cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular pore-network model for nanoporous materials. II: Application to transport and separation of gaseous mixtures in silicon-carbide membranes

Abstract In Part I of this series we developed a new model for nanoporous materials and inorganic membranes, with a pore space that consists of interconnected pores of irregular shapes, sizes, and connectivity. To test the validity of the model, we utilized it to model adsorption in three distinct silicon-carbide (SiC) membranes, and demonstrated that, using at most one adjustable parameter, the simulated isotherms and the experimental data are in very good agreement. In this paper we use the model of the SiC membrane developed in Part I, and non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, in order to study transport and separation in the membrane of two binary gaseous mixtures, namely, H 2 /CO 2 and H 2 /CH 4 , and test the accuracy of the results by comparing them with the experimental data. The model is demonstrated to provide reasonably accurate predictions for various properties of interest, and in particular for the separation factors of the mixtures, without utilizing any new adjustable parameter. The effect of the temperature, the membrane’s porosity, and the pressure drop applied externally to the membrane is described, and possible approaches for improving the model further are discussed.
MO‐F‐BRA‐06: Systematic Evaluation of a Deformable Image Registration Algorithm from a Commercial Software Package

Purpose: As adaptive radiotherapy (ART) becomes more efficient for clinical use, verifying the accuracy of deformable image registration (DIR) is necessary. This study presents a method to evaluate a commercial DIR software package systematically for ART implementation. Methods: We developed multiple computational phantoms to evaluate Velocity Advanced Imaging (VelocityAI, B‐spline‐based algorithm) software. Phantoms were developed with a finite element method(FEM), from CTimages of four lung cancer patients by simulating different diaphragm deformations, and also from the CTimage of a prostate patient by modeling expansion of the bladder volume. CBCTnoise in the simulated prostate phantom was included using a 3D‐noise‐power spectrum. FEM‐based displacement vectors used in the phantom construction served as a gold standard to evaluate the performance of VelocityAI's algorithms at each voxel in the image volume. In addition to computational phantoms, a deformable, physical phantom was developed to validate VelocityAI using automatically tracked landmarks. Results: VelocityAI performed well in high and low‐contrast regions. Average displacement errors range from 0.8–2.6mm, depending on the patient anatomy, magnitude of displacement and target site. With the computational lung phantoms, average errors were between 0.9–2.6mm, and in the physical phantom they were between 0.8–1.9mm. In the prostate phantom, average errors were between 1.0–1.9mm in the prostate, 1.9–2.4mm in the rectum and 1.8–2.1mm across the entire patient volume. Regions where the displacement was large tended to have more registration errors, especially when they bordered rigid structures like bone. Conclusions: VelocityAI (B‐spline‐based) outperforms the Demons algorithm in regions of largely deformed, homogenous tissue. The default parameter setting of VelocityAI is nearly optimal and the CBCTnoise has no significant impact on its performance. VelocityAI can be used for DIR of lung and prostate CTimages when errors on the order of 2.6 mm are acceptable. The research was supported by NIH/NCI R01CA140341.
The Stream of Consciousness: XXII. Apprehension and the Feeling Aspect

The feeling aspect that, according to James, every state of consciousness possesses—what is it and what is its function? From a previous article, I continue here an effort to spell out how the feeling aspect and a cognitive aspect—which, too, was proposed to characterize all pulses of mentality—belong together to a single integral whole. Every state of consciousness is both a feeling and a mental apprehension of something, or at least as though of something. Although states of consciousness vary in veridicality, no state of consciousness is more or less cognitive than any other. Nor is any state of consciousness more abstract, less finite, than any another, less of a concrete feeling. Even an awareness of something universal or general is a “perfectly determinate, singular, and transient thing. … a perishing segment of thought's stream, consubstantial with other facts of sensibility.” The feeling aspect is the experiential, qualitative way in which—or form by which—a state of consciousness feels the total...
A graphical hardware design language

Gdl is a graphical hardware design language that separates design decisions into three interrelated, but distinct domains: behavioral, structural and physical. Specific language features are provided to represent a design in each of these domains. This report describes the process model for Gdl. Functional behavior is separated into distinct activities called “processes” (autonomous control centers.) The computations performed by a process are specified in its behavior graph. Processes may communicate with each other through ports where the channel between two ports may be an abstract logical link or may be a physical bus. Provisions are made for synchronization. The paper concludes with an evaluation of Gdl and suggestions for future research.
Intergenerational influence and ontogenetic development in the emergence of spatial grammar in Nicaraguan Sign Language

The recent emergence of a new sign language among deaf children and adolescents in Nicaragua provides an opportunity to study how grammatical features of a language arise and spread, and how new language environments are constructed. The grammatical regularities that underlie language use reside largely outside the domain of explicit awareness. Nevertheless, knowledge of these regularities must be transmitted from one generation to the next to survive as part of the language. During this transmission, language form and use is shaped by both the characteristics of ontogenetic development within individual users and by historical changes in patterns of interaction between users. To capture this process, the present study follows the emergence of spatial modulations in Nicaraguan Sign Language (NSL). A comprehension task examining interpretations of spatially modulated verbs reveals that new form-function mappings arise among children who functionally differentiate previously equivalent forms. The new mappings are then acquired by their age peers (who are also children), and by subsequent generations of children who learn the language, but not by adult contemporaries. As a result, language emergence is characterized by a convergence on form within each age cohort, and a mismatch in form from one age cohort to the cohort that follows. In this way, each age cohort, in sequence, transforms the language environment for the next, enabling each new cohort of learners to develop further than its predecessors.
Abrupt changes in fibrillatory wave characteristics at the termination of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation in humans.

Aims We investigated the process of spontaneous termination of atrial fibrillation (AF) to determine its time course from the surface ECG. Methods and results We studied fibrillatory waves in Holter recordings of paroxysmal and sustained AF. Following QRS-T cancellation dominant frequencies (DFs) were computed and the relationship of DF to termination was scrutinized. For 57 episodes of paroxysmal AF (PAF) in 24 patients, DF ranged from 4.4 to 6.5 Hz (5.2 ± 0.4 Hz) compared to 5.8 to 7.4 Hz (6.6 ± 0.6 Hz) for sustained AF recordings. Comparison of the atrial frequency of the ultimate to the penultimate second demonstrated a drop in frequency in 51 of 57 episodes, P < 0.00001. No comparable change was seen at longer time periods. Moments of comparably low frequency without termination were only occasionally seen in patients with PAF but not in patients with sustained AF. Conclusion Low frequency fibrillation was found to be much more likely to terminate. Frequency changes preceding spontaneous termination were abrupt, in contrast to the gradual frequency drop reported with drug-induced termination. The analysis of fibrillatory wave characteristics and their change over time might be used to target specific moments for pacing therapy in patients with AF.
DEVELOPMENT OF CHICKEN LYMPHOID SYSTEM II. SYNTHESIS OF PRIMORDIAL IMMUNOGLOBULIN M BY THE BURSA CELLS OF CHICK EMBRYO

Development of Ig-synthesizing cells in the bursa of chick embryo was studied by immunohistochemical staining method as well as by in vitro incorporation of leucine-3H into Ig. Ig-synthesizing cells are first detected in the bursa of a 14 day old chick embryo and increase with the maturation of the embryo. Acrylamide gel analysis of leucine-3H-labeled Ig shows that synthesis of nonsecretory IgM-H0 precedes that of secretory IgM-H, reflecting an ontogenetic sequence of development of lymphoid cells synthesizing IgM. Since IgM-H0 is not secreted, we further studied biochemical differences between two heavy chains. The difference is attributable to lack of galactose attachment to H0 chains. It is proposed that during differentiation of lymphoid cells synthesizing and secreting Ig, attachment of galactose may play an obligatory role in the development of cellular capacity for Ig secretion.
Expression of green fluorescent protein in pollen of oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) and its utility for assessing pollen movement in the field

Transgene movement via pollen is an important component of gene flow from transgenic plants. Here, we present proof-of-concept studies that demonstrate the monitoring of short distant movement of pollen expressing a genetically encoded fluorescent tag in oilseed rape (Brassica napus L. cv. Westar). Transgenic oilseed rape plants were produced using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method with the pBINDC1 construct containing a green fluorescent protein (GFP) variant, mGFP5-ER, under the control of the pollen-specific LAT59 promoter from tomato. Transgenic pollen was differentiated from non-transgenic pollen in vivo by a unique spectral signature, and was shown to be an effective tool to monitor pollen movement in the greenhouse and field. GFP-tagged pollen also served as a practical marker to determine the zygosity of plants. In a greenhouse pollen flow study, more pollen was captured at closer distances from the source plant plot with consistent wind generated by a fan. Under field conditions, GFP transgenic pollen grains were detected up to a distance of 15 m, the farthest distance from source plants assayed. GFP-tagged pollen was easily distinguishable from non-transgenic pollen using an epifluorescence microscope.
Software defined radios (SDR) platform and application programming interfaces (API)

A software defined radio, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), FCC 00-430, is fully software driven and performs all digital signal processing using programmable digital signal processors, general purpose microprocessors, or field programmable gate arrays. All functions, modes, and applications can be reconfigured by software. More importantly, new capability can be added without hardware changes enabling a new generation of communication waveform developers to create new applications without intimate alliances with radio manufacturers. However, to be successful, the union of the application with the platform must be clearly understood with well-defined application programming interfaces (APIs). The well-defined interfaces form the contract between the application developer and the platform developer. The well-defined interfaces allow an application developer to develop an application once, that executes on many different manufacturers' platforms and provides the platform developer consistent interfaces under which platform technologies can evolve separately from the application. An application is independent of the platform it runs on if it is not coupled to a specific platform implementation, i.e., does not require platform unique hardware or software components for execution. The application accesses platform services through well-defined public interfaces that support the entire lifecycle of the application, i.e., from installation of the application through removal of the application from any given platform. This paper discusses SDR software architecture features, the need and definition of a common set of APIs and their extensibility into classes addressing factors such as cost and capability.
Depth of active solution by ground‐waters in the Pecos Valley, New Mexico

The Pecos River Drainage-Basin is underlain by a thick series of Permian rocks consisting largely of limestone, gypsum (or anhydrite), and halite. The beds have a regional eastward or southeastward dip of 40 to 80 feet to the mile and successively younger beds are exposed at the surface from west to east across the Basin (Fig, 1). The beds of the San Andres formation and the Chalk Bluff formation or its equivalents crop out over most of the broad western part of the Basin (Fig. 1). Most of the eastern part of the Basin is immediately underlain by the redbeds was sandstone of the Dockum group, of Triassic age, which, south of Acme, are separated from the Chalk Bluff formation by the Salado and Rustler formations. North of Acme the Dockum group overlaps successively older formations ana northwest of Santa Rosa it rests upon beds in the lower part of the San Andres formation.
FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF COPROPHAGIA

In the current investigation, functional analysis results suggested that coprophagia, the ingestion of fecal matter, was maintained by automatic reinforcement. Providing noncontingent access to alternative stimuli decreased coprophagia, and the intervention was generalized to two settings.
Nonlinear optical characterization of LiNbO 3 . I. Theoretical analysis of Maker fringe patterns for x -cut wafers

Maker fringe analysis was adapted to x-cut LiNbO3 wafers to examine variations in birefringence, thickness, and photoelastic strain. The pump beam was polarized parallel to the crystalline y axis and produced e- and o-polarized Maker fringes, owing to d31 and d22, respectively, by rotation of the sample about the y axis. Fitting our model to the o-polarized data enabled computation of the sample thickness to an uncertainty of approximately ±0.01 μm. The accuracy was limited by an implicit ±2×10-4 uncertainty in no that exists in the commonly used Sellmeier equation of G. J. Edwards M. Lawrence , Opt. Quantum Electron. 16, 373 (1984). For a pump wavelength λp=1064 nm, fitting the model to the e-polarized fringes revealed that ne at 532 nm deviated from the Sellmeier result by typically -1.58×10-4. The uniformity of ne over a wafer 10 cm in diameter was approximately ±4×10-5. This result is consistent with that expected from compositional variations. Our model included multiple passes of the pump and second-harmonic waves. The effects of photoelastic strain in producing perturbations and mixing of the e- and o-polarized fringes was investigated. This was restricted to two experimentally motivated cases that suggested that strains produce rotations of the optic axis by typically ±0.05° about the x axis and y axis with the former assigned to an indeterminant combination of S1,S2, and S4 and the latter to an indeterminant combination of S5 and S6. In both cases the magnitude of the collective strains is of the order of 10-4. The birefringence variations that are due to strain are of the same magnitude as those expected from compositional variations. The formalism developed here is used in the subsequent mapping study of x-cut wafers.
General spectral transformations for digital filters

Constantinides [1] gave a method of transforming a prototype low-pass digital filter into a high-pass, bandpass, or bandstop filter by conformally mapping the complex variable Z-1. We generalize here his method to transformations from prototype low-pass filters to filters containing any number of pass- and stopbands. The computation procedure involves only the solution of a set of simultaneous linear equations, the number of which is related only to the number of band-edges and not to the order of the prototype filter.
Time-resolved measurements of electron number density and collision frequency for a fluorescent lamp plasma using microwave diagnostics

Microwave interferometry is an established nonperturbing plasma diagnostic technique to measure plasma number density that is simple, accurate, robust, and reliable. This paper reports a related microwave diagnostic method that measures both the electron number density and the electron-neutral collision frequency, which are crucial to understanding the behavior and transport coefficients of plasma. This method measures the attenuation and phase shift of a microwave signal propagating through a plasma with a network analyzer. These measured quantities are related to the real and imaginary parts of the plasma index of refraction by Appleton's equations, which contain the electron number density and collision frequency. Since the electron number density and collision frequency can be obtained directly from measured quantities, one need not know the electron energy distribution function, the electron kinetic temperature, or the electron energy-dependent cross section for the collision process to determine the electron collision frequency. The experimental measurements used to illustrate the method are a paired comparison of the time-resolved electron number density and collision frequency of two types of commercial fluorescent lamps: the "standard" mercury-based lamp, and the recently introduced "green" low mercury lamp. Since the plasma properties are periodic at 60 Hz, time-resolved measurements could be made by using the external triggering feature of the network analyzer. Data were taken to illustrate the variation of electron number density and collision frequency during one 60-Hz cycle of the fluorescent lamp plasmas.
Improvement in the Instrumentation for Partial Discharge Location in Cables

An instrument for detecting and locating partial discharges on power cables has been developed. This paper describes some recent improvements that have been incorporated. It also presents new experimental data which show that low level discharges on cables the length of full reels can be located. Documentation is also included which shows that it is possible to locate each of more than one simultaneously operating sources of noise on a cable.
Measurements of temperature dependence of the stability and quench propagation of a 20-cm-long RABiTS Y-Ba-Cu-O tape

Thermal stability and quench propagation in a composite tape made of YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub x/ (YBCO) superconductor were studied experimentally. Quench propagation in each test was initiated by applying a sequence of a short overcurrent pulse followed by a longer pulse at a typical operating current for the tape. The resulting change in resistivity due to internal heating was measured through voltage taps across different zones of the tape. Measurements were performed as a function of both initial overcurrent and operating current for several operating temperatures between 45 and 80 K. These experimental results provided the thermal stability margin, the minimum propagation current, and the quench propagation velocity for the tape. Experimentally obtained temperature dependence of normal zone propagation velocity was compared with the adiabatic theory taking into account minimum propagation current. It was noted that the measured normal zone propagation velocity compared favorably with the theory at each operating temperature.
Dynamic template generation for resource sharing in control and data flow graphs

High-level synthesis compilers often produce reoccurring patterns in intermediate CDFGs during translation. By identifying large reoccurring patterns, one may reduce area and communication overhead by efficiently reusing hardware for multiple operations. This paper presents an algorithm for dynamically generating templates of reoccurring patterns for resource sharing in CDFGs. Results show 40-80% resource reduction using small, incremental template growth, and variations within a 5% margin among varying look-ahead depths.
Internal characterization of alkaline batteries: Using impedance spectroscopy for parameter identification

A brief overview of the various equivalent battery models will be reviewed, a model will be decided upon in which it will be used to depict internal characteristics of the battery. These characteristics will be correlated to the state of charge of the battery. In this paper, a review of how to obtain the internal parametric of the alkaline batteries will be explained utilizing electrical spectroscopy with the data analyzed by various techniques. Techniques that will be looked into are; Least-Squares fitting, Delta V/Delta I, as well as open circuit voltage correlation to state of charge.
“The ivory tower” on an “unstable foundation”: Playful Language, Humor, and Metaphor in the Negotiation of Scientists’ Identities

In this essay we argue that metaphor and language play generally should be analyzed in the context of actual conversations, not as a peripheral or incidental part of the discourse, but as an integral part of both topic-centered and relational work. We examine several instances of playful metaphor, humor, and irony that occurred during a one-hour focus-group discussion among a group of scientists discussing their role in communicating about science with laypersons. During the course of this discussion, word play, humorous insults, and the elaboration and reconstruction of metaphorical idioms are used for a variety of purposes, including reinforcement of group boundaries, re-constitution of the group's assigned task, and joint development of a complex set of ideas about group members' identities as scientists working in a publicly-funded lab. Throughout this conversation the social structuring and relational functions of playfulness and metaphor interacts with the accomplishment of the purposes of the conve...
Adding insult to injury: opportunistic treponemal disease in a scalping survivor

Although the taking of scalps is arguably a perimortem trophy-taking behaviour, cases of scalping survival are occasionally reported in the historical documents of the American Colonial Period and the 19th century westward expansion. Survival cases are also detected in pre-Columbian bioarchaeological contexts. Although scalp avulsion injuries can heal without complication, often the process is compromised by secondary osteomyelitis, usually attributable to environmentally ever-present Staphylococcal or Streptococcal bacteria. A scalping survivor case from the late prehistoric (AD 1200–1600) Hampton site (40RH41) of East Tennessee unusually displays infectious sequelae in the area denuded by scalp avulsion which are pathognomonic for treponemal disease (caries sicca, stellate scarring). This infection is probably a reflection of the easy opportunity afforded by the large size of the wound bed, poor post-trauma hygiene, and direct inoculation of the diploe by a ubiquitous Treponema. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluation of Capiox RX25 and Quadrox-i Adult Hollow Fiber Membrane Oxygenators in a Simulated Cardiopulmonary Bypass Circuit

The Capiox RX25 and Quadrox-i Adult oxygenators are commonly used in clinical adult cardiopulmonary bypass circuits. This study was designed to test the effectiveness of two adult oxygenators in order to evaluate gaseous microemboli (GME) trapping capability and hemodynamic performance. A simulated adult CPB circuit was used and primed with Ringer's lactate and packed red blood cells (hematocrit 25%). All trials were conducted at flow rates of 2-5 L/min (1 L/min increments) with a closed and open arterial filter purge line at 35°C. The postcannula pressure was maintained at 100 mm Hg. After a 5 cc of bolus air was introduced into the venous line, an Emboli Detection and Classification system was used to detect and classify GME at the preoxygenator, postoxygenator, and precannula sites. At the same time, real-time pressure and flow data were recorded, and hemodynamic energy was calculated using a custom-made data acquisition system and Labview software. Our results showed that the oxygenator pressure drops of Quadrox-i Adult oxygenator were lower than Capiox RX25 at all flow rates. The Quadrox-i Adult oxygenator retained more hemodynamic energy across the oxygenator. Both oxygenators could trap the majority of GME, but Capiox RX25 did better than the Quadrox-i Adult oxygenator. No GME was delivered to the pseudo patient at all flow rates in the Capiox group. The Capiox RX25 venous reservoir could capture more GME at lower flow rates, while the Quadrox-i Adult venous reservoir performed better at higher flow rates. An open arterial filter purge line reduced GME slightly in the Capiox group, but GME increased in the Quadrox group. The Quadrox-i Adult oxygenator is a low-resistance, high-compliance oxygenator. The GME handling ability of Capiox RX25 performed well under our clinical setting. Further optimized design for the venous/cardiotomy reservoir is needed.
Better Communication between Engineers and Managers: Some Ways to Prevent Many Ethically Hard Choices

This article is concerned with ways better communication between engineers and their managers might help prevent engineers being faced with some of the ethical problems that make up the typical course in engineering ethics. Beginning with observations concerning the Challenger disaster, the article moves on to report results of empirical research on the way technical communication breaks down, or doesn’t break down, between engineers and managers. The article concludes with nine recommendations for organizational change to help prevent communications breakdown.
The Giant Cytoskeletal Protein Obscurin acts as a Variable Force Resistor

Obscurin is a giant cytoskeletal protein that is expressed in a wide variety of cells. This protein is highly modular and functions, in part, by connecting distal regions of the cell through individual obscurin domains binding to specific protein targets. Force resistance is intrinsic in this type of protein organization; as the obscurin targets move relative to each other, the obscurin linker by necessity compresses and expands. Work on the similar protein titin suggests that these long modular proteins intrinsically resist this type of motion through an enthalpic-entropic spring mechanism. Here, we study whether obscurin also behaves through this mechanism. Through the use of NMR, SAXS, and SMD, we find that different segments of obscurin behave differently to stretch. Some obscurin segments (for instance Ig34-39) are moderately rigid relative to each other, and this results in a steeper distance/work slope when the these domains are stretched. In contrast, other domains (Ig58-59) show no interaction with their neighbors. These domains stretch more like a traditional pure entropic spring.
Motherhood in Liminal Spaces: White Mothers Parenting Black/White Children

Most of the extant social work research on biracial children and families has focused on the experiences of transracially adopted black or biracial children and their white parents or Afro-Caribbean/white children and their white mothers in the United Kingdom. This study adds to the body of knowledge by using focus group interviews analyzed through a feminist lens to understand the experiences of a diverse group of white women parenting their biological black/white biracial children. The findings suggest that having children locates them in a liminal space between whiteness and blackness. Many face racism from their families and communities, which they are unprepared for, given their upbringing as white Americans. Yet despite these experiences, many still practice color-blind perspective in socializing their children. Implications of these findings include the need for early intervention and support for white mothers raising biracial children as well as the need to challenge the assumption that mothers ar...
Effect of types of treatment on development of antistreptolysin in patients with scarlet fever.

ConclusionsThe administration of concentrated human serum globulin to patients with scarlet fever appears to have no effect on their ability to form antistreptolysin. Treatment with penicillin results in a decrease in the number of persons capable of developing this antibody, and also in the quantity of antibody produced by those who show an increase in antistreptolysin titer.
Effect of dexamethasone on relative functional of neutrophils in early period of acute lung injury

Objective To investigate the effect of dexamethasone on the relative function of neutrophil (PMN) and in the early period of ALI and to provide theoretical bases for the clinical treatment of ALI Methods 32 male New Zealand rabbits were divided into four groups randomly: N: normal controls (n=8); L: acute lung injury group (n=10), receiving intravenous endotoxin to achieve the degree of ALI; E: early-intervention group (n=7), immediately treated with one bolus of 2 mg dexamethasone after injecting LPS P: pre-treatment group (n=7), treated with one bolus of 2 mg dexamethasone one hour before injecting LPS Results In group L, blood pressure, heart rate, PH and PMN amount decreased obviously; CD11b expression intensity on the surface of PMN increased progressively The blood pressure and heart rate decrease in group E and P were minished; CD11b expression intensity and amount of PMN decreased in 3 hours were restrained evidently; the changes of lung pathology were mitigated The decreased extent of blood pressure and PMN in group E was larger than that in group P Conclusions Dexamethasone ameliorate the degree of septic shock, and inhibit the happening and development of ALI The therapy effects were due to its inhibition to the over-activation of PMN which would cause damage to the tissue Judging from the indices of blood pressure and amount of PMN, the pretreatment of corticosteroids had better protection for experimental animals [
Assessment of salivary gland pathology.

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have added immensely to our ability to evaluate the deeper extent of parotid tumors. Plain films and sialography are still more helpful in looking for stones and inflammatory changes.
Deciphering the tumor suppressive mechanisms of Pten

Phosphatase and tensin homolog (Pten) suppresses neoplastic growth by negatively regulating PI(3)K signaling through its phosphatase activity.1 Indeed, most missense mutations detected in human tum...
Metal-catalyzed Decarboxylative Fluoroalkylation Reactions

Metal-catalyzed decarboxylative fluoroalkylation reactions enable the conversion of simple O-based substrates into biologically relevant fluorinated analogues. Herein, we present decarboxylative methods that facilitate the synthesis of trifluoromethyl- and difluoroketone-containing products. We highlight key mechanistic aspects that are critical for efficient catalysis, and that inspired our thinking while developing the reactions. 1 Introduction 2 Copper-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Trifluoromethylation Reactions 2.1 Net Trifluoromethylation of Alcohols 2.2 Mechanism of Decarboxylation Impacts Functional-Group Tolerance 2.3 Allylic Trifluoromethylation Enabled by Activation Protocol 2.4 Generation of Iodide Intermediate Required for Benzylic Trifluoromethylation 2.5 Ligand-Controlled Regiodivergent Trifluoromethylation of Propargylic Electrophiles 2.6 Summary 3 Palladium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Alkylation of α,α-Difluoroketone Enolates 3.1 Convergent Routes towards α,α-Difluoroketones 3.2 Palladium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Benzylation of α,α-Difluoroketone Enolates 3.3 Palladium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Allylation of α,α-Difluoroketone Enolates 3.4 Summary
Congenital Cytomegalovirus: a “Now” Problem—No Really, Now

Despite the clear need, progress toward a vaccine for congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been slow. However, recent events have provided new interest, and several vaccine candidates are either in clinical trials or the trials are close to starting. In this issue of Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, Schleiss and colleagues show that a nonreplicating lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (rLCMV)-vectored vaccine expressing CMV glycoprotein B (gB) and/or pp65 induces B and T cells and improves pup survival in a guinea pig model of congenital CMV infection (Clin Vaccine Immunol 24:e00300-16, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1128/CVI.00300-16). The combination vaccine appeared to be the most effective.
Optimal collocation applied to a one-dimensional convection-diffusion equation using a hybrid optimization algorithm

The method of collocation can be used to determine highly accurate solutions to the one-dimensional steady-state convection-diffusion equation (which can be used to model the transport of contaminants dissolved in groundwater). This accuracy is dependent upon sufficient refinement of the finite element mesh as well as applying upstream weighting to the convective term through the determination of collocation locations which meet specified constraints. Due to an increase in computational intensity of the application of the method of collocation associated with increases in the mesh refinement, minimal mesh refinement is sought. A hybrid method that utilizes a genetic algorithm and a hill-climbing approach is used to determine the optimal mesh refinement for a number of models differentiated by their velocity fields. The genetic algorithm is used to determine a mesh refinement that results in feasible collocation locations that is close to optimal. Following the genetic algorithm, a hill-climbing approach is used to determine a local optimal mesh refinement that is feasible. In most cases the optimal mesh refinements determined with this hybrid method are equal to or better than previous mesh refinements determined through direct search methods.
Estimating a Service-Life Distribution Based on Production Counts and a Failure Database

In this case study, the authors employ a Bayesian approach to obtain estimates of model parameters in order to investigate characteristics of the service-life distribution.
Rural–Urban Differences in Cancer Incidence and Trends in the United States

Background: Cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States are declining, but this decrease may not be observed in rural areas where residents are more likely to live in poverty, smoke, and forego cancer screening. However, there is limited research exploring national rural-urban differences in cancer incidence and trends.Methods: We analyzed data from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries' public use dataset, which includes population-based cancer incidence data from 46 states. We calculated age-adjusted incidence rates, rate ratios, and annual percentage change (APC) for: all cancers combined, selected individual cancers, and cancers associated with tobacco use and human papillomavirus (HPV). Rural-urban comparisons were made by demographic, geographic, and socioeconomic characteristics for 2009 to 2013. Trends were analyzed for 1995 to 2013.Results: Combined cancers incidence rates were generally higher in urban populations, except for the South, although the urban decline in incidence rate was greater than in rural populations (10.2% vs. 4.8%, respectively). Rural cancer disparities included higher rates of tobacco-associated, HPV-associated, lung and bronchus, cervical, and colorectal cancers across most population groups. Furthermore, HPV-associated cancer incidence rates increased in rural areas (APC = 0.724, P < 0.05), while temporal trends remained stable in urban areas.Conclusions: Cancer rates associated with modifiable risks-tobacco, HPV, and some preventive screening modalities (e.g., colorectal and cervical cancers)-were higher in rural compared with urban populations.Impact: Population-based, clinical, and/or policy strategies and interventions that address these modifiable risk factors could help reduce cancer disparities experienced in rural populations. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 27(11); 1265-74. ©2017 AACR.
Perceptions of STS Topics Among Uruguayan College Students: Implications for Secondary School Curricular Reform:

The purpose of this descriptive and exploratory study was to measure the perceptions regarding a variety of science, technology, and society (STS) topics among a sample of Uruguay underclassmen college students. These perceptions were compared with the viewpoints of a group of professional scientists. It was found that, for some STS topics, such as the role of humans in global climate change, the perceptions of Uruguay underclassmen and scientists were statistically identical. For topics, such as the problem of human overpopulation, both groups find themselves on the same side of the issue but with a statistically significant gap between them. Uruguay underclassmen and professional scientists have opposite views on STS topics such as the use of animals for scientific research. A sizable proportion of Uruguay underclassmen were not familiar with several STS topics, such as the scientific work of the International Space Station. Implications for formal and informal STEM education efforts are discussed.
Band theory of magnetism in metals in context of exactly soluble model

The role of spatial forces, and of Hund's rule (exchange) forces, and the validity of the Hartree-Fock approximation in the band theory of magnetism of metals is reviewed. Some reasonable conjectures which have been made elsewhere by the author and others are examined in the light of an exactly soluble model of interacting electrons in one dimension. It is shown that within the framework of validity of this model, spatial i.e., direct (Coulomb) forces do not influence the spin susceptibility, and conversely, Hund's rule exchange forces do not affect the dielectric constant or plasmon spectrum. It is recalled that the time-independent Hartree-Fock approximation yields an incorrect spectrum of elementary excitations, and it is also shown explicitly that the magnetic susceptibility calculated in this approximation is incorrect. A paradox is noted, concerning whether ``correlations'' can in fact correct the errors in the H-F approximation. Finally, it is shown that when there are only space forces, such spin density waves as might be introduced in to the H-F ground state of the model are in fact spurious, because they are not representative of the correlations which exist in the true ground state.
President Al Bashir’s Dance-Tease With the ICC: Did the ICC Unfairly Get Its Comeuppance for Singling out African Leaders?

This paper examines why the ICC indicting President Al Bashir has culminated in a rapid deterioration in relations between African countries and that transnational organization. The paper uses the atrocities the Sudanese government committed in Darfur to examine the disputatious issue of official immunity and whether President Al Bashir, as an incumbent head of state, should enjoy it. Irrespective of the merits and demerits of official immunity being exten+ded to top public officials accused of crime, African leaders have shown a near unanimous disdain for the ICC since the organization began to push for President Bashir’s indictment. This paper examines to extent to which the ICC through its actions is blamable for precipitating the deteriorating relationship between itself and the AU. Alternatively, governments of the AU may not escape blame for capitalizing on the ICC’s awkward move on Bashir to rid themselves of an organization the international community set up to clamp down on human rights abusers throughout the world. There is no disguising that many African leaders feel gleeful for masterfully setting up a firewall that ostensibly blunts the ICC’s ability to use the long reach of the law to bring violators to justice. The ultimate losers of this break down of trust have been Africans who since the dawn of independence have been at the receiving end of governmental brutality and injustice. These are the poor, the working class, the politically unconnected, and people who dare raise their voice against corruption and egregious human rights abuses.
Food Crises, Urban Development, and Mass Killing in Nondemocratic States

This chapter is devoted to developing the book’s theoretical story. It first discusses the foundations of the game-theoretic framework and model that we employ to explain when incumbents in nondemocratic states will strategically seek to target civilians in killing campaigns. To this end, the chapter starts with a detailed overview of the two key actors in the theory that we develop: the ruling elite and the citizens residing in this nondemocratic polity. We also describe the economic and political context under which these two sets of actors strategically interact with each other. Our model analyzes how the outbreak of a food crisis that results from high food price volatility generates political contestation between citizens and the ruling elite in nondemocracies. We discuss in great depth the main arguments of our theory to explain how and why such political contestation interacts with existing levels of concentrated urban development to incentivize the ruling elite to resort to mass killing against its citizens. We rely on this model to derive our main hypothesis and its two corollaries.
Nourishing Eroding Beaches: Examples from the West-Central Coast of Florida

Beach nourishment has been widespread and successful in Florida, and particularly so on the west coast of the peninsula. This highly developed coast has seen more than a dozen large-scale projects in past 20 years. The biggest problem with such projects along this coast is the limited sediment available. Most projects rely on the ebb-tidal deltas of tidal inlets but offshore sand bars are present along some coastal reaches.
Overview of Wideband CDMA

The use of direct sequence (DS) code division multiple access (CDMA) is of interest to both the military and the commercial communities. In this paper, we present an overview of what has come to be known as wideband CDMA (WCDMA). While no precise definition of such a waveform exists, the concepts behind a WCDMA design are simple to state. Minimally, one would want to be able to efficiently support high data rate multimedia traffic, as well as make effective use of the multipath which is inherent on any wireless channel. The former condition suggests the need for a large rf bandwidth, and the latter condition requires that that bandwidth be, at the least, larger than the coherence bandwidth of the channel. In the following sections, we will illustrate how the use of a properly designed DS WCDMA system can enhance performance. We consider first the obvious issue of capacity, but then we also look at considerations such as coarse acquisition and power control.
Minimum-Time Trajectory for Multiple Manipulators Handling a Common Object

Abstract We analyze the problem of multiple manipulators handling a common object along a prespecified path. Each robot exerts forces and torques at the end effector, the motion of the carried load is determined by the total end-effector forces and torques. The minimum time tra-jectory problem involves determining the maximum end effector velocity along the specified path given the k-actuator input torques are constrained between an upper and lower bounds. The minimum time trajectory for multi-robot system can be determined by the analysis 2k parabolic equations.
MEMORY FOR VISUAL-SPOKEN LANGUAGE IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Two experiments examined how developmental changes in processing speed, reliance on visual articulatory cues, memory retrieval, and the ability to interpret representational gestures influence memory for spoken language presented with a view of the speaker (visual-spoken language). Experiment 1 compared 16 children (M = 9.5 yrs.) and 16 young adults, using an immediate recall procedure. Experiment 2 replicated the methods with new speakers, stimuli, and participants. Results showed that both children's and adults' memory for sentences was aided by the presence of visual articulatory information and gestures. Children's slower processing speeds did not adversely affect their ability to process visual-spoken language. However, children's ability to retrieve the words from memory was poorer than adults'. Children's memory was also more influenced by representational gestures that appeared along with predicate terms than by gestures that co-occurred with nouns.
Analysis of Continuous Frames By Distributing Fixed-End Moments

The purpose of this paper is to explain briefly a method which has been found useful in analyzing frames which are statically indeterminate. The essential idea which the writer wishes to present in...
Variance and Derivative Estimation of Virtual Performance

Virtual performance is a class of time-dependent performance measures conditional on a particular event occurring at time τ0 for a (possibly) nonstationary stochastic process; virtual waiting time of a customer arriving to a queue at time τ0 is one example. Virtual statistics are estimators of the virtual performance. In this article, we go beyond the mean to propose estimators for the variance, and for the derivative of the mean with respect to time, of virtual performance, examining both their small-sample and asymptotic properties. We also provide a modified K-fold cross validation method for tuning the parameter k for the difference-based variance estimator, and we evaluate the performance of both variance and derivative estimators via controlled studies and a realistic illustration. The variance and derivative provide useful information that is not apparent in the mean of virtual performance.
Survival outcomes of sustained MR4.5 in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with various tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI).

7057Background: TKI discontinuation for CML pts may be considered for those who achieve the deepest molecular responses as qualified by MR4.5 and complete molecular response for ≥ 2 years (susMR4.5...
Cooperative mobile robotics: antecedents and directions

There has been increased research interest in systems composed of multiple autonomous mobile robots exhibiting cooperative behavior. Groups of mobile robots are constructed, with an aim to studying such issues as group architecture, resource conflict, origin of cooperation, learning, and geometric problems. As yet, few applications of cooperative robotics have been reported, and supporting theory is still in its formative stages. In this paper, we give a critical survey of existing works and discuss open problems in this field, emphasizing the various theoretical issues that arise in the study of cooperative robotics. We describe the intellectual heritages that have guided early research, as well as possible additions to the set of existing motivations.