cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The critical groups of a family of graphs and elliptic curves over finite fields

Let q be a power of a prime, and E be an elliptic curve defined over $\mathbb{F}_{q}$ . Such curves have a classical group structure, and one can form an infinite tower of groups by considering E over field extensions $\mathbb{F}_{q^{k}}$ for all k?1. The critical group of a graph may be defined as the cokernel of L(G), the Laplacian matrix of G. In this paper, we compare elliptic curve groups with the critical groups of a certain family of graphs. This collection of critical groups also decomposes into towers of subgroups, and we highlight additional comparisons by using the Frobenius map of E over $\mathbb{F}_{q}$ .
Packaging and Irradiation Effects on Lipid Oxidation and Volatiles in Pork Patties

Raw-meat patties were prepared from three pork muscles, irradiated in different packaging environments, and stored for 0 or 3 days before cooking. Lipid oxidation by-products were formed in the raw meat during storage and the baseline lipid oxidation data of raw meat was used to measure the progression of lipid oxidation after cooking. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and volatiles data indicated that preventing oxygen exposure after cooking was more important for cooked meat quality than packaging, irradiation, or storage conditions of raw meat. Propanal, pentanal, hexanal, 1 -pentanol, and total volatiles correlated highly (P < 0.01) with TBARS values of cooked meat. Hexanal and total volatiles represented the lipid oxidation status better than any other individual volatile components.
Effects of progressive hyperglycemia on ovarian structure and function in the spontaneously diabetic Chinese hamster

The effect of the progressive hyperglycemic condition on ovarian follicular maturation was studied in control, moderate (160-350 mg/dl blood glucose), and overt (greater than or equal to 350 mg/dl blood glucose), spontaneously diabetic Chinese hamsters. Match-paired (age, sex, and weight) control and diabetic animals were sacrificed at specific intervals during the development of the diabetic condition; the ovaries were collected and morphometrically analyzed for changes in ovarian follicular growth relative to blood glucose levels. Follicles were classified according to size, number, and condition. The total number of primary (100-200 micrometers diameter) and secondary (200-350 micrometers diameter) follicles was reduced in both moderate and overt diabetic females as compared with controls. The percentage of viable (i.e., nonatretic) follicles was greatly reduced in the secondary follicle class of overt diabetic animals as compared with controls. No significant differences were observed in the numbers of viable tertiary (i.e., greater than or equal to 350 micrometers diameter) follicles in any of the diabetic animals as compared with controls. The percentage of atretic, secondary follicles was greatly increased in the overt diabetic group as compared with controls. These data indicate that the progressive hyperglycemia associated with diabetes in the Chinese hamster induces a severe depression of normal follicular recruitment resulting in an impaired reproductive performance in this species.
Multifunctional gold nanorod theragnostics probed by multi-photon imaging

This study exhibits the fabrication of target-specific Gold nanorods (GNRs) coupled with an anti-tumorigenic apoptotic drug and provides tracking of the labeled particles as they migrate through cells and release their drug-load to targeted cancer cells. We utilize the photoluminescence property of GNRs and their ability to be conjugated with multiple agents to transform facile rods to a targeted drug delivery vehicle. GNRs of aspect ratio 2.8 were conjugated with a targeting ligand, folic acid and an anthracycline drug, Doxorubicin. The multifunctional nanorods were then used to target folate receptor expressing cancers cells for the delivery of a concentration dependent dosage of Doxorubicin (DOX). By utilizing the photoluminescence of GNRs and the innate fluorescence of DOX, multi-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging was utilized to monitor the uptake of functionalized nanorods, the release of the drug and its localization in living cells. We show that these nano-vehicles successfully targeted cancer cells over expressing folate receptors and showed low toxicity to control cell lines. Release of DOX was observed in the cytoplasmic region and after 16 h was found to be redistributed in the nucleus resulting in cell death. Our theragnostic approach demonstrates the fabrication of multifunctional GNRs for targeted drug delivery and monitoring of the drug and the vehicle by multi-photon microscopy using fluorescence intensity and lifetime imaging.
Characterization of the prolactin response to prolonged endurance exercise

This study characterized the blood prolactin responses to a prolonged endurance exercise bout in comparison to a resting, control period with no exercise. Six healthy exercise trained males completed both a 90 minute cycle exercise (70% VO 2max ) and a rest-control experimental session under standardized conditions. Blood samples were collected at – 15, 0 (exercise start), 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 (exercise end), 105, and 120 minute time points in the exercise and rest-control sessions. Prolactin concentrations were analyzed using radioimmunoassay procedures and tested for significant changes with ANOVA analysis. In the exercise session, prolactin concentrations from 45 to 120 minutes were significantly greater than the 15 minute concentration before exercise (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the exercise concentrations at 45 to 120 minutes were also significantly greater than the concentrations observed at the comparable rest-control time points (p < 0.01; approximately 300% elevation). The frequent blood sampling protocol used in this study clearly portrays the magnitude, timeline, and extend of the prolactin response to prolonged endurance activity. The mechanism and role for the prolactin response was not the focus of this study, but relative to the latter, it is speculated the hormonal change could pertain to signaling energy usage-status within the body and, or prompting immune system activation.
The Rough Trade of U.S. Imperialism

Gay modernity's cathexis of the exotic traverses multiple routes of international trade. This fairly superficial historical observation, however, begs the question, what is the relationship of trad...
Curvature Bias in the Florida Current off Miami

Abstract The evidences for and the mechanism of a negative curvature bias in the Florida Current off Miami are presented. The evidences consist of a re-examination of the data and tests by Schmitz (1969) and Stubbs (1971). Three different approaches are used in re-examining the first work, and all three clearly give a negative curvature bias. In revealing consistent evidence for a supergeostrophic flow, the second work supports the same bias. Thus bush works indicate a persistent tendency for fast, inertial flows to meander even when within a channel. Apparently tiggered by and hence tied to the channel constriction off Miami, the curvature mechanism involves a divergence with magnitude an order larger than the geostrophic divergence, and correspondingly large inertial torques in both the cross- and downstream directions.
The Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States: Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment

Severe acquired brain injury has profound impact on alertness, cognition, and behavior. Among those who survive the initial injury, a significant minority fail to fully recover self and environmental awareness, and go on to experience prolonged disorders of consciousness (DOC) that can last a lifetime. Although there are no standards of care to guide clinical management, a growing body of empirical evidence is beginning to accrue to inform clinical decision making. In this article, we review the state of the science as it pertains to diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of patients with DOC.
Breaking rules: the social and situational dynamics of young people’s urban crime

Boldly asserting that “criminology is a fragmented discipline”, the authors of Breaking Rules: The Social and Situational Dynamics of Young People’s Urban Crime arguably not only prove this to be a...
Pairwise codeword error probability for coded free-space optical communication through atmospheric turbulence channels

In free-space optical communication links using intensity modulation/direct detection (IM/DD), atmospheric turbulence can cause signal fading. Error-control codes can help to mitigate this fading and improve system performance. To study the performance of various coding schemes, we derive an upper bound on the pairwise codeword error probability for transmission through channels with correlated turbulence-induced fading. Computing this probability involves complicated multidimensional integration. To simplify the computations, we derive an approximate upper bound under the assumption of weak turbulence. The accuracy of this approximation under weak turbulence is verified by numerical simulation. Its invalidity when applied to strong turbulence is also shown. This simple approximate upper bound to the pairwise codeword error will be useful in the study of coding for free-space optical communication through weak atmospheric turbulence channels.
Residue management systems and their implications for production efficiency

Cotton production is the number one crop enterprise in Georgia in terms of revenue generation. However, due to continuous deterioration of soil quality with conventional tillage and chemical fertilizer application, the economic viability and sustainability of cotton production in Georgia are questionable. Residue management systems (RMSs) comprising winter cover crops were analyzed as an alternative to the existing system, which consists of conventional tillage and chemical fertilizer using yield benefit, net revenue, carbon sequestration, and yield efficiency criteria. Four different RMSs were examined for profitability and input efficiency. Four RMSs encompassing tillage versus no-till and chemical versus organic sources of plant nutrients were compared for their yield and net return differences. No-till and poultry litter with a cover crop was the only system with a positive return and crop yield based on the results from experimental data. Limited results from the experimental field were reinforced using a simulation study. When cotton yield is simulated with an alternative level of organic matter and nitrogen application, production function shows efficiency in input application at the higher level of organic matter. Regression results based on an erosion productivity impact calculator/environmental policy integrated climate (EPIC) simulation indicated that, in the long term, a no-till and poultry litter system may have promise in the region. The results from simulation confirm the results from the experimental study. This study reflected a need to change the cotton management system from the 200-year-old practice of employing intensively cultivated conventional tillage and chemical fertilizers to a new renewable resource-based system where residue management and organic sources of nutrients would be the key components.
Separating transducer non-linearities and multiplicative noise in contrast discrimination.

It has been difficult to isolate the factors that limit contrast discrimination, one of the most fundamental aspects of the visual system. Kontsevich, Chen, and Tyler (2002) claim to have found a method that can answer the question of why discrimination thresholds increase with reference contrast. Is it because of a saturating contrast response function or because of increasing (multiplicative) noise? Based on four datasets they conclude that multiplicative noise is the controlling factor. Georgeson and Meese (2006) disagree and claim the jury is still out because only one of the four datasets has sufficiently good statistics to support the KCT claim. I reanalyze the KCT data and come to a different conclusion. I agree with GM that two of the four datasets have thresholds that are too low to be useful in discriminating models and that one dataset supports the KCT claim. The fourth dataset is the most interesting one in that it provides the strongest support for the KCT claim, but GM throw it out because the χ2 of the best fit is high. The present paper makes a number of points: (1) two novel methods are used to fit the fourth dataset. One pair of models is based on the strong “finger error” asymmetry between the high and low contrast asymptotes of the psychometric function in the fourth dataset. I find that some version of multiplicative noise is needed. However, it may be multiplicative noise that depends on prior trials rather than just on the present trial. (2) Another model that allows the contrast response function to have maximal freedom fits the fourth dataset with a reasonable chi square, and with a need for multiplicative noise. (3) I examine alternative parameterizations of the model functions used by KCT and GM that provide a more intuitive interpretation of the parameters. In summary, although I find the data do support a generalized form of multiplicative noise, I agree with GM that the jury remains out about what are the factors that limit contrast discrimination.
Laboratory and greenhouse evaluation of a synthetic host volatile attractant for Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say)

1 The attractiveness of potato plants treated with a synthetic host volatile blend [(Z)-3-hexenyl acetate (+/–)-linalool, and methyl salicylate] to newly emerged and 5-day-old adult Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), was compared at four doses against untreated control plants and plants treated with an azadirachtin-based antifeedant in greenhouse cage arenas. 2 Attractant-treated plants (derived release rates of 0, 5.7, 17.1 or 57 µg/h) were significantly more attractive than untreated control plants to newly emerged and 5-day-old adults only at 57 µg/h. 3 Attractant-treated plants were significantly more attractive than antifeedant-treated plants to newly emerged and 5-day-old adults at the 5.7 µg/h treatment level and higher. Mean insect density on attractant-treated plants in the attractant/antifeedant study was significantly higher than in the attractant/control study. 4 Habituation to the synthetic attractant was evaluated by exposing adult beetles to the synthetic attractant for 0, 1, 2.5, 4, 8, 12 or 16 h, before release into a wind tunnel in which an attractant-baited plant model was placed at the upwind end. Insects exposed to the synthetic host attractant for ≤ 8 h moved to the synthetic attractant-baited plant model whereas insects exposed to the synthetic host attractant for 12 and 16 h did not. Furthermore, beetles exposed to the synthetic attractant for 0 and 1 h moved at rates greater than, or equal to, the median whereas beetles exposed for longer time periods moved at rates significantly less than the median. 5 These results demonstrate the potential for using the synthetic plant attractant and an antifeedant as components in a stimulo-deterrent strategy for management of the Colorado potato beetle as shown by us in another study.
Optimizing Issue Queue Reliability to Soft Errors on Simultaneous Multithreaded Architectures

The issue queue (IQ) is a key microarchitecture structure for exploiting instruction-level and thread-level parallelism in dynamically scheduled simultaneous multithreaded (SMT) processors. However, exploiting more parallelism yields high susceptibility to transient faults on a conventional IQ. With the rapidly increasing soft error rates, the IQ is likely to be a reliability hot-spot on SMT processors fabricated with advanced technology nodes using smaller and denser transistors with lower threshold voltages and tighter noise margins. In this paper, we explore microarchitecture techniques to optimize IQ reliability to soft error on SMT architectures. We propose to use off-line instruction vulnerability profiling to identify reliability critical instructions. The gathered information is then used to guide reliability-aware instruction scheduling and resource allocation in multithreaded execution environments. We evaluate the efficiency of the proposed schemes across various SMT workload mixes. Extensive simulation results show that, on average, our microarchitecture level soft error mitigation techniques can significantly reduce IQ vulnerability by 42% with 1% performance improvement. To maintain runtime IQ reliability for pre-defined thresholds, we propose dynamic vulnerability management (DVM) mechanisms. Experimental results show that our DVM techniques can effectively achieve desired reliability/performance tradeoffs.
Prevalence and Associations of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Deficiency in US Children: NHANES 2001–2004

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) deficiency and associations between 25(OH)D deficiency and cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents. METHODS: With a nationally representative sample of children aged 1 to 21 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001–2004 (n = 6275), we measured serum 25(OH)D deficiency and insufficiency (25[OH]D RESULTS: Overall, 9% of the pediatric population, representing 7.6 million US children and adolescents, were 25(OH)D deficient and 61%, representing 50.8 million US children and adolescents, were 25(OH)D insufficient. Only 4% had taken 400 IU of vitamin D per day for the past 30 days. After multivariable adjustment, those who were older (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12 to 1.20] per year of age), girls (OR: 1.9 [1.6 to 2.4]), non-Hispanic black (OR: 21.9 [13.4 to 35.7]) or Mexican-American (OR: 3.5 [1.9 to 6.4]) compared with non-Hispanic white, obese (OR: 1.9 [1.5 to 2.5]), and those who drank milk less than once a week (OR: 2.9 [2.1 to 3.9]) or used >4 hours of television, video, or computers per day (OR: 1.6 [1.1 to 2.3]) were more likely to be 25(OH)D deficient. Those who used vitamin D supplementation were less likely (OR: 0.4 [0.2 to 0.8]) to be 25(OH)D deficient. Also, after multivariable adjustment, 25(OH)D deficiency was associated with elevated parathyroid hormone levels (OR: 3.6; [1.8 to 7.1]), higher systolic blood pressure (OR: 2.24 mmHg [0.98 to 3.50 mmHg]), and lower serum calcium (OR: −0.10 mg/dL [−0.15 to −0.04 mg/dL]) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR: −3.03 mg/dL [−5.02 to −1.04]) levels compared with those with 25(OH)D levels ≥30 ng/mL. CONCLUSIONS: 25(OH)D deficiency is common in the general US pediatric population and is associated with adverse cardiovascular risks.
The effect of water and sanitation on child health: evidence from the demographic and health surveys 1986–2007

Background Despite continued national and international efforts, access to improved water and sanitation remains limited in many developing countries. The health consequences of lacking access to water and sanitation are severe, and particularly important for child development. Methods To investigate the associations between child health and access to water and sanitation, we merged all available Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) with complete birth histories and water and sanitation information. The merged data set of 171 surveys includes information on 1.1 million children under the age of 5 years in 70 low- and middle-income countries over the period 1986-2007. We used logistic models to estimate the effect of water and sanitation access on infant and child mortality, diarrhoea and stunting. Results Access to improved sanitation was associated with lower mortality (OR = 0.77, 95% CI 0.68-0.86), a lower risk of child diarorhea (OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.85-0.90) and a lower risk of mild or severe stunting (OR = 0.73, 95% CI 0.71-0.75). Access to improved water was associated with a lower risk of diarrhoea (OR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.88-0.94) and a lower risk of mild or severe stunting (OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.89-0.94), but did not show any association with non-infant child mortality (OR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.88-1.04). Conclusions Although our point estimates indicate somewhat smaller protective effects than some of the estimates reported in the existing literature, the results presented in this article strongly underline the large health consequences of lacking access to water and sanitation for children aged
Tendency toward hypotension in left lateral recumbency.

WITH THE aim of achieving a better insight into the pathogenesis of the cardiovascular accidents which still occur so frequently during surgical operations and often remain unexplained even on autopsy I observed, in 1949, a series of patients during thoracic surgical procedures. 1 Among the causes of cardiovascular complications noted, there was a shock-like state which in certain patients recurred several times when renewed attempts were made on different days to perform the intended operation or when different stages of a thoracoplasty were performed. Immediately or soon after the patient was turned to the lateral recumbent position, a pronounced fall in blood pressure was registered, and sometimes no blood-pressure readings could be obtained for certain periods. Yet, whenever the patient was returned to the supine or sitting position, the normal preoperative pressure readings were obtained immediately or a few minutes later (see Fig. 1). This positional complication occurred before the
Error diffusion with dynamically adjusted kernel

Error diffusion is a method for generating high quality bi-level images from continuous tone images. It is well known that certain objectionable patterning artifacts can occur in error diffused images. The author considers a method for adjusting the error diffusion kernel dynamically so that a local frequency weighted square error criterion is minimized. It can be shown that such an error criterion can be expressed as a linear function of the error diffusion filter. One can then use, for example, the LMS algorithm to adjust the filter coefficients concurrently with the halftoning process so that the distortion is minimized. Such an algorithm produces better halftone image quality compared to traditional error diffusion with a fixed filter. >
Influence of Cold Ischemia Time in Combination with Donor Acute Kidney Injury on Kidney Transplantation Outcomes

Background Deceased-donor kidneys are often exposed to ischemic events from donor instability, as evidenced by acute kidney injury (AKI). Clinicians may be reluctant to transplant kidneys with AKI that also have prolonged cold ischemia time (CIT) for fear of an additional deleterious effect. Study Design We evaluated national data between 1998 and 2013 of adult first-time kidney-only recipients of paired kidneys from donors with AKI (terminal serum creatinine ≥ 2 mg/dL), in which the CIT difference between recipients was ≥1, 5, 10, or 15 hours. Results On multivariate analysis of AKI kidney recipients, overall death-censored graft survival (DCGS) was comparable between recipients with higher CIT relative to paired donor recipients with lower CIT when the CIT difference was at least 1 hour (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.98, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.13, n = 4,458), 5 hours (aHR 0.97, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.18, n = 2,412), 10 hours (aHR 0.82, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.15, n = 922), or 15 hours (aHR 0.94, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.58, n = 442). Overall patient survival of the longer CIT groups was comparable or protective with delta CIT of ≥1 (aHR 0.94, 95% CI 0.83 to 1.06), 5 (aHR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.94), 10 (aHR 0.70, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.91), and 15 (aHR 0.64, 95%CI 0.43 to 0.95) hours. Between each of the 4 delta-CIT levels of shorter and longer CIT, there were no statistically significant differences in the proportion of acute rejection at delta ≥1, 5, 10, or 15 hours. Conclusions These results suggest that in the setting of a previous ischemic donor event, prolonged CIT has limited bearing on long-term outcomes. This may be important evidence that despite the occurrence of other ischemic events, kidneys with prolonged CIT offer acceptable outcomes to recipients and are a potential source to expand the donor pool.
Correlation of cellulose synthesis in vivo and in vitro during the encystment of Acanthamoeba.

Abstract Acanthamoeba castellanii differentiates when placed in a starvation medium. The mature cysts formed are characterized by a cellulosic wall synthesized from endogenous sources during encystment. A particulate enzyme system whose specific activity increases some 30-fold during encystment catalyzes the formation of an alkali-soluble and an alkali-insoluble β-(1 → 4)-glucan (cellulose). The activity in vitro of this enzyme extracted from populations of cells during encystment correlates with the formation in vivo of the mature cyst and the alkali-insoluble β-glucan of the cyst wall. The conclusion is based on the following observations: 1. 1. Both alkali-soluble and alkali-insoluble β-glucans similar to the enzymatic products of the isolated β-glucan synthetase occur in cyst walls. 2. 2. The developmental kinetics of the appearance of the β-glucan synthetase, cyst wall cellulose, and the mature cyst forms are so similar as to be considered coincidental in that the onset of the period of rapid increase for all three is observed some 12–14 hr after the initiation of encystment. 3. 3. The presence of actinomycin or cycloheximide in encysting cultures, at concentrations which inhibit RNA and protein synthesis during encystment, prevents the formation of mature cysts, the appearance of cyst wall cellulose, and the usual 30-fold increase in the activity of the β-glucan synthetase during encystment. These processes are not inhibited when the compounds are added after 14 hr of encystment. The results suggest that the β-glucan synthetase studied in vitro is involved in the in vivo synthesis of cyst wall cellulose and that this synthesis is dependent on the occurrence of both RNA and protein synthesis sometime between 8 and 14 hr after the beginning of encystment.
Content based image retrieval systems

The ability to organize and retrieve visual information such as images and video is becoming a crucial problem for specialists and general computer users alike. Because processing visual information requires perceptual abilities not yet known to exist in computational form, the ability to retrieve visual information without human assistance is a rich, complex, and interesting problem. This paper presents the problem from the point of view of real-world system construction, discusses the main feature extraction methods used in modern CBIR systems, and outlines several CBIR system implementations.
A parametric model for synthetic aperture radar measurements

We present a parametric model for radar scattering as a function of frequency and aspect angle. The model is used for analysis of synthetic aperture radar measurements. The estimated parameters provide a concise, physically relevant description of measured scattering for use in target recognition, data compression and scattering studies. The scattering model and an image domain estimation algorithm are applied to two measured data examples.
Can Nursing‐Home Care Be Cost‐Effective?

: In an effort to find alternatives to the current abandonment of the nursing-home patient, a project was started for the purpose of testing the cost effectiveness of other forms of primary care, i.e., care delivered by the nurse practitioner and the social worker. The goal of the three-year demonstration project is to measure the effectiveness of different combinations of these services in improving the patients' level of functioning and behavior. Preliminary one-year results are presented regarding changes in drug regimens, record keeping, and the care provided by nursing-home staffs.
Applying multiple query optimization in mobile databases

We apply multiple query optimization to batches of pull (on-demand) requests in a mobile database system. The resulting view can answer several queries at once, and it is broadcast on a view channel dedicated to common answers of multiple queries rather than over individual downlink channels. A performance study is conducted that simulates different query workloads. The results indicate a significant savings in channel bandwidth usage and a reduction in average wait time for a multi-query approach compared to a traditional pull-based approach.
Further Studies on Frozen-Time Eigenvalues in the Stability Analysis for Periodic Linear Systems

In this paper we present some enlightening results to show why and how stability assessment for Linear Time-Varying (LTV) systems based solely on the location of the "frozen-time eigenvalues (FTE)" fails to be sufficient or necessary, using two classes of parametrized periodic LTV systems derived from two examples given by Markus-Yamabe [6] and Wu [11]. Exact domain of stability in the parameter space obtained using analytical or numerical solutions of the Floquet characteristic Exponents are presented, and compared to that predicted by FTEs. The results are useful in the study of robustness and stabilization of Linear Time Invariant (LTI) systems, as will be shown in this paper that an unstable LTI system maybe stabilized or destabilized by periodic structural perturbations (pumping) without any control input.
Rail defect diagnosis using wavelet packet decomposition

One of the basic tasks in railway maintenance is inspection of the rail in order to detect defects. Rail defects have different properties and are divided into various categories with regard to the type and position of defects on the rail. This paper presents an approach for the detection of defects in rail based on wavelet transformation. Multi-resolution signal decomposition based on wavelet transform or wavelet packet provides a set of decomposed signals at distinct frequency bands, which contains independent dynamic information due to the orthogonality of wavelet functions. Wavelet transform and wavelet packet in tandem with various signal processing methods, such as autoregressive spectrum, energy monitoring, fractal dimension, etc., can produce desirable results for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis. Defect detection is based on decomposition of the signal acquired by means of magnetic coil and Hall sensors from the railroad rail, and then applying wavelet coefficients to the extracted signals. Comparing these extracted coefficients provides an indication of the healthy rail from the defective rail. Experimental results are presented for a healthy rail and some of the more common defects. Deviation of wavelet coefficients in the healthy rail case from the case with defects shows that it is possible to classify healthy rails from defective ones.
Effect of Bilingualism on Multitasking: A Pilot Study

Bilingual speakers rely on attentional and executive control to continuously inhibit or activate linguistic representations of competing languages, which leads to an increased efficiency known as “...
Interaction of captopril and ibuprofen on glomerular and tubular function in humans

Renal hemodynamics and tubular solute and water handling were evaluated in normal subjects during water diuresis, before and after the acute administration of captopril, ibuprofen, or the combination of both drugs. The glomerular filtration increased after captopril administration but did not change after ibuprofen alone or in combination with captopril. Renal plasma flow increased with captopril alone and captopril plus ibuprofen but did not change after ibuprofen alone. Urine volume and Na excretion increased with captopril and decreased after ibuprofen; coadministration of ibuprofen attenuated the tubular effects produced by captopril alone. FELi, fractional delivery of solute to the distal nephron, and FELi-FENa, fractional distal reabsorption of solute, both significantly increased after captopril and decreased after ibuprofen but did not change with the combined regimen. (FELi-FENa)/FELi, fractional reabsorption of distally delivered Na, significantly decreased after captopril and increased after ibuprofen but remained unchanged after captopril plus ibuprofen. Thus captopril and ibuprofen have opposing effects on tubular Na and water handling, which are attenuated by the addition of the other drug. This interaction may have clinical relevance in patients with heart failure or hypertension, in whom captopril is used to enhance Na and water diuresis.
The pygidial gland and chemical recruitment communication inPachycondyla (=Termitopone)laevigata

Termite predation by the ponerine antPachycondyla (= Termitopone) laevigata is regulated by a recruitment trail pheromone which originates from the pygidial gland and not, as previously assumed, from the hindgut. The pygidial gland opens between the 6th and 7th abdominal terga and is associated with a distinct cuticular structure which obviously serves as a glandular applicator.
Heterogeneity among adolescent mothers and home visiting program outcomes

Abstract Despite the challenges of early parenting, many adolescents navigate motherhood successfully, underscoring an overlooked heterogeneity among adolescent mothers. The present study used Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups of adolescent mothers ( n = 704) enrolled in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation of a home visiting program for young parents. The model incorporated demographic and background characteristics, as well as indicators of psychological vulnerability. Analyses revealed four distinct subgroups: (a) non-Hispanic high vulnerability ( n = 209, 30%); (b) Hispanic high vulnerability ( n = 98, 14%); (c) non-Hispanic moderate vulnerability ( n = 241, 34%); and (d) Hispanic moderate vulnerability ( n = 156, 22%). Mothers in the two high vulnerability subgroups exhibited the poorest personal and parenting functioning outcomes measured approximately two years postpartum, particularly in terms of child maltreatment (non-Hispanic high vulnerability) and depressive symptoms (Hispanic high vulnerability). Analyses revealed positive effects of the home visiting program within specific latent classes on such outcomes as healthy baby at birth, high school or GED attainment, and repeat birth.
Identification of Chemical Growth Mechanisms in Amorphous Semiconductors

Experimental and computational results for three classes of experiments are reported. NMR measurements of phosphorus in amorphous hydrogenated silicon indicate that bonding rearrangements in bulk films are possible. Monte Carlo simulations of film growth demonstrate that surface diffusion is the dominant physical phenomenon responsible for the bulk hydrogen content of a-Si:H films. Finally, the gas phase chemistry of silane, as elucidated by our new “diesel” reactor, is considerably more complicated than many authors assume in models for thin films grown from silane.
Antelope House Methodology

ABSTRACTThe methodological framework employed in the Antelope House archaeological project operationalizes and tests the logicodeduction method. It is designed so that all archaeological contextual data recovered from the site is examined through the use of transformation models. The testing of these models allows the examined information to be transformed into systemic behavioral context interpretations. This behavioral archaeological approach employs systems concepts to demonstrate the functional interrelationships of environmental, economic, technological, and social variables as they existed through time at the site.
Boston Kpro Type I as a Viable Alternative to Visual Rehabilitation in Aniridia Patients: Advances and Limitations

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the experience of Boston Type 1 Keratoprosthesis in Aniridia. Aniridia-associated keratopathy (AAK) affects up to 90 % of aniridic patients and may significantly decrease best-corrected acuity. Poor outcomes of penetrating keratoplasty in aniridia have been reported for over 20 years. Limbal stem cell transplantation can help restore a healthy ocular surface, but requires long term systemic immunosuppression. Boston type 1 Keratoprosthesis implantation represents a promising alternative for visual rehabilitation in AAK patients. The central PMMA optic is unaffected by corneal graft vascularization or conjunctivalization, and may be customized for aphakia or pseudophakia. Multiple studies have reported improved visual outcomes after Kpro implantation with device retention rates of 70 % or greater. Complications include retroprosthetic membranes, corneal melt, device extrusion, and glaucoma.
Subclavian Vein Thrombolysis

This section provides a comprehensive procedural report for subclavian vein thrombolysis procedure with up-to-date explanatory notes, synopsis of the indications and contraindications and potential complications in an organized and practical format.
Scaling up the Fitness Function for Reverse Engineering Feature Models

Recent research on software product line engineering has led to several search-based frameworks for reverse engineering feature models. The most common fitness function utilized maximizes the number of matched products with an oracle set of products. However, to calculate this fitness each product defined by the chromosome has to be enumerated using a SAT solver and this limits scalability to product lines with fewer than 30 features. In this paper we propose \(\textit{SAT}_{\textit{ff}}\), a fitness function that simulates validity by computing the difference between constraints in the chromosome and oracle. In an empirical study on 101 feature models comparing \(\textit{SAT}_{\textit{ff}}\) with two existing fitness functions that use the enumeration technique we find that \(\textit{SAT}_{\textit{ff}}\) shows a significant improvement over one, and no significant difference with the other one. We also find that \(\textit{SAT}_{\textit{ff}}\) requires only 7 % of the runtime on average scaling to feature models with as many as 97 features.
“This Is … Not My Autobiography”: The Paralyzed Body and Cultural Critique in Robert Murphy's The Body Silent

(1999). “This Is … Not My Autobiography”: The Paralyzed Body and Cultural Critique in Robert Murphy's The Body Silent. a/b: Auto/Biography Studies: Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 241-253.
Unsupervised analysis of combined lipid and coagulation data reveals coagulopathy subtypes among dialysis patients

Hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) are the primary means of managing end stage renal disease (ESRD). However, these treatment modalities are associated with the onset of coagulation abnormalities. Effective management of coagulation risk among these patients requires the identification of surrogate markers that provide an early indication of the coagulation abnormalities. The role of sphingolipids in the manifestation and prediction of coagulation abnormalities among dialysis patients have never been investigated. Herein, we report the first instance of an in depth investigation into the sphingolipid changes among ESRD patients undergoing HD and PD. The results reveal distinct differences in terms of perturbations to specific sphingolipid biosynthetic pathways that are highly dependent on the treatment modality. Our studies also demonstrated strong correlation between specific sphingolipids and coagulation parameters, such as HexCer(d18:1/26:0) and maximal amplitude (MA), SM(d18:1/24:1) and tissue factor pathway inhibitor, and sphingosine 1-phosphate d18:1 and FX (Spearman ρ of 0.93, 0.89, and -0.89, respectively). Furthermore, our study revealed the potential for using HexCer(d18:1/22:0), HexCer(d18:1/24:0), and HexCer(d18:1/26:0) (r2 = 0.71, 0.82, and 0.63, respectively) and coagulation parameter MA (r2 = 0.7) for successful diagnosis of differential coagulopathies among ESRD patients undergoing HD, providing an opportunity toward personalized disease management.
A Life Worth Living: Albert Camus and the Quest for Meaning

Robert Zaretsky has recently written two very good, concise and thoughtful books on Albert Camus. The first, Albert Camus: Elements of a Life (Cornell University Press, 2010), centered on four mome...
Cannulation-Related Complications on Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: Prevalence and Effect on Mortality.

Cannulation-related complications are a known source of morbidity in patients supported on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO). Despite its prevalence, little is known regarding the outcomes of patients who suffer such complications. This is a single institution review of cannulation-related complications and its effect on mortality in patients supported on VA-ECMO from January 2010–2015 using three cannulation strategies: axillary, femoral, and central. Complications were defined as advanced if they required major interventions (fasciotomy, amputation, site conversion). Patients were divided into two groups (complication present vs. not present) and Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to determine any differences in their survival distributions. There were 103 patients supported on VA-ECMO: 41 (40%), 36 (35%), and 26 (25%) were cannulated via axillary, femoral, and central access, respectively. Cannulation-related complications occurred in 33 (32%) patients and this did not differ significantly between either axillary (34%), femoral (36%), or central (23%) strategies (P = 0.52). The most common complications encountered were hemorrhage and limb ischemia in 19 (18%) and 11 (11%) patients. Hemorrhagic complications did not differ between groups (P = 0.37), while limb ischemia and hyperperfusion were significantly associated with femoral and axillary cannulation, at a rate of 25% (P < 0.01) and 15% (P = 0.01), respectively. There was no difference in the incidence of advanced complications between cannulation groups: axillary (12%) vs. femoral (14%) vs. central (8%; P = 0.75). In addition, no increase in mortality was noted in patients who developed a cannulation-related complication by Kaplan-Meier estimates (P = 0.37). Cannulation-related complications affect a significant proportion of patients supported on VA-ECMO but do not differ in incidence between different cannulation strategies and do not affect patient mortality. Improved efforts at preventing these complications need to be developed to avoid the additional morbidity in an already critical patient population.
Classroom Debates: Using Speed Rounds to Encourage Greater Participation.

The primary obstacle that can derail the effectiveness of a debate is one in which few students are involved and all of the energy and learning is limited to a few students. This leaves the majorit...
Transactions Costs and the Limits to Financial Market Decentralization

Financial decentralization is constrained by the extent to which the market and institutional frameworks that agents operate introduce transactions costs to economic exchange. Such transactions costs are endogenous to the system, and in some cases can lead to financial instabilities that generate financial crises. We argue that this was the case in the subprime crisis of 2007, and place other explanations of the crisis in a transactions costs context.
H-2 LINKED CONTROL OF THE ANTIBODY AND CELLULAR IMMUNE RESPONSE TO NUCLEASE AT THE LEVEL OF INDIVIDUAL REGIONS OF THE MOLECULE

Antibody production to staphylococcal nuclease has previously been shown to be under H-2-linked Ir gene control in mice. We have found that the, low responder B10 strain, when immunized with whole nuclease, shows a selective defect in the ability to make antibodies to a determinant(s) in the region between residues 99 and 149 of nuclease, compared with the congenic high responder strain B10.A. In addition, the peptide fragment corresponding to this region of nuclease is immunogenic in the B10.A strain but not in the B10, whereas the fragment (1–126) is immunogenic in both strains. A pattern of high or low responsiveness the same as for antibody response to nuclease has now been found for in vitro T-cell proliferation using peritoneal exudate T-lymphocyte enriched cells (PETLES) from nuclease-primed mice in a large number of strains. Moreover, when PETLES from nuclease-primed mice were tested for T-cell proliferation stimulated by different fragments, the fragment (99–149) was much less stimulatory in the B10 than in the B10.A strain compared to other fragments. These results suggest that both antibody production and T-cell proliferation to nuclease one under the same Ir gene control, exerted at the level of individual antigenic determinants rather than the whole molecule.
Urban Visual Air Quality : Modelled and Perceived

Comparisons of modelled and perceived urban visual air quality are presented for an average visual air quality day in the winter of 1981 for Denver, Colorado. The field study design for capturing human judgments of visual air quality and the three dimensional visual air quality simulation model are outlined. The comparisons illustrate the feasibility as well as the difficulties associated with predicting human judgments of visual air quality with an air quality simulation model.
Carbon Footprints: Methods and Calculations

Describes methods to calculate the carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions) of an organization's operations and supply chain, and a product or service. Illustrates concepts with examples of calculating the carbon footprint of an organization (Harvard Business School) and a product (a newspaper). Provides data necessary for carbon footprint calculations.Learning Objective: Teaches students how to calculate the carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions) of an organization's operations and supply chain, and a product or service. Illustrates concepts with examples of calculating the carbon footprint of an organization (Harvard Business School) and a product (a newspaper). Provides data necessary for carbon footprint calculations.
Radio observations of compact sources near Herbig-Haro objects.

Observations de masers et de regions H II compactes proches d'objets Herbig Haro. Des masers H 2 O ont ete detectes pres de HH 1, HH 7-11 et HH 19-24 et pres de GGD 4, 5-6, 12-15, 16-17, 25, 27-28, 29, 32-35 et 37. La plupart ont des luminosites de l'ordre de 10 −7 , plus faibles que celles des masers proches des etoiles OB massives. Des regions H II compactes ont ete observees a 5 GHz (VLA) pres de HH 7-11 et GGD 5-6, 12-15, 25, 27-28, 29 et 37
An experimental study of grain-scale microstructure evolution during the olivine–wadsleyite phase transition under nominally “dry” conditions

Abstract The grain-scale microstructure evolution during the phase transformation of olivine to wadsleyite was investigated using a multi-anvil high-pressure apparatus. We identified three stages in the microstructure evolution during olivine to wadsleyite phase transformation: (1) nucleation of wadsleyite along potential nucleation sites (e.g., grain boundaries (and grain corners), inside of grains (dislocations, stacking faults)), (2) development of an interconnected network of fine-grained wadsleyite along grain boundaries (3) growth of wadsleyite into olivine. Our observations suggest that at low over pressures ( 3 GPa), intra-crystalline nucleation makes a significant contribution to the volume fraction transformed. The rheological properties of a sample undergoing the phase transformation are controlled by the grain-size and the connectivity of newly formed grains. Based on the model of grain-size evolution involving both nucleation and growth, we show that the initial grain-size of wadsleyite is controlled by the competition between nucleation rate and growth rate when phase transformation takes place near the equilibrium boundary (at relatively higher temperatures, >1200 K) but mostly by critical size for nucleation when phase transformation takes place away from the equilibrium boundary (at relatively low temperatures,