cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The sensitivity of the time-temperature shift process to thermal variations—A note

Because of the highly nonlinear relation between time-shift and temperature it is generally not admissible to assume that the appropriate temperature for the shifting process equals the average temperature during the measurement interval. It is shown here that temperature variations around a mean can produce shifts that can be significantly larger than the mean temperature would indicate. Alternatively this paper can aid in providing numerical estimates that indicate for what range of thermal variations acceptable engineering data may be acquired. As a guide one finds that a one degree centigrade variation (±0.5°C) around a mean value limits the shift factor error to less than 4%, which translates into a misrepresentation of two weeks out of a year.
All-Magnetic, Nonvolatile, Addressable Chainlink Memory

MRAM has come into the spotlight as a potential candidate for universal memory. In this paper, we introduce chainlink, a concept for all-magnetic, nonvolatile memory. Two conductive paths form a chain through which data shifts. Each path is composed of short magnetic nanowires, or links, that store magnetization representing data bits. Data is moved along a link by spin-transfer torque and propagates to an adjacent, electrically-insulated link in the opposite path via magnetic coupling. Distinct phases of current pulses are applied to the paths to ensure the operation is fully digital and collision of data tokens is avoided. Multiple shift registers can be addressed with all magnetic elements; no transistors are required to access each bitcell. Micromagnetic and SPICE simulation of bit propagation and architecture elements demonstrate successful operation with 30 MA/cm2, 2 ns current pulses.
Pixel bar charts: a visualization technique for very large multi-attribute data sets

Simple presentation graphics are intuitive and easy-to-use, but show only highly aggregated data presenting only a very small number of data values (as in the case of bar charts) and may have a high degree of overlap occluding a significant portion of the data values (as in the case of the x-y plots). In this article, the authors therefore propose a generalization of traditional bar charts and x-y plots, which allows the visualization of large amounts of data. The basic idea is to use the pixels within the bars to present detailed information of the data records. The so-called pixel bar charts retain the intuitiveness of traditional bar charts while allowing very large data sets to be visualized in an effective way. It is shown that, for an effective pixel placement, a complex optimization problem has to be solved. The authors then present an algorithm which efficiently solves the problem. The application to a number of real-world e-commerce data sets shows the wide applicability and usefulness of this new idea, and a comparison to other well-known visualization techniques (parallel coordinates and spiral techniques) shows a number of clear advantages.
Overhead-performance tradeoff for relay selection in cooperative networks

In this paper, we use rate distortion theory to investigate the overhead-performance tradeoff for relay selection in cooperative communications. Existing research is usually highly dependent on the specific implementation approaches. Our analysis, instead, studies the general and fundamental question: how much extra information is required for relay selection? The theoretical analysis for the rate-distortion function and its asymptotic properties are discussed. Simulation results, which verify our analysis, are also provided.
Ligand-directed delivery of fluorophores to track native calcium-permeable AMPA receptors in neuronal cultures

Subcellular trafficking of neuronal receptors is known to play a key role in synaptic development, homeostasis, and plasticity. We have developed a ligand-targeted and photo-cleavable probe for delivering a synthetic fluorophore to AMPA receptors natively expressed in neurons. After a receptor is bound to the ligand portion of the probe molecule, a proteinaceous nucleophile reacts with an electrophile on the probe, covalently bonding the two species. The ligand may then be removed by photolysis, returning the receptor to its non-liganded state while leaving intact the new covalent bond between the receptor and the fluorophore. This strategy was used to label polyamine-sensitive receptors, including calcium-permeable AMPA receptors, in live hippocampal neurons from rats. Here, we describe experiments where we examined specificity, competition, and concentration on labeling efficacy as well as quantified receptor trafficking. Pharmacological competition during the labeling step with either a competitive or non-competitive glutamate receptor antagonist prevented the majority of labeling observed without a blocker. In other experiments, labeled receptors were observed to alter their locations and we were able to track and quantify their movements. We used a small molecule, ligand-directed probe to deliver synthetic fluorophores to endogenously expressed glutamate receptors for the purpose of tracking these receptors on live, hippocampal neurons. We found that clusters of receptors appear to move at similar rates to previous studies. We also found that the polyamine toxin pharmacophore likely binds to receptors in addition to calcium-permeable AMPA receptors.
Diagnosis and diagnostic errors: time for a new paradigm

It looks like diagnosis triggers may be gaining traction. Building on their earlier efforts,1 ,2 a team of investigators based in Houston reports on their latest effort to apply electronic screens—so called ‘triggers’—to large clinical databases, to identify cases of potential diagnostic errors.3 They searched nearly 300 000 patients’ records over a 12-month period at two large health systems with comprehensive electronic health records. They sought patients who had one of four ‘red flag’ findings for prostate or colon cancer—elevated prostate specific antigen (PSA), positive fecal occult blood test (FOBT), rectal bleeding (haematochezia), and iron deficiency anaemia. They then used a refined electronic algorithm to cull out patients who (1) were already known to have prostate or colorectal cancer, or (2) had evidence of appropriate follow-up testing or referral. This process left roughly 1500 patients with one of the four red flags potentially unaddressed. Thus, searching an enormous haystack of 300 000 patients, they found roughly 1500 possible ‘needles’–patients who may have had their diagnosis of colon or prostate cancer delayed or overlooked entirely. Their next step was manual chart review. They had hoped that the yield of their electronic screen for diagnostic failures (‘positive predictive value’) might approach 35%, meaning that at least one out of every three ‘screen positive’ charts would have evidence for care improvement opportunities. Instead they were pleasantly surprised that fully …
Passover and Last Supper Revisited

Although Jesus' Last Supper probably took place on the night before Passover (as in John) rather than on the first night of Passover itself (as in the Synoptics), it contained elements strongly marked by the Jewish institution of the Passover seder (fixed order of service) and haggadah (ritual retelling of the exodus events). These elements were not, as some scholars of Judaism have recently argued, post-70 CE developments. Rather, evidence from Jubilees, Philo, and the NT itself indicates that seder and haggadah already existed in some form in the pre-70 period.
Bronchogenic carcinoma in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Fourteen cases of bronchogenic carcinoma were found in 191 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia seen at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, NY, from 1951 to 1976. Four of these were not diagnosed until the time of autopsy. There was an average lag of nine months between the onset of symptoms and signs suggestive of bronchogenic carcinoma and its diagnosis. In patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a high index of suspicion for bronchogenic carcinoma is necessary for its early detection.
Imaging individual microRNAs in single mammalian cells in situ

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are potent negative regulators of gene expression that have been implicated in most major cellular processes. Despite rapid advances in our understanding of miRNA biogenesis and mechanism, many fundamental questions still remain regarding miRNA function and their influence on cell cycle control. Considering recent reports on the impact of cell-to-cell fluctuations in gene expression on phenotypic diversity, it is likely that looking at the average miRNA expression of cell populations could result in the loss of important information connecting miRNA expression and cell function. Currently, however, there are no efficient techniques to quantify miRNA expression at the single-cell level. Here, a method is described for the detection of individual miRNA molecules in cancer cells using fluorescence in situ hybridization. The method combines the unique recognition properties of locked nucleic acid probes with enzyme-labeled fluorescence. Using this approach, individual miRNAs are identified as bright, photostable fluorescent spots. In this study, miR-15a was quantified in MDA-MB-231 and HeLa cells, while miR-155 was quantified in MCF-7 cells. The dynamic range was found to span over three orders of magnitude and the average miRNA copy number per cell was within 17.5% of measurements acquired by quantitative RT-PCR.
Pre-Sliding Tangential Deflections Can Govern the Friction of MEMS Devices

We have measured pre-sliding tangential deflections (PSTD) between micromachined surfaces of up to 200 nanometers in length before the static friction event using a polysilicon nanotractor actuator [1,2]. The detailed PSTD structure is resolved by a one-nanometer-resolution in-plane optical metrology we have developed, and may be a manifestation of discrete asperity-asperity interactions leading to an effective spatial distribution of friction coefficients. Results indicate a dependence on surface treatment, with a perfluorinated eight-carbon chain monolayer coating showing substantially different PSTD than an eighteen-carbon chain hydrocrabon monolayer. This behavior may qualitatively be related to variations in dynamic versus static friction. We present a simple phenomenological model that captures some of the behavior of PSTD, and suggest some possible microscopic interpretations.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Topological defects of Néel order and Kondo singlet formation for the Kondo-Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice

Heavy-fermion systems represent a prototypical setting to study magnetic quantum phase transitions. A particular focus has been on the physics of Kondo destruction, which captures quantum criticality beyond the Landau framework of order-parameter fluctuations. In this context, we study the spin one-half Kondo-Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice at half filling. The problem is approached from the Kondo-destroyed, antiferromagnetically ordered insulating phase. We describe the local moments in terms of a coarse grained quantum nonlinear sigma model, and show that the skyrmion defects of the antiferromagnetic order parameter host a number of competing order parameters. In addition to the spin Peierls, charge and current density wave order parameters, we identify for the first time Kondo singlets as the competing orders of the antiferromagnetism. We show that the antiferromagnetism and various competing singlet orders can be related to each other via generalized chiral transformations of the underlying fermions. We also show that the conduction electrons acquire a Berry phase through their coupling to the hedgehog configurations of the N\'eel order, which cancels the Berry phase of the local moments. Our results demonstrate the competition between the Kondo singlet formation and spin-Peierls order when the antiferromagnetic order is suppressed, thereby shedding new light on the global phase diagram of heavy-fermion systems at zero temperature.
Lesions of the caudal area of rabbit medial prefrontal cortex impair trace eyeblink conditioning

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the primate is an area known to be important for memory. Since the discovery of a homologous area in subprimate mammals, the caudal medial prefrontal cortex, rabbits have become useful in the investigation of working memory. The subprimate prefrontal cortex is intimately interconnected with the hippocampus, which is also recognized for its role in learning and memory. In addition, the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex have been shown to be similarly involved in a variety of tasks. Therefore, we hypothesized that the caudal medial prefrontal cortex of the rabbit would be necessary for acquisition of the hippocampally dependent trace eyeblink conditioning task. A total of 16 young rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) received bilateral aspiration lesions of the prefrontal cortex. Six of the lesioned subjects were unable to acquire the trace eyeblink conditioning task, but were unimpaired when tested subsequently in the hippocampally independent delay conditioning task. The lesions of these 6 subjects either were limited to or extended into the caudal medial prefrontal cortex. In the remaining 10 subjects, which were not impaired in trace conditioning, the lesions were limited to the rostral pole. Our results support our original hypothesis and provide further evidence of the involvement of the subprimate caudal medial prefrontal cortex in learning.
Generalized VSIE formulation for arbitrary high contrast objects

High contrast materials can be found in many useful metamaterial applications. However, traditional VIE methods for high contrast inhomogeneous materials require extremely high field resolution where the sampling rate is inversely proportional to the material parameters. To overcome the sampling rate growth, this paper proposes a factorization technique allowing high contrast inhomogeneous materials to he represented by an equivalent uniform medium and a perturbation representing its inhomogeneity. The resulting VSIE alleviates, to a large degree, the necessity for higher discretizations within these material regions allowing for simulation of recently proposed complex media.
Analyses of the hidden units of the multi-layer perceptron and its application in acoustic-to-articulatory mapping

An artificial neural network (ANN) is applied to perform the task of acoustic-to-articulatory inversion. The objective is to model the highly nonlinear mapping from linear predictive coding (LPC) code to corresponding articulatory parameters with a multilayer perceptron ANN structure. Such information will facilitate the study of the relationships between the acoustic signal and the physical vocal tract which produces it. Several novel approaches for devising the ANN structure have been evaluated. Specifically, the performance of two learning algorithms, a backpropagation (BP) algorithm, and a random optimization (RM) algorithms, are compared. To reduce excessive, redundant hidden units in the multilayer perceptron model, a singular value decomposition is applied to either the weight matrix or the output covariance matrix of the hidden units to check their corresponding ranks. In both cases, their ranks are closely related to the number of essential decision regions in the input data. >
Simulating carbon dioxide exchange rates of deciduous tree species: evidence for a general pattern in biochemical changes and water stress response

†Background and Aims Deciduous trees have a seasonal carbon dioxide exchange pattern that is attributed to changes in leaf biochemical properties. However, it is not known if the pattern in leaf biochemical properties – maximum Rubisco carboxylation (Vcmax) and electron transport (Jmax) – differ between species. This study explored whether a general pattern of changes in Vcmax, Jmax, and a standardized soil moisture response accounted for carbon dioxide exchange of deciduous trees throughout the growing season. †Methods The model MAESTRA was used to examine Vcmax and Jmax of leaves of five deciduous trees, Acer rubrum ‘Summer Red’, Betula nigra, Quercus nuttallii, Quercus phellos and Paulownia elongata, and their response to soil moisture. MAESTRA was parameterized using data from in situ measurements on organs. Linking the changes in biochemical properties of leaves to the whole tree, MAESTRA integrated the general pattern in Vcmax and Jmax from gas exchange parameters of leaves with a standardized soil moisture response to describe carbon dioxide exchange throughout the growing season. The model estimates were tested against measurements made on the five species under both irrigated and water-stressed conditions. †Key Results Measurements and modelling demonstrate that the seasonal pattern of biochemical activity in leaves and soil moisture response can be parameterized with straightforward general relationships. Over the course of the season, differences in carbon exchange between measured and modelled values were within 6– 12 % under well-watered conditions and 2 –25 % under water stress conditions. Hence, a generalized seasonal pattern in the leaf-level physiological change of Vcmax and Jmax, and a standardized response to soil moisture was sufficient to parameterize carbon dioxide exchange for large-scale evaluations. †Conclusions Simplification in parameterization of the seasonal pattern of leaf biochemical activity and soil moisture response of deciduous forest species is demonstrated. This allows reliable modelling of carbon exchange for deciduous trees, thus circumventing the need for extensive gas exchange experiments on different species.
Commentary on Typology of Religious Characteristics of Social Service and Educational Organizations and Programs

In this commentary about Sider and Unruh’s typology, four questions are raised: (a) When religion is visibly expressed, is it the expression of religion? (b) When organizations move within the continuum, do they move in multiple and even counterintuitive directions? (c) How do beneficiaries benefit? (d) How does the “faith factor” figure into macro programs? It is concluded that it is in both what the typology is designed to do and not designed to do that informs future research.
Culture if spikes? Indications and yield of blood cultures in hospitalized medical patients

BACKGROUND Although optimal utilization of blood cultures has been studied in populations, including emergency room and intensive care patients, less is known about the use of blood cultures in populations consisting exclusively of patients on a medical service. OBJECTIVE To identify the physician-selected indication and yield of blood cultures ordered after hospitalization to an acute medical service and to identify populations in which blood cultures may not be necessary. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS A prospective cohort study was performed at a single Veterans Affairs Medical Center from October 1, 2014 through April 15, 2015. Participants included all hospitalized patients on a medical service for whom a blood culture was ordered. MEASUREMENTS The main outcomes were the rate of true positive blood cultures and the predictors of true positive cultures. RESULTS The true positive rate was 3.6% per order. The most common physician-selected indications were fever and leukocytosis, neither of which alone was highly predictive of true positive blood cultures. The only indication significantly associated with a true positive blood culture was “follow-up previous positive” (likelihood ratio [LR]+ 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.8-6.5). The only clinical predictors were a working diagnosis of bacteremia/endocarditis (LR+ 3.7, 95% CI: 2.5-5.7) and absence of antibiotic exposure within 72 hours of the culture (LR+ 2.4, 95% CI: 1.2-4.9). CONCLUSIONS The rate of true positive blood cultures among patients on a medical service was lower than previously studied. Using objective and easily obtainable clinical characteristics, including antibiotic exposure and working diagnosis, may improve the likelihood of true positive blood cultures. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2016;11:336–340. © 2016 Society of Hospital Medicine
Interplay Between the Effects of Dilated Cardiomyopathy Mutation (R206L) and the Protein Kinase C Phosphomimic (T204E) of Rat Cardiac Troponin T Are Differently Modulated by α‐ and β‐Myosin Heavy Chain Isoforms

Background We hypothesized that the functional effects of R206L—a rat analog of the dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) mutation R205L in human cardiac troponin T (TnT)—were differently modulated by myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms and T204E, a protein kinase C (PKC) phosphomimic of TnT. Our hypothesis was based on two observations: (1) α‐ and β‐MHC differentially influence the functional effects of TnT; and (2) PKC isoforms capable of phosphorylating TnT are upregulated in failing human hearts. Methods and Results We generated 4 recombinant TnT variants: wild type; R206L; T204E; and R206L+T204E. Functional effects of the TnT variants were tested in cardiac muscle fibers (minimum 14 per group) from normal (α‐MHC) and propylthiouracil‐treated rats (β‐MHC) using steady‐state and dynamic contractile measurements. Notably, in α‐MHC fibers, Ca2+‐activated maximal tension was attenuated by R206L (≈32%), T204E (≈63%), and R206L+T204E (≈64%). In β‐MHC fibers, maximal tension was unaffected by R206L, but was attenuated by T204E (≈33%) and R206L+T204E (≈40%). Thus, β‐MHC differentially counteracted the attenuating effects of the TnT variants on tension. However, in β‐MHC fibers, R206L+T204E attenuated tension to a greater extent when compared to T204E alone. In β‐MHC fibers, R206L+T204E attenuated the magnitude of the length‐mediated recruitment of new cross‐bridges (≈28%), suggesting that the Frank‐Starling mechanism was impaired. Conclusions Our findings are the first (to our knowledge) to demonstrate that the functional effects of a DCM‐linked TnT mutation are not only modulated by MHC isoforms, but also by the pathology‐associated post‐translational modifications of TnT.
Influence of a Pancreas Extract and Other Proteins on Liver Fat and Ketosis

SummaryAlthough they do not offer direct proof our experiments support the view that the reduction in liver fat caused by the pancreas extract which Dragstedt has described as lipocaic is due to the sum of the lipotropic effects of the choline and protein which it contains. The influence of the pancreas extract upon the fat content of the livers of rats on a low protein and low choline but high fat diet is greater than that of a similar amount of protein in other forms. The ketosis which results when rats with such fatty livers are fasting is reduced about equally by the pancreas extract and an equivalent amount of casein. Althought both the choline and the protein contained in the pancreas extract affect the fat content of the liver, choline is without antiketogenic activity under the conditions studied here.
CRT-200.82 A Contemporary Study of ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) in Patients Hospitalized for Non-cardiac Conditions

Timely use of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the standard of care for patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Most patients with STEMI present via emergency medical services (EMS) or self transport to the emergency department (ED) and relatively little
Experiments on pad and chimney foundation in reinforced aeolian sand under uplift combined with horizontal loads

In geogrid reinforced aeolian sand,geonet reinforced aeolian sand and aeolian sand,full-scale in-site experiments on the bearing capacity behaviors of three groups of pad and chimney foundations,which have the characteristics of different embedment depths,widths of the bottom and heights above the ground level,and are subjected to uplift combined with horizontal loads,are carried out respectively.During the process of testing,the load-displacement behaviors,the soil reaction pressure and the rupture surface distribution are all observed.Then,based on these data,the failure mechanism is presented.It is indicated that the progressive failure mechanism can be described as compression and compaction of sand—occurrence and further development of plastic zone in sand—formation of rupture surface and entire shearing damage of subgrade.Moreover,the rupture surfaces develop asymmetrically because of the effect of horizontal loads,which is quite different from the behavior of foundation subjected to uplift load only.The reinforced materials and layer arrangement are two decisive factors for the pad and chimney foundations subjected to uplift combined with horizontal loads in reinforced aeolian sand.The geogrid increases the bearing capacity and restricts the distortion of aeolian sand mass.However,the geonet reduces the bearing capacity of the aeolian sand to some extent because it changes its form easily.The methods of increasing the embedment depth and the width of the bottom,and reducing the height above ground can be used to enhance the bearing capacity of the foundations both in reinforced aeolian sand and in aeolian sand.
Analysis of Residues of Bentazon in Mixed-planting Seed Production Plots of New Hybrid Rice Combination Hunzhi 1

The residues of Bentazon and its digestion in the mixed-planting field of hybrid seed production for the new hybrid rice combination Hunzhi 1 were studied by the method of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) established for Bentazon,6-OH-Bentazon and 8-OH-Bentazon.The results showed that the residual contents of Bentazon in rice grains and plants of the female parent (male sterile line) of Hunzhi 1 and the residual content in soil were all lower than the minimal detectable concentration in the range of the determination.However,the residual contents of Bentazon in rice grains and plants of the male parent (restorer line) of Hunzhi 1 were relatively high (10.36~11.71 mg/kg for grains and 3.07~3.53 mg/kg for plants),which would have some threat to the ecological environment.The Bentazon was easily and quickly degraded in soil with a half-life of 4.43~7.29 days.
Augmenting Manual Dictionaries for Statistical Machine Translation Systems

We show that the usefulness of manually created dictionaries can be enhanced for a statistical machine translation system when new translations are automatically added which are simple morphological transformations (plural forms, different verb inflections) of the original. Further improvement is possible when assigning probabilities to the lexicon entries. We describe a method to do this on the basis of an automatically trained statistical lexicon. Experimental results are given for Chinese to English translation tasks and show a significant improvement in translation quality.
Bellesiles’ Arming America Redux: Does the Gunning of America Rewrite American History to Suit Modern Sensibilities?

Fifteen years ago, Michael Bellesiles’ Arming America was the darling of antigun intellectuals because it created an entirely new perception of the American relationship to guns. It implicitly argued for a much narrower reading of the Second Amendment, one compliant with an America (then) that hated guns and did not own them and an ivory tower today that hates guns and the Americans who bought at least 23 million guns in 2015. Questions were soon raised about the accuracy of the statistics in Bellesiles’ articles and book, and then his honesty about where he researched documents, his widespread alteration of quotes, and his citations to documents that directly refuted his claims. He rapidly went from tenured professor of history at Emory University to bartender, picking up some unprecedented punishments along the way for fraud. A new book, Pamela Haag’s The Gunning of America: Business and the Making of American Gun Culture (Basic Books, 2015) makes (by the author’s own admission) many of the same arguments and demonstrates the dangers of unexamined assumptions. Judges and their clerks need to be aware that while the future is known; the past changes at the whim of careless historians.
Opening Therapy to Conversations with a Personal God

Systemic therapists are particularly aware that a person's sense of self is co-created in a social network of relationships and conversations with others. But often clients feel that their private and meaningful conversations with a personal God are unwelcome in the therapy conversation. If we consider this unspoken censoring as a form of professional oppression, though usually inadvertent, then we may see not only how we participate in oppressing but how we can participate in freeing our conversations. It is therapists' certainty that oppresses and constrains opportunities to hear the story as the client experiences it. I offer four certainties I have recognized in my own work and how, with the help of clients and research participants, these certainties have changed to wonder and creativity.
The deaths of settler colonialism: extinction as a metaphor of decolonization in contemporary settler literature

ABSTRACTAnalyses of settler-colonial narrative have focused on how settlers imagine the past, identifying a problem of origins that makes history an object of anxiety. The meaning settlers attribute to the future has been, less thoroughly examined. This article addresses that gap by analysing literary texts from South Africa, Australia, and Canada that posit an ‘end’ to settler colonialism, imagining futures beyond the settler-colonial present. It argues that a key metaphor of the settler future is extinction. This concept allows the death of the settler subject to be constructed as comparable, to the elimination of indigenous peoples, superseded societies, maladapted species, or even – through the invocation of climate change – to the end of humanity itself. The article analyses the implications of settler extinction, arguing that the works in question rely on a slippage between the settler subject and ‘the human’ that replicates features of settler-colonial and patriarchal ideology. The article suggests...
Prediction of Bond Dissociation Energies/Heats of Formation for Diatomic Transition Metal Compounds: CCSD(T) Works.

It was recently reported (J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2015, 11, 2036−2052) that the coupled cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples method, CCSD(T), should not be used as a benchmark tool for the prediction of dissociation energies (heats of formation) for the first row transition metal diatomics based on a comparison with the experimental thermodynamic values for a set of 20 diatomics. In the present work the bond dissociation energies as well as the heats of formation for those diatomics have been calculated by the Feller–Peterson–Dixon approach at the CCSD(T)/complete basis set (CBS) level of theory including scalar relativistic corrections and correlation of the outer shell of core electrons in addition to the valence electrons. Revised experimental values for the hydrides are presented that are based on new heterolytic R–H bond dissociation energies, which are needed for analysis of the mass spectrometry experiments. The agreement between the calculated bond dissociation energies and the re...
A framework for visual fog computing

Visual data are rich, which have opened vast analytics opportunities and been widely used in many applications. However, the demanding requirements of computational resources and bandwidth have prevented the data from being useful in an economically efficient manner. A visual fog paradigm is needed for efficient processing of continuous video streams by collaboratively using things in the Internet of Video Things (IoVT), comprising edge devices, intermediate gateways, and servers on premise or in the cloud, as the computing platform. The challenges lying ahead include (1) Reusability-a reusable framework across multiple vertical applications, (2) Efficiency-the intelligence for online distributing and redistributing work-load for optimal system performance, and (3) Configurability-the user interface for (layperson) users to easily analyze the visual data as well as the corresponding metadata. This paper spells out the need of a framework for visual fog computing and suggest promising research directions towards instantiations of a visual fog computing framework.
The proliferation of peripheries: Militarized drones and the reconfiguration of global space:

By situating drones in a lineage of colonial technologies of pacification, the critical literature on militarized drones suggests a revised concept of peripheries and global space. This paper engag...
In Situ Investigation on the Nanoscale Capture and Evolution of Aerosols on Nanofibers

Aerosol-induced haze problem has become a serious environmental concern. Filtration is widely applied to remove aerosols from gas streams. Despite classical filtration theories, the nanoscale capture and evolution of aerosols is not yet clearly understood. Here we report an in situ investigation on the nanoscale capture and evolution of aerosols on polyimide nanofibers. We discovered different capture and evolution behaviors among three types of aerosols: wetting liquid droplets, nonwetting liquid droplets, and solid particles. The wetting droplets had small contact angles and could move, coalesce, and form axisymmetric conformations on polyimide nanofibers. In contrast, the nonwetting droplets had a large contact angle on polyimide nanofibers and formed nonaxisymmetric conformations. Different from the liquid droplets, the solid particles could not move along the nanofibers and formed dendritic structures. This study provides an important insight for obtaining a deep understanding of the nanoscale capture and evolution of aerosols and benefits future design and development of advanced filters.
Infectious disease risks in xenotransplantation

Hurdles exist to clinical xenotransplantation including potential infectious transmission from nonhuman species to xenograft recipients. In anticipation of clinical trials of xenotransplantation, the associated infectious risks have been investigated. Swine and immunocompromised humans share some potential pathogens. Swine herpesviruses including porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) and porcine lymphotropic herpesvirus (PLHV) are largely species-specific and do not, generally, infect human cells. Human cellular receptors exist for porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV), which infects certain human-derived cell lines in vitro. PERV-inactivated pigs have been produced recently. Human infection due to PERV has not been described. A screening paradigm can be applied to exclude potential human pathogens from "designated pathogen free" breeding colonies. Various microbiological assays have been developed for screening and diagnosis including antibody-based tests and qualitative and quantitative molecular assays for viruses. Additional assays may be required to diagnose pig-specific organisms in human xenograft recipients. Significant progress has been made in the evaluation of the potential infectious risks of clinical xenotransplantation. Infectious risk would be amplified by intensive immunosuppression. The available data suggest that risks of xenotransplant-associated recipient infection are manageable and that clinical trials can be performed safely. Possible infectious risks of xenotransplantation to the community at large are undefined but merit consideration.
Circuit Biasing Using Fixator-Norator Pairs—A Tutorial

A procedure based on local biasing is presented in this chapter. This procedure initiates from port nullification and extends to nonlinear device nullification. It is shown that when a device internally powered but is nullified through its ports it is locally biased. A device can be locally biasing with full supplies, or with reduced number of supplies, and the differences are discussed. The main advantage of local biasing of a device is separating it from the rest of the circuit and bias it individually based on its requirements. Disadvantages of local biasing, however, is its practicality, requiring numerous supply sources and in disarrays. The solution presented here is biasing through the use of fixator-norator pairs (FNPs). By using FNP we are able to fix each transistor to its designated operating point, just like local biasing, while the power supplies remain in their normal location in the circuit (global biasing). Properties on fixators and norators are discussed and component modeling using FNPs are introduced. These models are of two types, linear and nonlinear. The effort in this chapter has been on making it a tutorial on the subject, and this has been done through several examples. The examples start from simple circuits and move into more elaborate integrated circuits.
The Unbearable Torment of Translation: Milan Kundera, Impersonation, and The Joke

Milan Kundera, a Czech emigre writer, living in Paris and now writing in French, is (in)famous for his tight and obsessive authorial control. He has said many times that he did not trust translators to translate his works accurately and faithfully. The various translations of his novel Žert (The Joke) exemplify this point. The novel has been translated into English, French, and many other languages more than once, depending on Kundera’s dissatisfaction with a particular translation (which, at first, he would support). Thus, there followed a cascade of translations (namely in French and English) as Kundera would eventually become dissatisfied even with the latest “definitive” translated version. As he famously says in an interview regarding the 1968 French translation of Žert, “rage seized me”. From then on, Kundera showed displeasure at any translator who, however briefly, would impersonate the author and take some license in translating Kundera’s work. Further, Kundera decided that only his full authorial involvement in the process would ascertain “the same authenticity” of his translations as the original Czech works. Kundera thus becomes the omnipresent, omnipotent author, himself impersonating God controlling his own creation. Finally, Kundera takes extreme measures and translates Žert into French himself. The resulting translation surprised many – editing changes are plentiful but apparent only to those who can compare the original Czech text with Kundera’s own translation. Kundera’s stance is conflicting, as he denies creativity to other translators but as the auto-translator, Kundera freely rewrites, rather than just retranslates, his own works. By exploring the convoluted and complex history of translations of Kundera’s works, I will try to illuminate the reasons behind Kundera’s posture. I will support my discussion by analyzing not only well known Kundera’s statements, but also those less quoted which, as I have discovered, are rather crucial to understanding Kundera’s position.
Source strength functions from long-term monitoring data and spatially distributed mass discharge measurements.

Abstract Source strength functions (SSF), defined as contaminant mass discharge or flux-averaged concentration from dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zones as a function of time, provide a quantitative model of DNAPL source-zone behavior. Such information is useful for calibration of screening-level models to assist with site management decisions. We investigate the use of historic data collected during long-term monitoring (LTM) activities at a site in Rhode Island to predict the SSF based on temporal mass discharge measurements at a fixed location, as well as SSF estimation using mass discharge measurements at a fixed time from three spatially distributed control planes. Mass discharge based on LTM data decreased from ~300 g/day in 1996 to ~70 g/day in 2012 at a control plane downgradient of the suspected DNAPL source zone, and indicates an overall decline of ~80% in 16 years. These measurements were compared to current mass discharge measurements across three spatially distributed control planes. Results indicate that mass discharge increased in the downgradient direction, and was ~6 g/day, ~37 g/day, and ~400 g/day at near, intermediate, and far distances from the suspected source zone, respectively. This behavior was expected given the decreasing trend observed in the LTM data at a fixed location. These two data sets were compared using travel time as a means to plot the data sets on a common axis. The similarity between the two data sets gives greater confidence to the use of this combined data set for site-specific SSF estimation relative to either the sole use of LTM or spatially distributed data sets.
Use of Historic Surgical Times to Predict Duration of Hysterectomy: Stratifying by Uterine Weight.

ABSTRACT Study Objective To describe the accuracy of historic averages for estimating operating room (OR) time for hysterectomy among women with small and large uteri. Design A retrospective cohort study. Setting Data from women who underwent abdominal, vaginal, or laparoscopic hysterectomy between 2015 and 2017 at the University of North Carolina Hospitals were analyzed. Historic and actual OR times were compared using linear regression. Patient characteristics were also evaluated to determine whether they were associated with the accuracy of predicted OR times. Patients Nine hundred eighty-five adult women (≥18 years old) who underwent surgery for benign indications or for suspected but not biopsy-confirmed malignancy were included. Interventions Not applicable. Measurements and Main Results Historic averages overestimated OR time by a median of 14 minutes (interquartile range [IQR] = −29 to 49 minutes). The OR time in women with small uteri ( Conclusion Using historic averages overestimates OR time, and it is more pronounced in women with small uteri. However, there is a relatively large range of OR times, even among women with the same size uteri. This study highlights the importance of preoperative planning, and in cases in which endometriosis is expected, manually adding time to estimates is recommended.
Single-step aging treatment for a precipitation-strengthened Ni-based alloy and its influence on high-temperature mechanical behavior

Abstract A simplified aging treatment yielded microstructural features in Ni-based alloy that produced strengthening behavior normally associated with more complex thermal processing. Specifically, a time series of 800 °C heat treatments was used to study the evolution of grain boundary carbides and γ' precipitates and the corresponding hardness, tensile strength, and creep resistance. These analyses and computational thermodynamic calculations revealed that a 4-hour aging treatment produced appropriately sized and uniformly distributed coherent γ' precipitates and the desired Cr-rich carbides like those formed during the conventional two-step heat treatment. Accordingly, the former heat treatment produced targeted typical strength levels for this alloy.
The Future of Teaching Epidemiology

The rapid pace of technological advancements and the corresponding societal innovations and adaptations make it difficult to predict how teaching epidemiology will look in the coming decades. We discuss changes in the teaching of epidemiology that are currently unfolding. First, typical epidemiology curricula often lack formal instruction in important components of causal thinking, such as the formulation of well-defined research questions. We address gaps related to causal thinking, communication about our science, and interpretation of study results, and we make suggestions of specific content to close such gaps. Second, digital technology increasingly influences epidemiology instruction. We discuss classroom and online teaching modalities in terms of challenges and advantages.
Interprofessional Collaboration between Occupational Therapists and Speech Language Pathologists with Children who have Sensory Processing Deficits

Introduction Background: Occupational therapists (OT) and speech-language pathologists (SLP) are unique within their skills. Both professions work closely together in a collaborative manner to improve child and family outcomes. Purpose:The aim of this study is to develop evidence based interprofessional educational modules to improve outcomes between occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists when working with a child who demonstrates sensory processing disorder. Aim of the study: 1.Understand the impact of interprofessional collaboration OTs and SLPs when working with a child with sensory processing deficits 2.Understand the influence of educating SLPs on sensory processing 3.Demonstrate the Methodology Research Design: Mixed Methods Study using Pre-test Post-test and Qualitative Method Initial stage of study: 5 Speech Language Pathologists to determine Face Validity and 5 Occupational Therapists to determine Content Validity. Results Phase 1: Complete Phase 2: Recruitment is to begin September 2018 Phase 3: Recruitment to begin Spring 2019 Conclusions Conclusion to be determined upon Phase 2 CompletionImplications for practice: In this study, we have sought to demonstrate the value of interprofessional collaboration between occupational therapy and speech therapy graduate students treating sensory processing issues in pediatric clients. There is a growing body of research emphasizing sensory processing as an important component of human behavior, affecting health care practices and increasing among children in the United States (Dunn, 2007). Individuals with sensory processing challenges, mostly children, can experience disruptions to their daily routines, decreased participation at home and school, and attention issues that cause challenges during speech therapy sessions and that may hinder treatment outcomes. Our study has aimed to increase the body of knowledge pertaining to sensory processing challenges in relation to speech therapy specifically, such as ways that speech therapists can identify sensory processing challenges among their pediatric clients and make necessary referrals for occupational therapy services to increase therapy outcomes, as well as to demonstrate effective collaboration and interprofessional education practices between occupational therapists and speech therapists to be furthered by future research.
Rectricectomy With Pygostylectomy for Resolution of Feather Trauma in an Umbrella Cockatoo (Cacatua alba)

Feather trauma is a common problem among pet birds, especially those with trimmed wing feathers, and often affects remiges and rectrices. Damage can become chronic if new feathers remain unprotected by fully formed adjacent feathers. The follicles can become damaged and poorly functional over time. A 6-month-old male umbrella cockatoo (Cacatua alba) was presented for examination because of feather damage that occurred shortly after receiving a wing trim by the owner. Over the next 18 months, various medical, behavioral, and husbandry methods failed to allow normal regrowth of the tail feathers. The bird presented 25 times over the 18-month period for problems associated with broken blood feathers in the tail. Feather imping was ruled out because of the lack of hollow adult shafts to serve as a base. Diagnostic tests included hematologic testing and biochemical analysis, circovirus testing, feather biopsy, and radiographs, results of which were unremarkable. Because of the chronic pain associated with the frequent rectrix damage, a complete rectricectomy was performed. All of the rectrical follicles as well as the pygostyle were surgically removed. Healing was uneventful and the bird has been clinically normal with no further blood feather injury for 24 months after surgery.
A Systematic Review of Bystander Interventions for the Prevention of Sexual Violence

Introduction:Bystander interventions have been successful in changing bystander attitudes and behaviors to prevent sexual violence. This systematic review was performed to summarize and categorize ...
Decyclopropylation of 1-cyclopropyl-4-hydroxy-4-(2-methylphenyl)piperidine N-oxide

Abstract Treatment of 1-cyclopropyl-4-hydroxy-4-(2-methylphenyl)piperidine N-oxide with trifluoroacetic anhydride (TFAA) yields the corresponding descyclopropyl secondary amine in excellent yield. This reaction may serve as a model for the mechanism based inactivation of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) by cyclopropylamines which recently has been proposed to proceed via a polar mechanism involving a flavin-amine adduct.