cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Significance of Modeling Deterioration in Structural Components for Predicting the Collapse Potential of Structures Under Earthquake Excitations

The paper presents a summary of the state of knowledge in structural component and system modeling for predicting the collapse potential of buildings structural systems. In this context, collapse implies dynamic instability in a sidesway mode, usually triggered by large story drifts that are amplified by structure P-Δ effects and deterioration in strength and stiffness of the components of the system. The collapse capacity of a building is defined as the maximum ground motion intensity (often represented by the spectral acceleration at the first mode period) at which the structural system still maintains dynamic stability. A collapse fragility curve that incorporates aleatory uncertainty due to record-to-record (RTR) variability is obtained by ordering the collapse capacities for a representative set of ground motions. Realistic modeling of deterioration is found to be the most essential aspect of collapse prediction through nonlinear dynamic analysis.
Application of induced pluripotent stem cells to hematologic disease.

Abstract Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) were first generated from somatic cells via the transduction of four ‘Yamanaka’ factors, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc. Because iPSC are similar to embryonic stem cells (ESC) and can be differentiated into any cell type of choice, iPSC have the potential to become a platform for personalized medicine by allowing a patient's own cells to become a source of therapeutic tissue. This review describes the main challenges in iPSC technology by focusing on its application to hematologic diseases. The explosive interest in improving iPSC technology has generated numerous genetic and chemical methods for iPSC derivation, but these methods must be evaluated comparatively for their safety and efficacy because there are risks of genetic abnormalities and oncogenesis. Competent iPSC will need to be selected carefully based on physical, genetic and functional criteria, and differentiated efficiently into hematopoietic stem cells via modulation of several signaling pathways before they prove valuable in the clinic.
Metallothionein-Null Mice Are More Susceptible Than Wild-Type Mice to Chronic CdCl2-Induced Bone Injury

Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental pollutant and is toxic to a number of organs. Chronic exposure to Cd causes loss of bone mass and increased incidence of bone fractures, as seen in Itai-itai patients and laboratory animals. Metallothionein (MT), a low-molecular weight, cysteine-rich, metal-binding protein, has been shown to play an important role in the detoxication of Cd. Thus, this study was designed to test the hypothesis that MT protects against Cd-induced bone injury. Wild-type and MT-I/II knockout (MT-null) mice were given repeated sc injections of CdCl(2) over a wide range of doses for 10 weeks, and Cd-induced bone injury was examined. Cd produced dose- and time-dependent increases in bone Cd content. However, the concentration of Cd in bone was much lower than that found in the liver and kidney (11 vs 400 and 120 microg/g, respectively) of the same mice. There was no difference in bone Cd content between wild-type and MT-null mice. Repeated Cd injections produced a dose-dependent loss of bone mass (up to 25%), as shown by analysis of the femur, tibia, and lumbar vertebrae. The loss of bone mass was more marked in MT-null mice than in wild-type mice, as shown by dry bone weight, defatted bone weight, bone ash weight, and total calcium content. X-ray photography showed decreasing bone density along the entire bone length with increasing dose and time of Cd exposure. The decrease in bone density was more marked in MT-null mice than in wild-type mice at the same dose and time points. Histopathology showed dilatation of haversian canals with increased osteoid seams, rounded osteocytes with expanded pericellular space, and expansion of hyperplastic bone marrow into metaphyseal cortical bone. Again, these lesions were more marked in MT-null mice. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that deficiency in MT renders animals more susceptible to Cd-induced bone mass loss and bone injury, and thus indicates that MT plays a protective role in Cd-induced toxicity in bone, as it does in other tissues.
Distraction Arthrodesis of the Subtalar Joint Using Allogeneic Bone Graft: A Review of 15 Cases

Distraction arthrodesis of the subtalar joint is often used for the correction of neglected calcaneal fractures. Although different techniques have been advocated, there remains some debate as to the optimal type of bone graft for this purpose. This study retrospectively reviewed one surgeon's results for distraction arthrodesis of the talocalcaneal joint for 15 consecutive feet in 15 patients using 12 frozen femoral head and 3 freeze-dried iliac crest allografts. Indications for distraction arthrodesis in this series included neglected calcaneal fracture (n = 10), failed open reduction with internal fixation (n = 3), malunion after ankle fusion (n = 1), and subtalar joint arthritis with deformity (n = 1). The mean patient age was 47.5 (range 29 to 66) years, and the mean duration of follow-up was 20.6 (range 13 to 31) months. Complete union was achieved in 14 (93.33%) feet. Orthobiological agents were used in every case, including 7 (46.67%) platelet-rich plasma, 5 (33.33%) demineralized bone matrix combined with platelet-rich plasma, 2 (13.33%) platelet-rich plasma combined with an implantable electrical bone growth stimulator, and 1 (6.67%) demineralized bone matrix only. One (6.67%) patient developed a nonunion with collapse of the allogeneic graft, requiring revision with autogenous iliac crest bone graft. There were 8 (53.33%) minor complications, including 4 (26.66%) cases with inferior heel irritation, 2 (13.33%) with sural nerve paresthesia, and 2 (13.33%) with wound dehiscence. In conclusion, the use of allograft for subtalar joint distraction arthrodesis results in similar union rates as autogenous iliac crest grafting previously reported in the literature.
Energy-efficient motion estimation using error-tolerance

Presented is an energy-efficient motion estimation architecture using error-tolerance. The technique employs overscaling of the supply voltage (voltage overscaling (VOS)) to reduce power at the expense of timing errors, which are then corrected using algorithmic noise-tolerance (ANT) techniques. Referred to as input subsampled replica ANT (ISR-ANT), the proposed technique incorporates an input subsampled replica of the main sum of absolute difference (MSAD) block for obtaining the motion vectors in the presence of errors induced by VOS. Simulations show that the proposed technique can save up to 60% power over an optimal error-free present day system in a 130nm CMOS technology. Power savings increase to 79% in a 45nm predictive process technology.
The Problem of Liberty in the thought of Adam Smith

In this paper I propose to investigate the problem of liberty in Adam Smith's work. Suggesting that there is a “problem” may strike some as strange. After all, is not Smith simply the great defender of the system of natural liberty, a set of economic proposals that would remove the State from the business of directing the economy? Does he not maintain unequivocally that individuals are the best judges of their own self-interest and argue that they should be allowed to commit their labor and capital to those enterprises they deem most useful? Is Smith not one of the great defenders of the concept of negative liberty in modern liberal thought?
First Report of Vertebrate Fossils in the Snyderville Shale (Oread Formation; Upper Pennsylvanian), Greenwood County, Kansas

A recent serendipitous vertebrate fossil find in the Upper Pennsylvanian of Greenwood County, Kansas has yielded hundreds of disassociated bones of amphibians as well as reptiles, fish, and sharks. This is the first published report on vertebrate fossils from the Snyderville Shale, which represents the regressive phase of a minor cyclothem in the Oread Formation. Preliminary identification suggests the presence of Archeria, Diasparactus, Eryops, Ophiacodon, Orthacanthus, Sagenodus, and Trimerorhachis. These vertebrates were land-dwelling, semi-aquatic, and aquatic and are consistent with a coastal, wetland paleoenvironment.
Unexpected autopsy findings arising from postmortem ocular examination.

Abstract Background.—A full autopsy at our institution includes removal of the eyes for pathologic examination. To our knowledge, the rate of ophthalmic findings at autopsy has not been documented previously. Design.—We retrospectively reviewed 277 consecutive autopsies conducted between 1995 and 1999 in which the eyes were removed for examination. Ophthalmic findings were placed in the following categories: I, major findings included those that contributed to the patient's death, would have changed patient management, and/or may have important medical implications for close relatives; II, expected findings after ophthalmologic surgery and minor findings that may have eventually required treatment; and III, incidental findings. Results.—Major findings (category I) were found in 32% of autopsies. Minor findings (category II) and incidental findings (category III) were documented in 62% and 34% of autopsies, respectively. Only 14% of autopsies revealed no ophthalmologic diagnoses. Conclusion.—In our series,...
Exercising Incentive Stock Options by Exchanging Stock for Stock: A Means of Building Individual Wealth

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the recent controversy surrounding the expensing of stock options appears likely to reduce the number of options granted. Therefore, it becomes increasingly important for grantees to manage the grants that they have received in order to maximize grantee wealth. A feature of incentive stock options (ISOs) allows them to be exercised through the exchange of currently owned shares, without initiating a taxable event. For certain grantees, this approach may be an attractive alternative in building wealth.
Interrogating Race: Color, Racial Categories, and Class Across the Americas

We address long-standing debates on the utility of racial categories and color scales for understanding inequality in the United States and Latin America, using novel data that enable comparisons of these measures across both broad regions. In particular, we attend to the degree to which color and racial category inequality operate independently of parental socioeconomic status. We find a variety of patterns of racial category and color inequality, but that in most countries accounting for maternal education changes our coefficients by 5% or less. Overall, we argue that several posited divergences in ethnoracial stratification processes in the United States, compared with Latin America, might be overstated. We conclude that the comparison of the effects of multiple ethnoracial markers, such as color and racial categories, for the analysis of social stratification holds substantial promise for untangling the complexities of “race” across the Americas.
Design of a line-scanned handheld imager for detecting natural gas leaks

An active infrared imager capable of both single-and differential-frequency detection of methane is being developed for handheld operation. The device will be capable of producing real-time video images of methane plumes.
Development of the ellipsoidal statistical bhatnagar-Gross-krook method for hypersonic flows

To avoid the high computational costs related to the DSMC method for low Knudsen number flows, a new particle method, based on the solution to the ES-BGK model of the Boltzmann equation, is investigated. In this method, a fraction of the particles in a cell is selected for velocity reassignment from the local Maxwellian distribution based the collision frequency and an even smaller fraction is selected for rotational energy reassignment based the rotational relaxation rate. Zero-dimensional simulation results show that the method can model well the rotational relaxation. When simulating the argon flow over a cone with a weak shock, it is found that a minimum of forty selected particles for transitional velocity reassignment are required to achieve energy conservation and then good agreement with flow properties simulated with DSMC. However, same number of simulated particles per cell for the case with nitrogen flow is not sufficient to model the rotational relaxation rate and results show relatively good agreement for transitional temperature but poor agreement for rotational temperature.
MESHFREE METHODS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS

Meshfree methods,both their theoretical foundation and their applications to a variety of fields, are reviewed in detail.There is much less mesh-dependency in meshfree methods,which can eliminate possible mesh distortion and entanglement in mesh-based numerical methods,such as the finite element method or boundary element method.Meshfree methods show particular advantages in some fields where the finite element or boundary element method encounter difficulties.More than 30 kinds of meshfree methods are reviewed in this paper in the light of weighted residual method,and different meshfree methods can be viewed as different forms of weighted residual method and/or with different approximation functions.Various kinds of meshfree approximate schemes are presented in detail,including moving least square approximation,kernel and reproducing kernel approximation,partition of unity approximation,radial basis approximation,radial point interpolation and natural neighbor interpolation.Different forms of weighted residual method,such as Galerkin form,collocation form,local weak form,weighted least-square form,boundary integral form are also described, and corresponding numerical quadrature algorithms and implementation of boundary conditions are discussed. Furthermore,applications of meshfree methods to the fields of impact and explosion,crack propagation,hyper large deformation,structural optimization,fluid-solid interaction,biomechanics and micro- and nano-mechanics are reviewed,and their advantages over conventional numerical methods are demonstrated.
Organocatalytic and Chemoselective Polymerization of Multivinyl-Functionalized γ-Butyrolactones

Achieving complete chemoselectivity in the polymerization of multivinyl polar monomers is an important yet challenging task, currently achievable only by metal- or metalloid-mediated polymerization processes but in a noncatalytic fashion. Now this work shows that organic N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysts effect rapid, chemoselective, and catalytic polymerization of multivinyl-functionalized γ-butyrolactones, particularly γ-vinyl-α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone (VMBL). Thus, the NHC-catalyzed polymerization of VMBL not only is quantitatively chemoselective, proceeding exclusively via polyaddition across the conjugated α-methylene double bond while leaving the γ-vinyl double bond intact, but also requires only an exceptionally low catalyst loading of 50 ppm, thus, exhibiting a remarkably high catalyst turnover frequency of 80000 h–1 and producing on average 33.6 polymer chains of Mn = 73.8 kg/mol per NHC molecule. The resulting PVMBL can be either thermally cured into cross-linked materials or postfunction...
Dynamic resource allocation to support oil spill response planning for energy exploration in the Arctic

Abstract A mixed-integer linear program is proposed to model the dynamic network expansion problem of improving oil spill response capabilities to support energy exploration in the Arctic. Oil spill response operations in this region can be hampered by a lack of existing infrastructure, limited pre-positioned response equipment, and the possibility that response equipment might not arrive in time to mitigate the impact of a spill because of distance and infrastructure limitations. These considerations are modeled by two inter-related constraint sets with the objective of minimized total weighted response time for a set of potential oil spill incidents. One constraint set determines how to dynamically allocate response equipment and improve the infrastructures necessary to stockpile them within a network of response sites. The other set determines how to utilize this stockpile to respond to each task necessary for an incident by scheduling the equipment to complete tasks. These task completion times are subject to deadlines which, if not met, can, instead, require costlier follow-on tasks to be scheduled. The model, its assumptions, and data requirements were assessed by subject matter experts in the United States (U.S.) Coast Guard and a major Oil Spill Response Organization in the context of oil spill response logistics to support energy exploration initiatives in the U.S. Arctic.
Recent research on early farming in central Europe

Farming communities were established in many parts of central Europe Between approximately 5600 and 4500 BC. Although these communities have been studied for over a century, much more remains to be learned about them. This article will provide an overview of the history of this research, some important recent discoveries, and a sense of the ongoing debate about the origins of these agricultural communities.
Cell phones during nonwork time

Technology (e.g., cell phones) is increasingly blurring the lines between the work and nonwork domains. Evidence suggests technology users experience both negative and positive outcomes associated with work-related technology use during nonwork hours. We extended the job demands-resources model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001) to technology use by conceptualizing work-related cell phone (WRCP) use as a job demand and cell phone attachment -valuing and being physically attached to a cell phone- as a resource. We expected high cell phone attachment will buffer against the negative effects of WRCP use on emotional exhaustion, work engagement, and work-family conflict. Participants from various occupations (N?=?313) responded to two online surveys administered one week apart. Cell phone use and attachment were assessed at Time 1; criteria were assessed at Time 2. High cell phone attachment buffered against the negative effects of WRCP use on emotional exhaustion and work-family conflict, and it enhanced the beneficial effects of WRCP use on work engagement. Being more engaged and attached to cell phones may help employees deal with WRCP use during nonwork time more effectively. Practical implications include providing training for more effective cell phone use during nonwork time. Extends the job demands-resources model to examine effects of cell phone use for work.We conceptualize cell phone attachment as a resource.Cell phone attachment minimizes negative effects of work-related cell phone use.Work engagement is enhanced by being more attached to cell phones.
Highly Reduced Species Mechanisms for iso-Cetane Using the Local Self-Similarity Tabulation Method

We utilize the local self-similarity tabulation method to drastically downsize the number of species involved in a detailed kinetic mechanism of iso-cetane. Reduced-species mechanisms of 20 and 15 species are constructed, out of the 1114 species involved in the detailed mechanism, with a focus on high-pressure combustion. The performance of the two reduced mechanisms are compared to the detailed one for a lean (ϕ = 0.5), stoichiometric (ϕ = 1.0), and rich (ϕ = 1.5) iso-cetane/air mixture at initial temperatures of 900 and 1100 K and constant pressures of 20 and 40 bar. Good to very good agreement between the detailed kinetic mechanism and the two highly reduced species mechanisms are demonstrated.
Long Term Diabetic Retinopathy Vitrectomy Results: 10 Years Follow-Up

Since the development of pars plana vitrectomy (1) this procedure has become the standard from of treatment for dense non-clearing vitreous hemorrhages, and traction retinal detachments involving the macula caused by diabetic retinopathy. This report concerns the visual and anatomical results 10 years following vitrectomy for diabetic retinopathy.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with multiple-organ failure: Can molecular adsorbent recirculating system therapy improve survival?

Background Liver dialysis, molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) particularly, has been used in liver failure to bridge to transplantation. We expanded the indication for MARS to patients with acute shock liver failure and cardiopulmonary failure on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), aiming to improve survival to wean from ECMO. Methods Retrospective chart analysis of patients on ECMO between 2010 and 2015 found 28 patients who met the criteria for acute liver failure, diagnosed by hyperbilirubinemia (total bilirubin ≥10 mg/dl) or by elevated transaminase (alanine transaminase >1,000 IU/liter). Of these patients, 14 underwent MARS treatment (Group M), and 14 were supported with optimal medical treatment without MARS (Group C). Patient characteristics, liver function, and survival were compared between groups. Results Demographics, clinical risk factors, and pre-ECMO laboratory data were identical between the groups. MARS was used continuously for 8 days ± 9 in Group M. Total bilirubin, alanine transaminase, and international normalized ratio were improved significantly in Group M. There were no MARS-related complications. Survival to wean from ECMO for Group M was 64% (9/14) vs 21% (3/14) for Group C ( p = 0.02). Mortality related to worsening liver dysfunction during ECMO was 40% (2/5 deaths) in Group M and 100% (11/11 deaths) in Group C ( p = 0.004). The 30-day survival after ECMO was 43% (6/14) in Group M and 14% (2/14) in Group C ( p = 0.09). Conclusions MARS therapy in patients on ECMO safely accelerated recovery of liver function and improved survival to wean from ECMO, without increasing complications.
THE TIMING OF WELFARE PAYMENTS AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE

I examine transfer schedules for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and find a causal relationship between the time directly after welfare payments and intimate partner violence against women. This study supports the hypothesis that the husband uses threats of violence as an instrument to gain control over the allocation of household resources, and suggests that the increased incidence in physical violence after welfare payments is associated with alcohol use. Additionally, I find that states that pay TANF recipients twice a month do not have this effect on threats of violence. This suggests that smaller, more frequent payments may reduce the husband's incentive to use verbal violence as a bargaining tool. (JEL I38, J18, J12)
Myocardial Injury, Obesity, and the Obesity Paradox: The ARIC Study

Abstract Objectives This study sought to determine whether pre-heart failure (HF) myocardial injury explains the differential mortality after HF across weight categories. Background Obesity is a risk factor for HF, but pre-HF obesity is associated with lower mortality after incident HF. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) is a sensitive marker of myocardial injury, and predicts incident HF and mortality. Methods Stratifying 1,279 individuals with incident HF hospitalizations by their pre-HF hs-cTnT levels ( Results Mean age at HF was 74 years (53% women, 27% black). Individuals with pre-HF hs-cTnT ≥14 ng/l had higher mortality after incident HF (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.46; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.18 to 1.80) compared to individuals with hs-cTnT Conclusion Although greater pre-existing subclinical myocardial injury was associated with higher mortality after incident HF hospitalization, it did not explain the obesity paradox in HF, which was observed irrespective of subclinical myocardial injury. (Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities [ARIC]; NCT00005131 )
Nonlinear equalization of microwave photonic links

High dynamic range is a key requirement in advanced microwave photonic systems. We demonstrate compensation of nonlinearities occurring in microwave photonic links using a novel digital nonlinear equalization technique and demonstrate suppression of distortion products by 33 dB with a small number of equalizer coefficients.
Pediatric thoracic trauma: Current trends

Pediatric thoracic trauma is relatively uncommon but results in disproportionately high levels of morbidity and mortality when compared with other traumatic injuries. These injuries are often more devastating due to differences in children׳s anatomy and physiology relative to adult patients. A high index of suspicion is of utmost importance at the time of presentation because many significant thoracic injuries will have no external signs of injury. With proper recognition and management of these injuries, there is an associated improved long-term outcome. This article reviews the current literature and discusses the initial evaluation, current management practices, and future directions in pediatric thoracic trauma.
Does imiquimod pretreatment optimize 308-nm excimer laser (UVB) therapy in psoriasis patients?

SummaryBackground/Purpose Psoriasis continues to be a debilitating skin disease affecting 1–3% of the United States population. Although the effectiveness of several current biologic therapies have described this pathology as a IL-23, TNF-a and Th17-mediated disease, less invasive approaches are still in use and in need of refinement. One of these is the usage of narrow band-UVB (NB-UVB) therapy to deplete specifically intra-epidermal CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells to clear psoriatic plaques. Aims/Objectives In order to improve NB-UVB therapy, we sought to determine whether skin pre-treatment with the TLR7 agonist imiquimod (IMQ) would help increase the efficiency of the former at resolving psoriatic plaques. Materials and Methods Eucerin® Original Moisturizing Lotion (topical vehicle) or Aldara® (imiquimod 5% topical cream) were applied for 5 days once daily to a maximum contiguous area of 25 cm2 (5 cm × 5 cm area). Patients were provided with sachets containing 12.5 mg of imiquimod each and were instructed to apply imiquimod (I) to two psoriasis plaques (5 sachets of imiquimod allotted to each plaque). A PHAROS excimer Laser EX-308 (Ra Medical Systems, Inc. Carlsbad, CA, USA) with an output of monochromatic 308-nm light and pulse width of 20–50 ns was used for all patients. Punch biopsies of psoriatic lesions (6 mm) were taken at 4 and 48 h after final application of topical treatment with or without excimer laser treatment. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR was performed according to manufacturer's instructions and Inmunohistochemistry was used as described before. Results Our results suggests that although IMQ seemed to activate the type I interferon pathway as previously described, its concomitant usage with NB-UVB for clearing psoriatic skin was ineffective. Although upregulation of genes MxA, GRAMD1A and DMXL2 suggested that IMQ treatment did induce skin changes in psoriasis patients, more optimal dosing of IMQ and NB-UVB might be necessary to achieve desired treatment responses. Conclusion The observation that psoriasis involvement was not aggravated by usage of topical IMQ was encouraging. Additional observational studies might be necessary to further tailor the combination of IMQ with NB-UVB therapy to reliably improve the psoriatic pathology.
Aldehydes Pose a Threat to BRCA2 Mutation Carriers

Humans with inherited heterozygous BRCA2 mutations have an increased risk of developing cancer; however, what triggers carcinogenesis in these individuals is unclear. Tan et al. find that environmental and metabolic aldehydes pose a threat to these individuals by promoting degradation of wild-type BRCA2 protein, thereby predisposing them to genomic instability and perhaps to cancer.
Why Are There So Few Ethics Consults in Children's Hospitals?

In most children’s hospitals, there are very few ethics consultations, even though there are many ethically complex cases. We hypothesize that the reason for this may be that hospitals develop different mechanisms to address ethical issues and that many of these mechanisms are closer in spirit to the goals of the pioneers of clinical ethics than is the mechanism of a formal ethics consultation. To show how this is true, we first review the history of collaboration between philosophers and physicians about clinical dilemmas. Then, as a case-study, we describe the different venues that have developed at one children’s hospital to address ethical issues. At our hospital, there are nine different venues in which ethical issues are regularly and explicitly addressed. They are (1) ethics committee meetings, (2) Nursing Ethics Forum, (3) ethics Brown Bag workshops, (4) PICU ethics rounds, (5) Grand Rounds, (6) NICU Comprehensive Care Rounds, (7) Palliative Care Team (PaCT) case conferences, (8) multidisciplinary consults in Fetal Health Center, and (9) ethics consultations. In our hospital, ethics consults account for only a tiny percentage of ethics discussions. We suspect that most hospitals have multiple and varied venues for ethics discussions. We hope this case study will stimulate research in other hospitals analyzing the various ways in which ethicists and ethics committees can build an ethical environment in hospitals. Such research might suggest that ethicists need to develop a different set of “core competencies” than the ones that are needed to do ethics consultations. Instead, they should focus on their skills in creating multiple “moral spaces” in which regular and ongoing discussion of ethical issues would take place. A successful ethicist would empower everyone in the hospital to speak up about the values that they believe are central to respectful, collaborative practice and patient care. Such a role is closer to what the first hospital philosophers set out to do than in the role of the typical hospital ethics consultant today.
A Review of the Derivations of the Formulas for the Acoustical Properties of Liquid-Solid Mixtures

The natural sediments run through the whole gamut from dilute suspensions of very high porosity on one end to porous solids of very low porosity on the other end. In this paper the state of the art in the derivations of formulas for the acoustical properties of deflocculated liquid-solid mixtures (of porosity varying from close to 100% to as low as 60%) is briefly reviewed. Basic assumptions, methodology, and improvements in the derivations are delineated. Derivations have been classified under three categories: scattering theory, conservation laws, and other methods. The media properties which are shown to have effect on the acoustic properties are: density, compressibility, shear viscosity, thermal conductivity, and surface tension. In the existing literature the particle has been assumed to be spherical. It has been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally that when the suspension components differ appreciably in density, the particle shape does have effects on the acoustic parameters. Natural sediments (clay, for example) occur in shapes described as close to ellipsoidal. It is concluded in this review that the method of formulation of the wave equation for suspensions will yield acoustic parameters for ellipsoidal particles when the drag force on the ellipsoidal particle in the sound field is known.
Clostridium difficile-Associated Diseases

Clostridium difficile is the most common and important cause of healthcare infection, manifesting as a spectrum of disease ranging from mild diarrhea to toxic megacolon and pseudomembranous colitis. The causative organism, an anaerobic spore-forming bacillus, particularly affects people who have received antibiotics in the recent past; additional predispositions besides older age include immune suppressed states, gastric surgery, tube feeding, and chronic kidney disease. The geriatric population is vulnerable to complications and mortality. A variety of stool assays help in diagnosis. Prevention is the key, with infection control measures and meticulous hand hygiene important. Initial therapy includes use of metronidazole or vancomycin. Resistance and recurrence are handled differently. Newer drugs, monoclonal antibodies, and vaccines may offer better options in future.
Characterization of Thermoelectric Generators for Cathodic Protection of Pipelines of the City Heating

In the scientific article, the design of an experimental thermoelectric power source for the cathodic protection station of the heat network pipeline from electrochemical corrosion is proposed, which allows utilizing low-potential heat with subsequent direct conversion to electricity in thermoelectric converters consisting of two metals different in their thermionic properties, using the effect of thermoelectricity. Thermoelectricity is the phenomenon of direct conversion of heat into electricity in conductors, as well as the reverse phenomenon of direct heating and cooling of junctions of two conductors by passing current. The transition of thermal energy into electrical energy occurs in thermoelectric converters. A thermoelectric transducer is a pair of conductors made of different materials connected at one end. Thermoelectric converters are used to produce electricity by directly converting heat into electricity. When the thermoelectric module connected to the electrical circuit is heated, electricity is generated. At the same time, the generated electric current can be used as an Autonomous power supply to the cathodic protection station. The technique of the experiment, as well as experimental studies with subsequent analysis of the main characteristics of the thermoelectric generator, was conducted. As a result, the optimal design of the thermoelectric generator for the cathodic protection station was chosen.
A Dynamic Weighted Aggregation Equivalent Modeling Approach for the DFIG Wind Farm Considering the Weibull Distribution

The developing process of the aggregated dynamic equivalent model (DEM) for wind farms could be less computational and more efficient compared with the multimachine DEM, but less accurate when wind speed differences exist inside the wind farm. In addition, the wind speed differences contributes to the different activation patterns of the crowbar systems. Therefore, a dynamic weighted aggregation modeling approach is proposed in this paper to improve the applicability of the aggregated DEM. Firstly, the Gaussian density distance clustering algorithm is applied to segment the wind speed power curve into different zones such that each segmented zone is corresponded to one equivalent aggregated machine. Then the dynamic weighted aggregation equivalent model could be developed based on the conventional aggregated DEM, where the weighting factors for each generator are calculated according to the Weibull distribution of wind speeds. Different scenarios are simulated to analyze the applicability of the proposed dynamic weighting equivalent model. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Dioxygen-Derived Nonheme Mononuclear FeIII(OH) Complex and Its Reactivity with Carbon Radicals

A new tetradentate, monoanionic, mixed N/O donor ligand (BNPAPh2O-) with second coordination sphere H-bonding groups has been synthesized for stabilization of a terminal FeIII(OH) complex. The complex FeII(BNPAPh2O)(OTf) (1) reacts with O2 to give a mononuclear terminal FeIII(OH) complex, FeIII(OH)(BNPAPh2O)(OTf) (2), both of which were characterized by X-ray diffraction, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, UV-vis, 1H and 19F nuclear magnetic resonance, 57Fe Mossbauer, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies. Treatment of 2 with carbon radicals (Ar3C·) gives Ar3COH and the FeII complex 1, in direct analogy with the elusive radical "rebound" process proposed for nonheme iron enzymes.
Addressing Entrepreneurship’s False Dichotomization of Risk and Uncertainty through Modal Logics

The central premise of this paper asserts that the deeply embedded distinction between risk and uncertainty that plays such a prominent role in entrepreneurship theory is based on a false dichotomy...
In-Flight Validation of the ECOSTRESS, Landsats 7 and 8 Thermal Infrared Spectral Channels Using the Lake Tahoe CA/NV and Salton Sea CA Automated Validation Sites

The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) was launched on June 29, 2018, to the International Space Station (ISS). Landsats 7 and 8 were launched on April 15, 1999 and February 11, 2013, respectively. The thermal channels of all three instruments have been validated at the Lake Tahoe, CA/NV, USA, and Salton Sea, CA, USA, automated validation sites. These sites have been used to validate a large number of thermal infrared radiometers including ASTER, MODIS, and VIIRS. We have validated 41 cloud-free ECOSTRESS scenes acquired between July 29, 2018 and June 23, 2019; 625 cloud-free Landsat 7 scenes acquired between June 30, 1999 and February 7, 2019; and 375 cloud-free Landsat 8 scenes acquired between March 10, 2013 and February 8, 2019. Validation involved propagating ground measurements to equivalent at-sensor (vicarious) values and comparing them to the measurements obtained from the sensor using its on-board calibration (OBC). The overall correlation between the in situ measurements and at-sensor radiance for the thermal channels from all three instruments was excellent with $R^{2}$ of 0.98–0.99 in all the spectral channels. All three instruments were shown to meet or improve on their preflight absolute radiometric accuracy requirement with absolute radiometric values of better than ±1 K at 300 K. All three instruments were also shown to have in-flight noise equivalent delta temperatures which were similar to their preflight values and between 0.1 and 0.3 K depending on the spectral channel.
Advances in lipidomics for cancer biomarker discovery

Abstract The cumulative work of several decades of cancer research has unveiled a wealth of genotypic and phenotypic profiles on many types of cancer and associated biomarkers. While therapies and diagnostics targeting specific protein-based biomarkers have demonstrated enormous success, there are many biomarkers left to discover and evaluate for efficacy. Lipids play a significant role in the manifestation of cancer. However, research into lipid biomarkers of cancer is still in its infancy, as methods for isolating and characterizing lipids still predominantly rely on physical separation techniques and spectroscopic evaluation. Disease biomarkers often have hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties required for biological function. Yet, most detection methods target the hydrophilic proteomic or glycosylated components, and ignore the relevance of lipids in disease manifestation. Recent advances in lipid-based detection technologies coupled with continued development of antibodies against small, lipidic molecules may serve as key factors for unlocking the future of lipid-based cancer diagnostics.
Improving Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates in Rheumatology Clinics

Rheumatology patients on immunosuppression are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease. There is a multitude of literature highlighting the risk of pneumococcal infection, hospitalization, and even death in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), in whom incidence of invasive pneumococcal infection is 13 times higher than the general population.1,2,3,4 Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has also been deemed an at-risk condition and several other rheumatic diseases including polyarteritis nodosa, scleroderma, and Sjogren syndrome have increased hospitalization rates due to pneumococcal disease.2,3,4 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends 2 different pneumococcal vaccinations—the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23)—for children aged 6 to 18 years and adults with immunocompromising conditions, which includes patients on iatrogenic immunosuppression.5,6 The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology vaccination recommendations state that pneumococcal vaccination should be strongly considered for the majority of patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases.7 The American College of Rheumatology RA treatment guidelines recommend pneumococcal vaccines for all treatment groups.8 Receipt of pneumococcal vaccines by adults and children with chronic inflammatory diseases on immunosuppression is also recommended by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.9 Despite the risk of invasive pneumococcal disease in many rheumatology patients and the pneumococcal vaccination recommendations summarized above, pneumococcal vaccination rates in this population overall are suboptimal, prompting many centers to engage in quality improvement efforts to increase their vaccination rates.10–19 In this issue of The Journal of Rheumatology , Sheth and colleagues … Address correspondence to Dr. J.G. Harris, Division of Rheumatology, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, 2401 Gillham Road, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA. Email: jgharris{at}cmh.edu.
What bovine practitioners need to know about traceability and scrapie

Veterinarians serving clients with small ruminants or working with small ruminants at fairs, shows, auctions or other activities must be familiar with identification requirements for sheep and goats. Scrapie program identification and records serve as the sheep and goat requirements for Animal Disease Traceability. Many online resources are available through USDA-APHIS to familiarize veterinarians with National Scrapie Eradication Program (NSEP) program requirements and clinical recognition of scrapie cases. Regulatory veterinarians, designated scrapie epidemiologists, and official testing laboratories conduct many elements of the NSEP, but private practitioners play a key role in assisting owners and community members in complying with NSEP animal identification and recordkeeping standards, completing certificates of veterinary inspection for animal movement, and recognizing clinical scrapie suspects in the field. Engagement by all veterinary practitioners, whether or not sheep and goats are a significant part of their practice, is needed to succeed in the eradication of scrapie from the United States.
Design Challenges in Polymeric Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering

Numerous surgical procedures are daily performed worldwide to replace and repair damaged tissue. Tissue engineering is the field devoted to the regeneration of damaged tissue through the incorporation of cells in biocompatible and biodegradable porous constructs, known as scaffolds. The scaffolds act as host biomaterials of the incubating cells, guiding their attachment, growth, differentiation, proliferation, phenotype, and migration for the development of new tissue. Furthermore, cellular behavior and fate are bound to the biodegradation of the scaffold during tissue generation. This article provides a critical appraisal of how key biomaterial scaffold parameters, such as structure architecture, biochemistry, mechanical behavior, and biodegradability, impart the needed morphological, structural, and biochemical cues for eliciting cell behavior in various tissue engineering applications. Particular emphasis is given on specific scaffold attributes pertaining to skin and brain tissue generation, where further progress is needed (skin) or the research is at a relatively primitive stage (brain), and the enumeration of some of the most important challenges regarding scaffold constructs for tissue engineering.
Modeling state preferences for Covid-19 policies: Insights from the first pandemic summer.

Abstract Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments have experimented with a wide array of policies to further public health goals. This research offers an application of multilevel regression with post-stratification (MRP) analysis to assess state-level support for commonly implemented policies during the pandemic. Methods We conducted a national survey of U.S. adults using The Harris Poll panel from June 17–29, 2020. Respondents reported their support for a set of measures that were being considered in jurisdictions in the U.S. at the time the survey was fielded. MRP analysis was then used to generate estimates of state-level support. Results The research presented here suggests generally high levels of support for mask mandates and social distancing measures in June 2020—support that was consistent throughout the United States. In comparison, support for other policies, such as changes to the road environment to create safer spaces for walking and bicycling, had generally low levels of support throughout the country. This research also provides some evidence that higher support for coronavirus-related policies could be found in more populous states with large urban centers, recognizing that there was low variability across states. Conclusion This paper provides a unique application of MRP analysis in the public health field, uncovering noteworthy state-level patterns, and offering several avenues for future research. Future research could examine policy support at a small geographic level, such as by counties, to understand the distribution of support for public policies within states.
Stark Measurements of H 2 S in the Millimeter/Submillimeter Wavelength Region

A parallel plate Stark cell has been used for measurements on millimeter wave transitions of the hydrogen sulfide molecule. With this cell and phase matched sources, high precision values for molecular dipole moments are achieved.
“Observe How Healthily — How Calmly I Can Tell You the Whole Story”: Moral Insanity and Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’

David R. Saliba has recently argued that Edgar Allan Poe’s “structural omission of an objective viewpoint for the reader [in The Tell-Tale Heart’] forces the reader to experience the tale with no point of reference outside the framework of the story”. “The reader”, says Saliba, “is led through the story by the narrator with no sense of reality other than what the narrator has to say”. This narrative technique forces the reader to identify with the narrator and to take the narrator’s values as his own (pp. 142–43n). What Saliba fails to realize is that no one can read a text without an external sense of reality; all audiences bring to a work of literature some frame of reference that exists outside the text. And for Poe’s audience in the 1840s, that frame of reference would have included a knowledge of a controversial new disease called ‘moral insanity’ and of the legal and philosophical dilemmas that surrounded its discovery. Poe’s narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart’ is a morally insane man, and Poe would have expected his readers to locate the symptoms of that condition in the language of his narration. Thus if we are to recover the meaning of the tale for Poe’s audience, an audience that applauded ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ at the same time that it shunned tales like ‘Ligeia’, ‘William Wilson’, and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ — indeed, if we are to assess the tale’s significance for today’s audience — we need to establish the medical history from which Poe drew.