cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On Controlling Non-Autonomous Time-Delay Feedback Systems

Time-delay feedback oscillators of non-autonomous type are considered in the paper. These oscillators have been studied extensively for many decades in a broad set of fields such as sensor design, manufacturing, and machine dynamics. A time-delay model system having one time-delay constant and several nonlinear feedback terms in the governing differential equation is first studied. Many researches have demonstrated that a time-delay feedback even in the form of a small perturbation is able to perturb the oscillator to exhibit complex dynamical responses including bifurcation and route-to-chaos. These motions are harmful as they have a very negative impact on the stability, and thus output quality, of the system. For example, manufacturing processes that are characterized by time-delay feedback all have an operation limit on speed because the chaotic behaviors which are unpredictable and extremely unstable are difficult to control. With a viable control solution, the performance, quality, and capacity of manufacturing can be improved enormously. A novel concept capable of simultaneous control of vibration amplitude in the time-domain and spectral response in the frequency-domain has been demonstrated to be feasible for the control of dynamic instability including bifurcation and route-to-chaos in many nonlinear systems. The concept is followed to create a control configuration that is feasible for the mitigation of non-autonomous time-delay feedback oscillators. Featuring wavelet adaptive filters for simultaneous time-frequency resolution and filtered-x least mean square algorithm for online identification, the controller design is shown to successfully moderate the dynamic instability of the time-delay feedback oscillator and unconditionally warrant a limit cycle. The controller design that integrates all these features is able to mitigate dynamical deterioration in both the time and frequency domains and properly regulate the responses with the desired reference signal. Specifically the qualitative behavior of the controlled oscillator output follows a definitive fractal topology before settling into a stable manifold. The controlled response is categorically quasi-periodic and of the prescribed vibration amplitude and frequency spectrum. The control scheme is novel and requires no linearization. By applying wavelet domain analysis approach to the nonlinear control of instability, the true dynamics of the time-delay feedback system as delineated by both the time and frequency information are faithfully retained without being distorted or misinterpreted. Through employing adaptive technique, the high sensitivity of the time-delay feedback system to external disturbances is also properly addressed.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Economic Impact of Revision Surgery for Proximal Junctional Failure After Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery: A Cost Analysis of 57 Operations in a 10-year Experience at a Major Deformity Center.

STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort analysis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the economic impact of revision surgery for proximal junctional failures (PJF) after thoracolumbar fusions for adult spinal deformity (ASD). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA PJF after fusions for ASD is a major cause of disability. Although clinical sequelae are described, PJF-revision operation costs are incompletely defined. METHODS Consecutive adults who underwent thoracolumbar fusions for ASD (August, 2003 to January, 2013) were evaluated. Inclusion criteria include construct from pelvis to L2 or above and minimum 6 months follow-up after the index ASD operation. Direct costs (surgical supplies/implants, room/care, pharmacy, services) were identified from medical billing data and calculated for index ASD operations and subsequent surgeries for PJF. Not included in direct cost data were indirect costs, charges, surgeon fees, or revision operations for indications other than PJF (i.e., pseudarthrosis). Patients were compared based on the construct's upper-instrumented vertebra: upper thoracic (UT: T1-6) versus thoracolumbar junction (TLjxn: T9-L2). RESULTS Of 501 patients, 382 met inclusion criteria. Fifty-one patients [UT:14; TLjxn: 40 at index; average follow-up 32.6 months (6-92 months)] had revisions for PJF, which summed to $3.2 million total direct cost. Average direct cost of index operations for the cohort ($68,294) was significantly greater than PJF-revisions ($55,547). Compared with TLjxn, UT had a significantly higher average cost for index operations ($79,860 vs. $65,868). However, PJF-revision cases were similar in average cost (UT:$60,103; TLjxn:$53,920; P = 0.09). Costs of PJF amounted to an additional 12.1% of the total index surgical cost in 382 patients. CONCLUSION Revision operations for PJF after long thoracolumbar fusions for ASD are associated with an average direct cost of $55,547 per case. Revision costs for PJF are similar based on the index procedure's upper-instrumented vertebra level. At a major tertiary center over a 10-year period, PJF came at a very significant economic expense amounting to $3.2 million for 57 cases. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3.
Effect of Maltose on Efficiency of Anther Culture of Rice

The effect of different sugars (150 mmol/L for each) on callus induction in rice anther culture was innitially investigated by using three indica cultivars. Maltose resulted in greater microspore callus induction than sucrose and other sugars. Further experiments with 7 indiea, 2 japonica cultivars and several hybrids indicated that mean percentages of callus induction and then green plantlet regeneration were 54. 8% and 9. 70%, respectively, on maltose medium, which were significantly higher than those on sucrose medium. The strategy of raising the efficiency of indica rice anther culture and suitable calculative formula for callus induction rate are discussed.
Mapping Information Literacy and Written Communication Outcomes in an Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum: A Case Study in Librarian-Faculty Collaboration

A syllabi study was conducted by the health science librarian and nursing faculty members in a baccalaureate nursing program to map information literacy and communication learning outcomes. Nursing course syllabi and assignments were examined for particular evidence of information literacy and communication learning outcomes in relationship to three sets of standards from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Association of College & Research Libraries, and the rubrics of the Association of American Colleges & Universities. A crosswalk was created between the standards to identify areas where the librarian and nursing faculty could better collaborate to assist students in their achievement of these standards. The resulting analysis led to a change in the librarian’s practices with greater involvement with the nursing department. Information literacy skills are needed in a growing number of professions that value evidence-based practice, thus suggesting that similar curriculum mapping projects are useful for other academic disciplines. This project was supported by the Bloomsburg University Teaching and Learning Enhancement (TALE) Pedagogy-Related Research Grant.
Rule-Based Modeling of Signal Transduction: A Primer

Biological cells accomplish their physiological functions using interconnected networks of genes, proteins, and other biomolecules. Most interactions in biological signaling networks, such as bimolecular association or covalent modification, can be modeled in a physically realistic manner using elementary reaction kinetics. However, the size and combinatorial complexity of such reaction networks have hindered such a mechanistic approach, leading many to conclude that it is premature and to adopt alternative statistical or phenomenological approaches. The recent development of rule-based modeling languages, such as BioNetGen (BNG) and Kappa, enables the precise and succinct encoding of large reaction networks. Coupled with complementary advances in simulation methods, these languages circumvent the combinatorial barrier and allow mechanistic modeling on a much larger scale than previously possible. These languages are also intuitive to the biologist and accessible to the novice modeler. In this chapter, we provide a self-contained tutorial on modeling signal transduction networks using the BNG Language and related software tools. We review the basic syntax of the language and show how biochemical knowledge can be articulated using reaction rules, which can be used to capture a broad range of biochemical and biophysical phenomena in a concise and modular way. A model of ligand-activated receptor dimerization is examined, with a detailed treatment of each step of the modeling process. Sections discussing modeling theory, implicit and explicit model assumptions, and model parameterization are included, with special focus on retaining biophysical realism and avoiding common pitfalls. We also discuss the more advanced case of compartmental modeling using the compartmental extension to BioNetGen. In addition, we provide a comprehensive set of example reaction rules that cover the various aspects of signal transduction, from signaling at the membrane to gene regulation. The reader can modify these reaction rules to model their own systems of interest.
Prolactin, growth hormone and human placental lactogen

Within the last several years there has been a veritable explosion of knowledge concerning the hormones which form the topic of this presentation, most particularly in the case of prolactin. Since it is impossible to review all this material within the space permitted, this presentation will focus on what seem to be some of the most significant developments of the last few years, with major emphasis on human prolactin and on some of the studies which have been carried out in this laboratory. Additional references may be found in recent review articles on human prolactin (Frantz, 1973), human growth hormone (Glick, 1969; Merimee and Rabin, 1973) and placental lactogen (Friesen, 1973). In addition, these hormones have been the subject of several recent international conferences whose proceedings have appeared in book form (Boyns and Griffiths, 1972; Pecile and Muller, 1972; Wolstenholme and Knight, 1972; Pasteels and Robyn, 1973; Raiti, 1973).
The Nlrp3 Inflammasome Does Not Regulate Alloimmunization to Transfused Red Blood Cells in Mice

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are essential for patients with hematological disorders and bone marrow failure syndromes. Despite ABO matching, RBC transfusions can lead to production of alloantibodies against "minor" blood group antigens. Non-ABO alloimmunization is a leading cause of transfusion-associated mortality in the U.S. Despite its clinical importance, little is known about the immunological factors that promote alloimmunization. Prior studies indicate that inflammatory conditions place patients at higher risk for alloimmunization. Additionally, co-exposure to pro-inflammatory pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) promotes alloimmunization in animal models, suggesting that RBC alloimmunization depends on innate immune cell activation. However, the specific innate immune stimuli and sensors that induce a T cell-dependent alloantibody response to transfused RBCs have not been identified. The NLRP3 inflammasome senses chemically diverse PAMPs and damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), including extracellular ATP and iron-containing heme. We hypothesized that activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome by endogenous DAMPs from RBCs promotes the alloimmune response to a sterile RBC transfusion. Using genetically modified mice lacking either NLRP3 or multiple downstream inflammasome response elements, we ruled out a role for the NLRP3 inflammasome or any Caspase-1 or -11 dependent inflammasome in regulating RBC alloantibody production to a model antigen.
Update: NI Scope and Standards of Practice, Competencies, and Certification

The new 2015 ANA Nursing Informatics: Scope and Standards of Practice, Second Edition, includes a slightly revised definition of nursing informatics, totally revised scope of practice statement, and updated standards and accompanying competencies. The competencies are now leveled for informatics nurses and informatics nurse specialists. This professional resource informs practice, education, research, administration, and the certification process. The presenters will provide details about the development of the latest NI scope and standards of practice and the contemporary ANCC certification process to stimulate group discussion and promote development of a personal action plan to integrate such content into nursing and informatics practice. The target audience includes all registered nurses, informatics nurses, informatics nurse specialists, faculty, and administrators.
Replication of human noroviruses in stem cell–derived human enteroids

The major barrier to research and development of effective interventions for human noroviruses (HuNoVs) has been the lack of a robust and reproducible in vitro cultivation system. HuNoVs are the leading cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. We report the successful cultivation of multiple HuNoV strains in enterocytes in stem cell–derived, nontransformed human intestinal enteroid monolayer cultures. Bile, a critical factor of the intestinal milieu, is required for strain-dependent HuNoV replication. Lack of appropriate histoblood group antigen expression in intestinal cells restricts virus replication, and infectivity is abrogated by inactivation (e.g., irradiation, heating) and serum neutralization. This culture system recapitulates the human intestinal epithelium, permits human host-pathogen studies of previously noncultivatable pathogens, and allows the assessment of methods to prevent and treat HuNoV infections.
Cost Efficiency of Urban Transport in an Era of Widespread Corruption: the Case of New York Street Railways

Bribery to secure street railway franchises was notorious in the Gilded Age of the late nineteenth century, and New York was the epicenter of this type of fraud. This paper analyzes the cost efficiency of 64 franchises operated in 31 cities across New York state in 1890. The modeling platform is a stochastic frontier estimation of a variable cost function. Contrary to expectations, these private firms are deemed to have minimized costs, and possibly also optimally adjusted their capital stock. Although significant density economies are estimated, no scale or network economies are revealed, which is consistent with the multiplicity of firms operating even in cities of modest size. The efficiency of these firms contrasts sharply with the poor cost efficiency estimated for modern municipal bus operations.
Menkes Disease with ‘Ragged Red’ Fibers

Subsarcolemmal aggregates of mitochondria (‘ragged red’ fibers) in skeletal muscle were found at autopsy in a 30-month-old male infant with Menkes kinky-hair disease reported from the New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center, New York.
Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Viruses

Measles virus, also called rubeola, and mumps virus are both RNA viruses of the family Paramyxoviridae, subfamily Paramyxovirinae; measles is in the Morbillivirus genus, and mumps virus is in the Rubulavirus genus. Rubella virus is also an RNA virus but is a member of the Togaviridae family. These three viruses, despite differences in their families and genera, are often considered together because the epidemiology of the infections they produce in humans and the preventive measures used against them are similar for all three. Measles and rubella, both of which produce rash-associated illness, and mumps, which typically infects the parotid glands, were all included among the expected illnesses of childhood in the United States prior to the introduction of vaccination programs in the late 1960s. Measles epidemics involving 500,000 to 700,000 cases occurred every 2 years (1), approximately 180,000 cases of mumps were reported annually (2), and approximately 58,000 rubella cases that included 60 congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) cases (3) were seen annually.
Gas exchange rates for selected red maple cultivars grown in Alabama

Abstract The objective of this study was to develop a rapid screening technique to characterize selected red maple (Acer rubrum L.) cultivars based on their gas exchange capacities. Evaluations wer...
Equality and Exclusion: Religious Liberty and Political Process

Religious Americans are substantially excluded from the political process that produces laws, and this prompts sobering questions about the reality of religious equality. Put simply, political exclusion threatens religious equality.The exclusion is two-fold. It arises partly from the growth of administrative power, which leaves Americans, including religious Americans, no opportunity to vote for or against their administrative lawmakers. It also arises from section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. As a result of this section, even when law is made in Congress (or an elected state legislature), religious organizations are restricted in their freedom to petition and to campaign for or against their lawmakers. There thus is a broad exclusion of religious Americans and their organizations from the political process that shapes lawmaking, and Americans thereby have lost essential mechanisms for persuading their lawmakers to avoid burdening their religious beliefs. Religious liberty thus comes with an unexpected slant. Courts blithely assume that America offers a flat or even legal landscape — a broad and equitable surface on which all Americans can participate equally, regardless of their religion. The underlying exclusion, however, tilts the entire game, so that apparently equal laws actually slant against religion. What is assumed to be a flat and natural landscape turns out to be an artificially tilted game.The conceptual framing of religious liberty therefore needs to expanded. The central conceptual problem for the free exercise of religion is usually understood as the choice between exemption and equality — the choice between a freedom from equal laws, on account of one’s religion, and a freedom under equal laws, regardless of one’s religion. The conceptual problem, however, turns out to be more complicated. In addition to the constitutional choice between exemption and equality, one must also consider the role of exclusion.
Toward Three-Dimensional Models of Reality

Abstract A project is taking place at the IBM UK Scientific Centre which has the aim of creating three-dimensional models from two-dimensional images. These models are intended for use in a variety of graphics applications such as virtual reality environments. This paper discusses some of the issues involved and the methods being adopted. Some initial results are presented, and these show that significant progress toward a simple, easy-to-use method of creating models of real objects and scenes.
Citizenship Acquisition of Post-1965 Asian Immigrants

This article examines the citizenship acquisition of major post-1965 Asian immigrant groups including Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Asian Indians, Koreans, and Vietnamese, using the PUMS data from the 1990 U.S. Census and an INS longitudinal data set. The analysis of data reveals a very high average naturalization rate of post-1965 Asian immigrants and a bifurcated pattern in citizenship acquisition among the six Asian immigrant groups. Furthermore, the results of a pooled logistic regression model indicate that the characteristics of Asian immigrants, ethnic communities, and countries of origin largely explain the naturalization of these Asian immigrants. Separate logistic regression models for the six groups further uncover similarities and differences in determinants of naturalization across groups. The findings suggest that in terms of naturalization rates new Asian immigrants are more assimilable than most immigrant groups, including European immigrants, and that in the foreseeable future Asian Americans are likely to become a swing vote at the local and possibly state levels and perhaps in presidential elections under some special circumstances. The findings also point to commonality and diversity in determinants of citizenship acquisition among post-1965 Asian immigrants.
Voluntary Control of Heart Rate During Anxiety and Oxygen Deprivation

In Experiment I human Ss were biofeedback trained to accelerate and decelerate their heart rate (HR) to high and low frequency tones. An anxiety response of an acceleration in HR was then classically conditioned to a sequence of flashing lights paired with shock. During later testing Ss were still able to change their HR voluntarily to the tones when the flashing lights were presented. In Exp. II the bradycardia reflex, which involves a deceleration in HR, was found to vary as a function of oxygen deprivation, stimulation of the nasal passages with water, and S’s physical condition. In Exp. III a well-trained biofeedback S showed significant voluntary HR changes to the tones during bradycardia when his face was under water. Theoretical and clinical implications of biofeedback training in counteracting anxiety and psychological stress are discussed.
Sensitivity Limits for in vivo ELISA Measurements of Molecular Biomarker Concentrations.

The extremely high sensitivity that has been suggested for magnetic particle imaging has its roots in the unique signal produced by the nanoparticles at the frequencies of the harmonics of the drive field. That sensitivity should be translatable to other methods that utilize magnetic nanoparticle probes, specifically towards magnetic nanoparticle spectroscopy that is used to measure molecular biomarker concentrations for an “ in vivo ELISA” assay approach. In this paper, we translate the predicted sensitivity of magnetic particle imaging into a projected sensitivity limit for a magnetic nanoparticle spectroscopy based in vivo ELISA approach. The simplifying assumptions adopted are: 1) the limiting noise in the detection system is equivalent to the minimum detectable mass of nanoparticles; 2) the nanoparticle’s signal arising from Brownian relaxation is completely eliminated by the molecular binding event, which can be accomplished by binding the nanoparticle to something so massive that it can no longer physically rotate. Given these assumptions, the equation for the minimum concentration of molecular biomarker we should be able to detect is obtained and the in vivo sensitivity is estimated to be in the attomolar to zeptomolar range.
Intersectional and non-human self-representation in women’s autobiographical comics

Informed by life-writing, comics, feminist and disability studies, I consider autobiographical comics in which the categories of ‘female’ and ‘woman’ are directly opposed by the authors’ visual-ver...
Chapter 3 – Basics of Data and Data Distributions

This chapter introduces basic concepts and vocabulary terms related to data distributions, probability, and statistics, which will be used throughout later chapters. Summary measures are used to describe data distributions, including averages (mean, geomean, and median), variability (sum of squares (SS), variance, and standard deviation (SD)), and normalization (stating values in terms of their ranks or their z-scores). Investigators often take a sample from a larger population and use the sample distribution to estimate the mean, variance, and shape of the population. Whether or not the population resembles a bell-shaped curve, or normal distribution, if you take repeated samples, the Central Limit Theorem states that the distribution of the means of the samples will tend to approximate a normal distribution. We call the distribution of sample means the “skinny curve”—its mean is the average across sample means, and its standard deviation is the sample SD divided by the square root of the number of datapoints in each sample (this value is better known as the SEM or standard error of the mean). The construction of the skinny curve is central to hypothesis testing and power estimation. We review several common distributions used in statistics, present discrete (counting) statistics such as those that are involved in coin flips and lottery winnings, and finally, introduce the concept of conditional probabilities.
TorPolice: Towards enforcing service-defined access policies for anonymous communication in the Tor network

Tor is the most widely used anonymity network, currently serving millions of users each day. However, there is no access control in place for all these users, leaving the network vulnerable to botnet abuse and attacks. For example, criminals frequently use exit relays as stepping stones for attacks, causing service providers to serve CAPTCHAs to exit relay IP addresses or blacklisting them altogether, which leads to severe usability issues for legitimate Tor users. To address this problem, we propose TorPolice, the first privacy-preserving access control framework for Tor. TorPolice enables abuse-plagued service providers such as Yelp to enforce access rules to police and throttle malicious requests coming from Tor while still providing service to legitimate Tor users. Further, TorPolice equips Tor with global access control for relays, enhancing Tor's resilience to botnet abuse. We show that TorPolice preserves the privacy of Tor users, implement a prototype of TorPolice, and perform extensive evaluations to validate our design goals.
Universal Basic Income as a Social Rights–Based Antidote to Growing Economic Insecurity

This chapter is premised on the view that the human rights movement needs to address and respond to the fundamental changes that are taking place in economic and social structures at the national and global levels. In this setting one of the most vibrant proposals is to replace or supplement existing social protection systems with a universal basic income (UBI). The chapter reflects on how a UBI does and should relate to analogous efforts within the framework of international human rights law. It argues that UBI offers a bold and imaginative solution to pressing problems that are about to become far more intractable as a result of the directions in which the global economy appears inexorably to be heading. While there are many objections relating to affordability in particular, the concept should not be rejected out of hand on the grounds that it is utopian. In today’s world of severe economic insecurity, creativity in social policy is necessary. The chapter concludes by calling for the debates over social protection floors and a UBI to be brought together, rather than being kept largely separate in a counter-productive and ultimately self-defeating way.
A fully coupled finite element formulation for liquid–solid–gas thermo-fluid flow with melting and solidification

Abstract Many important industrial processes, such as additive manufacturing, involve rapid mass, flow and heat transport between gas, liquid and solid phases. Various associated challenges, such as the large density ratio between gas and condensed phases, make accurate, robust thermal multi-phase flow simulations of these processes very difficult. In order to address some of the associated challenges, a computational framework for thermal multi-phase flows is developed based on the finite element method (FEM). A unified model for thermal multi-phase flows similar to the models widely used in the manufacturing community is adopted. The combination of the level-set method and residual-based variational multi-scale formulation (RBVMS) is used to solve the governing equations of thermal multi-phase flows. Phase transitions between solid and liquid phases, i.e., melting and solidification, are considered. Interfacial forces, including surface tension and Marangoni stress, are taken into account and handled by a density-scaled continuum surface force model. A robust fully coupled solution strategy is adopted to handle various numerical difficulties associated with thermal multi-phase flow simulations, and implemented by means of a matrix-free technique using Flexible GMRES. The mathematical formulation and its algorithmic implementation are described in detail. Four numerical test cases are presented to demonstrate the capability of the proposed formulation. The first case is a benchmark example of solidification of aluminum in a graphite mold, the second case is a thermo-capillary droplet migration problem, the third case is a spot laser melting problem, and the fourth case is the melting of metal with an interior gas bubble. The computational results are compared with analytical, experimental and simulation data from other researchers, with good agreement in cases where such data is available.
From Experience Sampling to Experience Capturing: An Introduction to Continuous Rating Assessments

Within the last decade, organizational scholars have grown increasingly aware of the importance of capturing phenomenon at the within-person level of analysis, tracking how constructs–such as emotions, justice, motivation, and performance–vary across measurement occasions. Although within-person sampling methods provide data that better matches many psychological theories, these methods still leave significant gaps in psychological processes, failing to precisely capture how, when, and why constructs change over the course of time. To address this limitation, we suggest using continuous rating assessments to fully capture the "in vivo" experience of employees when the theoretical focus is on within-event dynamics. In this paper, we discuss best practices for implementing continuous rating methodology, review past research that has used it, consider organizational questions that could be addressed with such a methodology, and discuss analytic tools that are suitable for data produced from this technique.
The Institutional Environment: Nosocomial Infections

The last of the microenvironments is that of institutions. An institution is a self-contained property with a defined (and often very susceptible) population. Some primary examples are healthcare facilities, daycare centers, schools and colleges, prisons, military installations, resorts, and migrant labor camps. Clearly, these are very diverse settings with extremely different populations at risk.
WindowBox: a simple security model for the connected desktop

Breaches in computer security do not just exploit bugs in applications; they are often also the result of mismanaged protection mechanisms. The tools available to protect sensitive resources and networks are tedious to use, non-intuitive, and often require expert knowledge. As a result, many PC and workstation users end up administering their system security poorly, creating serious security vulnerabilities. This paper presents a new security model, WindowBox, which presents the user with a model in which the workstation is divided into multiple desktops. Each desktop is sealed off from the others, giving users a means to confine the possibly dangerous results of their actions. We have implemented our security model on Windows 2000, leveraging the existing desktop metaphor, the ability to switch between multiple desktops, and specific kernel security mechanisms.
Legal and Ethical Issues Impacting Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health

Numerous ethical and legal issues arise in the context of women’s sexual and reproductive health. An in-depth discussion of all such issues is not possible in the context of a single chapter. Consequently, this chapter focuses on a number of highly visible issues, including those arising in the context of the physician—patient relationship, the HIV epidemic, participation in research, and coerced reproductive interventions.
The Continuous Measurement of Sulfur-Containing Aerosols by Flame Photometry: A Laboratory Study

Aerosols of H2SO4, (NH4)2SO4, and Na2SO4 have been continuously measured in the laboratory with a sulfur-specific flame photometer. Separation of the aerosol sulfur from gaseous sulfur (SO2 and H2S) was achieved by a diffusion stripper upstream of the flame photometer. The stripper is a tube coated with a substance which adsorbs SO2 and H2S. These gases diffuse rapidly to the wall where they are scavenged, but particles with much lower diffusion coefficients are efficiently transmitted. The flame photometer responds to (NH4)2SO4 as [S]1.9 and to H2SO4 as [S]1.6 where [S] is the sulfur concentration. Above 2 µg(S)/m3 the response to (NH4)2SO4 exceeded the H2SO4 response. An experiment involving signal averaging of the flame photometer output produced an order of magnitude improvement in the signal to noise ratio and indicated that a limit of detection of 0.5 µg/m3 of sulfur (i.e., 1.5 µg/m3 of SO4=) or lower can be expected. When a heater was inserted upstream of the diffusion stripper, the response to H2SO4 decreased to zero between 70 and 135°C and to (NH4)2SO4 between 140 and 220°C. These phenomena result from the conversion of the aerosol sulfur to H2SO4, SO3, and SO2 gases which are scavenged at the walls of the heater and the diffusion stripper. Both the characteristic H2SO4 and (NH4)2SO4 thermal profiles were observed in a H2SO4/(NH4)2SO4 aerosol more acidic than NH4HSO4.
Advanced Cryocooler Cooling for MRI Systems

Advances in cryocooler technology during the past several years have enabled the design of new cooling methods for magnetic resonant imaging (MRI) systems. Open cycle operation of MRI systems using a Gifford-McMahon (GM) cycle cryocooler to cool two thermal shields, one at 20 K and the second at 80 K, has been the standard approach used to minimize helium usage in these systems. The concept has worked very well and enabled the development of an important medical imaging modality. However, the 12 K temperature limit of these cryocoolers has limited the design flexibility of the MRI magnet system by requiring a cylindrical design with two thermal shields and a large helium container to extend the operating time. The development of Gifford-McMahon cycle cryocoolers capable of cooling below liquid helium temperature, or providing larger cooling capacities between 4.2 and 10 K, has removed this design barrier and provided greater overall system design flexibility. The paper describes the impact that new GM cryocooler developments, based on rare earth intermetallic compounds in the second-stage regenerator, has had on MRI designs. By extending the cooling capacity of these units to below 4.2 K with rare earth materials, new MRI products have been developed that operate as closed cycle systems without the need for replenishing liquid helium to maintain the magnet at temperature for long periods of time. The paper describes the evolution of MRI systems at the General Electric Company from open cycle systems to two new developments using conduction cooling and helium recondensing to eliminate the need for refilling with helium. The paper reviews the design of a conductively cooled system developed for an open MRI magnet used for interventional therapy and a helium recondensing system that was incorporated into GE’s product line. In addition to a description of these systems, the operational reliability of cryocooled systems will also be reviewed.
Children’s Knowledge of Selected Aspects of Sound Pattern of English

This study questioned the inner knowledge that children between the ages of eight and seventeen have about the structure underlying the spoken form of certain complex derived words of their language. Complex derived words are those suffixed words involving systematic changes in the sounds of the base word in the derived word. For example, in the pair of words distort-distortion, the addition of the suffix -ion has changed the final [s] sound of the base verb distort to an [ŝ] sound in the derived noun distortion. Such changes between base and derived word are predictable; whenever -ion is suffixed onto a base verb, the final consonant of the base becomes palatalised in the derived noun. This study investigated when children learn that distort bears the same systematic relations to distortion that relate bears to relation. By testing word learning and recall behaviour and comparing this to production and intuition performance, the study shows how and when children learn that complex derived words are not unanalysable wholes but rather can be derived from their underlying morphemic constituents.
Health Disparities: A Time for Action. A Conference of the Consortium of Universities of Global Health

Conference report from Consortium of Universities of Global Health Conference in 2018 which are instructive for Christians to understand the latest thinking in global heallth issues, emphasizing refugee response, climate change, puplic communication amd gender issues.
Avoiding Human-Robot Collisions Using Haptic Communication

Fully autonomous navigation in populated environments is still a challenging problem for mobile robots. This paper explores the idea of using active human-robot communication to facilitate navigation tasks. We propose to convey a robot's intent to human users via a wearable haptic interface. The interface can display distinct haptic cues by modulating vibration amplitudes and patterns. We applied the concept to a single human/single robot orthogonal encounter scenario, where one of the two parties has to yield the right of way to avoid collision. Under certain conditions, the robot's intent (to yield to the human or not) is revealed to the human via the haptic interface prior to the interaction. We conducted an experiment with 10 users, in which the robot was teleoperated as a substitute for autonomy. Results show that, when given priority, users become more risk-accepting and use different strategies to navigate the collision scenario than when the robot takes priority or there is no haptic communication channel. In addition, we propose a social-force based model to predict human movement during navigation. The effect of communication can be explained as a shift in the user's safety buffer and expectation of the robot's future velocity.
Using Homogenous Scales to Understand Narcissism: Grandiosity, Entitlement, and Exploitativeness

There may be times when researchers want to focus on specific narcissistic traits in their own right. In this chapter, we explore the facets of grandiosity, entitlement, and exploitativeness. It is not uncommon for these facets to be associated with different outcome variables. These outcome variables include mental health as well as immoral and unethical behaviors. Two advantages of examining specific traits are a more nuanced understanding of narcissism and the ability to examine the narcissistic traits that bridge grandiose and vulnerable narcissism.
Attitudes toward fertility and fertility preservation in women with glioma

Background No studies have examined the fertility priorities of women undergoing treatment for their glioma. Glioma patients frequently undergo chemotherapy as part of their treatment; however, it is unknown whether patients truly are aware of its possible effects on their fertility. Our objective was to assess the fertility priorities of glioma patients and ascertain whether female glioma patients are being effectively counseled on the effects of chemotherapy on their fertility prior to beginning treatment. Methods The sample was composed of female patients from the Neuro-oncology clinic of the University of California, San Francisco. Participants completed a cross-sectional survey between October 2010 and December 2013 exploring their attitudes toward fertility and their experience with fertility counseling prior to chemotherapy initiation. Results Seventy-two women completed the survey. Analysis of the survey results showed that 30% of women receiving chemotherapy reported having a discussion regarding fertility preservation prior to beginning treatment. Of those who reported having this discussion, 80% were aware that chemotherapy could negatively affect their fertility. Many women reported that while fertility preservation was not important to them at the time of diagnosis, it was a priority for them at the time of survey completion. Although interest in having children tended to decrease after cancer treatment, the majority of respondents reported wanting a child after treatment. Conclusions The data obtained in this study suggest a lack of understanding of reproductive priorities, which may be addressed with a more comprehensive fertility discussion prior to beginning treatment.
Missing the people for the trees: Identifying coupled natural–human system feedbacks driving the ecology of Lyme disease

Infectious diseases are rapidly emerging and many are increasing in incidence across the globe. Processes of land‐use change, notably habitat loss and fragmentation, have been widely implicated in the emergence and spread of zoonoses such as Lyme disease, yet evidence remains equivocal. Here, we discuss and apply an innovative approach from the social sciences; instrumental variables, which seeks to tease out causality from observational data. Using this approach, we revisit the effect of forest fragmentation on Lyme disease incidence, focusing on human interaction with fragmented landscapes. Although human interaction with infected ticks is of clear and fundamental importance to human disease incidence, human activities that influence exposure have been largely overlooked in ecology literature. Using county‐level land‐use and Lyme disease incidence data for ~800 counties from the northeastern United States over the span of a decade, we illustrate (a) that human interaction with fragmented forest landscapes reliably predicts Lyme disease incidence, while ecological measures of forest fragmentation alone are unreliable predictors and (b) that identifying the effect of forest fragmentation on human disease entails addressing the feedback between Lyme disease risk and human decisions to avoid interaction with high‐risk landscapes. Synthesis and applications. Our innovative approach and novel results help to clarify the equivocal literature on the effects of forest fragmentation on Lyme disease and illustrate the key role that human behaviour may be playing in the ecology of Lyme disease in North America. Accounting for human activity and behaviour in the ecology of disease more broadly may result in improved understanding of both the ecological drivers of disease, as well as actionable intervention strategies to reduce disease burden in a changing world. For example, our model results indicate that forest fragmentation by human settlement increases Lyme disease incidence, which has practical implications for land‐use policy aimed at disease reduction. Specifically, our model suggests land‐use regulations that reduce parcel size would be an actionable approach to reduce Lyme disease transmission for policymakers concerned about increasing Lyme disease incidence in the northeastern United States.
Dialects haven't got to be the same: Modal microvariation in English

This paper concerns itself with dialectal differences between British Eng-lish (BrE) and American English (AmE) regarding modal have-got and its scope with respect to sentential negation. Modal haven’t got is perfectly acceptable in BrE, meaning ‘not obligated to’ in the standard variety. In AmE, modal have-got is somewhat degraded when the have has unambiguously raised, and especially so when it is negated, as shown in a preliminary acceptability judgement survey of American English speakers. An analysis in terms of polarity sensitivity is inadequate, and Iatridou & Zeijlstra’s (2013) syntax for modals is overly restrictive in the face of scopally ambiguous have not (got) to in non-standard varieties of BrE. We propose an analysis in terms of the locus of modality: whereas have and got are separate in BrE, in AmE have-got is a scopally indivisible whole. Finally, we evaluate how well this analysis extends to an additional dialectal difference in verb phrase ellipsis (LeSourd 1976), where the have of have-got survives ellipsis in BrE but not AmE.
45. Zugspitzplatt, Wetterstein Mountains (Germany)

The Zugspitzplatt, part of the Wetterstein Mountains, is located in the Bavarian Alps, south of the Zugspitze (2962 m above sea level), and has a surface of approximately 8 km2. Formed by Triassic ...
Understanding U.S. travellers’ motives to choose Airbnb: a comparison of business and leisure travellers

Airbnb has become popular. Although empirical research on the motives to use Airbnb has been conducted, the findings have been limited and mixed. Further, identifying motives for two major segments...
Hinduism and reproductive decision-making: Karma, Samsara, and the in-between

Investigations of the role of religious philosophy in reproductive decision-making has exclusively focused on Abrahamic traditions. However, those who practice Eastern religions, such as Hinduism, represent an increasing proportion of the population in the United States and may present for prenatal care. Here, we consider tenets of Hindu philosophy as they may pertain to decision-making surrounding women's pregnancy termination. Such tenets include the cycle of rebirth (samsara), karma, dharma, Hindu writing, and the multivalent nature of Hindu philosophy. Through this brief communication we hope to present a starting point for further exploration which will increase cultural competency of genetic counselors while enhancing awareness of variations of religious beliefs patients may hold.
Large H2O solubility in dense silica and its implications for the interiors of water-rich planets

Sub-Neptunes are common among the discovered exoplanets. However, lack of knowledge on the state of matter in [Formula: see text]O-rich setting at high pressures and temperatures ([Formula: see text]) places important limitations on our understanding of this planet type. We have conducted experiments for reactions between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]O as archetypal materials for rock and ice, respectively, at high [Formula: see text] We found anomalously expanded volumes of dense silica (up to 4%) recovered from hydrothermal synthesis above ∼24 GPa where the [Formula: see text]-type (Ct) structure appears at lower pressures than in the anhydrous system. Infrared spectroscopy identified strong OH modes from the dense silica samples. Both previous experiments and our density functional theory calculations support up to 0.48 hydrogen atoms per formula unit of ([Formula: see text])[Formula: see text] At pressures above 60 GPa, [Formula: see text]O further changes the structural behavior of silica, stabilizing a niccolite-type structure, which is unquenchable. From unit-cell volume and phase equilibrium considerations, we infer that the niccolite-type phase may contain H with an amount at least comparable with or higher than that of the Ct phase. Our results suggest that the phases containing both hydrogen and lithophile elements could be the dominant materials in the interiors of water-rich planets. Even for fully layered cases, the large mutual solubility could make the boundary between rock and ice layers fuzzy. Therefore, the physical properties of the new phases that we report here would be important for understanding dynamics, geochemical cycle, and dynamo generation in water-rich planets.