cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Tuberculin Skin Testing Reactivity in Opioid-Dependent Patients Seeking Treatment with Methadone versus Buprenorphine: Policy Implications for Tuberculosis Screening

Background: Buprenorphine's availability in primary care settings offers increased access to treatment and linkage to primary care for opioid-dependent patients. Currently, tuberculin skin testing (TST) is recommended for patients enrolling in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT), but not for those enrolling in buprenorphine maintenance treatment (BMT). Objectives: To compare TST screening results in enrollees in BMT and MMT programs and assess the correlates of TST positivity among these subjects. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of a retrospective cohort study was conducted to compare concurrent TST results among contemporaneously matched groups of MMT and BMT patients in the same community. Results: TST positivity was ∼9% in both MMT and BMT settings (p = .27). Increased TST positivity was associated with being Black (AOR = 3.53, CI = 1.28–9.77), Hispanic (AOR = 3.11, CI = 1.12–8.60), and having higher education (AOR = 3.01, CI = 1.20–7.53). Conclusions: These results confirm a similar high prevale...
A one-dimensional shock-capturing model for long wave run-up on sloping beaches

This paper presents a one-dimensional finite-volume model to investigate long wave run-up under non-breaking and breaking conditions. A conservative form of the non-linear shallow water equations is solved using a high-resolution Godunov-type scheme coupled with the HLL Riemann solver. The surface gradient method leads to a well-balanced formulation between the flux and the source terms. The explicit time discretisation is first-order accurate, but a piecewise linear reconstruction of numerical data at cell interfaces helps achieve second-order accuracy in space. The computed surface elevation, flow velocity and run-up show very good agreement with available analytical solutions and experimental observations. The model accurately describes propagation of non-breaking and breaking waves on a sloping beach.
Preparing the New Psychology Professoriate to Teach: Past, Present, and Future

The movement to prepare graduate students to teach is relatively new in the history of the academy. During the past several decades, many graduate departments of psychology, like many academic departments, have gone from providing essentially no training to graduate students to teach to developing extensive training programs consisting of course work and supervision of teaching activities. Although as a whole, graduate programs in psychology have made substantial progress in preparing its students for careers in teaching, there remains much to be done in further enhancing graduate students’ preparation for teaching. I discuss and provide recommendations for addressing several key issues that currently or in the future will impede the successful preparation of graduate students for teaching including the need for more research on preparatory practices, the need for more depth and consistency in these practices across graduate departments of psychology, the importance of maintaining the primary responsibili...
The Atmospheric Dynamics of Intraseasonal Length-of-Day Fluctuations during the Austral Winter

Abstract The atmospheric dynamical processes associated with intraseasonal length-of-day (LOD) variability during the austral winter are examined with National Centers for Environmental Prediction–National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis and outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data. The method adopted is to regress the relevant fields against the LOD tendency. All quantities in this study are bandpassed through a 30–70-day filter. The findings from an analysis of the OLR and 200-mb eddy streamfunction fields are consistent with the idea that large intraseasonal LOD fluctuations coincide with an active Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). Further analysis suggests that the eddy response to the MJO heating drives both an anomalous meridional circulation that excites the anomalous global friction torque, and an eddy field that has the appropriate location relative to the topography for generating the anomalous global mountain torque. These results were obtained by calculating regressions of the anomalou...
Energy-Based Solution for the Speed of a Ball Moving Vertically with Drag

Determining the speed of a ball as a function of its height after it is launched straight upward in the absence of fluid resistance is a standard problem treated at all levels of introductory physics. Inclusion of drag in the problem is seldom covered even in the introductory course for majors. But, in fact, this problem can be solved via a straightforward application of the work–energy theorem for either linear or quadratic drag, and instructively plotted on graphs of kinetic versus potential energy.
Ultrasound accelerates urokinase-induced thrombolysis and reperfusion

Abstract We have shown that ultrasound accelerates TPA-induced thrombolysis in vitro as assessed by release of labeled fibrinogen from radioactive labeled clots. Others have shown that ultrasound shortens the time to recanalization of TPA treated thrombi in animal models. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that ultrasound enhances thrombolysis and reperfusion by using urokinase in an in vitro flow system. An in vitro flow system of a branching tubing circuit was developed. Flow in one branch was obstructed by a thrombus. Five control clots were exposed to continuous wave ultrasound at a frequency of 1 MHz and intensity of 2.5 W/cm 2 only without any thrombolytic agent (group 1). Twenty clots were exposed to a bolus of 80,000 U of urokinase and randomized to either ultrasound exposure (group 2) or to urokinase only without ultrasound (group 3). Flow distal to the clot and the rate of release of radiolabeled fibrin were used as indexes of reperfusion and thrombolysis, respectively. Exposure to ultrasound significantly accelerated urokinase-mediated reperfusion, with 40.6% ± 11.8% of maximal flow in group 2 versus 1.3% ± 0.7% in group 3, p p p p 2 accelerates urokinase-induced thrombolysis and reperfusion in vitro. Ultrasound acceleration of thrombolysis-induced reperfusion is not activator specific.
Modeling, History Matching, Forecasting and Analysis of Shale Reservoirs Performance Using Artificial Intelligence

Producing hydrocarbon from Shale plays has attracted much attention in the recent years. Advances in horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing have made shale reservoirs a focal point for many operators. Our understanding of the complexity of the flow mechanism in the natural fracture and its coupling with the matrix and the induced fracture, impact of geomechanical parameters and optimum design of hydraulic fractures has not necessarily kept up with our interest in these prolific and hydrocarbon rich formations. In this paper we discuss using a new and completely different approach to modeling, history matching, forecasting and analyzing oil and gas production in shale reservoirs. In this new approach instead of imposing our understanding of the flow mechanism and the production process on the reservoir model, we allow the production history, well log, and hydraulic fracturing data to force their will on our model and determine its behavior. In other words, by carefully listening to the data from wells and the reservoir we developed a data driven model and history match the production process from Shale reservoirs. The history matched model is used to forecast future production from the field and to assist in planning field development strategies. We use the last several months of production history as blind data to validate the model that is developed. This is a unique and innovative use of pattern recognition capabilities of artificial intelligence and data mining as a workflow to build a full field reservoir model for forecasting and analysis of oil and gas production from shale formations. Examples of three case studies in Lower Huron and New Albany shale formations (gas producing) and Bakken Shale (oil producing) is presented in this paper.
Labor Rights, Globalization and Institutions: The Role and Influence of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

In exploring the promotion of labor rights by international governmental institutions, scholars have largely focused on the International Labor Organization, the WTO, and the European Union. In this well trodden field of study, though, another key IGO player has been overlooked, with little scholarly consideration given to the role of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Even those who know of the OECD focus on its well-known activities in economic spheres, rarely thinking of its role in relation to social issues, much less to labor rights. While the OECD's reports, recommendations and decisions have been discussed in a wide range of scholarship, remarkably little has been written on the institution itself. This oversight is unfortunate because the OECD has played, and continues to play, an important role outside a purely economic context. This article focuses on the OECD's role in the development of labor rights, but its findings are relevant across the breadth of the OECD's activities, from environmental protection and trade to agriculture and transport policy. It is hoped that exploration of the OECD's role in labor rights will provide a broad foundation for future work on other aspects of the institution, informing research on the operations, capacity, and potential of the OECD. The article has four sections. The first recounts the OECD's history, from its creation as the overseer of the Marshall Plan to its current prominence as global economic analyst, and explains its operations. The second section explores the OECD's influence on development of labor rights, examining the well-known OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, publications on trade and labor by the Employment, Labor and Social Affairs Directorate, and the events surrounding South Korea's accession to the OECD. Each of these activities, though quite different from one another (and, in combination, very different from other IGOs' activities), provided important spurs to the articulation and development of core labor rights. The third section presents a detailed case study of the failed negotiations at the OECD over the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). The case study provides insight both into an important event in the march toward globalization and into the role the OECD can meaningfully play in formally linking trade and labor rights. These different empirical analyses combine to inform the institutional analysis in Part IV. In reviewing instances where the OECD has proven most effective and assessing its relative strengths and weaknesses in comparison to competing IGOs, this section draws from international relations scholarship and focuses on the OECD's two distinguishing assets - its role in creating epistemic communities and influence as a conditional agenda-setter. The concluding section considers the future of the OECD, proposing how it can better meet the challenges posed by globalization in a very different world than the one envisaged by the organization's architects over fifty years ago.
A Graphical Hierarchical Flowchart Generator for Parallel Fortran Programs

It is a well-known fact that the humans can process a large quantity of image information in parallels detecting and tracking complex visual patterns with an incredible speed. In today’s hi-tech world, the need for visualization is very obvious. This need for visualization in the scientific domains is reflected as graphical simulations and animations. The field of parallel processing is one such excellent example where the graphical simulations can be of great assistance.
The Surgery of Gout in the Upper Extremity

1. Despite the development of more effective uricosuric agents for the control of the manifestations of gout, there still remain patients who fail to respond to therapy and in whom crippling deformities develop.2. An analysis of twenty-one patients indicates that a carefully planned surgical program
The incidence of severe trauma in small rural hospitals.

Trauma is the third leading cause of death in the United States, and yet relatively little is known about its epidemiology, especially in rural areas. A retrospective study was done in five Washington and Idaho communities to determine the incidence of severe trauma seen in small rural hospitals. Records were reviewed for the year 1983 on all trauma patients (565 cases) who were either admitted to or transferred from these hospitals. The study area included five hospitals and 30 physicians, serving a population of 57,600 people over 7,396 square miles. Each patient's injuries were rated according to the Injury Severity Score (ISS), a standardized trauma index. Of the cases reviewed, 3.4 percent of the cases had an ISS greater than or equal to 20, reflecting severe multisystem trauma, 14.7 percent had an ISS of 10 to 19, ie, severe trauma limited to one body system or multisystem trauma of a less-critical nature. There were 30 patients (5.3 percent) with critical head injuries, 24 patients (4.2 percent) with major chest injuries, and 21 patients (3.7 percent) with serious abdominal injuries. The results showed that each individual physician or hospital did not see the severe cases often, but that when they occurred, these types of injuries necessitated an experienced, rapid response on the part of the hospital staff. This finding has significant implications for trauma management in rural communities. Language: en
Moderator design studies for a new neutron reference source based on the D–T fusion reaction

Abstract The radioactive isotope Californium-252 (252Cf) is relied upon internationally as a neutron calibration source for ionizing radiation dosimetry because of its high specific activity. The source may be placed within a heavy-water (D2O) moderating sphere to produce a softened spectrum representative of neutron fields common to commercial nuclear power plant environments, among others. Due to termination of the U.S. Department of Energy loan/lease program in 2012, the expense of obtaining 252Cf sources has undergone a significant increase, rendering high output sources largely unattainable. On the other hand, the use of neutron generators in research and industry applications has increased dramatically in recent years. Neutron generators based on deuteriumtritium (D–T) fusion reaction provide high neutron fluence rates and, therefore, could possibly be used as a replacement for 252Cf. To be viable, the 14 MeV D–T output spectrum must be significantly moderated to approximate common workplace environments. This paper presents the results of an effort to select appropriate moderating materials and design a configuration to reshape the primary neutron field toward a spectrum approaching that from a nuclear power plant workplace. A series of Monte-Carlo (MCNP) simulations of single layer high- and low-Z materials are used to identify initial candidate moderators. Candidates are refined through a similar series of simulations involving combinations of 2–5 different materials. The simulated energy distribution using these candidate moderators are rated in comparison to a target spectrum. Other properties, such as fluence preservation and/or enhancement, prompt gamma production and other characteristics are also considered.
THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER: Rethinking Science: The Highest Research Priority for the Next 5 Years

First paragraphs: At the risk being labeled an uneducated Luddite or a right-wing political conservative, I believe the highest research priority for the next five years should be to rethink science, in concept and in practice. Nowhere is this priority more urgent or important than in research related to food systems, including agriculture. Recent research seems to indicate that overall public confidence in science has remained relatively strong and stable since the 1970s, at least among most Americans (Gauchat, 2012). However, the research indicates that public trust has declined significantly among those who think science should mesh with common sense, who question industrialization, and who are skeptical of the "intellectual establishment." I am an unabashed advocate of common sense, an open opponent of the industrial paradigm, and a frequent critic of an increasingly arrogant intellectual establishment. I have not lost confidence in science, at least not science defined as a systemic means of acquiring knowledge. I have lost confidence in scientists who insist that "good science" includes only those propositions that have been proven using the "scientific method."...
Life History and Field Development of the Camellia Scale (Homoptera: Diaspididae)

At constant temperatures of 20, 25, and 30°C, Lepidosaphes camelliae Hoke (Homoptera: Diaspididae) development from egg eclosion to adult on potted Camellia japonica L. was 57.6 ± 0.9, 28.8 ± 0.3, and 22.5 ± 0.2 d for males, and 44.5 ± 0.2, 23.1 ± 0.3, and 18.2 ± 0.2 d for females, respectively. Females maintained at 25°C laid a mean of 96 ± 14 eggs during their oviposition period. Eggs hatched after 23.4 ± 0.6, 9.8 ± 0.2, and 7.0 ± 0.2 d at 20, 25, and 30°C. In field population sampling for the developmental stage of individuals, the percentage of adult females reached peaks in July, September, November, and December of 1984. The first three peaks for adult females were followed by peaks for the percentage of first instars in the population. The mean percentage of females with unhatched eggs under the scale cover during the period from June through October was 74.8%. This was significantly greater ( P > 0.05) than the mean of 33.2% from November through January. In central Georgia, we estimated four to five annual generations of L. camelliae .
Vasoconstrictor eicosanoids and impaired microvascular function in inactive and insulin-resistant primates

The inability to augment capillary blood volume (CBV) in response to insulin or glucose is thought to contribute to insulin resistance (IR) by limiting glucose uptake in key storage sites. Understanding the mechanisms that contribute to impaired CBV augmentation early in the onset of IR may lead to new future therapies. We hypothesized that inactivity alters the balance of vasoactive eicosanoids and contributes to microvascular IR. In ten activity-restricted (AR) and six normal activity adult male rhesus macaques, contrast-enhanced ultrasound of skeletal muscle blood flow and CBV was performed at baseline and during intravenous glucose tolerance test (IVGTT). Plasma was analyzed for vasoconstrictor hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (HETEs) and the ratio of vasodilatory epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) to their less biologically active dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs) as an indirect measure of soluble epoxide hydrolase activity. AR primates were IR during IVGTT and had a 45% lower glucose-stimulated CBV response. Vasoconstrictor 18-HETE and 19-HETE and the DHET/EET ratio were markedly elevated in the AR group and correlated inversely with the CBV response. In addition, levels of 18-HETE and 19-HETE correlated directly with microvascular IR. We conclude that a shift toward increased eicosanoid vasoconstrictor tone correlates with abnormal skeletal muscle vascular recruitment and may contribute to IR.
A Medical Student with a Period of Dysphoria

Michelle Winter (not her own name) was a 22-year-old Dutch medical student at the time of sampling. She had volunteered for the sampling project, having heard about it in her role as student assistant in the department where the author was a visiting professor. Michelle’s native tongue was Dutch, but the sampling discussions were carried out almost entirely in English, in which she was also fluent. During some of the sampling discussions, a fluent Dutch translator was also present and discussions of nuances in the English conversation were carried out in Dutch. We sampled with Michelle during two periods separated by about a month. The first sampling period lasted about three weeks, with a few days off for illness and vacation, and resulted in the collection and discussion of 48 samples. The second sampling period began about a month later, lasted three days, and resulted in the discussion of 23 samples.
Environmental Law and Contrasting Ideas of Nature: The Last, Last Frontier

Increased temperatures associated with global climate change are opening new Arctic territory to oil and gas exploration and clearing passage for new maritime shipping routes. These changes are provoking a diverse range of legal responses in the international arena, where nations are staking new territorial claims and seeking to revise understandings of the Law of the Sea, and in the domestic environmental and maritime laws of Arctic nations. While these events provide evidence of an international competition over natural resources, they also provide a case study in how environmental law and litigation construct and reify dominant ideas of nature. This book chapter examines the particular ways in which the storylines and tropes that constitute the "imaginary Arctic" factor into litigation surrounding Shell Oil's attempts to drill for oil and gas in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. The Shell litigation is exemplary because it pits a number of well-established storylines against each other: the Arctic as classical frontier, the Arctic as spiritualized frontier, the Arctic as neutral space, the Arctic as homeland, and the Arctic as part of the developing world.
“We Needed Both of Them”: The Continuing Relevance of Rev. Albert B. Cleage Jr.’s (Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman’s) Radical Interpretations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in Scholarship and Black Protest Thought

The Reverend Albert B. Cleage Jr. (Jaramogi Abebe Agyeman) was one of the first Black religious leaders (perhaps the first) to offer an interpretation of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in relation to one another, as complementary, rather than as oppositional, which was the prevailing metanarrative of his day. Through a textual analytical approach to primary literature on the subject, this chapter argues that—guided by a form of pragmatic realism—Cleage’s iconoclastic approach to Black religious, theological, and intellectual thought sought to destroy “myths” about these two eminent figures, and in so doing, he was able to offer the world a radical interpretation of Martin and Malcolm that has remained relevant and far-reaching in contemporary African American thought.
A power optimized 13-bit 5M samples/s pipelined analog to digital converter in 1.2 /spl mu/m CMOS

A 13-bit 5-MHz pipelined analog to digital converter (ADC) was designed with the goal of minimizing power dissipation. Power was reduced by using a high swing residue amplifier architecture and by optimizing the per stage resolution. The prototype device fabricated in a 1.2 /spl mu/m CMOS process displayed 80.1 dB peak SNDR and 82.9 dB dynamic range. INL is 0.8 LSB and DNL is 0.3 LSB for a 100 kHz input. The circuit dissipates 166 mW on a 5 V supply.
Somatic Embryogenesis in Legumes

Legumes are members of the third largest family (Leguminosae) of flowering plants, and are globally distributed, with as many as 19,000 species. Several species have the ability to undergo a symbiotic association with nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genera Rhizobium or Bradyrhizobium. Consequently, legumes tend to have high protein contents, and are an essential source of food, feed, and forage. They are also used as ornamentals, or valued for green manure, timber, gums, and other compounds.
Response of the cerebral vasculature following traumatic brain injury

The critical role of the vasculature and its repair in neurological disease states is beginning to emerge particularly for stroke, dementia, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, tumors and others. However, little attention has been focused on how the cerebral vasculature responds following traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI often results in significant injury to the vasculature in the brain with subsequent cerebral hypoperfusion, ischemia, hypoxia, hemorrhage, blood–brain barrier disruption and edema. The sequalae that follow TBI result in neurological dysfunction across a host of physiological and psychological domains. Given the importance of restoring vascular function after injury, emerging research has focused on understanding the vascular response after TBI and the key cellular and molecular components of vascular repair. A more complete understanding of vascular repair mechanisms are needed and could lead to development of new vasculogenic therapies, not only for TBI but potentially vascular-related brain...
Learning to Code in Localized Programming Languages

Education research suggests that learning in one's local language can have a positive impact on learning outcomes. We offer a quantitative test of the association between local language use and the rate at which youth learn to program. Using longitudinal data drawn from five countries and over 15,000 users of Scratch, a large informal learning community, we find that novice users who code with their programming language keywords and environment localized into their home countries' primary language demonstrate new programming concepts at a faster rate than users from the same countries whose interface is in English. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings for designers of online learning systems.
Low-Value Medical Services in the Safety-Net Population

Importance National patterns of low-value and high-value care delivered to patients without insurance or with Medicaid could inform public policy but have not been previously examined. Objective To measure rates of low-value care and high-value care received by patients without insurance or with Medicaid, compared with privately insured patients, and provided by safety-net physicians vs non–safety-net physicians. Design, Setting, and Participants This multiyear cross-sectional observational study included all patients ages 18 to 64 years from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2005-2013) and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2005-2011) eligible for any of the 21 previously defined low-value or high-value care measures. All measures were analyzed with multivariable logistic regression and adjusted for patient and physician characteristics. Exposures Comparison of patients by insurance status (uninsured/Medicaid vs privately insured) and safety-net physicians (seeing >25% uninsured/Medicaid patients) vs non–safety-net physicians (seeing 1%-10%). Main Outcomes and Measures Delivery of 9 low-value or 12 high-value care measures, based on previous research definitions, and composite measures for any high-value or low-value care delivery during an office visit. Results Overall, 193 062 office visits were eligible for at least 1 measure. Mean (95% CI) age for privately insured patients (n = 94 707) was 44.7 (44.5-44.9) years; patients on Medicaid (n = 45 123), 39.8 (39.3-40.3) years; and uninsured patients (n = 19 530), 41.9 (41.5-42.4) years. Overall, low-value and high-value care was delivered in 19.4% (95% CI, 18.5%-20.2%) and 33.4% (95% CI, 32.4%-34.3%) of eligible encounters, respectively. Rates of low-value and high-value care delivery were similar across insurance types for the majority of services examined. Among Medicaid patients, adjusted rates of use were no different for 6 of 9 low-value and 9 of 12 high-value services compared with privately insured beneficiaries, whereas among the uninsured, rates were no different for 7 of 9 low-value and 9 of 12 high-value services. Safety-net physicians provided similar care compared with non–safety-net physicians, with no difference for 8 out of 9 low-value and for all 12 high-value services. Conclusions and Relevance Overuse of low-value care is common among patients without insurance or with Medicaid. Rates of low-value and high-value care were similar among physicians serving vulnerable patients and other physicians. Overuse of low-value care is a potentially important focus for state Medicaid programs and safety-net institutions to pursue cost savings and improved quality of health care delivery.
Active Learning Design Patterns for CS Education

Successful implementation of active learning depends on a wide range of practical tactics. In this work, we adopt pedagogical design patterns to bridge between theory and best practices of active learning. This offers practical solutions for known problems in implementing active learning in Computer Science Education (CSE). We believe these patterns would help instructors customize and apply the best practices in active learning CSE. The patterns can be applied iteratively and adaptively for designing course materials and activities to achieve desired goals, depending on the context of the course. Pedagogical design patterns can help educators share their teaching design ideas in a structured style as well as provide a framework for thinking about and comparing design decisions. Another contribution of this work will be the practical and theoretical distinctions between activity-based teams and project-based teams in CSE.
Same path, different beginnings

An extensive single-cell transcriptomic collection of over 30,000 cells of the developing hippocampus shows that adult hippocampal neurogenesis follows the same differentiation path as embryonic neurogenesis, but the cell of origin differs. This work provides an invaluable resource with important implications for neuronal regeneration.
#Blackwomenatwork: Teaching and Retention in Urban Schools

Black female educators played a vital role in segregated schools prior to the 1954 landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Despite their notable and historic presence in the field of public education, presently they are disproportionately underrepresented in the U.S. teacher workforce. Acknowledging the shortage of Black female teachers in K-12 classrooms, the purpose of this qualitative study is to explore why Black female educators teach in urban schools. By examining Black female educators’ initial draw to urban schools in what I conceptualized as the urban factor, I hope to reframe the implicit biases often surrounding urban schools. Concluding, three themes emerged about Black female teachers’ thoughts on and preferences for urban schools, with additional unexpected findings about their perceptions of student behavior and teacher retention.
An Effective Evaluation Method of Non-Rigid Registration of Multiphase Abdominal CT Images

The traditional difference method can not effectively evaluate the registration accuracy of the different phases of contrast-enhanced CT. In this paper, we propose an effective assessment method for non-rigid registration of contrast-enhanced abdominal CT images. This method is based on edge detection and pseudo-color technique to evaluate the registration accuracy. The proposed difference number ratio (DNR) can be used to get the quantitative assessment of the registration accuracy. Experimental data is real clinical data. A comparison between the traditional difference method and the proposed method is performed in the different groups. Experimental results show that this method is effective.
Chapter 7 – Magnetism of nanophase composite films

Publisher Summary Magnetism in nanophase composite materials is a phenomenon that depends on several length scales, ranging from less than 1A to a length scale of the order of the size of the magnet. It has been seen that intrinsic properties such as magnetic anisotropy are highly sensitive to local atomic arrangements so that layered or superlattice structures can be exploited to produce exceedingly large anisotropy constants. These, in turn, are the parameters most important in controlling extrinsic properties, such as coercively that is all important for semi-hard magnetic recording media and hard permanent-magnet materials. The concept of enlightened nano structuring to achieve exchange decoupling of single-domain grains of characteristic length about 10 nm is emphasized. There is considerable potential to fabricate magnetic recording media with perpendicular anisotropy, grain sizes of 5–10 nm, and coercivities in the 10- to 15-kOe range because one can control both the properties of the embedded particles and their interactions. Such films are able to serve as recording media in the 1 terabit per square inch regime.
Multiple resolution search techniques for the hough transform in high dimensional parameter spaces

The standard Hough transform could be used to solve recognition tasks in range data, if it were not for the high dimensional parameter spaces these tasks require. This paper describes two alternative methods which apply search techniques at multiple resolutions in order to find sets of parameters which fit the data best. Both methods are as robust as but much faster than the standard Hough transform. The first method, called recursive lattice search , employs a data structure similar to the quad-tree or oct-tree in order to attain its efficiency. The second method, called resolution hill climbing , finds a trail of hypothesized parameter sets, each of which fits the data at a higher resolution than the one preceding it. An example two dimensional recognition task and an example three dimensional recognition task are considered both without and with gradient information. Finally, a more abstract type of feature, the reflection symmetry, is shown to be recognizable by a modification of the first method. Some results of an implementation of the two methods are described.
NMR Investigation of Binding of Aromatics at Catalytic Surfaces

Dynamic nuclear magnetic resonance allows the study of kinetic processes in systems at chemical equilibrium. For NMR parameters to be sensitive to dynamic processes, the chemical exchange rate constants must be approximately the same magnitude as the spread of frequencies in the NMR spectrum. Under these conditions, dynamic effects in the chemical system profoundly influence the NMR response. Line-shape analysis was used very early in the evolution of NMR spectroscopy to address chemical problems.[1,2,3,4] Over the years, the manner in which chemical exchange affects the line shape has become well understood and analyses based on the effects of exchange have been applied to systems undergoing internal rearrangements like rotations,[5] pseudorotations,[6] ring inversions,[7] and configurational inversions,[8] and to a range of biomolecular exchange problems.[9] The activation energies of chemical reactions to which dynamic NMR methods have been applied range from a few kJ/mol to the borderline where intermediates become too unstable for the reaction to proceed.[10]
Open Source Resources to Advance EEG Research

Since 2012, the Neural Engineering Data Consortium (NEDC) at Temple University has been providing many key data resources to support machine learning research in bioengineering [1]. In this poster, we present an update on several significant resources available from NEDC that were established to support a new generation of electroencephalogram (EEG) technology development.
Lifespan Perspectives on Job and Work Design

Abstract Workforce aging and increasing age-diversity have hastened the need for societies and employers to support workers across the lifespan. A relatively new and unexplored area of investigation is the intersection of aging and work design. In this chapter, we aimed to integrate lifespan development theory and work design models in order to catalyze further investigation into this nascent literature. To aid our integration, we provide a brief review of age-related changes over the life course, job and work design theory, age and work-related outcomes, and lifespan development theory. We then use the work design questionnaire framework to guide our synthesis of theory and research to describe how work design effectiveness may be influenced by lifespan development changes. We conclude our chapter by reviewing the limited aging and work design intervention research and identifying several areas for future research that could advance the field of aging and work design.
Profiling the mutational landscape in known driver genes and novel genes in African American non-small cell lung cancer patients

Purpose: Identifying novel driver genes and mutations in African American non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases can inform targeted therapy and improve outcomes for this traditionally underrepresented population. Experimental Design: Tumor DNA, RNA, and germline DNA were collected from African American NSCLC patients who participated in research conducted at the Karmanos Cancer Institute (KCI) in Detroit, Michigan. Known mutations were ascertained through the Sequenom LungCarta panel of 214 mutations in 26 genes, RET/ROS1 fusions, amplification of FGFR1, and expression of ALK. Paired tumor and normal DNA was whole-exome sequenced for a subset of cases without known driver mutations. Results: Of the 193 tumors tested, 77 known driver mutations were identified in 66 patients (34.2%). Sixty-seven of the 127 patients without a known driver mutation were sequenced. In 54 of these patients, 50 nonsynonymous mutations were predicted to have damaging effects among the 26 panel genes, 47 of which are not found in The Cancer Genome Atlas NSCLC white or African American samples. Analyzing the whole-exome sequence data using MutSig2CV identified a total of 88 genes significantly mutated at FDR q Conclusions: These findings suggest that broader mutation profiling including both known and novel driver genes in African Americans with NSCLC will identify additional mutations that may be useful in treatment decision-making.
Autologous Breast Reconstruction Skin Paddle Designs: Classification and Aesthetic Outcomes

Objective Present study was conducted to identify common mastectomy patterns and autologous skin paddle designs, to identify patient characteristics that influence these patterns, and assess aesthetic outcomes associated with each pattern. Methods Autologous breast reconstructions over 5 years were reviewed. Mastectomy type and resultant skin paddle were categorized into four mastectomy type/skin paddle design groups based on the amount of native “Skin Spared” after mastectomy and the resultant flap skin paddle designed. Groups were designated as skin-sparing mastectomy 1 (SS1)/large elliptical skin paddle, skin-sparing mastectomy 2 (SS2)/small elliptical skin paddle, skin-sparing mastectomy 3 (SS3)/areola skin paddle, and skin-sparing mastectomy 4 (nipple-sparing mastectomy, SS4)/no skin paddle. Surveys were performed to validate the classification system and critique aesthetic outcomes. Results A total of 89 autologous breast reconstructions were included. Radiotherapy was used in 45.6% of SS1 patients versus 29.2% in SS2 and 12.5% in SS3/SS4. Mean body mass index (BMI) was 30 in SS1/SS2 and 26 in SS3/SS4 mastectomy types (p = 0.045). Delayed reconstruction was performed in 96.5% SS1 versus 62.5% in SS2 and only 25% of SS3/SS4 (p Conclusions Patients in SS1/SS2 groups had a higher incidence of radiotherapy, delayed reconstruction, and higher BMI compared with the SS3/SS4 groups. The classification system is recognizable and may provide improved patient education and communication between healthcare providers. All mastectomy type/skin paddle designs received high aesthetic ratings.
Multidecker Organometallic Sandwich Polymers; Prospective Conductive Backbones for the Formation of Macromolecular Architectures Conforming to the Excitonic Superconductor Topology Proposed by Little

The recent interest in the high temperature superconductivity of certain materials exhibiting the perovskite structure was initiated by the report of Bednorz and Muller.1 This discovery brought into sharp focus the inability of the BCS theory2 and its phonon mediated Cooper pair formation mechanism to adequately describe high temperature superconductivity. Past theoretical interest in superconductors incorporating an excitonic interaction as the Cooper pair stabilizer has diverged into two related schools of thought: one emphasizing surface effects between two dimensional thin films of metallic conductors and semiconductors,3, 4 and the other related to one dimensional polymeric conductors based on the existence of certain features in macromolecular architecture.5 The multilayer structure of perovskites has been described6 as a factor in enhancing an excitonic interaction between conductive planes mediated through an intervening Cu-O chain (Figure 1).
Using Agent-Based Modeling for Water Resources Management in the Bakken Region

AbstractMost agent-based model (ABM) applications in water resources management and planning relied on hypothetical systems for method testing and policy analysis. Although these ABM studies can he...
Improving children’s fraction understanding through the use of number lines

Competence in fractions is important in achieving advanced mathematics such as algebra and calculus. To foster students' understanding of fractions, intervention studies have found number lines to ...
Paying for nursing student clinical placements, ethical considerations

Ethics is foundational to nursing practice, including the practice of nursing education. Many schools of nursing are struggling to find adequate clinical placements for students; the root causes of this shortage are complex. Although it has not historically been the practice, some schools of nursing are considering offering clinical agencies payment for this valuable resource. Given the importance of clinical experience in nursing education, relationships between schools of nursing and clinical agencies are crucial. This paper explores some of the advantages and disadvantages that may present if schools of nursing pay clinical agencies to host nursing students, specifically pre-licensure students. Prior to establishing such relationships, schools of nursing and clinical agencies should carefully consider this decision. Questions informed by the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics and the National League for Nursing Ethical Principles for Nursing Education are provided as examples.
Soft Switching Multichannel Magnetic Bearing Amplifier with Reduced Number of Switches

In a magnetic bearing system, the levitation coils or electromagnets are typically controlled by a multichannel switching amplifier which drives every coils with a hard-switching H-bridges to control coil currents and achieve stable rotor levitation. As a magnetic bearing system typically includes multiple coils to control multiple degrees of freedom of the rotor, large number of channels is required in order to drive every coil. While soft switching converter has certain advantages in comparing with hard switching ones, such as lower power dissipation and low electromagnetic interference, existing soft switching topology for magnetic bearing amplifier application requires additional auxiliary switches for every coil, which dramatically increase size and cost of the converter, making soft switching topology unattractive for magnetic bearing amplifier application. In this paper, a multichannel soft switching magnetic bearing amplifier topology with reduced number of switches is proposed to address the drawbacks of existing hard and soft switching magnetic bearing amplifier topologies. The proposed topology is verified with simulation as well as hardware implementation and testing.
Efficiency Measurement Method for Fully Integrated Voltage Regulators used in 4 th and 5 th Generation Intel® Core™ Microprocessors

Fully Integrated Voltage Regulators (FIVRs) are switching voltage regulators integrated on to the same die as the CPU and Graphics cores, in 4th and 5th generation Intel® Core™ microprocessors. Practical limitations prevent the application of traditional voltage regulator characterization methods to FIVRs. To overcome these challenges, new methods and techniques had to be developed for the testing and characterization of FIVRs. Power Efficiency (η) is one of the key performance metrics of voltage regulators. In this paper we explain the methods used to measure the Power Efficiency of FIVRs. These methods are applicable to Integrated VRs in general and are not specific to FIVRs alone. Description of power loss components and extraction of the loss coefficients from curve fitting technique is also presented. Measured results show that the proposed methods are highly repeatable with worst-case run-to-run variation of 0.4%. The results also show that the worst-case error is <1% when compared to pre-Si simulation results.
Auditory and tactile frequency representations are co-embedded in modality-defined cortical sensory systems

Sensory information is represented and elaborated in hierarchical cortical systems that are thought to be dedicated to individual sensory modalities. This traditional view of sensory cortex organization has been challenged by recent evidence of multimodal responses in primary and association sensory areas. Although it is indisputable that sensory areas respond to multiple modalities, it remains unclear whether these multimodal responses reflect selective information processing for particular stimulus features. Here, we used fMRI adaptation to identify brain regions that are sensitive to the temporal frequency information contained in auditory, tactile, and audiotactile stimulus sequences. A number of brain regions distributed over the parietal and temporal lobes exhibited frequency-selective temporal response modulation for both auditory and tactile stimulus events, as indexed by repetition suppression effects. A smaller set of regions responded to crossmodal adaptation sequences in a frequency-dependent manner. Despite an extensive overlap of multimodal frequency-selective responses across the parietal and temporal lobes, representational similarity analysis revealed a cortical "regional landscape" that clearly reflected distinct somatosensory and auditory processing systems that converged on modality-invariant areas. These structured relationships between brain regions were also evident in spontaneous signal fluctuation patterns measured at rest. Our results reveal that multimodal processing in human cortex can be feature-specific and that multimodal frequency representations are embedded in the intrinsically hierarchical organization of cortical sensory systems.
Performance Analysis and Bounds

Abstract This chapter is an overview of performance analysis in statistical signal processing, including analysis of estimators, and related performance bounds. We survey key ideas and related tools for the analysis of algorithms, including parametric and non-parametric estimators. We also consider the Cramer-Rao bound in detail, including constraints. Bounds provide fundamental limits on estimation given some assumptions on the probability laws and a model for the parameters of interest. Together, fundamental bounds and analysis of algorithms go hand in hand to provide a complete picture.