in this area is limited. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of CABG on the functional health of an elective population and to identify preoperative patient characteristics associated with improved functional health after surgery. Methods Physical and mental functional health was assessed before and 6 months after surgery with the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) in 1,061 consecutive patients undergoing elective, isolated CABG. Survey data were complete in 529 patients (49.9%). Preoperative information on patient demographics, severity of cardiovascular illness, and disease comorbidities was also prospectively collected. Results Six months post-CABG the mean summary score for physical function improved by 31.9% over baseline (45.1 versus 34.2, p p 2 or greater, diabetes with sequelae, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, peripheral vascular disease, and baseline physical function. Baseline mental function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were identified as negative correlates and older age as a positive correlate of significant improvement in mental functioning. Conclusions Patient characteristics exist that impact functional health after elective CABG. Knowledge of these characteristics may be helpful when counseling patients about expected improvement in functional health with CABG.
Assessment of acute confusion: Use of the NEECHAM confusion scale

A CUTE CONFUSIONAL STATE (ACS) is a significant health care problem for the acutely ill hospitalized elderly. Estimates of the incidence of ACS range from 24% to 80% (Foreman, 1989; Ham & Sloane, 1990; Kane & Kurlowicz, 1994; Lipowski, 1989; Neelon, 1990). ACS is largely a disorder of attention with a sudden onset. It is usually secondary to an acute medical condition or a major pathophysiologic change. This multifactoral condition occurs due to an increasing number of accumulated risk factors, including decreased reserve capacity and an increase in physiological and environmental challenges. The downward trajectory into confusion is often viewed as a normal progression of events, and the patient is allowed to pass without intervention into a confusional state. Prompt assessment and intervention by nurses and physicians is essential because of increased morbidity and mortality rates associated with untreated ACS (Francis, Martin, & Kapoor, 1990; Lipowski, 1983; Weddington, 1982; O'Brien, Grisso, Maislin, Chiu, & Evans, 1993). When caring for a patient who is confused, it is assumed that the confusion experienced by the frail elder is the natural outcome of hospitalization. Traditionally, treatment has consisted of restraints and psychotropic medications, with cognitive status assessment nonexistent. The potential exists for the long-term outcomes related to associated morbidity and mortality to improve if signs and symptoms were viewed as a marker of diminished brain reserve and prompt interventions were implemented. Thus, nurses who are skilled at mental status assessment play a crucial role in changing the way ACS is diagnosed and treated (Francis & Kapoor, 1992; Levkoff et al., 1992; Vermeersch, 1990). In response to the inconsistent identification and monitoring of ACS, a study was conducted in which the NEECHAM Confusion Scale was used to assess the cognitive status of elderly, hospitalized patients. The NEECHAM Scale has high internal consistency (Cronbach's c~ = .85) and high interrater (.96) and test-retest reliability (.96) in stable subjects (Neelon, Champagne, McConnell, Carlson & Funk, 1992). Three research questions guided the study. The first question was based on the need for valid and reliable assessment instruments to use for collecting data from which to make patient care decisions. This question measured the reliability coefficient of the NEECHAM in a nonacademic health care setting. The second question was based on beliefs about the physiologic etiology of ACS and changes seen in oxygen saturation levels that lead to hypoxia (Beresin, 1988; Neelon & Champagne, 1992). The third question examined whether a relationship exists
Analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi genotypes in patients with Lyme arthritis: High frequency of ribosomal RNA intergenic spacer type 1 strains in antibiotic-refractory arthritis.

Objective Most of the Borrelia burgdorferi genotypes have been isolated from erythema migrans (EM) skin lesions in patients with Lyme disease. OspC type K strains, which are 16S–23S ribosomal RNA intergenic spacer type 2 (RST2) strains, are most commonly recovered, but a higher percentage of OspC type A strains (RST1), the next most commonly recovered type, is detectable in blood. The goal of this study was to determine the B burgdorferi genotypes in the joints of patients with Lyme arthritis. Methods Joint fluid samples from 124 patients seen over a 30-year period were analyzed for OspC types by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing, and for RSTs by nested PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. These results were correlated with clinical outcome. Results OspC and RST genotypes were identified in 49 of the 124 joint fluid samples (40%). In these 49 samples, OspC type K strains (RST2) were identified in 21 samples (43%), OspC type A strains (RST1) were identified in 11 samples (22%), and 8 other OspC types and all 3 RSTs were identified among the remaining 17 samples (35%). However, among the 17 patients who had been treated with antibiotics according to current guidelines, all 7 patients who were infected with RST1 strains had antibiotic-refractory arthritis, compared with 4 of 6 patients infected with RST2 strains and only 1 of 4 infected with RST3 strains (P = 0.03). Conclusion Most of the B burgdorferi genotypes, particularly OspC type K (RST2), were identified in the joint fluid of patients with Lyme arthritis, and the genotype frequencies found in joints reflected those in EM skin lesions. However, RST1 strains were most frequent in patients with antibiotic-refractory arthritis. Our results help to further the understanding of the differential pathogenicity of strains of B burgdorferi.
Infrared Spectroscopy of Matrix Isolated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. 2. PAHs Containing Five or More Rings

Matrix isolation techniques have been used to measure the mid-infrared spectra of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, 1,2-benzanthracene, chrysene, pyrene, tetracene, and triphenylene. The band positions and relative strengths are compared to previous laboratory studies, where available, and with available theoretical calculations.1 Comparisons with theory indicate that density functional theory (DFT) does an excellent job of describing the majority of the infrared active fundamentals of the PAHs considered here. Band positions typically match to within 5 cm-1, with the worst mismatches usually no more than 15 cm-1. Matches in band strengths are not as precise but, with the exception of the CH stretching bands, are generally good to better than 35% for most strong and moderate bands and to factors of 2 to 3 for weaker bands. Theory predicts CH stretching band strengths that are about a factor of 2 times too strong. The laboratory spectra contain large numbers...
Transient Response and Disturbance Growth in Vertical Buoyancy-Driven Flows

On delimite les differents regimes d'ecoulement: laminaire, instable, de transition et turbulent
Optimized feature selection using NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT)

In most real-world problems, we are dealing with large size datasets. Reducing the number of irrelevant/redundant features dramatically reduces the running time of a learning algorithm and leads to a more general concept. In this paper, realization of feature selection through NeuroEvolution of Augmenting Topologies (NEAT) [1] is investigated which aims to pick a subset of features that are relevant to the target concept. Two major goals in machine learning are discovery and improvement of solutions to complex problems. Complexification, the incremental elaboration of solutions through adding new structure, achieves both these goals. Hence, in this work, the power of complexification through the NEAT method is demonstrated which evolves increasingly complex neural network architectures. When compared to the evolution of networks with fixed structure, NEAT discovers significantly more sophisticated strategies. The results show NEAT can provide better accuracy result than conventional MLP and leads to improve feature selection accuracy.
Detection of herpes simplex virus mRNA in latently infected trigeminal ganglion neurons by in situ hybridization

Latent infection of the trigeminal ganglion with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) was studied in guinea pigs by in situ DNA hybridization. Frozen ganglion sections from animals killed during the period of latent virus infection were studied under nondenaturing conditions. Some sections were treated with deoxyribonuclease (DNase) or ribonuclease (RNase) before incubation with HSV DNA probes. HSV probes consisted of viral DNA nick translated and labeled in vitro with tritiated nucleotides. Bacteriophage lambda DNA, similarly prepared, was used as a control probe. The lambda probe was negative in all situations, including HSV-2-infected monolayer cells in cell culture. HSV-2 probes produced heavy label and, therefore, evidence of hybridization with HSV-2-infected monolayer cells. When HSV-2 probes were incubated with latently infected ganglion sections, hybridization was detected in 71% of guinea pigs and 46% of ganglia. Label was seen only in neurons, and in positive ganglia 0.3 to 5% of neurons were labeled. The amount of label was markedly decreased by pretreatment of ganglion sections with RNase but not DNase, indicating that the DNA probes hybridized to HSV messenger RNA in the latently infected ganglia.
Stabilization of α-helical secondary structure during high-temperature molecular-dynamics simulations of α-lactalbumin

Abstract Molecular-dynamics simulations of the partial unfolding of α-lactalbumin are described. The effects of introducing various intramolecular constraints on the unfolding are compared. In one set of simulations, intrahelical constraints designed to force the preservation of the helical secondary structure were imposed. In another set of simulations, the hydrophobic core was loosely constrained by introducing distance constraints between side chains of residues in the hydrophobic core of the protein. Our primary result, which is the subject of this communication, is the observation that the introduction of loose geometric constraints within the hydrophobic core of the protein stabilizes the α-helical secondary structure against thermal disruption at high temperature.
Disruption of right prefrontal cortex by low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation induces risk-taking behavior

Decisions require careful weighing of the risks and benefits associated with a choice. Some people need to be offered large rewards to balance even minimal risks, whereas others take great risks in the hope for an only minimal benefit. We show here that risk-taking is a modifiable behavior that depends on right hemisphere prefrontal activity. We used low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to transiently disrupt left or right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) function before applying a well known gambling paradigm that provides a measure of decision-making under risk. Individuals displayed significantly riskier decision-making after disruption of the right, but not the left, DLPFC. Our findings suggest that the right DLPFC plays a crucial role in the suppression of superficially seductive options. This confirms the asymmetric role of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making and reveals that this fundamental human capacity can be manipulated in normal subjects through cortical stimulation. The ability to modify risk-taking behavior may be translated into therapeutic interventions for disorders such as drug abuse or pathological gambling.