cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Performance evaluation of a photo-Fenton process applied to pollutant removal from textile effluents in a batch system

In this work, the performance of a photo-Fenton process-based textile effluent treatment was investigated using both solar and artificial light sources. A full 3(3) factorial experimental design was applied for the optimisation with respect to three parameters: initial pH, amounts of Fe(2+) (0.01-0.09 g L(-1)) and H(2)O(2) (1-7 g L(-1)). The photo-Fenton process response was evaluated on the basis of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and decolourisation. The optimum conditions of the photo-Fenton process were attained at concentration values of 0.05 g Fe(2+) L(-1) and 6.0 g H(2)O(2) L(-1) and pH 3, for both solar and artificial light sources. The effects of initial pH, and Fe(2+) and H(2)O(2) concentrations were evaluated. From the monitoring of TOC, COD, turbidity and decolourisation over time, the progress of the mineralisation of dyes was analysed, forming nitrate, ammonia nitrogen and nitrite. Low amounts of residual peroxide and iron, which were below the limit allowed by Brazilian environmental legislation, were attained after 360 min of irradiation time for both artificial and solar sources. An operational cost of US$ 6.85 per m(3) of treated effluent was estimated using solar irradiation.
Introduction to SAS simulation studio

An overview is presented of SAS Simulation Studio, an object-oriented, Java-based application for building and analyzing discrete-event simulation models. Emphasis is given to Simulation Studio's hierarchical, entity-based approach to resource modeling, which facilitates the creation of realistic simulation models for systems with complicated resource requirements, such as preemption. Also discussed are the various ways that Simulation Studio is integrated with SAS and JMP for data management, distribution fitting, and experimental design.
Wikipedia and encyclopedic production

Wikipedia is often presented within a foreshortened or idealized history of encyclopedia-making. Here we challenge this viewpoint by contextualizing Wikipedia and its modes of production on a broad temporal scale. Drawing on examples from Roman antiquity onward, but focusing on the years since 1700, we identify three forms of encyclopedic production: compulsive collection, stigmergic accumulation, and corporate production. While each could be characterized as a discrete period, we point out the existence of significant overlaps in time as well as with the production of Wikipedia today. Our analysis explores the relation of editors, their collaborators, and their modes of composition with respect to changing notions of authorship and originality. Ultimately, we hope our contribution will help scholars avoid ahistorical claims about Wikipedia, identify historical cases germane to the social scientist’s concerns, and show that contemporary questions about Wikipedia have a lifespan exceeding the past decade.
Practical limits on hyperspectral vegetation discrimination in arid and semiarid environments

Hyperspectral remote sensing is a promising tool for the analysis of vegetation and soils in remote sensing imagery. The purpose of this study is to ascertain how well hyperspectral remote sensing data can retrieve vegetation cover, vegetation type, and soil type in areas of low vegetation cover. We use multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA), high-quality field spectra, and AVIRIS data to determine how well full-range spectral mixture analysis (SMA) techniques can retrieve vegetation and soil information. Using simulated AVIRIS-derived reflectance spectra, we find that, in areas of low vegetation cover, MESMA is not able to provide reliable retrievals of vegetation type when covers are less than at least 30%. Overestimations of vegetation are likely, but vegetation cover in many circumstances can be estimated reliably. Soil type retrievals are more than 90% reliable in discriminating dark-armored desert soils from blown sands. This simulation comprises a best-case scenario in which many typical problems with remote sensing in areas of low cover or desert areas are minimized. Our results have broad implications for the applicability of full-range SMA techniques in analysis of data from current and planned hyperspectral sensors. Several phenomena contribute to the unreliability of vegetation retrievals. Spectrally indeterminate vegetation types, characterized by low spectral contrast, are difficult to model correctly even at relatively high covers. Combinations of soil and vegetation spectra have the potential of generating mixtures that resemble an unmixed spectrum from different material, further confounding vegetation cover and soil type retrievals. Intraspecies spectral variability and nonlinear mixing produce uncertainties in spectral endmembers much larger than that only due to instrumental noise modeled here. Having established limits on linear spectral unmixing in areas of low cover through spectral simulations, we evaluate AVIRIS-derived reflectance data from the Mojave Desert, California. We show that MESMA is capable of mapping soil surface types even when vegetation type cannot be reasonable retrieved.
A measurement system with contour tracking for repair of components

The repair of worn-out components requires the extraction of their actual geometry. To acquire the surface contour, a laser displacement sensor and a CNC motion system are typically used. One of the factors that affect the measuring accuracy is the sensor’s resolution. A high resolution sensor usually has a short measuring range. Therefore, a contour with a large peak-to-valley height cannot usually be measured using a short range sensor. In this research, a measurement system of tracking target surface was developed. The proposed measurement system has been used for repair of worn-out components using laser cladding.
Food Insufficiency, Food Stamp Participation, and Mental Health*

Objectives. This study examines whether the mental health consequences associated with food insufficiency vary by food stamp participation status and/or the value of the food stamp benefit received. Methods. We use longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics along with fixed-effect methods that control for unobserved heterogeneity to test our hypotheses. Results. We find that, conditional on the food stamp benefit amount, the emotional distress associated with food insufficiency is higher among food stamp participants. Moreover, we find evidence of a dosage effect such that food-insufficient individuals who receive higher amounts of food stamp benefits suffer greater emotional distress than food-insufficient individuals who receive lower levels of food stamp benefits. However, the negative mental health effects of food insufficiency and food stamp participation are driven primarily by periods of transition onto the Food Stamp Program and into food insufficiency. Conclusions. The negative mental health aspects of participating in the Food Stamp Program seem to outweigh the positive mental health aspects, at least during the period of application and initial receipt, suggesting that programmatic reform is needed to improve overall well-being among new participants.
Application of curvilinear basis functions and MLFMA for radiation and scattering problems involving curved PEC structures

The curvilinear surface and wire basis functions have been applied to solve radiation and scattering problems of various shapes of curved metallic structures with the method of moments. However, a suitable form of junction basis function that can connect the curvilinear wire and the curvilinear Rao-Wilton-Glisson (RWG) surface basis functions has not been found. We present a novel curvilinear junction basis function that can fill the gap. The convergence tests reveal that the curvilinear junction basis function, in conjunction with curvilinear wire and surface basis functions, can reduce the radar cross section (RCS) error by one order of magnitude more than their reduced linear forms for a curved structure. The curvilinear basis functions are applied to solve the radiation from wire antennas attached to curved surfaces. We will demonstrate that the curvilinear basis functions with the multilevel fast multipole algorithm can significantly reduce the computational resources for simulating electrically large objects with curved features.
DISCRIMINATIVELY TRAINED SPOKEN DOCUMENT SIMILARITY MODELS AND THEIR APPLICATION TO PROBABILISTIC LATENT SEMANTIC ANALYSIS

This paper presents a novel framework for discriminatively training spoken document similarity models. Traditional similarity methods such as Vector Space Modeling and Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis suffer from a mismatch in modeling and evaluation objective functions. This work proposes reconciling this mismatch by using a discriminative training process in conjunction with prior knowledge of known document relationships to train an ensemble of spoken document similarity models. The reported experiments demonstrate dramatic improvements in mAP performance for the tasks of related document search and query-by-document retrieval, and highlight the ability of the resulting models to better generalize to unseen topics and unseen documents.
Efficient processing of streaming graphs for evolution-aware clustering

The clustering of vertices often evolves with time in a streaming graph, where graph update events are given as a stream of edge (vertex) insertions and deletions. Although a sliding window in stream processing naturally captures some cluster evolution, it alone may not be adequate, especially if the window size is large and the clustering within the windowed stream is unstable. Prior graph clustering approaches are mostly insensitive to clustering evolution. In this paper, we present an efficient approach to processing streaming graphs for evolution-aware clustering (EAC) of vertices. We incrementally manage individual connected components as clusters subject to a constraint on the maximal cluster size. For each cluster, we keep the relative recency of edges in a sorted order and favor more recent edges in clustering. We evaluate the effectiveness of EAC and compare it with a previous state-of-the-art evolution-insensitive clustering (EIC) approach. The results show that EAC is both effective and efficient in capturing evolution in a streaming graph. Moreover, we implement EAC as a streaming graph operator on IBM's InfoSphere Streams, a large-scale distributed middleware for stream processing, and show snapshots of the user cluster evolution in a streaming Twitter mention graph.
A reliable two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis procedure for separating neural proteins

A facile two-dimensional gel electrophoresis procedure has been developed for the analysis of neural tissue proteins which eliminates the serious problems associated with protein insolubility at the point of sample application onto polymerized first dimension isoelectric focusing gels. This was accomplished by combining the methods of two previously published procedures. Our proecedure provides an alternative method to the complex gel systems often employed for less soluble proteins, and yields very reproducible, high resolution separations. This procedure, which is in routing use in our laboratories for the analysis of total proteins extracted from retina and brain, produces protein patterns that are easily compared using both visual and computer-assisted image analysis techniques. Presented here are the results of a set of experiments designed to identify proteins unique to retina. This procedure should be useful to investigators studying protein changes resulting from genetic mutation, development, drug treatment or disease, in neural tissue as well as in virtually all other tissues.
Using exploratory factor analysis of FFQ data to identify dietary patterns among Yup'ik people.

Objective An FFQ developed by the Center for Alaska Native Health Research for studies in Yup'ik people includes market foods and subsistence foods such as moose, seal, waterfowl and salmon that may be related to disease risk. Because the FFQ contains >100 food items, we sought to characterize dietary patterns more simply for use in ongoing pharmacogenomics studies. Design Exploratory factor analysis was used to derive a small number of 'factors' that explain a substantial amount of the variation in the Yup'ik diet. We estimated factor scores and measured associations with demographic characteristics and biomarkers. Setting South-west Alaska, USA. Subjects Yup'ik people (n 358) aged ≥18 years. Results We identified three factors that each accounted for ≥10 % of the common variance: the first characterized by 'processed foods' (e.g. salty snacks, sweetened cereals); the second by 'fruits and vegetables' (e.g. fresh citrus, potato salad); and the third by 'subsistence foods' (seal or walrus soup, non-oily fish). Participants from coastal communities had higher values for the 'subsistence' factor, whereas participants from inland communities had higher values for the 'fruits and vegetables' factor. A biomarker of marine intake, δ 15N, was correlated with the 'subsistence' factor, whereas a biomarker of corn- and sugarcane-based market food intake, δ 13C, was correlated with 'processed foods'. Conclusions The exploratory factor analysis identified three factors that appeared to reflect dietary patterns among Yup'ik based on associations with participant characteristics and biomarkers. These factors will be useful for chronic disease studies in this population.
Stand Conditions Associated with Roundheaded Pine Beetle (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) Infestations in Arizona and Utah

Stand conditions associated with outbreak populations of the roundheaded pine beetle, Dendroctonus adjunctus Blandford, in ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws., forests were studied in the Pinaleno Mountains, AZ, and the Pine Valley Mountains, UT. Classification tree models to estimate the probability of infestation based on stand attributes were built for both study areas using growth rate and ponderosa pine basal area information. Cross-validation estimates of correct classification were 0.60 for the Pinaleno Mountains and 0.58 and 0.78 for the Pine Valley Mountains. Regression tree and linear regression models to estimate amount of mortality caused by the beetles were also built for both sites using growth rate, ponderosa pine basal area, and trees per hectare information. The occurrence and mortality levels caused by the roundheaded pine beetle are positively related at both the stand and tree scale with reduced growth rates caused by high stocking densities.
Up-regulation of glutathione synthesis in rat kidney by methyl mercury: Relationship to mercury-induced oxidative stress

Abstract Prolonged exposure of rats to methyl mercury hydroxide (MMH) results, during the initial phase of exposure, in the rapid accumulation of mercury as Hg 2+ by kidney cortex and in a significant increase in oxidative stress, as characterized by the rate of formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) by renal mitochondria. These events are accompanied by a progressive increase in steady-state levels of the mRNA encoding γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS), the rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione (GSH) synthesis and a 2- to 3-fold elevation in renal cortical GSH levels. The present study showed that the increase in GSH content was accompanied by a concomitant decrease in the rate of TBARS formation. Subsequent to these initial phase events, continued MMH exposure was characterized by equilibration in the rate of renal Hg 2+ accumulation, a sharp decrease in both the TBARS formation rate and GCS mRNA level, but sustained elevation of renal cortical GSH content. Depletion of GSH with buthionine sulfoximine subsequent to the decline in the rate of TBARS formation did not result in a rebound of the TBARS formation rate. These findings suggest that oxidative stress during the initial phase of MMH exposure is derived from the transformation of CH 3 Hg + to Hg 2+ , which, in turn, induces the synthesis of Hg 2+ - and/or oxidant-scavenging GSH molecules via the up-regulation of renal GCS mRNA. The findings also suggest that resistance to Hg 2+ -mediated oxidative stress may be more closely associated with the capacity for up-regulation of GSH synthesis than with elevated GSH levels per se .
Effects on muscle activity from microstimuli applied to somatosensory and motor cortex during voluntary movement in the monkey.

Widener, Gail L. and Paul D. Cheney. Effects on muscle activity from microstimuli applied to somatosensory and motor cortex during voluntary movement in the monkey. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 2446–2465, ...
Additional Genetic Analysis Using Statistics

The laws of inheritance lend themselves to many applications of probability. Statistical methods also depend on the mathematical theory of probability. Geneticists are constantly attempting to describe genetic systems on the basis of experimental data. Genetic events cannot be predicted with certainty; however, these events can have a particular likelihood of occurring. The measurement of the likelihood of these events is an example of the application of probability.
'Accounting' for Intangibles - Taxation, Intellectual Property and the Law ... Lost in Translation?

Frequently, practitioners encounter client queries relating to the ‘value’ of their intangible asset (including, but not limited to, identifiable intangible assets other than intellectual property and goodwill, intellectual property such as trademarks, patents, copyright or indeed goodwill). Such questions may, for example, arise the context of a merger, sale or internal business restructure. There exist a number of facets for practitioners to consider even before they ‘pass the buck’ to an accounting practitioner or expert valuer or both. This article highlights some of these facets, but with a focus on ‘brands’, and outlines some practical tips and traps for practitioners in countries including the United States, Australia and Canada.
Reduced Time Approach to Curing Kinetics, Part II: Master Curve from Nonisothermal Data

Abstract Nonisothermal curing kinetic data obtained from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for a rubber compound are corrected for the effects of temperature lag between the DSC sample and fu...
Structure of aggregates of water and Li+, Na+, or K+ counterions with nucleic acid in solution

The position and orientation of water molecules hydrating fragments of DNA in the B and Z conformations are analyzed with the help of computer simulations. Monte Carlo studies are carried out at room temperature, high relative humidity (500 water molecules per pitch) and in the presence of counterions such as Li+, Na+, and K+. Differences in hydration patterns and in the counterionic structures were found by compairing B-DNA with Z-DNA double helices and B-DNA helices with different base-pair distributions. The present extension of our similations to Z-DNA and to Li+ and K+ counterions permits some general conclusions concerning nucleic acids in solution.
A Precipitating and Neutralizing Scarlatinal Antistreptococcus Horse Serum

In the course of immunologic studies, and the injection into animals of freshly isolated strains of streptococci in the green-producing group, I have noted many examples of extreme specificity. Strains culturally and morphologically much alike often manifested widely different localizing and agglutinating properties. Moreover, marked changes in these properties occurred following cultivation on artificial mediums and many successive animal passages.1 These changes were sometimes so striking as to suggest that a single strain may cause different diseases, depending on peculiar acquired infecting power and other properties, thus supporting clinical and epidemiologic observations. During a mild outbreak of scarlet fever in Rochester in 1917, I noted at the time of infection in one family, a sequence of events which indicated that similar changes occur in the group of hemolytic streptococci. The two members of the family who first became ill developed hemolytic streptococcus infection of the throat, without rash; those next affected developed typical scarlet fever, while those affected last developed only the throat infection. Epidemics of scarlet fever rarely occur except when hemolytic streptococcus infections of tonsils and throat are prevalent. These and other observations impelled me to immunize two horses at the time of the epidemic, one with hemolytic streptococci from scarlet fever, the other with hemolytic streptococci from septic infection. The epidemic of scarlet fever had disappeared before immunization was complete; hence the serum of the horse immunized with the scarlatinal strains was not used in treatment. The serum from the other horse was used in the
Parameterized Relativistic Dynamical Formalism for Transitions between Three Flavor States

Parameterized relativistic dynamics (PRD) is a manifestly covariant quantum theory with invariant evolution parameter. The theory has been applied to neutrino flavor oscillations between two mass states. It is generalized here to transitions between three mass states and applied to electron neutrino oscillations.
Comparison of the Quadriceps s EMG and Patellofemoral Force at Different Static Squatting Angles

The subjects do different angles knees static squatting exercises and test the surface Electromyography( s EMG) of the thigh quadriceps,and combined with the knees patellofemoral joint stress analysis under different angles to provide the theory basis and the reference value of clinical prevention and control of patellar strain,30 healthy male college students were selected respectively to do knees flexion 30°,45°,60° static squatting exercises,through the s EMG analysis and three-dimensional motion capture system to collect each subject s EMG parameters and kinematic parameters variations,and with the principles of mechanics calculated the patellofemoral joint force.When 45° static squatting,the quadriceps i EMG was the maximum value;With each angle of static squatting,the vastus lateralis is the largest amount of discharge,the rectus femoris is the smallest;During static squatting MPF,MF values of quadriceps radiate decreasing trend,but in static squatting at 45° MPF,MF fastest decline in value;When static squatting patellofemoral force increased with the increasing of the angle.Conclusion:It was found that in 45° flexion static squatting when compared to 30° and 60°,the easiest to reach quadriceps fatigue,and exercise better results,in which the vastus lateralis muscle was the most important working muscles when squatting.It is recommended that the patella strain patients do static squatting exercises according to their own feeling of pain in 30° ~ 60° range for training,but should avoid static squatting than 60° angle to be protected from excessive force to cause damage again.
The Effects of Dietary Fat or Fiber Addition on Energy and Nitrogen Digestibility in Lactating, Primiparous Sows Housed in a Warm or Hot Environment

Thirty primiparous sows were individually penned in a thermoneutral (20 degrees C) or hyperthermal (32 degrees C) environment and fed a high-starch (corn-soybean meal basal), high-fiber (48.5% wheat bran) or high-fat (10.6% choice white grease) diet from d 100 of gestation through a 22-d lactation to determine the effects of thermal environment and dietary energy source on energy and N digestibility in lactating sows. Voluntary feed intake and total feces and urine output were determined from d 12 through d 14 postpartum. Heat exposure (32 degrees C) depressed (P less than .05) voluntary feed, ME and N intake and lowered (P less than .05) apparent daily N retention. Heat exposure did not alter (P greater than .15) digestibility, expressed as percentage of intake, of dietary energy or N. Dietary additions of wheat bran depressed (P less than .05) the proportion of gross energy retained as ME by 12 and 14 percentage units and the apparent digestibility of N by 2.5 and 4.5 percentage units at 20 and 32 degrees C, respectively, compared with those of the basal diet. Dietary additions of choice white grease did not alter (P greater than .15) energy digestibility but increased (P less than .05) the proportion of N digested and retained in both environments. Apparent ME of the wheat bran, corn-soybean meal mix and choice white grease (determined by difference) was 2.72, 3.70 and 8.43 Mcal/kg DM and was independent of thermal environment. Digestibility of fibrous and starchy feedstuffs was similar in lactating sows and growing pigs allowed to consume feed ad libitum, whereas fat was more digestible in the sows.
Thiazolidinediones as a privileged structural scaffold in PPAR agonists: A review

Thiazolidinediones are a versatile scaffold of connecting various classes of organic compounds with a unique structural feature of hydrogen bonding donor and the hydrogen bonding acceptor region. An extensive number of research has been carried out on thiazolidinedione derivatives as a potent class of PPAR-? agonists. The present review focuses on the chemistry and PPAR- agonistic activity of diverse classes of phenyl and heterocyclic based thiazolidinediones
COSSplay: Validating a Computerized Operator Support System Using a Microworld Simulator

Our computerized operator support system microworld simulator with student operators approach is called COSSplay. COSSplay allows testing of specific interface elements such as alarm visualizations without the constraints of the surrounding nuclear control room elements typically associated with full-scope simulation studies. Approaches like COSSplay are ideal for first principles research in human factors and human-computer interaction. This paper highlights the uses of COSSplay as a complimentary approach to full-scope simulation studies for complex interface design.
Up-and-Down Routing Through Nested Core-Periphery Hierarchy in Mobile Opportunistic Social Networks

Routings in mobile opportunistic social networks (MOSNs) are challenging problems due to their dynamic network structures. This paper finds that MOSNs exhibit a nested core-periphery hierarchy (NCPH). In the NCPH, few active nodes with large weighted degrees are the network core, while the network peripheries are composed of inactive nodes with small weighted degrees. “Nested” indicates that the NCPH is preserved when periphery nodes are iteratively removed. A distributed labeling scheme is proposed to determine the NCPH with a granularity control. Based on the NCPH, this paper proposes an up-and-down routing protocol for MOSNs, which includes an upload phase and a download phase. A message can be uploaded from the source to the network core by iteratively forwarding the message to a relay that has a higher position in the NCPH. Then, space-efficient Bloom-filter-based routing hints are introduced to download messages from the network core to the destination. Compared to traditional hierarchical routings, the up-and-down routing protocol achieves a better balance among the data delivery delay, ratio, and cost. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed routing protocol achieves a competitive performance on the data delivery delay and ratio, with a small cost on the prior information maintenance and a low forwarding cost.
Establishment of Trichimerism in the Dog Leukocyte Antigen (DLA)-Identical Canine Hematopoietic Transplant Model.

Although hematopoietic cell transplantation is generally accomplished utilizing a single donor and recipient pair, multiple donors have been used to mediate engraftment, particularly in the case of low donor cell counts as in umbilical cord blood transplantation. The general engraftment outcome of HLA nonidentical cord blood transplantation is the predominance of one of the units over the other. Here we pose the question whether in the canine hematopoietic cell transplantation model, can we establish multiple donor chimerism using two DLA-identical donors and a single recipient. We identified 8 triplets of DLA-identical littermates by matching highly polymorphic microsatellite markers within DLA class I and class II regions and confirmed by DLA-DRB1 gene sequencing. The marrow recipients received 2 Gy total body irradiation followed by intravenous infusions of marrow cells from both donors 1 and 2. The median number of donor cells injected was 4.1 (range = 2.0–7.0) X 10 8 cells/kg. Post grafting immunosuppression consisted of cyclosporine (CSP) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) given for 35 and 28 days, respectively. The median time to hematological recovery (blood counts equivalent to pre-HCT levels) was 38 (range = 30–42) days. The degrees of chimerism were determined using variable number tandem repeat-polymerase chain reaction (VNTR-PCR) methods. As shown in the Table, sustained trichimerism occurred in 4 out of 8 dogs with engraftment for a period grater than 26 weeks. For G631, both donor grafts were rejected shortly following discontinuation of CSP and MMF. Dog G513 developed graft versus host disease (GvHD) which was successfully treated with a short course of CSP. Five dogs received kidney allografts from one of the respective HCT donors 6 months after HCT to assess donor specific immune tolerance. Kidney allografts were found to be essentially free of inflammation when assessed histologically on biopsy. Dog G643, was tested for immune function by a mixed leukocyte reaction and found to be competent against DLA nonidentical stimulator cells but nonresponsive against either of the donor stimulator cells. In summary, following nonmyeloablative conditioning, simultaneous administration of marrow stem cells from two DLA-identical littermates can result in trichimerism. Furthermore, immunological tolerance to multiple hematopoietic cell donors can include a solid organ graft from one of the marrow donors.
What kinds of alternative possibilities are required of the folk concept(s) of choice

Our concept of choice is integral to the way we understand others and ourselves, especially when considering ourselves as free and responsible agents. Despite the importance of this concept, there has been little empirical work on it. In this paper we report four experiments that provide evidence for two concepts of choice-namely, a concept of choice that is operative in the phrase having a choice and another that is operative in the phrase making a choice. The experiments indicate that the two concepts of choice can be differentiated from each other on the basis of the kind of alternatives to which each is sensitive. The results indicate that the folk concept of choice is more nuanced than has been assumed. This new, empirically informed understanding of the folk concept of choice has important implications for debates concerning free will, responsibility, and other debates spanning psychology and philosophy.
Automated classification of mislabeled near-infrared left and right iris images using convolutional neural networks

In this paper, we propose a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with unified architecture (no need to re-design it for each unique iris database used) that operates well in a diverse set of iris databases. The CNN is designed to automatically recognize mislabeled left and right iris images by iris recognition system operators, and thus, extend the capabilities of a conventional iris recognition system. Our proposed approach is composed of three steps. First, for each iris database used as input, a CNN is trained using part of the database. Second, an empirical parameter optimization study is conducted so that classification performance is acceptable. Finally, the proposed classifier is tested on the remaining images of the same database used for training. The performance of the proposed network is evaluated on small- and large-scale iris databases, including the NIST's Iris Challenge Evaluation (ICE), LG ICAM 4000 iris, the CASIA Lamp, and the Pupil Light Reflex (PLR) databases. Experimental results show that independent of the databases used or whether the classification performance is tested on either a left-or right-side dataset, our approach results in a classification performance ranging from 97.5 to 100%.
Empirical gentamicin dosing based on serum creatinine levels in premature and term neonates.

Purpose Empirical gentamicin dosing based on serum creatinine (SCr) levels in premature and term neonates was evaluated. Methods This single-center, retrospective cohort study was conducted in a standalone children’s hospital with a level IIIB, 44-bed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Data were abstracted and collected for all neonates admitted to the NICU from March 5, 2012, through March 5, 2014. Patients were included in the study if gentamicin was administered within the first 7 days of life, a trough gentamicin level was measured, and the neonate had a baseline SCr level measured within the first 24 hours of life. A series of logistic regressions was conducted to determine if gentamicin trough levels were influenced by gestational age (≤29 weeks [group 1], 30 weeks to 34 weeks and 6 days [group 2], and ≥35 weeks [group 3]) and SCr level (0.81–0.99 mg/dL [mildly elevated] and ≥1 mg/dL [elevated]). Results Of the 577 neonates reviewed during the study period, 507 met the inclusion criteria. Mildly elevated and elevated SCr levels were significantly associated with the presence of an elevated gentamicin trough ( p < 0.001). When the effect of gestational age was evaluated, the data suggested that SCr is a strong predictor of elevated gentamicin troughs. Conclusion Neonates with a gestational age of ≥30 weeks who had an SCr level of ≥1 mg/dL within the first 12–24 hours of life were more likely to have an elevated gentamicin trough level than their counterparts with normal SCr levels.
The Sharing Economy and Housing Affordability: Evidence from Airbnb

We assess the impact of home-sharing on residential house prices and rents. Using a dataset of Airbnb listings from the entire United States and an instrumental variables estimation strategy, we find that a 1% increase in Airbnb listings leads to a 0.018% increase in rents and a 0.026% increase in house prices at the median owner-occupancy rate zip code. The effect is moderated by the share of owner-occupiers, a result consistent with absentee landlords reallocating their homes from the long-term rental market to the short-term rental market. A simple model rationalizes these findings.
Towards a well-formed software architecture analysis

Over the past decade Software Architecture has proved to be a core component in software development processes. Therefore, the correctness of the software architecture is unsurprisingly crucial for the success of software products. Many methods for analyzing software architecture have been proposed in the literature in order to predict potential risks that impose far-reaching effects on the final product. However, almost none of these methods have been adopted in the industry as many of them require special knowledge or are simply not intuitive enough for the software developer. In this paper, we address this issue by proposing (the first step of) a framework for analyzing software architecture that is built using a semi-formal architecture description language (ADL), and a constraint based relational model. Architecture instances following our approach are then analyzed against a set of properties such as whether the architecture is complete, self-sufficient and self-contained. Satisfying these properties yields a well-formed architecture.
Earning the Rockies: How Geography Shapes America's Role in the World

Robert D. Kaplan. New York, NY: Random House, 2017. xv and 201 pp., maps, photos, references, notes, index. $27.00 cloth (ISBN 9780399588211).Robert D. Kaplan anticipated the election of Donald Tru...
Animal generation of green leaf litter in an arid shrubland enhances decomposition by altering litter quality and location

Abstract Soil carbon (C) and nutrients are derived largely from decomposition of plant biomass. Animals that generate greenfall, or green leaf litter, influence C and nutrient cycling dynamics by altering the phenological condition, and therefore nutrient quality, of plant litter entering the soil, and transporting litter among microsites. Microsite effects on decomposition rates are particularly pronounced in arid and semi-arid ecosystems where vegetation cover is often patchy. We investigated differences in decomposition of greenfall and senesced litter of three common Chihuahuan Desert plants from which animals frequently generate greenfall. A litterbag study was used to quantify differences in mass, C, and nitrogen (N) losses between green and senesced leaves in shrub intercanopy and subcanopy microsites in desert shrublands. We found significant differences in nutrient concentration of green and senesced leaves, and that both litter condition (green or senesced) and microsite affected decomposition rate. For two of the three litter species, greenfall decomposed more rapidly than senesced litter; for all three species, litter decomposed more rapidly in intercanopy than subcanopy microsites. These results support the idea that creation and translocation of greenfall by animals are important mechanisms regulating decomposition speed and C and nutrient transfer from plant biomass into the soil.
Combining Human and Machine Capabilities for Improved Accuracy and Speed in Visual Recognition Tasks

This study investigated methods of enhancing human computer interaction in applications of pattern recognition where higher accuracy is required than is currently achievable by automated systems, but where there is enough time for a limited amount of human interaction. On a flower identification task, methods were explored to improve the accuracy of human-only and machine-only recognition by employing human-computer interaction. Human involvement in the feature extraction process, especially in color selection, was found to be most beneficial.
Synthesis and structures of α-lithiated vinyl ethers

Abstract The structures of α-lithiated vinyl ethers were explored on the basis of a combined computational and NMR study. Calculations (M06/6-31 + G(d)) on free energies of aggregate formation for a series of α-lithiated vinyl ethers indicated that the tetramer is generated preferentially in both the gas phase and THF solution, except for cyclohexylidene derivatives. (1-(Methoxymethoxy)vinyl)lithium, (2,2-difluoro-1-(methoxymethoxy)vinyl)lithium, and (1-butoxyvinyl)lithium were prepared in NMR tubes by the deprotonation of alkyl/alkoxylalkyl vinyl ethers or by the transmetalation of tin compounds. The NMR spectra of these lithium species in THF solution showed that in each species one aggregate is primarily present at 173 K, which is consistent with the preference of the tetramer.
LIGHT RELATIVISTIC BOUND STATES IN HIGH TEMPERATURE QCD

The nonperturbative structure of high temperature QCD is combined with generalized sum-rules arguments to analyse gauge invariant correlation functions in real time. It is shown that for a plausible choice of condensates, QCD at high temperature exhibits color singlet excitations as opposed to merely screened quarks and gluons.
Einführung: Das Interpretative Paradigma

Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts schlug Max Weber (1854–1920) vor, Soziologie solle als „Kulturwissenschaft“ betrieben werden. In seinem bis heute fur das wissenschaftliche Selbstverstandnis der, oder besser: einer spezifischen Auffassung von Soziologie grundlegenden Aufsatz uber „Die Objektivitat sozialwissenschaftlicher und sozialpolitischer Erkenntnis“ aus dem Jahre 1904 erlautert er diese Ansicht:
Level of residual enzyme activity modulates the phenotype in phosphoglycerate kinase deficiency.

Objective To study the variable clinical picture and exercise tolerance of patients with phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) 1 deficiency and how it relates to residual PGK enzyme activity. Methods In this case series study, we evaluated 7 boys and men from 5 families with PGK1 deficiency. Five had pure muscle symptoms, while 2 also had mild intellectual disability with or without anemia. Muscle glycolytic and oxidative capacities were evaluated by an ischemic forearm exercise test and by cycle ergometry. Results Enzyme levels of PGK were 4% to 9% of normal in red cells and 5% to10% in muscle in pure myopathy patients and 2.6% in both muscle and red cells in the 2 patients with multisystem involvement. Patients with pure myopathy had greater increases in lactate with ischemic exercise (2–3 mmol/L) vs the 2 multisystem-affected patients ( Conclusions This case series study of PGK1 deficiency suggests that the level of impaired glycolysis in PGK deficiency is a major determinant of phenotype. Lower glycolytic capacity in PGK1 deficiency seems to result in multisystem involvement and increased susceptibility to exertional rhabdomyolysis.
Identification of circulating murine CD34+OCN+ cells.

Abstract Background aims Previous studies identified a circulating human osteoblastic population that expressed osteocalcin (OCN), increased following fracture and pubertal growth, and formed mineralized colonies in vitro and bone in vivo. A subpopulation expressed CD34, a hematopoietic/endothelial marker. These findings led to our hypothesis that hematopoietic-derived CD34+OCN+ cells exist in the circulation of mice and are modulated after fracture. Methods Flow cytometry was used to identify CD34+OCN+ cells in male B6.SJL-PtprcaPepcb/BoyJ and Vav-Cre/mTmG (VavR) mice. Non-stabilized tibial fractures were created by three-point bend. Fractures were longitudinally imaged by micro-computed tomography, and immunofluorescent staining was used to evaluate CD34+OCN+ cells within fracture callus. AMD3100 (10 mg/kg) was injected subcutaneously for 3 days and the CD34+OCN+ population was evaluated by flow cytometry. Results Circulating CD34+OCN+ cells were identified in mice and confirmed to be of hematopoietic origin (CD45+; Vav1+) using two mouse models. Both circulating and bone marrow-derived CD34+OCN+ cells peaked three weeks post-non-stabilized tibial fracture, suggesting association with cartilage callus transition to bone and early mineralization. Co-expression of CD34 and OCN in the fracture callus at two weeks post-fracture was observed. By three weeks, there was 2.1-fold increase in number of CD34+OCN+ cells, and these were observed throughout the fracture callus. AMD3100 altered CD34+OCN+ cell levels in peripheral blood and bone marrow. Discussion Together, these data demonstrate a murine CD34+OCN+ circulating population that may be directly involved in fracture repair. Future studies will molecularly characterize CD34+OCN+ cells, determine mechanisms regulating their contribution, and examine if their number correlates with improved fracture healing outcomes.
Sea Spray Aerosol: Where Marine Biology Meets Atmospheric Chemistry

Atmospheric aerosols have long been known to alter climate by scattering incoming solar radiation and acting as seeds for cloud formation. These processes have vast implications for controlling the chemistry of our environment and the Earth's climate. Sea spray aerosol (SSA) is emitted over nearly three-quarters of our planet, yet precisely how SSA impacts Earth's radiation budget remains highly uncertain. Over the past several decades, studies have shown that SSA particles are far more complex than just sea salt. Ocean biological and physical processes produce individual SSA particles containing a diverse array of biological species including proteins, enzymes, bacteria, and viruses and a diverse array of organic compounds including fatty acids and sugars. Thus, a new frontier of research is emerging at the nexus of chemistry, biology, and atmospheric science. In this Outlook article, we discuss how current and future aerosol chemistry research demands a tight coupling between experimental (observational and laboratory studies) and computational (simulation-based) methods. This integration of approaches will enable the systematic interrogation of the complexity within individual SSA particles at a level that will enable prediction of the physicochemical properties of real-world SSA, ultimately illuminating the detailed mechanisms of how the constituents within individual SSA impact climate.
Performance on the Robotics On-Board Trainer (ROBoT-r) Spaceflight Simulation During Acute Sleep Deprivation

Exploration of deep space poses many challenges. Mission support personnel will not be immediately available to assist crewmembers performing complex operations on future long-duration exploration operations. Consequently, it is imperative that crewmembers have objective, reliable, and non-invasive metrics available to aid them in determining their fitness for duty prior to engaging in potentially dangerous tasks. The Robotics On-Board Trainer (ROBoT) task is NASA's platform for training astronauts to perform docking and grappling maneuvers. It is regularly used by crewmembers during spaceflight for refresher training. The operational ROBoT system, however, does not record data. Thus, a research version of ROBoT, called ROBoT-r, was developed so that operationally relevant data could be mined to provide feedback to crewmembers. We investigated whether ROBoT-r metrics would change according to sleep loss and circadian phase in a 28-h laboratory-based sleep deprivation study. Overall, participants showed improvement over time despite sleep loss, indicating continued learning. Performance on the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) followed an expected profile, with reduced performance across the night. These findings suggest that individuals may be able to temporarily compensate for sleep loss to maintain performance on complex, novel tasks. It is possible that some ROBoT-r metrics may be sensitive to sleep loss after longer bouts of wakefulness or after individuals have habituated to the task. Studies with additional participants and extended pre-training on the ROBoT-r task should be conducted to disentangle how brain activity may change as individuals learn and habituate to complex tasks during sleep loss.
113. MENTAL HEALTH IN THE PEDIATRIC SUBSPECIALTIES: PHYSICIANS’ BELIEFS AND CONFIDENCE PROVIDING CARE

Background Mental and behavioral health (MBH) issues are prevalent in children with chronic medical conditions and negatively impact health outcomes. However, rates of screening and referral for MBH issues are low among subspecialists. The American Board of Pediatrics has recommended that curricula be instituted to improve subspecialists’ MBH care. However, the goals of such curricula are unclear as barriers to subspecialists and trainees providing MBH care have not been defined. Objective As part of a needs assessment to develop a curriculum for fellows, we sought to define subspecialists’ barriers to providing MBH care. Methods Yale School of Medicine pediatric faculty and fellows were surveyed on training, confidence addressing (5-point Likert scale), and screening of MBH issues. Respondents completed a modified Physician Belief Scale (PBS), divided into two subscales (beliefs and burden), with a higher score indicating more negative MBH attitudes. Results were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results Surveys were completed by 71 pediatric faculty and 26 fellows (87 subspecialists, response rate 53%). General pediatricians screened more often for MBH issues than subspecialists (OR=3.3, p Conclusion A curriculum to increase MBH care in the subspecialties should highlight the importance of addressing MBH issues in children with chronic medical conditions, teach communication skills and screening strategies, and address perceived burdens on time.